Review: Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Published Date: March 29th, 2011
Finished Date: May 30th, 2011
Publishers: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 416
Series: Shadow Falls book 1

Blurb from Goodreads: Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams, Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs… -------------------------------------------------------------------

My Review: I would put this at 4.5 stars if i could..but i didnt think it was perfect so i rounded it down. But oh this book is a really good one. Tho the climax didnt hit the all time high, for some reasons, i am hooked to this book quite badly. Haha, and im usually one for action than romance. This one is a real mix between Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers trilogy and Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, what with her being able to see and commune with ghosts and the fact that there was a summer camp for supernaturals, in short for people who were special and had powers. Ring a bell?

Kylie's life sure is one hellhole, but she manages it all quite well actually. I mean, there were emotional breakdowns and lots of bawling sessions, but in the end, she pulled on her big girl's pant and dealt with everything, and even saved the camp[ok big spoiler]. Anyway, her mom thought that Kylie was more than she could handle cause of Kylie's budding rebellious attitude and with the divorce between her and Kylie's dad, so she sent Kylie to the camp that her counsellor recommended(now this reminds me of James from Robert Muchamore's CHERUBS series..-.-). Kyie arrives and lo and behold, meets her best buds and potential lover, and also mysterious childhood neighbor(slash)terror(slash)saviour. I know, very hypocritical, but dont worry, Hunter made it make perfect sense:). Ok, after which she is in some serious denial that she is also a supernatural. The camp leader, Holiday, told her about her seeing ghosts is a gift, but they're stilling trying to figure out what kind of supernatural she is(for example, half-were, half-vamp, half-fae, hald-witch or half-shapeshifter, all this are the main supernatural groups present in the book), so this becomes her quest, to find out which group she belongs to. Percy Jackson much? Then things happen and the camp is in danger of closing down and Kylie somehow manages to save it with the help of some of her new friends.

Kylie is not really what i would say as my ideal heroine, with her breaking down quite often tho her actions are justifiable, but she is cool and courageous. Her powers can only add on to her many qualities. At first, i thought that being able to see ghosts didnt make her very powerful and that it was creepy, but after awhile, i think i do like her powers after all. At least it convinced me more how good the power could be than Kelley Armstrong did..Bottomline: yeah, i liked Kylie.

The boys...Trey(nehh), Derek(the hot half-fae), Lucas(the childhood neighbor(slash)terror(slash)saviour who is equally, if not more, sizzling than the half-fae). Well, Trey was a downright loser. Ok why do all YA authors make the human boy the most undesirable one..lol anyway. Derek was the steady, cool, calm and collected lover while Lucas was the one who made Kylie all nervous and fluttery. Reminds me of the Strange Angels series by Lili St. Crow.-.- Personally i prefer Lucas cause Kylie had a secret past with him, and it being shrouded in mystery just makes it all the more romantic. haha

It wasnt very climax-y if you get what i mean, and it definitely is kinda cliche, but personally i find it nice and well, relaxing. Sometimes i dread reading the climaxes of books cause i know im gonna have some serious hormonal changes and adrenaline spikes which would result in me being tired and a few wrinkles to appear, which is seriously mortifying. I've been reading more adult fiction nowadays, and reading this book reminds me how awesome YA fiction books can be. Makes me feel more youthful also,haha.(I am still a teen actually:/)

Anyway, i am really looking forward to the release of this sequel called Awake at Dawn which will be released on Oct 11 this year!! Woo! Cheers:) cant wait cant wait.

My Rating:

Review: Eona by Alison Goodman

Published Date: April 19th, 2011
Finished Date: May 16th, 2011
Publishers: Penguin Group(USA)Incorporated
Format: Hardback
Pages: 637
Series: Sequel to Eon

Blurb from Goodreads: Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon's army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona's power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the selfstyled "Emperor" Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power-and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans. . . .

Eona, with its pulse-pounding drama and romance, its unforgettable fight scenes, and its surprises, is the conclusion to an epic only Alison Goodman could create. ----------------------------------------------------------------

My Review: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW. Cover is awesome, story is awesome, EVERYTHING about it is plain awesomeness. Seriously there's no words to describe it. When i saw the book cover when it was released, i seriously stoned for a full 5 min staring at it. It's PERFECT. haha how is that even possible?

"This mesmerizing story begins where most novels end: in a tension-filled climatic event, in which the fate of the protagonist and a nation hang in the balance. Goodman catapults the reader headfirst into a pivotal moment in the Empire of the Celestial Dragons, a world so richly imagined that it feels real." --Booklist, starred review.

I totally agree. Omg i really don't know where to begin my review..it's so...wow that i really think no words in the english language would do it justice.

ok..firstly, the plot is REALLY complex, it's so amazing how Alison can keep everything coherent and running smoothly. At first where everything was a huge mess and tangle, in the end it was like everything really started clicking into place automatically even tho i was wondering how she was gonna tie all those knots up initially. It was complicated, but not in a bad way. It was because of it that it felt very real, and very intrigueing. All that court politics was like China's 三国演义, where there was the war between the Three Kingdoms and the main players Cao Cao, Zhu Ge Liang and Liu Bei. All this are the true history of China, and Goodman's Empire of the Celestial Dragons felt like that. Real. And totally imagineable.

It wasn't like the first book at all. The first book had to get all the descriptions out of the way because her world was really different from ours, and now with everything basic established, she could really get all the fun stuff going. Some examples would be the romance part and the court politics.

I enjoyed the romance part a lot..tho i felt there could've been more at the end. Not that i'm complaining about the end. Don't get me wrong the ending was phenomenal, albeit a little abrupt, but still awesome all the same. Just that there could've been more.

I really enjoyed the parts where Kygo and her were together..It was sweet and frustratin all the same.. But i really was annoyed when Eona kept lying to Kygo, even tho i thought i would do the same had i been her..Such mixed feelings thru'out the book! I felt like i really aged alot after i finished the book...whoo!

One thing i thought was..um not very well-planned was the fact that Goodman seemed to have conveniently made Ido change his personality in the end to enable Kygo and Eona to be together. I don't know..I mean Ido wouldn't have done what he did in the end if he really cared about Eona, and he already proved that in the beginning of the book, and no one would've done what he did if they weren't in love in truth.

Sigh..I'm hungry and i didn't plan this review so it must seem very disorganized and whatever, but yeah..that's all i can remember about the book..Time to eat~

Anyway, this book just hit my top charts with the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, the Seven Kingdoms Trilogy by Kristin Cashore and 夜凝夕 by 飞烟. I really really love it a lot, and i am thinking of suggesting to Alison to write a short e-novella or something about Eona and Kygo after this book, where they are restoring the kingdom and hopefully a little insight on their budding relationshp:D BACK ME UP PEOPLE!

My Rating:

Review: Illusions by Aprilynne Pike

Published Date: May 3rd, 2011
Finished Date: May 10th, 2011
Publishers: HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 375
Series: Wings book 3

Blurb from Goodreads: Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.

But just as life is returning to normal, Laurel discovers that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail.
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My Review: Arrhhh! Disappointing ending!! Just when the book got interesting, it ended. Seriously? Come on, man.

Ok..After many months of waiting, here's what we've got: Laurel and David are back in high school and it's their senior year. Both of them are happily making out before the bell rang for classes on day when Tam shows up as an exchange student(a Scottish one at that. haha). David, obviously,was really angry and jealous everytime Tam talks to Laurel while Laurel has mixed feelings-mostly happy, worried, and awkward. Things were peaceful until Klea, the self-proclaimed troll hunter, shows up at Laurel's house with a wid faerie in tow, and asked her to take care of Yuki, the wild faerie and also exchange student recently enrolled at Cescent High at the same time as Tamani. Laurel and Tam were suspiscious of her and so decided to befriend her to dig up some inside scoop or info. Yuki is wary of everyone, especially Laurel since she keeps trying to talk to her. And since Laurel fails time and time again to get into Yuki's good books, Tam steps up to seduce her..kinda(this is what the excerpt in Aprilynne's blog was about..if you are still feeling depressed over it)..Yuki starts falling for Tam but Tam still likes Laurel and Laurel is still confused about whether she likes David or Tam or both..Yadda yadda. Oh then here's where it got better since i'm kinda with Team Tam:D. Laurel broke up with David. In front of the school. Cool. A wee bit drama mama, but still cool. So Laurel's tending towards Tam now, but not all the way,yet. ok,romance part aside, since Tam and Laurel's suspiscious bout the new girl, they consulted Jamison in Avalon(that was the only time Laurel went back to Avalon...sad, right?:( ) and so the main plot of the whole book just Laurel trying to figure out whether Yuki is with the good guys or the bad guys, and what caste/season faerie she is. The ending was when they just figured out what caste/season faerie Yuki was, and i tell you it was a hell of a shock. Like seriously, the bomb dropped from nowhere; read it, and get a kick in the ass. I'm not even gonna spoiler it even tho that's one of my hobbies..haha. It's really cool how i didn't see that coming.

As i've said, i am still quite disappointed with the ending. It seemed like the book was getting too thick so the author decided to just bookmark it and say," ok let's just split it up here since it's convenient and it creates some suspense for the readers". Y'know, i don't really mind cliffhangers like the one in Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire of the Hunger Games series, but this one is just plain annoying and i don't think the suspenseful part overrules the irritation. I was reading happily, interest piqueing because honestly, the front part of the book was boring i even stopped reading it for a few days but the pace picked up and i found myself enjoying this series again. But so as i was reading it happily and secretively in math class, it just ended. I was like," that's it? What kind of a non-ending is this?" Something like Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers series, if you've read it. But when i was around three quarters into the book, it got really exciting and i found i was really reluctant to put the book down and tear my gaze away from the pages. And i stress the word TEAR. There was some action(even for David and Chelsea), some uncertainties and suddenly 'BAM!' The answer to it all(well, almost all) just slams into your face and then...The end. Hope you enjoyed the book!-.- And it was getting so nice!TT sigh..another few months to wait...AGAIN..TT

This sequel focused more on the romance part, since Laurel can finally take a REALLY short break now after Barnes(the main bad troll)is dead. But soon Tam and Aaron(another of Laurel's sentries. She has alot of them btw..around 200 when the book ended) came across 2 and soon more trolls started appearing. It was really sad and miserable for Tam at the start since all Laurel do was hug David,kiss David(definitely alot of kissing. Actually not alot, but over excessive kissing), study with David, share secrets with David, oh and did i mention kiss David? And kiss David, so yeah, it was bad for Tam. But after Laurel broke up with David after him and Tam got all possessed by the testosterone disease, Tam started to really woo Laurel in earnest; And i've got to say this, Tam really knows how to be sweet and romantic when he wants to be. He left Laurel a rose after he left her house just before dawn, watching her sleep.

Laurel was cool-her Mixing(or Fall faerie's) ability have started to really come back to her, and she's starting to do some real advanced stuff. She is mature at some points...But i reall couldn't stand her when she asked David to the Winter Formal Dance AFTER she broke up with him and made out with Tam(rather passionately, if i may) several times and breaking both Tam's and David's hearts..again...Pissing~ But she's cool. I don't know why, but i do like her:).

Tam got quite a bit of the limelight here as Pike shifted from Laurel's POV to his, and at times, David's. It was good so i didn't get all tensed and worried when he started flirting and cozing up to Yuki and not treat Laurel like he used to. But when it shifted to his POV then oh, all the uncertainties were resolved:). He does love her alot(i mean Laurel,of course). And i really like those times when he got really protective and at times when he couldn't summon up some werll-needed confidence and really go after Laurel and truly express himself...physically...haha sounds wrong.

It was funny at parts and i was smiling away during Math and English class...which was weird..haha.

I would definitely read the next book cause i'm anxious to see how all this shit problems end and who Laurel ends up with, and where she decides to belong-Avalon or Earth(or do we call it the human dimension? Or the likes). Well. not bad, but it was ultimately the ending which made me rate this book only 3.

My Rating:

              

Review: Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

Published Date: May 3rd, 2011
Finished Date: May 8th, 2011
Publishers: Berkeley
Format: Paperback
Pages: 312
Series: Elder Races book 1

Blurb from Goodreads: Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful-and passionate-of the Elder races. -----------------------------------------------------------------

My Review: First of all, i have to say...Wow!...wow, an absolutely stunning debut novel. Seriously, the plot was well-developed, captivating, and...magical; The adventures were suspenseful and action-packed, the pace set was fast at some, but it slows down at the more romantic scenes-not slow slow, but comfortable slow, VERY satisfatory slow, if you get what i mean:). The ending was perfectly sweet and really, really romantic, and i liked it a lot.

It started off with Pia running away from Dragos after stealing from his secret hoard. And as we all know, dragons like to keep mountains of jewels and whatnot and are extremely possessive of their possessions. She tried to run, and as the cliche saying goes, but she can't hide, so Dragos caught her(with funny intermediate scenes like when Dragos, a crazy ancient dragon, tried eating Twizzlers and drinking cherry coke Slurpee cause Pia bought it and almost immediately spat everything out and his second-in-command, the hot Rune, took the Twizzlers and smuggled them out of the room). They fell in love, but because of the big difference in personalities and all the other power players getting involved, they got on a rocky start and could only satisfy their burning needs for physical intimacies in spurts and bursts wherever they could fit into their impromptu schedules-like when they're running away from a horde of angry Goblin captors and had gained some ground, they washed off at a creek and had their first "joinings":). I have to admit that that first love making was realy mindblowingly hot, ahha ok now i sound pervy. When things toned down and it seemed like a happy ever after, Pia got kidnapped by Dragos' archenemy. But during her kidnap, she definitely showed what a tough girl she was. Yeah and the ending was, as i've said already, really, really sweet.

OK, where to start...Pia is a really cool heroine, all independence and all action. I liked the front part where she outsmarted and kicked her delusional, crazy ex-boyfriend's butt. She's pretty(light god-blonde hair and all), she's smart, fast, and really brave and independent. She fights her own battles, and she doesn't back down when her dominant lover gets all bossy and intimidating, instead, she understands that it wasn't really his fault since it was all honed instincts ingrained into him for millenia, so yeah, it's hard for him too. She is really friendly and charismatic to those who were suspiscious of her at first. Oh and she is so sarcastically funny, definitely my type. She's cool, and she definitely hits my top charts of favourite heroines.

Dragos is the usual dominant, I-always-get-what-i-want, powerful, strickingly handsome hero of the book. He really reminds me of Raphael in Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series and almost all the men in Jory Strong's erotica/romantica novels, all starkly possessive and protective. He does live up to his ancient ancient name, but sometimes his actions and words are too modern for me to continue with the ancient concept. One example is his, and his almost-as-ancient sentinels', continual usage of very modern crude/coarse language. Their use of vulgar words are like, abundant and already instilled into their daily conversations, which is not supposed to be(for me anyway)as...aren't ancient people supposed to be all prim and proper and all "let down your long hair, O Fair Maiden"? But there are parts where he seemed really old, and he's so innocently sweet and charming when he straightfowardly admitted that he didn't understand the concept of love that the humans are obsessed about. He doesn't know it, but he loves Pia just fine:).

The peripheral characters like Quentin, Rune, Tricks, etc were fun enough. Tricks especially. Oh how i loved the part where Tricks and Pia got drunk and Tricks started to write ont he restaurant's tablecloth all the gossips and connections of the people in Culeubre Tower(who are also the employee), and Rune and Graydon successfully wrested it from her after she got a good bite out of Rune(she was drunk).

Harrison has a really screwed sense of humor, in a good way, haha, which is with the use of sarcasm, which is totally my brand of jokes. So i really loved and adored the book when it got all snide comments and witty remarks. But there is some gore in it which i kinda appreciated..."...not after he was gelded, not after he was eviscerated, not after he was blinded. I didn't think that the boy had that kind of loyalty in him. I thought he would give you up in the first ten minutes." Wow, royal treatment much?

The passion play was awesome. Haha, real horny and all and illustrated detailed-ly with care and precision:). Tho i am kinda...um skeptical? that they(meaning Pia and Dragos) could've fell in love and willingly put their faith and trust in each other when they have only met for what, 3 or 4 days tops? That's a little extreme, man...

I am feeling rather speculative now cause Harrison didn't close the loops and gaps that appeared in the book. For example, what did Pia's mom do to/for the Elves that made her into such a revered persona in their society? I mean, this will be the only book which would focus on Pia(sad....TT) so i don't think Harrison would patch it all up after this book. And also of all the mythical creatures ever created, she chose to make Pia turn into a *******? I mean seriously? That's just weird...haha

Anyway, a really good book and i would definitely recommend it. Her writing style is scarily similar to Nalni Singh's. So if you loved the Guid Hunter series or the Psy-Changeling series(like i do), i think you'll love this one too.

My Rating:

Review: Dark Descendant by Jenna Black

Published Date: April 26th, 2011

Finished Date: May 3rd, 2011

Publishers: Pocket

Format: Paperback

Pages: 325

Series: Descendants book 1

Blurb from Goodreads: From the acclaimed author of the Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist books comes the gripping first novel in a new series about a private eye who discovers, to her surprise, that she’s an immortal huntress.

Nikki Glass can track down any man. But when her latest client turns out to be a true descendant of Hades, Nikki now discovers she can’t die. . . . Crazy as it sounds, Nikki’s manhunting skills are literally god-given. She’s a living, breathing descendant of Artemis who has stepped right into a trap set by the children of the gods. Nikki’s new “friends” include a descendant of Eros, who uses sex as a weapon; a descendant of Loki, whose tricks are no laughing matter; and a half-mad descendant of Kali who thinks she’s a spy. But most powerful of all are the Olympians, a rival clan of immortals seeking to destroy all Descendants who refuse to bow down to them. In the eternal battle of good god/bad god, Nikki would make a divine weapon. But if they think she’ll surrender without a fight, the gods must be crazy. . . .

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My Review: Cool plot, cool synopsis, sool idea, and of course, cool heroine!

Nikki has been a PI for quite some time, but her friend comes to her one day and screw everything up for her, and now she's hated by whole hordes of powerful people(both pyhsically and politacally), and by both the good and bad people, which practically leaves her on no-man's land. She's also an outcast at the only safe sanctuary she was offered. All throughout the book, she has to prove her worth and loyalty to Anderson and co. cause otherwise they would not protect her or her family from the bad people who wants her desperately(away from Anderson,the head of the good people, anyway) cause she's the rare Descendent of Artemis, Greek goddess of the Moon, the Hunt and Patron Goddess of all virgin maidens. Anderson, the only one who could butt heads with the main protagonist Konstantin, asks her to find someone for him, and it somehow became a test to prove her loyalty, and someone was bent on thinking her the betrayer. So when Nikki's sister, Steph, was threatened and Nikki had to rush to save her, that annoying someone held her back, thinking to ambush her and give her a good beating HE thought was his right to mete out and HE thought she deserved. So yeah...poor sister... The ending was kinda a happy one, and it hinted at a little romance for Nikki and also a hell of a conflict brewing up(ok maybe not hinting for the conflict, but downright shouting it at us).

Nikki was the usual heroine-nice, intelligent, carried the rare and sought-after genes, but strangely, her looks were only average. Y'know, usually the main girl's all pretty and kind and gay and stuff? She sucked up all the misfortunes that befell her like a man and she's really independent. I was disappointed about her powers tho. You would expect the rare Descendent of the cool Goddess to be all "oooh here is my magic bow and self-refilling spiritual arrows" and no one ever being able to sneak up on her because of her uncanny tracking powers...But nooo, everyone, including and especially that irritating someone, Jamaal, kept getting past her rather laxed guard and ambushing her. And throughout the whole book, she only managed to track 1 person(if i remember correctly).

Steph, Nikki's sister, is too pretty and too kind to be true. And seriously, after getting brutalized and almost raped, i would expect more of a reaction from her; what with her pampered, sheltered life and all. This type of people is kinda too impossible so...yeah i didn't really like her. And i seriously don't think she's the girl for Blake.:(

Anyway, learning about Anderson's parentage had been a real kick. Haha it was kinda cool. I thought we could've read more about Logan tho...He seemed to have much potential to be an enteraining lead hero.:/

OK, i confess that i've been procrastinating doing this review up so the feelings are not fresh anymore, and i can only remember 2 of them clearly now, which are:

OK firstly, this book has some serious fighting mojo(is this how you use this word?) going on. It's literally one fight after another, like 接二连三 kinda thing, which is definitely a good thing. Also incorporated with those awesome greek myths, that is the total cherry on top of the freaking cake. haha. After readong the synopsis about how the protagonist is Artemis' Descendent, i started looking frantically for the ebook...and i think i half-spoiled my mouse in my haste:( Anyway, the action was totally jam-packed with cool moves and choreography. But it was kinda weird, but also kinda cute that Nikki apologizes after the first few times she shoots at someone who's with the good guys(not purposely, but rather in self-defence). It was like 'BANG!', the guy falls down with some crazy chest wound(he's an immortal Descendent so he'll heal) and she goes up to him with a chagrined expression(in my head anyway)and says,"I'm sorry." Hah! Oh oh, and i think the part where she accidentally stabs Jamaal's eye with the heel of her stilettos was just plain lame(hey, it rhymes). Haha, but cute at the same time. I don' harbor any sympathy since he was the one who cause Steph(Nikki's sis)to be brutalized by Alexis(bad guy's right hand man)by holding Nikki up. Totally uncool...

And secondly, most YA books, if not all, would have a little romance in it and this one only just subtly hinted at it in the end-for Nikki anyway. And let me tell you, i am so not happy with the way things are developing. For all the things that he had done and caused,like bashing and choking Nikki and causing her siser to be ruffed up so badly and all, Nikki actually started developing, i don't know, a soft spot for Jamaal! Ew. Gross. He was my least fave character because of his unstable mental condition and hater-attitude, and she just goes traisping off with him? That's just wrong dude. And...ok this is probably gonna sound racist, but i kinda prefer the same races of people being paired up, and this is like Darke Academy by Gabriella Poole all over again, which is just plain weird. And why pair someone of her calibre with someone at the bottom of the food chain?>:/

Not as interesting as Percy Jackson, but definitely worth a shot. Try it. I mean, i don't regret picking it up, but it just wasn't the best book that i've read and with PJ as a comparison, that's tough cause PJ is just plain unbeatable. Haha. For greek myths anyway.

My Rating: