by Kay | Apr 30, 2011 | Reviews |
The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
Series: The Iron Witch #1
Published by Corgi Childrens on January 20th 2011
Pages: 304
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating: Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.
When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.
Thoughts: Ok, I know it’s superficial and whatnot, but this cover is absolutely stunning. Breathtakingly stunning. The golden swirls around what appears to be a terrified girl clutching a… well, it’s something gorgeous, whatever it is. Not to mention, the special Waterstones version of this book has gold paper edges. Fierce.
Unfortunately, the book itself is not so fierce.
Let’s start off with the good stuff. The beginning of the book is absolutely swoon-worthy. The world and its characters are dark, mysterious, and gothic – rather like its cover. It was like Florence and the Machine put into words. We meet Donna and her (male) BFF heading to a party where she is far from welcome. (Why said BFF would drag her to along to such an event is but one of the plot holes that will become evident soon enough.) There, Donna meets Xan and there’s a spark – literally, a spark – between them. It’s not insta-romance, but it is insta-connection. But I felt it through the pages, so I was not complaining.
But after that fabulous opening scene, the book starts to show its rather unfortunate flaws. There are absolutely no explanations for anything in this book. For example, the alchemists are seeking out eternal life at any cost. Donna knows this. Donna was taught this. It’s basically the bedrock of their alchemist community. And yet, that never bothered her?
Then there are the wood elves – cast as the ultimate creepy villians. And yet, we never find out why they are evil. Why did they kill Donna’s parents? What is supposed to be motivating them? And if they’re so bad, why is half-fey Xan such a sweetheart? And speaking of sweethearts, was there supposed to be some sort of romantic triangle going on here? Because, if so, I missed that altogether. This is just basic plot stuff that The Iron Witch just doesn’t have.
Bottom line? If this book had been about 10x longer – giving the characters, universe, and relationships the fleshing out they deserved – it would have been fantastic. This book is getting stars for its potential, not for its content. Alas.
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 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 | Feb 20, 2011 | Reviews |
Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan
Series: Immortal Beloved #1
Published by Hodder & Stoughton, Poppy
Pages: 400
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Also in this series: Darkness FallsNastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.
Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.
Thoughts: Immortal Beloved is a difficult book to describe. In a way, it felt like adult fiction. The main character is 400+ years old, so needless to say, she’s a grown-up. And the trauma she’s been through over those past 400 years? Not teenage stuff.
At its heart, Tiernan has written a book about a woman in rehab. I absolutely loved the main character, Nastasya. She has had an extraordinary, painful life and watching her deal with that was just stunning. Nas is tough and self-confident, but is also uncertain about what her ultimate purpose in life is. She has spent 400 years suppressing all emotion and she finally needs to just deal with it – and with the clever help of flashbacks, we get to go through it with her. I loved watching her transformation, and I actually really related to it. But plot-wise, Immortal Beloved was a let down.
This is one of those extremely rare books where I loved the main character, but was let down by everything else. Sure there was a over-arching mystical theme, a few supposedly-sinister characters – but both seemed to be thrown in last minute. The real drama was Nas dealing with her memories – including an unbelievable-yet-immediate threat on her life was just an unwelcome distraction from the real substance. I also really disliked Nas’s love interest. They had every reason to want to kill each other, and yet some sort of magical attraction conquered all. Right. Sure. *stabs* If he dropped dead for the next book, I would not mind at all.
As for the next book in the series… I do look forward to seeing more of Incy, who I found rather adorable in an evil, dark and twisty sort of way. Is that wrong? Perhaps.
Bottom line? I’m not sure how much a teen reader would get out of this book, as some of the themes are rather adult. But if you are looking for a main character to love, look no further. Just don’t go in expecting a paranormal romance or an action flick – this book is neither.
by Kay | Oct 12, 2010 | Reviews |
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson
Series: Claire de Lune #1
Published by Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse on 2010
Pages: 336
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from author
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Rating: Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf.
As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?
Thoughts: Werewolves are the new it-boys of YA – it is the Jacob effect gone mad. But if you are looking for an it-girl, Claire de Lune will be what saves you from overdosing on all that alpha-male testosterone.
Let’s start off with what I enjoyed from Claire de Lune. The verse was a great twist on your typical paranormal story. Claire lives in a world where werewolves are known and feared – there are neighborhood watch groups and crazy gun-toting activists. And for the rather a-political Claire to discover that she is one of these “evil” creatures? It enlightened her to the dangers of those die-hards pretty darn quick.
I also adored her love interest, Matthew. He came complete with a developed social conscience – despite his father’s prejudicial ways – but without direction. One of those people who knows that something is wrong, but has no idea what to do with that information. While Claire questioned the status quo because she had to, Matthew does it because he is conscientious of suffering and injustice around him. He’s not an activist, but he has the potential for it. I knew I would love him the moment he started comparing werewolf treatment to his dislike of the death penalty!
But there were some structural things I had issues with. I worked out who the killer was the moment they were on the page. The plot was a bit too much of a set up – Claire was kept in the dark at times only so that her stupidity seemed less stupid, and so that her choices could forward the action.
Oh, did I mention my lack-of-love for Claire? She is a perfectly OK character – but her defining features go from zero-to-nothing. That is, other than being annoyingly incompetent for half of the book. It was almost as if she was being purposefully ignorant to her situation, making choices which were obviously badly thought out.
But by the end, though, Claire did start to show some gumption. She became a bit more kick-ass, taking matters into her own hands and embracing her new found werewolf-ism. I think that I will enjoy her far more in the next book of the series!
Bottom line? Good start to what could be a great series. Not the best in the paranormal YA genre, but certainly a very enjoyable book. And if you are a fellow werewolf fan, it is a must!
And check out Christine’ Guest Post about Wolves and Werewolves, and enter the giveaway for some Claire de Lune goodies!
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