May 26 2013

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Coming Soon: The Human

Title: The Human

Author: Keary Taylor

Series: The Eden Trilogy #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: June 18, 2013

The Overview: The city of New Eden is cleared, but it won’t stay that way forever. The Bane continue to advance in horrific ways that will wipe humanity from the face of the Earth. A storm is coming, one none of them could have dared imagine. When a group of outsiders come to the city, everyone is on edge. They have too many questions and not enough answers about where they are from or what they want. Just because they are human doesn’t mean they can be trusted. Eve made a choice–one that could have deadly repercussions. Desperate hearts bring about desperate actions. Now she must make another decision as her world continues to crumble: come to terms with who she really is, or risk her sanity. She thought she had unlocked all the secrets from her past, but there are truths still buried that leave her questioning what is real and what is not.

Nik’s Notes:

I got the first book in this trilogy from Net Galley, but it is one I would be willing to buy as a hard copy – I really liked it. Along the same lines as Divergent and Partials, this series fits right in with some of the most popular dystopian titles out there. If I’m not mistaken, these are self-published, but I feel the quality of the story and the writing were enough to warrant a book deal. The advantage for the self-publishing, however is that she can release the books whenever she wants. As the first book was only out earlier this year I am super and excited that I don’t have to wait months and months to read the second one. What’s more, she’s giving away a free copy (click here for details). Anyway, if you are as addicted to dystopians as I am, this should definitely be your next read!

Click on the cover below to read my review of book #1

The Bane by Keary Taylor

May 25 2013

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Book Review: A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham

Title: A Shadow in Summer

Author: Daniel Abraham

Series: The Long Price Quartet #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: The powerful city-state of Saraykeht is a bastion of peace and culture, a major center of commerce and trade. Its economy depends on the power of the captive spirit, Seedless, an andat bound to the poet-sorcerer Heshai for life. Enter the Galts, a juggernaut of an empire committed to laying waste to all lands with their ferocious army. Saraykeht, though, has always been too strong for the Galts to attack, but now they see an opportunity. If they can dispose of Heshai, Seedless’s bonded poet-sorcerer, Seedless will perish and the entire city will fall. With secret forces inside the city, the Galts prepare to enact their terrible plan.

In the middle is Otah, a simple laborer with a complex past. Recruited to act as a bodyguard for his girlfriend’s boss at a secret meeting, he inadvertently learns of the Galtish plot. Otah finds himself as the sole hope of Saraykeht, either he stops the Galts, or the whole city and everyone in it perishes forever.

The Review:

I will be the first one to admit that the overview sounds a little boring and convoluted. The first time I picked it up in a bookstore, I almost disregarded it right away and put it back on the shelf. The reading gods must have been looking out for me that day because for one reason or another I cracked it open to read the first page… And didn’t stop for thirty minutes. It was fascinating and engaging – starting out by introducing a complex communication system that involves intricate hand gestures that conveys everything from emotion to social status. And you know what? It only got better! Abraham then went on to developed a mind – blowing magic system that was as dangerous as it was beautiful. These elements combined with an unforgettable writing style made for one of the most original stories I have ever read!

Both the communication and magic systems went a long way to build this world, but Abraham expanded on it anyway and created a stunning city that I can still remember vividly years later. Top that off with an incredible cast of characters (who will have you laughing and crying with them by the time the series ends) and you have one of the most memorable stories on the market. All of the characters were amazing and they only got better with each book.

I loved every minute, and I’ll say it again: this was easily one of the best series I’ve ever read. I will definitely be reading it again and will DEFINITELY be buying anything else this author publishes (be on the lookout for my review of The Dragon’s Path – the first book in Abraham’s latest series – hitting the blog sometime next month). Outstanding!

Recommendations: If you have read all the classics, from Robert Jordan to Brandon Sanderson, and are looking for your next great series, this is definitely the author for you! I recommend him as often as I can because of how profoundly his work affected me. Fantasy fans out there – this is a must-read!

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

: The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke

: The Thief’s Gamble by Juliet E.McKenna

: The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron

: To the King a Daughter by Andre Norton and Sasha Miller

May 22 2013

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Book Review: Chill Factor by Rachel Caine

Title: Chill Factor

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Weather Wardens #3

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Overview: Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin has protected the human race from monster storms, been killed, reborn as a Djinn, and then restored to her original form. Now she’s throwing the dice to stop an infinitely powerful, deeply disturbed kid-who is holed up in a Vegas hotel-from bringing on a new ice age.

The Review:

After reading the first three books in both this series and the Morganville series, I have come to the conclusion that Caine’s work just doesn’t sing with me. There is something missing, and I’ve wracked my brain and analyzed the snot out of these books and I think I have finally figured out what it is (see below). I’m pretty sure I’m alone in this, too, because my best friend/favorite-go-to-person for book recommends ranks Morganville number one as far as vampire books go and really enjoyed the first few books in this series as well. It happens, I guess, but I’m still going to take a couple of paragraphs to explore why the book was just “okay”.

My favorite element to this book was the concept – it was the major reason why I bumped the book’s overall rating up from a 1.5 to a 2.5. People with abilities to control the weather with the help of mysterious, beautiful, and downright hostile djinn that are kept as slaves. It is a really neat idea, and for the most part Caine does a great job expanding on it. My only gripe here is that she sometimes managed to turn a fun ability into a highly technical event that made me feel like I was reading a textbook.

I actually really like the writing style – I am a sucker for good use of description and Caine had a couple of really stunning passages that I made note of to study for my own writing. What she accomplishes so well with that great description is a fantastic overall mood for the story. It takes me to a very distinct world with a very distinct feeling, and honestly if I pick the next book up it will be because I miss the overall feel of these novels.

With all of those good attributes, what’s my problem?

The only thing I can figure is that something about the main character, plot, or love interest wasn’t working for me. With this book in particular, I found myself constantly questioning the main character’s rationale (which incidentally took the plot to places I wasn’t invested in). I also didn’t really care for the love interest – while the main character is running around thinking ” OMG, this guy is the most important wonderful thing in the world, I can’t lose him!” I’m over here like, “Whatever, you could totally do better.” I guess this book goes to show just how important it is for me to be invested in the characters, otherwise it’s like pulling teeth to get through the novel.

Recommendations: with all of these things in mind, I probably wouldn’t recommend these books unless someone specifically said they liked the Morganville series (as I had all of the same struggles with those) so if you liked one you’ll probably like the other. As of right now, it’s pretty low on my urban fantasy totem and would have to go somewhere totally amazing in the next one for that to change. For any wary readers out there, this particular book contains language and violence.

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

: Storm Born by Richelle Mead

: Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt

: Stray by Rachel Vincent

: Magic to the Bone by Devin Monk

: Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

May 21 2013

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Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Frameable Book Covers!

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish once a week where book bloggers can network and find out what everybody else is reading. It is super fun, so if you haven’t participated yet you might be missing out! Of all the TTTs, this is probably one of my absolute favorites because I LOVE beautiful book covers. Most on my list are adult novels, but I could easily do a YA list with nothing but girls in pretty dresses. Incidentally, the insides of these choices were, for the most part, just as awesome as the outsides! :)

Top Ten Framable Book Covers!

I read the entire series based off of this cover alone, and you know what – I loved it! Luis Royo is by far my favorite artist and I will read anything he does the cover art for!

This is the cover for the fourth book of one of my all time favorite series. Not a lot of people know that Dawn Cook is an alias of Kim Harrison- I didn’t catch on myself until after about five years of wondering “Is Dawn Cook ever going to come out with something new?” Each book got better and better, and so did the covers (the originals, anyway. The new ones they are marketing this series with are painfully ugly).

Yup, I totally picked this up based solely on the beautiful cover. I am glad I did, too, because it was a breath of fresh air in the urban fantasy genre.

Speaking of urban fantasies, Patricia Briggs is one of the best out there and this happens to be (after some serious deliberation) my favorite cover art of the series – although they are each beautiful in their own way – I could have easily included her more than once.

The moment I saw this cover I went “Ooh! I definitely want to read this!” To this day it is still one of my favorite love stories. I consider it a must-read for fans of the teen genre.

This is yet another cover done by Luis Royo and is simultaneously my favorite series by Julie E. Czerneda. Gorgeous! And intriguing…

I’ve come to realize that everybody pictures dragons in a slightly different manner. Whoever did the artwork for this series captured perfectly the way I envision them – this one’s the best.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the original covers, but when they started re-releasing them with new artwork I kick myself for not buying them in hardcover. Beautiful art that captures scenes in the books with excellent motion and perspective – Loves!

Michael Whelan did the artwork for this series and, as I mentioned in my “Dragon Obsession – The Visual Files” post it is still one of my favorite Dragon artwork. I have tried to re-create it through several mediums but it never turns out quite right. Although it’s only been within the last few years that I’ve noticed the Dragon kind of looks like the giant cockroach alien on Men in Black…

It’s funny, when I first was considering this topic I figured more than half of the books on my list would be from the teen genre. It surprised me how many fantasy books made the list. In any case, of all the teen books out there this is my favorite cover. It saddens me because it was later replaced by one I don’t like near as well.

Honorable mentions:

: Pearls of Lutra by Brian Jacques

Seeing these three covers in my school library when I was 10 years old inspired me to get good enough at readings so that I could one day pick them up. I couldn’t possibly have a favorite cover list without including them!

What books made your list?

May 20 2013

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Your Pick for Nik – June’s Selection!

Thank you all for your votes (and nominations – they were all fantastic)!

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

This month’s winner is… the Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey!

It was a really close one this month, as it just barely edged out Hitchhiker’s Guide and Pure (which will be included in next month’s nominations). I have already started this one and I can tell you already that it will blow your mind. Great choice this month, people!

A thorough review and discussion for this book will take place on July 1st, so there’s plenty of time to pick it up if you want to participate. For more information on the Your Pick for Nik! book club, click here.

Here’s A look at what the books about:

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

**Don’t forget to tune in Monday, May 27 for the review and discussion of May’s Selection: Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken.**

“If you think reading is boring, you’re doing it wrong.”

May 19 2013

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Book Review: The Spirit War by Rachel Aaron

Title: The Spirit War

Author: Rachel Aaron

Series: The Legend of Eli Monpress #4

Rating: 4.5/5 stars!

The Overview: Eli Monpress is vain. He’s cocky. And he’s a thief.

But he’s a thief who has just seen his bounty topped and he’s not happy about it. The bounty topper, as it turns out, is his best friend, bodyguard, and master swordsman, Josef. Who has been keeping secrets from Eli. Apparently, he’s the only prince of a rather feisty country and his mother (a formidable queen who’s every bit as driven and stubborn as he is) wants him to come home and do his duty, which means throwing over personal ambitions like proving he’s the greatest swordsman who ever lived.

The Review:

I want to start out by sharing the overview for the first book:

Eli Monpress is talented. He’s charming. And he’s a thief.

But not just any thief. He’s the greatest thief of the age – and he’s also a wizard. And with the help of his partners – a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls – he’s going to put his plan into effect.

The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he’ll need to steal some big things. But he’ll start small for now. He’ll just steal something that no one will miss – at least for a while.

Like a king.

I don’t know about you, but that short teaser convinced me right away that I wanted to give the series a try – and it was even better than I could have imagined. The first three books have to be, by far, one of the most memorable trilogies I’ve ever read. There was a high level of originality and it was spectacularly funny without ever crossing over to stupid or overdone.

I have to give major kudos to Aaron for pulling off two things you rarely see done well in fantasy: creating a feel of wonder, and doing so using almost poetic imagery. A lot of authors try to introduce wonder into their stories but it usually comes off ridiculous rather than awe-inspiring. Aaron pulls it off in a cheeky, fun manner without losing any more serious and thought-provoking overtones. She did this through exceptional character development and dialogue and introducing epic world-building and magic systems. I can’t say enough good things about this series. I am hooked, and will definitely read anything Aaron publishes in the future.

Surprisingly, compared to the first three novels, I thought the Spririt War started out a bit slow. Luckily, it was still rich, quality writing, so the pace didn’t bother me like it might have in other books. Regardless, the slower pace can be attributed to Aaron’s choice to expand on some minor characters and introduce some new ones, which means that she couldn’t possibly take it any faster if she wanted to develop them properly. I have criticized authors in the past for telling their stories from multiple viewpoints. I believe the key to doing this well is making sure all of your characters add directly to the overall arc – with each perspectives taking nothing away from the story’s momentum. All of Aaron’s viewpoint characters help maintain this momentum, adding a complexity to the story that still blows my mind.

Aspiring writers out there, including myself, could learn a lot by studying the way this author weaves the story, creates and maintains characters, and describes her world. She brings things to life and does so in a beautifully effortless manner. I will definitely be rereading this series for tips because there were moments of pure brilliance in every aspect of her writing.

Recommendations: As I said before, this series is whimsical without being ridiculous. I find myself recommending it to many types of readers because it’s one of those stories that has appeal for all ages (but for the sake of a few “scary” moments, I keep the recommends to 10+). It is probably best for fantasy lovers who are in the mood for something different. Its also my number one choice when someone says they want something “fun” to read.

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like: