Jul 12 2013
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Coming Soon: The Companions by R.A. Salvatore

9780786963713_p0_v3_s260x420Title: The Companions

Author: R.A. Salvatore

Series: The Sundering #1

Genre: Role Playing Fantasy

Release Date: August 6, 2013

The Overview: This latest installment in New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore’s beloved fantasy saga, The Companionsmoves Salvatore’s signature hero Drizzt into a new era of the Forgotten Realms. As Drizzt’s fate hangs in the balance, he reflects on the lives of the trusted allies who stood by his side throughout his early life—the friends now known as the Companions of the Hall. Meanwhile, the first stirrings of the Sundering begin.

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Nik’s Notes:

Those of you familiar with the Forgotten Realms empire are probably aware of the dozens of spinoff novels spawned by the highly successful Drizzt books of R.A. Salvatore. His latest novel, The Companions, is the beginning of a new such spinoff. This means the next three book in the series are written by different authors, and are essentially stand-alones. This first book is the only one containing the “companions” that we have all come to know and love, so I’m not totally sure it’s one I want to read, but I’ll probably break down and pick it up anyway out of nostalgia.

Here’s a look at the next three books in the series and their release dates:

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 11 2013
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Book Review: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

11454587Title: Spell Bound

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Series: Hex Hall #3

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

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The Review:

As I’ve already beat you over the head a couple of times with how much I enjoyed this series, I’m going to keep today’s review on the shorter side. This third and final book in the Hex Hall trilogy was actually my least favorite of the three, but only by a little. There was an element of predictability that stole a bit of momentum, but that is the only thing I didn’t like. Everything else added up to a great conclusion – I was really sad when it ended because these were a ton of fun to read.

My favorite part of Spell Bound was the exploration of three conflicting societies that were only alluded to up to this point; and also the introduction of a few new characters who added a new complexity to the story. I love learning about stuff in books, especially if it’s fantastical – so exploring these secret societies and their role in the supernatural world was a lot of fun. As for the new characters, they were just interesting. Hawkins really has a knack for creating relatable characters, and I can’t think of a single one I didn’t like at least a little.

I believe I mentioned in my review of Demon Glass (book #2) that my favorite part of this series was the love story. I liked both love interests equally and therefore felt more invested in her conflict of which one to choose.

Overall, this was a highly entertaining series and is one of the best ones I’ve read this year. I like them enough that I will most certainly be rereading them one day.

Recommendations: I recommend these to any teen paranormal fan who has already read the Vampire Academy books. They are the ultimate “fun” read, and I consider them in the top five must-reads for the genre.

Other books you might like:

The Selection Review   •  The Sweetest Dark Review   •  Touch of Frost Review

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 8 2013
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Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Best/Worst Book to Movie Adaptations (7/8/2013)

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This is a weekly feature by The Broke and the Bookish. I have come across some really excellent book bloggers by participating in this feature, which is why it’s one of my favorites. This week’s topic is:

Top Ten Best/Worst Book to Movie Adaptations

Although there have been quite a few adaptations that didn’t work for me, I decided it would be more fun to focus on my favorite ones this week.

 For me, the Lord of the Rings was not only the best book to movie adaptation, it was the best movie ever. It’s my all-time favorite, and nothing has come close since… except for maybe The Hobbit.

Yes, Twilight is on my list. I liked everything but Robert Pattinson. Get off my case.

The book “On Stranger Tides” actually follows the third movie the closest as far as story is concerned, but I liked the latest one better, so it counts.

I realize Vampire Diaries is a television show, but it happens to be my favorite so I hope you’ll let it slide.

There you have it! What movies ended up on your list?

Jul 6 2013
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Book Review: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

47212Title: Storm Front

Author: Jim Butcher

Series: Dresden Files #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: For his first case, Harry is called in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with the blackest of magic. At first, the less-than-solvent Harry’s eyes light up with dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage. Now, that black mage knows Harry’s name. And things are about to get very…interesting.

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The Review:

I don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation about urban fantasy books without this series being brought up. It’s definitely one of the most recognizable stories of the genre and certainly among the top sellers. For some reason, I’d been stalling on reading it. It was one of those that had so much hype surrounding it that I was afraid I wouldn’t like it. Then, after some encouraging feedback from both my husband and best friend, I finally read it… and loved it.

The story was well woven and interesting – taking on a traditional mystery with a paranormal twist (as most urban fantasies tend to do). It had a delightfully layered plot that gave the protagonist plenty of things to “peel” away as the story progressed. It also had plenty of action, which increased in its intensity as it got closer to the end. Overall, it was a very well-conceived and well-paced book.

Character was my favorite writing element of Storm Front, specifically the voice in which the book was narrated. It was dry and sardonic, yet completely hilarious. Butcher’s great use of humor when a long way to revealing the character of his protagonists and making him someone I enjoyed rooting for. I also appreciated the myriads of side characters and look forward to seeing where their individual stories go in future books.

Overall, if all of his novels are as funny, fast-paced, and intricate as this first book, I’m going to be one happy camper.

Recommendations: this was a fantastic mix of mystery and paranormal. I would hand this to customers as a “gateway” novel to get them into urban fantasy (along with Moon Called by Patricia Briggs). It definitely deserves a place in the top five best urban fantasies out there… at least as far as I’m concerned.

Other books you might like:

Hounded Review   •   Dead Witch Walking Review   •   Blood Engines Review 

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 5 2013
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Coming Soon – Janitors: Curse of the Broomstaff by Tyler Whitesides

IMG_2597Title: Janitors – Curse of the Broomstaff

Author: Tyler Whitesides

Series: Janitors #3

Genre: Young Adult

Release Date: September 10, 2013

The Overview: A secret society of Janitors with wizard-like powers continue their battle, and now, the stakes are even higher. The Bureau of Educational Maintenance is after Alan Zumbro and this time they mean business – deadly business. Spencer, Daisy, and their little team of rebels must find the source of all magical Glop and destroy it before it can destroy the world as we know it. No small task with the BEM and their monster toxites at their heels. It’s a wild and dangerous ride as they follow the trail of clues all the way to the hiding place of the mysterious aurans: guardians of a secret landfill. What they discover there will change the way

Spencer sees himself, not to mention the fate of the rebels.

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Nik’s Notes:

I admit that I am shamelessly swayed by covers. The series was barely on my radar, but it’s excellent cover artwork, especially the latest, is one of the main reasons I’m going to read them. Because some people don’t see that as a compelling reason to pick up a book, I will say that the story line sounds like a lot of fun. It is an adventure in the same category as Brandon Mull’s Candy Shop Wars and is incidentally published by the same company (Shadow Mountain). That publisher hasn’t let me down yet, so here’s hoping it’s as good as I think it’ll be. Has anybody else read these yet?

Here are covers for the first two books in this series (click for Goodreads info):

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Jul 4 2013
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Dragon Obsession – The Visual Files

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Meet Jekyll and Hyde

As you can probably tell from my endless posts of “Dragon Obsession,” I have a problem. Every time I see awesome dust-collectors like these in a store, I can’t resist the urge to buy them.

Why is this a problem? Well, aside from the obvious negative impact on my bank account, I’m also running out of room. It’s to the point now where I actually have some in storage. I tried to display them all once but my bookshelves started to bow under the extra weight (I have horribly cheap shelves that can only barely handle my 4000 book collection… but that’s a collecting problem for another day).

Anyway, I couldn’t resist buying this one. The photos you see are actually the flip sides of the same statue (who can pass up a two-for-one deal?). I’ve had it for three or four years and I still can’t decide which side I like better. I love the ombré effect of green to red on the “orange” side, but I really like the little purple baby dragon on the blue side.

Which one would you put on display?

For the record, “Hyde” is whichever of the dragons not on display at the moment. I liked the play on words (because he’s hiding… get it?). ;)

by Niki Hawkes