Review - Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: June 11, 2013
ISBN:978-0374388294
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 3/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. This is a hard book to review for me. There were some parts of the book I really enjoyed and other parts that I found to be boring and confusing. This book was an inconsistent read. Some parts were rambling and boring, while other portions were very intriguing and engaging. I almost stopped reading it multiple times and am still uncertain as to whether I enjoyed it or not.

The story is set in an alternate New Zealand in the late 1950’s. It follows the story of Canny. Canny is a teenager whose mathematical genius defines her, however she has a lot of trouble getting along with others. When her brother and his fiance decide to travel to a small town for the summer, Canny is sent along to accompany them. While Canny’s brother tries to dig up historical accounts of a tragic mining accident that happened many years ago, Canny explores the Valley. Things are strange in the Valley, for example there is a house that no one but Canny can see. In the valley Canny meets the Zarene family who practice a strange sort of magic. When Canny finds that she too can perform the magic, she is drawn into a story of dark secrets and determined to unravel the mystery of this strange house.

As I said this is a tough book for me to review. Some chapters I found boring and confusing and some were incredibly engaging. At points in the book the dialogue and language between characters is very awkward. There were a number of points in the book I had to reread a passage a few times before I could figure out what the author was trying to say. Some of the dialogue is so awkward that I ended up thinking maybe Know did it that way on purpose; but it was awkward in an inconsistent way (not with just one character, but sporadically throughout the book). It was almost like parts of the book were written by different people.

Canny is an interesting character but hard to engage with. She is a genius of sorts, and has a lot of trouble interacting with others. She breaks even the most basic things (locations, colors, poems) into a mathematical way of thinking. This results in her being lonely and curious, but her lack of emotional engagement with the world makes her hard to like. When she does show emotion it comes off as distant and stiff.

The most interesting character in the book is the young man Canny meets in the strange house, Ghislain. He has a mysterious past and is an intriguing character. Throughout the book his interactions with Canny come off as a bit dreamlike, awkward, and disjointed. Still I was intrigued by his mystery and why he was trapped in that house.

Canny and Ghislain have a romance of sorts, but that also came off as a bit awkward for me. They didn’t have much chemistry together and the “romance” comes off as a bit creepy at times.

I did enjoy how this world in the Valley was both part of and removed from our world. I enjoyed the magic system of runes. I also enjoyed the somewhat peaceful and dreamline quality to the writing. The book wraps up fairly well too.

Overall this was a mixed read for me. I enjoyed the magic and Canny’s genius. I enjoyed the mystery behind Zarene Valley and behind the character of Ghislain. I also enjoyed the interesting asides into mining and the mining disasters. However the writing was awkward and alternated between engaging, confusing, and boring. It was just very inconsistent. The conversations between characters felt forced and awkward. The romance between Canny and Ghislain is sudden and a bit creepy. The pacing of the story is also a bit off; parts are incredibly engaging and parts are wandering and boring.

Honestly I can’t really recommend this as a good fantasy read. If you really have your heart set on reading this I would recommend reading the first chapter of the book...it’s one of the most awkward parts of the book...if you can get through that and enjoy it then you will probably enjoy the rest of the book. If that chapter bothers you, then the rest of the book will most likely bother you as well.

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

Audiobook Review - Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: August 7, 2001
ISBN: 978-0064410342
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars


I have had this book to read forever and was so excited to finally get around to reading it. I watched the movie a long time ago and enjoyed it, but wanted more depth to that interesting story. This was a well done fantasy book, that had an old time fairy tale feel to it. My main complaint that the ending was a bit rushed. There are two sequels to this book: Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator has an English accent which fits this fairy tale type of story perfectly and did a wonderful job with the character voices.

Sophie is the eldest of three children in a hat-makers shop. As such, she feels that she is destine to lead a boring and uneventful life. Things change when she runs afoul of the Witch of the Waste while selling the Witch a hat. The Witch turns Sophie into an old woman. Sophie leave the hat shop and journeys to Howl’s Castle in hope that he can break the spell on her and return her to her youthful self.

This was a well done children's book with a fairy tale feel to it. The world is a typical olden time fantasy world with Kings and magic and castles. I loved the idea of Howl’s floating castle and the Wicked Witch of the west. This is a magical story full of lessons on life, love, and happiness.

The characters did leave a bit to be desired for me though. Sophie’s personality matches that of a cranky old woman perfectly, even before she is a cranky old woman. I think that is part of the irony in her being turned into a cranky old woman. I didn’t really enjoy her all that much. The huge decision she makes to go Howl’s castle she blames on being in shock from the transformation and to be honest she doesn’t do much but be incredibly stubborn for large portions of the book. She also is very caustic and rude to Howl throughout the whole book. She never lets him get a word in edgewise and never lets him actually explain anything. She continually calls Howl a “slitherer-outer”, which seems hypocritical to me since Sophie is constantly trying the slither out of her own live and out of making any decisions.

I like Howl’s character better but he was still hard to engage with. Howl is a first rate womanizer and (Sophie is right, he is a slitherer-outer) tries to get out of having any responsibilities at all. He pretends to be mysterious and hard-hearted but it is extremely apparent that he is not any of those things. He was a very stereotypical bachelor type character (he has a messy house, eat poorly, and is always after women).

The best character of the bunch is Calcifier, the fire demon that lives in Howl’s fireplace. He is much more fascinating than either Sophie or Howl, and I would have liked to read more about him.

Sophie’s sisters are also delightful characters. They are full of mischief and add more life to the story than Sophie ever does. I especially enjoyed Sophie’s sister’s magic teacher, she was a funny and engaging character.

Behind all of the Sophie/Howl disagreements there is a larger part to the plot. The King wants Howl to rescue his brother from the Witch of the Waste, of course HOwl is doing his best not to get involved. This part of the story was largely in the background. To be honest this portion of the story isn’t really dealt with until very late in the book. The way it wraps up is creative and interesting, but also very rushed and a bit confusing. This would have been better if Jones had taken a bit more time to explain and wrap up the mystery behind the Witch of the Waste and the King’s brother.

So to be honest, while I enjoyed this cute little fairy tale story, it didn’t awe me or blow me away. The characters left something to be desired, the pacing was slow in the beginning and rushed at the ending, also things get a bit confusing at the end and could have used some better explanation.

In addition to the above there are some mysteries around the “other world” Howl goes to that are never well explained. The “romance” between Howl and Sophie (if you can even call it that) felt forced, awkward, and rushed as well.

Overall this was a decent fairy tale like story. I enjoyed the world and Howl’s magical castle and the whimsical tone to the story. I also enjoyed Calcifer the fire demon and his sharp wit. I thought Howl and Sophie were probably the least interesting characters in the book. I also thought the pacing was off and that there were a lot of things left unanswered. After writing this review I guess I felt a bit let down by this book, my expectations were really high though....so that’s kind of my own fault. I most likely will not be reading the sequels to this book. There are just too many other wonderful middle grade fantasy stories out there to read.

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

Novella Review - The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass, 0.4) by Sarah J. Maas (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 298 KB
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: July 20, 2012
ASIN: B008HRMAPG
Stand Alone or Series: 0.4 novella in the Throne of Glass series
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the fourth novella that takes place before the first Thorne of Glass novel. I really enjoyed it alot. It gives excellent insight as to how Celaena finally found her way to the Salt pits.

Celaena and Sam are finally free and living on their own. They want to escape the city they grew up in once and for all and set up their trade as assassins in a different city. In order to finance this they decided to take on one last Assassination job. This is the job to finally get them their freedom and of course it goes all wrong.

Celaena has developed from a very vain character to one that actually cares for others. Here we see both aspects of her personality, the one that loves fine things and the one that cares about her friends. It was interesting to compare who she was at the start of these novells to who she is now, and then compare that to who she becomes in the Throne of Glass. She is a strong and yet flawed character, that is easy to engage with and love.

We see a lot more of Sam in this book as well. His devotion to Celaena is solid and wonderful, yet he has his own flaws. He is also stubborn and proud.

This novella follows Sam and Celaena as they plot their final job together. So there is lots of strategy and some action. There are a couple excellent fight scenes too.

As you can imagine from where things start in the Throne of Glass series, thing go horribly wrong and Celaena ends up in the salt mines.

This was an excellent continuation of these novellas that tell us about Celaena's life before when went to the salt mines. It was well written, engaging, and easy to read.

Overall I enjoyed this novella a lot. I love these characters, especially Celaena who is courageous and loyal, yet flawed. I love the setting and the writing as well; these books/novellas are so wonderfully written and easy to read. This whole series is strongly recommended to those who love fantasy novels, they are really well done.

Early Review - Siege and Storm (The Grisha Trilogy, Book 2) by Leigh Bardugo (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Release Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0805094602
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Grisha trilogy
Source: From Publisher for Review
Rating: 5/5 stars


I got a copy of this book from the publisher for review. It was a wonderful continuation of this story, I think it was even better than the first book in this series. The third book in this trilogy, Ruin and Rising, is scheduled for a 2014 release date. You definitely need to read the first book, Shadow and Bone, to know what is going on in this one.

Alina and Mal have fled across the True Sea in hopes of escaping the tragedy that ended the last book, and of course in hopes of escaping the Darkling. With Alina trying to hide her ability as the Sun Summoner she is growing weaker and weaker. When the Darkling emerges from the Fold with a new and terrifying power Alina begins to despair. That is until a mysterious and charismatic privateer steps up to help Alina and Mal. Alina decides to try to return to Ravka to save the city she loves, but as she grows in power she is drawn further and further away from Mal and more and more towards the darkness.

This was a spectacular read. I loved the creative world-building in the first book of this series, this book grows that world and expands it. We get to journey to new regions of ice and snow, and sail dangerous seas, not me mention venturing into the darkness of the Fold again. This is a wonderful world and I love reading about it.

I thought that the characters grew a lot in this book as well. I wasn’t a huge fan of Alina in the first book, she was a bit too passive for me. In this book she finds her strength and her will to do what is right. She works to master her power and seeks out more power. Alina does all of this in an effort to help, but as she finds she likes the power she struggles to maintain her identity. Alina was wonderfully complex and had to deal with some tough decisions in this book.

Mal is in the story quite a bit as well. He is supportive of Allina, but also a bit overbearing at times. He just doesn’t want her to change and is starting to fear the power that she is becoming. As with Alina, he is a complex character who is struggling with his love for Alina and what he feels is the right thing to do.

The Darkling is in this story a lot less than in the first book. He is there looming over everyone and creating fear. He’s gained some interesting powers and I continue to find him fascinating. Still he is more in the background in this story.

The character that really steps up and shares the spotlight with Alina in this book is Sturmhond, the privateer. He is incredibly charismatic, witty, and intelligent. He also has a bevy of secrets that will blow you away. He was a wonderful addition to the story.

The plot is well paced and engaging. I had a lot of trouble putting this book down. The writing is absolutely beautiful and flows well. The story is intense, but there is some humor throughout as well. Seriously you have magic, sea battles, epic darkness versus light fighting scenes...it was just wonderful.

Overall this was just an absolutely wonderfully done fantasy read. This book is highly recommended to fans of fantasy, and not just YA fans but fans of all ages. This is a magnificent world with complex and engaging characters. The storyline is epic and takes a completely new twist on the epic battle between light and dark. The pacing is wonderful and the book is impossible to put down. I want to read Ruin and Rising now!!! This is a highly recommended and absolutely stunning fantasy read.

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

Review - Summerkin (Winterling, Book 2) by Sarah Prineas (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size:272 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0061921063
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Winterling series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This book is the second in the Winterling series. The series will continue in Moonkind which is scheduled for a Jan 2014 release date. I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one, it was a wonderful middle grade fantasy involving fey. I would definitely recommend reading Winterling before reading this book.

In the last book Fer defeated the evil Mor making her the Lady of the Summerlands. Now Fer is back in the human lands and longs to return to the Summerlands. When she returns her people don’t know what to make of her and her unique way of doing things. This includes the High Ones who request that Fer journey to their lands to compete in a contest that will prove whether or not she is the true Lady of Summerlands.

This is a magical story full of adventure and intrigue with enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and entertained. It’s appropriate for all ages as well, although one of Fer’s competitors is very cruel to those around him.

I love Fer as a character. She has times when she is uncertain of her actions but always decides to stay true to what she thinks is right. Everyone is telling her she is ruling the Summerland in the wrong way, but she sticks with what she believes to be right. I also loved her kindness and her loyalty to those she considered friends.

Rook plays a large part in the story as well. As a pouka his loyalty to Fer is constantly called into question. He himself struggles with the call to be true to his family of poukas and his yearning to help out Fer as a friend.

A good portion of the novel is spent with Fer in competition with some other competitors. They were all interesting characters and these scenes were action-packed and engaging. Going on along with this storyline there is the mystery of a missing crown.

My favorite part of this book is the world. The descriptions are incredibly well done and create excellent imagery for the reader. There are new creative and magical things around every corner so you never know what to expect.

The book is well written and a fairly easy read. The plot isn’t incredibly complex (it’s written for young readers) but it is complex enough to keep an adult interested and engaged.

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot. I love the magical world and the wonderful creative descriptions throughout. Fer is an excellent example of a growing girl who is trying to do what she believes in, even if doing what everyone else thinks is right would be the easier path. This is an absolutely wonderfully creative and engaging fantasy, I highly recommend it to all ages of readers who love fantasy. I can’t wait to read Moonkind when it releases.

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

Audiobook Review - Iced (Dani O’Malley, Book 1) by Karen Marie Moning (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 512 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: October 30, 2012
ISBN: 978-0385344401
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Dani O’Malley series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the first book in the Dani O’Malley series which takes place after the last book in Moning’s Fever series. The second book in this trilogy, Burned, is scheduled for a Jan 2014 release. The third and final book, Flayed, is scheduled to release in 2015. I think that you could read this book without reading the original Fever series; there is a ton of recapping. Still if you really want to know what is going on here, you probably want to read the Fever books first.

I listened to this on audiobook and I wouldn’t recommend it. The audiobook had two different narrators, one who does the female voices and one who does the male voices. As a result the female voices are very high in sound and the male voices are very low. When you turn up the sound to hear the very low and deep male voice, the female voice comes across as shrill. It made the book hard to listen to. I was either straining to try and hear the male voices or wincing at the shrill female voices.

Dani O’Malley was a side character in the Fever series and this is the start of her story. Dani is a superhero of sorts, she is super fast and super tough and she has one of the only weapons that can actually kill Fey. When Ryoden’s club gets frozen solid (patrons and all) he forces Dani into a contract. He wants Dani to work with him to solve this mystery before more people and Fey are killed. Now Dani is facing off with something that might be more dangerous and evil than anything she’s ever faced before.

The book is told from many POVs, not just Dani’s. This didn’t add a lot to the story but just drew it out and fractured it.

Dani is incredibly obnoxious. She basically bitches and complains throughout the whole book. She yells at people and is mean to them, then is indignant when they won’t help her out. If you cut out all of Dani’s complaining the book would be a third shorter. Dani is also supposed to be a superhero of sorts, but she spends the vast amount of time either passed out or being rescued by the harem of men that lusts after her. I am not even going to go into how weird it is that she has all these older men lusting after her when she is only fourteen.

So, yeah, in a nutshell I thought Dani was an incredibly immature and obnoxious character and really didn’t enjoy her. I suppose that gives her a lot of room to grow in future books, but I am not sure I want to read more about Dani.

Next let’s talk about the men. You have Ryoden who is super sexy and super dangerous and has trapped Dani into working for him. He is creepy but strangely seems to care about Dani in a very uh...sexual way. Then you have Christian who is slowly turning into a Fey Prince, he is incredibly unstable, sex crazy, and has decided that him and Dani will be getting married. Seriously we hear about how hard Christian is a lot throughout the book, and it is just yucky.

The last man in Dani’s life is Dancer, and he is the only one who deserves his own paragraph. Dancer has been Dani’s friend for a long time, they kind of look out for each other with no strings attached. He is actually Dani’s age, but as the story goes on you realize he must have some pretty deep and dark secrets of his own. He was my absolute favorite character in this book; he is smart, supportive, and stands up to anyone (human or Other) who tries to harm Dani in anyway. I liked him. In a world of crazy he was something interesting and intriguing.

The world is completely insane. Basically this is after the war was lost and the Fey invaded Dublin (Earth?). Apparently realities can shift at will and you never know what will be around the corner. There is a lot of talk about people waking up in different realities and about horrible creepy crawlies...but honestly we don’t see much of that in the story. Most of the story is spent with Dani complaining and trying to manage her harem of testosterone driven men.

By the end of this book I just wanted it to be over. I loved the idea of this world, but the characters were obnoxious and overdone. Dani gets so distracted from the story by these crazy older man that want her, then there was the strange addition of the Crimson Hag. The Crimson Hag was kind of a cool enemy but her addition to the story seemed so last minute and contrived that I just kind of rolled my eyes at this part. Ugh, the whole thing was a bit of a mess.

Overall definitely not my favorite urban fantasy book. There is just too much in here that bugged me. I love the world and some of the characters are intriguing. But Dani is an absolute flop as a character for me, she is annoying and obnoxious and not someone I ever want to read about again. Even though the book features a fourteen year old girl it is definitely an adult read. Having all these older guys jonesing after Dani was super creepy too, I just didn’t enjoy reading about it. The story took too many detours from the actual main plot and all of the POVs throughout just served to draw things out. I will not be reading more books in this series and don’t recommend this new addition to the Fever series. Stick with other urban fantasy reads like Jennifer Estep’s Elemental Assassin series, Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniels series, or Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series.

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

Review - Slither (The Last Apprentice, Book 11) by Joseph Delaney (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: January 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062192349
Stand Alone or Series: 11th book in the Last Apprentice series
Source: Gift
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the eleventh book in The Last Apprentice series. The twelfth book will be titled, I am Alice, and is scheduled for a September 2013 release. This book was a good read and engaging, but did not feature the normal characters in the series.

This book diverts from our normal group of characters, to a different part of the world far from Tom Ward’s country. The story is told from Sliter’s point of view. Slither is a dark mage that makes a deal with a farmer in his region. When the farmer dies he promises Slither his eldest daughter, Nessa, as a slave if only Slither will see Nessa’s two younger sisters to their aunt and uncle. When Slither gets on the bad side of another dark mage all of their lives are in danger. Although things take turn for the better when the strange witch named Grimalkin pops into the story.

This book is written in the same dank and dark tone as all of the previous books. Slither is not really a good character at all, but he is an honorable one. Sure he eats human blood to survive, but when he makes a promise to Nessa’s dad he is bound to keep it. He is not kind, he is not caring, but he honors his bargains.

Parts of the book are also told from Nessa’s point of view. Nessa is a surprisingly resilient character; I loved her bravery in the face of things more horrible than she has ever before faced. I loved how she did her best to shelter her younger sisters as well. She is one tough cookie and an excellent heroine to add to the series.

Slither’s world is a dangerous and interesting one. It’s bound by rules that are followed strictly but it is a vicious world. I enjoyed reading and learning about the world outside of the one we normally read about.

Grimalkin does enter the book for the last third or so of the story. As normal Grimalkin is my absolute favorite character in this series. Like normal she is neither good nor bad. Here we see some of what she has gone through and continues to go through in an effort to destroy the Fiend’s head. She was awesome and the collaborations between her and Nessa were interesting and made me wonder what the future holds for Nessa.

While I wasn’t totally thrilled to have the resolution to this series delayed by this diversion, I have to admit this book was well done and very entertaining. It is formated like previous books with creepy pictures opening each chapter. The book is creepy and dark and a bit scary, but never terrifying.

Overall I really enjoyed this addition to the Last Apprentice series. It was fun to get a look at a different part of the world this series takes place in. Slither was an interesting evil but honorable type of character. Nessa was a surprisingly engaging heroine as well. The parts with Grimlakin were wonderful and it was interesting to see what else she has done on her travels. The book was well paced and incredibly engaging. I really love this series. I can’t wait to read I Am Alice and then see how things wrap up in the 13th book of this series! This series is highly recommended to fans of middle grade/young adult horror/fantasy.

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

Early Review - The Pirate’s Wish (The Assassin's Curse, Book 2) by Cassandra Rose Clarke (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-1908844286
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Assassin’s Curse Duology
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second book in the Assassin’s Curse duology. I absolutely adored The Assassin’s Curse and also really loved Clarke’s adult novel, The Mad Scientist’s Daughter. This book was just as wonderful as the first book in this series. It’s full of magic and adventure with some romance. You definitely need to read Assassin’s Curse first (originally this was going to be one book, but was then broken into two books because of length). Clarke is planning on writing two more books that take place in this world but feature different characters.

Ananna and Naji are trapped in a mysterious island of the North. When the resident wizard dies, they meet a strange an unlikely ally. Eventually Marjani comes to their rescue and they are able to continue their quest to break the curse on Naji. Along the way they will have to fight pirates and even journey below the ocean waves.

This was a spectacular read. The world-building is wonderfully done, it’s such a magical world and well detailed. It’s the type of world I would love to go and visit. The plot is well done too. It’s got this whole questing feel to it because of the three things Ananna and Naji have to do to break his curse; it ends up being more complicated than just that. Still I loved the classic fantasy questing feel the story had to it.

Ananna is an incredibly prickly and highly strung heroine; she’s like a firework always on the edge of exploding. She is a ferocious fighter but is incredibly sensitive about pretty much everything. I kept wanting to shake her and tell her to just calm down and let Naji talk. She is still highly entertaining just a bit flawed as well.

Naji isn’t the most expressive male lead, but I still thought his patience with Ananna was admirable considering how touchy she is. He is a strong male lead and a very interesting and mysterious character. We get to learn a lot more about him and his past in this story.

Marjani also plays a huge role in this story; we learn a ton about her past and the reason she has taken up pirating. She was probably the most mature character of the novel and I enjoyed how her level-headedness balanced out Naji and Ananna.

There are wonderful and spectacular things that happen in this story. There are pirate battles, magical creatures, evil wizards, beautiful kingdoms, and underwater worlds that are explored. It is a breathtaking and wondrous adventure. There is some humor throughout as well, which keeps things fun.

The pacing is very good and keeps the reader engaged from the beginning to the end. The story wraps things up in a way that is realistic and very well done.

Overall an absolutely fantastic read. I enjoyed the world, the plot, and the characters a lot. The story is very engaging and the world is absolutely magical. This is an excellent fantasy read. Highly recommended to fans of The Assassin’s Curse and fans of quest based fantasy. I love this book and can’t wait to read Clarke’s future novels.

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

Audiobook Review - Blood Trade (Jane Yellowrock, Book 6) by Faith Hunter (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: Roc
Date: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-0451465061
Stand Alone or Series: 6th book in the Jane Yellowrock series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the sixth book in the Jane Yellowrock series and I am just amazed out how this series keeps getting better and better. The seventh book in this series will be titled Black Arts and is scheduled to release in 2014. This was a fantastic read, action packed, and full of all the wonderful characters we’ve come to know and love.

I listened to this on audiobook and it was spectacular. This is one of those books that is actually better on audiobook than in paper format. The narrator sounds completely like I imagine Jane would sound and does an excellent job on other character voices as well. The narration is perfect, capturing tone and emotion wonderfully.

Jane Yellowrock receives a call from the Master of Natchez, Mississippi; he’s got some Naturaleza he needs taking care of and he thinks Jane is the one to do this. Of course when Jane arrives she finds things are much more complicated than that. These aren’t normal Naturaleza...they are something much harder to kill. To add to the complication a friend from Jane’s past, Misha, is in town and wants to talk to Jane about vamps. When Misha disappears Janes realizes that there may be some witchy things thrown into this Naturaleza mess.

These books just keep getting better and better. I absolutely love how fast-paced these books are. I love Jane as a character too; she is funny and heartfelt and tough. Jane continuously struggles with her need to protect humans by killing vamps and the morality behind taking the lives of living (or dead) things. She is battling some depression in this book and it was interesting to read about heroine dealing with that and trying to get on with what needs doing. Jane is trying to figure out how to find some happiness again but it is taking some time.

All of our other favorites are here too. Bruiser is in the story, Rick is back to cause some trouble, and of course the boys (Eli and the Kid) are watching Jane’s back. I love the dynamic between Eli, the Kid, and Jane. It’s like a little vampire killing family and they really provide the backup Jane needs (both emotionally and physically).

I am starting to get a bit sick of the whole love triangle between Rick, Bruiser, and Jane. The romance going on there was kind of at a standstill in this book. There is a ton of tension between Bruiser and Jane and Rick and Jane. It didn’t add a lot to the story and was more distracting than anything. I hope that this love triangle gets resolved soon so that Jane can either develop (or not develop) a relationship with one of those men.

Misha brings along another old friend of Jane’s, Bobby. Bobby is mentally challenged but has some special magic skills of his own. He added a lot to the story with his sunny disposition and gave us a glimpse into Jane’s past as well.

I loved all the witchy elements and vampiric transformation things that were going on in this story. A lot happens and the plot is fairly complex, but I found it all to be incredibly interesting and engaging. There are a lot of very well done action scenes in here and the spidey vamps add a whole new level of creepy to this story.

I also love that there is a contained story here but it ties into the larger story that’s been developing from book to book. It is amazing how Hunter ties all these books together and it really shows how much planning and work she’s put into this series right from the beginning. The book is very well written and I really enjoyed it.

Overall a spectacular addition to this series. I enjoyed it alot. We learn more about Jane’s background and are introduced to many new and interesting creatures and characters. I love how Jane is developing a family of sorts of her own and that she has a good support team at her back. The book in incredibly engaging and really pulls you in. This is definitely more urban fantasy than paranormal romance, which I enjoy. I can’t wait to read Blark Arts! This series is highly recommended to fans of action packed urban fantasy.

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

Review - Written in Red (The Others, Book 1) by Anne Bishop (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0451464965
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Others series
Source: ARC through Amazon Vine
Rating: 5/5 stars


This is the first book in the new Others series by Bishop. Previously I have read The Black Jewels series by Bishop and absolutely loved it. I got this book to review through the Amazon Vine program, so thank you to Roc and Amazon for providing it for review. This was a spectacular read, the characters were fascinating, the world building was spectacular I just really really loved this book. The second book in this series, Murder of Crows, is scheduled for a March 2014 release date.

Meg Corbyn is a blood prophet, she has fled the facility where she was kept and sold cut by cut for prophecy. Meg ends up in a Courtyard of the Others and applies for a job there as a Human Liaison for the Others. Simon Wolfgard, who leads this group of others, hires her on. What follows is an interesting story where Meg is trying to make a living among the Others while eluding the evil people who want her back as property.

This was a spectacular urban fantasy read. The world building was wonderful and complex, the characters were incredibly interesting, and the plot was solid and well done. I loved, loved, loved this book.

Every character in this book is fascinating. There are quite a few characters here, but Bishop does such a wonderful job introducing them that it’s not hard to keep track of them all. You have ponies that are Elementals, young women who are Seasons, werewolves, vampires, Crow girls, and even creatures that the Others don’t completely understand. All of them have mysterious pasts and are just a treat to read about.

Meg is also a wonderful character. She has gone through a lot but still has an innocence about her. She’s never lived out in the real world before, so there are funny things that she just doesn’t understand. This ends up being a benefit to her in dealing with all the strangeness that defines the Others, she doesn’t know what normal is so she just takes it all in stride and tries to be kind to everyone. There is a lot of humor throughout the book as well, which only adds to its awesomeness.

The world is fantastic. This is a world where the Others used to rule until humans started inhabiting the lands. Now the Others live in small communities, but God forbid that humans ever do anything to upset the Others. The Others can wipe out humanity in the blink of an eye. It makes for a very interesting balance. The humans fear the Others and the Others are ready to pounce on the humans whenever they feel slighted. It’s a super creative world and one that is well put together and very engaging.

The plot is also very well done. The plot is mainly about Meg trying to escape her captors, but there are a lot of other small storylines going on at the same time. The main story wraps up well, but there are still things to be resolved in future books.

Overall I absolutely loved this book. It was a wonderful read. The characters are all very creative and engaging, the world is spectacular, and I just loved the whole story. I highly recommend this series to urban fantasy fans who are looking for something new and fresh and spectacular. This is a very creative book and an absolutely wonderful start to a great new series. I will definitely be reading more books in this series.

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