Review of Cracked (AKA new favorite book of 2014) by Eliza Crewe

 Cracked by Eliza Crewe

Received: bought
Rating: 5 ENTIRELY DESERVED AND BRIGHT STARS 
Genres & themes: YA, demons, action, humour, fantasy, friendship, family, ghosts, urban fantasy.

BLURB:

Meet Meda. She eats people.Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

REVIEW:

I’m going to be VERY honest with you guys:

I want to eat this book. Nom nom.

I want to devour every word and every chapter slowly and taste its flavours because, if it’s as amazing as the reading was, it may be even better than pizza. Or sushi. Or ice cream… Nom nom.

Yes, believe it or not, it’s the truth.

Cracked is the most entertaining book I’ve read so far in 2014. Even funnier than Rebel Belle which I didn’t think possible because that book is so much fun!

Cracked is the kind of book you don’t want to let go because there is always something interesting and surprising in it and it has a hold on you. There were so many things I was hoping to do yesterday, such as watching Once Upon A Time, Hit The Floor or clean dishes. Oh, and I was looking forward to seeing this movie called How to Train Your Dragon 2 at the cinema. But no, Eliza Crewe had to write a fantastic novel to keep me off doing all those enjoyable things I planned to. Did you hear that? It’s called being sarcastic. I’m warning you, if you want to read this book and like it (or love it!), you better get used to it. *winks*

Meda, can I kiss you? Maybe shouldn’t have said that publicly, sigh. I feel so connected to that character. It’s not because I have the same personality as her, no, but mostly because she’s so… real. She is honest with us readers even if, yeah, sometimes you may thing she isn’t. Again, she’s really sarcastic. And I loved that so much about her. It’s pretty rare that I actually laugh out loud while reading a book but Cracked simply succeeded to make me giggle and smile and bite my nails because, yes, it is not only rainbows and sunshine. Let's not forget that there are demons envolved so don't expect this to be to die for funny.

The story, wow. The story is unpredictable and, again, WOW. When I started reading this book, I was expecting it to be good because of the rave reviews and the hype, but I’m always a bit suspicious when I see a lot of 5 stars. I’m not the kind to give 5 stars all the time and very easily so I’m as surprised as maybe you are. There are so many twists and, yes, secrets but it was actually interesting and I always wondered if the characters would or not discover the truth. Either way, I was excited and couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next!

There is some romance but not in fact including the main character a lot. My GR friends know that I could read a book only if there is a little romance in it. In Cracked, there was some indeed and just the perfect amount to keep me hooked. Plus, I just love love/hate relationships. Don’t you?

I love/adore this book so much that (yes I know I already have it in digital copy duh but…) I ordered Cracked in paperback so I could eat it…I mean…read it, of course.

Highly recommended series.

 

Review of Fire by Kristin Cashore

 Fire by Kristin Cashore

Rating: 2 stars (4.11 on Goodreads)
Genres & themes: Young Adult, fantasy, adventure, family, friendship, magic.
Received: borrowed

Synopsis:

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.

Review:

Yes, 2 stars (one star for ''I didn't like it'' and another star because it was truly well-written.)

First of all, you shall know that I really really enjoyed the first book in this series, Graceling. I adored it actually. I thought I was discovering another great author knowing how to write great fantasy/adventure books.

Kristin Cashore got on my nerves.

She played with them.
She played with me.
She played with my emotions.

Ok, first of all, we have a dark and intense prologue of 16 pages. The number of pages is not important but sure is a lot more than usual books I read. So, in that prologue, we meet two characters, one of them being a boy who really got my attention. Leck (not called like that at that moment.) Anyway, so Leck is able to control minds as Fire. I thought ''oh my my, what a great love story that'll make. They'll meet and fall in love with each other because probably they won't be able to control each others minds and they'll be relieved.''

Like hell.

I don't even know if they finally met. (Ok, I do because I read some last pages but, while I was reading, I did not know.)  All I know is that I wanted Fire and Leck to meet and fall in love. Because duh, doesn't Leck redeeming himelf, because of Fire, seem exciting? For me, it did. But, that's not what happened.

Oh la la, I just have so much anger in me right now. Must say that it sure doesn't happen often because of a book. At least, it'll be a memorable one for a special reason. *Sigh.*

I didn't have a direct problem with Fire. She was nice enough, for a fantasy/adventure book MC. I liked when she got all angry and on defense but she mostly was calm and one-dimensional, as many other characters. I didn't know that much about her. I knew things only when the narrator told us memories of her and her father (which is a badass!) Shame shame shame because she could've been such an interesting character.

Damn.

Fire and Archer have a ''relation'' at the beginning of the story of what I understand. But, seriously, I have no idea what kind of relation it was. It was much of:

''Would you marry me, Fire, if I slept in no one's bed but yours?''
He knew the answer to that, but it didn't hurt to remind him. ''No, and I should find my bed quite cramped.''

Oooook.

Also, in this book, there was a war setting. I hate war settings. I don't like when a book gets that serious. The only books I tolerated (and REALLY enjoyed) with war settings were Captive Prince: Volume One and Captive Prince: Volume Two and probably Captive Prince: Volume Three, but it hasn't been realeased yet so I haven't read it. I must admit that I'm a bit scared I won't love Days of Blood & Starlight, because of that.

The writing was splendid (due the 2rd star as I said.) I wansn't expecting and I didn't get less. The pacing was SLOW. So SLOW. Not much was actually hapenning up to where I got (and DNFed.) That's kind of why I DNFed this book (along with the fact that Fire and Leck weren't already a couple as I was hoping for.) The author created a good world building with many descriptions. In one page, there was usually 1 small (very small) dialogue and the rest were descriptions. A lot of them. Most were boring.

I bet this book would've been so much better and I may've liked it more if it was directed to adults. More interesting, exciting and yes, some sex scenes would've been welcomed as in my opinion. 

That's it. I could say more, but I feel calmer now.


Recommendation:
 
Technically, I wouldn't recommend this companion novel. I didn't like it and I wouldn't probably read Bitterblue. Maybe I'll finish this book if I ever feel like to but that could also never happen and I won't be sad. Yes, technically I wouldn't recommend this book but, since I saw that I'm in the minority here, why would you not read it because of what I said about it? Maybe what I was expecting isn't what you want in a fantasy/adventure book. So, go ahead, see for yourself. Maybe you're going to really like it. 

                                   

{Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway} of Path Unchosen by Kim Cleary

Path Unchosen by Kim Cleary
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(Daughter of Ravenswood #1)
Publication date: September 7th 2013
GENRE: New Adult
THEME: Paranormal, Zombies, Dark Fantasy
RECEIVED: Tour

BLURB:

When eighteen-year-old Judy Hudson discovers she’s a necromancer and sees first-hand the pain her powers can cause the dead, she just wants to deny who she is. The zombie plague is long over. She wants to find a more normal life, but that's a challenge when a beautiful otherworldly man, who claims to be her guardian, saves her life. Judy tries to set right the harm she inflicted on a spirit she raised, but new zombies attack—zombies raised from among the long-time dead. Someone else just like her is out there, and he's not trying to set anything right. To save her own life, and protect the innocent inhabitants of the nearby town who’ve become her friends, Judy has to figure out who’s raising the dead and why. She must also learn to control the darkness inside her—a seductive darkness that promises her power beyond her wildest dreams.

REVIEW:
I’m a fan of gothic tales and stories that carry a little edge and darkness, as well as seriously creep me out at the same time. Cleary did a fantastic job doing just this, creating an eerie tone with a unique plot that introduced a young woman who is living in a post zombie apocalypse world. I also liked the idea of a necromancer especially from the Anita Blake series, so I really wanted to try out another story with a focus on that ability.

Path Unchosen follows Judy, who has never really fit in at the Orphanage where she grew up. One of the fathers had found her and brought her in but the sisters constantly treated her terribly. She is eventually abandoned exactly where she was found, but a mysterious man is waiting for her and guides her on a new path. She’s a witch and finally has a direction in her life. When she discovers that there is someone else like her causing trouble, she jumps in to help the innocent in a town before its too late.

Judy is a character that has a lot to learn about herself and her ability to summon the dead. I was always curious about her past and wished the beginning had a little bit more detail about what more had happened at the orphanage. I was confused about her age, being 18 because she had a much more youthful immature persona. Judy isn’t a character I could connect too, but I was still curious on her growth and magic. She also has two love interests, Purah and Glynn, but neither really grew on me and they felt almost too mature for Judy. I’m rooting for the next book to capture the romance a bit more and hopefully get some more details on the guys so that I can connect to them.

Overall this was a really intriguing story, the concept was clever with necromancers existing during the time of a post zombie apocalypse. My only issue was the pace; it was slow at the beginning and would of like more details to be added so it didn’t feel drawn out. Another instance was when the reader’s meet Purah, everything felt rushed and moved from once place to the next, so I felt confused. I feel if there is a solid setting then everything would come together and the readers can concentrate on the characters developing.

This was a good start and definitely has a lot of potential. I look forward to some more character development, the interesting magic, the great secondary characters and Judy discovering more about herself.

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AUTHOR BIO
Kim writes urban fantasy for anyone who longs to discover they are extraordinary. She writes about hopefulness and determination, and about heroes who push through extraordinary situations and obstacles, one step at a time. Magical friends and gorgeous guys help, or hinder, in one adventure after another.

When not writing, revising, or thinking about writing, Kim gardens, plays with her dog, chats on social media, catches up with friends or cooks an Indian feast. She is a member of Writers Victoria, Romance Writers of Australia, The Alliance of Independent Authors, and a certified chocoholic.

Kim grew up in Birmingham, UK, studied medieval history and psychology at Adelaide University in South Australia and has worked all over Australia and in London. She now lives with her husband and an adorable Cocker Spaniel in Melbourne, Australia.

Links:
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