Review: UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn

Title: UnEnchanted
Series: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, Book 1
Author: Chanda Hahn
Publisher: Self Published
Length: 216 Pages approx.
Publication Date: December 30, 2011
Available Format: Paperback, Kindle Edition, eBook
Source: Free Download
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Get it @: Amazon | Goodreads

Book Description:

Mina Grime is unlucky, unpopular and uncoordinated, that is until she saves her crush's life on a field trip, changing her High School status from loser to hero overnight. But with her newfound fame brings misfortune as an old family curse come to light. For Mina is descended from the Brothers Grimm and has inherited all of their unfinished fairy tale business. Which includes trying to outwit a powerful Story from making her its next fairytale victim.

To break the fairy tale curse on her family and stop these deadly events, Mina must finish the tales until the very Grimm end.

Picture yourself in high school, those awkward years. Now, not only are you a high school student, you are also a very clumsy one. One, so epically clumsy, that you are the school's outcast. You are such an epic klutz that some pretty weird, explainable things happen to you all the time. And that every single time one of these things happens, your Mom packs up and forces you change zip-codes. Now, imagine what it feels like to one day discover that the reason behind all of your misfortune is because you (and your kid brother) are the last descendants of the Brothers Grimm and as such you have inherited the family curse.

I was surprised as to how much I enjoyed this book. First heard about it when my sister asked me to buy her the second book in the series, then explained to me that she had stumbled into the first one (for free) at Amazon. I was intrigued by the premise so I went and downloaded myself a copy. This book turned out to be a great twist on the fairy tale realm. And much like my sister, now I want to get my hands on the next story.

Review: Dreamwalker by Andrea Heltsley

Title: Dreamwalker
Series: Persephone’s League of Immortals, Book 1
Author: Andrea Heltsley
Publisher: Andrea Heltsley
Length: 951 KB
Publication Date: May 22, 2012
Available Format: Paperback, Kindle Edition.
Source: Supplied by the author through IO Book Tours
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Get it @: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Description:

Noel Kennedy lost her boyfriend, her job and her dignity all in one week. Then something happened and she began to dream of this stranger she had never met. She couldn’t resist the man of her dreams named Jared especially when she met him in real life. Entranced, she slowly unraveled a world she was meant to stay out of. Her life was not what she thought it was once a sexy Boone stepped into the mix and shook things up. Can she escape a life of servitude or immortality for a chance at love?

I really wanted to like this story because it has a great concept; unfortunately the elements that I didn’t like were far too many for me to enjoy this book.

Some of the characters (like Sam and Autumn) are intriguing and kept the story fresh. However, I just had problems with the way the main characters were portrayed. The story focuses heavily on two elements that have become my pet peeves when reading books, the love triangle between Noel, Jared and Boone and her “lust at first sight” reaction to both guys.

Review: Crimson Midnight by Amos Cassidy

Title: Crimson Midnight
Series: The Crimson Series, Book 1
Author: Amos Cassidy
Publisher: Self Published through Kindle Direct Publishing
Length: 341 Pages
Publication Date: March 15, 2012
Available Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Supplied by the Author
My Rating: ★★★★★
Get it @: Amazon

Description:

Rose wants excitement, bright lights and late nights, but she gets more than she bargained for when she swaps her wholesome country life for the hustle and bustle of London.

The city night is home to hungry shadows, eager to consume her. Rose discovers there is more to this world than what the mundane eye sees, and that she herself is a part of it. Unexpected friendships are forged and unwanted, sometimes dangerous, attractions flare.

London becomes a playground for magic, danger and supernatural threat. While her life, and those of who she loves, hangs in the balance, she must endeavour to embrace her new nature and assist in identifying the hidden threat before it succeeds in its dark purpose.

An Urban Fantasy filled with moon-praising, flat-dwelling vampires, chic corporate werewolves, bar-tending warlocks, ravenous demons and much, much more.

Step inside…

This book is right up my alley, it has all the Urban Fantasy elements that I love:

• Crafty and powerful Witches and Warlocks ü 
• Strong and pretty friendly vampires ü
• Hot and steamy werewolves ü
• Deadly and somewhat unhinged fairies ü
• Unknown superpower as the main character ü
• Some nasty demons  ü
• Action and adventure ü
• A good fast paced storyline ü
• And a great city to host all the paranormal activity ü

Crimson Midnight is one of those books that once you pick up its hard to put down unless absolutely necessary. You know which ones I’m talking about, the ones that you eat while reading because you can’t stop; yup, one of those.

ARC Review: Gabriel by M.A Abraham

Title: Gabriel
Series: Elven Chronicles, Book 1
Author: M.A. Abraham
Publisher: Smashwords Edition
Length: 183 pages
Publication Date: 2012
Available Format:
Source: ARC in PDF supplied by the author
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Get it @: Amazon

Book Description:

"He has returned from the wars a hero to his people, savior of their Empire and honored as such, but his world is empty, despite the peace he has won for his people. There is no light where he lives, no soft touch to comfort him, to push away the darkness of his memories. He lives only to serve his King and the world he lives in. He is the High Lord General Gabriel Eagle Claw, Commander of the Combined Elven forces sent into the outside world to bring their people home he travels with his troop to the valley where he has been told they await his coming. She is like a forest creature, wild and free. Warrior trained alongside her brothers. She guards the life and spirit of the forests that surround them, as well as those who live in the valley with them. She also guards a secret, for she is more than just a simple Elven maiden tending to the care of the elements they live in. Bur when blue eyes meet silver each knows they have met their Life Mate, but such things are not as quickly accepted as they are recognized. He would have order in his ranks, she must be free to mark her own trail, he would bind her, tie her, control her. She would test his patience and will to the limit, and challenge his rights to own what she would not give freely."

One of the main reasons I love the fantasy genre so much is for its epic worlds and descriptions. The adventures have a monumental feeling with a wonderful lore supporting the main story arc. That is exactly what I got when I read Gabriel.

ICED Teaser Quotes

So far (or rather, as far as I know) Karen Marie Moning has given us three teaser quotes from her next novel ICED, a continuation of the Fever Series from Dani’s POV. Today, she gave us a short (fourth) quote. So I decided to dedicate a post to the torturing times that are sure to come with a series of quotes; October can’t get here soon enough!

I’ll be reposting the first three quotes plus today’s quote and any future one as well, so stay tune…

For some Into the Dreaming Teaser follow this link.

First ICED Teaser

Four nights he’s come to me, murmuring my name, making it an exquisite melody with which not even the divine orchestral choir of all the angels in heaven could compete.  He chimes my name in the language of the Unseelie and it makes my ears ring until my mind is emptied of all thought, until my eyes are incapable of beholding any vision other than him. He is so beautiful that merely looking at him makes me weep and when I brush tears from my cheeks, my hands come away stained red with blood. He wakes me but doesn’t wake me. He takes me to a place that is so perfect and serene and free of worry that I want to stay there forever. My name is Cruce, he says. Not V’lane. I was so weary of wearing his golden shining face. He was never half the Fae I am. I have you in the Dreaming, is it not beautiful? Do you not feel divine here with me? You need not fear me. I am not what I seem.
 I’m in danger.

Second ICED Teaser

Review: Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Faefever
Series: The Fever Series, Book 2
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: September 16, 2008
Source: Bought
Reviewed Format: Kindle Edition
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Get it @: Amazon | Book Depository

NOTE: I read this book a little over a month ago in a back-to-back fashion and I didn’t had time to review it at that moment, but I did promised to reviewed it here on my blog. The review is short and more of an overall feel of the book because, at the moment, I don’t remember all the specifics of the story; sorry, the elements of all five books have sort of blend in together.

Mac has finally learn how the Sinsar Dubh is moving, and with an ever increasing crime rate and the ever approaching possibility of the Lord Master releasing the Fae into our world the stakes are even higher. The only option remaining is to stop the LM’s plans, but will Mac be able to do so? Would she be able to outsmart this terrible foe all by herself or should she trust in the help of others? And of all the players in this twisted chess board, who can she trust?

Review: Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Bloodfever
Series: The Fever Series, Book 2
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 16, 2007
Reviewed Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Bought
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Get it @: Amazon | Book Depository

The Sinsar Dubh is out there and Mac is the only one that can sense it; a war is quickly approaching and with it the introduction of new players into the ever changing table that holds the world of the Fever series.

At the end of Darkfever we left Mac shivering on the rooftop of Barrons Books and Baubles alongside the man himself. The Sinsar Dubh is now in Dublin and havoc is sure to follow. The world keeps growing and expanding with the introduction of key players and some more disposable ones (won’t tell you which one is which, that’ll be cheating you out of some good twists).

Mac –and by extension Alina– are not the only sidhe-seers anymore. We get to discover a bit more of their world through the eyes of Dani, a young, strong, cocky, reckless, very observant and foul-mouth-to-no-end curly redhead with some serious authority issues that will make you want to hold and cuddle her as well as teach her some manners; in summary just your typical teenager. Dani is a great offset to Mac’s innocent (and sometimes naïve) views of the world that Mac knows almost nothing about and an welcome ball of pure energy to Mac’s obscure future.

Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Darkfever 

Series: The Fever Series, Book 1
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 31, 2006
Reviewed Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Bought
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Get it @: Amazon | Book Depository

Book Description:

MacKayla (Mac) Lane’s life is pretty ordinary; she bartenders to a local bar in her home town in Georgia while living with her parents, takes a few courses in the community college and sunbathes by the pool at any opportunity she has. But sometimes destiny has other plans for us in wait. After receiving a call that shattered her life she packs a bag and travels to Dublin, Ireland in the hopes of discovering her sister’s murderer. Without friends and family, in a completely unknown country, and with a cryptic voicemail as her only clue to what might had happened to her sister Mac will come face to face with a world she never dream would exist. Without knowing who to trust or turn to, with more enemies that she can account for, and playing a set of rule that she doesn’t quite comprehend Mac must decide whether her thirst for revenge is worth temping destiny.

Some friends recommended this book, and I am kicking myself for had started it sooner. I love the characters and the setting of the story. Love the description of the life in Dublin, that vibe that gives the book drops of realism.

As the heroine of the story, Mac was pleasantly unexpected. Her whining through the story is completely justifiable, yet it didn’t felt annoying like it could have easily turned into. She has many strengths but is not an almighty type of character. Let’s face it, when she screws up she does it royally; but for a character that gets thrown – head first – into a new world with a new set of rules she learns from her mistakes quickly and does her best never to repeat them.

Opposite Mac we have Jericho Barrons, a smoking hot mysterious guy who I can't truly say that he is either a good guy or a bad guy; if Moning wanted to keep her readers confused with where Barrons stands, let me tell you, mission accomplished. Telling you anything about Barron will, unfortunately, give away to many plot points so I’ll leave him like the mysterious guy he is.

Lost Girl

Title: Lost Girl

Genre(s): Supernatural Drama, Mystery, Crime
Runtime: 45 minutes
Rating: TV-MA, D, L, S, V (for mature audiences)
Channel: Showcase, SyFy
Directors: John Fawcett, David Winning
Writer: Michelle Lovretta
Cast: Anna Silk, Kristen Holden-Ried, Ksenia Solo, Zoie Palmer, Rick Howland, K.C. Collins
Country: Canada
Language: English
Seasons: 2 (so far at the time of posting)
Total of Episodes: 28 (aired so far at the time of posting)
Official Website: http://www.showcase.ca/lostgirl/
My rating: ★★★★★

I have a new TV obsession and it’s called Lost Girl; a Canadian show that has a great spark, is really funny and has loads of action.

I mean, what’s not to like; sexy succubus heroine, smoking hot fae men, a hilarious sidekick that keeps reminding me of my sister…toppled with fantasy-adventure, sprinkled with crime fighting served with a side dish of kick ass action. Yes ladies and gentlemen, that is what you can get if you watch Lost Girl, the new hit TV series by SyFy.

The series is originally produce by Showcase and began airing in Canada in September, 2010 with the pilot episode beginning airing in the USA this past January, 2012 through the SyFy channel.

The main character is Bo, who has been on the run most of her life; ever since, as a teenager, she discovered that her love can kill. Her problem is that when she gets hungry, the unfortunate person that happens to be the object of her lust winds up dead. At least they go out with a smile on their faces. See, Bo’s lust drains the person of their life force, if too much is drained the person dies (full of lust and apparently happy, but dead nonetheless). She finally discovers what she is and why she kills, but now that she knows about the existence of a whole new race (the Fae) that predates humanity she must learn to survive in both the human world as well as the highly political Fae world.

The Fae is the race that every creature belongs to, be it werewolves, vampires, banshees, trolls, succubi, sirens, or any others. The Fae is divided into two clans the Light Fae and the Dark Fae (the “good” and the “bad”). Every single Fae is born into either clan, and when they reach maturity a ceremony is celebrated in which they must choose a side. Nowadays the celebration is more of a sort of sweet sixteen or bar mitzvah; originally it involved a series of challenges to test both the will and the strength of the individual. Bo is the only Fae ever raised by humans and as such she has no clan and no affiliation. As a free agent she is the only one that can come and go between both Light and Dark territories, unfortunately that leaves her completely unprotected and basically free game for whoever wants to attack her; such is the life of the only free agent.