Review: The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead

Title: The Immortal Crown Author: Richelle Mead Series: Age of X #2 Reading Level: Adult Publisher: Dutton | May 29, 2014 Pages: 432 Add it: Goodreads Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository   Synopsis:  The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Vampire Academy and Bloodline series returns with the second installment in her acclaimed Age of X series. Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion. Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity. Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

The Scene: Same confusing and dizzying world that Richelle Mead built in the first book, Gameboard of the Gods. Except not so confusing because you learned most of everything world building related in said first book. This time, majority of the action takes place in enemy country, Arcadia where women have like no rights and are treated like trash. Add in gods, supernatural shenanigans, sex trafficking, kidnapping, and politics to this book and you've got a pretty good sequel.

The Girl: Mae is basically the same in the sequel; cold, calcualting, and ruthless. The only exception is that she's waaay more open to Justin and the supernatural. I like Mae well enough but I still couldn't quite click with her character. As I've said in my review of Gamboard of the Gods, I blame the third person POV. Don't get me wrong, many authors do this well, great even. I just think it's not Richelle's thing. 

The Boy(s): Justin and Mae's relationship actually got somewhere in The Immortal Crown. Justin has a lot of faults, yes, but he really is sweet and when it comes to Mae, even sweeter. But, because of that ending I'm stuck in between smiling at him and cursing at him. Cliffhangers suck.

The WTF?!: I'm really not a fan of politics in general so reading about a book chock full of it was kind of a downer for me. Also, for some reason, I hated it when it came to Tessa's POV. She grates on me, I've no idea why. I understand how her storyline is going to connect with Justin's but her story just seems so irrelevant.

The Buzz: All in all, The Immortal Crown is a solid sequel to Gameboard. I enjoyed parts of this book more than its predecssor. I liked the action parts especially Mae's journey in Arcadia to get back to the RUNA. Some of the storyline was good but it was still a bit too much for me. Richelle really built up a complicated world that, in my opinion, takes away from the story. I think there needs to be more action involved and the story drags sometimes. The third person perspective also dampens the buzz factor for me. There are some bright spots though so I'm hoping the third book will be better. Plus, I've got to read it because...cliffhangers you know. :)   

Rating

WOW - Waiting On Shaman Rises by C.E. Murphy

This week I'm waiting on

Title: Shaman Rises Author: C.E. Murphy Series: The Walker Papers #9 Reading Level: Adult/UF Publisher: Harlequin Luna | June 24, 2014 Add it: Goodreads Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository Synopsis:  Joanne Walker has two choices:  Defeat the enemy…or lose her soul trying.  For over a year, Joanne has been fighting the Master—the world's most abiding evil. She's sacrificed family, friendships, even watched potential futures fade away…and now the Master is bringing the final battle to Joanne's beloved Seattle. Lives will be lost as the repercussions of all Joanne's growth come to her doorstep. Before the end, she'll mourn, rejoice—and surrender everything for the hope of the world's survival. She'll be a warrior and a healer. Because she is finally a Shaman Rising.

I know this is a late Waiting on Wednesday but I still haven't gotten the book...so that counts right? Anyways, this is one my favorite urban fantasy series so I am so very sad for it to be the last one. If you haven't read them, you should try it. They're awesome! Start with Urban Shaman.

Review: Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton

Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Series: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #14
Reading Level: Adult
Publisher: Jove June 27, 2006
Pages: 517

Synopsis:

These days, Anita Blake is less interested in vampire politics than in an ancient, ordinary dread she shares with women down the ages: she may be pregnant. And, if she is, whether the father is a vampire, a werewolf, or someone else entirely, he knows perfectly well that being a Federal Marshal known for raising the dead and being a vampire executioner, is no way to bring up a baby.





My thoughts:

This will be a short review because Danse Macabre was a dull read and I really don't have much to say on it. Here are reasons why this book is sooo boring:


1. Nothing happens. Literally, there is no plot, no premise, you wouldn't even think it's an Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter book. Quite seriously, if you picked up Guilty Pleasures, the first book, read it and then read this boring mess you would be scratching your head, like huh? Is this even the same series?

2. All talk, no action. I mean how can an author write her whole book based on talking about nothing? It was just so boring. This is Anita and everybody else: oh, no I'm pregnant! What am I going to do?! Now we talk forever about the baby. Yadda yadda. Wait, now I've getting more powers! Now, we have to talk forever about said powers. Yadda yadda yadda. Oh, now someone's feelings got hurt. I'm Anita so I have to go console him and talk about meaningless things the whole time. It's goes on and on. It's like that teacher in Charlie Brown where she talks but you can't understand a word she's saying.

Now you see why it was like watching paint dry. I gave Danse Macabre two stars because it was just okay. Not horrible (although reading over this review, it sounds like its horrible) but nowhere near good either. Nevertheless, I'm going to give the next book, The Harlequin, a try and hope for the best. Besides, I've heard that later in the series Hamilton gets back on track so to speak to the Anita from the first nine books. Oh, and did I forget to tell you that it took me almost a YEAR to read this book. Yeah. That's how boring it was. Now that I read over my review, it seems that I had more to say about this book than I thought. Huh.

What did you think of Danse Macabre? Boring as heck or did you find it entertaining?

WOW = Waiting On The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead

Waiting on The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead

Release Date: May 29, 2014

Synopsis:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Vampire Academy and Bloodline series returns with the second installment in her acclaimed Age of X series.

Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion.

Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.

Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

I am sooooo excited for this book. I love Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series plus the first book in this series was pretty good. And The Immortal Crown looks even better!

Review: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Age of X #1
Reading Level: Adult
Publisher: Dutton Adult June 4, 2013
Pages: 448

Synopsis:

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.


Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.

My thoughts:

First off, Gameboard of the Gods is very, very different from Richelle Mead's previous books. It's not like Vampire Academy, Bloodlines, Georgiana Kincaid, or her Dark Swan series. Don't get me wrong, I can see some similarities between her other series but overall the first Age of X novel walked a different tune.

That is not to say that this book was bad. It was actually pretty good (as I gave it a 4 star rating) but I had to warm up to it. I was fluctuating between giving it a 3 or 4 star but I ultimately chose a 4 star because I think it has potential.

Back to the warming up part. It was slow. At first, in the beginning I had to force myself to read it. I think it was slow due to these reasons:

1. The world, the build-up, basically the whole introduction of this new setting. To be honest, it was kind of confusing at first with all the gadget, politics, and religious talk. But, I understand it because, like most first books in series a lot of the stuff has to be explained in order to get the gist of the whole thing for later in the book and the next ones after that.

2. The characters. For some reason, I didn't really get invested in Justin, Mae, or Tessa for that matter. I think this was largely due in part to Mead's use of third person POV. It just felt really impersonal. Still, like I said before it got better in the last half of the book. I actually felt a little for Justin and Mae.

Despite the differences from her previous books and the slow start, Mead debuts a promising new series. I, for one, am going to read the second book in the Age of X series. Hopefully, it'll be good.


What are your thoughts on Gameboard of the Gods? Did you like it?

Review: Mountain Echoes by C.E. Murphy

Mountain Echoes by C.E. Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Walker Papers #8
Reading Level: Urban Fantasy/Adult
Publisher: Harlequin Luna February 26, 2013
Pages: 352

Synopsis:

You can never go home again.

Joanne Walker has survived an encounter with the Master at great personal cost, but now her father is missing - stolen from the timeline. She must finally return to North Carolina to find him - and to meet Aidan, the son she left behind long ago. 

That would be enough for any shaman to face, but Joanne's beloved Appalachians are being torn apart by an evil reaching forward from the distant past. Anything that gets in its way becomes tainted - or worse. 

And Aidan has gotten in the way. 

Only by calling on every aspect of her shamanic powers can Joanne pull the past apart and weave a better future. It will take everything she has - and more. 


Unless she can turn back time... 

My thoughts:

**Some Spoilers**

This is one of the best fantasy series that I have read. It may be one of my favorites. What’s more the Walker Papers gets better and better as each new book is released. So, be sure to not start with this book ‘cause you’ll totally be lost, instead begin with Urban Shaman.

The eighth book in the series, Mountain Echoes, follows Joanne’s battle against the Master in her hometown of Cherokee. The Master is basically Joanne’s arch nemesis. The Master has had it out for Joanne and her family since before she was born. And now he’s targeting her father and son, Aidan, who live in the Qualla.

All I can say is wow, this book kept me engaged throughout. One of my favorite parts was when Joanne flew Petite, her car. Let me tell you it was frickin’ awesome. “I shoulda named her Pegasus,” referring to Petite. Mountain Echoes is a definite must read if you’d read C.E. Murphy’s Walker Paper series!

Favorite Quotes:

“Not zombies.” I actually said it aloud, surprising them at least as much as I surprised myself. “Definitely not zombies. Wights. I think I’ll call you wights. Is that all wight with you?"

--Joanne

Joanne: “This way. The path less traveled by.”
Morrison: “No one can accuse you of taking anything else.”

--Joanne and Morrison

“The gist was ‘How the hell does this woman—is it a woman with that weird short hair? Yes, it’s a woman with her ugly weird clothes and ugly short hair and ugly pale skin know the language of the People? Hell if I know! Ask her!’”

--The Indians when Joanne and Morrison got stuck back in time

“I wanted to hop up and down with frustration. Magic was stupid. Cool and awesome and amazing, but also stupid.”

--Joanne

“Is that your mental image of yourself, Morrison? A lone wolf, standing against a tide of evildoers? That’s very teenage epic fantasy of you.”

--Joanne

“Guarded. Discreet. Reserved. Chary. Restra—”
Morrison held his hand up. “Chary, Walker? I know you have an English degree, but chary?”
“How often does a girl get an excuse to pull a word like that out?”

--Joanne and Morrison

“I’d mostly read about the Cherokee, but the Iroquois had put together maybe the fiercest, largest armies against European settlers and, inevitably, against other Native tribes as they were all forced out of their original lands.”

--Joanne

“Ayita Walkingstick had only lived a few minutes, but she was the bravest person I had ever met.”

--Joanne

“Who are you? What do you know about this? Disease control is our job, not yours. Who are you?”
“My name,” I said, mostly under my breath, “is Siobhan Grainne MacNamarra Walkingstick, and I’m the answer to all your prayers.”

--Joanne

“I thought of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner laying down road over empty sky, and I thought, well, hell, whispered, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” and slammed Petite off the side of a mountain.
We flew.”

--Joanne