Struck - Book Review

Struck (Phoebe Meadows #1)
by Amanda Carlson

What is it about:
When Phoebe Meadows gets struck by a strange light in the stockroom of Macy’s, life as she knows it flies out the window. As if being hit by lightning isn’t bad enough, she’s accosted in the subway by a man with a missing hand, arrives home to find a raven on her kitchen counter, and her neighbor, Ingrid, shows up dressed like a gladiator hell-bent on protecting her.

Before Ingrid can shuttle her to safety, Phoebe is kidnapped and tossed into one of the Nine Worlds where she’s quickly forced to come to terms with what she is: A valkyrie. The only problem is, she has no idea what that means.

After a narrow escape, she finds an unlikely ally in Loki’s son, Fenrir. Together the valkyrie and the wolf must battle their way back to New York City and reach the valkyrie stronghold where Ingrid is waiting for her. But with danger and obstacles at every turn, she might not live long enough to learn the full truth about who and what she really is...

What did I think of it:
I really like Carlson's Jessica McClain series so I wanted to give this series a try as well.

Now I will confess that for some reason I assumed that this series was YA, so color me surprised when Phoebe turns out to be 24. Luckily this is mentioned very early on in the book so I could readjust my expectations quickly.

And soon I was engrossed in this story. I love the Norse mythology, so I very much enjoyed the world building and all the creatures and people Phoebe encounters. She is lucky enough to find an ally in Fenrir, because she's in big trouble.

There's a lot of action, with only a few moments of reprieve where Phoebe can recover from events and can try to discover what's happening. The only thing I can say against this book is that with all the action at times character building is overlooked. Phoebe and Fenrir get enough screen time to get a feel for the both of them, but one other character (who will play a bigger role in the next books I'm guessing) didn't feel real in how she reacted because there was almost no character building.

That aside I very much enjoyed this read. The book ends with lots of things unresolved, but not in a frustrating cliffhangery way. I will most certainly get my trotters on the next book. I will also have to pick up Pure Blooded one of these days.

Why should you read it:
It's a very entertaining Paranormal read.


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Future Shock - Book Review

Future Shock (Future Shock #1)
by Elizabeth Briggs

What is it about:
What do you do when the future is too late, and the present is counting down to an inevitable moment?

Elena Martinez has street smarts, the ability for perfect recall, and a deadline: if she doesn’t find a job before she turns eighteen, she’ll be homeless. But then she gets an unexpected offer from Aether Corporation, the powerful Los Angeles tech giant. Along with four other recruits—Adam, Chris, Trent, and Zoe—Elena is being sent on a secret mission to bring back data from the future. All they have to do is get Aether the information they need, and the five of them will be set for life. It’s an offer Elena can’t refuse.

But something goes wrong when the time travelers arrive in the future. And they are forced to break the only rule they were given—not to look into their own fates. Now they have twenty-four hours to get back to the present and find a way to stop a seemingly inevitable future—and a murder—from happening. But changing the timeline has deadly consequences too. Who can Elena trust as she fights to save her life?

What did I think of it:
I have a weak spot for time travel stories, so I couldn't resist this book. Now I have to confess I also am very critical when reading time travel stories, so often time travel stories that seem cool before I start on them turn out to have faulty time travel theories, mistakes in time line changes, etc... You don't want to know how often I started on a time travel story to end up DNFing in annoyance. So I was prepared to get burned once gain.

This book turned out to be really cool though!

I liked Elena right way. She has had a difficult life, and it made her wary. She doesn't trust easily and for once I could really understand why she's not always communicating with those she has to work with. The other teens were interesting as well, even though they couldn't all get along all the time, I could find something to like in all of them.

The future she and the other teens travel to is intriguing and the time traveling felt like Briggs thought about it, I didn't feel like there were weird inconsistencies anyway. I liked how things fell together and how Briggs used some time travel theories.

The story was suspenseful and had me hooked from the start. Elena and the others manage to find trouble in the future and have some pretty narrow escapes while they try to figure out how to stop the past from happening. There were a few times I thought they made a very lucky escape, but I enjoyed the story too much to be annoyed.

The ending was satisfying and even though there's no cliffhanger I was hungry for more, so I immediately ordered the next book. Yup: I thought it was that cool! I also signed up for Briggs' newsletter and was rewarded for that by a free novella from a contemporary romance series, which we will definitely give a try as well.

Why should you read it:
It's a cool YA Time Travel read.


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In McPig's TBR Pile - Calico

This book has a really awkward size and that's why I keep putting off starting on it.


Calico (Children of the Shawnee)
by Allison Bruning

In the harsh northwestern frontier of Ohio and Kentucky, a prophecy has been told. A man whose heart appears pure shall deceive her. The power he holds over her will lead her to evil. She shall denounce the ways of Our Grandmother. Another man comes, whose pure heart beats for her alone, and who has a pure spirit devoted to the goddess, Our Grandmother. He shall defeat the evil and set her free.

Calico Marie Turner, a white woman raised by the Shawnee and destined to become a great medicine woman, must trust the one man who hates her the most. How can she trust Chief Little Owl Quick as the Wind to save her from his best friend and village shaman, Hunting Bear?


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Caraval - A Reluctant DNF

Caraval (Caraval #1)
by Stephanie Garber

What is it about:
Welcome, welcome to Caraval―Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game.

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

Why I reluctantly DNFed:
I first saw this book in Dutch in a local bookstore, as the Dutch translation was released before the original. The cover drew my attention and the back cover story was so cool, I immediately pre-ordered the English version.

As I was waiting for its release the early reviews came in and everyone was raving about it.

Then finally my copy arrived and I dove in.

And... I didn't like one of the main characters. Nope, not Tella (who I also don't like), but the guy who helps Scarlett on her quest to track Tella down.

I tried to ignore my dislike, because the real mystery hadn't even started yet and I was really curious about what would happen once Scarlett starts the game. I made it just a little over 100 pages in before I had to admit I wasn't going to like him, and that Scarlett was starting to grate on my nerves as well. It was here that I decided to put the book aside.

I'm pretty sure from other people's reviews that the story is very good, but with no connection to either Scarlett or her helper, I just can't be bothered. I might skim to see if some of my suspicions are right though.

Why should you read it:
The world building is cool and maybe you might like the characters where I could not.


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Teaser Tuesdays - Struck

This one starts out very cool. I hope it continues like this.


How could a horrid thing like that take orders from anyone? The beast should only have to bare its teeth, and the old woman should be screaming in fear.

(page 34, Struck by Amanda Carlson)


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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!

Bite Me, Your Grace - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

Bite Me, Your Grace (Scandals with Bite #1)
by Brooklyn Ann

What is it about:
England's "vampire craze" causes much vexation for the Lord Vampire of London, Ian Ashton. To save his reputation, Ian enlists aspiring authoress Angelica Winthrop without realizing she has hidden plans of her own.

Angelica Winthrop's life goal is to ruin her reputation, avoid marriage, and become a gothic authoress like her idol, Mary Shelley. To find inspiration for her new story, she breaks into the home of Ian Ashton, Duke of Burnrath, not knowing she will be coming up against the Lord Vampire of London. Romance sparks and reputations are at stake. But who knows the real difference between fact and fiction?

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
This was a nice read.

I especially enjoyed the first part of the story where Angelica and Ian meet and get to know each other. I liked the set up of the world and of the romance.

Then about halfway through a plot device that I very much dislike gets used: the couple stops communicating and the misinterpretations start. I managed to make my way through that part of the story to reach the happy ending, but I wish this plot device wasn't used so often in romance.

Overall this is a very entertaining read, and I might try more books in this series.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun Historical Vampire Romance read.


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Can You Keep a Secret? - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

Can You Keep a Secret?
by Sophie Kinsella

What is it about:
Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets: Secrets from her boyfriend: I've always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken. Secrets from her mother: I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching Ben-Hur. Secrets she wouldn't share with anyone in the world: I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is. Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger...

Until Emma comes face-to-face with Jack Harper, the company's elusive CEO, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her...

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
After reading Wedding Night I was in the mood for more fluffy reads. Luckily I found Can You Keep a Secret? at the local second hand bookstore.

And this is yet another fun and fluffy read.

Emma and Jack seem to connect, even though Jack knows all her secrets. It was fun to read how Jack helps Emma to see that some secrets should be revealed to improve her life, while at other times he blunders by assuming he knows what Emma wants.

This is a feel good romance, so there are many events that are unlikely to turn out this well in real life, but as I'm reading these kind of books for the happy fluff I didn't mind. Instead I enjoyed the funny mishaps and miscommunications, trusting all would turn out well in the end.

All in all a very enjoyable read that will get a place among my other comfort reads and will be reread when I need something funny and fluffy. When I found this book at the secondhand store I found another Kinsella book as well, so I'll be reading that one soon as well.

Why should you read it:
It's a very entertaining, fluffy contemporary romance read.


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