Darkness Falls- A.E. Faulkner ♥♥♥♥

Darkness Falls- A.E. Faulkner
330 pages

The entire concept of this book is fascinating to me. What if nature gets tired of us and fights back? I think it rings even more true because I can see it happening, albeit to a lesser extent, in real life too. I was pulled in for the concept but stayed for the characters.

Everything is through Quinn’s perspective. I think she's a reliable narrator, and the way she processes all the story's emotions and the situations they find themselves in feels relatable. My only real complaint about her is she reads as older than 16. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I had to keep reminding myself that she isn’t in her early twenties.

I had a few issues with some of the side characters, but it wasn’t so much the writing of them but their personalities in general. Which made them seem more realistic. Rarely do we find all people around us pleasant to be around all the time. I think it adds more depth to the story that I was annoyed with them.

I think the only character I have a true issue with is Jasmine. The drastic portrayal of her flips on its head almost fast enough to give me whiplash. I understand what the goal was, but I felt like it was too sudden to be easily believed. I don’t want to veer into spoiler territory, so forgive the vagueness, but even the reasons given for all stages just don’t vibe with me very well. Her entire dynamic felt forced.

I have some issues with how one of the major plot points is playing out. I feel like not enough of it was resolved to end the book. There can be elements that arch through an entire series, I’m good with that, but it felt like too much was left open-ended. When I finished the book, it just didn’t feel… complete. This only becomes a concern for me because it makes me worry I will invest a lot of time and energy and emotions into these characters only to have the end of the series as a whole leave too much unsaid or undone. So, color me concerned.

Overall, I liked it. I think it’s a good read! I plan to read the rest of the series sometime this year, and I really hope there is a solid and comfortable ending. Doesn’t have to be a happy ending, necessarily, but I want to feel like I’m ok with walking away. However, I want to mention… while the majority of the book is well-written, one thing that really threw me off was the dialogue. Sometimes two people would talk in the same paragraph. A few times, I had to go back and look at it again to make sure I knew who was talking. I did get used to it by the end of the book, but it was a little grating.

Rating ♥♥♥♥

Elly Blake- Frostblood ♥♥♥♥

Elly Blake- Frostblood
371 pages

I was really torn about how to rate this one. I went back and forth between four and five. I settled on four because, to me, for a book to get a five-star rating, there should be no doubt; it's just that good. 

The pace of this book was too steady. The fight scenes didn't carry urgency, and the reprieve scenes didn't have a slow stillness to them. It was fast enough that I wanted more, but not fast enough to need the more right now. The emotions, though... Those were there in spades. The pain and longing, the sadness and lonely. The joy and the hope, the love and grace. The emotions were gut-wrenchingly well written. I've never encountered a story before that had problems with pacing but still packed an emotional punch. 

The last quarter of the book had much better pacing AND the it-hurts-so-good emotions. That was the only part of the book I really didn't think I could put down. I did really like it, though. I loved the world Blake created. The lore was fascinating, but a touch confusing at times. The was another book I was able to pull out the twist before it happened (sort of). I had it mostly right, so I was only half surprised. However, the way it was set up was really fantastic. There were enough crumbs for me to focus on and string together, but not enough to ruin the ending. 

Ruby is a very intriguing character. She went through a lot of growth during the course of the book, but it feels like she has a long way to go still. She has a few traits that annoyed me, but I feel like that's the sign of a strong, realistic, and relatable character. Arcus is equally compelling. I am a little weary when it comes to the strong, silent, haunted thing in main characters. I don't think it's going away anytime soon, though. 

The actual story was compelling, and it left a lot of questions swirling in my head. I don't want to say too much and spoil anything, so I'll just say this: Diving into the lore and untangling the threads will be fun. I really hope there is an opportunity to do that in the second book. 

Rating:
♥♥♥♥

The Weight of Blood- ♥♥♥♥

David Dalglish- The Weight of Blood

170 pages

I’m a little torn with this book. I discovered a different series by Dalglish by chance at the library. I fell in love with it immediately. The Shadowdance series has stuck with me since the first book. I’m talking deep down, can’t stop thinking about it, obsession kind of stuck with me. I found out the Half-Orcs was in the same world, and I just had to get my hands on all of them. From what I understand from various author’s notes, the Half-Orcs series was written first, and Shadowdance was created as a backstory. This is where being torn comes in…

I did like the book. Enough to give it four stars even. The tone just felt so foreign. In his author note Dalglish talks about the book taking a much darker tone than was anticipated, but that wasn’t even the issue for me. Dark books, movies, songs, etc, are my comfort zone. This just felt… rushed. It felt like there wasn’t as much description as I was used to from him, and it felt like we were being dragged along without getting much time to look around. I’m hoping as this series progresses things will fall into a more familiar rhythm. I think Shadowdance just set such a high standard in my mind for all of his writings.

Now, the negatives are out of the way. Seeing more of Drezel was much needed for me. There are a lot of complexities to this world that I was only beginning to understand at the end of Shadowdance. More of the gods’ backstory is revealed, and the ways of magic shown even more in depth.

The main characters are fascinatingly contradictory. Seeing how their bond grows, changes, or collapses will be interesting. Harruq’s growth is what interests me most though. It feels like his character will be the more dynamic of the two, and while I want to like Qurrah… I just can’t. I hope that will change, the brothers seem to rely on each other in so many ways. We’ll see.

The storyline was a little discombobulated. Things moved so fast, and connections were made and ran by so frequently, some of the threads were a touch hard to grasp at first. I think a lot of it was because the book was so short. With only 170 pages to weave something so complex, it leaves the reader with a bit of whiplash. I checked, the next book is 321 pages. Things should only get better from here!

Overall, I liked the book. Stepping back and holding it as its own novel rather than trying to push it into the Shadowdance shaped hole I wanted it to go in helped a lot in coming to that conclusion. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of this series!

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

Undead and Done- ♥♥♥♥

MaryJanice Davidson- Undead and Done

285 pages

As much as I came to be annoyed with this series, I am sad to be done with it. It’s an odd feeling. This book got a lot closer to what I expected from this series. While there were still the annoyances from previous books, I could almost look past them. Betsy hit the mark on everything I expected of her; sarcasm, some avoidance, awesome secret intellect, and the best sense of humor. I still didn’t get to see as much of Tina as I wanted to, Marc was still more than fabulous, Jessica and Nick weren’t around as much, but that was ok, and Laura… was Laura.

The plot here was interesting, if a little old (it seems like most supernatural series do this one). It was a cool way to wrap up the series, but the ending didn’t really feel final (which bothered me). All the questions from the series beginning have been answered, but there are a few things I just want to know. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m too picky about my endings.

I did like it, I’m glad the series is over (it was definitely time), and I will miss it a bit.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!

Undead and Unforgiven- ♥♥♥♥

MaryJanice Davidson- Undead and Unforgiven

286 pages

This book felt so much better to me. There was still a lot of things I didn't like. The babies being a huge part of it. I mean no matter how you look at it, it makes no sense. I just can't be ok with it. Being close to Betsy doesn't have any impact on her pregnancy. Even in a made up world, with made up rules, that doesn't make any sense. I absolutely hate that ark. There is nothing about it I can be ok with, and honestly that is going to be a huge reason this can't get a five from me.

I fell in love with this series so fast, and that love was destroyed so quickly. I have some of that back now. A little. There is only one book left, so I don't think that love can be completely restored, but I don't hate it anymore. Betsy is still pretty awesome in my book. I absolutely love her personality. I love how bitchy she can be. I still think I'm more like Fred, but Betsy is still amazing.

After this book, I like Sinclair more. I still wish there was more of Tina. Marc is fabulous as always, and I'm happy for him. Jess and Nick (even after the speech, I just can't) weren't as prominent here, but it was a better balance.

The next book is the last, and I'm honestly pretty glad. I think it's time for the series to be done. While I love Betsy, this world has gone too far for me.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

Undead and Unwary- ♥♥♥♥

MaryJanice Davidson- Undead and Unwary

303 pages

I am less than enthusiastic about this series because I can’t help but to always go to the what if’s… There is so much more this series could have been. I try not to hold it against each book, but it’s hard. The series got ripped apart several books ago, and while I can see the good coming back, it’s hard to not think about what could have been.

Anyway… Betsy does more growing here. I’ve said it the last couple books, but it’s been true every time. She has been growing tremendously in recent books. It’s been good to see for the most part. All of her friends/roommates/family are changing too. Some of it was really good, some of it… not so much. This one has a lot to do with Hell, which was interesting.

The plot was kind of all over the place. It worked though, in a weird way. There are several that seem to compete for importance. I’m actually not used to that. It was a little strange, but it somehow worked. I still can’t bring myself to give it a five. There are still too many issues I have with the story, how it’s going, and what the next step looks like. While I did like it, I can’t seem to get back that sense of loving fondness I had for it in the beginning. Two books left. We’ll see how it goes.

Note: I’m not adding a detailed review of this one. I probably won’t of the next two either. I think I will end up writing one longer post encompassing the end of the series, and anything I hadn’t covered yet.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

Undead and Unsure- ♥♥♥♥

MaryJanice Davidson- Undead and Unsure

301 pages

It feels a lot like Davidson is trying to right the world she tilted (read: broken). I feel like this book is a step in the right direction. While there are still plenty of things I’m not happy about, they stemmed from other books. I can’t really hold them against this book. Betsy seems to make a lot more personal progress in this book, which I am really happy about. While this really isn’t a lighthearted series anymore, I feel like it is starting to regain its readability. Jess and Nick have more of a focus in this book, which was a long time coming. Tina seems to less and less relevant, which makes me sad. I like Sinclair a lot more after this one. I didn’t hate him before, but I didn’t really like him either. Marc is fabulous, as always.

The plots seem to be getting thinner and thinner, but it wasn’t bad. It took the overall storyline through logical paces. It was definitely needed, but it just wasn’t as exciting as some of the previous books. I think I am starting to lose interest in all of it. Maybe it will get better because the crazy is being reigned in, but we’ll see. Some crazy is good, it keeps things interesting, but this series has taken crazy to a whole other level. It got to the point of being obnoxious. There are still three books left, maybe the series can end on a high note!

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!

Fish Out of Water- ♥♥♥♥

MaryJanice Davidson- Fish Out ofWater

270 pages

As much as I like Fred (I’m still pretty positive I am her), this book just didn’t go as well as the others. The plot was ok, but it wasn’t anything I was super excited about. I liked seeing Fred’s dynamics with Jonas, Thomas, and Artur, but there just wasn’t enough depth to the storyline for me. Then the ending was disappointing, of the major plot not the whole book. Davidson has a habit of ending major arks in a page or two. Not all the time, but enough to make me sad. It makes even really good arks seem anti-climactic.

I’ll be sad to not see more of Fred, but I have hopes she will show up in a Betsy story (I’ve been under the impression Fred, Betsy, and Wyndham are all intertwined). Now, while I didn’t like how the major ark was resolved, I did like how the trilogy was wrapped up. The ending for everyone involved was near perfect for me. I was more than happy with the course everyone’s lives were set, and even if I don’t see Fred again, I am comfortable with how we left things!

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

Undead and Unpopular- ♥♥♥♥

MaryJaniceDavidson- Undead and Unpopular

252 pages

While this book still showcased Betsy’s sass, it didn’t carry the same lighthearted feeling. I felt like it lacked a solid plot line too. The main story ark felt like it should have been a subplot and not the main focus. Betsy seemed to take things a little more seriously, but not a whole lot. While I love the characters in this book, I just can’t give it five hearts.

Betsy has always been fun to read. Her sarcasm alone is enough to make me love her. She did spend a little too much time whining about life than trying to make the best of it though. With this book it feels like she took a step toward rectifying that. The other characters seemed to make little to no progress forward though, which was a little sad, but not a huge deal. There is still a lot of books that come after this, so there is plenty of room for more improvements.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

Graduation Day- ♥♥♥♥

Joelle Charbonneau- Graduation Day

391 pages

This one didn’t resonate as well as the previous two. It was still good, it was just missing something the other ones seemed to possess. One of my biggest complaints is lack of a solid conclusion. There are some answers, but not enough. Since this is the last book of the series, I shouldn’t feel like I waiting for another book. The intensity is there though.

Cia and Tomas go through a lot in this book. They have to make a lot of hard choices, and attempt to figure out who can be trusted. Some of their friends will surprise you (both good and bad). It seems like everything was moving along at a good pace. I wonder if the reason it doesn’t sit right with me is the ending. I’ve been wondering if Charbonneau created too many twists and surprises and wasn’t able to efficiently rein them in at the end.

Overall the series was really good and definitely worth the read. The flaws I found with this book, while annoying, wouldn’t cause me to reconsider recommending it.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!

Domination- ♥♥♥♥

Jon S. Lewis- Domination

277 pages

Domination fit well as the conclusion to this series. Its pace felt better to me than the other two, and its ending is satisfying. Sure it would be nice to hear more from CHAOS, but I'm ok with where we left things.

Colt really came into his own here. You really get to see him round out as a character. Even though he is still young, he really starts to decide who he is and what his values are.

Dani was still a little disappointing to me, but she was better in Domination. I would have been happier to see more character progression from her. It almost feels like she was most put to the side and forgotten about after the first book.

Oz was lack luster in this one. The changes and trials I was expecting just weren't there. It bothered me quite a bit, but I still like him as a character. I felt like more could have been done with him in this book.

The hardest thing to deal with in this book was the resolution of the major ark. There was an awful lot of buildup and then it just... ends. More time should have been put into that resolution.

All in all I like the book and the series, and I would be very happy if at some point another book was released!

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!

Alienation- ♥♥♥♥

Jon S. Lewis- Alienation

274 pages

Reading this book gave me some perspective on Invasion. I guess with Invasion I kept expecting to see other planets. That doesn't seem to be the goal of this series. This isn't about traveling around, it's about the impact those other places can have on Earth. I'm kind of disappointed, but the story is still good!

Alienation gives you a much broader understanding of CHAOS and their technology. Most of it was pretty interesting, some of it I couldn't understand. I don't really hold that against the book, more so against my understanding of STEM as a whole. It makes the world more appealing and definitely more dangerous.

I really like how Colt is developing as a person. He seems to be coming into his own and figuring out the kind of person he wants to be. He's starting to accept that some of the things done to him in childhood can't be changed now, and he's moving forward. This book was full of revelations for Colt, and it really pushed him to be better.

Danielle on the other hand... I'm not thrilled with her. She went from being this strong willed badass to practically cowering in the corner. Maybe the third book will change that. I really hope it does. While I understand having to give your characters flaws, they can't be perfect, that kind of personality change didn't really help move the story forward it just made me not like her so much (which is sad!).

Oz was just Oz. Throughout the course of the book he didn't really change much. It isn't a bad thing, he's kind of an awesome character. I would like to see him improve himself some in the next book, and I have a feeling he will go through the self-revelation process that Colt did in this book.

The plot was solid, though a few things didn't seem to add up. The third book might hold those answers (I'm still looking for some answers from the first book). The third book will be the last, and I feel like there is a lot of little mysteries that need to be cleared up. I wish there was a little more closure from this book, but I know why there wasn’t.

Rating

♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!

Invasion- ♥♥♥♥

Jon S. Lewis-Invasion

336 pages

This book has a lot of great aspects, but I felt like the story progression was a bit slow. There were several times it just felt like too much filler was happening. This kind of books often requires a lot of set up, world building, and explaining, and all of that stuff is good with me, but there were just a few too many lulls for my taste.

All of that aside, I like Colt. He is an interesting character with an interesting history. The little stuff that bothered me about him just go to strength him as a character. It makes him more realistic and more relatable. They are human flaws not writing flaws.

Dani is also a really great character. She felt the most authentic to me out of all the people in this book, she could be a main in her own right. Her sense of humor is pretty fantastic too. Colt and Dani balance each other so well, and their dynamic was definitely refreshing to read.

I didn't want to like Oz, but I did. He's kind of an ass, but in the best possible way. He is able to be overly silly and weird (in a good way!) then turn around and be serious and kind of badass. I did end up liking what he brought to the table.

The plot is a little... lacking. It doesn't feel like there was that big of an ark, and I don't feel like it was resolved enough. Even though it is part of a series, and there are more books to read, it seems like more should've been accomplished.

Overall, I liked the book and have high hopes for the second book!

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review, (including spoilers) click here!

Strike- ♥♥♥♥

D.J. MacHale- Strike

I have more thoughts on this books than the other two combined I think! Overall, this book is a lot better than the previous two. The writing, while still not great, is much better. There was a lot more showing instead of telling. I felt much more connected to the characters, and actually cared about what happened to them.

This is the final book, so you figure out what the goal of both sides is. I was close to guessing, but not quite on the mark. I feel like that will be the case for most people. The ending of the book is solid. Based on the course of the book I didn’t think I would be happy with how it ended, but I was. It fit it a really good way.

There are still some things that didn’t sit well with me. I don’t want to go too much into detail because of spoilers, but it mostly boiled down to the medicine they have. I just didn’t like it. They mention the medicine in other books, and you get to see even more of it here. It doesn’t ruin the book, it just feels wrong as you go along.

This book is getting an additional heart from me because this was the way the whole series should have been written. The intensity was much better, the characters were written better, it was just better.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!