Bad Book Blogger

Teehee. I'm here!! Really!! I've just been a very bad blogger this summer. There's a beach right by my house... what can I say? I have no excuse. :-p

But my lack of reviews doesn't mean I haven't been reading! I may not be able to blog very well from the beach, but I certainly can read. I've compiled a list of my recent reads, in order of star ratings. And I talk a little bit about some.


5 star reads (AKA stop what you're doing and go get this book!)

Divergent, by Veronica Roth
 Divergent was super. I have read a lot of dystopians lately, since that's what the publishers are putting out (thanks to The Hunger Games' success) and I've been satisfied, but not entirely blown away by most. Divergent wasn't a THG copy cat, at least I didn't think so. Of course, everyone is going to compare new dystopians to THG, but this one didn't make me feel the need. It was it's own story.

One of my favorite things about Divergent was the exploration of fear. The "fear-scapes". As fascinating as it was to watch the characters in their own fear scape, it was even more interesting for me to try and figure out what my fear scape might show. In fact, this very concept sparked a good conversation with my friend Em. We even sat down and wrote out lists of our fears.

I thoroughly enjoyed Divergent, and I consider it a success not only in the writing, the characters, and the plot, but in the discussability-factor it has. It's a book that will spark discussion and debate and best of all-- thought. ;-)

Magic Slays, by Ilona Andrews. (book 5 in the Kate Daniels series)
 Well of course it was fantastic. Ilona Andrews never has disappointed me. Kate and Curran are back to kick butt, take names, and sic the attack poodle Grendel on all those nasty things in post-apocolyptic Atalanta. Kate also learns a bit more about her past, whether she likes it or not.


4 star reads (Very much enjoyed)

Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins.
 Cute. Very cute, very sweet. The setting was possibly my favorite thing about the book. As you may guess, Anna and the French Kiss is set is Paris. Anna is sent to a boarding school in Paris for Americans.

I wasn't nearly as impressed with Anna and the French Kiss as everyone else seemed to be, but it wasn't a bad read. It was what I wanted to read- something light and lovey. The setting definitely made the book for me. I would probably have been bored to tears with the love story if it was set in America. Being in Paris and seeing the sights through Anna's eyes was what kept it fresh and entertaining for me.

The Gathering, by Kelley Armstrong.
 A decent first installment to this series, but not quite up to par. The writing was great, the story was fine. I found it pretty predictable though. In fact, quite predictable. I was getting bored waiting for our dear MC to figure out what I'd known from the get-go. And sadly, she doesn't figure it out until nearly the end.

I do love the fact that it's in the same world as the Darkest Powers series. That right there is what kept me interested.

Anyhow, I did enjoy the book, but the predictability was disappointing. Now that the secret has been discovered though, I think next book in the series will be great!


Stolen, by Kelley Armstrong. (book two in the Women of the Otherworld series)
 I read this one pretty quickly. It was fast paced and exciting and definitely the kind of book I like.


Dime Store Magic, by Kelley Armstrong.
 And here is where the series switches POV's. We get Paige here, which was great. I like her. :) Again, I read this one quickly. Armstrong's books just have to be read, they don't let you put them down for long.

Industrial Magic,  by Kelley Armstrong.
 Paige again. Loved the glimpse into the Cabals and all those sordid affairs.

Haunted, by Kelley Armstrong. (Women of the Otherworld, book 5)
 Finally!! Eve's POV!! I loved getting to see Eve's thoughts and feelings and get an understanding of her. A little creepy, but very good. I had a bit of trouble during the first half, as it was a little slow. But of course, once it picked up it didn't slow down and I loved it.

Unfallen Dead, by Mark Del Franco. (Connor Grey, book 3)
 I had forgotten how much I liked this series. Our poor broken druid, Connor Grey, is back at it again. Fighting the taint that was left from the giant magical mishap in Unquiet Dreams. And of course, fighting other things, but I shan't mention them, or else risk spoiling the book. ;-)

The Search for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi.
  What an interesting book. A fantastical fairy tale, with monsters and gadgets and a lost little girl. Eva Nine is all alone in a strange and dangerous new world. Well, not so totally alone. She does manage to make a few friends along the way, and her adventures with them are truly spectacular.

It was a bit like a reverse Alice in Wonder Land- Instead of falling down a hole into a new world, she goes up and out a hole into a new world. Everything is different. Things that seem nice aren't, and things that seem terrifying might not be- or they might be even worse than you thought!

I absolutely plan to read this to my kids one day, and you should too. Although it's MG, it still entertained and creeped out this 20-something gal. A fairy tale through and through.


3 star reads (Meh)

Pretty Bad Things, by C. J. Skuse.
 Uh, what? Very strange premise, very strange book. Paisley and her brother Beau go off on a crazy road-trip to save their dad- in the car they stole from their evil, money-grubbing Aunt. Sounds kind of interesting, right? I guess... but it was weird. Paisley is nuts. She lights her Aunt's house on fire, she is incredibly destructive and rude and I just couldn't understand or relate to her. She claims to love her little brother, and we see some of that, but she treats him like her little slave. Beau lets his older sister push him around and convince him to steal and mooch and do all kinds of things, all in the name of finding their father. Who, might I add, has been in prison for the past however many years. In some ways it's a nice story... but not really. Paisley is irresponsible to the extreme. When they have some money (from stealing) they buy candy and stupid stuff. They rob candy stores and ice cream stores and the whole point of all of it is to get on TV so their dad will see them and know they're looking for him. Kind of far fetched. Not a great plan. Not a great book.



And that pretty much brings you up to speed on my reading. Lots of Kelley Armstrong this summer, thanks mainly to my friend Andrea, since she's been kind enough to lend me the Women of the Otherworld books.

Really Ravishing Review (Bayou Moon)

Review of Bayou Moon, by Ilona Andrews. 

Quickie: Better than On The Edge, in my opinion. (And I loved On The Edge) Brilliant.

Full: I think I may have to make an "Ilona Andrews" label here on the blog, because it's getting harder and harder to fit Andrews' books into genres. Not that I'm complaining, because their books break out of traditional genre cliches and slash and parry into the new. (I say 'their' because the Ilona Andrews pen name is for a married couple; Ilona and Andrew Gordon.)

Bayou Moon is the second book in The Edge series. It's not a "sequel", but "a novel of the Edge". You do see some characters from On The Edge, but it's mostly a brand new story. And it's marvelous.

We start out with William, a poor lost soul who thinks he isn't worth anything. It's an understandable feeling for him, since he's a changeling, and in Adrianglia they abhor and fear changelings. Mothers are permitted to give up their changeling baby, surrender them to the government. They are sent to orphanages until they are old enough to go to Hawk's Academy, where they are taught to kill. Because after all, that's all a changeling could possibly be good for, right? (insert maternal heartache here) He longs for companionship, for friends, for a family, but knows that his reality won't allow for all that. His reality is killing. It's what he was raised to do, and he's darn good at it. The best.

William (I keep wanting to type Squilliam Fancyson. Stinkin' Spongebob!) has been hired by The Mirror - Adrianglia's secret service of sorts- to hunt down a certain important article and kill the man who has it. This leads to even more interesting people, like The Hand. They are referred to as "the freaks", and generally I would dislike that, but for The Hand it's fitting and true. They are modified people, some modified so much that they are no longer human. They have tentacles and cilia and freakish super powers that make them terrifying and unpredictable. The leader of The Hand is Spider, who is of course the man William must hunt and kill.

On the way to Spider, William meets Cerise. Cerise is searching for her parents, who have been traded by her family's rivals, the Sheeriles, to The Hand for the deed to her grandfather's house. She doesn't know why The Hand would have an interest in her parents, but as the leader of the family in her father's absence, she must find them and save them. At the same time of course, the feud between her family and the Sheeriles has rekindled and they must fight for their land and pride.

Cerise lives in the Mire, where exiles have been cast and everyone is poor. It's dangerous land and one wrong move could result in your death. Families are large, and they fight tooth and nail for everything they have.

With their courses twined, Cerise and William share a perilous journey with uncertain consequences. Along the way, a romance buds. I loved, loved, loved the romance in Bayou Moon. It was real. They didn't bat their eyelashes and instantly want to get hitched and live happily ever after. They didn't even get along when they first met. They were suspicious of each other, and they goaded each other and laughed when the other fell. It was awesome. The more they got to know one another, the more they realized that "Hey, this person is really cool. Oh, and hey, I'm really impressed with his/her fighting abilities, magic, and perseverance. And would you look at that, they look quite nice when he/she is fighting... No! Must not think that!! But he/she is really funny, and what did he/she mean by ___??"

I loved it. It wasn't rushed, it wasn't forced, it was awesome.

How was the world, you ask? Divine, I say. With all of Ilona Andrews' books, you have to pay attention and let the world build itself in your head. Once it's there, it's fantastical. No important detail is overlooked, and the world is so very complete. Most books with big new worlds, I get the idea but there are blank spots on my picture. Not so in Bayou Moon. I felt like I could be transported there in real life and already know what I was facing and where to go. That's some massive talent right there.

The Hands freaks might be number one on my awesome list. I could imagine them so well, and they creeped me out utterly. The genius behind all these characters and world ideas... I'm still geeking out over it all.

I feel like I've written a book on this book... so I'll stop now. But if any of you Bayou Moon fans want somebody to geek with, I'm ready and willing!

For those of you who haven't read it and think it sounds like something you might like- GO. Read. Now.

5 of 5 stars.