In My Mailbox (35)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we got over the week. All the links in this post go to the book's Amazon page if you want more info on them.

Downloaded to Kindle:
Switched Trilogy Book 1: Switched by Amanda Hocking-Hey, my book buying ban didn't include Kindle books. I want to see what the fuss is about especially as this author apparently just got a major book deal so I have a feeling she's going to be super popular soon. If you want to read her before she becomes Stephanie Meyer or Cassandra Clare her trilogy is currently only 99 cents each on Kindle right now.

From the library:
Warped by Maurissa Guibord-2011 book that looks cool.
Dead Beautiful Book 1 by Yvonne Woon-book from last year that I wanted to read but never got around to it but lo and behold my library finally has a copy. Yay library.

That's all I got this week. My mailboxes will probably be small for awhile as I'm on a book buying ban till I whittle down my to read pile of owned books to at least three.

Book Review: The Demon Trapper's Daughter

TITLE: The Demon Trapper's Daughter
Book 1 in the Demon Trappers series
AUTHOR: Jana Oliver
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: young adult
GENRE: angels, urban fantasy, drama, romance
PREMISE: Riley is a girl in a world of demons determined to prove that she can trap demons just as well as her father...
MY REVIEW: I'm a little split on this book to be honest. A lot of it I dug. I will also say this author has a lot of potential because if this is her first book then we're in for some great stuff down the road when her writing really improves. But again, it was a first book so there are issues. Characters are not as well fleshed out as they could be, especially the minor ones like Harper who were two-dimensional (and in Harper's case, needed to go die in a fire). Plot also sometimes dragged, there were YA tropes abound, and sometimes Riley angsted way too much. Also some of the world building was rather confusing at times.
But this series has definite promise. It's not uber fantastic yet, but I did find a lot of it intrigueing and Riley was pretty enjoyable (when she wasn't being bratty) and there are some definite mysteries that I'm curious about and look forward to solving in the future books.
Note to younger teens though: this book has lots of swearing, slight adult situations/jokes, and drinking so if you have issues with that sort of thing you may want to avoid this. But for older teens who can handle it you may enjoy this. The next book in the series comes out in Fall of this year.
WHO SHOULD READ: Buffy fans, urban fantasy fans, Holly Black fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five demon traps.

Book Review: The Iron Queen (contains spoilers)

TITLE: The Iron Queen
Book 3 in the Iron Fey series
AUTHOR: Julie Kagawa
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: Faeries, fantasy, romance, drama
PREMISE: Meghan thought she was done with the Nevernever but they aren't quite done with her yet...
MY REVIEW: I admit, I was slightly surprised at how this book ended. Not completely because from the title and previous books it was kind of obvious Meghan was going to become the Iron Queen it was just a matter of how it played out. I was surprised that the author let there be consequences though, namely that she would have to give up Ash AND Puck. I think it was pretty gutsy of Kagawa to end it the way she did because she easily could have found a way for Ash and Meghan to be together despite her being the Iron Queen but she didn't and I am kind of glad she didn't because it made it more realistic and plus, we now get more books that from the looks of things, focus more on Ash and (hopefully) Puck which I'm all for. Nothing against Meghan, but I just enjoy the Ash and Puck rivalry (or as my inner slasher calls it, the UST) more then I enjoyed the overdramatics of the Puck/Meghan/Ash love triangle.
If you've read the first two Iron Fey books, you already pretty much know what to expect from this series. Much adventure into fun faerie worlds which is much of the appeal for this series for me anyway. Lots of questing, and of course romance thrown in because it's YA. Original? Not exactly but Kagawa does spin a good story and the humor in it is fun (I LOVE Grimalkin) and she has a lot going on so that makes the books a page turner.
Honestly this book for me was a tad better then the previous two and I'm definitely now looking forward to Iron Knight which comes out in November (just in time for my birthday! I know what I'm asking for now). I highly rec this series for all fans of faerie books.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that have read the first 2 books, Wicked Lovely fans, Tithe fans, faerie book fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five faerie swords

Book Review: Changeless

TITLE: Changeless
Book 2 in the Parasol Protectorate series
AUTHOR: Gail Carriger
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: adult
GENRE: Urban fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, romance, drama, vampires, werewolves
PREMISE: London gets in an uproar when all the supernatural creatures become...not supernatural. Following clues, leads Alexia to her husbands old pack...
MY REVIEW: I fell in utter fangirl love with the Parasol Protectorate series last year and it took me awhile to get to this one but I got here and wow, I loved this just as much as the first. Carriger expands on her world building, adds in new characters (I LOVE Madame Lefoux), and there are a few surprises here and there.
I will say one twist in the ending I didn't care for mostly because I felt it was rather out of character but I trust the author has a plan. I also will admit the middle of the book sometimes dragged.
But overall this is an excellent addition to a series that is already one of my favorites in the urban fantasy genre. I can't wait to read Blameless which is sitting on my shelf right now waiting for me to get through my other books and the fourth book Heartless comes out this summer. It's one of my anticipated summer releases (along with the sequel to Insatiable by Meg Cabot, Supernaturally by Kierstan White, and too many others to name but it's going to be a good summer bookwise).
WHO SHOULD READ: Those that have read Soulless, Jane Austen fans, historical fiction fans, urban fantasy fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five of Ivy's ugly hats

Book Review: Crescendo (contains spoilers)

TITLE: Crescendo
Book 2 in the Hush Hush Trilogy
AUTHOR: Becca Fitzpatrick
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: angels, mystery, drama, romance
PREMISE: Nora breaks up with Patch and then starts to dig deeper into her father's death and uncovers secrets she's not sure she wished to know.
MY REVIEW: I confess myself pleasantly suprised once more by this. The author took this in a direction I wasn't expecting and managed to surprise me. Also, her writing has improved. Still not perfect by any means. There are YA tropes abound in this, Nora angsts over Patch way too much for my taste but at least she doesn't go around saying he's the perfect boyfriend, and sometimes the plot felt too similar to the first book. Like Fallen, this series tends to get compared to Twilight and many people say it's a rip-off and a poor one at that. Also like Fallen this is unfair. This is ten times better then Twilight Twihards, I'm sorry but that's the truth. While I don't deny there are similarities, this author is actually competant and weaves a good story.
One of the things I appreciated in this (and wasn't expecting) was Nora breaking up with Patch. Wow, a female who instigates a break up, that's new. Granted, I didn't care for her wishy-washiness about it and overdramatics afterword but I at least understood where she was coming from and it was nice seeing a girl go "hey, we're kind of in a messed up spot right now and even if we're not what future do we have anyway?" Another pleasant surprise for me was the Marcie feud subplot. In the first I found Marcie to be a horribly 2-dimensional mean girl, but Fitzpatrick actually has started to give Marcie depth and I love that she pointed out that Vee and Nora are just as vicious to Marcie as she is too them so it's not a one-sided thing. I also was surprised by the way the investigation into Nora's father went. I won't give it away but it was a decent twist. I can't wait to see the repurcussions of it in the next book.
Look, I give that this trilogy isn't terribly original and Patch could definitely use some more character. But this is a hell of a lot better then Twilight people. Please stop calling it a rip-off. For that matter, please stop comparing everything to Twilight to begin with. Unless of course the book is obviously trying to market itself to Twihards then I say go for it. I personally look forward to the next book which comes out in October.
WHO SHOULD READ: Twilight fans, Fallen fans, angel book fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five angel wings

Book Review: Kitty and the Midnight Hour

TITLE: Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Book 1 in the Kitty Norville series
AUTHOR: Carrie Vaughn
PUBLISHED: 2005
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: urban fantasy, werewolves, vampires, paranormal, drama
PREMISE: Kitty unexpectantly starts a radio show that caters to the supernatural.
MY REVIEW: I confess I was pleasantly surprised by this. Due to the cover and recent burn outs in the urban fantasy genre I went into this book with low expectations. But the author surprised me a lot with this. I will say the writing isn't all that great and it had that everyone against the main character trope that I'm finding is a common theme in urban fantasy and I must say I don't particularly care for it. Also, people (not me) may be bored by the lack of romance in this book.
But Kitty herself is enjoyable. She's sassy (WITHOUT being a bitch to everyone she meets may I add) and it's great watching her gain more confidence and independance in herself. I'm sure some won't care for it but I loved the angle that the author took with the pack and abusiveness because when you really think about it, the Alpha bossing everyone around like it normally is in werewolf books kind of is abusive. It was so nice having a female wolf recognize and fight it all the way. Oh and we actually have a female with a BRAIN who cares about issues and others. Thank you.
This book is by no means brilliant but it's definitely one of the better urban fantasy books out there. I look forward to reading the rest of this series and trying out the author's YA books. She just released one this year called Steel which looks really cool.
WHO SHOULD READ: Women of the Otherworld fans, Patricia Briggs fans, Kate Daniels fans, urban fantasy fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five radio mikes

Book Review: The Devil Inside

TITLE: The Devil Inside
Book 1 in the Morgan Kingsley series
AUTHOR: Jenna Black
PUBLISHED: 2007
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Urban fantasy, paranormal
MY REVIEW: My main issue with this book which is by no means the only issue) is that I severely dislike the main character. Had I actually liked and enjoyed Morgan, I'd have given this book one more star above the one I'm about to give it. I'm sorry, if I don't like the main character it's hard for me to like the book, especially if said book is in first person POV. By all rights, I should like Morgan. She's sassy and does what she wants and yeah that's great. My problem comes from the fact that she's basically a bitch to EVERYONE. Not just bad guys or people who are mean to her (which in this book seems to be everyone for some reason) but people who are trying to help her and hell, even her supposed best friend but of course best friend turns out to be against her too so I guess that's okay? Don't get me started on her lousy treatment of her boyfriend. It's bad when you want the boyfriend to dump the MC. It didn't help that honestly she didn't have much strength and guts to back up her bitchiness. She practically has all the men she hangs out with do the tough stuff for her and frankly beyond the bitchiness there was no personality to speak of.
Then there's the constant sex scene in every other chapter, the semi-abusive relationship that was Adam and his boyfriend, and the random lets have everyone gang up on Morgan plot. Now I do concede if it weren't for the (poorly written) sex scenes, awful MC, and the disturbing Adam relationship I might have dug this book more. The world-building is interesting and there does seem to be some buildup going on.
Unfortunately as it stands, I don't like the character enough to give the next book a try and see if this gets any better. I must say I'm disappointed too because I bought this author's YA book Faeriewalker before I read this. I really hope that's much better then this otherwise I'm going to be mad about the money I wasted.
WHO SHOULD READ: Anita Blake fans
MY RATING: Two out of Five demons

In My Mailbox (34)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we got over the week. All the links in this post go to the book's amazon page if you want more info.

ebooks via Net Galley:
Mercy by Rebecca Lim. From Disney Hyperion (thanks) that looks like it's an angel book and I know I said I was done with these but this one looks promising and I've had good luck with the Disney Hyperion books so I'm looking forward to reading it. It'll be released May 17th for those interested.
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab-From Disney Hyperion (thanks) that looks cool and will be released August 2nd.

Pre-Orders via Kindle:
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson.-Currently being offered for free on Kindle starting April 12th. Been meaning to check out Johnson's stuff for awhile. This seemed like the perfect oppurtunity to do so.
Wings by Aprilynne Pike-Another being offered for free on Kindle starting April 5th. Also another I've been meaning to check out for awhile and can now do so for free.

From the library:
Chime by Franny Billingsley-I practically squeeled when I saw my library had this. Been wanting to read it since I heard about it. I also believe this is a 2011 YA debut.
The Mermaid's Mirror by L. K. Madigan.-2010 book I've been meaning to read and now have the chance too.

So that's all I've got this week. What did you get in your mailbox?

Book Review: Entice

TITLE: Entice
Book 3 in the Need series
AUTHOR: Carrie Jones
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: faeries, romance, drama
PREMISE: Zara does her best to bring Nick back to the mortal world.
MY REVIEW: Some of you may recall I was enthusiastic about Need but lukewarm about Captivate. Now I'm just getting further disappointed with this series. It started off SO promising and refreshing but now it's like every other YA book series out there.
For example in the begining, Zara was independant. She was perfectly all right on her own and had goals and aspirations. Now she's all Nick, Nick, Nick twenty four seven. and frankly Nick? Not that great. Zara's mother used to be interesting but now she's basically become the two-dimensional mother from hell that I'm obviously supposed to hate and there's next to no character developement for Zara's friends or even Zara herself. Oh and once again: love triangle. Because we don't have enough of those going around. One thing I really wish the author would address (but probably won't) is the out right prejudice that Zara's friends and even Zara herself have against faeries. I kept waiting for Zara to call her friends out on it, I mean this is a girl who hates injustice, right? But never happened. Hell, she even understood why her friends suddenly don't trust her just because she's now a pixie. That just really rubbed me the wrong way.
I am not totally giving up on this series. Because maybe it'll pick up in the next. Although, I honestly thought this was the last book. But I guess not. I just hope in the next one there's actual character developement and that the author addresses some of the issues I mentioned. There are still some good things about it. I'm just getting frusterated with the lack of character stuff.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that have read the first 2 books, faerie fans, fans of Iron King, fans of Twilight
MY RATING: Three out of Five iron forks

Book Review: Sphinx's Queen

TITLE: Sphinx's Queen
Book 2 in the Nefertiti series
AUTHOR: Esther Friesner
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: Historical fiction, drama
PREMISE: Nefertiti continues her journey to becoming queen.
MY REVIEW: Okay, I liked this I really did. The writing is great as always with Friesner, the character is a refreshingly strong female, and the historical aspects were wonderful. The only problem is it was predictable. There were no surprises here so I had very little motivation to continue it other then the good writing and likable main character.
Does it make it a bad book? No. Because like I said it was good. It's just predictable and thus I really don't have much to say about this book. Other then I want another Helen of Troy book but I don't think that's going to happen. Or I want her to do another historical woman. Perhaps a english royal this time? I'd love to see her tackle any of the great women from history personally.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that have read Sphinx's Princess, historical fiction fans, fans of Tamora Pierce
MY RATING: Four out of Five sphinxs