Wild Magic

by Cat Weatherill

I bought this book on a whim last weekend because the title intrigued me, the cover was pretty and the description was interesting. Sometimes despite all that promise, a book has still failed to deliver, but thankfully Wild Magic was mostly a pleasant surprise.

This book is a retelling of the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. After the piper successfully rid the town of their rat infestation and is refused payment, he plays his pipe again and leads the children of Hamelin away with him. Our main character, Mari is one of the children to be lead away, while her crippled brother Jakob is barely left behind. The Piper leads the children into the world of Elvendale where they soon learn that he is looking for one child in particular - a child with unknown magical powers who will help him lift an ancient curse.

The book is split into 3 different narratives that alternate back and forth. Mari and Jakob serve as two of the narrators, with the Piper as the third. It is interesting to read the story from both the perspectives of the "heroes" and the "villain".

The story is inventive and interesting. The ending was mostly satisfying. Despite a few "too-neat" aspects, and a couple unanswered questions, I enjoyed this take on the Pied Piper.

Sisters Red

by Jackson Pearce

Was this book well written? Definitely. Was it fun? Not really. And therein lies my main problem with Sisters Red. I read Pearce's previous book and enjoyed it's fun style. This book is almost it's exact opposite.

Sisters Red is the tale of two sisters, Scarlett and Rosie, who narrowly survive a werewolf attack that killed their beloved grandmother. Scarlett is severely scarred in her efforts to protect Rosie and from then on harbors a desire to hunt down these werewolves, Fenris as they are called in the book. Rosie feels indebted to her sister, and therefore fights along with her, even though she secretly wishes for something more. To complicate things more, Scarlett's hunting partner, and only friend Silas is back, and he's falling for Rosie.

This book is dark, and there's not much relief from that throughout the book. Hope is lacking. The Fenris are evil, lurking creatures who are a danger to everyone. Scarlett's pain over her grandmother's death, feeling of obligation to kill the wolves, and despair at her ruined face consume half of the narrative. The rest is taken up by Rosie's narration, and her desire over wanting to do something else but hunt warring with her sense of debt to her sister. Never mind that she finds herself having feelings for Silas and worrying about if she should acknowledge them.

Pearce is a talented author to make you feel so terrible about the sisters' predicament. However, there was very little resolution at the end. There are countless wolves, and despite the group's efforts, it all seems very futile. Did they even make a difference? Is there a hope for relief for these traumatized girls? At of the end of this book it doesn't seem like there's much. However, this does appear to be a series - perhaps hope will be more evident in the next entry.

The Reckoning

by Kelley Armstrong

I've really enjoyed the unique story of this trilogy, but I have to say, the last book was a bit of a disappointment.

Chloe, Tori, Derek and Simon have just escaped the Edison Group again and are hiding out with the group fighting against the Edison Group. Once again, a large part of the beginning of this book is spend doing very little. The action comes all at once, at the end, and involves a lot of twists, turns, and constantly flipping allegiances (Are these people really on our side? No! Let's run away! Wait, maybe they are. Let's stick around. Wait! We have to run away!)

Mostly, this book did not feel like it should be the end. The ending is pretty ambiguous as far as endings go, and many, many aspects of the plot were left unexplained. Some things were brought up in the storyline of this book only to be dropped casually a few chapters later. If this series was slated to continue in additional books, I would assume these things would come up in the next book, but as this is the final book, it seemed like the plot wasn't as well thought-out as it should have been.

On the positive side, Armstrong does a pretty good job of subtly reminding the reader what has happened previously. I didn't remember many details from the previous books, but whenever I'd start to be confused, there were some helpful hints placed into the narrative that reminded me of what I was supposed to know. Still, this is the 3rd book, and doesn't stand alone. If you're gonna read the series, start with The Summoning.

Betrayals

by Lili St. Crow

This book is the sequel to Strange Angels, a book whose story I enjoyed but I had some reservations over the method of telling.

I have largely the same complaints for the sequel.

Again, Lili St. Crow seems to have a small vocabulary when it comes to words to expresses anger or shock. The only ones she can think of would get bleeped out on cable television. This is frustrating because these aren't words I enjoy hearing - even in my own head, and also because I think it shows a real lack of creativity. Seriously, not EVERYONE in the world uses those words in every sentence. It's crude, and sounds uneducated. I realize these are teenage characters, but I have a hard time believing that all teenagers have such a foul mouth as Dru and Graves do.

Second - the smells! Ms. St. Crow focuses way too much on the way things smell and not enough on other senses. Many sequences are hard to understand and picture in your head because the only information you have is what things smell like. (And yes, Christophe STILL smells like apple pie!) Oh, and by the way, it's mentioned quite a few times that Graves smells like cigarette smoke, as if this is supposed to be a nice thing - um, ew!

Unfortunately, I'm giving this book one less star than it's predecessor. I just didn't find the story as interesting, and it was often confusing! There were a few chapters that I wasn't really sure what was going on and it felt like the author was being intentionally vague.

Will I read the third installment? Probably only if Dani assures me that it's better than this one!

City of Ashes

by Cassandra Clare

Ok, I'm finally returning to The Mortal Instruments trilogy after a short break for Jenna Fox, the completion of the Gregor series, The Penderwicks, and various other fantasies and paranormal fiction. I've been on a bit of a paranormal kick lately actually and after I finish this series I'm not sure what I'll read next. My roommate is teasing me that she's frightened by my book choices, which really just makes me want to read them even more! Thankfully Cassandra Clare gives the reader enough clues in City of Ashes that it did not take me long to recall the sequence of events of the previous book - which I read about 2 months ago.

Anyways, I was told that City of Ashes was the slowest of the series, and a bit of a disappointment, so I went into the book not expecting much of it. Maybe that's part of the reason, but I really enjoyed this book. I think I may have enjoyed it more than the first book, City of Bones.

At the end of the first book we get the (supposed to be) shocking news that Clary and Jace are actually brother and sister. (A little nod to Star Wars there?) :) So a good part of City of Ashes involves the pair of them trying to deal with this knowledge and fight off the continuing romantic feelings they have for each other. Meanwhile, Clary is trying to start a romantic relationship with Simon, even though she doesn't feel that way toward him. Simon knows it and it just causes all kinds of messes. Ah the love triangle - a perennial favorite among YA novels.

Last book we were introduced to werewolves and vampires. The werewolves were good (or at least, not evil) and the vampires were mostly bad. However, in this book we get to see more of the vampires and they are not portrayed as negatively - although Jace certainly holds no fondness for them.

Valentine is up to his oddly predictable tricks again, yet still elusive to all Shadowhunters. Quite the slippery fellow, that Valentine.

Towards the end of this book I am starting to suspect that Clary and Jace may not actually be brother and sister. No confirmation or denial of this suspicion so I'm continuing to mull it over in my mind. Not such a great thing when it's already 1am and you're lying in bed trying to figure out all the possible ways they might not be related but it would be reasonable for everyone to think they are (as they do now). I have a number of theories. Here's hoping I can report I was right in my next blog entry - appearing here upon my completion of City of Glass. Now I must end this entry so I can go read!

Stange Angels

by Lili St. Crow

Zombies and Djamphirs and Werwolfen, oh my!

Dru Anderson is alone and scared. The book jacket, however, proclaims her to be a "Night Hunter. Knife Thrower. Heart Breaker." as well as "not afraid of the dark." But she never goes hunting at night, she never throws a knife (although she does wield one at times as well as an assortment of guns), she doesn't break anyone's heart, and she is very scared of the dark! She should be - her dad leaves her behind most evenings while he's out hunting the things that "go bump in the night". One evening he doesn't return home. The next night, he does - as a zombie. Dru must muster up all of her courage to dodge the zombie that used to be her father, and kill him before he can kill her. She's left traumatized and utterly, completely alone.

Thankfully, Dru soon makes a loyal friend in Graves. He helps her the best he can, not knowing the true danger that Dru is in, because someone - something - wants Dru dead, and he's still searching for her.

I liked Dru despite her not being as tough as the book packaging portrayed her to be. She could handle a weapon, and she knew how to defend herself to an extent, but she was still scared out of her wits and desperate for someone to help her. She gets that help through Graves as well as the mysterious djamphir Christophe.

One aspect of the book that started to bug me near the end was how the smell of EVERYTHING had to be described. I learned that Graves smelled like deodorant and smoke. Christophe smells like apple pie (that's weird). Dru's mom used to smell like "perfume and goodness." Zombies smell like a whole host of nasty rotting things. Christophe smells like apple pie. When something bad is about to happen, Dru can smells (and taste) oranges. When something REALLY bad is about to happen, it smells(/tastes) of WAX oranges. Christophe smells like apple pie. Did I mention that Christophe smells like apple pie? Yeah, the author did too - a lot! I wish I'd counted.

My biggest complaint of this book however, was the language. The story was interesting and different from other books of the genre but it was just littered with profanity! I tried to just read over it, but that would certainly stop me from recommending this book to most people I know - despite the interesting story.

The Awakening

by Kelley Armstrong

I really wasn't sure if I would like this series when I started it, but soon found that the beginning to the trilogy, The Summoning, was very engrossing. So when the sequel came out earlier this year I was eager to read it.

It has been a while since I read the first book, and I could only remember vague details about the plot. I was worried that I would have trouble following the plot of this book. Thankfully though, the author does a wonderful job of placing clues throughout the book to remind you of what occurred previously. Our main character, Chloe will simply mention previous events during the narration when it's important to the current events. It seemed like every time I'd start to think, "Wait, what happened in the last book?", I'd find the very next sentence answered my question.

The characters are interesting and varied. We see less of Rae in this book and more of the annoying Tori, who you can't hate completely because you feel bad for her. Chloe, Tori and the boys Derek and Simon continue to try to piece together what's really going on with the mysterious Edison society and how it will effect their futures. This is where my complaint lies however. The bulk of this book consists of the group running away, almost getting caught, escaping, getting found, nearly getting caught again, and then, again, barely managing to escape. A lot of new questions are posed, but few are answered. I understand that this is the middle of a series, but it really FELT like the middle book - a continuation of a previous story with relatively little resolution. I was finally starting to feel like we were moving out of the run away/just avoid getting caught cycle when the book ended on a cliff-hanger. Frustrating.

That being said though, I'm eagerly awaiting the final book and hoping for all the resolution that this part was missing.

City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare

I've been wanting to read this book for a while, and when the third entry to the series came out a few months ago I made sure to finally put this on hold at the library.

City of Bones was a fun mix of action, romance, and supernatural elements. I enjoyed the twist at the end even though I suspected that it was coming.

I wish I had written this blog a few weeks ago when I actually finished it (around the date this post is dated.) I can't remember many details or specific things I wanted to say about it. But I did enjoy the book and the supernatural world that the author created, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Breaking Dawn

by Stephenie Meyer

I wrote this review after I read Breaking Dawn for the first time, but my thoughts are pretty much the same after my second reading, so I'm just going to paste it in!

So many people hated this book, but I have to admit - I adored it! Sure it may not be "realistic" but there's a reason the genre is called fantasy. I've read lots of books where people die. And yes, I can understand why an author would choose to do this - to add realism, to point out that victory is not without sacrifice, etc. But it was kinda nice to read a book - a series none the less - where you get to the end and all the characters you love are still kicking! After all, we all know real life can suck enough - I prefer it if the books I read for pleasure didn't have downers for an ending. Bella has to make a lot of difficult choices in the previous books and in Breaking Dawn we see the consequences for these choices. We were all wondering what would happen to Jacob, how Charlie would react to Bella's mysterious disappearance, what Bella would be like as a vampire, if Edward could avoid killing her on their honeymoon, if the Volturi would come for her, etc. I was hoping that Bella would not be like all the other newborn vampires. All along, Stephenie Meyer has made it pretty clear in her books that Bella was not like everyone else - from the very onset when Bella is the only person whose thoughts were hidden from Edward. I was hoping that she would end up not being a crazed newborn like they all assumed she would be, so I was thrilled that that was the way SM wrote it. Not only does Bella come into her new life with her wits about her, but she develops into this really strong character who not only takes charge, but totally saves the day! Yes, the name Renesmee struck me as totally weird when I first read it, but after a while I got used to it. The worst thing about Renesmee was that she was so hard to picture in my head! A baby that looks like a baby but doesn't act like one....it'll be interesting what they do with that if they ever try to make this book into a movie. And then there's Jacob and Charlie. After thinking that surely these two would be cut out of Bella's life, SM finds a way to bring them back in. I was shocked when I read the part where Jacob imprints on Renesmee - I remember running upstairs to where my friend Dani was (she was about 100 pages ahead of me) and yelling out something like "He imprints on the BABY?!?!" - but I wasn't really grossed out by this - SM had gone to some lengths to explain in Eclipse that it wasn't a romantic kind of love when the girl was so young, just a need to see that she is safe and happy. And I was doubly relieved that Charlie could still see Bella, and that he was finally able to know just enough so he could know his granddaughter. So yes, Breaking Dawn does wrap everything up at the end in a nice pretty bow, but I liked it that way. Bella gets everything she wanted, and everything she thought she couldn't have anymore. Lots of readers have said that this makes it too fake or cheapens it, but if we were Bella, wouldn't that be exactly how we'd want things to turn out? Real life isn't always so peachy - but books can be, so I'm thankful to Stephenie Meyer for giving us a better happy ending then I thought was possible. I enjoyed it.

Eclipse

by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse, Eclipse, what to say about Eclipse?

So many great things happen in Eclipse - Bella's and Edward's compromise, Victoria's final apperance, Bella finally thinks about what it will mean if she becomes a vampire, we hear the stories of Rosalie and Jasper, Edward has a jealous moment but is smart enough to stop telling Bella what to do, the werewolves and vampires work together, etc.

Favorite parts: Edward's reaction when Bella agrees to marry him, when Edward talks to Jacob in the tent, and anything with Alice!

First time I read thisI was dying to get my hands on Breaking Dawn and I only had to wait a few months. Second time, I jumped right from it into Breaking Dawn. I believe both times I read it in about 24 hours. Which is quite something when you consider it's 600+ pages. Completely absorbing, every time! Stephenie Meyer knows how to suck you in!

New Moon

by Stephenie Meyer

Ack, I am seven books behind on this blog!

So after re-reading Twilight, I immediately started my second time through New Moon. Now while I still believe that there is just something magical about the first time you read a book that can only be experience that one time - the suspense, the wondering, the tension as you hope that the author you've put your trust in will finish their story in the way you hope - some books are better even better the second time. New Moon is one of those. The first time I read New Moon I spent most of the book wondering when in the world Edward was coming back! I remember stopping and flipping page after page looking for Edward's name, and despairing at how far I had to flip to find it! The pages in between I read as fast as I could.

This time, I was much more calm. I knew what was going to happen, and when Edward was going to come back (and even, the eventual end to the whole saga) so I was able to chill out. I enjoyed Jacob's part of the story more, as well as pay closer attention to the specifics of the werewolf pack that I'd missed the first time.

I was also careful to read the Italy parts more carefully this time around. I had forgotten the names, positions and talents of many of the Volturi - which was frustrating while reading Breaking Dawn the first time and not remembering them!

Still my least favorite of the Twilight series, but considerably better the second time. Now, onto Eclipse!

The Summoning

by Kelley Armstrong

This book comes to me courtesy of Dani - both her recommendation and her gracious loan of the actual book!

I finished the book on Saturday in the Rose Garden at about 8:45am! What an odd place to be reading a book you say? Well, yes, it was slightly odd. I was at Women of Faith and I brought it with me to read while we waited.

I liked this book, even though it takes it a while to really get going. The first 2/3rds of the book is sort of shrouded in mystery. You and the main character think you know what's going, but then everything starts to seem slightly off. Well, either I'm dumb, or was just too tired to be reading, but it took me forever to figure out what was really going on. For example, I didn't deduce what was truly wrong with Derek until about 1 page before the author explained it!

At the end, the pace of the novel really picked up and there was a really cool twist thrown in to boot!! (Another thing I did not see coming AT ALL. haha)

Now I am faced with the greatest problem of book reading: I've finished the first book of a series, it ended with a great cliff-hanger, and the second book isn't slated to be released until the end of April! Now begins the arduous wait.