Review - The Daylight War (The Demon Cycle, Book 3) by Peter V. Brett (2.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Size: 656 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: February 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-0345503824
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Demon Cycle
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 2.5/5 stars


This is the third book in the Demon Cycle by Brett. The fourth book will be titled, The Skull Throne, and is scheduled for a 2014 release. I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley. Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the chance to review this book. Like the previous book, this book was incredibly slow moving until the last 100 pages or so. There is a lot that I didn’t really enjoy about this book.

The story starts out following Arlen and Renna as they journey back to Cutter’s Hollow. Then it flashes back to Inevera’s past. From then on we bounce between Inevera’s past and present; while occasionally hearing from Arlen or Leesha in the present.

The story about Inevera’s past recounts a lot of events we have already been present for, but this time we see them from Inevera’s perspective. These parts are lengthy...but still seem rushed...like Brett is trying to give a quick outline of a whole series full of events from Inevera’s perspective. The book would have been better without this back story...it just bogged things down so much.

Much of the book is spent basically getting everyone back to Cutter’s Hollow. We hear from Arlen and Renna as they travel back. We hear from Leesha and Rojur as they travel back from Jardir’s conquered city. Then we spend a ton of time listening as Cutter’s Hollow is expanded and fortified.

Additionally we visit Jardir’s new capital and listen as he deals with bickering between his sons and people, and as he tries to make plans to conquer the rest of the Northern lands. Mostly it’s fairly boring and slow moving stuff.

Having Arlen and Renna proclaim their love for each other was cute in the first couple chapters. Having them repeat “Love you Arlen”, “love you Renna” continuously is just silly and obnoxious. Seriously it felt like half of these two characters’ dialogue through the entire book was “Love you Arlen” “Love you Renna”. Ugh...it got to be too much.

There is also way too much in here about Leesha’s love life and her struggle to find men to have sex with. Also I am not impressed with how our chosen few characters keep gaining more and more unbelievable powers (Arlen, Reena, Rojur). Arlen, Reena, and Rojur are gaining seriously crazy powers at a very rapid rate.

Additionally new types of demons pop up randomly with no previous explanation or structure. It’s like “Oh look there is lightening...hey let’s make that a lightning demon”...it’s never even been mentioned before but they must exist!...so whatever.

As with the previous book the last part of this book features a huge epic battle with mind demons and mimics. This part is very engaging. There are a couple of surprises right at the end that will really grab and engage the reader.

Just be warned this story ends on an absolutely horrible cliffhanger. After spending forever wading through this excruciatingly slow story and finally getting to the good part at the end....then to be left how Brett left his readers....well...it really pissed me off. I hate it when authors depend on cliffhangers to engage their readers. They should really just work on making the story tighter and more engaging.

Overall not my favorite installment in this series. I am so sick of unnecessary flashbacks into random characters’ pasts. It just drags out the story forever. The characters that were so heartfelt and complex in earlier installments are turning into superpowered caricatures of themselves. The pace is excruciatingly slow...after nearly 700 pages we aren’t all that much further along in the story than we were in The Desert Spear. Then there is the horrible cliffhanger that the book ends up. Seriously, I am done with this series. Just absolutely done.

Check out Brandon Sanderson’s books, Robert Jordan, Brent Weeks, or Michale J. Sullivan for excellent epic fantasy that is entertaining and actually goes somewhere. I would personally skip this series...it started out pretty good...but has just degraded from the first book on.

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

Audiobook Review - The Desert Spear (The Demon Cycle, Book 2) by Peter V. Brett (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Size: 672 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0345524140
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Demon Cycle
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars


This is the second book in the Demon Cycle trilogy. I didn’t enjoy it as much as The Warded Man, the first part of the book was really a drag . The second portion of the book really sucked me in though and convinced me to keep reading the series.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator does an excellent job of distinguishing between character voices and conveying the emotions of the characters. I definitely recommend listening to this on audiobook.

The first part of the book goes back and forth in time following the story of Jardir, who leads the Krasians. He was a villain in the first book, but here we learn how he rose to power. About a third of the way through the book we go back to Kylar, Rojur and Leesha and what they are doing at Cutter’s Hollow. Some of the story also focuses on Renna (the girl Kylar was promised to when he was young) and her struggles. All of the events are leading to war between the Krasian and the Northern folks.

All of the characters go through quite a bit of character development. I will bluntly say I do not like Jardir and I did not like reading about him. It is fine to want the readers to understand the villain a bit better, but I didn’t need to spend half the book reading his back story...seriously I just didn’t care all that much.

Because of the long digression through Jardir’s back story, the story progresses at a crawl. We really don’t get much past the point where we ended in book one. Yes there are some battles and the story progresses some, but really half of this book didn’t need to be here.

The second half of this book is very well done. The characters and world are intricate and fascinating. I loved the addition of Renna to the story as well, she really brings something special to the story. The Warded Man continues to gain interesting and new powers.

----------SPOILER START-----------------
Why is it that all the featured female characters have to be raped in the story? It is a right of passage or something? Is there a reason why we can’t have a strong female lead that hasn’t been raped, beaten, and abused? Just curious why this seems to be a prerequisite for all the females in this book...
----------SPOILER END-------------------

The book is well written and the second half of the book redeems the first half. Seriously though this is a really, really long book...and it feels really, really long. It wasn’t a fun kind of long either, the first half was a truly epic struggle for me to get through. I can only hope that future books move the story along a bit faster and don’t digress into side stories that are unnecessary.

Overall a decent read. I enjoyed the second half of the book immensely but throught that the first half that was dedicated to Jardir’s back story was an epic waste of time. I have The Daylight War to review, so hopefully that will be a quicker moving read. I tentatively recommend this series to fans of epic fantasy. The characters and world are very well done; the book just needs to be cleaned up and have a more concise plot.

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

Review - Seeds of Rebellion (Beyonders, Book 2) by Brandon Mull (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 512 pages
Publisher: Aladdin
Release Date: March 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-1416997948
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Beyonders Trilogy
Source: Bought
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the second book in the Beyonders trilogy. The third book will be titled Chasing the Prophecy and is scheduled for a March 2013 release. I had a lot of trouble reading this book. It is a decent story, but nowhere near the quality of Mull's Fablehaven series. I just couldn’t stay engaged with the story or the characters and this book was a struggle to get through.

Jason is itching to get back to Lyrian after being sent home at the end of the first book. When he gets there he runs around telling people that the Word did not work to destroy the evil wizard Maldor. Rachel meanwhile has meet up with a charm woman and is leaning more about how to use Words.

Seriously Jason runs around telling people the Word didn’t destroy Maldor for the first half of the book. Jason also gathers people together and journeys back to the Blind King. At this point we are over halfway through the book.

Eventually we track through the jungle, meet more Seed people, and go through a zombie infested wasteland. So there is a lot of adventuring and some fighting. I just felt like the pacing was way off and Jason didn't know his purpose or accomplish much for large portions of the book. I almost stopped reading halfway through because nothing was happening.

We do get to meet some excellent new characters. Jason is accompanied by a smuggler named Aram, who is half-giant, and we see a lot more of Ferrick and Ned (who is incredibly adept at poisons).

Rachel also learns to speak magic words and becomes a force to be reckoned with. I enjoyed Rachel's character growth and wish we had spend a lot more time hearing from her. Instead most of the book is told from Jason's POV and he just doesn't grow much or do anything all that interesting in this book.

While the book is decently written, I thought the pacing left a lot to be desired. I just found my mind wandering a lot and had a really tough time staying engaged in the story. There are so many characters in this book that we don’t get to know any of them really well, so that also makes it difficult to care about what’s happening.

Overall an okay addition to this series, but not great. I didn’t like the first book in this series a ton either. So, I guess if you were a huge fan of the first book in this series you will probably enjoy this one. I would definitely recommend reading Mull’s Fablehaven series over this one, in my opinion that is just a much more well written series. At this point I don’t think I will be reading the third book in this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Zombie Reading Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - The Warded Man (The Demon Cycle, Book 1) by Peter V. Brett (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 480 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: March 23, 2010
ISBN: 978-0345518705
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Demon Cycle
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars


This is the first book in The Demon Cycle by Brett. The series is supposed to have five books; the third will be titled The Daylight Wars and is scheduled for a Feb 2013 release. The fourth and fifth books are tentatively titled The Forest Fortress and The Core. I really enjoyed this book it has excellent world building, characters that are easy to engage with and an epic story.

I listened to this on audiobook and I really enjoyed it. The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing between character voices and capturing the characters’ personalities.

This follows the story of Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer. Arlen leaves his small village to learn how to be a messenger and ends up apprenticing as a warder. Leesha dodges marrying the town bully and apprentices as a healer. Rojer, loses his parents but becomes a jongleur. They all live in a world where the night is plagued by demons known as Corelings.

This is a very well done fantasy. There are a lot of characters but they are presented in such a way that they are easy to keep track of and relate to. The world is well done and creative. The characters are likable and easy to engage with. This is one of the few epic fantasies that has an engaging female lead that offsets the male leads very nicely.

Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer have both dark and light aspects to their characters, but unlike some fantasies they are clearly the good characters in this story.

The Corelings are clearly the evil that needs to be vanquished in this world. In the beginning of the story they are kind of just a massive evil that everyone fears. As the story continues though we are slowly starting to learn that there is more to the Corelings than we first knew.

The story does move slowly but the characters are well done and easy to engage with. I love the magic of warding and enjoyed this detailed world plagued by demons. The story covers a broad span of time and switches POV between the three main characters. The POVs worked perfectly for this story.

The book is very easy to read and very well written. I can’t wait to see what future books in this series hold.

The only thing that really bothered me about this book is the notion that no one had ever thought to ward weapons or themselves before Arlen thought of it. Right from the first section where they are talking about ward posts I wondered why no one wore warded jewelry or wrote wards on themselves...but I guess if you can get past that point you’ll really enjoy this story.

Overall an excellent epic fantasy read. If you enjoy Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, or Michael Sullivan I think you will enjoy this book as well. The characters are easy to engage with and there are both strong female and male characters. The story is violent but not as bleak as Brent Week’s Night Angel series for example. The world is well done and intriguing. Highly recommended to fans of epic fantasy.

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

Review - Rise of Empire (Riyria Revelations Omnibus Edition, Book 2) by Michael Sullivan (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 816 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: December 14, 2011
ISBN: 978-0316187701
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Riyria Revelations Omnibus series (originally books 3-4)
Source: eGalley from NetGalley(dot)com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second book in the Omnibus editions of the Riyria Revelations and includes books 3, Nyphron Rising, and 4, The Emerald Storm, from the original series. There is one more omnibus edition that ties up this series, The Heir of Novron. I got a copy of this to review through netgalley(dot)com; thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for making review copies available. This was a great addition to the series and I think if you enjoy epic fantasy you will enjoy this book.

In Nyphron Rising Royce seeks to uncover more about Hadrian’s past and Hadrian is full of doubt about continuing his work as a thief. The princess hires them to help her travel to a neighboring kingdom to seek an alliance. Along the way they discover more about Hadrian’s origins and his past. The princess also comes into her own when she plots to get Nationalist help to save a city that is about to be taken over by the Empire. We also get to see Thrace serving as a figurehead Empress and see how she struggles with the aftermath of the events that occurred in the last book.

In The Emerald Storm Arista is struggling to run Ratibor when Ersahaddon shows up demanding she help him. When Ersahaddon is murdered Arista is left with an urgent mission to find the Heir of Novron and to find the Horn of Gylindora. Hadrian and Royce take on one last job, they are to board the ship the Emerald Storm and gather intel for the Prince.

This is a very well written and enjoyable epic fantasy. This book tended more towards epic fantasy than the first book. The first book was a bit more high fantasy or swords and sorcery. There are a lot of different plot threads going on and we hear from many different groups of characters. The story is truly epic at this point; it stretches across many nations and the actions the main characters take have repercussions that are felt across kingdoms.

The best part about this series is that there are both strong female and male characters here. This is combines with a wonderfully complex, yet easy to follow, plot.

Hadrian and Royce continue to play a large part in the story. Hadrian finds out a lot about his past in this book and struggles with the cause he thinks he should be living for. Hadrian is sick of being a thief and wants something more. Royce softens some in this book, he spends a lot of time with Gwen and seems ready to settle down with her. He is still one kick-butt thief and killer, but we see another side to him as well.

The characters that really come into their own in this installment are Arista and Thrace. Arista makes huge strides in her leadership ability and undergoes a lot of hardship in this story. As the last living sorcerer she has a lot of responsibility thrust upon her and she handles it admirably. Thrace spends a good portion of the Nyphorn Rising in a kind of exhausted stupor, but as her story continues in The Emerald Storm she really begins to show potential to grow into her position as Empress.

Much is revealed about the Heir of Novron but much is also still a mystery. There are a number of well done side characters that add a lot to the story as well. We are finding that things are going on in the background that our intrepid adventurers are unaware of. I am sure all of these things will culminate in the final book.

The book is very easy to read and well written. There is a lot of humor throughout which makes it a fun read. I am amazed at how complex the story is and yet how easy it is to follow. There are a lot of names in here but I never had trouble keeping track of the characters so kudos to Sullivan for that. There is also an index of characters and maps included in the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot and highly recommend it to fantasy fans. If you enjoy Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, etc I think you will really enjoy this series. This book is more epic fantasy than the first one is, but there is still a lot of adventure and action mixed in with all of the intrigue and politics. This whole series is highly recommended.

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

Review - The Kingmakers (Vampire Empire, Book 3) by Clay and Susan Griffith (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 374 pages
Publisher: Pyr
Release Date: September 4, 2012
ISBN: 978-1616146740
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Vampire Empire series
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the concluding novel in the Vampire Empire trilogy. It was an excellent end to the series. Lots of wonderful action, some romance, and epic battles. These are some great characters in a truly creative world.

Adele is launching an all out attack on the Northern European vampires. She is set on using her Geomancy to its fullest to save lives and reduce combat time. At her side helping support her cause is Gareth as the Greyfriar. As the war continues Gareth realizes he might make a larger difference by leaving Greyfriar behind and stepping up to claim his birthright.

This book is very well balanced. There is a well thought out and detailed world that is creative and interesting. The characters are likable and easy to engage with. There are lots of excellent military/battle scenes but also lots of tender scenes between Adele and Gareth. This book seamlessly blends steampunk themes with epic fantasy.

Adele and Gareth continue to be very well done characters. Adele is strong and smart and does what she has to for her country. Your heart goes out to her and Gareth and their star-crossed love, especially since with the war moving at a faster pace Adele has to use her Geomancy power more than ever which makes it so that Gareth can’t be near her without being in pain. It was pretty awesome to see Adele finally embrace her Geomancy.

Gareth continues to be a complex and interesting character who is completely and absolutely loyal to Adele. He grew a lot as a character in this story and finally begins to realize that his birthright allows him a lot of power to influence the war between vampires and humans.

The side characters are all very well done. Anhalt is loyal and completely supportive of Adele; he is one of the few who truly understands what she is dealing with. We learn a lot more about Mamoru and some of the decisions he makes feature strongly in the plot as well. Cesare doesn’t have a ton of page space but Flay does, and she has an interesting role to play in things.

This is a long book, but it doesn’t feel like it when you read it. I am not a huge fan of war-based storylines, but this book completely sucked me in. The writing it so well done and so easy to read. Everything is just in perfect balance.

So you want to know if Adele and Gareth get their fairy tale ending? Well I can’t you that without spoiling the book, but let’s just say I think readers will be pleased with how things are left. Things end in a way that I thought was plausible and, while up beat,wasn’t completely fairy tale unrealistic.

Overall an excellent conclusion to this series. I can’t wait to see what the Griffiths come up with next. If you are a fan of epic fantasy check this series out. If you are a fan of steampunk check this series out. It is a very creative and engaging series that balances action, politics, war, and romance incredibly well. Highly recommended.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- Steampunk Reading Challenge

Review - Crown of Embers (Girl of Fire and Thorns, Book 2) by Rae Carson (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: September 18, 2012
ISBN: 978-0062026514
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book of the Girl of Fire and Thorns series
Source: Borrowed through Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

This was the second book in the Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy. The last book will be titled The Bitter Kingdom and is scheduled for a Fall 2013 release. This was an absolutely wonderful fantasy book and an excellent continuation of this series.

Elisa is struggling with her position as Queen of a country that has been torn by war and is struggling to recover. She follows the power of her Godstone to go in search of more power to help her kingdom; all the while fleeing assassins. Accompanying her is the steadfast Hector along with others.

Elisa learns a lot about herself and what it means to be Queen and grows a lot throughout the story. You see hints of the laziness that Elisa showed in the beginning of the first book in this series. Elisa is kind of enjoying her status as hero of the realm but not really stepping up in her role as Queen. It takes a quest for power initiated by her Godstone to teach Elisa to be the ruler she is meant to be. Elisa is so human and tries so hard. She is smart, but lazy at times. It was wonderful to watch her grow in this book.

Elisa’s main love interest in this book is Hector. Hector is an intriguing character and we learn a lot more back story about him in this book. He is brave and steadfast. The romance that develops between him and Elisa is somewhat star-crossed, yet oh so very sweet. Their relationship is based on so much friendship and trust that it was a joy to read about.

The other characters surrounding Elisa are all intriguing, interesting, and have stories of their own woven into the story. They are all very well done.

This is an intricate and well thought out world. I love the hints we get throughout the book of what the world used to be before Elisa’s people arrived. There is a story behind that that I am eager to see unraveled.

This book was less about action and adventure and more about intrigue. That is not to say there aren’t a number of heart-pounding action scenes...but there are also a lot of scenes where Elisa is trying to navigate politics in order to provide the best situation for her people.

The story is more religious than most fantasies I read. I am not a big fan of religion in fantasy; but for this book it works. Religion is such a basic foundation of Elisa’s culture that it is woven seamlessly into the story. I will warn that the story ends at a horrible cliffhanger, which has me dying to know what happens next.

Overall this is a wonderful addition to this trilogy. The book is beautifully written with touches of humor and a super sweet love story entwined with an excellent world and intrigue filled plot. I couldn't put this book down. It is a bit more religious than most fantasies I read, but religion is such a part of the culture that it flows well with the story. This was just a wonderful book; I absolutely cannot wait to see what happens in The Bitter Kingdom. This series is strongly recommended to fans of YA epic fantasy who don’t mind religion driven cultures.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Scourge of the Betrayer (Bloodsounder’s Arc, Book 1) by Jeff Salyards (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Release Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1597804066
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Bloodsounder’s Arc series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

This is the first book in the Bloodsounder’s Arc series. This is a military fantasy set in a medieval like setting. It was well-written but I had some trouble connecting with the main character.

Arkamondos, Arki, is a bookish young scribe and archivist who is offered a job by the feared Syldoon Captain Braylar Killcoin. By edict of the Empire the Syldoon parties must have a scribe along to record their activities. Arki accepts the job and finds himself drawn into a world of murder, politics, and adventure like he’s never seen before.

This is a well written fantasy set in a medieval like time frame and land. The story starts slowly and follows Syldoon soldiers as they try to politically shake up a region. The reader is thrown right into the world and is left to struggle to piece together what is going on, just like Arki is.

We hear most of the story from the archivist’s (Arki’s) point of view. Arki is very sheltered and untried. He has a bitter history, but finds out that his history is nothing compared to the horrors these Syldoon soldiers have faced. Arki is a bit hard to like and relate to; he is just so naive and so tentative at times. It is interesting to watch how he changes throughout the story though.

The most interesting character in the book is Braylar Killcoin who is a mysterious character with many secrets that are slowly revealed as the story progresses. One of Braylar’s most interesting aspects are the mysterious weapons he fights with that seem tied to his very soul. Braylar is moody and adds a lot of sarcastic humor to the story; he is by far the most interesting character here.

All of the other characters are well done and have interesting backgrounds too. Salyards did a decent job of making the characters easy to distinguish so that the reader doesn’t get too lost in all of the characters that are introduced in a short amount of time.

The world has a lush and detailed history. The writing is harsh and stark and reflects the dark lives of the soldiers well. This isn’t really a complete story but more of an introduction to the characters and the world here.

The second half of the book is full of battle after battle. The pace of the second half of the book makes up for the rather slow and meandering pace of the beginning of the book.

This is definitely an adults only read. There is a lot of intense and graphic violence. Also there is oodles of talk about sex and many sex scenes.

I have some complaints about this book. The first half has a rather meandering pace. I also had some trouble engaging with these hard and military type of characters. Arki was too naive to really relate too as well. This is also more of an intro to the world than an actual complete story. Lastly as a woman reading epic fantasy I was a bit disappointed in the lack of women characters. As in Joe Abercrombie’s books the women in the story are all whores or cheats. They are all treated disrespectfully and it gives the book a very archaic taste at times.

Overall a decent start to a new epic fantasy series. The world is well formed and the story is well written. There are a lot of interesting characters here as well. I did have some trouble engaging with and relating to the characters in this story. The reader is pretty much thrown right into everything without much explanation. Also the first half of the book is very slow and meandering resulting in inconsistent pacing throughout the book. Definitely an adults only read; tons of graphic violence and sex. Those who enjoy military epic fantasy (think Glen Cook) will find much here to enjoy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - The Fire Chronicle (The Books of Beginning, Book 2) by John Stephens (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 9, 2012
ISBN: 978-0375868719
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Books of Beginning series
Source: eGalley from netgalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Books of Beginning series by Stephens. It was an excellent continuation of the story started in the Emerald Atlas. Lots of action, battles, and time travel.

Kate, Michael, and Emma are at a new horrible orphanage. That is until the evil finds them there; then they are thrown into turmoil. Kate is thrust back in time by herself. Michael and Emma end up accompanying Pym on a quest to find the 2nd book of Beginning, The Fire Chronicle.

As with the first book this is a solid middle grade fantasy. You can tell Stephens was heavily influenced by Tolkien and the Chronicles of Narnia. There are epic battles, creepy flying black wraiths called Screechers, a wise old wizard, and a faithful fighter. Lots of classic epic fantasy type characters, which I enjoyed.

This book is mostly about Michael. In his quest to find The Fire Chronicle he has to face his fears and really step up to the challenge. He learns a lot about himself and his family along the way.

The book switches between Michael and Kate’s points of view. Michael is focused on traveling to find the Fire Chronicle. While Kate, in luring away the enemy, ends up trapped back in time.

Kate also grows a lot as a character. Some of the twists and turns she unravels in the past she is sent to are fascinating. We finally start to understand more about the Dire Magus and where he comes from and what drives him. It added a lot of excellent background to the story.

There are some wonderfully done epic battle scenes between dragons, elves, and imps. We are also sent back to the time before magic was separated from human existence and witness first hand the prosecution of magic users. The story was well written and did an excellent job progressing the storyline.

Despite all of the positive things about this story, for some reason it didn’t grab me like the first book. I found it interesting, but didn’t really find myself absolutely sucked into the story and engaged. Maybe that’s because parts of the story were incredibly predictable or just because I don’t relate to the characters all that well.

Overall an excellent continuation of this series. I loved the character development, the history we learn about the Books of Beginning, and the wonderful epic battles between mythological races. Despite all of this wonder, I didn’t find this book to be quite as engaging as the first one. This may have been because the story’s outcome was fairly predictable. Still this is an excellent middle grade fantasy involving time travel and lots of fantasy elements. Recommended to all the fantasy lovers out there.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Early Review - Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, Book 1) by Sarah J. Maas (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher:Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: August 7, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1599906959
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Throne of Glass series
Source: eGalley through NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley(dot)com. This is the debut novel by Maas and the first book in a planned trilogy; although it is preceded by four novellas (all of which I have purchased but have not yet read). The story itself is very loosely based on Cinderella.

Celaena Sardothie has served a year in Endovier for her crimes as an assassin when suddenly she is called on by the Crown Prince. She is offered an opportunity she can’t resist. She is to be the Prince’s entry into a contest to see who will be the King’s champion. If she accepts she will compete in a number of challenges, if she wins she will have two years of service to the king and then blessed freedom will be hers. Of course, nothing is as straightforward as that.

This was an absolutely excellent novel. It is supposed to be loosely based on Cinderella, but really reads more like an epic fantasy than a fairy tale retelling. Celaena is a fabulous character; she’s tough and has survived some horrible things...but despite all of that she can still laugh and still care about people. It was wonderful to see her go from the starved wretch that was drug out of the mines to something so much more.

All of the supporting characters are incredibly well done; they all have histories, complex personalities, and are so easy to engage with. Prince Dorian is charming and seems to be a bit of a ladies man, but at times he is incredibly sincere. Captain Westfall, who trains Celaena, is gruff and stiff but seems to understand Celaena like no one else does. There is a foreign princess who befriends Celaena who is a warrior in her own right and an endearing character.

Really every character in this book is just so well done. Even Celaena’s competitors are well filled out and interesting.

The world is wonderfully done. Complex and epic, but never too hard to follow. Magic is forbidden in this world by order of the king. But when Celaena stumbles upon Wyrdstones throughout the palace she finds that Magic is still present in secret ways. Watching Celaena try to unravel the mystery behind this magic was fascinating; magic is present in a fairly subtle way but has a huge impact on what happens in the story.

The plot is complex and well done as well. It is not as complex as say Sanderson or other epic fantasy authors, but it is more complex than you typically find in YA fantasy. I really enjoyed it, I loved the world developed here and had so much trouble putting down this book! This book wrapped up very nicely, no horrible cliffhangers or anything like that.

Overall this was just a fantastic YA fantasy read. I highly recommend to fans of fantasy, especially epic fantasy. While this story is a bit lighter than most adult epic fantasy, it still has many of the elements that make epic fantasy so wonderful. There is a complex plot and world, wonderful magic and mystery woven throughout, there is intrigue, mayhem, and murder. This is one of those rare books where even side characters are incredibly well developed and have wonderful depth. I loved this book. I immediately went out and bought the four preceding novellas and am on pins and needles to see what happens in future novels in this series. Highly recommended!

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

Early Review - Awakenings by Edward Lazellari (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Epic Fantasy
Size:  352 pages

Publisher: Tor Book
Release Date: August 30, 2011
ISBN:  978-0765327871
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in a series
Source: ARC from Book Expo Amer.
Rating: 3/5 stars

I got an advanced reading copy of this book signed by the author at Book Expo America.  I was excited to read this new urban fantasy/fantasy by Tor.  It was an interesting start to a new series, but it is just that a start.  The story pretty much ends right in the middle of things.

The story begins with a number of men with the same last name being hunted down by unnatural evil beings.  As things unfold you find that these men came here from another world and were sworn to protect a special child.  But these men can't remember anything and the child is missing.  A beautiful woman comes to round up the men and remind them that the fate of their kingdom rests on the shoulders of the missing child.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this novel.  There were all of these strange and supernatural evil guys hunting down regular joes who had no idea what was going on.  The plot gets more interesting as things unfold, then part of the way through the book it kind of stalls out.  The main reason for this is that there are just too many viewpoints being covered and it is hard to keep track of them all.  You hear from five to six viewpoints throughout and the book isn't that long.

The plot is well-wrought, intricate, and spinning out to epic proportions by the end of the book.  The characters were all okay, but not completely engaging.  The majority of the characters were somewhat unlikable; they just didn't come off as having a ton of personality and this is probably because of the constant switching of character perspective throughout the book.

This is a strange book because it starts in a modern city and ends in a fantasy-like world; if feels like you are reading an epic fantasy but it is an urban fantasy setting for the majority of the book.  There is a ton of political stuff going on in the fantasy world and I had trouble keeping it all straight.

The book ends dead in the middle of the story which is obnoxious because this wasn't advertised as a series.  I hate it when books do that.

Overall it was an okay book.  It has an interesting world and plot and initially started out as an engaging book.  The characters are hard to get into though because the book is constantly switching viewpoint; this made the story kind of choppy and hard to stay involved in as the book went on.  This is definitely the beginning of a series since the book pretty much stops right in the middle of everything (I hate this!).  Although the book is decently written, I probably won't read more of this series because I just wasn't that engaged with the story or characters by the end of the book.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge

Early Review - Roil (The Nightbound Land, Book 1) by Trent Jamieson (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Steampunk Fantasy
Size: 432 pages

Publisher: Angry Robot
Release Date: August 30, 2011
ISBN: 978-0857661845
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars



I got an advanced reading copy of this book through NetGalley.com.  The premise was very intriguing and I was excited to read the book.  It was an incredibly creative world, that followed some interesting characters through a dark steampunk adventure.  This book is the first in a series called The Nightbound Lands.

Margaret is the daughter of some famous scientists, when her home town falls to the Roil she is forced to flee through the Roil and try to find a way to help stop the Roil's expansion.  David is a drug addict who is on the run from political enemies of his father; he meets up with an Old Man named Cadell and is suddenly forced to follow the Old Man into battles he doesn't want to be part of and into more danger than he can bear.  All of the characters are fighting to survive the spread of the Roil which is expanding at increased speed.

Jamieson has created an incredibly interesting and complex world in this book.  It is one of the most interesting worlds I have ever read about.  The world is being taken over by the Roil; think of it kind of as The Nothing in The Neverending Story, but rather than being full of nothing it is a huge hot darkness full of nightmarish creatures.  The surviving world is grouped into metropolises that survive by fighting with cold weapons and technology.  The story has a steampunk overtone at times; Margaret's city runs off of steam powered things and there are dirigibles.

In this incredibly complex world is, of course, complex politics.  You have the group that David's father belongs to which seem to be working with the four thousand year old, Old Man...kind of.  You have the Vergers and the Drifters all trying to survive and reign supreme.  There are also the Cuttlefolk, who aren't quite human, and then of course all the horrible creatures that exist within the Roil.

As if that isn't enough there is a grand engine running the whole world, dirigibles, and the mysterious Vastkind that pop up here and there in the story.

Then there are the characters.  Margaret and David are both interesting to read about; the beginning the book follows their adventures separately. These are the type of characters you won't necessarily love or connect with on an emotional level (they have their low selfish moments as well as their heroic moments) but they are interesting to read about and follow.  You also read the story from a number of other different viewpoints; both Medicine Paul and the Old Man tell significant portions of the story.  I am not a huge fan of having such a multitude of viewpoints because it breaks up the story and makes things a bit confusing at first.

I was a little disappointed in the ending because everything was just finally set up and the characters were finally fighting together and then the book just ended.  I didn't realize this was part of a series, and I was a little bummed that I couldn't read how everything would play out.  This is a very complicated story and I felt like by the time I got everything sorted out and was actually beginning to understand this world well...the story was over.

Overall I really enjoyed this book.  The author builds an incredibly interesting world.  There is a lot of action, some adventure, and some politics.  I loved the idea of the Roil and the mystery that surrounds it.  The characters weren't the strong point of the story, but they were well done and provided a good vehicle for the plot.  Some of the characters and creatures presented are extremely mysterious and I am eager to learn more about them.  I was disappointed with how abruptly the story ended.  So readers just beware that this is part of a series and nothing is really resolved in this first book.  Fans of epic fantasy, or complicated dark fantasy adventures should enjoy this book. I would encourage steampunk fans to check it out too (although no romance here, so probably not a book for those who like romance in their steampunk).  It is an incredibly creative and a very engaging read; I will definitely be checking out future books in this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges;
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Get Steampunked!
- E-book Reading Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge

Review - Beyond the Shadows (Night Angel, Book 3) by Brent Weeks (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Size: 720 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: December 1, 2008
ISBN-13: 978-0316033664
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd (and final) book in the Night Angel Trilogy
Source: Audio book from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the third and final book in the Night Angel trilogy.  It wraps up the series nicely and the multitude of plots are mostly wrapped up neatly.  It ended happier than I thought it would given what all of our characters are put through.  I listened to this on audio book and it was very well done (please forgive any name/place mis-spellings).

The God King has been defeated but now there are other dangers to Cenaria's kingdom.  Kylar wants Logan to accept the Kingship of Cenaria, but Logan wants to uphold his vow to the current Queen.  Vi is off to the Chantry to begin her mage training with the Sisters.  Elene is on her way to the Chantry to visit Vi and Uly.  Basically all of the various kingdoms are perched to attack each other and all of our favorite characters have positions of power throughout the various kingdoms.  If I tried to list where everyone was and what they were doing here...this review would turn into a novella.

As in previous novels Weeks does an excellent job keeping the reader engaged with the characters.  The characters are life-like and really pull you into the story; they make mistakes, they try their best, sometimes they do good, sometimes they (especially Kylar) make a mess of it all. 

The plot was twisted and convoluted and came from a billion different perspectives.  It was kind of fun to watch the characters making decisions about their kingdoms without knowing what was happening in other kingdoms.  All the secrets come out in the end, but throughout the story so many major decisions are made without characters knowing what is really going on in other parts of the kingdom that it is very ironic.  At times this can be a bit annoying because it seems like the characters go off on tangents they don't really need to go down to make the story progress.  As with the other books the story is engaging but progresses slowly because of all the different perspectives.

The threesome of Solon, Dorian, and Feir gets a lot more page space in this book.  It was good to read about them more.  We didn't get to read about Uly much at all; she was talked about in the background but not really present in the story.  I missed her.

Weeks has a great writing style to read; very readable with some humor throughout.  As with previous books, this is a book for adults.  There is a lot of talking about sex, swearing, and many gruesome scenes.

My only big problem with the plot is that the evil that the characters are fighting against is less apparent than it was when they were fighting the God King in the last book.  The evil in this book is more sprawling and less concentrated.  In fact most of the characters are just trying to hold their kingdoms together and don't even realize that they are dealing with the Goddess Kali until the end of the book.  It just makes the end battle a bit less profound.

The book wrapped everything up nicely; although there are some things that point at future stories being set in this world.

Overall this was an excellent conclusion to this series.  Weeks weaves a complicated and intriguing story with realistic characters that are very engaging.  My only complaints are that the multitude of perspectives the story is told from slows down the progress of the story, the battle the characters were fighting was less about destroying a great evil and more about protecting their individual kingdoms.  I did enjoy the way everything was wrapped up.  I enjoyed this series enough that I will probably pick up The Black Prism by Brent Weeks at some point.  I recommend also reading The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson or The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher if you enjoyed this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge

- Fantasy Reading Challenge

- Audio Book Challenge List