Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase's sixteenth birthday is coming up but it seems like her mom and step-dad will forget. Her father disappeared when she was 6 years old and her little half-brother is terrified of the monsters living in his closet. What Meghan doesn't know is that everything is about to change forever.

When she comes home on her birthday and discovers that her half-brother has been replaced by a changeling, and faery are, in fact, real, by way of her best friend who is one, she sets off to faeryland to get him back. She has absolutely no knowledge about it and only her best friend, Robbie, to help her on her journey. Since they are going from a nice mortal world to faeryland things don't go as planned and Meghan quickly finds herself in trouble. This is when she befriends Grimalkin, possibly my favorite character in the book, in exchange for a favor.

With some quick thinking Meghan will survive and learn more about herself than she ever anticipated. She will even soon find herself on a mission to save the Nevernever...

I've been hearing really good things about this trilogy so I was pleased to be offered the chance to review it. I fell in love with stories of the fey in Melissa Marr's brilliant Wicked Lovely series but quite honestly I haven't ventured much past it to discover other books. The Iron King came highly recommended, though, so it seemed like a good place to start.

I really enjoyed this story, though it did feel like a bit more fantasy than I'm usually comfortable with in my fantasy. :) Meghan's voice is very fun and I had a few laugh out loud moments. The plot is very engaging, and I especially enjoyed the introduced themes of beliefs and how progress in science has altered them and the preservation of the environment in conflict with progress. I must say I was glad to see this and the way it manifests, though I'm certainly curious about how the things that play out in faeryland affect the mortal world and vice versa.

There's a bit of a love triangle here though not heavily emphasized (perhaps it develops more in later books). So there is a bit of romance, but it's really not the central focus by any means at all.This is a quest--Meghan must find her brother and bring him to safety. And yes, some things will happen on the way.

This is a very fun and engaging story and I look forward to seeing what will happen next.

Rating: 4.25/5
Things You Might Want to Know: Profanity
Source of Book: Review copy provided from publisher
Publisher: Harlequin Teen



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Review: The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block

This book showed up on my doorstep earlier this year and at first I was really excited. I loved the cover, I love a well written paranormal story but more than that, I'd read positive reviews of Block's work elsewhere and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to read something of hers.

The premise is rather unique. While it is a werewolf book, Liv is a very unique sort of werewolf, and doesn't understand fully that she is one. She has a troubled relationship with her parents, her mother actually hunts wolves for fun, and she has two close friends, her boyfriend who she wants to sleep with, but she's afraid of what will happen, and her gay best friends whose life is miserable. (he often pretends to be her boyfriend so his parents won't know he's gay and her parents won't know she's dating a black boy)

Unfortunately, I didn't really like this book. The first barrier for me was the writing itself which is very simple. I'd guess that when people have issues with young adult books, they must envision the writing to be like it is in this one. Simple sentences, no complexity, nowhere for me to dive into the words and let them take me away.

My second problem was the story itself. I was initially intrigued by the different sort of werewolf tale being told, but in the end it didn't make sense. Furthermore, some pretty horrific things happen, but I never felt like these things happened at any level of emotional truth for the characters. In other words, I felt I was being told things, without being able to feel like I was experiencing them. I also wasn't crazy about any of the characters and felt everyone was sort of one dimensional.

There was nothing about this book that makes me want to read more from this author. Have you read anything by Francesca Lia Block? I'm really open to hearing what worked in her other stories.

All in all, while I don't really recommend this book, it was a very quick read.

Rating: 2/5
Things You Might Want to Know: teen sex, and I believe profanity (I read it in July, I don't remember!)
Source of Book: Unsolicited review copy from publisher
Publisher: HarperTeen

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I read a few glowing reviews of this before I went to Book Expo America in May, so when I saw the ARC there I grabbed it. I was really excited about reading it, even though I'm generally not a huge fan of werewolves. With the exception of Carrie Vaughan's Kitty. :)

But I guess I'm coming around. I don't think I'll ever love werewolves like I love vampires, but for some reason that remains unclear to me I do love these paranormal love stories with high stakes and impossible odds.

When I started reading Shiver I didn't love it. I liked some of it. There's a passage early in the book I especially liked, so it wasn't the writing. The writing is lyrical and sweet. But I was just kind of uncomfortable with the idea of this human teenage girl being in love with a wolf. A wolf she didn't realize was also human.

Let me back up. Grace is but a child when she's attacked by some wolves behind her home. One wolf in the pack keeps them from killing her. And it's that wolf she ends up watching her whole life. But the wolves are becoming a problem for the town and a hunting party goes after them. When "her wolf" gets shot and turns human, this turns into the tragic love story.

I liked that the wolves in this book were different. Instead of the full moon bringing on the change it's cold weather. And instead of dealing with it one night a month, they have season...winter/wolf season and summer/human season. But eventually they won't change back into humans and will remain wolves.

Sam, Grace's wolf-turned-boyfriend, is afraid he's in his last human season. So they are spending all the time they have together until he turns, possibly for good. But there's a new werewolf in town and he's also trying to help her deal with that situation since the wolf is much more aggressive and not really hiding his wolfiness.

I ended up enjoying Shiver more than I thought I would initially. It's a little heavy on the romance and sappiness...in fact, they say they are obsessed with each other which is just a little icky for me. But Sam is sweet and tragic and Grace is a girl with a head on her shoulders. I also really liked Grace's new friend Isabel..I thought she was fun.

This is a book where the adults play almost no role. There's a lot of pain, an overall very somber tone to the book, I felt some of the characters could have been more fleshed out, but I still enjoyed it quite a lot, and I look forward to the sequel.

Rating: 4/5
Things You Might Want to Know: Premarital sex, a little language, some violence
Source of Book: ARC picked up at BEA, but the book is in bookstores now.
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Review: Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

The very definition of compulsive reading for me are these stinking books. Melissa Marr has created a world so dark, yet compelling that I get totally sucked in. I do things like listen to Evanescence in my car and feel all moody. I also find that the book has a permanent place in my hands...I can't put the darn thing down. So in short, I love them. I love them in that passionate, "don't care if they're not the finest literary masterpieces, they capture my imagination and consume my thoughts" sort of way. I didn't expect to. When I first read Wicked Lovely, I thought I would only tolerate it. A book about faery? I thought. How good can it be? Well the answer is...very, very good. Some kind of spoilers (but not really) for Wicked Lovely below.

Ink Exchange is the story of Leslie, Aislinn's friend. It continues the world we were introduced to in Wicked Lovely, Aislinn is now the Summer Queen and adjusting to that role. Leslie is broken and feels very alone. She has been violated in that way which is the worst for us as women by the people who should love her most, and has no one to talk to about it. She decides to get a tattoo as a way of asserting her independence and autonomy over her body. She chooses what she thinks is the perfect tattoo.

But the tattoo she has chosen has consequences. It links to her the King of the Dark Court. In exchange for feeding through her, she receives numbness from all feeling.

This is a powerful story about addiction, about the necessity of pain and all things in balance. It's about choice and choosing to hold onto yourself, to live through the pain of life.

I loved Leslie and felt so much for her. I also really liked Irial, the Dark King, and felt for Niall. I could live without Keenan.

I guess a lot of people liked this book less than Wicked Lovely, but I adored it. I think it's a powerful story with an ageless theme. I'm almost hesitant to say this, but I recommend this book to Twilight fans who might be looking for a new read. The main reason being that Marr does that angsty teenage relationship thing well, but without compromising the strength of her female characters. In fact, part of why I love these books so much is that the female characters are wonderful and strong, willing to self sacrifice in ways that make sense, and make tough decisions without compromising themselves.

I have Fragile Eternity waiting here for me, and I can't wait to dig in!

Rating: 4.75/5
Things You Might Want to Know: This is a dark book, with a little bit of strong language, smoking, drug references, and sex references. Nothing is really described, though.

Reviews: Kitty Goes to Washington, Kitty Takes a Holiday, Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn

Kitty Goes to Washington
About the Book: Celebrity werewolf and late-night radio host Kitty Norville prefers to be heard and not seen. So when she's invited to testify at a Senate hearing on behalf of supernaturals, and her face gets plastered on national TV, she inherits a new set of friends, and enemies, including the vampire mistress of the city; an über-hot Brazilian were-jaguar; and a Bible-thumping senator who wants to expose Kitty as a monster. Kitty quickly learns that in this city of dirty politicians and backstabbing pundits, everyone's itching for a fight.

My Review: I enjoyed this Kitty book as much as the first one and was enthralled by the latest addition to the vampire characters in these books. Have I mentioned I love vampires? This story effectively wraps up some loose ends from Kitty and the Midnight Hour. I didn't actually think the plot was as tight in this book, but it was interesting to read about Kitty's adventures in Washington and what the possibility would be of something like lycanthropy or vampirism becoming accepted diseases by the government. Just as readable as the first one!

Kitty Takes a Holiday
After getting caught turning wolf on national television, Kitty retreats to a mountain cabin to recover and write her memoirs. But this is Kitty, so trouble is never far behind, and instead of Walden Pond, she gets Evil Dead. When werewolf hunter Cormac shows up with an injured Ben O'Farrell, Kitty's lawyer, slung over his shoulder, and a wolf-like creature with glowing red eyes starts sniffing around the cabin, Kitty wonders if any of them will get out of these woods alive..

My Review: This one is probably the darkest of the Kitty books I've read so far. Something I'm definitely feeling from these books is that Kitty is not at any kind of peace. Some things happen in this book that make for interesting story including a new love interest for Kitty! One of the things I liked about this book is that it kind of showed that Kitty shouldn't live in isolation. She's been trying to do things on her own and that wasn't the best thing for her.

Kitty and the Silver Bullet
Kitty's radio show is as popular as ever and she has a boyfriend who actually seems to understand her. Can she finally settle down to a normal life? Not if this is just the calm before the storm. When her mother falls ill, Kitty rushes back to Denver--and right back to the abusive pack of werewolves she escaped a year ago. To make matters worse, a war is brewing between the city's two oldest vampires, threatening the whole supernatural community. Though she wants to stay neutral, Kitty is again drawn into a world of politics and violence. To protect her family, her lover, and herself, she'll have to choose sides. And maybe become what she hates--a killer.

My Review: This might be my favorite one so far, but that could be because it's the one I've read most recently. I really enjoyed it and liked how Kitty had to come to terms with a lot more things dealing with her human side as well as continue to grow in confidence as a wolf. Plus...vampires!

I know these reviews are kind of mini, but that's because it's hard to write varying things on a series like this. I have really enjoyed all of these books and reading about Kitty. I've also come to realize that I like werewolf stories more than I thought I did, but I'm deeply thankful that I'm not a werewolf. These books are extremely fun to read, light, with a bit of exploration into the darker side. I'm giving the whole lot of three 4/5.

Things You Might Want to Know: Some sex, language, and violence. Nothing overbearing though. Oh and some digs at the Bible belt or conservative Christian right.

Review: Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughan

My Review: As I've said before, I'm not a huge fan of the werewolf mythology. I just don't get it. While I'm fine with drinking blood, I get uncomfortable with turning into an animal. So I didn't know if I'd like this new series, but I was willing to give it a shot because there's a lot of affection and enthusiasm for werewolves out there.

Kitty is a werewolf, but she doesn't want to lose herself to the wolf completely. She tries to maintain a normal job and only turns when she absolutely has to. But one night on her radio show, she shares some information about the paranormal and her listeners eat it up, giving her more popularity than she's had in ages. She's excited about it, but the her pack leader isn't nor are the local vampires. The pack is everything, Kitty must obey her pack leader for his protection from all that would threaten the werewolves.

I have to admit that I really really enjoyed this book. Kitty's conflict between her wolf and her self was interesting as was her growth within the pack and her own self-confidence. I also could actually understand the appeal of the pack...people/wolves to take care of you and to share your life with. But then again there was lots of other stuff I could have lived without like the alpha wolf having his way with whomever he wanted when he wanted.

All in all, this book was very enjoyable, Kitty is a very likeable character, and I look forward to the rest of the books in the series which are indeed, waiting for me!

Rating: 3.75/5
Things You Might Want to Know: There's some sex, a little language, and a little violence.