Let's Talk: What I want more of from the books I read

Question: What do you want to see more of from the genres you read?

I read a lot of different genres, as anyone who regularly reads this blog will already know.  My tastes are fairly eclectic, so this is a fairly general list, though I will narrow it down so I’m only talking about fiction books! 

Definitely more strong female leads.  Anyone who regularly reads my blog will know how much I enjoy reading about a good, strong female lead.  Good examples are Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Yeine Arameri from The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N K Jemisin and my personal childhood idol, Alana of Trebond from Tamora Pierce’s Songs of the Lioness.  I don’t want to read about girls who need their men in order to do anything – I don’t think I know anyone like that in real life, and I hate reading about whiny women.

Realistic Reactions.  Okay, one of my biggest bug bears in a lot of books that that the characters don’t seem to react in any sort of realistic way when something happens.  Examples?  When a female character has a breakdown over another character she barely knew, a timid, shy character becomes suddenly outspoken, a character with no experience of battle suddenly concocts the war-winning plan… yeah, exactly.  I admit, some of those weren’t reactions, and yes, I can handle unlikely events (they often make for good plot twists) but really?

Singular Love interests.  I think one of the most read posts on my blog was my post about Love Triangles.  I’ve read about enough of them.  I outlined all my problems with love triangles in that last post, I don’t need to do it again.  And whilst I’m at it – what’s with all the instalove lately?  Just set up a love interest, and stick to it.

Really good villains.  Sometime what ruins a book (especially a fantasy novel) for me is when the villain is half baked.  It’s fine if they’ve got something against a certain group, but to make me really understand them I need to know why.  What makes them tick.  I quite like villain-back-story, it gives me more depth, and I’d definitely like to see more of it. 

There are probably more, but I’m just not thinking clearly right now.  What about everyone else?  What do you want to see more of?    

Feature and Follow Friday!

This week's questions is...

Do you read one book at a time or do you switch back and forth between two or more?  

Oh, I’m one hundred percent a one-book-at-a-time person.  Even if I try reading two or more books at once, I inevitably end up favoring one, so it really tends to turn into me only reading one book at a time anyway!

Book Review: Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott

Title: Daughter of the Flames

Author: Zoe Marriott

Publisher/format: Kindle Edition

How I got this:  Purchased

Challenges: 2012 YA Reading Challenge, 2012 ebook challenge

Synopsis (From Goodreads.com):

What if your deadliest enemy were the only one who could save you?

Inside an ancient temple in the mountains, fifteen-year-old Zira trains in the martial arts to become a warrior priestess who can defend the faith of the Ruan people. Bearing a scar on her face from the fire that killed her parents, the orphaned Zira is taught to distrust the occupying Sedornes. Terror strikes when the forces of the tyrannical Sedorne king destroy the only home she knows. To survive, Zira must unravel the secrets of her identity, decide her people’s fate — and accept her growing feelings for a man who should be her enemy.

Review:

Okay, so it’s been a long time since I initially got this one, which was back at Christmas during the Kindle Sale.  I basically got it because it was cheap, the cover was kind of cool, and the synopsis sounded pretty good, but there was always something else I wanted to read more.  However, now I’ve read it, I wish I’d got to it sooner – this story was a lot better than I thought it would be. 

The story is set in an Asian or maybe Indian kind of culture called Ruan, which has been invaded by another culture – the Sedorne -  and is now ruled by a tyrannical leader.  As a result, the Rua people are angry, repressed and looking for some sort of saviour, probably in the form of the various resistance groups there are in the country.

Zira is a young girl of fifteen who has been brought up in the House of God, and is training to be a namoa, or priestess.  Until this point, she’s only really worried about what kind of namoa she will be designated to be, and her ambition is to be a fighting namoa.  However, Zira isn’t as normal as she seems, she’s actually Princess Zahira (and really, that’s made fairly obvious from the beginning) the last of the Royal Elfenesh line of Ruan.  Luckily for her, the current King thinks she died in the fire that killed the rest of her family.  However, that doesn’t last long, and she’s suddenly swept on a dangerous quest to reinstate her family on the throne of Ruan. 

Basically, this story has a little bit of everything.  It’s got the typical fantasy elements, a good hero (heroine in this case), a well-written villain, an amount of mystery, good world building as well as some sort of quest to solve.  There’s also some fairly nice romance in this, though I do understand why some people had an issue with a sixteen year old girl being married to an older man (although he was only early twenties). 

I have to admit though, I thought I’d like Zira/Zahira a lot more than I did.  I somehow thought she’d be a lot more kick-butt than she was, and I never really felt that I connected with her.  Also, some of her decisions seemed to be a little out of character, and I never really knew what to expect.  I was also expecting a lot more martial arts than there actually were in the book, but I think that might have just been me.  Basically, I didn’t feel like I knew her enough to really get behind her at the end of the book, which was a shame.  That said, there wasn’t anything wrong with her as a character, for me, she just felt a tad underdeveloped. 

I have to admit, I liked Sorin.  He seemed like a genuinely nice  guy, though it was a little odd for him to feel so indebted to Zira for one act of heroism, and their marriage seemed a bit strange to me at first.  I mean, I see it was borne out of necessity, but still – Zahira was only sixteen at the time.  Would the average guy ask a sixteen year old girl to marry him?  That said, I’m guessing you could argue it was part of the culture/time that the book was set in, and in that context it may make a lot more sense.  He definitely grew on me, though, and by the end I think he might have been my favourite character. 

As for the King, he was definitely a good villain.  Whilst I didn’t understand all of his motives, I suppose this could be because he want meant to be a little off-centre.  I admit, I’d like to have understood them more, but the fact that I didn’t did make him pretty unpredictable, and actually, that worked out fairly well for the way the character was portrayed.  I do wish there had been more of him, maybe more background and such, in the book, but in general, he was well-written and easy to dislike.  I also liked the fact that at some points I ended up feeling pity for him – for me that was a sign of how well-written the whole thing was.

I’m really curious as to where the next book in this series will go, though I only have to wait until June to find out.  This book could definitely be read as a standalone – and I think the subsequent book is actually going to be just set in Zira and Sorin’s world.  I have to admit, I’m almost a little sad about that, because I kind of wanted to know more about Zira/Zahira and Sorin.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but there were just a couple of things that would have made it even better for me.  Recommending this for those who love fantasy, or just a good love story.

Overall rating: 4/5

Writing:  5/5

Originality:  4/5

Characters: 4/5

My Enjoyment: 4/5

Top Ten Tuesdays - Top ten books I'd play Hooky With

Top Ten Tuesdays is a feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish.  This week’s theme is top ten books I’d play hooky with. 

I have to admit, I had to look up what paying hooky meant (I’d seriously never heard the term before!) but apparently it’s more or less a list of books I’d skip work/uni to be reading.  For me, that’s more or less any book (left to my own devices I’ll read constantly) but these are the top ten that I really couldn’t put down.  I’m also having a massive cheat, and using loads of whole series, but really, it might be necessary to keep me occupied for a whole day!

1.  The Name of the Wind/The Wise Man’s Fear by Parick Rothfuss.

Yes, these books pretty much swallowed me whole, I was lost for the few days it took me to read both of them (yes, both).  I got totally swallowed into the world Rothfuss has created, and would have been useless on going to work anyway. 

2.  The Harry Potter series by J K Rowling

For me, reading about Harry, Ron and Hermione is kind of like meeting up with some old friends.  It’s probably because I grew up with these books, but yes, ding that again would totally be worth skipping work.

3.  The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa

I loved these books so much, and who wouldn’t want to go back to the Nevernever again rather than going to work?

4.  The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

Again, I could totally get lost in these.  I literally read them all back to back, in about 4 days, and I could totally happily do it again. 

5.  Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I never thought I’d be so keen to go revisiting books primarily about cyborgs, but Miss Meyer totally proved me wrong on that one.  I really did love this book far too much. 

6.  Magic Study by Maria Snyder

I haven’t actually read this one yet, but I’m really excited to after reading Poison Study near Christmas.  It’d definitely be worth a day off to be able to read it!

7.  Red Phoenix by Kylie Chan

Yes, I’m trying to finally catch up on all the series I’ve started and not yet finished!  And again, this would probably be worth a day off to sit down and read. 

8.  Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This is definitely one of my favourite summertime reads – spring/summer is definitely the right time to read contemporary, and this one definitely fits the bill – I loved it.

9.  Divergent by Veronica Roth

I haven’t read this yet, but a day off with this and Insurgent, when it comes out, would probably be pretty awesome, because I’ve been hearing fantastic things about this book.

10.  The Demon Cycle by Peter V Brett

Again, a series with  a world so complete I could go and get lost!

So what are everyone elses’ Top Tens this week? 

Book Review - Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher/format: Hodder, Paperback

How I got this:  Purchased

Challenges: 2012 YA reading challenge

Synopsis (From Goodreads.com):

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that one love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Review:

I’m going to admit, at first, I felt like I was going to be incredibly underwhelmed by this book.  The first hundred pages kind of dragged for me, it felt like it was going to be incredibly similar to Matched by Ally Condie (which I wasn’t overly keen on) and the Lena just didn’t appeal to me as a character.  My main problem was that it was a big set up of the rules of society, and a lot of descriptions of Lena following them, or that’s how it felt for me. 

However, as the book went on, my opinion changed. 

This book is set in a time when the United States of America have closed their borders completely, and everyone lives in approved compounds or cities.  Why?  Because they’re protecting their citizens against what they believe is the most deadly of all diseases – Love.  Of course, a cure has been found, and those who are cured live simple lives void of strong emotions, and live as their government tells them to, down to what jobs they will take, and how many children they will have.  Only a few disobey this – the Invalids – and are not recognized by society, and live illegally in The Wilds – or areas outside the perimeter fence that encircles the approved areas.

The story follows Lena, a girl who has grown up under the care of her Aunt Carol following the death of her mother – which was caused by Love after the cure failed on her.  Because of this, Lena can’t wait to be cured herself, and for years has been counting the days until her eighteenth birthday – at which time the brain is advanced enough to (probably) survive being cured. 

That’s all fine, until Lena meets Alex, and suddenly, curing Love is one of the last things she wants.

I really did want to like this book before I even started reading it.  A lot of other people have enjoyed it, and I’ve had it recommended to me on several occasions.  I have to admit, this particular cover didn’t do a lot for me, though I’ve seen other editions with better covers. 

To me, the premise sounded really interesting – the idea that love is a disease.  I think that was described particularly well, and the explanations for why people believe love to be so dangerous are actually pretty good, even if the concept seems ridiculous in the present. 

I also liked the attention to detail – such as the snippets from The Book of Shhh and other texts at the beginnings of chapters – for me it really helped bring the world alive, and really, if a dystopian is going to work for me, the world building has to be pretty good.  This was definitely done in this novel. 

As I’ve said, I wasn’t really keen on Lena as a character to begin with.  She was to much of a goody-goody, and I was seriously hoping that Hanna wasn’t going to carry her throughout the novel.  Luckily, this didn’t happen, and by the end of the book I found myself really rooting for Lena, and glad that she really found herself and her own opinion. 

Alex, for me, was a good leading male.  he had everything – he was sweet, mysterious enough to keep my interest, and he seemed smart and knowledgeable, especially in comparison to Lena.  Getting to know Alex well was definitely one of the turning points in the novel for me, and I liked the way his character influenced Lena’s, and somehow made her a lot better, and a lot more realistic. 

Of course, I’m a sucker for a good love story, and this definitely did it for me – forbidden love, and following your heart rather than what society deems to be okay.  I liked the fact that Lena actually had reservations about heading into the wilds, no matter how much Alex meant to her – to me, that seemed realistic, and it didn’t have any sort of aspect of instalove, which always bothers me. 

So overall, I enjoyed this book, but the first hundred pages or so really did make me wonder whether I’d actually end up enjoying it, and that was what lowered the score for me.  However, this one’s something I’d recommend to anyone who hasn’t read it yet, enjoys dystopia, or enjoys a good love story – it was definitely worth persevering with. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Writing: 5/5

Originality: 3/5

Characters: 4/5

My Enjoyment: 4/5

Feature and Follow Friday!

Q: What is the longest book you've read? What are your favorite 600+ page reads?

Oh wow, this is fairly difficult, because I read a lot of epic fantasy books, and those can get fairly lengthy.  I have no idea which would have been the longest book I’ve ever read, but I can definitely give favourites! 

Favourites

Definitely any of the later Harry Potter books!

The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

The Mistborn books by Brandon Sanderson

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

Long TBR Pile

Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks

A few of the Game of Thrones series

What are everyone else’s? 

The Hunger Games Movie!

So, having literally just got back from the Hunger Games Movie advance showing that I bullied The Bookish Ex into taking me to see, I have to say, I’m thoroughly impressed.

I was ridiculously excited about going to see the movie, hence going on preview evening.  I was really curious to see how they’d manage to adapt a book which had so much going on, and a lot of levels of depth, into something that would work as a movie, and how well it would translate for people who hadn’t read the book. 

It was also interesting for me, because I’ve only recently read the books myself (and fallen ridiculously in love with them), whereas The Bookish Ex hasn’t read them at all, so between us we were able to get both perspectives pretty easily. 

Firstly, I was impressed at the cast.  I think they were done pretty damn well.  A lot of people have criticized the casting of Peeta and Gale, but I didn’t actually mind the actors they used.  I thought Katniss especially was done perfectly, and I loved the costume design on the people from the Capitol – especially Effie Trinkett. 

Secondly, I was impressed with how much of the detail from the books they managed to cram into a film which wasn’t (or didn’t feel, at least) butt-numbingly long.  Of course, I knew the characters beforehand having read the books, but The Bookish Ex was able to come out enthusiastically asking me about various characters, and really seemed to have a good sense of what they were like and how they fitted into the story.  He also wanted to know ten-dozen things about the world, which sort of suggests there wasn’t the detail in that respect, but he assures me that he will be borrowing my copy of the books to find out more, and that the film was understandable and coherent without having read the books. 

Basically, we both enjoyed ourselves, and I was pleased to find that the movie didn’t actually deviate much from the plot in the books. 

I really, really enjoyed this film, and as I’ve said, it encouraged The Bookish Ex to read the books (and he normally point blank refuses anything YA, or that he thinks might be girly), so I’m hoping it’ll introduce a whole bunch of other new (and maybe unlikely) readers! 

Book Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Scorpio Races

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher/format: Scholastic, Paperback

How I got this:  Purchased

Challenges: 2012 YA challenge

Synopsis (From Goodreads.com):

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.

Some riders live.
Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

Review:

This book really and honestly wasn’t what I thought it would be – it was actually a lot better.  What I was expecting was basically a book that centered around horses, maybe even written for equestrian-inclined people, with a slight paranormal element being that these horses happen to be water horses.

What the book is actually about can almost be summed up in three words:  Man Eating Horses. 

The Scorpio Races are an annual event in Skarmouth, a town perched on the island of Thisby.  Every year in November, the water horses make their way out of the sea onto the island, and that’s the only place in the world where that happens.  Local people have made a tradition out of catching these horses, and training them to ride – however, the horses are dangerous, and the ocean always calls to them to return - whether someone is riding them at the time or not.

Traditionally, only men ride in the races – until circumstance leads Kate ‘Puck’ Connelly to enter.  

Obviously, there are perils to riding these water horses, and many people are injured or killed whilst trying to lure them away from the ocean, taming and riding them, and of course, during the race itself.  The descriptions of the accidents and damage caused by the capaill uisce were really quite brilliant – horrific and brutal, but beautiful at the same time.  As a reader, I started to gain a sort of respect for people like Sean, who treat the horses with the respect they deserve, and for this community who live around the threat all the time.  

In all honesty, I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would.  The further I got into the story, the more I realized it was less about the Capaill Uisce (water horses) and more about Puck and Sean (the main characters) finding themselves, and their place on the island.  It read for me almost like a coming of age story – full of discoveries for both characters about themselves, each other, and life in general.  

I also enjoyed Puck's struggle to ride in the races at all - it's no secret that I prefer my female leads to be feisty rather than helpless, and that's definitely covered in this book.  Puck's fight for equal standards is also well written - along with the closed-mindedness of the island's men, and the way she gets treated for wanting to be one of them.  I also liked the way that Sean backs her up, and the obvious change in his feelings for her from a sort of grudging feeling through to genuine care.  The romance aspect between them was also tackled well, taking into account that they're both fairly difficult characters and can both be somewhat disagreeable.     

As main characters, Sean and Puck were everything that main characters (in my opinion) should be.  They're strong and interesting enough to keep the reader interested, and they deal with the struggles in their own unique ways.  As I've mentioned, the dynamic between them is very well done - I was definitely invested in what would happen to them next by the end of the book.  

Basically, this book was incredibly well written – there’s not anything negative I can say about that.  The descriptions of the people and places of Thisby reminded me somewhat of rural Cornwall, or perhaps moreso of a Scottish island or something.  The descriptions used are tangible – you can more or less see and hear everything the characters do, and that somehow makes it all the more enjoyable. 

The world building is really very good – the closed community on the island was well-portrayed, as was the sense of community.   

It was really nice to read a standalone for a change, though if this ever did become part of a series, I’d definitely read more. 

Recommended for older teens plus due to violence, and also recommended to people who (like me) don’t think they like books about horses.  This book will change your mind. 

Overall rating: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Originality: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

My Enjoyment: 5/5

Top Ten Tuesdays - Spring TBR list!

Top Ten Tuesdays is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week’s theme is top ten books on my Spring TBR list.

As some of you will know, my TBR pile is currently ridiculous, and I’m trying not to buy any more books until I’ve worked my way through the ones I have.  However, I’m going to write this list as if that’s not the case, and these are all books I want to get my hands on this Spring! 

1.  Scarlet by A C Gaughen

Those of you who have read this blog before will know I’m fascinated with the story of Robin, Hood, and I love it when they have a twist – so the idea of Wil Scarlet being a girl really appeals to me – however, I can’t justify spending out on the hardback at the moment, and even the kindle version is about £8 (or it was when I last checked!).  Maybe as a pre-holiday treat to myself?

2.  The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

It’s no secret how much I loved The Iron Fey, and I’m really hoping this will be as good as it sounds.  Plus, I’ve never read a book about a vampire apocalypse before – hence it sounds even more intriguing!

3.  Fever by Lauren DeStefano

I liked Wither a lot more than I thought I would, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next.  Also, I need to actually start getting myself up together with all the series I’ve started, so this would help with that!

4.  Legend by Marie Lu

I’ve been having a real dystopian-love phase right now, and I’ve heard some really awesome things about this one.  Really looking forward to getting onto buying/reading it! 

5.  The Selection by Kiera Cass

Yes, more dystopian!  The cover for this one looks really, really pretty, and the premise sounds interesting.  Really looking forward to this one coming out! 

6.  Katana by Cole Gibsen

Another of my little literary fascinations – anything and everything set in Japan, and/or about samurai/ninjas.  Plus this one will count towards the DAC, which I’m behind on already.  Oops.

7.  Red Phoenix by Kylie Chan

Keeping with the theme, this is the second in a series I started back near Christmas, and I’m ready to find out what happens next!

8.  Divergent by Veronica Roth

And yet more dystopian.  Again, heard amazing things, know the second book is coming out soon, and very excited to get onto reading this!

9.  Magic Study by Maria V Snyder

Another series I’ve started and not finished, and really, really want to! 

10.  Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Again, a newer release that looks really exciting!

So what are everyone else’s top tens? 

Book Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Title: Everneath

Author: Brodi Ashton

Publisher/format: Simon & Schuster, Paperback

How I got this:  Purchased

Challenges: 2012 YA Challenge, 2012 Debut Euthor Challenge

Synopsis (From Goodreads.com):

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen. As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

Review:

Firstly, I am totally in love with the cover of this one – I’m a complete sucker for the current trend of pretty dresses on book covers.  Obviously, there’s also been a lot of hype around this book lately, and that’s usually a good sign, and so I had to buy it. 

Firstly, I’ll start with the parts of this book that really worked for me.  Firstly, it was the way the book was written.  The prose flowed well, and it made the book enjoyable and easy to continue reading throughout.  Also, in the same sort of way, the book really manages to tackle some emotional topics, and do it well, without getting too overemotional or skimming the details.  For example, there’s everything in here from young love, to heartbreak, to the death of Nikki’s mother and back again, and I felt that each part was tackled well.  The stand-out scene for me in terms of emotions has to be when Nikki hears her Dad talking to her Mother – it was one of those bittersweet book moments. 

I also loved Jack – typical knight in shining armor type adoration here, but there you have it.  For me, he was a much better written character than I felt Cole was, and I liked the way he gravitated towards Nikki.  I also like how they had enough backstory that there was definitely no chance of instalove, which as some of you know, I don’t particularly enjoy.

I also liked the ways that the author tried to tie different mythologies together – for example, the links to both the Greek and Egyptian legends about the underworld, and recognizing the similarities between the stories within them.  I think it was a fairly ambitious thing to do to try and mix them both up, and manage to pull off a modern day retelling to boot, but clearly the subject was well-researched, and it pretty much worked. 

So far this sounds like a very good review, and I expect some people will have noticed that whilst I’ve been positive, this one didn’t get a five star rating, but a firm four.

There are a few reasons for that.  One was the pacing of the book.  At some points time seemed to be moving along slowly, with several parts of the story told in the same week, or same month, and at other times it jumped ahead, skipping large parts of time.  I mean, I understand that that was to keep the story moving along at a good pace, and not make it ridiculously long, but I sometimes felt a little like I’d missed large parts myself, because they just weren’t there.

Also, there was no description, really, given to her Dad and brother about where she’d actually been.  I know for a fact that my mother would have gone mad, and asked at least a thousand questions – it just felt like a bit of a hole to me, but I think I’m the only one with this niggle! 

Similarly, there wasn’t enough depth for me given on how the Queen works, or how the Feed works.  I mean, I understand that this is going to be part of a series, so it’ll probably come up later, but still. 

That all said, overall I enjoyed this book, there were just a couple of things that stopped it getting the top rating.  However, overall this was a very good debut, and I’d recommend it to both people who like contemporary fiction and those who enjoy paranormal books. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Writing: 5/5

Originality:  4/5

Characters: 3.5/5

My Enjoyment: 4/5

Let's Talk: Favourite Series'

Let's Talk is a feature hosted by I Swim for Oceans.

Question: What series do you absolutely love, or can't get of?

There are a lot of series that I completely love.  I mean, I enjoy a good stand-alone novel, and I admit, I don’t tend to read series books one after the other, sometimes I like a break in between.  And I know there are some series’ which really shouldn’t have been series’, and of course, spin-off series (I stand by my view that they’re rarely good, more of a fan service, really).  I also have a horrible habit of starting a series, and then forgetting about it.

That all said, there’s nothing like getting a new book, and revisiting a world you’ve already fallen in love with – it’s kind of like slipping on your comfy slippers and settling in for the duration. 

I think one of my all-time favourite series’ has to be the Harry Potter series.  Unoriginal, yes, but true nonetheless.  I feel I grew up with these books, and I’ll always love them.  I think my personal favourite has to be The Chamber of Secrets, and in terms of characters, I will always love The Weasley twins. 

I also really loved The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan, which was 12 books long.  Admitted, it was split into several trilogies for different parts of the main character’s life, but it was all essentially the same story, so I’m not sure if that was actually necessary. 

I should also profess my love here for The Hunger Games (movie next week – I am so excited!)  I didn’t think it’d be something I enjoyed, but I literally ended up reading them back-to-back, which as I’ve said it unusual for me.  

And obviously, I completely loved The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa.  I'm definitely Team Ash, and whilst I'm sad it ended, the ending was definitely good for me.

I admit, I have a list on my desktop of series I’ve started and not finished – maybe I should make that into a book challenge – the series-clear-out challenge?  What do you guys think? 

Feature and Follow Friday!

Q: What is the best book you’ve read in the last month? What is the worst book you’ve read in the last month?

Hmm, the best book I’ve read in the last month has to be The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa, though it’s a pretty close run thing, especially as Graceling by Kristin Cashore was a potential choice, too.  I think it was just an ideal ending to a story that totally captured my imagination, though I held off forever on reading it because I didn’t want to leave the Nevernever! 

The worst book literally only just qualifies, as I finished it exactly a month ago, according to Goodreads.  It was Fury of Fire by Coreene Callahan.  It was a PNR about ‘dragonkind’ and yeah, it was full of plot holes, and I never really liked or bonded with any of the characters. It just didn't do it for me.  

What are everyone else's choices?

Book Review: Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks

Title: Shadow’s Edge

Author: Brent Weeks

Publisher/format: Orbit, Paperback

How I got this:  Borrowed

Synopsis (From Goodreads.com):

Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin's life. The Godking's successful coup has left Kylar's master, Durzo, and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends, and new profession.

But when he learns that Logan might actually be alive and in hiding, Kylar is faced with an agonizing choice: will he give up the way of shadows forever and live in peace with his new family, or will he risk everything by taking on the ultimate hit?

Review:

Firstly, I should point out that my review for the first book in this trilogy, The Way of Shadows can be found here.

Well, let’s just say that whilst I enjoyed the first book, I think I enjoyed this one a whole lot more.  I thin that’s because the first book really is the beginning of the story, telling of how Azoth/Kylar’s upbringing brought him to do the things he did, and end up being the apprentice of Durzo Blint, the most famous “wetboy” (read as high caliber assassin) in all of Cenaria. 

However, this book jumps straight in where the last book left off – Cenaria is in disarray, having been invaded by the Khalidoran’s, who seem to be a war-hungry, mainly unpleasant bunch.  Kylar, however, is leaving Cenaria behind, and heading to Caernarvon, a city a fair distance away, with Elene and Uly, intending to start a new life, and live as a herb specialist.  He’s agreed to give up being a wetboy, despite having bonded with the ka’kari, an artifact which makes him more dangerous/indestructible than ever.  The reason?  Elene.  She’s fundamentally a good person, and she wants the three of them to live a good life.  Kylar agrees that he wouldn’t want Uly living under the shadow of his profession, and he loves Elene, so he tries.

Only, that sort of thing can only last so long, especially when he hears that his best friend growing up, and the rightful King of Cenaria, Logan Gyre, is still alive.  Kylar ends up returning to his old profession and his old home city, and doing what he does best under the shadow of the war.

As with the last book (and a lot of books within the fantasy genre) this is simultaneously told through the point of view of several characters, which leads to the reader knowing what everybody is doing at any given time.  I know I enjoy that, but sometimes I did feel a bit lost, especially when new characters, or seldom mentioned characters were brought up.  However, generally, I was fairly invested in the various characters, so this wasn’t an issue.  I also liked how the characters had different voices throughout, and I have to say, I really enjoyed reading the sections on Vi – a character I’d never really considered before. 

I also enjoyed the pacing of this book – it moved fast.  There was always something happening to someone, and at no point did I really feel things were particularly dragging.  Even the sections written about Kylar experimenting with his newfound powers were interesting, because the idea of the ka’kari were only really brought up at the end of the last book, so the reader knew as little about them as the characters themselves. 

As for the ending of this book – without spoiling anything – there are cliffhangers, so many cliffhangers.  I really want to know what happens next, but I need to wait until I can borrow the next book from The Bookish Ex, so I[‘m thinking something short and easy to read in the meantime! 

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Writing: 5/5

Originality:  4/5

Characters: 5/5

My Enjoyment: 5/5

Top Ten Tuesdays - Paranormal Love Stories

Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly feature hosted by the people over at The Broke and the Bookish.  This week’s theme is Top Ten X Genre Books, and I’m filling that gap with Paranormal Love Story Books.  (Makes a change from fantasy-based lists, huh? Also, I’m counting anything more or less in this – romances with vampires, shifters, fey, yeah, anything out of the norm)

1.  The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

I know this one's a pretty YA one, but it definitely has the love story element down.  I completely loved this series, and I have to admit,I'm pretty excited that Kagawa is tackling vampires next - will be picking that up pretty quick!

2.  City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I liked this book a whole lot more than I thought I would, and whilst I'm probably one of the few who hasn't yet read all the books in this series, I'm excited to see where this goes... just as soon as I've got my TBR pile down low enough!

3.  Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Again, I liked this series more than I thought I would.  After Twilight I was pretty sure I was all vampire'd out, but this proved to be a nice easy read that I ended up thoroughly enjoying!

4.  Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

I admit, I've turned into a real Beth Fantaskey fan, even if these books are firmly a younger YA read.  This one's right up there because I liked the storyline, even if the characters didn't grab me as much as they might have done.  

5.  Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

This one is just a fun read.  There's a nice little love story in there, but I generally recommend the book - so glad I picked this one up when it was on offer on Amazon!

6.  White Tiger by Kylie Chan

This is one of those books I don't see on enough lists - maybe because it came out ages ago, but I really enjoyed the links back to Chinese mythology, and I'm interested to see where the romance element of this will go.  Of course, there are adequate action scenes to keep me interested too!

7.  Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

 There's definitely a soft spot in my heart for the Sookie Stackhouse novels, though I'm the first to admit I'm not up-to-date on them!  

8.  Wicked Lovely by Marissa Marr

I liked this - it was no Iron Fey for me, as I read that first, but it was a nice different take on fairies.  I don't like fairy stories in which the fey are adorable, helpless things, and they're definitely not in this one!

9.  Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark side by Beth Fantaskey

Yes, another Fantaskey book.  This one's definitely a very mild romance, clearly aimed at the younger audience, but I found it enjoyable, as well as the sequel.  Definitely not a bad read if you want to relax with something easier, but nonetheless enjoyable.

10.  Blood Warrior by H D Gordon

Kick butt vampires is about all I have to say here, along with the fact I'm looking forward to the second one in the series, again waiting for my TBR to be down enough!

So what are everyone else's top tens?  Any suggestions for more PNR reading for me?

Feature and Follow Friday!

Okay guys, I thought I'd finally have a go at this one, which is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee.

Q: Have you ever looked at book's cover and thought, This is going to horrible? But, was instead pleasantly surprised? Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

 I read a lot of  fantasy books, so I've kind of learned not to judge books by their covers!  One fairly good example is The Kinshield Legacy by K C May.  I know the cover has been changed now, but this was the cover when I read it - though it turned out to be a brilliant series, and I was so glad I'd read it in the end!  It's a bit of a typical epic fantasy, complete with magic, reluctant King, and an epic quest that only Gavin, the main character, can solve - and it was completely up my street because of it.  I more or less read the book in one sitting! 

Book Review: Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

Title: Jekel loves Hyde

Author: Beth Fantaskey

Publisher/format: Harcourt Children’s Books, Hardback

How I got this:  Purchased

Challenges: 2012 YA challenge.

Synopsis (From Goodreads.com):

Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents rules; especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father's office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be the key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.

To improve her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen's sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill's accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything, even Tristen's love just for the thrill of being . . . bad.

Review:

Since reading Jessica’s Guide and Jessica Rules… I’ve become quite a fan of Beth Fantaskey, though I have to admit I wasn’t too sure about the premise of this one.  I could forsee a very goody-goody character, and a very violent pushy character, and yeah, the whole mental scenario just wasn’t working so well for me.  I was also worried given how I loved the classic novel this was based on, and basically didn’t want to ruin it for myself. 

Thankfully, this book wasn’t anything like what I’d thought, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was in Fantaskey’s usual easy-to-read style, and sucked me right in, I literally found myself doing the whole “just one more chapter” thing, which was made easier by the fact that the chapters in this are really very short, as they are in the other two books. 

For me, this was a really fun twist to the familiar lore of the classic novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which was a book I loved when I read it anyway.  That said, I don’t think you’d need to have read it in order to see where it fits in with this story, or for this story to make sense – it’s not one of those books. 

In terms of the characters, I liked Jill and Tristen for being interesting.  I don’t think either of them were typical YA protagonists, and that was actually fairly nice.  I did think for a while that Jill was going to be a little too timid, and at times, she was for me – but I think that may also have been part of her charm for some people.  Tristen was a complex character, and I think  preferred him over Jill.  He was very flawed, but he had passion and compassion, and he was smart.  (Yes, I have a thing for smart guys).

This all said, I didn’t feel particularly ‘attached’ to either of them, though I’m not really sure why. 

In terms of the love story, it was nice that whilst it was there simmering away, it wasn’t at the forefront of the story.  Much of this focuses on the actual events, and finding a cure for Tristen’s condition as well as figuring out what happened to the missing people in both Jill and Tristen’s lives.  I appreciated that – and there was no love triangle, which made me happy! 

By the end of the book, there were lots of plot twists, and whilst I could see some of them coming, some of them genuinely surprised me, which I loved. 

Overall, this is a fun read, and definitely one for you if you’ve enjoyed Fantaskey’s other works. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Writing: 5/5

Originality:  4/5

Characters: 3/5

My Enjoyment: 5/5

Book Chat - Buzzwords and Deal Breakers

So what words make me either really want to read a book, or really not?  I think this is one of those things where I’m going to split the whole post into the good, and the bad.  (No ugly here, people, I think that’s pretty covered by the bad in this one!) 

The Good (Buzzwords)

Paladin – I just don’t know why.  The Bookish Ex hates this about me – he dislikes anything to do without Paladin’s, but I think I’ve got a thing for the idea of a real hero, someone who can be described as lawful good.  Weirdly, I really like a good villain, too, or even books written from the villain’s point of view, but yeah, Paladin’s.

Lady Knights  (Or just strong female characters)– Okay, this one’s a bit weird, and almost related to the last one.  But anyone who knows me, or my reading taste, knows I love strong female characters, but especially lady knights.  I wouldn’t call myself a feminist, I think it’s just that I read a lot of fantasy, and the genre can be somewhat male dominated at times, I just like ladies who are capable of looking after themselves, and if it happens to be a lady knight, it’s probably automatically going on the TBR pile, whether I like the rest of the synopsis or not.

Quest – you know you’ve read a few too many fantasy novels when ‘Quest’ is one of your buzzwords.   I don’t think I really need to explain this one, or why it’s here, but yeah, anything with a quest involved is bound to catch my attention. 

Anything unusual that hasn’t been done already – One of the first things I often comment on when writing a review of a book is whether anything like it has been done already or not.  I love finding books which have a novel take or a twist on something, whether it’s the world, or whether it’s a certain supernatural power – anything really, so long as it hasn’t already been done. 

The Bad (Deal Breakers)

Love Triangles – as stated in my previous post, I’ve come to seriously dislike love triangles.  They’re just plain overdone, and whilst it won’t make me put the book down, it does make me roll my eyes and sigh these days.  Especially when there’s instalove instances. 

Flat Characters – Just characters who don’t seem to have any sustenance – like, there’s no explanation for their actions, or they have very strange views and no explanation for how they managed to develop them. 

Male characters with female voices – When you’ve got one of those books that has stuff from a female character’s point of view, and a male character’s point of view, they really need to ‘sound’ different for me to stay interested.  Sometimes I pick up a book, and the male character sounds exactly the same as the female, and it’s a total turn off for me. 

Heart wrenching -  My Mum can’t understand why I don’t like watching sad movies – it’s the same reason I don’t often read sad books – I don’t like being upset, particularly.  If a whole book is described as ‘heart wrenching’ chances are I won’t pick it up, it’s just really not my thing. 

So that’s what makes me tick in books, what about you guys?