Novella Reviews: Throne of Glass Novellas by Sarah J. Maass

Throne of Glass Novellas (#0.1 - 0.4)
by Sarah J. Maass

Genre: Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: between Jan 2012 – July 2012

Source: Kindle store

Age Rating: 14+

| Amazon | | Barnes &Noble |

A Throne of Glass novella (synopsis for #0.1).

On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She’s been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes—and she will risk everything to right the wrong she’s been sent to bring about. 

 

My Review

I read these novellas during the summer and they are fantastic! These are all prequels to the novel series, Throne of Glass, which is already out now. As of writing and publishing this review, I have yet to read the first novel, but reading these novellas completely sold me on buying the novel, so I have it waiting on my shelf.

These are fully realized, complete stories about the trained assassin, Celaena Sardothien, who is the number one assassin in her country of residence. There are, like a lot of fantasy novels, neighboring kingdoms and she does get to travel to some of the nearby kingdoms during her adventures in assassinating people. She's a funny girl and very much a girly-girl, despite being so deadly. She loves to wear pretty dresses and play the pianoforte. She starts out really spoiled and bratty at age 16, but, through her trials of these novellas, she matures.

I really like Sam, her childhood friend and rival assassin in the Assassin's Guild who becomes her love interest. Definitely no insta-love-upon-meeting-her-soul-mate-nonsense going on here. She just learns to see him a different way because they're both maturing before each others' eyes and he's become pretty darn good-looking in his young adulthood, ahem. I also hate, hate, HATE their boss Arobynn, who really is a truly worthy villain character. My lord, this man is so heinous and Machiavellian, it's sick. What he does to Celaena and Sam is beyond. I've never been so in hate with a villain character. It's pretty awesome.

Celaena doesn't spend a whole lot of time killing people because the stories are more about what she goes through that makes her become who she is by the time you read Book 1, and by then, she has spent some time as a slave/prisoner in the salt mines of Endovier due to the king's punishment. It really sets things up for the novel and I figure I'll have a much firmer grasp on it than would somebody else who just jumps into it without batting an eyelash at the novellas. I love having so much of the story set up and extra material for this amazing series. Check these out, people!

Average score: 4.5/5 stars.

Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms, #1)

by Kristin Cashore 

Genre: Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: October 1, 2008

Source: purchased paperback

Age Rating: 16+

| Amazon | |Barnes & Noble |

In a world where people born with an extreme skill—called a Grace—are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graces with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. 

My Review

• Plot: Katsa lives in the Middluns, a country surrounded by seven other kingdoms all ruled by not-so-friendly kings. She is the thumb-breaker for her own king, Randa, who also happens to be her uncle. She is a Graced person, someone to be feared in Middluns, and with her type of Grace, she can kill anyone who tries to do her harm, no matter how many come at her at once (Come at me, bro!). She meets the prince of the island kingdom Lienid named Po, and he seems to be Graced similarly to her, so they train together. Along with Po's advice, she decides to take a chance on rebelling against King Randa, resulting in some consequences that lead her on a completely different life-path than she had ever dreamed of before.
• Characters: Katsa is a stoic and serious teenager, someone who had very few friends growing up. She literally had an older woman servant force herself on her just to help her through puberty. She's a major tomboy and has no interest in marriage or having children. Po starts out very light-hearted and funny and trains with Katsa because he's similarly Graced. This does lead to romance, but one that takes a lot of time to develop. I love that they spend so much time becoming friends, making a case for something more realistic and awesome. I think my favorite character was Katsa's (closet-gay) cousin, Prince Raffin, who is King Randa's son. He spends most of the time with blue hair because he's kind of a wacky scientist/alchemist/apothecary type of guy and has a chemical mishap with a headache remedy. I wish he'd been in it more. He was Katsa's best friend growing up and is nothing at all like his mafia boss-type father.
• Story: I really liked this story! It's just good—I can't even figure out exactly why. The characters are great and the world building is well developed. There's plenty of room to flesh out the characters and give them moments with each other. They grow and learn new things along the way, and nobody is the same from beginning to end, except for Prince Raffin. He stays out of Katsa's experiences and the story enough to stay the same. But, it's comforting for Katsa, in the end, to see that her best friend is still her reliable best friend. So much changes in her life and, thankfully, she ends up better off for it. You just have to read the book to find out how it happens.
• Writing: The writing is a bit odd, but still high quality. It's an unusual style of writing with the word choice, but it's not too confusing and you get used to it. For the most part, it's normal and sort of fits in with how the people talk in this fantasy world created by the author.
• Overall Quality: Really high. This book was, I believe, only second in popularity to The Hunger Games the year it came out (2008), although a more distant second in the YA sci-fi/fantasy category. Just note that there are a couple of sex scenes which are quickly detailed, but not so explicit as to be sleazy. I recommend older teenage readers for this book.
• Favorite Scene/Moment: I can't even narrow down one favorite scene because I have too many. Not to mention that I'd be writing spoilers if I did, but I'll vaguely mention that I loved the scene when Katsa confronted King Randa about not wanting to be his thug he sicks on his enemies anymore and how that went down. He's a very bad, but handsome dude and I kind of like that type of villain. But, I liked how Katsa handled herself in the situation because it showed some early character growth.
• My Score: 4.5/5 stars. (A new favorite!)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Book Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)

by Robin LaFevers 

Genre: Historical/Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: April 3, 2012

Source: NetGalley (ARC)

Age Rating: 15+

| Buy from Amazon |

  

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart? 

 

My Review

This is my last ARC/RC review out of the old piled up copies I've been reading lately. Finished at last!

• Plot: Ismae is sold into a marriage with an abusive husband by her equally abusive stepfather at the age of fourteen, only to find herself suddenly whisked away to a convent on a small island off the coast of Brittany (modern day northern France). She was sired by Mortain, the god of death, one of the original nine gods of the pagan Bretons before the region became Catholic. The convent is devoted to carrying out Mortain's will, raising up his human offspring to carry out his assassinations of those who would betray Brittany. Ismae is trained for three years, then assigned to play the part of a courtier's mistress, the courtier being a young, handsome man named Duval. Someone is trying to hand Brittany and its duchess over to France and she must discover who this traitor in their midst is, and end him or her. The plot, like a murder mystery, goes around all over the place trying to discover who the traitor at court is with nearly everyone being a suspect, including Duval.
• Characters: Ismae grows and changes a lot from beginning to end. She first feels empowered when the convent abbess takes her in and trains her in all the many ways to kill men. She was treated so poorly by men all her life, so she thoroughly despises them and only ever expects to serve the convent and Mortain's will. She is shaken down to her foundation when she meets Duval and begins to fall for him, since he is the first man to treat her with actual respect. They butt heads a lot in the beginning because he knows she's an assassin and fears she'll try to kill him at some point. And, Ismae just fears men, period. Duval is a great male lead, very serious about accomplishing the task of protecting the young Duchess from being married off to the horrible old lech, Count D'Albret, even though their union would protect Brittany from being invaded by France.
• Technical Writing: I completely adore the writing style. It's written in first-person present tense, which is odd, considering it's a historical novel, but I never felt it was awkward at all. Ismae speaks simply, but in a bit of an old-fashioned English way, saying “mayhap” instead of “perhaps” or “maybe,” and things like that. It's never hard to follow for a second, though.
• Storytelling: I'm amazed at how capable the author is of weaving all these different plot threads together into a perfect tapestry. It's a complicated plot with a ton of stuff going on, but not too hard to follow, and really keeps the reader engaged at all times. I never got bored reading it, but I'm one who likes political intrigue. If you don't like plots that dive heavily into politics, this one may not be for you. But, it's a better woven story than most I usually read.
• Overall Quality: Really high. Everything about it is high quality, even down to the world-building, the fantasy aspect behind it. The fantasy aspect compels Ismae to carry out her assassinations and guides all her actions. And, when something important is about to happen, the story sets itself up properly, so when you get to that part, you believe it. Nothing happens randomly, nothing is pointless, and every loose thread gets tied in well.
• Favorite Moment/Scene: I have so many it's hard to narrow it down, but I love when Ismae saves the Duchess of Brittany, a cute little twelve-year-old girl, from being raped by Count D'Albret. He is a huge, disgusting lecherous man, and one of her suitors, but the girl hates him more than anything in the world. His attempt to rape her was meant to sully her maidenhead so she would have no choice but to marry him, after all. Ismae pulls out her weapons and scares him off before he can do anything more than just grope the little girl. Poor thing. But, I love how triumphant that scene was for the both Ismae and the Duchess.
• My Score: 4.5 stars out of 5.

*I received an advanced review copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Buy this title from | Amazon |.

Book Review: A Million Suns by Beth Revis

A Million Suns (Across the Universe, #2)

by Beth Revis 

Genre: Science Fiction

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: January 10, 2012

Source: purchased hardcover

Age Rating: 14+

| Amazon |

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies. But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

 

My Review

• Plot: This installment is another murder mystery with an added scavenger hunt, which is really exciting and one of the best parts about it. Amy and Elder run around all over the ship trying to solve clue after clue, so if you love stories like that, you'll love this one. There are plenty of twists and turns that completely surprised me. Very unpredictable, especially the big reveal.
• Characters: Amy has to deal with severe discrimination and flat-out threats to her well-being, as she is considered a freak on the ship. Her life has become all about hiding her hair and interacting with only the few people she feels somewhat safe with. She hates living within the walls surrounding her, and I feel for her because I know how much I'd hate it too, being stuck on a ship like that with all those ignorant people. Elder has a hard time dealing with the rebellious masses who are no longer drugged up, and you feel his frustration over the chaotic hungry people on the verge of mutiny. Naturally, Amy's and Elder's romantic life takes a huge hit, so don't expect much of that. These are hard times.
• Writing: Of course, the writing is beautiful and perfect for this type of story. The alternating POVs between Amy and Elder never get confusing, and the present tense works for a story set in the distance future.
• Storytelling: This is another high quality aspect. It's suspenseful, heart-pounding, pulse-racing, and heart-breaking in parts. There's a murderer on the loose that has to be caught and you never know who he/she will get next. And, a lot of characters die tragically. Half way through it, a plot twist is revealed which I never saw coming, and it floored me. Suddenly, the story became crazy-good.
• Overall Quality: Very high quality, just like the first book. I may have liked the first book just a bit more, but this one is such an excellent follow-up. I am truly excited for the last book. Can't wait to read it!
• Favorite Moment/Scene: When Elder goes outside the ship to look at it from the outside. I like it partly for how amazed he is about seeing so much space and stars for the first time, which is ironic considering he's been on a spaceship his entire life. But, I mostly like it for the shocking thing he discovers while out there. It's a huge plot twist. Frexing huge.
• My Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)

by Susan Ee 

Genre: Angels/Apocalypse

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 21, 2011

Source: Kindle purchase

Age Rating: 15+

| Amazon | | Barnes & Noble |

 

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

 

I'm experimenting with a different way of writing my reviews. Maybe breaking down the most important aspects of the story will keep my reviews more informative. Hopefully, this will be fun for me as well as more beneficial to my readers...

My Review

• Plot: There actually is one (big plus for me), although it's nothing groundbreaking. Penryn needs to rescue her crippled little sister from the bad invading angels who have taken her away, and needs a wingless angel that she saves to help locate her. They have many fun (for the reader) distractions along the way. There's not much romance, but that works better for me, actually. Penryn and Raffe (the wingless angel) didn't bond as much as I felt they should have to justify his obvious attachment to her by the end. I needed more niceties between the two, but they do have chemistry.
  
• Characters: Penryn is a great YA character and really knows her fighting skills. She's tough and she's proactive, thinking only ever of saving her little sister. Raffe is so sarcastic and yummy in the first half, but that all vanishes during the second half for someone unknown reason. Penryn's crazy mother is such a mystery, always showing up wherever Penryn is, like a feral cat stalking her. Why this is never gets explained, and it's kind of creepy, but good creepy.
• Writing: The writing is definitely decent—professional-grade. No flowery words or purple prose, and that's just perfect for this type of story. The YA voice is convincing, too, as the story is told through Penryn's first-person present tense narration.
• Storytelling: The story takes you on this wild and bizarre journey through a gutted apocalyptic San Francisco, full of incredibly well-detailed and intense fight scenes, amongst other things. Very impressive. One fight scene in particular made me feel like my throat had been whacked a bunch of times because of the vivid physicality of the fighting. Amazing.
• Overall Quality: I believe this is a self-published title, but you'd never know it. It's so very professional and high quality!
• Favorite Moment/Scene: The kiss scene... Oh. My. Lord. It is amazing, and I am rarely impressed by kiss scenes, but this one blew me away. It is totally out-of-nowhere and made me blink a lot. A lot. And, made me think about it as I drifted off to sleep the same night I read it.
• My Score: 4.5/5 stars. (I really like this. Can't wait for book 2!)
  
  
  
  
  

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1) 

by J.K. Rowling 

Genre: Adventure/Magic

Reading Grade: Middle Grade

Publication Date: October 1, 1999

Source: purchased paperback

Age Rating: all ages

| Amazon |

A mysterious letter, delivered by the friendly giant Hagrid, wrenches Harry from his dreary, Muggle-ridden existence: "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Of course, Uncle Vernon yells most unpleasantly, "I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" Soon enough, however, Harry finds himself at Hogwarts with his owl Hedwig... and that's where the real adventure--humorous, haunting, and suspenseful—begins. 

My Review

I finally read my first Harry Potter book—I know. That took me a while, to say the least. Join the rest of the literate world, Cathy—right? Well, now I have. I bought this book on a whim at Wal-Mart one day, long ago, but never got around to reading it. I really am not all that into Middle Grade fiction, so this never had much appeal to me. But, now that I've read it, I do see what all the fuss is about. This really is an amazing story like nothing else out there.

Whoever is reading this review has almost certainly read this book by now, so I'm not going to write this review the same old way I normally write them. It's not meant to get anyone to read this book. I'm just going to give my opinions on what I know IS definitely a crowd already familiar with it.

This is my opinion on why this book is a classic, and will stay that way for a long time to come: this exact narrative voice, this exact way of telling this story, and this exact mixture of these particular characters can never be duplicated. It is like eating The Colonel's country fried chicken, and loving it, but coming up empty on trying to duplicate his recipe for his succulent chicken. Only this author, J.K. Rowling, can do what she has done in this modern era. The only other author like her that even comes close is Charles Dickens (who surpasses her, in my opinion), and he's long dead. (By the way, I detected the Dickens influence in this book.)

When you're not only the first to do something, but you're the only one who can do it, then nobody ever forgets you and what you did. This is what makes this novel so lasting and probably the best-selling book in human history (excepting, perhaps, the Bible, which has a 2,000-year head start). Rowling is a fascinating iconic celebrity to me—she's much more interesting than any British Royal. She has an incredible gift that no one else has even had for more than 100 years. It's like she's a sort of reincarnated writing spirit in the form of a human avatar.

Anyway, I won't say this is my favorite book now because that wouldn't be true. I happen to have a lot of favorites, anyway, but I will be filing this one under the stack of my many favorites now. I figure this book is so great that, if I were a small child right now, I am positive it would be my most favorite book in the whole world. Certainly, if I had children, I'd make them be all up in this business, and I'm sure they'd want to be. What a wonderful way to bond with your children!

For all its amazingness, I award it extra points (referencing the awarding of points to the Hogwarts Houses, if you didn't quite get that). It is a magical fantasy world for children and adults of all ages to escape into. I want to move into the Griffyndor dormitories, and I hate dormitories. That has to account for something. But, I find that I can't connect with the book the way I need to in order for it to be an ultimate favorite. It might be my age, or my problem with not completely loving Middle Grade fiction—I don't know. But, it is the best Middle Grade fiction that exists in the entire world, so you'll probably never read better than the early Harry Potter books.

And, I do intend to read the rest of the books in the series, for sure. Hopefully, I'll connect better with the later YA sequels....

My score: 4.5 out of 5 stars. (I really liked it. Pure magic.)

Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)

by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Steampunk

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: August 31, 2010

Source: Amazon store (hardcover)

Age Rating: 13+

|Amazon| 

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all. 

My Review

I purchased this book back in September 2010, right after it was released, and I only recently got around to reading it. It was worth the wait. This is a really great story with well-conceived characters. Compared to City of Bones, which I recently read before this book, Clockwork Angel is far superior in every way, especially the technical writing. Gone are the clunky, lazily placed adverbs, which were making my eyes roll every two minutes during City of Bones.

The characters really sold me on this book, in that, Tessa, the main character, is a likeable protagonist. She's not some heroine kicking butt every other minute, but I don't need my heroines like that, anyway. She's smart and uses her cleverness to get herself out of difficult situations. She does require some help from others, but she doesn't seem like a damsel-in-distress, at all.

There are pretty boys, of course, like Will and Jem, and both are interesting and charming in their own respective ways. Will is strong and dashing, very sarcastic and witty (making me laugh out loud A LOT), although he tries to make people hate him for some unknown reason. Jem is a polite, nonjudgmental silver-haired sweetheart, and honestly won me completely over. I'm a huge Jem fan now! I don't even know why Tessa fancies Will more than him. James, honey, you know where you can find me when she refuses you!

What's funny about this novel is that, while reading it, I felt like it followed a sort of set pattern I was already familiar with, so I expected the plot to unfold in a certain way. But, once I got about three-quarters of the way finished, it pulled a very unpredictable plot twist on me. I never saw it coming, and it was shocking! When I discovered who the real villain characters actually were, I was appalled by them. Horrible people, just as villains ought to be. I was immensely impressed.

Obviously, I rate this newer Cassandra Clare series higher than the original for which it is based on. City of Bones is good, but Clockwork Angel has a more clever plot and far more intriguing characters. The indelible Magnus Bane appears in this series, and he's hilarious, even if not integral to the plot. A certain clever gray cat also makes a cameo that existing Clare fans will be delighted to see.

If you didn't like City of Bones, or anything from The Mortal Instruments, I bet you'll actually enjoy this one….

My score: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

 

Review + Giveaway: A Soul to Steal by Rob Blackwell

Hey, everybody! I've got a special treat for you all after this review. Rob Blackwell, the author of A Soul to Steal, has given me permission to giveaway ONE free ebook copy of his book to a lucky blog reader! It's the perfect read for Halloween, so read on to the end of the review to find out how to enter this giveaway… 

A Soul to Steal

by Rob Blackwell

Genre: Thriller/Urban Fantasy

Reading Grade: Adult

Publishing Type: self-published

Publication Date: August 29, 2011

Source: review copy (ebook)

Age Rating: 17+

| Amazon | 

Something is stalking the citizens of Loudoun County, Va. Is it the return of the notorious serial killer known as Lord Halloween? Or is it something worse—a figure that can cloak itself as your worst nightmare? Kate and Quinn, two community journalists, rush to uncover the truth before a promised bloodbath on Halloween night.

The debut novel from award-winning journalist Rob Blackwell, A Soul to Steal balances suspense, horror, action and humor, building to a gripping and unforgettable conclusion. For readers who enjoy Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Jim Butcher, A Soul to Steal is the perfect autumn novel.

My Review

I'm not one to read much in the way of thriller-suspense novels, so I'm no expert in the genre. But, I do know a good story when I read it, and this is definitely great. Whether or not the 'whodunnit' aspect is all that clever—I don't know, because I have nothing to compare it to. But, I think it's awesome because I was wrong about who the killer is, and when you guess, then realize you're wrong by the end, you must have read an effective mystery.

We follow around quite a few different characters, but most of the time, we're inside the heads of Quinn and Kate, the main characters. They are reporters for a small town newspaper called The Loudoun Chronicle, in Virginia. Kate moves there for very personal reasons because she's connected to the serial killer that terrorized the town twelve years earlier.

But, that killer has started to kill in Loudoun again, and as the story progresses, everybody's trying to find him, and this guy's downright terrifying! He keeps on succeeding and a lot people, despite being super careful, still get picked off by him. He is as sick as you'll ever find because he uses the newspaper to publicize his crimes, and to get the people of the town to tremble in fear every October so he can get off on it.

For some reason, he takes a twelve year hiatus and then starts killing again in October of 2006. It's definitely a thrilling ride as you try to figure out who he is and why he's killing people. But, there's this very original and creative aspect to the story that I loved in how it all connected to Washington Irving's “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” I won't spoil how it's connected, but it intersects with this story in a really neat way, and sort of parallels Irving's classic spooky read.

I think any adult reader would love this, especially during this time of year. Because the events take place only during October, it's the perfect Halloween read. It's not scary in the horror kind of way since there's not much gore. Lots of murder and mayhem, but we don't see every detail of every kill. That made it easy for me to read and enjoy. From what I understand, this is the first book in a trilogy, so there's more to come in future Halloweens.

I received this book for review from the author for my honest opinion.

My score: 4.5 stars out of 5. 

 

*This goes toward my 2011 Spooktacular October Paranormal Reading Challenge!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

• open internationally
• leave a comment under this blog post with your name, email, and Google Friend Connect (GFC) name, if you're a follower
• following my blog is NOT required, but encouraged
• followers of my blog will receive an extra entry (+1)
• 1 winner will be chosen by Random.org
• 1 ebook in ONE of the following formats will be chosen by the winner:
  Kindle, Epub, PDF, RTF, LRF, PDB, or Plain Text
• Last day to enter: Sunday, November 6^th, 2011.

Review: The Greyfriar by Clay & Susan Griffith

The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, #1)

by Clay & Susan Griffith

Genre: Paranormal/Vampires/Steampunk

Reading Grade: Adult

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: November 18, 2010

Source: Kindle store

Age Rating: 13+

Amazon.com

In 1870, monsters rise up and conquer the northern lands, As great cities are swallowed up by carnage and disease, landowners and other elite flee south to escape their blood-thirsty wrath. One hundred fifty years later, the great divide still exists; fangs on one side of the border, worried defenders on the other. This fragile equilibrium is threatened, then crumbles after a single young princess becomes almost hopelessly lost in the hostile territory. At first, she has only one defender: a mysterious Greyfriar who roams freely in dangerous vampire regions. 

My Review

This was a story in which I was able to really come to love the characters. Despite all the political matters whirling around that made up the central plot, it still managed to be a character-driven story. Princess Adele and the Greyfriar were both given plenty of room to grow and develop into very realistic and charming characters.

I found myself being reminded of one of my favorite novel series, Trinity Blood, a Japanese light novel series in which the vampires have their own empire that goes up against the human nations. I love the set-up of that series and, although it was very different, The Greyfriar's premise was also fascinating. I won't write much about its steampunk elements, but they gave the story an old-fashioned atmosphere that was easy to envision, which was interesting given that the story was set in the year 2020.

Still, I couldn't help but have a problem with how the shifting 3rd-person POVs were handled. We'd be inside Adele's head one paragraph, and then, without warning, we'd be inside of Greyfriar's, or someone else's, in the next—all during the same scene. It was very confusing and this was a constant problem from beginning to end. Also, I didn't much care for the overuse of passive voice. I found myself rewording sentences in my head as I read them to get rid of the “to be” verb.

Despite these errors, I truly loved this story and its evolving characters, Adele and Greyfriar, as well as their relationship. Adele had to grow so much to overcome her extreme prejudices against vampires, even though they were warranted. But, her time spent with them taught her things she never knew about them, and therein, she grew in leaps and bounds. Prejudice is an ugly thing, and she was truly awful while displaying her bigotry, but when it started to crack and fade, it became a beautiful thing to witness.

The story was not particularly sensuously romantic, but the feelings were all there and I loved how it was handled. No need for groping and whispers of sweet-nothings. Adele and Greyfriar seemed to have something more substantial between the two of them, and I anxiously look forward to reading more about how they could possibly continue their sweet romance in the next volume. More, please!

P.S. The vampires in this series RULE! They can lower the density of their bodies to float in the air? How cool is that!? 

My score: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Review: Hunger by Jackie Kessler

Hunger (The Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Rider's Quartet, #1)

by Jackie Morse Kessler

Genre: Fantasy/Supernatural

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: October 2010

Source: local library

Rated: Teen (14+)

Amazon.com

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power—and the courage to battle her own inner demons? 

My Review

This book turned out to be very different from what I had expected. I read half of it feeling like it wasn't satisfying, or was missing something, but as I continued, I realized why I thought that at first. It wasn't because there was anything wrong with it. It was because I was expecting an entertaining fantastical escape, but this book becomes almost literary, actually, more serious. Once I realized that, my entire attitude about the book changed. Suddenly, this book took on a whole new meaning.

The protagonist, Lisabeth Lewis, is an anorexic seventeen-year-old who meets Death, one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and he tells her that she is the new Famine, one of the four Horsemen. She eventually gets around to her duties and learns what she can do with her new powers, and in the process, begins to open her eyes to understanding her own psychosis.

But, don't for one second think this book is just some after-school special on how anorexia is bad. That's not what this is about, at least not solely. Lisabeth travels to parts of the world where she sees how famine shows up in the lives of real people who have no choice but to starve, and realizes that she has the power to help them. In helping them, she overcomes her real problem: her own self-centeredness.

Lisabeth is self-centered in the negative way, the way in which a person thinks they are the worst thing ever, rather than the best thing ever. This story is about how that, too, is just as bad a neurosis to have as the other extreme version. Seeing that other people suffer from starvation teaches her to look outside of herself and quit being so blind to others.

It turns out that overcoming this problem helps Lisabeth to eventually get the real kind of help she needs. But, the truth is, everyone can relate to being too self-centered. It's an issue that speaks to all of humankind, and not just to modern women. That's why this book might not be what you expect when you read it. But, you'll find it is a wonderful work of literature that magically speaks volumes of the human condition in only a scant 174 pages.

Read this one with your critical-reading cap on. If you like to analyze speculative literature, especially the kind that deals with important contemporary issues, you'll get a feast out of Hunger by Jackie Kessler.

My score: 4.5 out of 5 stars.