Category Archives: Book review

Lindsey Fairleigh & Lindsey Pogue: After The Ending (The Ending Series)

Book review, World of Books September 9, 2013 Comments: 7

Yes, there’s no way around it, I got involved in another series. 😦

Luckily though, it’s terrific and the next book is out in November. Also, it’s not a short novel so it can be stretched into 3 books, this one is actually longish (I don’t how long exactly as I read an e-book but considering the time it took, it’s nicely sized).

It reminded me a bit of J. Cronin’s The Passage, less dark and with more romance (no vampires either) but a post-apocalyptic scenario that unfortunately for me, becomes easier and easier to believe.

Not exactly this particular one, but some kind of a virus (or other man-made catastrophe) seems more and more like a possible scenario for the world we live in.after the ending

We follow the story through two friends, located in different cities but more connected than sisters, losing the life they led because of the virus and finding unlikely fellow travelers on their way to the military camp where everyone is being kept safe (if you can reach it). Of course, not everything is as it seems and slowly it becomes visible.

I’m going to warn you know, the first book ends with a horrible cliffhanger so if you want to know what happens next, wait until November and then you can just continue on with the next.

I loved how there were some smart references in there, how one of the main characters seems a bit bitchy, how they are both insecure even though they are in their  twenties – there are many parts to this book making the characters come alive because of the little things you learn about them or see them do.

I often mention the predictability of a story as a bad thing (because I think it is), then again, some authors take it so far to other side of a spectrum you cannot make heads or tails about what’s happening. Here, you cannot guess where the story is going to take you but it makes sense (of course you can guess where the romance will go). 😉

The story starts slowly and the builds up until you cannot stop reading. I enjoyed reading it a lot and consider it one of the best new books I read this year (HP is a league of its own).

There are so many great moments to this book, funny, sad, tragic, honest, scary, life-enriching that all I can say is – go read it. 🙂

Quick bookish reviews

Book review, World of Books September 7, 2013 Comments: 11

I don’t think my thoughts on each of them would suffice for a post, so I’ll just talk about them all together.

James Rollins: The Eye of God

Reading a James Rollins novel is always a thrilling ride. The fact that he can take legends or rumours and turn them into a credible alternative that is always a bit scary to ponder but unbelievably believable (couldn’t find a better phrase, sorry) – is what makes his novels always my top choice once they are released.eye of god

Basically, an action-packed, thrilling ride through the world with interesting bits of history thrown in for a possible alternative view on what we think we know.

Which is why I’m leaving you with this quote I found a bit scary to ponder:

“Could that be possible? Could Plato have been right all along: that we are blind to the true reality around us, that all we know is nothing more than the flickering shadow on a cave wall?”

 

John Oehler: Aphrodesia

I admit, thinking that there might be a true aphrodisiac in any form is scary. Seems I’m reading books with scary ideas in them. 😉

The book is full of interesting tidbits from the perfume industry which I found fascinating (loved the part where IFRA is criticised).Aphro-cover-209x300

I also loved the idea on which the story is based and the difference a minute thing can make. What I had a problem with was the main character Eric. As he seems to lack much of a character. It seems like his nose and perfume ability is his only defining quality. He certainly doesn’t seem to have read a crime novel in his life because it was kind of obvious who was behind his perfume disgrace/fall (well, I had 2 people on the list but it became clear rather quickly that one of them didn’t do it).

It might just be me, as far as I can tell, nobody else had a problem with Eric. But he’s such a bad read  of people’s characters, it’s tragi-comic and basically, in my opinion he came off as a bit stupid for real life (one outside perfumery).

That said, how cool is forensic perfumery?! Love that!

 

Alex Connor: The Rembrandt Secrettherembrandtsecret

Another novel with an interesting crime twist. Turns out I either read too much crime novels in life or writers no longer try to hide who the killer is.

I admit, I expected it to be more of an art crime thriller when it’s actually an art crime novel. The only thrilling part of it was learning that Rembrandt was a bad person and that a character in the novel wears Bal a Versailles.

Even though the letters this novel revolves around are fiction for the story of the book, the fact that the woman who wrote them existed and suffered at Rembrandt’s actions remains true.

I can’t say I was excited after reading this book but I did enjoy it a lot and will definitely pick up the other thrillers by A. Connor. I got  a bit hooked on the art history you can learn about reading this. 🙂

 

Cristin Terrill: All Our Yesterdays

I’ve kept the best for last. 😉

Now, this book has really amazed me. This won’t sound nice but it was better than I expected when I started reading it. It’s an intricate YA story of time-travel, power-hungry people and friendship.

The great part? You really need to think through some parts where time travel is involved. 😀

The story switches from the perspectives of the future characters come to the past and the present people who, it won’t take you long to realize, are the same. This doesn’t even qualify as a spoiler.AOY-Cover-Hi-Res

I don’t want to mention what exactly it’s about because I don’t want to spoil it for you. But you can probably guess if the future characters returned to the past, it is because of something that needs to be changed in the past.

This was just so well written, I enjoyed it a lot. Even though Marina in the present day is a bit of a self-centred teenager. 🙂

But the fact that  my heart beat faster at some points, and then constricted at others, and kept me awake when I should have been sleeping… Those are clear signs how good I found it.

The best thing? It’s not part of a series! Finally! 🙂

Cinda Williams Chima: The Enchanter Heir

Book review, World of Books August 25, 2013 1 Comment

I’m back in the YA universe it seems. I was re-reading HP this summer and now I read The Enchanter Heir so it seems my feet are firmly back on the YA road. Ok, I’ve been reading some other stuff but nothing as much as these.

I admit I almost stopped reading this book, since in the beginning I had a problem getting into the story. A new world with different types of let’s call them “gifted” people with their words for everything and no explanation forthcoming for a while. It all got explained eventually and it’s possible other readers might not have this particular problem as it seems there are other books in the series.

Unlucky for me though, those books are single ones. This one isn’t. So I’m back to my standard pet peeve. I really hate it when a good book ends up nowhere and you have to wait for the sequel which never comes out in a month.

What’s wrong with writing a longer book?! I mean, I know what’s wrong with that – you only get paid for the one book then. But that is not a question for this post.

Of course I wouldn’t get so upset over it if I didn’t enjoy the book so much.enchanter

“They called it the Thorn Hill Massacre-the brutal attack on a once-thriving Weir community. Though Jonah Kinlock lived through it, he did not emerge unscathed: like the other survivors Jonah possesses unique magical gifts that set him apart from members of the mainline guilds. At seventeen, Jonah has become the deadliest assassin in Nightshade, a network that hunts the undead. 

Emma Claire Greenwood grew up worlds away, raised by a grandfather who taught her music rather than magic. An unschooled wild child, she runs the streets until the night she finds her grandfather dying, gripping a note warning Emma that she might be in danger. The clue he leaves behind leads Emma into Jonah’s life-and a shared legacy of secrets and lingering questions. 

Was Thorn Hill really a peaceful commune? Or was it, as the Wizard Guild claims, a hotbed of underguild terrorists? The Wizards’ suspicions grow when members of the mainline guilds start turning up dead. They blame Nightshade, bringing tensions between the groups to a head.

Racing against time, Jonah and Emma work to uncover the truth about Thorn Hill, amid increasing concern that whoever planned the Thorn Hill Massacre might strike again.”

Emma and Jonah are really well done characters. Sometimes I wonder with so many YA novels out there, if the writers have a hard time making their characters become singularly different. These two are. I just wish I got further in their story than I did. 😦

Once you get into the story and understand who is who, it gets very interesting. There are some lethal political games being played in the background (which will hopefully be explained in the next book), the Thorn Hill survivors turn out to be freaks but not because of their strange abilities, but because of the characters. I mean this in the best possible way. I like freaky people. 🙂

I loved the fact that such a prominent role is given to music. I can’t wait to read how it will all unravel in the next book…

 

Kresley Cole: MacRieve

Book review, World of Books July 9, 2013 1 Comment

I wonder if it’s possible that Kresley Cole‘s books get better and better with each installment that comes out or I just enjoy each of them so much when first time reading them.

And I admit, I had my doubts when I realized what exactly Chloe might be. I was disappointed.

Luckily though, I didn’t stop reading as I already know from previous Cole’s books that even when I macrievedoubt, those doubts always prove unfounded.

So it was this time as well. 🙂

It actually got much better – it was one of those books where you feel the emotions of characters in your stomach while reading their dialogues. The love, the fear, the anger – it all had its share of my stomach (I do hope I’m not the only one this happens to?).

Will (MacRieve or Uilleam which I still don’t know how to pronounce) is the starting point of the story and is truly a tragic hero.  There are really many connecting points to the real world we live in – child molesting for one thing even though I wonder how many people thought of that actually.

Chloe, on the other hand, is such a strong girl, I wish I had her strength of character. All KC females are strong but this is the first one I could connect to. She is truly a Baby T-Rex (her nickname) as in, she is strong of will and character,  even of body, never mind her place in soccer is usually reserved for bigger people. She is also loving, fun, friendly and proud in the fairest sense of the word,. So, making such a strong female suffer and cry hurts my heart too.

I also already know I will be re-reading this book soon.

 

One of the things I love so much about these novels (Immortals after Dark) is all the modern references (making it all appear more real) that appear in them (case in point, Beliebers) but I am not so sure about loving the fact that she makes me root for violence. As in payback for what was done to the good guys. It seems though I condone violence in specific situations. :S

If you are ever interested in starting with a series featuring paranormal steamy romance – Kresley Cole is my first suggestion.

And now I wait for the next one…

Claudia Dain: Daring a Duke

Book review, World of Books June 6, 2013 1 Comment

I love historical romance but it seems to be very difficult for me to find new authors I might add to those I already love reading as you all know, no author produces books at the pace we, the readers, would like.

Therefore I am very happy that I can say I found a new one to add to those whose books I read as soon as they come out. In this case, I have a stash of already published books to go back to. 🙂

And before I go on with my review, I want to say that when it comes to romance, reading the blurb doesn’t help at all. You either read a great one and the book doesn’t even come close, or you read a bad one and never pick up the book which could have been by a new favourite author.

But enough of that.

Basically, I loved this one from the start. 🙂 Instantly, it brought back ideas of Austen’s romance novels, I am not sure why, I think it might be the easiness of story telling. I’m not sure but that was after reading the first page (later I learned that our hero’s name is Hugh Austen).

After that, it only got better. The women are true to their mischievous, not always nice to each other Daring-a-Duke-225x362selves. But friendly at the heart. I wonder if this only makes sense to women. 😉 They also fight and get annoyed for real with their husbands (the real anger, even though it’s short-lived here, never actually appears in other historical romances I read).

We also get to hear a lot of inner female not voiced thoughts which I found chuckle-worthy. Actually, I found many things chuckle-worthy, I don’t remember the last time I had this much fun reading a book.

The best part for me, and you probably won’t believe it, was the fact that there are no steamy sex scenes in here. And I didn’t mind it one little bit. I believe in seduction happening through our minds and here it is a verbal (well and physical at some points, as in men fighting, not the other kind of physical) seduction going on through out the novel. Sparring on several fronts with wonderful dialogues.

Another interesting book is that the whole story is happening during a wedding breakfast.

Lately, I’ve been lamenting all the young female characters for their, well, stupidity. Jane on the other hand, although obviously young and naive to some ways, is still very much intelligent, smart and nice.

Edenham on the other hand, is what I consider a man should be – certain of what he wants and not scared to go after it (or give-up at first hurdle).

Both are easily likeable and fun to be around with.

If you enjoy historical romance, I urge you to give Claudia Dain Courtesan Chronicles a shot (ignore the covers).

 

I got my copy of the book in a give-away. I love how fate works in mysterious ways (especially when it suits me). 😉

Sam Cabot: Blood of the Lamb

Book review, World of Books June 3, 2013 Comments: 3

“The Historian meets The Da Vinci Code in this exhilarating supernatural thriller set in Rome, where rival groups are searching for a document that holds a secret that could shatter the Catholic Church.

This document, dear friend, will shatter the Church…..

Reading these words in a letter in a dusty archive, Thomas Kelly is sceptical. The papers to which they refer have vanished, but Father Kelly, a Jesuit priest, doubts anything could ever have had that power—until the Vatican suddenly calls him to Rome to begin a desperate search for that very document.

Meanwhile, standing before a council of her people, Livia Pietro receives instructions: she must find a Jesuit priest recently arrived in Rome, and join his search for a document that contains a secret so shocking it has the power to destroy not only the Catholic Church, but Livia’s people as well.

As cryptic messages from the past throw Thomas and Livia into a treacherous world of art, religion, and conspiracy, they are pursued by those who would cross any line to obtain the document for themselves. Thomas and Livia must race to stop the chaos and destruction that the revelation of these secrets would create. Livia, though, has a secret of her own: She and her people are vampires.”

Well, calling vampired by another name just seems superfluous as it’s obvious from the beginning (I admit I haven’t read the blurb to the end so I was rolling my eyes waiting for the “v” word to appear).

Calling this book a mix between Da Vinci Code and The Historian is actually pretty accurate. It’s not as thrilling as Da Vinci Code but it’s not as boring as The Historian either.

I also seem to be becoming rather jaded when it comes to Church and Catholics (Christians in general blood lambactually). Honestly, the whole premise of Church being destroyed by the information about to be revealed is rather weak from my perspective, but then, I see Church as a human-led organization which basically means it’s liable to be as good/bad as humanity is. Which isn’t exactly an optimistic thought. But I would call it realistic.

Which also brings me to Father Kelly and his reaction and behaviour once he finds out Livia is a vampire. I mean, really?! As a well educated priest of the Catholic church, displaying such incredible prejudice seems a bit opposite from what the Catholic religion is all about.

He does get over it though, so I wasn’t upset with him all the time.

I might be over-reacting to all things connected to Catholicism at the moment as I’m rather upset it is being used here in a movement to get a definition into the Constitution saying marriage can only happen between a woman and a man. The whole movement is based on the religious beliefs of “true” Catholics trying to “save” the family notion. I am not sure from what though, because if they think their beliefs are based on the teachings of Christ, they are sorely mistaken. I find it rather ironic that I, who no longer consider myself Catholic, believe more into Christ’s words (I was raised as a Catholic after all) and try to live my life in a similar manner, than all these people going regularly to mass (and I’ll stop here not going into their hipocrisy).

My tolerance for narrow-minded religious beliefs is dwindling, if I have any left. And I am not really an atheist.

I apologize for hijacking this book review for my rant but it’s something I get very frustrated over. And over.

Back to the book – I enjoyed the fact that the Noantri (vampires) track one another by perfume. Well, they track Livia’s personal blend which gets her noticed and makes her trackable through the city. These vampires don’t fit the usual description though, which is why Bram Stoker wrote Dracula (he was one too) in order to misdirect humans into believing what vampires should be like. 😉 I think that is a brilliant idea.

I also enjoyed the ending a lot – didn’t see that coming. 🙂 Which is always a huge plus in any book I read.

Patricia Briggs: Frost Burned

Book review, World of Books May 19, 2013 Comments: 5

frostThis was a really good choice after my HP problem. 🙂 It seems to me that Mercy Thompson series is getting better with each new installment which is not something I can say for many others. Quite the contrary, several series I enjoyed reading, I read no longer as I lost interest. Or even when I do, they are just not as good as I remember the previous books.

Not so with Frost Burned. Although I admit to forgetting some previous plots in the meantime (or the fact that Samuel had a fae mate?! when did that happen?).

So, while writing this review I went to check the previous books and I realized I have missed River Marked. I just don’t think I would have so completely forgotten so many referenced things in this novel if I had read all of the previous ones. That is why River Marked is on my list just after I finish Inferno by Dan Brown.

Frost Burned starts off action packed and rather thrilling. I know I oftentimes mention my frustration with characters being stubborn to the point of stupidity, and even though Mercy would fit as a stubborn person with her idiosyncrasies, she is never stupid, quite the contrary. So, it can be done in YA novels too (because I don’t find teenagers stupid – albeit Mercy isn’t a teenager but I would say it still applies).

There are many times in the story where Mercy’s intelligence and practicality are displayed and I loved it! The more I know her, the more I like her.

One part that made me smile was when werewolves are being all secretive and the message going around is that there were some “disturbances in the Force”. 😀 I am not a geeky fan of Star Wars but I love cross-references like this.

One other point that I’d like to comment on is the fact that some authors have the ability to make you root for the bad guys to get killed as soon as possible (by the end of the book at the latest if it can’t happen sooner).

I could mention many things I enjoyed in this book – like how it made me think how our early religious beliefs (well, they are not exactly ours when we are children) but how they can influence your adult life to a painful for the soul point.

How being evil is not exclusive right of the male gender.

Basically, I can’t wait to finish Inferno so I can go to River Marked (as it’s making me a bit upset at some points).

 

Eloisa James: Desperate Duchesses

Book review, World of Books April 4, 2013 1 Comment

Huh.

I’m very ambivalent when it comes to this book. I keep thinking, I liked this part, but, then I start thinking, I don’t think that was good, but…. – and in the end I’m basically not sure. 🙂

Let me try and explain. It is historical romance but set a bit earlier than what I usually read so lovers while one is married are common, and encouraged. Ok, we then learn that our main characters might not be in that vein but still, many others featuring in the story are. Or at least seem to be.

Then, Roberta first seems  rather silly with her notions of love only to learn seriousness and more about herself in a matter of days making her into a complete person.  The story keeps being light-heartedly funny and then trying to look serious so you’re never sure what exactly it’s supposed to be.

I realize Mrs. James is a Shakespeare connoisseur and the story shows it but I’m not sure it works that desperatewell. Although I’m not sure it has actually anything to do with Shakespeare, it’s more like the moving ground you’re on is not making this an easy-to-like novel.

But once we get past the initial adulterous inclinations (they are like teenagers, lusting, loving, liking not being sure what is which), the contours of romantical love start to appear.  I just can’t seem to reconcile the different points into a satisfying whole. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the story, but it does mean I am not sure I will be picking up another book from the series. I believe I might enjoy Jemma’s story but I’m not sure I can read more about that particular type of marriages and extra-marital activities.

I guess it bothers me in my romantic inclinations. 🙂

What I could do is read more of the wonderfully funny and convoluted dialogues. Those were great.

We’ll see if another Eloisa James book review appear here, you’ll know then if I succumbed. 😉

James M. Tabor: Frozen Solid

Book review, World of Books March 26, 2013 Comments: 5

Now, this was a ride! 🙂

From the start you can tell this will be a medically-oriented novel, even the metaphors are going in that directions. But what you don’t know is how fast-paced, intriguing and scary it will get. And when I say scary, I don’t mean horror but real-life possibility. Which I find to be even scarier.

“The South Pole’s Amundsen Scott Research Station is like an outpost on Mars. 
Winter temperatures average 100 degrees below zero; week-long hurricane-force
storms rage; for eight months at a time the station is shrouded in darkness.
Under the stress, bodies suffer and minds twist. Panic, paranoia, and hostility
prevail. 
When a South Pole scientist dies mysteriously, CDC
microbiologist Hallie Leland arrives to complete crucial research. Before she
can begin, three more women inexplicably die. As failing communications and
plunging temperatures cut the station off from the outside world, terror rises
and tensions soar. Amidst it all, Hallie must crack the mystery of her
predecessor’s death.frozen solid
In Washington, D.C., government agency director Don
Barnard and enigmatic operative Wil Bowman detect troubling signs of shadowy
behavior at the South Pole and realize that Hallie is at the heart of it. Unless
Barnard and Bowman can track down the mastermind, a horrifying act of global
terror, launched from the station, will change the planet forever—and Hallie
herself will be the unwitting instrument of destruction.
As the Antarctic winter sweeps in, severing contact with the outside world, Hallie must
trust no one, fear everyone, and fight to keep the frigid prison from becoming
her frozen grave.”

At some point you realize there must be a previous book featuring Hallie and Wil Bowman meeting and having an adventure after which they become an item. That book is now on my TBR list (and it does exist). 🙂

But, you don’t actually have to read the first one in order to fully enjoy the second one. The only reason I felt bad for not reading it is because I believe it might be great and I missed it (but not for long).

Hallie is a wonderful character, a military brat grown into an intelligent, fit and extremely capable woman (that is what I read from the story). At some points, her adventures are more of the James Bond type but they are nevertheless great.

Basically, it’s a very good thriller, featuring more or less realistic characters (I believe there are many gifted people in the world but some seem to have been gifted by their writers rather well), nevertheless, it feels realistic and unfortunately believable.

I wonder if as I grow older I’ll start believing in conspiracy theories. If I keep reading things like this it’s quite possible…

The world population is a rather big issue and seeing morals and ethics being put aside for the greater goal makes me feel scared that it might easily happen.

 

My copy of the book came from NetGalley.

Mia Thompson: Stalking Sapphire

Book review, World of Books March 19, 2013 1 Comment

Sometimes I look back on a book I read and find it funny that I read it. 🙂

I mean, there’s nothing really to recommend this book but the story. Ok, that is something. You don’t learn anything from it, the characters are annyoing the first half of the book (the two main characters, and they’re not even teenagers) and then the premise is rather shaky when you consider how Sapphire acts in her day to day life.

But, the story is actually interesting and fun to read and certainly makes for a more interesting night than what is usually on TV here.sapphire

Despite the illusion Sapphire Dubois presents to the rest of the world, she is not just your stereotypical 22-year old Beverly Hills heiress; she hunts serial killers. While her fellow heirs spend their nights with trending celebs and drugs at the hottest club, Sapphire secretly spends hers luring, capturing, and anonymously handing over So-Cal’s most wanted killers to the police — just your average Tuesday night. 

What Sapphire doesn’t know is that one of her adversaries is watching her every move, aware of both her true identity and her unconventional hobby. Needless to say, he doesn’t approve. Used to being the one who redefines the definition of predator and prey, Sapphire’s world abruptly shatters when a gruesome ‘gift’ arrives for her at the Beverly Hills Country Club. With her involuntary crush, handsome Detective Aston Ridder, close on her tail, Sapphire now has to rethink her routine strategy and figure out how to capture a killer who already knows she’s coming.

Now, it might seem I am not very satisfied with the book when actually I am. I am already looking forward to the second one (the ending of the first one implied it) and hopefully we’ll get some better characterisation of basically everyone except for Julia (that character is the only one who seemed well done).

This book should be taken as a light read and you shouldn’t expect much from it aside some fun storytelling. And that is in the end why I enjoyed it – I had fun reading about a serial killer not killing his  secretary because she finally learned her job (so choosing somebody else instead), or wondering who is the killer stalking Sapphire or reading about what an idiot Aston is (not that Sapphire lags much behind).

 

I said recently for The Romanov Cross how it comes off as very realistic and possible. Well, this one doesn’t but still, if you take it as a fun and easy read, you won’t be disappointed (probably).