Planet Urth

Planet Urth by Jennifer Martucci
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've been really big into dystopian/end of the world type of books & movies lately, so I was thrilled to grab this book on amazon, which I read in one afternoon.

There's some minor & major plot holes (for example, killing a large, 300 pound animal by jumping out of a tree, and mentioning technology that the characters would have absolutely no idea about), but all in all, the book is a good read. There's no new concepts here, but if you are looking for a quick, sci-fi romp, this will fit the bill.

The biggest drawback is the book doesn't end, so much as just ... well, stops. I understand it's part of a series, but it seems like more and more indie authors are creating series because the book just got too long, instead of a well written story that has a beginning, middle, climax, and ending (like Harry Potter, where every book has a conclusion, yet leaves you desperately wanting more).

I picked this book up for free on amazon.

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Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another reread for me.

I really struggled with finishing this one. Which was greatly disappointing as I loved, loved this series when I read them the first time, and wanted to reread them immediately. I waited for YEARS, savoring the thought of how much I would enjoy it a second time, and I could barely finish the book. What a disappointment.

I finally finished the last 250 pages, all in one sitting, refusing to do anything else until I finished.

I'll take a break before getting the next one.



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Dead Dreams by Emma Right
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dead Dreams is about two young girls, Brie, who wants to become independent and is living on her own for the first time, and Sarah, an independently wealthy secretive know-it-all.

The book is supposed to be a psychological thriller for YA, but reads more like chick-lit with the light, casual, conversational feel of the book, with some mystery thrown in. There's lots of twists and turns that will keep you reading - the part that I enjoyed, along with the good writing.

But Brie is so, so stupid and unbelievably immature. She's always whining about her mother, who is just there to watch over her & to protect her and to make sure she's safe. And clearly Brie needs watching over, because she starts off by making a bad decision and just keeps on making bigger and badder mistakes. She knows she's making bad decisions and just goes ahead and makes them anyway - trying to prove her independence and maturity, perhaps? But all she's doing is proving what a sniveling child she really is. Can you tell I'm NOT a Brie fan?

So, if I dislike Brie so much, why am I rating this book 4 stars? Well, because of the character of Sarah. She's so secretive and mysterious and sure, is beyond manipulative, but that's exactly why I like her - it's like hate watching certain tv shows. You know it's awful, but you can't help watching and yelling at the TV screen anyway. That's exactly how I felt about Sarah.

The book ends with another twist, and leaves you feeling very confused - so confused in fact, I honestly wanted to give the book 3 stars for this reason. Yes, you want a cliffhanger at the end of any book in a series, but this feels like Right ended the book literally in the middle of the book, not written in such a way that opens up the next part to the story.

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The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I believe I've read this three times so far, and every time I get something out of it.

I read it once, I listened to it as an audiobook once, and just reread it again.

I definitely got more out of it after reading some of Heinlein's other books, as the story line - and characters - are just so intertwined with each other - past, present, and future.

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Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book when I first read it years ago, and read many of Hobb's other books in the series. She's since written more, and I thought it would be fun to reread and catch up with the series.

I was a little disappointed.

I still really liked the book, the plot, and the characters, but I didn't like Hobb's writing as well as I had remembered.

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Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I've been long told to read this series, so I finally got around to it. I was pretty disappointed.

I did finish it, but I struggled to finish it & just couldn't get into the characters, the storyline, or the VA universe. It's well written, I just couldn't get into it. I'm not sure it's Mead's fault; just there was so much hype about how good this series was supposed to be, that it was never going to live up to its reputation.

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The Fifth Vertex by Kevin Hoffman

The Fifth Vertex by Kevin Hoffman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

parts I really liked, but overall, another book I didn't really get into.

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I enjoyed the book when I first picked it up, and couldn't stop the first few chapters. Then the action seemed to slow, the book got a little weirder, more and more characters were introduced, when I felt like I was still trying to get to know the main characters. I didn't really "like" any of the characters other than Cailix, and really would have liked to have seen her in the book much more (and perhaps we'll see her more in future books).

The book is well written, the stage is set out well, the action flows from one scene to the next, but I just couldn't really get into it as much as I would have liked. By the time we got to the halfway mark, I had to force myself to finish (mostly because I wanted to know what would happen to Cailix, and not to the other characters).

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I received a copy of this book for free from netgalley in exchange for my honest reviews, and was not paid in any way

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Divergent by Veronica Roth

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first book I read & finished in 2015 just for me :)

I read Divergent late to the game - last summer, maybe? and never managed to write up a review. I enjoyed it; not as much as Hunger Games, perhaps, but I definitely enjoyed the book. I admit I watched the movie first and liked the movie enough to try to tackle the book.

Roth creates a great, dystopian world from the first page. I like where the story starts; you get enough of Tris' family & her life before she decides to join Dauntless. I enjoyed the bit of "will they or won't they" romance between her and Four; surprised me, honestly, because I'm normally rather bored with romance in books, but Roth throws the romance at you in between the action scenes and makes me want to know what will happen next.



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Five Portraits by Piers Anthony

Five Portraits by Piers Anthony
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've reviewed Anthony a bunch of times before, & I always have such mixed reactions to his stuff. I adored him as a kid/teen/young adult, and Anthony is the reason why I love to read today, as an adult. It's a bond I share with my dad - he handed me my first "adult" book (Golem in the Gears, by Anthony, part of the same Xanth series) in the summer before I started my forth grade year, and I've never looked back.

I enjoyed this one a bit more than the last one in the series; it's not as filled with puns (he explains in the author note he wrote this one ahead of schedule so there was less time for his mailbox to fill up with puns from fans; I always think it must be so nice that his fans write half his story for him). Puns are a part of Xanth as yarn is to a knitter, but the puns do get a bit old sometimes. Ironically, I missed the puns in this one, so I think I like them more than I think I do.

There's the usual sexual commentary Anthony always seems to make - maidens about to get raped, and then laughing about it two seconds after it almost happens - it bothered me a lot in his last novel, but I read it this time more as he meant it - social commentary / a parody.

I am thrilled to see that Anthony has finally introduced a gay character, too - it's about time, and kudos Piers Anthony!

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free copy from netgalley in exchange for my honest review

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Hexed

Hexed by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I borrowed this book from the library to read on the kindle, because since Sookie ended, I'm looking for a new vampire/witchy type of series to read. As much as I love the genre of paranormal, I don't really read a ton of it. Unfortunately I didn't realize this book jumps in the middle of a bunch of series - anyone who reads my reviews regularly knows that's a personal pet peeve of mine, both with books, and tv/movies. So that dimensions my feelings of the book.

That being said, I did enjoy all of the books, or really shorter shorties within the book. Enough that I will mostly likely read more by the authors, though none of them overwhelmed me so much that I had to get another book by any one of them right now. You can certainly read any of the these stories as a stand alone book, but I felt like I was missing something in each one of these stories.

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Fire and Ice

Fire & Ice by Michele Barrow-Belisle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The premise behind this book is my perfect mix - a nice blend of magic, mystery, drama, and all in a YA book.

The book starts off with a bit of world and character building, but a lot of stuff is thrown around - details - that aren't really explained. I like knowing the back story behind things, I kept feeling like I was missing a lot of information as the story unfolded slowly.

Unfortunately, the story continued to unfold slowly. Page after page after page of examining every thought that came Lorelei's way, before a few - all too brief pages - of action.

There's a lot of angst and will she or won't she when it comes to the romance story line- all too typical in a YA book - with some lies thrown in for good reason. I kept hoping the pace would pick up and that the story would start to progress, but the pacing just seemed too slow for my liking.

Why am I rating 4 stars? I really liked Lorelei and I really liked her healing abilities and the herbal remedies, and I really felt for her throughout the book. The book was well written, and there's a lot of nice description in the pages, so you can really see what's going on. I also really liked the fact that she was a healer who passed out at the sight - and smell - of blood - a little fact in a novel that just made Lorelei seem a little more real.

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I received an e-book as part of the blog tour, in exchange for participating in the tour & for my honest review. I was not paid for my review.

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Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I borrowed this book from a coworker, who loves this series and was excited about the movie coming out.

I did like the book - loved Lena, loved the ending - but found the book difficult to get into, and I didn't particular like the pacing in the first half of the novel.

I did watch the movie - hated it - and I'm still undecided about reading the rest of the books in the series.

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Under the Dome

Under the Dome by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first read this book a few years ago, when it first came out. Hubby enjoyed the first season of the show so much he wanted to read the book - even though he isn't much of a reader. Well, needless to say, I ended up rereading it & hubby read 20 pages.

I'm a big King fan, though I probably have only read about 1/3 of his books. This one is no exception. Sure, it's long, sure there are sections that drag, and sure it's far-fetched, but that's why it's called fiction. Dale and Julia are two of the many, many, many characters in the book, and they are probably my favorites. Junior, Jim Rennie's Sr.'s crazed son, is also one of my favorites, in that "love to hate him" sort of way. This book, at its heart, is about ordinary people trying to survive and live another day.

My only gripe with the book is the exact same one as the first time I read it - you spend 1000 pages reading about what is happening Under the Dome, for it all to end in a small handful of pages, and without enough of an explanation to satisfy me. There's a lot of fore-shadowing throughout the book, which I noticed the first time but sort of ruined the book for me the second time (yes, I did know how it ended, but it still ruined the ending).

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naked in Death

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An oldie but a goodie.

I used to read this series years ago & lately I've been thinking about picking up the series again, so I borrowed this as an e-book from the library. I knew it was romance & mystery in a future setting, and when I read the series years ago, I really liked the blend of genres.

Now, I was just so bored with the romance story line - I just can't get into romance in books anymore.

That being said, I still enjoyed the book - I love Eve, I love Eve meeting Roarke, and I love the whole universe that's created in these books, the little futuristic devices that seem so funny now, but when this world was first created, it was so cool to have little gadgets that fit in the palm of your hand.

After rereading the book, I'm not sure if I'll reread the rest & continue reading the newer books in the series.

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Star Trek: Khan

Star Trek: Khan by Mike Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm a big sci-fi and Star Trek fan, so of course I had to pick up my review copy of this book from net galley.

It's a very, very fast read - it took me all of ten minutes, which is disappointing to say the least. I also didn't realize it was a comic, because no where on the netgalley page did it say it was a comic. I don't really read comics, and I believe this is the second comic I've ever reviewed.

The artwork is pretty good - the storyline comes from the new ST alternative storyline, not canon. It's a little slow paced for my tastes.

I'd recommend to Trekkies, but that's about it.

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Red Rising

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have such mixed feelings about this book.

I love the mix/blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and dystopia. I love the world and character building. But the character I fell in love with right away dies, leaving me wishing things were different, each and every page.

Darrow, the main character, is such a great mix of good and bad, hard and soft, you can't help rooting for him even as horror, carnage, pain, suffering, friendship, etc. all surround him.

I loved the first 20% or so of the book, which I read in about an instant because I was so engrossed in it.

That was all the good stuff - now the reason for the mixed feelings.

I just couldn't get into the book after that first 20% or so. I loved, loved, loved the setting and the characters and the events that all happened in that first part of the book, and the rest of it - eh. Not so much. I just couldn't bring myself to care about everything that happened to Darrow for the rest of the book.

There's sections where the action happens fast and furious and I think to myself that I'm finally really enjoying the book again, and then the pace changes and I was, just, quite simply, bored.

The ending however, is simply fabulous. Even though half the book I really didn't enjoy, the ending had a couple of twists and it makes me want to read the rest of the series.

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book received from netgalley in exchange for my honest review

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the Clearing

The Clearing by Shalini Boland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book 2.

This is another book with alternating characters and storylines - not my favorite plot device, until the two threads merge.

The book starts shortly after the second one - this series is definitely one in which you need to read all of the books, or you'll really be lost. The beginning starts with a great scene that sets the tone for the rest of the book.

There's an underlining theme of brainwashing and cults, something I have a hard time stomaching. The book is written better than the first one, I think, but I had a hard time with the themes in this book.

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Outside

Outside by Shalini Boland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am more and more getting into dystopian novels so I was thrilled to join in this tour. I love books that are in series, too so I was doubly excited.

That being said, I was very confused reading the first half of the book. It goes back and forth between two characters, the past and the present, and I wasn't picking up on that at all. I was also disappointed that the editing wasn't better, something that really bugs me. I'm by no means a writer and by no means do I know or follow all the grammatical rules out there, but I kept seeing little things pop up that slowed down the story line for me because I was distracted by the errors.

Another thing that kept bugging me was Riley kept acting way too mature for her 16 year old age, from the very beginning. Her friend tells her that her sister was murdered, and she thanks him, telling him how hard that must have been for him to tell her the truth. Come on, seriously? Your sister was just killed and you are telling your friend how hard it must be for HIM? Do you know any adults that would have the presence of mind to say such a thing in that situation, let alone a teenager?

All in all though, the story is a good one, has lots of twists and turns to keep things interesting, but the story is really only good the last 1/3.

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I got this book & the rest of the books in the series as part of the Perimeter blog tour in exchange for my honest reviews.

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Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton

Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I saw a review of this book on another blog - sorry, original blogger, I didn't save the post - and since I'm an obsessive knitter & obsessed with vampires, witches, fairies, and the like, I immediately requested the book from interlibrary loan.

You'll saw my huge library pile I got last week, this book was in it. Well, it was the first one to be picked up from the stack (even though I was reading 3 other books at one time), and I absolutely laughed out loud - literally made my cat cross eyed with me - from the very first page. Obviously Bretton was sincere in her desire to make a GOOD knitting fiction book; it's been done before, but usually the knitting references are done in passing, and it's obvious the writer has no real connection to knitting (an exception is The Shop on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber). The addition of paranormal elements made me just giddy. There's a bit of romance, which I'm not a huge fan of, but the book is so well written, I felt myself rooting for the relationship between Chloe & Luke all the same.

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The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater

The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVED this book!

I was first introduced to this book as part of a book tour & was asked to review. I almost passed, because I don't really read Zombie books. I've gotten into Walking Dead, however, and LOVED the cover of this book so much I couldn't resist getting a copy to read.

And I was immediately hooked, from the very first page.

I haven't loved a book this much in a long time.

Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her entire life within an area called the Bastion. She's a soldier and has battled the zombies that surround their area before. The story revolves around Maria, her friend Lindsey who also is a veteran of zombie battles, and her boyfriend and an officer in the Constabulary, Dwayne Reichardt. Their relationship is kept a secret because of his marriage and family, but in the end, Maria's relationship with Lindsey & Dwayne is what keeps her alive.

Frater does a wonderful job of creating a whole world with rich, multi-faceted characters, and kept twisting the plot so you had to keep reading. The last half of the book I couldn't even read at night because it would keep me up at night wondering what was going to happen next! She wrote this as a stand-alone book, but I'd really love to see where Maria and Dwayne are in ten years.


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