Monday, February 27, 2012

Book Review: Eye of the Tempest by Nicole Peeler

Review: Eye of the Tempest
Series: Jane True – Book 4
Author: Nicole Peeler
No of Pages: 319
Release Date: 26 July 2011

Nothing says “home” like being attached by humans with very large guns, as Jane and Anyan discover when they arrive in Rockabill. Seeing Anyan fall awakens a terrible power within Jane, and she nearly destroys herself taking out their attackers.

Jane wakes, weeks later, to discover that she’s not the only thing that’s been stirring. Something underneath Rockabill is coming to life: something ancient, something powerful, and something that might destroy the world.

Jane and her friends must act, striking out on a quest that only Jane can finish. For whatever lurks beneath the Old Sow must be stopped…and Jane’s just the Halfling for the job.

My Thoughts:
Eye of the Tempest was another fast paced instalment in this fantastic series.

Jane accidentally short circuits herself when she pulls the water from several human beings to protect Anyan during an attack. It kills the men, and it nearly kills her as well. When she wakes up, a month has passed and strange occurrences are becoming more frequent in Rockabill.

Jane once again had me in fits of laughter; her trademark libido vs. virtue monologue is absolutely hilarious. Jane is growing as a character; those changes are quite obvious but also well earned. Her training is increasing and because of it she is becoming more powerful learning new tricks to impress us with in each new adventure.

Anyan was a little bit of a disappointment for me this time; I feel his real character is starting to show through. He has gone from this adorable, burly man who any woman would count their lucky stars to be with to more distant and a bit of a jerk. Anyan always seems to be around when Jane is naked or he even turns up to get her naked, but he doesn’t seem to treat her properly. When Ryu and Jane were sleeping together it was obvious that Ryu was using her for blood, but with Anyan it’s a little more subtle. The connection between them doesn’t seem to be there. As Jane pointed out herself Anyan always seemed to cop a feel, but they had never even kissed properly.

For me, this was a little bit of a letdown with Anyan, it might just be my natural distrusting ways, but if I were Jane I’d put my foot down and not give over anything until I knew where I stood.

The actual story was once again very well written. It didn’t have the adventure in that Jane actually stayed in Rockabill for nearly the entire novel, but it did have a deeper story. One in which Jane got to meet a being that was literally millions of years old. Jane also had to man up because Nell and Anyan, her two most powerful allies, were rendered completely helpless and it was up to Jane and Blondie, who Jane didn’t trust, to help them.

Peeler’s writing was once again superb; I do feel though that she is playing up a little too much on her Jane monologues. After such high praises of the ingeniousness of it in previous books, Libido and Virtue were appearing what felt like all the time. Every new situation Jane was put into it felt like those two felt the need to be heard, it was actually kind of annoying after a while because it was obvious what was happening, just because a device has worked in the past doesn’t mean you have to become a one trick pony.

Eye of the Tempest was once again a fabulous read, it kept me engrossed from start to finish and I once again cannot wait for the next instalment.


Others in this series:
Tempest's Rising
Tracking the Tempest
Tempest's Legacy
Tempest's Fury

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Book Review: Warrior by Marie Brennan

Review: Warrior
Series: Doppelganger – Book 1
Author: Marie Brennan
No of Pages: 395
Release Date: 1 August 2008

When a witch is born, a doppelganger is created. For the witch to master her powers, the twin must be killed. But what happens when the doppelganger survives?

Mirage, a bounty hunter, lives by her wits and lethal fighting skills. She always gets her mark. But her new mission will take her into the shadowy worl of witches, where her strength may be no match against magic.

Miryo is a witch who has just failed her initiation test. She now knows that there is someone in the world who looks like her, who is her: Mirage. To control her powers, Miryo has only one choice: to hunt the hunter and destroy her.

My Thoughts:

Warrior was absolutely amazing.

Miryo is in an unusual predicament, as a witch, to gain control of her powers, she must kill someone who looks just like her, who is her. Someone who should have died when she was very young. Miryo has to kill her doppelganger, the other part of herself.

Mirage is on a mission to find out who killed a powerful witch, being wary of witches for most of her life she was uncomfortable with the contact she needs to have with them, but being the best at what she does, she is perfect for the job.

Mirage was by far my favourite of the two girls; she was the typical kick ass fantasy chick. She was a knife wielding, combat expert who people either feared or respected greatly. She worked hard to get where she was and had to fight for it every step of the way because she was different, much as she hated them, she looked exactly like a witch because of her flaming red hair.

Miryo on the other hand was a bit scared, highly intelligent but sheltered and sent off on a mission that she really shouldn’t have been sent off to.

Warrior was a predictable book, but the way it was told, the world it was told in made it something completely new to experience. Brennan’s writing was seamless in her execution of the two characters, each was completely individual, had their own voice.

Brennan crafted a wonderful world incorporating not only magic but assassins which has to be two of my favourite fantasy subjects ever; it was indeed a match made in heaven. Brennan’s writing was impeccable, her fight scenes were some of the best I’ve read in quite a long time, no skimming over details or coping out using phrases such as “I don’t know how it happened, but all of a sudden he was under me and I knocked him unconscious”, Mirage and even Miryo had to work during their fights, Mirage especially, her fight scenes were so detailed my leg started moving without me realising it as I read about her kicking her assailants in the head.

Warrior was also very realistic – well, as much as a fantasy novel can be realistic – things weren’t handed to the characters, there were no short cuts, nearly everything was hard. Mirage and Miryo may have been the best at what they did, but nothing came easy.

Warrior, in it’s mythology, was a little hard to understand at first, what with all the different hands and heads and hearts and elements. I found myself getting quite baffled when reading in Miryo’s point of view for a large portion of the front of the book, but once I understood it, which didn’t happen until about halfway through I found it to be some of the most unique mythology I have read in a long time. Two created from one, all the magic and singing spells kind of got lost in the rest of the story, which I am glad of because I wasn’t a huge fan of the idea, but the baser Witch mythology was very intriguing.

Warrior was a fantastic start to this duology, it left me thinking about it for days afterwards and I am eager to get into the next instalment, Witch.

Also in this series:
Witch

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Book Review: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Review: Bloodlines
Series: Bloodlines – Book 1
Author: Richelle Mead
No of Pages: 421
Release Date: 23 August 2011

SYDNEY PROTECTS VAMPIRE SECRETS – AND HUMAN LIVES.

Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires.

But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she is still being punished for her complicated alliance with the dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as her protector.

The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one…

My Thoughts:
We were never going to get another Vampire Academy, but what we did get was still surprisingly unique considering it was set in the same world.

Sydney Sage is a disgraced alchemist. After helping Rose to escape from prison whilst on a murder charge and befriending vampires and dhampirs, she is under constant surveillance from the Alchemists. Sydney is terrified of getting sent to a re-education centre and for her younger sister to get caught up in the Alchemist life.

Her newest mission is to keep Jill – Vasilisa’s sister – safe after being repeatedly attacked by people who want Lissa removed from the throne. They move to Palm Springs, a place that is very uncomfortable for vampires because of the heat. Jill is in for a struggle, but her safety is now more important than her comfort.

Sydney for me took a little time to warm to. She was never my favourite person in Vampire Academy purely because she was too uptight. Well, in Bloodlines she was still uptight, but being able to get into her mind, I also found that she was very human. Being raised in a cult like lifestyle full of rules and regulations Sydney hasn’t had the life of a normal teenager and once the full extent of that deprivation is explored, her upbringing is really quite sad.

Bloodlines took a few chapters for me to get into as well; I bought it purely because it had Richelle Mead on it and a Rose appearance in it. At first I was sceptical thinking that Bloodlines couldn’t possibly be as good as Vampire Academy, that Sydney was more of a consolation prize for Adrian to those of us who loved him in the first set of books.

There was actually no romance between them in this and I was so glad for it. Mead didn’t fall into the trap that I have found with so many authors lately of rushing relationships. She knows she has six books and it’s not even clear if Sydney and Adrian will get together. They are just friends for now which I am really happy about.

Bloodlines itself was more mystery than action. The mystery was fairly see-through but Mead’s incredible writing kept the pages turning even though I knew from the start which bad guys were going to do what.

Sydney started to come out of her shell towards the end of Bloodlines, making for a promising character to lead this series, she showed that she wasn’t the push over everyone seemed to think she was and I really started to like her.

The only thing that really disappointed me about this book was in the first chapter. Sydney narrated that she knew a secret about one of the other characters. I hate when people do that. Don’t tell me you have a secret about someone, it’s a cheap trick to try and entice us to keep reading. It’s what gave me the bad first impression, but I’m glad that Mead worked it up to a very good book in the end.

Mead left us with quite a few loose ends but no unbearable cliff hangers to carry us into the next book, the mystery behind the heritage of some characters and the future of others is quite enough to have me eager for more.

Others in this series:
The Golden Lily

Thursday, February 2, 2012

TBR Drawer: February 2012

  • Just After Sunset by Stephen King
  • Night Rising by Chris Marie Green
  • Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
  • The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
  • Need by Carrie Jones
  • Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
  • Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance
  • Jessicas Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
  • Original Sin by Allison Brennan
  • No Rest for the Wicca by Toni Lotempio
  • Blood Magic by Eileen Wilks
  • Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilks
  • Soulless by Gail Carriger
  • The Boys Next Door by Jennifer Echols
  • Shades of Midnight by Lara Adrian
  • The Awakening by Kelly Armstrong
  • Dark Beginnings by Gena Showalter
  • The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom
  • The Taken by Sarah Pinborough
  • Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
  • Bloodlines by Lindsay Anne Kendal
  • Dead Men's Dust by Matt Hilton
  • Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs
  • Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs
  • Mortal Remains by Kathy Reichs
  • Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs
  • Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
  • Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs
  • Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs
  • Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs
  • Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs
  • Another One Bites The Dust by Jennifer Rardin
  • Biting The Bullet by Jennifer Rardin
  • Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
  • Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb
  • Antara by Marilena Mexi    RC
  • Cinco de Mayo by Michael J. Martineck   RC 
  • Crash Into Me by Albert Borris
  • Succubus on Top by Richelle Mead
  • Shadowglass by Erica Hayes
  • Betrayed by Morgan Rice   RC  
  • Loved by Morgan Rice   RC 
  • Destined by Morgan Rice   RC 
  • Masqurade by Melissa De La Cruz
  • I Am God by Giorgio Faletti
  • Taboo by Casey Hill
  • Rain by Virginia Andrews
  • Lightning Strike by Virginia Andrews 
  • Eye of the Storm by Virginia Andrews 
  • The End of the Rainbow by Virginia Andrews 
  • Melody by Virginia Andrews 
  • Heart Song by Virginia Andrews 
  • Unfinished Symphony by Virginia Andrews 
  • Music in the Night by Virginia Andrews 
  • Olivia by Virginia Andrews 
  • Celeste by Virginia Andrews 
  • The Starkin Crown by Kate Forsyth 
  • Lover Enshrined by JR Ward
  • Love Story by Jennifer Echols
  • Sympathy for the Devil by Justin Gustanis   RC
  • Dark Moon of Avalon by Anna Elliot
  • Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton
  • Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton
  • Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton
  • Wildthorn by Jane Eagland
  • The Ambassador's Mission by Trudi Canavan
  • Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks
  • The Magician's Apprentice by Trudi Canavan
February Arrivals:

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Monthly Wrap-Up: January 2012

Wow, January has gone so fast! I have enjoyed my break and am slowly starting to catch up on my review pile. I am still taking it easy for now and tech is starting up again next week.

My Favourite book for the month was: Initiate by Tara Maya
 
In January I read 8 books:
  • Initiate by Tara Maya
  • Hell's Revenge by Eve Langlais
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling
  • Faefever by Karen Marie Moning
  • Turned by Morgan Rice
  • The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross 
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling
  • What's A Ghoul To Do? by Victoria Laurie

I reviewed 0 books:


My Shelfari TBR Pile increased from 952 to 954. Aww :(

My physical TBR pile went down from 69 to 68. Woo!

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