Currently Reading

Since I was approved to read some really interesting arcs _ Edelweiss has been good to me :D _ I decided to start reading "Ash & Bramble" .
Yes, the fairy retelling addict _moi_ couldn't resist it.
Also, when I was downloading it I took a sneak peek into the story's first pages, and I loved them, which is always a good sign.
Now having read about twenty percent of it, I can say that I am liking it, but not loving it. At least, not yet.

The beginning like I've mentioned before is pretty good, but then it loses some of its charm  in repetitive actions. Despite that, it is still pretty early in the narrative, so, keeping my fingers crossed that it will get better.

Also fairy Godmothers suck. Big time!
( I will never *look* at another Fairy Godmother *unless we're talking about Carolyn's Turgeon ~godmother~ in the same way!)

Dearest Rogue ( Maiden Lane #8 ) by Elizabeth Hoyt

                         Arc provided by Forever ( Grand Central Publishing) through Netgalley

                                                           Release Date: May 26

Engaging story with likeable characters but with one too many kidnapping scenes.
Okay, there were three scenes. -_-

What I enjoyed more about this story was basically the characters: Phoebe and James make a really sweet couple ( I guess people who have been following this series, know this already...), and I thought that their relationship with their families was well done.

The guy isn't overbearing _much _ and he does take into account Phoebe's needs. Which makes him a decent and sweet human being.
Like Phoebe he also has a physical disability although of a very different nature: She is blind and he has a problem with one of his legs.
Neither of them dwell into fits of self pity: they make the best they can with what they've got.

It had been a while since I'd read a Maiden Lane novel _basically I read the first three books when they first were released _ so I had a lot of characters names thrown at me, but it "was bearable" and it definitely left me in the mood to read some more books in the series.

Author's Official Site

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End Of Days ( Penryn and The End of Days #3) by Susan Ee

Mildly spoilers... really tiny little ones -_-

Well, my favourite character ended up being Beliel -_-
How fucked up is this?

Look, I can't even say, "oh, I read the first two volumes so many years ago, that I don't even remember what happened, and I was younger... so my taste has obviously changed." because I made sure to re-read the first two before I started with this one (FYI I still love them).

Despite the lacking world-building and the many unanswered questions, I couldn't care less about it, because the stories _ in both volumes_ had me completely enthralled: they were dark, gritty, fast paced, and emotions were running high.

The romance had all this potential to be amazing: the fact that they couldn't be more different from each other... the whole different species thing... the forbidden "bit".
When one adds the fact that they should be fighting on different sides, Penryn's mother and sister situations, all of this contributed for the fact that I've been anxiously waiting for this book since I finished World After... and now, I got this? *disappointed face*

In all fairness it isn't as if this is a bad bad story, but for me, the whole thing is eons apart from the quality of the first two books.

It took me forever to finish this!
We don't get answers in this book. Things that were important to dwell in are just glossed over.

For the first part of the book, I felt as if it as suffering from second book syndrome, because hell, it was boring. And I couldn't care less for the occasional make up session between Penryn and Raffe. -_-
I went from: "Oh, my God these two are breaking my heart", in the first two volumes, to cringing every time they would start kissing in front of other people or basically making up during a flight scene.
A little too paranormal cheesy for my taste.

The fact that Paige's situation is somewhat placed aside in favour of the romance didn't help.
You know when Doc _ in the second volume _ tells Penryn that her sister is in pain?
The poor girl was cut and stitched like a rag doll, and Penryn never took the time to give her anything for the pain.
Well, there's a part in which Raffe treats some of Penryn's wounds, but once again it doesn't seem to cross her mind to get something for Paige as well. *anger*
( look I am someone who is constantly treating cats and dogs, so imagining a girl whose body is all stitched up, and no one coming up with some pills or ointment gets on my nerves... especially because Penryn's main concern should have been Paige. Not Raffe. Raffe is a big man. An old... old... old man angel archangel.

Look, after two gritty, dark, more adult than actually Ya books, I was not expecting this one to be full YA.
So, not bad, but not unforgettable. Just another book with an angel dude and a girl.
Were you to ask me what was my favourite part of it, I wouldn't know what to say because _unfortunately_ no moment stroke me as that remarkable.


Bottom Line: If author Susan Ee decides to write another "last volume" to this series, I would definitely be on board with it and more than willing to forget this one -_-


@Author's Official Site


Buy it (maybe...)
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Hold Me Like a Breath ( Once Upon a Crime Family, #1) by Tiffany Schmidt

Arc provided by Bloomsbury USA Children's books

Release Date: May 19th

 

DNf at 28 %
TW's: for those who are squeamish about ongoing talks about blood.
                                          (like myself -_-)

Sorry, but as you can see I just couldn't turn click another page.

In the twenty eight percent that I read of this, there was nothing that would compel me to keep on reading it.
Sure, at the beginning I felt sorry for the girl. Okay, I still do. Having to live with such a medical condition would be hell _ Thrombocytopenia_, but I do not want to read a full book on the subject!
And so far, all I am getting is "low platelets accounts" "blood tests" "poor me".
And of course syringes. -_-

And no, Penelope's medical condition shouldn't be used as an excuse for the fact that she sounds like a spoiled eight year old. Just on the contrary.
She's used to living with it, therefore some backbone was to be expected.

Sorry, but nothing in it is working out for me. 

 

Author Official Site 

 

On Bookdepository.com

Indexing (Indexing #1) by Seanan Mcguire

Imagine if actual fairy tales characters lived among us: in fact imagine them a little like wild mushrooms sprouting everywhere and disrupting people's lives.
______
You know what, comparing them to weeds would be more appropriate -_-

So... there you were, living your own ordinary life, when suddenly a certain STORY forces your life into a certain fictional character life. Maybe a Sleeping beauty, in which case you can end up infecting a whole lot of people... apparently sleep is contagious _ ah! _ and princes are not that easy to find, and even if they were, complications are bound to happen.
Maybe you can be a Cinderella, in which case someone will be forced into the Wicked Stepsister role.
As you can see, being a fairy tale character has more to it than it meets the eye...

I loved this story's concept: the idea of a "task force" _of fairy tale characters _ created to contain other fairy tale characters, is actually pretty good.

It did remind me a little of Kate Serine's stories and Mercedes Lackey, the Five Hundred  Kingdoms series in which Tradition tries to force people into certain roles... sometimes with bad results.

The problem is that this story was developed in serialized format _ while I read this as a paperback _ and at the beginning _especially _ there's an amount of repetition: things that we've heard about in a "previous episode" are given to us again and again.
I felt that that blocked the story most of the times.
It also lacked big time in the character development.
I never understood  why a certain character was to be the boss of the team, when there was another one much more qualified.
And much more interesting.

The romance _ as normal with Seanan Mcguire _ was really weak. And unlike the Toby Daye series, here we don't have eight volumes until the stubborn characters finally get together -_-

Luckily towards the end, things pick up, and we are given a little more insight into some characters lives.
I especially liked the twist the author created in the Snow White and Red Rose fairy tale.
So in the end things did improve, and as such  I would love to get my hands on a sequel.

Author's Official Site 

Buy it!
Bookdepository.com

Because it is finally here!

Where's Waldo? ;)

"Yello"! ;)

My most awaited read of this year... definitely no pressure.

Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

                          Arc provided by Greenwillow Books through Edelweiss

                                                         Release Date: May 19 th

For once a synopsis that doesn't lie: this is in fact, a richly developed fantasy novel featuring parallel worlds, with non stop adventure, humour and a dash of romance.

And yes, it did remind me of the Night Circus with his fantastical images _ or in this case the illusions the characters make happen, not with the help of magic but something completely different _ but while NC mainly lives on the account of the beautiful images it creates, Illusionarium ends up being more complete.

It does however have some issues.
The Reason ( yes, capital R) why the adventure starts: a mysterious disease that only affects the female population.
Why?
_____
No idea. Its as if with so many other knots to tie the author forgot about that. Yes, I know where it comes from, but why only women are targeted?
And the strange thing, is that the author really tied every other subject perfectly, there my four star rating despite that "flaw".
And Jonathan is a scientist ( well a future one) so wouldn't he want to know that?

The writing made sure I was really watching the action in both "our world" as in the parallel that Jonathan ends up finding in his quest for an antidote for Venen. So yes, I loved the writing _ even with its occasional "strange" phrasing.

The side-notes were funny as hell!
Normally I hate this type of thing: it breaks the narrative pace and so on, but not in this book. Mostly they drew a laugh out of me.

Now, lets talk about the main character:
Jonathan despite having a very glaring Gary Stu characteristic _ he's immediately a prodigy at illusions _ ends up making a lot of glaring mistakes which ends helping getting him away from that dreadful role.
So yay, for him mostly being a sixteen year old idiot! :)
(really guys I am being sincere here. No sarcasm on sight...)

Then we are given front role seats to how guys become friends _ some of them, lol _ and yes, and involves fists and fighting.
They're actually cute :) in their bonding.

I also have to mention that I liked how family ends up having a very important role in the story without it being preachy.
Jonathan has a sister who he loves. A very intelligent sister _ he uses the expression "absolute" type of person to describe her _ that he's not threatened by. This is how he sees himself:

"Unlike me, of course. I could only be described as sort of. "

The boy is still trying to find who he is, and what he's capable of, so when the adventure begins he couldn't be farther away from the typical hero type... which by the way ends up being great.

I already mentioned that he's prone to idiotic behaviour, right?
He means well, but most of the time the boy makes the worst decisions ever. *head desk*
(of course that's the only way for the action to start happening -_- so, I'll let it pass ;)

Steampunk
Well, luckily for me it doesn't have too much of it, you know? lol
Too much of: "I haven't the slightest idea of what you're talking about!"  


In this story I was actually able of seeing what was going on, and what they were doing, unlike what ends up happening with most steampunk novels with their gibberish talks.

So, maybe the story drags a little at times, however I have to give credit to all the imagination that is behind it and the way the author was able to tie some really troublesome knots.
Bottom line and despite that "thing" that I already mentioned, this ends up being a really clever book.
Recommended.

p.s- Oh, and the cover is gorgeous :D

Author Official Site

Pre-order ( more like buy it, because it's almost May 19):
@Bookdepository.com

Midnight's Kiss (Elder Races #8) by Thea Harrison

This was such an entertaining and addictive read!

I find the Elder Races series as a bit of a hit-or-miss. Sometimes I don't particularly care for the character. Sometimes I just can't feel the connection between the couples. Sometimes I just don't like the book at all. 

But when Thea Harrison gets it right, she gets it really right!

I didn't read the book before this one. No offence but most of my friends found it dull, and since there was such a power imbalance within the relationship, and as I find the whole business with the djinn to be a great bore, I didn't really bother with it. However, I did read the epilogue to get sure I didn't miss anything going in to this book!

Melly and Julian were scorching the last pages of the book before this one, so I was quite enthusiastic to just move on to this book. And I was not disappointed!

Their relationship was just something that sizzled, the UST, the way Julian did not hesitate to risk his life for Melly even though their past wasn't all sunshine and rainbows...

I really felt as if their history, their connection, was real!

Add that to a solid urban fantasy plot, and I just could not stop reading until the book ended, and I wish I could read beyond that because I was loving this couple!

I obviously recommend it!

Thea Harrison's official site

buy Midnight's Kiss

@ The Book Depository

Spinster's Gambit by Gwendolynn Thomas

I must admit, this book started off on the wrong foot.

Honestly, don't expect readers to take a liking to characters when their first words pertain to the best way to kill a cat, even if in jest.

That being said, it got better. 

Jac is a spinster who wants to experience life, even for a short while. So when her brother Daniel offers to teach her fencing if she disguises herself as a man and accompany him, she does not hesitate. 

It's very difficult to not feel sympathetic towards Jac, cat hater though she might be. There's something infinitely sad about a brilliant woman languishing away in a society which firmly ostracises women like her. And even sadder to know that all over the world women still struggle like this. 

It's in her manly disguise that Jac meets Aspen. Aspen, a duke, has the left side of his body and face covered in scars. He longs for a wife and family, though most ladies of the ton can barely look him in the eyes. 

So when Jac becomes fast friends with him we get to know the man behind the scars.

I really liked the friendship between Aspen and Jac, even if he didn't realise she was a woman. Though it was a little unbelievable that he wouldn't notice who she was, especially while dealing with her as a woman in balls. 

I know we're supposed to just go with it, and I did, but I couldn't help thinking how, if I were to do this, you know, come back from the club where I'd been smoking cheroots and discussing politics, to appear at a ball in a gown and be like, "Good evening, long time no see!" my friends would just go, "Are you an imbecile? We just saw you an hour ago..."

So...

My favourite part of the book had to be Jac's brother Daniel and his relationship with Henry and Henry's daughter Laura. It was so sweet! It made me really sad that Jac wasn't a part of that for so long...

Despite my complaints regarding the treatment of cats and the improbability of the start of the plot, i highly recommend this book. It gets much, much better as you read on, so give it a chance!

buy Spinster's Gambit

@ amazon

Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation by Bill Nye

I think this is a really good starter book for those who didn't study the subject matter at hand. 

However, for those of us who did, it seems pretty basic. I learned all of this from middle school through college and I don't know... I guess I was expecting something along the lines of Steve Jones' books, which always have those little known fascinating facts that even scientists feel wonder reading them.

Also, I was really expecting Nye to crack down on creationism, but he only does it for a very short length...

Still, this is a wonderful book for those who did not study evolution.

Bill Nye's official site

Buy Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation
@ The Book Depository