April Wrap Up 2015

Back with another wrap up already! April seemed to go by really fast, but thankfully I got so much more work done this month than I did last month and finally got back into writing my second Na Fianna novel as well, which I'm aiming to finish by the end of May before summer starts.

This month I read 9 books, which was way more than I was hoping to, so that made me happy :) (also, I'm hoping to start posting more pictures on my blog, since now I have a better phone camera that makes it sooo much easier to upload pics.)

#1: Downfall (Cal Leandros #9) by Rob Thurman (4/5 stars)

#2: Fairest (Lunar Chronicles #.05) by Marissa Meyer (4/5 stars)

#3: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (4/5 stars)

#4: K-9 (Knightly and Son #2) by Rohan Gavin (3/5 stars)

#5: Shutter by Courtney Alameda (4/5 stars)

#6: Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne (3.5/5 stars)

#7: Call of the Wild by Jack London (3/5 stars) This was my classic book club read of the month.

#8: Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer (3/5 stars)

#9: The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Reese Brennan (3.5/5 stars)

Favorite Reads of the Month

Downfall

The Replacement

Shutter

I'll have the reviews for these up sometime later this month so keep an eye out!

I was good with my book buying this month, (because next month at BookCon is going to be ridiculous) even though everything were splurge buys, I only bought four. I found another used bookshop where I got two, and then I made a trip to B&N because I bought my brother a giftcard for his bday (tactical) 

#1: Summer Knight (Dresden Files #4) by Jim Butcher

#2: The Navigator by Eoin McNamee

#3: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Girl of Fire and Thorns #1) by Rae Carson

#4: Penny Dreadfuls This is a B&N anthology of classic horror stories. It has an awesome selection in it!

Also for those of you not following my Twitter, I finally got my baby hedgehog this month! His name is Horatio.

So next month I will be going to BookCon in NY so there will be a special book haul wrap up for that. I really look forward to sharing my experience with you all. If anyone else is going to BookCon, please let me know! 

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) 

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.

Books of Note: April Reads

This month had a few ups and downs as far as reading went, but I did read some very good books, so I was thankfully able to pick some for my favorites of the month. If you want to read the bad ones, check out these:

The Bughouse Mystery
Legacy of the Clockwork Key



And now on to the good ones:



Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Review

Thoughts on the Overall Book: This was a wonderful re-telling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses and actually one of the best fairy tale re-tellings I have ever read. Wonderful cast, beautiful visionary, and to top it all off a lovely family story as well, of which I am very partial.

Cover--Yea or Nay: Yes! It's so pretty, I love her dress and the silver ivy around the edges. One of the prettiest covers I have seen.

Characters: The cast was wonderful in this story. I really liked Azalea, she was smart, and easy to sympathize with. There were only a couple minor parts where I got a little annoyed with her but in the way of a friend you just want to help do what's best. I loved the sisters too, and how you actually got to know them all even though there were so many of them and how they all had their own personalities. The menfolk of the story too were just as well crafted. I grew to like the king very much, and also ended up liking Fairweller too even though I wasn't sure if I would in the beginning, or if he was even a good character. I adored Lord Teddie, he was just so sweet and a bit silly but so kind-hearted. And I loved Mr Bradford from the beginning. I wish he were in the story more, but I still felt I got to know him sufficiently. As for Keeper, he was throughly creepy, but in the subtle way that makes him even more so. He's my favorite kind of villain and I literally had shivers down my spine reading about him.

The Romance: Since this is a fairy tale re-telling, it was obvious there was a romantic plot line, and I had no objections, in fact, I supported all the pairings in this and felt the characters truly deserved them. My only complaint was that I was always really sad when Bramble was so mean to poor Lord Teddie, but as that was all resolved, I am okay with that now.

Writing Style: Heather Dixon has a lovely writing style. It's very fairy-taleish. I loved the way she described everything to where it felt so magical and yet the parts that were real, felt real, and likewise the scary parts and action scenes were vivid and gripping. As I said before, the characterization was wonderful, and I think what made Keeper even creepier was that the she never really goes into a whole lot of detail about him and his powers. There's just enough to make you really scared of him, and that's another ploy I love in writing.

Problems/What bothered me: I didn't have any problems with this story.

Conclusion: 5 stars. I really enjoyed this book, and I hope the author has more of this calibre.

Recommended Audience: Fans of re-tellings should check this out if you haven't already, and those who don't mind a bit of a darker fairy-tale. Girl read 14 and up.



Break the curse or howl forever.

Etienne, son of a lord in the kingdom of Armorique, goes to train as a knight with Geraint of Lucanne. Geraint is brave and kind, a good teacher and master - but he has a secret that he has kept from his family. He is bisclavret, a born werewolf. When Geraint is betrayed, Etienne must ally with the local wise-woman and her daughter, themselves bisclavret, to save his lord. But time is running out. If Geraint's enemies have their way, Geraint will soon be trapped in his wolf form.

And Etienne has his own secret. The decisions he makes will change his life forever . . .

Inspired by a medieval romance, this engaging novel forces us to question everything we thought we knew about werewolves.

Review

Thoughts on the Overall Book: I'm not usually a frequenter of paranormal, but this one caught my eye and I'm really glad I gave it a go, because it's just the kind of paranormal novel I love to read. When I do read paranormal it's usually ghosts, faeries and occasionally werewolves, and this one had faeries and werewolves, so that made it all the more awesome. And the fact that it was taken from a medieval story and Celtic myth made it all the more intriguing.

Cover--Yea or Nay: Yes, it's very simple and pretty and I love the wolf on it.

Characters: Etienne (a name I love by the way) is a great protagonist and narrator. He's an honest, good-hearted and brave young man and a character the reader is able to connect with easily. I also liked how he could have been worried all the time because of his bisclavret (werewolf) family history, making it possible he could turn into one at his age, but he didn't let it bother him or get in the way. I really loved Armand too, he was a great comrade in arms character, and I wish we had gotten to see more of him. Geraint was also a good character even though he was quite a victim of circumstance. A lot of times characters like that can get washed out or annoying, but Geraint didn't. I also liked Jeanne and Sylvie, in fact, all the women in this story (apart from Eglantine, of course) were strong characters without attitudes which I liked. The villain Dupre, wasn't in the story a lot physically, but you still got to know him and also know he really was evil and scary too.

The Romance: There is a romance between Etienne and Jeanne, but it doesn't interrupt the plot and is in the easy way of two people who know they love each other. There's a little bit of drama concerning them at the end, but nothing horrible. In short, I really liked them as a couple.

Writing Style: I don't know if Sue Bursztynski has read any of Rosemary Sutcliff's books, but her writing style reminds me of Rosemary's. It's not quite as beautiful, but it's still good writing, and the way she crafted the story line as well as portrayed the relationships between the characters, especially Etienne and Armand and Etienne and Jeanne was really reminiscent of Rosemary's. I loved how she took the idea for this story from an old medieval tale, making this almost a re-telling. I really want to read the original now. I also loved the addition of Celtic folklore in this story. This is historical fantasy, so it's not necessarily "our world" but she paints a picture that is quite like Saxon Britain with even mentions of the "Rom" (Romans in our wolrd) having occupied their country centuries before. It gave her place an easy history for readers to follow. She changed some things around with the Celtic folklore too, with mentions of feasts like Beltane and Samhain. There was also a part where Etienne and Armand end up in the "Otherworld" with is the realm of the Fae, and there's several times where the Wold Hunt appears as well as "Kernun" who is supposed to be Cernunnos--though the portrayal of him in this book is not nearly as frightening as some I've read. Overall, it made the read all that more intriguing, and I liked this take on werewolf legends.

Problems/What bothered me: I didn't have any problems, but I can see where some readers might run into issues with this book, so I'll address that here. If a reader is not acquainted with the actual Celtic legends that this is based on, it might be a little confusing, because the author doesn't go into a lot of detail about any of it. You can google all this stuff though, and it will be fine. For readers who do know all the Celtic legends, this will only make the read more interesting as it did for me.

Conclusion: 4 stars, I really enjoyed this, and I hoped the author will write more books like this because there are so few paranormal authors that I actually enjoy reading.

Recommended Audience: Guy and girl read, 15 and up. There's a lot of violence mentioned, but nothing is ever shown in any detail. Fans of Rosemary Sutcliff who don't mind reading something different would like this, I think. Also those who enjoyed Katy Moran's "Bloodline" books would like this too. I thought it kind of had the same feel to those as well.



Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

Review

Thoughts on the Overall Book: This was such a unique story, with a wonderful cast of characters and twists that kept me guessing to the end. I really enjoyed it all the way.

Cover--Yea or Nay: It's kind of weird and eerie, but I like it. It almost has the peaceful quality the Narrows were described with. I think it really goes along with the story well.

Characters: I loved Mackenzie, she's just the kind of female heroine I love to read about. I loved that despite the fact she could have been emotionally messed up from her brother's death (and she was, it just wasn't in the unstable way most female characters are) she was strong enough to get through it, yet, still human enough to feel the pain of the loss. She's a character I was able to sympathize with. As a Keeper, I also really loved her personality. She was not one of those kick-butt heroines, but she was simply sensible, and she didn't always win. I also liked her appreciation of a good knife. I hate all these heroines who can do hand to hand and despise weapons because they think they're too good for that. Okay, and can I just say how much I loved Wesley? He's definitely a new character crush. I rarely like goth-like characters, but it's obvious Wesley is not goth, and that he only uses it as a facade. He's just such an awesome guy. He's a little bit cocky, but in an endearing way and not annoying, but he's also a gentleman. He's just the kind of friend everyone would like to have. I also really did like Owen, you just felt so bad for him, and I wanted to give him a hug.

The Romance: Well, I'm not really sure whether I would call the relationship between Mackenzie and Owen 'romance' because it wasn't really. And I'm not exactly sure how I felt about it either.

Writing Style: Beautiful. Victoria Schwab has a lovely writing style, even though "The Archived" in in present tense, which I usually hate, this was just so lovely. Present tense actually worked really good for this story, and the way she writes it makes it easy to forget that its present tense at all. I kind of forgot after the first couple chapters. I really loved the world she created with the Archive and the Narrows and all that. It was so eerie, and yet I could totally understand Mackenzie's love of it's quiet and peacefulness at the same time, because I think I would feel the same. The setting of an old hotel turned apartment building was awesome too. All the descriptions in the book were so well done and vivid that I got a perfect picture of everything and everyone in my head. It's what I like to call "effortless description" where the author never belabors the description but the reader can see it like a movie in their head. There were a lot of other things that I liked in the story too. I really appreciated the fight scenes, because they did not portray Mackenzie being able to do anything she shouldn't have been able to do in real life. I liked how she got bruised and cut because it showed that she wasn't the best, and she knew it too. But she was also not a rubbish fighter like those heroines who play the "well I'm a girl so how was I supposed to do that?" card. In short, the right balance in between.

Problems/What bothered me: See review on Goodreads for spoiler: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/574636313

Conclusion: 4 stars, I really liked this book, and I am excited to read the next one, and Victoria Schwab's other books too.

Recommended Audience: It's kind of hard to compare this book to anything else, but readers wanting something really different and an awesome YA contemporary story without love triangles, would enjoy it. Girl and guy read both, 15 and up.

Read Mara's review here