Book Review

Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

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Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Title: Everneath (Everneath #1)
Author: Brodi Ashton
Genre: Mythology, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse (2nd August 2012)
Blurb:

SIX MONTHS AGO, NIKKI BECKETT VANISHED INTO AN UNDERWORLD KNOWN AS THE EVERNEATH.

Now she’s returned to her old life for another six months before the Everneath comes to claim her. Nikki longs to spend this precious time  reconnecting with the people she left behind – her family and friends and, most importantly, her boyfriend Jack, the one person she loves more than anything.

But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smouldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki home, hoping to take her back to the Everneath . . . this time for ever.

Now Nikki only has six months for goodbyes she can’t find the words for, six months to  make the hardest decision of her life, six months to find redemption, if it exists . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton is the first book in the EVERNEATH TRILOGY It tells the story of Nikki Beckett a high school student who returns from the Everneath to find that six months have passed. She has just six months to say her goodbyes – to her family and friends – before she leaves permanently, when the Everneath claims her back.

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Review: Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

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Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Title: Dance of Shadows (Dance of Shadows #1)
Author: Yelena Black
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury (12th February 2013)
Source: Faye of A Daydreamer’s Thoughts as part of her blogoversary giveaway.
Blurb:

An elite academy with the darkest of secrets.

A dancer with a talent she never wanted.

A legacy she can’t escape.

Vanessa Adler is dancing in her sister’s footsteps as a student at the exclusive New York Ballet Academy. Margaret Adler disappeared three years ago and Vanessa is searching for answers.

Dance is in Vanessa’s blood, in her soul – and perhaps it holds the key to the mystery. But the academy is a sinister place, plagued by fierce rivalry and scandal. Finding her sister is going to be dangerous, and the sexy, charismatic Zeppelin Gray may lead her far beyond the truth she is looking for . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

DANCE OF SHADOWS by Yelena Black is the first book in the series, with a sequel coming out in Winter 2014. It tells the story of Vanessa Adler, the younger sister of Margaret Adler who attended the New York Ballet Academy and then mysteriously disappeared. Three years after this Vanessa follows in her sister’s footsteps and attends the academy, determined to unravel the mystery and find out exactly what happened to her sister.

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Review: Coco’s Secret by Niamh Greene

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Coco’s Secret by Niamh Greene

Title: Coco’s Secret
Author: Niamh Green
Genre: Chick Lit, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin (15th August 2013)
Source: Penguin Ireland
Format: Finished Copy
Blurb:

Coco Swan has always been embarrassed by her name . . .

With a name like Coco, people expect you to be as exotic and glamorous as the famous designer, not an ordinary-looking small-town antiques dealer who could win an award for living cautiously.

But when a vintage Chanel handbag turns up in a box of worthless bric-a-brac, Coco’s quiet world is suddenly turned upside down. Where did it come from? And is it just coincidence that it’s the same bag Coco’s late mother always wanted for her?

When Coco discovers a mysterious, decades-old letter hidden in the bag’s lining, she sets off on a quest to piece together the story behind it, stumbling across secrets that span three generations as she goes.

Could the beautiful Chanel bag be about to teach Coco more than she wants to learn? Or will it show her just where her heart can take her if she lets it lead the way?

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

COCO’S SECRET by Niamh Greene tells the story of Coco Swan who lives in Ireland and runs an antiques shop. Coco bids on and wins a box of odds and ends at a local auction, in which she later uncovers a vintage Chanel bag that contains a letter which sends her on an adventure.

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Review: A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton

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A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton (UK edition)

Title: A Shiver of Light (Merry Gentry #9)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Bantam Press (3rd June 2014)
Blurb:

I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. Legal name Meredith Gentry, because princess looks so pretentious on a driver’s licence. I was the first faerie princess born on American soil, but wouldn’t be the only one for much longer . . .

Merry Gentry, ex-private detective, now fill-time princess, knew she was descended from fertility goddesses, but it was only when she learned she was going to have triplets that she began to understand what that might mean. Infertility has been the curse of the high ranks of faerie for centuries and now the nobility – of both sexes and of both courts – are coming to Los Angeles to woo the exiled Merry and her male courtiers. They will do anything to have children of their own.

But the attentions of Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, are a more pressing – and deadly – problem. He once forced himself upon Merry – and now he is claiming one of her children as his own.

To save herself and her babies, Merry calls upon the most dangerous powers in all of faerie: a god of death, a warrior known as Darkness, the Killing Frost, and a king of nightmares. They are her lovers, and they will confront the high courts of faerie – and do whatever it takes to contain the war that threatens to engulf the innocent humans who are now in very real danger of becoming collateral damage . . .

Five years after Divine Misdemeanors, Merry Gentry is back – and her life’s become a lot more complicated . . . and even more dangerous.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

A SHIVER OF LIGHT is the latest installment of Laurell K. Hamilton’s MERRY GENTRY series. A SHIVER OF LIGHT takes place several months after the end of the previous book in the series, DIVINE MISDEMEANORS, with Merry due to give birth only days away. Life is, of course, never easy or quiet for America’s only faerie princess.

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Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

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Allegiant by Veronica Roth (UK edition)

Title: Allegiant (Divergent #3)
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Collins (22nd October 2013)
Blurb:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered – fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world beyond the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature – and herself – while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

ALLEGIANT brings Veronica Roth’s fantastic DIVERGENT trilogy to its conclusion. After the events and revelations of INSURGENT (review) Tris and her friends are left with a world thrown into chaos: everything they thought they knew was a lie. But it also offers them a world beyond the city they know, and Tris needs to know what’s out there.

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Review: Rags & Bones edited by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt

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Rags & Bones ed. by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt

Title: Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales
Editors: Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt
Genre: Re-telling, Short Story, Young Adult
Publisher: Headline (13th March 2014)
Blurb:

A unique short-story collection from the most unique imaginations.

There are some stories as timeless as they are involving.

There are some authors who can tell any story.

In RAGS & BONES, award-winning and bestselling authors retell classic fairytales and twisted tales in the way that only they can. With magic and passion they bring these stories – whether much loved or forgotten – back to life.

Read ‘Sleeping Beauty‘ as only Neil Gaiman can tell it. See ‘Rumpelstiltskin‘ through the eyes of Kami Garcia. And hear of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Man Who Would Be King‘ from the inimitable Garth Nix.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

RAGS & BONES is a collection of short stories that are retellings of works which mean something to the author. The collection contains re-imaginings of fairy tales as well as stories inspired by works of literature like Kipling’s THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING or Spenser’s THE FAERIE QUEENE. Each contributor adds an interesting twist to the work that inspired them. Contributors include the editors Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt, as well as Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, and Kami Garcia.

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Review: Kinked by Thea Harrison

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Kinked by Thea Harrison, UK cover.

Title: Kinked (The Elder Races, 6)
Author: Thea Harrison
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (5th November 2013)
Blurb:

Two opponents must confront the cause of their obsessive fury in the latest novel of the Elder Races . . .

As a harpy, Sentinel Aryal is accustomed to dealing with hate, but Sentinel Quentin Caeravorn manages to inspire in her a burning unlike anything she’s ever known. Aryal believes the new sentinel to be a criminal, and vows to take him out as soon as the opportunity arises. But the harpy’s incessant wrath has pushed Quentin to the limit, and forces him to make a deadly vow of his own.

To put an end to the conflict, Dragos, Lord of the Wyr, sends them on a reconnaissance mission to the Elven land of Numenlaur. Forced to work together, Aryal and Quentin’s antagonism escalates. Each fight draws forth more passion – culminating in an explosively sexual confrontation. But when their mission reveals real danger, Aryal and Quentin must resolve their differences in ways beyond the physical, before the entire Wyr is threatened . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

KINKED is the sixth book in Thea Harrison’s spectacular THE ELDER RACES series. Set not long after the previous book in the series LORD’S FALL (review), KINKED tells the story of Aryal (no last name) and Quentin Caeravorn two of Dragos’s Sentinels. Their dislike of one another and the ensuing fights force Dragos to send them on a mission to the Elven land of Numenlaur to sort out their differences once and for all. Like the previous books in the series KINKED is very definitely a book which is aimed at an adult audience.

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Review: Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder

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Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Spy Glass (Chronicles of Ixia 6/Glass Trilogy 3)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Mira Ink (2nd August 2013)
Blurb:

A new legacy is rising . . .

After siphoning her own blood magic, Opal Cowan has lost her powers and been separated from Kade and Ulrick, the two men who divide her heart. Now an insider looking in, Opal spies through the glass on those with the powers she once had.

Until spying through the glass becomes her new power. Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that some of her blood has been stolen – and that finding it may let her regain her powers for good.

Or learn if they’re lost forever.

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

SPY GLASS is the sixth book in Maria V. Snyder’s CHRONICLES OF IXIA and the third and final book in her GLASS TRILOGY. In SPY GLASS Snyder concludes Opal’s conflicting emotions about the men she loves and her own magic. Opal has come a long way from the girl we meet in FIRE STUDY (review) and it has been a really interesting journey.

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Review: The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

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The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

Title: The Undead Pool (The Hollows #12)
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: HarperVoyager (25th February 2014)
Blurb:

Witch and day-walking demon Rachel Morgan knows magic – earth, ley line, even the forbidden demon magic – and the knowledge has saved her life more than once. But now something – or someone – is attacking Cincinnati and the Hollows, causing spells to backfire or go horribly wrong while living vampires attack humans and Inderlanders alike.

The pressures build when the city is quarantined to contain the unreliable magic, and Rachel must stop the attacks before the undead vampire masters who keep the rest of the undead under control are lost and it becomes all out supernatural war.

The only way to do so is through the ancient elven magic, but that carries its own perils – for magic always has a price, and gods do not come lightly when called.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

THE UNDEAD POOL is the penultimate book in Kim Harrison’s fantastic THE HOLLOWS series. In THE UNDEAD POOL something is causing magic to go wonky and vampires to attack, Rachel Morgan is worried that somehow she is the cause. Once she establishes she isn’t the cause, she is determined to find out who – or what – is causing the disturbance and putting everyone in danger.

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Review: Awaken by Meg Cabot

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Awaken by Meg Cabot (UK cover)

Title: Awaken (Abandon Trilogy #3)
Author: Meg Cabot
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Macmillan (26th September 2013)
Blurb:

DEATH HAS HER IN HIS CLUTCHES. PIERCE DOESN’T WANT HIM TO LET GO.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera knew by accepting the love of John Hayden she’s be forced to live forever in one of the places she’d always dreaded the most: the Underworld. The sacrifice seemed worth it though, because it meant she could be with the boy she loves.

But now her happiness – and safety – are threatened, all because the Furies have discovered that John has broken one of their strictest rules: he revived a human soul.

If the balance between life and death isn’t fixed, both the Underworld and Pierce’s home back on Earth will be wiped away. But there’s only one way to restore order: someone has to die.

THE MYTH OF PERSEPHONE… DARKLY REIMAGINED

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

AWAKEN is the final book in Meg Cabot’s ABANDON TRILOGY – a re-telling of the Greek myth of Persephone. Pierce Olivierea captured the attention of John Hayden, the lord of the Underworld. Eventually she fell in love with him, even though it meant living in the Underworld. Unfortunately, the balance between life and death is broken and Pierce and John have to find a way to fix it so they can have their happy ever after.

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