Monday, June 30, 2014

Books of Note: June Reads

Well, I didn't read as many books as I wanted to get to this month due to trying to get a few writing projects finished, and then going away for a long weekend, but I did get more than I probably would have otherwise, thanks to the Sweet Summer Read A Thon I was able to take part in which was really fun.

Complete June Reads List:

Curse of the Thirteenth Fey by Jane Yolen (3 stars)
Game (Jasper Dent #2) by Barry Lyga (4 stars)
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel (4 stars)
Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (3 stars)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin (4 stars)
The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood and Co. #1) by Jonathan Stroud (4 stars)
Moonshine (Cal Leandros #2) by Rob Thurman (4 stars)
Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer (4 stars)

Books I Bought:

I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent #1) by Barry Lyga
Nightlife (Cal Leandros #1) by Rob Thurman
Moonshine (Cal Leandros #2) by Rob Thurman
Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer
The Falconer's Knot by Mary Hoffman
The Unfortunate Son by Constance Leeds
Shelter (Mickey Bolitar #1) by Harlan Corban

Favorite Reads of the Month

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.


Review

Thoughts on the Overall Book: I never read Sci-Fi, but I had it on good authority that this series was good, and I love any retelling, and this one was so strange I had to give it a try, and it turned out that I was glad I did, because I ended up enjoying it very much.

Cover--Yea or Nay: I do like the cover. It pretty much makes you realize it's going to be a Cinderella retelling, but since you can see the cyborg element in the leg, you can tell it's not going to be a normal one.

Characters: I really liked Cinder right off the bat. She doesn't have an attitude, and when she gets angry, it's really for understandable reasons. Her stepmother and oldest stepsister are really horrible. I liked how she was resourceful and could take care of herself, but was also not afraid to ask for help or welcomed it when it came unexpectedly. Kai was also a great character. He was so sweet and had just the kind of character I love seeing in princes or your rulers. He was humble and yet he was also willing to do his duty and what was best for his people. There was a lot of great supporting characters too. I really didn't know how I felt about Dr. Erland until probably the very end of the book. I still think he's kind of creepy though, I never got over my initial reaction. Peony was sweet and a great little sister character. Levana, the Lunar queen was super creepy, but I loved her character. She reminded me of the classic fairy queens with her domineering attitude and her glamour. I also almost never like robot/android characters (except in Star Wars) but I did like Iko, she was adorable.

The Romance: I actually ship Cinder and Kai a lot. I love them together, and I think they are just adorable.

Writing Style: I guess there's not anything majorly special about the actual writing style itself, but the way the story is told and the world it is set it was awesome. I usually don't like future-set stories (In fact I can't even remember reading one before this) but I liked this because it didn't portray society as completely destroyed. It was more like a Star Wars setting, which is the kind of Sci-Fi I like, so I appreciated that. It seemed normal and okay, and not freaky and disturbing, is what I'm trying to say. I would not mind living in this future apart from the plague outbreak. But the descriptions were great, and I was able to visualize it all very easily. I loved how the author worked in elements of Cinderella and yet gave us a really fun twist to the original story as well. It's a pretty action-packed book, but you also get to learn a lot about the characters too, which I like. There's also bits of rather subtle humor which I always appreciate.

Accuracy/ Believability: Not applicable. But again, I liked the world building, and as far as that goes, I guess it kind of is a pretty believable future setting.

Problems/What bothered me: Nothing major, only personal preference. I hate plague books, I don't like reading them, and I hate medical experimentation. But apart from those bits, I had no problem with the book and none of it was as bad as I feared either.

Conclusion: 3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book, and I'm very glad I decided to give it a go. I think the author has something really unique here, and I hope she continues to write more of this calibre.

Recommended Audience: If you are getting tired of normal retellings, try these, because they're unique. Probably more a girl read than a guy read ages 13 and up.



Victor Frankenstein leads a charmed life. He and his twin brother, Konrad, and their beautiful cousin Elizabeth take lessons at home and spend their spare time fencing and horseback riding. Along with their friend Henry, they have explored all the hidden passageways and secret rooms of the palatial Frankenstein chateau. Except one.

The Dark Library contains ancient tomes written in strange languages and filled with forbidden knowledge. Their father makes them promise never to visit the library, but when Konrad becomes deathly ill, Victor knows he must find the book that contains the recipe for the legendary Elixir of Life.

The elixir needs only three ingredients. But impossible odds, dangerous alchemy and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn.

Victor knows he must not fail. Yet his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science and love—and how much he is willing to sacrifice.



Review

Thoughts on the Overall Book: I've been wanting to read this one for a while, but finally waited until I had read Frankenstein itself before I did so. I've not read a Kenneth Oppel book I didn't like, and this one was no different.

Cover--Yea or Nay: Yes. While it has a character on it, I really love the cover. It has a very cool gothic feel to it.

Characters: I'm one of the people who actually felt sorry for Victor and liked him inFrankenstein so I enjoyed reading a book about him when he's younger (though this is really only a few years before the original book takes place.) Victor is an interesting character, because he is a wonderful brother and a wonderful friend but he also has a jealous streak that makes him a little dark at times. In contrast, his twin brother, Konrad is the sweet one, and works well to keeping Victor on his feet. I really enjoyed their relationship, that undying loyalty that I love to see in brothers. I liked getting to see more of Elizabeth and I have always liked Henry, so while there wasn't much of him, I enjoyed having him along. Polidori was also a very interesting character (view spoiler)

The Romance: This was the only problem I had with the book. While I love Kenneth Oppel's stories, he sometimes has the penchant for introducing love triangles and this one being between Victor, Elizabeth and Konrad and I can't stand it when brothers fight over a girl, it always goes bad. It this case, it didn't play a huge role in the story, but it was still more than I liked, and the fact that whenever I wanted to shake my head at Victor the situation had something to do with Elizabeth, also made it someone intolerable.

Writing Style: As usual, Kenneth Oppel presents a wonderful adventure story with a dark, gothic feel. This is probably the darkest book I have read by him. I always love his writing. This one reads like a classic, and I loved Victor's first person narration. Everything seemed to fit the time period well and I have no complaints about that whatsoever. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes for a quick read. It actually fits pretty well with Mary Shelly's novel in style, though of course isn't exact. But I liked how it kind of gave backstory for the original and gave a reason for why Frankenstein did what he did.

Accuracy/ Believability: I really don't know much about Germany during this time period but it seemed all right to me. Anything that seemed a little fantastic, was obviously meant to be, and I liked how science was pretty much regarded how it was back then, as magic and alchemy. The things that they used and did actually made sense to me.

Problems/What bothered me: Apart from the love triangle, I didn't really have any complaints.

Conclusion: 4 stars. I enjoyed this a lot, and even though it's sad and I cried at the end, it will just be another favorite by Kenneth Oppel.

Recommended Audience: If you liked the original novel, you'll probably enjoy this. Anyone who enjoyed gothic adventure novels should try it. Girl or guy read 16 and up.


(Read this review with Spoilers on Goodreads

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .


Review

Thoughts on the Overall Book: I always love a good ghost story, and what's better than professional ghost hunters? I thought this book had a really cool twist to the traditional ghost story and was overall a really awesome adventure with cool characters.

Cover--Yea or Nay: Yes! I really love the cover. While there are people on it, you can't see any definitive features and I think it works. It has a cool ghostly look to it to indicate the kind of book this is.

Characters: Lucy is the protagonist and narrator of the story and I really liked her a lot. She's a sensible heroine, she knows what she's doing and when she does make mistakes it's more in the way that people are human and not because she does it out of stupidity. In fact, usually her mistakes ended up being for the better in the long run. Lockwood was also a totally awesome character. I loved him; he's just the kind of guy character I love to read about. He was humble, somewhat quiet, and not afraid to speak his mind. He was a very mature individual and he also had an awesome fashion sense ;) George was your typical quirky member of the group, the geeky one, but he definitely stepped up to the plate when needed, and despite his shortcomings, I liked him as well. What I loved most about them was that there was no romance at all between them. They worked as partners and had a very familial relationship which was totally awesome. I'm not going to say much about a lot of the supporting characters because I don't want to give away spoilers, but I liked the supporting cast a lot too, and the baddie while not totally present was creepy even if he did monologue a little more than needed.

The Romance: None!!

Writing Style: I really loved the writing style; Lucy's narration is awesome, because she has a very dry sense of humor which I always love, and though the book never really became actually scary, at least in my opinion (but it takes a lot to creep me out) it had a really almost noir feel to it. The book is actually set in modern days, but it has the feel of a Victorian novel. In fact, I had to keep reminding myself it wasn't, even though modern technology does show up. Apart from being a ghost story this was an awesome mystery and I loved how all the seemingly unconnected bits fit together. The story itself is set in kind of an alternate version of our world; it's all the same places and everything, but for some reason in Britain, there has been an influx of ghostly activity and that's why they have to create ghost fighting companies. Since Children are able to see ghosts better than adults, they make up the most of the companies. It was all a very clever and unique idea, even if the reason for all the ghostly activity is never really explained. No one knows why in the book either, so it didn't really bother me, and is not entirely relevant to the plot, at least not in this book. It also had a very British feel to it which I loved. My only complaint, which isn't even really a complaint because it's not the author's fault at all, was that when the book was published in America they Americanized it and I HATE it when they do that. It sounds so wrong to have American words in place of British ones that should be there and it kind of took the feel away for me on occasion. I never understand why they do this anyway, it's not that hard to figure out. It will teach kids something. Kids aren't stupid, after all. I was also insulted when people spelled things out for me in books when I was a kid.

Accuracy/ Believability: Not applicable. But the ghostly lore from what I've known prior is pretty traditional; iron, salt, that sort of thing, but I loved the gadgets they used too. Very fun!

Problems/What bothered me: No problems, I enjoyed the book a lot.

Conclusion: 4 stars. This is the first book I have read by Jonathan Stroud and I can't believe I haven't read any of his books before. I really enjoyed this a lot, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

Recommended Audience: If you enjoy ghost stories, this is a great one to add to your shelves. Girl or guy read 12 and up.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Read-A-Thon Wrap Up

Well, yesterday was the last day of the Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon, and I decided to do a wrap up post to calculate what goals I finished that I set in the beginning!

Read 100 or more pages a day
Read a classic
Finish last month's book club read
Get some research done on the side (didn't really get to that too much, but I did a little bit of writing instead.)

Total Books Finished: 3 1/2

Total Pages Read: 1,057

I was kind of hoping to read over a thousand pages by the end, so I'm happy I met that goal too! All in all, I really had a fun time with the Read-A-Thon. It was a great start to my summer reading.





Saturday, June 14, 2014

Something Old, Something New

Today's challenge in correlation to the Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon is "Something Old, Something New" hosted by The Coffee House. Basically it's just stating the first book (novel, not picture book) you remember reading and the latest you finished.

Here's mine!

Something Old: This was a hard one, but I believe that it was an abridged copy of Black Beauty. One of those that has all the pen and ink drawings in them :)

Something New: Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Just finished it last night!

Only two more days for the Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon! When I'm done I'm going to make a write up of all that I read and the challenges I accomplished :)

Until then!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Books of Note: Spring Reads Part 2

Okay, here's the late part two of my favorite reads of spring =)

All aboard for an action-packed escapade from the internationally bestselling author of Airborne and the Silverwing trilogy.

The Boundless, the greatest train ever built, is on its maiden voyage across the country, and first-class passenger Will Everett is about to embark on the adventure of his life!

When Will ends up in possession of the key to a train car containing priceless treasures, he becomes the target of sinister figures from his past.

In order to survive, Will must join a traveling circus, enlisting the aid of Mr. Dorian, the ringmaster and leader of the troupe, and Maren, a girl his age who is an expert escape artist. With villains fast on their heels, can Will and Maren reach Will's father and save The Boundless before someone winds up dead?


Review


Thoughts on the Overall Book: Typical of Kenneth Oppel, this is a classic adventure novel with a flair of steampunk and the fantastical. I have never read one of his books that I didn't like!

Cover--Yea or Nay: Yes! I love this cover so much, I think it fits perfect with the feel of the story and I also love the eyes in the forest :)

Characters: Will Everett was a very enjoyable character to read about. I really liked him because, unlike a lot of characters in middle-grade adventure novels, he is rather shy and quiet, and quite a bit of an introvert. But watching him grow in confidence was nice to see, and I think creating a character like that is good for kids who are the same way. He was very brave and loyal and had a good sense of what was right and wrong. I also liked Maren a lot. She kind of reminds me of Kenneth Oppel's usual heroines, but I have always liked them, so I had no problem with that. She's the outgoing one, and she knows how to get a job done, and is quite capable of doing it, but she never has an attitude and when Will has to help her, she doesn't get angry about it, but accepts it as something that needs to be done. Mr. Dorian was also a very interesting character. I won't say too much about him because I don't want to spoil the story, but I did like him despite his faults. And needless to say I LOVED the circus performers. Give me a troupe of players and I'm happy. Brogan wasn't the best villain I have ever read, he was just kind of ordinary, but in this kind of book and being MG, he worked perfectly fine.

The Romance: No romance, it is a MG book, but there is, of course, a hint that perhaps in later years Will and Maren's friendship will grow into romance.

Writing Style: This book was actually a bit different in styles from Kenneth Oppel's usual writing. It's third person and present tense. I'll admit, I didn't think it flowed as well as his usual first person past tense narration, but it wasn't terrible either. It took me a little to get used to it, but it wasn't as choppy as some I have read. Because of it, I think this book just slightly lacked a little of the voice that his others, like Airborn did, but it was still awesome, and the descriptions were just as vivid and wonderful as usual. This book literally had everything I love in an adventure novel: trains, secret compartments with booby traps, traveling players, and a fine young hero. And hey, it also has sasquashes . How on earth can someone not like this book? It's like Jules Verne meets Indiana Jones.

Accuracy/ Believability: Not really applicable, the point of this book is that it's fantastical, but I love the idea of the Boundless and I think it would be totally awesome and could have happened.

Problems/What bothered me: Nothing, I loved it!

Conclusion: 5 stars. Just another awesome book by one of my favorite authors. This one ended great, but I wouldn't mind seeing more in the same world.

Recommended Audience: If you have not read one of Kenneth Oppel's books yet, what are you waiting for? If you haven't, and you liked books like Jules Verne, than this is one author you need to try. This would make a great guy read, as well as girl read, ages 12 and up.






The once highly in-demand detective Alan Knightley has just woken up after an unexplained incident kept him asleep for four years. While he was out cold, his son, Darkus, took it upon himself to read of all his dad's old cases, and he's learned a lot about the art of detection. It's a good thing too—because suddenly the duo find themselves caught up in a crazy conspiracy that involves a group of villainous masterminds (who keep appearing and then vanishing), some high-speed car chases (that will have everyone fastening their seat belts), and a national, bestselling book with the power to make people do terrible, terrible things. But because Alan is still suffering the effects of his coma, he tends to, well, fall asleep at the worst possible moments, Meaning that young Darkus might just have to solve this mystery . . . by himself.

Review


Thoughts on the Overall Book: This was a book that caught my eye the instant I saw it in the bookstore, but I still ended up getting it from the library since I've never read the author before, and, well, you never know, but I was not disappointed in this book. For the most part, it was exactly what I expected.

Cover--Yea or Nay: Love the cover. That's what caught my eye. It looks like a mystery novel and, hey, it has the London skyline on it, what's not to like.

Characters: Darkus Knightley (okay, I thought his name just made him sound like a villain, but oh well) was a really awesome protagonist. He is almost exactly how I pictured Sherlock Holmes as a teenager. He's smart, self taught mostly, though he obviously inherited his father's genes too, and he's very mature for his age, sometimes, I think, forgetting that he is only thirteen when he's trying to solve a case. Alan Knightley, his father, was an interesting character too. He was your typical obsessed man, but he also really did care about Darkus and even his ex-wife. Tilly, Darkus' stepsister, I wasn't sure I would like at first, but she never had the Attitude, and I liked her bluntness and how she just got a job done and never tried to take the head from Darkus because she thought she was smarter. She was a good partner for him. Uncle Bill was an interesting character. He's kind of quirky and unassuming, but he gets a job done. Darkus' stepfather, Clive, was an annoying character, but also amusing. No, I didn't like him, but one isn't really supposed to. My favorite supporting character was definitely Bogna, Alan's Polish secretary. She was awesome :)

The Romance: None!

Writing Style: I did like the writing style-third person past tense. It did take a while to get used to though. Mainly because sometimes it would be hard to figure out who's perspective it was coming from. Usually, the author kept it within chapter or chapter break, but sometimes it would seem like it was from one perspective and then it turned out to be in another, but that was really only in the first few chapters. Apart from that, I liked how we got to see other people's perspectives. It gave more to the story without giving anything away. It actually read like a mystery show kind of like Sherlock it had the same pacing and "cuts". Not the most fluent and beautiful of writing styles but for the kind of book it was, it worked.

The story-line itself however, was what intrigued me in the first place. It was just too weird to pass up. A book that is making people commit crimes? Very cool! And I loved the way the author brought it about. I really can't say anymore about it because it would give too much away, but I was not disappointed as I feared I might be on occasion.

Accuracy/ Believability: Not really applicable in this. The deductive skills and reasoning were sound though.

Problems/What bothered me: Apart from my few niggles about the writing style, I didn't have any problems to report. It's kind of one of those books you go along for the ride with.

Conclusion: 4 stars. I really look forward to continuing this series. I really can't wait to see what happens next. I can see this idea going many places and doing really well.

Recommended Audience: Girl or guy read 13 and up. Fans of Sherlock Holmes would enjoy this, and anyone who likes mysteries with an odd twist would also enjoy.




There are monsters among us. There always have been and there always will be. I’ve known that since I can remember, just like I’ve always known I was one ... Well, half of one, anyway.

Welcome to New York City - a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side. Most humans are oblivious to the preternatural nightlife around them, but Cal Leandros is only half human.

His father’s dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares – and his entire otherworldly elf race are after Cal. His half brother, Niko, gave up college to keep them on the run for four years, but now the Grendel monsters are back. And Cal is about to learn why they want him. He is the key to unleashing their hell on earth. The fate of the human world will be decided in the fight of Cal’s life..


Review


Thoughts on the Overall Book: This was one of those books that I kind of stumbled across through Goodreads and not really because of anyone's recommendation, and I don't always go for that, but I was feeling adventurous, and frankly, I will read anything once as long as it has brothers in it, and I am so so glad I did, because I loved it. I loved Cal and Niko, and I love the writing style, and turned out not to be really what I was expecting, and that was a good thing in this case.

Cover--Yea or Nay: Meh, I like the situation of the cover, but that's not how I pictured Cal. I do think it gives a good feeling of the book.

Characters: I already said I loved Cal and Niko. See, I've already begun to refer to them as "my boys". Yes, I have a lot of "my boys" but it is still not a term lightly given. As individuals, I liked them. Cal is so snarky and yet in a good way, the way I like where he's like that because he's just a teenager and not because he has an attitude. What I loved most about him, was that so many times characters in his position are all angst, and yeah, there's a little angst, but Cal covers it up with the sarcasm, and somehow it works. Niko on the other hand is like his exact opposite. He's calm and controlled and quiet, and I really loved that about him. He reminded me a little bit of Eliot Spencer from one of my favorite tv shows Leverage but not quite with the flashpan anger ;) I think they would have gotten on well though. As brothers though--I was done. I search so hard to find books that have good brother duos, and I rarely find them. This was one of the best ever. Their dynamic as brothers was perfect in my book, just how I like to read it. Niko is an awesome older brother, he's just the right amount of stern to keep his crazy little brother in line and yes not so much that he comes across as controlling, just protective. And Cal through all his razzing which is his right as a younger sibling, never up and said he didn't want Niko to take care of him. What I loved most about them as a dynamic, was that they knew that they were all each other had, and they did not want to risk that and they would do anything for each other. Another thing I liked was that there's no resentment because of that either like there so often is between fictional siblings (like no one can do anything for the other without getting his head torn off). And oh my gosh, the best part? There was hugging. Like, actual hugging, not just a slap on the back. I was starting to think I was the only writer who believed emotional damage needs hugs. Thankfully I was proved wrong.

Okay, and now that my happy rant it over, on to the other characters. I'm honestly still not sure how I feel about Robin Goodfellow. I didn't hate him, but that's about all I can say. I think he's probably one of those characters I'll end up liking more and more as the series progresses. There were parts I really liked him, and parts I didn't so much, but that's kind of typical with his type of character. I really did like Rafferty though, and I hope we see more of him. For some reason he just reminded me of Bones from Star Trek :P

The Romance: None!

Writing Style: This was what sold be from page one. After getting this book from the library and reading the synopsis again, I thought it would probably be one I would drag my feet though, maybe not even finish, but I picked it up one night before bed to look at and ended up reading three chapters and having to stop because I had to get up in the morning. I love Cal's narration. As I said before, he's snarky and has a great dark humor, which I love to see in books like this. It made the book a lot less dark than I was expecting made for super easy reading. I'd also like to mention because I was a little unclear about this which was my main hesitation to starting the story; it might sound like demons but the baddies are actually dark elves which kind of made it easier for me to like. I loved the world Rob Thurman created in this book. For some reason supernatural creatures residing in New York is not all that unbelievable and I like how she fit them in. They were creepy too, a lot of them. I really like how Ms. Thurman incorporates a lot of literature references in her stories, and not ones you would think either. Ones like Beowulf, and even some Shakespeare and I liked that a lot. Typically, there's not a lot in the classic lore behind the beasties in this, but I kind of like that too. There are bits though, like the dark elves you can kind of trace back to the Norse mythology. Not really the same, but closer than somethings. The beasties were scary though, and I like that.

Accuracy/ Believability: Not really applicable, but, okay, I have to mention Niko's hair. I'm sorry, but I know Cal is supposed to be half elf, but seriously. How does Niko keep his long blond locks from dishevelment? The only person I've ever seen pull that off was Legolas.

Problems/What bothered me: (view spoiler)

Conclusion: 4 stars. I knocked a few points off for language and a few other things, but as far as characters, this is a five star book. I'm so excited to read more of this series. Cal and Niko just made me utterly happy :-)

Recommended Audience: Great guy read, 18 and up, I'd definitely say fans of Raven Boys and Maggie Stiefvater's books in general would like this. Not that it's exactly like hers, but it kind of had the same feel to me. 


(To read this review with spoilers, see the review on Goodreads

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Summer Reads Challenge

Today in accordance with the Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon, Jessica at Books and Bottles is hosting a Summer Reads challenge. It's simply to make up a top ten list of your favorite summer reads that you would reccomend to others.

Now, My idea of summer reads is a bit different than most people probably think. I don't technically read a lot of "Summer Reads" since I don't read Chick Lit and I don't read a lot of contemporary and that seems to be what most "Summer Reads" are classed as. MY idea of summer reads are sea stories, adventures, cozy mysteries, and westerns, so for a different twist on traditional summer reads, here's some that I have enjoyed:

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke: This is a fantastical adventure story and I love it a lot. Not a beach read, but good for rainy days.

The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson #1): I read these last summer and they are so fun, and easy reads that they make perfect summer reading.

Treasure Island by Robert L. Stevenson: This is my book club's read for this month, and have always liked this story. Perfect adventure, and pirates make for good beach reads!

The Silver Pigs (Marcus Didius Falco #1) by Lindsey Davis: This goes into the cozy mystery category. Falco is fun to read, his sarcastic narration makes for easy reading. I'm packing a few to take to the beach with me this year.

The High Liners by Louis L'Amour: One of many books in his Sackett series, this is my favorite, but any of them would do. Summer always makes me want to read westerns.

The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice #1) by John Flanagan: Another fun summer series read like Percy Jackson. Good adventure, Easy reading.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman: I probably put this on all my top ten lists. It's one of my favorites. Great adventure, I've read it so many times, and it never gets old!

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel: Another great adventure with sky pirates and shipwrecks and all that good stuff. Another one of my favorite books.

Dealing With Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1) by Patricia C. Wrede: If you want a fun fantasy book, this is definitely a great series. I always recommend it highly.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (League of Princes #1) by Christopher Healy: Another funny and enjoyable fantasy/retelling series.

Let me know what some of your favorite summer reads are!


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Spell It Out Challenge

Today's challnge is corelation with the Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon is "Spell it Out" hosted by Hannah at The Book Tower. The rules are either pick your name or your blog name and spell it out with book titles. It doesn't say they have to be on your shelf, but that what I'm going to do anyway since I have them all right in front of me :P

Here we go!

C-inder by Marissa Meyer
H-and of Dinotopia by Allan Dean Foster
A-rchived (the) by Victoria Schwab
R-eckless by Cornelia Funke
A-llies and Assassins by Justin Sompter
C-alling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
T-hief Lord (the) by Cornelia Funke
E-ntwined by Heather Dixon
R-edwall by Brian Jacques

P-rincess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
U-nbound (the) by Victoria Schwab
R-ob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
G-reat Expectations by Charles Dickens
A-irborn by Kenneth Oppel
T-o Tame a Land by Louis L'Amour
O-utcast by Rosemary Sutcliff
R-aven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Y-oung Montrose (the) by Nigel Tranter


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Rainbow Spines

Here's today's additional challenge for the Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon called Rainbow Spines which is hosted by Sofi at The Rainbow Bookshelf. You simply take a picture of books on your shelf that have covers in this order of color: Black, purple/violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, red and white.

Here's mine!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Share Your Shelves

Here's today's Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon challenge! This one's called "Share Your Shelves" and is hosted by Jessica Bradley from Book Reviews from a Christian Gal. I thought this sounded like fun because now you all get to see what I did last week by re-arranging all my shelves!!


This is where most of my books are, the pillow is where I like to sit to read or do research since it's bigger than my desk (yay fuzzy lamb slippers! ;) And the basket is for books that go back to the library or are waiting to be shelved. And then the pile are my library reads.


The shelf on the right is mostly for smaller hardbacks and larger paperbacks. The bottom shelf is completely double stacked and the others aren't quite so much anymore. The glass case holds classics, and my grandmothers collection of poetry and history, and now all my collection of Trixie Beldan books are up there along with some other paperback series.


This side of the glass case has my big books on the bottom, some of my larger hardbacks, and a collection of classic writings and a complete set of Poe's works. The top is for large reference books and histories. The smaller shelf is for my trade paperbacks. Mostly Westerns, Mysteries and Fantasy (the genre fiction that doesn't come in hardback)


This is my high shelf that goes above my desk and bed. It's all exclusively historical fiction categorized by time period. (And yes, that is a map of Middle Earth on my wall). I also have a shelf by my desk with all my writing and favorite reference books. 


If you want to do this blog post, let me know and share the link!

Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon Challenges

My last post about about the Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon hosted by Hannah at The Book Tower. This is the post where I keep track of my daily reading so you can all see how I'm doing on my challenge. I'll also be posting the individual links to other blog challenges I'll be doing in correlation with the Read-A-Thon as some of the other bloggers will be hosting additional challenges as well!


Monday 9th

Pages read:

66 pages of This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Extra Credit:

Share Your Selves Hosted by Book Reviews from a Christian Gal

http://hazelwest.blogspot.com/2014/06/share-your-shelves.html

Notes: I didn't get much reading time today, due to other projects that needed finishing, but I'm going to up my page number tomorrow!

Tuesday 10th

Pages read:

232 pages of This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Extra Credit:

Rainbow Spines Hosted by The Rainbow Bookshelf

http://hazelwest.blogspot.com/2014/06/rainbow-spines.html

Notes: I read twice as many pages today to make up for the lack of reading on Monday and ended up finishing This Dark Endeavor which I enjoyed a lot, even if it made me cry. Kenneth Oppel's books are always amazing.


Wednesday 11th

Pages read:

32 pages of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
104 pages of Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Total: 136

Extra Credit:

Spell It Out hosted by The Book Tower

http://hazelwest.blogspot.com/2014/06/spell-it-out-challenge.html

Notes: Working my way through Sense and Sensibility as my classic read for the challenge and started Cinder as well. Been wanting to read that one for a while and I've been enjoying it so far!


Thursday 12th

Pages read:

36 pages of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
143 pages of Cinder by Marrissa Meyer

Total: 179

Extra Credit:

Summer Reads Challenge hosted by Books and Bottles

http://hazelwest.blogspot.com/2014/06/summer-reads-challenge.html

Notes: Almost made it to 200 pages today :-) Still enjoying my reads, hoping to finish Cinder tomorrow!

Friday 13th

Pages read:

46 pages of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
140 pages of Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Total: 186

Extra Credit: ~

Notes: I missed the blog post challenge for today so I didn't do it. I did finish Cinder though, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Trying to decide on my next read now.

Saturday 14th

Pages read:

44 pages of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
89 pages of The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Total: 133

Extra Credit:

Something Old, Something New hosted by Beth At the Coffee House

Notes: Started the first Lockwood & Co. book by Jonathan Stroud, this is the first of his books I have read, and I'm liking it a lot so far. Hoping to finish Sense and Sensibility tomorrow to complete my classic read of the Read-A-Thon!

Sunday 15th

Pages read:

64 pages of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
61 pages of The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Total: 125

Extra Credit:

Notes: Didn't get to read as much as I wanted to on the last day of the Read-A-Thon, but I did finish Sense and Sensibility as I had hoped to, so that made me happy :)

Friday, June 6, 2014

Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon

So to start off the summer with my piles of reading, I joined a Read-A-Thon that Hannah at The Book Tower is putting on from June 9th--15th.


Here are my goals for the Read-A-Thon:

-Read 100 or more pages a day
-Read a Classic
-Finish last month's book club read (got behind!)
-Get some research done on the side


I'll mark the books that I read for the challenge on this post as I finish them.

There's also other challenges to participate in during the Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon that you can find out about on Hannah's blog. And if you'd like to join the read-a-thon, too, just follow this link! http://the-book-tower.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/sweet-summer-read-thon-sign-up-here.html

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

My Summer Reading List!

Every summer, I get a huge stack of books from the library (and some from my own shelves) and challenge myself to read them all before the end of August. I decided to share my planned reading list with you all here, and I'm really hoping to get through them all before summer is over.

I've started a summer reading shelf on Goodreads and I have also started a board on Pintrest to track all my books. If you want to follow it, or if you made one yourself, let me know. We may be able to share recommendations!

First off, the Library Stack:



Dragon Slayer: The Story of Beowuf-- Rosemary Sutcliff
Madhouse (Cal Leandros #3)-- Rob Thurman
Deathwish (Cal Leandros #4)-- Rob Thurman
Don't be Afraid of the Dark: Blackwood's Guide to Dangerous Fairies-- Guillermo Del Toro & Christopher Golden (I didn't realise this was some sort of film tie in, but it has fairy lore, and I like Christopher Golden's writing, so I thought it sounded cool)
King of Ithaka-- Tracy Barrett
Game (Jasper Dent #2) Barry Lyga
The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co.)-- Jonathan Stroud
The Pale Assassin-- Patricia Elliott
Nightmare City-- Andrew Klaven
Far Far Away-- Tom McNeal
This Dark Endeavor-- Kenneth Oppel (A Frankenstein tie in, one that I wanted to read for a while)
Crusher-- Niall Leonard
Simon-- Rosemary Sutcliff (This is one I have never even heard of before!)
The Friday Society-- Adreinne Kress
The Iron Hand of Mars (Falco Mysteries #4)-- Lindsey Davis
Poseidon's Gold (Falco Mysteries #5)-- Lindsey Davis

Most of the ones I got from the library apart from the series books are ones I've wanted to read for a while, but I'm not sure about them, so I hope they're good.

The second stack are books I own but haven't read yet, so I'm probably even more excited about those since I'm pretty sure I will enjoy them. A couple were faith buys on good recommendation from friends I trust (Thanks Mara ;-) and some are series books I haven't gotten to yet.


Moonshine (Cal Leandros #2)-- Rob Thurman
Knight of Shadows (Hunter of Sherwood)-- Toby Venables. (Had to get this one because Guy of Gisburne is the main character!!)
Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)-- Marissa Meyer (This was a faith buy since I found them at the booksale. I've wanted to read them for a while and since they are hard to find at the library I decided to buy them.)
Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)-- Marissa Meyer
The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson #5)-- Rick Riordan (Finally need to get around to reading this!!)
Shadow and Bone-- Leigh Bardugo (Heard this was really good, so am excited to read it!)
Reckless-- Cornelia Funke (Haven't found a book by Cornelia Funke I didn't like)
The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw (League of Princes #3)--Christopher Healy (LOVE these, they are so funny!)


What is everyone else planning on reading this summer?


Sunday, June 1, 2014

Writing Process Blog Tour

This is a post I was tagged for by Caroline Keeth from Three Little Birds. It's a blog tour where you answer four questions about what you're working on and what your writing process is, and then tag one to four other blogger-writers to carry on the tour. Thanks again for tagging me, Caroline, this was a lot of fun!

You can read her Writing Process post here

My answers to the questions:



1. What are you working on?

At the moment, I am working on a new Urban Fantasy series roughly entitled "The Modern Tales of Na Fianna". The first book which is in the editing process at the moment is called Blood Ties which I mentioned in an earlier post with a sneak peak of the first chapter. It's a story about the descendants of the legendary Irish warriors, Na Fianna. The main character is a direct descendent of Fionn Mac Cool and the story is set in my own fantasy version of a modern Ireland where there are still High Kings, not to mention Faeries. The basic plot is that during a turbulent peace between the human kingdoms and the Goblin king, a patrol of Na Fianna is taken captive and Ciran's brother was one of those taken. When his younger brother has a vision that Aeden might still be alive, Ciran forms a company of others who have lost family members in the goblin raid so they can go and rescue them. I enjoyed writing this book so much, it's kind of my baby. It's full of action and brotherly goodness and faeries, of course :-)

2. How does your work differ from others of its genre?

I tried to take a really different approach with this one, that I hope will make it really unique. I personally have not read a book like it, so I hope everyone else will think so too. It's based off the original legends of Na Fianna but with a modern twist that was really fun to write. I have always been a fan of Urban Fantasy, and this is kind of that plus Alternate Universe. It's a universe where our world's history is thrown in with mythology, as in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey were actual history and King Arthur and Merlin were real people. There are also no firearms apart from bows. It's not really mentioned, but it's kind of obvious that people only really fight with swords. They definitely have the technology for guns as they have everything else, but they aren't there. I wanted this because it gives a more classy, medieval feel to the whole situation. 

And then there's the fact that my modern sword-wielding warriors wear leather and drive fast, expensive cars, because that's just awesome, right? 

The part that is majorly different from anything else though, are my goblins. I was very adamant in the fact that I did not want my goblins to be typical goblins. They are more along the lines of dark elves than the kind of goblins you would find in Tolkien's stories or even traditional lore. They are "hot goblins" to use the modern term, and wear gothic/biker type clothing and ride motorcycles. They live in their underground palaces but they're classy about it. If it's not apparent, I had an awesome time coming up with them.

3. Why do you write what you write?

I write what I love, first and foremost. That is one of the most important things about writing to me. But I also love to write books that I want to read. So often I can't find enough books of the type that I really want to read, so I add to the few that are there. I love stories about brotherhood, and brothers in general, and so that's what I write. Historical fiction, strange fantasy stories that differ from the norm, things that no one has really touched on, that's what I like to write. Like werewolves in Roman Britain. No one has done that to my knowledge. I also like to try to write books that readers will be able to take something away from. I'm not into the whole 'preach to the reader thing' in fact I'm against that because I don't like it when authors do that, but there are ways to put points in your stories without doing that. A point I usually slide in, if I can even call it a point, is typically the fact that things are so often not actually black and white. Because I write a lot of stories dealing with war, and cultural differences, I like to put in the fact that just because someone isn't on the same side as you doesn't mean they are your enemy. Brotherhood across the lines is always one of my favorite story topics, something I loved so much about Rosemary Sutcliff's books. I remember the books that I took most away from reading as a kid, and even now, and why I took stuff away from them. It was all mostly things to do about friendship and family and that's kind of always been the things that were most important to me, so I guess it's only to be expected that I put the same kinds of things in my own books. I'll take a friendship or family story over a romance any day! My greatest hope as an author is that my books might help the people they come across to make them a little stronger just like my favorite books always have done for me.

4. How does your writing process work?

It really differers with every book I write. I'd love to say it was always the same, but it just isn't. Some books are so stubborn, some even can only seem to be written at certain times of the day or night, but for the most part, it goes something like this:

1: Research the subject
2: Write notes, maybe an outline, figure out the story and see in the preliminaries what will work and what won't
3: Start writing! First draft usually has lots of holes that I go back and fix later
4: Second draft. Fill in the blanks that I left the first time around. Then I give it to my mum to read.
5 Third draft. I re-read it, make more edits, then usually turn to my friends to act as betas.
6: Fourth draft, fix edits, polish it up and re-read again.
7: Final draft. This is when I format it and send it off to Createspace to get a proof copy
8: Re-read proof copy, fix edits.
9: Usually that's when I publish the book!
10: Social media galore.


So those were my answers to the tag! Now I get to tag some people:

Abbie from Yarns and Tales (read her post here)
M. Azell from The Stars Have Fallen

Here are the questions for those tagged! 

1. What are you working on?

2. How does your work differ from others of its genre?

3. Why do you write what you write?

4. How does your writing process work?

Once you complete it, tag it back to my post and then tag some other writers!


Books of Note: Spring Reads Part 1

While winter was such a busy time for me, I got so little time to read, I finally picked up the pace a little this Spring, and I have read, especially in the last couple months, so many really awesome books. So many that I have to split my review posts in two. Part 2 will be up soon, but here's some of my first favorite reads this Spring from March to now.

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world. 

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end? 

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.'


Review


Thoughts on the Overall Book: I adore good villain stories, and good revenge stories. This one had all the aweseomess of The Count of Monte Cristo but with an added flair of awesome super villains, who weren't your typical super villains. It was dark,vicious and definitely a page turner.

Cover--Yea or Nay: I love the cover, I think it gives a good feel for the book, and also is kind of reminiscent of a comic book style, kind of vintage and almost noir.

Characters: In part this is the kind of book you don't really read with the expectation of liking any of the characters, that being said, I really found I became rather attached to Victor. I liked his older self more than his younger self, but in either case, I think that for the most part, while he did have rather sociopathic tendencies (and that doesn't necessarily make one a villain) he really could have been a lot worse than he was. He only did bad things for the sake of finding and ending Eli. With the power he had, I think he had a lot of self control. I really felt rather bad for what happened to him, and really wanted to see him get his revenge.

Eli on the other hand, I thought was just scary and creepy. There is nothing worse than a villain who does bad things because he thinks he actually justified in them. And Eli thinks it's his duty and God-given right to hunt down the EOs and end them. His coolness made me shiver, and to be honest the kind of person he is, I think he needed a nemesis like Victor who is not afraid to use nefarious means to end someone.

I did really genuinely like Mitch and Sydney. I felt really sorry for Mitch and all he went though, I also loved the idea of a hacker who looks like a hitter ;) Sydney was cool, I liked how she was a strong, smart young girl, and her dog Dol was awesome too. Sarena I thought was really scary. With the kind of power she had, you have really got to watch yourself around her. Even if she really didn't have a lot of control over her power, I wasn't willing to sympathize with her. Anyone willing to allow someone to kill their little sister even if they believed it was merciful is not anyone I can like.

The Romance: There's not really any romance apart from what ever you would call the relationship between Eli and Sarena.

Writing Style: I love Victoria Scwab's writing style, though this one was written in third person past tense instead of first person present like her other books are. Seeing as she's one of the only people who can make present tense sound good, I was a little disappointed, but I think the voice really is best for this story with all the jumping around from time to time. And there is a lot of jumping around from the past to the present and between characters, but it really isn't hard to follow and it makes the story even more awesome, so that you only slowly get all the pieces of the puzzle. It makes you want to read another chapter and another and another. The suspense in this book was awesome and kept me up so late at night reading. I just didn't know what was going to happen next.

Accuracy/ Believability: Not really applicable when talking about a book involving super powers, but I loved how this one really went into it as a science. It was actually believable, the way the EOs (ExtraOrdinries) came to be. It wasn't your typical fall into a vat of radiation thing, and so for that reason alone, I appreciated it. It was a really cool and unique idea. The only thing I could mark about it was the fact that it seemed to happen to everyone who had a near death experience. Like there just seemed to be a lot of EOs around. But that's only a personal quibble. Nothing that even made me stop reading.

Problems/What bothered me: Apart from a little bit of strong language, I didn't have anything to complain about. This is the kind of book you just have to go with the flow.

Conclusion: 5 stars. Really loved it, one of the most unique books I have read in a long time. The ending was surprisingly satisfying, and while I don't think this book needs a sequel, I like that fact about it. I'm good with how it ended, and I really would rather keep it that way.

Recommended Audience: Girl or Guy read, older teens (18 and up) and adults. I know this is supposed to be an adult book, but I thought it read like a YA. There's really only some darker themes and violence to consider apart from the language that was even less than a lot of YA books has. It kind of comes down to whether this is your kind of read or not.


(Also read my friend Mara's review at The Reading Hedgehog)






Love, power, and magic collide with war in the second book of the Falling Kingdoms series

Auranos has fallen and the three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now united as one country called Mytica. But still, magic beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world...

When the evil King Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of events that will forever change the face of this land, forcing Cleo the dethroned princess, Magnus the reluctant heir, Lucia the haunted sorceress, and Jonas the desperate rebel to take steps they never could have imagined.


Review


Thoughts on the Overall Book: I'm really loving this series. The first book was great and exciting, and just what I love in a good high fantasy novel, but this one actually I thought was even better, and gave me some more insights into characters I wasn't entirely sure what to feel about in the last one.

Cover--Yea or Nay: I love the covers for this series. They are just gorgeous. It's the kind of cover that I would notice across a bookstore.

Characters: What I love about this series is that the characters are very dynamic. And I think the more you read about them, the more you see into their inner characters and how your first impressions might not be entirely correct. I still really liked Cleo, she's one of my favorite characters. She continues to be strong and not stupid. Her hands are tied, and she does all she can with the resources she has. I actually ended up liking Jonas more in this one for some reason. In the first book he seemed a little stiff, and I can understand that because of his quest for revenge, but in this one he seemed to have a little more character and I was able to relate to him better. I loved Brion just as much as I did in the first one. He's your typical best friend character. I was really afraid when I met Lysandra, because she started off seeming like a potentially super annoying female character and almost reminded me of Kate from series three of BBC's Robin Hood who I HATE with a passion, but she actually got a little better after a while. I don't think she'll ever be a favorite, but she's tolerable. In the first book, I wasn't really sure about how I felt about Magnus, I didn't really care for him, but in this one, I really began to like him a lot, and I think I will continue to do so as the series progresses, especially if his character curve goes the way I think it will. Lucia, honestly I don't know. I think I'm going to have to read the rest of the series to really say how I feel about her. I do feel sorry for her, but she's not really a character I sympathize with. I don't know, she's just kind of not really exciting to me, but I do appreciate where her character is going. King Giaus just gets more evil in this one. He makes a really awesome villain I think. he's just so cold and wicked and I love that in a fantasy villain. And I liked how Magnus is starting to see that he really doesn't like what he father does and that he doesn't want to end up like him. Aron was just as annoying as usual, he's just nasty, and I loved how Magnus hated him too.

The Romance: There wasn't a lot focusing on the romance in this story, but there is a lot of crushes and infatuations everywhere, that are kind of messy. Obviously you still have the Magnus/Lucia strain but only from his point of view. Lucia is now infatuated with one of the Watchers, Alexius which happened really fast. Then you have Brion who liked to flirt with Lysandra but she doesn't like him and develops feelings for Jonas. Jonas crushes on Cleo and she in turn crushes on him which was way too fast and just kind of pointless, even though I did see it coming eventually. Maybe it will even come back, I don't know. I'm also not sure whether I saw a Magnus/Cleo relationship in the future. It's possible, but I don't really care either way.

Writing Style: The writing style is really good, as it was in the first book. I like how everything is described in a non-messy easy to understand way that flows which sometimes is a luxury in fantasy. I like how we get to see the story from different characters points of view since this is just as much a character driven story as a plot driven story and it helps to get into each of their heads and get to know them better.

Accuracy/ Believability: Not really applicable.

Problems/What bothered me: There were a few things I have to address. First off, I really do appreciate an author who has the guts to kill of characters. I respect that, but this book seemed to have almost too many sudden deaths. Some were necessary, I grant, and properly shocking, some were just jarring and made me go, okay, what was the point of that? Like I see the people who had to die to further along showing King Giaus' evilness. But then there were others (view spoiler)

The only other thing I had to complain about was: what the heck was with the creepy prince guy and Nic? I have no fathomable understanding of where that scene is going to go.

Conclusion: 4 stars. I continue to enjoy this series and I am really looking forward to the next book. I liked the set up of this one and how we are beginning to see the future quest of finding the Kindred and the lost crystals and how Cleo's ring fits into it all. Can't wait to see where this series goes next!

Recommended Audience: If you liked the first one, definitely read this one. Anyone who enjoys classic high fantasy would appreciate this book. Girl or guy read 16 and up.


(You can read this review with spoilers on Goodreads)

(Also read my friend Mara's review on The Reading Hedgehog)





What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?


Review


Thoughts on the Overall Book: This is one of those books I feel I shouldn't have liked as much as I did and yet, ironically, I think that's why I liked it so much. It takes a lot to make me feel uncomfortable when reading a book, but this one did that in spades. On top of that, I really loved the characters and actually cared about them a lot, so that's a plus plus!

Cover--Yea or Nay: Not necessarily a cover that jumps out at me, the title is what caught my eye originally. I love it, it's just the kind of title that would make me pick up a book. I can't believe it took me so long to get around to reading this one since I've wanted to for a long time. A little blood spatter is always good too ;)

Characters: Jazz was kind of hard for me to figure out. I liked him immediately, but I wasn't honestly sure why. In parts I felt really bad for him, and in other parts I was honestly afraid of him, but I loved that. And you do always know as a reader, that even though he might have some really (really) dark places he is still strong enough to push that away and the fact that he worries about what he might actually do is comforting as well. Would I actually like to meet him in real life? I don't know. Over all, I really did like Jazz. I also loved his girlfriend Connie. Can I just say that she might actually be the most awesome girlfriend a book hero has ever had? She was just the kind of girl he needed. She was supportive and kept him in his place without being condescending and having an attitude. She genuinely cares about him and where he goes in life, and is the kind of anchor a somewhat unstable person like Jazz needs. Likewise Howie was an awesome bestie. He was always a great friend, and I loved how Jazz treats him like a brother, and dear Jazz is afraid he doesn't care for anyone! And can I just say that Billy Dent is, like, seriously, one of the most creepy evil people I have ever read about? Oh my gosh, I just wanted to strangle him and set him on fire. *Shudder*. Again, it takes a lot to creep me out, and Billy Dent is the best creepiest baddie I have come across since Magnusson from Sherlock Season 3.

The Romance: As I already said, I love Jazz and Connie, but there's not really a lot of romance. A few kisses and stuff, moderately "graphic" but nothing more than that, and it wasn't annoying in any way.

Writing Style: This was essentially what made the book work. Barry Lyga is a master of this genre. It seriously frightened me how well he portrayed the psyche of a sociopathic serial killer. My word, my skin was crawling through most of this book. I don't even know what else to say about it, except that, author to author, I have to give Mr. Lyga a huge congratulations on pulling this off. I don't even want to know the kind of research he had to go through to write this book.

Accuracy/ Believability: Frighteningly accurate and believable in every aspect. From the psychological aspect of a serial killer to the forensics and police work.

Problems/What bothered me: This isn't really the kind of book you can have problems with because it is what it is, and frankly, that's one thing I liked so much about it. It's the kind of book that if you can't take it and you don't like it, then don't read it. I however, love a good dark story every once in a while, and this is definitely one of the darker books I have probably ever read.

As a warning to people who don't know what they're getting into though, I will say this: there's definitely a lot of gore, graphic descriptions of violence and from both cops and the nasty baddies, so there's some sick twisted stuff. There's also mentions of sexual violence but nothing is ever seen. Like I said, this book is brutally honest, it's written the way things actually are, and it's horrible, but stuff like that really happens.

Conclusion: 5 stars. As much as this book creeped me out and went a good way to even horrifying me at times, I loved it. And I'm totally going to read the rest, because hello mean cliff hanger at the end!

Recommended Audience: Good guy read, but girls with strong constitutions who don't mind this kind of book would enjoy too, of course. Recommended for people who enjoy dark fiction ages 18 and up.