Book of the Month: Sequel Review- Gray Moon Rising

It’s been almost a year since Rylie Gresham was bitten by a werewolf on Gray Mountain. Now something is beckoning her back to the place she was attacked, along with every other werewolf in the world. But they aren’t the only ones heeding the call. A group of hunters notices them gathering and sees it as their chance to wipe out the entire species.

Seth is about to graduate high school when he learns of the final hunt. He secretly plans to save Rylie and his werewolf brother even though he has to play along with the hunters to do it. But Rylie doesn’t want to be saved. She’s already decided to solve her problems with a silver bullet if answers aren’t waiting on Gray Mountain.

One way or another, everything is about to end—whether it means Rylie’s liberation or the end of her life…

The series is over. The final book in the final series of this year’s book of the month. Wow. It’s been so long. Voting for the favorite will start in December and a page focused on the BoM will be going up soon. Next year I’ll be switching gears, and rather than promoting little-known books the theme will be “Books Gathering Dust On The Shelf”, so basically the books that you’ve had for a while and just haven’t managed to get to yet. They’ll be buzzier books and hopefully we’ll have more to talk about. I’ll also be doing it differently, reading the book throughout the whole month, and every 25% (or there-a-bouts) I’ll post a review so far. Feel free to read along and we can have all kinds of fun.

Now, onto the actual review.

The endings in these books have always been really good so I was excited to figure out what was in store for the final chapter. I was a little let down by the anticlimactic ending. The book itself was the best so far, really full of plot and action. There weren’t any really dry spots and the story is pretty strictly paranormal. Reine has certainly found how she writes best so it’s refreshing to read something so clearly defined (especially since it hasn’t gone through a traditional publisher).

There are very few new characters, and none that are worth mentioning at all. We get a larger sense of the werewolf hunter’s, or the Union, opening a whole other half of this world. I’m pretty sure she uses that half of the series for her Adult Urban Fantasy books (which I’d love to dive into… if only I had the time).

All in all, I’m giving this book a very generous rating of 4 ¾ stars. I’m sad to see the characters go, and if you are, too, there is a spin-off novella series, Cain chronicles. I don’t think I’ll continue on, it feels like a real ending to me, but I won’t discourage you!

Book Review: Grave Peril (Dresden Files #3)

Harry Dresden - Wizard
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden has faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. It comes with the territory when you're the only professional wizard in the Chicago-area phone book.

But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this: The spirit world has gone postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble - and not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone - or something - is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself....

From the very beginning it’s nonstop action. With a slew of new and interesting characters (I loved, loved, loved Michael and Thomas was pretty awesome, too) and villains that actually make you cringe in fear this book is pretty much un-put-down-able.

Really, the pace is so fast you don’t have much time to breath, and neither does Harry, who’s put at a major disadvantage not even halfway through. His magic is zapped from him (well, a lot of it, at least) and as interesting as that it is, I feel like he’s never really been able to use the full extent of his powers in any of the novels so far. They keep saying he’s this great wizard (and while I love him) I haven’t seen much proof of this at all. The mystery is original, although a little confusing. I feel, too, that some parts are left unexplained. No major plot point, but it’s a little annoying that I didn’t feel like the story truly completed like they normally do.

Of course, being the fan girl I am, I loved this book. For those of you who weren’t fond of the first two, I feel you. This book (if you feel like you can get through another, and you should try) really makes you love the series. Butcher has finally found his niche in writing, developed characters, and now he’s just playing with them, comfortable in their skin as he writes. A wonderful book. I’m giving this one 4 ½ stars.

Music: Gypsy

Book Review: Allegiant SPOILERS

So you've read it now.  That ending.  There are so many things I could talk about, but I'm going to talk about that ENDING.  So if you haven't read the book, don't click to continue reading.  Just don't.

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: The Crown Conspiracy (Theft of Swords Part One)

This series was originally self published independently, but than they were bound up in three omnibus versions, two books a piece.  The Crown Conspiracy is the first book in the series, Ryria Revelations, and also the first book in the bind-up Theft of Swords.  I'll be doing each book separately because they're rather long (I think about 300 pages each).

The description is taken from goodreads:

In the first episode, the reader is introduced to Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, who make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in the murder of the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out...and so begins this epic tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.

One word: Captivating.  I read this book in small increments, a few pages every day, so that I could read many other books simultaneously.  Let me assure you that settling down to dig in a little deeper to this story was the best part of every day.  It was like sitting down for a wonderful feast made up of all my favorite foods and I never got fat from eating more than I needed.  Yeah, it was really, really good.

 

I could write praises for this book for hours.  HOURS people, and I'm not exaggerating.  While I was considering what to write in this review I had to stop myself from OVERLY praising this book.  I want to give an honest review that says more than just "this book was awesome.  so very, very awesome." although that would be completely honest, too.

 

The pace.  For the first chapter it's slow.  And then, immediately, it picks up.  It's not a whirlwind adventure, but it's fast paced, funny, and full of action.  I think the fact that it takes the characters time to get from one place to another, and that the time doesn't seem too long, makes the story that much better.  A large portion of the middle is them travelling, but unlike many authors, Sullivan manages to get the pace exactly right.  It may not be one-hundred percent accurate, but who cares?  It keeps you entertained and the story believable at the same time.

 

The characters really take the cake, though.  Right from the start I knew I was in love with Royce and Hadrian.  I didn't read more than a few sentences of their dialogue before I knew the author was, too.  They're so perfectly written you can tell they've been sitting around in Sullivan's head for a long time and that, when they came out, the transferred to the page as if they'd always been there.  In addition to our heroes there are Alric- the prince- and Myron- a monk.  At first Alric is a little hard to like, but that's on purpose.  His character is also a little shaky early on, but as soon as the story really starts moving along, that stops.  Myron, too, is amazing.  He's so sweet and reminded me of an autistic kid (in a good way, I promise).  He was, by far, my favorite, and his story made me start to cry (really cry, not just on the inside, which is a feat for any book or show or movie, because I don't tend to cry).  There's also Arista, who, while not a main character, is central to the story, and instantly likeable, if not a little too "weak" for my liking.

 

The world is fully realized and without having to go into deep explanations of the mechanics I felt fully immersed.  It's a wonderfully built world for epic fantasy fans to fall in love with.  There is a magic system, lightly touched upon, but more important is the religious system.  I feel like that's often left out of epic and high fantasy and I was impressed by it's usage in the book.

 

It's no surprise, then, that I'm giving this book 5 stars.  I just LOVE it so much and am dying to begin the next one immediately.  If you haven't picked this book up, I really recommend it.  Even if you aren't a big fan of fantasy, the story is so compelling I think anyone could like it.  And a bonus?  It's clean!  There are some suggestions and one of the characters is a prostitute, but if you're not a fan of the sexual stuff that's becoming common in the popular epic fantasy of today (I'm looking at you, GoT) you'll like this one even more.

Book Review: Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)

This book… I’m literally whimpering in pain having finished this book seconds ago. What the hell! What the hell Sarah J Maas! You’re going to make me wait another YEAR for the next book? This one was fantastic, amazing, shocking- SHOCKING I TELL YOU- and you’re going to make me wait ANOTHER YEAR! I want to cry. I need the next book NOW! It was so good. So good. I want to cry. Why is it over? Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

Now that I’ve had my little tantrum, let’s get started with the review. This first half is free of spoilers, but underneath, if you click to continue reading, there are SPOILERS. Big spoilers. Don’t read them unless you’ve already read this book. Seriously. They’ll ruin the whole series so far for you if you haven’t read this book.

OK. So Crown of Midnight is split into two parts. The first part is rather light, and in my opinion, unenjoyable. It focused too much on the romance and had little action. It wasn’t very captivating, and if it had been the whole book, the rating would have landed someone in the three’s. But then there’s part two.

Part one ends with a major BANG moment. I didn’t see it coming. And then part two continues with nonstop stuff happening and BANG moments. At first it’s a little hard (because Celaena isn’t really herself) and the story as we know it has been shattered, but after those little kinks are worked out this novel far surpasses the previous one.

The characters all grew, and I was most impressed by Dorian. In fact, in book one I was rooting for team Chaol, but now I am firmly on the side of Dorian. The turn his character took was just amazing and was one of my favorite things about this book.  

 

This one didn’t have as much of a driving force as the first one, which had a clear cut goal in mind for the ending, but once the ball started rolling it was hard to stop. As a reviewer, I’d give this book four stars but as a fan it gets five. If you liked the first one you’ll love this one. I promise.

SPOILERS BELOW

Book Review: The Bone Season

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.
But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.  Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.
The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine—a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut. 

I could talk for hours about this book.  I loved it so much.  It's the best book I've read since  Clockwork Princess and is pretty close to being the "perfect" book.  It's definitely one you want to read.  Even with all the hype it's been getting, you should PICK THIS ONE UP.  It deserves the hype- trust me.

Since I could talk forever about it I'm going to make this an abridged review.  I won't give any spoilers, hopefully, so this may be a little hard.

The pace is really the only thing I have to complain about.  The amount of time that goes by isn't the amount of time it feels like goes by.  For me the events in the book sped past, but for the character's it was months.  I wasn't reading this book all that quickly, either, since I've been busy.  However, this isn't really detrimental to the story, it just ticks me off a little.  Continuity errors and whatnot.

There are so many character's.  So many.  And they're all wonderful.  For the sake of things, I'm only going to speak of two: Paige and Warden.

I loved Paige.  She's one of my favorite main characters, ever.  She's strong, but weak, and she doesn't make it a habit to be whiny or depend on anyone else.  She's not so strong that she thinks she can take on the world.  She knows who she is and where she belongs.  She's a very realistic character and you get to know her well without knowing every single detail and secret she keeps.  You just learn the important ones.

Warden is very similar.  You don't get into his head so much, but when they do interact, you find yourself loving him and hating him simultaneously.  He owns Paige, but he's kinder then the other Keepers.  You see the conundrum?

The romance in this book is very small.  It doesn't take up many sprawling pages, but simmers in between the lines at just the perfect amount.  When it finally does break into the story you are pulled in by the reality of it.  It wasn't a split second romance, but one that has happened over time, has grown and matured like it would in real life.

The world is so.... Amazing.  It's detail is perfect, reminding me of high-fantasy novels  in how deep it gets.  A whole new world has been constructed atop our own and it's both a beautiful, wondrous place and a terrifying, dystopian one.  The mythology built into the series is like nothing I've ever read or seen.  Clairvoyance has never seemed more appealing.  Really, the true test for a "real" and good world is whether or not the reader wants to live there.  I want to live there.

The writing is amazing.  The words fly off the page and you can't help but devour them.  Every time you start a new line, a new page, a new chapter it's like taking a refreshing sip of cool water.  A lot of people have complained about info-dumping.  I didn't really see it that way.  It was more of throwing you into the middle of the story and expecting you to catch up.  There is a glossary at the back to help you.  I actually really liked that aspect.  It helped make everything seem more real, to me.

Of course, I'm giving this book *****5 out of 5 stars*****.  I loved it and I CANNOT wait for the next one.

Book Review: Storm Front

I'm here to talk to you about the other wizard name Harry.

Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago's first (and only) Wizard P.I. Turns out that 'everyday' world is full of strange and magical things - and most of them don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in.

Harry is the best at what he does - and not just because he's the only one who does it. So whenever the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal capabilities, they look to him for answers. But business isn't just slow, it stinks.

So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get . . . interesting.

MAGIC - IT CAN GET A GUY KILLED.

I've wanted to read this book for quite some time but I hadn't gotten around to it for various reasons.  In fact, I hadn't even picked up a copy. Well, that all changed when I ran over to my neighborhood Half Price Books and snatched up the best edition I could.  Which just happened to be the UK version.  Which is absolutely gorgeous, by the way.  This means that (being the OCD cover person I am) when I buy the other books in the series I'll have to buy them from the UK.  Which means it could take a while for a review of another one of these books.  But there will be another review because I absolutely LOVED this one.

Harry is such a great character.  He's not easy to pin down with one word, but he's almost an anti-hero, I would say.  He has that kind of vibe to him, even though he really isn't one.  He also has a lot of weight on his shoulders, a lot of problems, and I have to give him a lot of credit for being able to function under all these things going against him.

The other character's were good, but they weren't the fleshed out.  They didn't really need to be, but with the complexity of Harry, I almost wished they were.  I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing the supporting cast in the next installments, though, so I'm not worried.

The mystery in this book is rather twisty, but not surprising.  You can see where it's going and know where it connects, to an extent, but it's not really set up for the reader to guess what exactly is going on until Harry does.  The reader gets the information with Harry, and he even chooses to keep some to himself.  I wish there were some more surprises, but it isn't necessary and the book is balanced well.  The right amount of story, mystery, action, and character.

This is an urban fantasy, through and through, and as such, all the mythology has to work in conjunction to the real world, which it shadows.  The magic used is a little scientific, a little otherworldly, and a little high-fantasy.  The laws are pretty cut and dry to magic, but they're also broad enough to allow some wiggle room.  The creatures in this book seem to range from the well known to the obscure, which is always enjoyable.  The White Council makes sense (unlike in some books where councils are just made up because they're needed and don't really carry any weight for the reader) and the way the world is set up to "hide" is believable.

I'm giving this book *****4 3/4 stars***** and look forward to continuing the series.

Book Review: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

Blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeously told as it is terrifying—a debut to watch.

This book is a masterpiece!  I knew I would like it, but I didn't think I would love it this much.  It had my heart racing, the bees in my belly raging with anticipation, and my mind pleading with me to get back to reading!  This book is so different from a lot of the stuff that's out there, it's very gothic, for one, and for another, it's the most awesome and unique story I've read all year.

The pace of the books is very fast, but I think the best way to actually describe it comes from a line in the book itself: "People say time is relative, and I guess that explained why my life before River felt like a handful of seconds... But my life after River was a three-volume saga," (pg. 350).  The book really does feel that way even though only about a week, maybe a week and a half, pass.

There were only a handful of characters but they were all well thought out and deep.  Violet, the main character, is simple and rather eclectic, almost like an old person is living inside of her.  She's different then most other heroines in YA.  She's strong, but a quiet and sleepy strength.  River is an amazing antihero, although I don't really think that describes him all to well.  There isn't one simple word to describe River, except, River.  Luke, Violet's brother, comes off as an ass, but about half-way through the book you figure out who he really is.  Sunshine is the same way, although I wasn't ever to fond of her the way I was fond of Luke.  I feel like Jack could have had more to him, but there is a sequel, to we'll see where that goes.  Neely was a great character as well and I couldn't help but love him, too.  He's one of those characters that really imprints upon the reader.  Well, they all are, but Neely especially.  Finally, Freddie.  There could be a whole series about her.  We get a peek into her life, but Violet's grandmother was a colorful woman who was a scene-stealer in the story.  Just wonderful.

The villain in this book is truly terrifying.  You think you know but then you don't, trust me.  A very flash-pow-OMG!! ending.  I loved it.

The love between Violet and River was nice.  Not over-the-top but very truthful and, while important to the story, not the main piece of it.  You know it's there and you're rooting for them, but you don't feel swallowed by hormones.

The mythology in this story is very simple, but also something you don't want to know before you go into it.  That's part of the fun, finding out what's going on.

The writing is beautiful and elegant, and dark.  It leaves an impression, and I know that this author (April Genevieve Tucholke) is going to be around for a while.  Her writing is very good and rings in your ears after it's all over.

Rating: *****5 out of 5 stars*****

Book Review: Bloodlines

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning...

I loved Vampire Academy but after I bought this book it ended up just sitting on my shelf.  I decided it was time to pick it up and I'm so glad I did.  I'll try to keep it light on spoilers, but you really should read Vampire Academy first if you're going to read it at all.  This book is a minefield of "inside jokes" and Easter eggs. 

Like all the VA books this one was perfect.  The mundane mingled with the action in a perfect balance.  You know it's going somewhere and you're dying to find out where.  There are so many different plots and things going on it's like a tangles web that is remarkably straightened out by the end of the book.  I just love the magic Richelle Mead can work with these. 

Many of the characters we already know but seeing them again, from a new point of view, was refreshing.  The story is told by Sydney, who is a little hard to warm to at first because I was so used to Rose.  They are pretty different in forms of narration, although you can still tell there are some similarities.  Sydney is more comfortable with vampires then most other alchemists, and sometimes I feel like too comfortable.  She's painted in a light where you expect her to be a little more wary around them, but she melts into their little group with near perfect precision.  That's my only complaint.  My only one for the entire book.  Honestly.

Quickly we meet Keith who is one jack-ass.  I really can't elaborate more then that.  I'm glad with where the book left him.  Of course, everyone's favorite Ivashkov returns in this series.  I loved Adrian in VA (sometimes more then Dimitri, yes) and I loved him even more then this.  Spirit Bound left him (and me) heartbroken.  I'm so glad he's getting this chance at redemption.  I'm starting to see some sparks fly between him and Sydney (fangirl squeal).

Other characters who grace the pages of this book are Eddie and Jill, with cameo's from Rose, Abe, and Dimitri.  Eddie and Jill play major parts in this book and, again, I was glad to see them there.  Rose was good friends with Eddie in VA but here I think we get a different side of him- a softer side.  He was always a good character, but now he's been promoted to great character in my books.  We also get a closer look at Jill, which comes with several surprises of it's own.  I honestly thought Jill was a little bit annoying in VA, but here she's really not, and I'm glad.

New characters (besides the aforementioned Keith) include Clarence, an older vampire who believes vampire hunters killed his niece; Lee, Clarence's son and Jill's boyfriend; and Micah, a human at the school who has a crush on Jill.

Returning to this world was nice, and seeing behind the Alchemist's curtain was even better.  It peels back the layers of how complex this series really is.

I also enjoyed the story line.  It fits nicely into the way VA ended and doesn't make it seem like it was unfinished.  Instead it takes a leap and, while keeping old plots and happenings closed, opens new ones that make perfect sense.  I couldn't put this book down most of the time.  I really fell back in love with everything.

At the moment I'm basically foaming at the mouth for the next one and hoping I can somehow scrounge up the money for it.  For now, my rating is *****4.45***** stars. 

SPOILER ROOM BELOW:  READ IF YOU DARE

Book Review: Ink

The description comes from goodreads:

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.
Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets. Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

 

 

Isn't this cover one of the prettiest things you've ever seen?  I love it and it fits in perfectly with the book!

This book was well paced and perfectly balanced.  Nothing trivial took precedence in the story, the friends weren't annoying and the parental figure- Diane- was what you'd imagine she would be.  Learning new things important to the story came at the right times and elicited the right responses.

Katie was a good protagonist.  Seeing Japan through her eyes- a gaijin- was very real.  She was new to this world and the reader isn't just thrown into a place half-way around the globe (I'm American, so for me it is halfway around the globe) where almost everything is different.  She seems like a very normal person and she takes Tomo's secret and the Kami like a normal person would.  I find it easy to relate to her, personally, because of her attitude and also because she joins her school's Kendo team.  I myself fence and it's something I appreciate when a character does (Kendo, is, at a basic level, just Japanese fencing).

Tomo is a great guy, too.  He's definitely a bit of a ass sometimes, but it's just a façade that he wears- and for a good reason.  I don't know if you could say he was a "bad-boy" but he's certainly not the good-guy prince charming kind of character.  I, personally, love him (book crush alert!).  He's definitely a heartbreaker.  His and Katie's relationship has its ups and downs but it felt natural how it formed and not over blown like you can sometimes get.  It was a big, consuming part of both of their lives, but they also weren't dying when they were away from each other.  They were worried (of the Kami, the Yakuza, and plenty of other things) something would happen when they were apart, but it wasn't over the top.

The other characters, like Jun, Sato, Yuki, and Tanaka were all 5-star characters as well.  Jun seems like the nice guy and even at the end you can't help but like him.  Sato is more of a jerk, but again, in the end he finds a place in your heart (even if it's a small place) and I'm sure that the next book will probably have him in it a bit more.  Yuki and Tanaka are good best-friend characters, something I don't say often.  They live their own lives, aren't nosy, and cover for Katie when she needs them to.  Diane, Katie's aunt, starts out a little hard to like because she's a little strange, but as Katie comes to grow closer to her, so does the reader.

The villain.  Always an important part to any story.  I don't want to give anything away, but this "villain" can be taken as a good guy and the motives are something that could be taken either way as well.  Besides the mysterious someone of which I'm speaking, the Yakuza (Japanese mob) play a major role, and you really can't get much eviler then these guys.

I do recommend reading the eBook (it's free for Kindle, I don't know about nook or other platforms) called Shadow.  It takes you all the way from when Katie's mom died to the beginning of this book, setting the story up nicely and also giving you a look into Tomo's head.

The fact that this book was set in Japan was one of the reasons I picked it up in the first place.  It's foreign and different and unique.  Just reading this book you feel like you're there and I almost wish I was (I could never eat the food there, I'm too picky).  The idea of using the Kami and their mythology is something different then I've ever read or seen before and has me wanting to do research of my own.

In short: I really liked this book.

Rating: 5 stars

A New Obsession: Welcome to Night Vale

I've always been a fan of podcasts, but this little gem of a show takes the cake.  It's smart-funny and wildly strange.  If you're a fan of the paranormal/supernatural/science fiction you'll enjoy this show.

It airs bi-weekly and can be found on the apple podcast store.  Commonplace books produces it.

Welcome to Night Vale is set up like a small town radio station.  They cover everything from traffic, to weather, to the new dog park.  It's so much fun.

Right now I'm just catching up on it (there are only 27 episodes) but I am seriously hooked.  You'll find yourself loving this the minute you begin listening.  And, seriously, take a listen. 

Rating: 5 stars

Book Review: Between the Lines

Let me start off by saying that I gave this book five stars not because it was an amazing book of epic proportions, but because of its whimsy and simplicity.  The fact that this book isn't very serious makes it even more appealing.  There are pictures, colored words, you know, the works, that mark every page and keep it fun and light.

This story is about Oliver, the prince of a fairy-tale who doesn't want to be in the story anymore, and Delilah, the girl who finds his story and hears him talk.  They fall in love and Delilah promises to help him get out of his book.  The whole book is about their mishaps as they try to do just that.

Actually, this book is a little bit of a dream come true.  I would love for one of my book crushes ('cause we all have them) to fall in love with me and then come to the real world.  Wouldn't that just be amazing?

Both the characters are well written and you certainly don't confuse them.  The background characters are all pretty good, too, except for Delilah's friend Jules and her mother.  All the fairy-tale characters actually have me convinced that's how they would act in real life!

The mythology to the story is easy to pick up on and not to complicated.  It does make you look at your books differently, though.  You start to wonder what if....

Which is exactly my favorite thing about this book.  It brings you to the forefront of your imagination; a simple part where anything seems possible and you don't really need to explain how.  Like toy story, really.  It's a great feeling.  It's also a quick read which makes it appealing.

Like I said earlier, I gave this book five stars.

Book Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer

The first book was impossible to talk about because you didn't want to give anything away.  The second book is even harder.

There were more questions then there were answers, however, those questions were so intriguing, so unusual, and so good that you aren't really sure you want answers.  You know answers will come with a price- the end of the series.  The characters are so real you can reach out and touch them, the problems so well depicted that your heart hurts to read about them.  There is nothing else like this book out there for you to read.

Nothing is as it seems in these books and that's what makes them such a delectable read.

I really can't say anything!  Take this as a good sign.  All I can say is that if you can handle a touch of horror (or maybe it's classified as dark fantasy?) and killer cliff-hangers, then you NEED to read these books if you haven't already.

 

Book Review: Beautiful Chaos

This is the third book in the Castor Chronicles written by Kami Garcia and Maragert Stohl.  I' m going to try my best not to give anything away, but you may want to shield your eyes anyway, if you haven't read it yet. 

It was a very satisfying read, though not as good as Creatures or Darkness.  Chaos focused mostly on Ethan and I felt all the other characters kind of took on less important roles.  Keeping with the recipe of the books, the flashbacks showed us Sarafine's early days with Lena, which were really good.  I feel like there could be a whole book about Sarafine after reading the flashbacks.

 

Character wise we got to learn more about John and I thouroughly enjoyed it.  He was really cool and like the turn his story is taking.  Liv seemed to take a step backwards and two steps forward, which I found frustrating, but am in the end, happy with.  We still don't see much of Ethan's dad, but you'll be surprised with how Mrs. English plays into everything.

 

The ending was anti-climatic, but still breath-taking and I picked up book four right away.

 

In the end, I give it five stars.

Book Review: Beautiful Darkness

Beautiful Darkness is the sequel to Beautiful Creatures and as such this is going to be a rather thin review because I can't give away any spoilers.

This book picks up right after the last one, give or take a few days, and doesn't cover a whole year, but rather about a month.  The story has a rather focused plot-line and for the majority Lena and Ethan aren't together, which threw a screw into things.  However the new characters, John Breed and Liv, are neither a breath of fresh air or dead-weights, but were certainly necessary.  The old characters all took steps forward, especially Link, and the plot moved quickly enough.  It kept me breathless throughout the whole thing, and so I give it 5-Stars.  Great read, super excited for the next one, but I'll take a slight detour and read Dream Dark first.