Mini Reviews: The Lost Prince and The Iron Traitor

The Lost Prince
by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Fey, book five

Book Description:

Don't look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase's unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he'd dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister's world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

Review:

I liked the change-up, getting to see the Nevernever from someone else's perspective. Someone totally human. Ethan is tough, but totally terrified inside and that made him easy to relate to and still feel like a true hero. I loved how desperately he tries to save Kenzie from what he knows to be dangerous and I loved getting to see Meghan and Ash and PUCK (MY FAVORITE, CAN YOU TELL?) again.





The Iron Traitor
by Julie Kagawa
Iron Fey, book six

Publication date: Oct. 29, 2013

Book Description:

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for—his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.

Review:

I love Ethan and Kenzie's relationship. I think that they work just as well together as Meghan and Ash did. I'm anxious to see how they cope after the events of this book... in fact, I'm desperate to see what happens next because the cliffhanger this book leaves you on... WOWZA.

Review: Boundless

Boundless
by Cynthia Hand
Unearthly series, book three

Book Description:

The past few years held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner ever could have anticipated. Yet through the dizzying high of first love to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she could no longer deny was that she was never meant to have a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seemed like the best option, so she's headed back to California—and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he's not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won't come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must choose her fate once and for all.

Review: 

I thought that Hand did a bang-up job finishing the series. There were things I thought would probably happen and they did, but the suspense to get there was perfect. Clara remained a character that I could totally believe, stuck in a situation that kept me riveted. I loved her relationships with friends and family and the way that nothing was black and white...everything had shades of gray. The way that the romance tied up, too, left me absolutely satisfied. All around this is one of the best angel-themed series I've read and I can't wait to recommend it to more readers!

Review: Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

by A. S. King

Book Description:

Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.

So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?

Review: 

This book didn't really do it for me. I liked it...mostly, but I in no way experienced the deep love that I had been anticipating. I have no idea of that's in part due to the high bar I set for the book (I've only heard over and over and over how good it was) or because I listened to it on audio, so couldn't completely immerse myself in Vera in the fifteen minutes here and there that I was listening... I just didn't get it.

I found Vera to be a very real and fully formed character. I liked the storyline and thought that it was very thoughtful...but I was never "wowed."

I am hoping to pick up ASK THE PASSENGERS soon. I've heard again that this is a stellar book, so hopefully that one will hit me the right way. If not, I guess it may be that A.S. King's books aren't for me. We'll have to see...

If you're a high school reader, try this one and let me know what YOU think...maybe I'm the only one who didn't really get it! 

Review: Hallowed

Hallowed 
by Cynthia Hand
Unearthly, book two

Book Description:
For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Review: 

Oh, Cynthia Hand. I love and hate you. Truly. When you had Clara and Tucker have that little, "I just had to tell you I love you, but you don't have to say anything back until you're ready" moment in the first book and I got all swoony, my heart sang... And now, now... my heart is breaking epically. (*See! No official spoilers, but you KNOW that something devestating is happening!! LOL*)

I know, realistically, that in real life there are no truly happy endings. There are always shades of gray and that we have to know that you embrace the joy to balance out our saddest moments, but man, I felt like Clara just could not catch a break in this book! Her love life, her home life, and her destined life all took a big hit. It was one whammy after another!!

While not everything came as a surprise (Hand does a great job at hinting towards two big revelations without actually giving anything away), it was brilliant to see new facets of Clara's world come to light. New aspects of the life she must lead. AND it was great to see that Clara would actually be able to make her own choices. That, I think, was my favorite bit... I LOVE when a character breaks out of the "I can only do what I'm destined to do..." mold.

Let me tell you, though this book hit me in the gut emotionally, I immediately put a hold on book three. I MUST know how it all ends. Clara's story has me well and truly hooked.

Review: Curses! Foiled Again

Curses! Foiled Again
by Jane Yolen
illus by Mike Cavallaro

Book Description:
Aliera Carstairs is back. This time she's got her cousin—and best friend—Caroline in tow, and the stakes are higher than ever. The realm of Seelie, the fairy kingdom of which Aliera is the hereditary defender, is under attack, and only Aliera and Caroline can set things right. Caroline, fragile and wheelchair-bound, may seem like more of a liability than an asset, but Aliera knows there's more to her quiet cousin than meets the eye.

Review: 

I really like the books in this series. I love Yolen's storyline.  Aliera is a strong main character. Even as she's bewildered and hesitant to become the "Defender," she still will fight for what she believes is right...and she's a total kick-butt kind of girl with a sword!! LOL. 

I love the illustration style, too.  Not only are Cavallaro's characters easy to recognize and the panels are easy to follow, but he does this neat thing where the "regular" world is black and white, but anything magical is in color.  Take a look: 

Okay, I have no idea why this posted sideways, but I think you get the idea anyway, right?? LOL. 

I just think it really stands out the way that the illustrated decided to highlight all of the magical beings and events through color. It makes them jump right off the page... very cool.  

I can't wait to see where the adventure takes us in the next book of the series! 

Review: Second Chance

Second Chance

by Heather Brewer

The Slayer Chronicles, book two

 

Book Description:

The summer after Joss failed to kill the vampire Vladimir Tod, he gets a second chance to prove himself as a Slayer. He is sent to New York City to hunt down a serial killer that the Slayer Society believes is a vampire. It is up to Joss to lead his Slayer team, and through their detective work, they discover that there are actually four vampire brothers who are on the killing rampage. Joss must use all his skill to save the innocent people of New York City from the murderers. Joss's status as a Slayer depends on it.

 

Review:

Though I mostly enjoy these books as I'm reading them, I don't really remember them that well afterwards...I suppose that's a type of review in itself, right?  Like the first book, First Kill, Joss' story is full of action, danger, and deception. No one can be fully trusted and I know that I was kept on my toes throughout the book. 

 

What I liked best about this book, though, was the way that the author promised readers much more of a background to Joss and Vlad's connections later in the series.  Even as I was following along with Joss hunting down the serial killers plaguing New York City, I was really just dying to get more into his family's secrets and background...

 

I need to get my hands on the next book AND I really need to go back and read the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series!


Movie Review: Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures

2013

Alcon Ent./Warner Bros.

Rated: PG-13

124 Minutes

 

Movie Description:

Ethan longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town.

 

Review: 

This movie was good. I really liked it and will probably see it again...even though they did change some BIG things from the book!

 

All right, without trying to ruin this for anyone, I will try to disclose how I felt about the changes without giving too much away. Let's see if I can do it!

One: A huge revelation about a character's secret identity is revealed about one third of the way into the movie...allowing viewers to build the story upon that reveal...BUT I loved how in the book, I was pretty sure that was going on, but did not find out for sure until the LAST third of the book. I thought it was much more dramatic in the book, though the revelation scene in the movie was well done, too!

Two: Although the movie still features one of the coolest libraries I've ever seen in fiction, I was saddened that they combined two characters in the movie, cutting out the awesome librarian from the book series. I suppose this was to make it easier for viewers to keep track of characters, but it also inadvertantly changed Ethan's mother's backstory in a way I wasn't too fond of... *and* the library itself is a little downplayed in the movie. *My librarian heart is breaking.*

Three: When Lena must finally face what is going to happen on her sixteenth birthday, she decides to handle the situation all on her own. A HUGE change from the book. This change sets in motion a bunch of littler changes, including the entire moral character of one of her cousins, and allowed for a very different ending to seem to happen. Thankfully, in truly movie magic fashion, and a very dramatic way, the moviemakers pulled through at the last moment and things work out again...though it will make for an interesting start to the second movie...

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and think that people who have not read the book will love it. I think readers will probably bemoan the same things that I did, but also realize that this made for a great *movie* experience. And now, I have to read book two!

Review: Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures

by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

The Caster Chronicles, book one

 

Book Description:

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

 

Review:

Okay, I have to admit it. This was one of those books that sat on my book shelf for years, literally years waiting to be read. I got this book about four years ago, when it first came out and I never took the time to read it!

 

Since then, I have had plenty of teens tell me how great the series is and we get requests for them at the library all the time, but it wasn't until I started seeing info for the movie that I thought to myself, "Gee, I should really finally read that."

 

I actually enjoyed this one. It's not my favorite series opener, but that's partly due to the fact that I'm not a real witch book reader. I love magic in stories, things like Harry Potter, but for some reason when the people are openly called witches, it just hits a switch in my brain that says, eh. Weird. Anyway, I loved the atmosphere of this book. It's Southern Gothic and yet it also manages to be modern. The flashbacks to the earlier generations and the way that Southerners hold so strongly to their heritage definitely give this effect.

 

I liked Lena and her awakening powers. I liked Ethan. I liked the supporting characters. I thought they were all quirky and kept my interest going throughout the whole story. I was amazed how quickly I got through this 600 page book. As I delved further into the story and had my suspicions about who was really good or bad or well... the pages just kept turning. Other than having to lug the gigantic book around, I almost forgot how long it was.

 

As I said, although this is not my favorite new series, I am very excited to see the movie now. There is something about this storyline that just translates to the screen, I think. I can totally see the larger than life magic and the epic good versus evil struggle making for an epic movie! I'll let you all know what I think once I've actually seen it. 

 

 

How many of you have read this? Did you love it? Hate it? Are you planning to see the movie? 



Movie Review: Brave

Brave

2012

Disney Pixar

Rated: PG

93 minutes

 

Movie Description:

Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.

 

Review:

I really enjoyed this movie.  I thought the storyline was interesting.  I loved the setting. I loved the characters. I LOVED the animation.

 

This movie was about a girl who wants to make her own destiny...and does... *after* some serious mishaps, having to break a curse, and killing off a giant evil bear that's plagued her country for years. Set in Scotland, I loved the accents, the clothes, the history, the magic, the folk tale feel of the whole movie. 

 

Merida was a great character - fiery, loyal, loving, but also a typical teenager who blames her mother for EVERYTHING.  Her mother and father were loving and funny and her brothers were a full-on hoot.  *I would love to see a short with just the boys getting into scrapes!* The members of the other clans were also funny and made for a great interaction with Merida's family.

 

Most of all, though, this movie was visually stunning.  The animation of Merida's wild red hair, her horse, the bears, and the will-o-the-wisps were all amazingly well done.  You could see individual hairs. It looked like you could reach out and touch soft fur. Wow.  Just wow. 

 

If you like family movies, you will probably really like this one. :)

 



Review: A Fractured Light

A Fractured Light

by Jocelyn Davies

A Beautiful Dark, book two

 

Book Description:
When she wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings, Skye knows something terrible has happened to her. It's not until she hears Asher, the dark, rebellious angel she fell in love with, that the memories come flooding back. She tries to put the past behind her, but she knows she'll be forever haunted by the ruthless betrayal that almost took her life.

Skye returns home, but with the knowledge of who she really is, nothing can ever be the same. As she tests the limits of her newfound powers, Skye discovers that she's capable of far more than anyone could have imagined. Both the Order and the Rebellion want her for their side as war between the factions looms. She can't forget the terrifying truth she now knows about the Order, but something holds her back from embracing the Rebellion.

Review:
Picking up right where the first book left off, Skye must now deal with the fallout of finding out who she truly is, and being unsure of where she really belongs.  With ties to both sides in a holy war, Skye must decide who she feels more beholden to...or does she.  What I truly loved about this book was that though Skye falls in love, she does not let that emotion define her (unlike some other paranormal heroines...*cough* *cough* Bella *cough*). Skye chooses to forge her own path, regardless of the consequences. 

With romance, secrets, and a much stronger heroine than might appear on the surface, this trilogy (assuming the last book is as good as the first two) is truly one of my faves in the paranormal field.

Review: The End of Infinity

The End of Infinity

by Matt Myklusch

Jack Blank Adventures, book three

 

Book Description:

Ever since Jack Blank learned that he came from the amazing country of the Imagine Nation, he’s known that his fate could go down two very different paths—he could either be the greatest hero the world has ever known, or its greatest villain.

 

Now the final battle is here, and it’s time for Jack to discover the direction of his destiny.

 

Review:

*This is the final book in the Jack Blank trilogy, so beware of spoilers!*

I have really enjoyed this series and I am actually sad that it has come to a close. I'm sort of hoping that Matt Myklusch will dive into this world again to tell the stories of some of its other characters... we'll have to wait and see.

What made this series so great? It is a fabulous blend of realistic fiction and comic-book style heroes and villans. There are elements of science fiction, full-on fantasy, and there is no end to the action-packed adventures! Jack is a great character because he has a destiny that he must decide whether to embrace as inevitable, or to try to shape along the way... though he has no idea who he truly is, he has a fantastic moral compass that leads him... he has a strong sense of loyalty and friendship that he will not let fall the way side. He is a hero that I can truly get behind... oh, and did I mention that he can mentally manipulate machines? Awesome.

Not only does Jack fight his way into embracing and then changing his destiny, but he learns the truth about himself (finally!!) and decides exactly what type of hero he wants to be for the rest of his life. I loved how Jack's friends stood by him, even when they had their niggling doubts, and how Jack refused to lose any of them in the biggest, most important battle he'd ever seen. Reading this book was like watching an epic superhero movie, in the best possible way. As I said before, I look forward to hearing more from this author and hopefully in this same world!!