Wednesday, December 31, 2014

The Iron Queen - Julie Kagawa - 3.5 stars

This is book 3 of the Iron Fey series. This one was not my favorite of the series by any means, but it did have enough to it to keep me reading. I thought that it was much slower paced than the first 2 even though there still seemed to be plenty of action. I am not sure how it worked out like that.

In this installment Meghan and her team have to take out the False King who is claiming to be the newest Iron King. Meghan had learned earlier from Machina, that it was not possible. Iron glamour can't be taken, it must be given.

The world building is still wonderful in this book. I love the imagery that Julie Kagawa uses in her books. Makes the world seem so realistic and believable even though we know it could not possibly exist. She has a great gift of creating the scene and laying it out before her readers.

I absolutely love Ash and the relationship he has with Meghan. It is so beautiful to see the loyalty and love there. Puck on the other hand totally got on my nerves in this book. He seemed so much more selfish. He already knew that Meghan looked at him as her best friend but he had a hard time accepting that. Also a little twist is thrown in there involving Puck. I also really enjoyed watching the relationship between Meghan and her father Paul. Meghan looks out for everyone but herself and I love her strength and devotion to those around her. She is an amazing character. All of them are very well developed.

I am rating this one 3.5 stars. I liked it, but did not love it. I look forward to reading The Iron Knight and revisiting all my favorite Characters. I recommend this series to anyone who likes YA fantasy. It is a god way to get into the genre.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Pick 5 Reading Challenge with Shannon (LeaningLights)

For 2015, Shannon over at LeaningLights, and myself decided to challenge one another  with reading 5 books for the year that fall outside of our comfort Zone, why? Because it is always good to broaden our horizon's and expand our literary goals. So we decided this would be a really fun challenge. I chose for Shannon some of my favorite books of 2014.

What you must first understand is that Shannon and I read very different genres much of the time. I read more Adult books in the genre of Horror and Mystery, my 2 favorites. Don't get me wrong though, I can enjoy a good YA as well. Shannon reads more YA than I do, but she also reads a little Adult as well. So this will be a super fun way to challenge ourselves. Here is the list I pick for Shannon. And maybe this whole thing will also get y'all to learn more about Shannon who just happens to be a great booktuber as well. You need to
click right here and go visit her channel. She is such a pleasure to watch. She also has a great weebly blog that you can follow here. Ok so lets get on with the show. Here are my picks for Shannon.

5. Dolores Claiborne - Stephen King
Let me first say that I could not make this list for Shannon and leave out Stephen King. However, this is not a horror book as I first thought it would be coming from Stephen King. It is, in a way, a mix of historical fiction and mystery. I loved that and I have to say that it was very engaging, very fluid and easy to read. King tells a very powerful tale with this book. Dolores is a character that you will not soon forget and I think Shannon will feel the same way once she meets her. I look forward to hearing what Shannon thinks of the story telling of Stephen King since he is my favorite Author.

4. Alice in Zombieland - Gena Showalter
This is the only YA that I chose for Shannon. I think I talk about this series as much as I do The Joe Ledger series. I just really enjoyed this series a lot. The Author uses a lot of different elements in this story which makes it relatable to a large audience I think. It has such a unique cast of amazing characters and the writing style is fluid and easy to read and follow. A great story with a different twist on Zombies that is very welcoming. I think Shannon can really indulge and enjoy this trilogy. I myself am ready for the last book.

3. Before I Go to Sleep - S.J. Watson

I have to say for a Debut novel this one was fantastic, very engaging and a little crazy at times as well. I was completely immersed in the story from beginning to end. This is an adult novel bordering on contemporary/mystery. It was almost like 50 First dates only it was more serious and complex. It had captured my attention right from the very first sentence. The bedroom is strange. Unfamiliar. I don't know where I am, how I came to be here. I don't know how I am going to get home. That was enough for me to continue the book. This one is chock full of one of my favorite elements, Mystery. It is a great story that is full of amazing twists that readers never see coming. I think this will give Shannon a good taste of some solid mystery with enough thriller to keep her entertained.

2. Left to Die - Lisa Jackson

Lisa Jackson is one of my favorite female mystery writers and she is a real treat to read. Since I love her style so much I wanted to introduce her talent to Shannon and maybe become a fan herself. One thing that Lisa Jackson does so well is engaging her readers with great imagery as she sets the scene. Once readers become engaged and are immersed into the story the ride never ends from the first page to the last. They are always so full of thrills and chills you can't help but to keep turning the pages. This is book one to a 6 book series right now. Books 1 and 2 are the must reads in this series because they go together, the case carries over, but I will leave that decision to Shannon. If she likes this first one, which I think she will, then she can choose to move onto  Chosen to Die.

1. Patient Zero - Jonathan Maberry

Now I know what you must be thinking. You must be getting tired of hearing me ramble on about this series, and that series being The Joe Ledger series. I just can't help myself. I really can't and Jonathan Maberry is the one that made me this way. Can I say it again? I LOVE JOE! I love his character, his personality, his flaws, everything. I love the Echo Team. It was almost instantaneous love for me. And can I also say again, for someone to be able to write a book on terrorism and make me like it, they are someone special. Jonathan Maberry is that person, he is now up there with Stephen King, and THAT is saying a lot. There are so many elements in this book series that it is near impossible for someone to NOT like it. I just had to get Shannon started on her journey with Joe and the Echo team. And poetic, Oh my goodness Maberry is poetic. So many things in this series to like and I am not embarrassed to say every one of these books I have read so far, 5 star ratings. Yep! So now I want Shannon to experience this and I am hopeful that she too will enjoy it.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Blood Magic - Tessa Gratton - 4 star

I have had this book for awhile and decided to read it for my "why have I not read these books" challenge, and I am so glad I picked this one. Usually I don't like witch type reads, but this one was pretty good. I was very fluid and also very engaging making it a pretty quick read. I am suspecting there will be a sequel to this book. I am hoping so anyway because I feel like this has great potential to be at least a trilogy.

In this story we have Silla who lost her parents. It was said that her father had gone crazy and murdered her mother and then killed himself. Silla refused to believe that especially after she received a book in the mail, a very important, mysterious and magical book. Silla tries a spot of magic with a simple spell, and discovers it is real along with Nick who catches her in the cemetery. What does Nick know about Magic?

At first I did not think I would like the book because I don't tend to read too many books on magic and witches and such. But the book was really good, so much better than I first expected. Tessa Gratton is a great author. The very first chapter had one sentence and it was enough for me to keep turning the pages. "I am Josephine Darly, and I intend to live forever."

I loved the imagery in this book. It made for a very realistic read. The scenes from the cemetery and the forests I think were the best. So believable, creepy, and alive. I had no problem completely immersing myself into this world the author created, she made the magic come to life by use of so many different elements and I could barely tear myself away from the book at times.

The characters were well developed, scarred and flawed. Three of my favorite traits when it comes to characters. It makes them so much more believable. I really like Silla and Nick. I don't read romance, but I liked this pairing. Even though 'the love element' was pretty quick I felt like like they just fit right together. I also liked the different mix of characters the author used in this story, from sad and depressed characters to happy and then also some hateful characters who were not really the bad guys, but made you think about it. Josephine was a great villain because we got to watch her develop into what she would later become by way of interludes included in the story from back into the very early 1900's. I loved the backstory on her it was great.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes magic and witchery. It has so many elements to the story that I am sure almost anyone could enjoy this story. I really like Gratton's style of writing and I will be looking for more books from her for future reads.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

The 13th Gift - Joanne Huist Smith - 5 stars

I was really excited to read this book because for one, it is a Christmas story and I will always love those, and two, I knew it was going to be a very emotional, heartfelt story with a clear message of love and hope. This story is also somewhat dear to my own heart since I have been subjected to death of a loved one at the holidays, my parents.

I don't know how anyone could rate this book anything less than 5 stars. It is a true account of loss, strength, courage, and profound love. It should fill anyone who reads it, with a message of hope. A hope that gets a family through a tough time of great loss and brings a broken home back together. I loved this story and recommend to everyone.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Willow - Julia Hoban - 4 stars

I picked up this book for the "Why Have I Not Read These Books' challenge. I have had this book since summer I want to say and it just sat there on my shelves. I enjoyed the book so I am glad that I finally decided to pick this one up and read it. This is a first time Author for me as well and I will be looking for more from her.

In this story we have Willow who is the main character. At the age of 16 she was in a car accident that killed her parents. The worst thing about it is the fact that she was the one who was driving. Her parents had a bit too much to drink and they had Willow drive them home with only a learner's permit. Now at the age of 17 she has been dealing with the guilt and pain of killing her own parents and just trying to come to terms with all of it. She soon finds herself in trouble because to soothe the emotional pain, she becomes a cutter. Enter Guy, who soon discovers Willow's problem and he begins to open up Willow's eyes and her heart.

I knew that the premise of this book would be somewhat depressing, dark, and sad, but I still wanted to read it. I like stories that touch on real life issues because usually the stories are more believable and realistic. This book does have some pretty serious triggers for those who have experienced these types of issues with cutting, so that should be considered before reading this. I took this book slowly and absorbed every detail of the story. I was confronted by all kinds of emotions and I took away from it many thoughts. The desperation of a person who needs to feel pain to be able to deal with emotional traumas is serious and this book brings that out and I think, gives the readers a better understanding as to why. And we as human beings must stop judging people who have issues such as this because we do NOT know what they may be going through or dealing with.

The characters were very well developed and very believable. I had one issue with Willow and that was the fact that she tended to think the worst before truly knowing someone's thoughts, and at first I did not think that I would be able to connect with her or any of the others, but I found that the further I read the more I connected. With Willow, I found I was able to relate to the thoughts of being parentless and that feeling of abandonment. It does not matter the age, the feelings are the same, it is maturity that determines the actions that result. Being parentless means no more asking mom or dad for advice, it means no more being the child of someone, and even though these thoughts might not mean the same thing to someone who has not lost there parents, it is still a very real feeling. With David, it was the feelings of responsibility as he had to take on Willow who was only 17 and how this impacted his life. And to hear is explanations to Willow near the end of the story was heart wrenching. It gave the story a different meaning after that. Is gives the message that everyone feels things differently and we don't know what those feelings are and before we judge someone and their issues, we need to realize those things first.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic, emotional stories. It has both negative and positive elements and it is too heart wrenching to pass up.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

The Woods Are Dark - Richard Laymon - 4 stars

Apparently this book was first copywrited in 1981 and the editors for Warner Books butchered the book. Taking out full paragraphs, whole chapters were removed, bad grammatical errors, and so on. Laymon often referred to this book as the one that ruined his career. Then in 2008 after painstaking work, his daughter, Kelly Laymon pieced the book back together and had it published as the restored and uncut version, fortunately this is the version I have. Sad that Laymon did not get to see what his daughter had accomplished since he passed away in 2001. His daughter wrote a little story about all of this and published it into the first few pages of The Woods Are Dark. So there may be some bad reviews of this book if the 1981 version is what was read. If you read the 1981 version, do yourself a favor and read the one published in 2008.

When I first chose to read this book, I really liked the premise of the story and knew that I was in the mood yet again for a Laymon book in full Laymon style. In this story we have Neala and Sherri who find themselves tethered to a tree along with the Dill family waiting for the Krulls to come and get them. They knew what it meant to get this visit from them. They get escape and have to survive the dark woods. The story goes on from there.

There was so much action and just plain insanity in this book, it was just non stop. I really enjoyed the premise of this story and I think it was executed so well. I read this book in 3 and a half hours because it was so engaging and flowed really well. There was also great imagery to describe the Krulls and their life style in a very harsh, woodsy setting. Made me wonder who could really survive the terror among these savages. I knew I would not want to be one of the victims.

I really liked the characters in this story, not because they were greatly developed, because they really were very simple. I liked the characters because of how they were changed so much throughout the story. You could actually see them evolve from what they started out as, due to the harshness of the terrain, and the savagery of the dwellers. I never knew what one of them would do from one moment to the next, so it became rather shocking at times. But placed in this situation, people will do what it takes to survive and you wonder who is turns bad and who is good anymore.

Of course I have to recommend this book to anyone who loves Laymon's writing. We all know he is not for everyone. He is on the scale of 'you love him' or 'you hate him'. There is no in between. Also those who like a dark, shocking, disturbing tale of insanity may enjoy this book as well so go ahead and take the plunge, you won't be sorry.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Zombie Day Care, Craig Halloran - 2.5 stars

I read this book for my A-Z challenge. I found it on Amazon and it just happened to be free so I thought I would give it a shot. It is not a very long book, it is just over 100 pages so it was a pretty quick read.

In this book we pretty much have a zombie apocalypse going on and we start out with Nick having saved the world and then we go further into the future and we have a small group of people trying to actually cure the zombies.

In all honesty, this book is really kind of ridiculous, but it was entertaining at the same time. The characters in the story were not really very well developed and I did not really care all that much for them, but it did have a fun plot that I thought could go a lot further. It also has quite a different twist on zombies. I always applaud authors who take that step towards making content completely their own and that is what the author did with this book because he stepped far away from cliché.

I am not sure who I could recommend this book too. Like I said it was a bit ridiculous but still was entertaining to read. So I guess I say 'Enter at your own risk'. There is also a book 2 and 3. I actually think I will read them both. I am giving this book a 2.5 star rating.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Your Heart Belongs to me - Dean Koontz - 3 star

I decided to read this book simply because I needed it for one of my challenges. I found the book some what engaging, but I also found myself confused at times as well. The story that was being told had a great premise, but it was not everything I expected it to be.

We have Ryan who is a very active, athletic, and health conscious guy. One day he experiences what he assumes is a heart attack, and at the age of 34 that was not good for him. He decides to go get checked out and discovers that he has Cardio Myopathy. A heart condition, if not taken care of, is fatal. So he needs a heart transplant in order to survive. He gets the transplant and then a year later he starts getting odd gifts with a note attached saying 'your heart belongs to me.'

I find that Koontz was very poetic in this book and also used some pretty good imagery while painting the scenes for the readers to enjoy. I liked that aspect of the book. I felt immersed in the story most of the time. And then there were times I found myself confused and had to go back a reread portions of the story to figure out what I had missed. I feel like some of it could have just been left out.

I really liked Ryan, and he is the only one that I really liked. He seemed to be the best developed of the characters. He had kind of an Odd Thomas feel to him and I really liked that. The other characters I really did not connect very well with. I also was disappointed in Samantha. I did not really see much use for her in the story.

I think the end of the book fell a little flat for me, I did not really like the way it ended at all, almost unfinished in a way if that makes any sense. I don't feel like there was closure to the story. I guess I recommend this to anyone that likes Koontz and his writing style.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Nothing Lasts Forever - Sidney Sheldon - 5 stars

Sidney Sheldon is a first time read for me and I have to ask myself why I had never picked up one of his books before now. I think that he is a brilliant writer and I am glad that I finally had the opportunity to pick up one of his books. I was totally engrossed in the story and really hated for it to end.

In this book we have the stories of 3 different female doctors working in the same hospital. Dr. Paige Taylor, who is on trial for the murder of a patient that she testifies was a euthanasia, Dr. Kat Hunter, who gets involved with a deadly bet, and Dr. Honey Taft who feels forced to becoming a doctor and does everything besides her job. Each one of these doctors are fighting their own separate demons and trying to overcome some horrific obstacles while at the same time causing some serious problems with the hospital they were all employed at.

Most of the story has a setting inside of the Embarcadero hospital in San Francisco. The author writes the hospital with such realism that readers can visualize themselves there among the doctors, patients and their families. It seemed like with the turn of every page something new came to light for these 3 women wreaking havoc in their lives and the lives of other surrounding doctors they worked with. This story also had a lot of great back story on each of the women that allows the readers to connect to them better and also made them become far more believable and realistic.

I loved the characters in the story. They were so well developed. So much better than I could ever explain in this review. They were less than perfect, but perfect with their flaws and shortcomings as the dealt with the everyday problems they were faced with both in the hospital setting and in their own personal lives. I felt so strongly for them, each one in a different way, and I love when an author can do that for his readers. I felt so much emotion and three women will not be easily forgotten.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves adult medical thrillers, and mysteries. This story has so many different elements to it, love, friendship, rage, hate, jealousy, envy, honesty and trust. I think really anyone could enjoy this book because the writing is amazing. I will be sure to pick up more from Sidney Sheldon in the future.