magic system Archives - On Starships and Dragonwings

4.5 Stars: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson ARC

May 13, 2013 by Anya 7 Comments

I was very excited to borrow an ARC of The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson from Krys at Bibliopunkk. I am a freaking huge Brandon Sanderson fan, so the opportunity to read his first YA novel was not one to pass up ;-). Like all Sanderson novels, The Rithmatist has a new and intriguing magic system, plot twists on top of plot twists, and characters you can’t help but adore. It also takes place in an alternate history where North America is actually an archipelago and so the United States is less united and more a bunch of island states that grudgingly cooperate! The Rithmatist is definitely a YA novel, though, with a magic school and teenage protagonists. While there isn’t a series indicator on the Goodreads page yet, I’m very much hoping Sanderson decides to write a sequel, because I can’t wait to go back to the world of chalk battles and mysteries. Though I have to admit that I’m still not sure which Rithmatist the title is referring to specifically….

I originally read an ARC borrowed from my friend. However, Tor also sent me a final copy for review, thank you!!! The Rithmatist will be published May 14th 2013, go get your copies tomorrow!
Goodreads | Amazon | LibraryThing

Title: The Rithmatist
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 384 pages
Genre-ish: Fantasy YA
Rating: ★★★★★ (4.5) - amazing magic and ending, beginning a little simple

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings—merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.
As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.– Goodreads

Strengths:

First thing is first: chalk magic :D. Certain people get the power to instill their chalk drawings with physical abilities like making an invisible wall above a line of chalk or attacking said walls. The best though are the little doodles that come to life to defend you or attack your opponent :D. There are dragons!!
I loved all of the characters for their own unique quirks. Melody is both girly with her unicorn drawings, insecure in her abilities and freaking hilarious in her declarations of “Everything is a tragedy!” Joel is a character many younger readers will relate to in that he is talented and bright when it comes to the subject he loves (Rithmatics) but is struggling in the rest of his classes because he just isn’t interested. Finally, Professor Fitch is a wonderful portrayal of the absent-minded professor, though he has his own strength when it comes to believing in all of his students, no matter their abilities. Seriously, I just want to hug all of these characters!
Brandon Sanderson always has awesome plot twists, and so I expected no less. The Rithmatist surprised me, however, with plot twists on top of plot twists with it all making sense in the end. I loved it! You will not be able to guess how this one ends, even when you only have 20 pages left ;-).
The alternate history was not emphasized much, but it was quite interesting as a backdrop to the magic and mystery. I am excited to learn more about how their world is different but similar to ours.
The ARC of the The Rithmatist that I read had delightful drawings that I’m sure with persist to the final copy. There are drawings at the beginning of every chapter to teach you about Rithmatic lines and strategies and then there are little doodles throughout the chapters of the chalkings (chalk creatures) that are being drawn in the accompanying text. They are awesome :D.
While the end of The Rithmatist left me content with what we had learned, it also is already building-up for an amazing sequel. I really hope that the sequel doesn’t take too long *puppy dog eyes*.
The ARC I originally read didn’t have a map, however the final copy does and it’s preeeeetty! It also helps a ton with understanding the alternative geography ;-).

Weaknesses:

The first 2/3 of The Rithmatist felt closer to MG that YA honestly. There was a strange dissonance in my head of Sanderson’s style that I’m used to in his adult books and the feel of a YA on the young side of the spectrum.
Hopefully this will be fixed in the final version, but there were a fair number of sentences that were quite repetitive, telling me information I had already learned a half page ago.
There is a church in The Rithmatist that apparently split from Christianity when Rithmatics was discovered but still is kind of Christian I think. There was some weirdness when it came to referring to the other world religions…. It just didn’t seem to be handled well.

Summary:

I am thrilled that Sanderson has decided to break into the YA genre and I think Harry Potter fans will love The Rithmatist. It has the same magic school with a mystery feel to it and it was just so much fun. The magic system seems simple at first, but we soon start to suspect there is much more potential than has been discovered so far. Sanderson has laid the ground work for an excellent series with The Rithmatist and I really hope he decides to build upon it soon, I must know all the answers!

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- A

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: 4.5 stars, fantasy, magic system, mg, sanderson, the rithmatist, ya

4 Stars: The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

April 24, 2013 by Anya 5 Comments

We finished up our readalong for The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan a couple weeks ago, so it’s time for the review :D. There will be spoilers for those who haven’t read The Eye of the World, but not for the Great Hunt. I have to say that I didn’t find The Great Hunt as compelling as the first book for most of the book, however I loved the ending much more than the ending of The Eye of the World, so it worked out ;-). We’ll be continuing our reading of this epic fantasy series (epic in terms of length too D:), so keep your eye out for the first read along post :D.
Goodreads | Amazon | LibraryThing

Title: The Great Hunt
Author: Robert Jordan
Length: 705 pages
Genre-ish: High Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆- great ending, a bit slow

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. For centuries, gleemen have told of The Great Hunt of the Horn. Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the Horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages.

And it is stolen. – Goodreads

Strengths:

As I said above, the ending of the Great Hunt is so epic and much more clear than in The Eye of the World. There were also so many feelings, omg! Just the way I like it ;-).
There are a lot of story lines going on in the Great Hunt (and the series in general), but they are weaved together elegantly before once again splitting as characters go on their way for the moment ;-).
Awesome plot twists! I definitely didn’t see the big one coming and it was so moving and made a lot of sense in hindsight. I always appreciate being surprised :D (in books, not in life though >.>)
We are continuing to find out more and more about the world in The Great Hunt, including a lot about the Aes Sedai and the people of Artur Hawkwing that had been hinted at previously!

Weaknesses:

For me at least, the first 2/3 of The Great Hunt were rather slow. This is where a readalong comes in handy, since I pushed through and didn’t just put the book down, which did pay off in the end ;-).
There were a few information dumps barely disguised as long sequences of dialogue or characters teaching others. Those got a little boring after a while.
This was pointed out by Nrlymrtl, but the beginning of The Great Hunt remarkably familiar, ie just like the beginning of The Eye of the World…. Peace interrupted by a Trolloc attack leading to a great chase. The only difference was this time they were chasing the Trollocs >.>.

Summary:

While I had trouble getting into The Great Hunt, the ending more than made up for any slow parts. I literally got shivers multiple times while reading the ending (with white knuckles… poor book!). If you like high fantasy and all the complicated story lines, intricate world, and grand adventures that go with it, then you will probably enjoy continuing the Wheel of Time series. However, the Great Hunt also had the typical weaknesses of the genre, so you better be in the mood otherwise you might get bogged down in all those details.

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- A

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: four stars, high fantasy, magic system, robert jordan, series, the great hunt, wheel of time

5 Stars: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

April 11, 2013 by Anya 6 Comments

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs is the seventh novel in the Mercy Thompson series. Hence there will be minor spoilers for the first six books because I can’t really remember what big twists there were previously. Each book stands on its own fairly well though, so unless you don’t want the romance aspect to be spoiled, you’re mostly safe. In any case, I love the world that Patricia Briggs has built with this series and its spin-off Alpha and Omega. My favorite part about Frost Burned, however, is that it breaks free of the formula that so many urban fantasy series fall into, and Mercy is thrown straight into the thick of a mystery all on her own.
Goodreads | Amazon | LibraryThing

Title: Frost Burned
Author: Patricia Briggs
Length: 352 pages (hardcover)
Genre-ish: Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★★- rocking plot, characters and world

Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more

After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that matter. They’ve all been abducted.

Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely. – Goodreads

Strengths:

Frost Burned pulls you (and Mercy!) into the action immediately. Things go from a little after turkey shopping to oh gawd what happened??? And you just never want to stop reading from there :D.
Between the most recent Alpha and Omega book and Frost Burned, there is so much epic brewing in the world that I just can’t take the wait. Frost Burned does an excellent job of telling a compelling story while dropping little hints about what is building for the series. I’m so excited!!!
Mercy has always been an odd duck in terms of her magical gifts, and we get to find out a bit more about what she can do now that she’s connected to Adam through their mate bond. It’s pretty awesome ;-).
I love cross-series appearances of characters that we know pretty well (if you’ve been reading Alpha and Omega), but these characters don’t! Mwahahaha.
I totally didn’t see the plot direction of Frost Burned coming. Yes, Adam needs to be rescued, but everything after that is just craziness (in a good way, haha).

Weaknesses:

Some phrasing was repeated multiple times; it was a bit odd and annoying. I remember you saying that one page ago!
There are switches between first person and third when we need Adam’s perspective. It takes a moment to get your bearing when that happens.
The magic developments were a bit too convenient even if they were cool….

Summary:

If you haven’t read the Mercy Thompson series (and you made it this far in the review….) but like urban fantasy, go read Moon Called now!!! I’ve gotten tired of a lot of UF’s repeated plot lines and familiar heroines, but Frost Burned shows that I will probably never get tired of this series. Patricia Briggs writes amazingly with characters you can’t help but adore (or hate, depending on what’s called for, haha) and a world that keeps getting richer. I half expect fae and werewolves to “come out of the closet” any day now after reading this series >.>.

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- A

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: briggs, frost burned, heroine, magic system, series, urban fantasy, werewolves

4 Stars: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

March 18, 2013 by Anya 18 Comments

Cinder by Marissa Meyer was exceedingly popular last year, so it had to go on my Christmas wishlist ;-). I however had a massive number of books that I needed/wanted to read, so it wasn’t until the sequel Scarlet was set to come out that I finally got my butt in gear, haha. I’m a bit late to the game, but I agree with what many have said before: Cinder rocks! Who would have thought to combine cybords, moon people, a plague, and a Cinderella retelling all together?? Marissa Meyer, that’s who :D.

Goodreads | Amazon
Free Chapters 1-5
Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Length: 387 pages (hardcover)
Genre-ish: Sci-fi/Fairytale retelling YA (with cyborgs!)
Rating: ★★★★☆- so original, slowed in the middle

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. – Goodreads

Strengths:

Cinder has cyborgs and moon people who have separated from Earth’s population long enough to develop some interesting traits. How awesome of a future is that :D. Sure, maybe I don’t want to live there, but I sure want to read about it!
In addition to the awesome sci-fi elements, there is a plague; nothing says compelling like a plague.
Omg the crazy plot twists! I can’t actually count all the cool plot developments in Cinder right now. Nothing is as it seems >.> <.<.
I always worry with retellings that the story will be predictable because the book will follow the retelling too closely. This is not the case with Cinder!
The romance is so adorable *sighs*.

Weaknesses:

I am probably in the minority here, but I found that the pacing slowed in the middle of Cinder. I had to push a bit to get to the good stuff at the end.
There is only so much bad news that I can take at one time, and Cinder started pushing my limit. It’s not really a happy book at times….
Wow, such a cliffhanger. You’ve been warned.

Summary:

If you are craving a fresh and amazing sci-fi with a touch of Cinderella retelling and a hint of dystopia, get Cinder. I know that it might seem like a crazy combination of story elements, but there is a reason so many people have been raving about this one folks! I will admit that I’m not actually addicted to Cinderella or cyborgs, but even beyond the cool ideas thrown together, Cinder is a solid story about a girl kicking butt against adversity and making friends in the most unusual places.

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- A

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: cinder, cyborgs, fairytale, four stars, heroine, magic system, meyer, sci-fi, series

4 Stars: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

March 5, 2013 by Anya 7 Comments

As many of you know, I’ve been co-hosting an epic read along on this blog of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series! The first book is The Eye of the World, which we finished up a couple of weeks ago now. I’d say it’s time for a review, don’t you? ;-) I feel like I’ve already talked about Eye of the World a lot, mostly because I have, haha. However, while we’ve discussed each 7 chapter section in gritty detail, a nice overview wrap-up post seemed like just what I needed to put everything in perspective :). If you’ve been skipping the read along posts for fear of spoilers, you don’t have to worry any more, since there are no spoilers here!

Goodreads | Amazon
Author: The Eye of the World
Length: 814 (paperback)
Genre-ish: High fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆- classic fantasy, a little wordy

Life in Emond’s Field has been pretty boring for Rand Al’Thor and his friends until a strange young woman arrives in their village. Moraine is an Aes Sedai, a magician with the ability to wield the One Power, and she brings warnings of a terrible evil awakening in the world. That very night, the village is attacked by bloodthirsty Trollocs—a fearsome tribe of beast-men thought to be no more than myth. As Emond’s Field burns, Moraine and her warrior-guardian help Rand and his companions to escape. But it is only the beginning of their troubles. For Moraine believes Rand Al’Thor is the Dragon Reborn, and that he is fated to unite the world against the rising darkness and lead the fight against a being so powerful and evil it is known simply as the Dark One. – Goodreads

Strengths:

The Eye of the World had an awesome spin on the young hero needing to save the world trope, since there are actually three boys, one girl, and one village Wisdom involved in this legend come to life.
The world-building in Eye of the World is so amazing that I don’t actually know how Jordan kept it all in his brain while writing. There must have been crazy flowcharts! There is even a map halfway through to show you where the party has traveled to :D.
Mmm the foreshadowing, it is so delicious! I’ve always been a sucker for portents and trying to guess what they might foretell, and Jordan does not disappoint!
Every character we encounter has a rich backstory that we find out steadily. You might not find out right when you meet them. You might think that minor character was only there to sell you bread, you are probably wrong ;-). So many threads to be woven together, it is awesome!

Weaknesses:

There are some very obvious tributes to Tolkien in Eye of the World, and there has been heavy criticism of this already. I found myself able to acknowledge this unfortunate shortcoming and move on, but it might severely irk others.
Given the genre, you would expect the final epic battle to be crazy epic, but it falls a bit short and confusing….
As many books in this genre fall into, Eye of the World gets wordy in places and I found myself tempted to skim at times. This is no where near Tolkien levels of wordiness though!

Summary:

If you are craving high fantasy, Eye of the World is everything everyone has said it is. I didn’t find myself quite as edge of my seat as the lady in the bookstore said she was when she read the first five *shrugs*. It was refreshing to see women making a big splash in a high fantasy novel and the other new ideas that Jordan brought to his novel. While it was a little odd to see so many obvious parallels to The Lord of the Rings pop up again and again, it was easy to view The Eye of the World as inspired-by, but with plenty of original ideas.

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- A

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: eye of the world, fantasy, four stars, high fantasy, magic system, series

4 Stars: Spirit Singer by Edward Willett Audiobook

February 26, 2013 by Anya 6 Comments

I was quite excited to see Iambik Audio open for review requests and a new fantasy available with a young female main character :D. What more could I really ask for right?? As many of you know, I’m always in the market for more audiobooks due to my frequent driving. While the slower fantasy pace of Spirit Singer sometimes made me need to take a break, I overall very much enjoyed this classic-style fantasy! Thank you to Iambik Audio for providing me a copy to review.

Goodreads | Amazon
Print Copy scheduled for May 2013
Title: Spirit Singer
Author: Edward Willett
Length: 4 hours 33 min
Genre-ish: Fantasy (with spirits)
Rating: ★★★★☆- solid fantasy story, audio wasn’t great

Amarynth is a spirit singer, gifted – or cursed, as she sometimes thinks – with the ability to lead the spirits of the dead from the Lower World through the Between World to the Gate of the Upper World and the Light that lies beyond it.

While she is still an apprentice her grandfather and tutor dies, slain by a mysterious creature in the Between World that is blocking access to the Upper World’s Gate. Without a spirit singer her village cannot survive, so Amarynth embarks on a hazardous quest to find out what the creature is, how it can be defeated, and how she can become a full-fledged spirit singer – a quest that takes her not only from her tiny seacoast home to the soaring mountains of the south, but across the even more rugged terrain of her own soul. — Amazon

Strengths:

I really liked the singing magic idea behind Spirit Singer. Chanting is usually a part of magic rituals, but it’s not often that it IS the magic itself :D.
Spirit Singer has some devious plot twists. I can’t say that I didn’t see them coming, because I definitely had a feeling that something was up, but then I wasn’t sure…. And then I definitely was!
The “Between World” is this treacherous place between our realm and their version of heaven and the descriptions of it were very compelling. There are all sorts of wayward spirits and traps that Amarynth had to watch out for, and some of those images are just never going to be scrubbed from my brain….
Spirit Singer had solid main characters. I wish was had gotten to know Grandpa a bit more, but you can’t have it all ;-).

Weaknesses:

I think I just have a problem with male narrators, but I just never could get used to the narrator in Spirit Singer. Male narrators never seem to be able to do female voices, and since the main character was female, this ended up being a big problem for me.
The plot of Spirit Singer ended up being a fairly typical fantasy in the end, but there isn’t anything wrong with that if that’s what you are in the mood for :).

Summary:

Spirit Singer is a fun fantasy adventure with a solid female character. The narration of Amarynth’s voice didn’t do it for me, so I suggest picking up the book in print or ebook when you can. The premise and world of Spirit Singer were quite interesting and fun to explore and I look forward to learning more about them in sequels *hopeful eyes*. If you are quite discerning, you will probably see some of the plot twists coming, but the evidence went back and forth enough for me that I wasn’t sure ;-). All in all, Spirit Singer is a great book if you are in the mood for some good ol’ fashioned fantasy!

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- A

Spirit Singer by Edward Willett

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: 4 stars, audiobook, fantasy, heroine, magic system, spirit singer, willett

3.5 Stars: Red Madrassa by Terah Edun

February 21, 2013 by Anya 5 Comments

Welcome to my tour stop for the Red Madrassa blog tour! I decided to read Red Madrassa because, let’s be honest, look at that cover!!! It’s freaking gorgeous! I just wish I could have gotten a physical copy to drool over ;-). I have to say that I adored the beginning of Red Madrassa, even if it took me a little bit to get all the characters straight in my head, and while I was a bit disappointed at the sudden ending, I think Harry Potter fans might like this magical school adventure :).

Goodreads | Amazon
Title: Red Madrassa
Author: Terah Edun
Length: 244 pages
Genre-ish: YA fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆☆- awesome start, slipped at the end

A magical accident threw them together. But when Fate holds all the cards, it can be impossible to tell the difference between pure chance and Destiny…

The Madrassa, a magical school for mage practitioners, is the stuff of legend. With selective entrance exams and quotas for only the most advanced of mage children, it’s almost impossible to attend.

When Allorna, a guardian trainee for the royal family, ends up on the doorstep of the citadel on the eve of the final day of a recruitment ceremony, she decides it must be fate.

She was sure she knew the path her life would take before she enrolled. But sometimes life has a way of throwing in magical curveballs and strange friends, just to see if you’ll trip up.

Oh, and one of those friends is a mage accused of murder, another is a slightly psychotic dragon, the third a healer facing an existential crisis, and the last is a female storm-caller with more hidden secrets than a thief lord.

Do they all belong at the new school they call home? – Goodreads

Strengths:

Red Madrassa has a full cast of interesting characters with a wide range of backgrounds included various races and sexual orientations, yey diversity in fantasy for once!
The writing was so readable and compelling! No matter what was happening in the plot, I still found Red Madrassa fun to read, which is saying something since sometimes the kids were just taking classes, haha.
There were some nice editions to the typical schools of magic, including an unknown/innate type which was pretty cool to learn about :D.

Weaknesses:

There was a mystery that was introduced in the beginning of Red Madrassa, but the characters didn’t really do much to try to solve it and didn’t have a hand in resolving the plot tension. It just sort of resolves itself….
No real action happens in the last half of Red Madrassa until the veeerrrry end, since the kids were mostly just going to class. Don’t get me wrong, classes are great, but I really wanted the book to continue for another hundred pages at least to give me a nice epic conclusion.
There were several times where the pronouns really confused me and may not have been grammatically correct. Especially when there are so many characters, it probably would be better to use more specific identifiers than “he” and “she” given that there are multiple of those in a room pretty much all the time ;-).

Summary:

Red Madrassa had a great start as a magical school adventure, but it felt like it needed to be a bit longer in order to capture that young kids saving the day adventure that we all love. It’s no fun when the adults step in to do all the adventuring! Nonetheless, if you go in knowing what to expect and are looking for a light and diverse school-based fantasy, Red Madrassa is for you. I look forward to seeing what the next book holds, now that we’ve gotten the basics of the school out the way!

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- A

Red Madrassa by Terah Edun

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: 3.5 stars, easy read, edun, fantasy, magic system, red madrassa, ya

4.5 Stars: Crash by Lisa McMann Audiobook

February 13, 2013 by Anya 8 Comments

I received Crash by Lisa McMann from Simon & Schuster Audio for review and was excited for a new spin on the paranormal YA book. Crash definitely delivers! I actually had to figure out how to hook up my iPhone to my car speakers (through my cassette player) and ended up borrowing an old converter that my friend had, but it was totally worth it ;-). I also ended up listening to most of Crash while driving in white-out conditions or horrible snowy roads, so maybe that was tempting fate a bit, but I was fine :D. Crash is a great combination of family shenanigans, weird paranormal stuff, and oh high school sighing, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t generally like too much of the swoony romance stuff, haha.
Goodreads | Amazon
Title: Crash
Author: Lisa McMann
Time: 5 hours, 18 minutes
Genre-ish: YA Paranormal
Rating: ★★★★☆- interesting premise, minor annoyances

If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first in a series from the New York Timesbestselling author of the Wake trilogy.Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode…and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more shesees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember. – Goodreads

Strengths:

The premise of Crash is really interesting. I haven’t read any premonitions books lately, so it certainly seemed fresh to me. Jules just keeps seeing the same vision over and over and it is steadily taking over her life. Crash has just the right amount of paranormal to add spice, but not so much that you started to wonder who was sending these visions (at least not yet!).
Jules develops well as a character, and Crash is definitely a coming of age story as well as a mystery/romance/paranormal. Apparently solving a mystery and saving lives really makes a girl grow up fast, who knew?
Sawyer is adorable and a great love interest. I’m rather tired of jerks/stalkers as love interests, so it was nice to finally have a genuinely nice guy!
Love Trey!!!! I’m happy with McMann for having a gay brother and not shying away from that character, but also not making him too over the top. As someone who has gay friends all across the flamboyance spectrum, I was quite comfortable with the way Trey was portrayed and the fact that being gay was not all that he was. He was also a good brother, son, and sometimes student ;-).

Weaknesses:

“Oh my dogs” might be my new least favorite expression. I don’t care that it adds uniqueness or that real teenagers might say it, it’s bloody annoying to hear over and over in an audiobook. Please never use “dog” in place of “God” again.
The narration was a bit awkward at times, especially in the shower scene.. >.> <.<
I won’t go into much detail the ending revelation and romantic developments seemed rushed to me, maybe it was because I thought the crash was the ending and it would be just a brief wrap up after that, but then there was more?

Summary:

Overall, I really liked Crash and am looking forward to the next book, especially after what we found out at the very end! I haven’t been reading a lot of similar books, but the idea seemed fresh and I thought the plot was well developed. However, Crash has been a very polarizing book, and many people haven’t liked the characters and plot development, so I recommend checking out some of the links for both if you aren’t sure. I also would probably recommend against the audiobook if the expression “Oh my dogs” sounds annoying to you, because it’s probably easier to ignore in text….

Other reviews:

Crash from .Xpresso Reads 2 stars

Crash from Heise Reads & Recommends 5 stars

Crash from Appraising Pages 4 stars

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- A

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: audiobook, cashore, fantasy, four stars, graceling, heroine, magic system, trilogy, ya

Five Stars: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor Audiobook

February 6, 2013 by Anya 8 Comments

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor is the second in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, so this review will definitely contain spoilers for the first book. Instead of worrying about those, just pop over to my equally glowing review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone :D. I actually had a bit of trouble forming thoughts for this review since my thoughts were mostly “glub blug awesome more glub why must I wait for the next one gah!” But I thought more, gave it a couple of days, and came up with at least semi-coherent reasons why you should continue with Days of Blood and Starlight if you started this trilogy and aren’t sure.

Goodreads | Amazon
Title: Days of Blood and Starlight
Author: Laini Taylor
Time: 12 discs (15 hours)
Genre-ish: Fantasy mixed with our world
Rating: ★★★★★- beautiful, poetic, can’t get enough

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster’s apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream? – Goodreads

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Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: angels, audiobook, days of blood and starlight, fantasy, five stars, heroine, magic system, taylor, trilogy, ya

Four Stars: Graceling by Kristin Cashore Audiobook

February 1, 2013 by Anya 10 Comments

So, I was the odd-duck and listened to Fire by Kristin Cashore first, which is the companion novel to Graceling. I can tell you that it is safe to read them out of publishing order, though I did have to check with my reading buddy on one name that I think would have been an obvious connection to me if I had read them the other way around. In any case, I had been hesitant to grab Graceling on audiobook because it has a different narrator than Fire (and I loved Fire’s narrator), but I just put some time between the two and didn’t have any problem adjusting. Even better, Graceling is a full-cast audio, so each of the characters has their own voice actor :D.

Goodreads | Amazon
Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Time: 11 discs (12 hours and 30 mins)
Genre-ish: Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆- fun world, didn’t pull me in

His eyes, Katsa had never seen such eyes. One was silver, and the other, gold. They glowed in his sun-darkened face, uneven, and strange. She was surprised that they hadn’t shone in the darkness of their first meeting. They didn’t seem human….

Then he raised his eyebrows a hair, and his mouth shifted into the hint of a smirk. He nodded at her, just barely, and it released her from her spell.

Cocky, she thought. Cocky and arrogant, this one, and that was all there was to make of him. Whatever game he was playing, if he expected her to join him he would be disappointed.

In a world where people born with an extreme skill – called a Grace – are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even shedespises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po’s friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace – or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away…a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. – Goodreads

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