Book of the Month: Sequels and three-quels: Darkness, Kindled

The fourth and final book in the Fire Spirits series.  In a way I'm glad it's over, but on the other hand, I wish it weren't.  Let me explain:

I don't normally read all the books in a series right after each other, I try to cushion other novels in between.  Why?  So that when I finish reading the series I'm not in such a book funk that I can't pick something else up.  I get so immersed in the world, in the characters, that leaving them can become painful.  When I read Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue in a row I couldn't read anything else and enjoy it for about a month.  The drawback?  I don't get as involved with the characters, with the world.  I still get really passionate, don't get me wrong, but if I marathon a series I get in deeper.  So, yes, I wish this series weren't over because I would love more, but I'm so glad it is because I don't think I could take more.

This was a good last book in a series.  It wrapped up nicely, though I felt the climax was a little premature and the ending a little useless.  All the characters ended up in their perfect places, something you don't always get when dealing with life and death (I'm talking to you, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, Richelle Mead, Julie Kagawa) and I love seeing happy endings.  I'm glad not all authors do them because then it would become really artificial, but seeing one or two every blue moon is nice.

This book gets four stars from me.

Check out the next book of the month starting later this week and feel free to read along!

What did you think about this months book of the month?  Comment and let me know!

Blood Doctor Chapter Three

Here's the third chapter in the book I'm working on.  If you want more information check out my WIP page where the first two chapters are posted.  Also, the same story is being posted on my fictionpress page, so you can view it there as well.

Shoot me a comment to tell me what you think!

Book Review: Allegiant

This is going to be a short review because I plan on doing a spoiler filled review in exactly two weeks.  So if you're interested on what I have to fangirl about in detail come back in two weeks.  Hopefully enough people will be done with the book by then.

Trust me when I say don't spoil the ending for yourself.  Don't peek at the last page, don't go on Tumblr, don't ask your best friend who already finished it.  JUST DON'T!  Seriously, you'll thank me.

I was going between giving this book one star or five stars.  I did give it five stars on Goodreads, along with the review of :O.  That was it, really, because it was eleven at night and I was absolutely brain dead.  Also, finals, so, yeah.

The ending of Insurgent was an unbelievable cliff hanger.  It killed me.  I threw the book at the wall when I first read it.  Now we see what has become of said ending and it's really interesting.  It doesn't fit into the rest of the series like you would think but still works well.  This book did seem a little rushed, but it wasn't bad because of that, it was just really fast and easy to read (for a 500 page book.  I finished it in a day, by the way). 

The characters finally reach their peaks in this book and it's pretty awesome.  There's a new villain (duh) and a new set of supporting characters.  None of them really got into my heart like all those guys from the first two.  Maybe because I felt like the book was all about Tris and Tobias, which it is on purpose.  Speaking of Tris and Tobias, they take turns narrating and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE FOUR AS A NARRATOR!

Overall I'm giving this book five stars but if you read my spoiler review you'll understand why I wanted to give it one.

PS

Don't spoil the book for yourself!

Book of the Month: Sequels and three-quels, Borrowed Ember

The third book in the series is really breathtaking.  At first it's a little shaky, but the ending makes your heart stop.  It's a flash!-bang!-pow! kind of ending and I just LOVED it.  I'll try not to spoil anything, so it'll be a short review, but this book was really, really good.

The story took more time to tell, but all those dominoes set up in the first two books?, well, they fell and they really made an impression.  There are several fighting scenes in this book and they're written wonderfully.  I could picture them in my head, and, honestly, they looked like something out of Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon (which is very high in my book).  We also get pretty much all the answers we were looking for in this one.  Which means the next book isn't focused so much on "ending" but expanding in a new direction I didn't see coming.  I'm actually really excited to start the next one pronto.

The core cast of characters don't really grow, rather they begin to fill out into their parts.  One thing I hadn't really realized until this book was how complex the Jinn Kings really were.  They have their own personalities and own histories.  They're each unique and they really add to the story.  They're all complicated and some of them could probably hold their own stories.  Asmodeus (I know I didn't spell that right...) in particular really grows on you even though he's an evil SOB.  I think the Jinn Kings are my favorite part of the books, really.

This book gets 4 1/2 stars out of five.

Book Review: Fool Moon (Dresden Files #2)

And here we are again, talking about that other wizard named Harry. Funny enough, I’m currently re-reading Sorcerer’s Stone.

This book has twice the action the first one has and it’s so much better for it. It starts off slow and dry, but by the end, culminates in a pinnacle of “OMG!” that has you getting all these wonderful feels. Harry again manages to get himself into the worst situation possible by pissing off every single type of werewolf there is, Johnny Marcone, and Murphy. This book is also high on magic, there’s so much more here than in the first one where it also had a great deal to be solved in a more traditional method.

There aren’t any new characters that need much of a mentioning, but going back to Marcone, I think he may be a favorite. There’s this scene near the end where (well, I won’t tell you what’s happening and spoil it, will I?) and it just had me sold on what kind of a character he is. I wouldn’t stretch and call him an anti-hero, he’s a villain through-and-through, but maybe there is something underneath that hard exterior. Anyways, Dresden himself remains my favorite character in the book.

This plot, like the first one, keeps you guessing until the end when you’re so blown away by what’s happening that you don’t get to marvel at the way-to-complex mystery involved. I give it 3 ½ stars.

Book of the Month: sequels and three-quels: Scorched Skies

So instead of reviewing all of the sequels together I’ll be giving each its own spotlight. The second book in the Fire Spirits series is Scorched Skies and it picks up almost immediately where the last one left off. While the first one was really about Ari discovering she was Jinn, this one is about her dealing with the threats of being one and it sets up the rest of the series nicely. You’re being warned now: If you haven’t read/finished the first book don’t read on. There are some major spoilers.

Charlie is now a sorcerer, something I’m really glad of because he’s not the “delicate flower” of the bunch anymore. Of course, that means Ari is. And she should be because she’s the one everyone’s trying to kill, and, actually, listens when people talk her out of bad situations and lays low when she needs to rather than put herself in undo risk (while I’m all for the tough-girl thing, it’s really annoying when they don’t listen to reason; I wish more characters did!). Back to Charlie, though, now he’s kind of shed his bad-boy image and is little more than a recovering drug addict. Nothing too special or lovable about him anymore. Which is also a conclusion Ari reaches, ending the love triangle when she chooses Jai. Jai himself doesn’t really grow in his character, except that he, too, realizes he wants to be with Ari and won’t let his family or job get in his way.

In the way of new characters there are only two big ones: Dali, who’s the villain of this story, and while not a great character, he does his job in the book; and Fallon, who’s the one to fill the hole Ari left in Charlie’s heart. I like Fallon, but I feel like her addition was very… unnatural. She totally needed to be there, but she didn’t need to show up when she did. I almost wish she hadn’t been introduced till book three where there is much more room for her.

There was a lot more of the hunter’s side of the Jinn world but it wasn’t really anything stunning. I liked it and all, but it wasn’t really necessary. Plot wise, there’s a major something at the beginning (I’m not spoiling THAT) that changes everything.

This book gets 3 ½ of 5 stars.

TV Review: The Tomorrow People Pilot

Of course, I love anything that ends in Amell, so it’s no surprise that this show captured me for that reason alone.  Right from the start I knew it would be in the same vein as X-Men or Heroes, which isn’t a bad thing.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure how deep of a show it would be.  Whether or not it would be something I’d want to dig my mind into every Wednesday night.  Well, I’m glad to say this was a strong pilot (with a twist at the end) that has made me a fan already.  Unless the next few episodes go downhill, I’ll be watching every week.  4 out of 5 stars.

TV Review: Beauty and the Beast Season Two Premier

So much has changed since the finale last season. Cat’s Dad is dead- didn’t see that coming- Vincent is brainwashed (although I’m not completely convinced it’s actually him…), Joe has been fired, Gabe is alive and no longer a beast (he’s my favorite character, by the way, so I was pretty much dancing up the street to see he was still around) and he’s in charge at the police station. So, in the three month gap, basically, everything was turned upside down.

And, I think, I like it.

It was certainly a good premier, re-captivating me, and really making me excited for what would happen. Last year I was excited for the show but it was never a top priority for me to watch. That probably won’t change much this year unless it stays at the caliber of this episode. I was really getting into the episode more than most of them last year.

Can’t wait to see more, this episode is getting 4 ½ stars.

TV Review: Supernatural Season 9 Premier

My favorite show is back, finally, and I am ready to dig in. The first episode starts nearly right after the end of season eight, where the angels literally fell from the sky, and doesn’t really slow down. There isn’t a giant new anything discovered or entered to the equation of the show (i.e. Leviathan, Tablets) and we get a sense of where all the power players from last year are. It’s well-paced and seems to be heading back to where it was around season six. Maybe we’ll even make a comeback to the good-old-days this season. Castiel gets a major role this season (and I love it; Misha’s back to playing Cas the way he was around season five, rather than one of his insane versions) and there’s a new angel who is, potentially, a good guy (shocker!). We don’t have everything answered in this episode, rather, answers will be more layered this year, I think.

All in all, a very good start (not the best, there were kinks) to what looks like will be a much better season. I’m giving it four and a half out of five stars. Fingers crossed it only goes uphill.

Blood Doctor Chapter Two

Here's the next chapter in my story Blood Doctor.  If you're looking for chapter one you can find it under the WIP section, which also tells a bit more about the book.  Enjoy!

Bloodstones
Bloodstones are extremely powerful.  Legend has it that the bloodstones are what caused vampires to exist.  Supposedly, they date back to the beginning of Christianity and were born of pure sin.  I’m not a religious person but I wouldn’t deny this origin story.  There aren’t many legends about how vampires came to be and, if what this vamp was telling me was accurate, than I had even less reason to doubt the authenticity.

“You mean, one of the bloodstones?” I ask, incredulous.

“Do you know of another?”

I shrug.  “I don’t know everything.”

He smiles. 

“So, you have a powerful stone that pretty much controls every vampire in the world, and you lost it?  How do I know it’s even yours to begin with?  I’m not a fan of putting powerful things into the wrong hands.”

His smile fades.  “Nor am I.  That’s why I took it in the first place.  The clan I’m from had been misusing it.  They were turning humans into vampires and building a personal army.  I don’t know what they were planning to do, but I knew I had to act.  I stole the bloodstone, the only one they had, and ran as far as I could.  As you would imagine, it did not take them long before they figured out it was missing.  I have been running for nearly six months now and fate brought me to Chicago.  I was cornered so I hid it.  I managed to get away.  When I went back for it, it was gone.  I’m still being chased, so I know they haven’t found it.  They would have used it to draw me out and killed me if they had it.  So, I looked for help, and here I am.  I do apologize, again, for showing up on your doorstep, starved and rabid.  When you’re running for your life you don’t always have the time to gorge yourself.”

I took in his account.  Assuming he was telling the truth, he had a whole clan of vamps riding in his wake.  I didn’t know if I could deal with them very well.  Not alone, at least.  I could call in some help but there were few people who owed me favors at the moment.

“I’ll need to double check your story, make sure you’re not lying to me.  If everything lines up, I’ll see what I can do.  I can’t promise I’ll find it before someone else- I’m sure there are others looking for it and whoever found it could be someone powerful.  In addition, with so many people trying to kill you, I can’t promise your safety.  Can you promise mine?”

He looked me in the eye and said, “I cannot.  However, I will do everything in my power to keep them off your trail.”

“Alright.  If you need more blood, there’s a blood bank that caters to vamps.  Just ask for Todd.  If you have a safe house, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.  I need to clean up my house and try to corroborate your story.  Do you have a number I can call?”

“No, and I would prefer not to use a cell phone.  Too easy to track.”

I nod.  Several of my clients were like this.  “Then…?”

“I can come by tonight, to see if you’ll take the case.”

I glanced at the clock.  It was a little before noon, but I wasn’t sure whether or not that would be enough time to do some background checks, talk to a couple Supernaturals who lived underground.

“I can’t promise an answer by tonight, but you can stop by if you want.  Just in case I have more questions.”

“Thank you,” he said, standing.  I stood, too.  “You won’t regret this.”

I thought it was a strange choice of words, but I didn’t know how old he was, and from his time they might be rather calming and less threatening than they sounded today.  I led him to the door and watched him hail a cab.  When I closed the door I was forced to confront the mess he had left me with.  I sighed, knowing the back breaking amount of work that went into this sort of thing.

Book Review: You Against Me

It has a steady pace and a hint of mystery to it. You’re trying to figure out if Tom actually raped Karyn or not. It has you biting your nails in anticipation, for the first half. Pretty soon, sooner than half, you’ve figured out who’s in the wrong, and then most of the struggle turns to Ellie’s internal conflict. That Mikey and Ellie have sucky lives gets old pretty fast and you just hope they someday end up happy together in a cottage by the sea because they deserve it. Really, it gets old fast. (SPOILER: highlight to see what I said) The biggest disappointment was when Ellie and Mickey had sex. In my opinion, the book radiates this idea that love does not mean you need to have sex. When they do it, it feels wrong, and backwards. I wish the author had found another way to convey their feelings for one another. (END SPOILER)

The narrators are Mikey and Ellie. Mikey’s sister was raped by Ellie’s brother and their both dealing with different kinds of fall out. Like I said above, their lives pretty much suck. They’re strong characters, but about half-way through, they become boring and bland. They’re just not as compelling to read about. Near the end this all picks up again, with the case going to court, and resolutions.  

A friend of mine recommended this to me about a year ago. I finally picked a copy up from my library with really high expectations. Maybe too high, because while this was a good book, I really just wanted to get it over with by the end.

The writing was nice, although not stand-out beautiful. The book takes place in London (well, really the suburbs) and I liked that change of scenery. I think my biggest problem was that it wasn’t as good as I expected it to be, which is a shame. I also don’t read that much contemporary, so the change may have just been what hit me. Too, it took me forever to read this book because I was so busy. That probably did have something to do with my problems. All in all, the book is getting 3 stars, but I don’t plan on reading anything else by this author anytime soon.

Vampire Diaries Season Three Review

This season was my favorite… so far. Like with most shows, it gets better every time I watch it. My favorite character, Alaric, did end dying and that had me in tears. It still does. I knew it was coming (I watched Cult) but I still wasn’t ready for it. Basically, I need a new favorite character. Maybe Elijah, or Damon?

The pace of this season was very well done. Nothing felt too rushed and everything was portioned out well. I love the Originals and seeing so much more of them was great. They do take a while to get warmed up to, but once you do, you can totally tell why they got their own series.

I wouldn’t say there was one villain in this season. There were several, and Mommy Original was the biggest, baddest of them all, but in truth I think it was the circumstances and internal conflicts that served as the real “bad guys”. The romance is heating up (team Delena) and I must say I like where it’s going.

Overall, this season gets a strong 5 stars. I wasn’t sure if I was going to go that high, but, yeah, I think it deserves it. Can season four live up to those standards?

Book of the Month: Smokeless Fire

And here we are again with another book of the month.  This is the first in a series of four books by Samantha Young.  It's about Ari, a seemingly normal girl whose world is flipped upside down when she learns she is one of the Jinn.  Jinn as in Genies.  Her guardian, Jai, and best friend, Charlie, are in on the secret, too.

Let's all take a moment to marvel at this gorgeous cover.

The book is split into two parts.  Part one is, in my opinion, a lot better, although not as interesting as, part two.  The characters seem fresher and the plot moves smoother.  Part two is where all the paranormal stuff starts to happen, but I almost feel like that's all being forced.  Like a bad musical number is moving the plot along rather than actual plot.

The characters are all endearing.  Ari is a great main character, Jai is just smoking (and totally book-crushable), and Charlie is pretty awesome, too.  There's certainly tragedy in the story (all the characters have some sort of family flaw) but those things don't completely overwhelm their lives (besides Charlie, who's totally got that right).  The characters seem well thought out, although they don't particularly stand off the page.  Where the plot not as unique as it is they probably wouldn't at all.

Speaking of the plot, it's really cool.  You don't see to many stories about genies, especially in YA lit.  If nothing else, this is a total draw to the story.  Everyone's using used ideas (OK, not everyone) and this refreshing NEW idea will make hard-core readers happy.  I wish more time had been spent in the realm of the Jinn, but as it is, I'm happy with the originality.
I'm giving this book 4 stars.  It's by far, though, my favorite BotM (book of the month) so far!  I hope you all give it a chance and read it (if you haven't already) because it's certainly worth it.

Star Trek Update (7)

It's been a while hasn't it?  I'm just going to touch on the episodes I really enjoyed.  So, here you go!

214 "Wolf in the Fold"
Poor Scotty!  It was fun to see him as the center of attention for once, rather than a background character.

215 "The Trouble with Tribbles"
Enough said.  No, really, I want a Tribble now.  I just won't feed it.

216 "The Gamers of Triskelion"
An interesting take on the idea of games, and particularly interesting now with a society so involved in video games.

217 "A Piece of the Action"
A really fun episode.  Loved to see everyone dressed up like they're from the 20s and speak "gangster" while they were at it.

219 "A Private Little War"
This was one of those episodes that really makes you think.  As I've said before, one of the things I really adore about this show.

220 "Return to Tomorrow"
A strange, but sweet, tale of alien romance.

221 "Patterns of Force"
My favorite of this batch of episodes.  Very cool to see a "Nazi" world, and interesting.  Another that really makes you think.  Also, extremely well written, in my opinion.

222 "By Any Other Name"
A good story.  I thought it was a little long, but it kept me interested for a long time.  Also a more serious episode, something I feel this series lacks.

What's Up: October

Hey, so here's what I plan on doing this month:

(Can you believe it's October already?  I love this month so much.  Fall is here in full swing and the weather is always gorgeous.  Plus, Halloween!)

On the Blog this month I don't have too much planned.  Nothing new, really.  The book of the month will be up on Wednesday, and a Star Trek update tomorrow.  BTW, last month I completely forgot to do one of those, so I'm sorry about that.

Vampire Diaries and The Originals start this week, but I still have a season left before I'm all caught up so don't expect timely premier reviews.  For the record, a season three will be up soon because I only have one more episode left.  Beauty and the Beast season two begins next Monday, Supernatural on the 8th (!), Arrow and The Tomorrow People the 9th, Once Upon A Time In Wonderland on the 10th, Reign on the 17th, and Grimm on the 25th.  I'll do my best to review all those premiers ASAP, so if you're looking forward to one in particular, shoot me a comment and I'll make sure I see it right away.

Several books are being released this month.  Today, Unbreakable by Kami Garcia came out.  On the 22nd the long-awaited Allegiant is finally here, along with Teardrop by Lauren Kate.  On the 29th the Shadowhunters Codex and Iron Traitor are released.  Expect reviews for all those coming in the future.

So this month is going to be another busy one.  I've got so much going on and I'll try to keep the blog as up to date as possible.  Next month, though, expect a complete shut-down because NaNoWriMo will be happening and all my time will be devoted to that.  Maybe there will be a few reviews, but don't expect much else happening here.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know!  I'm always around.