Early Novella Review - Spartan Frost (Mythos Academy, Book 4.5) by Jennifer Estep (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 325 KB
Publisher: Kensington Books
Release Date: June 25, 2013
ASIN: B00BJPYGQE
Stand Alone or Series: 4.5th novella in the Mythos Academy series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is a Novella from the Mythos Academy world told from Logan’s POV, it takes place in between books 4 and 5. I got a copy of this novella to review through Netgalley(dot)com; thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for providing a copy for me to give an honest review of. This is kind of a take it or leave it novella; it adds a bit to the series but you aren’t missing much if you skip it either. This review does contain spoilers for previous book in the series, so you have been warned. You definitely do want to read the books prior to this one before reading this novella; it is not a stand alone kind of novella.

Logan almost killed Gwen while he was possessed by Loki and now he is trying to recover. He’s returned to his family home with his father and is trying to work out and refocus on what is important to him. Along the way he is drawn to some action against the Reapers with his father.

This book doesn’t really give us any insight into Logan’s thoughts about Gwen, which I was kind of hoping for. The part of Logan that this novella does fill out is Logan’s relationship with his father. So we do get to learn a bit about Logan’s past and how he interacts with his father. This was kind of nice and gave a little more depth to Logan as a character.

Gwen is mentioned a few times in passing but she is mostly absent from the story. Logan is staying away from his friends because he fears hurting them, like he did when he was possessed by Loki.

Overall this is pretty short little novella that gives us some additional background about Logan but definitely isn’t significant to the main story. If you are a huge fan of the series and want to know more about what Logan and his dad did when Logan left Mythos Academy then go ahead and give it a read. It’s a decent story just nothing all that profound. I am not sure it’s worth $1.59 to read and you definitely won’t be lost in Book 5 if you skip this little tale about Logan.

Early Review - Yellowcake by Margo Lanagan (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Short Stories
Size: 240 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0375869204
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Amazon Vine for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. Previously I had read Lanagan’s Brides of Rollrock Island and really loved it. This was a collection of short stories that I enjoyed overall. Some stories were spectacular and some were a bit hard to follow.

This is a collection of stories that span fantasy, horror, and paranormal genres. Some of the stories are really well done, a couple I had to reread to figure out exactly what was going on. In general Lanagan tends to be a bit vague in her writing, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions about what really happened. This can lead to the reader having more questions than answers by the time they get to the end of a story.

This is aimed at young adults, but there is one story “Catastrophic Disruption of the Head” that was very adult. This story had a ton of violence including a rape scene and discussion of mutiple rapes on a young woman...so just be aware of that.

My favorite stories of the bunch were: The Golden Shroud (a beautiful retelling of Rapunzel with a happier ending than the traditional fairy tale0, Into the Clouds (a story about a young boy whose mother gets called to go somewhere else), Ferryman (a story about how the young Sharon got the job as Ferryman of the dead) and Eyelids of the Dawn (in which a building decides it needs a vacation).

All of the stories included are listed below along with ratings and brief descriptions. I haven’t read any of Lanagan’s other short story collections yet, so I don’t know how they compare to this one. I did enjoy The Brides of Rollrock Island a lot more than this story collection.

Overall it was a decent collection of stories. I will be checking out more of Lanagan’s short story collections. I recommend to those who love quirky and slightly ambiguous fantasy/horror stories. A lot of these stories are very creative and very different.

The Point of Roses (3/5 stars)
The first story is about a boy who can make things come true from objects. Very vague and a bit hard to follow.

The Golden Shroud (5/5 stars)
A retelling of Rapunzel with a happier ending than the traditional fairy tale

A Fine Magic (4/5 stars)
When two young girls reject the attentions of an old wizard, he gets his revenge on them.

A Honest Day’s Work (4/5 stars)
About a town where the workers harvest creatures of gelatinous goo from the ocean.

Into the Clouds on High (5/5 stars)
Story about a boy whose mother is called to the sky.

Night of the Firstlings (3/5 stars)
About a family who survives a sickness and an attack, only to be forced to journey from their home. Another story that is very vague and was a bit hard to follow.

Catastrophic Disruption of the Head (4/5 stars)
Story about a soldier who comes across an old woman with magical dogs. A bit hard to follow since it jumps around in time, also very graphic violence.

Ferryman (5/5 stars)
Story about how Sharon came to be the Ferryman. Wonderfully done and clever.

Living Curiosities (4/5 stars)
A story about people living at a circus and a suicide.

Eyelids of the Dawn (5/5 stars)
When a building gets uncomfortable it decides to take a vacation out to sea. This was a fun story that was easy to follow and very creative.

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

Graphic Novel Review - The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Size: 192 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Date: October 14, 2004
ISBN: 978-0765312143
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Swapped
Rating: 4/5 stars


I have had this graphic novel on my shelf to read forever. I finally got around to reading it; I originally picked this up because I love Charles Vess’s artwork and thought the concept of him illustrating a whole bunch of traditional ballads sounded really awesome. It was a very good read. Some of the ballads were retold in really wonderful ways, others were just excerpts from the original ballads.

This book consists of a series of traditional ballads. The ballads are first told via graphic novel format. Some are retellings and some are pretty much word for word from the original ballads. Then after the graphic retelling, the ballad is printed in its entirety.

A lot of these were just the ballads with pictures without much retelling done by the authors. There were a couple that really stood out though with excellent retellings done by the authors. The Two Corbies by Charles de Lint was a very well done retelling and delivered a fantastic story while still referencing the original ballad. The Black Fox by Emma Bull was also very well done, Bull gave an American twist to this traditional ballad.

Most of the Ballads feature supernatural being like fey or witches. All of the Ballads have fantasy or faerie tale bent to them.

Charles Vess’s artwork is as stunning as always. I was a bit disappointed that everything was in black and white, because I love what Vess does with color. Still the drawings were wonderful and did an excellent job of portraying the mood of the story. His artwork ranges from cartoonish (in the Galtee Farmer), to stunningly beautiful (in Tam-Lin and Savoy), and even to disturbingly ugly (in Alison Cross).

I also really enjoyed reading the poems in their original format. I love epic poetry and folklore and these were fun and interesting to read.

Overall an enjoyable read. I was a bit disappointed that so many of the “retellings” were just excerpts of the original ballads/poems. Still there were some excellent retellings in here as well. Charles Vess’s illustration was absolutely stunning and really set the mood for the stories. Recommended to those who enjoy fantasy graphic novels or are interested in folklore/fantasy poetry.

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

Review - Attack of the Vampire Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Horror/Humor/Short Stories
Size: 224 pages
Publisher: Starscape
Release Date: April 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0765363237
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Copy from BEA
Rating: 3/5 stars

I got a copy of this book at Book Expo America in 2011 (yep it’s taken me a while to get to it). This is definitely one of those books aimed at reluctant boy readers in the 8-13 age range. Some of the stories are amusing, but they are all very short and end up being more sketches of ideas than fully realized stories.

There are 30+ stories in this slim 224 page book. So that alone will give you an idea of story length. The stories run a large range of weird and creepy. There’s a story about a boy who gets the ride of his life on an amusement park ride. There’s a story about mutant ants and one about a dragon. There is a parody story that pokes fun at sparkly vampires fans too.

All in all a pretty large range of the strange and creepy here. Many of the stories end with the lead boy dying or being hurt in some gruesome way; so if that bothers you as a parent just a heads up. Also given the frequent death I wouldn’t recommend this for younger kids, I honestly think it might be too intense and scary for them.

The stories are decently written but pretty simple stories with pretty simple sentence structure. This is definitely aimed at reluctant boy readers ages 8 to 14 or so. So if you are a boy in that age range I think you will really relate to and enjoy the stories. In many cases the main protagonist in the story is a boy, so that seems to be the audience Lubar is aiming for.

As an adult reading these stories I thought they were okay. The stories are very short and are basically quick sketches of ideas. Not a lot of character development and world building here; although most of the stories are full of some sort of irony that is darkly humorous. Again though, it is dark humor, I think while middle grade kids will enjoy it, younger kids might take it too literally and be scared.

I am going to keep this book around for my son to read when he’s a few years older (he’s five now). On a side note I got to meet Lubar and talk to him about this book at BEA. He was an incredibly nice guy who warned me right off the bat that these stories would be to intense for younger kids.

Overall an okay book. While I wouldn’t recommend this to adults, I do think boys in the 8-13 year age range will get a kick out of these stories. They are creepy and eerie horror stories filled with irony and dark humor. They poke fun at things boys will get into (like obnoxious older sisters and crazy classmates). If you have a middle grade reader who enjoys humor and horror definitely check this out.

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

Review - Into the Woods by Kim Harrison (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 528 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: October 9, 201
ISBN: 978-0061974328
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eBook from Publisher
Rating: 4/5 stars


I got an ecopy of this book to review from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This books includes all of the Hallows short stories as well as a couple novellas/short stories from new urban fantasy worlds.

I had read most of the Hallows short stories previously in other anthologies. The Bespelled was one I had missed and was an excellent story about how Al and Ceri meet.

Million Dollar Baby is original to this book and is a story about how Trent rescued his daughter; this was a good read as well. There are four novellas/short stories that are not set in the Hallows world. Of these the one that really stood out for me was Grace; this was a wonderful world were certain types of people can manipulate energy. It had lots of action and some great new characters.

You can read summaries of all of the stories included in this anthology below.

Overall this was a decent read and something you should definitely pick up is you are a fan of the Hallows series.

- The Bespelled
This is story about Al and Ceri and how they originally met. More of a fantasy read, it provides some interesting background information on the two.

-Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel
I had previously read this story. This was a great prequel to the Hallows series. It was fun to read about a younger Rachel who is still struggling to recover from Rosewood syndrome and trying to decide if she should join the IS or not. It was nice to read about a time in her life that helped get her to where she is at the start of the series. This is the story where Rachel and Pierce first meet.

- Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil
I had previously read this story. This story is about Ivy when she was dating Kisten; Mia (the banshee from "White Witch, Black Curse" is involved as well). This story helped explain some of the back story between Ivy and Mia, as well as gave nice insight into Kisten and Ivy's history. It was an engaging story and I enjoyed it; overall

- Dirty Magic
I had previously read this story. This story is about Mia the Banshee and how she ended up in the situation she was in in White Witch, Black Curse. It is well written and engaging.

- The Bridges of Eden Park
Rachel and Kisten rescue Kisten’s sister’s son from an attempted kidnapping. Good story, gives a bit more background on Kisten’s character.

- Ley Line Drifter
I had previously read this story. This is an excellent story about Jenks helping a fellow pixie. You learn more about pixie culture and there is a ton of action.

- Million Dollar Baby
This is a previously unpublished story all about Trent’s journey to save his daughter. Adds a lot to Trent and Jenk’s relationship and let’s you look into Trent’s thoughts and how he feels about fatherhood.

- Pet Shop Boys
Previously unpublished story about a man who encounters a lady and her daughter in the pet shop he works in. He finds out that there are more evil things in the world than he ever dreamed. Okay story, but my least favorite of the bunch.

- Temson Estates
Previously unpublished story about a man who finds out he has inherited a forest full of dryads. This was a fun little story.

- Spider Silk
Previously unpublished story about a grandmother, her daughter and her granddaughters and the danger they face from a forest spirit. The grandmother trapped the evil forest guardian in a tree but when the tree dies he tries to claim one of her granddaughters. The mother does what she must to save her daughter. Full of irony and very well written.

- Grace
This was my favorite story of the bunch. It introduces readers to an excellent new world and characters. Grace has special powers; she can manipulate energy. She has chosen a career where she hunts down other undiscovered energy manipulators like herself before they do serious harm to society. When her current target (a 17 year old boy) hurts her dog and her friend, Grace has no choice to to hunt him down with a vengeance. An interesting new world and wonderfully done characters. I really enjoyed this story a lot. It would be great to see some books to follow-up this novella. The story is part urban fantasy, part science fiction.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Early Review - The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 11, 2012
ISBN: 978-0375869198
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley through NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars


I got a copy of this to review through NetGalley(dot)com. This was an absolutely wonderful book and now I want to go read everything else Margo Lanagan has written. The writing is beautiful and haunting and absolutely engrossing.

This is a series of short stories about the people who live on Rollrock Island. Misskaella is an ugly and fat girl who is treated cruelly by the people of Rollrock island. That is until the night Misskaella realizes that she can call out women from inside the seals of the island. The seal wives are beautiful beyond compare and the men of Rollrock will do anything to have a seal wife; but the seal wives are also eternally miserable as they as they are stuck in their human bodies. The men control the wives, but are in turn bespelled by the seal wives. This is the story of all of the years that Misskaella kept Rollrock island under the sad curse of the sea wives.

The prose this book is written in is absolutely stunning and the stories have a very dark and melancholy fairy tale feel to them. The descriptions are so well done that you can almost taste the sea as you read this book. The characters are amazing; they can show incredible love for each other and also be incredibly cruelty. It was interesting to have a story that explores both depths of human emotion so deeply.

Misskaella is a fascinating character. In the beginning you really hurt for her, everyone is so cruel to her even as a child. Eventually she turns into what they believe her to be an ugly, mean witch. All of the characters in the stories are fascinating in similar ways. The men of the island love their seal wives so deeply, yet these same men are so cruel in how they keep their wives from the sea.

Some of the stories explore how even when a family tries to move away from Rollrock Island, their son is still drawn into the trap of taking a seal wife and being stuck in the same pattern of life on the island that his parents were trying to avoid.

There is also wonderful symmetry to the story; the final story explores how (despite everything that has happened) once Misskaella is gone things slowly start to migrate back to normality and life goes on. Ironically it takes the children’s love to break the curse which was started with a husband’s love.

Overall a spectacular book, one of the best I have read in some time. The writing is incredibly beautiful and haunting; the story explores human nature and has a very melancholy, fairy tale type tone to it. The characters are complex and both beautiful and ugly. Highly recommended to everyone; especially those with an interest fairy tales and the selkie mythology. I want to go out right now and read everything else Lanagan has written.

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

Novella Review - The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (Throne of Glass, Novella 0.1) by Sarah Maas (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 69 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: January 13, 2012
ASIN: B006ZVW3T4
Stand Alone or Series: 0.1 Novella in the Throne of Glass series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first of four novellas all featuring Celaena that are leading up to (and take place before) The Throne of Glass. It’s a well done fantasy story that was engaging and easy to read. It gives the reader a good glimpse into Celaena’s past.

Celaena Sardothien and Sam have been sent to the pirate lord’s island seeking retribution for their master. The Pirate Lord killed a number of Celaena’s master’s assassins and she thinks that the retribution will be paid in gold. She is shocked and appalled to find out that her master is requesting slaves and is determined to foil the deal.

I did this a bit backward; I actually read Thorne of Glass already to review it and then came back to read these stories. The difference between Celaena in this story and Celaena post salt-mines is shocking. The Celaena in this story is arrogant, obnoxious, and not all that likable. Yes, she has guts and bravery and she is darn good at what she does, But the Celaena here is sooooo irritating.

It was wonderful to read about the “old” Celaena and one of her adventures as an assassin for her guild. This story was filled with intrigue, action, and some witty quips as well. Celaena is darn good at what she does and watching her in motion was fantastic.

The writing is well done and easy to read. The story engaging and the plot moves quickly. All in all an excellent introduction to Celaena. It was fun to go back and read this after reading Throne of Glass. If you think Celaena is a bit of an ass in this story, don’t give up on Throne of Glass because of that...she changes.

Overall definitely recommended. This is a good introduction to the world and to who Celaena used to be before she was punished in the salt mines. It also gives a lot of great background about how Celaena got in enough trouble to get sent to the salt mines in the first place. This is a solid and well written fantasy read. I definitely recommend this whole series to fantasy fans YA and older.

Short Story Review - Ember: Prequel to Firelight (Darkest London series) by Kristen Callihan (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Size: 278 KB
Publisher: Forever Yours
Release Date: February 1, 2012
ASIN: B006T2KUPI
Stand Alone or Series: Prequel to Darkest London Series
Source: eARC through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got an advanced reading copy of this story to review through NetGalley(dot)com. This was an excellent prequel to Firelight and I really enjoyed it. If you read Firelight and liked it I highly recommend reading this, as it gives some good background on Miranda and Archer. If you haven't read Firelight this is a good shorter sample of Callihan's work that you can read to see if you want to read Firelight.

This book explains in more detail how Miranda's family lost their fortune and the life Miranda lived after that happened but before she was sent off to Lord Archer. It also explains some of the questing that Lord Archer did in far off lands to try and cure his condition.

Firelight has got to be one of the most wonderful fantasy romances I have ever read. Miranda and Archer have such wonderful chemistry together. You see a little of that in this story. Although this story is more just filling in some of the background we missed out on in Firelight.

This was well-written and had excellent description. On top of that Callihan is excellent at making believable and engaging characters that you can't help but love. Even in this short story we meet some new characters and they are enjoyable to read about and meet.

Overall this is definitely a worthwhile read if you have read Firelight, it is also a worthwhile introduction to Callihan's writing style. I can't wait to see what she comes up with forMoonglow the second Darkest London book.

Short Story Review - Tortured by Caragh O'Brien (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia
Size: 239 KB
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Release Date: December 6, 2011
ASIN: B00633W62I
Stand Alone or Series: Part of the Birthmarked series
Source: Bought
Rating: 3/5 stars

This free short story for Kindle is a "bridge" story between Birthmarked and Prized. It basically tells about how Leon escaped into the Wastelands.

It is free and well written so those are the positive points. It is very, very short though. I think it took me 10 minutes to read. The second half of the download is a preview of Prized (which I have already read and enjoyed).

I also thought this didn't add much to the series overall. It basically tells us that Leon was tortured and then, with the help of his mother, escaped into the Wastelands. It doesn't cover any of Leon's journey through the Wastelands or talk about how he survived his journey to Sylum. We don't even get to hear much of Leon's thoughts, so it doesn't really fill out or give additional insight to him as a character.

Overall it is an okay read if you are a huge fan of this series. It is well written and it is free. I didn't feel that it added much to the series overall or to our understanding of Leon. I guess read it if you really are dying to read more about these characters and have already read Prized and Birthmarked. Otherwise if you have a lot of other great stuff to read I would skip it.

Short Story Review - The Lake by Tananarive Due (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Horror
Size: 125 KB
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: August 17, 2011
ASIN: B005BOP5T6
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Free for Kindle
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is a short story that I picked up free for Kindle. This story is one of the stories released in The Monster's Corner Anthology. It was a decent story, fairly short, but engaging enough.

Abbie LaFleur has just moved to Graceville from Boston to start her life anew. Unfortunately for her nobody tells Abbie not to swim in the lake behind her house. As Abbies goes for increasingly lengthy nighttime swims she begins to develop strange side effects from her swimming that end up turning her into something monstrous.

This was a pretty short story and while it wasn't anything super special, it was kind of creepy and engaging enough.

Abbie is your typical "I want to start my life anew" type of woman. She's just gotten out of a bad relationship and is starting a new job in hopes of remodeling her life. As a result of her nighttime swims her live does get completely remodeled, just not in the way she was hoping.

The story is well written and it was easy to imagine the setting. Abbie was a very realistic character and easy to engage with. I thought the story itself was a bit predictable...as soon as Abbie started getting a bit fishy I totally knew how things were going to end.

Overall if you like creepy stories about monsters this is a decent read. It is well written, if a bit predictable. It never really gets scary but was a fun quick read. I didn't like it enough to pick up more by this author, but I enjoyed it well enough for what it was.

Short Story Review - Scream Angel by Douglas Smith (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Size: 122 KB
Publisher: Lucky Bat Books
Release Date: May 6th, 2011
ASIN: B004ZRFGU8
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Free from Amazon.com
Rating: 4/5 stars


This is the first short story by Douglas Smith. It was an interesting one; there are some cool concepts in here but the story gets a bit ambigous at points. Only half of the download is the story, the other half consists short excepts from a number Smith's other short story works.

Jason Trylayne has tried to escape his past. He was a Screamer, a soldier forced to take Scream. Scream makes all harsh emotions feel like estacy and allows the soldiers to committ terrible atrocities but not feel bad about it. Trylane has fled service after not being able to stand some of the atrocities he committed. He now runs a circus on an undesirable planet and harbors a number of orphans from the planets he had destroyed as a soldier. He is still addicted to Scream though and has an Angel who he is in love with to provide it for him. Now he has been found out and needs to decide what to do to protect his crazy little multi-species family.

This is a very creative book. The idea of a drug that allows humanity to committ horrible acts and feel good about doing is disturbing and interesting.

Trylane is a very interesting character. He is still addicted to Scream but is trying to atone for his past acts. In doing this he has amassed a number of strange entities from various planets and put them together in a circus. In a way he is both a hero for his work trying to save these few orphans and a villian for the previous acts he has committed on Scream.

Trylane's relationship with the female angel is also both interesting and disturbing all at once. He seems to love her but he is also addicted to what her body produces. This is complicated by the fact that the female angel is part of a brood pair and has an angel mate of sorts.

Parts of the story are a bit difficult to follow. There are a lot of characters introduced right off and I had some trouble keeping them straight. Parts of the story include flash backs that are a bit amibiguous making the story a bit hard to follow at points.

Overall I enjoyed this story. It was very creative and brings up some thoughtful (and disturbing) questions. Fans of science fiction or odd speculative fiction should give this a read for the novelty it presents.