City of Secrets by Aoife Marie Sheridan

Title: City of Secrets
Author: Aoife Marie Sheridan
Release date: December 5th, 2013
Rating: 4.5/5
Publisher: SynergEBooks
Book Summary:

A war awaits her arrival,
A warrant for her arrest.
She must rise as a princess,
And Darkness shall fall.
But will their love survive this battle?
For Tristan and Sarajane?.

Step back into Saskia. 

Review:

THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS FROM BOOK 1

Once again we're thrown back into the world of Saskia, though the war has gotten fiercer and battles are being waged. 

In the previous book, we find that Sarajane is wanted by a fallen angel named Lucien. Lucien wants to destroy the world and to do so he needs to rise, which is killing the other three angels. Sarajane must defeat Lucien in order to save Saskia and the three angels.

The main characters make their lovely appearances as well as Jessica (Sarajane's sister), Suraga, Carew, and little Mei.

Tristan could be a little bit overbearing when it came to Sarajane. I understand that Sarajane can't fight well, but she's learning--especially when it comes to her magic.

I have to say, in this installment of the Saskia Trilogy I really fell in love with Carew. If you have read the first book (which I recommend) then you'll know just how surprised I was. Although he can be cruel and cold, Carew is actually a very nice and caring person. He loves his sister Mei and will do anything to protect her. He does the same with Sarajane, helping and fighting with her throughout the book. I just--I love him.

I was glad to meet Mirium's sister Verona. She was very strong, and didn't take anything from anyone. Haha. I really enjoyed her presence, and her power is one of the coolest I've seen in a while. It definitely differed from Mirirum's and that was awesome.

Overall, it was a great book and I'm excited to see how the next installment turns out! (Maybe I'll get to see more of Carew!)

Kiera's Quest: Awakenings by Kristy Brown REVIEW

Title: Awakenings
Author:  Kristy Brown
Release date: October 19th, 2011
Rating: 4.5/5
Publisher: MuseItUp
Book Summary:  

Meet Kiera, a pretty, intelligent, and talented girl, brought up by her uncle, and abandoned by her parents. Life is as normal as she believes it to be, apart from the deep ache inside her, telling her she’s different. For years, Kiera had dreams where she ventures into a different reality. She’s not alone; a presence is always there, keeping her safe, yet she feels vulnerable, and hunted.
Zakk, Prince of Zantar, is under the Witch Queen’s spell as she tries to take over his world.He crosses paths with Kiera, and their fates are entwined.
As their journey unravels, she learns that she is not the only one affected by this prince. Who is on her side? Will she find out why she has been chosen? How can someone so young, defeatsuch evil? Will she find the strength to save the ones closest to her? Will this be Kiera’s only Quest?

Review:

Thanks to Kristy Brown's event on her Facebook page I was able to request, read, and now review Awakenings the first book in her, as of right now, trilogy.  If you like evil witches, princes, quests, and magic then this is the book for you. I promise.

I read the book's synopsis and I immediately wanted to snatch it up, curl up on my couch, and read. And once I started, I couldn't stop. I literally read the whole book in one day and when it ended I wanted more of Kiera and Zakk. Brown's imagery was vivid and flowed so beautifully.  Personification brought the scenes to life: "Zakk knew his only response would be that of his own echoes chasing each other round the stone cave walls." And that was only in Chapter One. I read this in one day because I didn't even realize how many pages I had read until I was done. I was so immersed in Kiera's world and her thought process.


However, the reason why I didn't give it a 5 is because I felt that certain things happened too quickly. I can't think of the exact scene when I thought that, but I felt things were kind of sped up. I also have to take into consideration that the time span of the novel was a few days, though I still felt certain things should have taken their time. For example, traveling across the gorge full of spikes. Also, certain lines felt a little cliché. 

Brown's character's were really, really great, though. I could really relate to Kiera. The way she was handling her situation and getting paranoid with the people around her was probably how I would have been. Saving a prince's life and an entire world was on her shoulders and it was her fault if everything was destroyed. She had also come to like the prince that she was trying to help and she wouldn't have been happy with herself if she didn't succeed.

The Witch Queen was a really cool character. Honestly, I wouldn't want to run into her in a dark alley. She knew what she wanted and when she wanted it. It wasn't her fault that her henchman Googe couldn't deliver. (Also, as a side note, I read Googe as Google the first time and I had to re-read it cause I was so confused. Though, it was really funny.) The things she did to Zakk (most of which were just revealed) in the first Chapter in order to rise to the throne was completely insane and wonderful. She was powerful and yet she was vulnerable which is probably why I liked her so much. I hated her so much I loved her!

Joe is probably the most adorable thing ever. I have a friend named Joe and for some reason both his personality and the personality of the Joe in the book really fit. I don't know. Haha. I guess it really made my connection with Joe a little stronger, because he was so similar to my friend in real life, which is a very good thing. Her character was well rounded and exhibited qualities and quirks and personality traits that are seen in normal humans. Joe jumped off the page for me. He was lovestruck and faithful, but he also had his dorky qualities which were super duper adorable.

I fell in love with Daz at the end, and since that was the case, you'll have to read Kiera's Quest: Awakenings.  You'll also have to read it to find out why the ending killed me. (Trust me. You won't be disappointed reading this book.) 

I would definitely love to pick up the remaining book sometime in the near future. Thank you again Kristy Brown and I hope to hear more from you soon!

Beautiful Creatures MOVIE

2013 is definitely the year for books becoming movies! 

Beautiful Creatures is coming out as a movie in four days on February 14. If you haven't read it by now, where have you been? 

Okay, I really can't talk since I read it just last year in December, but I read it. That counts. 

It's a really good action book (whose review is yet to be posted by me) that follows a boy and a Caster. It's a really interesting fantasy book that takes place in the South of the United States. I would pick it up and try to cram it in those four days because it is really good, and it's always fun to judge the movie based on the book. At least it is to me. 

From what I've seen in the trailer, it looks all right. The actor playing Lena matches pretty well, but the actor playing Ethan is not the one I would chose. *shrug* We'll see how he does. He doesn't look like the character I envisioned in my head. There are a lot of the actors that I probably wouldn't have chosen, but actors aside it looks like the plot is pretty much in tact.

If you haven't seen the trailer I'll put it below. 

The cast list goes as follows: 

• Alden Ehrenreich as Ethan Lawson Wate
• Alice Englert as Lena Duchannes
• Jeremy Irons as Macon Ravenwood
• Viola Davis as Amma
• Emmy Rossum as Ridley Duchannes
• Thomas Mann as Link
• Emma Thompson as Sarafine
• Kyle Gallner as Larkin

I'm not as hyped up for this one as I am for City of Bones, but I am still pretty excited. What do you think? 

Trailer: 

 


 

Familiar Origins REVIEW

Title: Familiar Origins
Author: B. Pine
Release date:  January 19th, 2011
Rating:  5/5
Publisher: Silver Leaf Books
Book Summary: 

In a universe where dragons are supreme sentient beings, divination rituals and knowledge of human magical evolution has led to the belief that eight humans will be born with extraordinary supernatural abilities that will give them the power to challenge dragons. Divided into two factions-the Draca Debellos: conquerors of worlds to fuel their powerful magic, and the Draca Tueri: protectors of the worlds and their sentient beings-they tirelessly search for these gifted children to train and bond with to help in their eternal struggle and attempt to end their tenuous deadlock.Both sides are aware of how dangerously powerful they are due to their understanding and mastery of nature, magic, and science; following a rigid code of conduct. But they are also aware that their Creator has worked into the nature of the universe an anomaly-a balancing feature that can lead to the extinction of the entire dragon race. The key to overcoming the balance between Draca and the key to victory lies in the existence of these eight special humans. These humans have different combinations of powers based on the existing types of magic-psychic talents, spellcasting abilities, spiritual summoning, and elemental control. Beyond their magical abilities, what makes these eight particular humans so special is their unique ability to bond with dragons in a way that could provide both dragon and human with powers and benefits yet unknown by either race.Both Draca factions wish for nothing more than to bond with one of these special humans and tilt the balance of power in their favor. After centuries of searching and waiting, these eight predestined humans have now all been born-humans with the power to challenge the Draca and hold the fate of the world within their hearts and minds.Follow the adventures, struggles, and development of these humans who have their innocence shattered at a tender age while trying to learn to live under the influence of powerful beings wishing to use them for their own ends, and growing up in a world of tragedy and horror, betrayal and deception.

Review:

Imagine being a five- to ten-year-old kid and being burdened with a "war" that you don't even know about. Now, imagine that this "war" involves dragons. This book is just the beginning, following most of the eight kids' lives as they learn what their powers are and about the dragons. 

I absolutely love it. 

It takes the time to go through each child's lives as they grow up from children. It shows the events that shape them and make them who they are.

It's very daring. 

I haven't read a book that takes the time to lead you though each character's memories instead of just mentioning them; or, if the memory is extremely important, shown as a flash back. 

I congratulate B. Pine in taking such risks and presenting them beautifully with wonderful descriptions of places, thoughts, feelings, etc. I fell in love with the book from the first page when I found that it started off in a dragon's point of view. :D

I highly recommend this book to all of those adventurers, lovers of fantasy, and generally anyone that loves a good story plot! I can't wait for the next installment. I'm sure it will be just as magnificent.