Literarycat Review: Death Is In The Details by Heather Sunseri

Title: Death is in the Details
Authors: Heather Sunseri
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Source: Kindle eBook
Rating: 3 out of 5 Paws

Faith is a forensic photographer who is haunted by vivid memories of the night her mother and step father were murdered.  Twelve years later a string of fires are eerily similar to the one that took their lives.  Oddly enough the fires seem to correspond with the release of Faith's stepbrother from prison.  Ethan was convicted of setting the fire that killed his father and Faith's mother, but new evidence proved his innocence.  So who set the fire all those years ago and why are they trying to frame Ethan now?  FBI agent Luke Justice will not rest until he catches the serial killer who uses arson to mask his murders. What does he do when the evidence points to someone close to Faith, a woman he is growing fond of?  Can Faith and Luke find the truth behind it all before the flames eat them alive?

I keep going back and forth on what I think about this book.  There are moments when I like and other moments when I felt like it isn't a book for me. It progressed rather slowly for me and took a while for any of the action or clues to really make an impact on the feel of the novel.  I didn't feel attached to any of the characters, though the idea of Faith having a condition that makes her recall every moment that has happened to her with vivid clarity, as if it is happening at that moment.  For a good chunk of the book it wasn't as suspenseful or thrilling as I would have expected it to be, and I figured out the killer fairly early on in the novel.

I did like the motive behind the the murders.  There were some things that still didn't make sense when I finished the novel; things that were never truly explained with the big reveal.  The romantic part was unrealistic and was not needed.  Thriller/suspense novels do not need a romantic interest for them to be engaging and this was definitely a novel that would have been better without it.  It didn't feel like it added anything relevant to the story.  The main character solves everything by turning to alcohol and making really bad choices.  I simply could not connect with her as I absolutely hated her and Luke.  Luke just quickly gets into bed with her and just barely does anything to keep her safe and seems a little caustic as well.  He's a little too protective for only knowing her a short time, ready to fight for her after what a week?

Sunseri has a writing style that I could get into, but sadly it was the drull and boring story and very unlikable characters that made the novel feel like it was lacking something.  I am not sure if I would read anything else from her.

Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron

Title:Kingdom of Souls

Author: Rena Barron

Genre: YA Fantasy

Source: Hardcover

Rating: 5 out of 5 paws

Arrah comes from a long line of powerful witch doctors, but unfortunately it seems like magic is passing over her.  Eachyear she tries to be blessed by the gods, but each year she comes back disappointed. When a premonition comes to her grandmother regarding Arrah and a green serpant, then local children become missing spurs Arrah into action, to buy magic with her life.  What she discovers goes beyond her most horrific nightmares and becomes more than betrayal. Now she must learn how to master magic, or find ways to buy it without losing too much of her life in order to save herself and those she loves most.

What can I say about this novel that goes beyond "WoW'?  I am so glad that I picked up this novel because it blew me away.  I couldn't put it down.  It was so beautifully written I wonder to myself why did I let it sit on my shelf for so long? Rena Barron builds a world of magic like I haven't seen before, she goes beyond the general stereotypes and creates soemthing new and amazing.  I love how she describes the magic and each other gods that play a role within the story and how they each present themselves.

Arrah is an enjoyable strong character once she gets past complaining about not having magic.  She does learn how to access her own inner strength and be powerful without needing to rely on magic to help her achieve her goals.  She is not afraid to do what she needs to do in order to protect those she loves and she deals with betrayal and mistrust in a strong mature way.  One thing that I wanted more of was the different tribes and how each tribe interacts and their beliefs, maybe we will get more as the series progresses, but it seems like such a big aspect of the story that seemed to fall to the background and I think may make the story a lot more powerful.

Rena Barron does a fantastic job building her world and characters that make readers CRAVE more of them.  I cannot wait for the next book in the series and see where Rena will take the story.  I want to learn more and be engrossed in this world more.  I was excited to see that there is a movie in the works that I will be sure to see whenever it comes out.

Literarycat Review: Evermore by Sara Holland

 Title:Evermore (book 2 of Everless series)

Author: Sara Holland
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: Paperback
Rating: 4 out of 5 paws


Everyone knows the legends of the Alchemist and the Sorceress and the magic they both possess.  But could those stories be true?  For Jules Ember the reality of those stories becomes all to real for her as she came to realize she is the Alchemist, and Caro, the Queen's lady in waiting (and also murderess), is the Sorceress.  The whole kingdom believes Jules is responsible for the death of not only the Queen but also Jules' first love Roan.  With a large bounty on her head Jules must escape Caro and follow clues to find a weapon strong enough to defeat the Sorceress.  By piecing together lost memories, Jules quickly discovers the truth behind the stories, and how to save those she loves.

I had read the first book last year and thought I had reviewed it, but must have missed it in my time away from media and dealing with life's changes.  I highly enjoyed the first book as it dealt with something very unique as time being currency and extracted from blood.  It took me a little while to get the chance to read book two and I loved it as much as I did the first some.  Though, I do wish there was more to the story.  There were times it seemed like things got rushed and "squished" into the story.  I would have liked seeing certain things be revealed to other characters and their reactions.  Other than that this is a duology that I think is highly underrated.

Jules is a wonderful character.  I mean she just found out she is this ancient alchemist she only thought of as a legend.  Then on top of that she is also battling a friend who has become her mortal enemy, literally.  She has a lot going on in her mind and she takes it on like a champ and does what she needs to in order to learn more about herself and how to defeat her enemy.  Though I would have liked to see more of her trying to piece things together and getting used to her new-found power.  She almost instantly knew how to use her power.  I am okay with the love interest, though again I would have liked to see more interaction between the two and something else to build their relationship other than stolen glances, soft touches.  She was just in love with his brother Roan, and flits to Liam easily.  There should have been some build up.  I definitely wanted more of Caro.  She's our big baddie but rarely makes an appearance.  She uses other people to do her work.

The world the Sara Holland builds is a beautiful one.  I want to more about it.  We see the different class systems and how each responds to the blood coins, and payment.  She even briefly mentions what would happen if someone ate or drank blood from someone who has died.  She created a well rounded world that I want to get lost in more often.  Again I wish this was a longer series with more interactions between Caro and Jules leading up to a bigger show down.

Overall I loved this novel and I look forward to reading some other books by Sara Holland.  She creates something interesting and unique.

Review: Year of Yes By Shonda Rhimes

Title: Year of Yes
Author: Shonda Rhimes
Genre: Memoir
Source: Paperback
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws

Shonda Rhimes is the creator of hit shows like Grey's Anatomy and Scandal. In her memoir she discusses taking a year and saying Yes to anything that scares her and takes her outside of her comfort zone.  Throughout her book Shonda discusses the events that put her outside her comfort zone and how those moments helped her grow, and become a stronger woman.

I was super excited to read this book because I love Shonda's shows and from what I have read about her she is a strong powerful, and inspirational woman. I was excited to see what she learned about stepping outside your comfort zone because that is something I also do not do.  If it is something scary to me then I do not do it. That being said, I have to admit I feel a little let down with this book.  Don't get me wrong I love her writing style and at point I was laughing and I enjoyed the book for the most part, but it was not what I was expecting.

A good bit of what she talks about deals with her fame and as she continued to remind readers, how she's a big time Hollywood writer. Now I think it's amazing she found success, but what I wanted to learn along the way was how did she find that success?  What rejections did she have, what lead her to where she is, maybe that's a different book.  BUT what I was hoping for was what did she learn from giving a speech at Darmouth, not reading what the speech said.

The best sections where when she discussed her body image and saying yes to accepting who she is, but also saying yes to wanting to get healthy rather than fitting into a certain body image, and when she realized she didn't want to be married which ultimately ended a relationship.   Those points felt true and honest, that we got into a deep part of Shonda, but the rest of it felt more like a "look at me" type of story.  She talks about the importance of her family, but we don't get many story about her family and how they have helped her through the year of yes other than something her sister said which prompted the experiment.

I so wanted to like the book more than I did, and like I said it is not so much her writing style which is very fun and pleasant.  It was more of how she presented herself.  I wanted more depth to the book, much like what we see in her shows, but we don't get that.  Though it did prompt me to ponder doing a year of yes myself and see what happens.

Review: Crown of Feathers

   

Title: Crown of Feathers
Author: Nicki Pau Preto
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Kindle e-Book
Rating 5 out of 5 paws


Veronyka is an orphan who has dream of becoming a Phoenix Rider, like those from the stories she grew up on.  Veronyka has a fight with her sister who in turn betrays her in the worst way and Veronyka begins her journey to find the mysterious Riders.  This means disguising herself as a boy so she could join their ranks if she happens to find them. Everything is going fine until her sister suddenly shows up and reveals a web of lies that changes everything Veronyka thought she knew.  The empire has learned of the return of the Phoenix riders and intends to destroy them all.

This was a book that I didn't know I needed.  First off let me say how amazing it is that phoenixes are utilized in this book rather than the typical dragon we tend to see in fantasy novels. Now that is all I want!  I want more phoenixes in my life, so much so that I have the next books slated to be read within a few days.  I think this book has made me love phoenixes more than I love dragons.  Not many authors utilize them in their stories to the fullest potential and I am so happy that Nicki Pau Preto has done just that and made them into majestic creatures that they are.


While we read through this story of people recovering from a brutal war and a young woman trying to find her place in this world, we are introduced to unique world with it's own history.  I love that Pau Preto has included so much of the history in the novel, that you feel like you know the people, know who they are and where they've been.  It is very evident that she took the time to plan out her story and how she wanted things to unfold.


The plot was a little slow building but it was very character based which is so interesting and makes you connect with the characters and with this being the first book in the series, you want some background and depth to your characters.  It takes a little while to build up to the heart of the story, but when it does you become so sucked into the story that you don't want to do anything else (I didn't want to go to work, but I had too). 

While the book may not be for everyone because there is a lot of info dumping and takes time to build up, but I found it to be one of those books that you are excited to read, and need to take a minute once you have finished.  The next book Heart of Flames is a bit bigger coming in at 619 pages, but I am so ready to tackle it.