The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Published January 1st 2006 by Greenwillow Books
280 pages
Series: The Queen's Thief
Source: Borrowed

The Thief started out as nothing special. The plot seemed mediocre, and I had trouble creating a mental image of Gen -- the main character, narrator, and thief -- in my head. But after the first few chapters, I found myself suddenly very engrossed in the novel and couldn't for the life of me put the book down to eat, sleep, or perform any of life's necessary functions...

Oh, Ms. Turner, what a tangled web you weave. The Thief had the type of ending I love best. It was unexpected, tied up everything nicely, and made the reader want the next book in the series without being frustratingly cliffhanger-ish. Now I shall try to restrain myself and go to sleep instead of starting the next book in the Attolia series.

Rating: 4.5

between delightfully scrumptious and incomprehensibly awesome

Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

Published August 25th 2009 by Delacorte Press
388 pages
Series: Fever #4
Source: Borrowed

It's a good thing I’d already downloaded Shadowfever before I started Dreamfever, since I’m pretty sure I would have chucked my precious Kindle across the room and then proceeded to repeatedly bang my head against a hard surface otherwise. I was totally expecting the “big revelation” since book 3, though. BOOYA.

Admission: I’m addicted to Barrons. If the guy doesn’t show up every once in a while, I use the “search” option to try to find the next page he appears in... That is the extent of my addiction.

I am a sucker for HEA, and I have to admit, Ms. Moning is going to have to do a lot of plot twisting to get Shadowfever to end like that. The reviews for book 5 I’ve glanced over all seem pretty optimistic, though. So. Here. I. Go...

Rating: 4.5

between delightfully scrumptious and incomprehensibly awesome

Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

Published September 16th 2008 by Delacorte Press
327 pages
Series: Fever #3
Source: Borrowed

Are you kidding me? What kind of ending is that?
/seeths silently in a corner/
This series just keeps getting more and more addicting, if that's even possible. Amazing characters and over-arching plot-line. Unputdownable in a stay-up-late-and-read-until-you-can-barely-keep-your-eyes-open sort of way. I'm very glad that the entire series had already finished publication before I started book 1. Waiting for the next book of anything is possibly the most agonizing feeling ever (I learned that the hard way through The Hunger Games trilogy). Going to have to read Dreamfever really soon.

Rating: 4

delightfully scrumptious

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Published April 5th 2011 by Margaret K. McElderry
424 pages
Series: The Mortal Instruments #4
Source: Borrowed

To say that I started this book on the wrong footing would be an understatement.

1) For some peculiar reason (curiosity?), I decided to read the status updates of this review before I started. Very bad idea. -.-
2) I've also always been under the assumption that City of Glass would be the end of The Mortal Instruments, but well, you know, I guess not...
3) I read the last TMI book in 8th grade, which wasn't that long ago. It is, however, long enough for me to have read a ton of other books and realize that maybe this series wasn't that amazing after all.

My experience in a nutshell: It felt like Ms. Clare was grasping at straws in this book. I liked the first 3 books well enough, but City of Fallen Angels had a messy plot and a too convenient resolution. I will be gritting my teeth and finishing the entire series (which has now been extended to 6 books) since I always feel inclined to finish series that I've gotten into... Overall, enjoyable read.

Rating: 2

oh so unremarkable

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

Published January 30th 2007 by Ace
292 pages
Series: Mercedes Thompson #2
Source: Borrowed

This is quite possible my favorite PNR series, although truthfully, that isn't saying much, since I haven't read that many... Blood Bound is action-packed from beginning to end, and the interactions between Mercy and Adam/Sam/Stefan are just too adorable. I think this series would make a great TV show, actually. Much more so than the Sookie series. Will read the rest of the Mercy series sometime in the near future!

Rating: 4

delightfully scrumptious

Blood Song by Cat Adams

Published June 2nd 2010 by Tor Books
364 pages
Series: Blood Singer #1
Source: Borrowed

Rating: 3 Stars

Even though I am fairly new to the adult PNR/urban-fantasy genre, I have read my fair share of vampire novels. Blood Song turned out to be an enjoyable read with a unique twist on traditional vampirism. The protagonist Celia is the usual kick-ass 20-/30-something heroine with multiple guys pursuing her as Celia herself remains clueless to the attention. In this reality, however, the entire world knows of the existence of preternatural beings. Some humans have even uncovered their own hidden powers.

The first half of the book was slightly hard to get through, and the plot felt almost random at times. There were some characters who felt kind of... unnecessary, I suppose. The ending is not overly cliffhanger-ish, but does connect to the second book, Siren Song, which I will read one of these days...

Rating: 3

fairly intriguing