Review - Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal/Mystery
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1594744761
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in a series
Source: Gift
Rating: 4/5 stars


This was a book I have wanted to read for a long time. I finally got around to reading it, it was just as fantastically quirky I had hoped. It was a fun and mysterious read, also a little bit creepy at parts.

After the horrific death of Jacob’s grandfather, Jacob slumps into a deep depression. It’s determined that the only way to get Jacob out of this slump is for him to journey to the mysterious island that his grandfather grew up on. Jacob and his father journey to a remote island off of the coast of Wales. There Jacob investigates a peculiar children’s home that his grandfather grew up in. Jacob’s only clues are some mysterious pictures his grandfather left him and a peculiar note.

This was a fun and quirky read. It’s mainly a mystery about a young man trying to solve his grandfather's mysterious past....along the way he discovers children with strange powers, time travel, and evil monsters.

Jacob is an okay lead character. He is mainly characterized by his obsession to find out what really happened to his grandfather. Other than that, he wasn’t a real distinctive character for me.

What really drives this story is the mystery behind Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The mystery unravels deliberately and things get more and more complex as Jacob unravels more and more secrets on this remote Wales island.

I am not going to get a lot more into the story beyond that because I don’t want to spoil anything. Let’s just say that through some quirks in time, all of these peculiar children that Jacob is so fascinated by may still be alive.

Of course a big draw for this book are all of the strange pictures throughout. I really enjoyed their addition to the story, they made the peculiar children all that more real to the reader. The fact that these are all actually real vintage pictures found in old picture collections makes this book even more unique and special.

The book was well written, engaging, and easy to read. What really drives the story is the mystery and what makes it enjoyable are the quirky pictures throughout. The main story is wrapped up pretty well, but there are things left unanswered for future books in the series.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It’s a very creative idea and implemented very well. The mystery is what drives the story and the pictures are fascinating and interesting. Jacob as a character could have used a bit more depth, but that really isn’t what this book is about. I am curious to see what the second book in this series will be about. I recommend this to those who are interested in a YA mystery read with fantasy overtones to it that’s a bit different than anything else out there.

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

Early Review - The Obsidian Mirror (Chronoptika #1) by Catharine Fisher (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0803739697
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Chronoptika series
Source: ARC from Librarything’s Early Reviewers
Rating: 3/5 stars

I had read Fisher’s Incarceron series and enjoyed it, so I was eager to read this latest book by her. Thanks to Dial and Librarything for the chance to review this book. There were some interesting ideas in here and the book starts out as intriguing. As the story continued though there were too many POVs and the story became fractured and a bit confusing.

Jake is convinced that his strange Godfather Oberon Venn has something to do with Jake’s father’s disappearance. When Jake journeys to Wintercombe Abbey, he finds the truth is much stranger than even he could have guessed. Sarah is a strange runaway who is not exactly what she appears and she also ends up at Wintercombe Abbey in hopes of finding a mysterious mirror.

This is one of those books that is hard to explain. It involves a lot of people, a mysterious time travel inducing mirror, and a bunch of fey. Initially we mainly hear from Jack and Sarah, but as the book continues the story and the number of POVs kind of spin out of control. Trying to figure out how all these little threads are tied together is tough and maybe something that will become clearer in future books in this series.

I always have a bit of trouble with time travel books because you start thinking about how past and previous activities affect current ones and the whole thing gets a bit convoluted and confusing. This holds true for this book as well.

I also had some trouble with the characters. I didn’t really care for any of them all that much. As the reader you don't really get to spend enough time with any of them to fully engage with them.

I also found the inclusion of the Fey with time travel to be a bit confusing. It is definitely a creative twist to time travel, but by the end of the book I still didn’t understand why the Fey were involved. Again maybe future books in this series will reveal more about this.

The book started out as an excellent read. As the story continued it spiraled out into a million different POVs that ended up fracturing the story, slowing the pace, and making it difficult to follow. By the end I felt that what had started out as an interesting premise was kind of a let down.

Overall an okay read, but not great. The premise is interesting and creative and the book starts out as intriguing. As the story continues the addition of more and more story threads and more and more points of view made things confusing. The jumping through time and jumping from character to character fractured the story and made it hard to follow. I never really engaged with any of the characters and by the end of the book found the plot to be a bit of a drag. This could end up being an interesting series, but I disliked this book enough that I won’t be reading any more of it.

I definitely think Incarceron was a better book by Fisher. I wouldn’t really recommend this book to anyone unless you are a huge fan of Fisher’s work and really want to read something else by her.

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

Review - Dinosaurs Before Dark (The Magic Tree House, Book 1) (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s
Genre: Adventure
Size: 80 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 28, 1992
ISBN: 978-0679824114
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Magic Treehouse Series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

I read this book with my six year old son. He was very excited to get the first Magic Tree House book and I was very curious since I have heard a ton about this series. This is a great read for younger children and children just learning to read.

Jack and Annie find a magic tree house in the woods near their house. When they go up in the tree house they find it’s filled with books. When Jack takes down a book about Dinosaurs and starts to read it when him and Annie are magically transported to a land filled with dinosaurs.

This was a very short beginning chapter book suitable for young kids. The plot is straightforward, yet still engaging, interesting, and magical. Beginning readers should be able to follow along and even read some of their beginning sight words throughout.

I would classify this mainly as an adventure book with elements of magical realism (since they travel from a magic tree house).

Each chapter has a couple pages of pictures, so this makes wonderful transition book between picture books and chapter books. The pictures are well done and fun.

The book is also a bit educational since the book Jack brings along on their time traveling trip has interesting facts about Dinosaurs in it.

The story seems to be aimed a bit more at young boys because Jack is really the main character. But Annie is there too (his younger sister) and girls should find it easy to engage with her character as well.

Overall my son really enjoyed this book. It was a bit too simple for an adult, but I didn’t mind reading it and thought the story was decent. Definitely recommended for reading with young children, or for children who are ready to transition to reading beginning chapter books on their own. I am glad that we picked this up and foresee many more Magic Tree House books in our future!

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

Audiobook Review - The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton and Swinburne, Book 1) by Mark Hodder (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 373 pages
Publisher: Pyr
Release Date: September 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-1616142407
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in Burton and Swinburne series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the first book in the Burton and Swinbrune series by Hodder. There are two more books released in this series after this one: The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man and Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon. The fourth book in this series is scheduled to release in August of 2013.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was well done. The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing between different character voices. The narrator’s voice was very English and did an excellent job of blending with the story setting.

Sir Richard Francis Burton is an explorer extraordinaire. His most recent expedition has left his reputation in tatters and his partner from the expedition is in grave condition. When he is given a chance to serve as the King’s agent in the case of Spring Heeled Jack, he is eager to prove his worth. At his side is Algernon Charles Swinburne, a failed poet who finds pain a most delightful pastime.

I enjoyed all the steampunk elements and the interesting world, but had a lot of trouble engaging with the characters. I also thought the plot was a bit scattered and wrapped up too conveniently.

Burton is a bit too perfect of a character, he pretty much excels at everything. He is portrayed as a noble and misunderstood hero of discovery. He excels at languages, fighting, scholarly pursuits, mesmerism, and pretty much everything he does. He is so perfect that I honestly had trouble liking him at all.

Swinburne is an odd character. He has no sense of fear and follows de Sade, meaning he finds pleasure in pain. He does a good job of balancing out Burton’s melodrama with his plucky personality. But I also found him kind of irritating and naive.

One of the most fascinating characters is Spring Heeled Jack. He has a very interesting back story and what starts out as a trip to change history a tiny bit ends up forcing Spring Heeled Jack into a descent into madness.

The plot is a bit scattered. There are a number of factions and groups of people that are seemingly involved in separate events. By the end of the book it all ties together but in a fairly convoluted way. It all worked out and made sense, but the process of getting there was scattered and at times a bit hard to follow. I got a bit weary of the time travel aspects to the plotline....time travel gets too complicated and convoluted.

The first part of the book is told primarily from Burton’s POV. The last third is told mainly from Spring Heeled Jack’s POV. This worked fairly well for the story.

It was an interesting read and very creative. It is well enough written. Things wrap up fairly well. The epilogue starts the next storyline.

Overall this was a decent steampunk read. I enjoyed the world, thought the plot was a bit scattered, and had some trouble engaging with the characters. Some of the story was intriguing but by the end I just wanted to be done with the book. I am unsure right now as to whether or not I will read the next book in this series.

I would tentatively recommend this book to steampunk fans who don’t mind quirky (and slightly annoying) characters. I would more strongly recommend A Conspiracy of Alchemists by Liesel Schwarz, Cherie Priest’s Clockwork Century series or Meljean Brooke’s Iron Seas series (which has more romance than the others but also an incredibly well done steampunk world).

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

Review - The Map of Time (Trilogia Victoriana, Book 1) by Felix J. Palma (2.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 720 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: June 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-1451683035
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Trilogia Victoriana
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 2.5/5 stars


I got this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. It was a very long and very pretentious read about time travel...kind of.

The book is broken into three parts. In part 1 Andrew falls in love with a whore named Marie who is murdered by Jack the Ripper. After many years of depression his cousin Charles convinces him to go to a time traveling emporium to travel back in time and save her. When the time traveling company revels they can only send people to the year 2000, Andrew despairs. But the business owner suggests they talk to HG Wells. HG Wells confesses he has a time traveling machine and sends Andrew back in time to save Marie; or so Andrew thinks.

In Part 2 we follow the story of Claire who is determined to leave her world and travel to the year 2000 with Murray’s Travel Emporium. When in the year 2000 she meets the hero of the human race, Shackleford, and falls in love with him. What follows is twisted and sorted relationship involving a love affair that occurs backwards in time. H G Wells again ends up involved by writing love letters for one of the involved parties.

In Part 3 we follow Inspector Garrett who is convinced that Shackleford is the one murdering people in the streets with a futuristic weapon. Besides Garrett’s perspective we hear from HG Wells a lot. In the course of all of this we find out that this book has nothing to do with any of the characters we’ve met except coincidentally. The true star of this novel is HG Wells for reasons that are again twisted and fairly unbelievable.

The book is written in three parts and each part features a set of different characters...although the characters do run into each other across parts. The one continuous theme is HG Wells and time travel.

This book diverges constantly and sidetracks into random stories before finally wandering back to the main point. The language is flowery...this is the kind of book where if you miss a paragraph or two you're not really missing any of the story. In fact I think you could probably cut out half of this book and still not miss the main story.

Most of the book is not about time travel at all, but about human nature and the lying and scheming nature of humans. As you can imagine none of these characters are very admirable or easy to engage with. The pacing is very slow and it was very hard for me to finish this book.

The story takes a seriously implausible twist in the last 60 pages or so. I find it ironic that after spending so much time with Murray trying to justify the plausibility of his sci-fi novel, that the last 80 pages or so of this novel are completely unbelievable, implausible, and absolutely crap for pacing. Ah the irony of it; this book is just as pretentious, wordy, and ultimately implausible as the author sets out to say that Murray’s work is in the novel itself. Is this irony the intention of this novel?...I am not sure. But in the end I just didn’t care and if I hadn’t received this book for review, I would have stopped reading it at page 100.

Overall I did not enjoy this book. I guess if you are a huge HG Wells fan and interested in reading fiction about him you might like this. In reality though it's a pretty wordy and lengthy novel to deliver such an awkward message.

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

Review - Torrent (River of Time, Book 3) by Lisa T Bergren (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Size: 400 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook
Release Date: September 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1434764294
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the River of Time Trilogy
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars


This is the third book in the River of Time series and was an excellent conclusion to this series. There are two more novellas after this book called Bourne and Tributary. I loved how the central themes of the book are love and happiness despite all the war that is going on.

Gabi and Lia save their father from death in the present and travel with him and their mother back to medieval Italy. When they return they find that the nearby castle is occupied by Marcello’s enemy and rumors are that Fortuno is being held captive. Gabi and family must find Marcello and try to bring peace to realm.

Gabi is a tough heroine, she came off as a bit unrealistically tough at times even given the fact that she has sword fighting skills. At one point she is wielding a broadsword and another she climbs up a wall; both would require incredible strength. Still I enjoyed reading about her, she is easy to engage with and definitely a good character.

Marcello comes off as a bit too alpha male for me at times as well. Gabi and him definitely don’t see eye to eye on her position in his castle and his life. There is a love conquers all theme to this book, but in reality I wonder if Gabi and Marcello would be able to resolve their differences in a peacetime scenario.

There were a couple small things that bothered me about the story. All of the characters were a bit too noble for a war situation; I mean Gabi is captured and surrounded by soldiers yet the idea of her "honor" being compromised is only mentioned in passing. Since this is YA I guess we can expect a lot of the violence seen in a war situation to be glossed over...but at times it was all a bit too roses and daffodils for me.

Also there is a lot more of Gabi begging God for help and then getting that help. Yes, she does have to take situations into her own hands at times. I hate it though when characters beg to God to fix their problems...it's even worse when that ends up being the answer to their problems. I prefer characters to grasp their own fates and not depend on God to get them out of situations. This isn't too overwhelming but it is definitely more prominent in this book than the last two books in the series.

Aside from the above, the book in incredibly well written and very easy to read. It is also fairly predictable. The writing is very beautiful though and I enjoyed the historical setting. Bergren does an excellent job of having the girls talk to each other in modern language and stick to more traditional language when talking to other characters in the period. I love the characters and love how the whole family is on this adventure together.

Overall a satisfying conclusion to this series. The book is beautifully written and the characters easy to engage with. There is a bit more of the characters begging God to solve their problems which I didn’t enjoy. At times Gabi comes off as too tough and Marcello as too alpha male. But aside from that I really enjoyed the setting and the story. This whole series is recommended to fans of YA historical fantasy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile 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 - Sapphire Blue (Edelstein Trilogy, Book 2) by Kerstin Gier (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Release Date: October 30, 2012
ISBN: 978-0805092660
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Edelstein series
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Edelstein Trilogy by Gier. The third book is scheduled for a 2013 release. I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. It was a wonderful read; Gwen learns more about her time traveling gene and we get to learn more about the Guardians as a whole.

Gwen is trying to figure out all this time-traveling stuff and unravel some of the secrets behind the Circle of Twelve. Her partner in time-travel is the very hot and cold Gideon. Will Gwen be able to balance her school, time traveling, and social life without getting killed by the mystery surrounding the Circle of Twelve?

I love Gwen as a character, she is very down to earth. Gwen is trying her best to learn everything she needs to learn to blend into historical settings, but she is constantly being compared to Charlotte (her cousin who already had 15+ years of time traveling training). Gwen takes a pretty good attitude towards everything and I enjoyed reading about her.

Gideon drove me nuts, if I were Gwen I would have smacked him numerous times. He is so hot and cold about Gwen, that I was never really sure where their relationship was going. A lot of page space is given to the back and forths of their “relationship”. This isn’t all bad because these scenes are very well done.

The mystery unravels in a very deliberate way and I enjoyed the way new tidbits of information were slowly dealt out to the reader. I shared in Gwen’s frustration of not knowing what was going on. The way the mystery is slowly being unraveled is absolutely engrossing and makes for a super engaging read.

My only complaint is that I wish we had seen more time travel in the story. In most of the time travel scenes Gwen is going to a cellar to do homework; it would have been awesome to see Gwen in some more scenes that take place out in historical public areas.

The ending is a bit frustrating as well. It ends on a total cliffhanger and pretty much nothing is resolved. There is so much going on in the book that I am curious to see how everything will be resolved in the third (and final) book, Emerald Green.

Overall a great continuation of this series. Gwen is still struggling with her place in this secret time traveling society, but she is making headway and is determined to do her part. The scenes between Gwen and Gideon are very well done but a bit frustrating. I would have liked to see more time travel scenes. Still the way the mystery is slowly unraveling makes for an absolutely engaging story. Recommended to fans of time travel stories and YA stories in general.

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

Review - Ruby Red (Edelstein trilogy, Book 1) by Kerstin Gier (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Release Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-0805092528
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Edelstein Trilogy
Source: Gift
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in the Edelstein trilogy. This novel was translated from the German novel. The second book in the series, Sapphire Blue is due to release the end of October 2012. The third book, Emerald Green, will follow. This was a creative and interesting book with a complex background.

Gwen’s cousin Charlotte has been groomed from birth to deal with her time-traveling gene and her induction into the secret society of The Guardians. Things go very wrong when Gwen ends up being the one with the unpredictable time traveling gene. Now Gwen must figure out why her mother lied about her birth date to protect her from all the training. She must also accompany her male counterpart, Gideon, on adventures to acquire other the blood of other Guardians in order to fullfill some secret goal.

This is an interesting idea and a fun one. You have time travel, mystery, science fiction, history, and even a little steampunk sensibility all blended together to create a fun story. This book just mainly sets up the story and it is a kind of complicated story given all the characters involved and all the strange implications of time travel. This setup is necessary for the story, but is a bit disappointing because the story is really just starting to ramp up when the book ends.

Gwen is a great character and is put into a really interesting (and challenging) situation. She is supposed to make up for a lifetime of time-traveling preparation in a day or two. She is kind of scared and anxious about the whole thing initially but solidiers through everything with an admirable attitude.

Gideon is an interesting character, he is standoffish and snobbish at first but as you get to know him better you see there is a lot more to hem. I will say that he has a change of heart regarding his opinion of Gwen toward the end of the book that absolutely gave me whiplash...that part could have been done better.

The concept of time travel as a genetic defect is fascinating. Gwen has no choice about time traveling, she has to do it to survive. She can choose to periodically do it in a controlled manner or in a completely random manner. This is a creative and intriguing idea and throws some crazy situations at the reader.

The concept of the Guardians and their Jewels is a bit confusing as is the mysterious thing they are after. We learn some but not much about this in the novel. Hopefully future books in the series will clarify this.

On an absolutely random note Gier is really into her clothing. The descriptions of Gwen’s clothing are very detailed and, at times, a bit lengthy. This can be interesting considering all the different eras Gwen has to have accurate clothing for, but it is also a bit excessive.

The writing style is decent, not the best I’ve read, but still easy enough to read. The ending is abrupt, as I said earlier the story is just starting to really gear up when the book ends.

Overall a fun and interesting read. The characters were decent and the idea of time travel as a genetic defect is fascinating. The Guardian Society and their purpose isn’t well defined, but hopefully will be expanded on in future books. This book spends a lot of time building the world and setting the scene; the book ends just as things really start moving. This is a fun read and I would recommend for fans of time travel books or fans of paranormal fantasy that are ready for something a bit different. There is also a steampunk feel to the story at points as well.

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

Review - Waterfall (River of Time, Book 1) by Lisa T. Bergren (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook
Release Date: February 1st, 2011
ISBN: 978-1434764331
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the River of Time series
Source: ARC through Amazon Vine
Rating: 5/5 stars

I got a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program (it was also available for free for Kindle a while back). I had heard wonderful things about this book and it ended up being an excellent romantic historical fantasy story.

Gabi and her sister Lia are accompanying their mother on an archaeological dig in Italy when they find some hand prints in a tomb. When they place their hands on the hand prints they are sent back in time, separated, and find themselves in the middle of a power struggle between two Italian families. Gabi has to learn how to navigate this strange time, find her sister, find a way back home, and hopefully guard her heart from the lord of the castle Marcello. Marcello is betrothed to another woman but finds himself drawn to Gabi despite the political ramifications.

There are a couple things about this story that are a bit too fairy tale and convenient. Gabi can ride horseback and fight with a sword from the get-go; this is explained via activities she used to do with her father but is a bit too convenient for my taste. The whole falling in love with the lord who rescues her is also a bit too fairy tale. Despite this I found myself absolutely enraptured by this story and couldn't put the book down.

Gabi is a kick-butt character, she faces a lot of danger in this novel and pulls off being incredibly brave yet still seeming humble about it. She does a number of things that would be somewhat normal in our time, but when she does them in this past era it is so out of character for a woman that it shocks, stuns, and awes the people around her. She was a fun character to read about and very engaging; I found myself really emotionally involved. She has some tough decisions to make throughout the story: does she follow her heart or do what her head says is the right thing to do?

Marcelle was a dream male lead; he is basically the knight in shining armor. Extremely masculine, but tender towards Gabi and very concerned about the welfare of those around him.

Bergren did an excellent job with describing the period and with the language. Gabi reverts to talking in a more archaic/stilted form of language, but she still thinks in normal modern teen slang and sometimes she does slip up in her speech. This was done very well and remained consistent throughout the story.

The plot is well done and is full of conspiracy and plotting, there are some excellent action scenes, and the romance is tender and sweet. Keep in mind this is part of a trilogy so this book does not stand alone, there really isn't much resolved by the end of this book so I would recommend having the second book, Cascade, on hand.

I was a bit dubious about reading this book because of the Bergren's religious background, not to mention the publishing house. I've been conned into reading fantasies before that end up being more treatises on religion than actual works of fantasy. This book was not like that. Being that you are in old Italy God is mentioned a number of times. Gabi occasionally wonders if her being sent back in time was God's will (even though she is admittedly not all that religious) and wonders when people pray to God if he really hears. Besides those mentions this really isn't a religious heavy book. I thought the use of religion was reasonable and fit well with the story, I never felt like I was being preached too or beat over the head with heavy religious beliefs. So don't let the Christian history of the writer or publishing house deter you from reading this book.

Overall I loved this book. The characters, plot, and action scenes were all very well done. Sure all the sword fighting, horseback riding, language skills that Gabi had were a bit too convenient and maybe Marcelle was a bit too perfect...but the package made for a wonderful historical fantasy full of intrigue, adventure, and a very sweet romance. Fans of historical fantasy with romance will find a lot here to love. I absolutely could not put this book down. A lot remains unresolved at the end of this book so I have to admit I immediately went out and bought Cascade and Torrent so that I could read the rest of the story.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- The Debut Author Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge
- Show Me the Free Challenge

Review - The House of Dark Shadows (The Dreamhouse Kings, Book 1) by Robert Liparulo (2.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Size: 304 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: May 6, 2008
ISBN-13: 978-1595544941
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in Dreamhouse Kings series
Source: Free for Amazon Kindle
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time so when I saw it was available for free on Kindle (a while back) I snapped it up.  This book is first and foremost an introduction to a series.  It has some neat ideas but starts incredibly slow.


The King family moves into this creepy old house that's definitely a fixer upper.  The oldest son, Xander, is bothered by some of the things that are going on in it.  For example when people talk the sound doesn't come from where you think it should, there are other strange sounds around the house, and then there are the gigantic footprints that show up every so often.  When Xander and his brother David go exploring they find a set of rooms that takes you to other sinister places.

This book definitely has a very scary and creepy horror feeling to it.  Strange sounds and strange men showing up in bedrooms, that kind of thing.  In general it creeped me out; so I wouldn't recommend it to people who scare easily (like me) or people who aren't fans of suspense/horror type books.  There is a fantasy element to it when the boys find the strange rooms that can take them to other times/places.  Even with this fantasy element; when the Kings travel to the other places everything is always scary, sinister, and trying to kill them.

The book starts incredibly slow.  It takes half the book or more, for the family to move into the house and start seeing the strange things.  The whole time I was like, come on, come on, let's get to some good stuff here.  Once they discover the magic rooms things do get much more interesting; but that part is so small compared to how long it takes to set the story up.  Because of this pacing issue, this book is more like an intro to the Kings and their house than an actual complete story.

The plot itself is also very predictable.  I guessed right at the beginning who the father was and what his past was and was right.  I totally agree with Xander about how stupid his dad was about everything that happened; I think it is incredibly unrealistic that a dad would knowingly put his family in that type of position.  Which leads me to talking about the characters...they were all okay, but never very interesting.  All of the characters do stupid things (as happens in many horror novels) and aren't really that engaging or likable.

I think the strong part of this novel was the idea of the magic rooms; there is a lot of potential there for an interesting story and it would be interesting to see how these things all tie together.  

The book ends on a complete cliffhanger with no resolution (again I am not a fan of those).  I really felt like this was just a short intro to this world and not really a complete book at all.  The writing style overall is so-so; but nothing to write home about.  I also have trouble believing this is targeted for young adults; maybe it might be suspenseful for younger kids...maybe middle grade?  I think the YA crowd will find it boring and predictable.

Overall it was okay.  The idea of the magic rooms is interesting and I think Liparulo could do a lot with that in future books.  The story started very slowly, with lots of setup.  The plot was predictable and the characters were so-so.  This isn't really a complete book; it just sets up the world and leaves the poor reader on a total cliffhanger.  Oh, and it is way more of a horror book than a fantasy book.  So if you are a wuss about scary stuff, like me, then you will want to look elsewhere.  I personally will not continue on with this series and am glad that I got it for free.  Definitely not my thing.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Show Me the Free Challenge