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Art July 1, 2012

Compiled Art of July

I’ve decided to make this a regular thing, at least once a month. Here is July’s awesome artwork. Once again, I’ve found these all on DeviantArt, and I’ve accredited the right artists. Enjoy and comment!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I bought the American cover for a measly £1.99 a week ago from this awesome store and I’m on top of the world! I finished it yesterday and I loved it! I feel so behind though, what with Insurgent already out. Look out for my review on Divergent!

Tris, by xYue-Mayx

Tris’ tattoo, by singdancedraw13

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen By Patsie

Gale, Katniss, Peeta by ichan-desu

The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa

Titania by xion-cc

Left to Right: Ash, Meghan, Puck
By AlicantesRune

Puck and Meghan from an imagery scene by seosa
In the defence of the artist, they may not have pointy ears because they are wearing glamour or something.

Need series by Carrie Jones

I’m not sure if I’ve ever reviewed her books here, but I’ve read them all except for the last one. Her series was great and the protagonist’s character development was kind of inspirational. The only reason I haven’t finished yet is the price of the last book is too much for a book that thin, despite the amazing cover. Here’s some art work I found though:

Prince Astley by artxhorse

Mnemophobia as mentioned in Chapter 2, by chromophobicrayons

Fan-made movie poster by chromophobicrayons featuring Zara

Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore

You have no idea how hard it is to find fan art of this without Alex Pettyfer. He’s good looking and everything, but I’d like the interpretation took before All they saw of Four was Pettyfer. I used to be more attracted to Peeta as a character rather than his looks until Hutcherson got the role.

Number Four by MarvelousManga

Sarah by soloist-demyx

Universes Collide

Left to right: Annabeth, PJATO (c) Rick Riordan

Hermione, HP (c) J.K. Rowling
Katniss, THG (c) Suzanne Collins
Tris, Divergent (c) Veronica Roth
Bella, ~~Toilet~~Twilight (c) Stephenie Meyer

By soniki360

Hermione from Harry Potter series
Clary from The Mortal Instruments
Tris from Divergent
And Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games

Action June 23, 2012

Lost In Time by Melissa de la Cruz

After their beautiful yet brief bonding ceremony in Italy, Schuyler Van Alen and Jack Force are forced to separate. To fulfill the Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler travels to Alexandria to search for Catherine of Siena and the Gate of Promise. But Schuyler quickly discovers that everything she believed about the Gate to be wrong. Meanwhile, Jack makes the difficult decision to return to New York to face his twin and former bondmate, Mimi. But instead of a bitter reunion, he is faced with a choice for which there is no good option.

Mimi, with a most unexpected travel companion in Oliver Hazard-Perry, jets off to Egypt, too, to search for Kingsley Martin, her long lost love. With all roads leading to Hell, Mimi learns that not all love stories have happy endings. But she’ll have to put her own feelings aside if she’s going to save her crumbling Coven.

Packed with heartache, twists, and vampiric folklore, Lost in Time is sure to satisfy hungry fans’ cravings for more Blue Bloods adventure.

– Synopsis from Goodreads

This novel was once again filled with mystery, romance and adventure.

I give it four stars and this is why:

Relationships

The Force Twins

By now you should know how screwed up this book can seem what with Mimi/ Azrael and Jack/ Abaddon, the Force twins pretty much in love with each other. Yes, I said twins. Cruz had them born twins, but in their world they have been bond mates for centuries. But Jack did the unthinkable and left Mimi during the bonding ceremony to be with Schuyler. Ouch. It’s one thing being stood up for a wedding, but stood up by the person you should be bonded with for all eternity pretty much sucks. So Jack has a bounty on his head. She wants revenge, go figure. I was absolutely terrified for Jack. I love Sky so I’m totally taking his side on this. Besides, what Jack and Mimi have just doesn’t seem real to me. I don’t think it’s pure is all. But then, they are the Twins of the Apocalypse. What happens between them will astound you and although I had to wait till the very end, my jaw just dropped. What I don’t understand is that Mimi obviously really cares about the Coven, so why would she just drop everything to deal with her traitorous brother? Hell hath no fury like Azrael scorned.

Kingsley & Mimi

I actually really like their relationship. They seemed like one in the same. They are both selfish, they are both very attractive, and they are both… adventurous. It’s a pity that their love is also technically forbidden. Unless Mimi wins the blood trial and Abbadon/ Jack dies… I will give nothing away. So of course Mimi goes on a mission to save her beloved from hell. To find out how it ends you will have to read the book yourself. All I can say is that I was rather shocked. How could he act so cool as if he doesn’t even care?! How can Mimi use her ‘friend’ like that? Urgh!

The Other Twins- The Uncorrupted

Part of the novel also includes Allegra’s story, back when she had just finished High School I believe. We see how she really viewed Schuyler’s father, and Michael/ Charles. To some extent, I liked it and it definitely brought the whole ‘Lost In Time’ element because Cruz was recounting Allegra’s past. I think you will either hate it or love it.

The Plot

All of the character go their separate ways. Sky goes to find the gate and gatekeeper, and uncovers hidden secrets. Jack goes to face his vengeful twin. Oliver helps Mimi find her true beloved in Egypt. I wasn’t sure why he would help someone he could barely stand once upon a time, but in some ways he has chosen a valuable ally. I don’t want to give too much away, but there are many twists and turns. Cruz leaves the novel on a frustrating cliffhanger. Why must she do this?! I’ll read her sequel anyway. I’m not sure what the Apocalypse twins think they’re up to. I wish them the best of luck.

My rating?

4 Stars

Action June 20, 2012

Any Story Worth Telling Is Worth Telling Twice

I don’t re-read books very often. My life is just far too busy for this. Urm, no. I just have a short attention span at times. I usually have to wait a very long time to re-read a book as I remember way too much. This is more so with books than with movies. Anyone out there who feels the same? Anyway, here are the books that I’ve re-read in the past. I only re-read Ink Exchange a month or too. Comment and let me know which books you’ve enjoyed re-reading.

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

This book sort of picked up from where Marr ended in its predecessor, Wicked Lovely. It is not a direct sequel, but instead, it is thought of as a companion novel. Ink Exchange has three new characters take the role of narrator. First and foremost is The Dark King, Irial, then also Niall and Leslie, the ‘broken’ girl. It is a novel laced with intrigue and romance, darkness and sexiness. (Yes, I really just wrote that!) I re-read this one before re-reading the first in the series as this is one of my favourites in the series.

Characters:

Irial- Dark and sexy, he’s the kind of guy you should never mess with. Although he is cruel and manipulative, he takes care of his own. His love is not the waning sort.

Niall- He carries the scars of a past life quite literally. I think he is the empitemy of the saying’What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. Loveable and unique, he is one of my favourites.

Leslie- This girl is stronger than she first appears. She is headstrong, stubborn, and kind- a perfect balance for the faeries’ cruel streak.

Here is the plot if you don’t get it from my short review:

Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Court has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.

Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.

The tattoo does bring changes—not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils. . . .

– From Melissa Marr’s website

Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I don’t know many people who haven’t heard of Percy Jackson. It even had its own movie. I will refrain from commenting about it, however. There are only so many ways of describing disappointment.

The book however is brilliant. Riordan weaves myth and modern wonderfully. The novel is never stale, with plenty of humour to relieve the tension. Just don’t forget- the fate of the world is at stake!

Characters:

Percy- Whilst he is a very capable protagonist, he too has weaknesses. His ADHD is both a blessing and a curse, but despite his screwed up life, he never stops fighting for the things he believes in.

Annabeth- She isn’t called ‘Wise Girl’ for no reason. She is one bad-ass character, with the brains to back up her brawn. She is always ready to go down fighting, or think of an ingenious plan to get them all out of sticky situations. But even she has her limits…

Grover- This guy is an awesome best friend, though he has a rather shameful past. He will do anything for the people he cares for the most.

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school… again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’ master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’ stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves

– Synopsis from Goodreads

I had a Meg Cabot phase so please forgive me for the lack of diversity here:

Teen Idol by Meg Cabot

I’m not sure why I had such an addiction with this book. It was well before I discovered the brilliance of Rick Riodarn, and a very long time before the rise of dystopian novels, and sparkly vampires, or even sadistic fey. It was a good novel at the time and I probably still own my copy. I still like the values of this novel, no matter what. Luke taught our girl a few things.

I don’t remember enough to give you my opinion of the character except for that Luke is hot, especially when shirtless.

High school junior Jenny Greenley is so good at keeping secrets that she’s the school newspaper’s anonymous advice columnist. She’s so good at it that, when hotter-than-hot Hollywood star Luke Striker comes to her small town to research a role, Jenny is the one in charge of keeping his identity under wraps. But Luke doesn’t make it easy, and soon everyone—the town, the paparazzi, and the tabloids alike—know his secret…and Jenny is caught right in the middle of all the chaos.

– Synopsis from Goodreads

Love You To Death/ Shadowland by Meg Cabot

I remember this series all too well, hehehe. Suze can see ghosts, and there is a hot, depressed, 150 year old (or so) dead guy in her new bedroom. Poor her! 😛

This book was very gripping. Suze is a strong character who doesn’t take crap from anyone, least of all the dead. If the whole seeing-the-dead thing isn’t bad enough, she is trying to adjust her life in California as her mother has remarried. This novel is filled with action and suspense, and it will leave you wanting more. Much more.

Characters:
Susannah Simon- Call her by her full name and you die. Having been born in New York, adjusting to a new State is quite something for Suze. Dealing with ghosts even somehow gets trickier. She is awesome, and not much of a whiner. What more can you ask for?

Jesse- This guy is probably my favourite ghost of all time. He is really old school. He is both caring and kind. Their friendship was rather unlikely, given how their first meeting went, but I’m glad that he helped her, even when she insisted she was fine.

Father Dominic- He becomes rather like her mentor in all things ghost related. I think he is rather optimistic about things, but I can understand why he may view things the way he does. I greatly respect him, and I feel bad for him as his student is very stubborn.

There’s a hot guy in Susannah Simon’s bedroom. Too bad he’s a ghost.

Suze is a mediator-a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won’t leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn’t seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it’s not that easy. There’s a ghost with revenge on her mind.and Suze happens to be in the way.

-Synopsis from Goodreads

When Lightning Strikes by Meg Cabot

When Jess gets hit by lightning she gets a cool new power. But with great power comes great responsibility and yadah yadah yadah! Not to mention the FBI are on her case. How can she keep her power a secret with them around, constantly nagging her?

This is a case of doing the right thing and risking your life, or not doing the right thing and risking your conscious. Jess is a tough girl who can take care of herself. She has anger management issues and she plays the flute. I say this because so do I! I mean, I’ve sorted out my anger issues, but I still play the flute.

This novel is full of suspense and action. It has a strong female character, who I really like. She is the bad ass girl who isn’t afraid of sticking up for her friends despite her lack in size. This was rare for me back in the day before the likes of Annabeth Chase and Katnis Everdeen. And of course, Jess is pining after the guy that she can’t have- bad boy Rob Wilkinson. Read the series to find out how it ends between them.

Jess Mastriani has never been what you’d call a typical Midwestern teenager—her extracurricular activities, instead of cheerleading or 4-H, include fist-fights with the football team and month-long stints in detention. A part of Jess would like to be the prom queen her mother has always envisioned her being, but another part is secretly counting the days until she’s saved up enough money to buy her own Harley.

Then something happens that guarantees Jess will be one of the in-crowd…at least until her newfound talent ends up getting her dead.

Action June 15, 2012

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

I was incredibly skeptical to read this book, which is the first of the new Blood of Eden series. I know the saying goes ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, but I’ve long since given on it. I judge books by their covers and I’m not ashamed. Kagawa’s cover is quite simply morbid and terrifying, though artistic. What’s more, I just didn’t want to read another vampire book. I liked the Twilight saga to begin with, but Bella annoyed my senseless, and I now no longer have a clue what I first saw in the series. Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods series is the only other series I’ve read with vampires and the thing is, they’re more than that. Nonetheless, I read an excerpt of Kagawa’s new book, wanting to give it a chance- especially after hearing good reviews about it.

The Protagonist

I liked and admired Allison Sekemoto. Her voice didn’t irritate me, as some female protagonists have in the past. I felt sorry for her in the beginning, after seeing how awful her life was but I doubt she would want my pity. She is strong willed and very determined. This reminds me an awful lot of Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. The world that they live in has shaped them and forced them to become very self reliant and independent. The difference is that Allie believes that it’s everyone for themselves, whilst Katniss looks after her family and even hunts with Gale. Although you can say that because Allie is part of a small group of Unregisters, they are not her family and she admitted that she would never sacrifice herself for any of them.

Allie has always hated vampires and I can’t blame her. I found it a bit hypocritical that she became the creature that she most loathed, but I understand that the human to want to live. Her choices were simple, become a vamire and ‘live’, or die and possibly become a rabid. Allie’s vampire transformation reminded me of Aislinn’s change from human to faery in Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series, as she too hated and feared the creature she would become. The main difference is the whole near death experience, which Ash was not in, and the choice, as Ash had none.

Allison is stubborn, often disagreeing and going against her creator’s commands. This stubbornness does help her control the blood lust later on, when she is a vampire though. She is at first a little naive, hoping to be a ‘good’ vampire, but she eventually comes to terms with the fact that she is a monster. Thankfully, this doesn’t make her give up on humanity, as she became very attached to a group of humans that she travelled with.

Allison is a kick-ass, katana wielding bad-ass!

Kanin, the Creator

It’s never said how old he is but all I know is that it’s been 60 years since the Red-Lung disease first hit the world, becoming a wide spread plague. Kanin- this may or may not be his real name, I think not- is the infuriating secretive type. The sort of person who can be very cryptic. It’s no wonder he doesn’t just speak in riddles. That really would drive me insane. At first, I thought that he was slightly cruel, but we learn why that is so. He is a very lonely character, telling Allie from the beginning that they would not be able to travel with one another for very long. He is blunt to a point, telling Allison quite clearly what she is- a monster. I wanted to laugh out loud when he said that animal blood is junk food. Tell that to Edward Cullen! It’s hard to say whether I like him or not. A part of me dislikes him for… well, you’ll find out. But then again, he’s so filled with self loathing, a part of me want to hug him real tight and tell him it’s all going to be okay. He’d probably just tear my throat out. Or maybe not. He seems to be very in control of himself.

Zeke, the Human

Oh my gosh! How can such a lovely person exist in such a world? He reminds me of Peeta for this reason. Peeta had never known the true harshness of District 12, as his parents were bakers. This didn’t make him wealthy or anything, just not a starving street kid. Zeke has all the traits you look for in a YA love interest. Unless of course you very much inclined towards a bad boy, in which case, look elsewhere. Zeke, first and foremost, is the son of a preacher man. I like Zeke’s morals. He doesn’t like to ever leave a man behind on the group’s dangerous travels. He believes that there is good in humanity, and he doesn’t like to turn anyone who wishes to travel with the group. Even a dangerous vampire like Allie, you ask? No. Even he doesn’t stretch that far, unfortunately. I like Zeke because he’s like a beacon of light in an otherwise dark world.

The Dystopian Society

The dystopian world that Kagawa created is the sort of thing I’ve only ever heard in movies. The sort of movies that I would never watch because I’d be peeing myself from fear. Yet somehow it’s alright to read about them. Don’t ask me how that works, but it just does. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. Growing up in a vampire city, Allie and other humans are treated as blood cattle. They are allowed to live because vampires need them and therefore allow them to. Allie lives in a run down place called New Covington, in the Fringes of sector 4. Sound a little bit Hunger Games like? Yeah, I thought so too. Strangely enough, the centre of the vampire city isn’t much like the Capitol at all. It’s just as run down as the rest of the city. Humans actually have a choice about whether they want to be Registered or not. If they become registered, they are the property of Prince Salazar, the Master vampire of the city. This means that twice a month, they must donate some of their blood. If they miss a bloodletting, guards come and take all the blood that is owed by force. Now imagine if you were sick, or had missed multiple blood lettings.

But vampires are not the worse creatures around. Outside the Wall of New Covington, and around the entire world, ferocious creatures called rabids roam around. Neither human nor truly vampire, they are mindless creatures whose only priority is to kill. Like vampires, they are ‘allergic’ to the sun, but by night, they literally erupt from the ground and prowl the lands. In my mind, they are like vampire-zombies.

The Plot

Kagawa divided her book into four parts.

Part I: Human- This is rather like an introduction into Allie’s world. We gain an insight into her hard life as an Unregistered, living in a vampire city. I enjoyed this part because we got to know what Allie was like before she was a vampire.

Part II: Vampire- After being Turned, Allie gets coached about the ways of the vampires by her creator. I’ve heard some people criticise that they would rather have had Allie figure things out on her own. Realistically, I don’t know whether she would have survived all on her own. Kanin taught her how to fight, and the basics of what being a vampire was. He also told her a handy trick about burying oneself in the dirt to avoid the sun.

Part III: Monster- In this section, Allie fights her inner demons as she tries to avoid the savageness that is her inner vampire. It’s the part of her that sees humans as nothing more than food, that will kill first, ask questions never.

Part IV: Wanderer- Allie is on her own again, and she tries to find some sort of purpose in her ‘life’, beyond sating the Hunger.

Overall, the book is rather evenly paced throughout, but most of the really good stuff happens towards the end. This kind of sucks but I didn’t mind. Everything came together and the pieces of the puzzle finally made sense. Throughout the novel, we are given fragments, and Allison has to put them together. There are a few things that I saw coming well before Allison, but maybe I’ll put it down to all the ‘near death’ experiences and the Hunger gnawing down at her.

Overall Impression

This book was actually good, considering that I had been incredibly skeptical. I fell in love with Kagawa’s faeries, and now I’m captivated by her vampire world. I realised when she met up with the travelling group why it’s called Blood of Eden, and I thought it was really clever. Having faced betrayal earlier on in the book, I wasn’t sure how things were going to go in terms of Allison’s growth. I was disappointed that the crazy, poetic vampire didn’t feature very much, and I can’t wait to see this psychopath in the sequel. The ending of the book was alright, as it’s rather bitter sweet, but I liked that it ended with her fighting more rabies. This is because it emphasised the danger of the world Allison lives in but also highlights her bad-assery. As for the romance, I’m only going to gloss over this because it is not the main feature of this book. I’m pretty sure you can guess who the love interest is. It’s very interesting that the prey and predator are in love, more so than in Twilight because we get to see what it’s like for the vampire to try and resist. Like The Hunger Games, and actually, many other good books, their are casualties. Being a dystopian book, however, more people die than usual. I remember that the first significant death in The Percy Jackson series wasn’t until Book 3, and Book 4 had quite a number of deaths. If this is how bad it is in the first book of The Blood of Eden series, I can’t imagine how heart-wrenching the sequels will be.

My Rating:

Action June 13, 2012

Sweet Shadows by Tera Lynn Childs

Three teenage descendants of Medusa, now united, must claim their heritage to fight the monsters escaped from the abyss.

Gretchen may have known she was a descendant of Medusa long before her sisters–after all, she’s spent her life fighting the monsters that escape the abyss–but that doesn’t mean it will be easy to teach the other girls the ropes.

Greer has pressing social commitments on her plate and precious little time to train in her newfound powers. But that wretched second sight won’t leave her alone, and her fabled heritage seems to be creeping into her fashionable life.

Grace has worries closer to home–like why her brother, Thane, has disappeared. He’s hiding something. Could it possibly be related to the secret heritage the triplets share?
– Synopsis from Goodreads

I have yet to read the first in the series, Sweet Venom, but I do plan to. This sequel is, Sweet Shadows is coming soon, by Tera Lynn Childs.

Coming: September 4th 2012

I like the title. It’s cool that the author is continuing the use of ‘sweet’. Once again, the hair twirls ever so slightly, suggesting snakes. If I’m honest, I’ve seen better looking people but the model looks beautiful nonetheless. My problem is that the air of mystery has been taken away. We did not see the protagonists’ face in the first book and now we do. It would have been nice if her face could have been silhouetted or something, to represent the shadows. Just an artistic suggestion.

Action June 6, 2012

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

I hadn’t initially intended on reading this book. I was satisfied with the ending of The Iron Queen. What can I say? I like a good tragedy from time to time. If I can’t have Ash, no one can! But honestly, it took until the end of this book until I was satisfied with Meg’s decision. In the first book, I won’t say that I didn’t like Ash. The whole ‘I’m going to kill you’ thing was actually kind of amusing. But I was Team Puck for the majority of the time, and by the third book I still hadn’t truly made up my mind. The Iron Knight erased all doubts. And this is why….

But first, let’s take a while to look over at the synopsis and awesome trailer.

Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Book Cover

Beautiful, as usual. It was nice to have Ash at the front and Puck at the back, with that slight rueful smile. Once again the theme is blue for Winter, as it was in The Iron Daughter. I used to have a thing against seeing faces on covers as it doesn’t give me much room to imagine what the characters look like for myself. Unfortunately, many YA books still have photographs of characters on the front cover. For the most part, however, Kagawa’s books have been handled with care and the characters look more or less how I would imagine them. But on to the important things that the author actually has something to do with.

Settings

I have this thing about descriptions. I like them. They’re very important as its what lets you truly imagine. But I have this awful tendency of skipping them when they get too much. I think that Kagawa handles them with care though. It’s not over the top but it’s enough, and very well done. This is especially important in fantasy books because impossible settings are brought to life. I particularly liked her description of The End of the World and the river that they followed.

Characters

Grimalkin & the Wolf: What can I say? Their banter was the next best thing since Puck and Ash. The cait sith is forever calling the Wolf a dog, and he takes great offence to this, of course. I hadn’t expected to like the Wolf, though I never got to read Winter’s Passage, which is a shame. Still, it was very clear that the Wolf was bad news as soon as he appeared, and I was terrified he’d kill someone I loved, like Puck! I mean, pffh, of course Ash was going to live. Grimalkin was the same old, same old. Infuriating, cryptic, and wise. Kagawa even slipped in his famous line: I am a cat! Love it.

Ash: This is his story and it was a pleasure to finally get into his mind. I was mad that he was only doing this whole quest to keep his stupid oath so that he wouldn’t unravel and die, or worse. In the end, I was satisfied because he made up his mind on his own, with no oath to dictate his decision. Throughout the tests, he finally found out what it meant to be mortal, and he came to finally face all the horrors he had committed in the past. Ash really grew in this novel and I loved seeing him finally discover who he is really was. Not Ash, the Winter Prince- the cold and ruthless faery he had come to despise. He is the Iron Knight.

Puck: This book wasn’t about him, of course and as usual, we didn’t get to delve too deep into his character. On the other hand, I think that he was vital in this novel. Puck was Ash’s best friend before Ariella died and he swore to kill him to avenge her. He provided the comic relief, as usual, which was good because this quest was very important and death defying. The two of them finally resolved the feud between them and I just wanted to cry from the bromance 😀

I know that there is another vital character that I’ve missed out but mentioning them would be a spoiler!

The Tests

Having recently read The Goddess Test, I wasn’t expecting much. Having finished the book, I was just overwhelmed with the AWESOMENESS it radiated! It was… awesome! I was surprised that they all had to have these almost tests (running the gauntlet) to get to The End of the World. They were tests of strength and knowledge. Trust the sphinx’s to give an impossible riddle. Ash had three tests on his own, given to him by the Guardian so he could understand what it meant to be mortal. I don’t want to give too much away about them but I can’t believe that these tests were this hard. How is it that in YA books, the tests for mortality (the soul) is harder than the tests for immortality (The Goddess Test)? Very strange.

Ending- Tying up the loose ends

The ending was incredibly romantic and although their were no church bells, there really didn’t need to be! I’m honestly going to have to say that I’m glad that they didn’t leave the Wolf behind, despite what Grimalkin had to say. Puck will have to get over Meg at some point, and I hope that he appears in the sequel series, The Call of the Forgotten: The Lost Prince being the first book. So now I am finally, truly and utterly, Team Ash!

My Rating:

Five Stars

Adventure June 6, 2012

I’m A Geek on Greeks

I have loved Greek Mythology ever since I was taught about it in year 5 when I was about 9 years old. It was also on the curriculum when I was in year 7, at 11-12 years old. I remember having an argument with a friend of mine on the pronunciation of Persephone’s name. I said ‘Purse-eh-phone’, she said ‘Purse-eh-feh-nee’. We agreed to disagree but I am now forced to admit that she was right. Phone’s hadn’t even been invented them so I thought it was really funny.

So Greek adaptations have allegedly become the new ‘vampire’, as in they are all of a sudden very popular. This trend began last year in 2011 with YA books, though Rick Riordan writes children’s books and his series have been around much longer than this. These books include Meg Cabot’s ‘Abandon’, but here I’ll compare the greek myth adaptations that I have read up to date, YA or not.

Iris Messenger by Sarah Deming

This book was interesting and it had a very different angle to all of the others. In this book, the gods are all fading, whilst many are already gone. Iris comes across a magical… and visits a number of the gods. This includes Athena and Artemis who are now private investigators; Apollo the saxophonist (Yah! He’s playing my instrument.); Ares the lawyer (I couldn’t believe it either but I thought it was actually really smart), and so on.

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan (Followed by The Heroes of Olympus Series)

UK cover

US cover

Movie cover

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’ stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

– Goodreads summary for The Lightning Thief

This series is wonderfully written, and amongst my favourite books- ever! It is engaging enough for children as young as 9 but intelligently written enough for adults, which is something actually pretty rare. Riordan has a wit and flair that I have seen demonstrated by few authors, with Eoin Colfer being one of the others. This series does not tell the myths all over again like Deming’s Iris Messenger does, which is good because us educated readers won’t be bored stiff, but those who know nothing of Greek mythology can still learn some of the versions. Riordan instead incorporates these ancient myths into modern day America, with a strong and likeable character leading. Another awesome and very Rick Riordan thing is the name of his chapters. Tgey are just hilarious! His first ever chapter in this series is called ‘I Vaporise My Maths Teacher’ (though I believe it’s pre-algebra teacher for you Americans).

The Lightning Thief is followed by:

The Sea of Monsters

The Titan’s Curse

The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Demi-god Files (novella)

and The Last Olympian

The Goddess Test

EVERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.

NOW IT’S KATE’S TURN.

It’s always been just Kate and her mom–and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won’t live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld–and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he’s crazy–until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she suceeds, she’ll become Henry’s future bride and a goddess.

This is a very good book with Romance, a dash of mystery, and sort of Actual gods, unlike oh. my. gods. Sort of. Check my Archive for my full review.

Oh. My. Gods. & Goddess Boot Camp by Tera Lynn Childs

A modern girl’s comedic odyssey in a school filled with the descendants of Greek gods.

When Phoebe’s mom returns from Greece with a new husband and moves them to an island in the Aegean, Phoebe’s plans for her senior year and track season are ancient history. Now she must attend the uberexclusive academy, where admission depends on pedigree, namely, ancestry from Zeus, Hera, and other Greek gods. That’s right, they’re real, not myth, and their teen descendants are like the classical heroes: supersmart and superbeautiful with a few superpowers. And now they’re on her track team! Armed only with her Nikes and the will to win, Phoebe races to find her place among the gods.

-summary from Goodreads

This series promises something I don’t get very much from Riordan’s Percy Jackson series- Romance! It was an entertaining, light-hearted read where the fate of the world never once hung in the balance. Not even a single monster appeared. Whilst in some instances, this had me a little sad, but I enjoyed seeing the myth adaptation in a different angle. If you want the fun of Greek myth and romance, this is a book for you. I found the sequel: Goddess Boot Camp somewhat lacking in contrast to the first book but I liked the protagonist, Phoebe nonetheless. I do have to warn you though: NO GODS APPEAR- NOT ONCE!

The Fire Thief Series by Terry Deary

To escape the gods’ revenge, Prometheus travels through time to Eden City in 1858. There, he befriends a young orphan, actor, and petty criminal named Jim. When Jim runs into trouble with the law, Prometheus is torn — if he uses his powers to get his friend out of trouble, he will betray his hiding place to the gods. Terry Deary masterfully interweaves two plots, with action jumping at a whirlwind pace from Mount Olympus to the seedy taverns and elegant mansions of Victorian Eden City. Packed with puns, wisecracks, and sarcastic footnotes, The Fire Thief turns Greek mythology into a laughing matter.

– summary from Goodreads

This series is very different from the others as it follows the story of Prometheus himself. Although referred to as a demigod in this series, Prometheus was a Titan. Though related to Zeus and the others as cousins, Theus (as he is referred to) is well known for being punished by Zeus himself for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mortals.

Other books you might like that I have not yet read:

Abandon by Meg Cabot (This is the wallpaper, not book cover, but they look more or less the same. US cover)

Pandora Gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy

13-year-old Pandora Atheneus Andromaeche Helena (or Pandy, for short) has no idea what she’ll bring for her school project. By accident she discovers a simple box, said to contain something so terrifying and horrible that no one must ever, ever touch it for fear of inflicting all of mankind with the wrath of the Gods and Goddesses. This, of course, makes the box the perfect thing for Pandora to bring for her school project. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite the way she was hoping, and the box accidentally gets opened, unleashing all kinds of evil and misery into the world. Hauled before Zeus, Hera and the rest of immortals, Pandy’s given the task of collecting all the evils within a year’s time.

– Goodreads summary

Hippocampus by Tom Tancin- an E-book

An Island that Shouldn’t Exist…
A Life He Didn’t Know…
A Destiny That Can’t Be Escaped

There was no turning back. We were going to set into motion a revolution that could either save Atlantis or leave it destroyed in the process.

Sixteen-year-old Trey Atlas’ known life is a lie. While he was raised in Miami, Trey was actually born in Atlantis. Sent off the legendary island as a baby for his own safety, Trey is the only living heir to the Atlantean throne. Whether he likes it or not, Trey has to go back to his birthplace and accept his role as the Ruling Prince and lead the revolution to defeat the Knights of the Abyss. Otherwise, thousands of innocent lives and his true family legacy could be lost forever.

– Synopsis from Goodreads

Fantasy June 4, 2012

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

I give this one four starts

VERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.

NOW IT’S KATE’S TURN. It’s always been just Kate and her mom–and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won’t live past the fall.Then she meets Henry.

Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld–and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.Kate is sure he’s crazy–until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she suceeds, she’ll become Henry’s future bride and a goddess.
-Synopsis from Goodreads

So I finished this last week actually but it took me a while to write the review. This is yet again, another Greek myth adaptation novel, and I think in many ways it worked, in others it did not.

Once I finished this novel I loved it. I enjoyed watching the protagonist grow slowly, and of course the romance between her and Henry was good. For once, the couple did not fall madly in love all of a sudden, and they got to know each other instead before the protagonist fully made up her mind. The prologue captured my attention, making me ask a lot of questions, and one of the underlining mysteries is who is killing all of the girls? And is Kate next? Although some reviewers on Goodreads said that they saw the killer coming, others were more honest and were surprised. I am one of them.

In this novelisation, the Greek gods are real, but not as we have known them. I wouldn’t have minded this idea if it had been executed better. So Aimee Carter changed how the Persephone story ended- and let me make it clear, Kate is NOT Persephone- and I was fine with that. But how is she to make me believe that the Greek gods are NOT the lustful, wrath filled gods I know them to be from mythology? Zeus’ speech in this novel was in this way incredibly hypocritical and I just didn’t get why Carter changed it all. I was able to guess half of the identities of the gods before I saw the list at the back (WHICH YOU SHOULD NOT READ BEFORE YOU FINISH THE NOVEL! Seriously it’ll ruin the whole damn book!).

I loved Kate’s relationship with her mother and her friendship with the mean girl was not one that I initially saw coming. Kate’s mum is dying from cancer and any day soon, she will be gone. Henry’s deal with Kate was incredibly moving, even if he didn’t see it as a big deal. Which brings me to Henry/ Hades…

Let’s face it, Hades in myth is bad-ass! Henry is not. I don’t want to give away too much but whilst in some ways he was a good god of the Underworld, sometimes I just thought that he was simply sad. I thought that the way he never stopped loving Persephone was sweet, but only to a point. The whole self-loathing thing I guess I can understand, but I wish he’d been more powerful. Sure he brought back people from the dead, but that is such an un-Hades thing to do. Still, I think the character stood on his own and I actually ended up really liking him! Thank you Aimee Carter! Next time add just a sprinkle- or a fist full- of bad-assery. Can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel!

Coming Soon May 31, 2012

Just For Fins- Coming Soon!

When Lily Sanderson decided to remain Crown Princess Waterlily of the mermaid kingdom Thalassinia, she knew she couldn’t just coast along in the current. But since she’s spent the last couple of years on land—with gorgeous human Quince by her side—Lily’s not sure she has the fins to lead a kingdom. Even her maddeningly pretentious cousin Dosinia seems to know more about ruling than she does.

But Lily has to dive in deep to keep her promise to Tellin, her mer bond in name only, whose kingdom is suffering in the changing ocean climate. Lily knows this is a seven seas–sized problem: from sea animals dying to oil spills and threats to humans. They’ll need to create some serious waves to make the mer community aware and get it to join together to make things right. Even if that means facing one of the iciest queens in the mer kingdoms.

Just when Lily thinks her double life on land and sea can’t get any more complicated, an ancient mer law might separate Lily and Quince after all. It feels as if the pair is up against a solid tsunami wave!

In this third installment in the series that began with Forgive My Fins and Fins Are Forever, Lily will have to find a way to balance safety and justice for the mer people as well as for the humans she loves.
-Synopsis from Goodreads

Fantasy May 28, 2012

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

I read this weeks ago but between procrastinating and revising for my AS levels, I haven’t had time to review this. So here it is!

I won’t even lie. I saw this at my local bookstore and just went ‘Wow! Fabulous cover!’ But at the time I had been looking for another book, so I took a note of this one and then googled it. After reading an excerpt, I was hooked. There were so many unanswered questions, left by the air of mystery. What was the Feed? Who was Cole? Enticed, I readied myself for another visit to the bookstore, and I was left spellbound. So here is the summary that I found on Goodreads:

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she’s returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld… this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s a problem:

Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she’s forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s…

So, my first disappointment was that this dress didn’t actually feature in the novel. Nikki wore the same black dress to two different events, but never the stunning red one that is on the cover. I can forgive Ashton for this, but I have a thing against unrelated book covers. Yes, I’m talking to you Stephanie Meyer. Neither her titles nor her illustrations have anything to do with her novels. Eclipse is the one exception as I believe it to be a metaphor for the love triangle. And they even tried to get the apple to link in during the first movie. But I’m getting off topic.

This book left me gasping and crying. So much for her happy ending. I don’t mean to give anything away, but if you intend to read this, be prepared for some heartache.

I loved the use of mythology in this novel. It’s funny that I read it right after The Kane Chronicles and it somehow managed to link, even though the other other trilogy is based on Egyptian mythology and I was led to believe that Everneath was based on Greek myth.

My favourite character was Jack, without a doubt. Cole was strange, but I liked him in a ‘I love to hate him’ sort of way. He reminded me an awful lot of Paul Slater from Meg Cabot’s Mediator series, as both characters seem to be infatuated with the protagonist, but she isn’t interested. And they are both very creepy.

I RATE THIS A 4/5! You can’t go wrong reading this. Unless you hate romance, then maybe you should try something else.