Powerless By Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs

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author,  book reviews, book, books, characters, fiction, literature, novel, plot, powerless, powerless by tera lynn childs and Tracy deebs, read, reader, review, science fiction, scifi, stories, story, super powers, tera Lynn childs, tera Lynn childs and Tracy deebs, tracy deebs, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Super Powers

Pages: 320

Point of View: First present (Kenna)

Released: June 2nd 2015

Series: The Hero Agenda 1

Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

My Summary:

In a world of super heroes and villains Kenna is powerless. Which is pretty much the same thing as invisible. Her mom is a genius inventor and Kenna works in her lab.

One night when Kenna’s working late, a group of young villains breaks into the lab. But instead of killing or kidnapping her, one of them saves her life.

My Review:

There isn’t much down time in Powerless. It starts with a bang and never really lets up.

The Good:

Kenna is tough and smart. She does spend too much time thinking of tall dark and villainy, but I still liked her. And there was a little sprinkled humor throughout the book, which I always appreciate.

The side characters were so good I kept wishing to hear from their point of view. I loved her best friend Rebel! I think she’d have made a great protagonist. She’s just so much fun! And maybe a villains point of view too! (I know a book is good when I have a wish list for next time!)

Kenna and her potential love interest bicker almost constantly at first. I prefer banter, but they grew on me. Considering the book only takes place over three days their relationship didn’t feel too quick. (The intensity of her feelings by the end was a bit much for me though.)

We get minimal world building, mostly what we learn about super powered people is in the prologue. I wish there’d been a bit more, like why some people are born with hero powers and others villains and what makes them different.

The Bad:

It didn’t bother me but this is the sort of book where she rarely said says, but gushed, spit, etc. Kenna also has a habit of repeating herself. (Which did annoy me.)

There’s a plot hole near the end, where a previously strong character is suddenly exhausted despite not doing anything. (Molly grumbles incoherently.)

I also feel I should mention the amazing number of times our ‘heroes’ failed. And the partial cliffhanger ending. (I would’ve read the next book. You didn’t have to torture me like this!)

Overall: A fun book with good characters, though the plot was nothing special. (Almost all action)

How do you feel about plot holes? I always spot them. I suppose that’s because they bother me so much!

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The Witch Hunter By Virginia Boecker

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Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 368

Point of View: First present (Elizabeth)

Released: June 2nd 2015

Series: The Witch Hunter 1

Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

Warnings: Rape. (Only mentioned, and took place before the start of the story.)

My Summary:

After a magical plagued whipped out much of the kingdom, including the king and queen, all witchcraft was made illegal. The punishment, death at the stake.

Elizabeth is one of the elite Witch Hunters, tracking down and capturing dangerous witches and Wizards. After she’s accused of witch craft and sentenced to die, she’s saved by the most infamous wizard in the country, Nicolas, the leader of the reformists.

A seer saw that Elizabeth was the one to help the reformists, but they don’t realize she’s a witch hunter. She knows it they do, they’ll kill her.

My Review:

Most of the reviews I’ve read people either love this book or hate it. I’m somewhere in the middle. (Leave it to me to be the oddball) There wasn’t anything I thought was bad, but I there wasn’t anything great either.

The Fine:

Witch Hunter starts out pretty much a downer and nothing really grabbed me at first. But it was fast paced so I wasn’t bored. Elizabeth is a fine main character. She’s stubborn and strong, but she’s obviously been brainwashed by the inquisitor, Blackwell.

Things picked up once we met the wizards and witches. They were funny and had great potential. From a pirate to a court jester, they were certainly colorful. Normally I love the whole secret identity thing, but not enough was really done with it.

I was afraid of a love triangle, but there wasn’t one! The romance wasn’t too fast and the guy was sweet, but there wasn’t any swooning or giggles on my part. (And you know how much I like forbidden romance!)

Everything was described in detail in this middle ages like world. I wanted to know more about the magical creatures though. Along with ghosts, and ghouls there’s something called a revenant and they can read your mind after they’ve touched you. The magic had a couple of interesting aspects too, like storing magic in knots.

The story wrapped up, but it’s obviously a series. There’s plenty of fighting left for next time.

This was a hard review to write! I don’t know why I didn’t like this book more. It had all of the things I usually love. (Even a cool prophecy riddle!)

Has that ever happened to you? Although a book had all things you love it was just okay?

Uprooted By Naomi Novik

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author,  book reviews, book, books, characters, fairy tale, fantasy, fiction, literature, Naomi Novak, novel, plot, read, reader, review, stories, story, uprooted, uprooted Naomi novak, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 448

Point of View: First (Agnieszka)

Released: May 19th 2015

Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Edelweiss

My Rating: 10/10 Stars!!!

My Summary:

The dragon (actually a wizard) protects villages from the corrupted woods, but every ten years they must give him a young girl. (Not to eat, but to work for him.)

My Review:

Right away it’s obvious that Agnie has a good voice. (What I call her, since her name is a mouthfull!) Which is good since there’s a lot of narration in this book and it really helps it feel like a fairy tale.

The nature of the magic and how she described it was familiar yet unique. Though mostly spoken words and mystical-ness, somehow the way the character understand it made it feel real. “It’s like gleaning in the woods, you have to pick your way through the thickets and the trees and its different every time.” (And I like when magic has a cost, here energy.) The Dragon saw magic very much like a precise science so he didn’t know what to make of Agnie’s bumbling way.

Dragon and Agnie are very different people. They get forced together and I loved their interactions! The characters and the world were so well done.

There was a sense of a different culture, mostly in the words used. Even these little touches helped it to feel like a different world. I also appreciated that the characters were described like real people, Agnie’s not perfectly pretty. (I love oddball main characters!) The Dragon actually called her horse-faced at one point. (He’s rather bristly at first. He didn’t say it to be mean. Yes, I feel the need to defend him!)

The Wood was a great villain! Normally I don’t care for the ambitious unseen evil force, but this was so creepy! (Plus there are some human ‘bad guys’ as well. Okay, just jerks I kept hoping would die.)

Uprooted has a pace which is all its own. Everything about this book was unique, but it all worked! There are five acts to this book (not officially or anything) and I liked them all, but the parts with the Dragon were definitely my favorite! Oh, I should mention there’s a great female friendship too!

Am I babbling? I might be. It was just that good!

The Bad:

It’s a standalone!

It took me a while to read this book. It was so good I wanted to savor it! Am I the only one who does that?

Revive By Tracey Martin

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author,  book reviews, book, books, characters, fiction, literature, new adult, novel, plot, read, reader, review, revive, revive Tracy martin, science fiction, scifi, stories, story, thriller, Tracey Martin, write, writer, writing

Genre: New Adult, Science Fiction Thriller

Pages: 282

Point of View: Third (Sophia)

Released: May 15th 2015

Series: Redzone 1

Predictability: 5 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 6/10 Stars

My Summary:

Sophia wakes up in a train station with no memory. Her ID says Sophia, but she knows that’s not true. A boy named Kyle seems to know her, but then people show up who she knows are bad. Her instincts scream at her to run. She might have no memory but she has spy like training.

Then we back up twelve weeks to when Sophia started at RTC college. We learn she’s undercover to find a certain student. Student X as she calls them is a mutant and if Sophia doesn’t identify him or her, they will. They = mysterious enemies.

My review:

Though rated new adult this first book is really more a young adult set in college.

I requested this book because I enjoyed Martin’s other series, Miss Misery (and the blurb promised that Sophia wasn’t human.) Sophia’s voice sounds totally different from Martin’s other main character. It always impresses me when an author can do that.

The good:

This was the kind of book that kept me reading looking for answers. It was also done right too. I got enough information not to feel strung along, but I was kept curious enough to keep turning pages.

The pacing alternates between exciting thriller and everyday college life and the time line bounces around as Sophia gets her memory back. (Sounds confusing, but it really wasn’t.) It’s set in the near future. Mostly our world, but there were few cool new inventions.

I liked Sophia in her flashbacks, but current her seemed ordinary and overly moral. (Okay so I might have skewed priorities, but there’s a time for morals and a time to kick bad guy butt without feeling bad about it!)

The best part was the friends she grew up with! Not only were they colorful characters, but they had a great relationship! Sadly, they were barely in the book. I’m hoping they become main characters in the next one!

The Bad:

There’s a love triangle of course. Between the guy she met at college (who she doesn’t know if she can trust) and a guy she grew up with. (Who she’s forbidden to be with.) I didn’t like either one. I know Martin can do banter, so where was it?

The plot kept me guessing, but only because I kept over thinking things. I was promised lots of twists and turns, so I couldn’t believe it would be so predictable! It was. Guess I read/watch too much SciFi.

My expectations were just too high. Do you ever do that? I hate it when I do, because even when the book is good, (Like this one) I wind up disappointed.

Maxon By Christina Bauer

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Genre: New Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 400

Point of View: First Present (Maxon, Lianna)

Released: May 12th 2015

Series: Angelbound 4

Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

My Summary:

Lianna is one on the apprentices training to become the next ruler of the water elementals, but she’s only a Thrax (half angel) so the odds of her being chosen are slim. Zephyr the leader of the air elementals has been killing off water’s apprentices. He attacks Lianna, but she manages to escape and stumbles into Maxon and his friends demon hunting.

Maxon is the prince of the Thrax. He’s spent his whole life fighting demons, and living in the spotlight of the Thrax world, since his mother is also the one responsible for sending souls to heaven or hell. He can’t become her heir until he falls in love, but no one can see that happening any time soon.

My Review:

Rated new adult due to swearing, sex, and torture.

Though it’s the Fourth book of the series, Maxon can be read alone.

Note: Both main characters have some PTSD. (Personal pet peeve.)

The good:

We get to find out what happened to all of the characters from the first trilogy. Though they weren’t in it much, it was fun to see them again.

I love how Bauer manages to add some awesome new world building to each of her books. The world of the elementals was fascinating and I loved Lianna’s powers!

This is a fast paced book with plenty of action. It’s hard to pull off magical battles, but these were well done.

I was afraid it would be attraction at first sight, but both Lianna and Maxon had reasons to want to stay apart and this let their relationship progress more slowly. It turned out rather sweet, even if it was quite fast.

I liked Lianna right away! Maxon inherited his mother’s sass, (the main character of the original trilogy) but it took me a while to warm up to him.

The Bad:

At the beginning, Maxon came off like a moody womanizer and he seemed way too overpowered. Luckily, he grew on me after he met Lianna.

Lianna did something really stupid towards the end. (The kind of stupid they use a lot in TV, but that didn’t stop me from yelling at her.)

What are your feelings on New Adult? I’ve had some bad experiences and I’d almost written off the genre, but I liked this series so I wanted to see where it went. There was only one sex scene and it didn’t just feel thrown in. (Though some of the swearing did.) I’m glad I gave it a second chance since I enjoyed this book.

The Girl At Midnight By Melissa Grey

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author,  book reviews, book, books, characters, fantasy, fiction, literature, Melissa grey, novel, plot, read, reader, review, stories, story, the girl at midnight, The Girl At Midnight By Melissa Grey, The Girl At Midnight Melissa Grey, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 368

Point of View: Third (Echo, Caius, Dorian, Ivy, with one chapter by Ala and Jasper)

Released: April 28th 2015

Series: The Girl At Midnight 1

Predictability: 5 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

My Summary:

Echo was adopted by the Avicen, a bird like race, when she was seven. She considers them her family and her people, but not all Avicen feel the same way about her. They’ve been at war with the Drakharin , a dragon people, for as long as anyone can remember.

Echo’s a thief so when she wants a present for her adoptive mother, the Ala she steels a music box. Hidden inside the box was a map to the legendary Firebird said to be capable of ending the war. The Ala sends Echo on a mission to retrieve it, which is complicated when she runs into a pair of Drakharin who are also after the firebird.

My Review:

It took me a while to get into this book, but I think that was mostly my own fault. (I was worrying about having so many arcs to read)

Part of this book feels like Daughter of Smoke and Bone and there’s a little Mortal Instruments going on with the romance and a hidden market that is quite Harry Potter ish, and while I can see the similarities it isn’t just a copy cat.

The Good:

The world was awesome! Two races, one birdlike and one dragonlike have been at war for ages. I would have liked to see a bit more of their culture, but I enjoyed what there was. The magic wasn’t used much besides for transport. The use of powder to travel through doorways was cool though. (Actually not like Daughter of Smoke and Bone)

The characters weren’t great on their own, but once they got together the story really picked up. Echo was a fine heroine, but she didn’t overly interest me. A spunky thief has just been done so many times before. (I liked how she collected foreign words though, cute touch.) Caius, the Dragon Prince came off stern and unsympathetic, but once he met Echo I enjoyed his character. Same with Dorian, aside from a crush on his prince he was rather an unlikable solider, but then he met Jasper. (Here is the main Mortal Instruments comparison. Jasper is a lot like Magnus Bane, albeit a feathery peacock version.) The last member of the group was Ivy, Echo’s best friend and a young dove like healer. She was sweet and I liked her from the start. What made the character relationships was the teasing! (Which is probably why I liked them better once they all got together.)

The Bad:

There is a love triangle! Echo has a boyfriend who is a young Avicen solider in training when the story starts. I wish they’d just been friends, then her making goo goo eyes at Caius would’ve made more sense. (A bit too much lovey dovey stuff for me.)

All of the guys are described as overly good looking. And even though everyone else was described multiple times, I can’t even remember what color hair Echo has.

Will I read the sequel? Yes.

Am I the only one who gets panicky when I get a little behind on arcs? One down, seven to go before June 2nd…

Freaks of Nature By Wendy Brotherlin

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Genre: Young Adult, SciFi, Super Powers

Pages: 248

Point of View: Third (Devon) First (Vahn, Nevada, Alya, Miguel, Devon)

Released: May 6th 2015

Series: The Psion Chronicles 1

Predictability: 3 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 8/10 Stars

My Summary:

In the future a vaccine caused teenagers to be born with bright blue eyes and super powers. The adults want to control these psions, so they’re taken from their families and placed in facilities.

Devon thinks he has the lamest power in the world, plant talker. After he escapes from a facility he’s placed on a plane with other escapees. One is a mind reader named Bai Lee and she has a plan to escape. If the others agree to replay their escapes she’ll let them go with her.

My Review:

I’ve been on a super powers kick lately, so when I read the unique premise of Freaks of Nature I couldn’t resist. And I wasn’t disappointed!

The good:

The main story is told by Devon in third person, but the flashbacks are told in first, which easily could’ve been confusing but actually worked well. The voices of the five points of view were unique enough that I didn’t confuse them. (Though it probably helped that I didn’t put the book down much)

The world felt very dystopian. (Maybe not for the teens, there was little illusion of good there) It must be hard to come up with original super powers and most of them had been done before, but they weren’t boring and they all had something special about them. The psi-blade was the most unique, creating weapons and armor from their bodies, but my favorite was the plant talker.

I also liked Devon’s personality best, (which is good since he’s the main character) he’d been bullied relentlessly for his lame power at the facility, but he was still a strong good person. He’s also the funniest, though most of the humor comes from his ability. (I loved the personalities of the plants!)

Nevada, a senator’s daughter who acts out for attention came off a bit mean at first, but she was really a nice girl. I appreciated that in her flashback she was still true to herself and a bit abrasive at times.

Alya the Romanian healer was a sweet girl and I liked her connection to Devon.

There was a little romance and considering they’d only really known each other a few hours (circumstances notwithstanding) it did feel a bit fast, but it was sweet, so I liked it.

The plot was fast paced and there were really only a couple of parts that I wanted to go a little faster.

The Bad:

Vahn’s point of view was the most exciting, but it was also the longest. (A little too long if you ask me.) The action was well done, it was just missing that ‘the character comes up with something cool/smart to win’. The author tried, but it fell a bit flat for me.

The other point of view I didn’t care for was Miguel’s, but his was short and all of his preying was in italics so it was easy to skip. (Miguel is very religious and if he didn’t have super powers he’d have been a padre)

Overall: A quick fun book that was part super powers and part dystopian. (In feel)

Do you prefer fist person or third person point of view? First will always be my favorite, because it feels like I’m really the character. Third limited is okay too, but I like to be close.