The Consort - Release Day Alert

The Consort: A Fae Hunters Novella (The Fae Hunters #1)
by Suzanne Johnson

Summoned to the Royal Palace of Faerie, Liandra arrives full of hope—only to learn that Florian, the Summer Prince, has purchased her as his annual consort. The price charged by her father? A horse.

Fleeing through the veil into the human world, Liandra knows she must not only escape the prince but also the fabled Fae Hunters, ruthless faery warriors whose job it was to track escaped members of the fae and return them to Faerie dead or alive.

Falconer, eldest son of Autumn, gave up his seat on the throne of the Autumn Court to become Captain of the Fae Hunters. Setting up his base in New Orleans, Faulkner—as he now calls himself—runs The Hunt Club, a fantasy nightclub that makes the most of the fae’s illusion magic and serves as a hangout for off-duty Hunters. All is going well…until Prince Florian stalks in, demanding the return of his lost consort.

Faulk takes the case, but soon finds his duty at odds with his heart when he’s ordered to capture Liandra, the grown-up version of a shy, awkward girl he remembers from his youth. Can Faulk turn Lia over to a certain death at the hands of the prince, or will he risk a war with Faerie in order to save her?

From the author of the award-winning Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy and Penton Legacy paranormal romance series comes the first in a new novella series, The Fae Hunters.


Buy it from Amazon

Lord of the Shadows - Book Review

Lord of the Shadows (Cirque du Freak #11)
by Darren Shan

What is it about:
Darren's going home. Back to where everything started. The town's changed a lot in the years that he's been away - but then, so has Darren. Plagued by nightmares of what the future seems to hold, Darren feels uneasy revisiting the place where he was re-born as a child of the night, as though the universe (as though destiny) is plotting to throw something very nasty at him on the streets of his old home. It is.

What did I think of it:
We're nearing the end of the series and after an action-packed interlude in The Lake of Souls we're back on track.

I must say two things: Darren is too gullible for his own good, and the author of this series is not very good at surprise reveals (or I'm too experienced at reading books like this). There's another reveal in this book that I saw coming from miles away with my eyes closed.

That aside: this is yet another fun and entertaining read. Darren (although gullible) is getting angry and more hardened. It will be interesting to see how things will play out in the last book.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun Vampire read for younger teens.

Slated - Book Review

Slated (Slated #1)
by Teri Terry

What is it about:
Kyla’s memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?

What did I think of it:
This is a cool read.

I liked that even though Kyla knows there's something not right, she's hesitant to act at first. She's well aware of the trouble she might get into and isn't throwing herself headlong into danger. She does act without thinking things through sometimes though.

The future setting was really intriguing, and if there's one point of critique it's that I wanted to know more than was told.

The story itself is suspenseful and with a slow building tension that made me want to keep reading. Slowly things become clearer, and Kyla learns who to trust and who might be a danger. There are some events near the end of the book that force Kyla to make some important decisions, and the book does end with lots of things unresolved, although not in an annoying way.

All in all I very much enjoyed this book and I'll most probably get my trotters on the other books in this series soon.

Why should you read it:
It's a suspenseful and cool Near Future YA read.

Teaser Tuesdays - Vampire Destiny Trilogy

In the distance a wave of blood was building. Red, towering, topped with spitting heads of fire. On a vast plain, a mass of vampires waited.

(page 223, Vampire Destiny Trilogy by Darren Shan)


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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This Savage Song - Book Review

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)
by Victoria Schwab

What is it about:
There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

What did I think of it:
This is a really cool read.

The world didn't always make sense to me. So there are cities with monsters, but once outside of a certain zone around those cities it's perfectly safe? The way the monsters were described I didn't get why they weren't everywhere. And why are people still living in those cities if it's safe outside of them? But maybe I missed something...

That one point of confusion aside: I loved both Kate and August. August is a tortured monster who longs to be human, while Kate wants the love of her father so badly she is willing to give up on her humanity if it makes him notice her. Of the two of them I could understand Kate the most. August has people who are there for him, and at times I thought he was ungrateful for what he had, while I could understand Kate's longing for a place to belong. She's going about it the wrong way to get it, but that's what can make a good story if told the right way.

The story itself is suspenseful, full of action, and it drew me in from the start. There's one point about 2/3 in that it dragged a little in my opinion, but that might be because I thought Kate and August were given important clues, but were a bit slow to catch up on what's going on.

All in all a cool story, with interesting monsters and world building. I will keep an eye out for the next book, even though this book gives us another one of those 'let's throw this out as bait for the next book' endings.

Why should you read it:
It's a well written Dark Future YA read.

Lonen's War - Book Review

Lonen's War (Sorcerous Moons #1)
by Jeffe Kennedy

What is it about:
An Unquiet Heart
Alone in her tower, Princess Oria has spent too long studying her people’s barbarian enemies, the Destrye—and neglected the search for calm that will control her magic and release her to society. Her restlessness makes meditation hopeless and her fragility renders human companionship unbearable. Oria is near giving up. Then the Destrye attack, and her people’s lives depend on her handling of their prince…

A Fight Without Hope
When the cornered Destrye decided to strike back, Lonen never thought he’d live through the battle, let alone demand justice as a conqueror. And yet he must keep up his guard against the sorceress who speaks for the city. Oria’s people are devious, her claims of ignorance absurd. The frank honesty her eyes promise could be just one more layer of deception.

A Savage Bargain
Fighting for time and trust, Oria and Lonen have one final sacrifice to choose… before an even greater threat consumes them all.

What did I think of it:
Jeffe Kennedy is one of my must read everything I can get my trotters on authors, so you bet I wanted to read Lonen's War.

And this is a beautiful and intense read.

Oria has been sheltered all her life, kept both ignorant and vulnerable, so when barbarians attack her city she is totally unprepared when circumstance puts her in charge of important decisions. Yet she shows she's stronger than even she herself ever thought possible.

Lonen on the other hand is used to a life of hard work and survival. Yet when he has to fight the Barra he is forced to acts that he believed to be unthinkable.

I loved both Oria and Lonen. They're from different worlds and seem to have nothing in common. Still apart from the necessity to work together there's a curiosity that draws them towards each other even without them really being aware of it just yet.

And the world building!

I loved the world Jeffe created for this story. The city where Oria lives sounds like a complex and magical place, while Lonen's homeland sounds much more practical and straightforwards. I love how the environment reflects the people who live in it and vice versa.

The story is intense, suspenseful, and filled with action, cool creatures and events. I couldn't put this book down until I finished it.

All in all this is a wonderful start of the series, and I'll be getting my greedy trotters on the other books as well, because I want much much more.

Why should you read it:
It's an amazing Fantasy Romance read.


Find buy links here

Teaser Tuesdays on a Thursday - This Savage Song

And how long had the Malchai been there, at her father's side when Kate wasn't? The question made her want to put a silver bullet through the monster's eye.

(page 98, This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab)




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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Crash - Book Review

Crash (Visions #1)
by Lisa McMann

What is it about:
If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of three books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.

Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

What did I think of it:
This is a fun read.

It's written as if the lead character has written the story, and here I found my one little grumble: using 'big' words and acting as if your reader is stupid. Example: using the word umami and using a * at the bottom of the page with the explanation "look it up". Yeah...

That one grumble aside, I enjoyed this story.

Jules is a bit immature at times, but otherwise likeable enough. Her family is weird and they're in a sort of non-lethal vendetta with another pizzeria. Of course the boy Jules likes is working at the other pizzeria to add extra suspense to an already stressful situation.

The way Jules deals with her visions and with her family were fun to read if a bit far fetched at times. I didn't mind too much though: the story is fun enough to forgive some far out situations.

The ending was one of those 'let's throw this out here even though it's not absolutely necessary, so people will want to buy the next book' cliffhangers, so me being who I am, I most probably will only read the next book if I stumble into it. All in all an entertaining read though.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun YA read

Release Day Alert - Lonen’s War

The first book in a Fantasy Romance trilogy by Jeffe Kennedy releases today! I can tell you it's yet again a wonderful story. I'll be reviewing it soon.


Lonen's War (Sorcerous Moons #1)
by Jeffe Kennedy

An Unquiet Heart

Alone in her tower, Princess Oria has spent too long studying her people’s barbarian enemies, the Destrye—and neglected the search for calm that will control her magic and release her to society. Her restlessness makes meditation hopeless and her fragility renders human companionship unbearable. Oria is near giving up. Then the Destrye attack, and her people’s lives depend on her handling of their prince…

A Fight Without Hope

When the cornered Destrye decided to strike back, Lonen never thought he’d live through the battle, let alone demand justice as a conqueror. And yet he must keep up his guard against the sorceress who speaks for the city. Oria’s people are devious, her claims of ignorance absurd. The frank honesty her eyes promise could be just one more layer of deception.

A Savage Bargain

Fighting for time and trust, Oria and Lonen have one final sacrifice to choose… before an even greater threat consumes them all.


Find buy links here

Damned if He Does - Book Review

Damned if He Does
by Marcella Burnard

What is it about:
Rejected by heaven, twisted by hell, what’s a damned dead man to do when he stumbles upon a life and love worth fighting for?

Though damned for his earthly sins, Darsorin Incarri likes being an incubus. Prowling women’s dreams to siphon off their sexual energy for Satan's consumption has its perks: an array of infernal power and a modicum of freedom. Sure, Ole Scratch holds Dar’s soul in thrall, and Dar has to spend a few hours recharging in Hell every day, but it could be much worse. All he has to do is hold up his end of his damnation contract – five women seduced, satisfied and siphoned per night for eternity. So when he encounters gorgeous, bright, and funny Fiona Renee, it’s business as usual. Deploy the infernal charm and rack up another score. Except it doesn’t work. She’s immune. He has to find out what’s gone wrong or face Lucifer's wrath.

Fiona Renee has the life she’d always wanted: a career, a home, a cat with a bad attitude, and peace. Fiona’s dated. Had boyfriends. And hated every minute of it. She’s reconciled to being lonely. So when a man shows up in her bedroom in the middle of the night demanding to know why her dreams turn to nightmares every time he tries to seduce her from within them, Fiona winds up negotiating a contract with a demon that allows him access to her life. She never anticipated that it would also give him access to her heart. If she's going to fall in love at all, something she never thought would happen, shouldn’t it be with someone who’s alive? If Fiona wants to hang on to Darsorin, she has to find his true name—the one he’d been given at his birth over a thousand years ago. But Satan, himself, stands in her way. Even if Fiona can dodge Lucifer, she and Darsorin have to face the question neither of them can answer: What happens to a dead man if you manage to wrest his soul from the Devil?

What did I think of it:
I love Marcella's books, so when she asked me if I wanted to read and review her newest book Damned if He Does, a light Paranormal Romance I jumped at the chance.

And this is such a good read.

Fiona isn't interested in a sexual relationship and has accepted that she will most probably stay single because of that. Then Dar enters her life and after a very rocky start of their relationship they learn more about each other, and they start to care about each other.

Fiona being who she is, this romance is all about emotional connection. I loved how the bond between her and Dar developed. The romantic story line is sweet, fun and heartwarming. I connected with Fiona from the start and rooted for her that everything would turn out ok. Dar is a cool character as well. He is a bit dense at times, but he goes through a lot of growth in this story.

The suspense story line is small, but fun. I loved how Satan was written and there was another demon I hope will get her own story. She came across as a character who has a very interesting story to tell.

Overall this is a very original and beautiful Paraonormal Romance. I can advice this to anyone who's looking for a well written and sweet paranormal read.

Why should you read it:
It's a heartwarming, fun Paranormal Romance


Find buy links here

A Look at Covers - In Which I Show How Shallow I Am

I was browsing Goodreads for recommendation so I can add even more books to my ever growing wishlist.

While browsing I came across the book This Case Is Gonna Kill Me by Phillipa Bornikova. The cover wasn't that spectacular, but the cityscape together with the dark haired girl drew my attention enough to read the blurb, and (when that sounded interesting) to look up the book on bookdepository.com to see how expensive it was. To find an almost similar cover with a different girl:


And here I will have to confess I'm shallow! If the cover with the dark haired girl with her stern look had been available I would most probably have bought it. The blonde with her bland expression... Didn't tempt me at all!

This made me think about covers and how they are a huge influence to me in buying a book or not. Of course when I know an author and have enjoyed their previous books, the cover doesn't matter much. I have bought books with hideous covers because I knew the story would be good. But how about unknown authors? Have I skipped over wonderful books just because I didn't like the cover? I think it's a safe bet to say I most certainly have.

For example: I only read the first book in the Grigory Legacy because I loved the cover of the second book in the series, and because blogger friends kept raving about it. I disliked the cover of the first book (which isn't even hideous, just struck me wrong) so initially had no intention to pick up the book. But for every book with a cover I disliked but still picked up, I'm pretty sure there are tons I never gave a chance.



So yes, self pubbing authors: If you want to catch this piggy's attention you will have to invest in a professional and good looking cover as well. Take a good look at the covers in Shauna Granger's Ash and Ruin trilogy for example. They're all priced over 10 Euro, the highest amount I usually want to pay for new to me authors, but the cover of World of Ash made me forget that rule.


Just for fun here are some more books that have several covers, and my thoughts on them.


First a recent read: And I Darken by Kiersten White (based on the life of vlad the Impaler)
The left cover is one of those generic YA covers with a flower. What's with that? YA = Flowers? Why? Anyway, if i had seen this cover I'd most probably have skipped over it. What I did see however, was the cover on the right. And it immediately grabbed my attention. I read the blurb, and the book ended up on my wishlist. The fact that the headpiece the girl is wearing is the same as Vlad the Impaler is wearing in the most famous painting of him is an added bonus :-)


Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A.E. Moorat
When I saw the book on the left in my local bookstore I bought it without even reading the back! The picture of a stern queen Victoria holding an ax and a zombie head, together with the tagline, sold me on this book. The one on the right isn't bad, but too busy so to speak. It's easy to miss what's going on on this cover when you're browsing books. It's a fun cover, but not as strong as the one on the left. Another tip from this pig: the less 'crowded' a cover is, the more attention it can draw to it.


And lastly City of Falling Angels by Cassandra Clare
I have this whole series and have the edition with the cover on the left. But that cover on the right! I will confess I almost bought the book at bookdepository.com when I came across this cover even though I already own another edition. What a gorgeous cover. If I was a rich piggy I'd buy all the books in this series with these new and beautiful covers.


How about you? Are you as shallow as I am when it comes to covers?

Maladapted - Book Review

Maladapted
by Richard Kurti

What is it about:
Cillian is the sole survivor of a devastating terrorist attack on a packed Metro train. How did he survive when everyone else was killed? Searching for answers with the mysterious Tess, Cillian discovers that his father has links to P8, a group of genetic scientists operating outside the laws of Foundation City. The shocking discoveries he and Tess make at P8's secret hospital start to make Cillian ask not who he is, but what he is.

What did I think of it:
This a nice read.

Although the lead characters are sixteen the book reads more as if it was written for Middle Grade in my opinion. There was lots of suspense and action, but it lacked depth. Huge issues were tackled, but it all stayed near the surface. To be honest: I've read tons of Middle Grade books that took the reader deeper into the story than this book does.

The lead characters both have tons of things going on, but the lack of depth made that I didn't connect with them.

Still this book is entertaining. The action makes that this is a fast read, and I enjoyed the overall story. It ends in a way that leaves itself open for a sequel, but I'm not sure I'll pick that up if/when it releases though.

Why should you read it:
It's an enjoyable, action-packed read.

Teaser Tuesdays - Paper and Fire

Started this today and I'm on the first chapter, but just reading these teaser sentences makes me want to read on and discover what this is about.


He stood there for a long moment, the note in his hand, and just looked at her. At the undeniable heartbreak in her, and the dignity and the vulnerability.

(page 161, Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine)




===

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Dust - A DNF Ramble

Dust (The Resurgam Trilogy #1)
by Joan Frances Turner

What is it about:
What happens between death and life can change a girl. Jessie is a zombie. And this is her story . . . Nine years ago, Jessie was in a car crash and died. After she was buried, she awoke and tore through the earth to arise, reborn, as a zombie. And there are others--gangs of undead roaming the Indiana woods, fighting, hunting, hidden. But when a mysterious illness threatens the existence of both zombies and humans, Jessie must decide whether to stay and fight or flee to survive . . .

What did I think of it:
Once again I got my trotters on a book because it had zombies, without reading the blurb carefully...

So when I picked this book up as my Orphaned read for this month I discovered that it was written from the zombie perspective.

I tried! I really tried, but I gave up on this book after only a few pages. I just do not like zombie books where the story is told from the zombie perspective. Yes, there are a few exceptions, where the zombie is a thinking zombie, like Diana Rowland's White Trash Zombie books, or Rachel Caine's Revivalist trilogy, but overall the zombie perspective doesn't work for me.

I want my zombies mindless, craving brains, and as antagonists. I'm sure this book is brilliant, and different, and worth all the raving reviews it got back when it got released, but it only reminded me that I need to check the blurb more carefully next time.

Why should you read it:
If you like the zombie perspective this might be a book for you.

And I Darken - Book Review

And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga #1)
by Kiersten White

What is it about:
No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

What did I think of it:
Ever wondered what would have happened if Vlad the Impaler (who was the inspiration for Dracula) was a woman?

Wonder no more and go read this book!

Seriously: this story is based on/inspired by the life of Vlad the Impaler, but the author decided to write Vlad as a girl to be able to explore some story ideas she found intriguing. and so Lada was born!

I will confess I loved this book. I loved both Lada and her brother Radu. They are displaced from their homeland and have to survive in a foreign country and a hostile court. Both find their own way to cope.

If I'm honest, I think I liked Radu just a little bit more than Lada. Radu is a sensitive young man, overlooked or bullied for most of his young life, and his longing for a friend, for love, is heartbreaking at times. I liked Lada as well, she's fierce, loyal, and doesn't let herself be caged, but at times she's a bit of a bully.

Lada's and Radu's relationship with each other and with Mehmed is a complex and interesting one. Together with their efforts to find a place to belong, and the intrigues at the court this made for a gripping read that I found hard to put down.

You can bet I'll be getting my trotters on the other books in this trilogy once they release. And I'll have to investigate the other books White has written.

Why should you read it:
It's a really beautiful Historical YA read.

On McPig's Wishlist - Seven Forges

All the books in this series have such cool covers. I'm curious if the story is cool as well.


Seven Forges (Seven Forges #1)
by James A. Moore

Captain Merros Dulver is the first in many lifetimes to find a path beyond the great mountains known as the Seven Forges and encounter, at last, the half-forgotten race who live there. And it would appear that they were expecting him. As he returns home, bringing an entourage of strangers with him, he starts to wonder whether his discovery has been such a good thing. For the gods of this lost race are the gods of war, and their memories of that far-off cataclysm have not faded.

The people of Fellein have live with legends for many centuries. To their far north, the Blasted Lands, a legacy of an ancient time of cataclysm, are vast, desolate and impassable, but that doesn't stop the occasional expedition into their fringes in search of any trace of the ancients who had once lived there... and oft-rumored riches.

The Lake of Souls - Book Review

I have the last three books in the Cirque Du Freak series in an omnibus, but I'll be reviewing them separately.


The Lake of Souls (Cirque Du Freak #10)
by Darren Shan

What is it about:
The tenth part of The Saga of Darren Shan - one boy's terrifying journey from human to half-vampire to Vampire Prince. If you step through after Harkat, you might never come back. Is your friend worth such an enormous risk? A terrifying new world, a deadly new challenge for Darren Shan, the Vampire Prince. Darren and Harkat face monstrous obstacles on their desperate quest to the Lake of Souls. Will they survive their savage journey? And what awaits them in the murky waters of the dead? Be careful what you fish for.

What did I think of it:
This story is cool and all, but it takes a side road to the main storyline. I've seen this happening in Shan's Zom-B series as well, so it might be Shan's go to move to give the readers some extra excitement. There's a cool story, lots of action, but it's not necessary for the progression of the overall story.

Still it's a fun read. You learn more about Harkat, get to see Darren and Harkat fight some nasty critters, and there are explosions.

All in all a fun and action-packed read, but I hope the next book will move us forwards again.

Why should you read it:
It's a very enjoyable vampire read.

Teaser Tuesdays - And I Darken

She knew that was important, knew she had known it was important, before... this. Before the blood. So much blood.

(page 171, And I Darken by Kiersten White)




===

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Dinosaur Lords - Reading Update

The Dinosaur Lords
by Victor Milan

What is it about:
A world made by the Eight Creators on which to play out their games of passion and power, Paradise is a sprawling, diverse, often brutal place. Men and women live on Paradise as do dogs, cats, ferrets, goats, and horses. But dinosaurs predominate: wildlife, monsters, beasts of burden – and of war. Colossal planteaters like Brachiosaurus; terrifying meateaters like Allosaurus and the most feared of all, Tyrannosaurus rex. Giant lizards swim warm seas. Birds (some with teeth) share the sky with flying reptiles that range in size from batsized insectivores to majestic and deadly Dragons.

Thus we are plunged into Victor Milán's splendidly weird world of The Dinosaur Lords, a place that for all purposes mirrors 14th century Europe with its dynastic rivalries, religious wars, and byzantine politics…and the weapons of choice are dinosaurs. Where we have vast armies of dinosaur-mounted knights engaged in battle. And during the course of one of these epic battles, the enigmatic mercenary Dinosaur Lord Karyl Bogomirsky is defeated through betrayal and left for dead. He wakes, naked, wounded, partially amnesiac – and hunted. And embarks upon a journey that will shake his world.

What do I think of it so far:
I'm a little bit over halfway through this book, and I'm stuck for now.

This books begins really good! There are dinosaurs, battles, and cool characters. I very much enjoyed the battle scenes with all the dinosaurs. Then the battle ended and the dinosaurs disappeared from the story. There's a small mention from time to time, one duel where the knights ride dinosaurs, but that's about it until at least page 323.

Still: at first I didn't have any problems with that. Especially the storyline with Dinosaur Lord Karyl and dinosaur master Rob, who are send on an important mission, was interesting enough to keep reading. It's the other two characters that made my reading slow to a crawl though. I just do not care enough about Champion Jaume and his lady love Princess Melodia to read about the courtly intrigues and petty squabbles.

I contemplated skipping the storyline about Jaume and Melodia, but as I was afraid I wouldn't understand the overall story anymore, I tried to stick with it. Ending in me not being eager to pick up the book to continue reading.

So for now I've put the book aside. With still over 250 pages to go I just don't have the energy to deal with Jaume and Melodia at the moment. I might continue when I get curious enough about how things will turn out for Karyl and Rob.

Why should you read it:
It is a well written Fantasy read with Dinosaurs.

Underground - Spoilery Book Rant

Underground
by S.L. Grey

What is it about:
The Sanctum is a luxurious, self-sustaining survival condominium situated underground in rural Maine. It's a plush bolt-hole for the rich and paranoid - a place where they can wait out the apocalypse in style. When a devastating super-flu virus hits the States, several families race to reach it. All have their own motivations for entering The Sanctum. All are hiding secrets.

But when the door locks and someone dies, they realize the greatest threat to their survival may not be above ground - it may already be inside...

Why I threw this book across the room in disgust:
*Spoilers*

And I mean it: I will totally spoil the ending so be warned if you read on!


I will confess I had decent time with this book until the reveal at the end. Some of the characters are very stereotypical, but I could mostly ignore that for the sake of the story.

But that reveal... Gah, it made me so angry!

The killer confesses in his diary and then there's this bit (paraphrasing, because I already threw the book out):
"There is a lot of crap about gamers being violent, and when they discover this, they'll blame World of Warcraft, but this isn't about violence. It's about survival"

Let that sink in?

Do you see what the authors did here?
(And I will assume they did this by accident.)

By letting the murderer say he didn't do it because he's a gamer, by letting the murderer defend games and WoW, they made the fact that he's a gamer become more important than it should be. They actually make it seem with this statement as if games are indeed to blame!

If they left out that statement, the fact that he's a gamer and that it might or might not have influenced his actions might not have crossed the reader's mind. Naming it in the confession and drawing such big attention to it, even when the murderer says it wasn't why he did it, the implication is that it actually is the reason he started killing. Especially because now that the readers know he's the murderer, they're less likely to take what he says at face value.

I get so sick of this kind of prejudice.

No: Games do not drive people to violence! Wearing black doesn't drive people to violence! Listening to Metal or Industrial doesn't drive people to violence!

Egh...

So with just a couple of sentences almost at the end of the book, the authors ruined this whole book for me, and I threw it into the paper bin.

I will be very wary when I come across more books by this author duo.