Month: June 2013

The Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles #01) by Kresley Cole Review

The Poison Princess CoverI read The Poison Princess with very low expectations having read some other scathing reviews. So, did the book disappoint me, not in the slightest because considering how low my expectations were, I don’t think it was possible. But knowing what to expect did enable me to enjoy the book more (Thank you Ferdy!)

Now did Poison Princess have potential? Yes it did. I say this with even more emphasis after finishing it. Evie’s character had the potential to be badass, but alas she could never stop whining! Seriously! I am starting to wonder if there are writers capable of writing strong women without making them either indecisive wrecks or so damn unlikable that you’d much rather see them as shark bait? (To be honest I contemplated throwing Evie in front of a bus just to get rid of incessant whining) Evie: Patron Saint of Whiners and Endless Complaining! It’s pretty much all she did throughout the book.

As for Jackson, what an ASSWIPE!!!! If ever I came across a Male Chauvinist Pig in books, he was it! Was I supposed to find him attractive, drool all over him after seeing him behave like a jerk? He was obsessed with sex all the time! And of course he didn’t get why the girl wouldn’t just jump at the chance of sleeping with the MCP! It was inconceivable to him, how was it possible that a girl did not want to!!! Sexist Asshole!!! Anyway, the less said about him the better.

The other characters were also very blah.. Matthew was so annoying I wanted to hit him what with all the gibberish he kept spouting. We were never meant to like Selena and to that end, I think the author achieved her objective. What little I saw of Finn, I liked. He was possibly the most normal of the entire troop. The only person I liked was (strangely enough) Mel. At least she was up front and frank about the kind of person she was and she was unapologetic about it. Not to mention that she was a refreshing foil to all of Evie’s non-stop whining. It would’ve been nice to see her survive the apocalypse. At the very least she would’ve been entertaining.

In all probability I will read the sequel when it releases later this year. And I so hope that Jackson is not Evie’s love interest. At this point, pretty much anyone else would be preferable to that jerk. And please let there not be some pissy-ass love triangle! I so hate those because they only lead to more whining and pining and honestly, there was more than enough of that in The Poison Princess. I realise that it’s a little too optimistic to expect Evie to suddenly turn into a badass, but can she please kick more ass next time instead of just cribbing about being a dead weight, its kinda pointless because that’s exactly what she was.

FRIGID by J. Lynn Pre-Order Promo Chapter Reveal

Frigid Amazon GR SmashToday is an exciting day – we have FOUR HUGE SURPRISES for you! Jennifer L. Armentrout’s (writing as J. Lynn) FRIGID is set to release on e-book at the end of July. If you’re anything like us, you’re probably on pins and needles and just cannot wait to get your hands on a copy of this book.

FRIGID has already been given the honor of being named a Romantic Times Top Pick and we’re super excited for you to be able to read it as well!

Well, there’s good news! Are you ready for those four awesome surprises? Here we go!

1. Due to all the excitement surrounding FRIGID, we have decided to run a special e-book pre-order promotion. We have worked out a deal with the distributor to release FRIGID a full two weeks early — on JULY 15th!!! — if we meet our e-book pre-order goal. EEEEP! That’s right, if you are like the rest of us and want to be able to read FRIGID in its entirety before its original release date, all you have to do is PRE-ORDER THE E-BOOK NOW! What are you waiting for? GO! Pre-order it!

Pre-Order Links: Barnes & Noble / Amazon

2. Need something to hold you over until FRIGID releases? Well, starting right now, you can read the first three chapters of FRIGID for free! Just read below!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/148100523/Frigid-Sneak-Peek

LINK

3. Can’t get enough of the hot FRIGID cover? Want to see some behind the scenes photos that are sure to make you swoon? You’re in luck! Below you can watch a slideshow of all the behind the scenes photos from the photo shoot! Go on and watch it. We’ll wait, because there is still one more great surprise!

LINK

4. And last but not least, if you live near Philadelphia, PA, you’re in for a very special treat — Jennifer will be in Philly in November signing not only FRIGID but also the last book in her immensely popular COVENANT series, SENTINEL! But that’s not all, Adam, the super hot cover model from FRIGID will be there as well! So, yes, you’ll get to meet Jennifer and Adam! Plus, there will be other great prizes that you seriously won’t want to miss out on (dinner with the author and model, perhaps?)! Stay tuned for more details to come!

We hope you’re as excited as we are! So now….Go pre-order FRIGID! Go read those chapters! Go watch that slideshow! And Enjoy!

Man of Steel – The Rant

MOSI would love to say that I saw Man of Steel and I absolutely loved it, but it would be a bald-faced lie. In fact, I can’t even honestly say that I liked Man of Steel. And I wanted to, so much! I even tried but to no avail. It’s a bad movie, plain and simple.

There are so many things that are wrong with the movie, the story is really bad, the screenplay equally dismal, bad acting, bad editing and very very bad casting! Seriously, they looked far and wide and the best they could come up with was Henry Cavill!? Seriously!!! This guy makes a plain wooden plank seem more interesting. Here is a man cursed with one and only one expression, no wait, he’s actually got no expression. He smiles maybe once or twice in the course of the entire 2 and half hour exercise and both times, it looked so weird. Like his face would split in half. Then there’s Amy Adams, by all accounts a good actress and yet when I heard that she was playing Lois Lane in the movie, I was crushed because you only have to read a couple of Superman comics and know instantly that they missed the mark by a mile. But I rallied my spirits and decided to give her a chance; well I now know that they missed it by more than just a mile. I dare you to overlook her sagging cheeks and the fact that she looks really OLD!!! She really does! Just because you’re a good actor doesn’t automatically make you a good fit in an action blockbuster and especially not in a superhero movie, not when you look old and unfit. Plus she pretty much mumbled all her lines and looked only vaguely interested in what was going on. I can actually say the same for most of the principle cast: Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon. What was even more jarring was Shannon’s very strange accent, and then there were those times when he lapsed into a Southern American drawl. At least make an effort to sound like you come from a different planet!!

I actually like Zack Snyder and I think that he’s got vision and is a good director but this movie showcases none of that. It was badly directed but the bulk of the blame lies with the story and screenplay since these were the things that sunk Man of Steel for sure. I think that Snyder should’ve had full creative control from the very beginning and some one other than David Goyer should’ve written the script. Even if you like what he did with Batman (which I don’t) you simply can’t treat Batman and Superman in the same way. They are fundamentally different characters with extremely different personalities. They are pretty much polar opposites of each other. Superman is noble, charming and awe-inspiring. Here is a man who flies for god sake, you cannot rationalize that. The more you try to make him REAL, the more ludicrous he seems. Man of Steel had no charm and certainly no awe. There was none of the joy and thrill of flying (simply making the actor smile like a maniac does not equate with joy!!) Even Superman Returns with all its flaws handled this aspect better. Singer’s Superman was gentle and more subtle where his powers were concerned. We all know how powerful he is, you do not need to jam it down our throats by making his take off sound like a gunshot. There’s no fluidity to his actions, no grace. He’s all brawn and little else. The Superman I loved while growing up was woefully missing; instead I got this high-on-crack-and-steroids imitation act. The only saving grace of this movie was Faora. I loved her and actually ended up rooting for her (Faora – Badass Extraordinaire!!). You know there is something fundamentally wrong with your movie when the villain’s crony is more interesting than your main character. And you’re doomed when the trailers that showed before your movie have a better recall value than the movie itself, considering how long it was. The fight scenes were okay, nothing extraordinary. There was a lot bashing up, crashing through buildings and office spaces, which also got old surprisingly fast. The fight scene I liked best, was the one in Smallville but that’s it. The fight scenes in the Transformer movies were more coherent than the mess I was subjected to.

And how can I possibly forget that headache inducing camera work. Was the camera-person also on crack?? I understand if you go hand-held when you’re shooting an action scene but if the camera starts shaking like hell in a scene where the characters are only talking, you have a problem. I am so happy and relieved that I saw this movie in 2D, in 3D I would’ve walked out with a migraine from hell. The fight scenes on Krypton were also very chaotic, too often the camera was too close to the actors to truly give you a sense of the action.

DC truly does not seem to know how handle its characters and here they are, gearing up for a Justice League movie. How the hell are you going to rationalize someone like the Martian Manhunter, another alien or Wonder Woman, a demigoddess!? Please do the fans a favour and stay away from Wonder Woman. You’ve proven time and again that you simply can’t deal with a female character that has NO weakness. When it comes to transitioning their characters from comics to movies, Marvel does that way better and part of that was having a master plan that included all the characters that were gonna be involved in Avengers, great casting and great movies. Marvel movies do not possess that air of self-importance and its so refreshing. If DC really wants to make a Justice League they, along with Warner Brothers will need to think up a new game plan. And one that goes beyond “we want to make a Justice League movie because Marvel made an Avengers movie.”

All in all, Man of Steel turned out be yet another cinematic dud of epic proportions. I’m sure it’ll make pots and pots of money but the movie still sucks, as does their interpretation of this iconic DC character. And that is very sad indeed!

The Deepest Night (The Sweetest Dark, #2) by Shana Abe Review

The Deepest NightI received an advanced reading copy of The Deepest Night via NetGalley and I was thrilled because I didn’t actually expect it to happen. I’ve been sitting on this book for quite some time because even though I did want to read it, I knew that the third book was still a long way off. All I could hope for was that it did not end with a cliffhanger and I am relieved that it did not. The Deepest Night was a pleasure to read because of how beautifully written it was. We are inundated with YA fiction novels that have all the right things to make them instant best sellers: gripping story, kick-ass characters and an explosive climax. But the one woefully missing in most of those quick fixes is the language. In contrast, the language in the Deepest Night took me back to the fairy tales and classics I read as a child. And yet, it is not too flowery that it would pull you out of the story, no never-ending descriptions of things that matter little to the main narrative and the story. But an absolute treat nonetheless.

The Deepest Night is a very short novel, just 223 pages and a very fast read. While the previous book was all about discovering who and what Lora was, this time it was more about how she could use her powers to help those close to her (despite the fact that it may not have been her idea) Iverson closed for the summer and when all the other students left for exotic vacations or to go back home, Lora had no where to go. Until, a certain Lord Armand stepped in and gave her an option (to another orphanage in Scotland) Lora and Armand also learnt that Armand’s brother is still alive, that he’s a prisoner of war behind enemy lines and that the stars want Lora and Armand to go and save him. Oh, and there’s also the part where the brother is also a dragon. So, the majority of the book was about the two of them on their rescue mission. This was a welcome change from all those simpering girls at Iverson.

In the months after the events of the previous book and the loss of Jesse, Lora is a slightly different person. She is predictable sad about losing Jesse and yet a part of her yearns for the dragon with her, Armand. She always had wit and spunk and this is where I really liked her character even in the previous book. She did not cower in front of those self-entitled busy bodies. She let them have it (verbally of course) and what was even more gratifying was that most of the time, they had no idea how to deal with that. I am so glad that that did not change in this book. This time around, she was also more aware (and sure) of her powers and abilities and how she could use them.

Armand played a much bigger role in the Deepest Night than he did in the first book. His character was slightly different than what it had been earlier. Sure he was still arrogant and self-entitled but it was muted this time, tempered, perhaps by what he had seen and experienced. I liked him fine The Sweetest Dark but he was more likeable in The Deepest Night. Also, most of the time, he and Lora were nicer to each other, which was a good thing and a bad thing in equal measure. Good, because of obvious reasons and bad because suddenly there were none of those entertaining verbal exchanges that had become so expected whenever the two of them were around each other. I can’t seem to recall very clearly if we were treated to his POV in The Sweetest Dark, I think that that was more Jesse’s book. There were parts in this book that were in Armand’s POV, those chapters were much fewer than what I had anticipated. I had hoped that we would get a more thorough glimpse inside his head but alas that’s not what I found. Still, it was very clear where he was coming from and exactly how he felt about Lora.

I was glad to find that Jesse still featured in the narrative. He probably knows the most and also serves in setting up the next novel in the series. Jesse was probably one of the nicest boyfriends in YA fiction and I was truly sad to see him go but I guess I like the way it was handled, where he was a part of the story and at the same, was not.

There were also the gaggle of those annoying girls from Iverson, of the lot, Sophia is the only one of any consequence and she is still inscrutable. She’s the nicest of the lot but its not always clear whether that stems from wanting to be genuinely nice (highly unlikely) or liking Lora because she her perceived relationship with Armand cuts her step-sister Chloe down to size. Its probably a mix of both, but leaning more towards the latter. Chloe is insufferable as always and I hope that we may be spared her presence in the third book.

My only complaint with The Darkest Night is that it is far too short and was over much too quickly. Still, it’s a great book and a delight to read. Beautifully written, excellent characters and world building. I’d like to know more about the dragons in Lora’s world and the mythology behind them. I am really looking forward to reading the third instalment in this series.

P.S. – I really want to see Lora truly come into her powers and then turn into a dragon in front of her classmates at Iverson and shut them up once for all.  If that doesn’t work, she could always eat the really annoying ones. Sure it won’t be the most nutritional of meals but a little junk food never hurt anyone.

P.P.S. – I hate it when I can’t find a hi-res cover online!!!

Winter Queen (Fairy Queens #01) by Amber Argyle Review

886516_10151376064308495_1578968255_oI read the Witch Song series by Amber Argyle and I loved and enjoyed her writing so much that I knew that I would also enjoy Winter Queen just as much. I was thrilled when I realised that Winter Queen released early, I couldn’t wait to read it. Having read it, I am a little sad because now I have to wait god knows how long till the second instalment of Fairy Queens comes out. In all probability, it’ll be sometime next year (that feels so far away) Anyway, on with the review.

Since Winter Queen is the first instalment of the Fairy Queens series, a large part of the beginning could’ve been spent on establishing the time, circumstances and also the environment that the characters inhabited but Argyle handled that in a very deft manner, she interwove the world building with the narrative of the story so that the story never lagged or left the reader wondering what the characters were talking about. I really wanted to savour Winter Queen as the last 2 books I had picked up were not even close to satisfying. They were so dismal that I couldn’t even muster the will to write about how disappointing they were. Anyway, so I was thrilled that Winter Queen had snagged my interest from the very first word. I tried to go slow but that was simply not possible because of the pace of the book. It was very fast paced and also very very eventful. So often the first books in any series are slow because they have to lay the foundation the rest of the books will depend on but that’s not the case here. While we have wonderfully developed characters and world around them there is still a lot that we don’t know about. That’s not necessarily a problem because this book is very character driven and we see the world through Illeana’s eyes. I am sure we will find out more about this universe in the next book: Summer Queen.

I thought of giving a brief summary of the book, but found that there are simply too many things that happen in Winter Queen. The publishers did a great job of giving just enough information to tantalize and yet not too little that would leave the potential reader uninterested. But here’s a very brief introduction. There are a number of clans that each has their own clan chief and clan mistress. These clans are in turn governed by the Council that settles disputes among the different clans. Illeana is the clan mistress of Shyle while her father is the clan chief. Her clan is attacked by the Tyrans and this where the story really takes off.

Illeana is a strong and independent young woman and a leader among her clansmen. And that strength is apparent when she’s subjected to a lot of abuse at the hands of the Tyrans. But she didn’t lose her compassion even towards those who were far from kind towards her. This compassion stemmed from the fact that she was a healer. She also did not let the constant abuse break her spirit. Yet she was also someone that I truly rooted for. She had such grit that you couldn’t help but admire her and yet she also she was also headstrong, but then what good heroine worth her mettle isn’t?

Rone was a great character. Though in the beginning, it was not immediately clear who he was, it soon became apparent. He was strong and noble and also a leader among his people and in a lot of ways, very similar to Illeana. What I loved most about their relationship was that it evolved naturally and though there were ups and downs and good amount of misunderstandings along the way, it made for a very engaging and believable love story. The other thing that I was happy about was that the back-and-forth between them did not dominate the narrative. Sure it lasted quite a while but then it was a new relationship for both and formed under very stressful circumstances so I decided to cut them some slack. That’s the other great thing about Argyle’s writing, she weaves in the romance very unobtrusively into the narrative, I love the subtlety. The same was true for Witch Song as well. But this doesn’t make the love between the characters any less intense, if anything; I think it enhances the intensity.

We don’t really find out a lot about the other clans in Winter Queen but I’m sure they’ll get covered in Summer Queen. The only problem that I probably had was right at the end. In the last 2 or 3 chapters, I think pace of narrative went into major over drive. But that’s not a big deal. As far as the end is concerned, it was definitely not what I expected, yet it was very satisfying.

I really enjoyed this book, now I have the amazing task of having to wait till next year for the release of Summer Queen (I checked, expected publication 2014) also I doubt that Illeana will be focus of that book, but should still be a fun read. If you’re looking for something that’s engaging and well written, then you’ll really enjoy Winter Queen!