Review: The Eternity Cure

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa

 

Title: The Eternity Cure

Series: Blood of Eden, #2

Author: Julie Kagawa

 

Published: Mira Ink; 2013

434 pages, paperback

 

Source: Borrowed from the library

 

 Description (from Goodreads):

 

In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood

She has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever-and possibly end human and vampire existence.

There's a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago-and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time.

Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make.

My Thoughts:
 

The Eternity Cure was a lot more than I expected. More kickass, more action-packed, more emotional and the characters were just so damn beautiful. I fell in love with them and they managed to take me on the most emotional rollercoaster that I have taken so far this year, and for a quite awhile before that. While I enjoyed The Immortal Rules, I wasn't really that impressed with it. It was kind of what I expected. I liked Allie. I loved Kanin. I didn't like Zeke. But I enjoyed the mystery and thoug...more The Eternity Cure was a lot more than I expected. More kickass, more action-packed, more emotional and the characters were just so damn beautiful. I fell in love with them and they managed to take me on the most emotional rollercoaster that I have taken so far this year, and for a quite awhile before that too. While I enjoyed The Immortal Rules, I wasn't really that impressed with it. It was kind of what I expected. I liked Allie. I loved Kanin. I didn't like Zeke. But I enjoyed the mystery and though the plot was a little too slow-paced for my liking, I was kept engaged and was eager to begin The Eternity Cure. What a bloody amazing book this turned out to be. While some people don't like to be heartbroken or thrown through the metaphorical blender when it comes to reading books, I, personally, love it. There is something beautiful about being moved so much by a book that it can make you cry and laugh and scream and make you want to through the book into a wall. The Eternity Cure didn't fail to do this to me. I was eagerly gripping the pages, turning them as quickly as I could, wanting more and more. I loved all the characters so much my heard was bursting each time something even remotely action-packed happened and I was worried she would hurt one of the characters. There isn't much more that I can say without spoiling anything. I will say that I fell in love with one particular character that I shan't name but lets say that they make an unexpected reappearance which is the best thing that happened in the entire book. It took me on a rollercoaster of feelings and emotions. I cried, I laughed, I screamed, and then cried and laughed and screamed some more. Definitely a great read. If you were iffy towards The Immortal Rules then cast aside your worries and dive heads first into The Eternity Cure. I promise it won't disappoint. Now I am simply dying to read The Forever Song.

Review: Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods #1) by Melissa de la Cruz

 

 

Description:

When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires.

They assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society.

The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a girl from her school is found dead... drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn’t know what to think.

Could those vampire legends really be true? Steeped in vampire lore and set against the heady backdrop of the rich, young, and powerful in the heart of New York City, Blue Bloods will be devoured by Melissa de la Cruz’s legion fans

My Thoughts:

 The premise of Blue Bloods had me intrigued and I even went out and bought myself a copy - something that I rarely do - but my excitement was soon extinguished. This was not the story I was expecting to be. It was great that we didn't have quite the girl-obsessed-with-a-vampire-boy story that we readers all dread, but it wasn't anything to excite over either.

The terribly disjointed writing style was what put me off the most. It was descriptive but lacked fluidity, jumping between perceptive and dividing dialogues with numerous descriptive passages that went on so long that by the time the other character answered  a question, you would have to flip back a few pages to see what it was that they asked in the first place. Also I understand that Melissa de la Cruz obviously wanted to write in a way that came across and "posh" and more "upper class" but it seriously sounded like she put her manuscript through a thesaurus and hoped for the best. Every adjective was an unnecessarily long and complicated word. I had to check my dictionary on several occasions and the word usually just meant beautiful or pretty.

We were also subjected to long, lengthy passages describing the clothing of characters, and this took up almost the entire course of the book. It wouldn't have bothered me as much if the clothing had been described in colours, textures and appearances but no, it was described with brand names. Millions of brand names and nothing else. Gosh, it just went on and on and on! Three quarters of the brands held no meaning to me whatsoever and it simply drove m insane reading brand name after brand name after brand name.

The characters weren't much better. Every single one of them was flat, one-dimensional, boring and just plain old dull. I couldn't give a toss about any of them. The main character was just quirky and weird in that way that you can tell the author is just trying to make them "unique". The supposed "romantic interest" of the book was a complete jerk. The handful of other characters were just, well, terrible. There really isn't any more descriptive way of putting it.

Oh, and another quibble of mine? I have to say that I am sick of author's using weird names for characters. I get that they want to give their characters unique names so that we remember them and I can understand one or two uniquely named characters. But Schuyler? Bliss? Perfection? How many do you want to use and seriously, Perfection? Perfection!? I will never get over that so I guess you did you job right Melissa de la Cruz. Unforgettable character names alright!

Also, this is one of those books that the blurb gives away everything. The word "vampire" isn't even used until nearly 60% into the book and so us readers are stuck waiting for the plot to really "start". It took forever to get to the actual point of admitting that everyone was a vampire (which anyone who has read the blurb already knows) and move the book into a more interesting storyline... which really never happened. It did have a lot of potential to be good but it just didn't use that potential.

Overall, it was great for about five chapters and then faded back into a dull monotone. Pretty disappointing overly. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, vampire lovers or not.

 

Review: Darker Still

Darker Still (Magic Most Foul #1) by Leanna Renee Hieber

 

 

Description:

 I was obsessed.

It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I'd ever seen--everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable...utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.

There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.

I've crossed over into his world within the painting, and I've seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked--bound together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone streets of Manhattan. Unless I can free him soon, things will only get Darker Still.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book but while I did like it, I certainly didn't love it. Overall, I was pretty confused for the duration of the book.

The characters were a little off. Natalie was okay. A nice heroine but not one that stood out or was either particularly strong or courageous and I found Mrs Northe to be awfully peculiar and a tad suspicious.

The obvious relationship between Natalie and Lord Denbury was sweet though its origins quite baffling. If I were to fall inside a painting, I think I would be too damn distraught to think about the man inside the painting with me and I would certainly not fall in love with him! But then again if Denbury is as handsome as they say... ;)

The mystery of Denbury and how to save him from his rather strange predicament was suspenseful and overly both well-written and resolved. I did enjoy the (view spoiler)part with the prostitutes named after saints. The end "battle" was okay. Decent and engaging, but neither intense or captivating. Also, I found it annoying that at times, instead of involving herself in the action, Natalie kept sit and write about in her journal.

I still don't know how I feel about the ending. I was kind of torn about it. It wasn't quite what I hoped for but there wasn't anything dramatically wrong with it. I just hope it turns out well in next book, The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart.

Overall, the book's plotline, characterization and detail was satisfactory and I am eager to read the next book in this series

Review: The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles #1) by Rick Riordan

 

Title: The Red Pyramid

Series: The Kane Chronicles, #1

Author: Rick Riordan

 

Published: Penguin Group (Australia); 2011

317 pages, paperback

 

Source: Borrowed from the library

 

 Description (from Goodreads):

 I guess it started the night our Dad blew up the British Museum...

Carter and Sadie Kane's dad is brilliant Egyptologist with a secret plan that goes horribly wrong. An explosion shatters the ancient Rosetta Stone and unleashes Set, the evil god of chaos...

Set imprisons Dr Kane is a golden coffin, and Carter and Sadie are forced to run for their lives. To save their dad, they must embark on a terrifying quest from Cairo and Paris to the American South-west and discover the truth about their family's connection to the House of Life: an Egyptian temple of magic that has existed for thousands of years.
 

The pharaohs of ancient Egypt are far from dead and buried. And so, unfortunately, are their god...

My Thoughts:

 

Everyone loves a book that can make them laugh. Even the saddest books need a humorous outlet to equalizes the seriousness; and besides, nothing makes a male character hotter than when they come out with funny, witty, sarcastic one-liners. What I find that I love most about the middle grade genre is that it seems to always nail the witty banter and make me laugh out loud 'til my belly is aching. Take Skulduggery Pleasant for instance, this is an amazing science fiction fantasy with great charact...more Everyone loves a book that can make them laugh. Even the saddest books need a humorous outlet to equalizes the seriousness; and besides, nothing makes a male character hotter than when they come out with funny, witty, sarcastic one-liners. What I find that I love most about the middle grade genre is that it seems to always nail the witty banter and make me laugh out loud 'til my belly is aching. Take Skulduggery Pleasant for instance, this is an amazing science fiction fantasy with great characters, a great plot, lots of action scenes and magic using but the best part about it? Hands down the fact that it had me laughing and laughing and laughing. I just couldn't stop! The Red Pyramid was like another Skulduggery Pleasant. It had be laughing so hard I thought I might be on the verge of breaking out in a six-pack (Oh, if only it was that easy!). I loved every one of the characters. I loved the plot. I loved the mythology and how ingrained it was into every part of the novel; simply bringing alive the heat and sun and sand and beauty and majesty of the Egyptian world. Everything that I had doubts of from my previous readings of Rick Riordan's work, namely The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters, was dispelled. He did an amazing job with this and I am so glad to have read it. Hands down better than Percy Jackson. What else can I say really? The plotline just wowed me. Really it did. It had me crying and laughing and screaming. It was an epic page turner. I couldn't believe the amount of effort taken to researching the Egyptian world and mythology. Everything (as far I knew. I only did a major on Egyptian mythology once but I am hardly an expert!) was accurate and felt accurate, if you know what I mean. Everything rang true and... I am just too speechless to say much. Reading this definitely brighten my day. I loved Sadie and Carter and Bast and Zia and Khufu and Philip and... this was just brilliant! I would hastily recommended it. If you were iffy on the The Lightning Thief and were hesitant on touching anything else of Rick Riordan's, like I was, try this one. I didn't have any of the problems I had with the Percy Jackson series with this. At all. This was just bloody brilliant and I don't know what else to say...

 

 

Review: End of Dreams

End of Dreams (The Immortal Destiny #1) by Kim Faulks*

 

Title: End of Dreams

Series: The Immortal Destiny, #1

Author: Kim Faulks

 

Published: unknown; 2013

265 pages, kindle edition

 

Source: Received an ARR from author

 

 Description (from Goodreads):

A vicious killer hunts a young pregnant woman. He wants more than her blood--he wants her baby too.

Young Eve dreams of being a good mother to her unborn son, that dream is shattered when child killer, Edric Hasting finds her in the middle of the night. Haunted by the images of black wings on her baby’s ultrasound and the killers last words Eve knows her only hope of survival is to run.  She soon finds hard-bitten detective Adley Scott who dreams of justice for a string of murdered children which hit too close to home.

A group of Immortals are drawn into Eve’s battle for survival as events are played out across the globe by two opposing factions of immortal beings. The fragile, divine balance of all things is at stake, and the world is the ultimate prize.

Against a background of universe-changing events and an ensemble of vivid, unforgettable characters, Eve and Adley will have to fight to survive as they begin to learn the truth of The Immortal Destiny.

 

My Thoughts:

 

 

DNF 14%
I am sorry but I cannot finish this. I don't like saying that I disliked a book when the author or publisher has been so kind to have given me a free review copy but part of the deal is a "honest review" and that is what I am going to give; I'll admit that I just cannot make myself read anymore of End of Dreams. I, honestly, have no idea what was happening. Nothing made sense to me. I didn't understand who was who and I felt like I have started the second book of a series for there were references to all these previous events that I had no knowledge of.

My version didn't even have speech marks or apostrophes in it so I was unable to differentiate dialogue from the actual writing which made it very hard to read and was awfully confusing.

Also, while I don't find swearing in novels to usually be a problem, the overuse of cussing is already getting on my nerves. It seems the author doesn't know any adjectives other than vulgar curses. I am not fond of this sort of swearing as it retracts from the story and makes the writing feel sloppy.

Overall, I am sorry that I couldn't read further. The premise sounded intriguing and the cover is beautifully haunting but I cannot bring myself to read another page.

*Note: a copy was provided by Kim Faulks though the Making Connections group in exchange for an honest review

 

Review: The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2) by Rick Riordan

 

Title: The Sea of Monsters

Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2

Author: Rick Riordan

 

Published: Thorndike Press; 2006

361 pages, hardback (large print edition)

 

Source: Borrowed from the library

 

 Description (from Goodreads):

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding seventh grade unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new best friend Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere. But things don't stay quiet for long. Percy soon discovers that there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by monsters.

My Thoughts:

 

My hands are still in the air with The Sea of Monsters. I have started this review about five times and every time I fail to say what I need to say so that you can understand why I gave it a low rating when I quite enjoyed it. Let me start at the very beginning (a very good place to start, ahaha!)...

In The Sea of Monsters, Camp Half-Blood is no more a safe place. Thalia's tree has been mysteriously poisoned and the borders that keep the monsters out aren't functioning. To save the camp - and Percy's best friend, Grover, who has run into trouble on his quest to find the god, Pan - Annabeth, Percy and their new friend, Tyson, have to brave the Sea of Monsters and recover a long-lost magical item whose magical restoring powers are the only way to turn everything right. But it isn't that easy... old enemies return, new monsters set out to kill them and with ever turn they face a greater danger. Will Percy save the camp... or will they play right into enemy hands?
Rick Riordan is great at writing mysteries filled with great twists and intrigue but is simply terrible when it comes to plotting action scenes. The action scenes written in The Sea of Monsters are rushed and well clumsy, for lack of a better word. They lack detailed descriptions and the character rely on last minutes saves from the friends, or even strangers, to get them out of all their problems. I find that this really retracts from the plotline. Not only because the action is an essential part of the general storyline but because it simply annoys me. Not only are the scenes doggedly written but they seem to be all written from the same formula: go to location. Bad guy or monster there. Get trapped, captured, close to dying in fight. Friend comes to rescue at the last second. Are saved. Go to location. Bad guy or monster there. Get trapped, captured, close to dying in fight. Friend comes to rescue at the last second. Are saved. Rinse and repeat. Two books into the series and its already bugging me.

The writing for the rest of the book is rather simplistic. Not dull by any means, just nothing too wowing. Yet, while this may seem to be a negative thing, I found it perfect. Percy's voice isn't one that needs to be written with excessive attention to detail nor with beautiful prose and imagery, they casual but simply descriptive tone the novel takes is exactly the tone I would imagine Percy narrating with. It works wonders.

While I am talking about Percy I have to say how much I appreciated his growth since The Lightning Thief. Percy had always seemed immature and a little "young" in my eyes but within this book he grew. He gained some maturity and I had to appreciate that. I also enjoyed the developing friendship between Percy and Annabeth - not in the romantic sense, of course - but now they seem to appreciate each other, and we are almost over the childish squabbling that constantly annoys me. Tyson was hands down a greatly written character. I loved how he bought out different sides in almost every character. Good sides, bad sides. It was fascinating to see how everyone reacted to... well, I leave it for you to find out why and how!

I will admit how much of a disappointment Luke is for me. I just cannot take him serious. I mean look at his face:



He's so cute! I love him and his actor. I cannot see him destroying the world. I laugh every time he acts all serious. I mean just look at him. Ahh! I just have troubles believing his evil intentions and all.

I have to praise the detailed level of research Rick Riordan has obvious taken to include within The Sea of Monsters. I won't say too much about what is included for future readers but I have to say how impressed I am with how much detail is included. I loved getting to meet some of the gods themselves and, my God, how I loved those snakes! I want a Martha and George phone!

Overall, I found The Sea of Monsters to be somewhat flat in plotline but engaging and delightful in general. I will eagerly proceed to read The Titan's Curse now. I mean that cliff-hanger!

 

 

 

 

Review: Article 5

Article 5 (Article 5 #1) by Kristen Simmons

 Description:

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police — instead, there are soldiers.

There are no more fines for bad behaviour — instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

My Thoughts:

 We all know how clichéd and overdone the genre of dystopia is becoming, if it isn't already, so going into Article 5 I was desperately hoping that Kristen Simmons would bring something fresh and original to the metaphorical dystopian table. To my disappointment she did what many authors have been doing: writing a romance story set in a post-apocalyptic world in the naïve belief that it would enhance the novel.

She was wrong.

Ember Miller still remembers the way it was before the War, before the President's new Moral Statutes and before the Federal Bureau of Reformation enforced the new laws with intimidation, fear and violence. One afternoon, Ember's single mother is caught breaching Article 5 - children are considered valid citizens only when conceived by a married man and wife - of the new Moral Statutes and FBR soldiers come barging through their door to take both her mother for a trial and Ember in for "rehabilitation", but no-one has ever come back from their trials before and Ember is terrified.

And if it wasn't enough that she is being taken away from her family, her friends and her home, to a mysterious location where she isn't sure what is going to happen to her, Chase Jennings - the only boy Ember has ever loved - is one of the arresting soldiers.

You can see where this is going to go, right? Cue the teen angst.

The rest of the book follows Ember and Chase's romantic complications as they are faced with various dangers while simultaneously hating one another one minute and almost-kissing the next.

When you read a dystopian book its because of the world it is set in, well, it is for me at least. You want to know what happen to make the world be the way it has become - was it a giant tsunami or volcanic eruption under the Earth's surface? A alien invasion or zombie apocalypse? Did global warming really destroy the world? A good dystopian book has you a little scared - this could actually happen one day - and without this answer we are left wondering, clueless and, well, bored.

That was the problem with Article 5. What happen to make the Moral Statue was the War. What War you ask? What a very good question! What War indeed? For the entire length of the book we are kept in the dark. We aren't let on to know what really happened to make the President make those laws and we don't even find out about how the FBR came about. This obviously retracts from the book. It isn't much good reading about two teens in such a situation if we don't even know why they have to be running.

What ruins Article 5 further is the combination of bland writing and terrible charters. Kristen Simmons has not seemed to have grasped the concept that even if a book's characters and plotline are terrible a good writing style can save the day and win part of the reader's heart. Like in Rose by Any Other Name which has both terribly irritating and bitchy characters and a sleep-inducing plotline, but also amazing prose which kept me reading, no matter how irritated I became with it. Kristen Simmons doesn't bother with that. Her writing is witless, dull and with no emotion, no character, nothing. Completely flat.

I think we, readers, are all sick of the pathetic Bella Swan's ruining our books. What is so appealing about dim-witted, dependant and shallow female protagonists I will never, ever, be able to understand. And unfortunately, Ember fits right into the category. One minute she's thinking how much Chase has changed since they were kids and Oh gosh, he's a soldier now and I don't like him anymore so she runs away or puts them in danger by doing something utterly stupid and irrational, but Chase comes and save her so she's all He's so strong and now I feel safe with him.



What we need, in a dystopian society stressing the fact that women are second-class citizens, is a strong, rebellious female protagonist who can kick some misogynist's butts and defend her nation like Katniss Everdeen or Valkyrie Cain. Anyone but Ember Miller. She even tries to blackmail the first two nice people who want to help her. Why? I don't even know. She could have just helped them.

Also there are parts this book that just don't make sense. I have no idea why she seem to think that if Chase hadn't become a soldier none of this would happened. She was still born violating Article 5, so how did Chase's occupation change that fact baffles me.

Overall, this book was just another cookie-cutter dystopian novel that I don't understand how it managed to get published. I wouldn't recommended it.