Tag Archives: book reviews

Sep 21 2012
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Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling

Author: Kristin Cashore

Series: Graceling Realm #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

My Overview: The gorgeous cover and the overall concept of “Graceling” grabbed my attention right away. In the Seven Kingdoms, a few people are “graced” with special abilities (sort of like in the show Heroes). Those with useful graces like sight, fighting, or tracking live privileged lives in the service of their king. Katsa’s grace is killing, and she is recognized and feared across the land for her abilities.

 The Review:

It’s interesting how much I loved this book the first time I picked it up – so much so that I rated it in my top 3 favorite books of all time. I was totally mesmerized by the story, thought the characters were flawless, and knew the plot was well-developed and amazing. Ten years later, it’s still in my top 20, but it’s no longer anywhere near the top 3. I suspect that is due to my age (alas, I’m no longer a wistful teen), the list of truly amazing books I’ve read since, and my continual development as a writer. Now more than ever I demand more from what I read.

That said, I still think the overall concepts and storyline are interesting and well-told. The main character, despite having such a harsh grace, is strong and relatable, and I enjoyed seeing her development throughout the story.  I also liked that this book has a really sweet love story. I found it incredibly romantic, even in the re-read. I think anyone who likes the teen genre will also really enjoy it.

Recommendations: The next book by Cashore, “Fire,” is a companion novel rather than a sequel. I liked it, but not near as much as “Graceling,” as there were some major pacing issues and a few confusing concepts. It is still worth reading, however, as you gain some good back-history on a few characters. The true sequel is called “Bitterblue” and although I’m not very far along, it’s looking very promising.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 19 2012
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Book Review: Endgame by Ann Aguirre

Title: Endgame

Author: Ann Aguirre

Series: Sirantha Jax #6

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Review: This particular book is the last of a six book series, and I am truly sad to see it end. I’m a fairly scattered reader, and often bounce around to other series before picking up sequels. Therefore, it is a true testament to how much I enjoyed this series that I actually read them all one after another.

Aguirre’s books have a fine balance of being both character and event driven, which I think really allows the reader feel involved in the story. Told in a unique writing style (first-person present tense), it made for a great deal of suspense and excitement. The only, and I mean only, complaint I have throughout all six books is that there were a few places in the first book that were a bit under-descriptive. That said, I didn’t have any problem with that moving forward; each book added an incredible momentum to the series and just kept getting better.

While the characters were dynamic and storyline was great, my favorite part of the series was the alien interactions. Particularly in “Doublebind” the third novel, we get immersed into a highly intelligent and fascinating alien race. This, along with other factors, made that book my favorite and solidified my love of the series as a whole.

Overall this series was fast-paced, well-written, clever, and totally absorbing! And different – I’ve never read anything quite like it.

Recommendations: Although the novels are set in space, they read more like urban fantasy than science fiction. Readers who dislike strong language an sexual content may want to skip this recommend.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 17 2012

Book Review: Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight

Title: Dragon Champion

Author: E. E. Knight

Series: Age of Fire #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Knight’s fantasy debut concerns a rare, scaleless gray dragon named Auron. Born high in a mountain cave, he witnesses the slaughter of his parents at the hands of a band of dwarves and eventually matures into the last hope for the survival of his kind. Once above ground, Auron learns quickly just how dangerous it is to be a dragon. With dwarves, elves, and humans relentlessly hunting him, Auron finds friendship in the most unlikely of places — but the young dragon’s quest to find others of his kind may not lead him to the answers he hopes to find. 

The Review:

Even though there are many other excellent dragon books out there, I have never before read one quite like this. Most authors use dragons as important companions to their main human characters, but E.E. Knight takes it one step further by allowing his readers to become a dragon.

Told from the dragon’s perspective, the story follows him from the struggles of hatching all the way to the adventures of adulthood. As if that wasn’t cool enough, this dragon, Auron, is grey-scaled, an anomaly in the dragonworld who lacks the rock-hard scales that protect others of his kind.

Because most of the main characters are dragons, it makes for an interesting dynamic, as they have all sorts of traits and motives that are quite different from a human’s. Everything from their basic regard of other species to the complex inner-workings of their societies was simply fascinating. Not only, that, but it also has a highly interesting story, an engaging plot, and a decent writing style.

Overall, with such a unique concept, this is a must-read for any dragon-lover!

Recommendations: Although “Dragon Champion” is geared towards adults, I sometimes feel comfortable recommending it to young adults who are ready to up their reading level, provided they can handle some “scary” moments.

Other books you might like:

  • “Joust” by Mercedes Lackey
  • “Dragon’s Blood” by Jane Yolen
  • “The Last Dragonlord” by Joanne Bertin
  • “Dragonriders of Pern” by Anne McCaffrey
  • “Eragon” by Christopher Paolini

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 15 2012
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Book Review: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Title: Assassin’s Apprentice

Author: Robin Hobb

Series: The Farseer Trilogy #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma. Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals – the old art known as the Wit – gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility. So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.

The Review:

Some stories fade from my memory the minute I finish the book. This story not only remained vividly in my mind months later, but I find I can recall tiniest details with minimal effort. That, to me, is the mark of a great book. Hobb has a unique writing style in the fantasy world, using a beautiful descriptive voice that effectively draws you into the story without being overwhelming. You can read two pages or fifty and come away feeling invested and satisfied. Her books are so evoking that she has become my go-to author whenever I need a guaranteed good read.

The characters are well-developed, relatable, dynamic, and quite simiply: brilliant. I often forget that I’m reading fantasy characters, as they sometimes seem like real people. Because of this, some of them are among my all-time favorites. Apart from being so well-developed, what I love most is they have flaws like everyone else, which make you cheer for them all the more.

Overall, “Assassin’s Apprentice” contains a highly memorable plot, exceptional characters, and the beautiful writing style that combines in a story that will take your breath away.

Recommendations: The Farseer trilogy is chronologically the first of four separate trilogies (Farseer, Liveship Traders, Tawny Man, and Rain Wilds – in that order) Each book is as good as the last, and what you take away from each novel just lends to an incredible momentum as the story progresses. Within each trilogy, there is an overall arch to the story that is highly satisfying enough to make them stand-alones, but the overall arch between all the books is so fantastic that it’s well worth your time to read them all.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 14 2012

Book Review: Blood Rights by Kristin Painter

Title: Blood Rights

Author: Kristin Painter

Series: House of Comarre #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Born into a life of secrets and service, Chrysabelle’s body bears the telltale marks of a comarré — a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility. When her patron is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world…and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he drinks.

Now, Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds. If they fail, a chaos unlike anything anyone has ever seen will threaten to reign.

The Review:

I’ll admit that I initially picked this up solely because it had a cool cover. Much to my delight, I found it to be a highly original and fascinating read. What’s more, it’s clear from the few first chapters that Painter is an exceptionally talented writer. Her smart “no words wasted” writing style, along with the overall concept of the story were my favorite elements of this book.

This is a highly character-driven novel, and I admit I would’ve prefered to see a little more action. That said, the basic storyline was good, and some of the characters were fantastic: the main protagonist was well developed, and there were even a few minor characters that stole the show on occasion and really helped bring the story alive. Overall, it was an extremely interesting read, and I will definitely be picking up the second book.

Recommendations: Painter has published a novella called “Forbidden Blood” which expands on a story between two characters eluded to throughout “Blood Rights.” I thought it was a nice addition to the story, giving it an extra bit of depth.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 11 2012

Book Review: Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist

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Title: Magician: Apprentice

Author: Raymond E. Feist

Series: Riftwar Saga #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan Pug came to study with the master magician Kulgan. But though his courage won him a place at court and the heart of a lovely Princess, he was ill at ease with the normal ways of wizardry. Yet Pug’s strange sort of magic would one day change forever the fates of two worlds. For dark beings from another world had opened a rift in the fabric of spacetime to being again the age-old battle between the forces of Order and Chaos.

The Review:

When customers approach me for a fantasy recommend, I always ask: have you read Feist? As the long-time favorite of my family, “Magician: Apprentice” is the book that first inspired my love of the genre. I’ve gone through hundreds of books since then, and it is still one of the best novels I’ve ever read. It’s got all of the elements I loved about the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but it is written in a much more vibrant and story-driven manner. I’m a stickler for good characters, and all of the characters in this series are incredibly well-developed and memorable. Elves, dwarves, dragons, and magic are all woven together in an adventure that will leave you eager for the next book.

This is the first book in the Riftwar Saga, and each book in the series is as good as the last.  If you would like an introduction to the fantasy genre, this is the novel for you. As for the hardcore fantasy fans, this book should definitely be on your list of “must-reads.”

Recommendations: As much as I loved this book, it’s hard to believe that I loved a trilogy by Feist and Wurts even more. Read the “Magician: Apprentice” and “Magician: Master” first, then take some time to read the “Daughter of the Empire” trilogy before moving on to the third Riftwar book (Silverthorn).

Other books you might like:

  • “Wizard’s First Rule” by Terry Goodkind
  • “Sword of Shannara” by Terry Brooks
  • “Wayfarer Redemption” by Sara Douglass
  • “Homeland” by R.A. Salvatore
  • “Dragons of Autumn Twilight” by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

by Niki Hawkes