King's Dragon by Kate Elliott

It begins with a civil war...For though King Henry still holds the crown of Wendar, his reign has long been contested by his sister Sabella. there are many eager to flock to her banner, and there are ways to make even the most unwilling lord into a weapon pointed at the heart of Henry's realm. — Torn by internal strife, Wendar also faces deadly raids from the north by an inhuman race, the Eika. And now terrifying portents are being seen; old ruins restored to life under the light of the full moon and peopled by the long vanished Lost Ones; dark spirits walking the land in broad daylight.

And suddenly two innocents are about to be thrust into the midst of the conflict:

Liath, who has spent her early years fleeing from unknown enemies, is a young woman with the power to change the course of history if she can only learn to master her fear and seize what is rightfully hers.

While Alain, a young man who may find his future in a vision granted by the Lady of Battles, must first unravel the mystery of who he is -- whether the bastard son of a noble father, the half-breed child of an elfin lord, the unwanted get of a whore, or the heir to a proud and ancient lineage. For only when he discovers the truth can he accept the destiny for which he was born.

Liath and Alain, each trapped in a personal struggle for survival, both helplessly being drawn into a far greater battle, a war in which sorcery not swords will determine the final outcome, and the land itself may be irrevocably reshaped by the forces unleashed...

I'm really not feeling much up for a long, drawn out review of this book. I've been slowly slogging through for a couple months...I broke my own "never read two books at once" rule because I just couldn't get into it. 

I really couldn't tell you why. The characters were interesting and complex. The magic system was okay, the world was generic but that can be overcome. The writing was good. The story had potential (it is the first book in the series, after all). But I just...couldn't quite get into it. It was like you never got to the point of the book. There was no climax or turning point or anything...if there was, I missed it completely.

Either way, I think some would love this book. I'm not giving it away just yet, because I felt like I was sooooo close to liking it. It just didn't do it for me, and I'm tired of it sitting there mournfully on my goodreads. Don't let my review of this book deter you from this author though. I loved her new book, Cold Magic.

Bottom Line

 To sum it up: I really couldn't tell you.

Overall Rating: 2 / 5

Buy or Try? Try

More? 1 / 7

Content

Plot: 3 / 5

Setting: 2 / 5

Characters: 3.5 / 5

Style
Pace: Slow.
Descriptiveness: Middlin'

Fantasy factor: High Fantasy

Hush Money by Susan Bischoff

As soon as I knew I was getting a Kindle for Christmas, I started looking at cheap and free ebooks. This one is $0.99 at Amazon...not quite free, but as far as I'm concerned, well worth the money. 

They call their abilities Talents, and that’s what they call themselves as well. Talents are people born with supernatural powers, feared by the population at large. Possession of an “unregistered ability” has become illegal, and those who are discovered are forcibly removed to government-run research facilities. They do not return.

And so the Talents try, as best they can, to keep their abilities secret–some more successfully than others. For some, keeping that secret begins to define who they are. That’s where Hush Money begins…

Be normal, invisible. Don’t get close to anyone.

All in all, this book was fairly enjoyable. It was a light, fun read. The characters are entertaining, and the plot moves quickly. The narration is easy to read, and Joss is sassy and fun.

However, it is very obviously a YA novel. The scope of the novel is very small, taking place in a fairly small town. We don't really find out much about the Talents on a national or global scale, which I would have found interesting. Also, the climax of the book was not so climactic...I expected a bit more after the build up of the rest of the novel.

Was it worth 99 cents? Yes. The time I put into reading it? Yes. Will I buy sequels? Yes. However, I would not recommend expecting too much out of this book...it was fun but not revolutionary. I think this would make a good beach read, or would be a nice way to relax when you're horribly busy or stressed out.

Bottom Line

Overall Rating: 3 / 5

Buy or Try? Buy...it's only 99 cents
More? 1 / ?   Heroes Til Curfew being released 2011

Content

Plot: 3 / 5
Setting: 2 / 5
Characters: 3 / 5

Style
Pace: Fast
Descriptiveness: Prose

Fantasy factor: Magical Realism

Amazon.com link

The Child Thief by Brom

This may be stereotypical of me, but I love fairy tales, and I especially love new twists on fairy tales. This particular novel is a much darker version of Peter Pan than the one you see in Disney movies, although the original tale hints at some darkness as well.

Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often end in blood. His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life, but his promised land is not Neverland.

Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose? 

There is always more to lose. 

Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children. 

There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land.

I don't think I've ever read a book written by an illustrator before, and The Child Thief has several of Brom's illustrations throughout the book, including the cover art. They're beautiful, and really help the reader picture the characters.

That said, the prose does not suffer at all. When I first heard that Brom was an artist first, I was somewhat skeptical about his writing ability. Oh how wrong I was. This book was a page-turner without having a simplistic writing style, and moved along without skimping on description. Without the illustrations, I still had a good idea what characters and places looked like and I was never bored.

The characters and the plot were where Brom shone, I think. The plot twisted and turned until I wasn't sure who to cheer for. By the end, it's unclear who is the "good guy" and who is the "bad guy." Everyone (for the most part) thinks they're doing the right thing...but who really is? I love authors that are unafraid to deal with the sometimes ambiguous nature of morality. 

The world Brom opens up to the reader is dark, there's no question about that. From the beginning, the dregs of society are the center of our outside world. Peter brings children into Avalon from horrible situations, but that's not even the worst, most graphic part of the book. People are flayed alive, intestines are eaten out of live people, there are horrible descriptions of rape, torture, and one character is crucified. This book is not for the faint of heart, and this is not an uplifting book for the most part. Be prepared for main characters to be killed.

The book ends on a relatively good note though, though it may not be a happily ever after ending. I didn't walk away feeling depressed though...that's a pet peeve of mine with novels.

While the book was dark and gruesome, to the point where I thought about throwing in the towel a few times, it is definitely worth the read. I am so glad I kept reading. Brom's exploration of a tale that was already sort of creepy was amazing. I enjoyed the fact that I had to think about the subjective nature of right and wrong.

Bottom Line

Overall Rating: 4 / 5

Buy or Try? Try, merely because of the violence
More? Standalone

Content

Plot: 5 / 5

Setting: 4 / 5

Characters: 4 / 5

Style 
Pace: Fast 
Descriptiveness: Middlin'
Fantasy factor: Magical Realism to Low Fantasy

Amazon.com link

Angelslayer: The Winnowing War by K Michael Wright

The problem with obscure books is it's next to impossible to find a decent cover image. Nonetheless, I found one. I find the cover to be a little over the top, but I'd never heard of this author before and that doesn't happen very often with fantasy novels.

Set amidst an eerie and distant future, this novel tells the story of Etlantis-the mother city built in the shadows of Mt. Arom-and the possible end of the world. Believing in their right to rule the planet, the people of Etlantis sent ships to hunt the Western Seas. In them were the Nephilim-sons of Angels who had become addicted to human flesh and blood through the curse of Enoch. In the wake of their terror, the earth's human population has neared extinction. Unless the survivors can band together to destroy the monsters that ravaged their home, the end is all but certain. Featuring an imaginative range of characters and concepts, this is a harrowing vision of the line between heaven and earth.

I don't know about you, but I still don't get it the gist of the story from that description. Not to mention in my copy, it's partially covered up by a label. Still, everywhere I turned, it seemed like there was a positive review of Angelslayer, so I gave it a go.

I'm sure you noticed my last review was a full month ago. I've renewed this book 3 times, and I incurred a 20 cent fine. But I was determined not to put two books in the "could not finish" pile in a row...regardless of how slowly it dragged and how very much I wanted to read something else. Needless to say, this will be a short review because I spent way too much time trying to read this book already.


The writing style is very flowery. The scenes are gory. The cruelty and mutilation exhibited by the bad guys is...nauseating. Truly nauseating. And I'm a nurse. There are people who are drawn and quartered (and still alive and talking), nearly decapitated, drained of blood so it can be made into fine wine, stripped of all organs, bones etc and still alive, dead but kept alive by demons for organs...it's a horror book, really. Pure and simple. The story was confusing at best, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out who was fighting for whom and why they were fighting in the first place. I skimmed the last 200 pages or so, at least.


I think people who like Guy Gavriel Kay a lot might like this book. Also, people who like really gory horror or long drawn out battle scenes. I just did not enjoy it.

Bottom Line

(I am trying hard not to get wrapped up in the frustration of it taking so long to read and be objective)

Overall Rating: 1.5 / 5 

Buy or Try? Try
More? 1 / ? It's supposed to be a series. We'll see.

Content

Plot: 1 / 5 (lul whut?)

Setting: 2 / 5 (again, whut?)

Characters: 2 / 5 (Some weren't so bad I suppose.)

Style 
Pace: Slooooow.
Descriptiveness: Poetry
Fantasy factor: High Fantasy