Full Series Review for the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews

Alright, I had a long time to ruminate about this book (since I miscalculated and only brought along one book on vacation) and the series in general.


To keep this short and simple, the series itself was cute but nothing special. There were moments that I wanted to go "Awww!" and moments where I got angry and wanted to scream some sense into the characters. There were moments were I was surprised at how blindsided I was to what just happened (either that was good because I didn't expect the development or bad because there was no hint whatsoever to go off of beforehand) and moments where I wished the revelation had come ten chapters earlier because that's where I first figured out the plot "twist."


I think the Kate Daniels series has a lot of promise, but it keeps teasing us to the real problem: Roland. So far, Kate's big bad daddy hasn't made an appearance except by name. Meanwhile, I felt like the series has pandered to the fangirls with 5 very episodic entries. Don't get me wrong. I like being a fangirl as much as the next self-indulgent reader does. But I had the chance to reread Magic Slays and its prequels several times the last week because I had no other books left. I found myself comparing the books to my favorite television series. I enjoy the breaks in the main plot to dip my toes into the character development and light action and adventure, but the reason I keep returning to watch the newest episode is to figure out what is the next clue to the overall grand scheme of things (because you know there has to be one, right?).


The character development is alright. Curran will never really be too memorable for me since I read his carbon copy in almost EVERY other adult PNR I've read this year (*cough* Barrons *cough*), but there are still moments between him and Kate that are cute enough for me to enjoy. But he kind of lost his edge in Magic Slays, which now makes him slightly less memorable than he already was...and Kate, well...she's a pretty straightforward protagonist. I don't have too much to say about her because she doesn't break any new boundaries. I found that she spends a lot of time charging headlong into dangerous situations, only to spend the next chapter getting healed, and then the next chapter back in the field because she has her daddy's magic blood to revive her. It got really repetitive. The hospital scenes really appeared to be fanservice devices for Andrews to appeal to the readers who want more Curran-Kate moments.


So I'll stick with the series for now because I want to read the fated showdown between Kate and Roland. But...meh. I need more substance!!!

Review: Grimspace

Title: Grimspace

Author: Ann Aguirre

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Part of a Series?: First in series

Goodreads summary:

 As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace—a talent which cuts into her life expectancy, but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she’s navigating crash-lands, and she’s accused of killing everyone on board. It’s hard for Jax to defend herself: she has no memory of the crash. 

Now imprisoned and the subject of a ruthless interrogation, Jax is on the verge of madness. Then a mysterious man breaks into her cell, offering her freedom—for a price. March needs Jax to help his small band of rogue fighters break the Corp monopoly on interstellar travel—and establish a new breed of jumper. 

Jax is only good at one thing—grimspace—and it will eventually kill her. So she may as well have some fun in the meantime…

Review:

I found myself enjoying this book way more than I thought I would. Typically, I just don't mesh well with science fiction books. It's hard for me to imagine spaceships, alien environments, and in this book's case, grimspace. Yet Aguirre metaphorically waved the steak in front of my face, and I fell for all of her little traps. Darn you, Aguirre!!

The premise is really interesting. Jumping through grimspace is an amazing power that is highly prized by the Corp for interstellar travel, but it also strips away the soul over the years. Jax (love the name) is a Jumper accused of killing her previous crew. She's rescued by March and his renegades, recruited into their plot to overthrow the Corp's monopoly on space travel.

On the surface, the book is made up of generic components: snarky protagonist, dark male lead, witty one-liners, and action and romance, not necessarily in that order. But I feel like Aguirre's writing made up for most of the book's shortcomings. True, Jax's alpha female persona was a little clichéd, but I enjoyed her character more than I thought I would. She suffers from the guilt of killing 82 people aboard her last ship, the Sargasso, including her lover Kai. But her guilt isn't overwhelmingly depressing or anything. Jax is also incredibly rational. Aside from her strangely sudden hatred for March (I didn't get that), she is very coherent for a woman supposedly losing her mind to grimspace. She understands the weight of her actions--especially when characters started dying around her. Also, I enjoyed Jax and March's relationship. Obviously, there is that underlying sexual tension between them, but it wasn't the main part of the story. 

Action and adventure through space are incredibly important to this book. There are some incredibly intense action with guns, defensive maneuvers, etc. I think Aguirre pulled it off very well. I managed to stick with the characters through the entire book without getting completely lost (sorry, Dune). I wish I could be in Jax's shoes, just to see grimspace the way she does. Description is something that Aguirre specializes in. She definitely fleshes out each species, spaceship, and planet with simple, yet descriptive adjectives. 

All in all, great story. It has its flaws...mainly that it can be read as "just another girl-meets-boy-with-ensuing-sexual-tension story set in space." But in my opinion, there is something much better to this story if you look for it

--

Follow:

Goodreads

Twitter 

Review: Touch the Dark

Title:  Touch the Dark

Author: Karen Chance

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Part of a Series?: First in series

Goodreads Summary:

Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking Mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with revenge in mind, she's forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection.The undead senators won't help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire- and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay.
 

Review:

I think there is a great story in this book...somewhere. Hidden. Deep. Really deep. Written in Pig Latin. Backwards. And upside down. Because at times, I thought I could glimpse the brilliant glow of something that could've been really, really addictive. But mostly, I was just lost and frustrated the entire time. 

Touch the Dark doesn't do much justice for paranormal fantasy, vampires, or clairvoyants (although all three groups have gotten their fair share of literary attention, IMO). It's page after page of clichés. Cassandra is the female, lone spirit clairvoyant who can occasionally skip back in time through her visions. Throughout the story, you also get to know of her tragic, dead-parent past and all of her sexy man-vampires in her life. 

For one, this book is the definition of an infodump. I've never ever read anything in my entire life that infodumps like this. And part of my frustration about being lead to believe that there is that glow of literary brilliance somewhere within the pages of the book stems from the jarring infodump pages that cut off any interesting scene. [ For example, let's place Cassandra and co. in a battle against a series of black war mages. Our protagonist is in a life-threatening situation, surrounded by enemies and on the hit list of every bad guy union in Las Vegas. Cassie's group's only shield is about to fail them when--Hey, did you know how war mages draw their shields? They simply have to imagine the shield out of anything they find protective. For the enemy mage, he imagines a wall of trees protecting himself (LOL). Pitkin's wall is water based. Cassie's is fire. Also, did you know that were-animals can apparently speak like humans even though they are transformed. Or maybe that ability is only available to half-were, half-satyr. Satyrs are half-goat men who have a ridiculous sex drive and equally ridiculous ego. But hey, that's all useless information that you really couldn't care about. Now...where were we in the actual story? Something about a shield...

Also, I just got tired of the general lack of interest I had for the characters. Cassie is such a standard mess. I don't even care about her, really. In all honesty, she doesn't have any exceptional personality trait that shouts "PAY ATTENTION" to me. She's rebellious, but what kind of PNR protagonist isn't these days? She's non-human, but well...okay, that's great. She has a flock of hot men at her beck and call. Do you get what I'm saying? And as for said hot men, they're alright. I think Chance needs to cool it with the long hair though. I find men with hair longer than their shoulders to be disgusting. I'm sorry, but this isn't the 70s. Men's hair should not be longer than mine. Specifically, Mircea and Tomas. They need haircuts. Also, they need personality upgrades to match with Cassie's. Everyone is so blah. Even the man candy stereotypes didn't really interest me. They were so predictable: aloof vampires with a soft spot for the local psychic. [And on a personal note, I think Tomas' betrayal at the end of the book was a total jump-the-shark moment for Chance. It was not something I thought Tomas' character would ever do realistically.

--

Follow me:

Goodreads

Twitter 

Review: Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I think, in general, this series was alright. It wasn't anything special that made me go bananas, frothing at the mouth. It was just average. It had some high points and some low points, which basically averaged out to an okay adult paranormal series. I probably wouldn't personally recommend it...but I wouldn't discourage reading it either. Bah, I'm really torn.

I guess this is a review for the entire series and Shadowfever. In general, I thought the book's highest points were the mystery and world building. First off, Moning took some risks in centering 5 entire books around a few blocks of Dublin. Also, we have to take into account that she actually DARED to end EVERY SINGLE BOOK on a F-ING HUGE CLIFFHANGER. I'm just glad I read this series when after all the books were published, or I think I might've exploded with the sheer need to read these books. I don't know what about Moning's writing makes her stories so addictive, but no matter how frustrated I get with the characters, I just have to keep coming back for more. Ugh. She had a whole lot of questions but perhaps not enough answers. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed at the ending to the last book in the Fever series because it just didn't deliver a satisfactory ending.

Speaking of the characters, I'll just say this: Moning has confused me, and I'm glad for it. At first, I hated Mac. She was the epitome of the kind of girl I hate; shallow, stupid, and blonde (just kidding on the last part, but she did act like a Barbie). She got herself into all kinds of trouble and then went blame everyone else. She almost made me stop reading. I'm just glad that Moning created a mystery that grabbed onto my conscious and wouldn't let it go until I stopped. Because in the end, I'm glad I stuck through with Mac's character. By book 5, Mac developed into a strong, self-confident protagonist I could actually kind of like. But I'm still a little torn on Barrons. Sometimes he just bugs me. He's animalistic because...well, he's an animal. But gahhh! He and his cohorts just kill me with their... misogyny. I know, I know, this is supposed to tug at the heartstrings of every woman who wants a territorial man to guard you in your sleep. Still, it pissed me off that Barrons would toss around phrases like "I own her" so lightly. *sigh* and yet, I still think he is one sexy beast. :P

Overall, it was an average series that had some high moments. But overall, the characters and ending were just not up to my expectations.



View all my reviews

Review Archive: Mistborn

Title: Mistborn: The Final Empire

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 5/5 stars

Part of a Series?: First in series

Goodreads Summary:
Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale spinner, author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails? What kind of world results when the Dark Lord is in charge? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises and magical martial-arts action that begins in Mistborn. 

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark. 

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot. 

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed. 

Review:

This book blew my mind. I'm going to recommend this to ANYONE. 

I had high hopes for Mistborn, and I wasn't disappointed. I'd read the Goodreads reviews, and they promised a great high fantasy novel reminiscent of Lord of the Rings mixed with Harry Potter on steroids. That's exactly what I got. And more. 

I loved the setting of Mistborn. You always read those books about the chosen hero who eventually saves the world from destruction, but this book spins that around and gives us a world where the chosen hero FAILED. Sanderson created such a vivid setting-- the ashfalls, skaa-ridden city, the mists...all of it drew me into the depth of this book. I could see myself standing on top of the rooftops with Vin and Kelsier, surrounded by the swirling mists of the night. Also, the magic in this book was incredibly unique. Allomancy seems like such an interesting concept--no one has really created anything like this. I love the idea of manipulating metals as magic. As this is a major aspect of the story, not only does Sanderson provide extensive detail on Allomancers but he also does it in a way that doesn't seem patronizing (as many fantasy stories tend to do these days, I'm afraid) to the readers.

The characters are what really brought this book to a 5 stars for me. I fell in love with every single person in this story. Sanderson wrote in a third person omniscient form that switched between Vin and Kelsier. Thus, we got to see how each person viewed himself/herself and how he/she was viewed by others. It was a beautiful way to flesh out the two protagonists, giving me much more perspective on how Kelsier and Vin (and Elend, once) think and the motives behind what they do. I felt Kelsier's ambition, pain, loyalty, and his protectiveness over his crew and Vin. Vin also resonated with me because she wasn't some weak, abandoned girl. She actually came into her own as a true Mistborn as the story progressed. They, along with the other ensemble of skaa rebels, brought this story to life for me. I could feel their chemistry oozing out of the text. As a side note, the romance wasn't bad either. I was glad that Elend and Vin's relationship wasn't the keystone of the story because it would've only dragged the story down. 

Furthermore, the way the plot unfolded was amazing. The politics and scheming skaa and nobles wasn't boring at all, thanks to Vin's sarcastic wit that carried me through the rather boring dinner parties. 

Basically? I loved this book. I will definitely read the sequels. THIS IS A GREAT STORY! :D

--

Follow me:

Goodreads

Twitter

Review: Bloodfever

To see my review of Darkfever, the first book, click here.

Title: Bloodfever

Author: Karen Marie Moning

Rating: 3/5 stars

Part of a Series?: Second in series

Goodreads Summary:

I used to think my sister and I were just two nice southern girls who'd get married in a few years and settle down to a quiet life. Then I discovered that Alina and I descend, not from good wholesome southern stock, but from an ancient Celtic bloodline of powerful sidhe-seers, people who can see the Fae. Not only can I see the terrifying otherworldly race, but I can sense the sacred Fae relics that hold the deadliest of their magic. 

When my sister was found dead in a trash-filled alley in Dublin, I came over to get answers. Now all I want is revenge. And after everything I've learned about myself, I know I have the power to get it.... 

MacKayla Lane's ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland's shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.

In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh-a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V'lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them...

Review: 

*Slow claps* Better, Moning. Much better. It's still not quite up to the level I expected, but I'm optimistic that this series now has somewhere to go from this point on. This book wasn't perfect--it wasn't even close--but it certainly was a giant improvement from its predecessor. Bloodfever is more coherent, intriguing, and generally less annoying. 

Moning's first book in the Fever series, Darkfever, suffered from first-book-itis. While its world building was impeccable, the characters pissed me off to the point where I had this permanent frown etched onto my face while I read. With no incentive to go forward (e.g. no past books to maintain my hopes for a better future for the series), I seriously considered dropping the book right then and there. My main complaint was Mac. She was the most frustrating character in the book. She constantly put herself in the damsel-in-distress situation while simultaneously complaining about how uncouth Dublin was in comparison to the genteel South. It grated my nerves. 

But Bloodfever stepped everything up to a new level. Barrons and Mac continue their search for the Sinsar Dubh. And this time, Mac is no greenhorn with a manicure. She carries her spear (which now is pretty badass, I admit) in a cool holster and knows enough about Faeries to act appropriately (e.g. She doesn't freak out and lose her cool when the hallway outside her bedroom becomes infested by Shades and Barrons isn't around to save her butt). Her character development was the greatest part about reading this. And keeping with the first book, Bloodfeverdoesn't really have the individual book plot that supplements the series--think Harry Potter. So, I did find this book to be a little slow going. It continues to add onto the mysteries established at the beginning of Darkfever, like who is the Lord Master, who is the cranky old lady, and how Unseelie can break into the human world. Since Mac isn't filling up each page with stupidity, I could actually enjoy the story. Still, there was just something missing. Even though I could enjoy the book more than I did last time I picked up Moning's series, I still felt sort of detached from everything that happened.

So yeah, I'm starting to enjoy this story, but it still has a long way to go to get up to the 5 star rating I was expecting.

--

Follow me:
Goodreads
Twitter

Review: The Taker

Title: The Taker

Author: Alma Katsu

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Part of a Series?: Individual

Goodreads Summary:
On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting another quiet evening of frostbite and the occasional domestic dispute. But the minute Lanore McIlvrae—Lanny—walks into his ER, she changes his life forever. A mysterious woman with a past and plenty of dark secrets, Lanny is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. He is inexplicably drawn to her . . . despite the fact that she is a murder suspect with a police escort. And as she begins to tell her story, a story of enduring love and consummate betrayal that transcends time and mortality, Luke finds himself utterly captivated.

Her impassioned account begins at the turn of the nineteenth century in the same small town of St. Andrew, Maine, back when it was a Puritan settlement. Consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, Lanny will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for all eternity. And now, two centuries later, the key to her healing and her salvation lies with Dr. Luke Findley.

Part historical novel, part supernatural page-turner, The Taker is an unforgettable tale about the power of unrequited love not only to elevate and sustain, but also to blind and ultimately destroy, and how each of us is responsible for finding our own path to redemption. 

Review:  

I thought this was a pretty good book. There were definitely places it could've been improved, but I don't think I've ever read something quite like this. The Taker is a fascinating fusion of historical fiction and fantasy. Katsu parallels the present day story line with the 19th century story line, and the result is a puzzlingly, addictive book.

Lanny's story is the most obvious highlight of the book. It takes up 80% of the story. And I was pleasantly surprised by Katsu's effort to keep the story as historically accurate as possible. History buffs will enjoy this story for the author's honest attempts to stay as true to Puritanical Maine as possible. But there is also this unique aspect of fantasy. Lanny is an immortal, and her story is a lot about how she came to be that way. But the fantasy isn't like the vampires and werewolf kind of fantasy of YA fiction. The fantasy of The Taker has this touch of realism. There are no flashy battles between good or evil or stories of forbidden, interspecies love. Moreover, I just enjoyed the plot progression in general, with emphasis on the character development. Both Lanny and Jonathan grow into unique and mature characters. This is an adult novel, so the characters, while teenagers, aren't juvenile. They don't whine or mope around--I partially attribute this to the fact that both Lanny and Jonathan were raised with the "Puritan work ethic." Anyway, it was truly amazing to read how effortlessly Katsu wove Lanny's past with Luke in the present. Just because the focus was on how Lanny eventually came to where she is, I still wanted to know more about Luke. He had a past that I wanted to know more about.

And that's where I think the story faltered. While Katsu did an excellent job in giving each character depth, she teased us with details that could've been explained more. For instance, Luke has an ex-wife and two kids. I didn't get why Lanny could have entire chapters dedicated to her life when Luke barely got a paragraph about his family. Furthermore, specific story lines seemed to drop off into nowhere. I don't know if I wasn't reading carefully or what, but Katsu ended some plots too abruptly for my taste, leaving me with endless questions. How exactly did Lanny figure out Adair's secret? What happened to Adair? What happened to Alejandro, Dona, and Tilde? Who were the men Lanny "married" in her lifetime? Why does Lanny think the curse will "break" just because she's trying to make amends for her sins? And finally, my last frustration with this book was the copious amounts of passages on sex. Sex took up half the book. Adair is a sadistic sex-addict, granted, but Lanny, IMO, is all too willing to play along. I got really frustrated because Lanny took all of Adair's "punishments" without actually fighting back. Sure, she had these internal monologues where she said how much she deeply hated Adair. Yet in the end, she was all too willing to play along. And between Lanny and Jonathan, the sex just seemed like an excuse to put more sex into the story. I mean, seriously. I'm usually okay with a few sex scenes as long as it doesn't take up the entire story. But this book tested my patience...

Oh, and thank you to Alma Katsu, her publishers, and Goodreads for providing me with a free copy. 

---

Follow me:

Goodreads

Twitter