Review - Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey (3.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size:  345 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release Date: April 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-04430-1
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

I thought this book sounded interesting when it first came out but have been holding off on reading it because of mixed reviews.  Well I agree, I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book.  The first 200 pages are 3 stars, they are pretty boring, not a lot going on.  But the last 150 pages are absolutely awesome.

Ellie is at a boarding school in New Zealand and agrees to help choreograph some of the fight scenes for the play her friend Kevin is in.  On her way there she see a woman emerge from the mist; a woman whose eyes are completely black.  It ends up that this is the same woman that is starring in the play Ellie is helping with.  Then Ellie literally runs into a handsome guy named Mark Nolan and after that she starts seeing things.  Mark is wrapped up in something mysterious and Ellie is about to be pulled into the melee.  In the end it may be up to Ellie to save the world.


Okay, let's talk about the first 200 pages of the book.  It is easy to read and written okay, but not a lot happens.  There is a little mystery here and there but mostly the first 200 pages are kind of a yawner.  Ellie spends a lot of time complaining about how overweight she is and, when she isn't doing that, she is either complaining about being hungry or snacking on vending machine candy.  I had a hard time having a lot of sympathy for her and mostly thought she was kind of pathetic.  I didn't really love all the characters that much and about the third time Mark broke into tears because he was over emotional about something it was all I could do to keep my eyes from rolling out of my head.


Now the last 150 pages of the book were pretty much completely different.  Ellie is on a quest to save New Zealand.  This part of the book is all about the really unique and interesting mythos of New Zealand.  Ellie becomes someone to be admired, she grows a backbone and does what needs to be done.  This change wasn't really gradual, it isn't something Ellie grows into, it just happens.  This part of the book was awesome and I adored it.


The ending is really interesting, but gets a bit confusing at parts, some of it is a bit abstract which I enjoy that in my books because it makes me think harder about what is going on.  The book ends well and wraps up the story nicely.  Basically I ended up absolutely loving the complexity of the characters and the plot for the last part of the book.  I loved it so much that it almost made me forget how boring the first part of the book was.  So...basically I guess this book just had really poor pacing.


Overall I ended up liking the book.  The beginning was a drag but if you can struggle through the first 200 pages then you are in for a creative, complex, and very interesting treat.  Will I read more books by Healey?  At this point I am not sure, this book was just too inconsistent, so I would probably wait to read reviews before I picked up another book by her.


This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- The Debut Author Challenge
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop

Hi Guys,

The last big giveaway hop that I participated in was a big success so I've decided to participate in another one. This one is the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop hosted by I'm A Reader, Not a Writer. You can click on the button below for more info.

The books I am giving away are shown below.  So please stop by during the blog hop and fill out the entry form!

          

The three books included in this giveaway are:

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

Dracula, My Love by Syrie James

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

Graphic Novel Review - The Great Cow Race (Bone, book 2) by Jeff Smith (4.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Middle Grade
Genre: Graphic Novel/Fantasy
Size:  144 pages
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Release Date: August 1, 2005
ISBN-13: 978-0439706391
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in Bone series (9 books total)
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the second Bone graphic novel out of nine.  This was a great addition to the story and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Fone Bone and his buddies are getting ready for the Great Cow Race.  Grandma is hoping to win, but Phoney Bone is creating some money mischief in the betting pool that is bound to get the Bones in trouble again.  In addition to this the broader more mysterious storyline is also added to: Thorne is having strange dreams that she confesses to Fone Bone and Fone Bone is again attacked by the Rat-like creatures whose purpose is yet unknown.  Even our friendly cigar smoking red dragon makes a brief appearance.

This was a fun installment in the Bone comics series.  Not quite as adventurous and mysterious as the first one, this one was funnier and dealt mainly with the cow races.  Interwoven with that are some more serious story elements such as what the deal is with Thorne's strange dreams and why their house was attacked and destroyed by the rat creatures.

The drawing is well done, just like in the first book.  There is a lot of humor here mixed up with the more serious stuff.  This is a graphic novel appropriate for all ages.

Overall a great addition to this series.  I have really been enjoying it a lot.  Eventually I think I am going to have to buy keeper copies of these (I've been getting them from the library).  I look forward to reading the third book, Eyes of the Storm, soon.

 

Review - Bloodshot (Cheshire Red Reports, Book 1) by Cherie Priest (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Spectra
Release Date: January 25, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0345520609
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in Cheshire Red Reports series
Source: Amazon Vine Program
Rating: 5/5 stars


I got an advanced reading copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program.  I will preface this review by saying that so far I have liked every book that I have read by Priest; I have read all of her Clockwork Century novels and enjoyed them.  Although I loved the Steampunk theme to those books, I love urban fantasy even more.  So I was very excited to see that she had decided to release an urban fantasy novel.  This novel was wonderful, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it and can't wait to read the next book in the series, Hellbent. 

Cheshire Red a.k.a. Raylene Pendle is a world renown thief and a vampire.  When a mysterious letter appears at her current safe-house with no address, she knows it is from another vampire.  The letter is from Ian Stott a vampire who is blind after being kidnapped and forced into biological experiments that the government was doing.  Ian wants Raylene to acquire his medical records from the secret government research facility.  Easy peesy, right?  Well of course not.  The convoluted path will lead her through a number cities across the nation as well as throw her a new investigator partner in the form of an ex-Navy Seal drag queen.

This book was wonderful from beginning to end.  It was fast-paced, had a plot that kept you guessing, lots of wonderful quirky characters, and great action sequences.  This book is a lot lighter than Priest's Clockwork Century series and a lot more fun.  Raylene is a bit OCD, snarky, witty, and downright human despite the fact that she, well, really isn't human at all.  Ian Stott is another wonderful character as a blind, yet sensitive vampire and I wish that he had been in the story a bit more.  Adrian is also a top character; I mean how can you not love a funny, kick-butt, ex Navy Seal drag queen?  He is just great.

The plot is an intricate and interesting one that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from the beginning to the end of the story.  I especially liked how Raylene did so much travel; we got to read about her in Seattle, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and D.C.  It also seemed like Priest did her research on the cities Raylene went too.  Although I as a little bit put out at Minneapolis's main descriptor being that it was cold, I really can't deny that since next Monday we will have a daily high of zero oF, so I guess that is pretty accurate.

There isn't a lot of romance in this book, a touch here and there but that is it.  I love that since I like my books more towards urban fantasy than paranormal romance.  The main story is wrapped up nicely but you can tell there will be a sequel to wrap up some plot points that show up in the end of the story.

How does this compare to Clockwork Century books?  Well it is more fun and uses a more informal writing style.  It is not necessarily better or worse than the Clockwork Century books, it is just different. 

Overall a wonderful new urban fantasy book.  I love Priest as a writer and she has once again proven what an excellent writer she is and also how versatile she can be.  If you are a fan of the Kate Daniels series, the Jaz Parks series, or the Elemental Assassin series I would definitely pick this book up and give it a read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge Book List
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
- GLBT Reading Challenge

 

Review - Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Science Fiction
Size: 360 pages
Publisher: Graphia
Release Date: May 1, 2008
ISBN-13: 978-0152061548
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Last Survivors trilogy
Source: Audio Book from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars


I have been wanting to read this for a while.  All I really knew about it was that it was supposed to be about the end of the world kind of and supposed to be really good.  It was a very good book and really makes you think about how you would survive in a similar situation.  I listened to this on audio book and the audio book was well done.

Miranda and her family are excited to go out and watch an asteroid hit the moon; there is supposed to be a big flash you can see from earth.  Unfortunately it is then that disaster strikes.  The asteroid is denser than expected and the moon is thrown out of orbit.  The shift in the moon's gravitational pull is having catastrophic effects; there are tsunamis on the coasts, earthquakes everywhere, massive volcanic eruptions, and basically everything that could go wrong with the world is.  Miranda and her family aren't in the thick of things where they live in Pennsylvania but they are living with a gradual decline; power is scarce, food is almost non-existent, and they are isolated from the rest of the country.  Fears about food sources and heat as winter approaches make things more complicated.

This whole book is done as day by day journal entries by Miranda.  The author does an excellent job of showing Miranda's ups and downs as she struggles through the events her and her family are put through.  The author also does an excellent job of showing how Miranda's family's life declines in increments.  There are no huge disasters here, well there are some, but mainly this book shows how the world could go into a slow decline and how people would do their best to survive.  I found it to be a much more realistic take on "the end of the world" than many other books I have read.  There is also a lot of focus on how close Miranda and her family become as they struggle to survive.

This book will really suck you in; it will make you laugh at times and make you cry at others.  You really start to feel like you are part of Miranda's family and are holding your breath to see what they will have to fight through next.  It is definitely not the most uplifting of books and at times is downright depressing.  The author offsets this with occasional positive events and glimpses of hope.  This book will definitely get you thinking about all that you take for granted in day to day life and about how fragile the structure of our information based society is.

There were a couple things that I didn't like about this book.  Midway through it kind of drags.  There is only so much that a reader can read about rationing food and trying to find ways to pass the time before they start to get a bit bored.  So there were a couple parts where I impatiently wanted the story to get on with things.  Also when Miranda is dictating conversations she ends every sentence with "he said", "I said", "she said" and that gets a bit repetitive but is probably representative of how a teenager would write in a journal.

Overall this is a wonderful book that really makes you think about the fragility of human society.  A great take on the collapse of human society caused completely by natural disaster.  It is not a happy book and is pretty depressing, but there are some glimpses of laughter and hope throughout.  It will make you wonder how you would survive a similar situation.  I have not decided if I want to read the next two books in this series or not.  I would like to find out more about what happens to Miranda and her family, but it was a pretty depressing read and I am not sure I need that...especially in the winter.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Review - Side Jobs (Dresden Files Short Story Collection) by Jim Butcher (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 432 pages
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: October 26, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0451463654
Stand Alone or Series: Short story collection from Dresden Files series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars


This was a great collection of stories all set in the Dresden Files world.  The majority of these stories have appeared in other anthologies, that's part of the reason I got this from the library...I had read half of the stories before.  Still there are some great ones I hadn't read.  The last novella "Aftermath" is a definite must read for everyone who wants to know more about what happened after the cliffhanger ending of Changes.

My favorites were Aftermath (which describes events after Changes), Heorot (where Norse mythology mixes with Dresden's world), Last Call, and Love Hurts.  Butcher does little intros to each story that give some interesting background that was fun to read.

All of the stories (except for A Restoration of Faith and Vignette) were very professional, well-written, and incredibly fun to read.  There isn't a lot more to say about this collection. 

Overall a great collection of stories; if you are a big fan you should read it.  You might want to check to make sure you don't own the stories in other anthologies first before you buy the book.  I am not going to talk about the timing of each story because that is listed in the book itself along with the details of each anthology the stories are pulled from.  Stories were pulled from the following anthologies: Blood Lite, Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, Many Bloody Returns, Mean Streets, Strange Brew, and the novella Backup is included too.

See below for a brief description of the stories included. 

- A Restoration of Faith: Definitely an amateur story, but Butcher says this himself.  It was interesting to read the first story Butcher ever wrote about Harry.

- Vignette: Not one of the strongest stories in the book.  A very short peice about Harry creating the ad for his investigation agency.

- Something Borrowed: Nice filler story about Georgia and Billy's wedding; these are the two werewolves Harry works with off and on in the series.

- It's My Birthday Too: I originally read this in Many Bloody Returns.  It's a fun addition to the Dresden Files series. I enjoyed a story in which Thomas played a main role. I especially enjoyed the role-playing; being a DnD player I thought it was hilarious.

- Heorot: Very strong story with some interesting supernatural aspects too it.  Ties in some Norse mythology with Harry's world.

- Day Off: Funny and cute story about what happens when Harry tries to take a day off of work.

- Backup: This is a small novella told from Thomas's point of view, Harry's brother, it takes place in the same time/place as the Dresden Files. It was an okay story.

- The Warrior: I originally read this story in Mean Streets.  This story was about Michael and Harry trying to keep Michael's family safe from someone who wants to steal the two Holy Swords that Harry has been keeping hidden. Overall the story was okay, but seemed a bit tired to me. It was interesting to hear a bit more about why Harry has the holy swords. I didn't think this was the best Dresden story I've read but it was kind of interesting.

- Last Call: I originally read this in the Strange Brew anthology.  This is an entertaining story about Murphy and Harry tracking down the source of some tainted beer that Mac accidentally served in his bar. Tons of action, very entertaining!

- Love Hurts: Bittersweet story where Dresden and Murphy track down rogue love spells and are caught up the spells themselves.  Nice addition and further fills out the story between Dresden and Murphy.

- Aftermath: Best story of the bunch and a must read for fans for the series.  Harry is presumed dead and is missing.  Murphy is trying to figure out what is going on when Will comes to her for help; Georgia's been kidnapped and she is very pregnant.  Now it is up to Murphy to step in to aid the paranormals in Dresden's place and what she finds is a plot bigger than she could have imagined.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge Book List
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Teaser Tuesday - 12/7

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week my teaser comes from Bloodshot by Cherie Priest.
 
Here it is: "You wouldn't believe some of the weird shit people pay me to steal.  Old things, new things.  Expensive things, rare things, gross things.  Lately it's been naughty things." Pg 3