Karissa's Reading Review

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Early Review - The Prophet (The Graveyard Queen, Book 3) by Amanda Stevens (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: April 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0778313397
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Graveyard Queen series
Source: eARC through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the third book in the Graveyard Queen series by Stevens. I've heard rumors that a fourth book is planned for this series but haven't found the title yet. I got an advanced reading copy of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. This was a very good addition to the series, I did think it was the weakest book of the series, but given how much I loved the last two book in this series...this book was still a good book.

Amelia returns to Charleston somewhat beat up about everything that happened during The Kingdom
. She is happy to be able to be near Devlin again, but unsure of her reception. Things start getting complicated for Amelia right away. Devlin's daughter constantly haunts Amelia pleading for help and then another ghost blackmails Amelia into hunting down his killer. The mystery draws Amelia deep into the dark side of Charleston; full of root doctors and other questionable magic.

The writing in this book is just as beautiful and haunting as in the previous books and I really enjoyed it. There is an interesting mystery and it ends up being somewhat complex but is intriguing to read about.

I did have some problems with this book though. Amelia doesn't spend much time doing cemetary restoration; not like she did in the last two books. The history and strange peacefulness that accompany the cemetary restoration scenes are part of what drew me to this series, it is just such an interesting career. So I was disappointed that we don't' get to read much about the cemetery restoration in this book.

This book also did not have as high of an eerie or creepiness factor as previous books in the series. I love that this series has been creepy and strange without getting super scary. This book was more of a mystery and had less of a creepy gothic overtone than previous books.

The last problem I had was Amelia herself. When she is around Devlin she gets so...well...weak. She lets Devlin make all of the decisions and her personality seems to fade in his presence. After all the backbone she shows in The Kingdom I didn't enjoy seeing her like this. It made me kind of sad that this was where she ended up. Devlin is kind of a secretive jerk at times in this book and I didn't like how Amelia just put up with it.

The above complaints aside, this book was still a beautifully written and well done mystery. A lot of the strands that were presented in the first two books are nicely tied together and wrapped up in this book. It was just that a lot of the things that made this series really special to me weren't as present as they were in the last two books.

Overall this was a good addition to the series. There is a lot of great mystery in here and a lot of questions answered. The writing is absolutely beautiful. Amelia seems weaker than in the last book and doesn't spend as much time doing cemetary restoration. The gothic creepiness factor was less than in previous books as well. So there is some good and some bad here; but overall I think this is the weakest book in the series so far. I am curious to see if there is a fourth book and, if so, where this story ends up going. I would recommend to people who were fans of the first two books. I also recommend to those who like a gothic tone to their urban fantasy.

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

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Audiobook Review - Alison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Zombie
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: January 18, 2011
ISBN: 978-0312658908
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Zombies series
Source: Audibook through Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

I had been wanted to read this book for some time. I loved zombie books and this one had a great premise. It was an entertaining book that ended up being more about dealing with other people than smashing up zombies...although there is a lot of zombie smashing as well.

I listened to this on audiobook and it was very well done. They have different voice actors for the different voices and blog comments. I highly recommend listening to this if you like audiobooks.

Alison is at work at a bookstore when it happens. People start turning into mindless zombies and eating each other. Luckily the break room is where the safe is and has a huge reinforced metal door. Now Alison is trapped with her co-workers in the bookstore break room. As the world crumbles apart outside, Alison decides to start a blog detailing the day to day events. Alison's story is submitted to a book being written about American heroes during the zombie crisis. As the reader we read it as blog entries.

There are a few things that are really interesting about the way this book is done. Firstly since Alison's story is being submitted for inclusion in a book about American heroes, we know that eventually humanity recovers from the horrible events that took place during Alison's life. Just that gives this book a more hopeful feel than many other zombie books I have read.

Secondly the book is done as blog entries. This is similar to Mira Grant's Newsflesh series, but much different in tone. Alison's entries are more like a personal diary. Also interesting is that comments to Alison's blog are posted at the end of each entry. From these comments we get to see what is happening to the rest of the world; we hear about how other people are surviving and how the rest of the world is fairing.

Alison is an awesome character. She is your typical grad student but she will do what needs being done. No matter how gross or gory. I was a little surprised in the beginning of the book at the inaction of her coworkers. None of her coworkers did anything, they were all victims...Alison had to spur them into action. I found this to be kind of unrealistic; I mean I can't imagine my coworkers ever being that apathetic but I guess I work with engineers not book store employees...so it may just be different.

Most of this book isn't about slaying zombies. It's about making a life for yourself in the chaos and dealing with all of the people (good and bad) that cross your life. As with many zombie books, in the end the zombies aren't the problem...it's all the crazy people you have to deal with in a society that has completely broken down that are the problem.

Is this book gory, heck yeah! Is it sad at times? Yep. But there are also some interesting revelations about life and the meaning of it in here too. There is also a sweet romance between Alison and one of the men she meets that offsets a lot of the violence. I should mention this is a book for adults. Alison swears a lot (I mean boatloads) and sex is discussed quite a bit (although there isn't anything really explicit). There are also some surgery scenes that made me squirm.

The end of the book is pretty predictable, but that being said this is one of the more hopeful zombie books that I have read. Things actually end in a somewhat hopeful way.

Overall this is a very good read. The story is told in a creative way and I really enjoyed Alison as a character. Alison is a tough, ax-toting survivor, but along the way she learns a lot about herself and those around her. There is a sweet romance in here, lots of crazy escapes, and lots of chopping up zombies with axes. I still enjoyed The Angels are the Reapers and Night of the Living Trekkies better; but I would still highly recommend this book to zombie fans out there.

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

Monday, April 2, 2012

Please Vote for Me on April 10th!

I was originally planning on going to BEA but because of financial reasons I won't be able to. Then I ran into this contest on Goodreads where they are giving away some free tips to BEA for Bloggers.

So if you love my blog, please take a few second and vote for me! If I end up at BEA I promise lots of goodies to my followers when I return :-) Wait...is that bribery? Well yeah I guess it is...just use your best judgement :-)

Review - Hallowed (Unearthly, Book 2) by Cynthia Hand (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: January 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-0061996184
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Unearthly series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

This was an absolute stunner of a book; it is beautifully written and absolutely engaging. Very hard to put down and lots of surprising revelations that made this book even better than the first one (and I absolutely loved the first boo).

Clara and her family moved to Colorado so she could fulfill her angelic purpose. Well at the end of Unearthly she made a different choice, the choice to not fulfill her purpose. That decision will have repercussions that even Clara could never had expected. Clara is trying to get on with life and enjoy time with her boyfriend Tucker. That's when the dreams start; Clara is having dreams that someone very close to her will die, she thinks it might be Tucker. Clara's worry over Tucker puts strain on their relationship and she finds herself spending more and more time with Christian, another Quatarius angel whose fate seems tied closely to Clara's.

When you look at the synopsis this sounds like just another paranormal YA book. The difference is this is a really, really well written YA book with a lot of heart, and a lot of humor. The writing is beautiful. Clara is funny at points and absolutely honest. I love the relationship she has with her mom and what a loving family they are.

Clara makes a wonderful heroine, the mistakes she makes are in an effort to do the right thing. She is constantly torn between following her heart and following her destiny. She also has to go through some truly heartbreaking stuff in this book. Seriously you will laugh out loud and then be in tears by the end of the book.

If you were a Tucker fan in the last book, sorry to say you might be changing sides. Christian plays a huge role in this book; his respect, understanding and constant support of Clara make him a wonderful character and I was really rooting for him by the end of the story.

The book is mostly drama, not a ton of action, but there is some action and mystery as Clara struggles to solve the mystery of the Black Wings and uncover the history of her mother. The plot takes some amazing twists at the end and there are some revelations that are truly jaw-dropping. There is a lot in this story I would never have been able to predict, it was all very well done.

Overall this book is even better than the first one. Clara is such a likable character that she is easy to get attached to; she is forced to dealing with some heartbreaking stuff. Christian really comes into his own in this book; he is so supportive and understanding of Clara. Some truly surprising plot twists occur that really upped the ante. Highly recommended to fans of YA paranormal books; this series is so well written that it is really one of the better YA series out there.

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

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Kick Butt Characters Blog Hop Winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Kick-Butt Characters Blog Hop!

The winner was Jason!

There were 149 entries and the winner was chosen using random.org

The top kick-butt character that people listed as their favorite was Katniss (by a landslide) from The Hunger Games. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering the timing :-)

A close second was Rose from Vampire Academy.

Also an honorable mention to Kali from Every Other Day.

My personal favorite that someone listed was Gandalf...I am rereading The Hobbit with my son and Gandalf totally kicks-butt!

In My Mailbox and Mailbox Monday - 4/2/12

IMM is a meme started at The Story Siren with some inspiration from Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.

Anyone can participate in IMM and you are not limited to only sharing books that arrive via your mailbox. You can also share books that you've bought or books that you've gotten at the library.

Mailbox Monday can be found at: The Printed Page

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I got four books this week. You can see them below or watch the video below for more info.

Hope you all got some great books and have a wonderful week of reading!