Book Review: Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells

Rating: 5 Stars
Author: Jaye Wells
Publisher: Orbit
Summary from Goodreads:

Things to do:

1. Rescue sister.
2. Murder grandmother.
3. Don't upset the voodoo priestess.

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. Her sister has been kidnapped by her grandmother, the Dark Races are on the brink of war, and a mysterious order is manipulating everyone behind the scenes.

Working on information provided by an unlikely ally, Sabina and her trusty sidekicks--a sexy mage named Adam Lazarus and Giguhl, a Mischief demon--head to New Orleans to begin the hunt for her sister. Once there, they must contend with belligerent werewolves, magic-wielding vampires and--perhaps most frightening of all--humans.

But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won't be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about most, she must save herself from the ghosts of her past.

This is only the third book I've read this year. College is kicking my ass. Anyway, I loved this book! Sabina, Adam, and Giguhl are charged with getting Maisie back from Lavinia. Much to Sabina's chagrin they are forced to except help from a human voodoo master and an gay/trans fairy. The book is full of action. And not like shitty thrown in there for shits and gigs action. True, edge of your seat action with a purpose action. I really missed reading interesting books! Sabina is much more tolerable. I must admit I've always liked Sabina. But she is growing into herself and it makes me so happy for her. Being a person she does make mistakes but she is getting better at not going all guns blazing and fucking shit up. She does fuck shit up, but I said she's getting better. This relates in her allowing her relationship with Adam to progress. Their chemistry in this one is adorable and sexy. And I have waited for 2 books for Sabina to put herself first and realize it's ok to love not just herself but someone else.  Holy shit that ending!! That was just indescribable. I cried my fucking eyes out. I also appreciate the way Wells handled the trans thing with PW. It was not derogatory. PW simply is a trans person. There were no jokes at her expense. I literally can not think of one thing I didn't like about this book. Sadly I've read that the next two go down the shitter.

Review: Foretold by Jana Oliver

Rating: Generous 3

Pages: 352, Paperback

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Series: Final (4th) in The Demon Trappers
File Under: Young Adult, Demons, Paranormal Romance
Summary from Goodreads:

In FORETOLD, the fourth Demon Trappers novel by Jana Oliver, Riley faces the final battle for humanity and Beck's heart—and Hell is the least of her problems 

Now that Riley’s managed to (just barely) fend off Armageddon, everything’s changed. Well . . . most things. After their passionate kiss before the big battle in the cemetery, Beck is back to treating her like a little girl, as if nothing ever happened. While she’d love to just tell him off and move on, Riley vowed to take care of Beck the way he’s taken care of her since her father’s death—but she’s about to get a whole lot more than she bargained for. When she’s commissioned to go with Beck to his hometown and help him care for his dying mother, they stumble too close to a dark and murderous secret, one that Beck fears will drive Riley away from him forever. As chaos breaks loose, Riley may be Beck's only hope for redemption . . . and survival. 

Meanwhile, up in Atlanta, it’s quickly becoming clear that Heaven may have won a battle, but the war is far from over. Riley and Beck face a stormy future, as Lucifer's ex-right-hand-man, Sartael, proves himself to be more resilient than anyone thought. He has Atlanta in his grip and is about to begin a brutal war with the prince of Hell. As the seconds tick down toward a final confrontation, it's up to Riley and the man she loves to finally defeat their old enemy, or lose everything they've fought for.

I was so excited when I got this book. Sadly I ended being let down. The 3 star rating is VERY generous.

The book is actually two different stories crudely glued together with Elmers's.

The first part is my favorite. It does not fit at all into the series but it was the most interesting. We finally get to see more about Beck's past when he goes back to his hometown. It's exiting. I read through this part super fast. It didn't lag and answered questions I had about Beck. First part of book gets 3 stars.

The latter half of the book is super boring. Me while reading most of this part:


It's a rehash of the third book. It took me forever to get through this part. None of it was interesting and I almost gave up. There was a big epic battle at the end that sucked. Riley is a damsel in distress in the battle to make Beck look better. And it was so boring. I was 100% done with everyone at this point. I was done with Riley and Beck. They suddenly have NO chemistry! Stewart was annoying me. Lucifer and Satrael and Ori were disappointing. Uhg. I am so glad it's over. There was other pointless subplots in the book but I don't have the energy to remember them or write about them.

Plus plus also and what the hell was the point in Ori taking Riley's abusive ex to hell? That should have been left out. It had no fucking point. We don't see him again.

Overall:

Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Rating: 5
Pages: 255
Publisher: Feral Dream
Series: Penryn & the End of Days
File Under: YA, Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Angels, Badass Heroines, Beautiful Love Story, Badass Heroes, If You Don't Read This We Can't Be Friends, Perfect
Summary from Goodreads:

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel. 

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl. 

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

I have wanted to read Angelfall for a very long time. But it’s just never happened. Then a friend let me borrow it (along with about 30 other books). I am so glad I got to read it that I am going to buy a physical version for myself.

Excuse me for the not so awesome review. I just love this book and no matter what I say it doesn't give it justice.

General:

I love Penryn’s name.

I enjoy this writing style. It’s short and to the point. It doesn’t take a page to describe a curtain with flowery, useless prose. It gives me exactly what I need and moves on. Plus the pacing is perfect. No dull moments but it's also not obnoxiously action packed. 

The love story. Oh god it’s great! I love the relationship between Raffe and Penryn. It builds. They don’t see each other and fall hopelessly in love. Penryn sees him and realeases she can use him for her benefit. Through getting to know each other they fall for each other. Perfect.

Which brings me to my next point. Penryn is amazing. She is the perfect heroine. She’s a butt kicking survivor that has depth. She is not a shallow pool of a character that we’ve all seen authors turn this type of character into. Reading from her point of view is great too. I typically don’t like first person as many characters’ voices drive me ape shit crazy. But not her. She’s not annoying or stupid. I don’t find myself rolling my eyes or yelling at dumb mistakes like I do with most “badass” heroines. Being in her head was a pleasant reading experience.

Raffe is a great hero. He also isn’t a shallow pool character. He could have also been stereotyped into the cocky smart ass character we have all seen before. But luckily he isn’t and I can’t help but like him and ship the hell out of him and Penryn. 

The ending:

Overall: 

I love this story. It is so addicting. I honestly found it hard to put it down. You have to read this book! I should warn you that some people might find aspects of it very out there. But don’t let that stop you from reading it. It is brilliantly written and exciting. There is never a dull moment. My hat goes off to you Susan. 

Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Pages: 472 (hardcover)
Spoilers: High
Rating: 3 
Summary from Goodreads:

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. 

 With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting 

Finally! It took me forever to write this.

General:

I picked up Graceling because the reviews were really good on goodreads. I expected to really like it. But I ended up being underwhelmed.

I really liked it at first. I felt engaged and could fell the potential of an amazing story oozing off the pages. But it started to lose me after a while. The action fizzled. It tried to pick to pick back up again with A LOT of added action but by that point I was gone. 

The romance was adequate. I really liked Po. He is a typical wet dream hero. He's kind, understanding, attractive, and doesn't care that Katsa beats the shit out of him, and of course has no faults.

Katsa really confuses me. She says she doesn't want to get married or have children. Hey me either. But every time she and Po have sex or I don't know, look at each other the author makes a point to say that Katsa will not get married or have children. I get it! It's explained that Katsa doesn't want the freedom he would "give" her to be a gift. Maybe I don't understand what most marraiges are like: a partnership between two people who love each other? Isn't that what she and Po have? Maybe marriage is different in this world. I don't know. I get the message Cashore is trying to say, but I don't think it was executed well. 

Plot:

Do not read this part if you don't like spoilers.

So Katsa and Po went off the find Bitterblue (Po's cousin) that is the princess in a neighboring land and to find out why her father kidnapped Po's grandfather (or uncle, I can't remember). It turns out that the King had a mind control grace and was actually evil and wanted to hurt Bitterblue. They find her and are going to help her. So Po goes to try kill the King but gets hurt, so he makes Katsa to go on without him because he's dead weight . This leaves Katsa to have to take Bitterblue to Po's family on the other side of the fictional world. They must pass over a dangerous mountain because everywhere else is guarded except this one as no one has ever survived going over it. 

They make it after a rather boring, but supposed to be, excitement. The King's there controlling Po's family and Katsa. Well he threatens Po so she kills him. Yay the end, right? The problem of the story has been resolved right? Right. But alas the book continues on.

No now I must mutter through Katsa and Po's family going to find Po (while they discuss why she's not married to him, come on I am over this). Oh and Bitterblue has suddenly stared talking like a 30 year old. What? Anyway they make it to Po and he's not himself, and being all moody, and I don't give a shit anymore. Turns out he's now blind! Dun dun duh. Shoot me. That has no point! At all. Why would you add it? My only guess is so he has a fault. Or for some shock value. But the problem is, that it's not shocking, it's completely useless. 

But I will say that I liked it. As far as a young adult fantasy novel it's good. Adequate action and intensity in the beginning. And I liked the scene where Katsa kills the King. I could pretty much leave the rest. Including the second half of the romance. It got real repetitive real fast.

Overall:

Book Review: Croak by Gina Damico

Overall: 4
Pages: 311
Spoilers: Medium
Summary from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby has sucker-punched her last classmate. Fed up with her punkish, wild behavior, her parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than that of shoveling manure.

He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach her the family business. 

 Lex quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated entirely by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. Along with her infuriating yet intriguing partner Driggs and a rockstar crew of fellow Grim apprentices, Lex is soon zapping her Targets like a natural born Killer. 

 Yet her innate ability morphs into an unchecked desire for justice—or is it vengeance?—whenever she’s forced to Kill a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again. So when people start to die—that is, people who aren’t supposed to be dying, people who have committed grievous crimes against the innocent—Lex’s curiosity is piqued. Her obsession grows as the bodies pile up, and a troubling question begins to swirl through her mind: if she succeeds in tracking down the murderer, will she stop the carnage—or will she ditch Croak and join in?

First I want to thank Doodle for sending me the book in Aprils' RAK!
Positives:

I would like to say thank you to the cover designer. I love it! You can't see it here but it's made of foil or something because it's shiny! And there's a badass looking chick on the cover not wearing a dress that has nothing to do with the freaking story!

Plus my ex-history major heart explodes because Lex and her twin sister are named Lexington and Concord after the Revolutionary War battle.

Next I would like to say that I really connected with Lex. She was sarcastic, hilarious, and didn't give a shit. Much like myself.

Driggs and Uncle Mort.

The Writing:

I haven't read too many books where death is such an important role to the plot. That is besides The Book Thief, which I hated. I don't know how others have done it but Gina Damico tells the story beautifully. Her world building, or shall I say town building, is really good and I didn't question too much about it. I love all the deathy names that Damico used to construct the town. Her use of imagery is great and I can eally visualize Croak and all the people in it. Damico writes side shaking, gut busting humor that really kept me going for the first part of the book. Because let's be honest the action takes a while to start.

The Plot:

The books starts with Lex getting kicked out of school for another violent breakout. She is then whisked off to Uncle Mort's "farm" for the summer that's actually a town for Grim Reapers. Lex is a bit different than the other Grims' though. It's not that she's super violent and aggressive. No, all Grims' are. It's that when she touches someone to kill them, she feels pain. And she can't seem to shake the feeling that she should help the people that were wrongfully or horribly killed. Then it starts to happen. Bad people are mysteriously being killed and it's up to Lex, Driggs, and their friends to figure out who is doing it. Many people think it's Lex who starts the killings. But it's not. It gets kind of obvious who is doing it, but not in a bad way. More of a "I'm pretty sure X is doing it, but why?" And that is tragic and amazing aspect to the story. Plus X kidnaps Lex and when she escapes X gets away!

Ugh and then the ending!

I typically feel that when an author kills such a character they are doing it for shock value only. But it's not like that in Croak. There's a reason that this person dies and though it hurts Lex, it helps her too. It allows her to have that drive to find character X and to keep being a Grim and live with Uncle Mort.

Negatives:

Not a whole lot of bad things. I don't understand why the school let someone who beat up half the student body stay so long.

Plus there's a lot of buildup. The plot doesn't start for a while. But Damico pulls it off with her humor and writing style. It doesn't get boring like you think it would.

The fucking spiders. Why spiders? I'm with Ron on this one.


I need the next one now!

Overall:
I think Sokka says it best.

Book Review: Possessions by Nancy Holder

Overall:1.5
Pages: 320
Spoilers: Medium
Summary from Goodreads:

The It Girl meets The Exorcist in this chilling, haunted boarding school tale.

New-girl Lindsay discovers all is not right at the prestigious Marlwood Academy for Girls. Ethereal, popular Mandy and her clique are plotting something dangerous. Lindsay overhears them performing strange rituals, and sees their eyes turn black. It doesn't help that the school itself is totally eerie, with ancient, dilapidated buildings tucked into the Northern California woods, a thick white fog swirling through campus. There are hidden passageways, odd reflections in the windows at night, and scariest of all is the vast lake rumored to have captured the ghost of a girl who drowned many years ago. 


What Lindsay doesn't yet realize is that Mandy and her cohorts are becoming possessed by spirits who have haunted the school for two hundred years. Spirits who want someone dead... And that someone is Lindsay.

My Review:


The writng:

The writing is fine. Nothing bad to say about it.

The Plot:


I really wanted to like this book. I have read her Wicked series and didn't like it. But after I purchased this without realizing who the author was I decided to go in with an open mind and hope it was as good as it's AMAZING cover. However it wasn't. It was not original or very interesting. Lindsay goes to a boarding school after a breakdown (that is never fully explained or explored) to start over new. As it turns out her new school is haunted and used to be an asylum for girls in the late 1800s. One super vengeful ghost possesses the most popular girl in school, Mandy. On top of being possessed Mandy has to also find other girls that can be possessed so the other ghosts can have bodies and get their revenge on who killed them, all this in exchange for helping Mandy's brother. Help him do what exactly? I have no idea, it has something to do with getting his crazy ass out of "rehab." (Plus he and Mandy are apparently having an incestuous relationship.This doesn't bother me. I am a fan of Supernatural after all.) However none of this comes to light until the last little bit. The bulk of the book is spent on parties with Mandy, pranks, wondering why the hell Mandy is so weird, and having feelings for Mandy's mega hot boyfriend, Troy.

The story trudges on with Lindsay being confused and ignoring a ghost face that she sees everywhere, a voice inside of her telling her what to do, and the weird shit that keeps happening. I am sorry but if a ghost face kept popping up everywhere and I saw unlikely companions of Mandy's acting strange with black eyes and speaking in different accents, I would book it the hell out of there. But not Lindsay. No she has to stay to help Julie, her roommate, for some ungodly reason. Excuse me but you do not know her, and she keeps acting like a bitch. You do not have to save her stupid ass because you've known her a month and she's your "best friend."  Then we find out that, surprise surprise, Lindsay is being possessed by the ghost the bitch ghosts want revenge on. So what does Lindsay's stupid ass do? Follows the bitch ghosts into the woods. You are a dumb ass and deserve to be lit on fire by those bitch ghosts, which is how Lindsay's ghost apparently killed the bitch ghosts.  And all of this could have been avoided if she had a sassy gay friend.



Anyway it ends on a cliff hanger so you'll want to pick up the next book and see what happens. Only problem is I have no inclination of picking up the next book. Lindsay is aggravating, this plot is thin, the pacing is slow, and I don't want to read another horror book about whiny bitch ghosts.

Positive:

Parts of it were a bit creepy. I was reading about the face in the reflection and looked up and thought I saw a ghost face in my tv. Turns out that it was just my sock. And Rose was hilarious. There was no insta-love. Insta-lust? Yes. But not "I've just seen you now I want to marry you and have your babies."


Overall:

Written Review: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Overall: 3.5
Spoiler Alert: Heavy
Summary from Goodreads :   

Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear…

  
My Review
This could have been the perfect romantic fantasy book. And until about the end I did absolutely love it. I had planned on giving it a 4.5 or 5 rating and adding it to my favorites. But things really started to bug me in the end. It just didn't feel the same as the rest of the novel. The tone and story was perfect until the end.  I guess, rushed, is the best way to describe it.


I'll start with the writing. The writing style reminds me a bit of J.K. Rowling's style. This can be good or bad depending on if you like that style. I however do not. The flowery and overworded detail about the stupidest shit really gets to you after a while. Much like with the some of the Harry Potter books, I found myself skimming parts and skipping paragraphs at a time. But unlike JKR, Snyder skips over important parts of the story that should be detailed. Spoiler (Two examples come to mind: Rand's death and when Yelena told Valek what Reyad did to her. Rand's death was over so quickly and then Yelana just forgets about him. The curtains and hallway can get a page but Rand dying gets a few short paragraphs. What? And then when Yelena can finally tell Valek what happened to her, it's over in half a paragraph. We don't get to see what exactly she said either, it goes something like this "then I told Valek about my past.") Really bitch, really? That's all I get? Thank you for all that suspense. 
 
Spoiler (Another thing that bugged me was how the Commander was actually born in a woman's body. It reads like it was just an after thought.) Maybe with the other books it develops more in the other books and has a greater purpose. But for this book it just didn't seem to belong.


Next the story was great. But Yelena is such a Mary Sue, except she kills people (they do deserve it though). Spoilers ahead. Spoiler (In one part the more expericed magician couldn't help the Commander out of a mind controlled state. But somehow Yelena could, "Oh I've never used purposely used magic before let me do it better than you woman who has done it her whole life." And EVERYTHING just comes so easily for her. The ghost of Reyad haunts her and she can't get rid of him. Until she literally says "Be gone" at the end of the story.) You have to be shitting me! But I do like her. She's very strong willed, a survivor, and totally kicks ass. 


Besides that stuff, I still enjoyed it and still really like it. I give it a 4 because it is totally buy worthy. There is no love triangle or a insta-love aspect. The relationship between Valek and develops more slowly. We see them meet, flirt, simmer down, heat up, fight, and watch as they fall for each other. And Yelena struggles with her feelings for him. After all the man she was previously "with" was a total sadistic dick wad. Oh and Valek. Swoon. He's strong, smart, silent, and carves beautiful little statues. 


I liked the adventure and action in this fantasy world. (Although it is a bit repetitive.) There was always something going on. Whether it was the multiple assignation attempts on her life, the fugitive exercise, the many training meetings, or the plans and attacks of General Brazell attempted take over. 


Finally I liked how the author showed us flashbacks of Yelena's past. It wasn't too much or too gruesome. She allowed your mind to decipher exactly what happened to Yelena without giving too much or too little. 



But after reading the reviews of the rest of the series I think I'm going to skip the other two. I like the way this ended. There's no huge cliffhanger and I can accept this a stand alone book. Previously I have ignored advice to drop a series and have regretted it. This time I'm going to save myself the disappointment and finish it with Yelena in Valek's arms. *Happy love sigh.

TL;DR
I would totally recommend this first novel. It's a great read. The writing is wordy and the book needs a little polishing. And it had a great plot and characters. I was hooked right away. And until the not as spectacular ending, I adored it. 

Written Review: Hater by David Moody

2.5 Stars (With spoilers)
I guess I'll start by saying that it took me 2 months to read this book. Considering it's only 288 pages long that should tell you something. I really liked the idea behind it. A pseudo-zombie book that promised action. How could it not be exciting when the world is going nuts and there are attacks by seemingly normal people who all of a sudden snap with rage? How can a book where "a world infected with fear, violence, and HATE" be so boring? I still don't know. What I do know is that for the first 150 or so nothing gets the blood pumping.    

Throughout the book there are flashes of other people changing into a Hater and attacking whoever is around them. But the action and excitement is still lack luster.  Until about 150 I was not an engaged reader. I was forcing myself to continue on by reading this during my breaks at school.

It slowly started to pick up and I found myself enjoying the story. I really liked the <spoiler>Holocaust analogy of the Haters being rounded up to be slaughtered. The battle that happens at the end is pretty much the</spoiler> only blood pumping, shaking eyes reading, thrill that I had. If not for the end I wouldn't have  rated it so high. There are two more books to read. I however have no inclination to keep going. From the reviews I've read, it doesn't get better. So  I can live with where it ended  and watch the movie to catch the rest. Maybe.

Written Review: The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

So I can't finish the book. Usually I do a lot of research when picking a book to read. This time I picked it up at the library because I remember a few years ago my friend Katie read it and like it and told me to pick it up. If I had read it then, when I was in high school, I might have finished it and possibly liked it. But it's not 2009ish and I am no longer 16.

Now for why I can't finish it.

It's so obvious what is going to happen.  Spoiler: Jace and Clary (the author named the character  after herself!) are related and Valentine (the bad guy) is the father.  Plus I really don't care what happens to the characters. And I don't want to waste my time reading a book that is almost 500 pages when I already know the ending. 16 year old Miranda would finish it. 20 year old Miranda has better shit to do and far better books to hopefully read. With my to read books piling up, and not a lot of time (thank you college)I better end it now and read the next book on my list. With that being said up until about page 100, it was enjoyable and fun. Reminds me of Twilight.  A nice, light (yes it's 500 pages, but it's not exactly 500 pages of philosophical exploration of life or anything particularly thought provoking) young adult read that many people will wet their panties over. Suffice it to say I will not be continuing on with the series.