 | Title: Deadlocked
Sexual Content: Rating:
|
Showing posts with label fairies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fairies. Show all posts
02 May 2012
Posted by
Abigail
at 12:30 PM
Labels: 12th in series, 1st person, 4, 4 bats, Ace Books, charlaine harris, fairies, Review, Sookie Stackhouse, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, werewolves
Labels: 12th in series, 1st person, 4, 4 bats, Ace Books, charlaine harris, fairies, Review, Sookie Stackhouse, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, werewolves
07 April 2012
*This title will be released on April 10, 2012*
 | Title: Kill Me Softly
Sexual Content: Rating:
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02 October 2011
 | Title: With Fate Conspire
Sexual Content: None. Rating:
|
Posted by
Julia
at 12:30 PM
Labels: 4th in series, fae, faeries, fairies, Marie Brennan, standalone, Urban Fantasy
Labels: 4th in series, fae, faeries, fairies, Marie Brennan, standalone, Urban Fantasy
17 December 2010
 | Title: Entice Reading level: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Publisher |
Book Description
Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever. But that's not quite how things have worked out.
For starters, well, Nick is dead. Supposedly, he's been taken to a mythic place for warriors known as Valhalla, so Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. But it's taking time, and meanwhile a group of evil pixies is devastating Bedford, with more teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent, and the good guys need all the warriors they can find. But how to get to Valhalla?
And even if Zara and her friends discover the way, there's that other small problem: Zara's been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to go with her? Especially since she hasn't just turned. She's Astley's queen.
Review
ENTICE picks up almost immediately after the events in CAPTIVATE: Nick is dead and trapped in Valhalla, Zara and her friends are determined to find a way to bring him back, and Zara herself has become a pixie for that chance. For a story with so much built in drama and opportunity for huge character developments, ENTICE still failed to live up to the magic of NEED.
That may be overly harsh, since ENTICE still does have a number of things going for it. Notably, the love triangle between Zara, her werewolf boyfriend Nick, and Astley the pixie king who turned her and made her his queen. In Nick’s absence, Zara and Astley grow much closer and she begins to consider all the ramifications of her decision to become his queen (anyone else picking up on the WICKED LOVELY similarities?). With Nick largely absent in ENTICE, it was easy to forget about him, especially since Astley, selfless almost to a fault, brings out a much more mature side of Zara that I hadn’t seen since NEED.
Unfortunately, the shortcomings I observed in CAPTIVATE are still present in ENTICE. Much of the dialogue is still vapid and immature (nearly all of Zara’s friends spoke like rejects from the Hannah Montana show. I wanted to throw each of them off a cliff at one point). And Zara still doesn’t live up to the excellent impression she made on me in NEED. And the promise of learning more about Valhalla is never really kept. The coming war is alluded to again, but apparently relegated to a future book.
I loved NEED with it’s tortured but hopeful romance and it’s unflinching portrayal of loss and the character arc of Zara. I rode the high of NEED through it’s slightly shallower sequel in CAPTIVATE which offered the welcome addition of a love triangle and a fun new inclusion of Norse mythology. But ENTICE, like CAPTIVATE before it, failed to match the impact of NEED.
The Wicked Lovely series is by far the best YA fairy series right now, Wings is another good one, and I’ll give the Need series the edge on The Iron Fey series, but I’m still hoping that the next book in this series will regain the sheer splendor of NEED. ENTICE gets a good but not great review from me.
Sexual Content: Kissing
My Rating:
3/5
Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.
Click HERE to read an excerpt from ENTICE
ENTICE book trailer
Previous books in the series:
Also reviewed by:
Giveaway
Giveaway courtesy of Bloomsbury USA
One copy of ENTICE by Carrie Jones + bookmarks
Visit BloomsburyTeens for exclusive content, news, and giveaways for all of Carrie’s Need books
Visit the official series website: Need Pixies
Giveaway Guidelines
- Open to US only (no PO Boxes)
- Leave a comment that includes:
- A comment or a title suggestion for the next Need book
- A way to contact you if you win
- Entries must be received by Midnight MST on December 24th.
Interested in offering a giveaway on All Things Urban Fantasy? CONTACT ME
Posted by
Abigail
at 6:30 AM
Labels: 3 bats, 3rd in series, Carrie Jones, fairies, giveaways, Paranormal YA, Review, Weres
Labels: 3 bats, 3rd in series, Carrie Jones, fairies, giveaways, Paranormal YA, Review, Weres
29 August 2010
Book Description
Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere.
Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help.
Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.
Review
Book 2 in The Iron Fey Series
Most young girls would fall head over heels for a book about a normal girl who turns out to be a faerie princess, gets pursued by two gorgeous faery guys (one is a prince and the other is the most famous faery ever), gets to go to her school dance with said gorgeous guys, has not one but two makeover scenes, and finally gets to ride a unicorn into battle!
I’m a huge fan of paranormal YA even though I’m well into my twenties, and there are many great titles that readers of all ages love. I wanted this book to be another addition to that list, but when your not exactly thirteen anymore, you might find THE IRON DAUGHTER somewhat lacking.
Like the first book in The Iron Fey series, The Iron King, the main plot and unique world building of THE IRON DAUGHTER are excellent. After the demise of the Iron King in the previous book, the Iron fey are divided and half are planning another assault to takeover Faerie, destroying both the human and faerie worlds in the process. Megan and her friends (Ash, Puck, Grimilkin, and a few others who might surprise you) take up the quest of stopping them. A string of somewhat disjointed scenes (see the first paragraph) lead them to a massive battle scene that easily trumps The Iron King’s excellent final fight.
I had hoped that Meghan’s adventures would have matured her and given her more insight into the guy she claims to love. Sadly, she was as juvenile as ever mouthing off and foolishly jumping to the wrong conclusions time after time after time. Which made it all the harder to understand why Puck openly threw his hat in the race for Meghan’s heart in this book.
I liked both books in this series, but found they shared the same strengths (great meta-narrative and creative world building) and weaknesses (juvenile main character and a string of filler scenes). The ending was again the strongest part of the book and it’s making me gloss over some of the rougher elements of THE IRON DAUGHTER and has me excited to read the conclusion to this trilogy, The Iron Queen, when it releases in February 2011.
Sexual Content: Kissing.
My Rating (out of 5):
Click HERE to read an excerpt from THE IRON DAUGHTER
Previous books in the series:
- Winter's Passage eBook (novella)
Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult - Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (August 1, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0373210132
- ISBN-13: 978-0373210138
- Cover Art: N/A
22 August 2010
*This title will be released on August 31, 2010*
Book Description
Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.
When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.
Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.
Review
Book 1 in The Infernal Devices Series
CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare is the first book in The Infernal Devices series which is a prequel series to The Mortal Instruments. The setting is London during the late 1800’s and follows a new group of Shadowhunters as they match wits with vampires, demons, warlocks, and the sinister ‘Magister’ in this steampunk flavored paranormal adventure that will please old fans of Cassandra Clare while creating a whole army of new ones.
Before you start thinking you can’t read The Infernal Devices without having read The Mortal Instruments, here is what Cassandra Clare had to say on the subject:
There is nothing in the Infernal Devices that will spoil The Mortal Instruments for you, and additionally, no information in the Mortal Instruments that you absolutely must know before you read The Infernal Devices. The two series stand alone, complementing but not spoiling each other.
The world in both series is the basically the same. Nephilim, human-angel hybrids who protect our world from demons. Shadowhunters, as they call themselves, also police the Downworlders: warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and faeries, while keeping humans (aka mundanes) ignorant of their existence. CLOCKWORK ANGEL does inject a healthy dose of steampunk into the mix, however, and London setting is fantastically fractured with Dickens-like details.
The main characters in CLOCKWORK ANGEL Tessa, Will, Jem, and Jessa are very reminiscent of Clary, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle from The Mortal Instruments. No one turns out to be related this time, at least not so far, but the relationship dynamics between Tessa/Clary and Will/Jace are almost identical. I liked the character development and romance between these too, I just wish it hadn’t been so familiar.
Overall, I would say the writing is okay, but the plot and pacing are better than most. Just when I thought I figured something out, the story would shift and surprise me with something better. The characters are very familiar, but I still liked the subtle differences and personal back stories (especially Jem’s) and appreciated the lack of a Star Wars-like twist in the romance. I’m already anticipating reading the next book in The Infernal Devices series, The Clockwork Prince in September 2011.
Sexual Content: References to prostitution. Kissing.
My Rating (out of 5):
Click HERE to read an excerpt from CLOCKWORK ANGEL
Product Details
- Reading level: Young Adult
- Hardcover: 496 pages
- Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (August 31, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1416975861
- ISBN-13: 978-1416975861
- Cover Art: N/A
*Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of Simon & Schuster
Posted by
Abigail
at 6:30 AM
Labels: 1st in series, 4 bats, Cassandra Clare, Demons, fairies, Paranormal YA, Review, Steampunk, Vampires
Labels: 1st in series, 4 bats, Cassandra Clare, Demons, fairies, Paranormal YA, Review, Steampunk, Vampires
11 August 2010
Book Description
Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:
One can time-travel.
One can raise the dead.
One can tell the future.
And one can possess another human.
With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now they're causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he'll blink and suddenly he's a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he'll change the future. Or he'll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she's going to die.
He's so over it. All he wants is peace.
And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, as long as he's near her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He's a loner; she has friends. He doesn't care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it's too late....
Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own, and a vampire princess Aden can't resist.
Two romances, both forbidden. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger but not everyone will come out alive....
Review
Book 1 in The Intertwined Series
Pick your paranormal poison: ghosts, zombies, werewolves, vampires, faeries, witches. They are all packed into Gena Showalter’s (Lords of the Underworld series) paranormal YA series debut INTERTWINED.
The concept of INTERTWINED is killer; the main character, Aden Stone, has four souls living inside him and each one possesses a different supernatural ability. Unfortunately, the execution of the souls was DOA for me. There’s the mom soul, the horny soul (who says ‘day-um’ every time he sees a hot girl), the pessimist soul, and then the other soul who didn’t even get a clichéd one note personality. Fortunately the souls didn’t have tons of dialogue.
If your not a fan of male protagonists, fear not. The story is told from the shifting POV’s of both Aden and the girl who can quiet the souls inside him, Mary Ann Gray. I appreciate that Gena didn’t make obvious choices in INTERTWINED and kept the mystery of her characters throughout the book, giving both Aden and Mary Ann their own distinct lives and problems to overcome.
I was less of a fan of how complex the story was at times while trying to balance out the multiple story lines and romances (yes, that’s romances as in plural. More on that later). I could actually see it working much better if Aden’s and Mary Ann’s stories had been in separate books.
Another issue I had was that the mythology of Aden and his souls is never fully explained (perhaps that will come in future books). Whereas I found the origin myth for vampires and werewolves to be fascinating in an Underworld sort of way, but tweaked just enough to be unique to this world.
As I mentioned above, we get two romances in INTERTWINED, each couple having their own obstacles to overcome and own pacing. I can’t go into more detail with out spoiling part of the book, but I think both of the male love interests were eminently crushable and I’ll be looking forward to seeing how these relationships grow in the future.
Sexual Content: References to sex. Teen pregnancy. Kissing.
My Rating (out of 5):
Click HERE to read an excerpt from INTERTWINED
Product Details
- Reading level: Young Adult
- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: Harlequin (September 1, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0373210027
- ISBN-13: 978-0373210022
- Cover Art: N/A
Disagree with my review? Contact me with your review for this or any other book I’ve reviewed and I might use it for 2nd Opinion Review.
Posted by
Abigail
at 6:30 AM
Labels: 1st in series, 1st person, 3 bats, fairies, ghosts, Gina Showalter, Harlequin Teen, Paranormal YA, Review, Vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies
Labels: 1st in series, 1st person, 3 bats, fairies, ghosts, Gina Showalter, Harlequin Teen, Paranormal YA, Review, Vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies
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