Promise by Kristie Cook

As a foreward, I would like to preface this review with a quick mention of my thoughts. Despite the review, I was drawn to this book from the beginning. I was hooked immediately, regardless of all the flaws, and couldn't stop reading. The only reason it's getting such a low review is because of the ending. It was a five star book and probably my next favorite save the ending, which destroyed all my positive emotions for the plot, and the characters, and especially the author.

If you've read Twilight, you know exactly what the plot is, minus the love triangle, and replace the vamps with angels and demons. Despite that, I liked the story a lot more than Twilight. Why? I honestly can't tell you. So let's break it down.
1. The writing wasn't great, definitely a self-publisher.
2. The plot moved very quickly, and lacked substantial development.
3. The romance was superficial, and Alexis and Tristan seemed very awkward together despite their constant confessions of endless love.
4. This was such a big deal I have to say it twice, this literally was Twilight.

They fall in love (though there isn't much development, it just happens), and get married. The girl is special even before she becomes a vampire–oh! Excuse me, an Amadis, my mistake–and they know she will have awesome power. Tristan is afraid to hurt Bella–Alexis! Sorry! I'm not sure what's wrong with me today–and so refuses to have sex with her until they're married. Alexis gets sick but no one considers she might be pregnant even after all the unprotected sex! It's ridiculous, honestly.

This read very much like a bad young adult novel save for the poorly written sex scenes.

Tristan was definitely my favorite character, though that's not saying much. The only other character with good development was Alexis, and she was immature and annoying. She most definitely didn't seem like she was nineteen, and most definitely not ready to be married and having children! None of the other characters became substantial or even played a big role. Her mother and grandmother were carbon copies of each other, and were completely interchangeable throughout the story.

While I won't ruin it for the readers, the ending ruined the entire story for me. Like I said, I was completely planning on buying the second book and giving this a five star rating until the last thirty pages destroyed everything. Trust me on this one, it's bad. I no longer have any intention of reading the next installment in the story.

Two Stars

Rosalie

Promise on Goodreads

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase must follow her best friend, the infamous fairy Puck into another world to save her brother who has been replaced by a nasty, biting child.

The writing in all of Julia Kagawa's books is fantastic. While the storyline didn't appeal much to me, after reading her Immortal Rules book I decided I had to give it a try, and I'm glad I did.

Now, the first thing I have to rant about quickly is the similarity between this book and the Immortal Rules. While I like the story, I feel like they are exactly the same, just one with vampires and one with fairies. In both the girl's life changes early in the beginning, and has to go on a quest or journey. They both meet boys who eventually help them and fall in love, and they both achieve their goals only to be separated from their loves. So, yeah, very similar. If I had to choose, hands done the Immortal Rules was better.

Now, on to Meghan. Something I've noticed about Julie's books is people are very mean to the heroine. While I realize the world she lives in is dangerous, not everyone is mean like that. Every turn Meghan is making a new enemy and people are trying to hurt her. To me there wasn't enough balance, and I did get tired of the animosity always targeted at Meghan, and I ended up not liking her very much either.

The Prince, yum. I really did like the romance in this book. However, like the Immortal Rules series, they are separated at the end! Why can't her romances have happy endings? Unfortunately I read the description of the second book and I don't know if I'll be reading it simply because it sounds dumb. Enough said.

The story itself was exciting with basically nonstop action, and a lot of really fun magical scenes. I wish the relationships had developed more, but all in all I did enjoy it, though I definitely wouldn't call it a page turner.

Three Stars

Rosalie

The Iron King on Goodreads

Beyond Our Stars by Marie Langager

Beyond our stars very much has the feel of a self-published novel. I didn't do enough background research to determine whether or not it is, just know that I rented it from my library.

Beyond Our Stars is about a fleet of ships sent from a ruined Earth to colonize a new planet. Originally they have no idea if there is inhabitation on the new planet, but the day after they land it becomes obvious that there are is an advanced civilization already living there.

This review is going to be very short, because I'll admit it's been a while since I finished the book.

The editing errors really bothered me. Spelling and grammar errors take away from the validity of the story for me, and are highly distracting. If the writing is already teetering on the edge of below par and par, editing errors really tip the scales for me.

Regardless of the editing issues, I really enjoyed this book. I love anything to do with space and aliens, and I did like the story here. I've always believed that the teenage generations are the ones that can bridge the gaps between species and even races. The young are too easily influenced, and the adults too stuck in their ways.

What I didn't like was the characters. The main character seemed really mean, and very antisocial. Despite her being referenced as "the most popular girl on the ship" she doesn't have very many friends, and her boyfriend is really immature. Her boyfriend was the weakest point for me. She was definitely the dominant in their relationship, and he was too submissive and needy. While I appreciated the ending and a lot of what happened near the end as far as character and events go, there were times when I was ridiculously upset with the main characters. After refusing his marriage proposal he was very mean and like I said before, immature.

There were fun aspects to the story, like the observation decks, as well as the alien—human interaction.

If you don't mind rather annoying characters, I'd highly recommend this.

Three Stars

Rosalie

Beyond Our Stars on Goodreads

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

I would like to begin by saying that this is a reread for me. I listened to it as an audiobook in the summer last year, and really loved it. Just recently I was looking for a new book to listen to, and couldn't find any that seemed appealing! Remembering how much I liked this one, I decided to listen to it again.

So let's get started!

Marina can't remember anything from her past. All she knows is she cost people from the Arclight their lives when they left the safety of the lights to rescue her from the darkness. The Fade have been attacking nonstop since she was brought into the Arclight, and for some reason the leaders think she holds the answers to the plague that wiped out most of humanity and resulted in the ominous Fade.

The beginning of the book really hooked me, and I think that might be one of the reasons I like this book so much. It doesn't take long to get started, and isn't confusing the way a lot of dystopian books are, because Josin didn't give a new name to everything, which was much appreciated. I immediately liked Tobin, as well as the way the teenagers are more mature than normal, which is to be expected in a post-apocalyptic world where everyone has to grow up quickly.

The action does slow a bit toward the middle, and at that point it becomes a little tedious, though the relationship development is great in this novel.

I really liked the idea of the Fade, and I loved Rue, to be honest. I think he was my favorite character. The one thing that really bothered me was the hive mind mentality of the Fade. Maybe it's because I'm human and we cling to our individuality like the world depends on it, but the hive mind mentality didn't appeal to me much. This, of course, means that when the "big decision" at the end came, I was fairly certain which side she would choose, and who she would end up with. The hive mentality is too unappealing to humans, so Josin would have lost a lot of fans over a choice to assimilate.

Overall, the writing for this book really was sublime, and I very much look forward to getting my hands on the sequel.

Four Stars

Rosalie

Arclight on Goodreads

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

The immortal rules is a dystopian vampire novel about Allison Sekemoto, and her struggle to survive in the harsh world.

Firstly, I must mention that Allison is Asian, and the girl on the cover is not. This shouldn't bother me as much as it does, but covers matching the story and characters is very important to me. The marketing of a book can make or break whether or not it becomes a best seller, or even if a reader chooses to pick it up off the shelf. I would recommend a reprint of this book with a different cover.

Now to the story. Initially, I had a hard time getting into the story. I'm always on the lookout for a love interest for the main character, and the only possibility was killed in the first few pages. The character Stick really bothered me, but upon reflection I think that was probably his purpose in the story. There was a lot of action pretty quickly, and I liked that. It set up the story well, and established Allie as a character.

I really liked the way Allie became a vampire (it's not a spoiler, it happens in the first hundred pages!) and I liked Kanin. Of course I thought they would end up being together, so imagine my surprise when they are separated early on! But in the end I really appreciated this choice, as it left an opening for a second book. The way this story progressed reminded me a lot of the Graceling series, but better. There was a lot of distance covered throughout the book, and a lot happened without it feeling rushed. The sequence of events moved smoothly and I was thoroughly entranced in the book.

About halfway through Allison meets up with a traveling gang of humans, which I really liked as a plot twist. The rest of the book is eventful and fun, though sad at times.

I don't want to give too much away because this really is a book I'd strongly recommend reading, as it wasn't the same as modern vampire books, and had an aspect of reality that a lot of them lack. I will tell you this, there is a love interest, and it end in a bittersweet kind of way. For once I really liked the ending of the book. There were other ways it could have gone, but I liked the direction it took in the end. I'm excited to read the second, though I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to read it. I really liked Julia Kagawa's writing style, and I will be looking in to other books by her as well, so prepare yourself!

I strongly recommend this book.

Four Stars

Rosalie

The Immortal Rules on Goodreads

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

The second in the For Darkness Shows the Star series, Across a Star-Swept Sea takes place on another surviving island, much different from the one described in the first book.

Initially I was disappointed that Diana wasn't sticking with her original characters. The biggest problem I had with For Darkness Shows the Stars was that the romance really didn't come into play until the last few chapters. For the most part the main characters were mean to each other, and I really wanted to see them actually be happy together. To my dismay, the same thing happened in this book. The main characters strongly dislike each other for the majority of the book, though it's not as extreme as the first. Luckily, there is a bit more romance, though it's slow moving and not nearly enough.

First of all, I have to comment on the cover. By far one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen. The way the water turns into the dress is stunning, not to mention the sky and island background, with the few stars floating on the water, it's fantastic. It really helped me visualize a few key moments in the book, so bravo for the marketing team on this one.

So let's talk about the Wild Poppy. I really did like the idea of a beautiful revolutionary who play dumb but it really a genius. I think Persis' character was very fun, and I liked the way she carried herself. While sometimes she did seem a little immature, for the most part she made logical decisions. One thing I think could have added to the story was had she demonstrated times of more cunning. Even when she's in the mindset of the Wild Poppy, her thoughts lack a certain clarity that would have convinced me more that she really is a hidden genius.

Justen, I did not appreciate as much as I did Persis. He wasn't as much of a masculine figure as Kai was in the first book, and he seemed rather immature. He made stupid decisions, and was complaining a lot. His only really strong moments were when he was taking care of people as a medic. In those situations he really took control and established himself as an equal to Persis.

This is supposed to be a rewrite of the Scarlet Pimpernel, which I have never read, I hate to admit. While in general I enjoyed the story, it lacked a depth to the characters and storyline that it really could have benefitted from. There was a shallow introduction of the old characters, and I didn't like it as much as I should have.

As you can probably tell I am very torn with this series. I didn't love it, but I didn't not like it either. There is an element of mysticism that I adore, though the cover may be part of that…either way, I'll be interested to see if Diana's writing evolves at all with the next book (if there is one?) and whether or not she learns to develop characters more effectively.

As an afterthought, I must say the story progressed rather slowly. I had a hard time continuing at a few points, and it didn't hold my attention.

Three Stars

Rosalie

Across a Star-Swept Sea on Goodreads

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire is the second book in the Graceling series by Kristin Cashore. I'll admit to having reservations when it comes to the series, because I found myself unsatisfied at the end of the first. You can take a look at the review on my blog to read for yourself my exact thoughts. But nonetheless, the description intrigued me and I eventually relented, listening to the entire book on a long road trip.

Fire is about a young monster girl with the power to bewitch men and women alike with just the power of her beauty. She has mystical fiery hair and mental power enough to read and control minds which are not guarded against her. Admittedly, she is in love with her childhood friend Archer, but also feels an incessant need to keep everyone at a distance. Eventually she becomes entangled in a web of conspiracy with the king, his brother, and Archer himself.

This book is long, and just like the first, a lot happens across those pages. To be honest, the first probably third isn't very interesting. It's a lot of set up for the action that occurs in the second half of the book, and while it's appreciated, you must struggle through it to get to the end.

Fire's final love interest is predictable, and I was abet to anticipate it from the very beginning. Knowing this, however, just made the book seem to drag even slower. It seemed like the characters were always getting so close to being together, and then suddenly they would just turn away.

Cashore has a remarkable gift when it comes to establishing characters, because all of them are vibrant and realistic. Yet she is almost an anti romantic. She sets up these incredible scenes that you can visualize perfectly, unfolding before your eyes, and then she'll bluntly end the chapter by having one of the characters walk away, seemingly at the crux of the moment! This bothered me as well in her first book, that the main characters don't spend as much time together as they should.

Despite these issues, I liked Fire more than I liked Graceling. Fire is more mature than Katsa was, and I appreciate that immensely. I also like the male characters in this book more, because they seem, well, more manly. The plot of this is also more interesting than that of Graceling. I appreciate the contrast between Katsa (who never wants kids) and Fire (who does but knows she can't have them) and that Cashore didn't write two different women who are really the same.

The romance was also better in this book, because the characters were more devoted to each other. A big issue I had with Graceling was how easily Katsa left Po behind, and while she said she loved him, it just didn't seem like it. Fire and Brigan, on the other hand, were very devoted to each other, and didn't lash out with angry words all the time. They also made a lasting commitment to each other in the end, even if it did take the majority of the book for them to even admit they loved each other!

With a lot of anticlimactic moment and frustrating exchanges, Fire was a difficult read. But in the end the world Cashore painted was brilliant, imaginative, and fun, so much so it was hard to tear myself away. While I'm unsure if I'll read the third book in the series, I did enjoy this one more than the first.

Three Stars,

Rosalie

Fire on Goodreads