Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer by Maureen McGowan -- Review

Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer (Twisted Tales #2)

by Maureen McGowan

Publication Date: 04/01/2011

Rating: 3 / 5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley, Silver Dolphin Books and Baker & Taylor Publishing Group for the E-ARC.

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

In this thrilling story full of adventure and romance, Sleeping Beauty is more than just a lonely princess waiting for her prince—she's a brave, tenacious girl who never backs down from a challenge. With vampire-slaying talents that she practices in secret, Sleeping Beauty puts her courage to the test in the dark of night, fighting evil as she searches for a way to break the spell that has cut her off from her family. In a special twist, readers have the opportunity to make key decisions for Sleeping Beauty and decide where she goes next—but no matter the choice; the result is a story unlike any fairy tale you've ever read!
Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer is an entirely new type of fairy tale–one that will keep today's kids guessing and offer them hours of magical fun.

Review:

An interesting twist on the classic story of Sleeping Beauty. This book allows you at certain points in the story to choose a path for the characters - allowing you to have a say and some control over how the story goes on, and thus, the conclusion of the story. 

I found the twist on her curse to be fun -- where she sleeps during the day, in her glass coffin, as an endless line of suitors pass by her, and at night, she is awake, but everyone in the castle/kingdom are asleep (flip-flopped situation for daytime and nighttime). 

  

I enjoyed her decision to become a vampire slayer at night to protect her (father's) kingdom. And then, well, she falls for a vampire (well at least in "my story" she does). All in all, this was a quick enjoyable short read.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

 

City of Fallen Angels 

by Cassandra Clare

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever.

Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels. 

Review:

Where to begin...

Though I really enjoyed reading the first three books (aka the complete trilogy - not this "oh wait, let's write 3 more books for the series"), I was sincerely disappointed with City of Fallen Angels.

From the first few pages of the book, I thought it was going to focus on Simon and dealing with his new life, and vampire-sexiness. But no. I had to endure more "let's smash the happily ever after" between Jace and Clary. There are only so many times you can flip-flop from "he loves me, he loves me not" and "I live for her and love her, I should forbid myself to love her and even look at her". In my opinion, this scenario was already a pretty big plot line in the last three books, and like some other reviewers commented: you, Ms. Clare are over-doing; flogging a dead horse. Seriously, essentially every time this drama between Jace and Clary happened in CoFA (which was hmm like 80% of the book, give or take), I was rolling my eyes mentally cringing at Ms. Clare and skimming those parts of the book.

Oh, and because clearly we don't have enough soap opera love drama already, Simon has to deal with his lady issues -- and it really seemed just to be "pfht" and inconsequential.

There were two other big things that bothered me:

1) the growing biblical theme and introduction of Lilith:
While I thought that the first three Mortal Instruments series did not over do the demons/angels/heaven/hell topics and plots, I was thoroughly annoyed with this book taking those plots/topics one step too many. Ms. Clare should have really not went beyond the world and settings she had already created in the first 3 books. Isn't there enough material (aka monsters and races of characters) already within the mortal instruments world that could pose sinister plots and such?

2) the title:
"City of Fallen Angels" -- before reading the book, I assumed that the story line might be about *gasp* fallen angels, devils, or types of "demons" we had not yet been introduced to. Ummm... yeah.... there were no "Fallen Angels" in this book. The phrase is not even mentioned in the book.
I can guess some of you are about to argue "Lilith is a fallen angel" -- No, she is not. Her story was that she was Adam's first wife, gone done somethin' bad, and got kicked out of the garden of eden and into Hell - thus becoming a demon.
Ms. Clare, where are these Fallen Angels? With a title like that, I think this book might have had potential-success if it had a plot line and story involving or revolving around something to do with fallen angels. But alas, it fell well short of being a successful attempt at a continuation of the mortal instruments series.

Rating: 2 / 5 Stars

 

The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1) by Kelley Armstrong

The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1)

by Kelley Armstrong

Publication date: 4/12/11

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

Strange things are happening in Maya's tiny Vancouver Island town. First, her friend Serena, the captain of the swim team, drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. Then, one year later, mountain lions are spotted rather frequently around Maya's home—and her reactions to them are somewhat . . . unexpected. Her best friend, Daniel, has also been experiencing unexplainable premonitions about certain people and situations.


It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret, and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy—her paw-print birthmark.


Review:


I am a VERY Big fan of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, and did somewhat enjoy her Darkest Power trilogy. So when I found an ARC at one of my half-price bookshops, I was ecstatic - I thought this new series that's along the same lines/thread as her Darkest Power trilogy would be just as good as her other books, if not better.

With The Gathering, however, I feel that the book fell completely short of being good. For most of the book, it's just Blah - nothing significant is happening, no real character development. And it was just so slow in terms of getting through the story and plot. Sure Ms. Armstrong through some mysteries and very "hmmmm" occurences and events, but nothing in the story was really compelling me to finish reading the story right around 1/4 into it, and up until ~ Chapter 15 -- I read the rest of it only for the reason of finishing it. But even that took effort - I could not read the entire book in one sitting (which is usually the case with Armstrong's other newly released books). This was my biggest turn-off of the book -- if there is no real plot or something driving the story, or even having a strong and likable protagonist/narrator, it's just kind of what I consider information mush and begs the question "So what?" I felt that Ms. Armstrong gave us numerous "So what" situations, events, and even characters.

A positive aspect to the book was the introduction of a new power/ magic to Armstrong's Otherworld setting. My problem then arose with well, there is no significant development or use of this new power.

Overall, I would not recommend this to someone - especially if they are already a Kelley Armstrong fan nd are considering reading this.

Rating: 2 / 5 Stars

Entice (Need #3) by Carrie Jones

Entice (Need #3) 

by Carrie Jones

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever.
But that's not quite how things have worked out.

For starters, well, Nick is dead.
Supposedly, he's been taken to a mythic place for warriors known as Valhalla, so Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. But it's taking time, and meanwhile a group of evil pixies is devastating Bedford, with more teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent, and the good guys need all the warriors they can find. But how to get to Valhalla?

And even if Zara and her friends discover the way, there's that other small problem: Zara's been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to go with her? Especially since she hasn't just turned...she's Astley's queen.

Review:

I really enjoyed reading the third book in this series, The storyline was good, and the suspense that was built up in the previous two books was still there. It was a very nice quick read, and I was hooked from the beginning to the end. 

The last book ended with quite a shocker, so I was thrilled to see how Ms. Jones continued the story - while also putting in more obstacles for Zara and her friends to overcome -- specifically getting Nick back from the dead / Valhalla. 

I also enjoyed learning more about Astley's character, and his family. And though I really dislike love triangles, I kind of feel one forming between Nick/Zara/Astley, but I guess we'll see in the coming sequel(s).
Once again, Carrie Jones has done a fantastic job of enrapturing you into the world of pixies, elves, shifters, and Norse mythology -- and gold pixie dust to-boot! :)

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Angelfire (Angelfire #1) by Courtney Allison Moulton

Angelfire (Angelfire #1)

by Courtney Allison Moulton

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Review:

I thought Ellie's character was fantastic in this book. So spunky and stubborn - just the way I like my heroines :) I also liked Will a lot, though I think I would have liked a better, more detailed description of him since I couldn't always picture him in my mind as I read. It would also be really cool if Ms. Moulton included in the next book a sketch of the tattoo will has on his shoulder/back. 

So - angelfire is the title, so yes, there are angels involved. I read this book right after reading Unearthly, so it was interesting to see how Ms. Moulton twisted and created her paranormal angel story from what I will call "the starting material": archangels, fallen angels, demons, nephilim, the coming of the second war brought on by Lucifer against God -- I think you catch my drift. I liked the premise of reapers, and the offspring of the good fallen angels vs the offspring of the bad fallen angels (who've aligned themselves with Lucifer and killing humans to doom those souls to Hell). 

(Side note: I love reapers in the story especially since I am a HUGE fan of Dead Like Me (old TV show about reapers and their not-so-glamorous, but hilarious everyday lives)).

The way Ellie's school and her friends, and friends' cars, are described evoke frighteningly identical high school memories I have. Yeah, it was sadly one of those schools where you could tell the student parking lot and teacher parking lot apart by the grand number of ritzy cars in the student lot. >_< No worries, I was not among those kind of people. 

The book I have to be honest was hard to get into at first, with the storyline kind of dragging until the weird mishaps Ellie has and Will's appearance. And while I liked that Ms. Moulton put some of Ellie's previous lives' memories throughout the book, I felt that it staggered the story and did not really unravel all that much past knowledge and experience to Ellie quickly. 

Loved the action - swords with fire that can kill anything evil? Heck YES! And there is plenty of it throughout the book, and was pleased with the amount of action and kind of action in the story.

Being a YA novel, the romance was very PG so *shrug* that did not do much for me. I do think Ellie and Will as a couple is cute, but now that it's become this forbidden thing (reminding me a lot of Ever/Damen romance from Alyson Noel's Evermore series), I feel that in the coming sequels there will be all this long, drawn out drama over them still loving each other, but they can't give into because the archangels (and God probably) forbid it. *sigh*

Rating: 3 / 5 Stars

Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3) by Julia Kagawa

Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3)

by Julia Kagawa

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Teen for the arc!

I was very excited when I received a copy of the Iron Queen, since I have recently finished reading the Iron Fey book #2, Iron Daughter, and read Iron Queen in a day’s time. When we left Meghan Chase at the end of Iron Daughter, Meghan and Ash had both been revoked of their ties with their respective royal fey courts and also banished as exiles from Faerie forever.

Meghan and Ash together have accepted their fates and accepted their future in the human world. The Iron Fey, however, prove to still be a threat for Meghan, her dealings with fey, and keeping her from having a happy relationship with Ash. The false king and his Iron fey minions still after Meghan, and the destruction of the Iron fey in Faerie is becoming more destructive – so much that the courts reconsider their rulings for Meghan and Ash, and also to wage a united front against the Iron fey forces. Meghan, Ash, Puck and her ally friends (including the ever elusive Grim) are once again in a mission, to defeat the false king and his forces, and ultimately the fate of all of Faerie’s occupants.

I was thrilled that Iron Queen not only met my expectations set by the other two books, but exceeded my expectations – it is a wonderful story of self-acceptance and acceptance of responsibility (on Meghan’s part), discovery, and of course, the romance between Ash and Meghan and the new trials their relationship faces. If you are thinking “Puck,” then you are right – he is still part of the strain on the Meghan/Ash relationship, but other events and decisions also test their loyalty and trust of one another.

Many previously encountered characters come into play once again in the Iron Queen, as well as a whole pack of new characters (my favorite has to be Razor). I also love the return of Grimlakin – every time, I picture him as the Cheshire cat from Alice and Wonderland J, especially hearing Grim speaking with Stephen Fry’s voice (he voiced the Chesire Cat in the 2010 Disney Alice and Wonderland movie).

There are parts that keep you on the edge of your seat/ biting your nails as you read, and others that are so emotionally driven that I was brought to tears at some points. The book does not fail to deliver an amazing tale. Thank you Julia Kagawa for yet another masterful novel, and the beautifully written continuation of Meghan Chase and her dealings with Faerie and fey. I eagerly await the release of Iron Knight.

Spy Glass (Glass #3) by Maria V. Snyder

Spy Glass

by Maria V. Snyder

Overall, I felt this book did not at all deliver on the level that I anticipated with the other books in the glass series and study series. There were only a few redeeming sections of the book here and there.

I especially thought the whole middle part of the book was difficult to get through, since there was just not a lot of substance - nothing to keep me wanting to continue to read. I just did not find Opal's time in Fulgor exciting or enthralling at all.

I also did not like how Opal's character, who was once strong and what I thought was a good heroine, became listless, defeated, doubting and just a really meek character.

I also dislike who she winds up with by the end of the book. It was a total let down and had no support or substance to why Opal ends up with who she does.

Rating: 2/5 Stars