Hey Everyone!
Well, I'm still without power. It sucks. Luckily for me, I have pretty fantastic in-laws and they have ever-so kindly let me and Kevin, as well as our dogs, move in with them temporarily even though they already have my brother-in-law and his wife living with them while they're building a house. Win.
So, I'm back online and back to the blog, and today the fun with my in-laws continues as I have my mother-in-law Cathy back to give us her thoughts on some recent reads!
E.C. Myers
Paranormal Young Adult
250 pages
Pyr
Available Now
Received from publisher for review
CATHY'S SUMMARY
Ephraim arrives home to find his mom has attempted suicide. He finds out that his mother believes that Ephraim has been killed. As he goes through his mother's purse he finds the belongings of the dead boy, who could have passed for his twin. Among the boy's possessions, is a coin. The coin begins to grant Ephraim wishes, but there are side effects with each wish and he feels the need to make a correction which leads to another wish. This is where the journey begins and Ephraim has a mystery to solve. He has quite an adventure as he tries to improve his life but sees how it changes the lives of others, not always in the best way. It's a wild and twisting journey that is decided by the flip of a coin.
CATHY'S THOUGHTS
This is a very interesting book. It's a cross between magical thinking and sci-fi. It is a well written story that grabs your attention and keeps it throughout the entire book. The only stumble was that Mr. Myers tried too hard to explain the scientific reasons for why things were occurring instead of allowing his readers to just believe and accept the storyline. He developed great characters that you either grew to care about or hate. There were several lessons in the book such as being happy with what you have and not wishing your life away, all of which were delivered in a subtle manner. Rating: 4/5
Ari Marmell
Young Adult/Fantasy
273 pages
Pyr
Available Now
Received from publisher for review
CATHY'S SUMMARY
This is a fantasy adventure that blends mythology with the allure of courtly times. Widdershins/ Adrienne is a young girl that grew up in the streets of Davillon. She learned to live by her wits. For a brief time she was taken in and learned the life of the aristocracy. This lasts only a few years until a mass murder occurs and she is the prime suspect. She is forced to return to the streets and becomes a master thief. She finds herself in a continuing spiral of misfortunes that never seem to end. With the aid of her own personal god, Olgun, she fights all the odds and tries to save her friends and herself.CATHY'S THOUGHTS
I enjoyed this book once I read several chapters. There are too many date changes at first that make the story confusing until you have a better picture of the characters. Mr. Marmell did a good job with character development and with weaving an adventure that draws you in. Because you come to care for Widdershins, you experience vast emotions as she tries to save herself only to have forces work against her to make a happy ending seem impossible. This book has a little of everything: fantasy, love story, conspiracy, and revenge – all the things that make for a great read. This is the first in the series and you will want to find out what Widdershins next adventure will be.
Rating: 4/5
Elizabeth Bear
Fantasy
336 pages
Tor
Available Now
Received from publisher for review
CATHY'S SUMMARY
In this fantasy adventure, Temur is the sole survivor of a battle to overthrow his family's kingdom. He begins his journey to safety and along the way meets Edena. Because Temur is in line for the throne, his opponent kidnaps Edena in an effort to use her as bait to kill Temur. On his way to rescue Edena, he bands together with a very unusual assortment of companions: a wizard, a monk, a pregnant princess, and a Cho-tse (a talking upright tiger). They have many obstacles to overcome and just when the end is in sight and you want to know the conclusion, Ms. Bear leaves you hanging and you find out what happens to our unusual group in the next book.CATHY'S THOUGHTS
Ms. Bear tells quite a story and has developed an elaborate fantasy world and I almost missed it. I was not going to finish this book. At the start of the book, there are so many strange names and places that it's difficult to follow the story. If there would have been a glossary to refer to, it would have helped tremendously. I am glad that I finished it because she has layered characters that you grow to care for and want to find out where their journey leads them. By the end, you are definitely left hanging and want to read the next book.
Rating: 3.5/5
I'm really interested in Thief's Covenant. I love the cover and the concept sounds great. I need to read more Pyr books aside from Greyfriar. Speaking of which, are you super excited for the 3rd book?
ReplyDeleteCathy!!!!!! *hugs* I always love reading your reviews!
ReplyDeleteAnd Jenny: I hope you get your power back soon! It's amazing it's not getting back faster..... but at least you are not homeless ...
Those book sound great and I especially like the sound of Thief's Convenant. But I hate being confused in the beginning when I get bombarded with names and dates... Glad to hear you endured it and ended up liking it :))
Range of Ghost: I think every Fantasy story needs a Glossary... Definitely!!! This drives me nuts so many times... Also pronunciation.. Anyway, I love this cover.. so pretty!
hugs back at you. we are having a big family slumber party!!!!!
DeleteWell crud. I had this long in depth comment and the whole thing disappeared! Arg!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, all three books sound awesome but I'm dying to read Thief's Covenant, it sounds freaking awesome!
And Jenny, I'm sorry about the power! I'm glad you have somewhere to go go though!
I'm very interested in Thief's Covenant but a lot of people have told me it's pretty confusing,,,Like the mini reviews :)
ReplyDeleteKrazyyme @ Young Readers
Jenny: I hope your power is restored quickly!
ReplyDeleteCathy: Fantastic mini reviews! :)
Wow--you truly have some awesome in-laws! And, hey, you'll all be together for the 4th so win? Fingers crossed that power gets restored ASAP.
ReplyDeleteCathy--great quickies! Heh. I like when fantasies have a glossary, especially when there are so many unusual terms and titles.
Alison - I cannot wait for the 3rd book! I just adore that series:)
ReplyDeleteDanny - This is true, I'm definitely not homeless:) Hopefully the power will come back soon though so I can give Cathy her house back.
Candace - Hate it when that happens! I'm always so proud of my comment and then I hit publish and I get an error message and it disappears. *shakes fist at comments*
Krazzyme - I've heard mixed things as well, but Cathy and I usually like the same books, so I have a good feeling about it:)
Ammanda - ME TOO!
Mary - Hahaha right? The storm was clearly a plot to bring us all together under one roof for the 4th:)
Awww, you have such wonderful in-laws, Jenny! I hope my future in-laws will be that kind to us in the face of a storm too LOL :') And I loved hearing Cathy's quick thoughts on these books! Apparently we both love fantasy, love stories, conspiracies, and revenge in one book, so that's a bit of a seller on that book there haha! x)
ReplyDeleteReally awesome mini-reviews, Jenny! So happy to have youback on the blogosphere -- it's a little bit darker without you on here! :') <3
These all sound great and Cathy rocks!
ReplyDeleteI love when Cathy MIL does reviews! You rock Cathy (also apparently you have a very big heart to have so many people/furr people in your house at once)!
ReplyDeleteJenny--here is hoping your power comes back soon :)
Mimi - That I do! And you are the cutest, I just want to hug you:) I'm glad to be back online!
ReplyDeletePam - She does:)
Felicia - Yes, she's dealing with 4 extra people and 2 dogs in her house, plus one of those people is allergic to dogs, so we have to keep everyone separate. She's a good sport ;-)
Thief's Convenant seems pretty interesting...
ReplyDeleteOhhh I hadn't even heard of these books before, but they sound fascinating especially Thief's Covenant! Thanks for sharing these adorable mini reviews! :) Hope you get your power back soon Jenny!
ReplyDeleteOMG! It's one of THE MOMS! Woohoo!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think glossaries are seriously undervalued in books. I know I've read several where I though one would have been more than appreciated. I love to reference material so really, it's just a bonus for readers who feel the same.
Thanks for the minis, Cathy. Very helpful and refreshing.
I only have heard off the second book you mention and it did sound good, but nothing for me. :) I do like the first one better & I like the cover. Yes, that is important. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the cover for Range of Ghosts. I hadn't heard of that one before but it sounds interesting enough. Thief's Covenant has grabbed my attention the most here! I love the premise and it sounds like a it was a good read for Cathy. Lovely mini reviews! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, how fun! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Cathy! (Yay for mothers-in-law who read, right? You picked a good one, Jenny! :P)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these books yet, but I might check out Fair Coin. I'm loving the sound of a sci-fi/magic mixture. :)
Jenny, I hope you get your power back soon. That really bites!
ReplyDeleteAnd nice review Cathy! I enjoyed reading your perspective :)
Addie - It does!
ReplyDeleteJasprit - Me too! I hear rumor it might happen Thursday, but who knows. *fingers crossed*
Missie - YAY! Hopefully you get to meet The Moms at some point, they're hilarious:)
Nina - I think the covers are important as well, I make so many decisions based on those even though I know I shouldn't.
Sam - ME TOO! I think it's stunning. Glad you enjoyed the minis:)
Lauren - I think so! My mom is a huge reader too, so the three of us all pass books around like a mini book club:)
Savy - It does bite. I'm not amused by the situation at all:(
In-laws that rock... AND read? Wow! You hit the jackpot. Especially since you got your MIL to review for you! And great reviews at that! Oh now I'm interested in all of these. Hm... maybe it wasn't such a great idea. She just added to my wishlist. ;D
ReplyDelete((HUGGLES)) for the situation! *sending lots of cool thoughts your way!*
Great minis :)
ReplyDeleteYay widdershins!
And I hope the weather gets better soon
Oh Jenny, that's a bummer about your power outage! Hopefully it'll come back soon. Looks like your in-laws are great people letting you stay over.
ReplyDeleteI love these mini-reviews! Nothing like just getting to the heart of the matter! I think the first book sounds the most intriguing to me. Great job with the reviews, Cathy! :)
Ugh, still no power? Some of my friends in Clintonville are back online and they didn't think they'd get electricity until Sunday, so I hope your power will kick back on TONIGHT!
ReplyDeleteI've got Thief's Covenant in my TBR pile because I thought it had an interesting plot but haven't read any reviews for it so it's great that Cathy enjoyed it. Plus, yay for fantasy :)
ReplyDeleteFair Coin sounds interesting. I'd probably be curious about the scientific aspect so I don't think I'd mind all the science-y bits ... as long as it doesn't get too complicated.
Excellent reviews! I have got to get a copy of Fair Coin, it sounds too good to miss.
ReplyDeleteThief's Covenant sounds good too, though I haven't heard much about this one. I'm glad you reviewed it. I'll have to put it on my TBR list.
Range of Ghosts is probably not something I'd read just for the reason you almost didn't finish it. When I can't pronounce the names (which means I don't remember them) and there is too much of a difference in worlds, I'm not going to stay interested. I say I don't read high fantasy, but I have been proven wrong. This one just doesn't sound interesting enough for me to change my mind.
Nice job and thanks for letting Jenny and the kids and your son stay in the air condition. I'm sure it's a blast to have so many in your house. Good times, good times!
Heather
Fair Coin and Thief's Covenant look EXCELLENT to me. I've never heard of the other but will look into it more. ;) Great mini-reviews!
ReplyDeleteSierra @ Yearning to Read
Thief's Covenant sounds totally amazing! and I've never heard about this book before until now. I love the mini reviews! they are SO precise! =D
ReplyDeletethnx so much for hearing =D
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I love these covers. Thanks for bringing my attention to these cool books.
ReplyDeleteI started reading a sample of Fair Coin and was thoroughly hooked by the opening. I hope to read the whole book soon! I love the cover for Range of Ghosts. Awesome mini reviews!
ReplyDeleteWow sounds like a full house! Hope your power comes on soon, but it's nice that they're letting you stay with them :)
ReplyDeleteThief's Covenant is a books I've been pining after for a while now. I love books about thieves. I've heard good things about Range of Ghosts, but it does seem to be the kind of book that you have to stick with for a while before you get hooked. Thanks for all the info!
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