Shadow Hunters Series Episodes One and Two Review

Tags

ABC family, author, book, book reviews, books, Cassandra Clare, characters, fantasy, fiction, Jace TV show, literature, magic, magic system, mortal instruments, Mortal Instruments TV show, novel, plot, read, reader, review, Shadow Hunter Gifs, Shadow Hunter screenshots, Shadow Hunters, stories, story, world building, write, writer, writing, young adult

No spoilers if you haven’t seen Shadow Hunters or read Mortal Instruments! (I’ll warn you before the spoiler-y part)

To see my review of the books click here.

Shadow Hunters has good effects for the most part. (Only one demon looked a bit hokey) The seraph blades were awesome!

So far the acting has all been good. The cast really looks like how I pictured them in the books! (Except Jace.) Jace is portrayed better in this version (even though movie Jace was way cuter) and the actor does a good job.

(See what I mean?)

They kept the characters’ personalities true to the book and included the humor! The new scenes were mostly good and nothing felt drawn out or boring. (Plus more Magnus!)

Overall: Good. 8/10 stars!

(Clary, Simon, Jace)

If you’re wondering how I’ve seen episode two already, its on the ABC family website! (I’m not sure it’s available in all countries though.)

Small spoilers if you haven’t seen the show or read the first book you might want to stop reading now!

I’m rereading the book along with the show!

Episode one is from chapter one to about chapter five.

Instead of Jace and Clary going back to her home, Simon comes to them. (Apparently the Institute isn’t protected from GPS..)

Episode two is from chapter five to chapter eleven.

(Jace, Alec, and Isabel)

Changes:

There’s a new Demon sub plot, they’re draining people’s blood.

Pandemonium is Magnus’ club. (Their way of getting Magnus in sooner.)

They changed things to make it look cooler for TV. (Clary’s in the first battle scene instead of witnessing it and there are multiple demons, not one.)

There’s more of the circle members, and we see Valentine’s side of things.

Runes can be hidden. So can Magnus’ eyes.

The Institute has a high tech look and is full of people!

Dot (the fortune teller who lived downstairs) is a Warlock and friend of Jocelyn and Clary.

Good Changes:

Luke is a cop.

Clary and company are 18 not 15.

(Marline is their age and a member of Simon’s band.)

Hodge is really fit!

Bad Changes:

Clary’s mom gave her a stele?! (No way would she do that!)

When Clary gets home from the club, her mom is there and starts to explain things.

Clary’s saved by Jace instead of killing the demon herself. (Why?!) It also wasn’t clear she’d been poisoned.

No sign of Max or Church.

Clary has a magical plot saving necklace. (Lets her know where people are.)

There’s another change, but I don’t want to spoil anything. It looks like there will be major plot changes for episode three though!

(Yes, I was so excited about this show, I made gifs!)

I plan to watch episode three! I hope they keep it good and don’t change too much!

Have you read the books? Seen the show? Want to?

Air Awakens

Tags

Air Awakens, Air Awakens by Elise Kova, author, book, book reviews, books, characters, Elise Kova, fantasy, fiction, literature, magic, magic system, novel, plot, read, reader, review, stories, story, world building, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Indie

Pages: 377

Point of View: Third Person (Vhalla)

Released: August 27th 2015 

Series: Air Awakens 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: Gift from the lovely Shannon

My Rating: 10/10 Stars

Errors: I only noticed one!

My Summary:

A library apprentice discovers she processes magic. The kingdom is in dire need of magical people right now, because they’re in the middle of a war.

My Review:

I could easily relate to Vhalla. It might be that she’s as obsessed with books as I am! She’s also a genuinely nice person, but a bit of a people pleaser. I enjoyed watching her evolve over the course of the book.

When Vhalla discovers she has magic she does everything she can to deny and run from it. I understand why she’d be hesitant to leave her old life. She also doesn’t know if she can trust those in the tower or know how her old friends would treat her if they learn she has magic. It was nice seeing her ordinary world in the library and the rich magical world of the tower.

The world building was your fairly standard midieval world, but she really brought it to life. I also liked that our heroine’s kingdom wasn’t the one being attacked for once. They were the conquerors! The magic system might seem like your normal elementals, but the way she learned to use her powers and what she could do with them were wholly unique.

Romance plays a large part in this book, but I loved every bit of it! She started out pretty much hating him and gradually realized she had feelings for him. I felt the same way! I thought he was a jerk at first and hoped he wouldn’t be the love interest. But he won me over! He wasn’t a necessarily good guy, but he was smart, complex, and he really did care about her. In the end he was the best part of the book! (I was afraid of a love triangle, but she didn’t feel the same way about him, so it doesn’t count.)

Warning: the end is really intense! I lost some sleep on this one, because I just had to know what happens!

The story wrapped up satisfactorily and I can’t wait to find out what happens next! (But I’m being a good girl and reading books I already own.)

No bad for this one!

---

What books did you ask for for Christmas?

I asked for Magnus Chase, Six of Crows, and Winter!

Six of Crows By Leigh Bardugo

Tags

author, book, book reviews, books, characters, fantasy, fiction, Grisha, heist book, Leigh Bardugo, literature, lstories, magic, magic system, novel, plot, read, reader, review, Six of Crows, Six of Crows By Leigh Bardugo, story, Thief book, world building, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Thief

Pages: 465

Point of View: Third Person (Inej, Kaz, Jasper, Nina, Mathias, and two one chapter narrators)

Released: September 29th 2015

Series: Six of Crows 1

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: Library

My Rating: 10/10 Stars

My Summary:

A new drug, Jurda Parem, appeared in Ketterdam, which allows a Grisha to have insane powers. The Fjerdan witch hunters have the maker of this drug and Kaz and his crew have been hired to break him out before someone else gets their hands on him.

The Crew:

Kaz is the mastermind. A ruthless gang lieutenant who walks with a cane, always wears gloves, and has a dark reputation.

Inej used to be a tightrope walker and now acts as Kaz’s spy. She believes in her gods and can climb anything.

Nina’s a curvy Grisha who does everything over the top.

Jasper’s a hyperactive sharpshooter with a gambling problem, but he always sees the best in people.

Mathias is an ex Witch Hunter convict who is torn and confused by his feelings for Nina.

My Review:

Although Six of Crows takes place in the same world as the original Grisha trilogy, it stands on its own. You don’t have to read Shadow and Bone to understand this book! Usually it’s still better to read the books in order for the little details, but there were only a couple of mentions of the characters from the first series. (I almost missed the one!)

The Good:

All of the characters were flawed and very real! They all had their vices, weaknesses, and shady pasts. I loved them all, but Kaz was my favorite! He might be more villain than hero, but I liked how clever he was, always a step ahead.

Most of our crew are a part of the Dregs, a gang from the barrel, the worst part of the city of Ketterdam. My favorite part was their traditions! Like saying No mourners, no funerals before a job.

As much as I liked the original Grisha trilogy, Six of Crows is miles better! Bardugo has obviously matured a lot as a writer since then. Her writing is tight and beautiful. She sets up the novel and the intricate world quickly and without any info dumping.

I had a lot of questions about the characters’ pasts and they were all answered as our characters head the capital of the Witch Hunters. The short flashbacks were interspersed as they travel and break in, and kept things interesting.

Once the job starts the action doesn’t let up! I tried to savor this book, but I gobbled if up once they reached the city. Six of Crows has the perfect combination of telling us part of the plan, but keeping plenty of surprises. Of things going to plan and going to hell. It all made for an incredible ride!

Bardugo did an excellent job of expanding her world! From the grittiness of Ketterdam to the shiny white city of the Witch Hunters, I enjoyed it all. The magic system wasn’t expanded much, but Nina’s heartrending was cool.

The Bad:

It ends to be continued! Not a little to be continued, but like I NEED the next book NOW to be continued! (I was fooled by the Grisha sample chapter! It ends at 86%!!)

What was the best book you read this year? Mine was either Six of Crows or Uprooted!

Winter By Marissa Meyer (Spoiler Free Review)

Tags

author, book, book reviews, books, characters, cinder, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, cress, Epic Fantasy, Fairytale retelling, fantasy, fiction, Ice Like Fire, Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch, literature, Lunar Chronicles, magic, magic system, Marissa Meyer, novel, plot, read, reader, review, Sara Raasch, Scarlett, sci-fi, science fiction, snow like ashes, Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, stories, story, who dies in cinder winter, who dies in lunar chronicles winter, who dies in winter, winter by Marissa Meyer, winter cinder spoilers, winter spoilers, world building, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fairytale Retelling

Pages: 827

Point of View: Third Person (Winter, Jacin, Cinder, Kai, Cress, Thorn, Scarlet, Wolf, Lavana, Iko, and one more)

Released: November 10th 2015

Series: Cinder 4

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: Library

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

My Summary:

Winter is the beautiful princess of Luna. Since she refuses to use her Lunar powers of deception, she’s slowly losing her mind.

Cinder and her friends are on their way to Luna to stop the evil Queen Levana once and for all.

Spoiler free review! (Even if you haven’t read Cinder) You will be warned before the tiniest of spoilers! 

Click here to find out who dies in Winter! (This obviously has spoilers!)

My Review:

I am the oddball. Again. Everyone loved this book. Except me. I LOVED this series! It’s one of my favorites! I had such high expectations for this book! I was disappointed.

The Good:

It was nice to finally see Luna. The moon and the domed cites were cool! And the crazy Lunar fashions which incorporated their Illusion abilities.

I wasn’t sure if I’d like Winter based on her part in Cress. I was worried about the crazy thing, but I found myself wanting to get back to her parts! I especially enjoyed her banter with Jacin!

Iko got to narrate!!! It was great!! I need more! How about a whole Iko book, okay?

The Bad:

I know Snow White is the Fairest of them all, but it got annoying how often we were told. Winter is so so pretty. Her scars only make her prettier.

I read this 800 page book quickly, but it did feel a touch long. Some sections could’ve been tightened up a bit. (Like Kai’s parts. They were just boring.)

This series has been predictable, but it’s just been the major plot points. In this one almost everything was predictable! It felt like the author was just going through the motions to me.

The writing just wasn’t as good and the plot got repetitive.

If you want to go into this book blind, skip to the conclusion! (Small Spoilers!)

Which couple is going to be separated next, so they can be reunited and have a moment?

There were quite a few romantic moments. Maybe it’s because I just read a Rowell book, but none of them were that amazing. Big romantic scene and I’m all ‘meh, okay.’

Some previously smart characters acted idiotically! Example:

Your friend is fighting someone with mind control powers, you’re easily controlled, so what do you do? Go to ‘help’ of course! *facepalm*

It wasn’t only stupid good guys:

Levana left her top secret research center unlocked and virtually unguarded. Seriously?!

I am mostly mad about what she did to one of the characters! I was so angry with the book I set it aside for the day. I couldn’t believe she would do that! I could rant all day about how that ruined this book, but I won’t. (Click here to find out what I mean. Spoilers!)

Conclusion:
I’m glad I read Winter and it was a quick enough read, but it wasn’t great or amazing like I hoped. Iko’s first POV chapter was terrific! And there were a few good moments, (especially between Winter and Jacin) But it wasn’t half as good as the other books! They were just so fantastic! With some really great lines! This one? Not so much. It just fell flat for me.

What books are you wishing for for Christmas?

I asked for Winter, Magnus Chase, and the Copper Gauntlet. I obviously couldn’t wait to read Winter. (Oops!)

Hunter By Mercedes Lackey

Tags

author, book, book reviews, books, characters, dystopian, fantasy, fiction, Hunter By Mercedes Lackey, literature, magic, magic system, Mercedes Lackey, novel, plot, post apocalyptic, read, reader, review, science fiction, scifi, stories, story, world building, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Fantasy, Scifi, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Magic

Pages: 384

Point of View: First (Joy)

Released: September
1st 2015

Series: Hunter 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:

After the world ended, magic appeared and with it otherworlders, who think of humans only as prey. Luckily some rare humans with magic have a bond with magical creatures, known as Hounds. These Hunters keep people safe and are required to go in the main city of Apex.

Joy is a young Hunter, who has lived in a monetary on a mountain for most of her life. Her only family is her uncle, who is an important man in the city. When he requests that Joy join him, she has no choice, or she’ll risk the government learning about the other Hunters in the monastery.

She realizes things are more complex in the city than she thought. Her uncle is surrounded by enemies and Hunting is done very differently.

My Review:

I am proud to say I am yet again an oddball… I really liked this book!

I’ve never read a book before that started so BAD but ended so GOOD!

The Bad (the first 20%) :

Okay, so the first 20% I’d only rate a 6/10 and that’s being generous. The whole beginning is Joy riding the train to the city. It would’ve been so much better if it started in the mountains. Then we could’ve seen what it was like instead of being told about it.

It starts with TONS of info dumping! This girl has concentration issues. If she really spent this long staring into space people would think there was something wrong with her.

Seriously lots of telling! Do we really need to know how they make bread? The telling doesn’t even track! First she’s thinking about bread then it’s the armed services. She also talks to the reader a couple of times. (Which annoys me.)

I understand Joy’s never left home before and she’s homesick. But I wasn’t sure if I even liked her at the beginning! She came off conceited, constantly thinking how much better her mountain was and how silly the Cits are. (Cits = city people)

Speaking of which, I like made up magical words. But then she added in the dystopian slang too, and it was a bit much. Although I liked the names, did we really need things like coffee to be renamed?

Then she got to the Capital, sorry Apex, and Hunters are Vid stars. (It seemed very Hunger Games esque.)

The Good:

After Joy got to the city, she really grew on me! She really is a genuinely nice person. She also stopped constantly thinking of home and quoting her masters. (Which was beginning to grate on me.)

Once she she gets to Hunter HQ and starts going on hunts, the book improves drastically! The hunts were exciting and well done and I enjoyed the relationships between the Hunters. Though she not only makes friends, but also some enemies. Namely, Ace, the top ranked Hunter. He was a decent antagonist, I certainly disliked him.

There’s also a romance. The dates didn’t do much for me, because they couldn’t speak freely. (Since every minute Joy is being recorded.) There could’ve been more joking and banter, more getting to know him for me. Even though I liked him, I was never sure he was trustworthy and I think that’s why the author left him as a bit of a mystery, so there would be doubt.

The world was complex and there was so much to it; magic and psi energy, hounds and otherworlders. I love how the different mythologies come together. It’s so unique and such a good idea!

My favorite part of the book was the hounds! Joy and her hounds were more like siblings than pets. They had such a great relationship! The way they joked and helped one another. And everyone’s Hounds were so different; from winged lions to Joy’s large colorful shape changing Hounds.

The magic system was obscure, but had plenty of rules to ground it. I liked how it worked and the glyphs and the feelings she invoked. That last battle was pure perfection! Now this shows what a great writer Lackey is!

Do I recommend this book? Yes! But have patience with the beginning. It gets better, I promise!

Another reviewer complained that Joy was too special, but I didn’t think so. Sure, she was good with magic, but she didn’t start out with anything that was rare. (On the mountain at least.)

How do you feel about special protagonists? I don’t mind characters that are special. Talk about a character with a rare talent or a special magic and I’m there!

I am annoyed when they are perfect. Pretty and talented and with a perfect personality, it’s all a bit much. (And boring!)