by Kay | Jan 3, 2012 | Reviews |
Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead
Series: Georgina Kincaid #3
Published by Bantam Books
Pages: 448
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating: Some days, a girl just can't catch a break ... especially when the girl in question is Georgina Kincaid, a shape-shifting succubus who gets her energy from seducing men. First there's her relationship with gorgeous bestselling writer Seth Mortensen, which is unsatisfying on a number of levels. It's not just that they can't have sex in case Georgina inadvertently kills him (generally a turn-off for most guys). Lately, even spending time together is a challenge. Seth's obsessed with finishing his latest novel, and Georgina's under demonic orders to mentor the new (and surprisingly inept) succubus on the block.
Then there are the dreams. Someone, or something, is preying on Georgina at night, draining her energy, and supplying eerie visions of her future. Georgina seeks answers from Dante, a dream interpreter with ties to the underworld, but his flirtatious charm only leaves her more confused-especially as the situation with Seth reaches crisis point. Now Georgina faces a double challenge-rein in her out-of-control love life, and go toe-to-toe with an enemy capable of wreaking serious havoc among mankind. Otherwise, Georgina, and the entire mortal world, may never sleep easy again.
Thoughts: SPOILER ALERT I tried writing this review without spoilers but I just really, really need to vent. So, if you haven’t read Succubus Dreams, stop now if you don’t want to be spoiled!
Succubus Dreams ruined any faith I’ve ever had in the Y chromosome. I mean, yes, Georgina isn’t perfect and I sure as hell wouldn’t date her… but Seth was supposed to be the love of her life. He and Georgina were supposed to have this epic romance… instead Seth just tossed it aside without really working at it. While, yes, he made some attempts to speak with Georgina, he never really pushed the issue. Hell, Georgie was willing to make compromises but Seth? No, Seth just stabbed her in the heart. That, my friends, is something no one should be capable of doing.
So fine, he wants to end it. Okay then. But do it without cheating on Georgie with one of her best friends! Dammit. I don’t care if you think that that is the only way to let her down, because it really really shouldn’t be something you should be able to sleep with. Honestly Seth, with boyfriends like you, who needs villainous imps? *stabs*
*breathes* So clearly I am not over this. Even though I knew, before reading the book, that Seth would end up dating whats-her-face, I really didn’t expect it to play out like this. Bastard.
END of spoilers!
Anyhow, despite the above, I did enjoy this book. Georgina starts to make some real growth. She tries to think her emotions through and she seems to be gaining greater understanding of the whole Heaven/Hell debacle. Mead also does a fantastic job foreshadowing upcoming plot lines. While I can’t see where she is going yet, I am really looking forward to seeing how she deals with what she’s already set up.
As usual, every appearance of Carter-the-angel was a joy. I love his character, and I love how Mead has gradually built his role in Georgie’s life. I also really enjoyed the book’s core plot – it gave the novel a Big Bad while also dealing with a bunch of personal issues for the characters.
My only complaint would have to be the R-rated scenes. Ok, yes, this is a book about a sex-demon but… ick. I know these scenes are key to understanding Georgina and her role in the whole good-versus-evil fight but they were just too unsavoury for me.
However, Succubus Dreams established one thing for certain: this series is not about sex. Hell, it’s not even about Georgie’s relationship with Seth. It is about so much more than that – it’s about Georgina and her guilt; it’s about the boundaries between heaven and hell; it’s about the nature and torture that is existence. And that? That’s what is making me stick it out despite the spoilery rant. My hope is that the next book will be even better.
Bottom line? A heart-wrenching installment to a brilliant series. Richelle Mead delivers.
by Kay | Jan 1, 2012 | Reviews |
Silver-Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells
Series: Sabina Kane #4
Published by Orbit on January 5th 2012
Pages: 405
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Also in this series: Red-Headed Stepchild, The Mage in Black, Green-Eyed DemonSpoilers for the first 3 books!
Life is looking up for Sabina Kane. Now that her scheming grandmother is dead, the threat of war has passed and the rulers of the dark races are about to sign a treaty to ensure ongoing peace. Her relationship with sexy mage Adam Lazarus is strong and all her friends are around her. Even her magic training is progressing further than she ever expected. The only two dark spots in her otherwise settled life are her guilt over her sister Maisie's fragile mental state and Sabina's own sinking sense that she's got unfinished business with Cain, the mysterious cult leader she let get away months earlier.
When a string of murders rock the New York dark races community and threatens to stall the peace negotiations, Sabina finds herself helping to find the killer. Her investigation leads her down troubling paths that have her questioning everything - and everyone - she knows. And the closer she gets to the murderer, the more Sabina realises this is one foe she may not able to kill.
Thoughts: Silver-Tongued Devil was brilliant. I expected great things from Jaye Wells, but truth is that Green-Eyed Demon left me wondering where she could go with the series. Everything had ended so happily that I couldn’t really work out why Wells needed two more books.
The reason? Because there is no such thing as a happy ending, not even in fiction! In real life, people don’t just go from being a ruthless assassin for 50 years to being a warm-hearted softie overnight. And in real life, love and friendship aren’t the only ingredients to lasting relationships. So while Sabina might want to ride into the sunset, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. And to honest, I am so very grateful for that!
Let’s start with Sabina. She’s one of my favourite characters in fiction, she is a take-no-prisoners woman who has a panache for violence. It’s fabulous and depressing at the same time. But in the third book in the series, it felt like she was trying to be someone she wasn’t. Luckily, that attempt is dealt with head-on in Silver-Tongued Devil. Not only did she deal with her own demons, she dealt with the way people around her were treating her too. *cough* Adam. *cough*
And while all the inter-character relationships were fantastically done, it was the gargantuan plot twists that made this book stand out. Jaye Wells is not afraid to “go there”. She made some pretty big revaluations in this book and made her characters suffer through pretty horrific consequences because of them. What was especially gratifying was the way the plot built on existing scenes – Wells has been laying the groundwork for the events of Silver-Tongued Devil over the entire series. Now that? That’s a real writer.
While the first half of the book was good, the second half was fantastic. The pace and the plot just grew more and more intriguing with each page – I found myself thinking about the book whenever I’d put it down. This book made going about my day a very frustrating venture, as all I wanted to do was read!! The only reason it isn’t getting 5 stars? Well, it’s not quite as funny as its predecessors. Other than that, it was perfection.
Bottom line? Silver-Tongued Devil was everything I didn’t even know I wanted. It was a gripping installment to an already brilliant series. Go forth and read it!
by Kay | Dec 19, 2011 | Reviews |
Pure by Julianna Baggott
Series: Pure #1
Published by Headline
Pages: 448
Genres: Dystopian YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Rating: We know you are here, our brothers and sisters... Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.
Thoughts: I wanted to wait for this book to come out before I raved about it. Honest to God, I planned on waiting. Because, really, I loathe it when people rave about books that aren’t available for puchase. But in this case, I just couldn’t keep it all in. This book is fan-bloody-tastic, and I need to share.
Pure is quite possibly the most terrifying YA novel out there… which is saying quite a bit. The Hunger Games was terrifying, as was Blood Magic and The Replacement. But the very premise on which Pure is based is so horror-film terrifying that it has to take the cake as the scariest YA book I’ve ever read.
Ok, so how do I explain?
Well, Pure is set in a post-apocalyptic world. But unlike a lot of books, it isn’t set 50 years after the apocalypse – this end-of-the-world is in living memory. And the people suffering hurt all the more because they can remember the time when they weren’t in pain.
Pain, you ask? Well, that’s an understatement. Pure is set after a nuclear explosion has decimated the world. But the problem isn’t with the casualties of death, it’s with the pseudo-scientific effects of the radiation. At the time of the attack, people were merged with their surroundings. By surroundings I mean objects, animals, trees, dirt, and even other people. They fused together and everyone became, well, everyone else.
To say that this event made people less-than-friendly is an understatement. While the fused survivors are to be pitied, they are also the most fearful characters I’ve read in a long time. I found the whole premise utterly realistic and utterly haunting. Pure held me captive.
The reason, however, that Pure isn’t getting 5 stars has to do with the nitty-gritty character business. While I surprised myself by enjoying the multi-narrator style, there were things I found a bit too coincidental. Not to mention that some of the relationships in the novel felt rather… rushed. Unfortunately, these inconsistencies kept me slightly apart from the main characters. My hope is that I grow to understand them more in the next novels!
Bottom line? Pure is an original, steampunk-esque take on dystopian fiction. It’s the stuff of nightmares and you’re going to love it.
by Kay | Dec 2, 2011 | Reviews |
My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent
Series: Soul Screamers #3
Published by Harlequin Teen, MIRA
Pages: 378
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Also in this series: My Soul to Take, My Soul to Save, My Soul to Steal, If I Die, Before I Wake, With All My SoulKaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them. Until something does. Demon's breath.
No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow, the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. But how? Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source and protect their friends—one of whom is already hooked. And when the epidemic hits too close to home, Kaylee will have to risk everything to save those she loves.
Thoughts: In my review of My Soul to Save, I said that the Soul Screamers series was becoming rather episodic… well, this book makes me want to retract that statement. While the novel begins like a simple “new adventure” for Kaylee, events quickly take an extremely personal turn. Instead of fighting for the lives of strangers, Kaylee is fighting for those closest to her. This change gave the series a bit more gravitas and made this book my favourite in the series so far.
There is a big twist that takes place in the middle of the book – and unfortunately I found out about it before I read the book. To those of you who have no idea what I am talking about… stay that way until you read the book! Even though I was still somewhat shocked by the big revelation, I think it would have hit a lot harder if I hadn’t known about it.
Big twist, you ask? Well, let’s just say it is a complete game changer and I love game changers. While I don’t like it when authors randomly kill off characters just for the sake of it, I do love it when they introduce something small that escalates naturally into a whole new disaster. And that? That’s what Rachel Vincent did in My Soul to Keep. It was masterfully done and gave me a whole new respect for this series. While, sure, it’s terrible – the twist completely revitalises the verse.
Now, I can’t end this review without talking about some of the characters. I am having trouble understanding Kaylee. She spends most of the book hiding rather important problems from her father and uncle… which considering how dedicated she is to protecting people seems completely illogical. Surely consulting with people with decades of experience would be a good idea? But no. I think part of that might be Vincent’s desire to keep parents out of the adventure, but it felt rather forced.
And then there is Nash. Eh. I’ve never been a Nash fan, mostly because we have never gotten to know him. He’s always kept Kaylee at arms-length, while she has always been completely honest with him. My Soul to Keep made me even less of a Nash fan, and now I just want Kaylee to keep away from him. Far far away. I am Team Anyone-but-Nash! This book made me just… gah! Nash is going to have to sit down for a real soul-baring conversation with Kaylee before I let him anywhere near that girl!
Bottom line? My Soul to Keep lifts the Soul Screamers series from “good but not fantastic” to “this is something to write home about”.
by Kay | Nov 22, 2011 | Reviews |
Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
Series: Alpha & Omega #1
Published by Orbit
Pages: 320
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased myself
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Also in this series: Hunting GroundAnna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she'd learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.
Thoughts: In case you haven’t heard, Patricia Briggs is a brilliant author. I tend to forget her whenever I list my favourite authors, but I really really shouldn’t. Every one of her books is a joy to read, and Cry Wolf is no exception. If you’ve never read her work… get to it!
So, Cry Wolf. First off, you should know that Anna and Charles’ story begins with another tale: Alpha and Omega. It’s a novella published in the On the Prowl anthology (I gave it a glowing review here), and it is well worth reading before you start Cry Wolf. That said, you can jump straight into the novel without reading the prequel – that’s actually what I started off doing before I remembered Alpha and Omega. But I found that reading about Anna’s back story and how she met Charles really did enhance Cry Wolf, so… it’s up to you.
There was a lot of sadness in Cry Wolf. Maybe I am a sucker for sad stories, but my heart leapt for so many of the characters in this book: Bran and Sam, in particular. Bran – the alpha of alphas – was one of my favourite characters in the Mercy Series. Getting to see things from his POV was a real thrill. And finding out his origin story? The most beautifully depressing thing I have ever read. And Sam… oh, Sam. I loved seeing him through the eyes of all new characters – he’s still as charismatic as ever, but boy is that boy ever filled with angst.There was a beautiful romantic tension between Anna and Charles – who are busy coming to terms with their new-but-intense relationship. It’s a rather unique relationship; their wolves are in love, but their human counterparts are struggling to accept the bond. Instant-bonds are one of my favourite tropes, but they can very quickly turn ridiculous. Cry Wolf manages to deal with the theme seriously – it’s brilliant.
Writing this review has made me want to reread Cry Wolf. Seriously, there is a reason everyone and their mother loves Patricia Briggs. Go forth and read!
Bottom line? Cry Wolf is a stunning novel. It has atmosphere, heartbreak, monsters, and a lovely romance. In short, it has everything I could possibly want from a novel.
by Kay | Nov 16, 2011 | Reviews |
Matched by Ally Condie
Series: Matched #1
Published by Razorbill
Pages: 366
Genres: Dystopian YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Rating: Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.
The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
Thoughts: Matched is one of those books suffering from so-much-hype-I-don’t-want-to-read-it syndrome. Every blogger out there has raved about the book, and as a result it took me a year to pick it up. Call it reverse psychology or whatever. But with the release of the sequel Crossed coming up, I knew I had to give Matched a shot. And – surprisingly – it lived up to the hype!
At its core, Matched is a romance novel. But like all good romantic stories, it is about so much more than just the romance. Its main message is an age-old one: Do not go gentle into that good night. The protagonist, Cassia, goes from being a girl who embraces the status quo to being a girl who refuses to give in. It is quite a dramatic change and the cause of the change is not just her newfound romance. There is a loss in her family, she has the things most precious to her taken away, and there are threats made against her two lovely parents. And, above all, there is the poetry. The beautiful, illegal poetry that tell her to not go gentle. It’s a message that resounded with me, and I think will certainly speak to teens.
Moving on to the characters – I can wholeheartedly say that I enjoyed them all. Both love interests were fantastic (a real coup for a teen novel). They were gentle, kind, and smart – they didn’t necessarily make you swoon, but they did fill me with the overwhelming urge to keep them safe. Safe, you ask? Well, while Matched is a very sedate dystopian novel (there aren’t people running about with guns and cattle prods), there is a danger present in the book that was just a scary as actual violence. The Society expressed their power subtly, by reducing your food portions or cutting down your trees. It wasn’t overt but it was constant. The effect was extremely unnerving.
I also enjoyed the integral role Cassia’s family played in the novel. Her parents were wonderful, supportive people, and her relationship with them was one of the healthiest I have ever seen in a YA novel. It was refreshing to read – especially since most teenagers actually do have good relationships with their parents!
My only complaint would be Cassia. While I didn’t dislike her, I found her to be rather bland. Every other character I felt something for, but Cassia felt like a blank slate for the reader to place themselves into the novel. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it kept me from truly connecting with the novel. Shame.
Bottom line? Matched was an extremely enjoyable dystopian novel. It’s the perfect book for people who wanted more romance in their Hunger Games!
