Audio Reviews: Hounded and The Raven Boys

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old - when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power - plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish - to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

My thoughts:

Yeah...no..no. Sadly the book did not work for me, and I doubt the print would have worked better.

The things that went wrong..Atticus. I mean honestly. I get that he needs to act like 21, but why do it with those who already know his secret? He was an annoying stupid kid. I did not like him and I did not get why every freaking woman and Goddess wanted to sleep with him.

The narrator, ok he was good. But his Irish voices! No, I mean what? Why are they wee leprechauns all of them? And do not even get me started on the voice of the dog, FAIL.

And then the fact that I fell asleep a couple of times and one time for a longer period. It just did not keep me hooked.

Conclusion:

I will not read or listen more.

Audiobook, Unabridged,8 hours 11 min
Published April 19th 2011 by Brilliance Audio (first published January 1st 2011)
The Iron Druid Chronicles #1
Urban fantasy
Loaned

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them - not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He has it all - family money, good looks, devoted friends - but he's looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

My thoughts:
I do not know what to say, at times I was interested and at other times not. And at those other times I was not really listening and therefore missed things.

The narrator, oh this was hard...I am still unsure whether I like him or not. His voice does fit in a way cos it feels eerie. But at the same time not.

Blue was...eh. Ganzy was...weird rich boy. Why was he her true love when she had butterflies for Adam? Oh I do not get YA love triangles.

The whole ley line thing as interesting and about Owain Glyndrw. 

Conclusion:
But do I want to listen to more? Nah. It was ok, but nothing more.

Audiobook, Unabridged, Audible Download, 11 hours or so
Published September 18th 2012 by Scholastic
The Raven Cycle #1
Paranormal YA
Own

Review: Linger - Maggie Stiefvater

Grace and Sam must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping dangerous secrets. For Sam, it means grappling with his werewolf past ...and figuring out a way to survive the future.

But just when they manage to find happiness, Grace finds herself changing in ways she could never have expected...

An old review that has been left hanging.

My thoughts:

I have no idea what happened. I could never get into the book. The first 1 was so good, I loved the style. Here, well here the style failed for me. I got annoyed at the feeling that I stood at the outside looking in. I never got warm, I never felt like I was there. I did not like the constant POV changes, 4 were too many in a book like this.

I was never invested in the story, I never cared about these two, or Isabel and Cole. But most of all nothing at all happened. It was a long fever dream where most of the time was spent "oh I love you, I miss you" etc etc. If someone would ask me what happened I would say that Grace and Sam thought about each other, Cole was dealing with his change and Grace's parents got mad, cos that was it (edit: and if you would ask me now, months later I would say that I can't remember anything..except for a rockstar.)

Conclusion:

It was still ok, it was just not.. interesting.

Cover:

Meh

Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2
Genre: Paranormal romance / YA
Pages: 416
Published: 2010 by Scholastic
Source: Library

Review: Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

The wolves of Mercy Falls, book 1

Genre: Paranormal YA
Pages: 392
Published: 2009

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human ... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever. 

I never know with paranormal YA book, I either love them, hate or think they are ok. But this, it was better than ok., but not enough to love. The love only goes to dystopian books cos they are so freaky. But this was an excellent book. Honestly, best paranormal YA book I have read.

Then there was the translation question. That can break a book, make it childish or not capture the spirit. Considering I really liked this one then it must have been a good translation, and who knows perhaps I would have liked it even more in English.

This book is about Grace and Sam. Each chapter it about either one, and each chapter begins how warm or cold it is. Grace has watched the wolves ever since being rescued by one as a child. Sam has watched Grace since he was a child, or puppy. He saved her, and he longs to speak to her. But even if he is human in the summers he never gets the chance. So he watches from afar until one day when they meet, and fall in love. But a wolf and a human can not be. He only lasts for the summer.

I liked that it was from both POV's. I got to hear Sam's thoughts and Grace's. There was some flashbacks and soon the story become clearer.

But the best part I think was the way she created these wolves. In the summer when it's warm the can shift and become human, and when the winter and cold comes they stay as wolves. And there is nothing they can do about it, they cannot cheat it either. They must become wolves, wherever they are.

Young love, puppylove, haha, I had to. They really fall for each other but then perhaps they have always loved each other. He from afar, and she has loved the wolf. The romance is by no means easy, the cold is coming, and each time he walks out it is a struggle. The fall is just around the corner, and when the book end, well then I wonder, and realise that I do want to read more. I need to know if they somehow can be together because the is a bigger and darker question on the horizon, and there can be no HEA.

The wolves can be pretty brutal too, and in this book they are hunted because of an attack on a human. There is danger on both sides.

Great YA really, a good paranormal werewolf romance that leaves you a bit chilly. The cold is creeping into your bones while you read.

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner: The Swedish cover went for the English one, and it's nice,even if it took a while to see the wolf.

Reason for reading: Library book

Final thoughts: This is a paranormal series that I do can tell you to read.