Hi there! I’m Kay: an opinionated book blogger enamoured with the world of novels. Reader of Speculative Fiction (the posh word for Sci-Fi/Fantasy) and Young Adult novels. Believer in the many uses of the towel, the science of deduction and other fandom in-jokes.
This blog has been closed since early 2016. To the publishers and writers: thanks for all the support over the years. To my readers and fellow bloggers: keep in touch!
Recent Reviews
Monday Reading (August 2nd, 2010)
- Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine – I love Caine’s Morganville series! Her writing is positively addictive and I have been struggling to savour this book as long as possible… once I get started it is really hard for me to stop. But I must preserver as Ghost Town isn’t coming out for months!!
- Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green – At first I was enjoying the Guy-Noir feel to this book, but it has since gotten a bit tedious. And the “romance”? Seriously lame.
- Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan – This was adorable. Loved it to bits and am looking forward to reading more of Levithan’s work.
- Trickster’s Girl by Hilari Bell
- Grimspace by Ann Aguirre – This one fits nicely into my Summer Romance Challenge and my New Authors Mini-challenge! Oh, how I love crossovers.
Summer Shorts: Dangerous (Darkest Powers) by Kelley Armstrong
Summer Shorts is a weekly feature on Dead Book Darling, reviewing great short stories every Saturday through July-August 2010.
Dangerous (Darkest Powers Story) by Kelley Armstrong
Rating:
Free online story! Click here to read the story on Kelley Armstrong’s website.
Thoughts: This brilliant Darkest Powers story tells us how Derek and Simon got to Lyle House. Considering Derek is insanely smart, I had been wondering how he managed to get himself and his brother locked up. Armstrong does a fantastic job explaining the circumstances. It’s rather tragic and rather wonderful – and, best of all, it’s in Derek’s POV.
Oh, Derek. *sighs* *gets misty eyed* Ahem.
Anyhow, this story is a hundred pages of epic brotherly love. Honestly – Derek and Simon could give the Winchesters (Supernatural TV) a run for their money. They had such fabulous interplay between them – both trying to protect each other (usually Derek was the only successful one) whilst bantering non-stop. It is fabulous.
Now, I expected to love Derek in this – and trust me, I did – but what I wasn’t expecting was Simon. Oh, Simon. He desperately wants to keep his brother with him, and tries so damn hard to make Derek admit to what he wants. Not that he succeeds – Derek is as stubborn as a mule. But while I understood the extent of Derek’s love for Simon from the DP trilogy, in Dangerous we see just how much Simon loves his brother back: an awful lot.
Bottom line? You absolutely must read this. Although, even though it is set before The Summoning – make sure you read that first. It will make the experience 100x better.
Kelley Armstrong is currently writing another online short story in Derek’s POV set between The Summoning and The Awakening. It is called Divided and is currently a WIP. Check her blog to see for regular updates!
Review – The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Bookdepository / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Librarything / Goodreads
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 2/5 stars
Pages: 280
Summary: “I can steal anything.”
After Gen’s bragging lands him in the king’s prison, the chances of escape look slim. Then the king’s scholar, the magus, needs the thief’s skill for a seemingly impossible task — to steal a hidden treasure from another land.
To the magus, Gen is just a tool. But Gen is a trickster and a survivor with a plan of his own.
Thoughts: The Thief was an such disappointment.
Ok, ok. I know it is practically sacrilegious to criticize Megan Whalen Turner in the YA community – but I honestly didn’t enjoy this book. Despite being well crafted, I simply couldn’t engage with the characters or the plot.
At heart, The Thief is a road film: an all-male cast makes their way against the odds, through dangerous, unwelcoming lands, in search of a too-good-to-be-true mythical item. It is all rather long-winded – and frankly, quite boring. The quest goes on pretty much as you imagine up until the last dozen pages, where we reach a rather surprising twist in the tale. Hell, you might as well skip the middle.
Now, while I found the twist unexpected and rather good at explaining why the hell the ludicrously selfish Gen would allow himself to go along on this bizarre mission, I also had some issues with it. The noblemen that take Gen out of prison are rather evil. Ok, maybe not evil, but certainly selfish and egotistical. They considered themselves above Gen because of their supposedly superior birth-right. Gen was born scum, and he will always be scum – no matter how intelligent or talented he is.
*SPOILERS* I had thought that, at the very least, Turner was proving that Gen could be a hero despite his low-birth. But the ending completely stripped that away! Instead, he was a secret nobleman – which made all of his trickery against them acceptable. Instead of threatening to kill him for his deception – they laughed it off as “a good one”. I felt like I was watching Mad Men – the black man gets fired for stealing a pencil, while the white man gets a pat on the back for so successfully tricking the company out of thousands.
I am certain that a lot of people will not notice this when they read The Thief – after all, it is fantasy and fictional universes are allowed to have as many social inequalities as they like. However, I felt that Turner wasted an opportunity with Gen and it honestly unnerved me. *END OF SPOILERS*
But even before the uncomfortable ending, I wasn’t enjoying The Thief. There wasn’t a single character I liked, the universe was rather stale, and the writing – although perfectly fine – was not enough to keep me hooked.
Bottom line? Decent enough, but I’d give it a miss. Keep your money and buy a latte.
Waiting on Wednesday – Forsaken by Jana Oliver
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
Forsaken by Jana Oliver
January 7th 2011 by Macmillan Children’s Books
Riley has always wanted to be a Demon Trapper like her father, and she’s already following in his footsteps as one of the best. But it’s tough being the only girl in an all-guy world, especially when three of those guys start making her life more complicated: Simon, the angelic apprentice who has heaven on his side; Beck, the tough trapper who thinks he’s God’s gift, and Ori, the strikingly sexy stranger who keeps turning up to save her ass.One thing’s for sure – if she doesn’t keep her wits about her there’ll be hell to pay…
Read more on Goodreads and the Author’s Site.
I love the sound of this book. For starters, I think the heroine is going to be pretty damn kick-ass. It could be that I am still suffering from epic fail that was Hush, Hush (I swear to God, that book was written in the 60s) and am in desperate need of a girl who juggles romances and kills things. *sighs*
Anyhow, wish we had a few more details about this book. I mean, there’s obviously some sort of angel connection – what with the wings on the cover and the “angelic” apprentice. But, reading even further into the cover, perhaps a boarding school may be involved? *ponders*
Monday Reading (July 26th, 2010)
It’s Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event now hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World Of Books where we discuss our week of reading!
Currently Reading:
- Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan – The new Let’s Go Beyond Tolerance Blog and The Story Siren’s upcoming LGBT week inspired me to finally start this book. Really enjoying it so far, and I am going to have to restrain myself from packing the book with quotes!
Finished this week:
- Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr – This was rather scary, but very very well done. Melissa Marr writes the most gut-wrenchingly realistic YA – despite her books being about faeries!
- Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick – Well written, but LUDICROUSLY DISTURBING. Seriously, parents! Don’t let your kids anywhere near this book. Until I can bring myself to write a review for this, read Aja’s Bad Romance: YA and Rape Culture post.