Audiobook Review - Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days, Book 1) by Susan Ee (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic
Size: 290 pages
Publisher: Skyscape
Release Date: August 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0761463276
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Penryn and the End of Days series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

This book was recommended to me by one of my Goodreads friends. It sounded interesting and ended up being a decent read. I am a bit sick of post-apocalyptic/dystopia type novels right now, so take that into consideration when reading this review. This is another YA post-apocalyptic novel but with angels!

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was okay. This isn’t one of those audiobooks that was so stellar I would recommend listening to this instead of reading it. Still the narrator did a decent job of distinguishing between character voices. I had a bit of trouble with the different male voices since they sounded awkward and occasionally similar to each other.

Penryn is trying to survive in a world where angels have recently (6 weeks ago) ravaged many major cities on Earth. As if just surviving isn’t bad enough Penryn has a psychotic mother and a handicap younger sister (who can’t walk) to take care of as well. When an angel with black wings kidnaps Penryn’s little sister, Penryn is determined to rescue her. Penryn has decided the best way to do this is to kidnap an injured angel from the scene of the crime and make him take her back to his aerie.

This book was okay. It was pretty typical YA post apocalyptic type of fiction. In this case rather than a nuclear disaster or a plague wiping out humanity it's a host of angels attacking from heaven that wipes out all the major cities. This isn’t ever explained very well and it seems like even the angels aren’t all that sure why they attacked the humans.

Penryn is an interesting character. She is small but tough. Penryn’s mother thinks that she (the mother) gets possessed by demons and is worried about hurting her daughter during one of her demonic episodes. As a result of this insanity Penryn has been trained to fight from a very young age. Penryn has this very practical attitude towards life and just kind of goes with everything. Her dedication to her family is admirable.

The other main character is the angel that Penryn rescues, Raffe. To be honest Raffe is kind of a pretencious jerk through the first part of the story...then again Penryn isn’t very nice to him. As the story continues we learn that Raffe is a complex set of secrets and has a very complicated history of his own.

There is a lot of grotesque and horrific stuff in here. Including cannibalism, genetic tampering/torture of small children, and of course angels attacking humans in brutal ways. There is actually quite a bit of talk about sex as well; the angels really love human women and Penryn is constantly in danger of being sexually assaulted. Needless to say it's an incredibly dark story with very little light or hope throughout.

The book was decently enough written, but this book just basically sets everything up. We don't ever get any resolution around anything by the end of the book. There is no explanation as to why the angels have attacked humanity, as to why humanity couldn't defend themselves, or even much explanation about the angels' society in general.

Then there is the whole star-crossed love thing going on between Penryn and the angel she saves. This kind of made me roll my eyes a bit. I get a bit sick of the tortured man forbidden to love a human girl thing that seems to be ever present in paranormal YA.

Overall I didn't really love this book, but I didn't hate it either. It was somewhat engaging and an okay read. I did like the idea of angels causing an apocalypse, that was creative and intriguing....however, why all this happens is never really addressed. Penryn is an okay heroine, but didn’t really stand out for me. The world is interesting but not all that well developed. I guess in general I am just a bit sick of post-apocalyptic YA and this book didn’t change my mind about that. So if you are a huge fan of post-apocalyptic YA I would tentatively recommend this to you. I personally will not be reading any more of this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge/a>
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Early Review - Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: July 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0738736433
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for review
Rating: 4/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. Thanks to Flex and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to review this book. What first drew me to this book was the stunning cover and title. I was convinced to read it after reading the synopsis about a girl who cannot feel emotions but sees them as people. This was a very interesting read, incredibly creative but I had some trouble with the plausibility of it all.

Elizabeth doesn’t feel any emotions; she is never happy, sad, angry, afraid...she doesn’t know why. It makes her family fear her and also makes it very hard to make friends. However she does see emotions as people. She will see Guilt and Resentment standing behind her abused mother, and Anger at her father’s shoulder. Sometimes she sees Courage standing at a boy’s back as her works up the courage to ask out a girl at school. All of the Emotions have given up on Elizabeth however...that is except for Fear. Fear is fascinated by Elizabeth and constantly visits her trying to scare her, he is obsessed and determined to find out what made her the way she is. As Fear helps Elizabeth unravel her past and the accident that made her this way, another mysterious figure starts showing up and warning Elizabeth to leave well enough alone.

This book has a very creative and interesting premise. The idea of Emotions being omnipresent entities that visit people to influence their reactions is really interesting.

The ambiguity of concept driving this book (emotions as people or the lack of Emotion) does lead to the book being a bit confusing at times and the idea of emotions being people seems a bit improbable. I had some trouble with the scenes where Elizabeth is describing the Emotions she sees around the classroom at school. She usually sees a few Emotions standing around at a time, which I thought was improbable. Wouldn’t you think a room full of teenagers would be packed from wall to wall with Emotions if Emotions were people? If you can get beyond this issue, then the book becomes a lot easier to read.

Elizabeth is an interesting heroine. She is pretty uninspiring in the beginning of the book. Since she has no emotions and doesn’t really react to anything, she is very hard to engage with. This is a bit of a flaw in the book, how do you get readers to engage with a heroine that is disengaged from everything? Still as Elizabeth unravels the mystery of her past she changes, and by the end of the book I found her to be a lot more interesting. Elizabeth has a horrible home life and lives with an incredibly abusive father. This was an interesting situation for an emotionless person to be in and it was interesting to see how Elizabeth dealt with the abuse when she really didn’t care about much beyond survival.

THe character that steals the show in this book is Fear. Of course Fear is sexy, dark, brooding, and dangerous...just like real fear. His determination to get Elizabeth to feel him and to unravel her secret past is fascinating. He is a very driven and emotional character, and of course a bit mysterious. The fact that everyone around Elizabeth acts...well....fearful when Fear is beside her makes for some interesting situations. Fear also likes to break the rules and mess with the universe in general. He was just an awesome character.

The other main male character, Josh, is a sweet cowboyish boy who has known Elizabeth forever and really cares for her. He is a bit vanilla but does truly stand by Elizabeth’s side when no one else will. He provided good balance to the rather crazy Emotions wandering around.

There is a lot of pain and sadness in this story. Elizabeth’s best friend, Maggie, is very sick with cancer throughout and that was very very sad to read about. What Elizabeth, her brother, and her mother go through because of their abusive father is also hard to read about. When the Emotion Nightmare enters the story there are graphic scenes of torture that were also very difficult to read. Lastly as Elizabeth uncovers her past she finds it steeped in more sadness and misery. Despite all the sadness the end of the book left me feeling hopeful and happy, so it all balanced out well.

The book was well written and easy to read. It was a very engaging story. Things wrap up nicely and there are some creative twists and turns. There is also some excellent imagery and description that really brings the story alive.

Overall I enjoyed this book. This book was incredibly creative and Fear was a wonderful character. The situations the emotionless Elizabeth are put into are very painful to read about, but they are also fascinating. This is one of those books that you will think back to after you finish reading it. The mystery of Elizabeth’s past is unraveled in way that well-paced and engaging. The only drawback to the story is that with all these ambiguous concepts the story gets a bit confusing at times. I definitely recommend this to fans of YA who are looking for something different to read and I am curious as to what Sutton will come up with in the future.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Debut Author Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna Dressed in Blood, Book 1) by Kendare Blake (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Horror
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: August 30, 2011
ISBN: 978-0765328658
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Anna Dressed in Blood series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

I have had this book sitting on my shelf to read for quite some time. I am going to be blunt and say I originally wanted to read this book because of the intriguing and hauntingly beautiful cover. Once I read the synopsis I found that the story sounded intriguing as well. I enjoyed this book, it was a like YA novel version of the Supernatural TV series. It never got too scary for me, but was still very creepy. There is a sequel to this book called Girl of Nightmares that has already been released.

Cas has inherited an interesting job from his father, he kills the dead. Cas is especially interested in killing the dead that are horribly violent and dangerous to the rest of humanity, these are the ghosts who rip people apart in the night or shove cars off of roads. Cas has been doing this job since his father was viciously killed one night and Cas inherited the knife that can damage the dead. Cas has a side mission to hunt down the ghost that murdered his father. As a result of this vocation Cas and his mom hop from place to place, going wherever the trail of dead lead them. That’s when Cas here’s about Anna, aka Anna Dressed in Blood. She haunts a house and what she does to the people who venture in there is truly disturbing. Little does Cas no that Anna is unlike any ghost he’s ever dealt with before.

This was a very well done book. Much of it reminds me of the Supernatural TV series, so if you enjoy that TV show I think you would enjoy this book. Cas and his mom have kind of inherited this ghost hunting thing from Cas’s dad. Cas does a lot of research about ghosts to find the ones that are dangerous, he also gets tips from some of his acquaintances. Of course beneath all of this you have Cas’s terrible desire for vengeance against the ghost that brutally murdered his father.

Cas is an interesting character. He’s kind of chameleon, he can fit in anywhere. He’s very good at blending in at high school and fitting in with the popular group right away because that is where he needs to be to get the information he needs to get. So it’s an interesting contrast. He’s a bit of a loner, yet everyone wants to hang out with him.

Anna is fascinating as well, she has a horribly tortured past and is an interesting mystery to unravel. She is a surprisingly engaging character and, despite her horribleness, you end up very attached to her by the end of the book.

There is a bit of high school drama here when Cas starts hanging with a popular girl, Carmel, and Carmel’s ex gets all bent out of shape. I enjoyed how Carmel, Cas, and Thomas end up joining together to figure out the mystery of Anna.

There is a lot of character development throughout. Cas goes from being a total loner to learning the value of having friends to back him up. Thomas and Carmel also change and mature a lot throughout the book as they learn to deal with the world Cas faces from day to day.

There is a lot of creepy stuff and gore in this book as well, but I never thought it was over the top or too scary. I enjoyed the level of creepy and there were a couple parts where I had this urge to hide under my covers because the suspense was just killing me.

The story is very well written and easy to read. I love that the text throughout the book is in a deep maroon color; it added to the creepiness. Part of the story is wrapped up very well, but the book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. I was happy to see that there is a sequel to wrap things up.

Overall this was a very well done YA horror/ghost story. I enjoyed it alot. I loved the complex characters and the way they grew and developed through the story. I love the whole theme of fighting off the dead who are killing humans. I also loved the idea of a horribly violent ghost that the reader can be sympathetic towards. There is some excellent mystery, some excellent creepy, and just wonderful moody writing in here. I really enjoyed it and strongly recommend to those who love YA horror. Things never got so gorey or creepy that I felt ill reading this book, but it was still enough to be spooky and scare me. Highly recommended, I am very excited to read Girl of Nightmares.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

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Audiobook Review - Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: August 7, 2001
ISBN: 978-0064410342
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars


I have had this book to read forever and was so excited to finally get around to reading it. I watched the movie a long time ago and enjoyed it, but wanted more depth to that interesting story. This was a well done fantasy book, that had an old time fairy tale feel to it. My main complaint that the ending was a bit rushed. There are two sequels to this book: Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator has an English accent which fits this fairy tale type of story perfectly and did a wonderful job with the character voices.

Sophie is the eldest of three children in a hat-makers shop. As such, she feels that she is destine to lead a boring and uneventful life. Things change when she runs afoul of the Witch of the Waste while selling the Witch a hat. The Witch turns Sophie into an old woman. Sophie leave the hat shop and journeys to Howl’s Castle in hope that he can break the spell on her and return her to her youthful self.

This was a well done children's book with a fairy tale feel to it. The world is a typical olden time fantasy world with Kings and magic and castles. I loved the idea of Howl’s floating castle and the Wicked Witch of the west. This is a magical story full of lessons on life, love, and happiness.

The characters did leave a bit to be desired for me though. Sophie’s personality matches that of a cranky old woman perfectly, even before she is a cranky old woman. I think that is part of the irony in her being turned into a cranky old woman. I didn’t really enjoy her all that much. The huge decision she makes to go Howl’s castle she blames on being in shock from the transformation and to be honest she doesn’t do much but be incredibly stubborn for large portions of the book. She also is very caustic and rude to Howl throughout the whole book. She never lets him get a word in edgewise and never lets him actually explain anything. She continually calls Howl a “slitherer-outer”, which seems hypocritical to me since Sophie is constantly trying the slither out of her own live and out of making any decisions.

I like Howl’s character better but he was still hard to engage with. Howl is a first rate womanizer and (Sophie is right, he is a slitherer-outer) tries to get out of having any responsibilities at all. He pretends to be mysterious and hard-hearted but it is extremely apparent that he is not any of those things. He was a very stereotypical bachelor type character (he has a messy house, eat poorly, and is always after women).

The best character of the bunch is Calcifier, the fire demon that lives in Howl’s fireplace. He is much more fascinating than either Sophie or Howl, and I would have liked to read more about him.

Sophie’s sisters are also delightful characters. They are full of mischief and add more life to the story than Sophie ever does. I especially enjoyed Sophie’s sister’s magic teacher, she was a funny and engaging character.

Behind all of the Sophie/Howl disagreements there is a larger part to the plot. The King wants Howl to rescue his brother from the Witch of the Waste, of course HOwl is doing his best not to get involved. This part of the story was largely in the background. To be honest this portion of the story isn’t really dealt with until very late in the book. The way it wraps up is creative and interesting, but also very rushed and a bit confusing. This would have been better if Jones had taken a bit more time to explain and wrap up the mystery behind the Witch of the Waste and the King’s brother.

So to be honest, while I enjoyed this cute little fairy tale story, it didn’t awe me or blow me away. The characters left something to be desired, the pacing was slow in the beginning and rushed at the ending, also things get a bit confusing at the end and could have used some better explanation.

In addition to the above there are some mysteries around the “other world” Howl goes to that are never well explained. The “romance” between Howl and Sophie (if you can even call it that) felt forced, awkward, and rushed as well.

Overall this was a decent fairy tale like story. I enjoyed the world and Howl’s magical castle and the whimsical tone to the story. I also enjoyed Calcifer the fire demon and his sharp wit. I thought Howl and Sophie were probably the least interesting characters in the book. I also thought the pacing was off and that there were a lot of things left unanswered. After writing this review I guess I felt a bit let down by this book, my expectations were really high though....so that’s kind of my own fault. I most likely will not be reading the sequels to this book. There are just too many other wonderful middle grade fantasy stories out there to read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Review - If I Should Die (Revenants, Book 3) by Amy Plum (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062004031
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Revenants Trilogy
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the final book in the Revenants Trilogy. It was did an excellent job of wrapping up things nicely. I love how we are finally seeing Kate step up and take action.

The book starts exactly where the last book left off (at that horrible cliffhanger!). Kate is determined to find a way to save Vincent even though his fate seems sealed. Meanwhile Violette is gathering more and more numa in Paris in preparation for a final war with the good Revenants.

The majority of the story is spent with Kate and company trying to find a way to save Vincent’s soul somehow. This was actually really interesting and I enjoyed the crazy magic Bran performed and how everything worked out.

However this led to the whole epic battle between the good and bad Revenants being incredibly rushed, I mean seriously the main portion of the battle happens in 20 pages or something like that. So, that was a bit disappointing. There was a lot that happened in the last little bit of the book and it happened so fast that I was like...woah...seriously rushed here.

Kate is an excellent character. She continues to give off a “girl-next-door” type of vibe but she has also become more confident and seems to have found her purpose. Her relationship with Vincent is still a bit too lovey dovey for me. People who are huge fans of Kate/Vincent scenes might be a bit disappointed because they don’t get a ton of page space together...there is just too much else going on.

The main storyline was resolved well. It is pretty darn predictable, but there are a couple small twists and turns I didn’t see coming. I was hoping for some big surprises but there really weren’t any. That being said it was still a very engaging story. There was more mystery solving in this book as Kate and crew tried to hunt down a way to help Vincent and less action.

Although the main storyline was resolved there were a number of side characters with unresolved issues. The main one of these is Jules. He disappears for large portions of the story and seems to have things going on that we never get to hear about. I predict a offshoot of this series featuring Jules sometime in the future.

Overall this was a great conclusion to the series. It was entertaining and well written. I enjoyed the mystery behind trying to save Vincent and enjoyed the strong and capable girl Kate has become. I can’t say much else without spoilers, so I won’t. The story was a bit predictable though and the ending did feel pretty rushed. Still, overall I thought this was a creative series and I enjoyed it so I will definitely read more of Amy Plum’s works in the future. This is recommended to fans of YA paranormal books.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review- When Twilight Burns (Gardella Vampire Chronicles, Book 4) by Colleen Gleason (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: HIstorical Paranormal
Size: 354 pages
Publisher: Signet
Release Date: August 5, 2008
ISBN: 978-0451224750
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles
Source: Swapped
Rating: 4/5 stars


This is the fourth book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles. There are five books in this series, the fifth is As Shadows Fade and is already out. I thought this was the strongest book of the series yet. Victoria has really stepped up to her position of head of the Gardella.

Victoria returns to London to deal with her husband’s estate. However, while there she uncovers a strange murder done by a vampire that can walk in the sun. Mysteriously she seems to be at a number of the murder sites at inopportune times and it appears that someone is trying to blame the murders on her. To make things more difficult it looks like Lilith is back in town as too.

This was a great continuation of this series. Victoria has really stepped into her position as leader of the Gardella nicely. I love that she has to train to keep her kick-butt moves and strength and that she does so faithfully. I also love that she saves herself more often than not, but is not afraid to call for back-up when she needs it. She has developed into a strong and admirable heroine who is a far cry from the woman we meet in the first book of this series.

We see a lot of both Sebastian and Max in this book and there is finally some wonderful resolution around this love triangle. Both Sebastian and Max are wonderful male characters, they each bring a lot to the story.

Lilith is back in the story and is just as creepy as ever. It was nice to see the storyline featuring Lilith moving forward and I am incredibly curious to see how things play out in the final book.

One of my favorite parts of these books is the incredibly witty banter between the characters, it makes me laugh and is very entertaining. These are just such fun books to read. The series continues to remind me of a Victorian Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The book was well written, engaging, and easy to read. This is a book that is just pure fun and escapism. I thought it wrapped up well but am dying to see how everything wraps up as this series comes to a close.

Overall a great continuation in this series, probably the best book yet. I love the inclusion of a new type of vampire, I love Victoria as a character, and enjoy both the fighting scenes and the witty banter between all of the characters. This is a very fun series to read. I would recommend to those you enjoy Victorian vampire stories with streak of romance, mystery, and some good action scenes. I can’t wait to read the final book, As Shadows Fade.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Early Review - Dance of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death, Book 2) by Bethany Griffin (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Steampunk
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: June 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062107824
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Masque of the Red Death series
Source: eGalley through Edelweiss
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the second and final book in the Masque of the Red Death duology by Griffin. I really loved both books in this series. I love the contrast between grime settings and beauty of the crazy world that is created here.

Araby is fleeing the city she loves so much with members of the Rebellion. They need to regroup and find a way to save their city. Araby wants to return to the city to find her father and hopefully a cure for April. Elliot on the other hand wants to raid the Prince’s palace so he can return to the city with much needed food and weapons. Both of them are determined to find a way to cure the Red Death and cleanse the city of its disease.

Griffin does such an excellent job with this world and with creating a bleak and dark atmosphere that is sprinkled with bright glimmers of beauty. This is a world of disease and grotesque beauty where even the smallest glimmers of good will and hope stand out brilliantly. The language throughout is beautiful and really made these scenes come alive for me.

In this book we learn more about the Red Death and about the disease that struck down the world before current time. We learn about Araby’s father’s involvement in the whole thing as well.

Much of this book is dedicated to Araby searching out her father while Elliot plots to take the city away from the Prince (his uncle). Along the way they must dodge the men of the man who has been terrorizing the city, who is Elliot’s father (although Elliot isn’t aware of this in the beginning of the book, Araby is). There is much rabble rousing and strategizing and a mystery to be solved about a mysterious machine that can drain the swamp away from the city.

There is still a love triangle going on between Araby, Elliot, and Will. I liked how all of this wrapped up; I thought it was appropriate and fit the story well.

I also liked Araby a lot more in this book than the last one; she is much less naive and takes more action. You can tell she is finally emerging from the depression that gripped her in the first book. While she dislikes the gore and death around her she never flinches from it and does what needs to be done. She still comes across as weak at times, but you can tell she is finally turning into someone she is comfortable with.

Griffin does a phenomenal job of giving the reader the unexpected; for example in the darkest and dankest of settings the characters will have some of the most tender and loving scenes while in the gilttery beauty of a ballroom the most awful and horrible things will happen. I really enjoyed the unexpected contrast in these scenes.

The story does have a bit of a steampunk feel to it; there are airships and clockwork mechanisms, as well as some tinkering with genetics. Society has reverted to Victorian type of sensibilities, so this also lends a bit of a steampunk vibe to the story. However this story is also one about a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by disease and about the people who try to survive in it. There is also a gothic feel to the story with all of the Victorian-like tragedy and talk of death.

I thought this book wrapped up the series well and did an excellent job doing it. The writing flowed well, was engaging, and the book was very easy to read. Mostly I just had trouble putting it down!

Overall an absolutely wonderful conclusion to this duology. I really enjoyed how Araby grew as a character and continue to love this dark and dreadful world. I also loved the beautiful writing and how Griffith often had beautiful things happen in horrible settings or visa versa; the contrast between beauty and tragedy was interesting and ironic. I definitely recommend this series to fans of YA books; this is a creative YA read that is a bit steampunk, a bit gothic, and a bit post-apocalyptic.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Get Steampunk’d Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Color Coded Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Book 1) by Rick Riordan (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 576 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1423113461
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Heroes of Olympus series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series by Riordan. There are five books planned for this series, the series is a spin-off from the Percy Jackson series and takes place after the last Percy Jackson book. I enjoyed the book, it was well done. If you enjoyed the Percy Jackson series I think you would enjoy this book as well. You don’t have to read the Percy Jackson series to understand what is going on in this book, however that series does provide a lot of excellent background for this new series.

I listened to this on audiobook and really enjoyed it. The narrator did an excellent job with the different character voices and with conveying the characters’ emotions. This book uses a different narrator than the Percy Jackson series which was a good idea for starting a new series like this. I would definitely recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.

The book is told from three points of view. Jason, Piper, and Leo all go to the Wilderness School for troubled children. Jason, however, has no memory of how he got there or who he is. Piper is the daughter of a famous actor and has a secret of her own. Leo can build things, pretty much out of nothing. All three of them end up at Camp Half-Blood and are sent on quest to help the Gods face a new and dangerous enemy.

This book was a solid addition to the extended Percy Jackson world. This book features a different set of characters. It's a bit formulaic, but I liked the Percy Jackson books so I am okay with more of the samish type of story done in a different sort of way.

All of the characters are very engaging, easy to relate to and interesting. They all have a lot of depth to them and have secrets and mysteries they need to unravel. As in the Percy Jackson books, all three of them need to figure out who their godly parent is.

They go on a quest to free Hera from capture and along the way find out they are facing an enemy even more dangerous than the Titans. I won’t say a lot more than that about the plot. As with previous books by Riordan there are lots of excellent action scenes and encounters with crazy and creepy mythological creatures. There is a lot of humor throughout as well which makes these books a fun read.

I pretty much liked all of the characters equally. It was nice to have part of the story from a girl’s (Piper’s) perspective. This should make the book a bit easier for young girls to relate to as well. I enjoyed the characters’ interesting powers too.

As I said above the layout of the book is very similar to other books Riordan has written; the characters get a quest, fight an evil monster, travel, fight another evil monster, travel to beat a tight timeline and then confront a very big bad monster. I enjoy the action and the mythological creatures, so I happen to enjoy the story even if it is similar in structure to previous ones.

I love how this books builds on the Percy Jackson series some. We do hear about the characters from the Percy Jackson series and they are in the story some. They don’t play a major part in the story, but they are there in the background and occasionally the foreground influencing events and helping out our new characters.

Overall this was a very enjoyable and entertaining read. I loved the expansion on the world we were introduced to in the Percy Jackson series. I enjoyed the new characters a lot and found them interesting and easy to engage with. I love the new plot and the new big bad enemy that these heroes have to face. I also enjoyed the mythological fights and creatures that we run into throughout the story. I definitely recommend this to fans of middle grade fantasy. I also recommend to anyone who enjoyed the Percy Jackson series. I can’t wait to read The Son of Neptune now!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - Summerkin (Winterling, Book 2) by Sarah Prineas (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size:272 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0061921063
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Winterling series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This book is the second in the Winterling series. The series will continue in Moonkind which is scheduled for a Jan 2014 release date. I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one, it was a wonderful middle grade fantasy involving fey. I would definitely recommend reading Winterling before reading this book.

In the last book Fer defeated the evil Mor making her the Lady of the Summerlands. Now Fer is back in the human lands and longs to return to the Summerlands. When she returns her people don’t know what to make of her and her unique way of doing things. This includes the High Ones who request that Fer journey to their lands to compete in a contest that will prove whether or not she is the true Lady of Summerlands.

This is a magical story full of adventure and intrigue with enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and entertained. It’s appropriate for all ages as well, although one of Fer’s competitors is very cruel to those around him.

I love Fer as a character. She has times when she is uncertain of her actions but always decides to stay true to what she thinks is right. Everyone is telling her she is ruling the Summerland in the wrong way, but she sticks with what she believes to be right. I also loved her kindness and her loyalty to those she considered friends.

Rook plays a large part in the story as well. As a pouka his loyalty to Fer is constantly called into question. He himself struggles with the call to be true to his family of poukas and his yearning to help out Fer as a friend.

A good portion of the novel is spent with Fer in competition with some other competitors. They were all interesting characters and these scenes were action-packed and engaging. Going on along with this storyline there is the mystery of a missing crown.

My favorite part of this book is the world. The descriptions are incredibly well done and create excellent imagery for the reader. There are new creative and magical things around every corner so you never know what to expect.

The book is well written and a fairly easy read. The plot isn’t incredibly complex (it’s written for young readers) but it is complex enough to keep an adult interested and engaged.

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot. I love the magical world and the wonderful creative descriptions throughout. Fer is an excellent example of a growing girl who is trying to do what she believes in, even if doing what everyone else thinks is right would be the easier path. This is an absolutely wonderfully creative and engaging fantasy, I highly recommend it to all ages of readers who love fantasy. I can’t wait to read Moonkind when it releases.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge

Review -Asunder (Newsoul, Book 2) by Jodi Meadows (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: January 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062060785
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Newsoul series
Source: Gift
Rating: 4/5 stars


This is the second book in the Newsoul series. The third book in this trilogy is not titled yet, but is expected to release in early 2014. I really enjoy the creative world this story is set in. The idea behind Ana being a Newsoul is also very creative.

Ana is still struggling with what it means to be a newsoul and she is determined to uncover the secrets she first found out about in the first book, Incarnate. Her and Sam leave on a journey to do some research to uncover these secrets. Then they get a notice that one of their friends is going to give birth, strangely when the baby is born it is also a newsoul. With more lives dependant on the Newsouls’ acceptance into Heart’s society Ana struggles harder than ever to unravel the mystery of the Newsouls. But things are getting tougher for Ana, the sylphs are responding differently to her and more and more of Heart’s population is turning against Ana in a very violent way.

This continues to be a fascinating series. Ana is the first new soul born into a society that is thousands of years old. No one knows why Ana was born and the soul she replaced was sent on. Feelings are bitter towards Ana, many see her as a waste of space since she doesn’t come to their society backed by thousands of years of knowledge. Many have told her she can’t love because her soul is too young.

Ana is a stubborn and caring character. I love how she stands up for herself and her friends. She is smart and determined to unravel the secrets that make the center of Heart’s existence.

Sam is a wonderful lead male. At times his love for Ana was a bit too all encompassing, but he is respectful and supportive of her. It is interesting how thoroughly he supports the addition of these Newsouls into the current society.

The whole idea behind this story is very interesting and very clever. It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before. The implications of a society where the people are reborn for thousands of years (the same people over and over again) is intriguing. The idea of someone new being thrust into this type of society continues to be fascinating.

The world itself is an interesting one. There are dragons and sylphs and other magical creatures. We learn a lot more about the sylphs and how they came to be in this book. The characters all live in the center of an active caldera, so that makes for very interesting terrain. You have hot springs and geysers, things like that.

The story was well done and had a number of twists and turns throughout that keep the reader guessing. A lot is revealed about the formation and history of Heart in this book. The book is well written, flows well, is paced well, and is easy to read.

Overall I really enjoyed the continuation of this series. I didn’t love it quite as much as the first book, mainly because this idea and world aren’t completely new and novel to me anymore. Still I think it is a very creative premise for a story and I love this world. I really enjoy Ana’s character and watching her unravel all of these crazy mysteries. I would recommend this series to those who love YA paranormal books but also enjoy fantasy. This book has a YA paranormal feel to it but is also very much a pure fantasy type story.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge