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See review here.....https://bookwormcoalition.wordpress.com/2015/07/19/phoenix-rising-by-elise-faber/
SERAFINA AND THE BLACK CLOAK BY: ROBERT BEATTY 3.75 Stars
I quite enjoyed this book. I loved Serafina. She was such a lovely heroine. The struggle with her identity and finding her place in the world was at times so heartwrenching. It was sad to watch her be so unsure of herself. The way she observed herself was such a stark contrast to how she viewed the world around her. Serafina had a such an innocent, yet shrewd and enlightened way of perceiving and interpreting the world and people around her. Seeing through her eyes was so enjoyable! I was definitely relieved to see the character growth throughout the story, it was wonderful to see Serafina really come into her own and be comfortable in her own skin, different as it may be, in the end.
The plot was interesting and there were multiple elements of mystery that constantly kept you trying to ascertain what would happen next. The man in the black cloak was very interesting. To a child especially, what could be creepier than this nefarious figure cloaked in darkness and dark magic that stalks and steals children right out of thin air? There otherworldly element was so fun here! Not only were you trying to figure out who this dark figure was, but also what. The not knowing what exactly you were up against, their capabilities and their weaknesses made it that much more of a hurdle for Serafina to overcome. Along with the black cloak mystery we are also left to figure out Serafina herself. It is definitely clear from the get go that she is very unique and quite different from the average girl. It was really great how that all came out to play, especially later on in the story.
Altogether Serafina and the Black Cloak was a fun, middle grade paranormal mystery. I appreciated the innocence and lightness of Serafina while being surrounded by the darker elements in the setting and the villain. It was a beautiful balance that made it a very well rounded story. I also adore the cover and think it brought out that balance there as well!!
I received a copy of this book from Disney Book Group, Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I quite enjoyed this book. I loved Serafina. She was such a lovely heroine. The struggle with her identity and finding her place in the world was at times so heartwrenching. It was sad to watch her be so unsure of herself. The way she observed herself was such a stark contrast to how she viewed the world around her. Serafina had a such an innocent, yet shrewd and enlightened way of perceiving and interpreting the world and people around her. Seeing through her eyes was so enjoyable! I was definitely relieved to see the character growth throughout the story, it was wonderful to see Serafina really come into her own and be comfortable in her own skin, different as it may be, in the end.
The plot was interesting and there were multiple elements of mystery that constantly kept you trying to ascertain what would happen next. The man in the black cloak was very interesting. To a child especially, what could be creepier than this nefarious figure cloaked in darkness and dark magic that stalks and steals children right out of thin air? There otherworldly element was so fun here! Not only were you trying to figure out who this dark figure was, but also what. The not knowing what exactly you were up against, their capabilities and their weaknesses made it that much more of a hurdle for Serafina to overcome. Along with the black cloak mystery we are also left to figure out Serafina herself. It is definitely clear from the get go that she is very unique and quite different from the average girl. It was really great how that all came out to play, especially later on in the story.
Altogether Serafina and the Black Cloak was a fun, middle grade paranormal mystery. I appreciated the innocence and lightness of Serafina while being surrounded by the darker elements in the setting and the villain. It was a beautiful balance that made it a very well rounded story. I also adore the cover and think it brought out that balance there as well!!
I received a copy of this book from Disney Book Group, Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
1.5 Stars
No. Just…no. You ever haul ass through a book in less than 24 hours just so you can be done with it and move on with your life and precious spare time? Yeah. That just happened. It’s a real bummer to considering how excited I was to start this book. I’m sorry but if I had to sum this book up in one word it would be disjointed. Everything took WAY too long to come together and even attempt to start making sense, and quite honestly if you have to wait until the last pages to have things start coming together, something isn’t right. I had exactly 5% interest in this story by then, sorry.
The characters were just as muddled as the plot. I had no investment in Layla, the MC, whatsoever. She was so annoying throughout the entirety of this book, at least that held true through and through…I guess.
Seriously, she was rude to everyone that cared about her, she whined ALL THE TIME, and she was just so naïve! I’m not sure there was a character that I enjoyed, maybe the Grandmother, who was in the story for about 2 minutes. Yeah, she seemed okay.
I couldn’t even consider Max as a character I might have liked for the simple fact that he found enough things about Layla to actually love. What the hell? Where were these redeemable qualities? Is there some kind of decoder ring and secret text I wasn’t aware of?!
Onwards to the plot…..or the severe lack of one in my opinion. I get that Layla was being kept ignorant of pretty much everything, for her safety or whatevs, but no way does that make it acceptable, or any way enjoyable, for the reader to be forced to be content with absolutely nothing cohesive until the very end. 70% of this book was Layla whining about not knowing anything, which I almost want to sympathize with since I felt kind of the same whilst reading this. Through in there some weird events happening, but them being so short and clipped that you, much like the MC herself, couldn’t even be sure that they actually happened!!
Ok so I did bump this up to 1.5 stars for the fact that at the very end, once things started actually happening, they really exploded. There were a lot of good ideas there, but the execution was severely lacking. It was as if, no not as if….you literally got bombarded with an entire universe and all of it’s otherworldly inhabitants. I didn’t see the world building here, I got knocked upside the head with a world explosion.
Even though there were some potentially great concepts there, which there were, I was too far removed from everything to have it bring me back. And it was just too much information to take in all at once. The otherworldliness was the highlight of this story, there was some real creativity in there, I wish it would have been at the very least sprinkled throughout the story so I would have had a hope of getting invested and not have been so overwhelmed once it did happen. Unfortunately not series I would likely continue on with.
I received a copy of this book from J. Taylor Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
No. Just…no. You ever haul ass through a book in less than 24 hours just so you can be done with it and move on with your life and precious spare time? Yeah. That just happened. It’s a real bummer to considering how excited I was to start this book. I’m sorry but if I had to sum this book up in one word it would be disjointed. Everything took WAY too long to come together and even attempt to start making sense, and quite honestly if you have to wait until the last pages to have things start coming together, something isn’t right. I had exactly 5% interest in this story by then, sorry.
The characters were just as muddled as the plot. I had no investment in Layla, the MC, whatsoever. She was so annoying throughout the entirety of this book, at least that held true through and through…I guess.
Seriously, she was rude to everyone that cared about her, she whined ALL THE TIME, and she was just so naïve! I’m not sure there was a character that I enjoyed, maybe the Grandmother, who was in the story for about 2 minutes. Yeah, she seemed okay.
I couldn’t even consider Max as a character I might have liked for the simple fact that he found enough things about Layla to actually love. What the hell? Where were these redeemable qualities? Is there some kind of decoder ring and secret text I wasn’t aware of?!
Onwards to the plot…..or the severe lack of one in my opinion. I get that Layla was being kept ignorant of pretty much everything, for her safety or whatevs, but no way does that make it acceptable, or any way enjoyable, for the reader to be forced to be content with absolutely nothing cohesive until the very end. 70% of this book was Layla whining about not knowing anything, which I almost want to sympathize with since I felt kind of the same whilst reading this. Through in there some weird events happening, but them being so short and clipped that you, much like the MC herself, couldn’t even be sure that they actually happened!!
Ok so I did bump this up to 1.5 stars for the fact that at the very end, once things started actually happening, they really exploded. There were a lot of good ideas there, but the execution was severely lacking. It was as if, no not as if….you literally got bombarded with an entire universe and all of it’s otherworldly inhabitants. I didn’t see the world building here, I got knocked upside the head with a world explosion.
Even though there were some potentially great concepts there, which there were, I was too far removed from everything to have it bring me back. And it was just too much information to take in all at once. The otherworldliness was the highlight of this story, there was some real creativity in there, I wish it would have been at the very least sprinkled throughout the story so I would have had a hope of getting invested and not have been so overwhelmed once it did happen. Unfortunately not series I would likely continue on with.
I received a copy of this book from J. Taylor Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
LEARNING TO LIVE BY: KIRA ADAMS
"I love how romance authors can make you feel every emotion in their books, that you feel invested in the characters. By the end of the story, you feel as if you know them on some kind of level, and you mourn the loss of them when it's over."
Yep. That quote about sums up my feelings on this book. You're a clever one, Adams, a cleaver one indeed. Gahhhhh! How could you do this to me?! I wasn't at all prepared for the turn this story took. But it was done so well, I can respect it, even though you kind of broke my heart a little.
I really liked how the first half and the second half of the book had a really different feel to it. The best part is that even though they felt so different, they connected together effortlessly. The first part felt a little immature, along with the characters, but it made sense seen as how they were still in high school. Well, I should say most of the characters since Ciera was definitely mature way beyond her 17 years. I absolutely loved Ciera too. She was such a strong girl, dealing with so much, and with such grace. It was so hard to read how awful so many of her fellow classmates were to her. But it definitely had that very realistic high school feel to it. My only issue with Ciera was, in the very beginning, she was so meek, and she just took so much crap from these bullies. I wanted to see her freaking rage out on them.
But I did understand that a lot of people in that position react much the way she did, and generally just do what they can to remain invisible and not cause themselves anymore grief. The bitch in me just wanted for her to stick up for herself and show those asshats that she's not going to take that crap anymore.
I do have to say thank you to this author though, thank you for not falling into that trend that so many others do where every single other girl except the main character is a terrible person. I can't tell you what a relief characters like Madalynne are in a story like this. I loved how she stood up for and stood by Ciera, with absolutely no regard of how her social standing may fair afterwards. Everyone should have a Madalynne in their lives.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I ask. I can't help it. I need to know.
Her smile vanishes from her lips. "People are jerks. Don't ever let anyone treat you with any less respect than you deserve."
Now about Topher.....he was....a real grade A jerk in the beginning. And it didn't exactly change over night, which honestly was for the best, because it wouldn't have felt genuine he had. I really liked this story line. I mean the world is full of jerks, so it's kind of nice to see a story where the jerk starts to change his ways and be a better person. It kind of gives you hope in real life, ya know? So after everything, I think I am in a good place with Topher. He surprised me quite a few times. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the beginning of his and Ciera's shaky truce when she gave him the business.
The second half of this story was infinitely more mature and pretty emotional. I can't really say much about it, but there was some heavier material and you saw a change in the characters because of it. I appreciated this half just as much as the other. That end though. It was a hard one. I don't know how Adams managed to pull off such a bittersweet end, but she did. I was heartbroken and still filled with a sense that everything was going to be okay. Things weren't perfect, but what in life ever is? And even though things were hard and messy, it would get better. Some people were better for having gone through all the things they did.
I am so happy to see that this is just the first book in a series! I definitely plan on continuing on with it! This is also my first Kira Adams book, but obviously will not be my last.
I received this story from the author in exchange for an honest review
"I love how romance authors can make you feel every emotion in their books, that you feel invested in the characters. By the end of the story, you feel as if you know them on some kind of level, and you mourn the loss of them when it's over."
Yep. That quote about sums up my feelings on this book. You're a clever one, Adams, a cleaver one indeed. Gahhhhh! How could you do this to me?! I wasn't at all prepared for the turn this story took. But it was done so well, I can respect it, even though you kind of broke my heart a little.
I really liked how the first half and the second half of the book had a really different feel to it. The best part is that even though they felt so different, they connected together effortlessly. The first part felt a little immature, along with the characters, but it made sense seen as how they were still in high school. Well, I should say most of the characters since Ciera was definitely mature way beyond her 17 years. I absolutely loved Ciera too. She was such a strong girl, dealing with so much, and with such grace. It was so hard to read how awful so many of her fellow classmates were to her. But it definitely had that very realistic high school feel to it. My only issue with Ciera was, in the very beginning, she was so meek, and she just took so much crap from these bullies. I wanted to see her freaking rage out on them.
But I did understand that a lot of people in that position react much the way she did, and generally just do what they can to remain invisible and not cause themselves anymore grief. The bitch in me just wanted for her to stick up for herself and show those asshats that she's not going to take that crap anymore.
I do have to say thank you to this author though, thank you for not falling into that trend that so many others do where every single other girl except the main character is a terrible person. I can't tell you what a relief characters like Madalynne are in a story like this. I loved how she stood up for and stood by Ciera, with absolutely no regard of how her social standing may fair afterwards. Everyone should have a Madalynne in their lives.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I ask. I can't help it. I need to know.
Her smile vanishes from her lips. "People are jerks. Don't ever let anyone treat you with any less respect than you deserve."
Now about Topher.....he was....a real grade A jerk in the beginning. And it didn't exactly change over night, which honestly was for the best, because it wouldn't have felt genuine he had. I really liked this story line. I mean the world is full of jerks, so it's kind of nice to see a story where the jerk starts to change his ways and be a better person. It kind of gives you hope in real life, ya know? So after everything, I think I am in a good place with Topher. He surprised me quite a few times. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the beginning of his and Ciera's shaky truce when she gave him the business.
The second half of this story was infinitely more mature and pretty emotional. I can't really say much about it, but there was some heavier material and you saw a change in the characters because of it. I appreciated this half just as much as the other. That end though. It was a hard one. I don't know how Adams managed to pull off such a bittersweet end, but she did. I was heartbroken and still filled with a sense that everything was going to be okay. Things weren't perfect, but what in life ever is? And even though things were hard and messy, it would get better. Some people were better for having gone through all the things they did.
I am so happy to see that this is just the first book in a series! I definitely plan on continuing on with it! This is also my first Kira Adams book, but obviously will not be my last.
I received this story from the author in exchange for an honest review
MY FOREVER BY: KIRA ADAMS
My Forever is the second book in the Infinite Love series. I was pretty excited to see Madalynne be the star of the show in this book. Her along with her long time beau Parker. In the beginning they had every appearance of being the perfect couple...
Then something tragic happened, Madalynne's brother died. While it was dramatic enough of a story line, and the ensuing rifts between the Disney like couple were completely understandable, grief does crazy things to people, I felt like something was missing. It was clear the hurdles they were facing were probably going to be mended with time. And if I'm being completely honest, the perfect couple.....yeah they just aren't as captivating as you would think. You're kind of left feeling like you want to stomp on all that perfection a little, ya know?
Here's the fabulous thing though, about halfway through something AWESOME happened. These unblemished beings started to actually come to life! Revealing the chinks in their armor made this story come alive. Even better was the down-to-Earth problems that they had. It was absolutely refreshing to have such real issues, that seem so seldom explored compared to the highly dramatic ones. Because to me, that's real life, it's not always the huge things that tear couples apart, it's the intangible little things. It's growing up and making huge life decisions that may ultimately send you and your significant other in separate directions, it's the uncertainty of your future and if the things you've always known are really the best things for you. I was so thankful for this addition.
Funny enough, the characters actually having flaws made them that much more engaging to me. I liked that Madalynne and Parker could be selfish sometimes. Even when I wasn't exactly thrilled with the choices they made, it was still bewitching, I couldn't look away, and for awhile there I was really unsure how things would ultimately turn out. Which going in, I did not see being an issue at all. It was the best turn of events all the way around.
I have crazy good feelings about the next book now too. We were introduced to the next stars in this book, and what a stark contrast they are to these characters! I really enjoy all the range that this author is showing, and I look forward to seeing what is next.
My Forever is the second book in the Infinite Love series. I was pretty excited to see Madalynne be the star of the show in this book. Her along with her long time beau Parker. In the beginning they had every appearance of being the perfect couple...
Then something tragic happened, Madalynne's brother died. While it was dramatic enough of a story line, and the ensuing rifts between the Disney like couple were completely understandable, grief does crazy things to people, I felt like something was missing. It was clear the hurdles they were facing were probably going to be mended with time. And if I'm being completely honest, the perfect couple.....yeah they just aren't as captivating as you would think. You're kind of left feeling like you want to stomp on all that perfection a little, ya know?
Here's the fabulous thing though, about halfway through something AWESOME happened. These unblemished beings started to actually come to life! Revealing the chinks in their armor made this story come alive. Even better was the down-to-Earth problems that they had. It was absolutely refreshing to have such real issues, that seem so seldom explored compared to the highly dramatic ones. Because to me, that's real life, it's not always the huge things that tear couples apart, it's the intangible little things. It's growing up and making huge life decisions that may ultimately send you and your significant other in separate directions, it's the uncertainty of your future and if the things you've always known are really the best things for you. I was so thankful for this addition.
Funny enough, the characters actually having flaws made them that much more engaging to me. I liked that Madalynne and Parker could be selfish sometimes. Even when I wasn't exactly thrilled with the choices they made, it was still bewitching, I couldn't look away, and for awhile there I was really unsure how things would ultimately turn out. Which going in, I did not see being an issue at all. It was the best turn of events all the way around.
I have crazy good feelings about the next book now too. We were introduced to the next stars in this book, and what a stark contrast they are to these characters! I really enjoy all the range that this author is showing, and I look forward to seeing what is next.
EVERY LAST BREATH BY: JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT
Okay so I am a pretty big JLA fan, and while I mostly enjoyed this series....it wasn't really my favorite. I think my biggest issue with this series as a whole was, quite frankly, Layla. I liked the idea of her more than I actually liked her. The idea of this person who quite literally was both sides of the token, both "good" and "evil" sounded great to me! But I think where it fell short with me is that, with the exception of a few badass comments here and there in this last addition, Layla really only embraced the "good" side of herself. And to be honest, it was a little disappointing. Now I was glad to see her finally accept herself in this book, but I really would have liked to see more of that throughout the series, and turned up a few notches too boot. I mean look at Roth, he's a demon who, besides having Layla's back, was pretty much up to no good on a regular, and you know what, I loved it! I get that a huge point of this story was that no one is really all good or bad, I get that. I guess I would have liked to see Layla not only accept that, but to blatantly OWN it.
I have to say I really enjoyed the side characters more so than the main character. Well, with the exception of Roth, he was pretty awesome, and always entertaining.
Seriously though can we get like a Cayman novella or something out of this?! I honestly loved the demons so much better than the Wardens! Each demon we came across was interesting to me! I would have loved to see a story more focused on them! The whole Warden holier than thou attitude was off putting to me. Yet another area where I thought they were better in theory, at least for me. One of my absolute favorite things in this story were the familiars! Omg can that please be in real life one day?! These magical animals that bonded with their hosts were all kinds of amazing. And Bambi the Warden eating monster snake was at the very tip top of my favorite list! At one point in this story I actually teared up at a scene with Bambi. I felt immediately transported back to my childhood years where I pretty much felt more for animals than I did other humans lol.
Ultimately if you've already read the other two you don't want to miss this one, lots of stuff goes down....Layla finally chooses between Roth and Stoney, which was a huge thing with the fans in war over which one she should be with! Things wrap up rather nicely. It was a fitting conclusion. And you even get a brief encounter with the Boss at one point, which was way cool! I really liked the world JLA created here, and I think it would be sweet if we got to explore the darker side of it more in a future book. Who knows, maybe one day!
Okay so I am a pretty big JLA fan, and while I mostly enjoyed this series....it wasn't really my favorite. I think my biggest issue with this series as a whole was, quite frankly, Layla. I liked the idea of her more than I actually liked her. The idea of this person who quite literally was both sides of the token, both "good" and "evil" sounded great to me! But I think where it fell short with me is that, with the exception of a few badass comments here and there in this last addition, Layla really only embraced the "good" side of herself. And to be honest, it was a little disappointing. Now I was glad to see her finally accept herself in this book, but I really would have liked to see more of that throughout the series, and turned up a few notches too boot. I mean look at Roth, he's a demon who, besides having Layla's back, was pretty much up to no good on a regular, and you know what, I loved it! I get that a huge point of this story was that no one is really all good or bad, I get that. I guess I would have liked to see Layla not only accept that, but to blatantly OWN it.
I have to say I really enjoyed the side characters more so than the main character. Well, with the exception of Roth, he was pretty awesome, and always entertaining.
Seriously though can we get like a Cayman novella or something out of this?! I honestly loved the demons so much better than the Wardens! Each demon we came across was interesting to me! I would have loved to see a story more focused on them! The whole Warden holier than thou attitude was off putting to me. Yet another area where I thought they were better in theory, at least for me. One of my absolute favorite things in this story were the familiars! Omg can that please be in real life one day?! These magical animals that bonded with their hosts were all kinds of amazing. And Bambi the Warden eating monster snake was at the very tip top of my favorite list! At one point in this story I actually teared up at a scene with Bambi. I felt immediately transported back to my childhood years where I pretty much felt more for animals than I did other humans lol.
Ultimately if you've already read the other two you don't want to miss this one, lots of stuff goes down....Layla finally chooses between Roth and Stoney, which was a huge thing with the fans in war over which one she should be with! Things wrap up rather nicely. It was a fitting conclusion. And you even get a brief encounter with the Boss at one point, which was way cool! I really liked the world JLA created here, and I think it would be sweet if we got to explore the darker side of it more in a future book. Who knows, maybe one day!
HUNTER BY: MERCEDES LACKEY
I feel so darn accomplished for finally finishing this! Between this cold I've been fighting, Netflix calling it's siren's song, and the rather slow pacing of the first 40% of this book....it's taken me quite awhile to get through it. So many distractions.
It became very clear that this is just a first book in what will most likely be a series. There was a big chunk of time spent world building, and beyond that lots of small details, some of which just felt completely unnecessary (No need to mention numerous times about which food is artificially manufactured and which is not, one or two times was enough, thanks!). So with the information overload it was slightly hard to initially get into the story. Admittedly some of that can probably be attributed to me not feeling well and being so easily distracted by every shiny object.
So I honestly liked the world that Lackey did create, it had a similar feel to a few other YA dystopian books I have read before, The Hunger Games being probably the most notable. BUT there were many differences, and unique elements that set it apart, and truly made it shine. I really liked the idea of Hunters, these people who had different magical abilities, one universal one being that they had hounds from the Otherworld at their control. The hounds themselves were probably my favorite thing about this story! They were mysterious, otherworldly creatures that worked with their Hunter to destroy all the monsters from the Otherworld that were causing havoc in the human world. Each hound was unique, and even more so when you looked from Hunter to Hunter. I really loved that one of the MC, Joy's abilities enabled her to actually talk with her hounds. That was a super cool addition!
Just add these to the list of fantasy creatures I want to be real and be mine!
I also liked the mish-mash of mythological creatures that they were fighting against. Many I have heard of before, some I have not, and some unique to just this story. It was a fun mix of lots of different baddies to fight! And I have been given yet another reason give garden gnomes a wary eye lol.
Joy was a great leading lady, powerful, smart, kind, and humble. The inner monologues didn't really bother me because it seemed to fit her character well. She was a very analytical and reticent type of person, so without being privy to her inner thoughts we would have been pretty lost. It was also a good route to go considering she was an outsider in a foreign place that operated very differently than what she was used to, and she knew ahead of time to be cautious about certain things. I was rather glad to see that she was smart about everything, from the persona she knew she had to put on, to her slow budding relationships with new people. This was someone that you didn't have trouble envisioning surviving the rougher situations she was put into, because you knew she always kept her eyes sharp and her emotions and brain even sharper.
The story didn't end on a cliffhanger, which was nice, but it did leave lots room for things to come in the second book. I think the second book has the potential to either make of break this series for me. Hunter was a solid foundation book, and I really hope to see great things from the next book. There is a lot of potential here for AWESOME things, and I definitely want to see where the story goes next.
I received a copy of this book from Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I feel so darn accomplished for finally finishing this! Between this cold I've been fighting, Netflix calling it's siren's song, and the rather slow pacing of the first 40% of this book....it's taken me quite awhile to get through it. So many distractions.
It became very clear that this is just a first book in what will most likely be a series. There was a big chunk of time spent world building, and beyond that lots of small details, some of which just felt completely unnecessary (No need to mention numerous times about which food is artificially manufactured and which is not, one or two times was enough, thanks!). So with the information overload it was slightly hard to initially get into the story. Admittedly some of that can probably be attributed to me not feeling well and being so easily distracted by every shiny object.
So I honestly liked the world that Lackey did create, it had a similar feel to a few other YA dystopian books I have read before, The Hunger Games being probably the most notable. BUT there were many differences, and unique elements that set it apart, and truly made it shine. I really liked the idea of Hunters, these people who had different magical abilities, one universal one being that they had hounds from the Otherworld at their control. The hounds themselves were probably my favorite thing about this story! They were mysterious, otherworldly creatures that worked with their Hunter to destroy all the monsters from the Otherworld that were causing havoc in the human world. Each hound was unique, and even more so when you looked from Hunter to Hunter. I really loved that one of the MC, Joy's abilities enabled her to actually talk with her hounds. That was a super cool addition!
Just add these to the list of fantasy creatures I want to be real and be mine!
I also liked the mish-mash of mythological creatures that they were fighting against. Many I have heard of before, some I have not, and some unique to just this story. It was a fun mix of lots of different baddies to fight! And I have been given yet another reason give garden gnomes a wary eye lol.
Joy was a great leading lady, powerful, smart, kind, and humble. The inner monologues didn't really bother me because it seemed to fit her character well. She was a very analytical and reticent type of person, so without being privy to her inner thoughts we would have been pretty lost. It was also a good route to go considering she was an outsider in a foreign place that operated very differently than what she was used to, and she knew ahead of time to be cautious about certain things. I was rather glad to see that she was smart about everything, from the persona she knew she had to put on, to her slow budding relationships with new people. This was someone that you didn't have trouble envisioning surviving the rougher situations she was put into, because you knew she always kept her eyes sharp and her emotions and brain even sharper.
The story didn't end on a cliffhanger, which was nice, but it did leave lots room for things to come in the second book. I think the second book has the potential to either make of break this series for me. Hunter was a solid foundation book, and I really hope to see great things from the next book. There is a lot of potential here for AWESOME things, and I definitely want to see where the story goes next.
I received a copy of this book from Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Review can be found at....
https://bookwormcoalition.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/out-of-time-by-beth-flynn/
https://bookwormcoalition.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/out-of-time-by-beth-flynn/
THE ASSASSIN'S BLADE BY: SARAH J. MAAS
I really liked this group of 5 novellas in the Throne of Glass series. Each one was fast paced, exciting and it was so nice to get Celaena's back story. After hearing so much about certain people from her past, namely the famous Arobynn Hamel King of the assassins, and Sam the first great love! I enjoyed reading them all together in this book, there was a great flow going on that lead right up to Celaena's incarceration. Sometimes the full length novels in this series are a little lengthy and take some time to get to the juicy goodness, luckily with the novellas that's not the case. This book is a DO NOT miss in this series, I feel like I have a better understanding of Celaena and I appreciate her a little more now that I have this well fleshed out backstory.
I really liked this group of 5 novellas in the Throne of Glass series. Each one was fast paced, exciting and it was so nice to get Celaena's back story. After hearing so much about certain people from her past, namely the famous Arobynn Hamel King of the assassins, and Sam the first great love! I enjoyed reading them all together in this book, there was a great flow going on that lead right up to Celaena's incarceration. Sometimes the full length novels in this series are a little lengthy and take some time to get to the juicy goodness, luckily with the novellas that's not the case. This book is a DO NOT miss in this series, I feel like I have a better understanding of Celaena and I appreciate her a little more now that I have this well fleshed out backstory.
3.5 stars
I'm embracing the cold medicine induced calm right now and getting this down, so basically be prepared for the brief incoherent babble to commence.....right now.
I'm honestly not completely sure how I feel about this book as a whole. I was immensely relieved to see the love triangle mostly figured out in the first half. I'm not necessarily opposed to love triangles in general, but this particular one was just something I never really got invested in. Truth be told, I was hoping Calaena would choose someone anyone, just so I didn't have to hear about it anymore. Literally could have been the chimney sweep and I wouldn't have cared. So she does choose in this book YAY! I feel like a decent chunk of the story was devoted to her romantic situations though, which was kind of disappointing, but only because I personally am much more interested in the fantasy element here which is FANTASTIC! I would much rather spend more time illuminating different faucets of this rich world, than seeing Celaena make out in a broom closet. But hey, maybe that's just me.
There were some pretty spectacular developments, even if it took awhile to get to them. Every little glimpse of magic we get in this story is incredible. I really keep waiting for that to explode because when it does, I think it will be glorious. I am especially liking the new happenings with Prince Dorian! We also got an idea about what the King has been scheming, and a peek at some of the players in the resistance. And with the way that Crown of Midnight ended, I am thinking that the next book is going to have both parties making their public moves against one another. Or at least that's my hope.
I'm embracing the cold medicine induced calm right now and getting this down, so basically be prepared for the brief incoherent babble to commence.....right now.
I'm honestly not completely sure how I feel about this book as a whole. I was immensely relieved to see the love triangle mostly figured out in the first half. I'm not necessarily opposed to love triangles in general, but this particular one was just something I never really got invested in. Truth be told, I was hoping Calaena would choose someone anyone, just so I didn't have to hear about it anymore. Literally could have been the chimney sweep and I wouldn't have cared. So she does choose in this book YAY! I feel like a decent chunk of the story was devoted to her romantic situations though, which was kind of disappointing, but only because I personally am much more interested in the fantasy element here which is FANTASTIC! I would much rather spend more time illuminating different faucets of this rich world, than seeing Celaena make out in a broom closet. But hey, maybe that's just me.
There were some pretty spectacular developments, even if it took awhile to get to them. Every little glimpse of magic we get in this story is incredible. I really keep waiting for that to explode because when it does, I think it will be glorious. I am especially liking the new happenings with Prince Dorian! We also got an idea about what the King has been scheming, and a peek at some of the players in the resistance. And with the way that Crown of Midnight ended, I am thinking that the next book is going to have both parties making their public moves against one another. Or at least that's my hope.