My Rating: 4 out of 10 stars
read January 18-24, 2013
This book really didn't live up to all the hype for me. Neither of the main characters really endeared themselves to me and when I don't like the main characters, I find myself not really caring what they do.
That said, the way the story was composed, with the author making you wonder what was going on for most of the book, is what kept me reading. But then when I got to the end, whoa that really blew it for me. I didn't like the ending AT ALL! I hear they might be changing the ending for the movie though, so I'll probably see it just for comparison purposes, and to see if the characters are somehow more likeable on the big screen.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Buy @ Amazon
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
REVIEW: Enclave by Ann Aguirre
My Rating: 10 out of 10 stars
Wow, this was a fantastic read! Enclave is the first book in the Razorland trilogy, a new Young Adult dystopian series by Ann Aguirre. (Actually it was published in April 2011 so it's not really that new.) I devoured this book in only 5 days, having a hard time putting it down. It was only about 272 pages though so I'm sure there's many that could read that in a single day. ;) Though it's only January, I have a feeling this one will wind up at or very near the top of my best reads of 2013.
So what makes this novel stand out among the plethora of others like it? Yes, the whole dystopian theme has been getting an extraordinary amount of attention, some even claim it's being overdone, but you can't deny the success of books like The Hunger Games or TV series like The Walking Dead. And IMO, this stuff is a whole lot more interesting than the snooze fest that is Fifty Shades of Grey. :P
The author has taken several chilling themes—zombies, war, plague, underground societies—and given them a different spin so the story is fresh and new. And thankfully, no "love triangle"!
I'd highly recommend this series to fans of the above mentioned books and shows, and I'm looking forward to reading Outpost, the next book the series, which fortunately I already have here and waiting thanks to a thoughtful holiday gift from PaperBackSwap. :)
Buy @ AmazonNew York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters—or Freaks—who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight, in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs. As the two are guided by Fade's long-ago memories, they face dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known.
Wow, this was a fantastic read! Enclave is the first book in the Razorland trilogy, a new Young Adult dystopian series by Ann Aguirre. (Actually it was published in April 2011 so it's not really that new.) I devoured this book in only 5 days, having a hard time putting it down. It was only about 272 pages though so I'm sure there's many that could read that in a single day. ;) Though it's only January, I have a feeling this one will wind up at or very near the top of my best reads of 2013.
So what makes this novel stand out among the plethora of others like it? Yes, the whole dystopian theme has been getting an extraordinary amount of attention, some even claim it's being overdone, but you can't deny the success of books like The Hunger Games or TV series like The Walking Dead. And IMO, this stuff is a whole lot more interesting than the snooze fest that is Fifty Shades of Grey. :P
The author has taken several chilling themes—zombies, war, plague, underground societies—and given them a different spin so the story is fresh and new. And thankfully, no "love triangle"!
I'd highly recommend this series to fans of the above mentioned books and shows, and I'm looking forward to reading Outpost, the next book the series, which fortunately I already have here and waiting thanks to a thoughtful holiday gift from PaperBackSwap. :)
REVIEW: Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn
My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
This is the sixth book in the Kitty Norville series, and it was great to get back to this series after a year and a half away.
In this installment, Kitty is back home in Denver and dealing with the repercussions of her recent trip to Las Vegas where she seriously pissed off a cult of were-tigers and it's vampire priestess. With her life in danger, as well as those of the people she cares about, she sets out to track down the source of the curse that's been placed on her. Fortunately, a group of TV paranormal investigators--one of whom has real psychic abilities--is in town filming so Kitty is sure that if she can enlist their help, she can stop this thing before more people get hurt.
This was another fantastic installment in the Kitty series and I look forward to reading more. :)
Buy @ AmazonThis is the sixth book in the Kitty Norville series, and it was great to get back to this series after a year and a half away.
In this installment, Kitty is back home in Denver and dealing with the repercussions of her recent trip to Las Vegas where she seriously pissed off a cult of were-tigers and it's vampire priestess. With her life in danger, as well as those of the people she cares about, she sets out to track down the source of the curse that's been placed on her. Fortunately, a group of TV paranormal investigators--one of whom has real psychic abilities--is in town filming so Kitty is sure that if she can enlist their help, she can stop this thing before more people get hurt.
This was another fantastic installment in the Kitty series and I look forward to reading more. :)
Monday, December 31, 2012
REVIEW: Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert
My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
A supernatural thriller with a twist, The Keeper of Light and Dust blends martial arts with science and magic to create a story that is unique and different, intriguing and compelling.
Mia Lockhart is a Keeper who uses special protection tattoos of her own making combined with out-of-body experiences to protect the fighters in her keep. Nick Duffy is a long time friend of Mia's and fellow martial artist who has returned to London to start fighting again, and has high hopes of finally starting up a romantic relationship with Mia. But not if Adrian Ashton has anything to do with it!
Adrian is an oddly brilliant scientist recently arrived in London as well who's very interested in the martial arts and other Chinese medicine and practices. With the help of several ancient texts combined with his own studies, he's discovered a way to cheat death by draining the chi life energy from his victims without their even knowing it. He's particularly drawn to boxers and other martial artists because of the strength of the life force they carry within them, especially during a fight. But with Adrian in town, things may not turn out too good for Nick and Mia.
Most of the concepts used in this book are indeed based on actual practices in use today, particularly in Eastern civilizations, but the author is able to seamlessly bring it all to the next level to give the story it's otherworldly and supernatural slant. Though it was immediately apparent from the beginning who "the bad guy" was, along with his motives, it's the how and why behind those motives that drive the story forward. Overall, a very good read and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Buy @ AmazonA supernatural thriller with a twist, The Keeper of Light and Dust blends martial arts with science and magic to create a story that is unique and different, intriguing and compelling.
Mia Lockhart is a Keeper who uses special protection tattoos of her own making combined with out-of-body experiences to protect the fighters in her keep. Nick Duffy is a long time friend of Mia's and fellow martial artist who has returned to London to start fighting again, and has high hopes of finally starting up a romantic relationship with Mia. But not if Adrian Ashton has anything to do with it!
Adrian is an oddly brilliant scientist recently arrived in London as well who's very interested in the martial arts and other Chinese medicine and practices. With the help of several ancient texts combined with his own studies, he's discovered a way to cheat death by draining the chi life energy from his victims without their even knowing it. He's particularly drawn to boxers and other martial artists because of the strength of the life force they carry within them, especially during a fight. But with Adrian in town, things may not turn out too good for Nick and Mia.
Most of the concepts used in this book are indeed based on actual practices in use today, particularly in Eastern civilizations, but the author is able to seamlessly bring it all to the next level to give the story it's otherworldly and supernatural slant. Though it was immediately apparent from the beginning who "the bad guy" was, along with his motives, it's the how and why behind those motives that drive the story forward. Overall, a very good read and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Saturday, December 01, 2012
REVIEW: The Paladin Prophecy by Mark Frost
My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
Will West has lived his life under the radar, doing all he can not to call attention to himself at his parent's request. Having moved around all his life, he's used to being the new kid at school so this has worked out well for him so far, until one day...
Now Will's on the run from who-knows-what from the Never-Was, and seeks solace at a very secretive, very private school in Wisconsin called the Center for Integrated Learning. But why are these monsters after Will and his parents in the first place? And just how much does the school really know about it all? Will can only hope that with the help of his new friends, they have what it takes to defeat them and escape with their lives.
Will's story is intriguing and moves along at a good pace. The author uses lots of description and imagery to bring everything to life, though I never found it excessive or slowing the story down. That's good because at 560 pages, it took me nearly the entire three weeks of my library's eBook rental term to finish it.
Yes, there are some things you don't quite understand for much of the first half of the book, but I didn't find that the least bit frustrating, instead it piqued my interest and kept me reading well into the night. Once the main story line is wrapped up at the end, the author leaves you with a little bit of a cliffhanger which will have you looking forward to the next book in the series.
This is Mark Frost's first foray into the young adult fantasy genre. Though I haven't read any of his other books yet, I have The List of Seven on my TBR which I acquired in a swap or book box over at BookObsessed some time ago, so now I'm looking forward to reading that while I wait for the release of Alliance: The Paladin Prophecy Book 2. Mr. Frost was also involved in two successful television series: Hill Street Blues and Twin Peaks.
Buy @ AmazonWill West has lived his life under the radar, doing all he can not to call attention to himself at his parent's request. Having moved around all his life, he's used to being the new kid at school so this has worked out well for him so far, until one day...
Now Will's on the run from who-knows-what from the Never-Was, and seeks solace at a very secretive, very private school in Wisconsin called the Center for Integrated Learning. But why are these monsters after Will and his parents in the first place? And just how much does the school really know about it all? Will can only hope that with the help of his new friends, they have what it takes to defeat them and escape with their lives.
Will's story is intriguing and moves along at a good pace. The author uses lots of description and imagery to bring everything to life, though I never found it excessive or slowing the story down. That's good because at 560 pages, it took me nearly the entire three weeks of my library's eBook rental term to finish it.
Yes, there are some things you don't quite understand for much of the first half of the book, but I didn't find that the least bit frustrating, instead it piqued my interest and kept me reading well into the night. Once the main story line is wrapped up at the end, the author leaves you with a little bit of a cliffhanger which will have you looking forward to the next book in the series.
This is Mark Frost's first foray into the young adult fantasy genre. Though I haven't read any of his other books yet, I have The List of Seven on my TBR which I acquired in a swap or book box over at BookObsessed some time ago, so now I'm looking forward to reading that while I wait for the release of Alliance: The Paladin Prophecy Book 2. Mr. Frost was also involved in two successful television series: Hill Street Blues and Twin Peaks.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
REVIEW: A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
All Sookie Stackhouse short stories in a single volume. If you want to read all the short stories the author has written about Sookie, but don't want to hunt down all the various anthologies they're found in, then this book is for you. Nearly every Sookie short story is contained in this single volume. (The only short stories not here are the ones that involve secondary characters who don't really play a major role part in Sookie's world.)
I did read most of these myself several years ago as part of other anthologies, but since I collect this series, I had to have this book for my Personal Collection for it to be complete. :) Some of these stories are better than others, and though not required reading for the series, they give you just a little bit extra of Sookie, or Eric, and expand on an event that took place between the books, usually insignificant or otherwise alluded to in the series but without much detail.
Below is the list of stories and what other places you can find them (plus my notes on when I read them). You can also find a more complete list which includes the secondary characters I mentioned above in this Wikipedia article.
• "Fairy Dust" between books 4 and 5, Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail.
read 11/30/05 as part of Powers of Detection anthology. Reread 10/4/12.
• "Dracula Night" between books 4 and 5, Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail.
read Sep 2011 from Many Bloody Returns anthology. Reread 10/4/12.
• "One Word Answer" between books 5 and 6, Dead as a Doornail and Definitely Dead.
read 5/16/05 as part of Bite anthology. Reread 10/4/12.
• "Lucky" between books 7 and 8, All Together Dead and From Dead to Worse.
read 10/30/11 as part of Unusual Suspects anthology.
• "Gift Wrap" between books 8 and 9, From Dead to Worse and Dead and Gone.
read 10/3/12 (also part of of Unusual Suspects anthology).
Buy @ AmazonAll Sookie Stackhouse short stories in a single volume. If you want to read all the short stories the author has written about Sookie, but don't want to hunt down all the various anthologies they're found in, then this book is for you. Nearly every Sookie short story is contained in this single volume. (The only short stories not here are the ones that involve secondary characters who don't really play a major role part in Sookie's world.)
I did read most of these myself several years ago as part of other anthologies, but since I collect this series, I had to have this book for my Personal Collection for it to be complete. :) Some of these stories are better than others, and though not required reading for the series, they give you just a little bit extra of Sookie, or Eric, and expand on an event that took place between the books, usually insignificant or otherwise alluded to in the series but without much detail.
Below is the list of stories and what other places you can find them (plus my notes on when I read them). You can also find a more complete list which includes the secondary characters I mentioned above in this Wikipedia article.
• "Fairy Dust" between books 4 and 5, Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail.
read 11/30/05 as part of Powers of Detection anthology. Reread 10/4/12.
• "Dracula Night" between books 4 and 5, Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail.
read Sep 2011 from Many Bloody Returns anthology. Reread 10/4/12.
• "One Word Answer" between books 5 and 6, Dead as a Doornail and Definitely Dead.
read 5/16/05 as part of Bite anthology. Reread 10/4/12.
• "Lucky" between books 7 and 8, All Together Dead and From Dead to Worse.
read 10/30/11 as part of Unusual Suspects anthology.
• "Gift Wrap" between books 8 and 9, From Dead to Worse and Dead and Gone.
read 10/3/12 (also part of of Unusual Suspects anthology).
REVIEW: Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 9) by Charlaine Harris
My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
This is truly one of my favorite series and Charlaine Harris is a fantastic writer. I've read almost everything she's written including her much older Aurora Teagarden and Lily Bard cozy mystery series, and the first couple from the Harper Connelly series (kinda put Harper aside so I could concentrate on catching up on this and several other series from other authors).
But what can I say other than I LOVE Sookie! (and Eric and Pam). Yet I cannot read this series during the summer when True Blood is on HBO because the TV series has deviated from the books in so many ways, that it can get confusing reading the books during True Blood season.
In this installment, the Weres and Shifters have finally decided to come out. And why not? The Vampires have been pretty successful with their own Great Reveal, so they feel it's high time the human population know the truth: that there's even more supernaturals living among them. Unfortunately, things don't go as smoothly as planned and several Weres close to Sookie lose their lives in a battle that's bigger than all of them.
Buy @ AmazonThis is truly one of my favorite series and Charlaine Harris is a fantastic writer. I've read almost everything she's written including her much older Aurora Teagarden and Lily Bard cozy mystery series, and the first couple from the Harper Connelly series (kinda put Harper aside so I could concentrate on catching up on this and several other series from other authors).
But what can I say other than I LOVE Sookie! (and Eric and Pam). Yet I cannot read this series during the summer when True Blood is on HBO because the TV series has deviated from the books in so many ways, that it can get confusing reading the books during True Blood season.
In this installment, the Weres and Shifters have finally decided to come out. And why not? The Vampires have been pretty successful with their own Great Reveal, so they feel it's high time the human population know the truth: that there's even more supernaturals living among them. Unfortunately, things don't go as smoothly as planned and several Weres close to Sookie lose their lives in a battle that's bigger than all of them.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
REVIEW: Stephanie Plum books 4 thru 8 and Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich
My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
Just whipped through books 4 through 8 of the Stephanie Plum series, along with the Between-the-Numbers Holiday short story Visions of Sugar Plums. These are such fun, quick, reads that it's hard to sit down and write a review after each one without wanting to just jump right into the next instead. :)
Even though it's been 6 years since I've last hung with her, Stephanie is still such a wonderfully fun and refreshing person to hang with! And if you haven't yet read this series, let me tell you that Evanovich definitely throws you right into the story with her writing, making you feel like you're right there next to Stephanie and Lula kicking bad guy butt (or more like the other way around usually). LOL Or even Ranger or Joe... yummmm ;)
In any case, it took me a little over three weeks to read to read all 6 books--really 5 1/4 since Visions of Sugar Plums is only 152 pages--and right after that, Mike and I watched the One for the Money movie which we'd rented from Netflix. It was hilarious and I was happy to see that the screenwriters held true to pretty much everything in the book. I don't know if that movie did well enough at the box office to justify the sequel but I'd really love it if they made one. Stephanie and the gang are definitely worthy of the big screen. :)
BookCrossing journal page for Four to Score
BookCrossing journal page for High Five
BookCrossing journal page for Hot Six
BookCrossing journal page for Seven Up
BookCrossing journal page for Hard Eight
BookCrossing journal page for Visions of Sugar Plums
Buy @ Amazon
Buy @ Amazon
Buy @ Amazon
Buy @ Amazon
Buy @ Amazon
Buy @ AmazonJust whipped through books 4 through 8 of the Stephanie Plum series, along with the Between-the-Numbers Holiday short story Visions of Sugar Plums. These are such fun, quick, reads that it's hard to sit down and write a review after each one without wanting to just jump right into the next instead. :)
Even though it's been 6 years since I've last hung with her, Stephanie is still such a wonderfully fun and refreshing person to hang with! And if you haven't yet read this series, let me tell you that Evanovich definitely throws you right into the story with her writing, making you feel like you're right there next to Stephanie and Lula kicking bad guy butt (or more like the other way around usually). LOL Or even Ranger or Joe... yummmm ;)
In any case, it took me a little over three weeks to read to read all 6 books--really 5 1/4 since Visions of Sugar Plums is only 152 pages--and right after that, Mike and I watched the One for the Money movie which we'd rented from Netflix. It was hilarious and I was happy to see that the screenwriters held true to pretty much everything in the book. I don't know if that movie did well enough at the box office to justify the sequel but I'd really love it if they made one. Stephanie and the gang are definitely worthy of the big screen. :)
BookCrossing journal page for Four to Score
BookCrossing journal page for High Five
BookCrossing journal page for Hot Six
BookCrossing journal page for Seven Up
BookCrossing journal page for Hard Eight
BookCrossing journal page for Visions of Sugar Plums
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
