Sinner (Review)

Wolves of Mercy Falls: Sinner | Maggie Stiefvater

Published by: Scholastic, July 3rd 2014

Genre: YA, Romance

Pages: 368

Format: Hardback

Source: Purchased

A standalone companion book to the internationally bestselling Shiver Trilogy. 

Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole's story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole's darkest secret -- his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel's life. Can this sinner be saved?

I didn't enjoy this book by anyone's stretch of imagination. I'd built Sinner up to be an amazing fix for the gaping hole of not knowing what happened to Cole and Isabel, and in a way it was but it also wasn't. It gave me the closure I craved, and I'm happy to know the end of their stories, but this was far from a Wolves of Mercy Falls novel - because it had no wolves in it.

I think the massive hiccup with this is that it was marketed, obviously, as a spin off of WOMF, but it's absolutely not. Sure it follows two of the Shiver characters, but it's not paranormal romance. It's straight up contemporary romance. Which, I'm sure you know, is not my deal. The first line, if cool and hooky, is a complete lie. Cole isn't a werewolf in LA, he's a guy with issues and problems and addictions in LA. If this book hadn't been written in Maggie's wondrous way I wouldn't have finished it, I'm sure. But it was, and it was real and raw and aching and I did love the love story ... but it felt severely lacking.

I kept waiting and waiting for the wolf part to become fully integrated in the story ... but it never was. There were a couple scenes where Cole became wolf but the emphasis was still on the realistic, the real life issues. And I didn't like it. I love Cole because he's damaged and needy for love, and I love Isabel because she's frosty and needy for love ... but I didn't love their story, not in Sinner, because of the gaping lack of wolf.

I'm kind of disappointed by Sinner, not gonna lie. I expected fireworks but I got a shitty handheld sprinkler. Not to say this book is shitty - it isn't. It made me cry so many times, and it broke and healed my heart ... but I didn't enjoy it. And I'm not sure fans of Shiver will enjoy it either. I loved it in parts, don't get me wrong, but I just ... meh.

I'm happy to have read it but I wouldn't read it again. Recommended for fans of realistic fiction and contemporary romance.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★☆☆☆

Writing Style ★★★★☆

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(from published copy:)

I am a werewolf in LA.

Blitz: Hidden by M. Lathan (w/ giveaway!)

Hidden | M. Lathan

Published November 12th, 2012

Sixteen-year-old Leah Grant has given up on being normal. She’d settle for stopping the voices in her head, intrusive visions of the future, and better odds of making it to her seventeenth birthday.

That’s the thing about pretending to be human in a world where magic used to exist – at any moment, her cover could be blown and she’ll be burned to death like the rest of the witches.

Everything changes when she loses control of her powers and flees the orphanage she grew up in. She desperately wants to be invisible but finds her face plastered on every news channel as humans panic over the possible resurgence of her kind. And now the hunters won’t give up until they find her.

Making friends for the first time in her life and falling in love with one of them drives her to discover why she is unlike any being she’s ever met – human or otherwise. The dangerous powers inside of her that would repel Nathan, her new, handsome reason for living, are priceless to some. The locked up forever kind of priceless. And to others, they are too dangerous to allow her to live.

Let’s hope she can stay hidden.

 (free on Amazon)

About the Author

M. Lathan is a young adult fiction author. She lives in San Antonio with her husband and mini-schnauzer. She enjoys writing and has a B.S. in Psych and a Masters in Counseling. Her passion is a blend of her two interests – creating new worlds and stocking them with crazy people. She enjoys reading anything with interesting characters and writing in front of a window while asking rhetorical questions … like her idol Carrie Bradshaw.

http://mlathan.com/

Read on for an excerpt from Hidden!

Sienna snatched last week’s Chemistry test from my desk. I hadn’t turned it over. I knew it was a D minus.

She cackled and passed it around.

“Leah, you would think someone who spends most of her time alone would have better grades,” she said. Her birds laughed on cue. “What do you do all day? Obviously not study.” She gasped slowly like she’d gotten a revelation in that blonde head of hers. “You fantasize about us, don’t you? You probably sleep in Whit’s old bed to feel close to her.”

Laughter spread around the room like an airborne disease. Disease. I shivered. That was an intriguing thought; I could almost hear the sound their bodies would make against the floor when it hit.

“Leah, come on. Say something. Scream at me, it’s been a while. At least cry,” Sienna said, laughing and leaning into my desk, closer to danger.

I didn’t cry. I never cry. And if I were going to, it wouldn’t be because of Sienna. I had bigger problems. I’d just broken a promise I’d made to God to not think about hurting His people, His children. And today was not the day to piss Him off.

My old roommate, Whitney Nguyen, graciously returned my test as she cackled with the rest of the birds. She liked the idea of me pining over her, but she knew I didn’t spend my free time thinking about her or sleeping in her old bed. After fourteen years of hard labor as my roommate, she’d given up on being friends or me being remotely normal. The current theory to explain my oddness was that I was in love with all of the girls and consumed by lust.

As long as they didn’t know it was magic.

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Cinder (Review)

The Lunar Chronicles: Cinder | Marissa Meyer

Published by: Puffin, January 5th 2012

Genre: YA, Science Fiction

Pages: 387

Format: Paperback

Source: Bought

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

You know those books that everyone loves, and you reaaaaally want to love but aren't sure if you will? This was one of those books for me, and I am extra happy after the mediocrity of Wither and Shadow & Bone to say that Cinder lives up to the hype.

It's a retelling of Cinderella like none you've read before, and I'm thoroughly in love with it. It was a slow burn, and took a while for me to fully appreciate its complexities but once I was proper drawn into it, I was reading at a rate of knots and devouring every last word. Marissa Meyer is a master storyteller. I don't know how she managed to take a lifeless tale such as Cinderella and inject so much excitement and life into it. Cinderella isn't one of my favourite fairy tales, not by a long shot, but Cinder manages to be completely unrecognisable while still retaining the original tale.

Cinder(ella) is a mechanic, is tortured and brave and badass. A mechanic. A cyborg. And the crap she's had to endure from her adopted family is on the top side of extreme. I admired her a lot. I didn't love her, though, which held back the rating on this. I adore Kai, and really did like Cinder but I didn't love them together. Maybe this will change with the next books.

I did love the story, though, and the world, and the villain. I especially loved the politics. I need more books like this and I can't wait to get a hold of the next two books.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★★★☆

Writing Style ★★★☆☆

Reading round up (38)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week. Will I continue to put off finishing the Icons series? Probably.

4th August

Currently reading: The House of The Four Winds | Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

Current page/percent: 53%

Read today: 44%

Thoughts: I was definitely having a grumpy reading day yesterday. This book isn't boring AT ALL. I love it - fighting, pirates, mysterious island, swoon-worthy romance. Oh yeah, this is awesome. Flying through it now.

5th August

Currently reading: The House of The Four Winds | Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

Current page/percent: 79%

Read today: 26%

Thoughts: Ugh. The fuck is this Shamal????

6th August

Finished The House of The Four Winds and I'm SO EMOTIONAL. The name of the new ship! *cries* Also I started Ignite by Erica Crouch, which at least three of my friends rate this. I enjoyed Crouch's Madly, Deeply so I have high hopes but I hear it features Michael, the angel I despise the most so ... good luck, Ignite.

7th August

Read a further 6% of Ignite. I'm not wowed yet, and I'm findng it hard to get into it, but I'm sticking with it. I also read The Automaton's Treasure by Cassandra Rose Clarke (33 pages) which is just lovely and fun and stunning. I could live in this world forever.

8th August

Nothing read. Stressy day.

9th August

Not enjoying Ignite, so I'm swapping to Marissa Meyer's Cinder. Need something to pick me up. I read 138 pages and I'm liking it so far.

10th August

Currently reading: Cinder | Marissa Meyer

Current page/percent: page 303

Read today: 165 pages

Thoughts: Fuck, I'be gone from liking it enough to HOOKED. Damn damn damn I can't afford to love another series.

Books finished this week: 2

(Ughhh.)

Transparent | Natalie Whipple

Relax, I'm A Ninja | Natalie Whipple

I bought these two because they were cheap. Simple as. I had a period where I wanted to read Relax, I'm a Ninja and I'm all for supporting self pubbed authors so. I'm not sure I'll enjoy Transparent, but it was just over a pound . I enjoyed Whipple's House of Ivy and Sorrow so I hope I'll like these as well.

Endgame | Nenia Campbell

This was another cheap impulse buy. I do that a lot. I probably spend about £10 a month on impulse kindle books. Eek that's my entire income! I've heard good things from people I follow on GR about Nenia Campbell, and I'm intrigued by this. Hoping it doesn't bore me as much as James Dashner's take on the premise.

The 100 | Kass Morgan

Day 21 | Kass Morgan

Didn't enjoy the first few eps of the TV series but what the hell. I think I'll really like this book series. I'm pretty pissed they got rid of the really nice arty cover for Day 21. I know there was one, because I saw it and it matched the 100. Why is the CW dominating? Can u not? These is books, friend.

I'm still bugging you to donate to the campaign for printing and shipping of The Wandering. (We're 44% there, so close to fifty!!) To persuade you, there are REWARDS! Donate a pound for your name in the acknowledgements. Donate £3 or more for extra cool stuff, bracelets, bookmarks, rare paperbacks etc. Help me give people more free books!!

The House of The Four Winds (ARC Review)

One Dozen Daughters: The House of The Four Winds | Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

Published by: Tor Books, August 5th 2014

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, PIRATES!

Pages: 304

Format: Ebook

Source: Tor Books, via Netgalley

Mercedes Lackey is the New York Times bestselling author of the Valdemar series and romantic fantasies like Beauty and the Werewolf and The Fairy Godmother. James Mallory and Lackey have collaborated on six novels. Now, these New York Times and USA Today bestselling collaborators bring romance to the fore with The House of Four Winds.

The rulers of tiny, impoverished Swansgaard have twelve daughters and one son. While the prince’s future is assured, his twelve sisters must find their own fortunes.

Disguising herself as Clarence, a sailor, Princess Clarice intends to work her way to the New World. When the crew rebels, Clarice/Clarence, an expert with rapier and dagger, sides with the handsome navigator, Dominick, and kills the cruel captain.

Dominick leads the now-outlawed crew in search of treasure in the secret pirate haven known as The House of Four Winds. They encounter the sorceress Shamal, who claims Dominick for her own—but Clarice has fallen hard for Dominick and won’t give him up without a fight. 

Full of swashbuckling adventure, buoyant magic, and irrepressible charm, The House of the Four Winds is a lighthearted fantasy romp by a pair of bestselling writers.

Well this was really fun!

I requested The House of The Four Winds because pirates. I am loving pirates at the moment, and I need more books about them, but ordinarily I wouldn't have given a book like this a chance. I didn't quite expect it to be as good as it was. I was a giant moron. (A giant judgey moron)

The House of The Four Winds starts with Clarice, a princess from a small kingdom, having to go out and seek her fortune because her kingdom can't afford dowries for her or her sisters (there are a dozen daughters, money is tight, the baby boy is deemed more important, etc.) Clarice is an awesome swordsman, so she sets off to have swordfighting adventures to make a name for herself. However, she didn't expect to find pirates and conspiracies and an island of magic and slavery.

I LOVED this book. It took me a while to get into it, but once I was in I was hooked. Clarice is an awesome protagonist. She's tough, canny, and dangerous with a sword - everything I love in my fictional ladies. The story itself is awesome as well. There are a few moments where it gets flat, kinda like downtime, but it's filled to the brim with character development and ship life and Dominick.

Dominick is a complete heartthrob. He's honourable, handsome, and courageous. A true sea Captain. I loved seeing his relationship with Clarice (as a male Clarence) grow into friendship and then into love. I also like how Lackey and Mallory totally kept me guessing. I thought he loved Clarence, but I never quite new. It would have been awful for Clarice's feelings not to be reciprocated. But all was well. And my heart went all warm and gooey at the end.

BUT I did have a few problems with it. It's packed full of uncommon words, so much so that at the beginning I was reaching for my dictionary every sentence. It hindered my reading, but I got used to it eventually. It wasn't too bad, but it did bog down the story and a lot of times I felt like a simpler word could have been used (three uncommon words in a sentence, for example, is too far.) But aside from that and a slow beginning, I loved this book.

The House of The Four Winds is full of swashbuckling danger, heart warming romance, and tense secrets. Highly recommend.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world building ★★★☆☆

Writing Style ★★★☆☆

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(from galley:)

"The sea is a thousand roads, and none." 

"And so, the survivors made a castaway's holiday on the deck of their ruined ship and awaited the appearance of the stars, which would truly tell their fate"