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. 

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.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Title: The Sea of Monsters
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Children's, Fantasy, Mythos
Source: Library Paperback
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws


Percy Jackson and friends are back in a new tale of adventure and danger.  When Percy begins having dreams about Grover being in danger, he knew he needed to do something.  But at the same time Camp Half Blood has been attacked and Talhia's tree that is protecting the camp was poisoned.  No one knows who did it, but Percy and Annabeth have an idea of how to save it.  Add in a Cyclops half brother and a stubborn female and you have yourself a epic tale with thrills and drama.

So this one fell a little short for me.  I read the first book and enjoyed it more than I did this one.  There didn't seem to be as much mythos or danger or something.  It was missing something and I cannot put my finger on what that something is.  As someone who loves mythology, I think this book didn't have as much in as the last one did.  Sure there were short mentions of the Golden Fleece and Cyclopes but I think the last book delved more into the myth stories to make something new.  While this is something different, I don't think it played off the myths as much.  There was a little bit more humor in the first one as well and the absence of Grover was really prevalent.


We seem some familiar characters like Clarisse and Luke both still have the same personalities, though Clarisse seems to have grown up just a little bit and is learning how to play nice with others.  We don't see Charion, or any of the gods as we did in the first one so I was a little disappointed in that as well.  I loved Tyson, though I wasn't a little more from him and hope we see more from him in the next novel.  He was such a sweet character and so precious I wonder how he would change as the story progresses will he remain sweet?  I guess we will see.


I like that they sail to the sea this time, but it's the Bermuda Triangle.  I am not sure how I feel about ancient Greek gods centering around America, I get the books say the Pantheon follows civilization, but it seems wrong to me probably because there would be other Pantheons already in place.  While there were a few things that didn't sit so well with me this was a decent book.  It is good for the age range, but I think someone older, such as myself it's a little...simplistic, on the surface type of thing.  I want something with more depth and compels me to keep reading.  Not that this book/series doesn't have that, just in a different way that appeals better to a younger audience.  I would recommend it to young readers and some adult readers as well for a break from the norm. 

Traitor's Game

Title: Traitor's Game
Author: Jennifer Nielsen
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Source: Hardback: Library
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 paws


For three years Kestra Dallisor was in exile, when she is called to return home, she is pulled right back to her fathers politics and hatred.  The role Kestra plays is not one of her choosing, she is just a pawn.  A group of rebels know how valuable Kestra is to the empire and kidnap her from her carriage.  They strike a deal with her, she find a mystical blade for them, and they will spare the lives of her protector and handmaiden.  While she agrees, Kestra is determined to not make it easy.  Soon secrets creep out of the darkness and alliances are born.  Kestra needs to decide whom she can put her trust in and whom she should fear.

I was excited about this book when I read about it last year.  It seemed to have everything I look for in a book, and the cover is very interesting and alluring.  It seemed to have a powerful female lead and strong supporting characters.  I am pleased to say the book delivered everything I could imagine it would and left me wanting more from the story.  I do look forward to reading the next book when it comes out next year.


Kestra is probably one of the strongest female leads I have read in YA this year.  She is not willing to go down easy and comes out fighting. She doesn't whimper or whine about her situation, but instead does what she can to come out on top even if it means lying to those she trusts the most.  We know she has strong fighting skills taught to her from Darrow, but we really don't get to see it...yet.  I hope there will be more action in the next book as it progresses to the next stage of the story.  Kestra has more depth to her than I have seen in a while and I am proud that Nielsen took the time to create a bold feisty, alluring heroine rather than a princess whose only concern are her dresses and status.


The Traitor's Game is a story packed full of battle scenes, murder, secrets, romance, and strength all rolled into a tale the takes readers on a roller coaster ride.  Some things I was able to predict and figure out, but other things were not what I was expecting.  While the book was fast paced and kept the reader wanting more, there were a few slower points that made me want to skip over them and read the next chapter.  I did find myself saying "one more chapter" until I looked at the clock and seen it was 2 am.


One of the most anticipated novels of 2018 and it does not disappoint.  I look forward to seeing what Nielsen has in store for readers in the next book of the series.  I would recommend it if you enjoy fantasy.  If you enjoy novels like the Throne of Glass series, then you will most likely enjoy this novel.


Check out some of these other reviews:


Word Nerd Scribbles
The Fandom

The Glass Magician by Charlie Holmberg Book Review

Title: The Glass Magician
Author: Charlie N. Holmberg
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Library paperback
Rating: 2 out of 5 paws


Ceony has just turned 20, and it has been a few weeks or months since she saved Mg Thane from the blood magician who stole his heart, literally.  She had hoped things would go back to normal.  But then an explosion at a paper mill sparks a series of events that place Ceony in the center.  Other blood mages are looking for her to find answers to the power she holds.  A power she doesn't fully understand herself.  A particularly evil magician believes Ceony holds secrets about bonding to different elements and vows to extract that information no matter the costs.  Ceony has to test her limits in order to save herself and those she loves while keeping her secrets from falling into the wrong hands.

For those of you who have read my review of The Paper Magician know that I did not particularly care for the book, but found the concept interesting.  Despite not enjoying the first book as much as I had hoped I would, I decided to give the second book a try and see if I would like it any better.  But I am sad to say that while I enjoyed it slightly more, I still felt disappointed and let down with this novel.  This is an idea, a concept that has much potential and promise, but it was not executed in the way it should have.  There are different directions I had hoped this story would go, while it went one way I was surprised with and enjoyed, it still felt predictable.  There are so many things that did not sit well with me while reading that I do not know where to start. The sentences are simplistic and many are repeated throughout the novel.  Sometimes the same thing is repeated but with different wording.  There were a few times I thought to myself "but you already stated this."


Lets begin with the antagonists.  There was no depth to them, we don't get the feel of urgency with them.  It was interesting enough the Grath wanted to unbind from glass then bind to blood, there not motivation or explanation as to why.  The story makes it seem like the only element powerful enough to be consider deadly is blood, but as we see later in the novel some of the other elements are just as powerful.  I wish Holmberg showed more of how powerful paper can be, to show that people are wrong for thinking it is a lesser element.  I felt no reason to fear him as you should a villain.  Saraj felt like he didn't need to be in the story at all his part was so anti-climactic that it could have been another character to have done the things he did.


The romance aspect was something else I had issue with.  This story could have done without the romance; maybe show an unrequited interest as Ceony is still young, a crush not full on falling in love wishing he would kiss her or touch her shoulder.  We already know Mg Thane is at least 10 years her senior and her teacher which makes his interest in her even more inappropriate (not that he's older but that he's her teacher).  But despite the student teacher aspect there is no depth to the supposed romance, nothing that indicates these two are kindred spirits beyond Ceony consistently reflecting on a fortune she seen towards the end of the last book.  Why should readers care whether or not these two end up together?  Why shouldn't Ceony be transferred to another magician?  These are things readers need to feel, answer, but the book does not do that.


One thing that didn't fit with the rest of the story was Ceony having a gun.  When I read that I wondered "where the hell did that come from?"  It doesn't fit with the world Holmberg is attempting to create.  And the ending GAH it felt so elementary that it didn't make sense that these experienced magicians never thought to try it before.  It throws everything we have learned about this world out the window, nothing matters anymore.  Everything we learned about bonding to magic doesn't matter anymore because to reverse it is completely easy. 


There are things I enjoyed such as the different magic and I would love to have seen more.  I would have loved to have seen Ceony use more paper folding beyond what we already seen her use in the first book aside from the paper doll which I think could have been used in a bigger way.  But the good does not outweigh the bad.  If you like young adult that is very simplistic and your fantasy filled with romance attempt this series.  I don't think I will continue with it.


For some other reviews, check out these blogs:


Kaona's Corner
The Fictional Reader

The Girl In Between by Laekan Zea Kemp Book Review

Title: The Girl In Between
Author: Laekan Zea Kemp
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
Source: Ebook
Rating: 2 out of 5 paws


All Bryn wants is a normal life, a life where she doesn't fall asleep for weeks on end.  It seems her Klein-Levin Syndrome is getting worse as her episodes are happening more frequently.  But that isn't what scares Bryn the most.  WHile she sleeps she spends her time on a beach reliving her memories, alone, that is until a boy washes up on the shore.  Even while awake she is plagued with hallucinations of shadows creeping around her, shadows that feel like they are watching, waiting to hurt her.  It seems like her only hope is Dr. Banz who has created an experimental trial, but he knows more about her situation than he lets on.  Bryn must figure out what the boy in her dreams mean, could he be real?  What are the shadows and what do they want?  Bryn must find out who the boy is before it is too late.  For both of them.

I had this book on my kindle to read list for a while now and never got around to reading it.  I fell in love with the cover and the concept of the book.  Only, I didn't fall in love with the book.  It was a struggle to even finish the book.  First of all there is a lot of fluff in the story, fluff that doesn't help push the story along and felt more life slice of life things rather than something important to the story.  I get she wanted a normal life with her friends and to go to school, but there was so much in it that didn't make me want to continue with the story, and actually bored me.  The premise has a lot of potential.  A lot that could have been done with it, but for some reason...wasn't.


The ending, was just....unsatisfying.  It just stopped as if the story was unfinished and the author decided to publish it anyway.  I  understand the novel is a part of a series, but it just leaves the reader wondering, what the heck.  We barely learn anything about Bryn other than she has KLS and has 2 friends and a boyfriend who from I gathered is borderline abusive, but she keeps going back to him.  There wasn't any depth to Bryn, we don't get her inner turmoil, her fears, worries etc aside from the general things of being a teenage girl.  The book is told from two viewpoints, Bryn and Roman, but the voices are the same.  There is nothing to indicate which one is speaking other than their names at the beginning of the chapters.  She consistently judged her cousin for her choices which made me not like her at all.  There were times when Dani needed her and she just "wasn't in the mood of Dani's drama."  How is that supposed to make me like her when Dani stood by her all the years with this disorder?  That's not how you treat friends.


The paced of the story was just dragging, but then again when you have a story revolving around teen angst, drinking, sex rather than the actual story, it will drag on.  It doesn't really get into the plot of the story until almost the end, about the last 30% of the novel.  I don't want to spend 70% of a novel with slow build up.  I want to be excited to see what happens, suspicious of Dr. Banz early on not towards the end.  There were numerous sentence fragments, run on sentences, almost like an editor didn't read through it.


I haven't decided if I will attempt the next book in the series, but I do not think I would recommend The Girl In Between.

Red Rising

Title: Red Rising
Author: Pierce Brown
Genre: Sci Fi/Fantasy
Source: Paperback
Rating:  DNF


Darrow is a member of lowest caste in society.  Even when his group makes enough to earn additional supplies it is given to someone else.  He lives his life believing he is making life suitable on Mars.  But then his kin are betrayed and his wife taken away and killed.  He discovers that humanity has reached the surface years ago and his kind have been forced to be slaves for those in the surface cities.  Darrow sacrifices everything he knows to infiltrate the system and is then forced to compete for his life against the best of the Gold society.  Can he bring down his enemies?  Will his sacrifices be in vain or will he prove successful?

I had seen those book on the shelves at stores and it kept popping up as a recommended read.  The premise sounds interesting and something I might like.  But I could not get into it.  I tried for a few chapters and felt nothing compelling me to read the book farther.  I had no emotions for the characters even when Darrow losses Eo, I felt nothing, and I should have.  People kept telling me to keep with it and it gets better...but it does not. I couldn't finish it.


The characters are completely unrealistic.  In the opening sequence we see Darrow have a complete disregard for not only himself but his team.  He is hotheaded and would not listen to his crew when they told him to wait, and surprise it works out for him and everyone is clapping him on the back.  Wait...he just endangered all their lives but yes lets celebrate his cockiness.  We are meant to feel for him as he is of the lowest castes and has not had the privileges of the Gold caste and is therefore completely uneducated and naïve in a sense.


I feel like the book was trying to make a statement, some sort of message but it got lost along the way.  It being compared to Hunger Games and other dystopian novels and I didn't get the feel of any of that other than the kid from the lower class gets pitted against peers from other societies.  The writing is difficult to follow and understand.  There were times I had to go back and re-read things to make sure I got what Brown was trying to say.  Granted there are moments when the book has some great quotes such as:


"  will dive to hell in hopes of one day rising to freedom."


but all the preceding sentences were choppy and short:


"I will rise.  I will attend the Academy.  I will learn to lead fleets.  I will win.  I will sharpen myself into a sword.  I will give my soul."


There could have been a greater effect on the reader if the sentence structure was different and appealing.  This book was not appealing.  It is tiring to read and exhausting, it makes the writing flat and hard to evoke emotions.  The novel feels like it tries to hard to be something, to be an epic political tale of triumph, but it falls short...way way short.  I do not recommend.

Throne For Sisters

Title: A Throne For Sisters
Author: Morgan Rice
Genre:
Source: Kindle E book
Rating:3 out of 5


Sophia is 17 and her sister Kate is 15, both have lived in the orphanage since the untimely death of their parents.  The girls have an uncanny gift of not only being able to hear each other's thoughts but the thoughts of those around them.  One dreary day they manage to escape the clutches of the nuns running the orphanage.  In order to stay alive they decide to split up, Sophia plans to slip into the realm of the court and hopes to go un-noticed until she is spotted at the ball by the handsome prince, whom she falls in love with.  Kate on the other hand finds herself the apprentice to a blacksmith and enters the ranks of a militia.  Both are now on opposite sides of the society hoping to keep it a secret that they are meant to be slaves.  Each sister struggles with each choice she must make because it could either bring her more power or plunge her back into the depths of the poverty.

I am kind of on the fence about this one.  There were points of the story that really had me interested and clinging to the story, but other times I was so bored I wanted skip through them. One of the things I think I had a problem with was there was mention of the girls having a telekinetic powers but it's not used very often throughout the book. I thought it would be a bigger aspect of the story which it wasn't and that led to me feeling let down as far as the story went.

I didn't really care about the characters the seems one-dimensional and flat. For a little while the one sister who's trying to be in the Royal Court was interesting as she was trying to learn the ways and how to act this lady of the Court but then that slowly started to get boring as well now.  

Now the ending was a little interesting and set the stage for another book and it is because of the ending that makes me want to read the next book in the series. I think this novel spent a lot of time trying to build up something bigger for the next novel. It leaves some questions unanswered and introduces something that is rather interesting and I'm intrigued by where the story is going to go next for the two sisters.

Would I recommend the novel probably there were a lot of aspects of the story that was interesting and did hold my attention until the end. There were just some things that seem to have fallen flat for me while I was reading it. So pick it up give it a chance and see how you feel about it and let me know.

Paper Magician

Title: Paper Magician

Author: Charlie Holmberg

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Rating:  2 out of 5 stars

Ceony is a young magician in training. She has been bonded to paper simply because there are not enough paper magicians. This is a decision she is not happy with but goes to meet with her new mentor Magician Thane. While living with him she learns the magic of paper magic and how useful it can be. One night while having dinner a blood magician enters the home and steals Thane's heart. In a desperate attempt to save him, Ceony grabs some paper, her paper dog and goes in search of Lira to defeat her and get the heart back.  But to do so she must go inside his heart and free him from himself before she can defeat the evil on the outside.  Will she succeed in time to save him?

The concept of the story is interesting enough. I even liked the idea of Ceony going INTO Thane's heart to help defeat Lira by learning about the connection between the two. What I didn't like was how the story dragged on, nor did I like how she defeated Lira. It felt anticlimactic. There is a slight romantic aspect to it with Ceony loving Thane and Thane's involvement with Lira, which part of me wonders if the story would have been more powerful if it wasn't about a lovers on opposite sides of magic (Light and dark). There is no sexual content, but the amount of graphic violence was alarming. Blood everywhere, which I guess makes sense with a blood mage.

The whole second half dragged on and I kept wishing it would get better, to pick up.  Ceony goes into the heart and walks through Thane's memories, interesting enough, but it felt more like Thane and Lira were the main characters not Ceony.  Ceony spends time in visions of Thane, but cannot interact with him or vise versa. It almost made no sense what was the point other than to show how there came to be animosity between the two characters. I didn't find myself caring about the characters because there wasn't enough development to make me care about them. The only part that made me go "Awe" was when Thane makes Ceony a paper dog to replace hers.  A dog she brings with her into battle which seemed a little odd.  I found Emery more interesting than Ceony and actually wanted more from his character than what we actually see.

There is a lot of potential with the book, a lot that could be really good with the story, but it just....it just fell flat. I almost gave up a little less than half way through but wanted to at least finish it, hoping it would get better. It did not.  I wish there was more paper magic, more paper folding.  More explanation on the power that paper folding could have had, or more of a demonstration other than within the last few chapters.


Some of the marketing I have seen for this book have compared the novel to the likes of Harry Potter.  This is FAR from what we see in the Potter universe.  It doesn't delve into mythos or legends, nor does it have a in-depth, complex character or world.  I don't even really see a strong theme of loyalty, friendship and trust.  You do find a cute young woman growing to love her magic, learning something new and stepping outside of her comfort zone. 

I have debated on whether or not I would recommend this novel to others, but just because I didn't like a story doesn't mean someone else wouldn't.  Check out the book if you like magic, young adult, a little romance.  Maybe try it from the library before buying it though.  I haven't decided if I want to venture into the second novel in the series, maybe from the library rather than buying it myself.  The rating is again a 2 out of 5 stars because it just fell flat and the strong desire to just give up on the book.


Check out some of these reviews about Paper Magician from other bloggers:


Media Medusa
Mystical Authoress
YA On My Mind

Heartless

All Catherine wants for her life is to open a bakery with her best friend Mary Ann. But her parents have a different plan. For her to marry the King of Hearts. Cath believed her life to be boring and without excitement. That is until the new court jester, Jest, arrives on the scene. In the middle of a grand ball before the king makes a announcement the ball is attacked by a monstrous creature known as the Jabberwock. Since that night, Cath's life is forever changed as she tries to figure out how to open her bakery, avoid the king's advances, falls in love with Jest and evades the attacks of the Jabberwock.  All she wants to do is live the life she wants, but there are obstacles in her way at every turn.  Soon fate reveals itself and Cath learns sometimes you cannot outrun fate.

As many of you know I am an avid reader of Alice in Wonderland retellings, and absolutely love anything Alice in Wonderland related, so when I seen Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles) wrote an Alice in Wonderland adaptation, of course I had to read it.  I have to say this was not what I was expecting, but I enjoyed reading it immensely.  There wasn't an "Alice" character per-say, but Catherine is a representation of the Queen of Hearts.  This novel is almost a backstory of how she became who she is and the way she is. We see some of the same beloved characters like Hatter, March Hare, Cheshire, but we also see different characters that seem to always take a backseat to some of the other characters like the Mock Turtle or the Walrus. It was interesting to see these characters in a different light than what we see in the classic tale.

I am a huge fan of Meyer's Lunar Chronicles and I came into this novel with high hopes, and this book met every one of my expectations.  I wanted to see more of Jest and Raven, and hope to see them more in the future maybe if there happens to be more novels, maybe one about the kingdom of Chess or the white kingdom.  Meyer has a certain style to her writing that paints the picture vividly, it is easy to envision everything happening from the turtle turning into the Mock Turtle or the Jabberwock attacks, even smell the delicious tarts that Cath makes.  I enjoyed the use of the Fate sisters and treacle, as well as many element from Carol's tale.  It was still very much a Meyer story, but held some of the traditional elements we would find in Alice in Wonderland.

I would highly recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys Alice in Wonderland, fairy tales, Lunar Chronicles, and young adult novels.  Even if those may not be genres/topics that are your typical go to novel, break out from the norm and check out this book.  You will not regret it.  I give this book a 4 out of 5 star rating.

Patchwork

The night of prom, Renata and her friends pull the greatest of practical jokes, but the moment is lost on Renata as she reflects on rejecting her boyfriend's proposal.  After watching him throw the ring into the river, she jumps in after it.  Moments before the rive boat the student body is aboard explodes.  Renata wakes up in a patchwork world of memories taken back a few months prior, where REnata thinks she can stop this murder, only to have it happen again at a different time.  She quickly realizes someone is after her and her friends, but she cannot figure out why.  This patchwork world holds clues to help her figure out how to make the madness end,  but will she figure it out quick enough to save the people she loves?

** I received a copy of this book from Netgally in exchange for an honest review**




I was excited about this book when I read the summary, it sounded very interesting because not many authors play with the idea of a phoenix.  But I have to say I struggled to get into this novel and I am not 100% sure of why.  The writing was good, the idea was good.  I think it was more so the character of Renata.  In the beginning she comes off as not a horrible person but one that was hard to like and hard to feel compassion for even though her friends kept dying over and over again.  I would have liked to have her learn something more in the patchwork world in the beginning rather than that she was reliving memories and going back to stop someone from killing her friends and possibly her.


It takes a long time to build up and formulate into a story until it gets further into the plot, then it does pick up, so readers need to be able to get through. 


It was a decent enough read to be able to read it on a wonderful Saturday afternoon in the park or alongside the pool, but I am not sure if it would be one that has me coming back to reading it again and again.  Although other readers might.  This would be a good book for young adult readers and some adult readers as well.  There is a lot that happens in the novel with murder, betrayal, heartbreak, love and romance to magical forces.  I did like the idea of going back in time and being able to change things, or try to change things, but for Renata she remembers everything from the point at prom and no one else does which does make it interesting to see her interact with people differently and see people differently second or third times around.


Overall as stated it's an alright book, it was entertaining and interesting, it just didn't tickle my fancy in the end.  I would recommend it to other readers and hope others do find it enjoying.  As for a rating I would give it a 3 out of 5.

Grave

In the third installment of this series, Emma and company survived those who were sent to kill them and now are trying to survive the dead and their Queen.  Emma wants to free Nathan from his torment of living a half life, both dead and alive.  But she cannot accomplish this without coming face to face with the Queen herself.  But she cannot do this alone, which she is not.  Even with the hunters and her own army of dead, will she have enough power to defeat the dead Queen.

I had the honor of reading this book from the publish through Netgalley.  As I stated before this is a great way to find new books and help publishers and authors get some honest opinions. 

I had wanted to like this book so much, but it feel short for me.  I think part of the issue is that I had not read the previous books prior to trying to read this one. So I was a little lost on what was happening.  Sometimes you can jump into the middle of a series and still understand, but other times you need to read the series from the beginning and this is one of those series. That being said I will focus on writing because I had more questions regarding the story than I should have due to my own silliness of not reading the other books beforehand.

The way the story is broken up is through character perspective rather than chapters, that made it a little more difficult to follow along and understand what is happening to which character at what time.  It did not feel very fluid for me but that could also be because I didn't read the prior novels.  The book is classified as young adult and it definitely reads that way.  It didn't feel like there was much depth to the characters, but I get the feel that this is a story where the characters grew from the beginning so the characters I got where the deepest they could get for the story, like they hit their mark if that makes sense.

I do recommend the series and I will go back and read the series from the beginning.  Once I do that I will add to this review.  For now my rating is a 3 out 5 stars, and I imagine when I read the whole series that rating will increase.

The Wrong Girl

Hannah is the companion to the earl's daughter, who can mysteriously start fires with her hands.  Often she feels trapped within her affliction of narcolepsy as well as within the confines of the home.  She longs for freedom and the ability to experience life.  What she didn't want was to be mistaken for the earl's daughter and kidnapped.  Those who kidnap her try to convince her all they want to do is help her and she is not their prisoner.  But what they don't know is that they had taken the wrong girl.  What will happen when they find out the girl they took is not who they thought she was?


This book was far from what I was expecting, I am not entirely sure of what exactly I was expecting with this novel.  It starts off weird with Hannah being forced to live in the attic with the earl's daughter, Violet.  Kidnappers mistake Hannah for Violet and Hannah decides to play along.  One of the kidnappers Jack can start fires as well and tries to convince Hannah all they want to do is help.  Enter a little Stockholm Syndrome as Hannah falls in love with Jack but is afraid because she's not who he thinks she is.


What is with young adult novels having the girls fall in love with their kidnappers especially ones with a temper?  Seriously what kind of image is that portraying to young women? This isn't the first book that I have read that has this happening.  Couldn't there be someone else they fall in love with?  That being said, the story itself is slow moving like molasses slow, but once you get about half way it gets a little better, but not much.  The end leaves readers with more questions than answers which I guess could leave the door open for the next novels (this is the first in a trilogy).  There were times I felt lost at what was happening and I couldn't find myself getting attached or caring too much about the characters.


I enjoyed it enough to be able to finish it, but I don't know if I can say I enjoyed it enough to read the next books in the series.  Another reviewer on Amazon by the name of Dani described the book as X-Men meets Jane Eyre, which I agree would be an amazing concept (someone write that please), but it doesn't execute that theory quite as well as it could have.  So, I don't think I would recommend this book to too many people unless I know they would enjoy a book like this, primarily young adults, as for a rating, I'm stuck at a solid 3 out 5 for this one.  It fell short of the mark for me.

Shadow magic (audiobook)

Connor was just a normal teenage boy with a father who taught ancient languages.  His world completely changes with a visit from his aunt, who happens to want to kill him.  He is transplanted into another world, Tir Na Nog,  where there is a prophecy of the son of the handed king.  There he meets another family member, his uncle, as well as his mother.  After a quick battle he is separated from his parents and he teams up with 3 other companions to find his way across Tir Na Nog to find his parents.  Everyone within the realm wants to kill him and Connor must work with his companions to find their way to their destination.  Along the way Connor discovers things about his friends as well as himself and grows stronger in the process.  Will Connor succeed in his quest and make it safely to his family?

I listened to this book as an audio book via LibriVox, and it is read by John Henahan himself.  I am not sure how I feel about audiobooks.  I tried it to see if I would enjoy them while I am at work or driving.   I found I had a hard time paying attention to the story because it quickly became background sound to the other things that I was focusing on, so I ended up listening to it when I wasn't doing something.  I enjoyed this book a great deal when I was able to finally focus on it.  The author read it while slight inflections in his voice when different characters were speaking.  That was a hard things to work through, knowing when someone was speaking and who.  When I read the dialog it is easier to understand when dialogue belongs to different people.

The story was very interesting and humorous, children in the age range (it says 7-10 but I would say 8-15) would greatly enjoy this story and get lost within.  I enjoyed the use of different Celtic folklores like imps and leprechauns.  There is a lot of action throughout the book, enough to keep readers (or listeners) interested and eager to find out what happens next.  The narration reads (flows) much like a teenager is speaking/writing which adds to the effect that the main character is in fact a teenager.  He acted and spoke the way a teen would rather than someone older than they were supposed to be.  Some of the descriptions were hilarious such as when he describes himself dismounting as resembling a giraffe on an escalator.  It was refreshing to "read" a book that had battle scenes and the sense of war, but didn't have a lot of blood or gore.  It focused more on respecting the people, plants and animals of the land, such as asking a tree for permission before picking an apple or asking a boar if it was alright to kill it.

I would recommend this book to young reads and older readers as well, it is refreshing to read something youthful and airy for a change.  I anticipate reading the other books in this trilogy, I may also listen to it on audiobook if it is available.  I give this audiobook a 4 out of 5 rating, and think I will give audiobooks another change, but I am not sure if they are for me.  We shall see...

Happy reading!

Forbidden

I cannot begin to describe how much I dislike this book.  I  was barely able to finish it, and for those of you who know me know that is saying a lot.   There was only 1 time I never finished a book.  I don't know where to begin...throughout the book Rose continues to proclaim she and her family are not vampires, they just have vampire like qualities so what are they, all we get is immortal.  Unless you chop their heads off or if they apparently lose a significant amount of blood.

A LARGE portion of the book is Gabriel trying to get Rose to be his girlfriend and Rose fighting it...basically it goes "Rose I love you," "We  can't be together Gabriel, it's not safe." "Why not?," "I can't tell you."  Have this happen several times in various formats and you have about 75% of the book, along with Gabriel getting superhuman abilities and a foreign exchange student.  Very cliche throughout the whole book.

The characters were blah, Rose was just whiney and weak the whole time.  Gabriel is so cliche: football jock who wants more in life but step-daddy won't let him.  Sadie could have been more interesting but wasn't developed enough.  William again cliche: best friend's brother who crushes on Rose and hates Gabriel...just no....be a little more original I felt like I read these characters before.

Don't get me started kn grammer and misspellings.  I thought editors would have gone through this and pointed those thingsout, maybe not.  I was more than disappointed in this book.  The summary made it sound so interesting, but sadly it wasn't.

I  would be willing to read something else from this author but not in this genre.  Sadly for the second time, I do not recommend this book and give it a 1.5 out of 5 rating.

Hleo

One day while cleaning up at work, Hannah opens the dressing room door to a man in the middle of changing his clothes.  This is the awkward beginning to a journey that will change Hannah's life forever.  She is surprised to find Ethan is a new student in her school rather than a tourist.  When he consistently seems to always be present to save her from harm, Hannah begins to question his motives in her life.  When Ethan saves her from an attempt on her life she finds out how important she truly is in this life.  While Hannah tries to piece all this crazy puzzle of her past together she struggles with accepting that she is anything more than a normal high school girl looking for her adoptive parents.  Ethan struggles with discovering what makes Hannah above the other protected and why so many are hell-bent on trying to end her life.  

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Hleo from Rebecca Walker herself.  Such an honor.  It starts out as any romance novel would; girl embarasses herself in front of a hot guy (what woman hasn't done something embarrassing in front of a really hot guy??), finds out he in school with her and gets death stares from other girls when he pays her attention.  BUT then things start to diverge from romantic to science-fiction, fantasy based  to hot guy being a part of a super secret organization meant to protect special people like her.  It takes several chapters to really pick up, but the building chapters do exactly that, it builds up the story and develops the setting and characters so that readers become attached to them.  There were moments when it was hard to feel for Hannah or even Ethan because they seemed a little dense when it came to certain things. 

At times there was a lot of information dump, a lot of information thrown not just at Hannah, but at the reader as well.  I had hoped Hannah would have done a little bit more research after she found out the possible names of her parents or even after finding out about the Hleo.  But I also understand way Rebecca Walker did things the way she did and why there was a need for a lot of information at once because it would have been difficult to get a hold of what was happening if we didn't. It does keep the reader guessing at what will happen next and where the story with turn. 

Rebecca created a story that her readers rave about and demand (ok ask nicely) for more.  Fans are recommending this book left and right, and I am no different.  I do recommend this novel for young adult fantasy fans.  It will keep you guessing, wanting more and it will not disappoint.  I give Hleo a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and hope that Rebecca Walker writes more.

What She Left Behind

Sara and her mom had it all planned out, finally they will be able to escape her abusive father and start a new life together.  Sara waits eagerly for her mother to pick her up, but her mom never shows up and doesn't answer her phone.  She is convinced her father has something to do with her mother's disappearance, although he continues to claim she on a business trip.  Her friends know something isn't right as Sara begins to act on edge and jumpy, but she doesn't want to endanger anyone else.  As each day passes her fears and worry grow stronger as she tries to find out what has happened to her mother, and pray it doesn't happen to her.



This book is marketed as YA, but I honestly think adult readers would enjoy this thriller as well.  It is one of those books that will keep you on the edge of your seat. There is a dark, deep atmosphere to this book that doesn't waver through the story and draws you in.  I found myself almost biting my nails waiting to see what would happen next.  Sara is a strong female lead.  I like the fear in Sara that radiates off the page especially at the thought that she has no help from the cops as her father is still friends with many of them.  Bilen does a great job at making her readers feel the emotion with her characters.


While I loved this book, there were a few short comings such as the feeling of disconnection to some of the other characters.  We don't get a chance to feel connected to her mother before she disappears, and then Alex just pops onto the scene which is almost jarring.  I understand he provides the romantic interest for Sara, but in a story like this a romantic interest is not necessary and almost at times takes away from the story.  There are things that make the story memorable, but other elements that make it forgettable.  I feel like the story was very well written and well told to the readers.  Bilen does paint a terrifying picture with her words, it's just some elements were un-needed, others almost unrealistic.


If you enjoy mysteries, dark thrillers, suspense then this is a book you should look into adding to your collection.  What She Left Behind is Bilen's first novel, and I think it was a great beginning and look forward to seeing what she has in store for readers.  Overall I give this book a 3.5 out of 5.

Neverland Wars

Gwen is a typical 16 year old girl, dreaming about the boy in her algebra class and hoping he will ask her to homecoming to getting frustrated at her little sister and parents.  Then her little sister goes missing and her parents tell Gwen that Peter Pan has taken her to Neverland, and that magic is real.  She escapes to Neverland to try and bring her sister home only to find out there is a war going on between the two worlds.  Peter Pan is not the child we remember from the stories, but is now a teenager due to his constant visits to reality.  Gwen is faced with a decision of whether or not she will join Pan and his band of children in their war or hurry home to her normal teenage life

I have never been more disappointed in a book than I was with this one.  I had such high hopes for Neverland Wars.  I haven't read a "re-telling" of Peter Pan yet, so when I found this book I was eager to read it.  But when I got to the point where it discussed Peter Pan as kidnapping children and reality engaging a war with Neverland.  I am not sure what exactly I was expecting but that wasn't it.  Granted once Gwen gets to Neverland there is a lot of the Peter Pan elements like flying, child-like imagination, mermaids, the crocodile etc.  It was interesting of reality wanting to harness and utilize Neverland magic, I am not sure if it was executed properly.

It starts off setting the premise of Gwen being a teenage girl in love with the homecoming king, Jay Hoek.  I honestly thought somehow this would come back to him being somehow related to Captain Hook, but no cigar.  All of this becomes a moot point when Rosemary is taken and everyone is in an uproar, not because she is taken, but because they need to explain to Gwen now about magic and how it is being used to operate things like smartphones.  Ookay, cut the next scene where she runs off with Peter Pan to Neverland and the next large portion of the book feels like nonsense of the kids playing and having festivities.  At times Peter is borderline abusive to Gwen calling her a dumb girl and instead of standing up for herself, she takes it and agrees with him.  Like what the heck? any man calls me dumb and I will fight heaven and hell to prove him wrong.  So far were are about 70% into the story and there is still no sign of a war until suddenly a bombing attack of Molotov newspapers which is almost immediately forgotten.

Finally when there is about 10 - 15% of the story left is when things shift to Gwen going back to the reality (sans Rosemary which was her whole point of going to Neverland) and again nothing remotely close to the original plot line of a war between the worlds, but hey she finally kisses the boy of her dreams before being attacked by a shadow.  Yes a shadow....this is the part when I got completely confused and unsure of what in the world was happening.  I honestly have no idea what happens in this part, to the point where i kept asking WTF. 

The writing was good enough, I think the issue was there is a lot of build up for future novels.  Sometimes when trying to develop a series too much time is spent building up the story in the first book and I think that is what happened here.  I hope the next novel in the series (if there is one) follows the storyline better and provides more to the war between the two realities better.  Unfortunately because it came off as being so laughable, I am giving this a 2 out of 5.

Darkest Part of The Forest

Hazel and her brother grew up in a quiet small town, much like any other.  Everyone looked out for each other, supported one another.  They lived in a quaint little town, with one thing different from other towns.  They shared their forest with the faerie folk.  They have become a tourist attraction because in the forest is a close coffin, with a horned young man within.  Hazel and her brother grew up making up stories about who this boy could be.  One fateful night someone released him from his prison and something sinister starts attacking the children of the town.  Everyone seems to have their secrets and in time those secrets are revealed.  Will Hazel, her brother and Horned-boy be able to work together to save not only the town, but themselves from the mystery monster that plague their lives?

It has been a while since I have read such a well written book that completely captivated me from beginning to end.  I found myself whimpering when I needed to close it so I could sleep. The characters are so compelling and interesting, I could see myself as Hazel at times.  I have seen other reviews of people complaining about the LGBT element to the story (Ben falls in love with the Horned-boy).  In all honesty, I think it adds to the story.  Simply because two of the main characters are homosexual males does not take anything away from the story.  It was almost refreshing to read something that shows love from a different angle.

The story itself is well done, young prince imprisoned only to be awakened to be hunted and chased.  I was on the edge of my seat so to speak.  Black writes in  a way that drags her readers into the story.  It opens a whole new world to readers.  She ties everything together in a nice little bow that leaves readers craving more from her, I know I certainly am.  The story starts out slow while Black builds the world and characters for her readers, but once everything is established it all takes off like a bat out of hell from there.  She does a fantastic job at creating strong relationship ties that are believable and realistic.  What girl hasn't fallen in love with her brother's best friend?  Who hasn't longed for the fantasy relationship? Romantic relationships, familial and friendships are all crafted well within this story.

I love what Holly Black has created and I look forward to seeing what she has in store for readers.  I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5 because the beginning was a little slow to begin with.

Entangled

Graylee was a typical high school student.  Dressed in her own style, tried to do well in school while remaining somewhat invisible.  What makes Graylee special is that she has magical powers, as does her twin sister and several other students in the school, but they are skilled at keeping their gifts a secret.  Graylee was once one of the most gifted among her coven, until one day her gift started to mysteriously not work as well.  Then suddenly and unexpectedly Gray passes away, and through the loving attempts of her mother to get her back, Gray ends up sharing the body of her twin sister.  Every other day Graylee is herself and the other days she is her sister.  The days when she is herself she strives to find out the answers to her death and magic.  The answer is not something she expecting and shakes her to her core.

I was hooked on this book straight from the beginning.  It was really unpredictable and found myself genuinely surprised at the end.  Jefford tells a great tale of magic and the bonds of friendship and dangers of jealousy among those with magic.  Entangled is the first book in a series and I will be sure to read the other books to see what happens to Graylee and her sister Charlee.  I loved the character of Graylee and could see myself being friends with her in high school, Charlee is the exact opposite of Graylee and Jefford does a fantastic job at distinguishing between the two girls once they begin sharing a body.

There is a lot happening in this book that sets the stage for future books.  It is a great start the series and gets readers interested in the storyline.  I am excited to see what else will happen to Gray in the future books.  I would recommend this to young adults and mature adults who enjoy a good fantasy novel.  I could also see this novel being made in a movie gaining a strong fan-base.  The rating, is a 3.5 out of 5 because I think Jefford could have done more with the character of Raj and made him a little more bad-ass rather than the brooding young man with a crush on Gray.