Night Runner by Max Turner

Description:

For Zack Thomson, life in the Nicholls Ward wasn't so bad. After his parents died, he developed strange allergies, and the mental institution was the only place where he could be properly looked after. As strange as it was, it was home. But that all changes the night a stranger on a Harley crashes through the front doors and tells him to run. Along with his best friend Charlie and a girl he may or may not be falling in love with, Zack does just that: run. Under the cover of night, hiding amongst the shadows, he races for the truth

My Thoughts:

I been eyeing this book for a while and luckily they had this book at my local library. This book was little disappointing, I thought that it would be filled with action, scary vampires, excitement and more. But this book did not live up to my pre-conceived notion what it should be.

The first five chapters or so had a promising start, but after Zack lives Nicholls Ward everything becomes anti-climactic. There is barely any action other than few chases and fight scene towards the end of it. The story line was little bit convenient and everything falls into place. Character development was not there, characters were stuck in one place and there is no growth. You really do not get to see the what the vampires are like in this story. There was no backstory about vampires or any of the characters, it was like they came out of nowhere. There was some romance, but it really does not fit the story, it seems out of place. Nurse Ophelia was an interesting character and really wanted to see more of her, however she conveniently disappears at the beginning of the story and than conveniently reappears at the end of it.

Overall, this was a disappointing read, I really expected so much more when I first discovered this book. I give this book 2/5 stars.

The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs

Description:

Her gift of sight has shown her visions of mayhem and murder. So, to save her village from ruthless raiders, Aren of Fallbrook strikes a bargain with the magical Hob, who will exact a heavy price to defend the village—a price Aren herself must pay.

My Thoughts:

I bought this ebook just before Christmas and I was going to read it over Christmas, but I forgot about it. This past weekend was sick, so I finished reading this book. I have read some of the Mercy Thomson series, but this is my first fantasy book by Patricia Briggs. I have to say I really enjoyed this book. Even though this book is not very long, it was full of good story telling, magic, and some humour.

Aren is a great female protagonist, I really liked her. I liked the fact that she faced her fears head on; she is independent, strong and kind. Hob was another really intriguing character, very mysterious, good-hearted and entertaining. At first I was not sure is I was going to like Hob, but the more I read about him the more I liked him. To tell you a truth my first impression of Hob was that of a child. He is playful and mischievous. However that impression of chid like Hob soon vanished once I learned more about him.

Another aspect of this book that I enjoyed was magical system. It was very well thought out and I liked the fact that the author does not go into too much of a detail on how the magical system works and why it works that way. As a reader you are given brief history of magical system, but that is it. At first I thought that this might ruin the story but it does not, it actually goes nicely with the story. Magic does not take over the rest of the story, but rather everything is nicely evened out.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and i am looking forward to reading some more fantasy written by this author. I already have some books lined up for reading. I would recommend this book to all Patricial Briggs fans (if you have not already read this book) and to those who enjoy fantasy. I give this book 5/5 stars.

The Everafter by Amy Huntley

Description:

Madison Stanton doesn't know where she is or how she got there. But she does know this - she is dead. And alone in a vast, dark space. The only company Maddy has in this place are luminescent objects that turn out to be all the things she lost while she was alive. And soon she discovers that, with these artifacts, she can reexperience - and even change - moments from her life.

Her first kiss.
A trip to Disney World.

Her sister's wedding.

A disastrous sleepover.

In reliving these moments, Maddy learns illuminating and frightening truths about her life - and death.


My Thoughts:

This book was given to me by friend who works at the local books store. Actually she lend it to me to read it. She just finished reading and she liked it very much, so she recommended it to me. I have seen this book on the shelves of the local book stores but I never thought to pick it up or read the back of it. To tell you the truth for some reason I thought this book would be about retelling of Cinderella or some other fairy tale with happily everafter.

I really did enjoy reading this book, but for some reason I think that this story should be sad, however it did not make me sad at all. Even though it was dealing with death it did not make me sad. At first I though to myself is something wrong with me that I can not feel sad when someone dies. But then I though, sadness was not the point of this story, but rather what happens or comes after death. This book takes an interesting twist on death. It is strangely addictive read, I could not put it down once I started it. I really enjoyed the mystery behind Maddy’s and Gabe‘s death.

There were a luck of character development but that is because the book mainly focuses on the plot. Even though the story was not chronologically told there was not disconnect between memories. I was bit disappointed at how short this book was, I wanted to read more about each character and their lives before death. I wanted to see more of relationship between Maddy and Gabe.

Overall, this was a very good and enjoyable read. Story was told from an interesting angle and had interesting look at what happens after death. It has mystery, romance, and I would recommend this book to all YA readers. I give this book 4/5 Stars.

Rare Vintage (Brotherhood of Blood #2) by Bianca D'Arc

Description:

She would give her life to save his, but can he save her from himself?

As the new Gal Friday at Atticus Maxwell-s winery, Kelly is grateful for the much-needed job, and delighted to be working with her best friend Lissa. What she doesn-t need is the exasperation brought on by Marc LaTour-s constant flirting. Yet she can-t deny she is drawn to the mysterious, unsettling Master vampire.

After six hundreds years of searching, Marc has resigned himself to the fact that he-ll never find his One. Kelly is under Atticus and Lissa-s protection, and therefore off limits. Yet the desire to possess her is too strong to resist. Curiosity leads to lust-and the surprising discovery that they indeed could be destined mates.

But a dark cloud hangs heavy over them. A rival vampire has challenged Marc for leadership-a challenge that involves a fight to the death. The cost of survival could forever poison any hope for a future together, but if they can both pass the final test, they could find love that will last for eternity (from Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

Rare Vintage is book 2 in the Brotherhood of Blood miniseries.

This book focuses on Marc LaTour, a Master vampire in his region. He is also friend of Atticus’s and he is attracted to Kelly who is employed by Atticus and Lisa.  Kelly is also Lisa’s best friend. Kelly does not realise that Marc is a vampire right away, but when she finds out she is little bit scared of him. However she does get used to the idea. This book is actually bit racier when it comes to the sex scenes, there is ménage dream scene.

I did feel that story jumped around, from scene to scene. Also scenes were not described enough, not enough details. Same as book one, it felt like big chunks of the book were taken out, too many gaps in the story. However for a short story it was decent story. The action scene, I personally think was a waist of words, author could have used something else to incorporate the change of Kelly in to a vampire.

Overall this was a decent and racy read. I think if this novella was to be turned into a full length book it would be very good.  I give this book 3/5 stars.

Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy # 1) by Kiersten White

Description:

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal (from Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

This book has been on my TBR list for a while, but for some reason I just kept delaying reading this book. I was at my local bookstore the other day and I picked up the copy.  I am glad that I did get this book, since it was such entertaining read. I have read a lot of reviews of this book and a lot of people seem to like it. Also a lot of people claim that this is a new twist to a paranormal characters. Which to tell you I did not see, to me it was pretty much the same as other paranormal YA titles. Like any other Paranormal YA book, it has werewolves, vampires, fairies, mermaids and many other paranormal creatures. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed reading it.

Main protagonist Evie, she is an entertaining character, funny, sweet and believable character. I thought it very funny and cute how much she likes pink, or that she named her taser “Tasey”. The world building was sound and built on good premises, I wish that we could read more about this paranormal world, because what were are given in book one is not enough. I think that the author should take an advantage and dig deeper into the world and creatures that she developed.

When I first started reading this book I was really into it, at least first half of the book. However I did find that I started to lose inters in the second half of the book. My mind started to wonder. The reason for this, I kept waiting for Evie to go after answers, I wanted her to be pro-active and try to find what is going on or what or who she is. But no, she does not do this, rather she waits for the answers to come to her. Another reason was lack of action, there was not enough action in this book. There are few scenes but they were too short, very little happens in them and it is over before you knew it.

My favourite character in this book was, Evie’s love interest. He is very interesting and I loved what the author did with the him; he is sweet, according to Evie gorgeous, smart and many other redeeming qualities. The love interest between the two, is so sweet and it works really well. The relationship development between the two is very nicely paced. I like the fact that they are not declaring their undying love to each other right away.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable and entertaining read. I can see myself reading book two in the series. I give this book 4/5 Stars.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Description:

In this inventive, short, yet perfectly formed novel inspired by traditional Norse mythology, Neil Gaiman takes readers on a wild and magical trip to the land of giants and gods and back.

In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy.

Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle—three creatures with a strange story to tell.

Now Odd is forced on a stranger journey than he had imagined—a journey to save Asgard, city of the gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.

It's going to take a very special kind of twelve-year-old boy to outwit the Frost Giants, restore peace to the city of gods, and end the long winter.

Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever . . .

Someone just like Odd .


My Thoughts:

This is a charming little story about a boy named Odd ( a real Scandinavian name) set in ancient Scandinavia. Odd’s father, a sea-fearing Viking dies and Odd and his mother were left by themselves.  Since his father’s death, Odd’s mother married another man, who was mean to him. Odd escapes his step-father’s mean streak by going into the cottage that his father built.  While at his father’s cottage Odd meets a Bear (Thor), Fox (Loki) and Eagle (Odin). Odd discovers that they are gods looked in animal bodies were outwitted by Frost Giant and thrown out of Asgad.  Odd sets on an adventure to help the gods to reclaim their home.

This was a truly delightful read, it was amusing. Story is very simply written and that is the beauty of it; however book is intended for the younger audience, pre-teen. The story was very well written, pacing was just right; characters were delightful and well developed. Odd was such a lovable character that you cannot help but like him. He is kind, gentle and I had hard time picturing him as a Viking. Author does have a talent for creating a cast of believable and likeable characters. Author wrote this book for World Book Day to promote reading and I wish that we could see more of Odd and his adventures.

Overall, this was a very good and enjoyable read. I would recommend it to all who love mythology, good adventure and bit of magic. I give this book 5/5 stars.

In My Mailbox # 6

Weekly meme created by The Story Siren, inspired by Pop Culture Junkie.

Books I bought:

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Vampire Crush by A. M. Robinson
Night Runner by Max Turner

Books for Review:

Calling for Angels by Alex Smith (eBook).

One and Only (Bratherhood of Blood #1) by Bianca D'Arc

Description:

A deadly crash changes the fate of one lonely vampire.

Brotherhood of Blood, Book 1

Vampire enforcer Atticus Maxwell stands at the edge of his own oblivion-until the faint heartbeat of a desperately wounded mortal woman calls him back. The terrible crash that almost took both their lives has brought him a charming, intriguing woman who just might give him a reason to live again.

Lissa was headed for a conference at a resort in a last-ditch attempt to find a job. Instead, on a rain-slick mountain road that almost killed her, she finds the love of her life. A love with the most eligible, reclusive vineyard owner in Napa Valley-one that isn-t quite human.

No barrier-not even breaking the news to Lissa-s friends-seems too great to hold back their blossoming love. Until they learn the accident that brought them together wasn-t an accident at all, but a murder attempt by an unknown enemy.
Atticus saved Lissa once. Can he keep her that way in the face of a renewed threat?
Warning: This book contains graphic language, hot neck biting, outdoor loving and a hot man with a killer smile.

My Thoughts:

I found this short novella while I was searching for books. It was available as a free read. This is a short novella, only 45 pages. However it was a good read and I like it. usually I am not big fan or novellas or short stories, but this one was alright.

Lisa is on her way to a conference when the bus she is on gets into the accident and she is injured. She is rescued by Atticus, another passenger and the two of them are the only survivors. They are instantly attracted to one another, and they fall in love. Lisa discovers that Atticus is a vampire and that she is his “One” but in order for Atticus to learn that she is his One they have to have sex and exchange blood.

I found this book kind or intriguing, it was very fast moving. It had to be, author only had 45 pages to tell the story. Even though I enjoyed this book I can not help but wish that it was longer. I did find that it moved to fast at some places, it almost felt that the big chunk of the book was missing. Also some of the parts of the story did not flow well together, but it was something I could live with. I really liked the interaction between Lisa and Atticus, they are cute together. There are lot of steamy scenes together and I think that this book is classified in erotica section, but not exactly sure.

Overall this was a very quick and enjoyable read. I give this book 3 /5 stars.

Entice (Need # 3) by Carrie Jones

Description:

Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever.

But that's not quite how things have worked out.
For starters, well, Nick is dead.

Supposedly, he's been taken to a mythic place for warriors known as Valhalla, so Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. But it's taking time, and meanwhile a group of evil pixies is devastating Bedford, with more teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent, and the good guys need all the warriors they can find. But how to get to Valhalla?

And even if Zara and her friends discover the way, there's that other small problem: Zara's been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to go with her? Especially since she hasn't just turned...she's Astley's queen (from Goodreads). 

My Thoughts: 

This is the third book in the Need series and I really do not have a lot of good things to say about this book. Which saddens me, because I want to love this series so much and I think that is the reason that I keep reading it.

This book just did not work for me. I mean I read it and there was no satisfaction at the end of it. Characters were flat, undeveloped, annoying and not well thought out. The dialog was just poor and forced and did not feel natural. The story line itself was very convenient. I mean here you are searching a mythical place and convenient the characters find it within few chapters of the book. It was just not very realistic; I actually considered putting the book down and not finishing it. However I continued reading the book hoping that it would get better. It does not get better, I was not very impressed with first two books in the series, but I kept reading it.  For some reason I want to like this series, however I think this might be my last attempt at the series. But do not hold me to it.

There is no emotional connection with the character or the story line. Author tells you what the character is feeling but you as a reader do not feel those emotions. Zara spends whole book on trying to get Nick back and that is kind of sweet, but hello, there is much bigger problem here. Kids are disappearing, and as a person who calls herself a protector against pixies, she does not try and protect anyone. Over twenty kids disappear, and that becomes almost secondary story in the book. Actually not even second but third.

Overall this book was disappointment for me, I really could not get to like it. However I did finish reading it but this time I really think that it is the last one that I will read in this series. The one thing that I did like about this book was the cover, cover was amazing.
I give this book 1/5 stars.