Review: Last Rite

LAST RITE 

(Personal Demons #3)

Lisa Desrochers
Paranormal Young Adult
365 pages
Tor Teen
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

In this final installment of the thrilling, edgy Personal Demons series, the battle between Heaven and Hell has become critical, and Frannie Cavanaugh is right at the center of it.

With the help of the powerful angel Gabe and demon-turned-mortal Luc, Frannie has been able to stay one step ahead of the forces of Hell. But when the demons killed Frannie's best friend and destroyed her brother, they raised the stakes. If Frannie wants to keep her family and friends safe, she knows she has no choice but to go on the run.

Their best defense is the power Frannie has been struggling to master, but her attempts to hone her skill go horribly awry. If Frannie doesn't learn fast, the consequences could be devastating--even apocalyptic.

What happens when you can't outrun Hell...or trust the ones you love?

MY THOUGHTS

Last Rite picks up immediately following the events of Original Sin, sparing us barely a moment to take a deep breath before we’re launched into the middle of the ongoing battle between Heaven and Hell. Those who may be a little foggy on the details of book two may want to consider rereading the concluding chapters at the very least, as Ms. Desrochers spends very little time reintroducing characters and events, instead focusing on moving things forward at a lightning-quick speed that leaves us floundering a bit to catch up. The extremely quick pace stems not simply from physical action, but from constant emotional upheaval as well, things with both Gabe and Luc on extraordinarily unstable ground that proves only to get rockier as Frannie’s predicament becomes more dire, and though we may stumble at times when temporary confusion plagues us, we can’t deny being riveted to the pages wondering how things will play out.

Frannie has been a young woman with whom our relationship is at times strained, her extreme waffling between Luc and Gabe in book one having us questioning whether she’ll be a character we can really come to know and fully support, but throughout the series she does exhibit a gradual growth. That is not to say that her actions in this final installment are the epitome of logical and rational, because it’s often quite the opposite, however her reasoning is far less hormonal in nature and more emotional in this final installment, and we can feel how the scope of the task laid at her feet forces her into sometimes impulsive—but understandable—action.

As mentioned in previous reviews for this series, Frannie’s story has a soap-opera quality to it, events and character relationships extremely dramatic – perhaps too dramatic for some readers – but for all that we may groan at the rather epic love triangle, Ms. Desrochers does still manage to draw us deeply into this story and have us invested in its outcome. In Last Rite, all three protagonists are swaddled tightly in guilt over the events of the previous book, each of them wallowing separately in repetitive recitations of “it’s my fault” without ever giving voice to their feelings and sharing the burden with the other two. At times, the combined weight of their despair can be a bit overwhelming, but before we're able to don our festive hats at their pity party, Ms. Desrochers yanks us all from our despondent musings and forces us into action.

Last Rite is nothing short of a thrilling conclusion, life and death on the line in almost every chapter as Frannie, Luc, and Gabe frantically search for Lucifer’s weakness and a way to exploit it. Readers who have enjoyed the previous two books and enter into this one knowing the angst will be high, the logical decision making low, and the romance split between angel and demon will no doubt find themselves with nails bitten down to nubs from stress but a smile on their faces by the end.

Rating: 4/5

Review: The Last Princess

THE LAST PRINCESS

Galaxy Craze
Young Adult/Dystopian
295 pages
Poppy
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

Happily ever after is a thing of the past.

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless.

When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year old Princess Eliza manages to escape. Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope-and love-once more.

Now she must risk everything to ensure that she does not become . . .

The Last Princess.

MY THOUGHTS

The Last Princess is a darker tale, presenting us with a futuristic London ravaged by seventeen days of unexplainable natural disasters to render it a barren wasteland plagued by poverty, unrest, and even cannibalism. However, in the middle of the ash and the rot stands the still beautiful Buckingham Palace, home to the Windsor royal family and symbol to those ruled by greed of what they crave most. Eliza’s story begins with tragedy, causing us to hit the ground running from the prologue and granting us not a moment’s breath until we reach the last page of the epilogue, swept up in a tidal wave of death, rebellion, and change as the royal family’s bountiful tables disappear and their beautiful fabrics turn to threadbare rags.

Eliza is a young woman who has our sympathy from the first page, watching through her eyes as her mother breathes her last breath after a successful assassination attempt, and she remains a young woman we root for throughout. Though we certainly care for her–the abrupt separation from her family bringing out our protective instincts–a connection to her remains purely superficial, our desire to see her reap her vengeance one we could attribute to any heroine experiencing the loss Eliza suffers rather than being a unique and poignant thread connecting us to Eliza herself.

Our reaction to the plot is similar to our more shallow relationship with Eliza, events extremely engaging but we seem to bounce from one situation to the next before we’ve really had time to emotionally invest and sink our fingers into the dark nuances of this story. Reading this first installment is a bit like jogging through an art museum; we’re able to cast quick, appreciative glances at the beauty or the pain depicted, but we miss out on all the exquisite intricacies we’d otherwise notice if we could take the time to stop and look. There’s so much potential in this story, the horror of Eliza’s situation right in front of us waiting to stampede across our hearts in shoes with spiked soles, but things move so quickly the grit doesn’t have time to settle, the wind caused by our rapid movement sweeping it off before that critical layer can build.

Overall, The Last Princess is an extremely quick read that’s easily consumed in a single sitting, we just can’t help but wish we were allowed to linger in a few places before we’re forced to move on with Eliza. So little information is provided with regard to the sudden rise to power of the man responsible for the queen’s death years prior, his army suddenly appearing thousands strong with little warning that trouble was even brewing to such a degree. Additionally, there are random “sun balls” that fall from the sky in this post-apocalyptic world, leftover remnants of the Seventeen Days, but they play such a minor role that we have to question the necessity of their presence at all. All the pieces that makeup The Last Princess are fascinating, and because they are so, we naturally want to know more about them only to find ourselves denied at every turn. Despite those flaws however, hope is ever present that book two will bring us the grittiness we seek, and give us those few extra moments to linger in Eliza's shoes.

Rating: 3/5

Review: Wicked Nights

WICKED NIGHTS (Angels of the Dark #1)

Gena Showalter
Adult Paranormal Romance
411 Pages
Harlequin
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

Leader of the most powerful army in the heavens, Zacharel has been deemed nearly too dangerous, too ruthless--and if he isn't careful, he'll lose his wings. But this warrior with a heart of ice will not be deterred from his missions at any cost...until a vulnerable human tempts him with a carnal pleasure he's never known before.

Accused of a crime she did not commit, Annabelle Miller has spent four years in an institution for the criminally insane. Demons track her every move, and their king will stop at nothing to have her. Zacharel is her only hope for survival, but is the brutal angel with a touch as hot as hell her salvation--or her ultimate damnation?

MY THOUGHTS
With Wicked Nights, Ms. Showalter introduces us to an entirely new cast of deliciously sexy and damaged souls, seamlessly transitioning us from the Lords of the Underworld and their demons to the Angels of the Dark through Zacharel, the beautifully cold angel sent to assist the Lords in their last several adventures. Though the Lords are keepers of the most challenging and problematic of demons, Zacharel and his army of angels all teetering on the brink of falling are equally tortured, the darkness forced upon them by life, fate, and circumstance a captivating contrast to their purpose in the heavens. Though some of the trademark humor so cherished in the witty banter between the both the Lords and their women is missing in this first installment between Zacharel and his men, Ms. Showalter succeeds yet again in creating characters whose lives we can’t wait to share and whose histories we’re desperate to learn.

Given the time we’ve spent with Zacharel as he’s aided the Lords, our affection for him is strong from the onset, our anticipation to discover all the secrets of this angel from whose wings snowflakes continuously fall incredibly high before we even read the first page. Though a connection to him is easily established, the connection he forms to heroine Annabelle doesn’t feel quite as strong as we'd hoped when we cracked the spine. After the tragic death of his beloved brother, Zacharel has had no interest in forming attachments to anyone else, shunning even the temporary contact of an intimate relationship with a woman so many of those under his command embrace, instead choosing to remain hard and seemingly heartless in his single-minded pursuit to destroy demons without a care for the human collateral damage he leaves in his wake.

Based on what we know of him and his emotional detachment, the speed with which he softens and thaws for Annabelle seems just a touch questionable. For a man who’s never even so much as experienced a hint of desire, it’s hard to fully believe in his sudden need to touch, taste, and fully possess Annabelle, to the extent that he can barely focus on anything else. Anna, for her part, is incredibly strong in mind and body, surviving unimaginable things during her incarceration in a mental facility with her sanity intact to emerge wounded but healing. She can at times seem very young though, some of her witty retorts slung in Zacharel’s direction just making the distance between them both in age as well species (as she’s human) feel far more significant that it might have otherwise.

While the romance between Zacharel and Annabelle is perhaps not as strong as some of the combustible partnerships we’ve been gifted with from Ms. Showalter in the past, the cast of secondary characters she brings to this new angelic table is as intriguing as ever. Sometimes, a shift in a story from one character’s journey to the next can be frustrating (particularly in a romance) as our desire to get back to the main couple outweighs our interest in following lesser characters, however, that is certainly not the case with the Lords of the Underworld or now the Angels of the Dark, the few of Zacharel’s army to whom we’re introduced in this first book laying claim to our hearts nearly instantaneously. Thane, Xerxes, and Bjorn hold particular interest, their shared brutal pasts only hinted at in between our moments with Zacharel and Anna, but though our time with them is brief, it’s more than enough to trigger a countdown to when we might finally be granted access to their full stories.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Team Human

TEAM HUMAN

Justine Larbalestier &
Sarah Rees Brennan
Paranormal Young Adult
344 Pages
HarperTeen
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity

On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.

MY THOUGHTS

Light and laugh out loud funny, Team Human entertains with a snarky protagonist who finds it nearly impossible to keep from insinuating herself into the personal business of her closest friends. To her credit, some friends ask her to wade into the middle of their joys and troubles, needing Mel’s special brand of problem solving to get them back on track, but other times she jumps right in sans express invitation and makes a concentrated effort to ensure her opinion is heard. While we spend a great deal of time snorting at Mel’s quick wit and snappy retorts, we also quickly find ourselves embroiled in a supernatural mystery, one that nicely offsets the some of Mel’s humorous moments of ridiculousness to give us a tale that has more layers than we might have expected.

Mel will most likely not be a heroine for everyone, her sarcasm laid on thick and extremely prominent throughout, but for those who appreciate a dry sense of humor she will be a joy to spend three hundred and fifty pages with. She’s positively appalled at her best friend Cathy’s reaction to the new vampire in school, and we can’t help but appreciate that this is not a falling-in-love-with-the-hot-new-student type of story, but rather the type of story that pokes a little fun at that common trope and gives us a main character who unabashedly and bluntly says all the things that run through our minds when we stumble across a character who behaves as Cathy does. Mel is often horrified by Cathy and Francis’s relationship, their instant love connection something, much to our delight, she vehemently denounces and mocks whenever possible.

While Team Human could have easily been a campy spoof of a story, Ms. Larbalestier and Ms. Brennan rein Mel in just enough to keep her from being a caricature, and add several subtle nuances to the plot and secondary characters to elicit from us unexpected emotion. As things get more complicated for Mel and her friends, the more serious nature of the overall mystery as well as Cathy’s plans for the future slowly start to push to the forefront to remind us there’s much to anticipate beyond the next quip. The humor never completely fades however, staying strong throughout as Mel finds someone to match her sly remark for sly remark in Kit, a young man raised by vampires who knows absolutely nothing about human beings.

Beneath the humor, Team Human does a beautiful job of outlining all the pros and cons of being human and being vampire, keeping us laughing even as we’re forced to acknowledge monsters can exist in both forms. Mel’s attitude can be a bit much at times, but she often recognizes this flaw in herself–even at one point wishing she could punch herself in the face–and the pages fly by as we’re caught up in paranormal happenings and human emotion. For those interested in a slightly different vampire tale, Team Human is quick and satisfying, leaving us with a smile and a laugh as we flip back through the pages and take note of all the snarky retorts we’ve highlighted.

Rating: 4/5

Mini Reviews: Fair Coin, Thief's Covenant, and Range of Ghosts

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!

FAIR COIN

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

THIEF'S COVENANT

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

RANGE OF GHOSTS

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

Snark in the Dark + All Male Review Challenge Sign Up

Hey Everyone!

First, I want to apologize for my lack of participation in the All Male Challenge Giveaway Hop that started today. On Friday afternoon, central Ohio got slammed with a series of really bad storms and we lost power. We've been without power going on three days now, and we've been told repeatedly it could be another 5-7 days before we're up and running again. I'm not amused by this information. The dogs are even less so. Given that it's about 95 degrees here, it's been a miserable couple of days.

I'm currently borrowing internet from my mother in law to get this post up, but I'm hoping we'll get power back sooner rather than later and I can get back to the blog as scheduled. Because I wasn't able to participate in the hop today (and may be without power for majority of the week), I'm going to go ahead and combine the giveaway I had planned for that with the giveaway I'm hosting when Veronica Rossi stops by the blog on the 23rd, so be sure and pop in then!

I want to send a HUGE thank you to Missie at The Unread Reader for dealing with my frantic texts when my power went out and I realized I was going to be an epically poor event co-host, and for organizing all of these fabulous posts to give you guys all the information you need for the challenge. I'm so excited to get started, I hope you all are as well!

Welcome to second year of The All Male Review Challenge!

This reading and reviewing challenge, co-hosted by Bewitched Bookworms, Books and Things, Supernatural Snark, In the Closet with a Bibliophile and myself, will run the entire month of JULY. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to read as many YOUNG ADULT (YA) books by male authors or featuring male protagonist during the month of July! And yes, books with alternating POVs count, as long as one of the main characters is male. Co-author books count too, as long as one of the authors is male. How to participate: Beginning TODAY, any YA book you read and review by a male author or containing a male protagonist is eligible to be entered into our inlinkz collection. At the end of the month, participants will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of our Mega AWESOME Prize Packs of books! Throughout the month, we will also have spotlight reviews, special guest posts, author interviews, read-alongs and mini giveaways!

The All Male Review Challenge Schedule:

July 1st-7th: Giveaway Hop  

July 2nd: Review Link Up post  

July 3rd: Interview with author Katie McGarry and giveaway of Pushing the Limits hosted by The Unread Reader  

July 6th: Fairy Metal Thunder read-along, chapters 1-6

July 9th: Male authors roundtable and signed books giveaway hosted by Danny of Bewitched Bookworms  

July 13th: Fairy Metal Thunder read-along, chapters 7-13  

July 16th: Lish McBride guest post and giveaway of Hold Me Closer, Necromancer hosted by Melissa of Books and Things  

July 20th: Fairy Metal Thunder read-along, chapters 14-20  

July 23rd: Interview with author Veronica Rossi and giveaway of Under the Never Sky hosted by Jenny of Supernatural Snark  

July 27th: Fairy Metal Thunder read-along, chapters 21-27 hosted by Jen of In the Closet With a Bibliophile  

July 30th: Interview with author Mike Mullin and giveaway of Ashfall hosted by Jen of In the Closet with a Bibliophile  

August 3rd: Announcement of Grand Prize Winners

Prize Pack 1 

Partials by Dan Wells  

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater 

Zombie Blondes by Brian James  

Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin

Prize Pack 2  

Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch  

The Last Domino by Adam Meyer 

Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese 

A Bad Day For Voodoo by Jeff Strand (Thanks to Sourcebooks)

Prize Pack 3  

Ashen Winter (Ashfall, #2) by Mike Mullin  

Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch Doing It by Melvin Burgess  

Send by Patty Blount (Thanks to Sourcebooks)

International Prize Pack 

Streamline by Jennifer Lane (e-book. Thanks to Omnific Publishing) 

Destiny's Fire by Trisha Wolfe ( (e-book. Thanks to Omnific Publishing)  

Ember by Carol Oates (e-book. Thanks to Omnific Publishing)  

Breaking Point by Jess Bowen (e-book. Thanks to Omnific Publishing)

Fairy Metal Thunder read-along Prize Pack: 

Fairy Metal Thunder (Songs of Magic, #1) Fairy Blues (Songs of Magic, #2) Fairystruck (Songs of Magic, #3) Fairyland (Songs of Magic, #4) Thanks to J.L. Bryan!

Have we got you interested in participating yet? Great! All you have to do is start linking up your reviews of YA books by male author or featuring male protagonists. Remember: the more reviews you link = the more chances you have to win! Let the month of boys begin! Help us get the word out.

Grab our buttons!

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