I'm Back!

So it has been a while since I have posted as life got busy (as usual) and I wasn't able to read on a regular basis. However, I have finally gotten a chance to start back reading on a regular basis. I recently read the first book in the Dragon Brigade by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes called Shadow Raiders. I am now on the second book, and it is hard to put down. I will be putting up a review for the first book in a few days!

Sworn to Raise by Terah Edun Review

Rating 5/10

Sworn to Raise starts out about as expected. We get to know Ciardis and her personality. She lives in a small village called Vaneis. She is a cleaner in the village who has a very mundane life. She falls into the typical role in that she doesn't really fit in, have many friends, etc. However, this is what I was expecting so again not disappointed. What I didn't expect was for the story to not even be believable. 

Destined for an Early Grave Review....Sort of

  Rating: 1/10

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish reading this book. I have nothing to say except this series got old really quickly. At first, I enjoyed it as a light read. However, it was just the same thing repeatedly, so much so that I felt no need to finish this book. Even though I couldn't finish, overall I give this a 1 out of 10. Very disappointing. I actually took a long break from reading after this book, and started back rereading a few previous authors that I loved. I am now ready to begin reviewing again and am currently reading Sworn to Raise by Terah Edun. It seems to be another light read and is more focused on paranormal romance/fiction. I will have a review posted for you soon! 

One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

   Rating: 8/10

One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2) is a great sequel to the first novel. It starts out four years later. I couldn't believe so much time had gone by, but from the way Cat has been living, I am glad I wasn't there. She seems extremely bitter and not at all like she was in the first book. It goes on that way until Bones comes back into her life. I was literally just waiting for this moment the entire time, so that when it happened I was extremely excited. Thankfully, we aren't kept waiting too long for this moment. It seems as if Cat and Bones are truly made for each other.

I wasn't sure it was possible to dislike Cat's mother more, but apparently it is. She is absolutely horrible towards Cat! I couldn't believe the way she was behaving, and was continuously rooting for Bones whenever he antagonized her.

There is one love scene in the book that was pretty risque. However, it wasn't really that bad and it made sense for the characters. I didn't really enjoy it as much as some others seemed to, but at the same time, it was OK. I do feel that it added a lot to the characters, and was there for a reason.

A major thing that this book lacked was more Bones and Cat time. Other than the previously mentioned scene, it seems like there wasn't much time for the couple in this book. I really hope that is different in the next book, since they are now back together.

I have to admit that although I usually don't like really light and fluffy books, I am really enjoying this series tremendously. It manages to be light reading while still being very entertaining and stimulating. It isn't like I have to leave my brain behind while reading this series, which is great for me.

 Of course, with Bones and Cat teaming up together again in this book it was a very enjoyable read, and I have already started the next book, At Grave's End (Night Huntress Book 3). I made sure to have it for the exact moment when I finished this one, unlike last time. Overall, I give this book an 8 out of 10. I would definitely recommend it to a friend. These books are the some of the most fun novels I may have ever read.





    

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Rating: 8.5/10

 This book was a much easier read than every book in the Graceling series. It started out fast and the entire book was fluent from beginning to end. I wasn't bored at all throughout the story, and the book never kept me guessing and waiting. It is much shorter, and it did leave me wanting more. Thankfully this book is the first in a series so I will be able to continue the story.


Meeting Cat for the first time was a very rewarding experience. She is a great herione, and she lets you know that she can definitely take care of herself. She is an avid vampire hunter on a mission, taking out bad guys (or any vampire she thinks is bad) one at a time. This is how she meets Bones. Bones is the ultimate bad guy that you can't help but fall in love with. He is cocky, but not too arrogant and even has a British accent! The way he admires Cat and doesn't try to control her, like many heroes in other novels, was very refreshing. They team up to take down a vampire who is the ringleader in an evil scheme causing young girls to disappear. Cat finds out much more about vampires and then starts to develop feelings for Bones.

At this point in the book, you are left wanting to know what Cat is going to do about these feelings she develops for just enough time. This is great because Frost doesn't try to drag it out making too long. The timing of her reveal and the way it is done is absolutely perfect. It also allows us to see a strong female lead, and it doesn't show her giving in to Bones. It is more of her falling in love with him, while still trying to be careful and not losing herself in the process.

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1) is full of action the entire time. There was never any down time to get bored, and it was highly entertaining. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is tired of reading heavy, mediocre or bad novels and needs to take a break. It is a very light and entertaining read, and I can't wait to read the next book. I give this book an 8 1/2 on a scale of 1 to 10. If you haven't read this series, what are you waiting for?

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

  Rating: 2/10

Out of all of the Graceling books, it took me the longest to finish reading Bitterblue (Graceling) . This book had the most details in the series, which was both good and bad. It was great to be able to understand how the castle worked and how Bitterblue felt, but I believe it was a bit overdone. Details were explained that I didn't care about at all, whereas other questions went unanswered until the end of the book. If there was something interesting to hold us over to the end that would have been fine. However, there was not. This book had so much potential but ended up being extremely boring and time consuming.

The idea of Bitterblue going out to see the city for herself was great and allowed her to met Saf. However, their entire relationship was never satisfying. It felt almost like a waste of time. I was very disappointed in the ending and felt like he could have at least promised to return or something. Unlike Fire, which took entirely too long to end, Bitterblue took to long to actually make it to the ending. Then once it get there, went entirely too fast to be satisfying.

This book was the biggest letdown I have ever read. I am upset that I was so invested in the characters and the kingdoms of this world. This book started out so great, and I had high hopes. I definitely got to understand who Bitterblue is, but the other characters were very one dimensional. I wish we would have gotten to hear more from Saf's point of view and even Katsa's and Po's as well. I am very disappointed, and if I would have know that this is how the story would have ended, I would not have read this book at all. Overall I give Bitterblue (Graceling) a score of 2 out of 10. I am sad that I wasted so much time reading this book, and I would take it all back if I could.

I am very excited to began reading a new series, and I hope that it will be much better than the Graceling series. The best part about the book was the prologue and the last 100 pages. Unfortunately, if you decide to read this series, you should prepare to be let down and disappointed.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Rating: 5/10

 I was finally able to finish reading Fire (Graceling Realm Book 2) . If you read my previous post, you will know that I had trouble getting through the middle of the book. I just had to sit down and barrel my way through until the book got better. It took a while, and I had to make sure there were no other distractions around. However, once I got past a certain part that I believed would be the end and the book continued, my interest was again piqued.

The book starts out great in a new Realm with a new species called Monsters. Now, these Monsters are not ugly but just the opposite. They are the most gorgeous creatures you could ever lay your eyes on. Our new heroine, Fire, is the last human Monster left. We are introduced to her and her surroundings much better than we were with Katsa in Graceling .

I instantly fell in love with her character the more I got to know about her. However, toward the middle of the book, some of her characteristics got slightly ridiculous. I really disliked the way her relationship was portrayed with Archer, and I believe she could have shown a little more strength. Also, once Brigan was introduced I felt that he would be a character that I could really like. However, we weren't really given that much information about him to make him interesting, which left him coming off as kind of boring. He seemed so one dimensional, and I would have liked to have learned different aspects of his personality. His daughter Hanna also was the same. The only character that was really developed in the book was Fire. I did enjoy the back story to Graceling and King Leck. I also really liked how Fire was much more likable and relatable than Katsa.

Once I got to the middle of the book, the story just dragged because there wasn't much that was important happening. I believe that this time could have included some smaller side stories with other characters in the book instead of focusing on Fire the entire time. For example, it would have been nice to have the story from Archer and Brigan's point of view or even one of Fire's guards as well. There was a big twist towards the end of the book that could have been more than what it was if the characters had interacted more before. The twist was supposed to inspire a sense of excitement, but I didn't really care. It didn't add much to the story. I was also somewhat disappointed with the ending of the book. After everything that happened, the ending just seemed dull. The book could have ended much sooner and nothing would have been lost.

Overall, I give Fire (Graceling Realm Book 2) a score of 5 out of 10. It was a little worse than Graceling simply because Graceling started out bad and eventually got better and then somewhat worse again, whereas Fire started out really great and continued to get worse. This book really got my hopes up at the beginning, but it's like Cashore ran out of interesting points to make. I will definitely NEVER read this book again. I am looking forward to Bitterblue (Graceling) as it is the sequel to Graceling which ended on an OK note. Maybe Cashore will get it right with this one....Anyway, after Bitterblue, I will be reading Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1) by Jeaniene Frost. Hopefully, I like this one much better than Graceling.