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Woven Magic Books

~ Book reviews, Book-ish Babble, and occasional writing advice.

Woven Magic Books

Tag Archives: Netgalley

The Accidental Alchemist By Gigi Pandian

22 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

book, book reviews, books, characters, fantasy, fiction, Gigi Pandian, Jaya Jones, Mystery, Netgalley, novel, read, reader, review, The Accidental Alchemist, writer

accidental-alchemistGenre: Adult, Cozy Mystery, Fantasy

Pages: 360

Point of View: First (Zoe)

Source: NetGalley

Released: Jan 8 2015

Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

Parental Rating: PG

My Summary:

Zoe is a 300 year old Alchemist. Due to a trauma in her past she gave up alchemy almost a century ago. Now she plans to start a ‘normal’ live in Portland Oregon. She bought a large old house that the neighborhood dubbed haunted and shipped her antiques from France.

When she unpacks she finds something unexpected in her crates, a living gargoyle named Dorian. He’s a person in his own right and he’s come seeking Zoe’s help. Between him and a local troubled teen they turn Zoe’s life upside down and make her house feel like a home.

When her contractor ends up dead on her doorstep and she smells poison she tells the police detective, but because she can’t explain her skill she naturally becomes a suspect. When they discover that Dorian’s Alchemy not Alchemy book was stolen by the murderer she has even more of a reason to find the killer.

My Review:

I’d dub this book cozy. It’s a nice little light mystery with a hint of romance. I liked that she was an alchemist, which hasn’t been done much. I think if you like mysteries you’d enjoy this book, because although she thinks about her long past often, her magic isn’t a large feature of the book. Though what magic there was, was well done. (Though of course I wanted more of it.)

The Good:

The best part of Accidental Alchemist was its characters, from the cooking gargoyle to the troubled teen who just wants to help his friend.

Dorian (the gargoyle) is French and has a love for everything from France. Throughout the book he uses French words and phrases (I don’t speak any French) but it wasn’t hard to figure out what he meant from the context. Dorian’s also a cook and since Zoe is a strict vegan he comes up with new recipes for her. Most of which are included at the end of the book, (I’m not going to try any of them, because when I cook bad things happen and though the author made the food sound good vegetables aren’t my cup of tea. (I prefer cookies)

The mystery was well done. I actually didn’t guess who’d done it ahead of time. (and I usually do.) There were enough suspects and details about all of the characters, and yes plenty of red herrings that threw me off the trail.

This isn’t a romance book and there isn’t much romance in it, but what is there is well done and if there’s a sequel I look forward to seeing the relationships grow. There’s also humor thrown in and I chuckled in spots, which makes all books better.

I liked how Portland was described, from the tea house to Zoe’s airstream, to her new home. Zoe has a great nose so there are also plenty of smells described as well, which I enjoyed.

This is a cute little feel good book, which was just what I needed. I look forward to the sequel. (The author hinted that there might be one in the acknowledgments and I’m hoping there is.)

The Bad:

This book is slow paced and there are long stretches where not a lot happens. My usual fantasy novels have magical duels and such, but this wasn’t that kind of book. (Which surprisingly wasn’t a bad thing.)

Would I recommend this book? Yes. Will I read the Sequel? Yup.

I read this book in December, so details are a little fuzzy. I don’t remember it as fondly as I wrote here, but that happens. I was surprised though that most of the reviews weren’t very positive. I think that’s because the blurb made it sound like an urban fantasy not a cozy mystery.

Has that ever happened to you, the book you got wasn’t anything like you expected? Was it still good or were you disappointed?

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Fallen Souls By Linda Foster Mini Review

06 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

Angels, author, book, book reviews, books, characters, Demons, Fallen Souls, fantasy, fiction, Linda Foster, Linda Foster Fallen Souls, magic, Netgalley, novel, Novella, read, reader, Realm of the Claimed, review, romance, Short Stories, Soul Bound, writer, YA, young adult

FallenSouls

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Demons & Angels

Pages: 60 (Novella)

Point of View: Third (Ash, Grace & Kali)

Released: April 8, 2014

Predictability: 3 out of 5 (If I hadn’t read the blurb) 5 out of 5 with the blurb.

Source: Netgalley

There are Two Short Stories in this Novella, Condemned and Fallen.

I read this novella, because it takes place before a book called Soul Bound, which sounded really good to me. I thought it would be a good way to get to know the author’s writing style so I could decide whether to read Soul Bound or not. (See more about that book at the end of this post.)

Condemned stars a teenage boy named Ash and his sister Grace. It’s about a deal with a demon. (and I love Supernatural so that sounded really cool) I don’t want to say more, because the synopsis details to whole short story and I think knowing everything that was going to happen really hurt my enjoyment of this book.

The Good: 

It was fast paced and a quick read. I liked Ash, he was a relatable main character who really cared about his sister.

The Not So Good:

Maybe I just had my hopes set to high after reading the blurb for the novel that this is a prequel to, because though the story had promise it had issues.

I hate to harp on the whole show don’t tell thing, but the start of this novella is a case where everything is told and it really isn’t as good. It feels like reading a story instead of being in one. There were also a couple of little info dumps that could’ve been handed better.

After spending so much time in a hospital the little errors there really stood out to me, but they probably wouldn’t to anyone else. I just hated to read about a hospital, one thing that wasn’t in the blurb.

There were quite a few missing/wrong word errors in this story, but it was too fast paced for me to mark them like I usually do. (Yes I always feel the need to highlight these things in my Kindle. I might be a bit OCD.)

Verdict: Quick paced, good story (if you don’t read the blurb) but nothing special.
6/10 stars


The second story Fallen is about Angels in heaven. An angel named Adrian is planning to take over heaven and kill all humans. (I’m not really an angel sort of girl, I was promised demons, I like demons, angels not so much.)

I didn’t really care about Kali, the main character. She was super righteous, but also kind of wishy-washy about Adrian. One minute she can’t believe he’d would do such a thing and the next she admits it sounds like something he might do. I just didn’t feel anything for her.

Also there were a couple of times where the story didn’t make logical sense, but I think maybe things just needed to explained. (I’m trying to give the author credit here)

Verdict: A fine story, but I couldn’t connect to the main character. (and I’m not an angel fan)
5/10 stars

Do I plan to read the main book? Maybe.

What’s your take on Short stories, like them or hate them? I like using short stories to try out new authors, but it didn’t really work this time since the shorts were both just okay.

I wanted a glimpse at a cool world and it’s characters, but what we were shown of the world didn’t blow me away and though I cared about Ash I couldn’t connect with Kali and I think she’s going to be the main character.


Soul Bound By Linda Foster (The book that sounded so good I read this novella.)

SoulBound

Released: April 6, 2015

Pages: 400

Join Ash and Kali, and a cast of dark characters, as they fight for the fallen angels of the world, the right to choose their own path, and the one thing they never thought they’d find – true love.

That’s the only part of the synopsis that doesn’t RUIN the short stories, but I doubt I would’ve wanted to read it based on just that. (Since there’s no mention of the demons and this sounds like an angels story.)

I edited out the parts that really spoil the short stories. Still if you want to read them (and of course you do after my glowing review) you might not want to read on.

~~~SPOILERS BELOW!~~~

A fight is brewing, and it’s bigger than anyone suspects. Kali has been forced to work for the Dark Lord for thousands of years as a demon. Now she’s found a way out, and she means to take it.

Unfortunately, she’s been saddled with Ash, a boy who sold his soul to the devil. And a boy she’s quickly falling for. Now, much to her surprise, she finds that the Dark Lord wants this boy for reasons unknown, and is trying to take him from her. He’s throwing every demon he has in her way.

As Kali fights for her life — and Ash’s — she discovers that she’s fighting for more than just herself. All the other fallen angels are at risk as well, and the apocalypse is on the line.

I mean doesn’t that sound good?

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The Griever’s Mark by Katherine Hurley

30 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 36 Comments

Tags

author, book, book reviews, books, characters, Cipher, fantasy, fiction, Griever's Mark, Katherine Hurley, magic, Netgalley, novel, read, reader, review, romance, The Griever's Mark, The Griever’s Mark by Katherine Hurley, The Griever’s Mark Katherine Hurley, writer, YA, young adult

grieversmark

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic

Pages: 333

Point of View: First Present (Astarti & Logan)

Released: November 11, 2014

Predictability: 3 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 9/10 Stars

My Summary: 

Astarti was abandoned by her mother, and left with the Griever’s Mark, which is placed on those about to die or unwanted children. She was taken in by Belos, who is known by many names, the deal maker, the deceiver, the liar. He makes deals with people offering them power in exchange for them accepting his Leach, which in turn feeds his magic. When Astarti was young he Leached her and now she has no choice but to do as he says. Through the Leach he can always find her and even take over her mind and control her.

Belos and his seven are Earthmakers, another people with great powers, but after being banished by his people he’s learned the magic of humans as well, Drifting. Drifters and Earthmakers hate one another and they all fear Belos.

Astarti is sent to convince someone to make a deal with Belos when she meets a young warden Earthmaker. She knows she should kill him, but she can’t bring herself to. She hates belonging to Belos, but thinks escape is impossible. Is this young warden her enemy or could he help her somehow?

My Review:

I LOVED this book! I seriously think it could (should) be the next hugely popular young adult fantasy! Sorry I’m a little late with this review it took me a bit to get my thoughts in order. (Coherency is good in a review)

The Good:

The magic was awesome! And so unique! There are two kinds of magical people; Earthmakers and Drifters. Earthmakers have control over the elements and can travel over a distance within the life force of trees. Drifters can form weapons and energy, traveling through the drift, a web created by living creatures.

I draw my thoughts into myself and ease along my mooring, the glowing thread of energy that connects my physical body to the energy world of the Drift. Though every living thing has a mooring, and every living thing is part of the Drift, only Drifters can travel along their mooring to actually enter the Drift. Or to draw power from it.

The world building was excellent and expertly done. It starts with a medieval kingdom, but the entire world is fleshed out with different peoples and cultures. I particularly liked the floating islands of the Earthmakers.

From the first page I could tell how well written this book was and I thought Astarti had a great voice. She’s been abused, but she was still tough and proud. She’s never had anyone be truly nice to her before, but that doesn’t stop her from being a good person.

One thing Belos has taught me is that you collect information where you can and you don’t let anyone know that you know it.

Logan was also an awesome character. He had enough personality and spunk to go along with his mysterious tortured past. He’s rash and emotional and unlike most Earthmakers, but that’s what I liked about him. All of the minor characters were well done too too especially Belos and the Drifter King. (He has a long name starting with H and I can’t remember it.)

Griever’s mark has nice action scenes, from swords and spears to the magical battles. (and even a siege) I could picture the fighting perfectly and I didn’t have the desire to skim over anything.

The pacing was intense towards the end, though it’s all pretty fast paced, but I even forgot to eat I was so engrossed in the story. (and that’s saying something. Molly eats like a hobbit.)

The romance was well done, and I’m totally rooting for these two. I like them both and I really felt it. Their relationship went at just the right speed to be believable! This book made me have feelings! I swear I almost teared up!

The Bad:

It ends to be continued! Why?! I need more NOW! The next book comes out in the spring of 2015. (Which I know isn’t too long in the book world, but I can’t wait!)

Have you found any good indie authors? (Indie = not published by a company, but just the individual)

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Cipher By Aileen Erin

27 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 43 Comments

Tags

Aileen Erin, author, book, book reviews, books, characters, Cipher, Cipher by Aileen Erin, fiction, Netgalley, novel, read, reader, review, romance, sci-fi, science fiction, scifi, writer, YA, young adult

Cipher-Aileen-Erin

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Hackers, Gamers & Modified DNA

Pages: 210

Series: Shadow Ravens 1

Point of View: First (Cipher & Knight)

Released: October 31, 2014

Predictability: 5 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

Age Rating: Swearing

My Summary: 

In a world where people have scientifically altered DNA the color or your Helix tattoo reveals what you can do. White Helix, also known as the Seligo are the elite. They don’t get sick and they don’t age. Black Helix are warriors with superior strength and stamina, greens have super smarts, blues are mysterious, but have some sort of mind control abilities. Then there’s the red helix, which are said to have unstable DNA. They have out of control powers and are to be captured or killed on sight.

Cipher is a renowned hacker and gamer, but she’s also a red helix with the ability to manipulate electricity. Wanting a normal life she hacks into the most guarded mainframe to learn about the red helix. In the process she loses control of her emotions and not only zaps her computer, but causes several transformers to explode. She knows she should run again, because they’ll be coming for her, but she’s finally made a friend here.

Knight is a double helix, black and green. He’s only working with the government to get information for the Shadow Ravens, the group working against the government to free the red helix and protect them. Everything he’s done he’s done to find a girl who befriended him as a child and stood up for him, to find her and return the favor.

My Review:

I read this book in a day and stayed up past one in the morning to do so. It’s short and quick paced, if a bit predictable.

The Good:

The Dual perspective worked and I actually liked both of the main characters. (A rarity.) Their voices were different enough that I didn’t get them confused (though I didn’t put the book down much) and they each had their own special skills. It’s great when both of the main characters kick butt!

The futuristic world was awesome! I loved the technology we got to see, but being told by people who live there it wasn’t explained much.

I’ve seen female friendships discussed on several blogs recently and I’m happy to say I’ve found another book with a good friendship! Cipher has a good close female friend in Mona. (Who happily doesn’t get tossed aside when a man comes into the picture.) Mona’s not a character I’d usually like, because she really cares about how she looks (the whole clothes and makeup thing) and she’s really into flirting with guys, but she stuck by Cipher and genuinely cared.

I really liked all of the minor characters, they weren’t in the book much, but I still found myself caring about them.

The romance is one of the best and worst parts of the book. The dynamic between Cipher and Knight was great, especially when they were joking with each other. I did feel the connection between them BUT

The Bad:

Though the romance wasn’t love at first sight, it seemed really intense too quickly, (Especially from Knight’s perspective.) I could’ve done with a bit less ‘now that we’re together she’s the only one for me’ bit and had it progress more slowly. I think if it were only told from Cipher’s point of view it would’ve been better in this instance.

I didn’t like the whole tied together to control her abilities thing. (Not a spoiler, told about in the second chapter) It wasn’t explained much and I didn’t really see the point, it would’ve been better if Knight was just made so he wouldn’t die being around her.

There was a little time jump right before the ‘last battle’ and I wanted a tiny bit more beforehand, because they said something would almost impossible and then poof it happened with no explanation. (Sorry trying not to spoil anything and probably no one else even noticed this.)

I wanted a little bit more at the end. I was left with lots of questions. How did the red helix’ start? Everyone else was modified later in life, so why are reds born this way? How did the world get to be how it is? How is the government set up?


 

Okay, that seemed like a lot of bad, I promise this is a good book! I’d recommend it, but you have to like romantic science fiction and not just plain sci-fi.

The Shadow Raven’s series is going to be written by three authors and there will be four books in total. They’re all set in the same world, but with different heroines. Each author will tell their own heroine’s story and then the last one will be by all three. Doesn’t that sound cool?!

How do you feel about two first person perspectives? I’m personally a big fan of dual first person, but it can be hard to pull off, because if the characters aren’t unique enough I won’t know who’s telling the story when I set the book down and pick it up again. There’s also the problem when the characters are together, picking the right one to tell the story at the right time, (So I’m not wishing I was in the other head) and not repeating thing.

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Angelbound Armageddon By Christina Bauer

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

Angelbound, Angelbound Armageddon, Angelbound Scala, Angels, author, book, book reviews, books, characters, Christina Bauer, Demons, fantasy, fiction, Netgalley, novel, read, reader, review, romance, sassy, Scala, tails, writer, YA, young adult

angelbound

(I included the back cover too, because the artwork is so awesome!)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Demons & Angels

Pages: 532

Point of View: First (Myla)

Released: December 17, 2013

Predictability: 5 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

Source: Funny story, I saw this book on sale for .99, but when I went to buy it, it wasn’t on sale anymore. I contacted the website, not because I really wanted the book, but because I thought they should know Amazon messed up. Well turns out it was my mistake and it had been on sale yesterday. The publisher Ink Monster sent me a free copy of the book anyway! (Which of course didn’t affect my judgement of this book at all.)

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

Age Rating: Older YA, due to one make out session. (Not sex, but parts are named.)

This was actually my first ever review! I’m reposting it before my review of Angelbound Armegeddeon for those of you who haven’t read the first book. (And since only one person was following my blog back then, I don’t think anyone else has read this review. Hi Kat *waves at first follower*)

My Summary: [Sorry my summaries used to be a little longer winded]

Myla is a quasi demon (meaning part human) living in purgatory. Around twenty years ago demons invaded purgatory and left ghouls running things. Myla’s mom is super over-protective and won’t say anything about her life before the war with the demons or even about Myla’s father.

Myla spends most of her time at school, but every so often she’s called to duty. When a soul enters purgatory they can choose trial by combat. Since she was twelve Myla’s been required to fight to the death in the arena against theses souls. As the best fighter they save the nastiest ones for her, but she’s not your typical almost eighteen year-old. She enjoys her battles in the arena, particularly when it’s against a demon and she keeps extensive notebooks on how to beat the various demon races.

Myla’s best friend Cissy (who has the tail of a golden retriever, yes it does wag when she’s happy. Okay, enough about tails…) has a huge crush on a boy at school, so when said boy invites Myla and a guest to his party she can’t say no. At the party, abandoned by her friend, Myla meets the frustrating prince Lincoln. He’s a demon hunter who thinks all quasis are evil, but Myla can’t stop thinking about him and not just about punching him. Well, that too.

My Review:

I don’t know what it is about me and tail fascination. I’ve just always wanted one. So naturally the reason Angelbound caught my eye is the main character has a tail. (The author actually uses her tail to show emotion and humor too.)

The Good:

Angelbound is told in a fun voice with plenty of humor and I liked the strong sassy heroine, Myla. It might just be me, (because I couldn’t pry the book out of my fingers to go to bed.) but this book was a quick read.

Romance is a strong part of this book and it’s well done. Though the conversation where they got to really know each other is only told about afterwards.

Angelbound has interesting characters and good world building. The author takes her time to really make us care about the characters and to establish the world.

The Bad:

There are a few slow spots towards the beginning, but I’m glad I kept reading, because it quickly picks up. (This is the author’s first novel so she makes a few mistakes like repeating things that didn’t need to be repeated.)

I did notice several errors, but I’m very nit picky about that sort of thing and often find such in books. There weren’t many and they didn’t take away from the book.scala


 

I didn’t review Angelbound, Scala because it was really more of
a novella (150 pages) than a sequel. It was good, but I wanted more!


 

Angelbound Armegeddon

angelbound-armageddon

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Demons & Angels

Pages: 250

Point of View: First Present (Myla)

Released: October 12, 2014

Predictability: 4 out of 5

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

Age Rating: Older YA due to one make out session, and swearing.

 

 

Warning: Skip the summary if you haven’t read Angelbound!

My Summary: 

It’s been five years since the events of Angelbound. Myla and Lincoln are now married with a three year old little boy, Maxom.

The king of hell, Armegeddeon (No the subtitle isn’t referring to the end of the world) has been plotting his revenge against Myla since she sent him back to hell. And what better way to get back at her than by threatening her son?

My Review:

The overall story isn’t quite as good as the first one, but the writing has drastically improved. (No repeating of information or unnecessary scenes.)

The Good:

We finally get to see some of the other realms. With so many beautiful and dark settings there wasn’t time for more than a quick tour, but I enjoyed seeing more of the world. We also learn more about the history of the first two large scale wars, the first against Lucifer himself.

The pacing picked up as the story progressed and by the end there was no place to stop where my characters were safe.

I liked all of the relationships. Myla’s marriage felt true as did her love for her son.

Maxom feels like a real little kid. (I could definitely tell that the author is a mom.) I liked his kid-logic and I loved the tail snuggling!

A couple of new characters were added, I particularly liked the spunky Hildy. (and the magical monkey Kiya was adorable!)

There were many times I was afraid it was going to be too easy for our main characters or they were going to make stupid mistakes, but the action in the end was well done with just the right amount of unpredictability.

Myla’s still the same strong heroine from Angelbound, but she’s grown up a bit in the years since then. (Okay, only a little bit.)

The Bad:

The mood of this book was darker, which makes sense given the circumstances, but I missed the funny sassy Myla. There were still a couple humorous instances, but overall she was all business.

I also missed some of the supporting characters from the first book. Both Myla’s best friend Cissy and her mom are barely in this book at all.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but I recommend starting with the first in the series. There’s too much world building for this one to make sense on its own.

maxonI kept thinking that she was hinting at a sequel with Maxom and I was right. The next book in the series, Maxon, will be released on May 12, 2015!

 

 

 

How do you feel about time jumps between novels? I personally hate them, because I always feel like I’ve missed something in the time I wasn’t with the characters.

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Soulless By Amber Garr

06 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

Amber Garr, author, blood of olympus, book, book reviews, books, characters, fantasy, fiction, grim reapers, Heroes of Olympus, Netgalley, novel, pace, Percy Jackson, read, reader, review, Rick Riordan, romance, Soulless, writer, YA, young adult

x-default

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 180

Point of View: First (Nora)

Released: August 23, 2014

Predictability: 3 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 6/10 Stars

My Summary:

Nora is a Death Warden (think grim reaper) whose job is to help souls cross over, to comfort them and give them what they need. However, her ex-boyfriend Theron, now a Soul Hunter has been interfering with her collections. Soul Hunters convince souls to join their ranks and instead of guiding souls they feed off of them.

When called to the elders she expects she’s in trouble, except instead of getting yelled at she’s made an advisor to a soldier named Jason. She’ll guide him in his new life as a Death Warden.

My Review:

My ‘the good and the bad’ were already in order in my notes, because while this book had a great start, it had a lack luster ending. (If that can be called an ending.)

The Good:

Interesting beginning, (though I hate when a book starts on a downer.) I liked the world building, the wardens and the hunters. The Hunters blue veins and black eyes are so creepy! Talk about vampires, except eating souls not blood. The magic was simple, mostly magically changing clothes, and teleporting, but I liked it.

Talk about fast paced! Can a book this exciting be called light?

Most of the characters are okay, I didn’t hate them, but I didn’t love them either. Except for Charles, I enjoyed his humor and his relationship with Nora. Though it was towards the beginning and I didn’t really know Nora and Theron yet, I was surprised and impressed at how emotional their parting was!

I didn’t expect the shaman Native American aspect. (1/16th Indian here)

The romance, sigh how do I describe the love. There’s sort of a love triangle, and one of them is sort of instant love, but don’t judge this book based on that. The other love isn’t instant, just complicated, forbidden love. Okay, I just lost the rest of you now. It’s good honest! (At least for the first 3/4 of the book it was.)

There’s a complicated plot, people keeping secrets, and a war brewing. Two of the characters of this book are special, but they aren’t the only ones. I feared a ‘chosen one’ for a while, but thankfully that was avoided.

The Bad:

This book does suffer from perfect man syndrome. Jason is perfect in every way, looks, nice, sense of humor, southern twang, gentleman, warrior, doctor, leader, ect, ect. BORING!

I wanted Nora to kick butt and sometimes she didn’t do too badly, but she usually panics and has to be rescued, which is totally the opposite of her character.

Inconsistencies: At the beginning she said that wardens don’t sleep and she only had a bed because her and her ex-boyfriend used it for *ahem* other purposes. Then later in the book she’s wonders how someone even sleeps since his bed was covered with stuff. There’s also an inconsistency with Theron at the end where he totally changes his previous attitude. (Sorry can’t say more without spoilers.)

Nora’s so fickle when it comes to men! (Yes the romance goes in the good and the bad, it was good at first, but got to be too much.) She loves Theron still, no she loves Jason. One minute she just wants Jason as a friend then the next moment she’s snogging him all over the place. (For no particular reason I prefer snogging to making out.) And I really wish they wouldn’t talk about her being sixty. I know she’s dead so she’s not really, but it’s just weird that she’s attracted to a 20? year old.

It’s like the story was cut in half! At least before it ended (got cut off) we got one answer, but there are so many more left unanswered.

Verdict: This book started so good and had potential and while it was enjoyable, it had issues. It feels like it needed another round of editing.

Will I read the next one? Yes, since I want to find out what happens in the other half of the story! Would I recommend it? Yes, I think so. As long as you know it’s really only half a book.

How do you feel about cliffhanger endings? I don’t mind if there’s an overreaching plot and then each book has their own plot that is tied up, but I hate when none of the questions are answered and nothing is resolved in the end. That’s not a book, that’s part of a book. (Okay, I’m done now.)


the-blood-of-olympus-cover

Side Note: I’m totally stalking the mailman in case my book comes early! The last book of the Percy Jackson series is released tomorrow! (In case you hadn’t heard) So, if I disappear for a couple of days, don’t send a search party, just cookies. 😉

Thing which has to happen: Leo going back to Ogygia! Thing which can’t happen: Anyone dying! Not the 7, not Nico, not Reyna, okay Octavian wouldn’t be a tragedy.

Any book you’re excited about? (Blood of Olympus, right?)

 

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Immortal By Gene Doucette Review and Interview

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

author, author interview, book, book reviews, books, characters, fantasy, fantasy comedy, fiction, Gene Doucette, Immortal, Netgalley, novel, read, reader, review, science fiction, scifi, urban fantasy, vampires, writer, Writer's Coffee Shop

Immortal

Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Comedy

Pages: 279

Point of View: First (Adam)

Released: March 8, 2012

Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

Source: Netgalley

Comedy Scale: 2 amusing, but I didn’t laugh aloud.

My Rating: 5/10 Stars

Warning: This is an adult book for violence, sex, and adult humor.

I requested this book on Netgalley and I was contacted by Cindy at The Writer’s Coffee Shop who asked if I wanted to do a blitz or something to help promote the third book in the series. I hadn’t read it yet, but I jumped at the chance to interview an author! Even though I’ve never really interviewed anyone before. (I don’t figure those times for school counted.)

My Summary:

Adam has been around for thousands of years, he likes to say that he predates written history. In modern times someone’s found out that he’s immortal and will do anything to get their hands on him.

My review:

I am a sucker for funny books, so I when I read the summary I was sold. I mean, a funny immortal guy? I’m there.

There’s also more to the world than just one immortal guy, there’s vampires, iffrits, demons and all sorts of other things, which was cool.

I’m still not sure if I like the main character or not. He’s definitely an antihero; killing when necessary, and not always saving people, though he does feel bad about it later. He’s also a drunk. (He was drunk for like 90% of this book.)

The good:

I liked that for once there was an immortal who liked being immortal, even if he is a bit cynical about everything. He doesn’t want to die, and he’s a unique immortal, because he’s pretty sure that things that would kill a normal person would kill him too, he just doesn’t age or get sick.

There’s an info dump at the beginning telling about his life, but I didn’t mind it at all, because it was well done and witty. I loved his ability to blend into with whatever culture he’s around, his skin tone and hair changing. I wish this had been used more, it was a unique little twist.

He makes many observations about humans that really added to the story and made me believe the whole immortal thing. Like he comments that there are only so many faces out there, so it’s weird running into someone you used to know.

I actually liked the flash backs better than the main story. I understand the need for flashbacks with an immortal character living a long life, but the flash forwards (thankfully done in italics) complicated things a bit too much. Once it stays in one time the pace really picked up and it was a more enjoyable read.

The Bad:

I didn’t like the Iffrit Jerry, I thought he was crude. Fortunately he isn’t in the book much.

Towards the middle of the book it gets into the whole sex thing.

Adam’s done some horrible things in his life, (He always defends himself in parentheses saying it was what everyone at the time did.) but some of those things are pretty unforgiveable.

For instance when talking about his early life (cave man type days) he said: “We won the fight and rewarded ourselves by raping several of their women. It’s what one did. Don’t ask me to feel bad about it if you weren’t there.” This wasn’t funny and was completely unnecessary.

Verdict: Immortal is hard book to rate, because I liked most of it and it’s certainly an amusing book, with some interesting details, but there were aspects that I really didn’t like.

forever

Odd fact: I was watching that new show Forever (which is very good by the way) and at the end of the second episode (Minor spoiler alert) the bad guy says something which totally made me think of this book.

“You want to call me something, call me Adam, feels like I’ve been here right from the beginning.“ – Adam, Forever

“I like to brag that I’ve been there from the beginning, and while this may very well be true, I generally just say it to pick up girls.” -Adam, The Immortal


 

gdoucette

About the Author

Gene Doucette is the acclaimed author of Immortal and Hellenic Immortal, the sci-fi thriller Fixer, and (as G Doucette) the erotic horror thriller Sapphire Blue. He is also the author of multiple short stories– including The Immortal Chronicles series– is a prize-winning playwright and screenwriter, and a published humorist and essayist. He lives in Cambridge, MA with his wife and two children.

Twitter * Facebook * Website

 

My Interview with Author Gene Doucette:

What’s your favorite place to write? Do you like to be alone and quiet or noisy in public? 

I’ve been writing for long enough to have had a study/computer room for my desktop computer, which was a vast thing that could only be carried around in the event of a fire.  In the age of the laptop, I have found myself writing in all sorts of places.  For instance, right now I’m sitting at a table at Panera.  My preference, though, is quiet.  I’d rather be home and bouncing between the bedroom and a comfy chair in the living room, provided there is no television on in the living room.

What book character are you most like? (or favorite book character if you can’t think of one)

Do you mean any book, or Immortal at the Edge of the World?  If you mean my book, then I’m most like Adam, unless he’s most like me.  He’s smarter than I am, but I’m funnier.  Probably.  If you mean out of any book in the world, still Adam.

What are your plans for the future, do you have another book series in the works?

I have The Immortal Chronicles to keep up.  Those are short stories about events in Adam’s past, and they’re fun and easy to write and people like them.  I’ll continue that.  I also have a project I’m starting called M Pallas, which will appear—whenever it’s ready—as a lengthy series of novellas amounting to a large and hopefully interesting whole.  And I’m mulling over a new trilogy for Adam.

Who are your favorite authors? Anyone who inspired Immortal?

Immortal wasn’t inspired by anybody.  I wanted to write a novel and I’d been writing a lot of non-fic humor columns, so I thought it would be fun to try writing a first person story from the perspective of an immortal man in the same basic tone I had learned to perfect in my humor columns.  So he became sort of a fictional long-form blogger.  I think my favorite author right now might be Neal Stephenson, because he’s consistently operating at a level I can’t even comprehend reaching as a writer.

Are your characters all fiction or do people you know creep in there?

A whole person would never creep in, because fiction writing doesn’t really work like that.  I will pick up traits from the people around me and use them, but that’s more about understanding human nature and using that understanding to build simulacrums.  So yes, all my characters are fiction, but they’re also real people.

Are you a planner or do your characters have minds of their own?

Those two options aren’t really opposites.  I don’t plan or outline, but I have a clear idea of where a story is going to end up.  How I get there is entirely up in the air until I start writing.  Now, characters do have a mind of their own, but that’s more a commentary on how I create characters than on anything else.  I tend to use dialogue to define a character—I was a playwright before I was a novelist—and dialogue is very much about people saying what makes the most sense in response to what was said to them.  Sometimes the characters say something that I didn’t expect, and that can change stuff around.  It just doesn’t change the ending.

Would you share a funny story with us? [I borrowed this question for Lola. ;)]

I’ve been thinking about this question for two or three days now, thanks.  Apparently, I have no funny stories.  My life is an unremitting tragedy.  Look away, look away.

If Immortal became a movie, who would you want to cast?

This has been a topic of a lot of discussions in the Cult of the Immortal.  I created Adam long enough ago that the answer to this question could have reasonably been Robert Downey Jr. or Johnny Depp, but they are both too old and too famous now.  These days I’m leaning toward someone like Misha Collins, or Chiwetel Ejiofor.

If you were a character in a book would you want to be the hero, the villain, the sidekick or the love interest?

Oh I’d have to be the hero.

Thanks for letting me read your book and interview you!


immortal-edge-of-world

 

The third book in the Immortal series, Immortal At the Edge of the World, comes out October 2nd, 2014. Preorder from: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and TWCS PH.

 

 

 

TWCS

If you had a chance to interview your favorite author what would you ask?

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Red Rising By Pierce Brown

13 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

author, book, book reviews, books, characters, dystopian, fiction, Netgalley, novel, Pierce Brown, read, reader, Red Rising, review, science fiction, scifi, writer, YA, young adult

wpid-wp-1408668260148.png

Genre: Young Adult, Scifi, Dystopian

Pages: 382

Point of View: First

Source: NetGalley

Released: July 28th 2014

Predictability: 1 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

Warnings: Parts of this book are brutal and violent. If you’re someone who’s bothered by these things, don’t read this book!

My Description: [This is a hard book to describe without giving anything away. This is only the setup for the beginning.]

In Red Rising society is divided by colors. The golds sit on top ruling over the rest, where pinks are for pleasure, greens are technicians and at the very bottom are the reds.

Darrow is a red who works in the mines of mars obtaining energy to terraform the planet for the settlers to come. His life is hard, but meaningful. Then he learns that Mars is already terraformed and he’s little more than a glorified slave. With the help of other LowColors he plans to change the way things are. The resistance will change Darrow from a Red into a Gold and attempt to get him into the Institute which chooses the leaders of worlds.

My Review:

At the start of the book the world stinks. It does in most dystopians, but Red Rising brings it to a whole new level. Usually I don’t like where the book starts and then the timeline rewinds, but it worked here, because things were so bad I needed the hint that they’ll improve.

I loved the beginning of Red Rising! It started out so strong. I liked the latter half of the book too, but not nearly as much as that first quarter. It just wasn’t as unique and interesting, plus it was more brutal and violent, which I understand why, but I didn’t like it.

[Warning: Mild Spoilers in the next paragraph, which I wish I knew before reading this.]

This book was really like two books. The first quarter felt like a dystopian set in space and then the institute which we are expecting to be a school is actually a giant war game. I think the reason for mixed reviews is because the beginning of the book is so good and we think we know what we’re in for and them BAM something else happens for the rest of the book.

The Good

The beginning of this book is amazing! So much potential for this series!

The world building and the culture created in Red Rising is fantastic! I can’t wait to learn more about it in the rest of the trilogy. The technology that we’re shown is also cool and I liked how the history was told, so we know how the world wound up this way. Sometimes with such fantastic worlds it seems unreal, but even being set so far in the future I can see the world becoming like this.

The romance. Yes, there’s romance in this book, and it feels real and is well done.

This is a fast paced book full of action and twists and turns. (There are so many that saying this spoils nothing.) I was never bored.

We got to know the minor characters well and they had good personalities, Sevro is my favorite. (The tricky little runt)

The Bad

The main character is a know it all, which considering he’s a teenage boy makes sense, but as the story goes Darrow becomes harder to like. That’s my main problem with this book, Darrow. He’s a nice enough guy, but sometimes he’s just hard to like. I understand why he’s angry, but his rage and arrogance make him unlikeable.

The author’s intention might not have been for him to come off arrogant, but because this novel takes place over the course of two years much of this story is told (Some things that really should’ve been shown.) and Darrow is telling us how great he is instead of us seeing him be amazing, so he comes off arrogant.

The slang! I know it’s part of the world building, but it can be annoying when I don’t understand half of what’s said.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but only to some people. Will I read the Sequel? Yes, I have to know what happens next!

Sorry this review was so long in coming. My life has been terribly nuts. I want summer back! What about you? Are you a summer person like me or do you prefer the winter? (Yuck!)

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Between By Megan Whitmer

18 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

book, book reviews, books, characters, fantasy, fiction, Netgalley, novel, read, reader, review, writer, YA, young adult

between

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 384

Point of View: First, Present tense (Like Hunger Games)

Source: NetGalley

Released: July 29th 2014

Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

My Rating: 8/10 Stars

 

Don’t read the official summary! It details the entire novel and I’d rather go into a book blind.  (Read mine instead 😉

My Summary:

Charlie, (short for Charlotte) and Sam are celebrating their seventeenth birthday when they’re attacked by a monster. Their mom bravely puts herself in front of the monster, but this isn’t just a mom protecting her kids, she shows neither fear nor surprise. Then Seth, the older boy their mom adopted five years ago, shows up and throws their mom a knife telling her how to kill the monster. She injures the monster, but doesn’t kill it.

Their mom grabs Sam and disappear and Seth takes Charlie, explaining that they’ve flickered, teleported with magic. The next thing Charlie knows Seth’s guided her through a portal and into another world he calls the Between.

Charlie learns her mom and Seth work for an organization of magical creatures called the Fellowship. They guard the mystical realm and cover up sightings of magical creatures in our world. (All except Bigfoot: that attention whore is a total lost cause.) The Between is the magical land in between the two worlds created by Mother Nature herself.

My Review:

In the mystical realm live almost all of the creatures from fairy tales and legends; fairies, centaurs, trolls, leprechauns, unicorns, and others that are unique to this book. I thought that all of the ones we learned about were well done, traditional with enough unique to make them interesting.

Charlie is not your traditional high school girl. She’s witty and quirky and has big dreams of becoming an artist. Sam dreams of becoming a musician and all three of them (Charlie, Sam and their mom) have a great relationship. Seth’s parents died and he moved to town five years ago, their mom kind of adopted him after he came around looking for a lawn mowing job. Charlie thinks he’s too serious and too much of a rule follower, but still annoyingly cute.

The Good:

In one chapter I liked and cared about these characters, that’s all it took and I’m worried something will happen to one of them. We meet more characters in the mystical world and even those I don’t like were well developed and colorful. The characters have so many cute little quirks that make them real. I loved the humor, it really lightened the mood.

I can tell a lot of TLC went in to this book. I could accurately picture the world. Sometimes I’m bored by descriptions, but these were well done.

The world building was well developed, as was the history and the creatures / people. The magic was a bit basic, elemental powers, but how the magic was taught was unique.

The romance wasn’t love at first sight! It felt true to real life! There was another flirty guy who she found attractive and I was afraid of a love triangle, but they only became friends and neither had feelings for the other beyond that.

The plot was solid and without holes. The pacing at the beginning was good, but it slowed a little before the end. (The beginning of the book is easily ten stars.)

The ending was good, the story line wrapped up well, but not perfectly. This could be a standalone book, but there’s still a hint of things to come.

The Bad:

Charlie’s mom banned swearing, so she came up with pseudo words to use instead. At first this was cute, but it was a little over done, especially in her thoughts.

Every time Charlie disobeys and sneaks off bad thing happen. People are trying to kill you girl! Maybe you should listen and stay put.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. Will I read the Sequel? Yes, where is it!

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Perfection By JL Spelbring

14 Thursday Aug 2014

Posted by Molly Mortensen in Book Reviews

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

author, book, book reviews, books, characters, dystopian, fiction, JL Spelbring, Netgalley, novel, Perfection, read, reader, review, science fiction, scifi, writer, YA, young adult

Perfection

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Point of View: Third (Ellyssa, Dr. Hirch Ellyssa’s ‘father’, Angela a member of the Gestapo, and Rein a young renegade)

Pages: 317

Source: Netgalley

Release Date: July 8, 2014

My Rating: 6/10 Stars

Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

Warnings: Attempted rape and torture (with super powers)

My Summary: Perfection is a Dystopian where Hitler won the war. Now it’s not enough to have blonde hair and blue eyes, but you have to have the right shade of hair and eyes. Anyone without these traits is sent to a concentration camp.

Ellyssa is a genetically engineered young woman.  She’s literally perfect, a beautiful genius with kick butt martial arts skills, and the ability to read minds. Ellyssa’s spent her entire life in a place called the Center with her siblings. The first chapter is her first experience out in the world after escaping the Center.

Through a series of flashbacks we learn that a young dark haired renegade was dragged through the center and communicated into Ellyssa’s mind Kansas City. She’d never experienced anything like this before. How could an imperfect have such a skill? She then hacked into her ‘father’s’ computer, where she discovered the truth of his plans for the future.

My Review:

This was hard book for me to get into. I’d have liked a chapter or two of Ellyssa’s life at the Center first rather than the flashbacks. That way I would have cared more about what happened to her as she was struggling during the first part of the book.

I was surprised to learn this book was only just over 300 pages, it felt way longer than that. I think the reason for that was that there were so many points of view.

The book would’ve been better if it was only told by Ellyssa. Rein’s perspective was interesting and Dr. Hirch’s showed what was going on back at the Center, but Angela the Gestapo’s wasn’t necessary at all.

Even though there were four points of view, they were all unique and I never confused the characters.

The Good:

When we meet Ellyssa one of the first things she does is enjoy the emotion of panic, because it’s an emotion and she was never supposed to feel. She’s tough and kicks some serious butt. I liked that Ellyssa wasn’t a damsel in distress.

The world is interesting and I’d like to see more about what ordinary life is like, because our protagonists led very different lives, but both weren’t normal. The powers Ellyssa and her siblings had were cool and I liked how they developed.

The plot was fine overall, though I’d have liked Elyssa to have more of a plan when she escaped. The pacing slowed in spots, but there was enough action to keep me reading and the action scenes were nicely done.

The characters were likable enough, and even the side characters were well developed. I liked Ellyssa’s growth from someone who was afraid to feel or show emotion to more of a normal girl.

The ending was good, everything wrapped up nicely making this a self contained story, but still with room for a sequel.

The Bad:

The romance. I actually sped read through some of the romantic parts. I didn’t ‘feel’ the romance. It was love at first sight… *sigh* and they went on and on about how much they meant to each other. *eye roll* I like romance in books, but it happened too quickly and they felt too strongly for each other.

There was also the start to a love triangle, which I think might be developed more in future books. I actually found myself liking her relationship with the other guy, though he fell for her too quickly also.

There was one instance where Rein did something that made no logical sense, but needed to happen to further the plot. (These kinds of things bug me.)

Would I recommend this book? Yes to fans of Dystopian and romance. Will I read the Sequel? Maybe.

My Favorite Quote:

“Perfection? People, in themselves, ARE perfect. Creativity, emotions, the innate quest to find truth – these are the things which evolved humans. All of them. Not just what you choose.”

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