Giveaway! The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

Hey, everyone! I thought it would be a really spiffy thing to host a giveaway of the Iron Druid Chronicles books by Kevin Hearne because the 4th novel just came out this past Tuesday, April 24th. 

 

You can enter to win any ONE of the FOUR books out now in this series:

Hounded (Book 1)

Hexed (Book 2)

Hammered (Book 3)  

Tricked (Book 4)

• Open internationally (where Book Depository ships).
• Be 13 years of age, or older.
• Enter 5 different ways through the Rafflecopter form below.
• Giveaway ends Thursday, May 3rd 11:59pm.

Book Recommendations: TGIF at GReads! (1)

TGIF at GReads! is a weekly bookish meme hosted by

GReads!

Every week book blogger participants answer a different book-related question and share in the meme-y fun with other book bloggers.

This Friday's (1/19/2012) Question:

Recommend It: Which book from the last 10 you've read 

would you recommend to a friend?

______________________

Well, I'd have to say that I would rec Hounded [my review] by Kevin Hearne because this entire series of books (Iron Druid Chronicles) is just the most stinkin' funniest I've read probably ever. This book is the first, so people need to start here, but I liked Hexed and Hammered (books 2 & 3) even better.

As I know people who are too sensitive to read a book with a lot of swearing and implied adult situations (like my older sister), I have to rec something suitable for them. Thus, I'd go with the book I'm currently reading, Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. But, this is book 2 in The Infernal Devices series, so then I'd have to recommend starting with book 1, Clockwork Angel. [my review]

I'm absolutely loving this book, but I know I wouldn't if I didn't already love the characters. You have to love them first, or this book wouldn't be so great.

So there you have it!

Book Review: Hammered by Kevin Hearne

Hammered (Iron Druid Chronicles, #3)

by Kevin Hearne 

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Mythology

Reading Grade: Adult

Publication Date: July 5, 2011

Source: purchased paperback

Age Rating: 17+

| Amazon |

Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully—he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.

One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself... 

 

My Review

Ugh! Death by ravaging cliffhanger! After that one, I'm smarting a bit. I usually find it easy to wait for the next anticipated book in a series, even if it's a year before it will come out. But, this time I'm wasted at the intense presence of this cliffhanger. Beware the cliffhanger of DOOM...

Now, on to my actual review of this book. This installment is so fan-freaking-tastic that I don't feel like I can assemble the right words together. I'm also severely tired, as I have only just finished reading it, and it's 1:30 in the morning (this was written 1 ½ weeks ago). Atticus is gearing up to help pick a fight with a certain thunder god—Tall, Blond and Lightning himself. Yeah, we really get a good idea of what Thor, the Norse god of thunder and lightning, is really like, and it is not good. He has wronged far too many people and he needs to be taken down.

If you'll recall in Book 2, or not if you haven't read it yet, Atticus agreed to join his fabulously handsome and old-fashionedly quirky lawyer that I'm in love with, Leif Helgarson, on a mission to take revenge on Thor, who more rightly ought to be regarded as the god of douchebags. Leif has assembled a team of immortal dudes who are all sporting murderous rage against that lightning/hammer guy, too. I love how through the tales each of them tell each other around a campfire—good ol' male bonding—we learn their origin stories, not just how they were wronged by Thor and how awful he is.

My favorite character has been Leif since book 2, and we really get a vivid picture of who he is, how he became a vampire, and how old he is (very old), amongst other juicy tidbits. Leif fans will adore this one, although may find the ending to be a bit hard to swallow. But, I'm super happy with all the background info on him, and his strengthening friendship with Atticus. It's beautiful, man!

Anyway, again, I laughed so hard I nearly pooped a cow (I won't say this expression the Irish way because I am not in anyway Irish, and that would make me look foolish. Although, I've probably already managed that just now). I didn't hurt myself this time, at least, but Atticus reached new levels of funneh, and his questions to Leif about the secrets of vampirehood were just so friggin' hilarious, it made the whole book worth reading right there!

But, seriously, this book does everything—makes you laugh out loud (lolcat style), makes you cry (especially at Gunnar's and Leif's tales, if not at them directly when they battle the gods), and makes you gasp in horror at the Star Wars Force-infused cliffhanger that threatens to choke you like Darth Vader's death grip. You will fall in love with this series if you haven't already, and if you're already there, you will fall that much more in love with it. It's the best one, so far. With all this in mind, you have been warned....

My score: 5 out of 5 stars. (Wish I could award it more!) 

 

Book Review: Hexed by Kevin Hearne

Hexed (Iron Druid Chronicles, #2)

by Kevin Hearne 

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Mythology

Reading Grade: Adult

Publication Date: June 7, 2011

Source: Random House online store

Age Rating: 17+

| Amazon |

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex. 

 

My Review

Okay, I'm pretty sure I cracked a rib laughing through this one, since I can feel the pain in my right side. This book went to epic levels of hilarity, and I could not—NOT put it down. That, for me, is saying a lot, because I usually have no trouble putting a book down and doing other stuff. But, not with Hexed. Atticus put a binding spell on my copy, so when I started to read it, I could only get about 10 feet from it before I found myself right back at the bookshelf I keep it on. It was the weirdest thing ever!

I say this only because I am completely convinced that Atticus is real, and so are all the other amazing characters in this series. Kevin Hearne does a brilliant job of giving each of his important characters detailed little nuances that all real people have—for example, Atticus loves omelets for breakfast and whole wheat toast with orange marmalade. Oberon loves steak (of course, what dog doesn't?). It's things like this that make me believe that they both actually live in the Tempe, Arizona area and that if only I'd drive over there, I might find Atticus' house, and run into his super hot vampire attorney, the famous Leif Helgarson!

Uh, oh... Here comes a long spiel (or squeal?) on how much I love the vampire Leif Helgarson, the famous vampire who isn't famous—or, at least everybody in the book seems to know who he is, yet Atticus can't figure out why, since the man himself claims he is not famous. He is the reason my rib is busted because he's just so ridiculously hilarious, I couldn't not laugh hard enough to crack it. I found myself obsessively reading this book because I just wanted to find out more about Leif… 

Here is he is in a nutshell: Imagine an English butler trying to talk like any typical college frat boy. Now, make sure he's pronouncing everything the way an English butler would, very stuffy-sounding and proper, but using all those hip and cool phrases, like “I'm chill, how 'bout you?” or “Throw down!” when he wants to start a fight. But, of course, he's not even using the correct slang, and saying these phrases more like, “I am cold,” or “Throw up!” Now, you have the most epic vampire in fictional existence trying to be cool, and that fella's name is Leif Helgarson. Leif is the raddest, baddest vampire dude ever, and he makes Dracula look like the mosquito of undead bloodsuckers. (He hates Dracula, by the way.)

If you're a nerd like me, and you want to read a fun and funny book filled with forever quotable quotes and quips, then look no further, folks. <— (This sentence has two sets of literary alliteration—go me!) This book is for y'all. If you want to read about crazy, wacky characters and all their antics, and how all the gods and goddesses in every mythology from world history are able to converge together in the same 10-mile radius, and, well, not get along with each other (as you would imagine they would not), then read the Iron Druid Chronicles. I just barely squeezed in reading these before the year ended, but they are already my favorite reads of the entire year of 2011. Mr. Hearne cannot write these books fast enough!

 My score: 5 out of 5 stars. (A-mazing!)

P.S. That is Alexander Skarsgaard from the True Blood TV series, as an FYI.

Review: Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)

by Kevin Hearne 

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Mythology 

Reading Grade: Adult

Publication Date: May 3, 2011

Source: Book Depository

Age Rating: 17+

| Amazon | 

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil. 

My Review

Can I just say that this is pretty much exactly the type of urban fantasy I prefer to read? I will, anyway. I LOVE this! It hits the nail on the head in terms of the characters, the plot, the humor, the fantasy aspect, and the urban-ness of it all. It is perfection... 

Atticus is that type of male protagonist that I usually fall very hard for, so I'm already a dead fish in a barrel for him. Or, to put it in Oberon's terms, Atticus' dog, I'm a juicy steak that landed on the floor right at his paws. I'm easily bowled over by these sarcastic, sexy heroes of urban fantasy. They are cool and relaxed, but will kick major bootay when necessary. They usually are not normal human beings, and for Atticus, that means he is an 2,100-year-old Druid who has a pretty clever way of staying perpetually twenty-one (give me some of that stuff!).

The entire story is told through Atticus' point-of-view, so we get a huge dose of his wit and wisdom, which comes in spades. He's always ready with a clever quip, and a remarkable way of humiliating the over-confident characters who think they're uber smart. But, he's not even close to being the only amazing character in this novel because it is chock-full of crazy, amazing characters.

Atticus owns probably literature's finest, funniest, most adorable pooch in Oberon, his Irish wolfhound. He has been able to establish a telepathic link with him, and over time, Oberon picked up on how to understand and think in English, thus allowing them to communicate with each other. These lines are some of the best and most hilarious parts of the story. How about the part where Atticus is yakking about something that has to do with ancient Druids, and Oberon very kindly admits, <I have no idea what you're talking about.> Nevermind, says Atticus in response.

One of Atticus' biggest problems is with the local witch coven, as their kind have proven to him many centuries earlier that witches can never be trusted. As one witch happened to forget that the SPCA stands for preventing the cruelty towards animals, mistaking it for a society dedicated to the cruelty of animals, Atticus says to Oberon, “See? Witches.” <I see what you mean now,> thinks Oberon, <She'd probably give me a sausage and it would have broccoli in it.>

Atticus finds he has to deal with all sorts of unwanted trouble because his old enemy, a faerie by the name of Anghus Og, the Celtic god of love, wants the sword Fragarach, which is one of the most powerful swords in the world. Addy spends the whole of the novel being chased by, and fighting off, the local police, other inhumane faeries, Fir Bolgs, which are these mean giants, and some seriously witchy witches all within his miles of his home. One of Hounded's many strengths is how it blends mundane reality with the paranormal in a very realistic way.

Thank goodness he has the raddest lawyers ever to help him out in more ways than to simply comprehend the fine print: not only are they tough-as-nails with the cops, keeping them in line, but his day attorney is a werewolf and his night attorney is a vampire (a hot Icelandic guy with white hair who speaks in iambic pentameter), so they can kick butt, too. Epic, and they do their heroic thing in only the way awesome lawyers can—Larry H. Parker's got nothing on these guys.

There's really no romance, but that doesn't mean Addy has no romantic interest in anyone. He's a guy, essentially a human guy at that, so we find out what goes through his mind every time an attractive female shows up. But, he's partial to the pretty red-headed barmaid named Granuaile, and they form a certain interesting alliance with each other. It's just the perfect sort of alliance for them that allows for a possible future romance, although does not guarantee it (but, how could it not?), thus making me want to see if it'll ever happen in future novels.

I think if you want to read something hilarious, super fun, and has plenty of action, then this is the perfect book for you (it certainly is for me!). I've already started reading the next installment, as I cannot even hope to put my mind to anything else. I'm completely addicted! It is one of the best books I read all last year.

My score: 5 out of 5 stars. (I LOVED this!)