series Archives - On Starships and Dragonwings

4 Stars: The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

May 2, 2013 by Anya 15 Comments

I have been seeing great reviews for The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke since it came out! This made it impossible to resist the shiny new copy sitting on the library shelf, even though I had informed my boyfriend that I could not get any more books from the library…. I fail at those sorts of decisions, books are just impossible to resist, hehe! I did, however, resist reading The Assassin’s Curse until I finished books for various deadlines, so I showed some self-restraint ;-). I have to admit that I was expecting something a little different from what I got, however The Assassin’s Curse was still a fun ride!

Goodreads | Amazon | LibraryThing

Title: The Assassin’s Curse
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Length: 320 pages
Genre-ish: Fantasy YA
Rating: ★★★★☆- fun premise and characters, weird plot

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be. – Goodreads

Strengths:

Ananna is spunky and authentic. It took me a couple chapters to get used to her accent (since it’s in first person), but I thought she was a much more realistic female pirate that many I’ve seen.
The Assassin’s Curse has not only a desert setting but also pirates :D. And assassins! How many awesome things do you need before you have to read this book??
If there is going to be a full-fledged romance, it certainly wasn’t insta-love and there was a very slow build up to Ananna even realizing she liked someone else >.>.
There are a few different types of magic in The Assassin’s Curse, but they mixed well and the otherworld people/creatures are cool :D.

Weaknesses:

There is no resolution, like at all. The Goodreads description builds you up for less of a disappointment, but the back of the book talks about Ananna going on three impossible quests. Yeah, that doesn’t happen in The Assassin’s Curse. Maybe it’ll happen in The Pirate’s Wish, we’ll find out.
We find out that there is a curse on an assassin pretty quick, but it takes most of the book for us to find out any real details about what is going on. Mostly Ananna just goes along with things because it’s better than going back to her family. I want details!
Ananna’s voice takes a bit to get used to. She uses non-standard English grammar, which makes sense, but it was a bit hard for this reader at first.

Summary:

While The Assassin’s Curse didn’t match up to exactly what I expected both from the back of the book and from various reviews, it was still a very good book. If you are aware that the plot isn’t quite the traditional one presented in some descriptions of the book, you should be good. Also, don’t stop just because of Ananna’s voice, give it at least a couple chapters, because she grows on you ;-). In the end, I really enjoyed the world and characters of The Assassin’s Curse, I just hope that the sequel finally progresses on the plot I thought The Assassin’s Curse would have….

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- A

The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: assassin's curse, clarke, desert, fantasy, heroine, pirates, series, 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: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

April 19, 2013 by Anya 18 Comments

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles installment and it rocks! Possibly it rocks harder than the first book, Cinder, though that is probably a matter of opinion ;-). Cinder introduced us to cyborgs, plague, and crazy Moon people (Lunars!). Scarlet ramps up the action with dual viewpoints of Cinder and a new character, Scarlet. The fairytale retellings continue, this time with Red Riding Hood, but don’t you worry, Scarlet is so much more than the classic storyline. While Cinder entertained me, Scarlet made me never want to stop reading. From here on out there will be spoilers for the first book and you can just read my review of Cinder if you want to avoid them but find out about this awesome world!

Goodreads | Amazon | LibraryThing

Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Length: 464 pages
Genre-ish: Dystopia/Sci-fi/Fairytale retelling awesomeness
Rating: ★★★★★- things are really getting going :D

The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth…

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner. – Goodreads

Strengths:

First off, the last third of Scarlet is dangerously awesome because I got white knuckles from holding my book too tight >.> I really wanted to know what was going to happen all right! There is no slow going this time: Scarlet is action-packed and amazing.
I really liked the way the Red Riding Hood retelling fit in, but Scarlet didn’t follow it precisely so you still won’t know what actually happens.
Wow, there were so many feelings while reading this one! Who can I trust? Such noble sacrifices! *melts in a puddle*
Iko is still around and she is possibly my favorite character >.> Go androids! I need a bumper sticker or something, haha.

Weaknesses:

The story lines of Scarlet and Cinder are separate for a loooooong time. I started getting impatient for them to meet up because I know it would be fun for them and me!
On that note, however, Scarlet and Cinder are fairly similar characters (strong, curious, dealing with an annoying guy, isolated from the world with secrets), which made it slightly hard to keep track of them and just annoying from a story perspective.
There are still so many questions! Why can’t my questions be answered ever???

Summary:

Many times second books aren’t as good as the first. No worries about that. I actually liked Scarlet far more than Cinder (well, a bit more, I still liked Cinder!). The magnitude of the world’s problems start coming to light and the action really gets going. We get a glimpse of just how epic the rest of this series is going to be and I love it; that aspect helped me get so much more invested in these characters’ actions. I’m also so excited that the next book, Cress, will finally be getting us to the desert! (I love deserts >.> as settings, not to visit probably, haha.)

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- A

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: cyborgs, five stars, heroine, scarlet by marissa meyer, sci-fi, series, werewolves

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: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

March 26, 2013 by Guest 7 Comments

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan is the second book of the second series and continues the story of young demigods who must forge friendships and figure out to use their unique gifts in a race to save the world …. again.

When I (Barbara) finished The Lost Hero, I knew I would be working my way through the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. I had minored in classical studies during college and appreciate Riordan’s modern extension of the Perseus archetype into a light but engaging series for young adults. This book was my personal copy, and there aren’t any spoilers for The Son of Neptune, but there are some for The Lost Hero. If you haven’t read the first book, check out Anya’s review of The Lost Hero instead.
Goodreads | Amazon
Title: The Son of Neptune
Author: Rick Riordan
Length: 513 pages
Genre-ish: YA Fantasy (set in our world)
Rating: ★★★★☆- light and easy read

Setting: In The Son of Neptune, not only are the Greek gods real, but so are the Roman ones. While they are technically the same gods, the Roman aspects of the 12 Olympian gods are more stern, serious, and disciplined — but they still fall in love with mortals and have demigod children. The young Roman demigods, like the Greeks we met in the first series and in the Lost Hero, inherit traits and powers from their godly parents, speak Latin like a senator in the forum, have a special, secret camp, and are the favorite snack of monsters. Mere mortals are kept unaware of this by the Mist, which obscures reality and keeps us unaware of the battles between the gods and various powers that want to destroy the world and its inhabitants.

Premise: This time, Percy Jackson is the one with amnesia and monsters hot on his tail. He ends up at Camp Jupiter where he is as out of place as a Greek among Romans. One Roman in particular remembers who he is … and that he is not exactly on her favorites list. Still, Percy makes friends and ends up on a trip to Alaska to save the world. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Juno/Hera is putting together a dream team from BOTH Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood to defeat Gaea — the personification of the earth — who will threaten Mount Olympus itself before the end of the series.

Strengths:

Riordan’s writing is wonderful to read. He is descriptive without being too wordy, immersing the reader in the scenes he weaves. We come to see the world through the points of view of each of the major characters, which are interleaved without confusion.
Riordan also uses humor to good effect in The Son of Neptune to keep the tone of the story light. If the heroes are joking in the face of adversity, how bad can it be, right?
I love the friendships that develop between the heroes. They feel right and develop at an appropriate pace out of shared principles, choices, and actions.
In The Son of Neptune, each character has his or her strengths and weaknesses. Often the heroes complement each other, which shows young readers the value of collaboration and valuing one’s own gifts. But the heroes also show that you don’t necessarily have to like doing what you are good at. The son of the god of war does not particularly like what he inherited from his father – but these abilities are used wisely save the day on a number of occasions.
Although the Son of Neptune occurs at about the same time as The Lost Hero, it was not repetitious. The two stories run parallel until the very end when the two sets of heroes meet, leaving the reader to wonder who will comprise the seven heroes of the prophecy.

Weaknesses:

The formula is beginning to be a bit too repetitious. The frantic journey of less than a week to get somewhere, find something, and save the world at the last minute is exciting but … tired. And having a hero with a guilty secret – again – seemed definitely like a lazy way to bring in dramatic tension.
The female characters are strong and gifted, but after a series and two books, I’m hoping that the third book will really let Annabeth shine as the daughter of Athena.

Summary:

If you have been enjoying the two series up to this point, you should enjoy The Son of Neptune as well. It has some interesting variations to throw at you but keeps the winning formula intact.

- Barbara

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: easy read, fantasy, four stars, riordan, series, the son of neptune, ya

4 Stars: The Elephant of Surprise by Brent Hartinger

March 21, 2013 by Anya 2 Comments

The Elephant of Surprise by Brent Hartinger is the fourth book in the Russel Middlebrook series, but don’t worry, it’s a stand alone! I’ve only read the first book, Geography Club, so this was partially a test of how it read as a stand alone ;-). While the first book of this series focuses on the hardships of gay teens in an unwelcoming high school, The Elephant of Surprise tackles a completely separate idea. This book focuses on the “freeganism” movement and the characters’ sexuality takes much more of a back seat. Yes, there is some relationship drama involving girls dating girls and boys liking boys, but not nearly as much as Geography Club. If you like light, contemporary reads with more diverse characters than normal, definitely check out The Elephant of Surprise.

I received The Elephant of Surprise through Netgalley and Brent Hartinger in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads | Amazon
Title: The Elephant of Surprise
Author: Brent Hartinger
Length: 239 pages
Genre-ish: YA LGBT contemporary
Rating: ★★★★☆- light and fun, a little repetitive

People aren’t always what they seem to be. Sometimes we even surprise ourselves.

In this latest book, Russel and his friends Min and Gunnar are laughing about something they call the Elephant of Surprise — the tendency for life to never turn out as expected. Sure enough, Russel soon happens upon a hot but mysterious homeless activist named Wade, even as he’s drawn back to an old flame named Kevin. Meanwhile, Min is learning surprising things about her girlfriend Leah, and Gunnar just wants to be left alone to pursue his latest technology obsession.

But the elephant is definitely on the move in all three of their lives. Just who is Wade and what are he and his friends planning? What is Leah hiding? And why is Gunnar taking naked pictures of Kevin in the shower? – Goodreads

Strengths:

As someone who has never learned much about freeganism before, The Elephant of Surprise was a surprisingly nice intro to a real life movement.
Something a lot of series novels run into is a repetitive plot arc, however The Elephant of Surprise took a completely different direction than I expected. It was nice that the focus wasn’t just on getting Russel a boyfriend ;-).
I’m always happy to see healthy relationships, and there is a great example of a healthy way to break up in this one!
As always, the writing of The Elephant of Surprise was light and fun. It was very easy to read just one more page while riding in the car or waiting for food at a restaurant, haha.
I got caught up on the characters’ lives quickly, no need to have read the previous books. It’s so nice when a stand alone is actually a stand alone, though I think you’ll connect deeper with everyone if you do read the earlier books.

The Elephant of Surprise by Brent Hartinger

Me when Russel started committing crimes….

Weaknesses:

There were some phrases that got quite repetitive, including The Elephant of Surprise. I prefer subtler uses of titles personally.
While there were some good relationship decisions, there were also some very bad ones that included all sorts of illegal activity. Russel, there is a difference between helping your friends like a good person and committing crimes for your friends!
Russel get a bit overdramatic in The Elephant of Surprise. Yes, some dramatic things happen, but he also has some pretty dramatic inner dialogue that we are privy to.

Summary:

The Elephant of Surprise is light, fun, and just a wee bit silly. On top of that, however, I learned new things, crazy huh? Whether you’ve read the previous books or not, if you like high school adventures, you will likely enjoy The Elephant of Surprise. It actually made me want to go back and read the two I skipped to find out more about the summer camp adventures I’ve been hearing so much about, haha!

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- A

The Elephant of Surprise by Brent Hartinger

Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: contemporary, four stars, hartinger, lgbt, series, the elephant of surprise

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

Four Stars: Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep

December 10, 2012 by Anya 4 Comments

Another gritty urban fantasy, Web of Lies is the second book in the Elemental Assassin series and Gin’s life just can’t stay dull. Retirement doesn’t suit her, so when a young girl seems to be the target of a professional assassin, of course Gin needs to investigate and help. It doesn’t hurt that Donovan Caine is also interested in this particular case as well, nor the dashing Owen Grayson….

In my failed attempt to catch up with the read along for this series, I got Web of Lies from the library. I may still be behind, but at least I’m having fun :D. I’m not sure how much further I’ll be going with the Elemental Assassin series, but the first two books have proven to be a nice and classic urban fantasy distraction during stressful school times ;-). This review will certainly contain a couple of spoilers for the first book since it is the second in the series!

Goodreads | Amazon
Title: Web of Lies
Author: Jennifer Estep
Pages: 400 paperback
Genre-ish: Urban fantasy, but not in our world
Rating: ★★★★☆ - fun elements, but that’s it

Curiosity is definitely going to get me dead one of these days. Probably real soon.

I’m Gin Blanco.

You might know me as the Spider, the most feared assassin in the South. I’m retired now, but trouble still has a way of finding me. Like the other day when two punks tried to rob my popular barbecue joint, the Pork Pit. Then there was the barrage of gunfire on the restaurant. Only, for once, those kill shots weren’t aimed at me. They were meant for Violet Fox. Ever since I agreed to help Violet and her grandfather protect their property from an evil coalmining tycoon, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m really retired. So is Detective Donovan Caine. The only honest cop in Ashland is having a real hard time reconciling his attraction to me with his Boy Scout mentality. And I can barely keep my hands off his sexy body. What can I say? I’m a Stone elemental with a little Ice magic thrown in, but my heart isn’t made of solid rock. Luckily, Gin Blanco always gets her man . . . dead or alive. – Goodreads

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Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: elemental assassin, estep, four stars, heroine, magic system, series, urban fantasy, web of lies

Four Stars: Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep

November 22, 2012 by Anya 7 Comments

A gritty urban fantasy, Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep is the story of an assassin with a nightmare of a past, the last moral cop in the city, and a double-cross that throws them together in a way neither thought would ever happen….

Smash over at Smash Attack Reads is having a read a long for this awesome series, so I just had to join in! You know me and read a longs, they are like chocolate, but even better because they don’t have any calories :D. I’m a little behind because the library took FOREVER to get the books in, but I’m working on catching up, and Spider’s Bite is the first in the series, so no worries about spoilers :D.

Goodreads | Amazon
Title: Spider’s Bite
Author: Jennifer Estep
Pages: 395 (pocket paperback)
Genre-ish: Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆ - Gritty UF

My name is Gin, and I kill people.

They call me the Spider. I’m the most feared assassin in the South when I’m not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don’t use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I’m out for revenge. And I’ll exterminate anyone who gets in my way good or bad. I may look hot, but I’m still one of the bad guys. Which is why I’m in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I’m battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction…especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy. — Goodreads

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Filed Under: What A Story - Book Reviews Tagged With: estep, four stars, heroine, magic system, series, spider's bite, urban fantasy