Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fairy Tale
Content: Clean 

 
Blessed-or cursed-with an ability to understand animals, the Lass (as she's known to her family) has always been an oddball. And when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out, and promises that her family will become rich if only the Lass will accompany him to his castle, she doesn't hesitate. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle, which is made of ice and inhabited by a silent staff of servants.

This is the third version I've read of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I liked it just as much as the others. They have all been different and each one had its strengths. Unlike the last one I read, East which I thought was for older teens, this one was solidly in the younger age range for YA. It's a good retelling for anyone to read though. I liked the way the author incorporated the pet wolf into the story and that the main character had the ability to talk to animals. I enjoyed that this version had a compelling secret about the older brother, whose own story also is revealed in the book.

I'm on a mission to read all the versions of this fairy tale that I own. There is one more left. The main reason I started reading these is because I've got so many books that I own that I've never gotten around to reading. But now that I've started reading these I'm really interested in reading and comparing each of the versions of the story. Plus it has been super fun buddy reading them with my friends Melissa and Laura.

Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: It's been a while since I read this so I can't remember.



Seven years ago Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her. Children were being murdered — and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin.…

Since then, she's learned to read, she's learned to fight and she's become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra. Alongside the winged Aerians and the immortal Barrani, she's made a place for herself, far from the mean streets of her birth.

But children are once again dying, and a dark and familiar pattern is emerging.

For the most part I enjoyed reading Cast in Shadow. The reason it doesn't quite get 4 stars from me is because at times I felt like not enough was explained and that led to a bit of confusion a few times. I think way too much information is withheld from the reader and the main character. I did really like the different character races in this book and it seems like a promising start to the series. I considering continuing on to the next book, however I am hesitant after reading the descriptions and reviews of the next 9 books in the series. It seems like a lot of people have gotten frustrated with the lack of movement in character development and plot. And apparently this series is pretty void of any romance. That would probably be a plus to some, but not for me. As long as it doesn't take over the story, I like to have a little romance sprinkled into the books I read. There is apparently supposed to be a love triangle building, but according to other readers, 10 books into the series it is still pretty non-existent. So for now the next book in the series will go on my may-or-may-not read list.

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: urban Fantasy
Content: Strong Language, A brief mostly non-descriptive sex scene 



Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form, Mercy escapes only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe...

In this tenth book in the Mercy Thompson series, Mercy is abducted by vampires and taken to Europe. Going into this I knew the change of location could be a bad thing. I don't always like when authors change location in the middle of a series, but it worked well here and this ended up being one of my favorite books in the series. I especially liked getting to know the inner workings of the seethes and packs there.

We finally meet the infamous vampire Iacopo Bonarata who has been mentioned in previous books, and he didn't disappoint. In many ways he is comparable to a Mafia leader, only he's also a vampire so that makes him even scarier! He's the kind of character that loves to manipulate people and situations, so you never know what he might be up to. This can be touchy territory for me as I really dislike when stories do this the wrong way and everything hinges on a character behaving a certain way, because we all know you can't really predict how someone will act, and it's really unbelievable when they do everything exactly according to plan. I think Briggs did a pretty good job here of not falling into that as Mercy ended up being very unpredictable even if a couple of others weren't.

This book showed how resourceful Mercy is and how clever she is as well. I really enjoyed reading as she got herself out of the situations she was put in. I did feel like it was mentioned a few too many times how Mercy could take care of herself and rescue herself from the situation she was in. Adam always had faith in Mercy's ability there, but I didn't need to read it multiple times. Plus there isn't anything wrong with needing to be rescued sometimes, after all Mercy had to rescue Adam once.

Some other interesting things happened in this book. For one, Mercy learns more about her ability to see ghosts and what that entails, and also how to use this ability. Briggs also always includes some form of mythology or folklore in each book, and this time it was the Golem of Prague. And of course Mercy would run into the golem while taking in the sights in Prague on her first night there. How could she not? She's Mercy.

Murder on Union Square by Victoria Thompson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery 
Content: Clean


 
When a murder hits close to home, Frank finds himself in an unusual position--the prime suspect.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The mystery was ok. It kept me guessing for a little while but I did eventually figure out who did it and how, for both of the deaths, well before Sarah and Frank did. If you've been reading my reviews of this series then you already know that is pretty normal for this series. If the book had not been set in the early 1900s then I would have expected Sarah and Frank to figure out how that second murder was done pretty easily. But in that time period I can forgive them for being a little naive about that sort of thing. I don't really want to say anything more because of spoilers, but if you read the book you'll know what I mean. I mostly enjoyed reading about the supporting characters Maeve and Gino in this one. I think the parts I enjoyed the most were when they were working undercover as newspaper reporters. It was fun to see them in their element, especially Gino.

This series has had its ups and downs but right now I feel like it's in a good place. I do wish that the romance, or what appears to be attraction at least, between a couple of the supporting characters would get a bit more attention. It's reminding me a lot of the snail's pace that the romance between Sarah and Frank progressed at. That is one of my biggest complains about this series though, everything moves at such a slow pace, too slow for me. Despite that I continue to stay interested in this series. 21 books in is a long way in. I've invested a lot of reading time into it so I'll keep going.

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong Language


 
After a human uprising was brutally put down by the Elders the few cities left under human control are far-flung. And the people within them now know to fear the no-man’s-land beyond their borders—and the darkness…

Lakeside Courtyard has emerged relatively unscathed, though Simon Wolfgard, its wolf shifter leader, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn must work with the human pack to maintain the fragile peace. But all their efforts are threatened when Lieutenant Montgomery’s shady brother arrives, looking for a free ride and easy pickings.

With the humans on guard against one of their own, tensions rise, drawing the attention of the Elders, who are curious about the effect such an insignificant predator can have on a pack. But Meg knows the dangers, for she has seen in the cards how it will all end—with her standing beside a grave.

This is the last book in The Others series and I thought for the most part it was a good ending. I did feel like the book that preceded this one felt, in many ways like it should have been the end of the series. I agree with a friend of mine who said this book felt like a big epilogue. There were a few things that were needed in this book to tie up some loose ends, but those things could have probably been added to the previous book to tie things up. It also felt a little weird to be isolated to just Lakeside once again with a "villain of the week" after reading about the overarching plot that spanned the whole world in the previous two books. I think that's one big reason this felt like an epilogue or like it was tacked on.

There were some parts of this book that just felt mundane and not really needed as they didn't help the plot along and just seemed to serve as filler, but I've found that this author does that to an extent in every one of the books in this series. I think it occurred a bit more in this one though. One example would be the whole potluck dinner. However, I can't complain too much about it, because I still found it very enjoyable to read. It especially showed what an amazing character Twyla was. I just wanted to give that woman a hug and Skippy too. I wish she had been added to the series sooner!

As far as the other characters go I would have liked to have seen Meg grow into a stronger individual than she did. She will always need the protection of Simon and the courtyard to an extent because of who and what she is, but it would have been great to see more growth as an independent individual there. I also would have liked maybe a little more movement in the romance. The way it ended was very sweet but just a little bit more would have been nice.

Just like in the other books in this series, there are some gruesome deaths in this book, but they are never described in too much detail and when they occur I can't help but feel like the persons that are killed got what they deserved. I do have to wonder every time I read a book in this series how stupid the humans can possibly get?! There doesn't seem to be a limit to the stupidity, and the antagonist in this book was the stupidest one ever. Why would anyone dare to cross the terra indigene, ever? Certainly no one with half a brain would.

I'm looking forward to starting Lake Silence soon, the first book in a companion series to this one.

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy
Content: Clean


 
High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It's an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle's hidden portal, known only to the sisters. Every Full Moon, they alone can pass through it into the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom. There they dance through the night with the fey creatures of this magical realm.

I have yet to read anything by Juliet Marillier that I haven't loved. Wildwood Dancing started out a little slow, but once it got going I couldn't put it down. This is a retelling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Marillier does an excellent job of weaving this tale into something of her own. I loved the characters in the story even though some of them could be frustrating at times. And speaking of characters, I wanted to punch Cesar in the face numerous times. The sisters however were enchanting to read about, and when I was done reading this I wanted there to be a book for each of them. Unfortunately there is only one other book because the publisher canceled the series, but this is good as a standalone story and I highly recommend it if you love fairy tale retellings. I also have to mention that the cover to this book is probably one of the most beautiful book covers I own. When I got the book I spent quite a while looking at all the little details that are depicted in it.

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong Language



Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Nine books into this series and I'm not even a little bit tired of it. I took a break from it for a while because I was reading so many other things, but I'm glad to be back. The Fae are up to no good as usual here, and we get a new character that is interesting, a human boy who has the ability to control fire...well most of the time. Sometimes the fire pops up unexpectedly which results in some damage to Mercy and Adam's home. But it's no big deal because the wolves and the Fae do even worse to it! I need to point out how very happy I am that several things that Adam's ex-wife Christie picked out get completely demolished. If my husband had an ex I could never live in a house that he had built and shared with her. I don't know how Mercy does it. Christie makes an appearance in this book, and yet again is her annoying self. Thankfully it was brief.

Other things that I loved about this book were:

-The walking stick. I love how it keeps finding its way back to Mercy and how it pops up whenever she needs it, even if she doesn't realize she does.

-Baba Yaga. What a hoot!

-Sherwood Post, and how he got his name. I really want to know more about him.

-The Gray Court. I liked that we dig deeper into the Fae and the inner workings of the Gray Court.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series and getting caught up for the new release coming in May.

Already Gone by Bridget E. Baker

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary Fiction
Content: Clean



Lacy Shelton and her sister Hope couldn't be more different, despite being less than a year apart in age. Lacy is captain of the debate team, poised to be Valedictorian of the high school and waiting for an admission letter from Yale any day. Hope is captain of the swim team, but will be happy if she gets into community college.

Hope has taken everything Lacy ever wanted, from pacifiers to high heels. But Lacy won't let that happen again, not this time. She won't let Hope take the new guy in school, and she sure as heck won’t let Hope ruin her chances with Yale. Until a shocking death changes all of Lacy's plans.

Alternating between Lacy's and Hope's points of view, Already Gone pieces together a tense puzzle of sisterhood, betrayal, mistakes, and ultimately forgiving someone who can be gone in a blink.

Bridget E. Baker is fast becoming a favorite author of mine. After reading her YA post-apocalyptic trilogy and her cute Christmas romance novel for adults and enjoying those I didn't hesitate to try this book. This is another YA novel, but this time around it's a mystery/suspense/contemporary fiction type story. One thing that really stands out to me is how versatile this author is. She does a great job with each of these genres.

I'll say right off that this story is a slow build and the mystery and the suspense are very mild. You're just reading both Lacy and Hope's accounts of past events and waiting to find out what went down to cause Lacy to be in a court-mandated psychiatrist's office. The details are very engrossing despite the slow burn of the story. I'll admit I was expecting a lot of danger and ominous events, but somehow this book still did not disappoint me. Despite the lack of any real danger or suspense, the story pretty much grabbed me right from the beginning and I couldn't put it down. That's saying a lot for a book about teens in high school! I thought I was done reading those types of stories, but I'm not sorry I read this one.

There was a twist that I did not see coming as well and that made the reading experience even better. There are quite a few themes touched on in this book, but I don't want to spoil the book so I won't talk about them here. This is a well thought out story about two sisters at odds, who also love each other, and in the end this ends up being a somewhat tragic but very sweet story. I highly recommend if you like contemporary teen fiction.

Thanks to the author for providing me with an advanced copy of this book for review.

December 2018 Book Club: Theft of Swords

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language


Update 1/6/2019: Reread for book club.

They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly.

I was thrilled that my book club picked this to read for January. This omnibus contains the first two books that started the Riyria Revelations. It has become one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. Royce and Hadrian are always entertaining and it was nice to revisit Theft of Swords after six and a half years. Has it really been that long since I first read this? It doesn't seem like it. This series spawned two prequel series, The Riyiria Chronicles and Legends of the First Empire, both of which I love just as much as this one, and a third one is in the works as well. I highly recommend if you enjoy traditional fantasy.

Original review 6/23/2012:

I received Theft of Swords from a Goodreads first-reads giveaway. I very much enjoyed it. I liked that it was a traditional epic type fantasy, but was still a fun easy read. The characters were all very engaging and I look forward to meeting them again in the sequels.

East by Edith Pattou

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Fairy Tale
Content: Strong Language



Rose has always been different.

Since the day she was born, it was clear she had a special fate. Her superstitious mother keeps the unusual circumstances of Rose's birth a secret, hoping to prevent her adventurous daughter from leaving home... but she can't suppress Rose's true nature forever.

So when an enormous white bear shows up one cold autumn evening and asks teenage Rose to come away with it--in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family--she readily agrees.



East is a retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon, a fairy tale similar to Beauty and the Beast. I had previously read Ice by Sarah Beth Durst and really liked it so I put this one on my list to read. It's been on my list for several years now and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. There are some differences in the two retellings. This one is a historical fantasy where Ice was set in modern day. I liked that this book has a historical setting. There were some things about this book that I liked better than Ice , but some things I liked less. The main character Rose was easy to like and so was the love interest, but I do feel like the book lacked in that we don't get enough chapters from his point of view, so we don't get to know him as well as we could. I also feel that the author could have used less telling and more showing at times, especially when it came to the interactions between Rose and the bear.

Rose's mother was a very superstitious woman who was definitely not in her right mind and she was hard to like at times. There were some inconsistencies in the way her character is written and some of the things she did didn't make a lot of sense, although I suppose you could chalk it up to her being kind of crazy. I did really like that the book had multiple points of view and I thought they were well done. I liked Rose's brother Neddy a lot, although it took a while to see why his point of view was needed in the story.

After reading this book I kept thinking about it and the more I thought about it the darker it seemed. There are some things that happen that are rather disturbing if you think about them.

**The following paragraph contains spoilers. If you don't want to read them then skip down to the next one.


The troll queen is rather like a pedophile that kidnaps a little boy. She wants to keep him for herself and marry him one day. Her father turns him into a bear so she can't have him, but eventually after over 100 years of being under the spell she does have him. She is sleeping in the same bed as him, and though nothing is written about it, it does seem as though she is having her way with him while he is in a drugged stupor because at one point she says he is hers body and soul. Yikes!


**End of spoilers.



Overall this was a good read. It is a great standalone, but I'm considering reading the sequel West, even though I don't really think it was necessary. I recommend this if you like fairytale retellings.

Bound - A Book of the Ancestor Short Story by Mark  Lawrence

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language

 
This is a short story set in the world of The Book of the Ancestor (Red Sister). It should be read between book 2 and 3 of the trilogy. I don't have a lot to say about this other than it is a superb short story. There is so much packed into this little story that it feels like a longer one. The story features Nona, Ara, Kettle, Ruli, Jula, and Regol. I really enjoyed that it featured Regol, one of my favorite supporting characters from the series. This is a must read if you are a fan of the series.

Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong Language


 
For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community...

This was a good addition to the series. I liked the progress that was made, but there were also some really slow parts where not a lot was really happening. That isn't unusual for this series though as each book has been like this. I think it's why I've been able to take a long break between books, but the story is good enough that I've still never lost interest.

One thing I really like about this series is how the shape shifters are more animal than human. They are not originally either shape, but the first shape they take is animal before they learn to turn human. It just makes the series feel unique compared to a lot of other urban fantasies I've read with shape shifters. There is quite a bit of comic relief involved with the shape shifters trying to understand the humans and that kept me laughing throughout the book. In my opinion a good urban fantasy needs some humor to balance out the dark parts.

In some ways it felt like this should have been the last book in the series, but there is still one more. I'm hoping for some relationship type resolutions in the last book. It will be interesting to see what happens in the end since there is a follow up series to this one. I'm interested in seeing how they're tied in together.

I hope you all had a very lovely holiday! I'm behind on my reviews because of the holidays, but now that they are over I'll be catching up and posting reviews this week of what I've been reading for the last three weeks. I'm also planning to make a "Best Books of 2018" post this week as well.