Carole's Sunday review: If I stay - Gayle Forman

Author: Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay (If I Stay #1)

Genre: Fiction, YA, & fantasy

Pages: ebook

First Published: 2009

Where I Got It: Borrowed from friend

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

THE FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELS! Ugh! Meh! 

Yes, this book made me feel....A LOT. I really felt bad for boyfriend, because he was just trying to play his video game and I kept spewing out emotions. Crying, anger, confusion, anguish, "awwwe" moments. and so forth. Once I was finished - yes, I finished in one sitting - I had to explain to him what was happening and why I felt the way I did. It was simply written, but man did it pack a punch.

I really connected with the story, because I had a stay in the hospital where no one could tell if I was going to make it, so yes, I kept putting myself in her shoes and I kept visualizing her friends and family as my friends and family. Gah, so the feels hurt even more when I was doing that. 

Especially with the grandpa's speech. He reminded me so much of my Grandpa Carol it hurt; we had a similar relationship, so it hurt even more. His speech made me sob like a baby, while I only had a tear for Adam's speech at the end. It was young love after all and I have my doubts about this couple. I think they could go the distance, if she stays, but they have a lot issues to work out. 

Speaking of which, I love the ending. The whole book you think Mia has the final decision. NOPE. She really doesn't and I am glad she didn't get to make the decision, because she was going to choose wrong and I was going to slap her. >__> However, the author made me happy. Ultimately, you do not get the choice to live or die; that is made FOR you. It was perfect and I loved it. Plus it was left open-ended in a way and that oddly pleased me. Normally these type of endings bug me, but I applaud of it was done and I felt it was appropriate for this story. 

I was not a fan of Adam. Nope. Can't tell you why, but nope.

I loved her family though! Why did they have to die? They were kickass parents and UGH!!!! I do love how they got to have their spotlight and it wasn't all about the love between Mia and Adam. Thank goodness. They were awesome characters. Sad they had to go though. :/

In the end, I really adored this book. It has been the first book in a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time to actually make me physically cry and feel such emotions and I finished it in one sitting. Good book. I am excited to see the movie even though I worry they are mainly going to focus on Adam and Mia, which will bum me out. This had a nice balance of flashbacks and current moments. They better have the grandpa's speech in that movie darnit! I highly recommend this for those that want a quick read that will tear your heart out, but make you think. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 5 stars. 

Summer - Sierra Dean

Cooper Reynolds has been missing for months.

The whole town of Poisonfoot, Texas believes he has run away, proving they were right not to trust him. They believe he left like his brother and father before him: another good-for-nothing Reynolds man leaving the small town in his dust. No one is looking for him.

No one but Lou Whittaker. 

Lou knows Cooper was taken, she just doesn’t know where he is or how to get him back. With the help of budding witch, Max, and an unlikely ally in her former enemy Archer Wyatt, Lou is determined to find Cooper and bring him back in one piece.

But time is running out. Summer is upon them, and if they don’t find Cooper before his 18th birthday, they’ll be bringing home a wild animal instead of their beloved friend. 

My thoughts:

I am sad that it's over, but at the same time it ended well. It did not drag out, so for that I am happy.

Cooper and Marnie was taken in book 3, and now they are gone. Who took them (we get to see that, hush hush.) The town thinks he just left (damn town!). So no one is looking for him, but everyone is looking for Marnie.

I should not say no one is looking, Lou and his family are looking. She would do anything to get him back. She is fighting for him, magically and with everything she has. But at the same time I knew, that even if she finds him, he is still doomed. In just a few weeks he will turn 18 and be a coyote forever (damn curse!) So I kept wondering, how will he be saved!? In more than one way.

There was a sadness and melancholy over this book. The curse was so darn close. That town is so darn bad. The people who have him are so darn evil.

But hey, beneath the UF and Paranormal it's still a romance, and this is the last book. It will end happily, I can tell you that.

Conclusion:
A race against the clock, and I read it fast to see what would happen. 

Cover

Cute, but it does not look like a cover for some reason

ebook, 160ish
Published June 30th 2015 by Sierra Dean
Dog Days #4
Urban fantasy romance/ YA
For review

Half a king - Joe Abercrombie

Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it all with only one good hand.

Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.

Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.

But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi’s path may end as it began – in twists, and traps and tragedy...

My thoughts:

Wow, this did NOT take long to read. I am always such a cliche! But yes the pages flew by, sheesh, do you not get tired of me saying that? But it's true! I sat down, starting reading, took a break to watch a tv show, and then finished the book. All in one evening, cos it was light, easy and just...flew by.

It's the story of Yarvi, a prince with a crippled hand. So they send him to the church, but shit, his dad and brother are killed, better make him king then. He is not ready, people do not think him ready and then he swears an oath to kill those who killed his family.

And that is when the adventure starts. I will not say anything but he has an adventure. He learns to be a man and stand on his own. He meets some new friends and he gets his revenge.

The book seems to be a part of a series, I see that now. But it's also a stand alone. Yarvi has his adventure, gets his revenge and the end. I liked that. You can just read it like that and be happy for once that there is an ending to something.

As this was his YA book, I do think I should read his adult series, as I have book 1. I can only imagine how bloody that one will be. Abercrombie is not a nice author, he kills characters and is not afraid to be cruel, even in YA. Hey that's life. I like it.

Conclusion:

I'd read more.

cover

ok

Hardcover, First Edition, 373 pages
Published July 3rd 2014 by Harper Voyager
Shattered Sea #1
Fantasy / YA
Library

Spring - Sierra Dean

Just when Cooper Reynolds and Lou Whittaker think they’ve weathered the worst of their trials, they come face to face with the most dangerous, clever villain they’ve ever experienced. One Wyatt brother was bad enough, but now that Archer has called on his brother Christopher for help keeping Lou and Cooper apart, the young couple is about to learn what real trouble looks like.

Christopher has come home determined to get Lou away from Cooper once and for all, and he isn’t afraid who he hurts or what bridges he burns to get the job done. With Cooper’s time running out and Lou struggling to control her growing powers, the last thing they need is more conflict. Too bad things are never as easy as they hope.

With a mysterious pair of FBI investigators in town and the clock ticking, Cooper and Lou need to learn to work together before they’re torn apart forever.

ebook, 178 pages

Published October 10th 2014 by Sierra Dean

Dog Days #3

YA /Paranormal romance

For review

My thoughts:

I have been trying to write this review for an hour now, and I am struggling. See, there was this cliffie of doom. Oh those evil cliffies! I was all noooo! And then the book ended. So yes, evil cliffie alert for sure.

Poor Lou and Cooper. What a f:ed up town! Everyone hates Cooper, and I am all f u guys! Why the hate!? Poor Cooper :/ Not to mention that in a few months he will turn into a coyote and never be human again. Poor Cooper, that is all I gave to say.

And Lou, poor Lou too! Stuck in the middle of a curse. There has to be the witches, the watchers and the poor cursed ones. I would just say screw you all and go. But then she loves Cooper and she is trying to save him. Trying to find out more about the curse, all while avoiding those darn watchers.

Right, the baddies, arghh Archer, hate him, arghh Christoper, his brother, I hate him more.

And then the end come. After having rushed around (Lou) and Cooper becoming sadder the end came with a bang, and now I need more at once.

Conclusion:

I do like this YA series :)

Cover Snark

I kind of like it

The Rithmatist - Brandon Sanderson

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings—merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles. 

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing - kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics - and their world - forever.

My thoughts:

How to explain this one...*thinks some more about it*. Honestly just read it. Sanderson is masterful when it comes to magic systems, they are always new, cool and takes a while to explain.

This is alternate history where some empires, fell and other empires rose. The world is very different. Steampunk too, and magic. A rithmatist can draw lines to protect himself and create chalklings (from chalk ;). There is also wild ones out there and that is part of the plot. What is really going on?

Our hero Joel would love to become a Rithmatist but he can't, they are chosen at 8 and he was not chosen. He knows everything about it though. A clever kid, with his head in the clouds a bit. He doesn't have any real friends either as most other kids are rich, and he is not. But you will see.

The plot is that someone is killing Rithmatist kids, but who and why?

Conclusion:

A solid book that kept getting better and better. I can't wait to read more adventures with him to to explore this world even more. All in all, Sanderson is awesome as always.

Cover

eh

Paperback, 372 pages
Published May 16th 2013 by Orion Childrens (first published May 13th 2013)
Rithmatist #1
YA / Fantasy/ Steampunk
Own

Audio review: Cinder - Marissa Meyer

A wicked mash-up of fairy tale and Terminator—set in a Star Wars kind of world—Marissa Meyer's Cinder is a fresh and fiercely ingenious futuristic retelling of Cinderella

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My thoughts:

This was actually really cool and the narrator did a splendid job. Now this was an audio I could listen too without drifting off. I really should stay with YA it seems.

Anyway, do not ask me to spell any names right, it's audio. I have no idea.

What do we have? A good story featuring a cyborg. And they are second class citizens so poor Cinder does not have it easy at home. But outside, well there they do not know. She meets a prince, there is a ball in the future, oh does it sound familiar? Ha, it wasn't really. A plague is killing people left and right, a Queen sits on the Moon throne and wants to take over. The prince's father is dying from the plague. Cinder is a mechanic and this was a futuristic re-telling that had the real story there far in but much more around it.

So yes I do want to read more, well listen to more, but I can't, I would have to read more. That actually makes me sad.

Cover
ok

Edit. Omg, I wrote this in February. I was LATE with this one.

Audio CD, 10 pages
Published January 3rd 2012 by Macmillan Young Listeners
The Lunar Chronicles #1
Sci-fi /fairytale re-telling, /YA
Library

Terra's World - Mitch Benn

Terra , which Neil Gaiman said reminded him of Douglas Adams,Terry Pratchett and Roald Dahl, launched the novel writing career of stand-up comedian and BBC Radio 4 Now Show regular Mitch Benn.

Now Terra is a couple of years older and back on earth. She's in hiding. And in Terra's World we find out why. But none of this is known to Billy Dolphin. He's just annoyed that since Terra returned to Earth Science Fiction has died a death. How wrong could a teenage boy be?

Terra may be back on Earth but the powers of the universe are not finished with her. Her old home faces a terrible threat which possibly only Terra can overcome. Just what is the black planet? To find out first Terra must learn how to survive as there is an alien bounty hunter on her trail. And only Billy Dolphin to help her.

My thoughts:

The fun continues, I do like sci-fi with humour in it. And in this one Terra is in hiding as someone is after her. And it's also the story of Billy who is sad cos ever since people found aliens are real, sci-fi has died. Cancelled shows, fewer books. It's a shame. But then Terra and Billy meet, and he gets that adventure he wants.

Told with a smile, this is a book that made me giggle. It's both real and silly fun at times. But it's also serious as things are not good on Terra's former home planet, it's really bad, and about to get worse. And who is after her by the way?

I liked Terra, but Billy was almost more fun. He was the side-kick after all, the comic relief. The one who was only there cos of her. He was not really a hero but he could be.

Conclusion:

Humour, science-fiction and danger on the horizon. A short fun book that you can read in a day.

Cover

eh

Hardcover, 320 pages
Published July 17th 2014 by Gollancz
Terra #2
Sci.fi / YA
For review

Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars - Diana Peterfreund

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

My thoughts:

When I heard about this one I knew I had to read it. A re-telling of Persuasion, and I do love that book. It did not disappoint.

This is a post-apocalyptic world, a dystopian society where The Luddites rule over the reduced and the post-reduced. Genetic experimentation went wrong and some kids were born wrong(The reduced) and after a few generations they did get birth to normal kids but they are still owned. It was a great society, ok do not get me wrong, it was a horrible society, it was just great to read about as I love when an author truly creates something good and well terrible. The world has crumbled, you can't travel across the ocean as you would get lost. Technology (high tech) is forbidden. God punished these people. As you can see, what an awesome premise. I do think it was the world I liked the most.

But ok on to the story. It followed Persuasion in some aspects (I mean after all this is a dystopian messed up society so everything can't be in there). I liked the story of how 18 year old Elliot meets her old friend Kai again. He was owned by them before he ran away. Now he has money and fame as the Posts are making names for themselves. The world is changing. Kai was a bit of an ass (as he should be), he was hurt and Elliott is trying to cope with her new responsibilities. As just as in Persuasion her sister and dad are idiots.

Conclusion:

A good dystopian book, great world, and a love story that even if not in the spotlight, surely burns inside of them.

Series: For darkness shows the stars #1
Genre: Dystopia / Jane Austen variation / YA
Pages: 402
Published: 2012 by Balzer and Bray
Source: Library

Review: Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver

After escaping from Portland, Lena makes it to the Wilds and becomes part of an Invalid community. Weak and grieving for Alex, Lena fights to survive. And then she fights her oppressors.

As the viewpoint shifts between Lena's time in the Wilds and the present day, which is set in Brooklyn, Lena transforms into a warrior for the resistance. In New York City, the grass-roots movement for a Deliria-Free America (the DFA) is gathering strength, and its leader, Thomas Fineman, recruits more supporters by the day. His son Julian--as-yet uncured--heads up the DFA's youth organization. Lena is tasked with blending into the DFA's rallies; she seems to be a supporter yet she is really a spy.

My thoughts:

I really liked book 1. I read it in a sitting and I liked the world. No feelings. Awesome premise. So of course I really looked forward to book 2. Sadly it went down in a flaming piece of pooh.

What went wrong? Honestly? Everything! First of all I spent the first chapters confused. Then that was settled but it still felt messy. See the book have 2 timelines. Then, when she is in the Wilds (yawn) and Now, when she is for some reason in the Resistance. Of course these timelines never met. The whole Now was just confusing.

So then we have that out of the way, the confusing bits. Let's move on to how the book was so freaking boring, blah blah blah. I could care less about anyone in the book or anything in this world.

Ok so this point is not the thing that made the book suck but come on! Yes love triangle. A freaking love triangle in a book where love is classified as a disease. Not to mention that I never felt it.

Moving on again, Lena was boring, not a good heroine this time around. Oh and do not even get me started on how she suddenly turns into a ninja or something. The whole last part was just a fail.

Conclusion:

The only good thing I liked in the entire book was the cliffie in the end. That was actually good. Even if so obvious.

Series: Delirium #2
Genre: Dystopia / YA
Pages: 329
Published: 2010 by Hodder
Source: For review

Review: Fever- Lauren DeStefano

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

My thoughts:

I can't even snark that much as nothing happened in this book, and people were drugged much of it too. Hug disappointment.

But first, really..really?! She ends up in a brothel. But does she get sold to the next costumer. Oh no, of course not, instead she gets put on display. Now that is just bad business. If the girl is that damn pretty and special then sell her body. But we can't have that happen to our heroine. So do not let her end up there then. It set the tone for the book and I did not like it. This is supposed to be a horrible future and she *big eye roll*. Lame.

The other problem with the book was that I did not care. Book was tough provoking, here I did not care either way. Women dying at 20,whatever. Women sold to slavery, yawn. Yes you can see my problem. The whole book suffered for it. Nothing happened, she talked with Gabriel (did I feel they were in love..no.) Scary evil father-in law, well ok he was good, cos he was actually evil. The only good thing is the mad scientist.

Conclusion:

And how is this series gonna end. Oh I am sure she is the cure for it all. Did this book made me want to read the next? No thanks. I mean, it was still ok, cos I finished it in no time. It was simple.

Cover

Nice

Series: The Chemical Garden #2
Genre: YA/dystopia
Pages: 341
Published: 2012 by Simon & Schuster
Source: Library

Review: The Blood Keeper - Tessa Gratton

For Mab Prowd, the practice of blood magic is as natural as breathing. It's all she's ever known. Growing up on an isolated farm in Kansas with other practitioners may have kept her from making friends her own age, but it has also given her a sense of purpose—she's connected to the land and protective of the magic. And she is able to practice it proudly and happily out in the open with only the crows as her companions. Mab will do anything to keep the ancient practice alive and guard its secrets. But one morning while she is working out a particularly tricky spell she encounters Will, a local boy who is trying to exorcise some mundane personal demons. He experiences Mab's magic in a way his mind cannot comprehend and is all too happy to end their chance meeting. But secrets that were kept from Mab by the earlier generations of blood magicians have come home to roost. And she and Will are drawn back together, time again by this dangerous force looking to break free from the earth and reclaim its own dark power.

My thoughts:

I liked the way this book was written, there was an ease to it and the POV changes worked great. It was also so easy to follow.

The book has 3 POVS. First Mab who is a blood witch and lives on a farm, working with curses and blood. Not your ordinary teen. Then there is Will, a local boy she meets and who ends up involved with it all. And yes romance interest too. Lastly, there is Evelyn who came to the farm long ago. Her POV is not around much as it is in the past, but it's important to the plot. Why I did not know before way into the book. It was a nice little mystery. The one thing I did not like with her POV was that it was in italics, ugh, not fun to read. Luckily she gets a page here and there. And when the shift occurs you get to read the name of the POV. Always good.

This is part 2 in a series, but it works great as a stand alone as the previous book was about someone else.

I do not want to spoil the whole plot but Will and Mab meet. She is the new leader for her kind. She is a free spirit, connected to nature and I liked her. Will was a good guy too.

Conclusion:

There is some suspense as things are going on (I can't say more). A bit of a mystery and chilling spells. Magic is not always kind and that is shown here.

Cover:

Eh

Series: The Blood Journals #2
Genre: YA, paranormal
Pages: 432
Published: Aug 2012 by Random House Books for young readers
Source: For review

Review: Flutter - Gina Linko

All Emery Land wants is to be like any other 17-year-old—to go to school, hang out with her friends, and just be normal. But for as long as she can remember, she’s suffered from seizures. And in recent years they’ve consumed her life. To Emery they’re much more than seizures, she calls them loops—moments when she travels through wormholes back and forth in time and to a mysterious town. The loops are taking their toll on her physically. So she practically lives in the hospital where her scientist father and an ever-growing team of doctors monitor her every move. They’re extremely interested in the data they collect when Emery seizes. It appears that she’s tapping into parts of the brain typically left untouched by normal human beings.

Escaping from the hospital, Emery travels to Esperanza, the town from her loops on the upper peninsula of Michigan, where she meets Asher Clarke. Ash’s life is governed by his single-minded pursuit of performing good Samaritan acts to atone for the death of a loved one. His journey is very much entwined with Emery’s loops. 

Drawn together they must unravel their complicated connection before it’s too late.

My thoughts:

This book was light and easy to read, and one thing kept me reading and reading. What on earth is going on in this book?

Emery is not your average girl. She suffers from seizures and have to sleep in the hospital. And these seizures are killing her. While in them she sees things and comes to the conclusion that she is time-travelling. And this was the thing that pushed me forward. Is she really? How will she stop it from killing her? The mystery around her and her disease was good.

She travels to another town and meets Ash. He has secrets of his own, slowly I learn more and feel that their story is as doomed as they come.

The book is such a mystery. Time-travel, a strange disease, a mystery little boy that tells her to go to this town...making it into a good book that I had a hard time putting down.

And the end, wow, the end..that is all I am saying. I did not see it coming.

Conclusion
A twist, a turn, and there you have this book.

Cover.

Eh

Genre: YA
Pages: 352
Published: October 23rd 2012 by Random House Books for young readers
Source: For review

Review: The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

"I can steal anything." 

After Gen's bragging lands him in the king's prison, the chances of escape look slim. Then the king's scholar, the magus, needs the thief's skill for a seemingly impossible task - to steal a hidden treasure from another land. 

To the magus, Gen is just a tool. But Gen is a trickster and a survivor with a plan of his own.

Series: The Queen's Thief #1, Genre: Fantasy/YA, Pages: 280, Published: 2005 (1996), Publisher: EOS, Source: Library

My thoughts:

I had been hearing a lot about this and I was so curious so I told..ok asked the library to get it, and they did. I do have a great library sometimes. Not when it comes to buying books, but when it comes to listening to their costumers and getting the books they ask for.

Anyway, YA fantasy. One thing bothered me though, not knowing how old people were. First I thought Gen was a little kid and now, well in his teens. But it still bugs me not knowing, I am just too curious. But then he is a mystery and it's meant to be like that. We meet Gen in prison, he says he is the best thief ever. He is good, i will give him that, but what made him be so foolish? We do learn later on. He is not afraid of anything or speaking his mind and I like the little thief.

Together with the Magus, and 2 boys/young men? they set out on a journey to steal something. Poor Gen, one would think they would treat him better. Still something grows. I can't dislike all of them. This whole book is about the journey and the theft and in between are stories they tell by the fire. And I loved those, learning about the mythology was wonderful and a real treat.

But the end, oh the end was the best. There the book surprised me and made me want the next one. It was well done and as the library has the 3 books that follow I will sure read those.

Conclusion:

Enjoyable with a great ending.

Cover:

It shows the stone so that is good

-------------------

My flash fic for this week

Dottie over at Tink's Place has come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge.  Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to  participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take. 

Review: The Wicked Day - Christopher Bunn

Series: The Tormay Trilogy #3

Genre. Fantasy

Published: 2011

Source: For review

Review made by Lis

The third and final volume of the epic fantasy saga that began with The Hawk and His Boy, and continued with The Shadow at the Gate, The Wicked Day tells the conclusion of the story of Jute. Tracking the kidnappers of Giverny Farrow, Jute and his friends discover the Dark is on the march. Tormay teeters on the brink of war, and the duchies look to Jute as their last and best hope. But there is an ancient evil waking that even all the power of the wind cannot hope to defeat.

Remember my earlier squee over the Tormay trilogy? I’m back with some major squee in tow for the third and final book in the series. Once again I apologize for it being late. While the book entertained me all the way from Paris to Singapore, I got caught up in backpacking and therefore a lot late in reviewing. 

But back to the book here. When I got my hands on the first book, I was suprised how good a story this was for fantasy. While that hasn’t changed, the conclusion of the series does live up to one of the fantasy genre’s traps: the black and white theme of good versus evil. While it was always there throughout the series it is never more pronounced as in The Wicked Day. Not that it bothered me too much. 

The Wicked Day focuses once again on Jute and his companions as the track the kidnappers of Declan’s (Ronan) sister Giverny Farrow. It become more and more apparent that Tormay is on the brink of a big ass, unavoidable, war and it shows in the story itself. It’s very moving and there is always something going on. The story moves from one action to the next, from one battle scene to another and let me tell you, the battles are epic! At the same time this also a niggle for me, because so much is happening. It’s like watching a hamster on speed. It’s hard to keep up. At the same time the writing flourishes, because it’s not always easy to write so many descriptive scenes without the reader getting bored of it. 

Like in the previous books we see more of the characters and how they grow throughout the story. In this third books they undergo most of the change. My favorite has always been Jute, but there were occasions in this book that I just wanted to hit him over the head with a frying pan. While still lovable, there is a long struggle for him getting the hand of his power. Fortunately for the reader, when he does, it’s awesome. 

What also had me sit up and take notice (which is hard to do in airplane seats) was that Owain got more page time and what a treat it was. It was nice to see more of him. 

It’s not easy to review this book without giving to much away. What I can say is that this conclusion was perhaps the hardest to write because everything comes to a head. This shows a bit in the story as well. There are minor issues in the continuity of the story and there may have been a little plothole. Though it’s not so bad that it takes the reader away from the story in irritation or annoyance. 

All in all, this was a fine conclusion to a series and very well done. It’s a series I can most definitely recommend reading. Even in a cramped airplane! 

Review: Thief's Covenant - Ari Marmell

Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan of Davillon, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of the city’s aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one horrid night, when a conspiracy of forces—human and other—stole it all away in a flurry of blood and murder. 


Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon’s underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshippers but Widdershins herself. It’s not a great life, certainly nothing compared to the one she once had, but it’s hers. 


But now, in the midst of Davillon’s political turmoil, an array of hands are once again rising up against her, prepared to tear down all that she’s built. The City Guard wants her in prison. Members of her own Guild want her dead. And something horrid, something dark, something ancient is reaching out for her, a past that refuses to let her go. Widdershins and Olgun are going to find answers, and justice, for what happened to her—but only if those who almost destroyed her in those years gone by don’t finish the job first.

Series: Widdershins #1, Genre: Fantasy/ YA, Pages: 240, Published: Feb 21, 2012, Publisher: PYR, Source: For review

My thoughts:

I have read other books by Marmell, and even though this one is YA it's still bloody, but not that violent. How to explain, people die, a lot, but it's not shown as it would be in an adult book. Still, poor Widdershins.

At first I was not sure if I would like how it jumped in time, but it worked perfectly. Because each flashback showed me something new. First we got Widdershins as she is now, a young thief with few friends. Then there is poor Adrienne, alone on the streets, a pick-pocket among others. Then there is Adrienne, a young woman of means (and it sure made me wonder how she got there, but I found out.) Things that happened two years ago made Adrienne stop being Adrienne, and Widdershins was born. I liked her, she was tough and she has the best sidekick. A God who she can hear, but that the reader can't hear. But I could still see him in my mind and he was too funny.

The story is about a lot of people hunting Widdershins, for different reasons. But it is all connected, even if I will not say how and why. The story worked so well and there was even a surprise gasp from me, oh I loved that surprise. Bravo. But I am being  tease now since I will not tell you what that was.

Being the girl I am I am hoping for a romance to blossom, how it would work I do not know, but it is there ;) I am looking forward to book 2 to see if anything happens.

Conclusion:

The ever so cool Widdershins made this my fav Marmell book to date. I liked that the book was dark, yet light and it did not end with a cliffie either which is always appreciated. But still I do want to know what happens next, because things are far from over. I would recommend this one to fantasy lovers, young and old.

Cover:

I really like it.

Review: After Eden - Katherine Pine

Series: Fallen Angels 1

Genre: Paranormal romance YA

Pages:

Published: April 2011

Source: For review

Review by Lis

Devi knows she shouldn't trust the new employee at her favorite used bookstore. Sure, he's funny, smart and hands down the sexiest guy she's ever met, but something dark lurks behind his unassuming smile and sinful green eyes.

Still, a girl can't always afford to be picky. When an angel abducts your twin brother it should come as no surprise that the one person who can help you get him back is a demon--and only if you're willing to pay his price.

.................


Grrrrrr! That’s what I thought for most of this book. That and I wanted to shake some sense into the main character Devi. Girl, grow a pair! As you all know, characters sometimes are just like real people to me and I like my characters strong or written in such a way that their behavior is believable. Well, this story just left me a little annoyed after reading it and thinking of Bella from Twilight. While this story was most definitely not my cup of tea, it might just be what you are looking for. Curious about my ranting yet?

After Eden is the story of Devi, which starts the day she walks into a used bookstore. While there she gets a seizure but is rescued by the very handsome, but very mysterious new owner: Oz. So long has he touches her, she’s seizure free. Of course, this is the perfect opportunity to ask someone out, which Oz does. Okay, well, they go to dinner and Oz walks Devi home.

That’s actually where the real story starts, ‘cause once home the demon Forneus pops in to kidnap her and take her to the Prince of Hell. Well, that’s certainly some home coming. Luckily for Devi, there’s Oz. Did I mention that Oz is an Angel? No? Well… there ya go!

Can you feel the other shoe falling yet? Uhuh. Angels and demons. A very popular theme in young adult stories these days. There certainly are some interesting views on heaven and hell, angels and demons and devils in this story. You sure have to like this theme to love it. Personally I have no problem with demons, but angels and heaven/religion are subjects I rather not always touch in story. Especially with a whiny character that leans on a man too much.

After Eden is very much a character-driven story. There are looooooooooooooooooooong conversations in this story and that pushes the action to the background a bit. Have I mentioned I’m an impatient woman? While some of these conversations where most definitely needed, some were too long and overdrawn, jumping from one topic to the other.

To me this story would have benefitted from a good editor, because my other issue is: originally I thought this would be about Devi who searched for her missing brother. While the theme/topic is certainly around, it gets lost in the story sometimes. After Eden focuses on too many things, which makes this a complicated read. There is no real balance between the world building and the plot.

After Eden is certainly not a bad read and there are some who will really like this book. It would have been nice to see Devi grow a little in the story and maybe finding a backbone along the way and Oz being a little less overprotective. But if you like Angels and Demons, with some sweet characters than this book is for you!

--------------

Note from Blodeuedd:

Flash fiction  HERE

Review: By Midnight - Mia James

April Dunne is not impressed. She's had to move from Edinburgh to Highgate, London, with her parents. She's left her friends - and her entire life - behind. She has to start at a new school and, worst of all, now she's stuck in a creepy old dump of a house which doesn't even have proper mobile phone reception. Ravenwood, her new school, is a prestigious academy for gifted (financially or academically) students - and the only place her parents could find her a place, in the middle of term, in the middle of London, on incredibly short notice. So she's stuck with the super-rich, and the super-smart, and trying to fit in is when the rest of the students seem to be more glamorous, smarter, or more talented than she is, is more than tough. It's intimidating and isolating, even when she finds a friend in the conspiracy-theorist Caro Jackson - and perhaps finds something more than friendship in the gorgeous, mysterious Gabriel Swift. But there's more going on at Ravenwood than meets the eye. Practical jokes on new students are normal, but when Gabriel saves her from  something in the Highgate Cemetery, and then she discovers that a murder took place, just yards away from where she had been standing, April has to wonder if something more sinister is going on and whether or not she's going to live through it .

My thoughts:

This book is a paranormal YA romance with mystery thrown in. April Dunne is the heroine who has move and go to a new school. Filled with rich kids and smart ones. Perhaps it could have been like a normal school if the in crowd had not paid so much attention to her, and murders happened in the neighbourhood.

April was smart kid, she questioned things, but of course she was also a girl and young. Which means crush time. There are some hotties around, but she is more interested in Gabriel who act all mysteriously. And of course I knew what he would turn out to be, even if it takes a real long time for the truth to come out. As for Gabriel, he was very sweet and protective.

This book has its doomed romance between April and Gabriel, but mostly it's about all the other things going on. Strange things are going on, her dad is also investigating the school and cemetery and he is on to something. I am just gonna go out and say it since you get it already in the prologue, vampires. But the truth to what on earth is going on takes its fair time, and then at the end, of course that is when it gets really thrilling. One part of the mystery I can't mention, but it's shocking.

There was one other thing that I sort of guessed, I was right, just not entirely about what it meant, and it was one good secret. And again, you just have to read to see.

Conclusion.

I think this one would be good for the YA crowd. It has got romance, mystery, vampires, secrets and more secrets. It will keep you guessing.

Rating:

Ok

Cover:

It does look nice

Reason for reading: 

Sounded good

Info:

Series: Ravenwood 1

Genre: Paranormal, YA, romance, mystery

Pages: 448

Publisher: Gollancz, Feb 10th 2011 (hardback 2010)

Guest Review: My Soul to Keep - Rachel Vincent

Soul Screamers 3
Genre: YA paranormal
Pages: PB 207
Published: 2010
Review by Lis

Kaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them.Until something does.

Demon breath. No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. But how? Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source and protect their friends—one of whom is already hooked. And so is someone else…

**Warning this review contains spoilers if you haven’t read the previous instalments of the Soul Screamers series**

Are you sitting comfortable? You sure? Yes? Well then it’s time for the third round in the Soul Screamers series. This time it’s even darker, more gruesome, grueling and heartbreaking than before. Get ready for My Soul to Keep!

Kaylee is back after she was grounded for a month by her overprotective father. Things are up to a rocky start when a jock and a good friend of Nash starts behaving weird at a party. It isn’t long before Kaylee and Nash finds out he is addicted to Demon’s Breath. Yes, that would be the actual breath of a hellion/demon. Highly addictive and hallucinating for humans and someone is selling it in balloons. If you read the second book your spidy sense should start tingling. Kaylee and a reluctant Nash start investigating and the digger Kaylee digs the more she starts digging her own grave…erh…the more she won’t like what she finds.

This third book continues along the dark path it started in the first book. Only this book has a surprising, but also heartbreaking twist. Even heroes fall. No, don’t get your panties in a twist, no one dies. Not yet anyway. But you get to read about how far people would go to keep what they have and what they would do for love.

There is a lot of character development in My Soul to Keep. We also see the first rays of change. There isn’t much more I can say without giving some big spoilers away. Let me just say: get your tissues ready and be ready to be surprised!

There is something that started itching me in this installment though. Rachel Vincent won’t let us forget what happened in the previous books. The more this series progresses, the more she’s about repetition of past events. In some points of the story it is even becoming circular narrative. Though in light of the whole story it didn’t bother me as much, but it is becoming more and more noticeable!

Out of all the books, I liked this one least. This because of out of the four it is the darkest. In a way this makes it also the best book. What Rachel Vincent does is show us that the world isn’t perfect and that there is no such thing as the perfect hero, everyone makes mistakes. However, this also puts the story on a slippery slope. Remember I mentioned Supernatural in the previous review? Well in the series there is the theme of the darker the better. The things Sam & Dean are put through the ringer with one evil dead after another. This is what is it starting to look like for the Soul Screamers series. Though there are more silver linings than in Supernatural!

Every time I reach the end of a Soul Screamers book, I want more. It wasn’t any different with this one. Here’s for hoping you enjoy the series as much as I did!

PS. The winners of A night of Secrets by Lori Brighton were Ing and Maija

Guest Review: My Soul to Save - Rachel Vincent + a good e-book deal!

Soul Screamers, book 2
Genre. YA Paranormal
Pages: 279
Published: 2009
Review by Lis

When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies. So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn't wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can't cry for someone who has no soul.

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad's ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend's loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can't possibly understand. Kaylee can't let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk.

**Warning: this review might contain spoilers if you haven’t read the first installment**

My Soul to Save is the second installment in the Soul Screams series and it is much much darker than the first book. In a way also much better, because now we know who the characters are the all the awkwardness is out of the way. When I started reading the book, I expected it to follow the set pattern of romance between two characters, but instead there is more of a focus on the mystery and the development of characters than there is on the romance. My Soul to Save is both a character-driven and an action-driven story.

After all the troubles in the first book, Kaylee and Nash expect some quiet time and go to rock at the concert of mega popstar Eden. The tickets were oh-so-thoughtfully provided by *grin* Tod. And he has no ulterior motives at.all!! Kaylee and Nash expect a quiet, nice night out. Instead they get a dead popstar and a not so typical Reaper. As it turns out, Eden sold her soul (sounds familiar, Supernatural fans?) to a hellion/demon for fame and fortune. Now that her time is up, her soul belongs to the hellion. The trouble only starts there. When the Reaper mentions to Kaylee, Nash and Tod that she will be back for the soul of the girl who sings the support program, a friend of Tod, the chase is on. What ensue is a dark story of soul selling, friendship, death and betrayal.

As I mentioned this installment is much darker and the end is a prelude to something that will play a big, huge, enormous role in the third installment. While much darker, I loved the second book better than the first. It continues with the theme “you can be the hero but you can’t save everyone.”

There is also much character development. Kaylee comes more into herself. Not more powerful, but she learns to stand on her own and deal. In a way, she becomes more independent, something that will niggle Nash and his hero complex. She is witty and caring to a fault. “Soulless popstar contemplating suicide. Focus Kaylee.”

Tod, did I mention I loved him, also plays an important role in this book and it’s a set up for the third book. Only you only find that out after you read the third installment. I very much liked that isn’t just a side character, but has a full role. He, like a few other characters aren’t just support cast that are there to play a role. Their characters are interwoven in the story.

What I didn’t like so much was the Supernatural soul-selling rip-off. While selling your soul for something big is a theme that goes back to the time of Shakespeare and Goethe, it was a bit too much like Supernatural. I mean people…are you just that stupid? What part of eternal torture don’t you get? Though unlike Supernatural there is an interesting out and something different when they sold their soul.

All in all this book was better than the first book and that was an already spectacular book. So don’t hesitate to get it!! 

Now a message from me, meant to post this yesterday but my memory is very very bad.

You can now get Lori Brighton's The Mind Readers for only 99 cents! :)