Review: Amber Smoke by Kristin Cast

Title: Amber Smoke 
Author: Kristin Cast
Publication Date:  June 9th, 2015
Publisher: Diversion Publishing
Source: Borrowed from Library
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

Summary: 

There is a world that runs parallel to our own, a world in which the souls of the damned are caged, where they are looked over by the Furies, and where they spend eternity in torment, mirroring the devastation and mayhem they created when alive.

Someone has opened the cage.

The worst of terrors has crossed the barrier that separates our world from theirs, and the Furies send a great, albeit untested warrior—their only son, Alek—to try to bring those souls back. He is young and handsome, headstrong and impulsive, and he won’t be able to do it alone.

Eva has grown up, beautiful and beloved, but surrounded by secrets. First, she will be hunted in an ancient feud that will threaten her life. Then, she will become the hunter.

With the police closing in and two worlds on the verge of crumbling around them, Alek and Eva must find each other, discover the limits of their powers, and work together to save everything they hold dear, including one another. Blending elements of mythology with the dazzling storytelling that her fans have devoured through the House of Night series, Kristin Cast weaves a spellbinding and passionate tale that starts a thrilling new series with an explosive charge.

“Not all of your foes will appear in their true form. You must learn to trust your instincts.”

So this book. I do not know what I was expecting going into this, but I am not really sure it matched the expectations. I am not a fan by any means of the House of Night Series. Eventually I want to read them all, but I am in no rush. For me, the downfall to that series is its length and mediocre writing. This book reminded me of the same things that irk me when it comes to HoN.

The writing in this book left much to be desired. There is nothing spectacular about it and the plot and characters are not exciting enough to make up for it. I cannot pinpoint exactly what it is about the writing style that does not work for me, but I just know it is not my cup of tea.

As for the actual story and characters. I did not fall in love with any of the characters. Alek and Eva have this ridiculous insta-love stemmed from fate and destiny, but we do not even see any of that romance. It was such a strange concept for me.  We have them talking about love and needing each other after only spending like an hour together. I was expecting this book to be a paranormal romance and what I got was set up of a journey with a whole lot of destiny and backstory. 

Speaking of backstory, the one thing I really enjoyed with this book is the level of backstory we got on the Furies and why Alek and Eva have to save Tartarus. I also enjoyed the sisters fussing over Alek. As for plot this whole book was a drawn out forty-eight hours or so. Parts that were supposed to be suspensful and thrilling left me indifferent. I was not pulled into this story and what was happening. Typically when a character is being threatened and hurting you want to see them get better and have that small voice in the back of your head that questions if they will really make it out of this okay. I did not feel any of these thoughts or feelings at any point in this book. I just did not have a connection with the characters that comes with experiencing the story.

I have the sequel Scarlet Rain also checked out from the library, but I am not sure I even want to continue with this series at this point. But on the other hand, these are short books, so it is not a huge time commitment to read them. However, I am not at all invested in this story. I am a little curious to see what happens to Tartarus but I am not entirely motivated to continue.

Review: Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George

Title: Silver in the Blood
Author: Jessica Day George
Publication Date: July 7th, 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Source: eARC via NetGalley
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

Summary: A New York Times bestselling author brings dark secrets to life in a lush new YA perfect for fans of Libba Bray or Cassandra Clare.

Society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about the mysterious Romanian family that they barely knew. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their relatives, find proper husbands, and—most terrifyingly—learn the deep family secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, and it is time for Dacia and Lou to fulfill the prophecy that demands their acceptance of this fate . . . or fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might.

With a gorgeous Romanian setting, stunning Parisian gowns, and dark brooding young men, readers will be swept up by this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives.

After finishing this book, I’ve decided that this book just wasn’t for me. I was really intrigued by the premise and the idea of this historic Romania. There was a lot of secrecy and suspense in this book, however, I feel like it went too far. It got to the point where I was more annoyed with the slow pace and the lack of answers than anything else. I normally do not mind slow world building, but in this case it did not work for me.

The writing style of this book was also really interesting. We follow Dacia and Lou as they travel from New York to Romania where their moms grew up. The story centers on them finding out their family secrets and what it means to be a woman in their family. I loved the alternating perspectives, plus the diary entries from both characters. It really gave further insight into their characters and it helped to break up the story. I really enjoyed the relationship between Lou and Dacia. It was almost sister-like and I really appreciate that in books. However other than those two, I did not care for any of the other characters and what they added to the story.

As I said, the plot and the story were just not for me in this book. It took a really long time for this to even become a fantasy novel. I swore I was reading a historical fiction novel for the majority of this book. And I will admit, I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction. I think the major problem I had with this book was that I was expecting fantasy and that is not really what I got. While there is a definite fantasy element to this book, it took awhile for the story to actually get there.

*I received an eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

H2O by Virginia Bergin

I’m going to be completely honest and just say that the only reason I bought this book was the cover. It is gorgeous and the little cut outs with words and the raindrop shaped words under the dust jacket are awesome. It is a simplistic but beautiful cover.

As for the actual book, it was not at all what I was thinking when I picked it up. I knew it was about killer rain and that it clearly would be a story of survival, but I did not know much else. This book is told in an extremely informal first person viewpoint in a diary style. This choice makes sense later in the book, but it was completely different from other books that I have read recently. And that is not to say it was bad, it was just different.

The plot of this book focuses on Ruby attempting to survival the rain and the destruction of society. Once her family is gone, she embarks on an adventure to find her dad. While that plot may seem straight forward, it really was not that way for the majority of this book. There were many times where I did not know where this book was going.

As a character Ruby was incredibly annoying, she reminded me of those stereotypical “popular” girls that everyone dislikes. She was constantly worried about her appearance rather than the fact that everyone was dying. I found it very unrealistic that she was able to survive throughout this book when it seemed that almost no one else did.

Finally, I’m not sure at all about that ending. I have no idea if there are plans for a second book or not (I would assume so based on the non-ending), but who knows. However, this book came full circle to the point that you could argue Ruby accomplished absolutely nothing throughout this book. This was a disappointing read for me. I was so excited when I saw it at the store and the premise was promising, but overall, it lacked aspects that could have made it an enjoyable book.

*A note, this book is also known as Rain in the UK*

♛ ♛

The Barefoot Queen by Ildefonso Falcones

First off, I just want to say that I was really looking forward to this book. It takes place in 18th Century Spain. It is about two female protagonists and their struggles in Spain. However, I was disappointed in how the book played out. The beginning of the book is filled with countless acts of harassment both against Caridad and Milagros. And while I’m not completely familiar with Spanish culture in the 18th Century. I am aware of their stance on women. However, I’m not sure it was necessary to have the countless acts depicted the way they were in this book. Reading about it make be incredibly uncomfortable. And I while many books due this to allow the reader to understand what the characters are going through, in this case it was too much for me.

This is also an incrediblely long book, it is over 600 pages. It took a while for the plot of the story to play out. But we quickly met Caridad and Milagros and they quickly met each other. The writing in this book was powerful and the book as a whole was extremely well written. I enjoyed the friendship between Milagros and Caridid, however aspects of the plot and violence within the story bothered me, making this a less than enjoyable read.

*I received this book from BloggingForBooks in exchange for an honest review*

✶ ✶ Stars