Book Review: Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well, Armstrong definitely closed the series with a bang. I enjoyed this volume so much that I’m tempted to go back and re-read the entire series just to have more right now.
All the characters we’ve gotten to know are back: Clay, Elena, Jaime and Jeremy, Hope and Karl, Paige and Lucas, Eve and Kristof, Adam, Sean, Bryce, and Benicio. Savannah, however, is the center of this novel while the others weave in and out of the action.
Savannah Levine was a child when she was introduced in one of the earliest books of the series, Stolen. She is definitely a full adult now, capable of holding her own with or without spells. She is also an incredible nexus of influence — and those who want to use or influence her just don’t take “no” for an answer no matter how forcefully she says it.
The Supernatural Liberation Movement (SLM) wants to use Savannah in their quest to bring supernaturals into the open, but she isn’t interested. She’s been fighting their agents since Waking the Witch, but some of the plots their primary members are associated in go all the way back to Stolen. These are the people who killed Eve, so why would Savannah help them?
Armstrong has done a masterful job of weaving little threads together from all the different books so that they wind up in one neat package. I was enthralled from the first word through the last, but satisfied with where she left the characters. I look forward to reading any new stories she chooses to tell in the Otherworld, but I can see that this round is finished. Kudos to her for a job well done.
Tags: Kelley Armstrong, Women of the Otherworld
Book Review: Enthralled edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Enthralled by Melissa Marr
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Journeys, literal or otherwise, are the theme of this young adult anthology. Appropriately enough, it was conceived as the result of a book tour.
“Giovanni’s Farewell” by Claudia Gray is a sweet, coming-of-age story of sorts. The twist is that it features a brother and sister, twins, rather than just one person. They visit Rome with a school group while dealing with major changes in their lives. There was too much background crammed into a short story, but it was interesting.
Carrie Ryan’s “Scenic Route” is a disturbing, post-apocalyptic story set in the world of The Forest of Hands and Teeth about two young sisters trying to survive in an isolated cabin. The older sister keeps the younger one occupied with the planning of a road trip that will never happen, always hoping against hope that the girl won’t realize what their reality is. How long can they stay isolated enough to survive? Bloody, frightening, and visceral.
“Red Run” by Kami Garcia is the story of a girl who has lost the only person she loves in the world, and the trip she takes to avenge his death. How do you hunt a ghost? Maybe it isn’t fair, coming right after Ryan’s story, but I didn’t truly feel the main character’s feelings.
Jackson Pearce’s “Things About Love” is a sweet story involving a jinn researching love. I felt like I’d come into the middle of something, so I checked and found that she’s written a novel, As You Wish, in the same setting. While this story technically stands on its own, it would probably be enriched by having read As You Wish.
“Niederwald” by Rachel Vincent is the first story I’ve read in her Soul Screamers series. Sabine, a macha (nightmare), takes a road trip with a human acquaintance and detours to Niederwald, Texas, home to the harpies. No, there’s no way that could go wrong. Of course you know from the moment they hit the parking lot that it will go wrong, but at least it’s an interesting sort of wrong.
Melissa Marr’s “Merely Mortal” feels as though it’s probably set in the same world as her Wicked Lovely series.
“Facing Facts” by Kelley Armstrong is set in her Darkest Powers universe. I read the first of those books, but obviously a lot has passed since then, and there were spoilers in this story. It really centers around Chloe and Tori, with a little Derek tossed in. Tori learns something she doesn’t want to know and reacts badly, running off on her own, which is dangerous. Chloe goes after her and they get into trouble. That seemed rather predictable to me, but at least the type of trouble wasn’t what I expected. Tori doesn’t seem to have changed since the first book, but Chloe is coming into control of her abilities.
Sarah Rees Brennan’s “Let’s Get this Undead Show on the Road” is about a boy band that features a vampire, Christian. He’s an unusual vampire, all alone without a nest or a sire. His journey seems to be about his identity as a vampire, although the band is on tour and has another sort of journey to make, as well.
“Bridge” by Jeri Smith-Ready is told from a ghost’s point of view, 233 days after death. It’s frustrating being a ghost, because most people can’t see or hear you. There are things you have to accomplish before moving on, though, that require communication with the living. Finding a “bridge” and working things out takes a lot of effort. This was a touching story, bittersweet and well-told.
Kimberly Derting’s “Skin Contact” nearly broke me. Rafe is looking for his girlfriend. He knows where he needs to go, and he’s guided by dreams. This story nearly broke me. It’s told sparingly, and something feels perfectly right about it, but it hurts. According to her author biography, Rafe was introduced in her novel Desires of the Dead.
“Leaving” by Ally Condie is a very literary story, about a girl left behind after her mother dies and her father leaves. She spends the story preparing to go after her father. It’s hard to describe much more than that, or to have much of an opinion. It was well-written and I think I’ll probably remember it for a long time.
Jessica Verday’s “At The Late Night, Double Feature, Picture Show” is a darkly funny story about a girl from a family of monster hunters. She’s usually the bait, but tonight she has decided to be the hunter — without backup. I’d like to read more from Verday.
“IV League” by Margaret Stohl just didn’t hit me right. It’s the story of a bunch of southern vampires on a college tour, which could have been funny but wasn’t written that way. The whole thing just didn’t sit well with me, perhaps because the main character seemed too unrealistically out of touch for someone who obviously had access to television and the internet.
Mary E. Pearson’s “Gargouille” is the most touching love story in the collection. Just read it.
“The Third Kind” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is, on the surface, about a road trip to San Antonio. The real journey is much deeper, one of coming to understanding one’s calling.
Rachel Caine’s Morganville is the setting for her “Automatic.” I think I’ve read a Morganville novella, but my memory of it is dim. The Morganville Blood Bank introduces an automated withdrawal machine, essentially a soda can dispenser. Michael Glass is ordered to try it first, as a demonstration for the older, more traditional vampires, with unexpected results. His journey is one of self-knowledge. I didn’t really care much about him, his journey, his girlfriend, or anything else. The setting and characters do nothing for me, but your mileage may vary.
Altogether, the anthology was worth reading. There were some low spots, but that’s true of any collection. To be fair, I’m sure someone who is more enthusiastic about young adult fiction would also be more enthusiastic about the works here.
Tags: Fantasy, Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, young adult
Review: Spellbound by Kelley Armstrong
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Waking the Witch and Spell Bound should truly be read back to back. In fact, they should be read with 13 on hand, almost as a trilogy within the series.
At the end of Waking the Witch, Savannah silently thought that if it would reunite an orphan with her grandmother, Savannah would gladly give up her powers. Something heard her and took her up on that unintended deal, and she finds herself powerless for the first time in her life.
Savannah has always been so very powerful that she has counted on her spells more than most witches or sorcerors do, so she finds living without them to be very difficult — especially since a witch hunter and others are after her. There’s a Supernatural Liberation Movement that wants to use her as one of its figureheads, with or without her cooperation, in their quest to bring supernaturals out of the closet and into the spotlight. She has to do some serious soul-searching and growth in the process of avoiding enemies and getting creative about staying alive.
The plot moves extremely quickly, so much so that I couldn’t keep track of what day it was in the book. In fact, it moves right into the plot of 13. I’m having fits because I don’t have it on hand, and I just can’t wait for the library to get around to me on the hold list — I might have to break down and buy it instead.
Tags: Fantasy, Kelley Armstrong, Women of the Otherworld
Review: The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance, edited by Trisha Telep
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance by Trisha Telep
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m extremely surprised by how much I enjoyed this anthology! I picked it up intending to just read the stories by authors I know I like—Kelley Armstrong, Ilona Andrews, Carrie Vaughn, Holly Lisle, Jeaniene Frost, Maria V. Snyder. I had never heard of some of the other authors. A few names I remembered seeing in other anthologies and not enjoying their work.
I did, however, deliberately put myself in a tolerant mindset: this is a book of romance stories. It wouldn’t be fair to judge them as anything else.
That worked rather better than it has in the past. I still got a little annoyed at having so much of each story dedicated to couples (and all het/mono couples, at that!) rather than some intriguing world ideas, but managed to stay on track.
In the end, I only skipped one story—I just don’t like the Weather Wardens stuff at all. I found a couple of others substandard, but all in all, Telep chose very well. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance (maybe even those who usually stick to just romance), and most urban fantasy fans.
Tags: Carrie Vaughn, Holly Lisle, Ilona Andrews, Jeaniene Frost, Kelley Armstrong, Maria V. Snyder, Reading, The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance, Trisha Telep
Books Books Books!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
Yes, the girl and I managed a library run (to the GOOD library) on Friday. It took more time and energy than expected, of course, but we got a bunch of very good books.
I read My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon last night, with much giggling. The stories were a bit uneven (normal for an anthology), but worthwhile overall.
I especially liked “Heorot,” the Harry Dresden piece from Jim Butcher. I love the way he brings in mythology from so many different cultures.
Kelly Armstrong’s “Stalked” was fun, too. Her werewolves are just more wolfish than most, in my opinion.
P.N. Elrod’s “Her Mother’s Daughter” wasn’t bad at all. I’ve obviously missed some of her Jack Fleming novels, and I’m looking forward to catching up.
I want to find some of Marjorie M. Liu’s longer works, as “Where the Heart Lives” isn’t the first of her short stories that have impressed me. What’s even better is that WtHL is a total departure from the earlier stories I remember.
Tags: Harry Dresden, Jack Fleming, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, library, Marjorie M. Liu, Otherworld, P.N. Elrod, Vampire Files
Presentation Done, Good Reading
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Blogging, College, Reading
I can’t talk about the presentation. I might have flashbacks. The fact that BOTH my classes that start next week have group projects is NOT giving me a happy.
However, I did read Kelly Armstrong’s latest Women of the Otherworld book, Personal Demon, yesterday, and then Dana Stabenow’s Prepared for Rage today. They were good.
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Tags: Dana Stabenow, Kelley Armstrong
Happy Wednesday!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under College, Education, Family, Homeschooling, Reading
Sam and I had a very nice date night while Katie was out with her beau. He had started making chili last night, finished it tonight, and added corn muffins. I’m not a big fan of chili (I won’t eat it if Sam didn’t make it), but it was a very satisfying meal.
The girl is doing very well in the online course she’s taking, and I’m happy to say that my semester is going well, too. It’s hard to believe that my baby will likely start college courses this summer or fall!
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Tags: Carrie Vaughn, Firefly, Garden of Good, John Ringo, Joss Whedon, Julie Cochrane, Julie Kenner, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, Lori Handeland, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu, Monica Ferris, online course, Serenity, Tom Kratman, Vicki Pettersson
Review: Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
Cool under pressure. If they posted employment ads for hitmen, that’d be the number two requirement, right after detail-oriented. A good hitman must possess the perfect blend of personality type A and B traits, a control freak who obsesses over every clothing fiber yet projects the demeanor of the most laid-back slacker. After pulling a hit, I can walk past police officers without so much as a twitch in my heart rate. I’d love to chalk it up to nerves of steel, but the truth is I just don’t rattle that easily.
Nadia Stafford is quite the departure from Kelley Armstrong’s other heroines, and that isn’t just because she’s a human rather than a werewolf, witch, vampire, ghost or necromancer. Don’t let that keep you from reading Exit Strategy, though. This book, while not a fantasy, proves that Armstrong is much more than “just” a fantasy author. In fact, it was rather refreshing to read an entirely “mundane” crime novel, since so much of the fiction market is focusing on romantic dark fantasy that borders on erotica.
I am, admittedly, cheap. I seldom buy books for myself, preferring to check them out from the library. Anything I do buy, I’ve probably already read, and want to own.
Our local library hadn’t ordered Exit Strategy, and I’m not big on crime novels, so I really wasn’t planning to read it. It was just there, on an endcap display with Armstrong’s other novels. The cover caught my attention—how could it not? I was killing time, so I opened it and read a random passage. I found that I couldn’t put it down, and ended up buying it. I was in the middle of several other books at the time, but compared to Exit Strategy, they might as well have been cereal boxes.
No, it isn’t a supernatural novel. No, it isn’t a romance. It isn’t even a mystery, exactly. But it’s very, very good. The plotting is even, and I found the main characters believable. I’m glad Armstrong has been contracted for a second novel, but I want it now, please?!
How does a “thirty-something mom” as Armstrong describes herself, come up with novels like this? I’m not sure, but I’m hoping this 40-something mom can someday manage even a chapter or two as of this caliber.
By the way, if anyone ever doubts Kelley Armstrong’s femininity, I will simply point that person to the following paragraph:
I slanted my gaze his way, in case he was talking to me. He wasn’t, of course. I was invisible…or as close to it as a nonsuperhero could get, having donned the ultimate female disguise: no apparent makeup and thirty-five pounds of extra padding./blockquote>
Yep, instant invisibility spell!
Tags: assassin, Exit Strategy, hit woman, Kelley Armstrong, Kelley Armstrong Cool, Nadia Stafford, review, steel