The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan

The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really love this series. The combination of dragons and the old-fashioned time period is perfectly wonderful. It marries two of my favorite genres and I can't believe no one thought to do this before now. I think I liked this one more than book 2. The area she travels to has a Polynesian/Hawaiian feel to it that I really enjoyed. I loved trying to figure out how to pronounce her made up words. I hope this series continues on and on. I also think it would be a lot of fun if Brennan actually published a companion copy of Around the World in Search of Dragons. I think I will need to obtain a paper copy of this book as the digital ARC did not have the wonderful illustrations that I love so much.

This review is in exchange for a free e-edition from Netgalley.com.





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Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When I got this book I had an overwhelming desire to take time off work, build a sofa cushion and blanket fort, and just burrow in and read. Regular life crushed that dream but I still enjoyed the book. Gaiman's work usually runs a bit dark but you get a well-founded warning in the introduction that this collection of stories can be a bit disturbing. Something akin to world class campfire creepy tales or scary bedtime stories for adults. My favorite was The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury. It just really hit home for me and touched the nerve next to a fear of mine. It also reminded me of the more beautiful side of Fahrenheit 451, where people take responsibility for one book a piece to keep them alive. I love that idea. It would be such an interesting thing to see put into practice, but then you'd have hundreds of women ripping each other's tongues out to take Pride & Prejudice and no one would want poor old Gulag Archipelago. Oh well. It's a lovely notion but I'm glad it hasn't come to that.



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The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The illustrations in this book are very, very cool. Really beautiful. I wish George R.R. Martin had been writing kids books when I was growing up. On the flip side of it being a nice fairy tale, it's also somewhat timely. There are so many children growing up in war zones these days that you hope that at some point in the future they are able to find their smiles again.



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Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm just not going to understand this story until I'm done with book 3. I accept that.



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What Happens in Tuscany... by T.A. Williams

What Happens in Tuscany... by T.A. Williams

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a sweet little book that had me laughing out loud more than once. Not only does it feed a Frances Mayes fix, it also takes care of Jane Austen cravings. Not a bad combination at all. It doesn't hurt that it takes place in my ideal setting. Ah, Italy.....
Great little book if you are looking for a fun, romantic, and quick read.

This review is in exchange for a free e-edition from netgalley.com.



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Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this one. The location of the story, time wise, was a bit disorienting at first but as you read more you get the impression that was intentional. It actually made it very interesting. Even though this book was fairly long, I got the impression that the tip of the iceberg was only shown in this part of the tale. It will be really cool to see where it goes from here, considering it could go pretty much anywhere. I hear they are already planning on making this into a movie. I would really like to see that one. I was imagining Matrix-like fight scenes in my head while I was reading this so it should transfer really well to film, if they do it right.

This review is in exchange for a free e-edition from netgalley.com



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Night's Blaze by Donna Grant

Night's Blaze: Part 1 by Donna Grant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Well, I think it'll be difficult to do a proper review for each part, as it is only a part of the story, and each part is very short. Since this is how I received the story, I will do my best.

Although I am not certain of this, I got the impression that this is not the first part of this story. It seemed like there was back action that had occurred in another story by the way it was set up. Grant does do a good job of trying to give you back story in part 1 so you are not completely clueless about what is going on. Unfortunately, this makes for some choppy storytelling. This is not necessarily the author's fault. It's just an awkward thing to fill people in after a story's been started. I usually think kindly of an author for going through this for the sake of those who don't know about the earlier books.

That is was made up a good section of part 1. You spend some time getting to know the main characters and you get the background on their motivations that will, probably, carry the remaining 3 parts of this story. I really do like the twist this author is exploring of shape-shifting dragons. It's a lot of fun that they have Scottish accents as well. I hope to finish all the other parts soon as they seem to be good reading for the Valentine season.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from netgalley.com.



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Night's Blaze: Part 2 by Donna Grant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm still enjoying this story and still finding it problematic to do a decent review to just a section.

Part 2 delves more into plot development and the fleshing out of the main characters. It's doing a very good job of holding my interest. A lot of these romance novels you just tread water from one more interesting scene of smut to another. This actually has an interesting story and lore to it. Getting more interested in going back and reading some of the earlier books and some of her other work outside the series.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from netgalley.com.



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Night's Blaze: Part 3 by Donna Grant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Nice cliffhanger at the end of this one. Maybe it is better to get books in instalments. It's been a while since that's been done. It would be fun if a publisher decided to release the occasional book in this manner.

This part starts off with more character development. What I really enjoyed was the development of the more secondary characters. That was a pleasant surprise. A lot of times, the secondary characters do get the full measure they are due.

Still really enjoying this.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from netgalley.com.



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Night's Blaze: Part 4 by Donna Grant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I knew this formula felt a bit familiar. It's hard to tell from just the one book, but this feels a bit like the Black Dagger Brotherhood. If it does follow the same pattern, I'm guessing each of the books in this series focuses on one male character and how they find their mate. I'm thinking I might have to check out the other books and see if my theory is correct.

I can't think what else to say that I didn't cover in the reviews for the other parts. I really enjoyed the way the action built up and resolved.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from netgalley.com.



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If I Fall, If I Die by Michael Christie

If I Fall, If I Die by Michael Christie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It kind of started out as a cross between About a Boy and a Wes Anderson story. The chapters told from the mother's point of view really explain a lot of the plot but it was the son's chapters that really made the story for me. I loved the way his character described things. The comparisons and analogies were pure gold. The mystery aspects were very well done as well, they weren't completely transparent. It was wonderful watching the son develop through his story-telling abilities as he aged and grew more experienced in the world.

I think there are very few people who would not enjoy this book.


This review is in exchange for a free copy received from bloggingforbooks.org.



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Wicked Sense by Fabio Bueno

Wicked Sense by Fabio Bueno

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This felt like Twilight fan fiction. I don't have a problem with Twilight, it's been done, let's retire the formula. Even if your idea feels unique to you, it's still going to feel like you read Twilight just before you wrote it. That said, I have to concede there is probably still an audience of die-hard Twilight fans that will devour anything that feels familiar. That crowd would probably really enjoy this series. Personally, I have no desire to read the books that follow.

This review is in exchange for a free e-edition received from ebooksforreview.com.



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Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Trying to figure out what this book is about is like trying to remember the dream that's just slipped away from you. Or trying to remember the perfect word to describe something and it's just out of your reach. The whole thing is a bit like a dream. It feels like I should know what's going on but it's just beyond your grasp. I think I need to read the other two books.



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Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


For some reason, I had thought this series was going to be a trilogy but it feels like it has been properly wrapped up now. Perhaps it was because when I started reading this, and for a long ways into it, it had that awkward middle-child book feeling to it. It felt like there was a lot of treading water even when there was action going on. I am glad they finally brought all the characters into play. I'd been waiting on one for a long time and I was happy to finally see him (if you've been reading the stories I'm sure you know who). I do admit, I liked the first book better but I really enjoyed finding out where all the paths led. As a whole, this story is really wonderfully imaginative and fun.

This review is based on a free e-galley from Netgalley.com.





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Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Wow, that was short. But I suppose it was as long as it needed to be. This book gives you the backstory on how Levana became the way she did. I recently started watching the show Once Upon a Time and I think the reason I like it is that, at some point, you learn everyone's motivation and the explanation for why they are the way they are. The Evil Queen is not born that way, something happened to her to make her bitter and vindictive. That is what you get in this book. This is the retelling of Snow White's step-mother's tale and you get all the goods on her origin. The saddest part of this book is that you find out in the back that the next book will be the last in this series.



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