The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
Origin and Opposition by Jennifer Armentrout
Friday, September 25, 2015
Brand New Author - K A Parkinson's The Shadow Prison (The Ninth Chosen #1)
The Ninth Chosen by K.A. ParkinsonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Shadow Prison is a captivating story following two teens, Tolen and Macy, who are chosen by the Light to save humanity from the Dark. It starts off confusing and had me wondering if I missed a prologue, but Parkinson does a fantastic job of filling in all the gaps as the story progresses.
Parkinson definitely delivers a unique story. There were a lot of twists, suspenseful moments and chills to be had...quite a few times. It is highly fast-paced with imaginative world and character-building. The ending is a great stepping off point for the sequel.
(view spoiler)
This is CLEARLY a 5 (out of 5) star book. I am super stoked for book 2 (which I see is called Keeper of the Last...intriguing...) and I will certainly keep my eye on Parkinson for future books. She's an extremely talented author.
View all my reviews
Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. MaasMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I really wanted to like this book. I was so utterly disappointed with Heir of Fire (HOF) that I wanted redemption. Unfortunately, I was once again disappointed.
Queen of Shadows (QOS) picks up back in Ardalan. Aelin has to deal with what has happened to her friends and family while she was Wendlyn for months. Though she feels stronger and ready to take on the King of Ardalan (as well as her boss, the King of Assassins), she's about to learn that it will be harder than she thought.
It IS a better book than HOF but, also like HOF, could have been half the size. The best idea would have been to take half of HOF and half of QOS and make it book 3. BUT, that's what happens when you decide to make a trilogy into a 6-book-series when you're halfway through. Now the story has to be dragged out and fluff added to make the story last for 6 books. I mourn the idea of an action packed trilogy. (sniff, sniff)
Chaol was a bore. I understand why he was the way he was, but he was flat throughout the whole book. Such a sad way to for him to live when he was such a strong presence in the previous books. I praised the Lord above when Rowan showed up because up until that time, I was debating whether I should just stop reading. Overshadowing everyone though (even
If I could, I would give the book 5+ stars for the last 100 pages. They were reminiscent of TOG and COM. I was in Heaven! “YES!,” I cried, “THIS is what has been missing these past few years!” I hope she can continue what the last 100 pages were like into the final 2 books.
View all my reviews
Monday, September 21, 2015
Opal (Lux #3) - Jennifer Armentrout
OH this book. OH! OH! OH! Jennifer! What are you trying to do to me?! I've already neglected my family for days because I couldn't get this book out of my head! But now, NOW you have to end it like THAT!? AAAAAACCCCCKKKKK!
I was SO into this book until about halfway through. It wasn't that I wasn't into it anymore, it's just that I knew something was coming. I just FELT it and the dread, the absolute DREAD of reaching that point, getting to the end, made me keep putting the book down to delay the inevitable.
But oh, OH what an ending. THE FEELS!
This series is one of a kind. I honestly and truly love the characters. I CARE about them! Even Ash and Andrew! Not too many other books have made me laugh as hard or cry as much. If you have not read this series, YOU MUST! I am devouring these books!
I was SO into this book until about halfway through. It wasn't that I wasn't into it anymore, it's just that I knew something was coming. I just FELT it and the dread, the absolute DREAD of reaching that point, getting to the end, made me keep putting the book down to delay the inevitable.
But oh, OH what an ending. THE FEELS!
This series is one of a kind. I honestly and truly love the characters. I CARE about them! Even Ash and Andrew! Not too many other books have made me laugh as hard or cry as much. If you have not read this series, YOU MUST! I am devouring these books!
Renaissance Faire by Jane Stain
Renaissance Faire is a time-traveling romance centering on college graduate Emily and Scotsman, Dall MacGregor.
It starts off very promising with a great plot and the potential for strong, likable characters but falls short of actually following through. Reading this book was like reading through the first draft. A thesaurus would have been extremely beneficial to Stain because words were repeated over and over and nothing was ever elaborated on. Everything just jumped from one thing to the next with no explanation. There wasn't much character building and you never got a true sense of what the characters were really like. Heck, you never even got a physical description of them!
Dall and Emily fall in "love" way too quickly to be authentic. Also unbelievable is how fast Emily thinks of, and accepts, the reason for Dall's behavior as time travel. I mean, usually when someone is acting strange it's because he IS strange. Here, though, it's obviously because he's a time traveler. The druids are quite mysterious. The added secrecy makes the story interesting but, once again, is never really explained. The use of technology is a clever concept but, SURPRISE!, there's never more information to make it credible.
I do have to say, though, that the story could have been great. If Stain could rewrite/revise the book as if it were a rough draft, I think it could be a hit novel.
It starts off very promising with a great plot and the potential for strong, likable characters but falls short of actually following through. Reading this book was like reading through the first draft. A thesaurus would have been extremely beneficial to Stain because words were repeated over and over and nothing was ever elaborated on. Everything just jumped from one thing to the next with no explanation. There wasn't much character building and you never got a true sense of what the characters were really like. Heck, you never even got a physical description of them!
Dall and Emily fall in "love" way too quickly to be authentic. Also unbelievable is how fast Emily thinks of, and accepts, the reason for Dall's behavior as time travel. I mean, usually when someone is acting strange it's because he IS strange. Here, though, it's obviously because he's a time traveler. The druids are quite mysterious. The added secrecy makes the story interesting but, once again, is never really explained. The use of technology is a clever concept but, SURPRISE!, there's never more information to make it credible.
I do have to say, though, that the story could have been great. If Stain could rewrite/revise the book as if it were a rough draft, I think it could be a hit novel.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Compedium by Aria Luria
We'll start at the beginning with the first review I ever wrote (which was just a few months ago for Goodreads). I received a free copy of this book for an honest review. I actually, overall, really liked the book and eagerly await the sequel. However, I did give it only 3 out of 5 stars.
Hopefully, I'll get better at this writing thing. Practice makes better, right?
*************
I spent the first 10 chapters wondering if I skipped some pages because things weren't very clear. The chapters bounced back and forth between the two story lines making it feel disjointed. I think if Luria would have written Melia's story and then introduced Mia, it would have flowed much better and not felt like information was missing.
Lumin is a wondrous planet. I wished, however, she had spent more time with the description details. At times, some of the relationships felt rushed but, overall, very strong and likable characters.
The story picks up immensely around chapter 11/12. It reels you in quickly and deeply, making you not want to put the book down. I would give the book 5 stars based on chapters 12 and up. However, the rough start really made it hard for me to keep reading. I'm glad I did, though, and can't wait for the next book.
Hopefully, I'll get better at this writing thing. Practice makes better, right?
*************
I spent the first 10 chapters wondering if I skipped some pages because things weren't very clear. The chapters bounced back and forth between the two story lines making it feel disjointed. I think if Luria would have written Melia's story and then introduced Mia, it would have flowed much better and not felt like information was missing.
Lumin is a wondrous planet. I wished, however, she had spent more time with the description details. At times, some of the relationships felt rushed but, overall, very strong and likable characters.
The story picks up immensely around chapter 11/12. It reels you in quickly and deeply, making you not want to put the book down. I would give the book 5 stars based on chapters 12 and up. However, the rough start really made it hard for me to keep reading. I'm glad I did, though, and can't wait for the next book.
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