by Kay | Apr 5, 2011 | Reviews |
Hexbound by Chloe Neill
Series: Dark Elite #2
Published by Penguin on 2011-01-04
Pages: 256
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Also in this series: FirespellLily Parker is new to St. Sophia's School for Girls, but she's already learned that magic can be your best friend-or your worst enemy. That's why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities while fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago's nastiest nightlife-including the tainted magic users known as Reapers...
Thoughts: After I read
Firespell last year, I was practically salivating for more Dark Elite books. Seriously, after finishing the final chapter I immediately went online to find out when the next book would be released – only to discover I had to wait an entire year. God, it was painful. But I waited, and the longing grew rather distant, and by the time I actually got a copy of
Hexbound I could only vaguely remember the consuming desire for
moremoremore I’d had after
Firespell.
But surely, I thought, since Firespell was so fantastic I’ll have nothing to worry about. How wrong I was. The first 80 or so pages of this book are just such a disappointment – it felt like P.C. and Kristin Cast had taken over Chloe Neill’s characters. Instead of facing down evil with a smirk, Scout and Lily were too wrapped up in their blah-crushes to focus on the real evil that was going down. Not only was this boring as hell, it was also slightly soul-crushing. I mean, where were the fierce BFF’s from the first book? Who had swooped in and replaced them with these bobbesy twins? I really considered putting this book down right then and there.
But I kept on, and I am glad I did. Because am soon as love interests Micheal and Jason were gone (yes, there is a God), Neill got down to the good stuff: what’s going on with Lily’s parents? Is Sebastian really evil? Is the Dark Elite even evil? Where should Lily’s loyalties fall in all this mess?
In other words, the book started to have a, er, plot. Because the good guys being good while fighting the bad guys who are bad… it’s kinda boring. It was Sebastian’s apparent ability to straddle the line between good and evil that made this book worth the read. Especially as his advice and character began to effect Lily’s own decisions. Not to mention the guy is totally swoon-worthy. If you’re looking for another redeemable bad boy in YA, look no further.Only problem was… there wasn’t enough of him!
Bottom line? Disappointing follow-up to Firespell, but there is still a whole bunch of potential in this series. I hope that the next book (Charmfall, 2012) will be better!
Dear publishers: When I shell out money for the hardcover, I expect someone to have edited the thing first. I’m pretty sure the characters meant to say “don’t beat me” and NOT “don’t bean me”. Although I admit, the latter scenario is far more amusing.
by Kay | Mar 29, 2011 | Reviews |
Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre
Series: Sirantha Jax #2
Published by Ace/Roc
Pages: 312
Genres: Science Fiction
Source: Purchased myself
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Also in this series: Grimspace, Doubleblind, KillboxSirantha Jax is a “Jumper,” a woman who possesses the unique genetic makeup needed to navigate faster than light ships through grimspace. Jax has worked for the Farwan Corporation her entire career. But now the word’s out that the Corp deliberately crashed a passenger ship, and their stranglehold on intergalactic commerce has crumbled—which means that Jax is out of a job.
She’s also broke, due to being declared dead a little prematurely. So when the government asks her to head up a vital diplomatic mission, Jax takes it. Her mandate: journey to the planet Ithiss-Tor and convince them to join the Conglomerate.
But Jax’s payday is light years away. First, she’ll have to contend with Syndicate criminals, a stormy relationship with her pilot, man-eating aliens, and her own grimspace-weakened body. She’ll be lucky just to make it to Ithiss-Tor alive…
Thoughts: Ann Aguirre is one of those authors who can make me cry like a baby, keep me on tenter-hooks during an action sequence, and make me drink coffee at 4am so that I can keep reading. The only reason this book isn’t getting 5 stars is because it falls slightly short of it’s predecessor Grimspace – but not by much.
Everything I love about science fiction is in this book. The familiar-yet-different worlds, species with bizarre cultures taking the lead – it’s like Star Trek meets Firefly meets, well, Ann Aguirre. This woman can write action and drama and romance, all while developing a stunning universe for her characters to play in. Although there isn’t quite as much mind-blowing action and drama in this book (although I don’t see how that would have been possible, given how much happened in Grimspace) there’s still a whole ton of it. I am constantly amazed by just how much plot Aguirre can pack into the pages!
I loved that Vel, who had a brief but essential part in Grimspace, returned for Wanderlust. He is not just alien in his appearance but in his attitude, and something about that makes me want him to love Jax. If any of you watch The Good Wife, the relationship between Jax and Vel is rather like that of Alicia and Kalinda. Vel is just so otherworldly and aloof, you never know quite how he’ll react. But when he does act in Jax’s favour? It makes it that much more meaningful. As for Jax herself, she really grows into herself and her relationship with March in this book. She is one of my very favourite characters – nitty, gritty, kick-ass, and screwed up. And let me just say that the scenes between her and March? They made me cry without making me want to kill either character (quite a tough job!).
Unfortunately, there was one reveal towards the end of the book that had me thinking “seriously?”. It was just a bit too cliche and threw me slightly off-kilter for what would have otherwise been a fantastic ending.
Bottom line? A fantastic sequel in a fantastic series. I’d recommend Ann Aguirre’s books to anyone who wants their books both character-driven and plot-driven – Wanderlust has both in spades.
by Kay | Mar 25, 2011 | Reviews |
Captivate by Carrie Jones
Bookdepository / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Librarything / Goodreads
Genre: Paranormal Young Adult
Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 273
Summary: Zara and her friends knew they hadn’t solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king’s needs grow deeper every day he’s stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It’s made him vulnerable. And now there’s a new king in town.
A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he’s one of the good guys. Nick isn’t buying it, though Zara isn’t as sure — despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it’s a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It’s her life — and his.
Thoughts: Captivate was a real disappointment. All the bones where there – interesting characters, surprising plot, fantastic supernatural characters – but the emotion was missing. I could remember loving these characters but, for the life of me, I couldn’t remember why.
While I was intrigued by the character development in this book (OMG she… oh, I can’t say anything) it was rather an intellectual appreciation. There were a couple of climatic, emotionally intense scenes that left me rather… blank. Every character in Captivate – no exceptions – became a plot device. Sure, they were servicing a really interesting plot, but that’s not enough.
All of the emotional issues felt rather forced – all talk, no substance. All the he-love-she-love tragedy became annoying instead of touching. Not to mention Zara’s sidekicks, Issie and Devyn, ended up really getting on my nerves. I could barely believe this was the same author and the same characters who made my heart pitter-patter in Need! The only character who kept me interested was Astley. I have yet to figure him out, and I am rather looking forward to seeing more of him.
Bottom line? If I could only judge the series by Captivate, I’d say skip it. But I still have hope. The bones are there for a spectacular series are there – Captivate just missed the mark.
by Kay | Mar 10, 2011 | Reviews |
Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells
Series: Sabina Kane #3
Published by Orbit
Pages: 400
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Also in this series: Red-Headed Stepchild, The Mage in Black, Silver-Tongued DevilThe clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. She has to save her sister from her mysterious captors. And in order to do that, she has to broker a deal between the mages and the vampires before all hell breaks loose.
But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won’t be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about, she’s got to save herself from the ghosts of her past. Because the past is haunting her. Literally.
Thoughts: It’s no secret that I am a fan of Jaye Wells – a big fan. This woman can make me laugh and cry and squee in delight, I love her. Green-Eyed Demon was fantabulous: lots of snarky dialogue by characters that I have grown to adore. It was not quite as strong as the first two books in the series, but I blame that on the fact that I read it on my computer… and I never love things I read on a computer. It’s my reading equivalent of watching a film on a plane – distracting and unpleasant. So that I loved it as much as I did? Pretty impressive.
Sabina is still as kick-ass as ever, although she has really grown since the first time we met her. Her first instinct is to killkillkill, but she is gradually starting to get that under control. She also takes quite a few “grown-up” decisions regarding her relationship with Adam. I am so proud of this chick for getting her act together while still remaining true to herself. However, there were a few times when I felt like the development was a bit too explicit: Sabina would compare “Old Sabina” to “New Sabina” and my eyes would glaze over in boredom. *sigh*
But Wells takes strides developing Adam and Maisie. They seemed to have it all in the first two books, but the events of Green-Eyed Demon will spark a profound change both of them. I can’t wait to see what Wells does with them in the next book, Silver-Tongued Devil. I am so glad that her series was extended another two books and can’t wait to see what she has in store for us!
I also adored the New Orleans setting in this book – drag queens, voodoo . I adore New Orleans – y’all probably don’t know, but I was born in the city and a bit of me never left. Jaye Wells just gets the deep south in a way that I didn’t think a non-Southerner could (sorry Ms. Wells, but Texas doesn’t quite count). If you love the Sookie Stackhouse books and you will love this installment of the Sabina Kane series.
Above all, it’s the humour which makes this series stand out. Jaye Wells is as snarky and flat-out hysterical as she’s ever been – mocking Twilight, making some kick-ass Star Trek references, giving a brief glimpse at a funny-yet-crazy-disturbing orgy, and giving demon!cat! Giguhl some lines that you will want to draw hearts over.
Bottom line? Sakina Kane still kicks some serious ass. Wells’ frank, tell-it-like-it-is style will have you chomping at the bits for more.
by Kay | Mar 3, 2011 | Reviews |
Ghost Town by Rachel Caine
Series: Morganville Vampires #9
Published by Allison & Busby
Pages: 479
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Also in this series: Glass Houses, The Dead Girls' Dance, Midnight Alley, Kiss of Death, Bite ClubWhile developing a new system to maintain Morganville's defenses, student Claire Danvers discovers a way to amplify vampire mental powers. Through this, she's able to re-establish the field around this vampire-infested Texas college town that protects it from outsiders.
But the new upgrades have an unexpected consequence: people inside the town begin to slowly forget who they are-even the vampires. Soon, the town's little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment- before she forgets how to save Morganville...
Thoughts: I really cannot believe I am writing a non-glowing-verging-on-negative review for a Morganville book. This series has consistently been one of my favourite reads – I thought that there could be no such thing as a bad Morganville book. But after reading Ghost Town, I remembered the problems I had with the first book in the series (Glass House). Namely, it just didn’t make me care about the characters.
Claire and the gang are, as usual, in the midst of another action-packed drama – this time centred around Claire and Mrynin’s experimental new machine. Now, that should make my knees turn to jelly, because a) I am head-over-heels in love with Myrnin, and b) I absolutely adore the Claire/Myrnin relationship. And yet their dynamic in this book is pretty much centred around Ada – which was just one of those characters I wish Caine would drop already. Seeing Myrnin – of all people – so love-crazy (instead of regular crazy) just annoyed me. There were a few scenes between them at the start of the book that I loved, but then it was all downhill.
Same goes for Amelie and Oliver – usually two kick-ass characters who seemed to spend this book going on and on about their unbelievable emotional angst. Not to mention the fact that they have been having the same argument about Morganville for nine books. Every time they brought it up, my eyes would start to glaze over. I get it already! Geez.
As for the Glass House residents, I have been growing less and less attached to them with each book. Shane/Claire used to make my heart pitter-patter, and now I feel like skipping through all their lovey-dovey business. I guess they’ve reached that point in their relationship where the camera would usually fade to black and display a “happily ever after” banner. It’s great for them, but not so interesting for us readers. Not that I want angst, per say, but some kind of development would be nice.
Bottom line? Depressing installment to a great series. I remain a fan, but have lost my faith in the series.
by Kay | Mar 1, 2011 | Reviews |
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium #1
Published by HarperTeen, Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 411
Genres: Dystopian YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Rating: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.
Thoughts: I read a number of reviews for Delirium before writing mine, and was surprised by the diverse reaction. There are a ton of glowing reviews out there, a few “I don’t get the fuss” reviews, and a some “this is just a bad book” reviews. And each and every review I’ve read – across the spectrum – I have agreed with. There are some themes are raised by the book that some people hated and others loved – it’s just a matter of taste. You know when you really enjoyed a book when the negative reviews don’t change your mind.
While I really enjoyed the plot and the characters and all of the over-arching themes explored in Delirium – it is Lauren’s writing that makes this book a keeper. Lauren just has such a soft, elegant style to her writing. She molds and shapes her words and sentences with stellar technique. The way she writes reminds me of Maggie Stiefvater: she writes lyrical books that make you want to draw hearts around paragraphs while you’re reading. Lauren understands love – not just romantic love, but family love – and her descriptions of the emotion are simply stunning. This book made me re-examine the relationship I was in at the time, reminding me to appreciate love – and the delirium that accompanies it.
Even though I wasn’t over-the-moon-in-love with all of the characters, I enjoyed their part in the story. I went in expecting to read a straightforward forbidden romance, but what I ended up with was, well, something else altogether. Delirium was romantic, but it was also so much more than that. It was a book about the bonds we share with family, friends and even our pets. Stunning stuff. Not to mention, it has a few pretty fantastic twists that I never saw coming.
Bottom line? Go out and get yourselves a copy right now – especially if you are a fan of Linger or Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Delirium is a lovely, elegant novel that I’d recommend to even the most hesitant of readers. And don’t be put off by the doom-and-gloom you’re rightly expecting – it’s totally worth it.
