Fate's Edge

The third book in Ilona Andrews' The Edge series in Fate's Edge.  This book follows the previously introduced Kaldar Mar and the debut of Audrey Callahan.

Audrey is a from a family of grifters, but several years ago she left and now is living a straight life.  That is until her father shows up and pulls her back in, promising it will be their last score.  Audrey agrees with one condition, she no longer has contact with the family when this is done.  The score ends up leading to big trouble and soon she finds out that the cost is more than she could have imagined.

Kaldar is the jack of all trades, and for years he help his family survive on the Edge.  Now living in the Weird, he is working for the Mirror, in hopes of one day getting his revenge against the Hand.  He is sent on mission, in which the Hand has dealing with, and gets more than he bargained for with two stowaways and Audrey, a woman after his own heart.

I really liked Kaldar as a character in Bayou Moon.  He was charming and smart, and the way he goads William is hilarious at times.  I was so glad he got his own book, which was fantastic.   Plus the cons they run together fix a need that has been empty since TNT cancelled Leverage.

Kaldar and Audrey fit so well together as a couple.  She can see through his BS and he helps her to for fill her potential and talents.  Of course, they have their rough spots, like her in decision what to do about him because she is unsure if he is running a con on her or not.

One of my favorite things about this book is that Andrews brings back George and Jack as major players in the book.  We get to see how they are doing, and how becoming Weird Bluebloods has effected them.  I love these two characters, especially Jack. George has really grown into his power, and he is incredibly smart and perceptive.  Jack embraces his changling nature, and at times pretends to be less human than he really is to get away with things.

This was a wonderful addition to the series.  I cannot wait to see where the last books goes with Richard Mar as the lead.

Currently Reading:
Pretties
by Scott Westerfeld

Cursed is Right

Tiger's Curse is the first book in Colleen Houck's Tiger Saga.

Dhiren is a prince of an ancient Indian kingdom, who was betrayed by his brother, and both brothers end up cursed by a rival kingdom's king to live their lives mostly as tigers.

Kesley has just finished high school and needs a summer job to help pay for college.  She ends up a circus helping with the animals.  Their white tiger fascinated her, and she feels drawn to him.  When a man shows up and wants to take the tiger, Ren, back to India and ask Kesley for her help, she jumps at the chance.

She soon discovers the tiger is more than he seems.  Ren is a cursed prince who can only be human for 24 minutes a day.  She embarks on a quest to help him break the curse.

The concept of this book had so much promise, and even the prologue kept up the promise.  Too bad once the book became Kesley's book it fell flat. The writing had such a young teenage girl diary feel to it that is was hard to really get into it.  It felt like a play by play of Kesley's day, and the amount of description she gave of every food she ate was totally unnecessary.

Then there is Kesley, who is suppose to be this seventeen year old girl who has finished high school, but she really feels much younger in the book. Plus the fact that her parents died a few years ago, the author seems to totally gloss over that fact.  Then there is the the fact that about a third of the way into the book, Kesley suddenly wants Ren to call her Kells, and that she describes her growing feelings for Ren as her love plant.

The interactions between Ren and Kesley were painful at times. The conversations bounced all over the place with no rhyme or reason.  Then Kesley starts to push him away because she is afraid of what was happening between them.  She compares him to Adonis but says she is no Helen of Troy, way to mix your Greek mythology totally up.  FYI Adonis was only in love with himself, and Helen of Troy was in love with Paris.

I am sad that this book was so badly written.  I really wanted to like it, but the writing was hard to stomach.  I can't even image forcing my way through the rest of the series.

Currently Reading:
Fate's Edge
by Ilona Andrews

Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo is the second book in her The Grisha trilogy.  If you have not read the first book, Shadow and Bone, do not read this review.

After unleashing her power on the Darkling in the Shadow Fold, Alina and Mal escape across the True Sea in an effort to leave her past behind.  Too bad, the Darkling did not die in the Shadow Fold and tracked them down in their new home.

The Darkling has developed a dark new power that is unlike anything that has been seen before.  He drags Alina and Mal with him in search of a new amplifier for Alina. The ship's captain is a notorious privateer, who is more than what he seems.

With the privateer's help, Alina and Mal escape the Darkling's grasp, but the privateer has his own motives.  He convinces Alina to go back to Os Alta and help save Ravka.  While Alina's power grows, her relationship with Mal suffers, and she might be losing her sanity.

Great news, this book does not suffer from the sophomore slump.  Ms. Bardugo brings the the action, the twist, and some great character development.  She also brings a health dose of political intrigue.

Alina is still struggling with the power she has and what it means, and then she is thrust into not only an important position in the Second Army, but she is now seen as a living saint among the common people.  The struggles she has in her new roles, and with her relationships make her very human feeling.  Who has not been there having trouble explaining your feelings and worries to the one you love, or struggled with the role you need to feel?

The downside to this book is that I have to wait until June for the final installment.  The way it ended sets up the final book for some amazing possibilities.

Currently Reading:
Tiger's Curse
by Colleen Houck

Not Your Mom's Zombies

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter is the first of her White Rabbit Chronicles.

Monsters are real, too bad for Alice Bell that she never believed until her whole family was dead.  She always thought her dad was just paranoid.  Her whole world has crumbled and she would give anything to go back to the way it was, to tell her dad she believes, tell her mother she loves her, and to hug her sister again.

Now she has moved in with her grandparents, and started a new school, and dealing with the fact that the monster really do exist. At school, she is drawn to bad boy Cole Holland.  When their eyes meet, she is drawn into strange visions with him.  His gruff bad boy demeanor is hiding a secret, and Alice is sure he knows about the monster.

With Cole's help, Alice learns how to fight the monster, who he calls Zombies.  Together they try to solve why the Zombies are so drawn to Alice.

I liked this spin on Zombies.  They were not the traditional flesh eating, brains zombies.  Rather they are beings of the spirit world who feed on human spirits.  The only way to fight them is in the spirit.  Not everyone can see them, but for those that can the zombies are drawn to them.  I thought the idea was fresh, but still was true to the heart of the idea of zombies.

I really enjoyed the character of Alice.  She is feisty, and holds her own against uber bad boy Cole. I like that she can throw Cole off balance when he is so used to being in control.  She finds good things to enjoy, like her friends, even after she thought her world had ended.

Her best friend, Kat, was fantastic.  She is funny and loyal to Alice even when it cost her social status. She keeps a bright outlook on life, which is amazing after you learn what all she is dealing with personally.  She is one of my favorite sidekicks.

Cole has the quite the bad boy image, right down to the tattoos, but there are times when his softer side shines through.  When that happens, I like him the best.  The dynamic between him and Alice is great, and their banter is highly entertaining.

It will definitely be interesting to see where Ms. Showalter takes this series. There a few hints she drops that could bring about some interesting developments and relationships in future books.

Currently Reading:
Siege and Storm
by Leigh Bardugo

Ugly is the New Pretty

Scott Westerfeld's Uglies is the first book in the series of the same name. I am a big fan of Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy, so I was very interested to see how these books were.  Set in a society where everyone is an Ugly until their sixteenth birthday when they undergo procedures to make them into a Pretty.  Pretties are those who are the ideal beauty that fit into the model of perfection in human form .

Tally is just three short months away from becoming a Pretty.  She has been lonely since her best friend, Peris, has been made into a Pretty.  It over this summer that she meets Shay, who has some different views about becoming a Pretty.  When Shay runs away a week before her procedures, Tally is giving an ultimatum, find where Shay went or remain an Ugly forever.

Tally finds Shay, but more than that, she finds a whole town of Uglies.  She learns that there is more to becoming Pretty than what everyone is told.  Tally must make some hard decisions, betray her new friends and become Pretty or stay Ugly forever.

I heart me some dystopian society books, and I can't believe that I have not read this book before now.  It like an interesting mix Aldous Huxley's Brave New World with elements like Lauren Oliver's Delirium.  A society that is all about living in the moment, and that everyone undergoes a change a certain point in their lifetime. Who knew that Pretty could be such a scary concept?

Tally is one of the best written heroines I have read.  She makes a fantastic journey from an Ugly who only dream is to be a Pretty to someone who is seeing beyond the blinders that her society placed on her and wants to make a difference.

Can't wait to see how the rest of the series plays out, especially after the choice that Tally makes at the end.  If you are like me and love dystopian society books, this is a must read book.

Currently Reading:
Alice in Zombieland
by Gena Showalter

Assassins and Intrigue

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is the first in the series of the same name.  It takes places in the kingdom of Adarlan where the king has outlawed all magic, and it systematically taking over all the surrounding lands so that he can rule all of Erilea.

Celaena Sardothien is the Adarlan's Assassin, and when she was betrayed, she was sent to the brutal work prison of Endovier.  To her surprise,  Crown Prince Dorian  comes and offers her freedom if she will be his champion in the king's contest to find one.

When Celaena arrives at the glass castle, she finds not all is what it seems.  The prince, and the Captain of the Guard, Choal, are more than what she expected.  She befriends the Princess from Eyllwe, Nehemia.  As she trains for the Test in the contest, someone or something is picking off the other champions one by one. Not only must Celaena win her freedom, but she must fight for her life and unravel who is behind the mysterious happenings in the castle.

I found the style and characters of this book reminded me a lot of Kristin Cashore's Graceling, which I adore.  This has a lovely mix of action, intrigue, and just a touch of romance.  The character of Celaena is just the right mix of a harden assassin and a vulnerable heart, plus there is the added mystery of her past.  I have some theories on who she is, but I would love to hear from others on their thoughts about that.

The whole love triangle between Celaena, Dorian, and Choal does feel a little forced at times, and think that is because it really does not seem her and Dorian fit.  Choal appears to understand her more than Dorian, even if he the more standoffish of the two.  Just based on her actions in the book, I feel if she had been forced to chose now, it would have been Choal.

I liked the friendship between Celaena and Nehemia.  I think it is important to have strong friends in books, because for me, it is friends more than lovers that see you through the rough patches.  While Celaena and Nehemia have a few ups and downs, I felt they were an excellent representation of friendship.

The way Ms. Maas sets up the ending, and the hints she drops not only about Celaena's past, but what the King is planning, should make this a very interesting series to read.

Currently Reading:
Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld

A Mythological Ending

Goddess is the last book in Josephine Angelini's Starcrossed trilogy. It picks up pretty much picks up right where Dreamless ended, so if you haven't read Dreamless yet, there will be some spoilers in this review.

Helen, Lucas, and Orion fight with Ares left the three of them as blood brothers, and that mixed the blood of four Scion Houses.  This causes the twelve major gods to be released from their prison on Olympus.  The Scion houses call a meet to figure out what to do about the gods, who up to their old tricks, and the coming of the Tyrant.

Lucas, Helen, Orion, and Hector form an alliance to stand together, and not with any one house, which opens a whole crazy can of worms between the Houses.  Helen keeps having dreams of her past lives, how all the people in her life now played a role in them.  She figures out that the fates keep repeating the same cycle because the end they desire has not come, yet.  Plus she is dealing with an increase in her powers, her love for Lucas, and how to stop the cycle.

I thought this was a pretty good ending to the trilogy.  Ms. Angelini did well in answering all the lingering questions from the previous books, like what role everyone played and why Daphne lied about Helen's father. Although, some of the people came out of nowhere, and I wish there had been a better lead up to who and what they were. One of the things that really annoyed me was that it took the other characters way too long to figure out who the Tyrant was.  It got pretty obvious in just the first few chapters for me.

I am just going to admit that my favorite characters in these books are not the main characters of Helen and Lucas, but their supporting characters.  I think that the supporting characters in this series are really what make it worth the read.  Hector is fabulous, and so heroic and smooth, of course until he finally meets the one, and then he is so tongue tied it is cute.  Daphne for all her faults as a mother, definitely keeps it interesting and keeps you guess her motives almost up to the very end.  Plus, event though he is a really minor character in the amount of time he gets in the books, Hades is wonderful.  There is some much personality and wisdom in his little moments, I could not do anything but love him.

I think that overall Ms. Angelini did a good job at placing a new spin on Greek mythology.  There were a few flaws, but it is a good read.

Currently Reading:
Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas

Frostbite

Frostbite is the second book in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series.

The Strigoi have started making organized attacks against Moroi Royals, and they are using humans to help them.  They are changing all the rules, and that makes the Moroi community scared.

In response the students are sent to a secure ski resort over their Christmas break so that everyone can be protected and still see their families.

Rose is continuing to deal with her feelings for Dmitri, even though he appears to have moved on.  She is, also, trying out dating Mason, partly on the insistence of Lissa.  While she likes him and has fun with him, he doesn't stir the passion that she has with Dmitri.  Oh, and Rose's mother shows up, too, so she is having to deal with their strained relationship.

When another Strigoi attack happens, there are arguments between the Moroi on how to handle this new threat.  Some want to learn how to protect themselves, and others what to hide away somehow.

This was an excellent follow-up to Vampire Academy.  Ms. Mead does well with progressing in the story, and developing her characters further. With the debate in the Moroi, she shows so well how people react to changes and fear, and with Lissa, how a good leader can make great comprises.

Rose makes a lot of character development in this book, despite her bouts with jealousy making her turn childish.  She grows in her relationship with her mother, and they have a better understanding of each other by the end.  She also grows in her own maturity, and realizes how hard the path of a Guardian really is.

This book brings the introduction of Adrian, who I have already met since I read Bloodlines first.  He is definitely a mysterious and intriguing character. It cannot wait to see him fleshed out more as the series progresses.

I think this maybe becoming a new favorite series to read, partly because Rose is so kick-ass, partly because I find the storyline interesting.

Currently Reading:
Goddess
by Josephine Angelini

Sexy Shorts

Enthtralled is a collection of short stories by Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day, Meljean Brook, and Lucy Monroe.  I read this collection for Meljean Brook's story that is part of her Iron Seas series.

Lora Leigh's The Devil's Due is part of her Breeds series. I have only read other stories that have been part of other collections.  Her characters are decent, and she writes some super sexy love scenes, but I don't feel inspired to start reading the series as a whole.  Plus the series is super long, like 28 novels and shorts long, and ain't nobody got time for that.

Alyssa Day's The Curse of the Black Swan was probably my second favorite story of the collection.  I enjoyed her characters, like Sean strong sense of family and Brynn's love of animals. I like the world she created in Bodertown where human, fey, and demons mingle.  I am definitely going to be picking up the first book in the League of the Black Swam series, The Cursed.

Meljean Brook's Salvage why I picked up the book to begin with, and it did not disappoint.  Thom and Georgiana were a fantastic couple, who have been married for years, but neither really knows the other.  It is only when Thom is injured and they are taken hostage that they really begin to connect.  There is some excellent action and romance in this story.  It fits really well with the rest of the series.

Lucy Monore's Ecstasy of the Moon is part of her Children of the Moon series.  She has weaved both Scottish and paranormal romance into her story.  It was too much for me.  She adds in too many different elements into the story for me to really get into it.

Currently Reading:
Frostbite
by Richelle Mead

A Little Swamp Magic

Bayou Moon is the second book of Ilona Andrews' The Edge series.  This book takes place two years after the end of the first book, On the Edge, and follows William and introduces new leading female in Cerise.

William has been keeping a low profile.  He has been living on the Edge, and working in the Broken.  He has no desire to go back to the Weird, because he has nothing to go back to.  Reluctantly he is drawn back into that world by Mirror, the spymasters of Adrianglia, who need him for a mission. He is sent to find and retrieve an item that an revival Dukedom has sent their spymasters, the Hand, after.  There he meets the fierce Cerise.

Cerise is part of a large Edge Clan, the Mars, in the swamps.  Her parents have recently gone missing, leaving her in charge of the family.  There is new wounds opened in an old feud, and it is up to Cerise to lead her family against their old revivals and a new threat.  On her journey to save her grandparents old home, she meets Willaim, who she is convinced there is more to his status than just being a Blueblood from the Weird.

I was glad that this book gave us William's story.  I found him an intriguing character in On the Edge, and I wanted to know more.  I thought that William's thought process had a unique quality to them.  Andrews did an excellent job in writing them as to set him apart from humans in the way his changeling mind works.

I really liked Cerise.  She is a tough woman, who is loyal to her family despite their many faults and quirks.  She is a lovely combination of strong and soft.  I found some of her softer moments my favorite parts, like her interactions with her younger sister Lark.  I felt that she was a good match for William.

I was also glad to see that Declan, Rose, Jack, and George made an appearance in the book, and I got to see how they were getting along.

My one complaint is that I felt the ending left things a like in limbo as to what exactly happened to the Hand's leader, Spider.  Overall, a good second book for the series, which I am going to have to keep reading because the next two books follow some of Cerise cousins.

Currently Reading:
Enthralled
various authors

Steampunk & The Civil War

Fiddlehead is the final book in Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series.  It is set in a steampunk universe with an alternate history to the Civil War that involve a lot of what ifs that change the war from we learned in history class.

Gideon Bardsely is a brilliant scientist who has invited a machine that can predict outcomes and their probability given all the known factors.  The machine, dub Fiddlehead, has people wanting to destroy it, and kill Gideon to prevent the truth about the war getting out.

Gideon goes to the man who has always been a champion for his cause, former President Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln enlist the help of the Pinkertons to get to the bottom of the who wants Gideon dead, and why.  The Pinkertons sends the infamous Maria "Belle" Boyd (previous seen in Clementine).

Politicans and war-profiteers alike work to stop them, and hide the big secret weapon that the Union has. A weapon that could change not only the war but put an end to life as they know it.

My congratulations to Ms. Priest for writing one of the best steampunk series there is.  This series has amazing adventure along with well thought out plot lines.  While each book is excellent on its own, series all together is phenomenal with little parts of each book contributing to the epic ending.

Her characters have wonderful personalities and so very real feeling to them.  Each has their strengths and their vices.  She makes them so human that it is easy to imagine meeting one of them.

She does steampunk so well.  She balances the elements of steampunk without shoving into the readers face at every turn in the book.  She does not let over take the story or detract from her characters.

Plus, there are zombies!  The original ones, Rotters, in Boneshaker are created when poison gas is released in Seattle.  The gas kills, but only 30% actaully drop dead, the rest just keep walking without their heart beat.  As the series progress, people who use the drug created from the gas, Sap, are turning into zombies, too.

If you like steampunk, zombies, or alternate history novels, this book will not disappoint you.

Currently Reading:
Bayou Moon
by Ilona Andrews

Facing Your Fears

The Shells of Chanticleer by Maura Patrick is kind like if Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland got together to make a book this would be it.

Macy is 16 years old and looking forward to her spring break.  She goes out for a run on her first day of freedom, and trips and gets a splinter in her ankle, and if that was not bad enough, she catches the stomach bug going around.  She gets really sick, high fever, and dark red lines up her leg with the splinter.  Her family rushes her to the hospital, where she is placed in a medically induced coma to help her body heal.

Macy wakes up in a strange bed in a little hut, and two girls come in to retrieve her.  They welcome her to Chanticleer.  A place that Macy learns is to help teens overcome their fears, and Macy has some irrational fears like the fear of being kidnapped, or throwing herself off a bridge.

As Macy learns to navigate her coursework and the world around her, she finds out that those who fail at overcoming are made into Shells.  They are ghastly recreations of the person shown in their worst fear.  Macy wants to do everything to avoid that fate.

Along the way she meets Sebastian, who is drawn to, and feels like she has met before.  As her feelings for him grow, she must make a hard choice.  To leave her family behind and stay with Sebastian in Chanticleer, or to go back to her world and forget all about Chanticleer and Sebastian.

My friend, Gisell, sent me the link to download this free from Amazon, and I have to say it was a good choice.  I like this new concepts of where people going during comas, and what they learn during them.  The world of Chanticleer is a nice mix of normal and outrageous.  It also gives a nice lesson that if we don't deal with our fears, they can cripple us in life.

Macy has some interesting fears she is learning to deal with, but much to my disappointment Ms. Patrick doesn't really address why she has one of them.  As the book progress, and more about Macy's past is revealed, one of her fears does not seem as crazy as it did in the beginning, and I felt the author missed a real opportunity to make a point of it.

I have to admit, I was not all about some Sebastian.  He just seems very pushy in ways, and always gets what he wants.  In the end, I felt like he did not care what Macy really wanted, but more of what he wanted from her.

The ending of this book left a lot of things hanging, so you know there is a sequel, The World that I Remembered, which I am going to have to read, so I can get full closure.

Currently Reading:
Fiddlehead
by Cherie Priest

Just Bleh

Fury of Desire is the new book in Coreene Callahan's Dragonfury series.

So, I usually give the description of the book myself, but I am having a hard time do that for this book, so I am just going to give the description that Goodreads provides.

No warrior of the Nightfury pack is more complicated or damaged than Wick. 

Scarred from a childhood of slavery and torture, Wick cannot bear the touch of another person. But all bets are off when he meets J.J. Solares. When she is unjustly imprisoned, Wick agrees to help rescue and keep her from harm. But Wick lives a life of self-imposed isolation and venturing into the world to seek justice for J.J. may be more than he can bear.

Brutalized by the harsh reality of prison, J.J thinks she is hallucinating when a majestic dark-haired god sweeps in to save her—and Wick is shaken to his core by the attraction he feels for J.J. But neither is out of harm's way yet. When they find themselves at the center of a Dragonkind war, they are forced to make the ultimate choice—surrender to their fears or accept each other’s love

I had liked the first three books of this series.  They were never going to win any great literature prize, but they entertained me, and had some seriously steamy romance scenes.  This book, however, was a big disappointment, and had oh so many problems.

First, I felt the author spent the better part of at least three chapters explaining that Wick could not handle being touched and why.  It dragged the story out, and could have been explained just as well in one chapter.

Second, Her male leads are not having a different enough personality to make them really stand out from the others.  Their attitudes and mannerisms are way too similar to make them entirely new and special.

Third, the author switches perspective way too many times between too many characters.  If this book was suppose to be about Wick and J.J., she should have spent more time focusing on their story and perspectives.  Instead we got Wick, J.J., Venom, Ivar, and Nian, and some of the story just felt like filler so that she could make this into a novel length.  With all the switching, the establishing of the relationship and connection between Wick and J.J. did not really happen until the book was over half done with, and because of that it felt way too rushed. 

Lastly, and probably the most annoying, the author way over uses the dramatic trail-off sentences.  I get that sometimes a drama trail-off can enhance the story and the point being made, but when you do that multiple times per chapter, it looses it affect.

This book has pretty much put an end to me continuing this series.  I just don't think I can handle more of it, and her writing style.

Currently Reading:
The Shells of Chanticleer
by Maura Patrick