"Ballad" by Maggie Stiefvater

From the book: In this mesmerizing sequel to Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception, music prodigy James Morgan and his best friend, Deirdre, join a private conservatory for musicians. James' musical talent attracts Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. Composing beautiful music together unexpectedly leads to mutual admiration and love. Haunted by fiery visions of death, James realizes that Deirdre and Nuala are being hunted by the Fey and plunges into a soul-scorching battle with the Queen of the Fey to save their lives.

Sarcastic, slightly OCD James in this story really captured my heart. I loved his take on everything and the view into his world. If it wasn't for James being portrayed this way, I don't think I would have found the farie, Nuala's sarcasm and passage into compassion quite as interesting since they played off of one another so well.

Maggie Stiefvater's characters were well developed. Even those you consider side characters were developed to the point you also cared or hated them. Paul, his roomate and comic relief and Sullivan, his teacher and mentor were fleshed out that you really wanted them to be a part of James's life. Elenor, the Farie Queen, which it was told you were introducted into the last book was less fleshed out in this book, but you still didn't want to see her win.

My only criticism is with the character Dee. I know her story was in the first book, Lament, however, I would have liked to see more of here character dealing with the overwhelming circumstances within this story. Perhaps it could have been unsent e-mails instead of text messages. Just a bit more of what was going on with her side, her "fight", but not too much that it would have interfered with James's story.

This book I'm giving 4 stars, only because I now need to read Lament. :)



Blog with Bite questions:

James is a flawed and heart broken character, do you find his mental peculiarities charming or annoying? Please do explain.


I'm not exactly sure what this question asks, but I did enjoy James's sarcasm. I , myself have been accused of speaking this way and I know several people who do this as well. If you are also speaking of his psychic abilities then I feel the author did a good job of making it believable. The only other peculiarity I can think of is the way he wrote on his skin and couldn't stand disorder. In a world he sees as uncontrollable and  dangerous, I can see developing some OCD tendencies. I think also all these peculiarities made James a lot more believeable and someone you'd really want to know.


What did you think of James and Dee's kiss? This being a pivotal moment for their relationship, how do you think it changed James?


I think he was finally able to start to let go of the fantasy of being with Dee. I think it started to open him up to other possible relationships in life as well as redefining the one he had with Dee (eventually).


Whom do you prefer Dee or Nuala?


Either? I think that to understand and like Dee, Lament must be read. Nuala had the most growth within this story so her character was more central to this story.


What's your verdict on the best way to read Ballad?  Is it a stand alone book or do you need to read Lament first?  If you read Lament, what did it add/not add to Ballad?  If you haven't read Lament, do you think it would have added to your reading of Ballad?

It's not exactly a stand alone book as it does reference what happens in Lament. I did not read Lament, however I do think it would have added to reading Ballad. In fact, I think I will get Lament so I can see what happened to Dee and James before this book.

We've been reading a lot of stories with fairies as the central paranormal creatures.  What are your thoughts on the "Fair Folk".  Do you believe in faires?

How about this quote for an answer: "I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?" — John Lennon

"Queene of Light" Blog with Bite Discussion Questions

#1 Did you have an understanding of the world created by this novel, or did you find the complexity too much?

I didn't find it too complex and also thought we only saw the edge of what was truly there in all the worlds created.

#2 In a book that it appears many have trouble liking, what is one thing that you like about this book?

I like this book actually. Yes, I had several reservations about parts of the book, but I like the way Ayla learned about herself and found inner strength.

#3 Did you agree with the author’s decision to make Ayla a fierce assassin in battle and a weakling in her emotions? For example her obvious contempt for Garret but yet her willingness to be his mate and subject herself to his demeaning manor?

Absolutely! How many people are there that are successful in one part of their life and not in others? We tend to put our lives into little compartments. It makes sense that love would be her weakness. All she knew of it was pain. So, she closed herself off so she wouldn't go through pain. Her goal then, was just survival. That is why she chose Garrett. Remember, also, Garrett didn't show his true abusive colors to Ayla until AFTER the mating. That is when she had contempt for him, not before. He was demeaning before, so I do not disagree totally with the statement, but it was more carefully planned, hidden and fed on her insecurities so she didn't notice.

#4 What do you think the significance of the the baby Ayla carries is/will be?

Perhaps she will be the way to get all worlds together. A way to peace... or eventual war.

#5 What do you think of Ayla's ascension to the throne? Do you believe she accepted her own destiny too easily?

No. I don't think she really accepted it in the end. I don't think she really contemplated her destiny at all. It was all about survival for her, the baby and Malachi.

My review is here if you missed it. :)

Queene of Light (Lightworld/Darkworld #1)

From the book: An unimagined destiny an undeniable passion.

In a time not long from now, the veil between fantasy and reality is ripped asunder creatures of myth and fairytale spill into the mortal world. Enchanted yet horrified, humans force the magical beings Underground, to colonize the sewers and abandoned subway tunnels beneath their glittering cities.

But even magic folk cannot dwell in harmony and soon two Worlds emerge: the Lightworld, home to faeries, dragons and dwarves; and the Darkworld, where vampires, werewolves, angels and demons lurk.

Now, in the dank and shadowy place between Lightworld and Darkworld, a transformation is about to begin....

Ayla, a half-faery, half-human assassin is stalked by Malachi, a Death Angel tasked with harvesting mortal souls. They clash. Immortality evaporates, forging a bond neither may survive. And in the face of unbridled ambitions and untested loyalties, an ominous prophecy is revealed that will shake the Worlds.

When reading this book, I noticed that some of it seemed to be a bit inconsistent in the way the author wrote it. She seemed to linger on the dark areas of the book and then suddenly when Ayla was in war, it was over. It seemed that the darkness held more of the fascination with the author than moving the story along. This could be explained by the dedication that was at both the front and back at the book.

 To me, this book symbolizes a beautiful flower that grew out of the rotting rib cage of a murder victim abandoned in a shallow grave. Thank you to everyone who made that weekend such a horrible experience and forced me to retreat into a fantasy world where a sewer full of monsters offered more hospitable company than yours.

Nice people and objects that made this book possible were the Friday Night Mudslingers, my supportive family, Diet Coke, and Emmy Rossum's Inside Out album.

This dedication could have made the book less interesting, but quite the opposite was true. I was more fascinated.

I also was disappointed with not having much to do with Malachi, her death angel lover. He seemed to be an important part of the story, and I was looking forward to journeying with him on his way to humanity, but his story got cut short once things got going in the lightworld. In fact he almost suddenly seemed an after thought.

Even with those criticisms, I did enjoy this book. I liked the journey of Ayla. Her journey of being a shy outcast, closed off from everyone around her, to a woman in her own right waging war, finding her inner strength, and opening herself up to the possibility of love.

I would recommend this book. It is in all a very enjoyable read.  I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. 


The Blog with Bite questions/answers are here if you like to read them. :)

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

From the book: Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:

One can time-travel.

One can raise the dead.

One can tell the future.

And one can possess another human.

With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now they're causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he'll blink and suddenly he's a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he'll change the future. Or he'll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she's going to die.

He's so over it. All he wants is peace.

And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, as long as he's near her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He's a loner; she has friends. He doesn't care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it's too late....

Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own, and a vampire princess Aden can't resist.

Two romances, both forbidden. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger but not everyone will come out alive....

My review:

I enjoyed this book. The story line also looked deceptively simple and easy to predict. Happily I did not see the story this way. The twists and turns in the story kept the interest going and helped it lose it predictability. The complexity of Aden and his trapped souls drew me into his troubled life. The trapped soul's personalities, while intriguing, did not overshadow Aden as it could have happened. Instead the souls actually enhanced his interest to me.

 I also loved the character of Mary Ann. Yes, at times I was irritated with her simplistic good/bad view of the world, but it still wasn't so overwhelming it lost her charms. I think the coupling of Mary Ann and the werewolf was the most interesting part when talking romance in this book. I am looking forward too seeing why Riley couldn't resist her from the beginning even if it is obvious why he fell in love with her as their friendship progressed. He holds a lot of grounded knowledge for one that was simply seen as a servant in his world.

As for the rest of my review. I recommend this book. I only gave it 4 stars because of the ending. Be prepared to feel let down as major parts of this book have yet to be resolved. I didn't even see this as a good cliffhanger book in the way it ended. It just resolved one problem and then "poof" the end. I did know this was going to be a series, but that was almost too irritating. If I hadn't enjoyed the rest of the book so much I would have reduced my stars significantly. So, with that warning, I do say go and get it. You will enjoy this book.

Oh, and if you need more incentive to learn about the book, Harlequin Teen is holding a contest with this book. You can win $10,000 or instantly win swag. Details are at the site. So, go enter the sweepstakes!

Blog with Bite Questions:
#1  Do you feel the ending was cut short and needed more to be resolved before the book ended?

Not so much cut short, but without closure. So, I would agree more about needed more resolve. I know she was going for a cliffhanger, but even that was "off". The book needed to resolve a bit more of the story that seemed important to this book. It could crescendo again before the "end" of the book.

#2 Regarding Question #1, what are your thoughts on series books? For one you get more and more and more - depending on how long the series drags on - for another some series leave you with very little resolution at the end of the novels, i.e. the Merry Gentry series where only a couple of hours pass within the time span of one book. Do you find this is just an authors way of having guaranteed book sales - or do you really enjoy series and love reading about your fav characters over and over again?

I like series books and this obviously is going to be a series because of how it ended. I usually don't like cliffhangers, however. You can still resolve what the characters were working on within the book and keep it as a stand alone book and still have a series. Many authors do this and I enjoy those series books. As for sales. I don't think that has to do with the authors but more to do with editors and publishers. Authors usually are concerned about telling a good story. Editors and publishers are worried about sales.

#3 Which "trapped" soul was your favorite and do you see potential in the future story lines with the remaining three?

I didn't have a favorite trapped soul as they were all underdeveloped. So, all have the potential in future story lines. It seems to me we will learn more of Caleb next.

#4  When a larger-than-life character such as Vlad Tepes aka Dracula is used as a side-plot character do you believe it gives the story a more factual base, or makes it less real?

I think it makes it less real. I like it when they make a totally new story line on how supernaturals come into being. While she did take a more than traditional turn, the mentioning of Dracula made the vampires less interesting.

#5 What did you think of the side plot involving Tucker and Penny?  Do you think the issues from that plot were adequately resolved?

I feel that they were resolved enough for the present book. I can see both in future books especially due to Tucker's "ability" but I'm not sure how much more Penny can be changed to make her character live in the new world they discovered if Penny and Tucker end up together.

#6 What is your best guess as to what Aden Stone's superpower is - the power he possess without his souls?

Maybe he can bring those powers into himself just as Mary Ann keeps their powers at bay.

Blog with Bite Contest!

The first ever Blog with Bite Contest - courtesy of Karen @ MM Publicity. Karen has kindly offered to give away 4 sets of VAMPIRES by Joules Taylor and WEREWOLVES by Jon Izzard!

Rules:

You Have to be Blog with Bite Follower
Open to US, Puerto Rico & Canada only. Also no PO Boxes.
Contest ends Halloween @ Midnight CST.

Quick! Go! Sign up! NOW! ;)

Covet (Fallen Angels, #1)

From the book:

Redemption isn't a word Jim Heron knows much about-his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charge with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option. Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he's good with that-until fate intervenes in the form of a tough- talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. But then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart-and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.

This book was not my favorite by J.R. Ward. I actually got this book in the mail yesterday and frantically read it as the review was due today for Blogs with Bite. It was not a horrible book and was interesting enough to sail through most of it but in truth, I didn't really care for it. The main character, Jim was not who I became interested in. Vin and Gretchen were the characters I really cared more about. Jim almost seemed like a side character in the whole book. Something I was disappointed in as I was looking forward to a good paranormal book. Not much paranormal going on. Sure you had demons and angels within the book, but this whole book would have stood on it's own without those characters. We get peeks into the life of Jim, but we don't get to know him. And as frustrated as Jim was about not getting to know his angel "team" members, I was as well. In the end, it was an okay read (not great in the least) and hopefully will eventually lead to more interesting stories about Jim and the angels.

Here are the Blog with Bite discussion questions:

Q#1 - Did you relate to Jim at all? Did you feel like he was a good choice or worthy of this mission?

I didn't really relate much to Jim, but I don't need to always relate to characters to enjoy the story. I liked the fact he had a dog in this story. I think that is how audiences related to him and saw his softer side. I think he was a good choice, and since he won, must have been worthy, but truthfully, I became more interested in the two angels that helped him. I was disappointed that we did not get to learn about Adrian's fight in the end.

Q#2 - How do you feel about the tone of the book? Did you think that there was too much slang/not enough/just enough? How did you feel about the word choice in the book- did it add to your reading of the story or take away from it?

I felt there was too much slang. When everyone has the same slang, it doesn't make sense. They all grew up in different areas, were ancient, paranormal "angels" but all had the same type of talk. It wasn't so bad it got in the way of the story, but enough that I did recognize they all had the same "speak".

Q#3 - When the "fantasy" of the book is based on a belief system that is regarded as truth by some religions (the angels & demons) does it help you relate better with the story, as opposed to a story about vampires and werewolves?

No, not really. We all look to the humanity within the story. The paranormal part of the story actually often enhances the "human" parts we all share. I also recognized belief systems within the theory of this book, most may not. Like having a few individuals upon this earth that keep the balance of good within it. Without those people the earth would be destroyed. It is actually an ancient belief that more than one religion shares.

Q#4 - In the opening of this book we read about a football game analogy of Demons verses Angels, even though this is fiction what do think of Demons in this case Jim the Fallen Angel being portrayed as a "Good Guy"?

In many religions demons aren't always on the "devil's" side. Demons can often have a more general analogy of those that are paranormal. Some are actually neither good or bad. So, for me, I had no problems with this idea. Plus, he didn't become a fallen angel until the end. He was at a crossroads, so he could have played for either side.

Q#5 - How do you feel knowing this will be a 7 book series featuring Jim and he might win all of the battles?

I worry that the books could end up being redundant. The stories and battles could end up being way too familiar very quickly. I would worry about that more than Jim winning all the battles.