[Short Story Review] The Witch of Duva by Leigh Bardugo

The Witch of Duva
The Grisha #0.5
Leigh Bardugo
June 5th 2012
Tor
32 pages

Amazon (free)

 There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls… or so the story goes. But it’s just possible that the danger may be a little bit closer to home. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo’s debut novel, Shadow and Bone.

I've been reading a lot of short stories lately. It seems like with the e-book, the novella and the short story are easier to publish. I don't remember nearly as many existing beforehand. Sure, there was the odd paranormal romance anthology that you needed to pick up in order to get a delicious snippet of your favorite characters. Now, like game add-ons, this seems to be the norm. Not that I'm complaining, some of these shorts have introduced me to new authors and series. Some have cemented my love of an author. Which would be the case with Leigh Bardugo.

This is another freebie short, released by Tor. Don't worry. It doesn't have any characters from the novels. It doesn't spoil the novels. In fact, it's a thing all it's own. A folk story told in a fantasy land? One that isn't just foretelling of the plot? That was refreshing. Usually fantasy novels tell folk tales and then the characters encounter whatever the story was about. This is just a story that the book NPC's might tell their children.

It had all the elements of a really good, disturbing folk-tale. It has some Hansel and Gretel elements but deviates far away from Grimm. The climax, in particular was nightmare fuel and particularly surprising. Honestly, I shouldn't have been as shocked. Fairy tales are usually dark and twisted.

[ARC Review] The Portal by S.E Gilchrist

The Portal
S. E. Gilchrist
March 1st, 2013
Escape Publishing
31 pages

 Amazon/B&N

Arc provided by Escape Publishing via Netgalley.

 When Janni, a young salvager, boards a space wreck, she is caught for daring to steal Darkon tech by a patroller and the one man she had thought never to see again. Several months ago she had allowed him to slip past her defences for a brief and wonderful interlude. But with both of them on either sides of the law, they had walked away. Now they are trapped on a wreck and with an alien life-force hunting them. Will the patroller save her or abandon Janni to her fate?

This was a short story. Thirty-one pages short. I guess it is set in a world that is already established but does not take place in any series. Through research, and not through the prose, I have discovered that while there are humans, there is also a compatible, alien species. This makes the plot a little more understandable.

The story takes place both in real time and six months prior. In real time there is some Firefly-esque looting to be had, a cop, and a monster. In the past, the cop and the main character are smitten by eachother's genitals and a tub full of fancy water. Neither story climaxes. Danger and foreplay are cut off abruptly. There was plenty more to be said.

[Short Story Review] Legacy Lost by Anna Banks

Legacy Lost
Of Poseidon #0.5
Anna Banks
May 22nd 2012
Tom Doherty Associates
32 pages

 Amazon (Free)

He is a mer-prince, she is the mermaid princess that his family orders him to marry so that their kingdoms unite. Grom dreads this arrangement, until he meets Nalia — both beautiful and smart, she's everything he ever wanted. But just when their connection grows deeper, tragedy strikes.

I've not yet read Of Poseidon. I don't know the characters. I'm assuming this is someone's tragic back-story. I downloaded this as part of the Fierce Reads anthology, looking to delve into the Grisha story within.

This story is so-so. The characters are interesting in their own right. The setting is interesting. I love to see what authors do with the mer-people mythos. There are so few books covering this that they are all different.

This prequel covers the romance between two young mer-people. Arranged to be mated, they are originally against it, growing to love each other through the course of the story. The ending was surprising, unexpected. I wonder if it would be that way had I read Of Poseidon first?

While I liked the author's writing style, the world building and the characters, I can't help but be set off by the blurb for the first book. Curiosity may get the better of me and I may pick it up.

[ARC Review] Bite Me Your Grace by Brooklyn Ann

Bite Me Your Grace

Brooklyn Ann 

April 2, 2013

Sourcebooks Casablanca

ARC courtesy of Sourcebooks Casablanca via Netgalley                                                      

Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

London's Lord Vampire Has Problems
Dr. John Polidori's tale "The Vampyre" burst upon the Regency scene along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein after that notorious weekend spent writing ghost stories with Lord Byron.
A vampire crazy broke out instantly in the haut ton.
Now Ian Ashton, the Lord Vampire of London, has to attend tedious balls, linger in front of mirrors, and eat lots of garlic in an attempt to quell the gossip.
If that weren't annoying enough, his neighbor, Angelica Winthrop has literary aspirations of her own and is sneaking into his house at night just to see what she can find.
Hungry, tired, and fed up, Ian is in no mood to humor his beautiful intruder...

Let me start by saying that I love historical romance and I love paranormal romance so when I read the synopsis for this book and saw that it combined both my loves I knew this was the book for me.  This book has vampires, strong female heroine, and of course steamy romance.  If you are like me what's not to love about this book.  I have to say that I really liked Bite Me Your Grace.  It was kind of cheesy but in a good way kind of like Dracula Dead and Loving It.  I found my smiling at some of the silly antics and swooning at others. 

Angelica is a granddaughter of an Earl and as such she is expected to marry in her station.  Angelica wants to write Gothic horror stories like her idol Mary Shelly.  That is just so gouache of a woman in her station, who ever heard of a free thinking woman.  A woman that wants to break the chains of society.  One day she breaks into her neighbor's house and Lord of Vampires and a Duke Ian catches her.  Thinking she is a thief he bites her.  Now Ian has a problem all of London already gossips that he is vampire and now his neighbor knows the truth.  Since she is compromised he agrees to marry her. 

Again I liked this book and some of Angelica's schemes to embarrass her finance made me smile and some laugh out loud.  This book was funny at time, full of heart, and yes a little cheesy.  I liked that Ian and Angelica were able to put their pride aside and realize that they love each other.  There were times when I wanted to knock their heads together because they were so hard headed and being stupid.  I don't know if this was supposed to be funny but the way word vampire and her love were so dramatic and silly that it made it laugh on more than one occasion. 

In conclusion, I ended up really liking Bite Me Your Grace and stayed up late to finish it.  I recommend to fans of historical romance and paranormal romance.  This book looked like it was being set up for a series so I look forward to more tales of Ian's vampire friends.  I give this book four very solid laser pistols.

[Review] Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

 Shadow and Bone
The Grisha #1
Leigh Bardugo
June 5th, 2012
Henry Holt and Co.
358 pages

Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

 The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unraveling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

Every so often, a book comes along that feels like an old friend. The narration sucked me in and kept me there in a warm cocoon of adventure, romance and magic. When I finally emerged from it's grasp, I felt cold an lonely. It was the epitome of a book high.

The book was both standard and surprising at the same time. It wove a familiar fantasy world and tinged it with gems and other adornments that set it apart.

I couldn't put it down. From the very beginning I was hooked. The romance is sound. It follows dear friends through the hurt of betrayal, and the subsequent rediscovering of each other. The romance and friendship is at the epicenter of the plot, always there, always relevant, yet somehow neither overbearing nor annoying.

The discovery of Alina's powers, of how she comes into them as with the rest of the mythology and world-building, was expertly crafted. It was unique without being overdone.

The story itself had a few shocks, and as wrapped up as I was in it, I became angry at one point. It's refreshing to have the plot turn on you, to go directions you didn't expect. Especially when you think you know what is going to happen, even if it takes a turn towards the worst.

A truly fantastic tale. I know that the second book comes out in a few months, and I'll be eager to get my hands on it.

[Review] Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

 Mila 2.0
MILA 2.0 #1
Debra Driza
March 12, 2013
Katherine Tegan Books
480 pages

Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

 Mila 2.0 is the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence.

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past—that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

Mila 2.0 is Debra Driza’s bold debut and the first book in a Bourne Identity-style trilogy that combines heart-pounding action with a riveting exploration of what it really means to be human. Fans of I Am Number Four will love Mila for who she is and what she longs to be—and a cliffhanger ending will leave them breathlessly awaiting the sequel.

The first  chunk of this book didn't have me sold. It seemed one of those general young adult novels where the heroine has some weird innards or super powers or magic and she's just trying to get along. They have to overcome the overbearing parent, the 'Plastics' and ultimately get the hot guy. Yep, that pretty much sums up the first part of the book.

Then things go crazy. This coming of age story turns into a huge action novel that refuses to let up. It does a complete 180. As someone who feels obligated to at least give a book a fighting chance instead of stopping immediately after I get bored, this one paid off.

The ethical points are made, the character struggles to be human despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. She never loses herself.

Literary escapism at it's finest. I love being able to forget about the real world for some time. This book was honestly a lot of fun. I'm giving it a solid 4.5. It's not perfect, but it makes up for its flaws.

[Animorphs Reread] The Visitor by K.A. Applegate

The Visitor
Animorphs #2
K.A. Applegate
June 1st, 1996
175 pages
Schoolastic Paperbacks

Amazon

Morphing is certainly more fun than Sega -- you can soar as an eagle and walk as a cat. But being an ANIMORPH is by no means just fun and games. Rachel knew better than anyone. One of her best friends, Melissa, is acting very strange. And it looks like Melissa's dad, who is also the school's Assistant Principal, may be connected to evil aliens. Rachel can't tell Melissa what the ANIMORPHS have learned, but Melissa doesn't seem interested in talking to Rachel these days anyway. Could Melissa be one of "them?"

With the help of Jake, Cassie, Tobias and Marco, Rachel plans to enter her friend's house as a cat, intent on unlocking the secrets from within. If only Rachel could keep her mind off mice...

This was the first Animorph book I picked up as a kid. Well, technically, my Grandma had picked up the first three for me to read on a drive from Illinois to Minnesota. This was the first one I picked out of the pile. Why? The main character has my name, and there's a cat on the cover. As a preteen, I was fascinated by cats and horses, probably because I had neither.

Rachel was my first foray into the world of the Animorphs. Everything she said made far more sense when I went back and read the first book. But, I didn't care about people turning into lizards (they had released a small booklet with that chapter of the book as a teaser before the books came out), so, on with the cats.

This book, they're not fighting a full scale battle. There's an escalated skirmish at the end, but mostly it's just the kids sneaking into the house of their assistant principal in order to figure out what sort of plans the alien slug in his brain have. The assistant principal's kid also happens to be one of their friends, so there are ulterior motives abound.

The kid's are still finding themselves, learning what cements them into fighting this war. For Rachel, it's the little people affected, who's families are torn apart when an alien slug stops their parents or children from loving them.

Overall, it's not my favorite. I know there are other books in which the action is more intense, in which the plot is more nail-biting. This one was just so-so. In a series this large, not all of them can be winners.