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.

Novella Review: Weighted by Ciara Knight

Weighted (The Neumarian Chronicles, #0.5)

by Ciara Knight 

Genre: Science Fiction/Steampunk

Reading Grade: Young Adult (Novella)

Publication Date: August 2012

Source: review copy by author

Age Rating: 13+

| Amazon | | Barnes &Noble |

The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning. 

My Review

This is a short story prequel to a series of steampunk novels coming out in 2013 called The Neumarian Chronicles. From this story, I can gather some aspects of the world building and that there are two types of people against one another, Slags and Neumarians. I don't know why they fought a war or why they hate each other so much, but what happens to the protagonist, Raeth, happens because of these feuding societies.

Raeth is a Neumarian and seems to be around 12-years-old. She has some sort of ability that she needs to keep hidden from the Slags who captured her in order to find out what it is. The Slags are people with bionic body parts—cyborgs, basically. That is so cool, but they are the bad guys and they are very not cool, not even towards each other. The Queen is execution-happy and everybody smacks everybody's faces all the time. Raeth suffers torture and near death at the hands of the Queen of the Slags who is completely evil and one-dimensional, but successfully strikes fear in you.

Although, a lot of the story is confusing, it still has elements I usually am drawn to: cyborgs, a mad scientist (Raeth gets tortured by a man in a gray coat at the behest of the evil Queen), sci-fi technology and even a fantasy element in Raeth's supernatural ability. It's quite an intense read for all it's worth and really gets your appetite whetted for the future subsequent novels.

My score: 4/5 stars.

*I received a copy of this title from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Girl Steals Guy by Kelly Green

Girl Steals Guy (Borrowing Abby Grace, #2) 

by Kelly Green 

Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy (Novella)

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: October 21, 2011

Source: Amazon Kindle store

Age Rating: 14+

| Buy from Amazon |

 

Dropped into the life of a gorgeous senior with a heartbroken best friend, Abby Grace must navigate high school keg parties, football games and power couples as she discovers that love and revenge are sometimes the same thing. 

 

My Review

• Plot: This story is another adventure for Shadow Abby Grace to tackle as she finds another borrower, Michelle, a beautiful teen girl with a best friend brokenhearted over her boyfriend who suddenly dumped her for a more attractive girl. It's up to Abby, who is starting to remember a little of who she really is, or was, to set things straight and reunite the two lovers.
• Characters: Abby gets a hint at what she's supposed to do from Will, her helper guy, and it's to reunite the two lovers. This means something along the lines of getting Michelle's best friend, Heather and her ex-boyfriend, Sam, back together again. I think in so little space, the new characters for this episode can't be judged properly. But, seeing more of Abby and Will does reveal more character development for them. They even seem to be liking each other, despite the fact that Abby always pretends to be someone else, and has to pretend to like someone else. It would seem confusing, but it doesn't come off that way.
• Writing: The writing is better in this episode compared to the first one, The Shadow. It seemed more efficient and descriptive, especially of Abby Grace herself, the real Abby Grace whose face can be seen only by herself whenever she looks into a mirror.
• Story: I like the story pretty well because, like the first installment, it is a mystery that Abby needed to solve in a short period of time, and it took on a lot of unexpected twists and turns. With this one, I was always guessing the outcome along the way, but it turned out not quite like how I figured would. It's pretty fun reading.
• Overall Quality: Good quality—I liked it, although not as much as the first novella. People who love mysteries and Nancy Drew-like stories would really like this contemporary series.
• Favorite Scene/Moment: The scene where Abby(Michelle) chatted with Sam, the best friend's ex-boyfriend, and ate pizza with him on the beach. He had come to her rescue when her own boyfriend had stranded her there because she wouldn't put-out. I like that Sam turned out to be a dear old friend of Michelle's that she hadn't talked to in years because Michelle had changed during her relationship with her awful boyfriend.
• My Score: 3.5/5 stars.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Book Review: Wool by Hugh Howey

Wool (Wool, #1)

by Hugh Howey 

Genre: Sci-fi/Dystopia/Post-Apocalypse

Reading Grade: Adult (Novella)

Publication Date: July 29, 2011

Source: Kindle store

Age Rating: 16+

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They live beneath the earth in a prison of their own making. There is a view of the outside world, a spoiled and rotten world, their forefathers left behind. But this view fades over time, ruined by the toxic airs that kill any who brave them.

So they leave it to the criminals, those who break the rules, and who are sent to cleaning. Why do they do it, these people condemned to death? Sheriff Holston has always wondered. Now he is about to find out.

My Review

I read about this story in a blog post somewhere (I forgot where). It's very short (12,000 words), yet was making waves like it's the next great sci-fi/dystopia out there for adult readers. I had to check out how this self-published novella got all these people so riveted over it.

• Plot: Holston is an aging man, weighed down by his desperation over wanting to leave his home in an underground silo. His wife is already dead because she dared to break the stringent rules of their community, and the sentence was to go outside, above ground, and clean the lenses on the cameras that reveal the outside world's view. That outside world is filled with toxic gases that will destroy anything in minutes, so this punishment truly is a death sentence. But now Holston wants to follow in her footsteps. He wants to find out why she and all the others sentenced to clean the lenses have always followed through with cleaning them, as ordered, even though they all died shortly afterward. He wants to know what's really up on the surface outside.
• Characters: It mostly centers around the very depressed Holston and why he's decided to willfully break a rule, despite being the silo sheriff, in order to get the cleaning sentence. His wife is featured in a few flashbacks, and she's an amazing character, what little we see of her. She's the one that got this ball rolling because she thought she found some evidence that computer files had been deleted or altered from previous generations. Did it mean their ancestors had lied to them? She ended up wanting to go outside so badly, she broke the rule of declaring she wanted to go out, and thus, got exactly what she wanted. That happened three years earlier, and now Holston is unable to live without her anymore. He wants to put all the pieces of the puzzle she left behind together and solve it, once and for all.
• Writing: The writing is really top-notch. This author is quite good with words, not to mention his storytelling ability.
• Story: And, now to mention that storytelling ability. Wow. This one is impressive. I finished it thinking, “I couldn't possibly hope to ever think up something like this. What a story!” It left me questioning so many things about the society Holston and Alison (his wife) had been raised in. And, the shocker at the end.... Yeah, not a happy ending, but it answers the question of why the cleaners always end up cleaning the lenses. Leaves you wondering a lot about stuff like, what did Holston do to get his sentence? I either missed it or can't remember. Who is really in charge down in that silo? Holston is the sheriff and there is a woman mayor, but she seemed so uniformed about stuff. Alison said the IT guys knew everything. Did they? There are sequel novellas, but I'm unsure if they reveal these answers.
• Overall Quality: Super high! I don't think there was a thing wrong with it, unless you count how short it is.
• Favorite Scene/Moment: I can't even reveal it to you because it is a major spoiler, but it happens at the end when Holston does finally go outside the silo, above ground to see the real world with his own eyes. Craziest fake-out ever. O__o
• My Score: 5/5 stars. 
  
   

Book Review: Borrowing Abby Grace by Kelly Green

The Shadow (Borrowing Abby Grace, #1)

by Kelly Green 

Genre: Mystery/Paranormal

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: October 16, 2011

Source: Kindle Store

Age Rating: 12+

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When Abby Grace wakes up in the back of a van, she has no idea who she is, how she got there, or why anyone would want to kidnap her. After escaping her masked captors, she hurries home, only to discover that she unknowingly left her younger brother behind in the van. Unable to answer the police’s questions with her memories gone, she retreats to the safety of her bedroom where she tries to reconstruct her life. Just as she is settling into the belief that things will one day return to normal, she looks in the mirror—and sees a stranger’s face.

As Abby learns next, she has become a Shadow, sent to inhabit the lives of strangers in trouble. With nothing to go on except the vague hints of her cute but maddening Guardian, a 19th century ghostly teenager named Will, Abby sets out to rescue the missing brother. But she will need all of her intelligence, fearlessness, and wit, because if she fails to find him in time, she will remain trapped in this unfamiliar body forever. 

My Review

Borrowing Abby Grace is a little book I'd been meaning to read for a while and finally did. It's a very short and cheap ebook-only story, so it was a no-brainer for me to give it a try...

• Plot: Abby Grace is a Shadow, a mystical being, formerly human, who inhabits the bodies of living people who need her to solve their problems. But, her problem is that she has amnesia upon first inhabiting her new body and doesn't remember anything about herself. She is in the process of being kidnapped when she first comes to, in the beginning, and manages to get away. Then, discovering who she is and who she's pretending to be takes her on a wild Nancy Drew-like mystery solving journey. The main objective of this episode is for Abby to find the kidnapped younger brother of Brooke, the girl whose body she's inhabiting.
• 
  Characters: Abby is a funny girl, apparently a teenager herself, though she has no body. We never find out why she is a Shadow, or rather, she never finds out how the whole “shadowing” process works and why she's a part of it. The other presence in the story is a boy her age named Will, who is like a ghost, and he's there to help her out. He can't tell her how to solve her mysteries, or anything about who she's supposed to be helping, but he can tell her some things about what is expected of her, how much time she has to complete her mission, and the consequences if she doesn't complete it on time. Clearly, he has an important function, but I can't form an opinion of Will because he simply isn't in the story enough.
• Technical Writing: It's good and written in a believable YA voice. Abby has probably been leaping around from body to body (kind of like Quantum Leap) recently, since she's aware of modern technology and knows how to use it, even with amnesia.
• Storytelling: It's supposed to be an homage to the Nancy Drew mysteries of yesteryear, but I can't even draw that comparison because I never read any Nancy Drew. My older sisters loved those books, but they're ten years older than me, and I just had no interest. I thought the books were outdated, but, that was how I felt as a kid. (Don't kill me!) Still, I thought the mystery was done really well insofar as mysteries are concerned, and I never saw the climax coming. It wasn't predictable, and Abby did her job, even helping to repair a broken family at the end. It was very sweet.
• Overall Quality: Great. I wasn't sure what to think when I first started reading, but it quickly became a fast, fun, engaging story as Abby tried to figure out so many different unknowns all at once. I'm surprised it could be done within such a short space (40 pages).
• Favorite Scene/Moment: Easy. The scene where Abby sings a solo as Brooke (who has a killer voice) in the choir concert. She didn't know the words to “Danny Boy,” so she started making up stuff around the middle of the song—stuff about Danny losing his teddy bear and eating a hamburger. Then, in the middle of her solo, she takes off, chasing after a kid she believes is connected to the little brother's kidnapping, leaving the entire audience completely O__O. I laughed out loud at the pure Randomy McRandom-ness of it all!
• My Score: 4 stars out of 5.

Buy this ebook from | Amazon | for $2.51. 
 

Review: "Blink" by Bradley Convissar

"Blink"

by Bradley Convissar

Genre: Contemporary/Fantasy/Horror

Reading Grade: Adult (flash fiction)

Publication Date: November 8, 2011

Source: Kindle freebie

Age Rating: 15+

| Amazon | 

Meet dentist Brian Mallory. He's always considered himself a grounded man. A rational man. A reasonable man. But what he finds in the mouth of nineteen year old Amy Gladwell one afternoon during a routine cleaning makes him begin to question his own sanity.

It's amazing how quickly everything can change in a a blink of an eye.

From the author of the Pandora's Children collection of short stories, the novellas Dogs of War and King of the Merge, and the short story “Last Dance of a Black Widow,” comes “Blink,” a chilling, 3,500 word short story about a simple day gone horribly wrong. 

 

My Review

I found this flash fiction for free in the Kindle store and it caught my eye based on a few reviews stating how shocking and horrific the big plot twist is. I read the premise and found myself wanting to discover just what these reviewers were talking about. Plus, I had the time to read something only 3,500 words long, and had the money to buy something free—just barely. <wink>

But, I gotta say, the big scary reveal that is supposed to freak me out really didn't. As the main character realizes he's seeing something really bizarre in the tongue ring of his female dental patient, he feels disturbed. He examines it a little more closely, and I had an idea of what I thought it most likely was. Then, he finds out exactly what the weird thing in her mouth is, and it ends up being exactly what I figured. Not much of a surprise for me. Had it been something I never saw coming, then I would have been shocked, of course.

So, while this story was very well-written and held my full attention from beginning to end, it just didn't 'wow' me the way I expected it to. Still, it was good. I'm not sure there is a sequel, so don't expect the story to continue elsewhere, even though it seems like it ought to, judging by how it ends. But, read the story and see, when you find out what the tongue ring really is, if it surprises you, or not.

My score: 3.5 stars out of 5. (I liked it.)

Review: "Turned at Dark" by C.C. Hunter

"Turned at Dark" (Shadow Falls, #0.5) 

by C.C. Hunter 

Genre: Paranormal/Vampires

Reading Grade: Young Adult (short story)

Publication Date: March 15, 2011

Source: Kindle store (freebie)

Age Rating: 15+

| Amazon |

Independent and strong-willed Della Tsang hadn’t believed in ghosts until she saw her dead cousin darting into the shadows of an alley. She hadn’t believed in vampires until in the dark of that same night she is turned into one. Introduced to a strange world of supernaturals, she struggles to accept this new reality. Unfortunately, the boy she loves senses something different about her and can’t accept her. Should she follow her vampire cousin’s lead–walk away from everything she’s knows and loves—and fake her own death? Or should she set her pride aside and ask for help from the camp leader of Shadow Falls—a camp where supernaturals go to learn how to cope with their powers. Either way, her life as she knows it, will never be the same.

My Review

This is a prequel short story to the Shadow Falls novel series, starring Della Tsang, who is the roommate of the title character in the series, Kylie Galen. This is the story of how this friend was changed from a normal half-Chinese-half-Caucasian teenager into a vampire. As far as these prequels go, I thought it was pretty good. It's a decent length, and most of my Kindle file was the actual short story, not the preview for Born at Midnight.

I haven't read Born at Midnight, so reading this free prequel was meant for me to see if I liked it enough to give it a try. The characters were interesting, although I wonder how much they appear in the first novel. Della is probably in it enough, but what about her cousin, Chan? He was the other important character in this story, but I get the feeling he doesn't appear much in the novel. I have no idea what to think of Kylie because she's not even a blip on Della's radar screen at this point.

At any rate, based on this story, I can at least say that I think the first book might be worth borrowing from the library and giving it an good read-through.

My score: 3.5 out of 5 stars. (I liked it.)

Review: "Fallen from Grace" by M.J. Putney

"Fallen from Grace" (Dark Mirror, #0.5)

by M.J. Putney 

Genre: Fantasy/Magic/Historical

Reading Grade: Young Adult (short story)

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: March 4, 2011

Source: Kindle store (freebie)

Age Rating: 12+

| Amazon | 

  

Allarde, a gorgeous, wealthy noble has hidden his true nature. Discover his diary and witness his sudden fall from grace.

My Review

In this short story prequel to the Dark Mirror novel series, we read the diary of Allarde, an English aristocrat with secret magical abilities. At first, he is attending England's finest boarding school, but he reveals his abilities in order to save a fellow student from harm. Because he is an aristocrat with magic, not just a commoner, he is considered evil and has to be ousted from all good society.

His father sends him to a reform school for aristocrats where he learns how to suppress his magic in order to regain some privileges of his former life. But, he meets some other young people there who don't want to pretend to be something they're not, and finds himself considering their philosophy. Also, he meets the protagonist of the novels, Lady Victoria Mansfield, as she arrives at the reform school toward the end of the short story. It ends with hints at his immediate romantic interest in her.

I haven't read any of these novels, yet, but I doubt it's necessary to do so prior to reading this short story. I was a bit disoriented at first, but I found my feet after a while. Allarde is a really likable character, even if we don't get to know him all that well in such a short reading time, but he's an interesting character to follow further. I purchased Dark Mirror (the first novel) prior to reading this, and I'm so glad I did. I want to learn more about this intriguing world of magic users, and why the wealthiest practitioners are ostracized.

My score: 4 out of 5 stars.

Review: "The Death Clock" by J. Rock

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"The Death Clock: a Short Story"
by J. Rock

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Reading Grade: Adult (short story)

Publishing Type: self-published

Publication Date: December 23, 2010

Source: Kindle store (freebie)

Age Rating: 15+

| Amazon | 

Andie didn’t know what to make of the numbers.
She started seeing them when she got on the bus that morning. She didn't know what they meant...until she saw them run out... 

My Review

This is a good really, really short story. It's around 4,000 words long, but despite that, it's still highly entertaining. The concept of a “death clock,” or the ability to see a countdown of numbers displayed over someone's head that indicates their remaining lifespan, is nothing new. I recognized this used in Death Note, one of my favorite manga series, to name one of many other stories in which it can be found.

But, that's not what impresses me about the story. It's more about the amazing plot twist that you will never see coming, and it is a doozy! This is a free ebook, so you'll lose nothing but a few minutes of your time to read it and freak out at the end, trying to wrap your brain around the incredibly ironic ending.

What I don't like is the main character for most of the story. Andie is one of the most non-proactive characters you'll ever read about, but she arguably goes through a little character growth by the end. If you find yourself disliking her, don't worry—that really won't be a problem for you. Trust me on that… Just read it for the fun plot twist at the end.

My score: 4 out of 5 stars.

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

Review: "Retro Demonology" by Jana Oliver

"Retro Demonology" (The Demon Trapper's, #0.5)

by Jana Oliver

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult (short story)

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: December 13, 2010

Source: Kindle store (freebie)

Age Rating: 13+

| Amazon |

Before Riley Blackthorne can take on Grade Five demons, she has to trap her very first. Her debut solo trapping experience should be a breeze, just a harmless Grade One after all. But throw in some dippy hippies (whose peace signs and Patchouli really aren’t driving any demons away), one mischievous demon, and a run-in with the police, and Riley might not be able to pull it off...

My Review

This is another of many ebook-only prequels to a novel series meant to get you to read the first book's preview. Well, I don't mind if that's the only purpose of the story, but I'd like an interesting story that gets me … well, interested in reading further material. I think this very short story (which took up only 33 percent of my Kindle file) is actually funny, but there isn't much conflict.

Riley Blackthorne is a teenage demon trapper in a near-future Atlanta, Georgia that is aware of its demon population. She is sent to the house of a client in need of her demon trapping abilities. The demon is the most innocuous kind and really just looks like a Brownie, in faerie terms. It pees everywhere, curses, and she does something to make it sleepy, then takes off with it. Then, it wakes, gets free of its confines, and nearly causes Riley to crash her car.

The plot is rather mundane, although a couple of characters, the retro-hippie clients, were hilarious. Seriously channeling The Grateful Dead. That alone kind of saves me from giving this a lesser star rating. Still, I'm most likely going to pass on this novel series (The Demon Trappers) because I need something more intriguing to entice me to read it.

My score: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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

Review: "Hunted" by Lindsay Buroker

"Hunted" (The Flash Gold Chronicles, #2)

by Lindsay Buroker

Genre: Steampunk/Adventure

Reading Grade: Adult (short story/novella)

Publishing Type: self-published

Publication Date: August 12, 2011

Source: Kindle store

Age Rating: 13+

Amazon |

Self-taught tinkerer Kali McAlister is determined to build an airship and escape the frigid Yukon forever. Unfortunately, she’s the heir to the secrets of flash gold, an alchemical energy source that tends to make her a popular target for bandits, gangsters, and pirates.

With the help of her bounty-hunting business partner, Cedar, Kali has outwitted and eluded attackers before, and she thinks she’s prepared for anything. Then her ex-fiancé strolls into her workshop.

As if fooling her once wasn’t enough, he aims to embroil her in a fresh scheme. Meanwhile, a new nemesis is stalking her, a shrouded figure with an arsenal of deadly machines that make Kali’s inventions seem like toys. This time, it’ll take more than her ingenuity and Cedar’s combat skills to survive. 

My Review

She does it again—Lindsay does some more awesome! In this sequel to “Flash Gold,” Kali and Cedar are working together and splitting their earnings 50/50, while both striving to achieve very different goals. Kali wants to get out of town in a self-made airship, which she hasn't been able to build yet, and Cedar wants to kill the man he's been tracking since the first story. But, Kali's lovely former fiance strolls into town and shakes things up a bit.

It's fun to finally meet Sebastian, the jerk that broke Kali's heart, and see how idiotic this guy is, especially when he meets Cedar. Sebastian becomes the reason the plot progresses, as Cedar wants to use him as bait to get closer to his target. Unfortunately, Kali has to go along for this journey, and that pans out poorly for her. But, another enemy is targeting Kali as they travel to Sebastian's claim, so they spend a good amount of time running for their lives.

Kali and Cedar really get to know each other better in this story, and get to explore the possibility of a budding romance. I won't say too much about that since it should be experienced by the reader. By the end, there is still much potential for them to get together. But, will either of them accomplish their individual goals? Will they have to separate someday, as a result?

“Hunted” continues the action and excitement of “Flash Gold,” and simply takes it further with the main characters and their relationship. These stories could go on forever and they'd always make some progress. I can't wait to read novella number three!

My score: 5 out of 5 stars.

Hurry over to Smashwords.com to get "Flash Gold," the first novella in this series for FREE!

Smashwords link