April 2018 Book Club: Charming

Charming by Elliott James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong Language


John Charming isn't your average Prince...

He comes from a line of Charmings — an illustrious family of dragon slayers, witch-finders and killers dating back to before the fall of Rome. Trained by a modern day version of the Knights Templar, monster hunters who have updated their methods from chainmail and crossbows to kevlar and shotguns, he was one of the best. That is — until he became the abomination the Knights were sworn to hunt.

Charming was a nice piece of brain candy. It was our fantasy book club book for April and most everyone enjoyed it. I enjoyed the humor the most, especially the chapter titles. It reminded me a little bit of the Dresden Files, and if you are a fan of that series you will probably enjoy this book. However, it felt like it was missing a little something compared to the other Urban Fantasy type books I've read. The characters were a little bland in my opinion, although I did Like John, Molly, and Choo. Sig on the the other hand never set well with me. I did appreciate the fact that there wasn't a big 'happily ever after' for the romance at the end of the book. We are left not really knowing what exactly is next for most of the characters. This book has a good ending so you can read it as a stand-alone, or move onto the next book in the series if you're interested enough. I'm interested in seeing where the series goes after this so I'll probably keep reading.

Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Content: A small amount of cursing, a non-descriptive sex scene


Healer Blackthorn knows all too well the rules of her bond to the fey: seek no vengeance, help any who ask, do only good. But after the recent ordeal she and her companion, Grim, have suffered, she knows she cannot let go of her quest to bring justice to the man who ruined her life.

Despite her personal struggles, Blackthorn agrees to help the princess of Dalriada in taking care of a troubled young girl who has recently been brought to court, while Grim is sent to the girl’s home at Wolf Glen to aid her wealthy father with a strange task—repairing a broken-down house deep in the woods. It doesn’t take Grim long to realize that everything in Wolf Glen is not as it seems—the place is full of perilous secrets and deadly lies...

Back at Winterfalls, the evil touch of Blackthorn’s sworn enemy reopens old wounds and fuels her long-simmering passion for justice. With danger on two fronts, Blackthorn and Grim are faced with a heartbreaking choice—to stand once again by each other’s side or to fight their battles alone...

Den of Wolves is the conclusion to the Blackthorn and Grim trilogy. Even though it was predictable, I think this book was my favorite of the three. I especially enjoyed the way the relationship between Blackthorn and Grim turned out. It was sweet with a slow build up and it remained an integral part of the story without taking over the whole story.

Finally we get answers about who Conmael is and why he saved Blackthorn from the prison, and also closure for Blackthorn with the whole Mathuin thing. I wasn't really sure why everything had to be so hush hush, but it was a good ending to that part of the story. Blackthorn was far less obsessed with getting justice in this book and was more focused on helping other people, which I think was good. It was what I wanted to see in the last book. The message about love and sacrifice in this book, and what and who is most important in life is one that I never get tired of and I enjoyed it immensely.

Feather bright and feather fine, None shall harm this child of mine...

The story of Cara and her father who is building a heartwood house for some mysterious reason was interesting, although I didn't really feel like we got a very good explanation for why her father was building the house in the first place or how he even learned about it. And then there was the wild man who returns after disappearing 15 years ago. It wasn't hard to figure out the connection between these characters, but the story was heartbreaking yet enchanting at the same time, and I loved it.

Overall this was a really good trilogy. Marillier continues to be one of my favorite authors, simply because of the beautiful way that she writes. It also doesn't hurt that I really enjoy the historical fantasy genre that she writes so well.

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language, A sex scene

 
As darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire, the once precarious balance of power among the four Londons has reached its breaking point.

In the wake of tragedy, Kell--once assumed to be the last surviving Antari--begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. Lila Bard, once a commonplace--but never common--thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry.

An ancient enemy returns to claim a city while a fallen hero tries to save a kingdom in decay.


The third book in the Shades of Magic trilogy, A Conjuring of Light was a decent, but not spectacular ending to the trilogy. I probably liked it the least of the three books. I felt rather underwhelmed by it. In the beginning I was really dreading the havoc that Osaron was poised to wreak on everyone, but he ended up being a bit disappointing, mainly because there is a good chunk of the book where he is left behind while our main characters go off on a quest to obtain something in hopes of defeating him. Now I did like that journey, some of the things that happened during it were parts I liked the best about the book, like the whole floating black market and Maris. I really wanted to know more about her, but it removed us a little too much from Osaron. If we had gotten more chapters back in London with Osaron during this time it would have been better. I did enjoy reading what Rhy was up to though.

One thing about this series, especially in this book, that felt a bit off kilter to me were the relationships between the characters. The relationship between Lila and Kell somehow never really rang true for me. There wasn't a lot of chemistry and Kell was just a rather anemic character around her. Kell's relationship with his brother Rhy was more convincing. I always enjoy a good brotherly love story line, however at times it felt a little weird because of the way it was written. Kell is supposed to be in love with Lila, but most of the time he is far more concerned about his brother.

While I liked Lila in the beginning of the trilogy, I liked her less and less with each successive book. She seemed to like doing stupid daring things just for the sake of doing them. She never thought through her actions before she did them, and I didn't really think this made her a strong female character. It just made her reckless and flighty, which isn't what I look for in a female character.

As for Kell, I liked him quite a bit in the first two books, but unfortunately he isn't a strong enough protagonist. He is too overshadowed by the other characters. Lila just steps all over him, and Holland outshines him story wise. The one thing I really wanted to know about him was his mysterious background. It really would have helped to flesh his character out a bit and make him more interesting, and there is the opportunity to find this out at one point in the book. Unfortunately Kell doesn't want to know about his past, so we never get to know either. This was one of the most frustrating things about this book. Kell might not have wanted to know, but I did!

Holland really got to shine in this book and I liked reading about his past. I'm not sure I like the way things ended up for him though, and I felt like we needed to visit his London and the others more in this book. They all just faded into the background here. [ I really wanted there to be a way to somehow fix things in the other Londons, or at least Holland's London  (hide spoiler)]

Overall I liked this series. I loved the concept of the parallel Londons and the portals between them, but I had issues with it that kept it from being a favorite.



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Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia


 
Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.


I really liked Not a Drop to Drink. I thought it was different and in a couple of ways that surprised me. The main character is tough because she has to be. She just does what has to be done. I liked that a certain someone got their due and she wasn't afraid to do it. That scene was one of the best in the whole book. There are no foolish lapses of judgment on her part which was refreshing in a YA novel. I enjoyed seeing her grow as a person throughout the book. I liked seeing some of the paranoia that her mother instilled in her abate somewhat. She was a smart, and in the end, caring person. There is one heart wrenching thing that happens near the end of this book that I was just not prepared for. I kept wondering why the author would do such a thing, and in such a horrible way. I will say that it is not the predictable way most YA novels go. I'm crossing my fingers that there will be a sequel to this.

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Space Opera, Sci-fi
Content: Strong Language, Blacked out curse words, Talk of teens sharing bunks, Mass killings including children.

 
Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion?

Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.

With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken.

This is the last installment of the Illuminae Files and I enjoyed it almost as much as the first two books, but not quite. It didn't immediately draw me into the story the way the other two books did and I missed the monster aspect that those books had as well. The monsters are of a different sort here. This book was pretty dark at times with a couple of mass killings, children included. Of course there is no detail given, but nevertheless it is dark. But those are real world horrors that really and truly are more monstrous than Zombies and Aliens.

There were a couple of things that I found mildly annoying in the first two books that felt even more annoying in this one. The fact that everyone had practically the same personality and the blacked out curse words are perfect examples. It seemed like there were twice as many of those blacked out curse words this time around. It annoyed me to have to have to read around them. Just leave them out. The only other complaint I have about this book is that everything was wrapped up a little too neatly for me.

I've enjoyed this series with its interesting format and gorgeous pages. It's unlike anything else I've read. I enjoyed revisiting Ezra and Kady, and AIDAN the most. Just like the last book, I thought Hannah and Nik were ok, but not my favorites. Ella was less impressive here, but I still really liked her, and she had her moments in this book. The new characters that were added for this book were good. I think I liked them better than Hannah and Nik.

As usual the authors managed to trick me a couple of times with their plot twists, but not with every one of them. There wasn't really any real aha moment for me like with the first two books, but it was still very enjoyable. Overall this was a fun space opera trilogy.



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Grey Sister by Mark  Lawrence

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language, Brutal Killings


Behind its walls, the Convent of Sweet Mercy has trained young girls to hone their skills for centuries. In Mystic Class, Novice Nona Grey has begun to learn the secrets of the universe. But so often even the deepest truths just make our choices harder. Before she leaves the convent, Nona must choose which order to dedicate herself to—and whether her path will lead to a life of prayer and service or one of the blade and the fist.

All that stands between her and these choices are the pride of a thwarted assassin, the designs of a would-be empress wielding the Inquisition like a knife, and the vengeance of the empire's richest lord.

Nona Grey is back in this follow up to Red Sister and I loved her yet again in this book. I thought Red Sister was a very enjoyable read, but Grey Sister is even better. Several years have passed between the two stories and Nona is now 16 and must soon decide whether she will become a red sister or a grey sister. Certain plots come to fruition here and others are thwarted, and I must say that I did not see some of that coming. I also need to add that Sister Kettle and the Abbess are both awesome! They both really shone in this book along with Nona, and Zole had a significant role to play here as well. I ended up loving her too. Regol is also back in this, if rather sparingly. I love his character and I really would like more page time for him. And then there is Darla. I really grew to love her as well. The characters are what really make me love this series.

A good portion of this book takes place outside the convent walls and it was a nice change of pace. I am curious about how the problem of the world dying will be solved. Even though we have explanations of how the moon could be turned and all that, by the end of this book there is still nothing really done about it. It seems like a lot will have to happen in the last book, but I think this author will pull it off. I'm looking forward to reading more!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me a copy of this book for review.

Serenity's Plain Secrets

I've been reading the Serenity's Plain Secrets series for a couple of years. It's pretty similar to the Kate Burkholder series, only not as dark. If you've read my reviews for those books, then you will know that I mentioned reading another Amish mystery series before I started that one. Well, this is that series. I finished reading the fifth book yesterday, so I thought I would post my reviews of the previous books, along with my review for that one. Here are my reviews for books 1-5 of the series:




Lamb to the Slaughter by Karen Ann Hopkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: It's been a while so I don't remember, but these books generally have pretty non-descriptive or fade to black sex scenes.
 

Reviewed on July 24, 2016

The death of a teenage Amish girl in a cornfield looks like an accident, but sheriff Serenity Adams suspects foul play. To solve the murder, she must investigate the nearby Amish community with the help of a man who was shunned years ago.

Lamb to the Slaughter is a story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely people in an Indiana Amish Community and the devastating results when a rebellious teenage girl is found shot to death in a corn field during the harvest.

I'm a sucker for an Amish mystery and Lamb to the Slaughter did not disappoint. The Amish community is a little creepy, but innocent at the same time and that's what I think I like about it. So far I've enjoyed reading about Serenity and Daniel. Serenity is believable as a Sheriff, although sometimes I want to hit her upside the head for being so stubborn and closed off to other people, especially to Daniel.

The only real criticism I have about this book and the others in the series is that it could have used better proofreading. There are several typos that include missing words, wrong words, and missing letters in words. I have been able to overlook those things and still enjoy the books so far. I'm definitely hooked.




Whispers from the Dead by Karen Ann Hopkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: It's been a while so I don't remember, but these books generally have pretty non-descriptive or fade to black sex scenes.


Reviewed on July 30, 2016

Sheriff Serenity Adams and Daniel Bachman are once again partnered up in a criminal investigation, when they travel to a northern Amish settlement that has been riddled by arsons for the past two decades. Serenity quickly discovers that there is a lot more going on than just barns being set on fire in the touristy community of Poplar Springs. And this group of Amish has their own secrets to hide. Serenity begins to unravel an extensive criminal underworld that threatens to destroy everything that the simple people of Poplar Springs hold dear, and once again puts her own life in jeopardy.

Sorry just a short review here since I read this while on vacation.

Whispers from the Dead was a good second installment to the series. I'm enjoying the budding relationship between Serenity and Daniel and the Amish and their secrets continue to keep me on the edge of my seat in these books.

This series is a light vacation read for me and I'm completely enjoying it. Still the same issues with the typos, but otherwise no complaints.




Secrets in the Grave by Karen Ann Hopkins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: It's been a while so I don't remember, but these books generally have pretty non-descriptive or fade to black sex scenes.


Reviewed on August 2, 2016

Just when Sheriff Serenity Adams thinks life is getting back to normal, the death of a young, pregnant Amish woman rocks the community. Is it circumstance…or murder? It’s up to Serenity and her ex-Amish boyfriend, Daniel Bachman, to discover the truth about the new shaman-type medicine man who’s brought his dark secrets to Blood Rock.

But Serenity has secrets of her own, and if she and Daniel don’t work it out, the reappearance of a woman from his past could threaten to ruin their relationship.

I liked Secrets in the Grave a little less than the first two books in the series, mainly because the main character, Serenity has begun to get on my nerves a little bit. Serenity's lack of trust in Daniel and petty jealousy is getting old. Also, we know Daniel is a good looking man, we don't need to be reminded of it at least twice every book. And Serenity is a 35 year old town sheriff; can she stop with the teenage stomach fluttering every time she looks at him? Serenity also made a pretty poor decision in this book and then freaked out at the possible consequences. I'm not going to spoil what it was about here, but this probably bothered me more than the above mentioned things. Be an adult and be responsible for goodness sake, and don't freak out about it if you're not.

Despite those annoyances I still liked the book and I still like the series as a whole. I thought the mystery was pretty good, but easy to figure out. The same problem with typos and words or letters missing in sentences is still an issue in this book, but I'm still willing to overlook it because the books are entertaining. There is one more book that has been written in the series and I will read it, but I'm kind of hoping it is the last one. I'm not sure how much longer this series will hold my interest.




Hidden in Plain Sight by Karen Ann Hopkins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: It's been a while so I don't remember, but these books generally have pretty non-descriptive or fade to black sex scenes.

Reviewed on August 5, 2016

In the fourth installment of the bestselling Serenity’s Plain Secrets’ series, Serenity must work with US marshals to uncover the truth behind a shockingly brutal fifteen-year-cold murder.

Desperate for answers, Serenity finds herself in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where she unravels secrets that threaten to tear her and Daniel apart. But digging up the past is dangerous, and the quaint Amish settlement isn’t as safe as it seems.

Hidden in Plain Sight is apparently NOT going to be the last book in this series. I was afraid of that. That might sound odd coming from someone, who for the most part, enjoyed the series, but I just feel like I won't be able to keep reading this series without losing interest. The first two books were very compelling and the Amish felt somewhat sinister in the way they dealt with things. I liked that a lot about the first couple of books. Now that Serenity has gotten to know and understand them better they have lost that secretive, sinister feel. Now it just sort of feels like the mystery of the week kind of thing.

In this book Serenity's trust issues have abated somewhat, which I was very happy about. There was also less about how hot Daniel was and next to no stomach fluttering, which was an improvement. There is a point where Daniel hides something from Serenity that pertains to himself and the case she is working on. Serenity kind of freaks out over it, which I thought was silly since she knows Daniel well enough that she should realize there must be an explanation that doesn't involve him helping with the murder. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't have just asked him about it instead of pretending she didn't know. And Daniel surely would have known she was going to find out that he withheld the truth about something, so why do it? It was just manufactured drama that I could have done without.

There were some implausibilities in this book, like federal marshals asking a small town sheriff to accompany them to another state to investigate a cold case. I could see them consulting her about the part of the case that pertained to the Amish in her town, but there would surely be someone in that other state who would know the Amish there well enough to help them.

Mostly this book was dull compared to the other ones in the series. We only got Serenity's point of view in this one. I can understand why we didn't get a point of view from Daniel (the whole mystery about what he was hiding and all), but it just felt like something was missing without it.

I enjoyed reading these. I won't completely rule out reading another book in this series, but for now I feel like I've been there, done that and now I need to move on.





Paper Roses by Karen Ann Hopkins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content:A couple of pretty non-descriptive sex scenes.



Reviewed on March 30, 2018

When the mutilated corpse of a young Amish woman is discovered in Blood Rock, Sheriff Serenity Adams embarks on her most terrifying case yet, facing a killer unlike anything she’s seen before.

Paper Roses is the fifth book in this series and I feel like the series has gotten weaker as it has progressed. I didn't feel as enthralled with this one and I picked out the killer easily. Also, despite the grisly nature of the killings, I didn't feel like this was Serenity's most terrifying case, even though that's what the synopsis says. The first two books in the series were more terrifying to me, simply because of the unknowns involved with the Amish,and their creepy behavior.

In my past reviews I've mentioned how Serenity seemed like a love struck teen around Daniel and how her focusing in on his looks and how he made her feel got old. Well that is completely absent in this book, which wasn't a bad thing. This time around Serenity is starting to have some reservations about their relationship because she feels like they are so different in some key areas and beliefs, which are actually valid concerns. Mostly though, the romance between them takes a backseat here. Daniel is featured but is mostly in the background.

In this book we get chapters from the point of view of Serenity and her friend C.J. I found myself forgetting whose point of view I was reading at times and confusing the two, but I really liked C.J. The forbidden romance aspect of her story was good, but a little too insta-love for me. This being a short book, I didn't feel like the characters spent enough time with each other before bonds were formed between them, and I don't just mean between C.J. and Joshua, but between C.J. and his kids as well. This resulted in the feelings between them not feeling as genuine as I would have liked.

My biggest complaint however is that this book just like the rest of the series needed more proofreading. There are a lot of typos in the Kindle version; missing words, words added into sentences that didn't belong, the wrong word in a sentence. These are mistakes that could be easily eliminated by proofreading.

Overall this was an ok addition to the series, but not as good as the others. After reading book four, I was feeling a bit weary of this series, but after a long break from the series I'm feeling more interested in it again. I mostly want to see where things go with the relationships so I'll continue reading when the next book is published.



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