Tabitha Tomala
This book was amazing! Unlike the previous two books this one caught me from the prologue. I loved how Jordan finally focused on Mat and Perrin more, showcasing their abilities! Rand had such a large part by the end of the book I wish he had been focused on a bit more. It was kind of a quick and exciting ending but satisfying nonetheless. It is very hard to take the amount of characters Jordan has and give them a sizable piece in each book. I think Jordan does a decent job juggling them. I am looking forward to the next!
I honestly didn't think I would like this book, it is way out of my norm for reading. Boy was I wrong! I loved it! At first Moore's style of writing put me off, but after the first few chapters I was hooked! I was laughing throughout most of the book! I would not recommend this for anyone who is easily offended, but in all honesty Moore's purpose isn't to offend. He uses a lot of sarcasm and Biff is a wise-ass sidekick for Joshua. He makes Joshua a very down to earth person who has gone through extraordinary circumstances because he is the Messiah. I enjoyed how Moore incorporated Joshua learning about different religions and the ending for Biff was rewarding.
Robert Jordan's world has a detailed history. At times his writing drags on with description and explanations, but then you will encounter a string of events that make you continue turning pages. My first thought when I began reading this book was: how is Robert Jordan going to manage so many characters? It seemed like every page I turned there were more and more people being introduced. Once the storyline moved past the first town, and certain events, he was able to break up the story based on certain groups of characters. I would have to say of the three boys Perrin was my favorite to read about until the end. Rand has now piqued my interest. I do wish there had been more about Moiraine and Lan. I love the concept of the Aes Sedai and have many questions about who they are and who the Warders are.
Simply amazing. I couldn't put this down once I had begun! Every book explains a little more about the powers surrounding Mercy as well as developing every character in the plot. With so many different characters to contend with, Patricia Briggs does a wonderful job. Fast paced, never boring! Loved the explanation of the pack bonds and incorporating even more fae. Can't wait till I read the next one!
I absolutely love Mercy's attitude and sarcasm. Reading her quips and thoughts makes me laugh and grin every time. I also give a great amount of respect to Patricia Briggs for not turning her books into only about romance and sex. She skims over sex scenes artfully with barely any detail. Perfect! She focuses on her story and plot. Learning more about Walkers in this book intrigued me and also learning more about the manipulative ways of the local vampire seethe. Briggs made sure to have an even blend of all the supernatural creatures in this one and she never fails to impress me with more tidbits being thrown out about each.
Mercy Thompson never fails to catch my attention. She's a well balanced lead female who has as many flaws as strengths. Her sharp tongue and humor make me laugh each time. I enjoyed how this novel incorporated the fae and we got a chance to see more of them and the abilities they harness. Finding out about Zee at the end was a nice touch. At least we can say we know more about him now. I'm still interested in learning more about Mercy and her abilities as a shifter though. Patricia Briggs keeps dropping hints here and there with each book.
As the Death Gate Cycle books progress they get better and better! I loved the character development of Haplo and Alfred. Both are drastically different from when the series started. They are learning that the worlds are not so black and white. Can't wait to see where their paths lead. I am very curious about the dog after certain events in this book and hope that the later novels provide answers to many questions I have about the creature now.
This was a great inspiration for my writing. While not all of Natalie Goldberg's techniques match my own, it's always interesting to read other authors' point of view on the writing process. I did learn some new tools for writing through reading Goldberg which was my goal. I encourage writers to read this book. She has a way with words that makes it easy to absorb.
The first two books in this series were great, this one was lacking. The biggest reason I give this only two stars is due to first half being so slooooow then the second half slammed forward and tried to cram the end of the series. I'm wondering if the plug was pulled on the project due to sales? What I did like were all the stunts Bryn had to pull, pushing herself and the nanites to their limits. Caine really showed the power and usefulness of the upgrades and the darker side to them as well. I'm sad to see this series come to such and abrupt end at only three books.
This was quite an interesting read. I enjoyed learning about various authors experiences writing. I could connect with quite a few on the methods they use and the feelings they get while writing. The tips at the end of each authors' section were at times helpful yet sometimes I had to ask why? But every author is different :)
Anita is back on a down slope. Hit List was amazing, this book was so boring. I don't read these books for the crappy sex scenes, I read them to know about Anita, her abilities, the things she is supposed to be hunting and executing. Its like every other book is just smut. I hate reading smut! The most gripping part came at page 318! Seriously page 318 out of 334 pages, you put the oh my god what the hell is going to happen to Nathaniel scene!? And to top it off you make it as anticlimactic as you can with a simple solution? Other than the few pages of heart wrenching fear for Nathaniel, you blink and it's over. There is very little storyline at all about the unbound vampires. I was hoping Hamilton would go more into how they were created, what their general thoughts were, what their lifestyle was like. Instead she introduces you in the first few chapters to a new type of vampire kiss and then leaves it till the end of the book to have one person sum it all up. One person? How is this interesting at all? If Affliction bores me I will be giving up Anita Blake again. And this time for good.
This was a great book. It's nice to read a story with a kick ass heroin who doesn't have to sleep with the male protagonist. I saw some reviews who disliked this book due to no sex, not every book has to be smut in order to be good. Personally I prefer the books without all the gushy gushy romance. Mercy, the main character, is a skinwalker. It's good to see a supernatural lead character that is out of the norm, spices things up a bit. And Briggs was able to compare walkers and werewolves throughout the story without sounding like a lecture. There were many characters introduced in this book, but by the end you feel like you have a good idea of who everyone is. There's plenty of back story and she leaves you wanting to know more. I'm certainly ready for the next book :)
Too much description! This is the first thought as I read this book. I love the storyline and the originality put into Herculine but really? Half this book was pages upon pages of useless description. I could not keep a clear image in my mind of what was going on because of the wordiness. The back stories of each character were interesting, I especially liked the succubus and incubus' stories. Sabine's was rather dull and uneventful though it did provide a good baseline for how witches act/are organized which I'm sure was its purpose. Overall I would say this book is worth reading if you can get through the details. You may need to skim, I confess I did this on some parts, but it is a wonderful storyline.
The first book in the Death Gate Cycle took me a while to get into. The second book was much better at holding my attention. I loved Zifnab's humor, his Gandalf quotes and Dragonlance references. The relationship between Zifnab and his dragon was very entertaining. I loved learning more about Haplo and the labyrinth. I can only hope as the books continue that authors will reveal more. The racism between the mensch was startling. Even with death, danger and destruction the hatred between the races was immense. It certainly makes you think on whether or not people are like that in our own world. If everything were to go to hell would we stand together or fight amongst ourselves? Definitely a good read and makes me want more!
I believe this is the best out of the Meredith Gentry books so far. The story had me hooked from a few chapters in and I couldn't put this book down. The first half of the book is solid storyline about fey murders and the situation with Merry's guards and followers she brought from faerie. Getting back into Merry's job as a private detective in the United States helped personify Merry and show that she's isn't just a faey but part human as well. The second half is more like the Merry books have been with her bringing people into their powers and the Goddess guiding her into creating/restoring the fey. I really want to know more about the Goddess's plan, it's just theories right now that are being tossed around by Merry and her fey. I liked learning more about the demi-fey and the different jobs and abilities they have. Throwing in Gilda the Faerie Godmother of L.A. was an interesting tweak on Faerie Tales and I found it a little funny and sad at the same time. I also enjoyed seeing characters from the earlier books again and the soldiers once more from the previous book.
This one took me a while to get through. The first Dee scene was very randomly placed in the storyline, I did not think it meshed well at all. While it had to be inserted in the storyline for the ending of the book to work, there should have been a smoother transition into. I did like that this book took on a different view of the Pythias job, instead of just jumping through time the entire book. Cassie is slowly starting to step up to her position, while she does still whine she's doing it less. I still don't like how Mircea treats her like an object and pretty much ignores or chooses to be ignorant to what she says and wants. While this might be due to the fact that he was turned in a different century than Cassie I think Karen Chance needs to have his character develop.
It took me a while to get into Dorina's story. Unlike the Cassie Palmer series, Dorina is a woman who knows how to fight and enjoys it. Being a dhampir she's subject to blackouts where she loses control in a fit of rage. The fight scenes are very creative, nothing quite like I have read before and the action while its not non stop is well placed and written. I did have problems with her overall attitude, I thought it was a bit over the top, being the stereotypical bad girl of the family doing drugs and every thing she can to annoy her vampire family. I also do not like the way women are treated in Karen Chance's worlds where the men make them listen and ignore them when they aren't. I think another reason I started enjoying the book more is due to the fact she drops the attitude Louis-Cesar, the main male protagonist, has towards Dorina. There needs to be more of a balance instead of a male supremacy over the women. I am interested in learning more about Dorina and the memories that were taken from her. That was a wonderful hook to place and has convinced me to continue the series.
Extremely sad this is the last Allie book! I put off reading it for a while because I don't want this awesome series to end. Only a few chapters in and I have to pace myself because it is so good!
I absolutely love the relationship Allie and Shame have, the closeness that only really good friends can have, she cares for him and loves him, but not in a sexual or over the top way. I suppose that's one of the biggest draws for me with this series, the relationships Allie has with each person. Of course the other would be the pure originality of this series. It has been a wonderful road and I wish it could have continued. Devon monk did a wonderful job of wrapping up this series. I am so sad to see it end but it was a beautiful, tear jerking awesome series. Thank you Devon Monk for sharing your imagination with us.
Allie’s memory has been torn apart by magic, causing her to forget chunks of time and the people she spent it with. But despite the pain magic has caused her, she still has a job to do. When the police come looking for a Hound, she takes on a missing person’s case. Yet despite what her nose is telling her, Allie feels like something is off about the crime scene. As she digs deeper into the oddly familiar scent of magic, she finds herself caught up in magic steeped in blood and death.
Magic in the Blood allows readers a closer look into the lives of Hounds and the struggles they face. While Allie has mentioned their penchant for substance abuse, being introduced to an entire group of hounds brings her revelations to startling clarity. But when Allie is faced with new Hounds, she’s quick to judge despite personally knowing what they deal with. The reader is also given a new cast of characters to remember, most of which do not play an integral part in the story.
Despite additional characters, the story remains fast-paced and filled with action. And Devon Monk ups the ante by adding in a race against time. When Allie pulls on magic, a new enemy stalks ever closer, threatening to drain her magic. If Allie can’t cast quickly enough, it puts all she works toward at risk.
The world is ever expanding as new magic is introduced in this second novel. And the depths to which death magic is used show a disturbing reality if certain characters attain their ultimate goals. Allie will be placed in compromising situations that will embed themselves in her psyche and leave her feeling violated. These situations are meant to unsettle the reader and at first, do just that. But there are multiple callbacks to the events throughout the book, making them lose their intended emotional baggage.
While there may have been some bumps in the road with Magic in the Blood, I know there is a lot more to come from the series. With such a unique magic system, I’m eager to revisit some of the heavier magic-slinging fights I know are on the horizon. And I can’t wait to be reintroduced to some of my favorite characters along the way.
Originally posted at www.behindthepages.org.
It took me a while to get through this one. I love the story, I love the fact that Cassie isn't your average bad ass chick that can take on the world and I also think that Karen Chance did an awesome job as far as keeping the timeline intact and understandable to the reader. With all the jumps Cassie does it would get confusing if it weren't written so well, but to have an entire book go around to find such a simple ending it seemed to me like there was a lot of fluff in this one.
