by Kay | Oct 17, 2013 | News |
When I heard Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten series was going to be turned into a TV series I was – I’ll admit – rather excited.
No longer.
Space Channel has just released its first promo for the series and it is horrendous. I mean, it is really, really bad. It lacks any and all depth, and has turned the book series into simple fodder for a soap opera. It has every cliché in the book: naked torture, crying with dramatic eye makeup, gratuitous shots of cleavage – the works. Take a look:
Cast: Laura Vandervoort (Smallville), Greyston Holt (Once Upon a Time), Greg Bryk (A History of Violence), Paul Greene (NCIS), Steve Lund (Haven)
Given the cast list, I really thought this show had potential. And maybe it still does… but the promo and the marketing are making me doubt it. I mean, the slogan they’re using is “Who’s afraid of the big, blonde wolf?” Which… seriously? Seriously?? We’re focussing on the fact Elena is a blonde? Have they met Elena? Because she would eat them for that comment. I can already feel this show veering away from the books.
So perhaps if I hadn’t read any of the books I would be excited about this TV show… though I doubt it. Can non-series fans chip in their two cents here?
by Kay | Oct 16, 2013 | Weekly Feature |
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
Sea of Shadows (Age of Legends #1) by Kelley Armstrong
Goodreads – High Fantasy YA – April 8th 2014 by HarperCollins
In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.
Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.
Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.
Kelley Armstrong is one of those authors I have on default “add to wishlist” settings for. That said, this series sounds extra good. For starters, it is High Fantasy! From Kelley! AM I THE ONLY ONE EXCITED?!
… ahem.
Otherwise: I am assuming this is a YA novel because of the whole “girls” mention, but I am not sure. Can anyone confirm that?
by Kay | Oct 11, 2013 | Events for the Bookish |
Tomorrow is Dewey’s Readathon – whoot! I absolutely adore the 24 hour readathon. It is The Best Way to Get Out of a Reading Funk TM. If you haven’t signed up… why not?!
But choosing the books to tackle during your readathon? That’s kinda tough. As a general rule, I look for YA novels (as they are shorter), Graphic Novels and books from authors I know I love. But, to be honest, you won’t know what you should be reading until you pick up the book you shouldn’t.
That said, here are a couple of books I think are perfect for a readathon. They are addictive, mind-blowingly good and should certainly keep you up all night. Usually, that latter point is one you might want to avoid… but not during a 24 hour readathon!
Dare You To by Katie McGarry (Goodreads)
I just finished this book a couple of weeks ago and was completely in love. I read this sucker in a single sitting; I was 1000% addicted. It takes a few chapters to get into it, but it is completely worth it.
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (Goodreads)
This one won’t be a surprise to my long-time readers! I ADORE this series. It was what got me into the YA genre and resulted my first read-it-in-one-sitting reading experience since Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was that good. And since this book came out quite a few years ago, it might be new to some of you…?
Temeraire by Naomi Novik (Goodreads)
This is my rare adult novel choice: despite being rather wordy – you might not finish it during the readathon – it is fantastically addictive. While reading it, I wanted (and still do) to move immediately to the universe Naomi created.
So, I hope this gave you a few ideas! Comment or tweet me if you have any suggestions for books I should pick up tomorrow!
by Kay | May 24, 2013 | Reviews |
The Rising by Kelley Armstrong
Series: Darkness Rising #3
Published by ATOM
Pages: 406
Source: Purchased myself
Add to Goodreads
Rating:
Also in this series: The GatheringThings are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the powerful St. Clouds and now a rival Cabal as well, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it's not like they can just go to the authorities for help.
All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting more and more out of control.
But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she'll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can't keep running forever.
Thoughts: I’d been looking forward to The Rising for 4 years; I kid you not. Back in 2009, when I met Kelley at one of her rare UK signings, she said she’d be bringing together the characters from the Darkest Powers series with those from her new trilogy. As the “Biggest. Fan. EVA.” of Darkest Powers, this was pretty much the best news I could have heard.
So, not meeting Chloe, Derek and the rest of the gang until the last 100 pages? That was a complete let down. I wanted to see how Maya and the gang interacted, but what we saw was minimal (I think there were about 30 pages of real dialogue) else only referenced to (“Chloe and I talked about X, and decided Y”). Those few interactions were brilliant, but there was nowhere near enough. Fail.
As for the rest of the book? Well, it felt a bit unfocussed. Unlike The Gathering – which introduced the characters and revealed that “All Is Not Well.” – and The Calling – which was the action-packed, we’re-on-the-run book – this final book had no real focus. I guess I could say The Rising was the “Let’s all be reasonable adults and be boring” book… so yeah, not much fun. This all culminated into a series ending which I found rather unsatisfying. It was logically the best way to wrap up the books, but at the same time it managed to undermine almost everything that the kids had fought for. So, logical? Yes. Satisfying? Nope.
Same went for the love triangle in this novel. First off, I felt like the triangle aspect pretty much came out of nowhere. Second, unlike the Derek/Chloe/Simon resolution, I had no die-hard favourites in the race. I would have been happy if she’d pulled a Lilith St.Crow and left us without a resolution.
On the plus side: it’s still Kelley Armstrong. The Rising is tightly written, and fits a mammoth amount of character development and plot into its 400 pages. Not to mention it has Chloe, Derek, Simon and Tori in it – which alone is enough to give the book a read!
Bottom line: Even when Kelley Armstrong is disappointing, she’s still rather brilliant. I finished The Rising in a day and was – on the whole – happy with how she decided to end her YA series.
by Kay | May 3, 2013 | Monthly TBR, Shelf Absorbed |
One of my resolutions for 2013 was to “read my favourites” – the books from series I loved that I hoarded away for a “rainy day”. What’s the point in keeping those books if I am not going to read them, you ask? … Fair point.
So this month, I am going to read the final books from the trilogies and series that I’ve loved. A lot of these books are going to elicit the reaction “OMG YOU HAVEN’T READ THAT YET?!” but… don’t judge me! As I mentioned in my resolutions post: I kinda have a problem.
The ones that have been on the shelves… a while:
- Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead – This is one of those series I loved so much I physically couldn’t pick it up. Instead, I checked out spoilers when it came out because the Rose/Dmitri/Adrian thing was too painful to sit through. I should really know better by now!
- Forever by Maggie Stiefvater – Again, stop it with the judging.
- Endgame by Ann Aguirre – I don’t want it to end!!!!
- Blue-Blooded Vamp by Jaye Wells – As above!
The new releases:
- With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent – Why no spin-off? Why??
- The Rising by Kelley Armstrong (not pictured) – I don’t know what my life is going to be like without a Darkest Powers/Darkness Rising release every year. No, really. I am rather at a loss.
Just putting this list together has made me rather emotional. Why must things end?? Why can’t writers just keep going and going and going? Why can’t my book series just continue on forever like Eastenders?? Why??
Michael Fassbender knows my pain.
To be honest, these aren’t even all my last-in-a-series books… I have more that I haven’t gotten to that I’ve left out out of fear of this post becoming a “confessions of book blogger”. On a happier note, if you are looking for a series/trilogy that I whole-heartedly recommend, check out any of these. They are all 5 star reads that deserve all the love they can get!
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