Tag Archives: bethylou reads

Quick Review: Instinct by Sherrilyn Kenyon

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Featured imageI will say this for Nick Gautier. His life is never boring. He would tell you that is a bad thing but it’s way too entertaining.  I don’t know even where to begin to talk about this book without spoiling the previous books so I’ll keep this short. I’ve already talked about this series before so you know how I feel about Nick and his friends. Instinct is no different.  It’s the same snarky Nick as always.  He gets into trouble but always talks or finds away out of it by staying true to himself.  He’s not about to let destiny take control of him and his future.  In the past books, he’s friends had to really step up and help him out but this one, he was basically on his own.  It’s been two years since he found out who he really is and who his friends really are and is finally starting to come into his own.  I know there are a couple more books to go but I feel like we are starting to see the endgame for the series.  Also a bonus is that all of these books are very fast paced and fast reads. Nick is always tasked with multiple crisis’ that seemed to have  nothing in common yet always do that keep him going back and forth between the two but the reader never gets tangled or confused as to what’s going on.  You are there for the ride as is Nick.  So Yeah!  Well done.  I’m looking forward to reading the next book.

Review: Rogue by Julie Kagawa

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Featured imageEmber is the kind of character that is likeably annoying.  On the one hand she’s brave, loyal and fierce.  Her wide-eyed curiosity is charming.  On the other hand, she’s stubborn and doesn’t know how to listen to directions which usually leads to something bad happening.  Whether it directly leads to it or is just enough to distract her friends that make them make stupid mistakes, It always leads to trouble. Despite her faults I’m still rooting for her.  After the cut contains spoilers for Rogue and the first book Talon. So if you haven’t read Talon and planning on it, best not to read further.

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Review: The Replaced by Kimberley Derting

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Featured imageI read this a month ago so I have sort of forgot what I wanted to say about it.  (Note to self: Make notes while reading)  So this is going to be a sketchy.

The Replaced is the sequel of the The Taken. It’s about Kyra, who is abducted by aliens for five years but to her she has only been gone for hours.  In those five years, she hasn’t aged a day but everyone else has.  Her boyfriend is now in college and dating her best friend, her parents are divorced and her  Mom is remarried and has a child.  The most interesting development is that the younger brother of her ex-boyfriend, Tyler is now her age and is of course hot.  As Kyra tries to piece together what happened to her, she falls in love with Tyler, finds other abductees and discovers a conspiracy with the government and the aliens that abducted her.  I could go on but I feel that would spoil The Taken so I  leave it here.

The book is good and just okay. The characters a likeable enough but not completely memorable.  I liked it enough that I’ll read the next book.  The ending I found intriguing as I think we will finally get some answers as to what the aliens want with us.  I think that has been missing from the plot so far:  the reason why teenagers are being abducted and then returned after their DNA is changed so that they age more slowly.  Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is it’s a good book.  I’ll try to do better the next review.

Reader Problems

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You know when you are reading a book.  You love it.  You love the characters.  You become invested in one or two of the characters. For this instance, you are involved with two.  You want them together.  You totally ship them.  They are finally realized they are in love with each other and finally, FINALLY, do something about it.  They are happy.  You are happy.  All is great and then realize that you haven’t even reached the half way point of the book and there are at least two more books to come.  You start to panic because you know the happiness your characters feel now is not going to last that much longer.  Something bad is about to happen.  You accidentally read the synopsis of the next book in the series, so you know there is a death is coming.  Now your even more frazzled because what if it’s one of your beloved!  NO!  It can’t be!  They are HAPPY!  Can’t they be happy?  You want to turn away and stop reading but you can’t.  It’s a like a car accident as much as you want to look the other direction, you can’t help yourself from looking straight ahead.  So you keep reading towards the inevitable.  Hoping for the best but bracing yourself for the worst.

That is exactly where I am right now in the The Crown of Midnight.  Something book is about to happen.  I just know it and I’m not prepared for it.  Nope, not at all.  Pray for me brothers and sisters readers.

Quick Review: Pip Bartlett’s Guide for Magical Creatures by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stievfater

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Featured imageSince this book will not be published until April 28, I’ll keep this review short.  First this book is adorable. Pip Bartlett is a smart, curious and kind girl, who just loves animals, especially magically ones.  As far as she knows, she is the only person who can talk to them and they can talk to her. Of course, being the only one means that no one else believes you. After an unfortunate incident with a couple of unicorns, Pip gets sent to live with her Aunt Emma, who is a magical creatures vet for the summer.  Pip is thrilled! When an infestation of Fuzzles threatens the town, it’s up to Pip, her new friend Tomas, Aunt Emma and Cousin Callie to save everyone.

Pip is great! She’s fun and funny.  Honest in a way that only a kid can be.  The book and Pip really come to life with Maggie’s illustrations.  They give the reader not only a insight into what the creatures look like and how they behave but also gives us insight into Pip herself, as she interjects her own opinions and observations.  Tomas is a good friend to have as a sidekick.  The one drawback is the villain of the story is mean and rude but for really no reason than she hates all magical creatures.  The good thing about being a series is that we have time to figure out why.

So if you have kids or don’t, check it out when it comes out later this month.

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

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Featured imageI am going to start by saying Celaena Sardothien is one badass chick.  Seriously.  She is a trained assassin.  The best in all of Erilea.  She is clever, smart and kill you with her bare hands if you annoy her.  Yeah, she’s pretty cool.  After the death of parents she was found by the the King of Assassins and was trained as an assassin herself.  She soon proved to be the best and most feared assassin until she was betrayed and sent to a Salt Mines of Endovier. It’s more of a death camp then salt mines as most people don’t live long but Celaena is not like most people.  After a year there she is introduced to the Crown Prince and the Captain of the Guard who offer an escape of sorts.  Be the Crown Prince candidate in a competition to the King’s Champion aka become the official King’s assassin.  If she wins, she only have to serve the King for four years and then she will be freed.  If she loses, she comes back to Endovier where she will most likely die.  Celaena does not lack for confidence and sees this as a winning proposition and agrees.  Soon she is taken to Rithfold, the capital of Adarlan, the country that has conquered most of Erilea, including Celaena’s home country of Terrasen.  She swept up in the contest as she soon finds that it’s not going to be as easy as she thought.  First,  a year in the salt mines has sapped a lot of her strength and second, she has a formidable foe in Cain.  The King of Adarlan has outlawed magic from the land but Calaena finds that magic and mysterious powers are not completely gone.  Not only is she battling the other champions but also a mysterious threat as well.

The book is a sort of mix of Hunger Games and Game of Thrones that definitely works.  Celaena is strong, smart. clever and despite her brashness she is not fearless.  She knows that her situation is tenuous and that any mistake will send her right back to Endorvier or worse death.  She’s real.  She’s not a shrinking violet like many heroines.  She obvisously knows how to save herself but she’s not too proud to accept help when she needs it and yes even the more feared assassin needs help every now and then.  Of course this is a YA novel so yes there are going to be suitors.  First there is the Crown Prince, Dorian, who chaffs at the control of his father.  Picking Celaena as his choice for the competition was sort of a rebellion on his part but he soon finds that Celaena is more then he thought and of course starts to fall in love with her.  There is a whole subplot as to why Dorian hasn’t married yet.  In a kind of role reversal, it’s Dorian who is the romantic who wants to marry for love and not out of obligation and Celaena is the more practical one.  Her other suitor, is the young Captain of the Guard, Chaol.  Serious and hard working, he is Dorian’s best friend who is always looking out for him.  He has a quiet strength about him that honestly makes him a better fit for Celaena, in my humble opinion (TEAM CHAOL) but I’ll have to wait to read the other books to see how it plays out.

All and all, I thought this was a great book.  Great characters and a good story.  Celaena is a great edition to badass women in literature and I can’t wait to read how her story continues.