Review: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: November 6, 2012

4-strong stars for Days of Blood and Starlight.

This is the second book in Laini Taylor’s hugely popular Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the first of which I have reviewed previously on this blog. The good news is, I did enjoy this book a lot more than I enjoyed the first one.

In this book, we find Karou thrust into the role left vacant by Brimstone, her father figure and one of the higher-ups in the Chimera society, and it is one she definitely grows into as the story unfolds. She is suffering with grief and loss and because of this her character is raw and has an overwhelming need for vengeance. I like this Karou. I feel like her finally knowing who she is and what she is allows her to gain more strength than she had in the first book.

We still follow along with Akiva’s story as well as he re-immerses himself into the Seraphim regular life – training, fighting, politics – we see it all here and meet a lot more very interesting characters along the way. The world building in this book is really strong. The world we saw in the first book is built upon and built upon in this one until you feel like you are looking at this vast empire of angels v demons. It is truly astounding!

I also like how the romance of the first book really takes a back seat in this one. There is really no ‘romance’ storyline here in an obvious sense, although some may be lingering just under the surface. This book is packed full of action and you definitely can feel that the whole storyline is rushing towards a final, conclusive battle. We see old side characters reemerge here; including my favorites, Zuzana & Mik. (of note: I am so excited to read, Night of Cake & Puppets, now that I know what it is actually about! This is a companion novel to this series that follows Zuzana & Mik as their relationship first begins.)

I listened to this one, as I did the first, on audiobook and I think the narrator just does a spectacular job bringing this incredible world to life. I have already started the third book and it is even more action-packed, picking up right where the second book leaves off. I am sure I will be shook by whatever the conclusion to this is going to be! 

Review: The Woman in the Water by Charles Finch

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: February 20, 2018

My final rating is 3.5-stars for this book. The Woman in the Water is a prequel to the Charles Lenox Mysteries series, of which there are currently 10 books. I have read the first book in the series, A Beautiful Blue Death, and enjoyed it quite a bit. When I saw that a prequel was coming out, I figured I would read it before the rest of the series. This was a good book but I did not enjoy it as much as ABBD. For me, the investigative matters were secondary to the rest of the character development and I really think that the murder investigation should have been front and center. I did feel the second half of the book was a lot stronger than the first half and the ending was satisfying.

Prequels to me are either necessary or not necessary. I don’t really feel this one is necessary in order to enjoy the rest of the series. I didn’t pull too much new information about our protagonist, Charles Lenox, from this that I couldn’t have gleaned from the books in the main series. One aspect of this that I did enjoy a lot however was the relationship between Charles and his right-hand man, Graham. I feel that Graham’s contribution to Lenox’s work and life was really highlighted here and that was nice to see. I also enjoyed the exploration of Charles relationship with his father -some of those details were truly beautiful to read.

Overall, this is a good book, I do enjoy a Victorian mystery, especially with a gentleman detective. However, in my opinion the story could have been stronger if it stuck more to the traditional ‘whodunnit’ format throughout. I will definitely continue reading the books in the Charles Lenox series! Thank you so much to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this book and share my opinions!

Do you read a lot of mysteries? I have always loved mystery series, cozy or otherwise! They are just so relaxing and easy to get swept away in – I love trying to figure out whodunnit. Leave me a comment with your favorite mysteries – I would love to add more to my never-ending tbr!!

Fierce Competitors

~ megs14malloy ~ 2 Comments

Hey bookies!  Happy Hump Day (…and I’m already ready for the weekend!) – this has seriously just been such a busy week and I have barely gotten any reading done which makes me sad.  Since I have no books currently to review, I figured I would write a post today showing some love for fierce competitors in books.  I love competitions in books – they are actually one of my favorite plot lines.  Not sure what that says about me but I am Slytherin after all and I can admit to being a fairly competitive person. In addition to the competitions themselves, I also really enjoy the training that oftentimes leads up to those competitions.

What got me thinking about this is one of my current reads, Nyxia, by Scott Reintgen. This is a fairly recent YA sci-fi novel that I am absolutely loving! It was published in September 2017 and although I do not see too much buzz about it through social media channels, it definitely deserves some. The book is set in the near future where this huge corporation, Babel, picks ten teenagers to go to space and compete for a chance to be sent to the planet of Eden to mine a new miracle substance called, nyxia. The characters are very diverse, coming from countries all over the world, and the competition is fierce. The author, who is a teacher, writes teens very well- the dialogue and how they relate to one another is spot on.  I am about half way through and the gist at this point is training, training and more training. These kids have so much to prepare for, being sent onto alien soil, that is in fact inhabited by aliens! A lot of the training takes place in VR (virtual reality) which adds a super cool gaming element to it as well!  I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great sci-fi story with teenage protagonists!

Of course, one of my favorite books of all time featuring a fierce competition would be The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book is pretty much the epitome of competition narrative. When this book was released in 2008 it quite literally took the world by storm.  Everyone of every age seemed to be reading it. The story takes kids seriously and puts them into a competition where the ultimate goal is to be the last man (or woman) standing – it was gritty and ground-breaking at the time and has seriously inspired a great assortment of other similar stories in YA-literature.

One of the main reasons why I love The Hunger Games so much is Katniss Everdeen.  I absolutely adore Katniss as a protagonist due to her smarts, her strength and her ability to overcome any obstacle set before her.  Her will and drive is unsurpassed and although at times aloof, I feel her character is one of the most likable around.  After she volunteers to be a tribute for her district, in order to save her younger sister, Prim, Katniss is swept away to the Capital for training. She is definitely in the position of underdog going into this competition. Firstly, she is a girl which people tend to underestimate in competitions of strength and survival, and also because she comes from one of the poorer districts. Once the media coverage for the games begins however she is quickly able to transform herself, owing especially to a cleverly plotted ‘romance’ with her district’s male tribute, to a crowd favorite. If you haven’t read The Hunger Games yet, at least watch the movie! A very well done adaptation in my opinion.

Now, I couldn’t possibly write a post about competitions in books without mentioning Harry Potter! Although a vein of competition runs throughout the series, through everything from Quidditch games, to the House Cup, my ultimate for the series would be the Triwizard Tournament. The Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in J.K. Rowling’s epic fantasy series, has always been my favorite and I think a lot of that is due to the competition itself. In The Goblet of Fire, we get to meet wizards and witches from other schools, which is also very cool and unique to this book. Even the legendary quidditch player, Viktor Krum is in residence at Hogwarts for this one! (swoon) The Tournament itself, well, it is by no means an ordinary competition – the level of danger and mystery is unequaled and this one, I know, will always stand on a pedestal to me!

Another book with an intense and highly satisfying competition element is, Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas.  This is the first book in Sarah’s hugely popular Throne of Glass series and it is where we meet 18-year old assassin, Celaena Sardothien. Celaena is a great character and has quickly taken a place on my ‘favorites’ list.  She is snarky, bold and haunted by a violent and mysterious past. In this start to the series, you learn that Celaena has been a prisoner at a labor camp, a mine to be exact, and she gets pulled out by Prince Dorian who offers her a chance to win her freedom.  In order to do so, she must act as his champion to compete for the chance of becoming the royal assassin. She agrees to his conditions and travels to the capital to begin her training. Once there she meets all the other champions, all strong, murderous burly men – okay, she is definitely an underdog but does she let it get to her? No way! Not Celaena – this girl is fully confident in her abilities and indeed they seem to be unmatched. She begins training with Chaol Westfall, the Captain of the Guards and Prince Dorian’s long-time friend. No matter what he throws at her she never backs down.  I love this girl! The competition is brutal and it pushes all contestants to their limits. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a hearty competition!

Finally, the last book I would like to mention in this fierce competitors post is, Warcross, by Marie Lu.  This YA sci-fi novel was released in September of 2017. I pre-ordered a copy of this one for the cover alone but it ended up being one of my favorite books of 2017! The competition in this book is the International Warcross competition – what is Warcross you ask? In this story, Warcross is a VR game that essentially has taken over the world. Everyone in this story plays or at least it seems that way. Set in a rather bleak near-future, Warcross isn’t just a game, it is a way of life.  Our main character, Emika Chen, is a brilliant computer hacker who makes her living as a bounty hunter tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. When she uses her hacking skills to actually glitch into the real Warcross games she attracts the attention of the game’s creator, Hideo Tanaka, and our main course of action begins there. The gaming elements and competitive feel of this book keep it rolling along nicely with plenty of action. The final two chapters left me with chills. They say so much about our times, real life issues and philosophical ideas that could be hotly debated.  The second book in this duology is being release on my birthday this Fall (September 18th) so how perfect is that?  I will definitely be pre-ordering this one as well!

Do you know of any books with a strong competition element to the storyline that I haven’t mentioned here? If so, let me know about them! Comment here or message me on IG – I want to know and add them to my tbr! Cheers for now and happy reading!

 

Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: September 17, 2011

Rating: 4-stars (I really liked it) 

Obviously, I am extremely late to the party on this one – I have been hearing for years now how great this book is, how great the series is, how I MUST read it. I finally decided to give it a go (on audio) and I wasn’t disappointed…but, I wasn’t blown away either. It was good but I think, for me, it fell victim to the hype – I was sort of expecting the best book ever written and although the writing style is gorgeous, the plot was lacking for me, particularly through the beginning. I did feel the second half of the book was much stronger in the ‘plot’ department and that ending crushed me.

As with other first books of a series, so much character development and world creation can occur due to it being an introduction that it can end up retracting a bit from the actual story. I will say that Laini Taylor’s writing itself is very strong. The flow and her choice and use of words is flawless. I absolutely loved that part of it and am excited to read her other series, Strange the Dreamer, as well. I also really enjoyed a lot of the characters, particularly Zuzana and Madrigal. I am excited to move forward with this series and to see what the ultimate outcome will be for Karou. I have already begun the second book, as of this morning, and already feel much more invested in it than I did with the first book!

*As a side note, for the audiobook, the narrator is excellent and I would definitely recommend it in this format! 

April is here!!

~ megs14malloy

Well, April is finally here!  Ahhhh, Spring…it actually snowed today which was really strange but yes, now the sun is out and it is finally Spring.  I just wanted to write my super exciting plans for reading this month.  I do not have any reviews currently that I am in a mental space to write so we will do a general status update today.

This weekend I finished my reread of The Shining by Stephen King which is one of my all time favorite books.  I have to say, I think it was even better the second time round or maybe it is because I am so much older now I can appreciate it more.  I first read The Shining in high school, so over 20 years ago, and I was so freaked out through the whole thing that I think I may have missed a few details. I did remember my favorite chapter though when I got to it, almost paragraph for paragraph.  Chapter 36, The Elevator.  Wow.  A chapter that could be a total workshop in horror writing – but honestly, this book is a masterpiece.  I think people forget just how groundbreaking it was for psychological horror when it was first released.  The year was 1977, people! This book is a classic.  A timeless classic and I will always love it.

This leads me in to my reason for rereading it now – I am joining a readalong through Instagram called the #traintoteenytown which is a large group readalong of Doctor Sleep. For those of you who may not know, Doctor Sleep is the sequel to The Shining which King released in 2013…quick math = 36 years later.  Little did I know when I bought it upon release day that it was the book I had been waiting for my entire life!  Danny Torrance, all grown up. After I finished Doctor Sleep, I thought to myself, ‘man, I would love to read them back-to-back someday’ – as it turns out, today is that day.  So, I finished The Shining on Saturday night and started my reread of Doctor Sleep this morning before work.

Quite literally, The Shining/Doctor Sleep combo is the most brilliant duology ever penned and I will stick to that! I am excited to be reading it this time with a group as well.  We have a certain number of pages to read each week, for four weeks, with discussion questions sent out on the Sunday of each week to discuss via group chat.  Most of the people reading it are reading it for the first time so I am really looking forward to hearing their thoughts on it.  I will be annotating it this time around so am hoping to bring some insight into the discussion as a 2nd time reader.

Also this month, I will be participating in a buddy read of Justin Cronin’s, The Passage, with a group of my book buddies (we are lovingly called the Floatin’ Troopers) – really looking forward to diving into this post-apocalyptic horror trilogy as I have heard nothing but good things about it.  It’s a pretty long book, the paperback edition coming in at 766 pages, so we are reading this one into May.  Our group usually picks one book a month that we all try to read – it is very informal though and discussions are usually steered more towards how the book is making us feel, what our thoughts are on a particular author’s writing style as opposed to plot points; that way we aren’t spoiling things for our buddies who may not have gotten as far in the book.

I have a couple other books I am hoping to get to this month.  Firstly, I hope to finish all of the 9 books I am currently reading! I have some ARCs I really need to get to this month and I definitely want to get to Tomi Adeyemi’s, Children of Blood & Bone.  What are you looking forward to reading this month? Anyone else doing any buddy reads or book club reads? I would love to hear about them in the comments below!

Happy reading!!!

Review: Blood Will Out by Jo Treggiari

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: June 5, 2018

2-stars (translation: I did not like it).  I DNFed this book a while back. For those of you who don’t know, DNF stands for ‘did not finish’. Initially, I wasn’t going to write a review on it as it hurts me to have to give such a low rating to a book. I know authors work really hard to put these books out and it is so hard to write and so hard to take criticism for what you write. This being said, I have changed my mind as I feel it is important to review all books you read, whether good or bad, if you are a consumer reviewer. This one should serve more as a PSA to other readers who will be as shocked by this as I was. Trigger Warnings: Animal Abuse, Torture, Mutilation & Killing.

The reason I stopped reading this one is that the pointless torture of animals is not something that I can read. I tried to muscle through by skimming over those sections but then I was missing entire portions of the book. Pretty much all of the ‘psycho’ character’s chapters (as this book is told from two POVs – the victim and the perpetrator). Some books have this type of ‘situation’ once maybe twice in a book and it can easily be skimmed over as it is just one or two paragraphs. This didn’t seem to be the case here.

This book sounded interesting in the synopsis and I understand what the author was trying to show; that this person is a psycho- or sociopath who began his lust for blood with experimentation in torturing and killing small animals and then escalated to where he is now, but I just personally felt it was too much. Wayyyy to much. I always have a difficult time getting through a scene or two in a book that involves an animal being killed but this was above and beyond what I personally chose to partake in.  I know, I know, it is a work of fiction but there are so many GREAT books out there to read, I simply cannot finish one that is so far against the grain for me.

I appreciate that I was given the opportunity to read this book early and wish I could have made it through. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance and I wish this author the best of luck with this story!

Review: The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: July 18, 2017

5-suspensful stars!!! 

B.A. Paris does it again – the Queen of Manipulation! This book is her second novel and after loving her debut, Behind Closed Doors, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one. Her writing has a smooth and easy style that is really fun to read. I find her books to be quick and oh so very satisfying! I have loved the endings of both of these books, as well as all the twists and turns that get you there. I literally have felt like I was taking the journey along with her protagonists and at times it can be quite frustrating (but in a really good way).

In this one, our MC Cass, had me yelling at her for the majority of the novel. I was the same way with Grace in Behind Closed Doors. You become so tied up in their lives, thoughts and actions that you feel like they are your friends. Friends that need to be shook to make come to grips with their reality! I very much enjoyed the incorporation of text messages into this storyline as well – it helped aid along as all the puzzle pieces were falling into place. I would recommend this to any reader who enjoys a quick psychological thriller and I will definitely be picking up her new book, Bring Me Back, once it is released in June.

Happy Reading!

Review: Rise of Fire by Sophie Jordan

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: February 7, 2017

My final rating for Rise of Fire is between a 3- and a 3.5.-stars which means I did like it. This book picks up immediately following the conclusion of Book 1, Reign of Shadows, which left off on quite a cliffhanger indeed! Although I did like it, I did not enjoy it as much as I did the first book. I think some of that had to do with the plot of this story and a bit of it had to do with me picking up on more flaws in the execution of writing a blind main character.

If you are onto this book, most likely you are already aware that our main female character, Luna, has been blind since birth. In Reign of Shadows, they are outside a lot of time, where due to a total eclipse of the sun that has shrouded the earth for the last 17-years they are in perpetual darkness. In this story, they are mainly inside a castle. It is a castle that she has never ever been to before yet she navigates it like she has echolocation capabilities or something. With the first book it was a little easier to forgive some of that because all the characters were pretty much struggling through the dark. Anyway, that aside, I still enjoyed the relationship between our two main characters – their romance was sweet and built up quite a bit in this one. Luna is still a great character in my mind who has had quite an unusual life up to this point.

Another reason I may not have enjoyed this one quite as much was the fact that the action was mainly held within a castle; it was pretty stationary. I had fun with the traveling aspect of the first book. I love a good quest or a road-trip in a book, so that plot was definitely something I enjoy more anyway; however, I understand that that is totally a personal preference and really has nothing to do with this specific book. Overall, I am pleased with this one, loved the ending and am very happy that I have completed this duology. It was dark and pretty fun and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a darker retelling!

Review: Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: April 10, 2018

4-stars!! (a really good book)

Ace of Shades, by Amanda Foody, is the first book in her new series, The Shadow Game. I enjoyed reading this and being introduced to the city of New Reynes, a self-proclaimed city of sin; picture a magical, more dangerous version of Las Vegas. This story follows the point of view of two main characters, Enne Salta and Levi Glaisyer. Enne arrives in the city searching for her adoptive mother, Lourdes, with just Levi’s name as a clue. They quickly meet and the fun begins.

Enne upon her arrival is innocent, having been raised far from the city in a sheltered existence, she quickly feels in over her head. Despite her initial hesitation and the culture shock of being in the city, she finds New Reynes brings her to life; she views herself as really being ‘seen’ for the first time. I love Enne’s story arc from sweet little girl to certifiable badass.

Levi, quite Enne’s opposite is a street kid, a con-man, a card dealer and a Lord of one of the local street gangs; not unsurprisingly he has a heart of gold however and certainly a sweet spot for Enne. They work together to try to solve the mystery or who Lourdes actually is and where she has gone. There is an enjoyable cast of side characters in this that really helps the story along.

I did have two minor problems with the book, one was the made up curse words, I found to be a little silly and unnecessary. They were slightly distracting actually because it was so silly. The second problem was the magic system – I don’t feel it is every really explained; there are a lot of concepts that are given names but no explanation or definition. There was a lot of ambiguity with it. I read a lot of fantasy and do not expect to be spoon fed concepts but it shouldn’t be a mystery either as to how a world is functioning. I was at the very end of the book, in one of the final scenes, still not understanding what was happening with the magic. This issue is actually laced throughout the book which can make sections of it confusing. Perhaps in the second book some of these issues will be cleared up?

I am excited to move forward with the series and would definitely read the next book once it becomes available. I thought the ending was perfect and will definitely leave readers wanting more!

Overall, I feel this is a pretty solid start to a series that a lot of people will enjoy due to the action and sweet romance. Thank you so much to Harlequin Teen and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this book early and provide my opinions. I am excited to see what other readers think about this one once it is released.
🔱♠

Review: A List of Cages by Robin Roe

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: January 10, 2017

5-fabulous stars!! It is finally time for me to struggle through writing a review for this book. I just don’t know how to adequately express the way I feel about this one. It was quite honestly one of, if not the most, moving story I have ever read in my life. It was just so amazingly well done and I feel like it should be required reading for young people.

The story follows the point of view of two characters, Julian and Adam. Julian, the younger of the two, lost his parents to an accident when he was just a child and due to lack of immediate family is forced into ‘the system’. Adam’s Mother, a social worker, takes Julian in as a foster and thus, the boys essentially become brothers for a time. Once a distant relation (by marriage) of Julian’s comes forward and claims him, Adam and Julian have no further contact until Julian enters high school. This is where our story picks up.

These characters are so well drawn. Julian, so sweet, innocent and trapped in his loss. Adam, fun, popular and extremely caring. I love the relationship of the two boys and how it evolves over the course of the book. I tabbed a lot of sections, passages, sentences during the course of reading this as there are a lot of very important ideas in here. I feel like Robin Roe’s real life experiences working with ‘at-risk’ teens really helped add to the reality of this novel. This will be a hard one to forget. It was heartbreaking. I was shattered after reading it but also filled with love and hope. I ended up feeling a strong connection to these boys, just such good eggs, the both of them.

This book teaches a message of kindness and empathy. Being kind is free – we should all try it – you never know what someone else is going through; what someone’s reality is. I will be recommending this book to everyone in the world from this day forward but definitely do not expect a light fluffy read here. There are definitely moments of humor, Adam’s character in particular is very funny, but this book deals with very serious issues of abuse, both mental and physical, death, grief, loss, self worth and self preservation. Absolutely brilliant!