Tag Archives: Series

February 17, 2012 · 10:00 am

Book Review : Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

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.

This book really appealed to me, a cyborg version of Cinderella? Well maybe this could be a version of the fairy story that I could love, I’m afraid the Disney version would come really low on my list of their film adaptations. The book is divided into four sections which are each divided into chapters, I sat down to read just the first chapter and ended up getting to the end of the first section without even thinking about what else I should be doing, and soon carried on to finish the whole book.

The danger with a retelling of a story as familiar as Cinderella is that the reader is not surprised by the book, and that the plot just plays out as expected. I was really pleased that this wasn’t the case, whilst the story is essentially the one we’re all familiar with there were plenty of twists and turns and tweaks to keep the interest right the way through. I absolutely loved the way the Cinderella story was transported into a future version of Earth complete with cyborgs, AI lifeforms and hover transport. The world that Meyer created was vivid, I found it really easy to imagine. The opening chapters are set in a market place, I really got the sense of this noisy, bustling place.

Cinder is a pretty great character, I liked the fact she was practical and smart, and as in control of her own life as she could be. Her relationship with her younger step-sister Pearl was lovely, and I adored the friendship between Cinder and her very wonderful robot Iko. I also loved Prince Kai, whilst he was most definitely a Prince Charming he was also an interesting, engaging character with depth. Both Cinder’s stepmother and the ruler of the Lunar empire make for excellent villainous characters, I do love good bad guys!

By the time I got to the end of the book I was desperate to carry on with the story. Alas it is a whole year before the next book in this series, and based on what I’ve read about the Lunar Chronicles series it seems that each book is going to feature a different fairy tale heroine so I’m not sure how much more of Cinder we’re going to get to see. I’m quite prepared to wait and see how the series plays out though, I have a feeling it’s going to be good.

Cinder is published in hardback, paperback and eBook by Puffin in the UK. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book via UK Book Tours all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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January 18, 2012 · 12:47 pm

Book Review : Wereworld: Rage of Lions by Curtis Jobling.

YOUNG WEREWOLF DREW FERRAN IS THE FUTURE KING OF WESTLAND.

He has the makings of a great warrior – but first he must master the blade and the beast.

When Lady Gretchen is abducted by the Werelion Prince Lucas, Drew and his friends embark on a perilous chase to stop the prince fleeing to his homeland of Bast. As Drew encounters terrifying new Werelords along the way, he is led to the exotic city of Cape Gala, where the forces of Onyx, the Beast of Bast, await.

Now Drew must summon all of his courage and strength – because the Catlords are ready to attack . . .

I absolutely loved the first book in Curtis Jobling’s Wereworld series so I was really excited to start reading this second book. It opens with an all action prologue and you straight away get the feel that this is going to be one hell of a read.

The book continues with Drew trying to come to terms with his role and what it means for him. Between training to help him develop his skills and meetings with the Wolf’s Council his life is certainly very different now. When Gretchen is kidnapped he is told that he must not go after her, but of course he ignores these orders and goes off in pursuit of her and her kidnappers. Whilst he is on his quest his friends are not quiet either, Hector in particular gets a great story.

I continue to love so many of the characters that feature in these books, I was so pleased to see Count Vega back in action – he’s a real favourite of mine. I also love Whitley, she’s so brave and resourceful – I don’t think I could do half the things she does even in the most dire of situations!

This book absolutely whips through, I only put it down long enough to make a cup of tea! The blend of politics and action makes it a captivating read, the addition of some lovely quieter character moments is just the icing on the cake. I feel like I’m really getting to know the characters well which means I’m really invested in what happens to them and the people that mean a lot to them.

I love the way the book keeps you on your toes, there are a couple of pretty major plot points later in the book that made my jaw drop open. I have absolutely no idea how the author is going to carry on from one of them in particular, but I can’t wait to read the third book and find out. This series of books is now a real favourite of mine, I really can’t recommend them enough.

Wereworld: Rage of Lions is published in paperback by Puffin in the UK.

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January 3, 2012 · 5:26 pm

Book Review : Tiger’s Voyage by Colleen Houck.

With the head-to-head battle against the villainous Lokesh behind her, Kelsey confronts a new heartbreak: in the wake of his traumatic experience, her beloved Ren no longer remembers who she is. As the trio continues their quest by challenging five cunning and duplicitous dragons, Ren and Kishan once more vie for her affections – leaving Kelsey more confused than ever.

Fraught with danger, filled with magic, and packed with romance, Tiger’s Voyage brings Kelsey and her two tiger princes one step closer to breaking the curse.

I, like many other book bloggers, have made no secret of my love for Colleen Houck’s Tiger books. After getting to read the first two books in pretty quick succession it was hard waiting to read this third book, but it was completely worth it.

The book really has two key plot threads that wind around each other. First up is of course the quest to break the next part of the curse, as the title suggests this time the quest involves a voyage and what a voyage it is. I loved the way the mythology was woven into the plot again, the five dragons were all so interesting and well created – I found myself feeling a little sad when it was time to leave one behind and move onto the next. The quests are always exciting and this was no exception, I was completely gripped by it.

The second key plot thread is the relationship between Kelsey, Ren and Kishan. The second book had ended with Ren unable to remember Kelsey or their relationship, a state of affairs that had left me quite upset. I spent so much of this book willing Ren to remember again, all the while noticing how Kishan wasn’t really putting a foot wrong. I liked the addition of Wes, the Texan diving instructor, whilst he was never really going to get in the way of the love triangle I liked the way he shook things up a little with his easy charm.

These books are just so readable, I felt by the end of this book that I’d fallen in love with the characters all over again. The plot was involved and interesting, as well as the wonderful quest there were so many interesting scenes as we see Kelsey experience life with the boys and the ever brilliant Mr Kadam.

The next book in the series, Tiger’s Destiny is due to be published in September which feels like a long long way away at the moment. I’m already really looking forward to it so much!

Tiger’s Voyage is published in paperback by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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September 13, 2011 · 11:43 am

Book Review : Incubus by Carol Goodman

Ever since moving to Fairwick to take up a teaching post at the local college, Callie has been having vivid, erotic dreams about a man made out of moonlight and shadows. Dreams she begins to fear as well as anticipate…

She learns that her home – a Victorian cottage at the edge of a wood she bought on a whim – is supposedly haunted. And then her new – and rather strange – colleagues tell her a local legend about an incubus demon with a human past who was enchanted by a fairy queen…

I enjoyed Carol Goodman’s book Arcadia Falls earlier this year, and her cowritten book Black Swan Rising last year so I was really excited to read her new book Incubus, the first in a new urban fantasy series.

The plot starts pretty slowly, Callie moves to Fairwick to teach folklore. Very quickly as the reader you start to get the feeling that something is a little unusual about Fairwick, but it takes Callie a lot longer to catch on herself. I actually found this a little frustrating, Callie is supposed to be an expert in things including fairy tales, gothic fiction and demons but she just doesn’t seem to question what’s going on around her. For me the book really got into its stride after about the first third when Callie begins to discover the truth about Fairwick and her colleagues at the school. Whereas it took me a few days to get through the first third, once the plot really kicked in I couldn’t put the book down and finished it within a couple of hours.

Callie is an interesting character, I generally found that I liked her but as I’ve already said I did find her frustrating at times and wanted to shake her. I did really like the supporting cast of characters, and I liked the fact that as well as ticking the usual supernatural boxes there were a few supernatural species included that I’ve haven’t seen appearing frequently. For me this meant that there were new lores to learn a bit more about, and I think this definitely helped to keep my interest.

I think that this is a decent start to a new series and I will definitely be looking out for the next book in the series. I just wish that it had had a stronger opening and that I could have loved the book instead of thinking it was pretty good.

Incubus is published in paperback by Ebury Press in the UK priced £6.99. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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August 9, 2011 · 9:26 am

Book Review : Tiger’s Quest by Colleen Houck.

Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. But danger lurks around the corner, forcing her to return to India where she embarks on a second quest-this time with Ren’s dark, bad-boy brother Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tiger’s Curse.

Fraught with danger, spellbinding dreams, and choices of the heart, TIGER’S QUEST brings the trio one step closer to breaking the spell that binds them.

After loving Tiger’s Curse so much I was torn when I received my copy of Tiger’s Quest. Part of me couldn’t wait to jump head first back into the fictional world I’d loved so much but part of me was a little scared in case it didn’t live up to my expectations. I was therefore pretty nervous when I started to read.

I’m so pleased that my fears were unfounded, within a couple of pages I’d fallen firmly back into Kelsey’s world. The book picks up from where Tiger’s Curse ends, with Kelsey on her way back to America. The first few chapters focus on her settling back into her old life and beginning to attend college, Mr Kadam has organised everything for her including a house, car and enrolling her in suitable classes to both interest her and build her knowledge for continuing to work on breaking the curse. Whilst she’s getting settled she continues to yearn for Ren, even her attempts at dating are marred by the knowledge that he is out there. Finally he follows her to America, unable to be apart from her any longer. It doesn’t take much time then for the dangers of the curse to return, and for Kelsey, Ren and Kishan to all get caught up in the adventure again.

I continue to really like Kelsey as a character, I think she’s a great leading lady. This book sees Ren play a much smaller role in the adventure instead allowing Kishan to come to the fore. I really enjoyed getting to know him better, whilst he is definitely cast in the bad boy role he is a fully three dimensional and sympathetic character. I had thought at the end of Tiger’s Curse that Ren was the tiger for me, however now I am completely torn and think that for now at least I’m going to put off choosing a tiger!

There are some wonderfully humorous scenes in the book, Kelsey’s attempts at dating and Ren’s attempt to assert his position in her life both entertained me fully. My favourite section was when Kelsey and Kishan are beyond the spirit gate, the world described there is wonderful and very lovely. The action sequence towards the end of the book had me on the edge of my seat, I’m sure at times I was holding my breath as I read!

This book completely lived up to the promise of the first, I loved that Kelsey got a bit of time back in the real world – I really enjoyed reading about it and I liked that it meant we got to see more of Ren outside of the adventuring. I loved that the adventure continued but with the added benefit of allowing the reader to get to know Kishan better. The movement of the action into Tibet meant Houck could explore new mythology, she continues to weave this seamlessly into the plot.

I loved this book and am eagerly awaiting the third book in the series – Tiger’s Voyage. My only slight gripe is that after getting the first two books so close together we have to wait for the subsequent titles, I’m feeling a bit impatient about wanting to get on with this story!

Tiger’s Quest is published in paperback by Hodder in the UK priced £6.99. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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