Book and Audiobook Review: Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock #1)

Title: Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock #1)
Author: Faith Hunter
Genre: urban fantasy
Rating: 5/5 stars
Page Count: 340
Publication Date: May 22nd, 2009

Plot (from goodreads):
Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she's been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie's Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who's killing other vamps...





Review:
First we're going to talk about how I found this book and then the book and audiobook. I read probably 80-85% of this book through the audiobook, and I couldn't put it down (I ended up cleaning a shit ton purely because I wanted to keep listening to this but that's for later). It was recommended on audible and I was looking for something new to listen to - even though I should of been listening to the way too many audiobooks I own and haven't listened to.

And this had an interesting title - I knew what a skinwalker was, but not in this sense - and then I saw the main character was native american. And, this is a gap in my reading, I'm not sure I've ever read a book with a native american as the main character? I own a few but most of those heavily focus on that. With this book it's part of the story, and I suspect will with be a much bigger part in future books, but mostly it's just about her being kick ass and amazing. (Okay, there's more to it then that, but she is also kickass and amazing).

The main character, Jane Yellowrock, I'm not sure if I would love her so much if it wasn't for the audiobook narrator. Sometimes there are just audiobooks I click with and love, and I think this was one of them. She's got a great voice, and a great handle on the attitude in it that Jane has as a character. And she's definitely got attitude, and it's amazing.

I don't want to go too into the plot because it rolls slow at first - but it doesn't feel slow because new world and learning everything, and the characters are awesome - but when the plot hits, it hits. I'm trying really hard to make this a spew of love. I will say that towards the end I got a little confused with the fight scene, but that might be my normal trouble with concentrating on audiobooks. Which is why I don't do them as much as physical/ebooks, or maybe it was just a little confusing. Either way, only a little and am really damn excited to keep reading, or listening - I may of bought both physical and audio.

I've never heard a thing about this series but the first book has 22,000+ ratings on Goodreads, so I don't know if it's just me or not. (If you have/n't let me know). I highly recommend it, though - audio, if you're into that, but the words are still the same if you just read the old fashioned way.

If you've already read this book, let me know! (Especially if you've read on, I'd love to hear if you love the series). Or if you're thinking of picking it up.

Series Review: The Mortal Instrument (by Cassandra Clare)

Series Name: The Mortal Instruments
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fanasy
Overall Series Rating: 4/5
Books:
City of Bones (3/5)*
City of Ashes (4/5)
City of Glass (4/5)
City of Fallen Angels (4/5)
City of Lost Souls (5/5)
City of Heavenly Fire (5/5)

Book One Synopsis (from Goodreads):
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

My Background (with the series):
I feel like this is important for understanding my feelings about the series, and I promise to keep it short. I started this series before the third book was out in middle school (yes, I had to wait for the third book - and we didn't know some stuff that's pretty common knowledge now. It was torture). And, honestly, I don't know if I had just first read them now, if I would of enjoyed them as much as I did.

Series Thoughts:
First off, I think that the reading order for this series and The Infernal Devices should be, either publication order - or read the original trilogy of these, ID, and then the last three of this. And I don't think you have to of read Infernal Devices to finish this series, but it will kind of ruin the ending of that series and you won't be able to appreciate everything.

I have a few problems with this series and, at some points for another series, they would of been enough to make me want to not continue with the series - but these books are so easy to read and they're fun, that I kept reading them. But I didn't care about the characters, really at all, and definitely not as much as I ended up caring for the characters in The Infernal Devices.

And I think I know why - these characters grow, but not a lot, not as much as they could have, maybe even should have, but I think it's because it takes place over such a small amount of time. This series is six books long and takes place in a few months - a few months, that boggled my mind when I first realized it, but it explained a lot. They're still very, very young - throughout the whole series - but I'm not sure that can excuse my next problem: bad, awful, teenager decisions. It does get better in later books, but not too much better.

That's what I'm calling it, because that's what I feel these are. Sometimes the characters make informed... ish decisions, but most of the time I can't understand why they're doing what they're doing. Sometimes this works out in their favor, sometimes it doesn't and you want to shake them, but either way - it's infuriating.

That being said, with those problems a few more, I do really enjoy this series. It's a lot of fun, easy to read, the world is kind of awesome (it's not too intricate or hard to follow, but it also doesn't really feel flat or underdeveloped, for the most part). Clare's writing isn't amazing, but I like the humor woven in, though it's not for everyone.

* ratings on these books are from my rereading them (if I'd read them previously, of course).
The Infernal Devices series review

Book Review: Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest

Title: Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest
Author: A. Lee Martinez
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Humor
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 368 (paperback)
Publication Date: July 16th, 2013

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Witness the epic battle of the cyclops!

Visit the endangered dragon preserve! Please, no slaying.

Solve the mystery of The Mystery Cottage, if you dare!

Buy some knick knacks from The Fates! They might come in handy later.

On a road trip across an enchanted America, Helen and Troy will discover all this and more. If the curse placed upon them by an ancient god doesn't kill them or the pack of reluctant orc assassins don't catch up to them, Helen and Troy might reach the end their journey in one piece, where they might just end up destroying the world. Or at least a state or two.

A minotaur girl, an all-American boy, a three-legged dog, and a classic car are on the road to adventure, where every exit leads to adventure. Whether they like it or not

Review:
This book wasn't amazing, it didn't blow me away However - it was a lot of fun, sometimes ridiculous, but fun. The synopsis up there gives you the basics, but I wanted to add more.

This book is about these two teenagers who happen to half-witness / half-almost be sacrificed and it makes them wind up on this strange quest for a god. And one of my favorites parts of this book is the world they live in, because their parents just wish them luck and wave as they drive away. Quest? Everyday happenstance!

Helen, as you get from the synopsis, in a minotaur - and that was interesting and different. And Troy, all around American honestly good guy (seriously, I bet his teeth sparkle when he smiled), who I obviously liked because I couldn't find a reason to not like him. And they're a great pair, they set out on their quest/road trip and hope for the best.

This book is really about them - even through the strange cyclopes battles and dragon forests - it's really about them. And, also, a bit about these bikers who are also Orcs, who have kind of been sent on a mission by their god to kill these two kids.

It's insane, basically, and it's not really well written (though it's not terrible), but it's fun and the characters have something that makes them feel real. I'd probably mostly recommend this to people who like mythology, mostly Greek but it jumbles a bit at points, or people who like road quests trips.

Book Review: Mortal Danger

Title: Mortal Danger (Immortal Games #1)
Author: Ann Aguirre
Genre: Fantasy/Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance - YA
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 372 (hardcover)
Publication Date: August 5th, 2014

Plot (from Goodreads):
Revenge is a dish best served cold.

In Ann Aguirre's Mortal Danger, Edie Kramer has a score to settle with the beautiful people at Blackbriar Academy. Their cruelty drove her to the brink of despair, and four months ago, she couldn’t imagine being strong enough to face her senior year. But thanks to a Faustian compact with the enigmatic Kian, she has the power to make the bullies pay. She’s not supposed to think about Kian once the deal is done, but devastating pain burns behind his unearthly beauty, and he’s impossible to forget.

In one short summer, her entire life changes and she sweeps through Blackbriar, prepped to take the beautiful people down from the inside. A whisper here, a look there, and suddenly . . . bad things are happening. It’s a head rush, seeing her tormentors get what they deserve, but things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon, the pranks and payback turns from delicious to deadly. Edie is alone in a world teeming with secrets and fiends lurking in the shadows. In this murky morass of devil’s bargains, she isn’t sure who—or what—she can trust. Not even her own mind.

Review:
At the beginning of this book the world felt unreal, in some way, and I'm not sure why. After a bit, that passed and I was fully immersed, but there was still something that felt like it was missing. And, this might of been me, but that also felt intentional - the way that you couldn't quite believe what was going on, because the main character wasn't really accepting it all at first, either, and she wasn't being told a lot, almost nothing.

On the other hand - I really loved the writing and the characters, and the very real portrayal of depression, at the beginning, and I really liked Edie as a character because she was flawed and hurting, at the beginning, but I didn't like how quickly that changed. I didn't like how quickly she was no longer depressed, and had all of this confidence that she didn't have thirty seconds ago, and I think that's one of the things that added to the beginning of the book feeling a little off.

Overall, though, I did enjoy this book. I had some problems with it, those listed above mostly, but I also just really enjoyed it. As soon as things started to pick up and we started to learn more, I instantly just wanted to know more about the mythology, about this world, about what the hell is going on and what's going to happen next.

I'd mostly recommend this book to people who like Young Adult urban fantasy that is heavy on the romance side of things.

I was approved for an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Once Dead, Twice Shy (Madison Avery #1)

Title: Once Dead, Twice Shy (Madison Avery #1)
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Young Adult (Urban Fantasy, Supernatural - angels)
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 232 (paperback)
Publication Date: May 22nd, 2009

Plot: (from Goodreads)
My name is Madison Avery, and I'm here to tell you that there's more out there than you can see, hear, or touch. Because I'm there. Seeing it. Touching it. Living it.

Madison's prom was killer—literally. For some reason she's been targeted by a dark reaper—yeah, that kind of reaper—intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away.

Now she's stuck on Earth—dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn't know why the dark reaper is after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate take its course.

With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.

Well, if she believed in that stuff

Review:
I picked this book up for, basically, three (four) reasons: it reminded me of the show Dead Like Me, I'd heard good things about the authors other series, and I adored the covers (it also didn't hurt it was only like $2 on BookOutlet). Mainly - the part where it reminded me of Dead Like Me, which has been over for years at this point, but that was one of my favorite shows when it was airing (it still kind of is).

This book did remind me of it at parts, besides the basic plot, but this book was also much different then what I was expecting (and then that show). It had depths I didn't expect and was much more complicated, the world, then the synopsis brought me to believe. Basically, it surprised me, but in a really good way.

Overall - this book was good, even really good. It had great characters, who I was interested in, and sprinklings of humor through out. And it was a really fast read, and it's not a long book by any means, but it was a definite page turner - I wanted to know what was going on and what was going to happen next.

I've seen other reviews of saying they left like they were missing details because they hadn't read the noevella in Prom Nights From Hell (an anthology about, you guessed it, bad prom nights) which apparently has the full story of the night where Madison's life flipped upside down - and I could see where it would of been helpful to read, but they did explain what happened, it wasn't just left blank, so I didn't feel like it was necessary to read or like I missing anything.

Before I ramble on more - I'd definitely recommend this book. It's a quick, pretty light read about a girl who technically dead. And who doesn't love books about people who are technically dead?

Book Review: Long Live the Queen (The Immortal Empire #3)

Title: Long Live the Queen (The Immortal Empire #3)
Author: Kate Locke
Genre: SciFi/Fantasy (Steampunk, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal), Alternate History, Romance
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 311 pages (Hardcover)
Publication Date: November 12th, 2013

Plot: (from Goodreads)
Xandra Vardan thought life would be simpler when she accepted the goblin crown and became their queen, but life has only become more complicated. Everyone -- vampires, werewolves and humans -- wants the goblins on their side, because whoever has the goblins -- wins.

Queen Victoria wants her head, Alpha wolf Vex wants her heart, and she still doesn't know the identity of the person who wanted her blood. What she does know is that a project from one of the 'secret' aristocrat labs has gotten free and she's the only one who can stop the perfect killing machine -- a sixteen year-old girl. With human zealots intent on ridding the world of anyone with plagued blood and supernatural politics taking Britain to the verge of civil war, Xandra's finding out that being queen isn't all it's cracked up to be, and if she doesn't do something fast, hers will be the shortest reign in history.
The fantastic conclusion to the series that started with the spectacular undead steampunk debut, God Save the Queen and The Queen is Dead.

Review:
I'm trying not to put big spoilers for the past books in this review. However, if you haven't read the first or second books in this series, then please turn back now. This will be spoiler free for this book, but not those two. And I have reviews of both of them up: God Save the Queen and The Queen is Dead.

This book has that same great atmosphere, characters, fast pace as the other two in this series, but it definiely wasn't my favorite of the series (I think book two was, I really loved book two). That doesn't mean it wasn't good, obviously I really enjoyed it as I gave it five stars, and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the last book in the series. And I didn't have any problems with how it ended, no spoilers, of course.

There are questions answered in this one and shit goes down in a major way. And man was it good. Once again, all the things I've said before still stand for this book so I'm trying not to just repeat myself here, but there isn't much else to say without spoiling this one.

This series is full of Steampunk fun and Victorian undertones and I really do recommend this series with love, because it's a ton of fun.

Favorite quotes:

"Oh, they'll think about it," I said with a small smile. "Just before I eat their liver."
To my surprise, he smiled. "That's my girl."

He grinned at me. "Most people trust their parents and not strangers. You have a habit of trusting strangers more then family."
I stared at him. "Have you met my family?"

Book Review: The Queen is Dead (The Immortal Empire #2)

Title: The Queen is Dead (The Immortal Empire #2)
Author: Kate Locke
Genre: SciFi/Fantasy (Steampunk, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal), Alternate History, Romance
Rating: 5/5
Pages Count: 352 (Hardcover)
Publication Date: February 5th, 2013

Plot: (from Goodreads)
Nothing lasts forever---and immortality isn't all its cracked up to be.

When her brother Val gets in over his head in an investigation of Half-Blood disappearances and goes missing himself, it's up to Xandra, newly crowned Goblin Queen, to get him back and bring the atrocities to light. Xandra must frequent the seediest parts of London, while also coping with what she is, the political factions vying for her favor, and the all too-close scrutiny of Queen Victoria, who wants her head. Add this to being a suspect in a murder investigation, a werewolf boyfriend with demands of his own, and a mother hell bent on destroying the monarchy, and Xandra barely knows which way is up. One thing she does know is that she's already lost one sibling, she's not about to lose another.

Review:
I talked about how much I loved this world in my review of the first book, but I just want to say it again because the world becomes even richer in this one. I didn't love this book much more then the first one, except for one character we got so much more of but I'm saving that, but maybe a little more. These books are a lot of fun to read, fast passed, and really good to boot.

They're not super heavy on the romance type of books, but - Xandra and Vex's relationship does play a huge part in these books, and in such a good way. Especially because of how supportive he is of her and, even though he's an actual alpha (he's the alpha werewolf of his pack), he doesn't try and tell her what to do. He'll ask, and maybe push her a bit if it's important to him, but he doesn't just tell her something and it's so, and she wouldn't put up with it if he tried - their relationship is just so good and, actually, adorable and it's one of my favorite elements.

Now, the only reason I'd say I loved this book more was because of one character, like I said earlier: Penny Dreadful. She's Val, who is Xandra's brother, sister, so to both of them - they're family. Penny works at this club called Freak Show and is trans and, from what I can tell, a seriously fabulous, impressive drag queen. There are some great descriptions of her outfits, that just made me ridiculously happy, because I love Victorian fashion and in this book it's that but mixed with modern and - basically what I wish my entire wardrobe was.

And now I'm going to go on a bit of a ramble, and I apologize, but this is the first book that had LGBT characters that were treated like everyday people. It was just expected to be accepted as fact from the readers. Xandra's sister, Avery, has a girlfriend (Fiance) Emily and it's not even talked about at first at all, it's just accepted. And I loved that.

There aren't a lot of books with LGBT characters at all, and I haven't read many at all, and I think because most of the descriptions I've read just sound like something sad. And I don't like sad books, I mean I do in a certain mood, but mostly I just can't read something I know is going to make me break down. Also - I've never read a book that had a trans character before. At all. So, yes, they're technically probably 'secondary' characters, but - Penny was in this book a lot, and she's such a great character. Like I said, though it's very accepted and just such a good way to have LGBT characters in books, because they should be there. And now I'm going to stop before I get more into LGBT characters or more diverse characters in general, because - that's probably multiple posts, but I did want to mention it in this review.

And, now to end my rant and review about this book, I just want to say I'd highly recommend this series, whether you care about my whole thing about LGBT characters or not this series is really good and so much fun.

Favorite quote(s):

I told him about my adventure at the chicken place instead.
"I'm beginning to think you shouldn't be allowed to leave the house," he said with a smile. "I've only been back a few days and already you've had more happen to you than most people have in a year." 

Book Review: God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire #1)

Title: God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire #1)
Author: Kate Locke
Genre: SciFi/Fantasy (Steampunk, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal), Alternante History, Romance
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 354 (Hardcover)
Publication Date: July 5th, 2012

Plot: (from Goodreads)
The start of a thrillingly original new urban fantasy series—set in a dark alternate world where the Victorian age never ended...

The Year is 2012—and Queen Victoria still rules with an immortal fist.

She's the undead matriarch of a Britain, where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground, and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where technology lives side by side with magic, where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath) and Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day.

Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it's her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But things get complicated when her sister goes missing. Xandra will not only realise she's the prize in a dangerous power struggle—but she'll also uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire itself.

Review:
I read this book when it first came out in 2012 and then never ended up continuing the series. When I picked it up, randomly during the 24 hour read-a-thon, I couldn't remember anything that'd actually happened in it for some reason. And I still don't really remember that first read through of it two years ago, but anyway, onto the actual review.

I really enjoyed this book, overall. I loved the world that was created, that they lived in, it was gritty and fun and had a mixture of more modern and Victorian things. And the Victorian time periods is one of my favorites that to read about, it's interesting to see authors write ways around certain conflicts. This books is much more modern, of course, it doesn't take place in the late 1800's, but still in the Victorian time period - just in 2012. And I haven't read much alternate history, not nearly enough, but I always tend to love it - it's just interesting and this was no exception to that rule, the world building in this was so interesting.

My favorite part of this book, besides the setting, was the characters. Xandra is a kick-ass and just kind of awesome all around main character, and I loved her siblings as well. How they all had the same aristocrat father, but different mothers, and were so different at points. And I like reading about siblings, as an only child it's interesting to me, and all of the Vardan's were just fun to read about in general.

To wrap it up, I'd definitely recommend this book. It was fun and Steampunk, and I'd also highly suggest, if you can read and listen to music, to have Emilie Autumn playing in the background. I had totally forgotten that the author was a fan, until I read the Acknowledgements and Locke mentions her, but it fits the setting so well, almost perfectly.

Favorite quotes:

"Bitch," Penny said slowly, "You are my fucking hero." 

"I assume you've introduced yourselves," I commented.
"Of course," Avery retorted, expression slightly affronted. "His lordship helped me and Em carry in groceries this morning." 

Series Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles

Series: The Spiderwick Chronicles
Author(s): Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Adventure (Middle-Grade)
Over-all series rating: 4/5
Number of Books: 5
Books in Series: (Goodreads links)
The Field Guide
The Seeing Stone
Lucinda's Secret
The Ironwood Tree
The Wrath of Mulgarath

Plot/Series information (no spoilers):
This is a series about these three kids, Mallory, Jason, and Simon, moving into a kind of creepy old house that's in the family, Aunt Lucinda's house, because their mom thinks it'll be good for them and it'll be financially easier on her.
Right away they kind of start noticing things are a little off, that there's some mystery.

The first books just barely introduce the fey mythology, but it gets more into it in the later books. All of these books are short, but that doesn't seem to take away from the story at all.

Review (no spoilers):
The three main characters in this book - Mallory, Jason, and Simon - are perfect main characters. They're young, even for middle-grade, and they're a little odd. I loved them pretty much right away with how Mallory fences and Simon has his weird pet collection, Jason misses the city and everything from before. And they felt very real and very likeable/relatable.

They're good main characters to watch how this unfolds, because, at first, two of them don't believe their brother about what's going on. They have an overall good relationship, though, which grows and changes through the series.

The world in these books is something I adore. Reading them you also feel like the fey world is ten or twenty times bigger then we're shown, and I really enjoyed that. You meet a lot of different faeries/creatures over the course of the series, learn about them as the kids do.

What I did is I sat down and read this whole series in one day for the Bout of Books read-a-thon. And I thought I'd read them quickly, but they're just so easy to read, and you want to read the next one, so I was surprised at how quickly I read these. And when I finished the last one, I wanted to know what was going to happen next with the kids. I did think, though, that it wrapped up very well.

Overall, I'd recommend this series to any kid who likes fantasy with fey and anyone older who likes it, too. It is middle-grade, keep that in mind, but that doesn't change how likable the characters or how good the world building is.  The main point is I really loved this series. It was cute and fun, not incredibly in-depth or dark, like some things I read, but a nice break from that kind of thing and a fantastic read over all.

Book Review: Good Omens

Book: Good Omens: The Nice & Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Author(s): Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy, SciFi, Humor (Urban Fantasy, Supernatural, Comedy)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 384 (Paperback)
Favorite Character: Oh god. Mmmh. I'm going to go with two and them being Crowley and Aziraphale. Adored them and their odd friendship.

Plot: (from Goodreads)
From two delightful imaginations comes a comic masterpiece in which the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride motorcycles, the hound of the devil chases sticks, and the end of the world is subject to Murphys Law.

Review:
This is an amazing book and I really could not tell what part was written by which author (some parts, however, I could guess whose idea they were. And was normally right. Example, the maggots were Neil's idea). Anyway, though, this book is fantastic, I really do not think it could of been any better. It has an amazing cast of characters and an epic plot if ever I've read one. Between the Them and the Horsemen on motocycles, it was amazing.

Some of the scenes had be laughing, other biting my nails (not quite literally on the latter), and it was just amazing. If you haven't read this one, yet, I'd recommend doing so as soon as you can. I waited to write this review until a while after I had read it and yet I still am fangirling over it whenever I think about, it just perfection in book form. Satanic nuns, the horsemen I mentioned, the Crowley/Aziraphale bromance (I really don't like that word, but it describes these two well), and the prophecies, and just everything in this book is amazing.

Before, I fangirl too much more, I'm just going to say that I'm sure that you know at least of these two authors. I haven't, yet, read any of Terry Pratchett's other work, but I hope to very soon. I've read a lot of Neil's, though, and everything I've read has been amazing.

And there's a Foreword and them on each other and those were even more hilarious and made me worry about my copy. Apparently, they have signed books that have been extremely damaged and been told that friends kept stealing their copy. My copy will be kept safe... hopefully.

Book Review: Book of Shadows

Book: Book of Shadows (Wicca #1)
Author: Cate Tiernan
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy (YA)
Rating: 2/5
Page Count: 176 (Paperback)
Favorite character: I guess, Morgan. None of them really stuck out enough for me to pick a favorite.

Plot: (From Goodreads)
Morgan and her best friend, Bree, are introduced to Wicca when a gorgeous senior named Cal invites them to join his new coven. Morgan falls for Cal immediately and discovers that she has strong, inexplicable powers.

Review:

It was okay, I mean, it entertained me during the short time it took me to read the book, but it just annoyed me at the end. Maybe because pretty much everything in this book I've read before, except for the fact that they're modern witches practicing Wicca. Wicca is an interesting religion that a lot of people don't take as for what it is, thinking they're worshipping the devil or something, so I'm always interested to see how it's portrayed in the book. And there are many places this could of gone, but it was too short.

At the end, the last scene, I felt that it should of been the climax of the book. And I'm all for cheesy things, I love cheesy things, this was not cheesy. It was just overused. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, though, it wasn't word shaking or anything, but it held my attention. I may even read more books in the series, but I won't be reading all of them, there is a lot.

Overall, it was okay. "Okay" and "interesting" seem to be the only adjective that come to mind for this book, it wasn't bad, but it just wasn't great. So if you like witch-y stuff and don't mind fainting and some awkward scenes that just seem weird or out of place, then you might find it entertaining, too. The mythology of the witches is interesting and I'd like to learn more about it, but it's just one of the redeeming qualities I found.

I don't enjoy posting reviews when I didn't like the book, I want to like books I read, I want to love them, but I'm going to try and continue this series, so I thought I'd get my thoughts out and organized about this one. Maybe the rest in the series get better, here's to hoping. Have you read this book or series? Did you love it? Think it was okay? Or even hate it? I'm curious. (It has an overall ratings on Goodreads of about 4/5 stars, so I want to know why people liked it so much.)