Tag Archives: book reviews

Feb 20 2015
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Mini Book Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

heir of midnightTitle: Heir of Fire

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass #3

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy. While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love? 

The Mini Review:

Contrary to popular opinion, I did not think this book (or series) merited five stars… please don’t yell at me. I think this is a really fun series, and I always enjoy reading it, but I didn’t like it nearly as much as some other titles within the same genre (with the sole exception of Assassin’s Blade, the compilation of prequel novellas to this series – that was amazing). While I like Celaena and think she is a really interesting character, I don’t find a single thing about her relatable. I also think a lot of the decisions she makes don’t follow a logical thought process. I could say the same thing about the storyline. While I really like where it’s going, there were a couple of things leading up to this point that felt forced and inconsistent, especially regarding character. All of that said, I still enjoyed Heir of Fire – especially the villain POVs and the creative bits involving dragons… I’m looking forward to seeing where it’s headed. Overall, If by some chance you haven’t read it yet (but would like to), I would definitely recommend it, but only after you’ve read some of my other favorites…

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 19 2015
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Book Review: Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

stolenTitle: Stolen

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Series: Women of the Otherworld #2

Genre: Urban fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: It was in Bitten, Kelley Armstrong’s debut novel, that thirty-year-old Elena Michaels came to terms with her feral appetites and claimed the proud identity of a beautiful, successful woman and the only living female werewolf. In Stolen, on a mission for her own elite pack, she is lured into the net of ruthless Internet billionaire Tyrone Winsloe, who has funded a bogus scientific investigation of the “other races” and their supernatural powers. Kidnapped and studied in his underground lab deep in the Maine woods, these paranormals – witches, vampires, shamans, werewolves – are then released and hunted to the death in a real-world video game. But when Winsloe captures Elena, he finally meets his match.

The Review:

I absolutely devoured Bitten, the first book in the series (I’d been trying out different urban fantasies over the last several months and Bitten was easily one of my favorites). Then someone mentioned that it had been adapted for a show in Canada and, even better, that it was on Netflix. Flash forward two days (because I binge watched it) and I was completely hooked! I knew I loved the author’s writing, the characters, the story, and the show, so you’d better believe I scrambled to get ahold of the second book.

There was only one problem: the first book was meant as a standalone, so reading Stolen felt like reading another first book.

Normally, this would feel like a tragedy, as I love seeing the progression of a plot line over several books. In this case however, it kind of worked. Stolen was at least told from Elena’s perspective, and the writing was just as killer as ever. And the show “Bitten” did a fantastic job tweaking the story in a way that allowed them to end with a cliffhanger, which means the second season will at least give me that continuation I so desperately crave. Everybody wins… well, I do anyway.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of Stolen. Just as with the first book, I was completely absorbed, dragging it out whenever there was a spare moment to see what happened next. I read a lot, but I seldom feel addictively drawn back to a book, and Kelley Armstrong has managed to do that not once, but twice to me… needless to say, I will be continuing on. Although I admit I am a bit nervous about that. You see, she changes characters from here on out, and I’m so attached to Elena that I’m afraid I won’t enjoy it as much. At least I can be sure that whatever direction the story takes, the writing is going to be superb! And the craft – Armstrong has an incredible instinct for story, which makes me think I will love whatever tale she decides to weave together.

Overall, I wish I hadn’t waited so long to pick up this author. I can definitely see why she is considered a staple in the urban fantasy genre. I would highly recommend her to anyone who enjoyed authors like Patricia Briggs and Kim Harrison. I would doubly recommend the show to fans of True Blood – it was great for all the same reasons… in fact, I may have loved it even more.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 11 2015
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Coming Soon: Breakout by Ann Aguirre

BreakoutTitle: Breakout

Author: Ann Aguirre

Series: The Dred Chronicles #3

Genre: Science Fiction

Release Date: August 25, 2015

The Overview: The prison ship Perdition has become a post-battle charnel house with only a handful of Dred’s soldiers still standing and now being hunted by Silence’s trained tongueless assassins. Forging an uneasy alliance with mercenary commander Vost—who is their only chance at escape—the Dread Queen will do whatever it takes to end her life sentence on Perdition and keep the survivors alive long enough to cobble together a transport capable of getting them off station. If Dred and her crew can win the deadly game of cat and mouse, the payoff is not only life but freedom—a prize sweeter than their wildest dreams. Yet the sadistic Silence would rather destroy Perdition than let a single soul slip from her grasp…

Waiting on Wednesday:

Ann Aguirre is easily one of my all-time favorite authors. I fell in love with her Grimspace series, and am beginning to love this one just as much! I love the concept of the story, the characters, the setting, and the action! I just started reading the second book in this series, and I’m going to have to pace myself because August is really far away! If you’re in the mood for Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, or even Dystopian, The Dred Chronicles managed to hit the spot for all of them.

What are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 4 2015
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Mini Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and boneTitle: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Author: Laini Taylor

Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy/Paranormal

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

The Mini Book Review:

I thought the concept for this book was friggin cool: teeth-harvesting chimera, an art student in Prague, and a heavenly love interest, topped off with great writing and a quirky voice. My favorite element of the story was probably Karou herself. You see, I’ve always been in awe of people with strong artistic talents, I really feel like this book allowed me to get immersed into her world as she attended her art classes (in Prague nonetheless, which made the whole thing seem more exotic and exciting). I also liked the supporting characters, but often wondered if they were a little too one-dimensional.

I honestly think if I had read Daughter of Smoke and Bone ten years ago I would have loved it, probably because the romance would have resonated with me a lot more then than it does now. As it were, I found it a bit tiresome and predictable… but then again, I have read a ton of teen love stories over the last decade and after a while they all start to sound the same. My advice is, if you’re in the mood for a semi-typical teen romance with a whole bunch of cool crap around it, give this book a go.

Daug daughter of smoke and bone 2hter of Smoke and boneAnd I’m totally serious about the art thing – I love reading about people who are amazing at their craft (even if it’s a craft that doesn’t technically exist in our world like dragonriding or magecraft). This book inspired to the point where I even dusted off my old paints. I’ve always been pretty decent at copycatting, but have never been able to create something beautiful from scratch. Also, notice that this painting is only half finished… It has totally been that way for about six months and will probably remain that way forever.

Is painting ADD a thing? I have it.


Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 28 2015
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January 2015 Reading Recap!

Review Recap

Honestly I feel like this month is getting off to a slow start compared to 2014. Although, when you consider last year I was reading mostly YA while this year has been a heavy sci-fi/fantasy focus then that probably accounts for the difference. Because I have so many amazing books waiting in my TBR, it has made me a bit impatient with the longer novels… which is ironic, as most of the books in that TBR are 500+ page epic fantasies. In any case, here’s a look at what I’ve been up to:

Books Read:

I don’t normally read books from the same author back-to-back, but I’m making an exception this month for Czerneda because I’m competing become a beta reader for her next Clan novel. Wish me luck!

Books Reviewed:

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
The Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey
The Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkowski – 3/5 stars

The Elvenbane by Andre Norton & Mercedes Lackey – 3.5/5 stars

Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne – 4/5 stars

And my favorites:

Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey – 4.5/5 stars

Reap the Wild Wind by Julie E. Czerneda – 5/5 stars!

Other than lots of reading, not much else happened on the blog this month. I did do a

Top Ten Bookish Goals of 2015!

post, which I’ve actually been actively working on. It’s always nice to see progress that the goals you set for yourself. I also participated in a Read-athon midway through the month (and did atrociously, for what it’s worth). It was fun though, I’m totally doing it again in a couple of months.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot: I started a Writing Prompts page and of been updating that on a semi-regular basis. It has been really valuable in getting my creative juices flowing, and I’ve already seen improvement in my novel writing. #win

How was your month in reading/writing?

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 27 2015
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Book Review: Elvenbane by Andre Norton & Mercedes Lackey

ElvenbaneTitle: Elvenbane

Authors: Andre Norton & Mercedes Lackey

Series: Halfblood Chronicles #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: Two masters of epic fantasy have combined in this brilliant collaboration to create a rousing tale of the sort that becomes an instant favorite. This is the story of Shana, a halfbreed born of the forbidden union of an Elvenlord father and a human mother. Her exiled mother dead, she was rescued and raised by dragons, a proud, ancient race who existed unbeknownst to elven or humankind. From birth, Shana was the embodiment of the Prophecy that the all-powerful Elvenlords feared. Her destiny is the enthralling adventure of a lifetime.

The Review:

The first half of this book is a perfect case study in how “telling” versus “showing” can be wildly entertaining. The authors took a lot of time to build this world and explain the dynamics between the races within it, and I found myself devouring the pages, eager to learn as much as I could. It was such a cool concept for a story – all-powerful elves who came to the world from another realm and basically took over, forcing the humans to cater to their every whim. Enter the shape-shifting dragons, also fleeing another world, who were trying to keep their existence secret from the elves but couldn’t resist dabbling in their affairs. Then put a halfbreed girl in the middle of all of this, and I’m on board.

It was unique, to say the least, and the best part was the spin on traditional race roles within fantasy novels. Not to mention the abundance of dragons! Sure, they behaved more like humans than dragons, but there was enough dragon lore involved that I didn’t mind it. Watching a small girl grow up among them was easily my favorite segment of the entire novel. It really is a shame it only lasted a couple of chapters…

The thing that knocked this book off of its five-star rating for me is that I got about 80% through it, then had to stop and figure out what the arc of the story was supposed to be. You see, the authors took a couple of weird tangents – ones I enjoyed reading, but I couldn’t figure out how they advance the plot or developed character. Now, I love tangents as much is the next girl, but to have them loaded near the end of the book? And to have them be so jarring? I kept thinking maybe I had missed something only to flip back a page and realize: nope… It really did just take a left turn. Had it been any other time during the novel, it would’ve been okay, but in this case it pulled me out of it when I felt I should’ve been the most engaged. I’m betting it had something to do with the difficulties of coordinating a book between two authors. This is the only time I’ve noticed a definite discord within a dual-authorship involving Mercedes Lackey, so it was probably a fluke.

Overall, I liked Elvenbane because I’ve never read anything quite like it. It had so many great ideas that, despite trouble with pacing near the end, I will be picking up the sequel. If you already read a ton of fantasy/dragon books, I’d recommend this one. However, if you’re new to the genre I’d have you read some of my favorites first.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes