Monday, August 31, 2015

Read This! Round Up (#49)

Welcome to Read This, a collection of book reviews and giveaways that were posted in the past week or so from around the web. This is a collection of book reviews & contests from real reviewers. If you want to be included in the next edition start with the guidelines, then use the submission form.
Want to read more reviews? Check out Read This for a list of the latest reviews and stellar reviewers. You can also follow on twitter for the latest round ups. Read This is now accepting photo submissions for each edition.

CONTESTS


FICTION

-HISTORICAL FICTION

-WOMEN’S FICTION


YOUNG ADULT

-SCIENCE FICTION

-FANTASY

-THRILLER


NEW ADULT


ROMANCE

-HISTORICAL ROMANCE


FANTASY


PARANORMAL


HORROR


THRILLER


300x200readthis

Sunday, August 30, 2015

#ARCAugust 2015 Wrap Up

I read 13 ARCs!  That is absolutely insane! Add on to that 2 non ARCs and I have read a total of 15 books this past month!  I can't believe I read that many!  I don't even know how I had enough time in my life to just sit down and read like that.

I guess you can say that I am totally surprised with myself.  There is actually still a day to go, I could potentially finish another one or so.  I do have a few ARCs of picture books that I need to read at some point...

I really look forward to doing this again next year, but to completely honest most of what I read happen to be ARCs.  I really need a challenge that gets me to read books I already own.  I have a TON of those.

Considering that I review everything I read - if not on here my review at least makes it onto my Goodreads account - there will still be a ton of great reads (and sadly some not so great ones) making an appearance here!




Title: The Young Elite
Author: Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites #1
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Source: Printed ARC





Title: Mad About the Hatter
Author: Dakota Chase
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press
Publication Date: August 20, 2015
Source: Netgalley

Find my review here



Title: The Body Institute
Author: Carol Riggs
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Source: Netgalley



Title: Stanley at School
Author: Linda Bailey
Illustrator: Bill Slavin
Series: Stanley
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: August 1, 2015
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4 stars




Title: The Foxglove Killings
Author: Tara Kelly
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Source: Netgalley



Title: Pet Shop Heroes
Author: Stanford Crow
Illustrator: Christian Paniagua
Series: Stand Alone 
Publisher: Bliss Group Books
Publication Date: November 11, 2015
Source: Netgalley




Title: Big Nate - Welcome to My World
Author: Lincoln Peirce
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: September 15, 2015
Source: Netgalley



Title: The Accident Season
Author: Moira Fowley-Doyle
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books
Publication Date: August 18, 2015
Source: Netgalley

 Find my review here.



Title: Legacy of Kings
Author: Eleanor Herman
Series: Blood of Gods and Royals #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: August 18, 2015
Source: Printed ARC

Find my review here


Title: Snoopy: Contact!
Author: Charles M. Schulz
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Source: Netgalley




Title: Flunked
Author: Jen Calonita
Series: Fairy Tale Reform School #1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Source: Printed ARC

Find my review here



Title: A Curious Beginning
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Series:Veronica Speedwell Mystery #1
Publisher: NAL
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Source: Netgalley

Find my review here



Title: The New Wild
Author: Holly Brasher
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Full Fathom Five Digital
Publication Date: August 26, 2015
Source: Netgalley

Find my review here






Saturday, August 29, 2015

Explore Your Creative Side (#1)

Welcome to the first installment of Explore Your Creative Side!

Sometimes books are read to help us learn new things and to help us explore something.  I am pleased to bring introduce you to my new monthly feature Explore Your Creative Side.  Once a month, on the 29th, I will be featuring a mashup of a few different titles covering a wide variety of topics meant to promote creativity.  Don't worry though!  I will still do the occasional full feature for creativity inspiring books!

I hope you enjoy!


Sewing


Title: Upcycle Your Wardrobe: 21 Sewing Projects for Unique, New Fashions
Author: Mia Fuhrer
Series: None
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Publication Date: July 28, 2015
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 5 stars

The projects within this book show you how to give new life to boring old clothes. They show you relatively simple ways to change one or two things about an existing article of clothing and it much more fashionable and chic.

What is even more fantastic about these clothing upcycle projects is that they are incredibly easy and pretty inexpensive to do!

This is a great book for a beginner just learning how to sew. The directions are easy to follow.

What a fantastic way to get a new wardrobe for very little money out of pocket!

This review is based on an eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.




Amigurumi


Title: Dinosaur Amigurumi
Author: Justyna Kacprzak
Series: None
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication Date: June 3, 2015
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4 stars

This wonderful little book teaches you how to create cute little dinosaurs and, really, they are very cute!

Some of the dinosaurs definitely seem harder than others, but that is great for someone who wants to be able to take on a challenge.  No one wants them all to be easy.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to beginners unless they are very adept at reading instructions and can pick up how to read them quickly as they are all abbreviated.

This review is based on an eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.




Cooking


Title: The Slow Cookin' Companion
Author: Nicole Sparks and Jenna Marwitz
Series: None
Publisher: Crockin Girls LLC
Publication Date: April 20, 2012
Source: Purchased
Rating: 5 stars

This cookbook meant for use with a slow cooker is the best!  There are a lot of different recipes for all different types of meals: breakfast, appetizers, soups, desserts, etc

I have made quite a few of the different recipes in this book, and I am by no means a good cook.  I stay far away from anything that looks even remotely difficult.  The recipes in this book are simple, straight forward, and easy to understand.  They also taste fantastic!

I also like that they have a picture for each recipe.  It really helps when choosing what you want to make (and to see if yours came out right).

I know quite a few other people who have this book as well.  They love it just as much as I do.  If you like to use your slow cooker, you want this cookbook!

Friday, August 28, 2015

Cinder - Marissa Meyer



Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Source: Borrowed

A futuristic retelling of the ever popular Cinderella fairytale.  There are humans, androids, and cyborgs.  There really isn’t very much else you can ask for when it comes to this story.

Cyborgs in this world are treated as second class citizens.  Unfortunately for Cinder, she just happens to be one of these cyborgs.  Then to top it all off, she has a step mother that cannot stand her and treats her horribly.  The only thing that really helps her out in the world is that she is a very good mechanic.  One of the best around actually.

It is because of her gift with machines that she meets Prince Kai.  Her life unravels pretty quickly from there.  It doesn’t help that she doesn’t really know anything about her past and how she came to be the way she is (or even really where she came from).  Cinder is just one confused girl trying to stay under the radar and live her life.

The take that this book takes on the classic Cinderella story is very unique and I really enjoyed it.  I felt that the characters were very well done.  I enjoyed the quirkiness that the author gave to a few of them.  It was not hard at all to imagine the characters and the world while reading along.

I am very interested in seeing how all the books will end up tying themselves together.  I can see some of the master plan while reading this one, but I am not really sure how Marissa Meyers is going to pull it all together.  My understanding is that all of the books should revolve around a different fairytale and I personally have trouble imagining how Meyers is going to pull this off.  It takes a very clever sort of person to do so and I hope she can!


My Rating

4 out of 5 Stars

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The New Wild - Holly Brasher


Title: The New Wild
Author: Holly Brasher
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Full Fathom Five Digital
Publication Date: August 26, 2015
Source: Netgalley

Take a moment to think of the world as you know it now.  Every where you go you can find people looking at their cell phones.  It doesn't take a well trained eye to see trash littered along the freeway.  There are still people out there that think recycling is a waste of time.  Others refuse to watch their water use.  In short, a lot of humans haven't been taking very good of the Earth.

Well guess what?  Mother Nature is pissed!  In The New World by Holly Brasher we are thrown into a world where Mother Nature has decided to take things into her own hands and rid the Earth of EVERYTHING that isn't natural...and those who haven't been doing their part to take care of it.

Our story begins at a summer camp, which actually seems more like a 5 star resort.  The kids spend all day on their computers and tablets.  They have their own private bedrooms inside of their cabins.  They eat freeze dried food and don't even bother with recycling the packaging when they are done.  Except for Jackie.  She keeps all of the containers that she used during her stay to recycle when she returns home.

Summer camp is nearing its end and all the the girls and boys that are in their last year of camp get to go on a special camping trip that has always been kept hush hush.  It is during the night of that trip that Mother Nature decides to make humans pay for the damage that they have done.  Jackie, for one reason or another, survives this attack and finds herself alone wondering what she is going to do.  She is in the middle of nowhere and over 3,000 miles away from home.

Our story then follows Jackie along in her journey to get home to her mom...who she hopes is still alive. 

A lot was going on in The New World, but unfortunately not very much of it was very good.  

In the beginning there was a horrible attempt at dialog between 3 teenage girls.  It felt forced and unnatural.  It felt as though Brasher really did not understand how a teenage girl thinks and just went off of what she thought they would sound and act like.  Stereotype usage was very strong.

Then there was the use of language.  There were actually a lot of swear words.  More than you would normally come across in a young adult title.  Part of me is just writing about the swear words for you to be aware in case you don't like them in your literature, the other part of me found it weird.  They felt used to create feeling in what the characters were thinking or feeling at the time.  Also, sometimes they would be used in full force or the weaker form that is less offensive would be used. It just felt odd and it was very noticeable.

As far as characters go.  They were pretty flat and not developed well.  Relationships between them were the same.  It was rather disappointing.

But the most disappointing thing about this book is pretty much nothing really happens for the majority of the book!  The whole story is pretty flat just like its characters.  That being said, when things actually did "happen" they were either gross and nasty or very very weird.

I am probably being more than a little generous in my rating of this book, but there were some things that I thought were done okay.  Some of the descriptions were nicely done and I had no problem imagining them.

Read this one at your own risk.  It is short though and doesn't take long to get through, so you won't end up wasting too much of your time on it if you decide to give it a chance anyways.


My Rating
2 of 5 stars





This review is based on an eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Mad About the Hatter - Dakota Chase


Title: Mad About the Hatter
Author: Dakota Chase
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press
Publication Date: August 20, 2015
Source: Netgalley

If you have been wanting to go on a trip to Wonderland, but wanted a new story to take you there, Mad About the Hatter by Dakota Chase is the one you want.  It stays very true to the original Wonderland that we all know and love.  You will not be disappointed.  However, this story is not about Alice.  This story is about the Mad Hatter and Boy Alice, better known as Henry.

Mad About the Hatter happens a good 14 years after Alice's last visit to Wonderland.  Henry is 17 years old.  Alice is in her young 20's, married, and has twins.

The story starts out with the Red Queen summoning the Mad Hatter from his dungeon cell.  Apparently a boy has appeared in Caterpillar's lair and has been asking for him.  While the Red Queen would rather chop of the Mad Hatters head right then and there, she wants answers from this Boy Alice that has appeared in her kingdom.  She would also like to chop off his head too.  After she gets answers of course. 

The Red Queen sends the Mad Hatter off to find Boy Alice and return him to her.  If he does, she will pardon the Mad Hatter and not cut of his head.  Obviously, the Hatter wants to keep his head, so he agrees to fetch the Boy Alice.

The Mad Hatter eventually finds Boy Alice and learns that he is the younger brother of Alice.  He also learns that Boy Alice's true name is Henry and that Henry was sent against his will to Wonderland by Alice.  

All Henry wants to do is find his way home again and the Mad Hatter agrees to help and tells him that the Red Queen can help him get there...maybe.  Thus their adventure together begins.

Mad About the Hatter is very light and fluffy.  It never gets too serious, though sometimes I do wish it would have gone a bit deeper.  I wanted more from the relationship between the Mad Hatter and Henry.  I would have liked a bit more angst and tension.  There really wasn't much at all.  Their relationship came too easy.

The way the world is written is wonderful.  It is very easy to imagine Wonderland as they venture through it.  They travel through quite a few different lands to get to their destinations, each very worthy of Wonderland.  Dakota Chase does an excellent job describing them.  You can tell that she is a fan of the original Alice in Wonderland and did her best to stay true to the world as it was originally written.

There are also a ton of familiar faces!  I loved being able to visit with these long lost friends.  The Caterpillar was still there smoking his hookah.  The White Rabbit was still late and very jittery.  The Red Queen was still very into chopping off the heads.  She was probably even more into chopping off heads in this one than she was when we first met her!  Just like the world, the characters that we see were kept true to how they were originally written.

For those of you wondering if this would be something appropriate for younger teens to read, the answer is yes.  The romance is really light.  There are only a handful of kisses and a lot of hand holding.  Nothing is overly steamy.  Also, violence is pretty much nonexistent.  It is a very tame book when it comes to topics such as those.  As far as language goes, the B word is used a couple of times, but mostly to refer to female dogs.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one.  Yes, there wasn't much angst and there wasn't very much conflict, but it was such an enjoyable read it was very easy to overlook those flaws.  This is a very fun retelling of Alice in Wonderland that you do not want to miss!

Also, on a completely random side note - I listened to the Almost Alice album while I was reading this book and I felt that they really went well together.  If you haven't heard the the album check it out here.


My Rating
4.5 out of 5 stars



This review is based on an eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review

Monday, August 24, 2015

Read This! Round Up (#48)

3048036Photo courtesy of Sofia @Platypire Reviews
Welcome to Read This, a collection of book reviews and giveaways that were posted in the past week or so from around the web. This is a collection of book reviews & contests from real reviewers. If you want to be included in the next edition start with the guidelines, then use the submission form.
Want to read more reviews? Check out Read This for a list of the latest reviews and stellar reviewers. You can also follow on twitter for the latest round ups. Read This is now accepting photo submissions for each edition.

CONTESTS


NON FICTION


FICTION

-HISTORICAL FICTION

-WOMEN’S FICTION


CHILDREN’S


YOUNG ADULT

-FANTASY


NEW ADULT


ROMANCE


SCIENCE FICTION


PARANORMAL


GRAPHIC NOVEL


HORROR


MYSTERY


THRILLER


300x200readthis

Sunday, August 23, 2015

#ARCAugust 2015 Update (#3)

I have been making some very great progress with #ARCAugust.  I am really happy with all that I have read so far.  That being said, I think my goal list is pretty much obsolete.  I keep adding titles to it.  I have gotten a lot of the original ones done though, so at least there is that!

Here are the ones I completed this week.  My grand total is now at 9! And the 10th is very close to being completed!




Title: The Foxglove Killings
Author: Tara Kelly
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Source: Netgalley



Title: Pet Shop Heroes
Author: Stanford Crow
Illustrator: Christian Paniagua
Series: Stand Alone 
Publisher: Bliss Group Books
Publication Date: November 11, 2015
Source: Netgalley




Title: Big Nate - Welcome to My World
Author: Lincoln Peirce
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: September 15, 2015
Source: Netgalley


Saturday, August 22, 2015

Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas


Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #1
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Publication Date: August 7, 2012
Source: eARC from publisher

This book was much more than I thought it would be.   This book has haunted me since I finished it.  It was full of action, adventure, romance, friendship, magic... It really had it all.

That being said, it wasn't always smooth sailing.  There were moments in the book, especially in the middle where I wasn't as involved as a reader as I would have liked to be.  I found it too easy to put the book down and come back later.  The part of the book that really made this book for me was in the last 4th.  I would love to tell you all why, to detail the scenes that really started to make this book for me, but I cannot/will not do that to you.  You will just have to read this book yourself to discover those moments of pure greatness.

I liked the touch of magic to the story.  It was interesting and different.  Seeing how magic continues to evolve in the story line is one of the things that will keep me coming back to this series.

As far as the characters went.  I liked them.  Celaena seemed to be a bit more talk than show.  I more often than not got the feeling that she wished that she was just a normal girl, not the most notorious assassin in the world.  That she didn't really like the cards that she had been dealt in life.  She never really showed her awesome assassiness.  I really would have liked to see that.  Maybe in the next book we will be blessed with more detailed action.

Dorian felt a bit bland to me.  Just a Prince.  He wants what he wants.  I found him to be a bit slimy.  I never really trusted him, still don't.  There really isn't a reason why.  It is just the vibe I got from the guy.

Then there was Chaol.  My favorite.  I loved Chaol.  The quiet, mostly unsung hero.  This character right here made the book for me.  You really will have to read the book to see why.  Maas does such a wonderful job with him.

The relationships between the characters were all wonderfully done.  I am interested in learning more of why Celaena is totally petrified of the king.  It is hinted at a bit, but never quite told.  I also cannot wait for the next book to see how specific relationships progress and to see how some of them develop.  Will Dorian end up turning truly slimy or will his actions in the next book change my opinions of him?

In the end, I am a total fan of this book.  I think many will enjoy it.  There are no real language issues and not too much in regards to sexual content.  The violence is there, some of it pretty gruesome, but not horribly detailed.

This review is based on an eARC provided by the publisher.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Armada - Ernest Cline


Title: Armada
Author: Ernest Cline
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: July 14, 2015
Source: Blogging For Books

Ernest Cline does it again!  Except this time, instead of giving us a bunch of 80's references, we get a bunch of science fiction ones.  The whole video game concept is still there, however, this book uses space themed video games as its point of reference.  The reason why?  ALIENS!

Aliens have threatened to take over the planet and to destroy the entire human race.  It is an attack that has been in the works for decades.  The general population was kept unaware, but the governments of all the different nations were very well aware of the threat.  And the different nations have been training their citizens this whole time, without the citizens being aware of it at all.

How have they been getting trained?  VIDEO GAMES!


The government started out with games like Space Invaders (click here to try your hand at playing it yourself) and eventually moved on to more realistic ones as technology progressed and allowed for it.  You can tell by the picture above that games such as Space Invaders would not really train someone all that well to take an alien craft down in real life, so the government had to improve it.  Thankfully the aliens were leaking their technology to us to help us out... Wait a minute...

Brilliant idea!  Excellent concept!

However, that being said, this was not Ready Player One.  Try with all your might when you read this book not to compare the two.  If you do compare them, you may find yourself a little disappointed in this book.

While I loved this book and really enjoyed the story.  I found there to be some flaws.  First, a lot of the characters felt a bit flat.  Not fully developed.  I realize that the story is essentially taking place in a time frame that is more or less 24 hours, but that does not excuse character development issues.  I wanted more from the supporting characters, but the only the main character really felt fairly flushed out and real to me.

Another issue I found with this book was that sometimes things just seemed to come/happen too easy to the characters.  I wanted more drama, more oomph from the problems they were facing.  Too many places had parts that just seemed to be glossed over.

It was a fairly predictable story line with some development flaws, but it was still a good story and fun read.  If nothing else, read the book to find the fun nuggets of science fiction and video game trivia if you are a fan of those topics.  The book is absolutely filled with them!

My Rating
4 out of 5 stars


I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.





A Curious Beginning - Deanna Raybourn


Title: A Curious Beginning
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Series:Veronica Speedwell Mystery #1
Publisher: NAL
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Source: Netgalley


Before we start I want you to take a good hard look at the cover of A Curious Beginning.  Is it not one of the most gorgeous covers you have ever seen?  I think it is stunningly beautiful.  When looking at it, it just whispers "Read me..." 

Do yourself a favor and listen to that whisper.  Read this book.  You will not be disappointed!

A Curious Beginning is just that, a curious beginning.  It is a story of Veronica Speedwell.  A woman living in the 1800's.  However, do not be fooled.  She is not a proper lady.  She likes to go off on expeditions and capture butterflies.  She is a lover of science.  And she is no stranger to the touch of a man...despite being unwed.

The story begins with a funeral for Veronica Speedwell's last living caretaker.  Veronica was an orphan that was raised by two sisters.  If they knew anything about where she came from, they never told her and Veronica never thought to ask.  She probably should have.

Veronica Speedwell has plans to take off on a new expedition all most immediately upon her return to the cottage she shared with her caretakers, but upon returning she finds the cottage in a disheveled state.  What is even more worrisome is that the thief is still in the house!  While most others would attempt to escape before their presence is noticed, Veronica does the opposite.  She gives chase to the intruder!  Luckily a strange old man she comes to know as Baron Maximillion von Stauffenbach (such a mouthful I know!) is there to help frighten the intruder away.

The Baron then gets Veronica, after some convincing, to accompany him to London where he leaves her in the care of Stoker - a dirty, overworked, callous man.  The Baron promises to return and that he will have answers for her, but he is murdered before he is able to.

The murder of the Baron is what sets Stoker and Veronica off on their adventure together for they desire to discover who and why of the matter.  It is quite the journey too.  One I refuse to tell you any more about!

I will be honest with you.  I really did not find anything about this book I did not like. 

I loved all of the characters and the way they were developed.  I thought their relationships were well done and nothing about them felt forced.  They all felt very natural. I had absolutely no problem imagining any of them and by the end I felt very attached to Veronica and Stoker.  

In regards to Veronica Speedwell herself, I found her to be a very refreshing heroine.  She is a very strong female that does what she wants and she remains that way throughout the story.  She does not need a man, or anyone else for that matter, to take care of her.  She can do it herself.  She also is very intelligent and witty.  This particular combination of traits is not something I find very often while reading.

The pacing of this book was absolutely superb.  Just when I thought I would get bored with what was going on something new and exciting popped up in the plot line.  It made it very hard to put this book down and do other things (like sleep).

In regards to the mystery aspect of A Curious Beginning, I felt as confused as the Veronica and Stoker.  I had absolutely no idea and could only make guesses.  Sometimes Veronica reminded me of a female Sherlock Holmes with her powers of deduction.  Also, I would not be surprised if Raybourn is a fan of the board game Clue as I was reminded of it a time or two during Veronica's and Stokers discussions of the murder mystery.

Needless to say, I loved this book and I strongly recommend it.  You would be a fool to pass it up!  And the cover!  It is too beautiful to not be read!

My Rating
5 out of 5 stars



This review is based on an eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

Legacy of Kings - Eleanor Herman


Title: Legacy of Kings
Author: Eleanor Herman
Series: Blood of Gods and Royals #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: August 18, 2015
Source: Printed ARC

Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman is a young adult historical fiction novel centered around Alexander the Great.  It combines history with magic.  It brings a wonderful cast of characters to life.  It makes you feel as though you are living in the time period and going through everything with them.  In short, this book is fantastic.

Legacy of Kings is actually told from multiple view points: Alex, Katerina, Cynane, Zofia, Olympias, Jacob, and Hephaestion.  Now, you may think that having so many different narrators will be difficult to follow along with, or that they may all end up sounding as though they are the same person, but you shouldn't worry.  The story is written in such a wonderful fashion that you will have absolutely no problem knowing who you are following along at any given point in time and each character does have their own voice.

Alexander (Alex) is the prince and heir to the throne.  He is brave and he is a fierce warrior.  He also has a some what strange ability.  It is almost as though he can see down into a persons soul and can tell what kind of person they truly are.  He doesn't let others know about it.  I am not even really sure if he realizes what he is doing or how he is doing it most of the time.  He has a scar on his leg that causes him to want to go on a quest with Heph to find a fountain that is said to be able to heal any imperfections

I liked Alex.  He was my second favorite character of the story.  He had a lot of growth during the course of Legacy of Kings.  I enjoyed watching him change and I look forward to seeing a lot more growth happen in the future.

Katerina (Kat) is an orphaned girl who was taken in by another family.  Her mother was killed when she was only 6, something she has never forgotten...or forgiven.  She has a special way with animals.  They seem to trust and understand her and she them.  She has a special quest for herself that she must complete before she will allow herself to give herself completely to anyone.

So far Kat is easily my favorite character.  I find her strong and full of spark.  I enjoy learning about her as she learns about herself.  I think next to Cyn, she is probably one of the more mysterious characters in the story.  She does go through a lot of development and growth in this story.  It was fun watching her discover herself.  She still has a long way to go, but I think she is heading in the right direction.

Cynane (Cyn) is a sister to Alex.  She is determined to find a way to power in a world where men dictate everything and women are just there to breed and cook dinner.  She is manipulate and very sneaky.  She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.  Nothing will stop her.  She desires to turn Heph against Alex in order to achieve her ultimate goal.

Cyn is easily my least favorite aside from the Queen.  I find her stuck up.  I feel she has a sense of entitlement and that things are owed to her because of what happened to her mother.  There is a lot that I hope she learns and quickly.

Zofia (Zo) is the promised betrothed of Alex, but she doesn't want to be.  She is in love with another.  A soldier.  She will do anything to be with the one she loves and to avoid the fate that seems to be laid out in front of her.  This includes running away at night despite the dangers that lurk in the dark.

Zo, to me, seems like the most clueless one of the bunch.  Heading out to be with her "true love" at all costs.  This only gets her into more and more trouble.  She is also the character we see the least of during the course of this story, so we don't really get to see her grow much at all.  I am looking forward to when her part in the story comes into more focus.

Olympias is the Queen.  The mother of Alex.  She has a strong desire for power.  She is also (in my opinion) a very scary individual that you do not want to cross.  Not if you want to live...

The Queen is just scary.  She is not a person I would want to run into ever.  She has it out for anyone and everyone that is in her way.  I think her scenes are written really well.  The fear and/or hate that others have for her just radiates off of the page.

Jacob is Katerina's unofficial brother.  He is a member of the family that took her in.  He is in love with her and is willing to do anything and everything to earn the right to be with her.  He goes off to fight in the Kings tournament to try to prove his worth. 

I thought Jacob was rather whiny through most of the story.  He wants Kat to love him, but doesn't understand why she can't quite yet.  He thinks it is because he is unworthy and needs to earn status to earn her love.  I think this is ridiculous.  He is supposed to have known Kat for many many years.  They are best friends.  He should know it is not all about him.  He is more or less like this for the entire story.  I hope to see him grow a lot more in the next installment.

Hephaestion (Heph) is the best friend of Alex.  Alex took Heph into the palace and gave him a home.  While in the palace he has trained to become one of the best warriors and is Alex's closest confidant.  He fights in the Kings tournament in hopes of winning the prize money so that he and Alex can go off on a quest to find the fountain.

Oh, Heph.  I thought he was a bit stuck on himself.  That he thought he was the best of the best.  Yet, he is extremely insecure.  He is very easily swayed and quick to act.  There is a lot of promise of growth for his character, but you only get to see a little bit of it in Legacy of Kings.  He was easily my second least favorite character.

The Legacy of Kings is how the different worlds of all these characters get intertwined.  It is actually quite complex, but brilliantly done.  It cannot be an easy task creating 6 different characters with 6 different stories to tell, but Eleanor Herman does it brilliantly.  Each character is tied to at least one other character in some way or another.  We don't get to see Zo interacting with the other characters quite yet, but I am looking forward to how her story line gets tied into the rest of them.

My biggest complaint about Legacy of Kings, and it is just me being particular, is that I thought it read kind of slow for a young adult novel usually does.  I am used to being able to read them faster.  Legacy of Kings forces you to take your time.  It is worth it though.  There is a lot of detail to take in and a lot of characters to get to know.  So, while the pace could have gone a little faster, if it had gone too fast, a lot would have been missed.

There were also some points in the story where it seemed to drag a little, especially in the beginning of the book.  Thankfully, some where around the middle, the story really started to pick up and get interesting. 

While this story is meant for those who enjoy young adult novels, I would have to say that it is meant more for the older/more mature side.  There is quite a bit of violence.  Herman does a fantastic job making you feel creeped out when it is necessary.  A very particular scene, involving a lot of snakes, comes to mind (also, if you have an intense fear of snakes this book may not be for you!)

I think if you are a fan of Game of Thrones you will really enjoy Legacy of Kings.  Things are a bit muted in Legacy of Kings, but that is probably due to the intended audience being young adults.  Do not let that keep you away though.  It is all there, it just doesn't have the same amount of detail!

The story told within The Legacy of Kings will stick with you long after you have finished.  I am still thinking about it and all of the characters.  I still find myself thinking about things that happened in this story.  About how the relationships between characters evolved, how the characters grew, and about all the trouble they are no doubt going to face in the future.

I really don't want to have to wait for the next book, but of course I have to.  And I will.  It will be a long wait, but I need to know what is going to happen next.  They have become my friends and I all ready miss them.  I cannot wait to visit them again.

There is treachery, love, friendship, magic, war, and more in this story.  It is one you do not want to miss.

My Rating
4.5 out of 5 stars




This review is based on an ARC provided by the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The Library at Mount Char - Scott Hawkins


Title: The Library at Mount Char
Author: Scott Hawkins
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: June 16, 2015
Source: Blogging for Books

There really aren't many words that can be used to describe this book.  It is all most indescribable.  It is weird.  It is dark.  It is a masterpiece.  

Our story involves 12 individuals, to be called the librarians, and a man that they refer to as Father.  Father adopted all 12 of them when all of their parents mysteriously died one night.  They were all around the age of 8 when it happened and they don't recall much of anything about it.  All they knew was that Father was giving them a new home in the Library, was going to teach them new things, and that he was to be obeyed.  Not obeying Father would result in a fate worse than death itself.

Father has each child learn something different, he calls them catalogs.  None of the children are to study outside their catalog.  Father expressly forbids it.  The catalogs are all different.  While the catalogs are rather broad categories such as war and death, language, healing, etc there is little to no crossover.

The story within The Library at Mount Char takes place a good 20 something years later when the kids are in or around their 30s.  The 12 librarians are locked out of the Library.  They can't even get any where close to it.  Father is missing.  They don't know if he is hiding some where, trapped, or dead.  They are trying to mix in with the Americans, but they have been separated for so long they barely remember the English language and they don't remember much of what world outside of the Library is like.  This story is their journey of trying to find Father and of getting back to the Library.

There are three narrators for this story.  The first is Carolyn.  She is one of the librarians and her catalog is language.  She does the majority of the communicating for the rest of her group and does a lot of the interacting with the rest of the world.  

The second is Steve.  Steve is a plumber.  He has the unlucky experience of meeting Carolyn in a bar.  She asks him to break into a house for her and he reluctantly agrees to do it.  He needed the money and it was a lot of money.  He had no idea what he was getting into when he agreed to this.

The final narrator is Erwin.  He is a former military man who now works for homeland security.  He hates being recognized for what he has done in his previous career.  He is working a connection between Steve's break in and a bank robbery.  He really had no idea what he was getting himself into.

Now, when I said this book was weird, that was a complete understatement.  This book is weird on top of weird on top of weird.  Then when you finally get used to the level of weird it has hit, it gets even weirder.  Don't worry though, the weird doesn't stop there, it just keeps on coming.

The characters themselves add a lot of the weird to the story.  

You have David who's category is war and death.  He wears a purple tutu and does not wash the blood of his victims out of his hair!  His hair is caked so thick with the blood that it may as well be a helmet it has gotten so hard and thick.  He is virtually indestructible and is the best warrior there is.

Then there is Margaret.  Her catalog is the undead and the afterlife.  It isn't that she sees ghosts and what not though.  SHE ACTUALLY DIES AND GOES TO THE UNDERWORLD.  She has died so many times that she permanently stinks of death and decay.  She has flies buzzing around her head and she has pretty much lost all touch with reality.

The other character of note is Michael.  His catalog is the study of beasts.  He goes away for long periods of time and trains with different animals.  He is gone so long that he tends to forget how to speak to the rest of the librarians and it takes him some time to remember how.  He tends to be completely naked.

The story is also very very dark.  There are a lot of points in the book where the squeamish should skip over.  Quite a few battle scenes happen where David goes kamikaze and destroys all that get in the way.  Hawkins does not spare us any of the gory details either.  He lays it all right out on the page for us to read and imagine in our heads.

The Library at Mount Char reads very slowly, but that is a good thing.  There are a lot of details that you need to keep straight and be aware of.  If it read any faster you would miss a lot of things going on.  This book requires patience.  It is hard to tell what is going on at first, but eventually through all of the weird it starts to make sense.  It is quite brilliantly crafted.

My Rating
4.5 out of 5 stars





I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.