Archives

Sep 21 2014
Image

Book Review: Spirit’s End by Rachel Aaron

Spirit's endTitle: Spirit’s End

Author: Rachel Aaron

Series: The Legend of Eli Monpress #5

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Eli Monpress is clever, he’s determined, and he’s in way over his head. First rule of thievery: don’t be a hero. When Eli broke the rules and saved the Council Kingdoms, he thought he knew the price, but resuming his place as the Shepherdess’s favorite isn’t as simple as bowing his head. Now that she has her darling back, Benehime is setting in motion a plan that could destroy everything she was created to protect, and even Eli’s charm might not be enough to stop her. But Eli Monpress always has a plan, and with disaster rapidly approaching, he’s pulling in every favor he can think of to make it work, including the grudging help of the Spirit Court’s new Rector, Miranda Lyonette. But with the world in panic, the demon stirring, and the Lord of Storms back on the hunt, it’s going to take more than luck and charm to pull Eli through this time. He’s going to have to break a few more rules and work with some old enemies if he’s going to survive.

Spirit's end 2

The Review:

If you are a fantasy-lover and have not yet had the pleasure to read The Legend of Eli Monpress, you are missing out. This series has some of the best world-building of any series I’ve ever read. Combine that with great characters, a cool magic system, originality, an engaging plot, and a fantastic writing style, and you can begin to see why I hold this author and series in such high regard. Aaron is such a great writer that, in my opinion, there’s not a single element storytelling from a craft standpoint that she doesn’t do brilliantly.

With that said, you would think composing this review would be a walk in the park, however, I’ve stalled on writing it longer than any other book this year. I loved how it wrapped up all of the conflicts of the series. It was a beautifully epic series that deserved an epic ending, and that’s exactly what it got. I feel really guilty for saying this, but I think the ending may have been just a tad bit too drawn out. It essentially took up a full third of the book, making me hold my breath uncomfortably for a really long time. There was so much momentum going into this last book that I don’t know how Aaron could have done it any other way. I wanted to know what happened badly enough to devour it in one sitting, but definitely had one of those Lord of the Rings (film) moments where I wasn’t sure if it was actually ever going to end. As with the LOTR, although it felt drawn out, I couldn’t tell you which part I felt she should cut… it was all essential to completing the plot and everything needed time to fully flesh out (not to mention the dozen or so amazing characters that needed proper resolution). Anyway, I think you can see why I’ve had such conflict over this one. Let’s suffice to say, now that I’m finished with the series, I eventually loved where it ended. We ‘ll leave it at that.

I’m actually kind of sad it’s over – I thoroughly enjoyed these characters, some of which are now among my all-time favorites (Nico, I’m talking to you). This is one of those books I will definitely go back and reread, if for nothing else than to study the craft because, seriously, Aaron is brilliant. The good news is, I just found out she published a space opera trilogy under the name Rachel Bach, so you’d better believe I will be devouring those as soon as I can get my hands on them!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 19 2014
Image

Book Review: Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine

feast of foolsTitle: Feast of Fools

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Morganville Vampires #4

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though, especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town’s living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It’s only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the elaborately evil trap he’s set for Morganville.

feast of fools 2

The Review:

Funny story: so Morganville #1 (The Glass House) was actually one of the very first paranormal YA books I’ve ever read. At the time, I really didn’t know what to expect from the genre… and wasn’t really blown away. Fast-forward about a decade and hundreds of YA books later to the moment where I finally decided to continue on in the series. I discovered it is actually way better than I initially gave it credit for. This came about while I was trying to create a top ten YA list – while I could name countless books that I enjoyed, I could not for the life of me come up with ten series that I absolutely LOVED (especially compared to my top ten fantasy list, where I had trouble narrowing it down from twenty). I surprised myself when I realized Morganville had enough merits to make that list.

For one thing, it’s written well. For another, the characters are quirky and well-rounded. Not to mention the plot offers a unique take on the vampire world (which is incredibly appealing considering how many teen vampire books are out there). Overall, it’s gritty, original, and has an abundance of personality and charm.

So with all of those good things said, it made me start to wonder why I initially didn’t enjoy the series as much then as I am now. I think I’ve finally figured it out: the love interest. Morganville (as well as Caine’s Weather Warden series) commit a good portion of their pages to romance. The trouble is, I didn’t find a single one of the male leads appealing. While I can definitely see their merits and why other readers find them attractive, they just aren’t my type. This tells me two things 1) Caine and I have very different tastes in men and 2) I haven’t been able to fully appreciate the story up to this point because I’m not emotionally invested in the love story. Believe me when I say I know how weird of an issue this is… I’ve only come across this problem once or twice before, but three instances for a single author – unheard of! 

The good news is, now that the plot outside of the romance has advanced considerably, I’m finding the series incredibly fun to read. Even though everything still takes place in Morganville, the conflicts have broadened to become more serious and include more characters. I now have a lot more substance to sink my teeth into (pun intended), so I’m definitely excited to see what happens next!

This is a great series for people who enjoy paranormal but are tired of the perfect “bubblegum” atmosphere that most teen books present. This one is fast-paced, quirky, and definitely one of the best of the genre. It doesn’t quite stack up to some of the adult urban fantasies, but holds its own nonetheless.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 17 2014
Image

Coming Soon: The Rogue Knight by Brandon Mull

the rogue knightTitle: The Rogue Knight

Author: Brandon Mull

Series: Five Kingdoms #2

Genre: Middle Grade

Release Date: October 21, 2014

The Overview: Cole Randolph never meant to come to The Outskirts, but when his friends were kidnapped on Halloween he had to try and save them. Now he is trapped in a world that lies between wakefulness and dreaming, reality and imagination, life and death. Cole’s in search for his friends has led him to Elloweer, another of the five kingdoms that make up The Outskirts. He is accompanied by Mira, Twitch, and Jace; new friends he’s met here in the Outskirts who each have their own important missions. The group is following news that Mira’s sister, Honor, could be in danger. However, Cole and Mira are soon the ones facing direct threat, and must resort to a fascinating new kind of magic to protect themselves. Their journey brings them across familiar faces, some more welcome than others, until their paths ultimately cross with the infamous man known throughout Elloweer as the Rogue Knight. Will he turn out to be an unstoppable enemy, or a key ally? Every move is filled with danger as Cole and his new friends try and outwit the High King, who will stop at nothing to regain what he has lost.

the rogue knight 2

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Aside from Harry Potter, Fablehaven is easily my favorite middle grade series. I’ve read the books more times than I can count. Since the final book was released, I’ve since gone out and read the Candy Shop War (which I liked), Beyonders (which I did not like), Wild Born (cool!), and Sky Raiders (which is easily my favorite series since Fablehaven). So, even though Beyonders was kind of a disappointment, I’m grateful for this new series – it has me fired up about Mull all over again. I was lucky enough to chat with him for a moment at a book signing and to hear him talk about the “awesome stuff you haven’t even seen yet” coming up in the Five Kingdom series has me pumped!

 As a side note, he also mentioned that after finishing the series he will be working on a spin off of Fablehaven featuring the dragon sanctuaries prominent in book 4!!!!! I am fricken stoked.

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 16 2014
Image

Top Ten Fantastic Authors I Need to Read More From!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

So many books and so little time! You all know how it is: you read a single book from fantastic author and then never quite manage to make your way back to them despite the best intentions. I have a difficult time reading books in a series back to back (it’s a sickness that comes from wanting to read ALL THE BOOKS!). So more often than not brilliant (new to me) 5-star authors get put in a queue behind authors and series I’m already highly invested in. The bad news? I usually end up waiting ages before continuing. The good news? I know from this list that I have at least ten amazing authors to look forward to… eventually. Behold:

Top Ten Fantastic Authors I Need to Read More From!

Some of these novels made my top ten list of 2013. I can’t wait to read more!

What authors would make your list?

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 14 2014
Image

Book Review: Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

Dragon songTitle: Dragonsong

Author: Anne McCaffrey

Series: Harper Hall Trilogy #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: Every two hundred years or so, shimmering threads fall, raining black ruin on Pern. The great dragons of Pern hurl themselves through the beleaguered skies, flaming tongues of fire to destroy deadly Thread and save the planet. It was not Threadfall that made Menolly unhappy. It was her father who betrayed her ambition to be a Harper, who thwarted her love of music. Menolly had no choice but to run away. She came upon a group of fire lizards, wild relatives of the fire-breathing dragons. Her music swirled about them; she taught nine to sing, suddenly Menolly was no longer alone.

Dragon song 2

The Review:

This is going to be a fairly short review for a really great dragon book. I don’t know that I can honestly claim to have a Dragon Obsession with out having read at least a few McCafferys (although I’d like to note I eventually plan on reading all them). Even though Dragonsong is only the first book of the Harper Hall Trilogy, I can already tell it’s going to be just as good as the original Dragonriders of Pern series.

As with Pern, I initially had trouble getting into the flow of the story because of the writing style – it’s not exactly what I would call accessible. McCaffrey uses a rather high-brow language that can sometimes make you feel as if you’re trying to read a textbook. While I think the more readers you can retain with your writing the better, this particular writing style is part of what makes these books unique, so they get a lot of allowances where other books might not. I only had a difficult time focusing at the beginning of the book, but once I settled into the flow of the language, the story came alive.

I absolutely love Dragonsong’s storyline – it’s about a teenaged girl who accidentally enthralls a bunch of fire lizards with her remarkable music. The main character, Mellony, was as charming as she was atypical. She is not a petite, helpless little waif but a tall, strong, capable young woman who knows what she wants out of life (even though she doesn’t always get it). I found her incredibly likable because of how humble, hard-working, compassionate she was – I can totally see why the fire lizards were drawn to her.

I liked this story so much that I’m kind of kicking myself for not continuing on straight away. I’m eager to see where Mellony’s story takes her next and am secretly hoping for some sort of love story to develop. Overall, if you like McCaffery (or dragons in general) I think you’ll enjoy Dragonsong. It takes place chronologically after Dragonquest of the Dragonriders of Pern series, but right before The White Dragon, so you may at the very least want to read the first two of that trilogy to avoid spoilers. In trying to figure out what order to read the books in, I found the lists on this website very helpful.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 12 2014
Image

Book Review: Dualed by Elsie Chapman

dualedTitle: Dualed

Author: Elsie Chapman

Series: Dualed #1

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Overview: Two of you exist. Only one will survive. The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

dualed 2

The Review:

I’d been eyeballing Dualed for about a year before I actually picked it up. I almost snagged a copy right when it came out but held off because of some negative reviews. Then Divided (book 2) popped up on my radar a year later and I decided to take a risk and give Dualed a try despite poor initial feedback. I liked it for the most part, but there’s something to be said for the overall opinion of the masses. I’m not saying the majority is always right, but with an obscure title like this, they are accurate more often than not. Maybe I should’ve listened, but on occasion I find a book I love despite public opinion so I decided to read it anyway. It was entertaining, but I have some disclaimers:

You see, it was kind of a depressing. I understand and even expect bad things to happen in dystopian societies, but I also expect some small glimmer of hope to help pull me through all the grit. As the entire plot of Dualed centered around two “twins” endlessly striving to destroy one another, that ray of hope was awfully hard to come by. Either the main character has to kill someone or be killed herself. Not exactly a cheerful concept. But not that it needed to be, although I did find myself craving a bit more balance. 

To that end, I think the author should have considered lightening the mood during the slow bits with some subtle humor – it would’ve gone a long way towards making her characters more likable, thereby making the highs and lows of the story more intense. Instead, it was one-note, and that note was depressing. I ended up looking to the competition element to pull me through the story. It was a decent battle, but I would’ve loved to see an infusion of even more intelligence, strategy, and skill into the main character – kind of like what we saw with June in the Legend series. 

I think it would be accurate to say that every aspect of the book left me wanting, some a bit more than others. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, I was just able to identify several specific ways I thought it could be better. I liked it enough to pick up the second book, but ended up setting it aside because it took an even darker turn than the first one and I wasn’t in the mood for that type of story.

In the whole scheme of dystopian books, this one wasn’t one of my favorites, but it definitely wasn’t one of the worst. I’d say if you’re interested in the premise and kind of know what to expect going in, I think you’ll probably enjoy it. I may go back and finish the second book someday, but at the moment it’s not a priority.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes