Review for My Lady Mage (Warriors of the Mist #1) by Alexis Morgan

My Lady Mage by Alexis Morgan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A cursed destiny. A band of warriors. And one troubled kingdom.

It is whispered in Agathia that the legendary warriors of the mist—cursed by the gods—can be summoned only when a champion is needed and the cause is just. Gideon, their captain, knows this to be the one path that will lead his men to redemption—lest they face an eternity of damnation.

Years have passed since anyone has journeyed to the river's edge, but times are desperate. Oppressed by a cruel guardian whose dark magic threatens to destroy her people, the beautiful and courageous Merewen calls upon the bespelled warriors. In Gideon she finds more than a champion, and in his arms, more than protection. However, their enemies are fighting with a power darker than anything than they imagined, and should Gideon fail, she will lose everything she holds dear—including her heart

2 - 2.5 rating...

Honestly, I suppose this was an okay read, well that's what two stars stands for, but for me, it never really clicked. Maybe it was because I was expecting something along the lines of C.L. Wilson's Tairen Soul, and was really psyched to read it.

However throughout the story (except for a brief period towards the end) I was thinking to myself, "when will this end?"

For one, the world seemed to be thinly developed, in terms of, for this type of book, I was expecting it to be high-fantasy. There's magic in here (no that alone doesn't make a high-fanatsy but bear with me), with these ancient warriors, who have been curse by the gods (by the way we know next to nothing about these gods) and they can be summoned in times of danger. There's an evil person practicing dark magic. But we never get the feeling of it. That's my problem right there, for something that's classified as fantasy-romance, I have never seen the world. It's just oh, "let me mention about magic here and there, and never explain anything, or show it in motion." Yes, Merewen uses magic, but we never get the sense/feel of it. Heck we don't know what it is really. But then again, that can be something the author plans on explaining later.

Which brings me to Merewen herself, much like the story, I didn't get any sense of personality itself and I felt that she was made out to be this perfect being. Oh everyone loves her, oh she does things that warms my heart, oh...she is so brave. Okay, fine, say that she is all those things, show it. Don't make her do something minor and then turn it into a big whoop-ti-do-da. It's like the author is telling us this character is so great, but I am yet to see great feats from her.

Gideon is another blah character, but at least we're not being bombarded the wonders of his everything.

In fact the more interesting characters in this book seemed to be the side characters and (more than anything else) the animals.

The writing, as I said before, seemed to be more of a telling than showing nature...or at least that's how it felt to me. And everything else was probably average...I'm probably in the minority here though, seeing as this has an average 4.01.

I didn't hate it though (aside from merewen's character..and it's more dislike than hate) so I won't rate it a one star.

Will I be checking out the other books? maybe, I still want to know what's going on (I'm a glutton for punishment), but I won't be breaking my neck to get a copy.


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Review for Seraphina (Seraphina #1) by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Yea, I liked this book..

Suffice to say that I can understand what the hype about this book is, it is pretty darn book. The world building never felt lacking, the characters were great:

Seraphina - the girl living in a world where she has to hide who she is. Growing up in that world where her remaining family wasn't one to hug or cuddle. She didn't suffer from any bouts of -I want to bash my head in the wall so badly because of your characterization- She was pretty strong heroine in her own right. And, I must point out this. It's really great to see a heroine who doesn't have to be particularly tom-boyish or I refuse to wear frills, etc. Often times we see this happening where it's emphasized that heroine of the story portrays this...In Seraphina, Seraphina is just Seraphina. She isn't -ew-dresses- nor does she exhibit any extremely feminine qualities, she is simply the person shaped by her experiences, and that's great because that makes her natural.

The plot, has one of the things I love about fantasy, the political intrigue. And in Seraphina's case we have a fragile truce between the dragons and the humans, and in the midst of all of that we have a murder, a murder of a prince that seems to be of dragon means.

You have the Seraphina, trying to help the princess and the prince, both of whom I think are pretty good characters. Lucian being the truth seeker, but of course people are more than just one facet of their chracter. He's witty and has an occasional self-deprecating humour that work. Glisselda really pulls through as a princess and knows how to stand tall, and for me, she was a very endearing character. Anyhow, Seraphina is with them, or they're with her...trying to figure out the mystery behind it all...and along the way we see Seraphina struggling with what she is, and how to really extricate herself from this web of lies that she -not started but certainly helped [not that she had much of a choice]- But it was all very real.

Orma in particular was very dear to me, because dragons are not meant to feel..yet here he is flawed and though he may not outright show his love, he certainly does express it.

All in all, the plot is solid, the characters are good, the world is great [cuz we have the politics, the different cultures and how the react/interact with each other] so I'd say..if you're looking for fantasy..Seraphina is a pretty solid bet...

Review for A Thief of Nightshade by J.S. Chancellor

A Thief of Nightshade by J.S. Chancellor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ack This book killed me (-- and now I have to rewrite my review and gah! that just sucks --)

So the story starts out with Aubrey attending her husband's funeral (for whom no body has been recovered) and after which she ends up in Avalar, a world her husband wrote about in one of his books. It is in Avalar that she finds out that her husband is in the custody of the Dark Fae Queen and any memory of his life prior to his return to Avalar has been forgotten and such Aubrey takes on a mission to save her husband.

Ah Aubrey, she is such a strong character in the sense that she had to undergo a lot of battles within her own self, but she came out on top at the end of it all. And that's one of the main points that this novel brings about. That little light at the end of the tunnel? It isn't just mere hallucination, it's real, and if you persevere, if you don't shatter (a little cracking is okay, we're just humans after all) you'll make it. That's really what I loved about this book, because Aubrey really had some issues (with due reason) that she had to work out, however and this is what I really liked about the book, was that even though she had her own self doubts, even though there were times when she feared her efforts wouldn't been enough, she still persevered. She still fought to free her husband with everything she had.

Another character in the book that I think really bears mentioning is Given, and that's because she feels, and she shows her emotions. After all it's not weak to cry. It's human, it's how we know we feel, because there are times when things become overwhelming, so you end up having to let it out. There's nothing wrong with that. It's what you do afterwards that counts, and Given is another fighter --both literally and figuratively. And that's great.

And now onto what I absolutely love, love, loved about this book.

The romance.

Sure, for majority of the book the hero and heroine are separated from each other, but this is what I think made this book so great. You could still feel this romance and this love between the two characters and it was so beautiful and sweet. We see the story of Aubrey and Julian unfold through a series of flashbacks, in which we see how they first met, etc. There were also little moments that as the flashbacks ran parallel to the ongoing adventure, we see how Julian was showing his love for Aubrey in his own little way, and man if that didn't hit me. Also this book doesn't need the love scenes to show how the characters feel about each other. The most we've seen of them is a kiss, and even then it's touched upon lightly, but the feelings, the feelings are there for us the reader to see and feel and you're right there with Aubrey hoping that against all odds, they will be reunited, and darn if that isn't amazing right there.

p.s. Lipsey (a.k.a Lips) the flying squirrel is so cute and sweet, where can I get me one XD.

Also, I think the cover art is absolutely beautiful, especially the close up of Aubrey, it really does capture her emotions at the masquerade ball.

Dragon Games (Books of Umber #2) by P.W. Catanese

Dragon Games by P.W. Catanese
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We started out Dragon Games in the midst of another of Umber's adventures. Really it is fun reading what the gang get's into. In my opinion it was better than the first ^_^

We find out more about Hap and who he used to be and how exactly, Hap as we know him came to be. It was really good to see Hap find himself in this book, that is to say, you see him growing more confident. Of course all he really would like to do is go home to the Aerie, but as the story progresses we see him continue to come into his own.

Of course it was fun to see everyone else as well Oates and Umber are always a blast. Unfortunately (just for me) there wasn't much screen time for Sophie, but we did learn something more about her past, so huzzah ^_^

The End of Time (Books of Umber #3) by P.W. Catanese

The End of Time by P.W. Catanese
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We start off the book with Umber falling into his moods, in fact this one is the worst yet, as a result of what happened in the previous book. Balfour, who hopes to restore Umber to his regular self, takes him (or rather kidnaps because he refuses to go) on an adventure. Luckily, something happens on the adventure to bring Umber back to his old self again ^_^ After this the reader and the gang are thrown into numerous fast paced adventures.

I loved this book. No lie. The plot, from the first book, has been tightly placed and there are no unnecessary fillers. Hap really comes into his own in this one as he accepts his role of a Meddler. Most (if not all) the mysteries surrounding the Meddlers have been revealed. We also get a better understanding of how the Meddlers think.

So we've come to the conclusion of this trilogy that has action, adventure, fantasy, mystery, and a sprinkling of romance and it was a satisfying end. We get a glimpse into all our favourite character's lives also ^_^

ahh Oates you big lug, I'm going to miss you. Umber and your eccentric ways *sniffles* and lastly Hap, may you have an adventure of a lifetime ;) (*hint* you probably will in your old age )

Review for Happenstance Found by P.W. Catanese

Happenstance Found by P.W. Catanese
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At the start of the book we meet Happenstance who – I’m not even sure if that’s his name, but that's just me – has been woken by an unseen person [we only hear his voice] and has no recollection of his life before, whether it be where he was from or even his name, and so Mr. Unseen voice tells Happenstance to follow this group of people, Lord Umber, Sophie and Oates.

Umber is an eccentric man, with due reason actually, who I quite enjoyed hearing speak. There is a mystery that surrounds him as well as Happenstance, and how the mystery unfolded was done very nicely. Nothing was drawn out and nothing was revealed too quickly. Oates is another fun character who has been cursed to speak the truth, and he does it quite bluntly, often times getting himself into trouble.

The pacing, to me, was done just right and there weren't any pauses, so to speak, within the story.

All in all this was a fun and enjoyable read ^_^ 4.5 rating