Infinity Bell - Book Review

 

Infinity Bell (House Immortal #2)

by Devon Monk)

What is it about:

Return to national bestselling author Devon Monk's heartpounding House Immortal series, where eleven powerful Houses control the world and all its resources. But now, the treaty between them has been broken, and no one—not even the immortal galvanized—is safe....

Matilda Case isn’t normal. Normal people aren’t stitched together, inhumanly strong, and ageless, as she and the other galvanized are. Normal people’s bodies don’t hold the secret to immortality—something the powerful Houses will kill to possess. And normal people don’t know that they’re going to die in a few days.

Matilda’s fight to protect the people she loves triggered a chaotic war between the Houses and shattered the world’s peace. On the run, she must find a way to stop the repeat of the ancient time experiment that gifted her and the other galvanized with immortality. Because this time, it will destroy her and everything she holds dear.

Caught in a cat-and-mouse game of lies, betrayal, and unseen foes, Matilda must fight to save the world from utter destruction. But time itself is her enemy, and every second brings her one step closer to disaster....

What did I think of it:

This book starts right where the first ended, and we're immediately back int action and intrigue.

I enjoyed the book, but slightly less than the first. It was hard to put a finger on it though. I mean: there was action, danger, suspense, there was Neds (totally my favorite character).

Then it hit me: I really do not like Matilda's brother or her love interest. Both really rub me the wrong way. And especially her brother has a huge role in his book. Luckily there's enough to love about this book that I still had a great time with it.

The ending of his book is... something! I'm eager to find out what happens in the last book so I'll be picking it up soon. 

Why should you read it:

It's a cool Urban Fantasy Read.

House Immortal - Book Review

House Immortal (House Immortal #1)
by Devon Monk

What is it about:
Matilda Case isn’t like most folk. In fact, she’s unique in the world, the crowning achievement of her father’s experiments, a girl pieced together from bits. Or so she believes, until Abraham Seventh shows up at her door, stitched with life thread just like her and insisting that enemies are coming to kill them all.

Tilly is one of thirteen incredible creations known as the galvanized, stitched together beings immortal and unfathomably strong. For a century, each House has fought for control over the galvanized. Now the Houses are also tangled in a deadly struggle for dominion over death—and Tilly and her kind hold the key to unlocking eternity

The secrets that Tilly must fight to protect are hidden within the very seams of her being. And to get the secrets, her enemies are willing to tear her apart piece by piece...

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

I very much liked the idea of the galvanized, immortal beings who are stitched together like Frankenstein's monster. The whole society in this book is very intriguing as well. It's complex and full of backstabbing intrigue and drama.

Matilda is a great heroine, she's resourceful, headstrong and loyal to those she cares about. At times I thought she was just being stubborn for stubbornness sake though. I mean: She knows she's in a dangerous situation, with all kinds of people gunning for her, and she leaves a safe place to go out for coffee?!

There were some really cool other characters as well. I especially loved Neds, Matilda's two-headed farmhand.

The story is just as complex as the world building. There are lots of different factions involved and interested in Tilly, and I had to keep paying attention to keep up with what was going on.

Some plot lines were resolved near the end of the book, but a new one was introduced, leaving me with a cliffhanger ending. I will most certainly get my trotters on the next book once it releases.

Why should you read it:
It's a cool Alternate History/Dystopian read

Magic to the Bone - Book Review

Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom #1)
by Devon Monk

What is it about:
Everything has a cost. And every act of magic exacts a price from its user - maybe a two-day migraine, or losing the memory of your first kiss. But some people want to use magic without paying, and they Offload the cost onto innocents. When that happens, it falls to a Hound to identify the spell's caster - and Allison Beckstrom's the best there is.

Daughter of a prominent Portland businessman, Allie would rather moonlight as a Hound than accept the family fortune - and the strings that come with it. But when she discovers a little boy dying from a magic Offload that has her father's signature all over it, Allie is thrown into the high-stakes world of corporate espionage and black magic.

Now Allie's out for the truth - and must call upon forces that will challenge everything she knows, change her in ways she could never imagine ... and make her capable of things that powerful people will do anything to control.

What did I think of it:
I had some difficulties losing myself into the world Monk creates. Magic being distributed along cables like electricity? It really took a lot from me to go along with this I will confess. But as the writing was good and Allie was an intriguing character I decided to take the magic distributing for granted and from then on I was able to dive into the story, with only an ocassional 'yeah, sure' moment. All in all it turned out to be a pleasant read, with cool characters, but with a bit of a rattling story and setting. I did enjoy the book enough to give the next book in this series a try, but hope the story will improve as at the moment it's the characters and the writing that make this book.

Why should you read it:
It's a well written Urban Fantasy with cool characters.