This is the fifth book in Jennifer Estep's Spider Assassin series therefore
there are four others that you need to read before this book, Spider's Bite, Web of Lies, Venom and Tangled Threads.
Gin Blanco, also known as the retired assassin The Spider (though she is
really far from retired) has decided that it is time to make the one hit that
is really going to matter and change the lives of everyone living in Atlanta;
Killing Mab Monroe. Gin has been killing as The Spider for years, she know patience,
planning and the deadly arts needed to kill but for some reason killing Mab is
not quite going as planned. As more people that Gin loves are put in danger and
a price on Gin's baby sister Bria's head, Gin is going to have to work fast or
Gin is going to be on the wrong side of Mab's fire magic.
Honestly, this is the book that I have been waiting for in this series, this
is what the previous four books have been leading up to the fight between Mab
and The Spider and what a fight it is. The fight in this book is what I wanted
to happen in Ilona Andrews' novel Magic Breaks but that book never got there,
it was just more mind games. I like that Estep drew out the fight and showed
that even The Spider can have a bad day and does not always succeed; I like how
this tests Gin. I still love Gin as a character, and I found that Gin did grow
in this book with allowing more of her friends to actually help her as well as
her relationship with Owen. It is always nice to have an author that is able to
allow their main characters grow and change.
I wish that Estep was a little freer with having some of your favourite or
secondary characters die or get hurt. I find that you knowing (based upon all
the other books) that everyone is going to be okay takes away from the overall
suspense of the battle scenes and that Gin and her friends are involved in. I
thought that Estep was going to get there in this book, but she didn’t quite
make it there. I also find that Estep repeats herself in each book about how Gin
started as an assassin, her history/how she ended up with Fletcher and her ice
and stone magic, her preferred weapon ect. The only way you would not know
these things is if you have not read the previous 4 books, which I doubt since
not too many people start with the fifth book in the series. I wish that Estep
would fill these repeats (and I mean she does mention it more than once in the
book) with something of more substance, instead of filler in each chapter.
I do wonder where Estep will go from here as this would have been a good end
to the series but I think she is up to number 13 in this series and I really am
not sure there is that much story left here as Estep would have to create an
entirely new path for Gin and her friends. I know I will check out the next
book in the series just to see where Estep takes it from here and see if she
can keep the series interesting, innovative and alive.
Enjoy!!!
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Blake Crouch takes the readers to Wayward Pines, where this small little
town in Idaho has many deadly secrets to hide:
Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke was sent to Wayward Pines to locate two
missing federal agents who have not been heard from in a month. Ethan is on his
way there with his partner but the next thing is he awakes in a hospital bed
being told that he was in a major car accident. The problem is he has no ID, no
service weapon, briefcase and cell phone; Nothing to ID himself as a federal
agent. As Ethan slowly makes his way around town, trying to piece together who
he is and what has happened to him he keeps running into road blocks and the
town just feels off. The more that Ethan tries to discover what happened to him
and the other Agents, who were there before him, the more the town Sherriff
becomes convinced that Ethan is not a Secret Service Agent. Ethan doesn't know
it but he is part of a deadly game and it is Ethan vs. an entire town.
I wasn't sure about this book at first, but the more you read it the more
you get drawn into the story of trying to figure out what is wrong with Wayward
Pines and just when you think you have this little town figured out Crouch
throws in another twist or turn. I think this is where Crouch succeeded in this
book as he really does keep you guessing but then at times it does seem like he
threw a few too many ideas into the mix but overall it is an entertaining read.
The best way I can kind of explain this book is to use some movie references as
that is what I kept thinking the entire time I read this book. This book is
part The Truman Show, The Purge, and Pleasantville. I realize that using these
movie references will give some of the book away, but it nothing that you do
not figure out yourself in the first part of the book.
I like Ethan as a main character. I thought his ability to push through the
pain of his injuries a little bit extreme for the most part, as there are times
when he gets quite injured and then expected to perform some pretty amazing feats.
There are some action scenes within the book but they are mainly one on one battles
that Ethan faces and Ethan proves himself resourceful and capable in each
situation.
I have a thing for small towns in books (I've probably mentioned this in
pervious reviews) but I love the subcultures that each author creates for their
small town and the human interactions that they have with outsides. Let’s just
say that in the small town of Wayward Pines, they have some very very different
cultural ideas and how to deal with those who try to interrupt their perfect
way of life and are willing to get violent to protect it.
I'm not sure I'm satisfied about how this book ends. I get why Crouch
decided to end the book this way but part of me wanted something different,
maybe a different choice to be made. I have just found out that there is a
second book in this "series?" I thought that Crouch wrapped this book
up at the end, so i'm going to take a look at what entails in the next book.
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As this book is a trilogy you
will need to read the first two books in the series Angel Fall (one of the best
debuts I have read and it completely caught me off guard which was even better)
and World End, in order to understand
the fight that is coming as well as the relationship that Penryn and Raffe have
developed.
Susan Ee is back with the
conclusion of her End of Day Trilogy and it is a fight for the human race:
Penryn and Raffe are on the run
after escaping the angels of the aerie. They are on the search for the twisted
doctor who transformed Penryn's sister Paige into some form of a monster/human hybrid
to see if he can fix her as well as Raffe's wings. But the angles are never far
behind and Penryn now has a price on her head that makes her an attractive
target for humans and angels alike. When apocalyptic nightmares are released on
the human, the Angels know that the end battle is here and that the humans must
be cleansed from the Earth to prevent it from falling into darkness. Penryn and
Raffe are forced to choose a side, their own kind or each other.
I Loved this book, I was a
little concerned about how Ee was going to end this trilogy as I found the
second book a little slow and basically a remake of the first but holy crap, Ee
did not disappoint with this book. This book had the spark of the first book in
the series that I was hoping and waiting for.
I really liked the darkness that
Ee introduced with the inclusion of scenes from the Pit. I also liked learning
about Beliel through Pookie
Bear. The tortures that he and the fellow watches suffered because they fell in
love with the woman of men were very dark and I was surprised (but a good
surprise) once again about the amount of detail that Ee chose to go into for
those scenes This was one of the aspects that I found missing in the second
book and the scenes in the Pit also added to the overall suspense of the book.
As this is classified as a New
Adult or YA book I was not sure how far Ee was going to take Penryn and Raffe's
relationship. This is a YA book so you know that Penryn is going to be awkward about the relationship, not know how to proceed and maybe make some bad choices, this is what happens in adolescent and I think this might even be heightened if you grow up in a apocalyptic world and have to take care of your family before anything else. Guys are really the last thing on your mind.
As you have read in the previous two books they do care for each
other but know that it is bound or relationship that they are unable to act on.
I personally like that the entire plot was not completely centered around their
needing to be together, they understand each other on a different level than
that. Raffe knows that Penryn will do what she can to make sure that people
survive and Penryn knows that Raffe needs to be with the Angels as that is who
he is. They accept each other for who they are and I think that is the best
part of their relationship, yes they both want to take it to a different level
and there is some of that in this book albeit it is a bit clumsy especially on
Penryn's part, but I don’t think it ever would have got there if the plot was
centered around their romance. Although I will admit I thought there would be a
different ending to this book around their relationship.
There were some things in this
book that I found were not fully answered, explored or were hinted there would
be more but never was. These aspects are mainly centered on Penryn's sister
Paige. I think this is where Ee fell flat in this book. Within the book it was
made to seem like Paige may actually be the saviour of Man with some of their
new abilities and Locust friends, but once these ideas were introduced they
seemed to fall by the wayside. And in the second book we discover that Paige
has to now eat human flesh and she struggles with doing this so she starves
herself because of how wrong it feels to her. I think the issues with Paige are
wrapped up too neatly, off page and were not explored enough in this book as
they should have been,
As a trilogy I was very
satisfied of how Ee had the book play out and how it ended. That said would I
would be okay if Ee decided to continue to write in this world, yep I would
pick up future books, but I would worry about the story getting stale wonder
what Ee will do next and I cannot wait to find out.
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You will need to read the first two books in this series, The Informationist
and The Innocent in order to truly grasp who Vanessa Michael Monroe is, what
she has survived and what she is capable of. They are also fantastic reads so
that helps as well.
Taylor Stevens is back in the next installment of her Vanessa Michael Monroe
series and Michael is going to ask the age old question of how far would you go
for the ones that you love?
Typically when Michael finishes a job she makes sure that all of her enemies
are unable to come back to hurt her permanently. However, it seems like someone
from Michael's past has surfaced and knows how to pull all of the right strings
to get her to perform how they would like. Michael is kidnapped by a man only
known as the Doll Maker and thrust into the underground world of human
trafficking but Michael is not the ideal type to be purchased, no she is tasked
with the delivery of a very important and specific package that could be
recognized by many around the world. As Michael struggles to allow someone else
control her and looking for a way out, back home Bradford and the team are desperately
looking for Michael and her best friend Logan. Michael has entered a deadly
game and while she is not afraid to die, she hates to see those she loves and
innocents suffer and when those two come into conflict she is going to have to
choose one or the other and not everyone is going to make it out alive.
Stevens' books never seem to tackle the same topic twice (which is fantastic
and keeps the reader wanting more), in this book Stevens’ set the stage for
human trafficking and the fact that no one is really safe from it which is
scary as hell. I liked that Stevens approached human trafficking from a
different perspective in the use of the Doll Maker who has the ability to
fulfill custom orders for his clients. Meaning his clients tell him what and
sometimes who they want and he fulfills the order every time and the order that
he wants Michael to help him fulfill is one of his most prestigious yet. As
this takes place back and forth between Europe and the USA you are always
worried about things getting muddled along the way; Stevens does an amazing job
of laying out the plot and intersecting what is happening between the USA and
Europe that I never felt lost in who was doing in what was going on. I think
this was helped by having two main points of view which is different from her
previous two books which had mainly POV from Michael.
Bradford saw a big jump in chapter time from his POV in this book and this
mainly has to do with Michael not being able to be in two places at once but it
shows the amount the Michael has learned to trust more and let him more in her
life. Michael also realizes that she cannot do it herself and the amount of
trust she places in Bradford is amazing compared to the Michael that we met in
The Informationist (I love character growth). This did cause the book has some
slower points when it comes to the action surrounding Michael as she is handicapped
by the fact that the Doll Maker is holding hostage some of the people she loves
and she knows any misstep will cause them to die. We do not really get to see
the brutality that is associated with Michael at all in this book, not saying
this is a bad thing just a change from the previous two, but as I said above,
character growth. This also means that the fight scenes of the book occur with
Bradford at the helm. While Bradford may not have the finesse that Michael has
he is still pretty badass.
Michael's main talent that is highlighted in this book is her ability to
assess every scenario and how she can use it to her advantage and how she has
the ability to somewhat predict what her adversaries are going to do. Michael
is unable to release the darkness that is inside her as there is more lives at
play than just her own and while she is willing to let herself die there are
those that she will not. It was also interesting seeing Michael's interaction
with Neeva who is more of a hindrance than anything else but I found that
Michaels was somewhat soft on her. But you have to give it to Neeva for being
stubborn as hell and wanting her piece
I'm always happy when a book can surprise me and this book did not end as I
thought it would be but that should be expected in Stevens' novels, no cookie
cutter endings here. I'm always satisfied after reading a book in this series
and it always leaves me wanting more so I am looking forward to picking up the
next book in this series. Keep them coming Stevens as I know I will be there to
read them.
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Matthew Reilly is an author known for his non spot action and this is no
different, well except for the introduction of dragons:
The Chinese have been hiding their biggest secret yet for the past 40 years,
they have made a discovery that had the ability to change, shape and even
destroy the world. They have proven the existence of dragons a discovery that
will amaze the world, at least that is what they are hoping to achieve with the
opening of The Great China Zoo. Chinese leaders have allowed a few very
important and influential people from the West to view the zoo before they
officially open and among them is Dr. Cassandra Jane “CJ” Cameron who was once
the foremost researcher on the largest known lizards on earth, crocodiles. But
all her knowledge and training will not prepare her for what she about to
witness. Although their Chinese hosts assure them that everything is safe with
everything that mother nature’s creates and humans trying to shape it to their
will, there will always be consequences.
Matthew Reilly's Scarecrow Series is one of my all-time favourite series for
an action adventure read. In that series Reilly is not afraid to have his main
characters injured or even die (the death in the book Scarecrow still breaks my
heart). I have tried to get into some of his other series, Jack West Jr. Series
(7 Ancient Wonders) but they have lacked some of the chemistry and characters
for Reilly's Scarecrow series. When I saw that Reilly had a new book out with a
female lead I wanted to give it a try, Reilly tends to always have a strong
female character or two in all his books and I wanted to see how he had one as
a lead character.
CJ is way way too lucky in this book it seemed like at every turn that there
was a tool that she could use to get herself out of trouble and she was even
more quick thinking and on her feet that a trained solider, which I found a bit
off. CJ main comes unscathed throughout the novel (yes there is an injury here and there, but it never really seems to slow her down) and I found this took away
from the suspense for the book. Any time she was in a situation that looked
impossible I was just waiting for the perfect tool to show up, which it always did.
This is not to say that CJ is not resourceful, she is to an extreme degree but
it seemed like she was able MacGyver her way out of every situation, which
takes away from the thrills and suspense Reilly was going for.
Reilly does take you on a thrill ride through The Great China Zoo, there are
some interesting and unique action sequences that he has written out and this
mainly has to do with the introduction of dragons into the book. Reilly is also
very creative in some of the death of the characters in the book and some are
downright gruesome.
I think the aspect that Reilly did the best with in this book was his
creation and take on the dragons, the different kinds and really the strength
and weakness of each. He gave the dragons the ability to be the superior being
in all sense. It was interesting to watch the dragons execute the plan that
they had made, and how us dumb humans who think we are above everything, never
saw it coming.
I appreciate that Reilly took a different step in the use of dragons in his
novel, though this is not the first time he has introduced a different creature
(see his book The Temple, which is a good read too), however, I think this book
lacked the suspense of his previous book of no one really being safe which I
know I missed. I think Reilly is a great action adventure writer but missed the
mark on this book with some of the things I have come to expect and appreciate
in his other works.
Enjoy
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