"Quick to the point, to the point no faking" book reviews

Feeling very white rabbitlike with my book reviews lately. They are piling up behind me, and as today is a snow day (no therapy for my little guy) and my husband is home sick, I am going to take a few and try to do some catching up! 

Bonus points if you can tell me what song my blog post title is from! Lol.

Crystal Kingdom by Amanda Hocking:

I love these books. They are like a self-indulgent box of chocolates with a big glass of red wine. Or whatever floats your boat. The covers are pretty, the heroines are tough, savvy, independent, and the love interests are actually interesting. I also love the fact that Hocking introduced trolls to the line up of supernatural beings in YA. Pretty trolls but trolls. This is the third book in the Kanin Chronicles and I was so excited to read it - I wasn't let down. Action and adventure, love, mysteries revealed - it was a fun read! This is my favorite series that Hocking has written - I feel she just gets better and better.

If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins:

A slight departure from Higgins' usual fare, this book has a little more meat and substance to it than the usual romance. And I loved it. This book was more complex, and explored the relationship of sisters, mothers, fathers - and how we view them in comparison to how they may really be, as the humans that they are. As we all are. It deals with infidelity, divorce, the death of a spouse - and while this seems like a whole lot for one little book to handle, Higgins pulled it off masterfully. I loved Jenny and Rachel, and of course, Leo, the tortured musician downstairs. I loved this book, and I hope that Higgins writes more like this one! 

~ Thank you to my friend Mary, who picked this for book club! 

The Final Reveille by Amanda Flower:

I checked this out from the library after reading the second book in the series, The Final Tap, which I received from NetGalley. I really liked The Final Tap, and was just interested enough to see what I had missed in the first book. I am glad I did! I love living history museums, and this book really speaks to that history loving wannabe museum director inside me. The series is fun and escapist - although this first book was a bit slow and dragged on just a tad. I wanted to kind of rush through bits of it, or tell the characters to hurry up. Despite this, with a whole pile of books to choose from and some hopscotch reading, this was the book that held my interest, and this was the book that I finished. I think that speaks more than anything else I could say. I think the characters are interesting and I look forward to seeing them grow with the series. 

Book Review: Frostfire

Title: Frostfire
Author: Amanda Hocking
Source: Library

Goodreads Summary:

Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

My thoughts:

I don't know when Amanda Hocking became one of my favorite authors to read, but there she is. She kind of snuck in there when I wasn't looking. I have read her Mermaid series and Trylle series, and enjoyed them. This book was even better, in my opinion.

Bryn Aven is a complicated character - she has just the right amount of both internal and external conflict to make her interesting. She's a tough cookie, almost too tough to be completely likable, but she shows enough vulnerability that the reader can sympathize with her. The plot itself was pretty good ~ and kept me reading until I finished. My only complaint is that the story ended rather abruptly. It seemed to end mid-scene, with no real ending at all! I hate that. I don't mind a cliffhanger, but I like cliffhangers that have a little bit more closure. Lol.

I am so upset I have to wait until May for the next installment! This was the perfect read for me at this time. It held my interest and I loved the setting and the characters. If you are a fan of YA or supernatural, you will like this book! Even if not, and you are looking for something fun to read, you might want to give it a go.

Wake - Review

Title: Wake
Author: Amanda Hocking
Source: Library

Goodreads Summary:

Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

My thoughts:

I have a thing for mermaid stories.  I like them best when they are soulless and evil though, like the ones in Pirates of the Carribean.  Maybe it all started with the Disney version of Peter Pan, I don't know, but that is one of my favorite movies of all time.   I enjoy Hocking's books because although she writes in the supernatural type genre, she writes about something different than witches, ghosts, vampires, and werewolves.  Her last book was about trolls, and now sirens.  Huzzah Hocking!

So, I was excited as I read this book because the mermaids are not really mermaids, they are sirens of myth.  They are evil and heartless and to be honest were a little scarier than even I wanted!  Their origin story was well done and interesting, but part of the story required that there always be four sirens, and for some reason that bothered me.  I can't explain why, but it did.  Irriational and a small thing, but there it is. It bugged me. Lol.

The main characters of Gemma, Harper, Alex and Daniel was pretty good.  I loved Harper and Daniel's story, and I was rooting for them the whole way.  I kept expecting him to be something more than what he was, so we will see in book two of this series.   Harper reminds me of myself in a way, how she takes care of her younger sibling.  My brother is six years younger than me,  and I took care of him a lot when he was younger and my mom was at work.  So I totally can see where Harper is coming from. I loved Gemma and her dedication to her swimming, and her growing relationship to Alex, although in some parts the descriptions of Alex made me think he might be a little off.  

The big showdown was pretty cool, and a little sad. The ending of course was a cliffhanger, and now I have to wait until Winter 2013 to see what happens.   I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to seeing what happens next.  

Switched - Review

Title:  Switched
Author: Amanda Hocking
Source: Librarything

Goodreads Summary:

When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of.


My thoughts:


I actually really enjoyed this book a great deal.  I love supernatural creature books, and this was a cool departure from the normal vampires, fairies, werewolves, etc.  Because really, who ever equates trolls with interesting or beautiful? Yet that is what Hocking does with this book.


Wendy feels like has never quite fit in at school, or in her family- especially after her own mother tried to kill her.  She lives with her aunt and over-protective brother, and knows she is loved- yet she senses she is not quite like them, and agonizes over the trouble she has created in their lives.  Then she meets Finn, who has been sent to find her by her real mother, a troll.  Wendy also learns that she is a troll princess, and that she is a changeling. 


Usually heroines like Wendy annoy me.  The ones who are always rebelling and fighting for no reason whatsoever. Wendy won me over though.  I think in a sense I feel sorry for her- Wendy goes to the land of trolls (which is in Minnesota!) to give her aunt and brother a break, but also because she is curious to meet her true mother, since the one she knew for six years hated her.  Unfortunately, her birth mother is not that great either, and seems really cold.  And I loved Finn.  


I thought that this book was fun, and different.  This book reminds me of a PG version of Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series, and I enjoyed it a great deal.  I can't wait to read the rest of the series!