Tag Archives: book review

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 3 2013
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Book Review: Demon Glass by Rachel Hawkins

8428064Title: Demon Glass

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Series: Hex Hall #2

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (a.k.a. witches, shape-shifters, and faeries). But then she discovered the family secret, and the fact that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world-the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will either destroy her powers for good-or kill her.

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The Review:

There are times when you read a sequel that’s so different you wonder how it’s even part of the same series. That was definitely not the case here. Everything I loved about the first book continued on in Demon Glass and, if anything, got better! Even though the plot gets a little more serious, the book is still the ultimate “fun” read.

There is a new setting in this one, a colossal mansion in the countryside of England, and I felt Hawkins did an excellent job making it just as fun and interesting as Hex Hall. It could’ve been a risky choice, as the school was such an important element of book one. The second location had to be just as special for it to work, and I believe it did. The mansion was just as otherworldly and interesting as the school and it really gave the story a new life and direction.

I have to say my favorite part of this book (and, subsequently, the first one) was the love story. Usually when there is a love triangle I give full support to one of the “choices” right away and root for them for the rest of the series. This is the only series I can think of where I found both of the love interest to be equally appealing. Since I liked them both so much, it was even more fun to find out who she was going to pick.

Overall, this series shaping up to be one of my favorites. I love the characters, the humor, the plot, the… everything. They’re great, and I think others agree – I have yet to read a negative review.

Recommendations: I would recommend this to any teen book lover in the mood for something light and fun – it would make an excellent beach read! It’s also perfect for lovers of the paranormal who have already devoured the Vampire Academy books.

Other books you might like:

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

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 1 2013
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Top Ten Tuesday – Top 10 Most Intimidating Books (7/1/2013)

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Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this is a weekly feature that has quickly become one of my favorites. I love reminiscing about books I’ve read and I love talking about them even more. This week’s topic is a little more forward-looking:

Top 10 Most Intimidating Books

 (Gosh, just looking at these covers makes me cringe)

#1: The Lord of the Rings – I love the movies passion – they are my all-time favorites – and I wanted nothing more than to read the books that inspired them… I made it through the Fellowship (barely) but decided to stop reading because I was basically just going through the motions. My eyes were scanning the pages, but my attention was just not there. I have read a lot of dry fantasies over the years but this one takes the cake. If it hadn’t been for the epic action-packed movies, I might have been able to get into them more. I think I’ll stick with Viggo Mortensen on this one…

#2: The Book Thief – I have yet to talk to someone who’s read this who didn’t absolutely love it. To me, it looks boring. Now, I’m sure it’s an exceptional book and rewarding to anybody who picks it up, but everything from the cover to the summary puts me off.

#3 The Lord of Chaos – I’ve read the first in this series and am in no hurry to continue on. Everybody I’ve talked to about this series says it “gets boring between books 6 – 10” so I just need to “ride it out” because he “gets better” and “it’s worth it.” That’s like three or four thousand pages of “hang in there.” Does this sound appealing to anybody else? And you know what the stupid thing is? I’ll probably read them, anyway.

#4: Touched by Venom – for some reason, I’ve had these books on my shelf for at least ten years but have yet to open one. The longer I wait, the more afraid I am that they won’t be as good as I hope they’ll be.

#5: Hominids – I find the concept of this series highly fascinating. It explores an alternate reality where Neanderthal, rather than humans, inherited the world. I’ve tried to pick it up a couple of times, but it’s so darned scientific and cerebral that he loses me. I love learning things from books, but there’s a point where story needs to be just as important as the concept.

#6: The Dark Moom – I bought these books (at a rather expensive price) over ten years ago. They’ve been collecting dust on my shelf ever since. I have no idea what they are about and am a little afraid to find out – what if I invested all that money and space for nothing? Book hoarder problems 101.

#7: Beautiful Creatures – I bought the big expensive boxed set of these books after seeing a preview for the movie. I don’t even know if I’m going to like them, but they were pretty. That kind of attitude always gets me into trouble.

#8: Way of Kings – People rave about this book. I can’t imagine not liking it after all the incredible endorsements I’ve gotten for it, but the fear is still there. This is one of the few that actually intimidates me because of its size (I’ve been reading teen to long).

#9: Aurian – I actually swallowed my fear and am currently reading this one. This author’s other series (beginning with The Heart of Myrial) was my favorite for several years. I find this one intimidating because it’s only available as a mass-market paperback and holy snot-balls is the writing tiny!  It literally hurts my face to read, but so far the story is pretty good… please expect my review sometime in 2014.

#10: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – I’m really afraid I’m not going to like this series. You see, I’m positively NOT a fan of “punchy” humor in books (such as Piers Anthony and Terry Pratchett). As Adams is sometimes held in that same category, I fear the worst. Also, I think my husband might actually divorce me if I don’t like these books.

There you have it! Does anybody else find these as intimidating as I do?

Jul 1 2013
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Out This Month – Noteworthy Releases July 2013

rrrThis is a sad book release month for me. Although most are from exceptional authors, I’m too far behind in their respective series for these releases to excited me. The only one I’m super eager to read is the next Mythos Academy novel by Jennifer Estep. The good news? July can now be devoted to my TBR pile (woot!).

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Which one are you excited for?

Jun 30 2013
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June Review Recap!

This month was a little slow in the review department. Between getting all four wisdom teeth pulled and then spending a week in a cabin lacking Internet access I think I lost a good two weeks worth of quality posting. I had planned on having posts scheduled while I was on vacation but the wisdom teeth thing was rather sudden and unplanned. In any case, what I lacked in quantity this month I think was made up by quality – three of the books listed are some of my favorites that I’ve read ever! 

June’s Reviews:

(click the covers to read full review)

The 5th Wave (5/5 stars!)

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Hex Hall (5/5 stars!)

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

The Elite (4/5 stars)

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The Planet Thieves (4/5 stars)

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 And my favorite pick this month:

The Deepest Night (5/5 stars!)

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Although not many were reviewed, there was certainly not a shortage of books to read. So, here’s to an excellent month of reviews in July – happy reading!