Dark Jenny: By Alex Bledsoe

DARK JENNY

SUMMARY

Alex Bledsoe’s novels featuring detective Eddie LaCrosse have drawn rave reviews for their ingenious blend of classic fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. Now with Dark Jenny, Bledsoe returns with an all-new tale of intrigue and murder. . . .

For twenty-five gold pieces a day, plus expenses, Eddie LaCrosse will take on most any case. But the unexpected delivery of a coffin in the dead of winter forces LaCrosse to look back at a bygone chapter in his past—and the premeditated murder of a dream.

Ruled by the noble King Marcus Drake, the island kingdom of Grand Braun is an oasis of peace and justice in an imperfect world. At least until the beautiful Queen Jennifer is accused of adultery and murder. In the wrong castle at the wrong time, Eddie finds himself drafted at sword’s point to solve the mystery. With time running out, and powerful nobles all too eager to pin the murder on Eddie himself, he must untangle a tangled web of palace intrigues, buried secrets, and bewitching women—before the entire kingdom erupts into civil war.

REVIEW

Part of the reason I love Eddie LaCrosse so much is the easy nature of the writing. You feel like your listing to a close friend (who also happens to be a great story teller and sarcastic) tell a story while sitting in a pub, instead of reading about it while safe in your room.

In Dark Jenny Bledsoe does a fantastic job bringing a different spin on the Arthurian legend. Readers will love reading this darker spin as well as the mystery element. But most of all readers will love the characters (especially Eddie.

Eddie is charismatic, fun, and smart, but most of all he is just plain engaging. He makes the story fun and different, and between that, the unique spin on King Arthur, and the fast pace of the novel Dark Jenny is a great book readers will love.

RATING

8.5 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Tor Books

Publishing: March 29, 2011

Price: $14.99

The Iron Thorn: By Caitlin Kittredge

THE IRON THORN

SUMMARY

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.
Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

REVIEW

I have mixed feelings on The Iron Thorn.

It had everything I usually like. The heroine, Aoife, is both strong and full of character. The other characters are interesting and diverse. The plot is full of both action and magic. And Kittredge does a fantastic job piecing together a larger story that is both complex and exciting. And yet I had trouble getting into the book.

I don’t know if it happened to be the time I read it or something, but I just couldn’t get into The Iron Thorn. It had almost all the attributes of books I love but I just never connected. Because of this, and the fact that I think it could be a great book and other might love it, I’m giving it a medium review, but all in all I wished I liked it more.

RATING

7.5 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Published: February 22, 2011

Price: $17.99

The Dragon's Path: By Daniel Abraham

THE DRAGON'S PATH

SUMMARY

All paths lead to war...

Marcus' hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody's death. When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps.

Cithrin is an orphan, ward of a banking house. Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gold from both sides. She knows the secret life of commerce like a second language, but the strategies of trade will not defend her from swords.

Geder, sole scion of a noble house, has more interest in philosophy than in swordplay. A poor excuse for a soldier, he is a pawn in these games. No one can predict what he will become.

Falling pebbles can start a landslide. A spat between the Free Cities and the Severed Throne is spiraling out of control. A new player rises from the depths of history, fanning the flames that will sweep the entire region onto The Dragon's Path-the path to war.

REVIEW

Besides having a great name, The Dragon’s Path also is a truly fantastic book. It has an intricate plot, is full of both humor and action, is captivating, and is just plain well written.

Of course, my favorite thing about The Dragon’s Path were the characters. They were appealing, robust, and both hilarious and steadfast (at different times.) My personal favorite characters were Marcus Wester, Yardem, and Master Kit. Besides having personal histories that I’m sure could each fill their own book, they and their dialog were fantastically written. I actually laughed out loud at points when reading dialog between Yardem and Marcus.

What I didn’t love about The Dragon’s Path was its world building. I felt like Abraham created a fascinating world with imaginative peoples and a diverse history, and yet I feel like I barely got any taste of that at all. I wanted more about the people and their world, and I felt like it was glossed over in the beginning and that was supposed to be the entire description. Of course an example of how in depth and riveting Abraham could have made the world building can be seen in his money and banking system. Abraham creates a complex (and integral) banking system that helps establish the credibility of Cithrin’s world, and it’s obvious from the care and details he includes in this that he can build a spellbinding world, yet for some reason it seems to be rest of the details surrounding the different races and their characteristics were cut out.

That said, I think there’s plenty of time for history of the world, and possibly more information on the world to come out in the next books in the series. The characters are well written, the dialog interesting, the plot intricate and interesting, and the book as a whole well put together and utterly engrossing. Because of this I would highly recommend The Dragon’s Path to anyone looking for a good read (especially one in fantasy), and personally can’t wait for both the next book in the series, as well as Abraham’s next book Leviathan Wakes.

RATING

9 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Orbit

Published: April 7, 2011

Price: $14.99

Red Glove: By Holly Black

RED GLOVE

SUMMARY

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.

REVIEW

I’ve been a fan of Holly Black for years but when she came out with White Cat last year I was stunned with how good it was. Needless to say I've been eagerly anticipating the release of its sequel Red Glove.

Now that I’ve read it I can honestly say that while different from White Cat, it was just as fantastic. Red Glove takes place a few months after the events of White Cat, opening with Cassel with his mother in Atlantic City trying to forget Lila. Unlike White Cat which had multiple mystery elements that felt fast paced and adrenaline filled (especially at the end), Red Glove focused on one mystery element and more importantly the blowback from the events of White Cat.

Of course getting down to the breakdown of the novel, the characters, like White Cat, are terrific. They are engaging and, while I personally have not been involved with the mob or have been a curse worker (obviously), are highly relatable. We really get to see more of Lila and Daneca, but who I found most intriguing as a fuller character in Red Glove was Cassel’s mother. She really is fascinating and through the sub-story she sets the stage for what I think will be one of the main issues in the next books in the series.

Besides this, the plot s fantastic and unique, the story fast paced, and the book as a whole purely engrossing. While fans may be a little disappointed that it doesn’t have as much of the adrenaline pounding action and intricate mysteries that White Cat did, it is still a fantastic book, and I personally can’t wait to read the last in the series and see where Holly Black takes us.

RATING

9 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Published: April 5, 2011

Price: $17.99

Invincible: By Sherrilyn Kenyon

INVINCIBLE

SUMMARY

Nick Gautier’s day just keeps getting better and better. Yeah, he survived the zombie attacks, only to wake up and find himself enslaved to a world of shapeshifters and demons out to claim his soul.

His new principal thinks he’s even more of a hoodlum than the last one, his coach is trying to recruit him to things he can’t even mention and the girl he’s not seeing, but is, has secrets that terrify him.

But more than that, he’s being groomed by the darkest of powers and if he doesn’t learn how to raise the dead by the end of the week, he will become one of them...

REVIEW

What I loved about Infinity, the first book in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s new young adult series, is the action. Infinity contained non-stop action and intricate plot twists and mysteries. This, in my opinion, is what made Infinity such a fantastic read.

Of course Invincible, the second book in the series, does not contain even a tenth of the action Infinity held. Instead Invincible slows down the Chronicles of Nick story and focuses on the mysteries and motives behind each of the warring parties over Nick’s future. To me this was interesting and certainly grabbed my attention, but I would have liked to have gotten just a little bit more action, instead of just the final sequence at the end.

Also while I found the scenes from Nick’s possible future interesting, I found myself wanted to know more about the other characters. Kenyon threw so many characters with different motives into the first book that she has to sort them out at some point in time, she only barely begins the process in Invincible. Really besides the lack of action what I felt Invincible lacked were the comical and enticing side characters (Bubba, Simi, Acheron, Kyrian) that really made Infinity more robust.

All in all Invincible was not as good as it’s predecessor but it is far from bad. Instead it had the unfortunate task of being written after a fantastic action packed installment in a great series. And while I was disappointed with certain aspects I would easily recommend this book to fellow readers and personally plan to read the next installment in the series, Infamous, next year.

RATING

8 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Published: March 22, 2011

Price: $17.99

Small as an Elephant: By Jennifer Richard Jacobson

SMALL AS AN ELEPHANT

SUMMARY

Ever since Jack can remember, his mom has been unpredictable, sometimes loving and fun, other times caught in a whirlwind of energy and "spinning" wildly until it's over. But Jack never thought his mom would take off during the night and leave him at a campground in Acadia National Park, with no way to reach her and barely enough money for food. Any other kid would report his mom gone, but Jack knows by now that he needs to figure things out for himself - starting with how to get from the backwoods of Maine to his home in Boston before Social Services catches on. With nothing but a small toy elephant to keep him company, Jack begins the long journey south, a journey that will test his wits and his loyalties - and his trust that he may be part of a larger herd after all.

REVIEW

Small as an Elephant had me hooked from page one. The story was both riveting and touching, the characters (especially the protagonist Jack) were interesting and realistic, and the pace fast moving.

Of course for me what was most impressive about Small as an Elephant was the level of writing Jacobson exhibits. She is obviously a talented storyteller, but the connection she creates between Jack and the reader really goes above and beyond. Readers will commiserate with Jack and his situation, and find themselves overwhelmed by Jack’s futile thoughts of living with his mother again, and will tear up with the books touching and fantastic ending. Really it is this level of writing and connection to Jack that brings Small as an Elephant from a good book to a must read.

All in all Small as an Elephant is a fantastic book. While it is short, readers will thoroughly enjoy the book. Jack is endearing and relatable, the premise is unique, and the level of writing is superb. Defiantly worth the purchase.

RATING

9 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Published: March 8, 2011

Price: $15.99

Wither: By Lauren DeStefano

WITHER

SUMMARY

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

REVIEW

Wither is an interesting combination of a dystopian future novel, where each generation dies at a young age (girls at 20, boys at 25), and a forlorn love story. Of course when I say forlorn love story do not get the impression this is a sappy romance novel where after one viewing each person of the couple is completely and madly in love, but are forced to live desolate and meaningless lives until they are reunited. Instead think of it as a dystopian future storyline, in which, like most YA novels, the author, DeStefano, uses the love plot point to move the story along. Besides this, Destefano spends the majority of the book focusing on freedom, happiness, and the shades between wrong and right that color much of the world.

The story starts off with the protagonist Rhine already captured and being sold into relative slavery, as a bride to a wealthy doctors son. From this point on I couldn’t put the book down. Destefano does a fantastic job creating a well written fast paced novel that captivated me, and I’m sure would engage many other readers as well.

Of course while I was impressed with the pace and level of writing, what I found most impressive about Wither were the characters. DeStefano does a fantastic job of walking the line between good and bad, love and hate, and growth and destruction. DeStefano does this by not only depicting characters in a pure victim’s sense, but by painting the moral ambiguities in each of their actions. Yes it is wrong for Vaughn (the doctor who buys Rhine) to buy these girls and place them in slavery (don’t worry you find this out in the beginning, this isn’t a spoiler), but at the same time he is trying to save the human race from extinction. This coupled with different perspectives on the situations the characters are in, (between Cecily (a positively annoying yet important character because of her perspective), Jenna, and Linden (in my opinion a truly fascinating and underrated character)), creates a colorful and intriguing picture that helps shape the book into the spellbinding novel that it is.

All in all while I don’t know exactly how DeStefano plans to make this into a trilogy, I very much enjoyed Wither. And because of it’s moral ambiguity, characters, and engaging writing I look forward to later books in the series.

RATING

9 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Published: March 22, 2011

Price: $17.99