Book Review: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh

Book Review: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #13)
Book Rating: 4/5

Here’s the thing with the Psy-Changling series, I enjoy this rich and complex universe Nalini Singh as dreamed up. But it’s the same, each and almost every time.  This is one of the longer spanning series I’ve read and I won’t lie, I skipped two books where I had positively no interest in the male leads. Still, the series continues and while each book manages to move along the overall plot line, it’s really the same each time around. A women with immense power, tortured yet able to love and a man who isn’t whole until he meets her.

It’s the same story, 13 times in.

Even though I know that, I still loved this book! I’m not entirely sure why and how this sets the previous book apart. Maybe it’s Vasic. Maybe it’s his personality that made him stand apart? And because of who he is, let’s just say certain scenes were mildly amusing to me in which certain actions were described. I wish we learned more about him, other than the meager snippet we got from Aden’s account at the end. Even Ivy, we barely know her.

 

How Does a White Trash Zombie Get Her Groove Back?

Book Review: How The White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back by Diana Rowland
Rating: 3.5/ 5  – I liked it  (going by the goodreads ranking breakdown here)

If Angel has got her groove back, I wonder if that alludes to the final moments of the book here.  You’d think her groove was a good thing but I’m inclined to think that it’ll bring on a whole new slew of problems. I’m probably over-thinking the title here though.

So here we are, fourth book in, unbeknownst to me, Angel had her groove taken away and she’s getting it back! The strongest part of this series is Angel’s character. Second is the ever expanding and evolving plot of the zombie mafia tribe,  their actual capabilities and biology behind their “medical condition”.  As Angel learns more, so do we.

The plot is action packed yet again but we don’t necessarily uncover any conspiracies and we don’t learn more about Angel’s personal condition. Why was she able to control her zombie baby in the last book? We’re alluded to it briefly but maybe I’m unable to grasp if the answer was there. What we do discover is a zombie superpower with limitless possibilities. Fun to read and definitely fun to imagine random scenarios about, on my part.

Angel has grown and while insecurity slips in as it always does for her, she’s maturing and when given a chance, has proven herself. Except, we see her slipping right there at the end.   Thus far we’ve only ever heard of her past mistakes and haven’t really followed her through them. At the beginning on the first book she was already out of that life.  So now the question for the next book is, will she fall? Will get back back up?

I’m excited and worried at the same time. I believe this would be a great addition to the book and creates in Angel a real tangible problem. I’m tired of the heroine that’s pure as fresh snow, with their one flaw of just caring. so. much.  I would rather read about someone decent fighting and overcoming a personal obstacle.

[semi spoiler: scroll – but very vague as it happens pretty early on]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And on that extra note, Marcus is out of the picture! Who will Angel end up with? I had thought Brian in the previous book but now… Hmmm, Phillip?

 

Hello WordPress. Hello New Book Blog!

Hi. So this is my new foray into yet another blogging platform. Perhaps I have too much time on my hand?

My previous blog, at least the one I most frequently updated (not including some hidden ones) was my book review blog: whateversu.tumblr.com.  Then my other one, strollersandsubways.blogspot.com which I’ve gotten a bit lax on is a co-hosted blog with my friend which originally started because of the lack of elevators in the New York City subway system. Sucks for mommies with strollers!  And I can’t imagine about people with wheelchairs or elderly people with walkers. They were hosted on Tumblr and Blogger respectively, so I thought hey, why not try WordPress out?! So here I am, reviving my account from 5 years ago (forgot I even started on WordPress!)

OK, not sure how to go about this. Should I import my other blog entries to wordpress? Leave it well and alone on Tumblr?! What do I DO?!

Moving on… I’m currently reading a series called White Trash Zombie. Yep, you read that correctly… WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE.  With a name like that, how could I not pick it up? Ok I admit it, with a name like that I was absolutely hesitant to pick it up! Having said that, I enjoyed reading the author, Diana Rowland’s other series, so I decided to delve in and was delightfully surprised. I’m sorry if I sound all over the place but it’s late and I’ve spent the whole day with two small kids at the playground. I hate the playground.

Hard Time by Cara McKenna

Book Review: Hard Time by Cara McKenna
Book Rating: 4/5
Ok so this might be the first romance I have read that didn’t have paranormal plot twists, urban fantasy and some mish-mash of otherworldliness.

It was real y’all. It was fluff and poetic and all the added extras of yeah, probably not gonna happen in real life, but it was surprisingly real. From the forbidden start of their romance to what they brought to each other in terms of personality and balance in the relationship.

While it strays a little away from a typical romance, with the realness, what it does retain from romance of yore is the ALPHA. MALE.  The man who just reeks of manly maleness. Do women not want a regular nice guy? We need someone, more… MALE??

I found this book refreshing and it moved me. Lanced me through the heart at times and for me, who was once told I was an unemotional rock, that means something. There was real love, real sex and real emotions.

Onto my McKenna phase. Thank you Goodreads for setting me down this path and what I’ve decided to call “real romance”.

 

My Immortal

Book Review: Immortal Crown (Age of X #2) by Richelle Mead
Book Rating: 5/5

Wow! I’m loving this series and think this may be Richelle Mead’s best yet. There’s so much to discuss, to review and to mull over. I wonder if it’s because of the subject at hand. We’re dealing with gods so we’re ultimately dealing with religion. Although set in the future, there are exact parallels to our current world and events.

It’s interesting how because of current events, what happens in the book draws criticism and makes it more poignant. We travel to another land, where in Mae’s progressive mind is a backward, subjugating and disgusting place for women.  Then we have personal violation. Why is rape such a plot point?  I feel uncomfortable that it’s used as often as it is but sadly is that not our reality at times? I can’t say much without really spoiling anything but by the end of the book, I’d figured it out. And that is going to make this all that more interesting.

The story itself moves along wonderfully without lagging. We don’t veer too far from our main story and new gods come to play, but the plot of this one drives us along. We get Mae and Justin’s relationship, we get the follow up in Mae’s quest to find her niece, and we get more players now involved.

I loved the book. I love the series. I’m sure there are flaws but love is blind, is it not? It’s hard to be analytical when you’ve enjoyed the journey of the book so much. Let’s just lay it down, the flaws? The ease of which all the plans panned out. Obstacles were a little non-existent. They were present but very superficially. The good? Justin and Mae. That we’re moving toward something big and we want to be involved.

 

Book Covers, Reimagined

This one is really about de-emphasizing her name (leaving it off completely) and having young people connect with the fact that it is a real girl’s diary.

This is trying to not show a depiction of Jane, but plays on the interior passion that we get from Jane’s voice.

A little straightforward but visually arresting. The hanging body position with dangling legs connects the “killing” to the idea of lynching.

The simplicity of the tall constructed letters on the landscape suggests the epic sweep of the book.

The legs of two boys coming in from the top foreshadow the fall(s) and keeps the boys apart from everything else.

The Rorschach test mark is clearly bloody and ominous. But it also speaks to the psychological issues Golding deals with in the book.

The idea here comes from when Holden is in his sister’s school waiting for Phoebe he sees this obscenity written under the stairway and rubs it out, sees another and rubs it out and then comes across

entertainmentweekly:

Literary classics imagined as YA books.

See the captions in full here.

Image Credit: JASON BOOHER for EW

I don’t see how they are reimagined as YA. The updated covers are gorgeous. I especially love The Catcher in the Rye, simple but so effective.

Book Review: Only with You by Lauren Layne

Book Review: Only With You (The Best Mistake #1) by Lauren Layne
Book Rating: 4/5

I really really enjoyed this book! At times, it’s a bit cliched, a bit too that’s totally what I’d imagine if I were daydreaming, but it is what it is. And what it is, is lovely, wonderfully sparkly fluff!  Even Sophie calls it out, letting us in on that fact that yeah, it’s absurd almost but, hey, it’s a ROMANCE.

While we ignore situations that are made for romance, we boil down the book to the characters. I liked Gray. I’m so used to reading about alpha males with their macho posturing, Gray’s awkwardness was endearing. Maybe because that’s exactly how I feel, I understood the man. Social situations, ugh. I only wish we’d gotten more Gray time. To me, he seems incomplete compared to Sophie.  We understand her more. We get a glimpse into his family life but not enough. How did he become CEO? How did he get to where he is and why does he have such a strained relationship with his siblings? Did he have parents? I can’t even remember. Then we have his past, which was just a blip of a conversation with Sophie. I want more Gray! (I see Will is next, so that’s good, I’ll settle for more Will. Which by the way, everyone could see that pairing coming from a mile away right?)

Then we have Sophie. Now, is it me or is it with most readers? We’re not trying to fall in love with her, we’re trying to see if she’s that annoying character. She wasn’t! I liked her but she wasn’t a complicated character. She had problems on a the superficial side so there wasn’t anything to tackle other than her complacency in life.

The chemistry between the two was great. Great, but not hot. To sum it all up, there’s nothing new here: stoic guy plus the cheerful bubbly thorn in his side. The book doesn’t break any mold but it’s as it should be: a fun, flirty read that keeps you rooting for the couple to get together.

Digital ARC provided by Netgalley.

Burns Hot Fast and Bright

Book Review:  Fever (series) by Karen Marie Moning Includes Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever, Dreamfever, and Shadowfever
Book Rating: 4/5 (overall)

How do I review a book when for me, it wasn’t just a book? It was a long week that submersed me in another world. Here’s the thing, it’s a very very different review and experience to read a book in a series over a long span of time vs a few days. There’s a break, there’s anticipation waiting for the next book. With Fever, I plowed through it, I devouredit. Had I been unable to do that, I don’t think I would have been as obsessed as I have.  

Well what can I say that hasn’t been said.  It’s a great series, action packed, intriguing and with some hot sexual tension between Mac and Barrons. Initially Mac was the pink powerpuff, annoying and you’d think wtf – why, WHY are you doing this?! Luckily she has since redeemed herself.  

Along the way, she loses what she initially set off on, tracking her sister’s killer, side-tracked by the Fae and the Sinsar Dubh. We follow her on a journey of self discovery, of vengeance, and loss. It’s great. Mac turned out to be a great heroine, very self aware. What was extremely strange was that I was waiting for her to be saved, yet she saved herself countless times. She didn’t always, but she recovered in her own resilient way.  It’s refreshing and says a lot about what I’m used to reading that I’m expecting Barrons or V’lane to come in on their horses to save the day…

Then as we wrap up this portion of the series, we face existential crises, mistaken identities, cover-ups and more! It’s not too hard to follow but it does like it usually does, go down the road of well, philosophical thinking.

This is such a short review for an amazing series. I mean it’s not ground-breaking, it’s not very nuanced and the characters… sometimes they lack depth, but it’s a wild and amazing ride with Fever. And by the way, don’t even bother trying to figure out what’s going on. You might think you know but, all clues don’t point you in the right direction. At all.

Nerdy Girls & Books

thelumpyconglomerate:

Why do movies show “nerdy girls” as carrying a billion books, and then portray them as physically weak? If a girl can carry the harry potter series, the lotr trilogy, and all of her textbooks then she can probably lift the protagonist football star and throw him across the football field

Antigoddess

Book Review: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake|
Rating: 4/5

Started off slow
Really like Athena. Seems authentic. Her and Ody’s relationship is raw, real. Interesting.

For the most part, the Gods here don’t seem real. A lot of them DO seem like they’re teenagers. I had a problem with reading characters who relate to teenagers when in reality they’re supposed to be ageless, immortal. Athena reads true to that. Aiden… he doesn’t. But I suppose it fulfills it’s purpose – how he is. 

I had stashed this review in my tumblr drafts and forgotten it for over half a year!  So, I tried to continue writing the review but too many newer, better series have infiltrated my memory at the moment. I remember enjoying it and I remember I liked Athena. Cassandra…. not so much.