Wishlist Wednesday

Skye never questioned the story of her life. Her Aunt Jo adopted her after the death of her parents when she was just a child, and together they flip through memories the way some people flip through photo albums. 

She never questioned if the stories were true. 

Until the night of her 17th birthday, when the arrival of two strangers intrudes on her cozy life. Polar opposites, like fire and ice, Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair, cold, and aloof. Skye has no idea what they want—only that their presence coincides with the beginning of some shockingly strange events. Events that Skye, if she dares to think it, might be responsible for causing. 

High up in the mountains of Boulder, Colorado, Skye finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient battle, one that began untold millennia ago. Torn between unpredictable Asher, whom she loves, and the infuriating Devin, who she can’t stay away from, her fate is murky as a starless night. And as the secrets of her true identity are revealed, Skye realizes that her destiny may reside in the Heavens—or somewhere darker.


Although a supernatural love triangle isn't exactly a new idea, it sounds like Davies has put a fresh spin on it.  Also, that cover is gorgeous!  I can't wait until September.  What do you think - will you be reading A Beautiful Dark?

Review: Are We There Yet?

Elijah and Danny are brothers with wildly different lives.  Danny is diligently climbing the corporate ladder, while Elijah spends his days at boarding school drifting, using drugs, and dreaming.  When their parents trick them into taking a trip to Italy together, they are less than thrilled; they haven't gotten along in years.

They don't expect to fall in love with the same girl.  They don't expect to learn to understand each other in ways they never thought possible.  They don't expect this trip to change their lives...

Entertainment: ★★★

This book was just... meh.  Some of Leviathan's books are stunningly amazing, even life changing, and this one was just average. I was a little disappointed.

Plot: ★★

There were no twists, no suprises, no exciting premises.  Nothing to hold my attention; I just got bored.  There is little to no plot, besides the brothers wandering Italy in a vague, uninterested way.  And the romance itself is vague and half-hearted feeling.

Characters: ★★★

So, I did like the characters fairly well, or at least I liked Danny.  Elijah was just too vague for me, if that makes sense, sort of a floating cloud of character traits that never managed to coalesce into a real person.  Julia was lacking, lacking personality and uniqueness and any kind of romantic appeal.  But Danny carried the show, along with a few tastefully done side characters.

Writing: ★★★

I hate to be repetitive, but it was just average.  I tried for several minutes to think of something to write here, and then realized that nothing at all stands out about the writing for me, which I hate.  Even books that I honestly hate I hate for a reason, and here I just felt there was nothing to love, nothing to hate, nothing to connect with at all.

End Result: three stars.  A decent book, but not amazingly excellent.

Review: The Dark Divine

Grace Divine is the pastor's daughter.  The perfect kid with the perfect family and the perfect life.  But then comes Daniel.  Daniel was the childhood friend of Grace and her brother Jude.  Daniel disappeared years ago, and now his hair is dyed black and he's a whole new person - a scary person.  And Grace can't help but be drawn to him...

But Daniel's return is the catalyst for a series of changes.  The buried past is being unearthed.  Grace's "perfect" family is crumbling, her brother seems different and darker, everybody is keeping secrets... and Daniel's secrets are the most dangerous of all.  Or are they?

Entertainment: ★★★★★

I basically loved The Dark Divine.  It's full of drama, secrets, romance, darkness, and all kinds of fun.  There's a wonderful plot twist that really stunned me.  A really good read.  And I absolutely loved the wordplay with the title.

Plot: ★★★★

Some books are so straightforward: there's the good guy and the bad guy.  Not The Dark Divine.  It's twisted, in a mostly good way.  I had no idea how this book was going to end, and when it did I was stunned at what happened.  And happy, but mostly stunned.

Characters: ★★★★

Just about every character is a shade of grey.  Even Grace finds herself questioning the darkness inside her as she tries to save everyone.  The ultimate villain - and of course I can't give away just who that villain turns out to be - was really well-written.  And even the side characters like Grace's mother and friends have their own depth and their own secrets and their own darknesses to deal with.

Writing: ★★★

I don't think I really have bad to say here, except that some of the hints dropped early on were a little obvious, and so the "big reveal" of the supernatural element wasn't really a surprise.  But overall, a well-written book.

End Result: four stars.

Review: The Ruins of Gorlan

Will is small, scrawny, and orphaned.  When he turns fifteen and is chosen as a Ranger's apprentice, he's not sure what to think.  The Rangers are eerie, shadowy, mysterious; there are rumors that they practice dark magic.  Will's new master, Halt, is an abrupt and cynical man who makes Will work hard, but still quickly earns his respect.

Will isn't going to have a peaceful career, however.  The exile, Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, has been plotting his revenge for fifteen years now.  With the aid of terrifying supernatural creatures, he's poised to destroy Will's homeland...

Entertainment: ★★★★

I liked this book.  I don't think it's going to be an enduring favorite or anything, but it was certainly enjoyable.

Plot: ★★★

Okay, so, it's a little predictable.  Maybe even a lot predictable.  But it's fast-paced and interesting, enough that it nearly made up for the predictability.  Also, I was a little confused as to why the side story of Horace took up a good third of the book, instead of staying a small side story, but whatever.  It was an interesting side story.

Characters: ★★★★

Halt was quite well done, I thought.  Will and Horace were decent, as were most of the side characters, but Halt really stole the show.

Writing: ★★★★

I liked the description and I loved the "narration voice."

End Result: four stars.

Wishlist Wednesday

Jael Thompson has never really fit in. She’s changed schools too many times to count. The only family she’s ever known is her father, a bitter ex-priest who never lets her date and insists she attend the strictest Catholic school in Seattle. And her mother—well, she was a five thousand year old demon. That doesn’t exactly help.

But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives her a present that brings about some unexpected changes. Some of the changes, like strange and wonderful powers and the cute skater boy with a knack for science, are awesome. But others, like the homicidal demon seeking revenge on her family? Not so much.

Steeped in mythology, this is an epic tale of a heroine who balances old world with new, science with magic, and the terrifying depths of the underworld with the ordinary halls of high school.

Sounds fun and exciting!  I know I'll be reading Misfit as soon as I can get my hands on it!  What do you think - will you be reading Misfit?

Review: Havemercy

In the generations-old war between Volstov and Ke-Han, the Dragon Corps are Volstov's greatest weapon.  They are a gang of mistfit young men astride monstrous metal dragons that wreak havok - in Ke-Han and in Volstov. 


The riders are getting harder and harder to control and the dragons themselves seem to have begun malfunctioning.  Four unlikely heroes will be forced together to save their country... if they survive each other.


Entertainment: ★★


Props for having an interesting premise, but it just moved so slowly.  I read not one, but two books at the same time, and I finished both before I could make myself finish Havemercy.  It was a book I could have liked, should have liked, but just couldn't bring myself to really like.


Plot: ★★


The plot started getting pretty good, at around 200 pages in.  The first half of the book just felt like some very elaborate scene-setting and background information.  And to be honest, I skimmed some of Hal and Royston's chapters.  Their narration was not very interesting.  At all.  So the plot in theory wasn't bad but in practice was very dry and didn't hold my attention at all.


Characters: ★★★★


Like I said above, Hal and Royston's chapters were a bit dull.  And their romance was pretty cheesy.


But Rook and Thom made up for that easily.  They were... awesome.


Writing: ★★★


I liked it, but didn't love it.


End Result: three stars.  A decent book, but not amazingly excellent.

Bonus Review: Tales of Beedle the Bard

In honor of today's release of the final Harry Potter movie: A review of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of fairy tales and childrens' stories from the world of Harry Potter, illustrated by J.K. Rowling herself.

Entertainment: ★★★★

It's really short (100 pages or so; I finished it in less than an hour) but it's a fun, quick little read.  Maybe targeted for a younger audience, and it's definitely not as deep and amazing as the actual Harry Potter books.  But as a little addition/extra for the series, it's great.  Also, each story comes with some commentary from Albus Dumbledore, which was really fun to read.  Dumbledore's writing is entertaining and clever and sometimes more fun than the stories themselves.

Plot: ★★★

Each of the stories resembled classic fairy tales, and as such there were no real suprises.  And it's hard to pack any kind of plot into 10-15 page stories.  Still, they were nice little tales.

Characters: Not really applicable, I feel.  Dumbledore gets five stars, though.

Writing: ★★★★

To be honest, I was a little let down because this is much different from Harry Potter... it's the fat-free, lite version.  But JKR does deliver some nice little children's stories, fairly well-written.

End Result: four stars.  A good book, definitely worth your time.