Wednesday, December 30, 2015

City of Ashes

City of Ashes grew me on a bit the more I read. At first I was bored but things slowly got better.

At times I got seriously annoyed with Clary, I just wish she was a bit older. She does not act fifteen most of the time and I got sick of how she was treating her best friend Simon. I still feel like I have not seen much character development with Clary but at least I saw some.

Jace is far more interesting then Clary for me maybe because he reminds me of Will from The Infernal Devices. I actually feel bad for Jace and thought he was getting way too much grief in City of Ashes. I hope that changes in future books.

I still like Magnus the best, I think he is my all time favorite character from the series.

The writing slowly seems to be getting better which is something I hope continues. I do want the whole odd vibe about being brother and sister between Clary and Jace to stop being freaky. That part really turned me off from the series. Despite that I do want to read City of Glass.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Phoenix Rising

I really wanted to love Phoenix Rising since I have been struggling to find a good steampunk series. Having heard nothing but amazing things bout Pip Ballantine and tee Morris's writing I took a chance and asked the local library to get a copy of Phoenix Rising. Sadly it was all I could to do to make it to the halfway point before just skimming to the end.

Eliza Braun is far from a proper woman and loves dynamite. I wanted to fall in love with Eliza and she is the reason I kept trying to enjoy the story. I really disliked the story line so much I cannot really think of what to write about Eliza.

Wellington Books came off as a fun character who Eliza would have tons of fun turning into a rebel but I did not really see that happen. Instead Wellington was kind of boring and felt like he was not fleshed out as a character. Instead put in to be more comic relief in parts.

Overall I did not end up caring about the characters or what was happening to the people in London. It was steampunk and did pull in aspects of traditional steampunk but the overall story line was not to my taste. I will not be continuing the series.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

City of Bones

After reading all of Cassandra Clare's released work but The Mortal Instruments series I figured it was time to give City of Bones a try.

Clary was an interesting character and I have hope for her growing in the series. One of my downfalls with her was the way she saw things since she was an artist I wanted to see more of that in her way of viewing the world. I also wish she had been a bit older, her maturity level jumped up and down a good deal which I hope was just used to someone learning how to write a compelling character.

Jace seems like he has a lot of depth to him but that it will take a long time to get to know him. I like that about him, I love learning about characters in layers. At this point I like Jace more than Clary.

Alec and Isabelle sort of drove me crazy. I was not fond of their attitude towards outsiders. Plus it seems a bit odd that Jace is open to mundanes and his foster siblings are so against them.

The writing bothered me at times and I did see a few grammar mistakes. I have liked the later writing by Cassandra Clare more so I am hoping the series will improve in that regard. It grabbed my attention enough that I want to keep reading.  

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Friday 56: Phoenix Rising

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.
 
Phoenix Rising ebooks 56%:

"She is merely a tool," he replied coolly, "and like many tools in a work shed, some are very dangerous if not handled properly." 

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Illusionarium

Oh my hunt for a steampunk novel I came across Illusionarium. 

I instantly adored Jonathon, working hard to be a surgeon he is not the usual type of male I come across in books. Studying science to learn how diseases and medicine work with his father who is renowned through the land as a brilliant medical professor Jonathon is stunned and in awe when the King arrives asking for help. A black death is plaguing the land killing all women who become ill on the sixth day. The Queen has fallen ill from it and thus the King is demanding a cure from Jonathon's father. With a time crunch the King says fantillium will be the key to making the cure in time. Using fantillium time can be controlled by a master illusionist and the cure found. Jonathon happens to fit that description. 

From the start I fell in love with the world Heather Dixon wove, from the elegant writing to the stunning characters I did not want the story to end. Sadly around the seventy percent mark things started to fall apart. The plot began to repeat itself and it felt like I was reading parts I had already read. Even the world became less appealing and it felt like things were just sort of thrown together in the end. While their was a conclusion that left no major questions I just was not happy with the overall ending. Huge build up for something major and suddenly just the end which was disappointing.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

The Friday 56: Illusionarium

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.

Illusionarium ebook 56%:

"A knight," said Anna, a curve of a smile on her face. "So, chivalry really does exist. . ."

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Friday 56: Magonia

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.
 Magonia ebook 56%:
"I've no more love for Maganwetar than you do, but you'd have bought disaster on us all." 

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Once Upon A Time: Red's Untold Tale

I am a huge fan of Once Upon A Time so when I saw Red's Untold Tale I could not resist reading it. Sadly I was disappointed overall.

I expected more from Red, in the show Red was willful and determined none of that really came across in Red's Untold Tale. Instead Red was a meek character who was clearly fearful of her Granny's wrath. While this fit for the flashbacks where Red was thirteen it did not work well when she was seventeen and going about her life. Parts seemed highly repetitive as well and I kept wondering if I had read that part already. I did like how it was displayed how much Red loved her Granny. The other part I liked was the hints of other fairy tales mentioned in the form of stories. I thought it was a creative way to add more of the show into the book.

The writing was alright, it was repetitive and the real action did not start to occur until the end of the book. The best part is the lovely cover and idea of a fun story. I doubt I will give another Once Upon A Time story a try since Red's Untold Tale was so dry. 

Sunday, November 29, 2015

The Cage

The lovely cover is what drew me to try out the The Cage.

While Cora does seem her own person she comes off as cookie cutter at times. I do read a lot of dystopian stories though so I am sure that is part of it. Having had a stressful life Cora has no clue what to think when she wakes up in the middle of the desert with no memory of how she got there. Wanting to know what is going on Cora starts walking and meets four other people who have no idea how they got where they are. At first everyone has the idea they want to go home and nothing else but slowly that seems to change. I did love how Cora was written, at times I thought she was crazy, other times I thought she was the only sane person.

The story was mainly told from Cora's point of view but at times the point of view changed which was nice since it gave me just enough on what everyone else was thinking. I had some issues with the writing sadly while the overall story was well done I noticed grammar errors several times. The ending was not my favorite, I know it is a series but it sort of felt like things just stopped. I do want to know what happens to Cora though so I plan on continuing the series when The Hunt is released.


Friday, November 20, 2015

The Friday 56: Red's Untold Tale

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.

If I had a daughter, even if she were a rascal, I'd never, ever run away without her. I refused to believe it could be true about my own mother and father.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

No Quest for the Wicked

No Quest for the Wicked was just as fun, exciting, and well written as previous books in the Magic Inc series.

Katie continues to work hard for Magic Inc but is bored with her job which has become a little dull since Owen lost his magic. Knowing Owen is most likely having problems adjusting to the magic loss Katie tries her best to be there for him and keep her dull job woes to herself. Luckily for Katie dull does not last long about Magic Inc. and soon Katie is face to face with Mimi her old boss. I loved that Mimi was finally explored as a character.

Without a doubt Mimi is one of my favorite "villains" since I am sure people have to deal with someone like that on occasion so it is hilarious to see the evil boss get some payback.

I eagerly await my chance to read the next and I believe final book in the Magic Inc series. My only hope is that it does not take a year to get from the library.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Black Hills

Nora Roberts it not my usual genre but my Grandma asked me to read Black Hills so we could talk about it. It seemed like it took me forever to get Black Hills read and it had a bunch of filler. If the book cut out about half the filler I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Lil has always dreamed of having an animal sanctuary. Working hard to make that happen Lil does all she can to provide nice homes for the wild cats in the Chance preserve. Everything seems to be going Lil's way until returning from a trip to South America she learns her first love is back in town. Things get complicated quickly when it is clear someone is hunting down Lil.

Coop never stopped loving Lil so when it is clear someone is hunting her down Coop is determined to make sure that does not happen. A former cop and private eye Coop is willing to use every tool at his disposal to make sure Lil stays safe.

It seemed to take forever for the actual story to start, the first hundred pages were just filler. I am not a fan of overly intimate scenes and Black Hills had several. Despite having so much filler I did not feel like I really got to know the characters. The story seemed to jump between Lil and Coops relationship and the thriller part. The writing just did not come off as a smooth as things were woven together. I doubt I will ever try another Nora Roberts book again since they are not a genre I really enjoy.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

A Catered Thanksgiving

A Catered Thanksgiving was my very first foodie mystery. I liked the change of genre however it always made me hungry while reading it so I am not sure I want to read foodie mysteries often.

Bernie and Libby seemed super generic so much in fact I could not really tell them apart. I am not sure if this was due to A Catered Thanksgiving being later on in the series or if it was poor writing. Either way neither sister left an impression on me.

The mystery itself came off as weak and if clues were dropped to who the murdered I was never saw them not even after finishing the book. Character development was funky in parts as well. The family was painfully horrible and I seriously find it hard to believe one family could have so many far out crazy people in it. If I get brave enough to try the foodie mystery genre it will not be another book by Iris Crawford.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Friday 56: A Catered Thanksgiving


This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.

"Me either," Bernie agreed. "But getting back to the matter at hand, what do we know about everyone that we didn't know before?"

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Maggie for Hire

At first I was reluctant to read Maggie for Hire, the cover did not appeal to me much and the description did not pull me in that much.

Maggie is one awesome character and she does not take any nonsense from anyone. Working as a bounty hunter Maggie is used to handling things her way and taking down anything nasty that gets in her way. When an elf shows up with a mission for her Maggie quickly jumps on the offer until she realizes the elf accompanying her is part of the deal. For some reason Maggie has a thing against elves, the only reason I could think of was that she could not stand the way elves talked. I wish it had been explained a bit better.

Killian is one awesome side character, I love how he is not just a genetic elf. Despite knowing the job is dangerous Killian is determined to go with Maggie and I love how he backs her up instead of just trying to send her off to hide. A few things Killian did confused me and I am not sure if it was weak character development, some elf custom, or if he is just wacky that way. 

The writing was fun, the dialogue priceless (the language was strong at parts), and I want more. I was severely disappointed when I went to  buy the second book and it is not available on the Nook. Foolish to give the first book away on the Nook as a promotion and not have the rest of the books available on the Nook.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Friday 56: Magie for Hire

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.
Maggie for Hire ebook 56%:
Old Chinatown is a fun place. It was originally built as a shopping area by the local Asian population. Nowadays, the cobblestone courtyard and little trinket shops serve as a smoke screen for secret Mahjong halls and borderline sweat shops.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Don't Know Jack is not the type of book I usually go for but it was included in a bundle I bought so I decided to give it a try. I am sad to say it felt like a chore to read and I did not overly enjoy any part of the story.

Agent Otto just did not come off as an FBI agent to me, while I do not personally know an FBI agent Otto just seemed easily distracted and in over her head all the time. This drove me crazy and I was so focused on how annoying Otto was that I could not focus on the overall mystery aspect of the plot.

Agent Gaspar was not much better. Even though he had handicaps due to older injuries he chose to ignore them and not inform his partner putting them both at a higher level of risk. Just seemed totally unprofessional and foolish. While Gaspar did seem less distracted then Otto it was hard to get to know him since the story was mainly told from Otto's point of view.

The characters were not the only thing I had issues with, the writing was confusing and jumbled at times. While I get solving mysteries before they are revealed is not my forte the answer to Don't Know Jack's mystery just came out of no where and felt anticlimactic. I do not foresee myself continuing the series or pursing further work by Diane Capri.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Strange Light Afar

From the cover to the last page Strange Light Afar was captivating, magical, and enchanting.

Composed of eight traditional Japanese folk tales Strange Light Afar delivered a delightful, well written story every time. Each story was proceeded by a lovely picture that gave an interesting visual of what the story was going to contain.  Despite the tales being short the characters were well written and I fond myself feeling strong emotions towards all of them. I simply did not want Strange Light Afar to come to an end.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Friday 56: Strange Light Afar

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.
 
Strange Light Afar 56%: 

"In heaven, she had been an immortal. Now, a life on earth with a man who cared for her perhaps was the best she could hope for."
 

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Alpha Unleashed

Along with previous books in the Alpha Girl series Alpha Unleashed was fast paced and full of action.

Tessa continues to struggle with being a werewolf, witch, and human as the pack gears up for a demon attack from the witches. Knowing she is not a good fighter in wolf form Tessa decides to embrace her witch side more and look for ways to stop a demon attack using magic.

Alpha Unleashed felt like a solid ending to a series which is why I was bit surprised at the end to see two more books are coming out in the series next year. I look forward to reading both of them. 

Monday, October 26, 2015

Silent Night

Since I had been super busy lately I decided to read something fluffy and simple. Silent Night was fun and fast.

Silent Night was divided among many characters and it just took place over a few hours on Christmas Eve so character building was not really the focus of the story nor building up a main character. The writing was fast paced with little filler. Despite not getting a lot of time with any one character I did feel like I got to know most of the characters in the book and I ended up caring about what happened to Brian.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Bruja

At first I was reluctant to read Bruja since Tessa was not the main character. I am thankful I gave Bruja a try.

From the previous books Claudia has been mentioned before but never really had much about who she is revealed and I figured she would be a like Tessa. I was wrong, having been sheltered in the coven all her life Claudia has a thirst for knowledge and freedom. With her twin brother on the verge of death Claudia leaves her comfort zone quickly and heads to Peru to get help for Daniel. Lacking knowledge and social skills due to a sheltered life Claudia is constantly doubting herself but continues to try as hard as she can. I adore that about her and was cheering for her throughout all of Bruja

I really enjoy Aileen Erin's writing style and usually read books by Aileen Erin in one sitting, Bruja was not exception. I look forward to reading Alpha Unleashed.

Dumplin'

Dumplin' was everything I had hoped it would be and more.

Willowdeen is one spunky girl full of fun. Loving life and who she is Will is comfortable in her own skin she cares what no one thinks or says about her as she lives her life. Well that is what Will would like people to think, despite portraying oodles of confidence Will struggles at times with how she looks. I loved that about Will, she had ups, downs, angry moments, ugly moments, pretty moments, and took them all in stride.

The whole time I was reading Dumplin' it felt like it could be something I actually witnessed in a high school. The writing was amazing, the characters unique and well developed. While I liked the ending I wish that it had focused a bit more on Will and her mother's relationship. I hope to read more of Julie Murphy's work one day.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Friday 56: Dumplin'

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.
Dumplin' page 56:
I can't hide my horrified expression. "Wait. What? I'm sorry but did you compare kissing me to calling your teacher Mom?"

Alpha Divided

Alpha Divided continues Tessa's story as she adjusts to being a powerful werewolf and a Bruja.

Tessa continues to grow as she learns about harnessing all three sides of who she is, human, wolf, and witch. Sadly for Tessa life can never be simple and when the local coven declares war on Tessa's pack she has no choice but to go with the coven to learn their ways. Hating being away from Dastien Tessa struggles to learn magic and control her inner wolf. Despite Tessa's struggles not everything is bad, having been confined to the coven land Tessa is finally able to get to know her cousins. Learning the ways of the coven Tessa struggles to find a way to keep everyone she loves safe and stop the coven from going to war.

Since Tessa was moving around a lot during Alpha Divided Dastien did not show up much. Claudia, Tessa's cousin, was in the story and I loved seeing how the two girls started to form a friendship. The small hint of who Claudia is was a nice introduction for the next book in the series where Claudia becomes the main character.

Once again the writing was smooth and fun. I feel like I just sat down with the story and next thing I know I am turning the last page. I look forward to continuing to learn more about Tessa and the other fun characters in the Alpha Girl series.

Monday, October 19, 2015

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

I checked out In the Shadow of Blackbirds on an impulse at the library. Even though I had a feeling parts would scare me I wanted to give it a try.

Mary Shelley was a wonderfully refreshing character, I loved her quirks and unique way of looking at the world. With her whole world turned upside down upon the arrest of her father Mary Shelly head to live with her Aunt where she is soon haunted by the death of her first love. Determined to help Stephen Marry Shelley embarks upon a mission to see his spirit put to rest.

The writing was lovely, stunning, well done, and haunting in parts. I loved it and wanted more. My biggest complaint is that it felt unfinished at the end, I wanted to know more about Mary Shelly's father badly but that was left open ended. The same goes for Mary Shelley herself, I would have liked to know a bit more of how she finally settled her life.

Library of Souls

I totally wanted to love Library of Souls but at times I had to force myself to keep reading. I think that was due to not having done a refresher read of the first two books before starting Library of Souls.

Jacob continues to learn about the world of Peculiar people and the darkness that resides in it. Struggling to deal with the chaos around him while learning to control and embrace his peculiar powers Jacob does his best to work at saving his friends. A few times I had a hard time believing that Jacob was just a sixteen year old boy who learned he was Peculiar a short time ago, he took everything in stride and nothing seemed to cause Jacob to take a moment to process things. While matters did seem to hit Jacob harder towards the end of Library of Souls I still did not find it overly believable.

While none of Library of Souls is told from Emma's point of view I still felt like I got to know her as a strong main character. Emma's relationship with Jacob seemed a bit out of place though and almost an afterthought. The romance was not a focal point by far and I was not overly fond of the romantic relationship.

My favorite character by far was Sharon the mysterious boatman. I wanted to know about Sharon, his kind, and the abilities they possessed.

I did not notice grammar mistakes and the writing was smooth yet at times the story seemed to drag. While Library of Souls is a hefty book I felt like it contained a lot of pointless filler and the actual story was only a small portion.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Friday 56: Library of Souls

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.
 
1. Grab a book, any book.
 


2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.


3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.

4. Post it.

5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.
Library of Souls page 55 (page 56 is a picture):

"Let's see now. Families enjoy the Famine 'n' Flame package... in the morning we go upriver to watch viking siege engines catapult diseased sheep over the city walls, then have a nice boxed lunch and return in the evening via the Great Fire of 1666, which is a real treat after dark, with the flames reflecting on the water, very nice."

My schedule remains full so please leave a link to your Friday 56 in the comments and I will get to it as soon as I am able to. Happy Friday.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Leviathan

I have been wanting to read more books in the steampunk genre so upon a recommendation I gave Leviathan a try. I had a super hard time getting into it and it was not until around the seventy percent mark that I started to enjoy the story.

Alek was an interesting character with plenty of flaws and I liked that about him. Scared and confused as to what is going on in his life Alek has to trust his fate to a handful of loyal men doing all they can to keep him safe. While a prince Alek was also shoved aside due to his mother being common and supposedly lost all rights to a title until the war broke out. A key pawn in the game of politics Alek just wants to keep his head down and out of trouble. Unfortunately for Alek this is not an easy task.

Deryn bothered me a lot and I did not care for her lazy attitude about just fitting in the boys. Hiding her identity as a girl came off funky at times and I had a hard time believing that no one noticed a girl was among them. Plus I did not care for how Deryn treated other people around her, she came off as a bit snobbish at times in my opinion.

The writing was alright but it was not page turning for me until near the end. I am not sure I liked Leviathan enough to continue on with the series. I would however like to try something else from the steampunk genre in the future.

Monday, October 12, 2015

A New Darkness

I was so frustrated with The Last Apprentice series I had no intentions of reading the sequel series but when it showed up my libraries home page I figured I would give A New Darkness a try. Since I am beyond furious by the ending I suppose that means I enjoyed the story.

With the death of John Gregory Tomas Ward has taken it upon himself to become the Chippendale Spook even though he only received five years of training instead of the customary seven. The folks in the country are not so sure about Tom though and many claim he is too young. Struggling with the grief of having lost his Master and friend Tom goes about his work doing his best to keep the Country safe from the dark until his daily routine is interrupted by a young girl named Jenny who insists he train her to be a Spook.

While it is nice to see a female get a chance to be a Spook Jenny is not what I like in a character and comes off as annoying. While she is stubborn she does not put that stubbornness into helping her become a Spook. Instead she whines about the practical work, argues about what Tom is trying to teach her, and is disrespectful of Tom most of the time.

The writing was smooth, descriptive, and elegant. I rarely notice mistakes in Mr. Delaney's work and I highly appreciate that. My biggest issue is the ending, I hated it so I guess that means I was also highly connected with the characters and loved it. Since I am eager to know what actually happened the release of The Dark Army cannot come soon enough.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Crystal Kindgom

I had hoped Crystal Kingdom would have had a stronger ending. 

Bryn was a bit of a let down as a character. While Bryn had a lot of potential to grow she just suddenly realized everything about herself in one paragraph or so and grew. It came off as totally unbelievable and sloppy which ruined Bryn as a character for me. 

I think some sort of love triangle was suppose to be occurring but it was weak and neither of the guys were particularly strong characters or really helped the story along. I was seriously disappointed in how the romance part turned out. 

All the major questions were answered in the end at least but overall Crystal Kingdom does not feel like it even belonged in the Kanin Chronicles since it was so different from the first two books. I am still debating if I want to try something else by Amanda Hocking or not.

Friday 56: Crystal Kingdom

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

1. Grab a book, any book.



2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.



3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.


4. Post it.

5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.
Crystal Kingdom page 56:
"No, we're doing this," I told him firmly. "It's our only chance of making things right. We have to get the Queen on our side."
I have been super busy lately and I am still super busy but if you leave a link to your Friday 56 I will get to it as soon as I am able to. 

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Avoiding Alpha

Avoiding Alpha was a fun, fast, read. While shorter then Becoming Alpha it did not feel like the story was lacking anywhere.

Tessa is slowly adjusting to being a werewolf and still reluctant to embrace the wolf within her. I love this about it her, it makes Tessa feel far more believable in my opinion. Things still bother Tess and it is taking her time to learn to embrace the changes within her. Yet when her best friend Meredith becomes ill from a curse that was placed on her a few years earlier Tessa will do anything to save her including embracing the wolf within. 

I ended up reading Avoiding Alpha in one sitting, I kept meaning to put it down at the end of the chapter but the chapters ended on such a high note I had to keep reading to find out what happened. I look forward to learning more about Tessa's journey.

Fury of the Seventh Son

I have held off on my review of the Fury of the Seventh Son because I have been super busy and I was hoping my anger would calm so I could find something decent about the ending to what I once considered a great series. Unfortunately it did not work.

With The Spook's health rapidly failing Tom knows he has to step up and lead the fight against the dark. While having no problem with the task Tom knows that he is close to becoming a full fledged Spook and will have to take his Master's place soon but before that can happen the Fiend must be dealt with. Still doing their best to keep the head of the Fiend from the body Tom knows that time is running out and also knows that he cannot sacrifice the love of his life Alice. With few choices Tom works on rallying his allies to help in the final battle between himself and the Fiend.

Alice was barely in Fury of the Seventh Son and I HATED that she went totally malevolent. Even worse Alice left Tom for someone else and she was clearly in love with him. The story felt all wrong and like it was barely thought through on that aspect. It was not natural and had a lame explanation.

The writing was well done but the story itself had a horrible ending. I left too many questions, had weak reasoning for things, and horrible character development with Tom. All along Tom had walked the line between good and evil then suddenly at the end he gives that all up and just throws himself into the light. It just did not fit well at all. My expectations were seriously crushed and I hated the ending so much it ended up ruining the whole series for me. I am considering the companion series by Joseph Delaney but when I read that it can be read standalone from The Seventh Son series that turned me off. Something great was started with The Seventh Son series but it crashed hard in the end and it is frustrating I invested so much time in the series.

Monday, September 28, 2015

I am Alice

I have been wanting a story set from Alice's point of view for ages so I was happy to see I am Alice providing that. I was sad though that Tom was not around since I wanted to see what Alice is thinking when she is near him.

With the plan to vanquish the Fiend once and for all coming together Alice knows it is time for her to venture into the dark to find the dagger she will be sacrificed with. Having been a prisoner of the Fiend and held in the dark Alice is smart to fear venturing back into the dark. Despite Alice's fears she ventures into the dark and is reunited with Thorne, the young witch training to be an assassin.

I loved seeing Thorne again, I was upset she died protecting Grimalkin in a previous book so it was wonderful having Thorne make another appearance. Still strong willed it was sad to see Thorne without her thumbs and struggling to survive. I hope that Thorne's fate will be touched upon again in Fury of the Seventh Son.

The writing was well done and the story continues to get darker. I am super eager to read Fury of the Seventh Son and learn the fate of the Country and all the characters I have grown to love.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

The Accident Season

I won an advanced reader copy from Goodreads of The Accident Season so things might be tweaked a bit in the finished copy. One of my least favorite things to do is write a negative review especially for a book I wanted to enjoy. The Accident Season just did not suit my taste the farther into the story I got.

Cara is a lot like a typical teenager, she smokes, drinks, and parties openly with her mother's approval except when it is the accident season then her mother wants Cara and her siblings kept as safe as possible. Through out the story the accident season is mentioned in passing a lot but not really explained until the end and even then it is not overly explained nor is ever clear if the accident season will stop plaguing the family.

Since things were told from Cara's point of view for the whole story it was hard to get into the mind of Cara's siblings Alice and her stepbrother Sam. Alice just came off as a spoiled brat in most of her early dialogue and Sam a bit of a misfit. Bea, Cara's best friend, was strange and despite Bea being around constantly I do not feel like I got to know her at all. I am not sure if this was the intention of the author or just how it worked out.

The writing was weak in spots, lovely in other spots, and just plain confusing in the rest. Towards the end I had no clue what was going on half the time and I am still not sure if Cara is insane and hallucinating things that happened to her or I missed something in the writing that explained everything. The grammar got worse the farther into the story I got but that could be due to the advanced reader copy, at least I hope so. The story itself bothered me in several spots, things were left without explanation, weak character development, and forced love. The last part bothered me the most and I was just annoyed some love twists were added for no apparent reason. I did not care enough for the writing or the story to want to read any more work by the author. 


Saturday, September 26, 2015

Slither

I had a really hard time getting into Slither since it just sort of randomly appeared in the middle of The Last Apprentice series with all new characters. Plus the name turned me off, I figured Slither would have something to do with a snake of some sort. Thankfully it did not.

Slither is what I would consider a creature of the dark since he consumes human blood and takes souls. Yet despite that I have not seen a mention of any of the creatures that appear in Slither in the previous books in The Last Apprentice series. Despite Slither being a monster who had seriously messed up ideals about what female humans are for I liked him. Sticking to a strong code of honor and going out of his way to keep bargains Slither was complex with many layers to him.

The three sisters were annoying most of the time. Nessa was interesting at times and while she constantly went out of her way to protect her sisters I never thought it was fake. Having been sold to Slither Nessa knew her life was over once she was sold in the slave market. I think that is what gave her the courage to keep doing all she could to protect her sisters.

The writing was well done and I hope that Slither was not just a filler book. If just Slither makes another appearance in the series I will be a bit disappointed because Nessa has a fairly good foundation as a character to make another appearance.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

The Spook's Beastiary

The Spook's Beastiary is a nice companion book to The Last Apprentice series. It had nice definitions for all the creatures of the dark along with pictures. My favorite part was the quotes at the end of each chapter from The Spook, Tom, and various apprentices. I also enjoyed seeing the way beings from the dark were classified by someone besides Tom. The added chapter at the end about unknown beings from the dark was a nice bonus and while I would like to know what the dark beings were the mystery is fun.

The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Battle of the Labyrinth was another book I read in one sitting even though I feared I would have issues with Annabeth being a know it all Percy made up for that.

Once again Percy is thrust into the middle of helping save Camp Half-Blood. While Percy does not seem to mind playing the hero the other campers do seem resentful of Percy at times so I loved the tension among the campers in parts. While I still like Percy and he is continuing to learn about how to handle being the son of Poseidonit does seem like Percy is not growing much as a person. Percy continues to be stubborn and set on the idea of saving everyone no matter the difficulties.

I eagerly await my chance to read The Last Olympian.

The Titan's Curse

Oddly enough the farther I read into Percy Jackson and the Olympian's the more I like the series and usually it is the total opposite. I read The Titan's Curse in one sitting and immediately wanted to start The Battle of the Labyrinth.

Percy continues to grow into his half-blood powers and learning how to deal with threats against Camp Half-Blood and Olympus. One reason I think I liked The Titan's Curse was Annabeth was not in it much I get sick of her stuck up attitude and how she thinks she knows everything all the time. However with Annabeth gone Percy just seemed lost and unlike himself in a lot of ways.

I loved the build up to everything and the ending was well done. Once again I had a couple issues with grammar in parts.