Tag: Book Review

Book Review: Magic Born

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magic born

After the death of her parents, Kat Thomas retreated from college life into an online fantasy game.

But what if the game she plays is closer to reality?

When a panther shifter named Alex knocks on her door one night, he delivers a message and a package. Kat’s birth mother was a powerful mage who has just been murdered…and now the killer is after Kat. The package contains her mother’s talisman: an amber necklace that latches onto Kat’s neck and attacks anyone who tries to remove it. Before she knows it, ice is shooting from her hands and she’s on the run from an assassin.

Kat must navigate a world of magic and intrigue, fight the forces who want her dead, and protect her friends from becoming collateral damage–all while coming to terms with her new identity. She’s heir to a powerful legacy, but only if she lives long enough to claim it.

Pro – Panther shifters

Con – Kat in the beginning (she gets better)

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Book Review: Romeo and/or Juliet

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romeo

Shakespeare’s plays weren’t meant to be read. They were meant…to be played.

What if Romeo never met Juliet? What if Juliet got really buff instead of moping around all day? What if they teamed up to take over Verona with robot suits? This choose-your-own-path version of Romeo and Juliet—packed with fun puzzles, secrets, and quadrillions of possible storylines—lets you decide where the plot goes every time you read. You might play as Romeo, or as Juliet, or as both of them at the same time. You might even unlock additional playable characters!

That’s right. We figured out how to have unlockable characters in books.

Pro – You can unlock a new romance route!, Romeo & Juliet were never so much fun, PIRATE ENDINGS

Cons – I literally can only think of one: Romeo still exists

Spoilers – As a Choose Your Own Adventure–er sorry Chooseable Path Adventure book, based on a classic play most English-speaking countries require to be read at some point in a kid’s schooling spoilers may abound. I won’t wreck the unlockable “secrets” though.

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Graphic Novel Review: White Sand Vol 1

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On the planet of Taldain, the legendary Sand Masters harness arcane powers to manipulate sand in spectacular ways. But when they are slaughtered in a sinister conspiracy, the weakest of their number, Kenton, believes himself to be the only survivor. With enemies closing in on all sides, Kenton forges an unlikely partnership with Khriss—a mysterious Darksider who hides secrets of her own.

Spoiler – There’s a spoiler beneath in my review. If you’d prefer to read the review minus the spoiler I suggest you check out my GR review, as the spoiler is hidden there.

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Book Review: Broken Fate

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broken fate

Zeus gave her one simple job: Kill every human. Atropos-daughter of Zeus and the third goddess of Fate from Greek mythology -spends her eternal life snipping human lifelines when their mortal lives are over. As if being a killer doesn’t make life miserable enough, she and her Fate-wielding sisters must live amongst the humans on Earth thanks to a long-running feud between their mother and Zeus. Living on Earth means they must mingle with the mortals, attend the local high school, and attempt to fit in-or at least not stand out too much.

Killing and mingling don’t mix, which is why Atropos’ number-one rule is to avoid all relationships with the humans. Caring for the people she has to kill is a fast track to insanity. However, when Alex Morgan walks into her first-period English class, she knows she’s in for trouble. He’s the worst kind of human for her to like-one with a rapidly approaching expiration date. And he makes Atropos want to break all the rules.

Pro – I pretty much agreed with everything Sophie (Atropos) said about life, death and acceptance thereof. We would probably be good friends.

Cons – I kind of wanted to stab Alex several times, for various reasons mostly involving him not getting it. Also part of a series! Dammit.

Spoiler – There’s a spoiler beneath in my review. If you’d prefer to read the review minus the spoiler I suggest you check out my GR review, as the spoiler is hidden there.

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Book Review: A Girl’s Guide to Landing a Greek God

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greek 2

When Angie’s big fat Greek wedding goes bust, her grandmother sends her on a trip to Greece with the instruction to set sail on a mysterious fishing boat that will take her to an uncharted island. Waiting for her at the dock is Milos, who’s charming and handsome and confesses he’s been crushing on her for years, even though he’s never met her. He also tells her he’s a descendant of the original Gods of Olympus, who are plotting their return to power.
girl's guide
Before she can say “Oh my God,” Angie is flying a winged horse alongside Milos and finding love in his arms. But there’s one little hitch: Milos’s elders are forcing him to marry a malevolent goddess named Electra to fulfill their plan. If Angie is to have any hope of hanging onto Milos, she’ll have to battle monsters, both reptilian and lipsticked; uncover secrets about her past; and go toe-to-toe with Zeus himself, whose recipe for world domination doesn’t call for a sassy girl from the outer boroughs.

Pros – Who wouldn’t want to land a Greek God?*, breezy, sweet

Cons – Clearly a set up for other books, not much seems to happen, bland

Spoiler – There’s a spoiler beneath in my review. If you’d prefer to read the review minus the spoiler I suggest you check out my GR review, as the spoiler is hidden there.

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Book Review: Every Heart a Doorway

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every heart

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

Pros – Jack, the school, Kade

Cons – I’ll be honest, as much as I like this book I now rather desperately want books about Kade, Jack, Nancy, and Sumi and the adventures behind their doors…

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Book Review: A Study of Charlotte

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a study in charlotte

The last thing sixteen-year-old Jamie Watson–writer and great-great-grandson of the John Watson–wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s enigmatic, fiercely independent great-great-granddaughter, who’s inherited not just his genius but also his vices, volatile temperament, and expertly hidden vulnerability. Charlotte has been the object of his fascination for as long as he can remember–but from the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else.

Then a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Holmes stories, and Jamie and Charlotte become the prime suspects. Convinced they’re being framed, they must race against the police to conduct their own investigation. As danger mounts, it becomes clear that nowhere is safe and the only people they can trust are each other.

Pros – A good mystery, interesting dynamic between “Watson” and “Holmes”, engaging quick read

Cons – Charlotte is too…well Holmes like, wavers between being a straight up “re-imagining” and “inspired by”, possibly the adults in this book (with ONE exception) are just on drugs the entire time

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Book Review: Nightingale, Sing

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nightingale

A STREETWISE VIGILANTE
who will do anything to cure her dying sister

A RUTHLESS GANGSTER
on a grisly quest to attain immortality

A DESPERATE FATHER
who crossed oceans to free his enslaved son

A TRAIL OF RIDDLES
and the mythical treasure they all seek:

THE SERENGETI SAPPHIRE

Pros – The Setting ( I dig Boston ok?), Sabra’s family vows, …ok yes also Atlas

Cons – Making me think that certain folk aren’t around anymore, Not Quite Dead villainy

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Book Review: Can You Keep a Secret?

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secret

Eddie and Emma are high school sweethearts from the wrong side of the tracks. Looking for an escape their dreary lives, they embark on an overnight camping trip in the Fear Street Woods with four friends. As Eddie is carving a heart into a tree, he and Emma discover a bag hidden in the trunk. A bag filled with hundred-dollar bills. Thousands of them. Should they take it? Should they leave the money there? The six teens agree to leave the bag where it is until it’s safe to use it. But when tragedy strikes Emma’s family, the temptation to skim some money off of the top becomes impossible to fight. There’s only one problem. When Emma returns to the woods, the bag of money is gone, and with it, the trust of six friends with a big secret.

Pros – My status updates reached a new level of snarkiness, Callie, actual death

Cons – the wolf plotline, practically everything about these kids, inconsistency of plot (which is saying a lot)

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Book Review: Flirting with Fame

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flirting with fame

Elise Jameson is the secret author behind the bestselling, cult hit Viking Moon series. But when a stranger poses as Elise, the painfully shy, deaf nineteen-year-old starts to see how much she’s missing. Can she really hide in the shadows forever? This clever, coming-of-age debut is for anyone who has ever felt unsure in their own skin.

After a freak childhood accident leaves her deaf and physically scarred, nineteen-year-old Elise Jameson retreats into a world of vibrant characters she creates on her laptop. She is shocked when her coping mechanism turns into a career as a phenomenal bestselling novelist. Fans are obsessed with Elise’s Viking Moon series and its author—a striking girl with zero resemblance to Elise who appears on the back covers. Elise sent the randomly Googled photo to her editor following a minor panic attack. Now, horrified to learn she is expected on set of the television pilot based on her novels, Elise tracks down her anonymous stand-in. To Elise’s surprise, Veronica Wilde has been taking credit for Viking Moon for years. She eagerly agrees to keep up the charade if Elise will pose as her assistant.

It’s hard for Elise to watch a stranger take credit for her work and get all the perks she desires, including admiration from the show’s heartthrob star. Edged onto the sidelines of her own life, Elise reconsiders her choice to stay anonymous. Is she ready to come to terms with her true identity—and with the long-buried secrets that could cost her her career, her fans, and the few precious friendships she’s made?

Pros – Elise, Reggie, Gavin being a geeky fanboy bookworm

Cons – Typical romance “obstacles”, heavy-handed deus ex machina to resolve some internal problems, MISCOMMUNICATION ABOUND

As a sidenote I won’t be talking about Elise’s deafness or how its used in the book–in all honesty I have no experience with that facet of life, so I don’t want to comment on it as part of my opinion on the book.

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