Book Review: The Gathering

TITLE: The Gathering
Book 1 in the Darkness Rising Trilogy
AUTHOR: Kelley Armstrong
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: urban fantasy, drama
PREMISE: A girl sets out to investigate her friend's death and uncovers secrets in the home town she's grown up in.
MY REVIEW: One of the things I love about Kelley Armstrong is she thinks outside the box. I don't know about anyone else but when I heard about a spin-off to Darkest Powers this totally wasn't what I was expecting. This is not a bad thing either. As a result I was interested throughout.
Granted I am not totally satisfied with stuff. I felt Armstrong could have answered stuff more because with the way she ended it I have more questions then answers but I recognize this is a first book so I'm banking on the fact that stuff will be answered in later books.
But for the most part this is Armstrongs usual strong characters, good writing, and interesting plots. Can't wait for the rest of this trilogy!
WHO SHOULD READ: Women of the Otherworld fans, Darkest Powers Trilogy fans, Mercy Thompson fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five paw tattoos

Book Review: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

TITLE: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
AUTHOR: Susanna Clarke
PUBLISHED: 2004
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Historical fantasy
PREMISE: In a world where magic is discussed but not practiced Mr. Norrell becomes a radical along with Jonathan Strange.
MY REVIEW: Okay here's the thing. I do think this is a good book. It's well written in the style of Gaiman/Pratchett, it's creative, funny at times, and has detailed world building. HOWEVER it's also REALLY SLOW.
Like painfully slow. I've never been so bored by a fantasy book in my life and I hated that because otherwise I loved everything about this but I can't give it higher marks because it just got too wrapped up in details and not enough in plot and character growth and oh yeah, making things entertaining. All the good writing in the world doesn't help you if your book is dull as rocks. Which sadly this book kind of was. There were literally ten/fifteen chapters where nothing happened.
I wish this author well in the future because I do find her writing good and creative she just needs to make her stuff more entertaining and engaging.
WHO SHOULD READ: patient readers, fans of Gaiman/Pratchett, historical fantasy fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five magic books

In My Mailbox (56)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we recieved over the week. All the links in this post go to the books Amazon page if you want more info.

From the library:
The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson-Read 13 Little Blue Envelopes and I'm very curious about what was in the last one. Hopefully it'a worth all that drama in the first book.
The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell-I read Shadowed Summer last year and loved it and having her do historical paranormal romance gives me a major happy.
Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney-I've heard next to nothing about this new series but it sounds right up my alley: magical outcasts in historical setting. I must say I'm loving this influx of historical fantasy books. Keep it up YA! Please be a new trend.
Steel by Carrie Vaughn-I really like Vaughns adult series Kitty and this one sounds so awesome: fencing girl gets sent back in time and becomes a pirate. I'm in.

That's it for me. Sorry this is so late, I had to work all day.

Book Review: A Game of Thrones

TITLE: A Game of Thrones
Book 1 in the Song of Fire and Ice series
AUTHOR: George R. R. Martin
PUBLISHED: 1996
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: fantasy, drama, adventure,
PREMISE: In a land where summers and winters can last for years a deadly game of throne politics is being played. The Stark family is in the thick of it.
MY REVIEW: This probably comes as no surprise to any regular readers of this blog. I loved the hell out of this book. It has everything I love: fascinating complex characters, court intrigue, fantastic world building, well paced plotting, no sappy love triangles, suspense, adventure, and it's even written well! Granted, the style is a bit bland and if you like your main characters full of moral fiber this definitely isn't for you. Even the most noble of the bunch cheated on his wife.
But other then those very minor issues this is a definite must read series. I don't care if you're intimidated by big books or don't like fantasy or whatever excuse you have for not picking it up yet. Read it. Now. I'll wait.
I also highly rec the TV show from HBO which was nominated (but of course virtually ignored because it's genre) for Emmys. It's a good adaptation and this is from someone who is very picky about movie/book adaptations (you would not believe how nervous I am about the Hunger Games movies. The teaser has made me hopeful though). Highly rec this book. Only thing that makes me sad is that I can't get a Direwolf because they aren't real :(
WHO SHOULD READ: Anyone inclined to read it
MY RATING: Five out of Five Stark family flags (which are black because I'm in mourning for Ned Stark)

Book Review: Silver Borne

TITLE: Silver Borne
Book 5 in the Mercy Thompson series
AUTHOR: Patricia Briggs
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Urban fantasy, shifters, faeries, vampires
PREMISE: Mercy deals with life as Adam's consort.
MY REVIEW: This series is one that started out strong for me but with these more recent books have sort of lost their sparkle. I genuinely like Mercy and I appreciate the books but honest I haven't seen much point to them lately. Especially this one I just read.
Literally nothing really happens. There's a pack squabble. Something about a book and that's pretty much it. So I have nothing new to add that I haven't said in my recent reviews of the Mercy books. Yes, the covers still irritate me despite the pretty art. I'll be reading the next one only because that's the most recent and I'm too invested to stop now but really Briggs needs to step it up a notch if she wants me to read this in the future. If River Marked doesn't deliver then I'm done with this series and won't bother with the new ones.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the first 4 Mercy books, Briggs fans, Kelley Armstrong fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five broken cars

Book Review: From Bad to Cursed

TITLE: From Bad to Cursed
Book 2 in the Bad Girls Don't Die series
AUTHOR: Katie Alender
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: horror, paranormal
PREMISE: When her sister joins a club that shoots to popularity Alexis goes undercover because she suspects the girls are asking for a little paranormal help.
MY REVIEW: Bad Girls Don't Die was a recent pleasant surprise for me that I found at the library. I really don't know why this series isn't more popular. My only explanation is there's no love triangle or romantic drama.
But I personally really dig this series. It's got decent writing, decent characters, and it's very old school horror that's reminiscent of R. L. Stines Fear Street series which was one of my favorites growing up. The author effectively uses horror to make commentary on things like the pressure girls put on each other, peer pressure, toxic friendships, etc.
Granted it's a wee bit slow and again, some may find the lack of romance boring. But I really like this series and I hope there's another book after the way the author left it.
WHO SHOULD READ: Stephan King fans, R.L.Stine fans, horror fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five singed spell books

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (1)

I decided I would try to do this meme and see how it goes. This is a weekly meme hosted over at Book Journey that tells people what we're reading over the week. All the links in this post go the book's Amazon page if you want more info.

I'm Currently reading:
A Song of Fire and Ice Book 1: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.-Currently 600 pages or so in and I hope to wrap it up this week. (adult)
Mercy Thompson Book 5: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs-I'm hoping to get caught up with this series this year. After this one more book to go! (adult)

Planned for the rest of the week:
Darkness Rising Book 1: The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong-A spin-off of Darkest Powers which is a spin-off of Women of the Otherworld. I love this universe that Armstrong has created and always look forward to reading them.
Heroes of Olympus Book 1: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan-I'm still a bit new to Percy Jackson. When this book came out I was only on book 3. So I'm hoping to get completely caught up with the books in time for Son of Neptune.
A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan-A 2011 Debut from August that looks like a dystopian retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

That's it for me this week.

Planned reviews for this week: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews (already done), Bad Girls Don't Die Book 2: From Bad to Cursed by Katie Alender, Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs, Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and if I can finally get it done Dr. Strange and Mr. Norrell by Suzanne Clarke.

TITLE: Magic Slays
Book 5 in the Kate Daniels series
AUTHOR: Ilona Andrews
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Urban fantasy
PREMISE: Kate deals with running her own business as well as being consort to Curran.
MY REVIEW: I was a bit worried after the last book ended. While I was thrilled Curran and Kate finally got together I was worried that it would lessen the books. There has been a long tradition of books/TV series getting stale once the couple everyone roots for gets together and I was afraid this would happen to the Kate Daniels series. Or that Kate would lose her independance and fiestyness now that she got her man (another long tradition in these things).
But I needed not to worry. This series is just as entertaining even though Curran and Kate are together. Kate is still herself and thus she and Curran have frequent arguements. The two don't sit there and coo at each other constantly because that's not their style. They still have vastly entertaining arguements, Kate still has her independance and is a strong female and there's still action and mysterys to solve. So no worries guys, the Kate Daniels series is still kick ass.
Granted I do think this one was a wee bit of a filler book on the way to a much bigger book coming (I think this because of the ending) but all in all still a very fun and entertaining urban fantasy series.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that have read the first four books, Kelley Armstrong fans, Patricia Briggs fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five rifle guns

In My Mailbox (55)

Sorry for lack of updates this week. I've been busy getting through A Game of Thrones (spoiler alert for the review: I frakkin love it so expect much gushing) and I've just been neglecting blogging in general this week. I'm going to try to be better this week, especially on Tumblr as it's what I call big premiere week with new seasons starting (will be watching Castle, Dancing w/the Stars, Ringer, Glee, Body of Proof, Modern Family, The Middle, Big Bang Theory, and assuming they're good: Pan Am and Terra Nova, and maybe Charlies Angels and Secret Circle for anyone interested in what's on my radar). Now, onto the part you all actually care about.

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

Downloaded to Kindle:
Chaos Walking Series Book 1: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness-I've heard so many good things so I'm pretty excited about this. It's currently 2.99 on the Kindle because they're having a massive sale that has some really good YA books in there. Go check it out!

The Talisman series Book 1: The Emerald Talisman by Brenda Pandos-Just downloading because it's free. Judging from the description this is another Twilight look-alike but I could be wrong so who knows?

From the Library:
Darkness Rising Trilogy Book 1: The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong-Love the Darkest Powers Trilogy and pretty much all Armstrong books so I'm looking forward to this one. I was going to buy it but it looks like I'll have to wait awhile so I checked it out instead and I'll buy it later.

Heroes of Olympus Book 1: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan-Finally getting around to this one because I want to be caught up in time for the Son of Neptune release. Then I need to read Throne of Fire so I'm all caught up on the Riordan books.

A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan-Sleeping Beauty retelling done dystopian style. Why didn't I think of that? Haven't heard much about this one, I hope it's not a copy of Across the Universe which it sounds like.


That's it for me. What did you get in your mailbox?

Book Review: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

TITLE: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
Book 1 in the Hannah Swensen Mystery series
AUTHOR: Joanna Fluke
PUBLISHED: 2000
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: mystery
PREMISE: A pastry store owner goes on the case when her delivery man is shot.
MY REVIEW: I honestly don't really have much to say about this series. It's a cozy mystery so all the archtypes are there: shop keeper somehow manages to solve a mystery that cops can't, unlucky in love but manages to snag at least two possible love interests by the end, family who doesn't understand her and why she doesn't find a man, owns a cat, etc. etc.
Writing was passable, mystery was sort of blah, and it all makes for a pretty forgettable and average cozy mystery series. There are currently sixteen books in this series and I suspect I could pick up the most recent one and find that none of the characters have hugely changed in any way and I wouldn't be lost. Worth a check out from the library if you're in the mood for a quick mystery that you don't have to concentrate too much on. Just be warned, it'll make you crave cookies.
WHO SHOULD READ: cozy mystery fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five cookies.