Readers Choice Winner: Review of Angelfall by Susan Ee

How is it that I took so long to read this book? You guys got it right again.

Goodreads Book Description: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Locus Magazine, March 2012 Finalist for Cybils Bloggers Award for Best YA Fantasy & Sci-fi Book of the Year 2011.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee focuses on a teenaged girl, Penryn, who fights to protect her small and dysfunctional family in a post-apocalyptic Silicon Valley where angels have destroyed much of the technology and population. She has a psychologically unhinged mother who is no longer on medication, a sister who is disabled and uses a wheelchair, and no safe haven or regular food or water source. She meets Raffe, an angel, who gets his wings cut off in a fight, loses her mother, and her sister gets taken away. This all just happens in the first few pages. The rest of the book is her journey to finding her sister, his journey to repairing his wings, and their journey to understanding each other and their place in this new, terrible world.

I was completely blown away by this book. I was caught in its web a few pages in, and it never let me go. The pacing is terrific, the world building fantastic, and the plot never slows down. Who ever thought of an angel paranormal apocalypse? Not to mention Penryn is one of the best protagonists I've seen in a while-- and she also has a great and unusual backstory as to why she is so kickbutt. The prose is straight, honest, and raw, just like its protagonist and all of it falls together just right.

Overall, a smashing first book to this series, and I have just joined the mounds of eager followers that need the next book pronto! Ee is definitely an author I'll keep my eye on.

What did you think about this book? 

Readers Choice Runner Up: Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas

 I love how I had two assassin books and they got the highest votes! It was fun comparing this book to Grave Mercy-- this is much more standard fantasy fare, whereas Grave Mercy is much darker.

Goodreads Book Description: After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is a YA fantasy about an assassin, Celaena, who is chosen as the Prince's pick for the competition to become the King's Champion. The choice is easy-- either stay as a slave and likely death or enter the competition. Things quickly become complicated as there is a lot of politics and intrigue that surround the court, and contestants start being killed. Who can she trust? Will she find a way to survive with all the odds against her?

I really enjoyed reading this book-- it felt like a combination of the Hunger Games and Graceling initially, but then with some great world building and character development, it become a world of its own. Celaena becomes a likeable character, and I enjoyed the training sessions, and the intrigue that stemmed around the court. I thought the book was pretty well paced as well, 

There were a few moments where the dialogue and/or text became clumsy. I wonder if these moments were preserved from a much earlier draft that Maas wrote when she was 16. In general, I'm not a huge fan of multiple viewpoints-- this book is mostly written in Celaena's perspective, but we get cut scenes to the Prince, the King's Guard, and other supporting characters. It's kind of nice to get in their heads but tends to take us out of the story.

Overall, an entertaining YA fantasy, that sweeps the reader through intrigue, danger, and magic.

Thanks again, guys, and don't forget to enter the poll about adult reads!

Readers Choice Winner: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Another great Readers Choice. Thanks, guys!

Goodreads Book Description: Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is about Ismae, a young girl who has been marked by Mortain, her father, otherwise known as Death, and she is sent to live in a convent to work his Will. She is taught all the different ways to be an assassin, and to guard, Anne, the Duchess from the incoming French. During one of her tasks, she is sent with Duval, a darkly handsome guardian of Anne, to figure out the web of lies and deceit surrounding her. Can she trust Duval? Can she trust her own heart?

The first half of this book is slow, and smoulders, building on itself. I loved the teaching of Ismae and her convent sisters, but it takes a bit for LaFevers to get to the meat of the story, which is when Ismae leaves with Duval. Her strength lies in how she interweaves all the disparate aspect of the plot and brings them together in the end to a beautiful finish. I really enjoyed the world building of Mortain and the assassin's life. 

The downsides of this book include the slow start, and the fact that it is so dark without humor, that it takes a while to get accustomed to. Furthermore, Ismae and Duval are not the most likeable characters in the beginning and I'm not sure I completely bought their interaction. That said, I couldn't put the book down after the halfway point and eventually, by the end, the characters won me over.

Overall, a dark and sinister tale that has fascinating world building and characters. I am excited there is a companion novel about Sybella, a sister assassin who flits on the edges of this novel. I can only hope that a third book will be about Annith, the final sister that we learn about in this book.

Don't forget to answer this month's poll for my next read! :-)

Reader's Choice Winner: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

This past month, you guys picked Beautiful Creatures as my next read. I agree I needed to read this book eventually with all the hype going on with the movie coming out. And I can also see why you guys liked it... but I'm going to have to say I wasn't a big fan, and I won't feel a need to pick up future installments or see the movie. But that's okay. I now know that, and didn't before, and now I can talk about it relatively intelligently :-)

Goodreads Book Description: 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.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars 

My Review:
Because of the movie coming out and also its number one pick from last month’s Reader’s Choice poll, I knew I had to read this book next. I can see why people liked it, but I just didn’t have the same reaction to it.

Beautiful Creatures was co-written by Kami Garcia and Maragret Stohl. This book takes place in the deep South and is mostly from the perspective of a teenaged boy, Ethan, who falls in love with a strange new girl, Lena, who is the niece of strange Mason Ravenwood, the town recluse, whom no one has ever seen. Ethan falls hard and fast for this girl that he realizes represents everything other than Gatlin, the small Southern town that he lives in. Soon, he finds out there is a lot more to Lena and her family and that danger lurks everywhere.

I agree with other reviewers, that the mood and setting is very nicely done. You really get the feel of a sleepy, southern town where things seem to be moving backwards instead of towards the future. I felt the small mindedness of the townsfolk but at the same time saw how tightly they stuck together. That was probably the strongest aspect of this book.

But every book also needs movement, plot, and great twists with compelling characters. I felt that Lena and Ethan were like any other stereotypical teenage romance, and it felt like a Twilight with witches instead of vampires. I also felt myself waiting, waiting, and WAITING for something to happen. I was still waiting at 80% and even at the end, which I felt was predictable, I still felt like the book hadn’t really gone anywhere.

Overall, nicely written Southern setting, but lacks good plot twists, and characters that have depth.

What did you think about this book? (Don't lynch me!)

Runner up Readers Choice: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

You guys gave me some really great books to read, thanks! Check out the newest poll!

Goodreads Book Description: “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

My Review:
Ever since I read and loved Shiver, I knew I had to continue reading more of this lyrical author's works. The Raven Boys was next on my list because it was the runner up to my blog's poll about which book I should read next.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater stars Blue, an eccentric girl who lives with an even more eccentric and magical family. Her relatives can tell the future, and they keep reminding her of one fact-- the boy she kisses will die. That just seems like a really awful thing to tell your kid, but I digress. A host of rich, popular guys from an affluent prep school nicknamed "Raven Boys," enter the picture. Blue sees one, Gansey, in a vision. She is told bluntly by her family that this either means he is her true love or he will die. Gansey is looking for ley lines (magical lines of energy in nature) to awaken a magical king who will grant wishes. I will say no more, as the secrets that are revealed are really fun to find out.

As you might imagine, I spent some time feeling very "blue" for Blue. She is a quirky and fun character, but her family really doesn't do her justice. I was glad when she got to break out of the mold a bit when she meets the Raven Boys. I admit, this was a slow starter for me. It reminded me of Graceling, a book I struggled with for months, and then right around 50%, it takes off and never looks back. At that point, I was hooked and couldn't finish it fast enough. If you can get through 50% of this book, which is enmeshed in character and world building, you won't be disappointed after that. There are some great reveals, and I don't want any of you to miss out on that.

But if you don't make it that far, I honestly don't blame you for putting it down. That is probably the biggest issue I have with this book.

Overall, a slow start, but at 50% picks up pace magnificently with amazing twists and turns that will only have you itching for Book 2.

What did you think of this book? Also, enter some great giveaways at the links on the right hand side :-) 

Readers Choice: Review of Cinder by Marissa Meyer

First, I just want to say THANKS! to all of my loyal readers who voted on the poll of which book I should read next. I really loved Cinder, and now I get to share my views with the rest of you who already loved it!

Goodreads Book Description: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (you guys got it right!)


My Review: This book was chosen by my blog readers as the most important next book for me to read. Their decision just proved I need to do this more often-- they were more than right.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is about a cyborg, Cinder, who lives in a futuristic China. In a breathtaking and most unique retelling of the Cinderella story, we are introduced to a world of technology and wonder-- in addition to governmental intrigue, and another dominating species, the Lunars. Prince Kai meets our Cinder very early on in the story to ask her help in repairing his android, and it becomes clear that he may have to marry the evil Queen Levana to avoid all out war with the Lunars. While some of the aspects of the story are similar (evil stepmother and a ball), most of it is not, and it enthralled me from start to finish.

Lauren Oliver, the best selling author of the Delirium series, told me in an interview that this was her favorite YA read of the year. I know now why. The world building is terrific and I kept wanting to see more. The characters are very interesting, and the ethical dilemma of what makes a human kept cropping up in subtle but interesting ways. Furthermore, the protagonist was wonderful-- Cinder is probably the antithesis of the typical Cinderella image, but that's part of her charm. I loved that she was a mechanic and that she was down and dirty working on electronics-- that she wasn't the typical heroine.

I wasn't surprised by the big reveal, because hints were placed early on, and I can't still figure out why a certain doctor didn't reveal more earlier on, except as merely a plot device, but that was my only qualm.

Overall, a terrific and unusual retelling of the Cinderella story in futuristic China-- well written with wonderful characters. Meyer is an author to watch.

Please share your comments, especially if you voted in the poll! I want to know what you guys thought!

Current Giveaways
1. Dreaming of Books Blog Hop, Featuring J. Meyers, author of Intangible, signed copy of Intangible and signed bookmarks (INT), 1/18/13-1/24/13
Intangible Giveaway

2. Back to the Future Blog Hop, Featuring Samantha Durante, Author of Stitch, e-copy of Stitch or $5 Amazon gift card (INT), 1/22/13-1/28/13
Stitch giveaway