fantasy

Book Review of The Awakening by L. J. Smith

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Title: The Awakening

Series: The Vampire Diaries

Author: L.J. Smith

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 2/5

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The first book in L.J. Smith’s New York Times bestselling Vampire Diaries series, the basis of the hit CW TV show starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder.

Elena Gilbert is a high school golden girl, used to getting what she wants. And who she wants. But when the boy she’s set her sights on—the handsome and haunted Stefan—isn’t interested, she’s confused. She could never know the real reason Stefan is struggling to resist her:

Stefan is a vampire, and Elena’s in danger just by being around him. What’s more, Stefan’s dark, dangerous vampire brother Damon has just arrived in town. And wherever Damon goes, trouble always follows.

Fans of The Vampire Diaries TV show will find this book packed with the same kind of heart-stopping suspense, fierce romances, and jaw-dropping surprises that they know and love, all brought to life by New York Times bestselling author L.J. Smith.

I am a fan of The Vampire Diaries TV show and finally got around to reading this book. By the first chapter, I noticed a lot of differences from the show, which I totally understand as telling stories on TV is a lot different than with a book. So I treated it as a completely different story.

But that being said, I did not enjoy this story at all.

First off, I did not care about Elena whatsoever. She was a B**** to everyone around her. First, she walks down the hallway of school and just feels all the boys wanting her (even her uncle makes a comment about her dress before prom). It is implied all of them want to or have dated her. Currently she is dating Matt but the moment she sees Stefan, she tosses Matt to the side and goes after Stefan. She starts rumors about Stefan so no other girl will go out with him. Then prom comes, Stefan is ignoring her because he realizes she looks like Katherine, and he doesn’t want to hurt her. He ends up going with someone else and Elena, who has Matt help her by trying to make Stefan jealous, find him with someone else so she runs off with another guy to go party in the cemetery, where her parents are buried, and leaves her friends behind without telling them where she went.

Yeah, no. I don’t care about this main character. She never realizes her mistakes, doesn’t care she makes others worry, all she cares about herself, and it doesn’t ever get better. I do not recommend this book. I am glad they changed Elena in the TV series.

~Dani

Book Review of Omnihumans by Tom Leveen

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Title: Omnihumans

Author: Tom Leveen

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 5/5

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He’ll sacrifice anything to save these children. . . except being human.

The world became aware of them sixty years ago: people with remarkable physical and sometimes psychic powers, often with terrifying deformities. Most folks call them deviants; deevs for short. Rejecting the slur, they call themselves omnihumans.
Manic is a federal officer tasked with taking down allegedly dangerous deevs. He loves his job, and he’s damn good at it. He’d wipe ’em all off the face of the earth if he could, because he believes every deev out there is a threat to mankind, just by their very existence. Not everyone agrees with him, though, including his only child—a naïve college girl who has devoted her life to protecting the civil rights of those very same deviants that he hauls in off the streets.
When his daughter’s tuition funds suddenly run out, Manic accepts a high-paying, off-the-books gig assassinating individual deevs. But after learning a deviant he’s killed was hunting down gangsters trafficking in the minds and bodies of human children, Manic decides to inherit the deviant’s quest.
Manic’s identity and clarity of purpose are thrown into chaos when he uncovers the concrete labyrinth where the gangsters are doing their dirty work. There, he finds a vigilante deviant who’s also trying to destroy the organization. Manic discovers deevs may be more human than not, as it becomes irrevocably clear that rescuing these most innocent of humans may not only cost Manic his life . . . but his humanity . . .

This book reminded me a lot of the show Heroes and the X-Men, but if it was told in the perspective of those who were hunting the mutants. The press portrays these omnihumans as being dangerous, and Manic really could use the money for his daughter’s tuition. And at the same time, he would be keeping the city safe, right?

Right?

Leveen does a great job portraying the mental process of reasoning out what is right and wrong for someone in this possession. Manic wants to do what is right, but how does one know what is right? At the same time, Malakai, an omnihuman, is trying to save someone child from a human trafficking wring. What will happen when these two go head to head? Will Manic be faced with the realization that maybe these omnihumans aren’t as dangerous as they are? Or will he follow orders?

This is a great military sci-fi for anyone who loves this aspect of X-Men. I highly recommend to fans of this genre!

~Dani

Book Review of The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

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Title: The Beautiful

Author: Renée Ahdieh

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 4/5

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Back cover:

New York Times bestselling author Renée Ahdieh returns with a sumptuous, sultry and romantic new series set in 19th century New Orleans where vampires hide in plain sight.

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans is a safe haven after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent in the middle of the carnival season, Celine is quickly enraptured by the vibrant city, from its music to its fancy soirées and even its danger. She becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s enigmatic leader, Sébastien Saint Germain.

When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in Sébastien’s own lair–the second dead girl to turn up in recent weeks–Celine battles her attraction to Sébastien and suspicions about his guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.

After a third murder, New Orleans becomes gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose–one who has now set Celine in his sights. As the murderer stalks her, Celine finally takes matters into her own hands, only to find herself caught in the midst of an age-old feud between the darkest creatures of the night, where the price of forbidden love is her life.

At once a sultry romance and a decadent, thrilling mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet.

I don’t know if you all know this, but I love vampire books 😛 So when I saw this book, I had to pick it up. Then @PenguinTeen was having a readathon with this book so I had to join.

Taking place in the beautiful area of New Orleans during the 1870s, this gem of a book (with the second book coming out in July) kept reading for hours on end. I needed to know what was going to happen next, and couldn’t put it down. It is gorgeously written and the prose is excellent. Celine is a very witty character and I love all her development.  I also loved Bastien and found him to be an awesome character.

The only problem I had with this book was that it didn’t quite explain everything that happened or tie up some loose ends. Although there is going to be a second book, where it left off made sense for the second book, but we don’t have all the answers for what was happening in the first first place.

I definitely recommend this book if you love New Orleans and vampire stories. I definitely can’t wait for the second book!

~Dani

Book Review of Never Date A Siren by Byrd Nash

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Title: Never Date A Siren

Author: Byrd Nash

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 5/5

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Back cover:

When Brigit ran away from her helicopter parents, all the dryad wanted was an uncomplicated college life.

A contemporary fae YA fantasy with twists and surprises.

But being a fae among humans isn’t easy. When she’s kicked out of her apartment by her Troll roommate, stealing a bedroom from a human appears to be a simple plan.

Unfortunately, he has problems of his own – a messy break-up with a Siren means without her help, he will die.

A quirky fae fantasy about true friendships and magical companions.

Meet a hopelessly dim coco mat and a sarcastic cat, who may be too busy taking a bath to save you.

This book was a great start to a series. I loved how Nash weaved in different fae folklore together. The interactions between the different types of fae was very clever and unique. I haven’t ready too many fae stories, but I found this to be quite original.

Poor poor human Logan got caught up in a Siren’s magic. The description of what it would be like to hear her call, be stuck in her clutches, and have to figure out a way around it was really cool. I can’t wait to read more about these characters.

Brigit was a really cool main character. She is very smart, follows the codes of the fae, but is able to do it in a way to get what she wanted. If you want an awesome female character, this is your book!

All in all, I definitely recommend!

~Dani

Book Review of The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant (Books 1-4) by Mimi Jean

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Title: The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant

Author: Mimi Jean

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 5/5

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Back cover:

NOBODY MESSES WITH HIS LIBRARIAN. . .
Who killed Michael Vanderhorst’s maker? It’s a darn good question. But when the trail brings Michael to hellishly sunny Phoenix, Arizona, his biggest problem soon becomes a cute little librarian he can’t seem to stay away from. He’s never met a bigger danger magnet! Even her book cart has it out for her. And is that the drug cartel following her around, too? “Dear God, woman! What have you gotten yourself into?”

Things go from bad to worse when local vampires won’t play nice.

Can this four-hundred-year-old vampire keep his librarian safe and himself out of hot water? Can he bring his maker’s killer to justice? Yesterday, he would’ve said yes. But yesterday, he didn’t have a strange connection with a librarian. Yesterday, people weren’t trying to kill her.

This series is phenomenal! I could not put it down! If you love vampires, I highly recommend this series. It is one of my favorites now, and I can’t wait for the last book in the series!

Book 1 review:

We are introduced to Michael and find he is visiting Phoenix to pick up his friend, and maker’s, ashes. Right away, we are given a mystery: who killed him? Why was he murdered? There are many questions running through Michael’s mind, and since he is a vampire, he always loves a good mystery. It keeps life interesting.

Then he meets the librarian. She is like a damsel in distress and keeps falling into those weird situations. Poor poor Miriam. Michael has to figure out how all of it is connected, and to kill the people who killed his friend. Luckily he calls in his friend, Lulu, who is my favorite character, to help him figure this out.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, but it wraps up what is going on nicely, but you have to read more…

Don’t read below this line unless you want spoilers!

Continue reading →

Book Review of Elemental by Tam Chronin

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Title: Elemental

Series: The Godslayers

Author: Tam Chronin

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 5/5

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Back cover:

I was just a child.

A wizard came to my town. He came to find me. In a fiery blast I lost my home, my friends, my family. The entire town was obliterated.

I grew up a fugitive, surviving on the charity of others. As I hid, my powers grew. The nightmares grew as well. Something was welling up from within me. Something that could not be contained.

As an adult I took my place among the wizards. I ruled my country as a figurehead, a puppet of those with greater power or experience. I wasn’t to be trusted, or even talked to, for five long years.

The other wizards decided my fate. I was to be imprisoned, watched, guarded by the very wizard responsible for the death of my parents.

I had to lose everything, even my sense of self, before I found out who I was, and who my real enemies are.

Tam does a great job bringing her character to life. Agrad is given a lot of depth as he has his family taken away from him and he has to make it on his own. He felt really real in the way he had to cope with everything that had happened in his life, giving the story a more realistic aspect versus being pure fantasy.

Secondly, I found how the villain in this series very multidimensional as well. There is more this story, and we see throughout the book that maybe he isn’t really a villain but someone who had to live by his own circumstances. I really liked him a lot and wanted to learn more.

The world building in this book is great and I definitely recommend to anyone who loves dark fantasy!

~Dani

Book Review of The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

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Title: The Last Wish

Author: Andrzej Sapkowski

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 5/5

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Back cover:

Geralt the Witcher — revered and hated — holds the line against the monsters plaguing humanity in this collection of adventures in the NYT bestselling series that inspired the blockbuster video games and Netflix adaptation.

Geralt is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good…and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

Included in this collection are the short stories which inspired episodes 1-5 of The Witcher.

I haven’t had a chance to watch the Witcher on Netflix all the way through for a few reasons I won’t get into, but I really liked the idea and wanted to read the books before preparing myself to watch the show. I decided to read them in the order given by Orbit instead of the publishing order.

The first book in the series is definitely top notch and I can see why it has been given so much attention. I love how the Witcher is portrayed, how well the description is given without going into big drawn out info-dumps (but if that is your thing, good for you, but I don’t enjoy that). I loved the battles he faces in this and wished that one of them, with the vampire of course, was drawn out more. I wanted to know her story but alas, it wasn’t the point of the story.

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This book really captured my attention and I read it a lot quicker than I thought it would take me. I’m excited to read the other books in the series as well and make some time to watch the show. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves the fantasy genre, whether they have seen the show or not.

Also, Dandelion is annoying and I can see why people mash him with John-Ralphio…

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~Dani

Book Review of Shielded by KayLynn Flanders

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Title: Shielded

Author: KayLynn Flanders

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 5/5

Release date: July 21, 2020

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Back cover:

For fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Furyborn comes a thrilling new fantasy about a kingdom ravaged by war, and the princess who might be the key to saving not only those closest to her, but the kingdom itself, if she reveals the very secret that could destroy her.

The kingdom of Hálendi is in trouble. It’s losing the war at its borders, and rumors of a new, deadlier threat on the horizon have surfaced. Princess Jennesara knows her skills on the battlefield would make her an asset and wants to help, but her father has other plans.

As the second-born heir to the throne, Jenna lacks the firstborn’s–her brother’s–magical abilities, so the king promises her hand in marriage to the prince of neighboring Turia in exchange for resources Hálendi needs. Jenna must leave behind everything she has ever known if she is to give her people a chance at peace.

Only, on the journey to reach her betrothed and new home, the royal caravan is ambushed, and Jenna realizes the rumors were wrong–the new threat is worse than anyone imagined. Now Jenna must decide if revealing a dangerous secret is worth the cost before it’s too late–for her and for her entire kingdom.

This book was really fascinating. I loved the world that Flanders created, and the characters as well. I found them all to be really well rounded, interesting, and I felt they were believable. The romance was adorable and not too over the top like some YA. There were many surprises throughout the book, and it left me wanting more. I can’t wait for the second book and definitely want to read it whenever it comes out.

One of my favorite parts of this book is how it was in first-person, but there weren’t many uses of the word “I”. Flanders is a very good author to be able to make it feel like you understood what was in Jenna’s head, but not falling into the “I” pit that a lot of authors (including me) do. I was very impressed.

The only problem I had was that some chapters had a shift in perspective to the bad guy. I felt these pulled me out of the story and didn’t add anything. I wish that they weren’t included, although they weren’t too terrible as it didn’t affect my rating. It was more of a personal preference.

All in all, I definitely recommend!

~Dani

Book Review of Her Majesty’s Fury by Stephanie Mirro

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Title: Her Majesty’s Fury (Immortal Relics: Book 2)

Author: Stephanie Mirro

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 4/5

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When you’re working with the Roman god of chaos, things can always get worse.

Bacchae, the supernatural creatures that spawned vampire lore, are real. For the last several thousand years, they’ve kept to the shadows. Until now…

This is the second book of the series and I found that it definitely pushed the story forward. I really like how Mirro weaved together a lot of different mythologies. As someone who got a degree in anthropology, I really love with different folklores are intertwined like this. And I love vampires, so it was a win-win.

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The only problem I really felt with this story was that Theo was keeping too much from Sera. I hate when characters aren’t straightforward when they are going against the big bad, though I know I do it in my own writing as well. I also felt that there needed to be more with deal with the death of another character in the first book (I won’t spoil that) but everyone handles that different, and she had to stand up to face the big bad. I also wished we got a little more information with the gods that they did come across, as I felt it was a little too light.

All in all, I definitely recommend this series for anyone who loves folklore and vampires!

~Dani

Book Review of Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

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Wicked Fox

Author: Kat Cho

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 5/5

 

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An addictive fantasy-romance set in modern-day Seoul.

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.

But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process.

Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to men. He’s drawn to her anyway. When he finds her fox bead, he does not realize he holds her life in his hands.

With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous and reignite a generations-old feud . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.

This book caught my eye at the book store, as I do love foxes and folklore. At first I thought it was the Japanese Kitsune, but I found out it was the Korean gumiho! I haven’t done much research in Korean folklore and looked forward to learning more and reading a fantasy book about it!

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The characters in the this book are well rounded, made sense, and evolved throughout the story. There are a lot of Korean terms, which I think is awesome for bringing you into a culture as language is essential. Luckily there is a glossary in the back to help you figure out the terms, but most made sense by context, and a lot of dishes are now on my to-cook list.

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I also loved the story of the gumiho that was weaved in, and how you were slowly given the folklore of this creature. I also loved learning about the different powers, magic, and religion in the area and how it was never info dumped, but gradually introduced.

A definite recommendation from me! Check it out!

~Dani