Book Review: Magic Bites

TITLE: Magic Bites
Book 1 in the Kate Daniels series
AUTHOR: Ilona Andrews
PUBLISHED: 2007
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Urban Fantasy, mystery
PREMISE: Kate's mentor is murdered and she goes on the prowl for his killer. Only that killer leads her straight to the weres and the vampires, people she'd love to avoid.
MY REVIEW: If the Sookie Stackhouse and Buffy the Vampire Slayer series ever joined together and had a love child book series, it would probably look something like these books. Now, I'm not bashing this series, I actually quite enjoyed it. I'm just saying, that once again, it's not overly unique. Plus, sometimes the writing was a bit weak and I kept mixing up characters for some reason.
But other then those minor grievances, this is a decent series. I love Kate. She was hilarious and ninety percent of the reason I kept reading. I loved watching her and Curran butt heads (ten bucks says they wind up together in some way or form down the road). I'm also dying do find out what exactly Kate is because really, it wasn't very clear in this first one, unless I missed it? Possible, I was mixing up stuff right and left for awhile there...Plus, on top of that, we have mysteries! I love me a good mystery.
So despite some of the flaws, this series is enjoyable and a respectable addition to the urban fantasy genre (of which I seem to be reading much more of these days...). I look forward to reading more and rec this to many urban fantasy fans.
WHO SHOULD READ: Urban fantasy fans, Kelley Armstrong fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five swords

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Book Review: Enchanted Glass

TITLE: Enchanted Glass
AUTHOR: Diana Wynne Jones
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Childrens
GENRE: fantasy
PREMISE: Aidan has been having a tough time: his grandmother just died leaving him on his own and now creepy night stalkers are chasing him so he goes to see the old wizard Jocelyn like his gran told him to if he found himself in trouble. Only problem is old wizard Jocelyn just died leaving his grandson in charge instead...
MY REVIEW: I have a big bias about Diane Wynne Jones. As far as I'm concerned, she's one of those rare writers out there who simply cannot write a bad book. Occasionally she'll write something that I don't enjoy as much as her other work, but said book will still be enjoyable and I can bet there will be one or two characters I'll end up loving to death by the end of the book.
That said, Enchanted Glass...may not be Jones best work (I still think Chrestomanci Chronicles and Howls Moving Castle are her at her best) but it's still good and still enjoyable. For one I found the story kind of sweet what with Aidan finding a place he belongs and whatnot. I have a soft spot for those kinds of stories. Plus, this one is full of loveable characters. My absolute favorite was Stashe. Come on, what's not to love about a girl who's not afraid to smack around Titania, queen of the fairies or call her a cheap trollop?
That said, I found the ending a bit chaotic and abrubt but other then that, I found this to be Jone's usual quality work: unique magic worlds, well written, funny, and with engaging characters. As always with Jones I'm eager to see what she has in store for us next.
WHO SHOULD READ: Diana Wynne Jones fans, fantasy fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five wire rimmed glasses

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In My Mailbox (10)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren telling people what new books we've gotten over the week. Links go to the books Amazon page if you want more info on them.

From the Library:
Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore.-Looked interesting so I picked it up.
Vampire Kisses Series Book 4: Dance With a Vampire by Ellen Schreiber
Vampire Kisses series Book 5: The Coffin Club by Ellen Schreiber-I've sort of become addicted to this series. It's so silly but I enjoy them anyway.
Shade by Jeri Smith Ready.-Debut novel from this year I believe.

Bought:
Hunger Games Book 3: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.-Have already read and reviewed this here on this blog. I thought it was wonderful (beware if you look my review up it has some spoilers).
Vampire Academy Book 4: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead.-Trying to finish up VA in time for the sixth book's release in December.

So that's it. What did YOU get in your mailbox?

Book Review: City of Glass

TITLE: City of Glass
Book 3 in the Mortal Instruments series
AUTHOR: Cassandra Clare
PUBLISHED: 2009
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: Urban fantasy, romance
PREMISE: Valentine is on the move and is invading the glass city. Clary and her friends are now trying to fight back by getting Shadowhunters and Downworlders to work together...
MY REVIEW: As I said with City of Ashes, these books are not high literature. They are actually pretty average. But I like them anyway. The world is interesting, the characters enjoyable (yes, even Jace though I want to smack him more then once), and it's just utter silly fun. If you want a fun not horrible mindless guilty pleasure, these books fit the bill.
I will say however I found this book to be a little...lackluster? I still enjoyed it as much as the other two, don't get me wrong. But it was just so darn predictable. We knew Valentine would get defeated (it was just a matter of how and who would live, no major suprise deaths in here either other than Max), I saw the thing about Jace not really being Clary's brother coming from a mile away too. I also must say, Clare sure jumped through a lot of hurdles with that explanation, didn't she?
But again, dispite the flaws, these books are addicting fun. I look forward to Clockwork Angel which I think will really tell us Clare's writing ability because she will be dealing with different characters and historical settings. If she manages to make these characters their own people and not Jace and company version 2.0 in victorian england, then I will say she has talent instead of just potential like I have been saying before (and still say after this book because while I again see much improvement from the last two books...she's still not phenomenal). I also look forward to the Fallen books as well though not as much as Clockwork Angel because I'm dying to see Shadowhunters in victorian england ;rubs hands in anticipation;.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those who read and liked the first two Mortal Instrument books
MY RATING: Four out of Five steles

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Book Review: Mockingjay (warning: SPOILERS!)

TITLE: Mockingjay
Book 3 in The Hunger Games
AUTHOR: Suzanne Collins
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: science fiction, adventure, trilogy
PREMISE: The rebellion against the capital is in full swing and the rebels of District 13 are using Katniss as their figurehead. Only she's not sure if she trusts them, not sure if she wants to lead, is not even sure about anything really.
MY REVIEW: First (in case you missed it in the title) this review has some spoilers so don't continue reading if you haven't finished it yet. For those that have, take a moment to squee with me. Because Collins has seriously done a fantastic job on this trilogy. I love when authors do things that are not neccessarily the popular route and Collins did that with Mockingjay. For instance, she easily could have made this book all about the love triangle but she didn't (yay!), she easily could have made it so the rebels were obviously in the right, make everything black and white so to speak but she didn't. In fact, there's a big question mark if the rebels in charge of things will be better then the Capital.
Basically, this book doesn't really go the route you expect it and as I said I love that. I also highly approve of what Collins did. I'm sure people were expecting battle after battle and lots of loving with Katniss and the two suitors. But instead most of the war ends up being political and to me that makes since because really wars mostly are political (I mean look at the wars going on now if you don't believe me) and I think people forget that a lot. I also love how Collins handled the love triangle. If you must have a love triangle plot device in your books, please do it this way. I'm sure a lot of Gale fans are extremely disappointed but it could have been a lot worse. She could have totally assasinated Gale's character or Peeta's character in order to make the choice easier for Katniss but she had them both be reasonable and actually leave the choice up to her. Thank you. Granted, Gale was a bit more of an ass in this book, but considering the stressful situations they were in and whatnot...it's understandable where he's coming from even if I (and Katniss) didn't agree with it. For you Team Gale fans, I'm sorry but hey if you want a new person to ship Gale with how about Johanna? I kind of found her to be a little awesome and he did go to District 2 after, right? Just throwing that out there for all you fanfic writers to play with ;)
I would also like to take a moment and mourn some of the deaths in the book: Finnick (big sob for me there, I kind of loved him), Madge, Prim (another big sob because she was turning into an awesome person and her death just royally sucked), Cinna (still bummed about that),and even some minor characters that we got to know in the third book (I found Boggs kind of cool for instance). I would also likewise take a moment to whoop about President Snow and President Coin (who I despised by the end, particularly after she suggested another Hunger Games for the Capital children WHO HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT, sorry about the rage caps).
So to put it bluntly: this book is awesome. Very much worth the wait (though I still kind of feel this trilogy is a tad overhyped sometimes, but I feel that way about my equally beloved Harry Potter so please don't take offense to that) and an excellent trilogy all around. Can't wait to see what Collins has in store for us with whatever she writes next. While I wait, I'm going to check out her other series, The Gregor series which is a childrens series apparently.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those that have read and loved the first two books, anyone inclined to pick this trilogy up.
MY RATING: Five out of Five bow and arrows

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in August
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Book Review: Darkfever

TITLE: Darkfever
Book 1 in the Fever series
AUTHOR: Karen Marie Moning
PUBLISHED: 2006
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Urban fantasy, mystery
PREMISE: When Mac's sister is killed while she's abroad in Ireland, Mac goes on a search to find her sister's killer. What she discovers is that she and her sister are not who they thought they were and a whole world she never knew existed....a dangerous world.
MY REVIEW: This book isn't bad, but it isn't brilliant either. It is one of the many books out nowadays that lay somewhere in between and are mostly there to satisfy the consumer's need for such books (urban fantasy is really popular nowadays I've noticed...). Me, I found myself kind of getting into the books despite some of the flaws. It's probably going to be the series I turn to in order to tide myself over until the next Sookie Stackhouse.
The flaws are that like I said it's pretty standard urban fantasy fare: tough chick with unique gift finds herself drawn into the fantasy world where naturally hot guys are drawn to her because of said gift, yadda yadda. Then there's the fact that the writing...is kind of weak and the book itself kind of feels...I don't want to say trashy porn because there is more to it than that but it sort of has that feel of harlequin romances if you catch my drift.
But despite this...I found myself liking it and am curious about where it's going. I can't help but like Mac. She's bold and funny and for a nice change not whiny. I found myself really rooting for her. I also loved when she would clash with Brannons, who by the way is very hot (and may or may not be eighty percent of the reason I'm continuing with the series). Plus, I kind of found the world and what is going on intriguing. So...best series in the world? Not really. But kind of addicting nonetheless.
WHO SHOULD READ: Urban Fantasy fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five old bookshops

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
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12 by 12 in August
First in a Series

In other totally unrelated news: I have Mockingjay! For those that haven't gotten their copy yet, Target (at least the one I work at)has it on sale this week for 12.59 (it comes out to less then 14 dollars with tax). Not bad, right?

Mockingjay Talk

So Mockingjay is officially out today but I sadly won't be able to get to a store tomorrow in order to get it. So I am stubbornly staying away from any and all reviews that are going to be posted until I finish. But here are some things I hope are in Mockingjay:

1)A Satisfying conclusion to the Gale/Peeta mess. By satisfying I mean the author doesn't cop out on the love triangle. She doesn't villianfy one guy in order to make the other the obvious and best choice (like a certain vampire book did that shall not be named ;cough;Twilight;cough;), that one of them gets killed, etc. etc. and for the last time, I don't care which one she ends up with. In fact I'd even be happy if Katniss ends up on her own.

2)A satisfying end to the Capital. Or at the very least and end to the Hunger Games and the Capital's messed up ways.

3)President Snow dies. Sorry, if ever there was a person I did not want to live through this, it's this douchbag. God what a jerk/insert whatever explitive you want here.

4)Cinna is okay. Cinna was one of my favorites so I want him to be alive at least. Because at the very least then we would get more pretty outfits ;)

5)Effie and the salon girls get a clue. These few characters were funny in a way and I wanted to like them but their utter ignorance kept me from fully loving them so I hope someone clues them in and they grow as characters.

6)Whatever else Collins has in store for us I am game for. I'm sure there will be a twist or two that I won't be expecting like in Catching Fire so I'll just mostly sit back and enjoy the ride like I did with the last Harry Potter book.

So happy reading to those who do have Mockingjay (plese don't give me spoilers). I shall review the minute I'm done with it and I'll warn if my review has spoilers cause it's just polite.

Book Review: Mistwood

TITLE: Mistwood
AUTHOR: Leah Cypess
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: fantasy, mystery
PREMISE: Isabel doesn't remember much beyond the time her king found her and she is told she is the shifter of legend. But is she really the shifter and is her king who he says he is?
MY REVIEW: In theory, this book was a intriguing idea. Unfortunately that's all the book really remained: an intrigueing idea that never turned into brilliant or inspired. Part of the issue is that it's kind of dull most of the time. The author tries but it's like she couldn't decide if she wanted this to be fantasy or court intrigue and it mostly ended up being court intrigue that was kind of poorly played out.
The writing is flat, the characters are flat. Everything is mostly just flat because the author didn't explore things as much as she could have. Now I will say for a first novel it could have been a lot worse and this isn't the most horrible book this year because there are good things about it. It's just not at all what I expected and just not good enough to really crow about. So most I can say is decent first effort.
WHO SHOULD READ:...not sure really, anyone interested I guess?
MY RATING: Three out of Five shifters

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In My Mailbox (9)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at Story Siren that tells people what books we've received over the week. Links are to the books amazon page if you want more info on them.

From the library:
Kate Daniels Book 1: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews.-Been hearing good things about this series and my library finally had a copy of it so here we go.

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones.-It's Jones, need I say more? I was so pleased my library had this.

Also like probably about every other book blogger this week I'll be getting my hands on a copy of Mockingjay when it hits stores this Tuesday. Can't wait!

Book Review: Vampire Kisses Books 1-3

TITLE: Vampire Kisses-The Beginning
Books 1 through 3 in the Vampire Kisses series
AUTHOR: Ellen Schreiber
PUBLISHED: 2009 (for this edition, 2006/07 for the first ones)
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: Vampires, romance
PREMISE: Raven lives in the dullest town imaginable where she doesn't fit in due to her fascination with vampires. But things start to look up when a creepy family moves into one of the old mansions in town...
MY REVIEW: I had no idea what to expect from this series as it's not one of those vampire books people really talk about much. So I went in with no clue what to expect. What I got was an hilarious vampire book series that despite its flaws was very enjoyable.
I won't lie and say it's the best. It's actually not. The writing isn't terrible per say, it's just not something to really brag about. Plus a lot of the stuff going on is very dubious and you must suspend a lot disbelief while reading or at the very least not question things too much. Plus, Raven can sometimes be a little immature. Actually the whole tone of the books is very middle school which I'm pretty sure is the target audience for these books. Which is fine, middle schoolers need some love in the book department that isn't stuff like Gossip Girl or Clique (which by the way, is finally ending!).
But the flaws are easily overlooked because really the books are kind of charming. Raven is the main reason I found myself enjoying these. She's freaking hilarious and I found myself mostly reading just to see what she'd do next because you honestly never knew what crazy thing she was going to do. It was fun seeing a spunky heroine with a great family (she has INVOLVED parents! I was beginning to think involved parents in YA were a myth!) and though I would have appreciated a little more character from Alexander, he and Raven were cute together and I'm rooting for them.
The book I got from the library was a three book in one edition that had the first three books in the series so I'm already about halfway through it (there are currently seven books) and I kind of like what is going on, even if the plot is very loose and very random. I look forward to reading more of this series.
WHO SHOULD READ: Middle-schoolers/younger teens, Twilight fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five bats

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