The Raven's Child is a great graphic novel from one of the writers of the Buffy comics. A grim novel that is both well-written and gorgeously drawn, tThe Raven's Child is a great graphic novel from one of the writers of the Buffy comics. A grim novel that is both well-written and gorgeously drawn, this blend of paranormal and dystopian fiction will definitely hit the spot. The child is a strong, fearless heroine and is just epic in her battle against the forces of darkness. Few stories really capture the unwavering spirit of humanity and the thin line between man and monster like Sneigoski. ...more
Seen at Bookish Antics! I wasn’t such a huge fan of the previous book in the series, Pawn, but I hoped that Captive would improve on its predecessor’s Seen at Bookish Antics! I wasn’t such a huge fan of the previous book in the series, Pawn, but I hoped that Captive would improve on its predecessor’s faults. Captive is a slow-paced novel with little action and a romance that was pretty lifeless. Any enthusiasm I had for this series has been depleted by Captive and I found it hard to get through this novel.
I really don’t like Kitty and I’m not sure why everyone seems to be so enamored with her. She’s extremely plain and uninteresting, it’s shocking that anyone thought she was capable enough of managing a rebellion. I still don’t understand why she has two guys lusting after her when she acts about as mature as an elementary schooler. Kitty is extremely irritating and I found following her adventures to be extremely cumbersome. Anything redeemable about her character in book one was dispelled in Captive.
Though Captive doesn’t formally introduce a love triangle, it’s implied that she has feelings for both Knox and Benji. I really don’t like either individual and found Knox to be extremely rude and possessive, while Benji is too soft and is so plain. There is no need for there to be a love triangle in this series and it’s a bit disturbing that Kitty has feelings for Knox: a man who’s essentially her captor. The romance is beyond dull and there is little chemistry between Kitty and her love interests.
I never found myself interested in the plot and there is too much sitting around and discussing things. Kitty spends so much time complaining that she’s not in on the Blackcoat Rebellion and not doing anything productive. Instead of actually being a rebel, she just talks and talks about how nobody wants to let her in on anything. I truly missed the tension and suspense that was rampant in Pawn and I found Captive to be bland.
The Narration:
I think the narration of this one was very dry and I found myself getting easily distracted from this audio. I really found Lameece Isaq’s voice to be quite boring and her voices for each of the characters weren’t engaging enough. I can’t see myself listening to any other audiobooks she narrates.
Overall:
Captive is a mediocre installment in the Blackcoat Rebellion series with a lackluster romance and main character....more
Check out Scott Reads It! for reviews, giveaways, & more! The Vault Of Dreamers was one of my anticipated books of fall 2014 and yet, it’s also one o Check out Scott Reads It! for reviews, giveaways, & more! The Vault Of Dreamers was one of my anticipated books of fall 2014 and yet, it’s also one of the most disappointing books of the year for me. This book has an amazing premise that involves a dystopian game show, but this book is poorly executed with a deadly slow-paced plot and characters that are terribly bland. I felt so tempted to abandon this book several times while reading because I never felt any connection to any of the characters.
Welcome to the Forge School where students are monitored for 12 hours a day and their every move is displayed on TV in a Big Brother-esque show. After a long 12 hour day, students are forced to take sleeping pills and into a 12 hour slumber, but things aren’t quite that simple as Rosie discovers. All it takes is a simple act of resistance and suddenly Rosie’s world turns upside down.
I’m not sure why anyone would want to watch The Forge Show for 12 hours, let alone for more than 5 minutes. The characters on this show aren’t interesting at all and are very bland to the point where their character arcs are virtually non-existent. For a reality show, these characters don’t have large personalities and this show doesn’t really have much drama. I don’t quite get why hundreds of thousands of people watch this show for hours on end, if it were me I’d probably flip to a different channel.
The Vault Of Dreamers features a love triangle, one that is flimsily constructed and unmemorable. I’m not a huge fan of love triangles because they’re over done and Vault has such an unnecessary one. The two love interests are Linus and Burnham, both of which lack development and were characters I couldn’t care about. This love triangle doesn’t really add much to the story and merely added cliche moments to the plot.
Vault is a so-so start to a new series and I had very little interest in Rosie’s adventures to the point where I struggled to finish this book. I was really put off by the romance and the incredibly slow-pace of this nove, I know that I’ll be skipping the sequel. ...more
I expected something radically different from Red Queen because of the bloody cover and comparisons to X-Men and Assassin’s Creed. What I did read wasI expected something radically different from Red Queen because of the bloody cover and comparisons to X-Men and Assassin’s Creed. What I did read was far from gory and simply didn’t interest me at all, but I kept on reading and reading. I had to force my self to read this one because of my apathy and I desired so much more from this novel. After making it through around 20% of this novel, I can say that it reads like a tamer Red Rising with aspects of The Jewel thrown in for good measure. Eventually I will get back to this one because so many are enjoying it, but for now I’m putting this one to the side. ...more
Seen at Bookish Antics! The Mime Order is the spellbinding second installment in Shannon’s seven book series and this is just the beginning of a new liSeen at Bookish Antics! The Mime Order is the spellbinding second installment in Shannon’s seven book series and this is just the beginning of a new literary phenomenon. TMO is beautifully written and allows readers to delve even further into the world of Scion, a trip that they surely won’t forget. I was a bit worried originally how this series could encompass so many novels, but I should never have doubted Shannon because this book is damn near perfect. Things are just starting to heat up for Paige and her friends and I don’t want to miss a single moment.
Paige has escaped Sheol I, but she’s not even close to being free from the clutches of Scion. She’s now the most wanted criminal in the area and her face is everywhere as the world searches for the Dreamwalker. To make things even worse, a deadly crime causes the Unnatural Assembly to cast an eye upon Jaxon and Paige. Not only that, but now it seems that the Rephaim are no longer content with hiding and they’re not pleased with Paige.
I just don’t even how to describe how much I enjoyed The Mime Order, but I do know that this was even better than The Bone Season (a feat that’s hard to top considering TBS was one of the best books of 2013). I started off my year right by reading TMO and there wasn’t enough time in the day for me to read this book. Every time I start reading, I just wished I could put life on pause and reading without any interruptions.
The Mime Order is slow-paced and yet I was completely addicted from the first few sentences. The action and romance are small portions of the novel, but it’s the incredible world-building, character development and prose that kept me hooked. I loved watching Paige dissect Scion’s secrets layer by layer and show readers what lurks in the shadows of this civilization. Scion is not just your average dystopia, it’s far better and I can’t wait to see more of it in the following 5 novels.
Though I really enjoy following Paige and Warden on their journeys, I’m so glad that we get to see more of the side characters. Characters like Nick, Eliza, Zeke and countless others are given the opportunity to shine and I found that I enjoyed reading about the secondary characters much more than I thought I would. In book one, I didn’t care much for anyone beside the main cast of characters, but now I have so much love for all of our heroes and heroines.
Just reading Samantha Shannon’s prose is enough to remind me why I love this series so much. I would reread this series just to give me something to devour while I wait for book three. There’s something so ethereal and dream-like about the writing in TMO that makes me feel as if dream-walking and psychics are legitimate. I love all of the imagery in this novel especially when it involved moths and butterflies; I’m so glad that the artist in charge of the cover decided to highlight these extended metaphors on it.
Can I just say that I love Paige and Warden’s relationship so much? It’s truly not fair that Shannon keeps on teasing us with their relationship, in each book we’re only given a smidge of romance and it’s just not enough. The few scenes that we do get are heart-pounding and so memorable, but I just need more Warden-Paige page time in the subsequent novels.
I loved The Mime Order and it was everything I wanted it to be, much to my delight. From start to finish, this book is truly something special and I know that readers will simultaneously loathe and love Shannon after that cliffhanger TMO ends with. I need, need, need, need book three more than air at this point and I just know it will be bloody brilliant....more
Check out Scott Reads It for reviews, giveaways & more! Savage Drift is the 3rd and final book in The Monument 14 Trilogy and it's always interesting tCheck out Scott Reads It for reviews, giveaways & more! Savage Drift is the 3rd and final book in The Monument 14 Trilogy and it's always interesting to see how series conclusions pan out. Savage Drift maintains the same spirit as the previous books in this series, but I found that I quickly became annoyed with the characters. To complicate matters even more, I wasn't a huge fan of this novel's conclusion and it felt like it was extremely lacking.
The characters in Savage Drift are still the lovable characters that we met back in the Greenway, but something feels so different about them. These characters have grown for better or worse and their lives are forever changed because of the chemical exposure.
I truly wish Dean would have given up his protector charade because it really started to bother me. I truly didn't think that Astrid didn't need to be constantly protected and the testosterone contest that Jake and Dean were constantly competing in was a shame to watch. I didn't expect any better from Jake, but after seeing Dean mature so much in Monument 14 & Sky On Fire, it was truly upsetting. I also wanted to see Astrid tell off these boys in this book because she doesn't need a man to protect her.
Josie's story never really interested me and I missed seeing her interact with the other Monument, CO kids. Her story didn't progress fast enough and it felt like it was slightly repetitive, I just wanted Laybourne to move on from her story.
Though the Monument kids really went through an ordeal, I really didn't like the way this series was concluded. The 1st two books in this series were extremely realistic and gritty so it's a shame that Savage Drift ends on a weak, unrealistic note. The finale to this series feels like it wasn't drawn out well and it was too much of a "happily ever after" for me to be content with it. As much as I would like for everything to be happy and dandy for the Monument kids, "a happily ever after" feels so wrong and untrue to the spirit of this series. I felt cheated after reading the final pages of Savage Drift and I know that there were much better ways to end this series.
The Monument 14 series had it's ups and downs and Savage Drift truly feels like a step backward. I really felt like Sky On Fire was an improvement over Monument 14 and it's a shame that Savage Drift couldn't successfully conclude this series. I feel hesitant about recommending this series to dystopian fans after being so disappointed by this series's conclusion. ...more
Check out Scott Reads It for reviews, giveaways & more! Meridian is the sequel to Arclight and I truly didn't know what to expect from this book by anCheck out Scott Reads It for reviews, giveaways & more! Meridian is the sequel to Arclight and I truly didn't know what to expect from this book by any means. When I had initially read Arclight, I had thought that it was a stand-alone and I was happy to hear that it was the first book in a trilogy. After reading Meridian, I can't help but think that maybe Arclight would've worked better as a stand-alone because Meridian is extremely disappointing. Meridian is way too slow-paced and this book definitely could've been shortened by at least 50 pages.
Marina discovers that Honoria knows more about the Fade than she's letting on and Marina finds out that there's another group of survivors outside the Arclight. The only problem is that danger lurks outside of the Arclight and these creatures are even more dangerous than the Fade themselves.
I had such a hard time getting into Meridian and I definitely think the lack of an Arclight recap hindered my enjoyment of this novel. I read Arclight so long ago and I couldn't remember much what happened in the novel besides a few plot-lines. I was extremely confused for the first 20% or so and slowly I started to remember bits and pieces eventually but the lack of a recap truly was a poor decision.
I think one of the major problems with Meridian is that the summary spoils most of the major plot points of this book which is even more troubling considering those plot points are all that ever seems to occur in this novel. A great deal of this book is spent on Marina attempting to uncover the Fade's secrets and truthfully the "big secrets" aren't all that shocking. The rest of this book covers Marina and her friends attempting to find the group of survivors and that's it. After reading over 450 pages of Meridian, I feel like this book is so extraneous and unnecessary; Meridian feels like it could've been a short story that was unreasonably expanded into a full-length novel. Meridian could easily have been less than 100 pages, but it was filled with so much bland dialogue and character development.
I remember that I used to root for Marina and Tobin's relationship, but in Meridian their relationship quickly went downhill. I can't even fathom why I ever was a fan of the romance in this series because the romance in Meridian is extremely mediocre. Tobin is so irritating and I truly don't think that he deserves to be with Marina anymore.
The Fade are back in Meridian and while they are still frightening, I feel like they have lost their charm. After the incredibly, intense scenes involving the Fade in Arclight, watching the Fade be reduced into unengaging characters in Meridian feels wrong. The Fade aren't the same creatures any more, but I feel as a reader that they aren't appealing to me unless they are scaring the bejeebus out of me. The characters in Meridian are a bit too comfortable with the Fade and for that reason, these creatures seemed to have lost their edge.
Meridian is an extremely weak sequel and it doesn't deliver a thrilling, terrifying adventure like Arclight did. I didn't become interested in the story until I was near the half-way point and this book suffered from pacing problems. While the ending is exciting, by that point I was tired of reading this book and a part of me just wanted it to be over. Those who enjoyed Arclight will likely be irritated with the turn that this series has taken with Meridian....more
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