WitchBorn

Title:  Witch Born
Author: Nicholas Bowing
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Library Hardback
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws

Alyce's mother is brutually burned at the stake when she was a young girl.  Witchhunters return to her home in search of Alyce, in a fit of self defense, Alyce manages to kill the hunter.  But she is captured and taken to an asylum, which she manages to escape after sometime and befriends an actor and innkeeper.  She knows she needs to find a Mr. John Dee, but she doesn't know what to expect when she finds him.  While she searches, witchhunters continue to hunt for her and Alyce manages to find herself in the company of actors who happen to be living in Queen Elizabeth I's palace.  Throughout her trials Alyce continues to wonder why her, why is she so important.  Caught in the battle between two Queens Alyce now has the fate of England on her shoulders.  Can she manage it?

I wonder why so many authors use Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary as witches in stories, granted I have only read two that utilize this, but I am sure there are more.  Let me just say this novel was nothing like what I was expecting it to be.  I expected a suspenseful novel of a young girl coming into her powers (yes there was that, but I don't think enough) trying to hide from a group of neredowells.  What we get is a young girl who sort of stumbles onto her powers I don't even remember when or how they began to manifest, but nothing extravagant.  We also have villains looking for her, but it seems all to easy that they find her basically in the second place they look.

I love love fantasy novels with witches and such, but this one seemed like a little bit of a let down for me and that makes me sad.  I was so excited to read this because it felt like a fantastic book.  I was able to predict almost everything that happened, the big "twist" towards the end was very predictable though I told myself it would be what I thought it was.  Overall it was kind of meh for me while reading.  I didn't find it super exciting or super dull.  It held pace, held my attention and had characters that could be more than what they were.  I enjoy Solomon a lot and wanted to see more from him, even maybe a little bit of magic from him too.  Like an opps kind of thing for him.

Young adult fantasy lovers I think would find this book enjoyable.  I would recommend it because even if it was the end all books for me, someone else might find it the best book they read this year.  I find myself more of a Deborah Harkness kind of witch lover.  Check it out for yourself see what you think. 

In Her Bones

Title: In Her Bones
Author: Kate Moretti
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Source: Paperback: Goodreads win
 Rating: 3 out of 5 paws.

Fifteen years ago a serial killer brutally murdered six women.  Now Lilith Wade is sitting on death row, but her murders still fascinate the public with an unauthorized biography and media frenzy.  Her daughter, Edie now thirty, is trying to survive her own life outside of the spotlight, but she finds herself obsessed with the families of the women her mother had killed.  Edie quickly finds herself in the home of one man, Paul whose wife had been murdered.  The morning after Paul is found murdered and Edie becomes the prime suspect.  Now she must elude the police while trying to find out who really killed Paul.  She goes into hiding while she conducts her research that leads are down the path of her past.  Can she figure it all out before it's too late?

 



I was lucky enough to receive this book as a Goodreads giveaway, if you haven't tried goodreads yet, you should.  It is a fantastic site.  Anyway, as I said I won this from the giveaway and I finally was able to read it over the Thanksgiving holiday.  I think I was more excited to read it and seen all great reviews for it, but I felt a little disappointed in this novel.  It was far from what I was expecting.

There were a lot of things, that while they were interesting to read they made no real sense to the story such as excerpts from the biography.  Sure it gave an idea of what had happened with the murders, and investigation etc, but it did nothing to contribute to the overall story.  Most of the book is Edie hiding and questioning people who were in Paul's life which barely takes her anywhere.  I understand the idea and use of "red herrings" in a story, but to have over half the book be one, made it uninteresting.  I will give the author credit in that I was unable to predict who the killer actually was in a weird turn of events, that gave the book a few more points.

The characters felt a little drab, I was  unable to really connect or have any feelings for Edie or the other minor characters.  I would have liked to have seen Brandt in the story more than he was, he seemed like an interesting character who was left to the back-burner a little, the same with her brother Dylan.  There was a lot of potential for depth in the characters but it didn't seem like this novel really scratched the surface of them much.

Mystery fans may like this novel, I don't think there is much thrill or suspense to entertain or interest thriller/suspense fans.  I would be willing to attempt another one of Kate Moretti's novels, but I have a feeling they may be much like this one....fall short of expectations.

Daughter of the Pirate King

Title: Daughter of the Pirate King
Author: Tricia Levenseller
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Source: Library Hardback
Rating2.5 out of 5 stars.

Alosa's father sent her out on a secret mission, to find and steal a piece to a treasure map, one that will lead the pirate to a secret treasure trove.  In order to do so, Alosa must allow herself to be kidnapped by the pirates who hold this piece.  But the only thing standing in her way of success is the first mate: Riden.  Not only is he her captor/guard, but also devilishly handsome.  She must somehow keep him occupied while she searches the ship for what her father desires.  She has many tricks up her sleeves to accomplish her goals, no one can stop the pirate princess.

 

I was intrigued with this novel, a little unsure of what to expect from it, but it wasn't as impressed as I had hoped I would be. I felt "meh" about this book and didn't fully care if I finished the book or not. I almost didn't, but kept with it because I had started it.  It wasn't overly entertaining or thrilling.  Just....meh.  There wasn't anything that really made me excited about this book.  Alosa spent most of her time trying to seduce one of the brothers so she can search their chambers, or trying to figure out her feelings for Riden, or talking about how great she is, but she kept getting caught hmm.  There didn't seem to be much action nor did it seem like there was any urgency for Alosa to find the treasure map.

I couldn't stand the characters I wanted to like them so much but there was so much wrong with them.  Such as Riden just standing by while Alosa is assaulted and virtually abused because in his mind she was able to handle herself and situation...say what?  But then gets upset and jealous when she mentions his brother's assault, not because of the brother harming her, but because he thought she had sex with him whether it was consensual or not..there's something wrong with that there. 

There was one element that could have been interesting if it wasn't thrown into the story almost out of nowhere, like the author liked the idea but didn't know how to incorporate it into the story properly and just boom magical elements.  The tale wasn't all that streamlined and bits were just thrown about haphazardly.

I don't think I would recommend this to too many people.  It had so much potential only to fall way way short of the mark.