Tag Archives: teen books

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 21 2015
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Mini Book Review: Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

The Midnight ThiefTitle: Midnight Thief

Author: Livia Blackburne

Series: Midnight Thief #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs. But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease. When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

The Mini Review:

I liked this one. Enough that I will probably pick up the sequel sooner rather than later when it comes out. The concept of the story, which reminded me a bit of Throne of Glass, grab my attention from the start. Thieves and assassins always pipk my interest, but I appreciated this book because it took all of the cliché plot points usually associated with the genre and elevated them. For the first half of the book, I was convinced Midnight Thief was going to be a 5-star read and one of my favorite books of the year… and then I read the second half.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t written poorly or anything, the plot just took an odd turn that I felt didn’t fit within the context of the story presented thus far. The author was probably aiming to surprise the reader, but I could have used a little more of a lead-in so the change didn’t feel so… weird. So, while I will definitely be picking up the sequel, I’m a bit worried that it won’t focus on all of the things that had me raving about this book when I started reading it. The good news is, despite my concerns, I think a lot of people are really going to love this one.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 1 2015
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Mini Book Review: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkowski

The winner's Curse

Title: The Winner’s Curse

Author: Marie Rutkowski

Series: The Winner’s Curse #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

The Mini Review:

I liked this one, I really did, but I can put my finger on what exactly has the blogosphere raving about it. The love story was a little atypical, involving a general’s daughter and a willful slave, and was probably my favorite element of the tale. I also liked the concept for the novel in which one culture has usurped another, but felt like the author didn’t explore it as well as she could have (perhaps she will focus on it a bit more in the second book). The female lead was likable and I will definitely be picking up the sequel to see what she decides to do next. But that’s pretty much it. While I appreciated all of these things, it didn’t blow me away like a few comparable high fantasy novels have (or even other titles within the YA Fantasy genre itself). My biggest issue was that the second half of the novel suffered from poor pacing and too much repetition. The back-and-forth between the girl and the love interest got a bit stale and I feel like the great momentum the story had leading up to that point suffered because of it.

Overall though, I have positive feelings towards the book and will be picking up the sequel in March. If you told me you loved Throne of Glass, I’d recommend this title, but only after handing you some of my other favorites such as The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Jewel. I may not have valued The Winner’s Curse as much as my fellow bloggers, but I can see it’s one a lot of people are going to like.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 29 2014
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2014 Reading Recap!

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 The end of the year is finally here! And I’m celebrating by putting together the post I’ve been most looking forward to: the annual book review recap!

 I started a book blog for a couple reasons, but one of them was because it is a great way to keep track of all the fantastic books I’ve read (one that didn’t involve a journal and printouts of the covers – the method I was using before I discovered the wonders of blogging).

Sharing my love of books has become a passion all its own, and I have discovered some profound things in my own reading habits that I may not have otherwise. Most notably, I have come to truly appreciates the idea that life is too short to read boring books. This epiphany hit me in early 2013. It was eye-opening because I realized the books I was most looking forward to reading were getting left on the shelf in favor of books I felt like I was obligated to read (does anybody else have that problem?). Anyway, I made the decision to read the books I was most excited for first rather than last and, as this post will illustrate, it has made for one of the best years of reading I have ever had!

So without further ado, here’s a look at The Obsessive Bookseller’s year of book love:

1 Star: didn’t like it at all

1.5 Stars: didn’t like it, but it had some merit

2 Stars: it was okay

2.5 Stars: it was a little better than okay, but I’m not sure if I liked it or not

3 Stars: I liked it

3.5 Stars: I liked it, but not quite as much as a 4 star book

4 Stars: I really liked it!

4.5 Stars: I really, really liked it!

5 Stars: I LOVED it!!!!

I read 89 books this year (9 books more than last year) totaling 38095 pages (6948 pages more than last year). And I enjoyed every minute of it! I’d like to note that next year will probably show fewer books but more pages. I am finally a little worn out on YA novels and have already started to shift my focus towards Fantasy and Science Fiction. Bring it on!

As you can see, 2014 was definitely filled with more good reads than bad ones. I still can’t believe how many five-star books came out of this year – I could fangirl over them for hours.

I’d like to note that most of the books in my 2 star category were ARCs, which is why I also had a goal to stop requesting so many. It took about three months of effort to stop asking for every title I thought I might want to read. Incidentally, that has also helped me enjoy reading this year – less obligations!

What did your year of reading look like?

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 17 2014
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Book Review: Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

killer instinct

Title: Killer Instinct

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: The Naturals #2

Genre: Teen Fiction

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Seventeen-year-old Cassie Hobbes has a gift for profiling people. Her talent has landed her a spot in an elite FBI program for teens with innate crime-solving abilities, and into some harrowing situations. After barely escaping a confrontation with an unbalanced killer obsessed with her mother’s murder, Cassie hopes she and the rest of the team can stick to solving cold cases from a distance. But when victims of a brutal new serial killer start turning up, the Naturals are pulled into an active case that strikes too close to home: the killer is a perfect copycat of Dean’s incarcerated father—a man he’d do anything to forget. Forced deeper into a murderer’s psyche than ever before, will the Naturals be able to outsmart the enigmatic killer’s brutal mind games before this copycat twists them into his web for good?

killer instincy 2

The Review:

Considering that The Naturals was my favorite YA book of 2013, you can understand why I was so concerned Killer Instinct wouldn’t live up to my expectations. After all, the first book BLEW ME AWAY and it seemed like two outstanding, well-crafted novels in a row might be just too much to ask. So imagine my delight when I settled in to binge read Killer Instinct and it was just as AMAZEBALLS as the first one!

Both books in the series have been consistent with these attributes: fantastic characters who I want to learn more about with every passing page, an excellent and perfectly creepy perspective that takes you into the mind of the killer, a cool concept for a plot that is complex without being convoluted, and really interesting applications for each of these teenagers’ talents (which is my favorite element – it’s really neat to see how an analyzer, a statistician, an emotion reader, and a lie detector pull together their skills to solve crimes).

Barnes puts together these complex mysteries that somehow make you feel like your part of the story. I learned from The Naturals that, as far as suspects go, every character is fair game. It made the story interactive in a way, because with every new character introduced or new situation unveiled, I immediately had to reevaluate what I knew up to that point to try to figure out “whodunit.” It was written so well that I was literally suspicious about everyone! It makes these books so much more fun to read because I felt involved in trying to figure out who the killer was throughout both entire novels. The difference for this book is, while last time I was a casual detective, this time I was in full-blown Sherlock Holmes mode! It was so much fun to read, I can hardly stand it.

Part of why I think I enjoyed it so much is that I don’t get to utilize my freakishly honed detective skills very often (I may be exaggerating a little bit). You see, I’ve always been fascinated with shows like Criminal Minds, and love learning how crimes are solved, but I am usually too squeamish to actually sit down and watch them… pathetic, I know. In any case, The Naturals series provided all the same crime solving awesomeness, but without the gore (the visual stuff, anyway. I can totally handle the written stuff).

Overall, I think I’m in love… These books are self-contained mysteries, but there’s an overall arc growing between them that makes me want to pee myself with excitement over what the next novel might bring. I can’t believe I have to wait a whole year to see what happens next – this is seriously the biggest woe us book-lovers have to deal with, isn’t it? I can tell you one thing though, it will be well worth the wait!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 16 2014
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Top Ten Books I Read in 2014!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Oh my gosh – two TTT’s in a row! I was seriously slacking in the blogging department this week (I blame the holidays… and finals). On the bright side, at least my two lists are related. One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is look back and figure out which books totally rocked my world. This year, these books were so good they kind of made my decision for me…

Top Ten Books I Read in 2014!

One of my resolutions for 2014 was to “read the best books first,” and based on the killer titles on this list, I’d say I definitely achieved my goal! Last year I chose a top adult and a top young adult novel, but these titles were all so amazing that I couldn’t bring myself to pick just one of each. Many of these books have become my favorites EVER within their respective genres. Yeah, they were that good!

What were the best books YOU read this year?

By Niki Hawkes