ARC Review: Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Publication Date: April 1st, 2014
Finished Date: February 16th, 2014
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Format: eARC
Series: The Malediction Trilogy #1
My Rating: 3.5/5

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Author's Website

Blurb from Goodreads:
For those who have loved Seraphina and Graceling comes another truly fabulous fantasy...

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

My Review

STOLEN SONGBIRD is rather like an amalgamation of Hobbit The Movie and Alice in Wonderland, telling of young Cécile's unwitting abduction to Trollus, homeland of the trolls, beneath the Lonely Forbidden Mountain, a magical tale full of intrigue, deceit and whimsical, off-with-her-head monarchs. As her debut book and start to a new fantasy series, STOLEN SONGBIRD's pretty amazing!

A (not so brief) Rundown

Under the fallen rocks of the Forbidden Mountain is rumored to be home to a whole city of a mystical species - the trolls. To enter Trollus, one must navigate the labyrinth of tunnels and evade the sluag, a slug-like creature that nullifies troll magic and strikes fear even in the hearts of the mighty trolls. It is said that Trollus contains piles of gold and riches (ahem Erebor), but many who ventured in never returned.

Cécile de Troyes is a farm maiden of Goshawk Hollow but with the voice of an angel. During a trip home from the city one day, she came upon an old friend but was kidnapped and brought to Trollus to marry the troll prince, Tristan de Montigny. Apparently, the trolls were cursed centuries ago by a human witch to never be able to step foot out of the mountain and a prophecy was told that a marriage between the troll prince and human girl with hair like fire, blue eyes and an "angel's voice" will break the curse.

But it didn't.

Cécile has always dreamed of the romantic wedded life her friends have gossiped wistfully about, but Tristan is far from a loving husband. He is one of the most handsome dudes she has ever laid eyes upon but he is also crude, rude, mostly cold and always confrontational. He picks fights with her at every opportuninty and sleeps on the couch. But in the darkness of the gardens where Cécile goes to sing to calm her riotous emotions, Tristan lets down his guard enough for her to see another side of him - the kind, gentle and loving side.

As Cécile comes to know, Trollus is not just about the amazing architecture and beautiful glass gardens (no sunlight). Humans and half bloods with little or no magic are seen as little more than slaves and any small misstep gives their owners the right to sentence them to be left in the tunnels to be sluag fodder or anything the owner sees fit. A rebellion is brewing and the factions are not clearly delineated. Tristan may seem like an insolent brat six out of seven days, but Cécile knows there is defeinitely more to him than he's showing. What does he do in the early hours of morning, sneaking out of their room and palace? Where does he factor in in the rebellion? And what has any of it to do with her?

My Thoughts

Kudos to the author for her effort to reimagine trolls - from 3m, club-swinging, wart-covered monstrosities (I'm thinking of the one in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) to an intelligent, magic-wielding race. Some look human (just 10000000 times more beautiful), but some are disfigured and some not even remotely human-looking. However apart from that, the concept is really just taking the characteristics of Shakespeare's faries and naming them trolls. Jensen's trolls can't lie which makes them experts at the art of manipulating words, their promises are binding, their thank-you's are favors to be repaid, they have True Names which enables full control over the troll whose name is known, and one of the side characters, Anäis  (yes, their names have lots of squiggly-wiggly or dots on top of their alphabets) mentioned that the name for their people isn't trolls, it's "Fai--" then she stopped herself. Well now, it's not that difficult to complete her statement now.

So I didn't really buy the "fresh" new idea of trolls.

But the plot is full of political intrigues, deceptions, and dangers for our protagonist that I was pretty invested in her story. It may be subjective though because like the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, STOLEN SONGBIRD is about Cécile finding out about trolls, their issues (the social discrimination and off-with-your-head variety) and her transformation from scared maiden to strong woman who found love and her determination to help in the rebellion. There is a sort of non-ending at the end, a sort of closure but we're not even close to the true ending. Just like how Bilbo and the dwarves were dropped off some god-forsaken cliff in the middle of nowhere and the Lonely Mountain was a speck in the horizon and the show ends. Yeah, something like that.

Not to say that it wasn't a good read (Goodreads, haha), Jensen had a very descriptive, simple yet witty style of writing. I loved the typical, easy countryside way of life at Goshawk's Hollow (Gordric's Hollow?!?!), the terror Cécile felt when she was in the sluag tunnels, the awe she felt at Trollus and her heartbreak when she thought that she was doomed to have a loveless marriage. There were quite a few secrets revealed along the way and plot curves dished out, and the alternating POV, which most of the time serves only to unveil secrets early and lessen suspense, worked pretty well here.

The characters!!! Apart from Tristan and Cécile, I thought that the secondary cast of characters were pretty fleshed out. We get to see glimpses of who each of them were really like and all of them had their own distinct personalities - there is mysterious but fiercely loyal Marc with a face split in half, each half having handsome features but freaky when seen as a whole; the Queen and her sister Duchesse who are joined together at the back so one of them has to walk backwards; the twins Vincent and Victoria who're constantly competing to see who should be Baron/Baroness of their house though their competitions are mostly jokes (like archery but with only one foot on the ground and with blindfolds on).

I don't want to spoiler anything more, but I'd definitely recommend this to fans of YA Fantasy. It's got the complicated political drama, the whole-new-world feel and magical boomz of a good fantasy, it's just that I felt that the plot and emotional development were dragged out too much that sometimes it felt like we were going in circles and the ending didn't give enough of a closure for me.

That said, though, there was a tiny part near the end that hinted at a parallel world that lives alongside Trollus and the outside world. This series is heading in a very promising direction with lots of action, suspense and romance, so yes, I will be picking up book 2 to see where Jensen takes Cécile and the rest of the crew.

~eARC courtesy of Netgalley and Strange Chemistry. Thank you!~

My Rating

      

 

Review: The Iron Prophecy by Julie Kagawa

Publication Date: September 1st, 2012
Finished Date: December 19th, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Format: eBook
Pages: 67
Series: The Iron Fey #4.5
My Rating: 4.5/5!

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Author's Website

Blurb from Goodreads:
Meghan Chase is finally getting used to being the Iron Queen, ruler of the Iron Fey. Her life may be strange, but with former Winter prince Ash by her side at last, she wouldn’t have it any other way. But when they travel to the Summer and Winter courts’ gathering for Elysium, the oracle from Meghan’s past returns with a dire prophecy: “What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them.” Now Meghan faces a devastating choice that may determine the future of all fey—and her and Ash’s unborn child… A novella from the bestselling Iron Fey series.

My Review

This glimpse back into Ash's, Meghan's, Puck's, Grimalkin's, heck even Glitch's life...WAS AWESOME. Satisfying yet it fed my unending hunger for more of this magical and enchanting world of faery. Oh man, I sound like a drug junkie fresh from rehab. And can I just say that the covers in this entire series is stunning?

Being able to see the revamped Mag Tureidh, court of the Iron Fey and Meghan and Ash's home was so heartwarming, seeing Beau and Razor and the other gremlins play together and making all that ruckus. We got to see Ash in all his former Ice Prince glory (don't worry, Ash still has his swag, his powers and that icy aloofness that we all love) but with a little more emotions when he's alone with Meghan, Puck came back after very funny adventures in the human world (wait till you hear them!), Grim with his "I am a cat" and all, and Meghan. Meghan! She showed those boys some girl, Summer-Iron, power! The only grievance I had was that the pace was not quite as fast as its predecessors and the book was much too short!

Even in such a short novella, Kagawa has the skill to completely suck me into her vivid and imaginative world full of hauntingly beautiful places and a simple yet eventful plot filled with action, humor and an easy friendship between 4 very memorable characters. If you're a Kagawa fan, you don't want to miss this final novella to the Iron Fey series! I swear, every page, just like any of her other books, is worth 5 golden stars.

P.S. I'm not sure I'm going to pick The Lost Prince up (though I am a HUGE fan of the Iron Fey series), cause... I'm just disgruntled that it's not in Meghan's POV anymore. :( And the synopsis and reviews just doesn't seem that interesting anymore.

My Rating

  

Review: Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter

Published Date: October 11th, 2011
Finished Date: January 9th, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
Series: Shadow Falls #2
My Rating: 4/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
Now that she’s settled in at Shadow Falls Camp, Kylie Galen’s determined to discover the extent of her supernatural abilities. But with a ghost insisting someone Kylie loves is about die, a rogue vampire on a murdering rampage, and her sixth sense telling her someone is watching her, Kylie’s quest for answers is quickly put on hold.

To make matters worse, just when she’s about to give her heart to Derek, a half-fairy, he starts pulling away. When Lucas, a werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past, returns, Kylie’s feels more conflicted than ever. Her weekend with her mom should have been the just the break Kylie needs, but it turns out to be her breaking point. Someone from the dark side of the supernatural world has plans for Kylie--and it'll take all her resources to get back to Shadow Falls alive...

My Review

I've been putting off reading AWAKE AT DAWN for quite some time cause I didn't have an urge to start on it. That said, I thought it was not bad, higher than average with lots of good fun. Fun in the romance sense, friends-together fun sense, and lots of plot surprises sense.

My Brief Summary
Kylie Galen is back at Shadow Falls,  with her best friends, Miranda (witch) and Della (vampire), and boyfriend-in-all-but-name, Derek (faery). She's back to where she belongs, but the one big question and mission of her life is still the one constant burden in her heart - what is she? She's still finding for answers, but the ghost that continuously comes to her at dawn dressed in a gown dripping blood who keeps repeating, "You have to stop it, Kylie. You have to. Or this will happen to someone you love." and nothing more isn't helping, and she's been developing some new powers of late that appears to points to her being a vampire, then a wolf, then a faery. And on top of her shit pile, Derek is starting to pull away from her. And then on top of the top of her shit pile, Lucas is back and her feelings are once again in a mess.

Great. And when Kylie was starting to deal with her problems, there's the other issue of a wolf and vampire stalking her, and two random normals were found dead minutes after meeting Kylie.
End of Summary

AWAKE AT DAWN has a very rich content, and many plot surprises. That's one of the things that's best about it. Not taking into account the delicious moments Kylie and Derek had together, but you get what I mean.

Derek took centre stage for this book. I didn't believe it when I read in other reviews how other readers were bought over to Team Derek in AaD, and I strongly believed that I will never sway from Team Lucas. But boy, was I wrong. Derek really won me over too! He was awesome! Cool, suave, hot, understanding. But it was after that when he started pulling away that made me like him a little less. I understand why he wanted distance - which is because of Lucas' return and because Kylie kept feeling guilty about thinking of Lucas and since Derek is a faery and can read emotions, he'd know when she does think of Lucas - but shouldn't he fight harder for her? Why surrender when the war's just started?

Lucas acted more of the infatuated friend when he was back cause Kylie will only accept him as a friend. But boy, was Lucas' reason to leave Shadow Falls cool! And very unexpected. I've been wondering what would constitute as an excusable reason for Lucas to elope with Fredricka (ok fine, elope is too strong a word, but he did run away with Fredricka), and wow, I forgave Lucas the moment he spilled the beans. Good one, C.C.! My love for Lucas has not diminished one bit.:P

Anyway, I thought that the rogue vampire in here was COOL! Everything's so unexpected and twisted that I can't even guess what's going to happen next! But, the reason why I took one star away was because it was a little monotonous for the most part of the front of the book. The hype did rise a few times, but they were more like tiny spikes of anxious moments. There was a climax at the end - a good one at that, mind you - but it was so short! Good, thrilling, suspenseful, action-packed, good Lucas-Kylie moments (oops, did I just spoil that for you?:/) climax, but too short! I want moreeeee!:( Haha. Especially that Lucas-Kylie part.

I wonder how many times I mentioned the word "cool" in this review... So you see, this book is a great sequel to a fantastic start. Even though I read this book in three or four sittings, it didn't disappoint, and I am eagerly awaiting TAKEN AT DUSK, book 3 in the Shadow Falls series.

My Rating

     

Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Published Date: August 31st, 2010
Finished Date: August 27th, 2011
Publishers: HarperTEEN
Format: Hardback
Pages: 335
Series: Paranormalcy book 1

Blurb from Goodreads: Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal. --------------------------------------------------------------------

My Review: This review would be a short one. Why? Because this supposedly "so famous and well-written it's gonna be turned into a movie" book, left me utterly and downright disappointed.

You see, main girl loves pink. Nothing wrong there, but she worships the color and has everything of her things pink. Seriously, what? Pink dress, pink boots, pink taser (yes, pink TASER which she uses to stun the paranormals she's supposed to bag-and-tag. In short, to apprehend them) - I'm not done yet - and pink knife pommel/handle. She squealed and hugged her teacher when he made her a knife with a pink handle. After which she went to prom in a pink, floor-length satin dress (did I remember this right? Oh right, I was only semi-conscious at this point), where she added on another glittery layer of sparkles on her shoulder. Lol, excessive much?

Bad point number two: She thinks a lot. Now let me explain to you the horrifying implications of this one seemingly innocent trait of our dear female protagonist. This story was written in the first person POV. And she is that first person. And she thinks a lot. And now, how many pages were there in this book again? Right, 300 odd. 300 hundred odd pages of her thinking. In chronological sequence and order through the book:

-I am good at what I do. (which is fighting) Oh yeah, I'm good. (Y'know why? Because the "villains" in this book are pansy-asses. Take the first vamp that was intro-ed in the book. All he knew was to bare his fangs and act sexy to scare off victims. Ooh, scary.)

-Then, I love pink. I like main guy holding my hand.X10.

-Why am being so self-centred? I should do more for the world. Yeah, by going to the woman who has been acting as your mom for practically your whole life when she is obviously so busy managing a whole portion of this international organization that she doesnt even need eyeliners in her make-up kit anymore, and arguing with her and then telling her you're not her daughter, you're her employee when you lose the argument. Then when main girl was told that she was grounded, she got angry but went to her room anyway. FYI, only parents would ground their children. Imagine going to work one day and your boss tells you you're grounded. Wow, that must be awkward. Aaand that was sure un-self-centred.

Bad point number three: The storyline's kind of..........lame... For lack of a better word, but it gets the message across. So, main girl is not wholly human. She was made by this group of paranormals but they lost her somewhere, somehow. Yeah, cause she was so un-important that they didn't spend centuries on creating her. Then, girly-girl protagonist fell in love with a fey who, at first, didn't recognize main girl because her eyes were so unique, he missed them. Wow, really? Ok that was a little too sarcastic, but, really? Her eyes are one-of-a-kind, dude, and your people are the ones who made her! Yeah, you didn't recognize her.

After that, she got wind of the prophecy which centres on her from a teenage guy who tried to break into IPCA (the International Paranormal Containment Agency. The agency that main girl works for) alone. He busted into an international organization's building ALONE without giving anyone a head's up, because he overheard this banshee telling his dad about the prophecy. Mm hmm, because every teenagers nowadays are suicidal.

This review is supposed to be short..So I'll just name one good point and I'll wrap it up.

There was humor in there. Lol, it got hilarious at some points, I'll give that credit.

Example: ["I" would be the main girl talking and here, main guy starts the conversation about what main girl thinks is cool. Apparently, she thinks that ordinary school lockers are uber awesome.]

"..yes, I have a driver’s license.”

I leaned back against the wall, sighing. “Man, that must be so cool.”

“It ranks right up there with lockers. In fact, sometimes I put my license inside my locker, and it’s so cool I worry that the whole thing might explode with the sheer coolness of it all.”

I smacked him on the shoulder. Again."

Yep. I don't know if it would be as funny for people who haven't read the book, but I thought it was pretty funny.

Lol. Ok to wrap things up, this book didn't quite do it for me. After getting to the THE END, I felt...nothing. So emotionally barren. Which is not right, cause after reading a book (or should I say, MOST good books) I'll usually have this whole barrage or myriad of feelings bombarding me that I'll stone and sit there thinking about what I've just read. This one didn't.

When I start a series, I'd usually follow thru but this time after reading both this book and the synopsis of the next book, SUPERNATURALLY, I think I'll pass. But I do still want to congratulate White for getting the movie deal. It sure is a major step-up in her career. Cheers!

PS. Woops, not a short review after all.:X
PPS. Sorry it got kind of bitchy at the start. Just pouring out my resentment at another book that I would've rather not picked up.

My Rating:

           

Review: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Published Date: October 25th, 2011

Finished Date: August 6th, 2011

Publishers: HarlequinTEEN

Source: eARC from Netgalley

Format: eARC

Series: The Iron Fey book 4

Blurb from Goodreads: Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.


To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

-------------------------------------------------------------------


My Review: I had very conflicting emotions about this final book in the series, and the one that featured most prominently was of course the bittersweet knowledge that our journey with our beloved (do you call it quartet?) quartet has finally come to their beautiful close.

My summary(which i will try my very best to leave out any spoilers):
Previously in THE IRON QUEEN, Meghan, the new Iron Queen, forbade Ash the son of Winter to enter the Iron Realm where she resides. So now, Ash, with the help of Puck, Grim, and two others (the revelation of these two would surely be a kick in the guts - a real, hard, unexpected kick) would try to gain a soul to be able to stand beside Meghan as Ash, a once-Fae with a mortal soul - in short, the Ash that would not burn to death when placed amidst a whole landscape of iron.

I shall end the summary there lest i reveal more. I love to spoiler stuff, as can be seen from my other reviews, but i shall restrain myself. For now.>:) (Oh and for convenient and my promise for a non-spoilery review's sake, i shall name the 1 of the new companions A).

Wow, there is so much to gush about this book i don't even know where to begin! This book has twice the number of adventures than in the previous 3 books, and a lot more lores and legends brought into play. Our little band of travellers had to venture deep into the Deep Wyld where only the most Ancient calls them home and is considered dangerous and uncharted lands to the normal Fey folks. From there, they have to fight off monsters and spirits, and most importantly, fight through their dark emotions, past torments and inner demons.

This book was relatively darker and more sinister-feeling since Ash himself hadnt had a very clean, untainted history. And without Meghan there to shower some love, it became rather gloomy at parts. However whenever Puck is there, i can guarantee the smile that will surely sprout on your face. Oh man, Puck is hilarious! Seriously, i love the man.
Example: “You realize you’ve just been duped by a fish,” I said, watching the catfish grin at me before slipping into the dark waters, lost from view. Puck shrugged.
“Hey, it was going to name one of its grandfish after me,” he said, tossing the line into the water again. “That’s one of my rules, you know. I refuse to eat anything that names its kid after me.”

Puck has been infinitely more adorable, but when he isnt joking, he can be pretty serious. He does feel lots of strong emotions, i mean not only to Meghan, but to our dear ice-boy too. He's a good friend and i was kind of sad when it was time for.....sigh...i shan't spoiler..
(Are you all hyped up to read the book already, Team Puck-ers?:D)

Anyway, back to Ash. I had this constant fear that the Ash i have come to really, REALLY like (the reclusive, brooding, quietly protective one) will slowly fade away since we're going to constantly look into his head. At first, i was amazed by how well Kagawa managed to keep that image up, like, really well. Really, it was absolutely amazing the skill which she has shown. However towards the ending, it did sort of change a bit, and yeah, i was quite disappointed there. It was sort of like his essence kind of leeched away a little and i couldn't reconcile the Ash that was teary and scared near the end and the Ash i have painted in my head. But the epilogue saved everything so I assure you that everything is still right on track:).

Talking about ending......Ash was SUPER, S.U.P.E.R swoon-worthy! Yep, swoon-worthy indeed. Tho there was the "Im happy you found happiness" thing that was kind of weird..i have an idea of who said it, but still,i like a little confirmation after everyone else has read the book.

The new scenery, new folklores, new legends and myths were abundant here, all richly-detailed, and ever much more enchanting than ever. I really wonder where Ms Kagawa gets them..Did Shakespeare really invent and cover a whole new world so precisely and just so..full of magic in that one little book? Really doubt that..but if he didn't and those things in THE IRON KNIGHT was actually Ms Kagawa's own input, then i must applaud her for her ingenuity and creativity. They are absolutely stunning and just so..cool.

However having all that said, i have to admit that the middle portion of the book got a little boring. Which is surprising since i NEVER get bored reading any this book's predecessors..never. I guess that it is because there wasnt quite as much Ash-Meghan love in here than the others..but still.

Moving on, an old friend, Companion A, joined in our little travelling party. I was feeling rather disgruntled that she was admitted into our protagonists' group, to be able to get re-aquainted with Puck and Ash(*grinds teeth*). I was afraid of Ash being distracted from his vow to Meghan (Yes, the situation is THAT dire!). But as the story progressed, i started feeling sorry for her. For one, Kagawa seemed a little..cruel to her. Made her seem so disposable. It was kinda sad.. That's one of the things that made this novel a very dark one.

Overall, this book was filled with adventures and obstacles, sacrifices and self-discovery (for Ash at least). The plot was rich, refreshing and unexpected, all this amidst the mystical forest deep within the Nevernever where the true monsters lurked. A wonderful curtain call to an amazing series and i really do hope to see more of each of them in the next series which is going to feature Ethan, Meghan's brother, as the main protagonist!

Just a little side notes and thoughts that you would not want to read if you havent already read the book and would contain spoilers:

1) This is something minor..When Ash and Puck were in the wyldwood looking for Grim, it was kind of funny that there were dragonflies in there. I don't know, is it me only or what, that there things in the mortal realm that lives there..I mean, dragonflies? Why not fireflies? They seem more..magical to me, dont it?haha

2)Seriously, this going to be very spoilery.Isnt the River of Dreams which Ash&co utilized to travel to you-know-where kind of like the River Styx in Greek mythology? The one in the Underworld? oh well, just my idle musings.

*This ebook was supplied by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.* Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin!:D

My Rating:

     

Review: Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa

Published Date: June 1st, 2011

Finished Date: June 3rd, 2011

Publishers: HarlequinTEEN

Source: Free on B&N

Format: eBook

Series: The Iron Fey book 4

Blurb from Goodreads: A Midsummer's Nightmare? Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Summer Court prankster, King Oberon's right hand, bane of many a faery queen's existence—and secret friend to Prince Ash of the Winter Court. Until one girl's death came between them, and another girl stole both their hearts.

Now Ash has granted one favor too many and someone's come to collect, forcing the prince to a place he cannot go without Puck's help—into the heart of the Summer Court. And Puck faces the ultimate choice—betray Ash and possibly win the girl they both love, or help his former friend turned bitter enemy pull off a deception that no true faery prankster could possibly resist.

An ebook exclusive novella from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

My review: Wickedly smart. Plot and scheme was really ingenious and unexpected. And Puck, woo, was hilarious. I love his sarcastic humor and wit, and the deep and serious attitude and the roiling emotions within him that he only keeps to himself.

The plot was not too complicated neither was it simple, adding to it the characters' charms(especially ice-boy..haha he was, in his own way, really funny), this is one good read that i must say has been really worth my time(or anyone else's for that matter)..hehe not to sound pompous or anything..but well. Kagawa really does Shakespeare proud to be able to write a novella which is short yet sweet, simple, and riveting.

My Rating:

      

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: 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: