Amanda Foody: All of us Villains

In the first in a new series, Amanda Foody shows the length that families will go to in order to retain the power of High Magic:

When the Blood Moon rises, it signals the fall of the veil and a tournament to the death begins. Seven families enter the tournament but only one can be the victor. The winner of the tournament grants their family access to the High Magic the most secret and powerful resource in the world. But this year is different, the tournament used to be done in secret but a new tell all book has been published and people have come to gawk, criticized and speculate who will wind. The whole world is watching and more than one of the contenders want to rewrite their typical family story.

This is the first book that I have read by Foody and I was not sure what to expect as I had never heard of her as an author, and was fully picked up this book for the cover and the book description. And I will say that I really enjoyed this book, it was much darker than I expected it to be and there were some twists early on that I did not see coming. It has been said that it is like the Hunger Games but with Magic and yes on a surface level this is true for the overall concept, but other than the competition to the death, I did not find them that similar than that. I think that Foody did a great job of separating herself from the Hunger Games comparison with the world building she has done at the beginning of the book, and having it take place in our modern time.

I was lucky enough to get and ARC audio version of the book and wow was this book ever enhanced because of it. I felt like narrator were able to capture the feelings, that you became more invested, or disliked them even more. This is a book that I would 100% recommend that you read the audiobook version of it, you will not be disappointed with it.

There are 4 main character that Foody attempts to develop in this book and for the most part she succeed on a very surface level for most of them. We know each of the 4 characters wants, needs and why winning the tournament means so much to them. I think the character that is developed the best is Alistair Lowe (or also known as The Lowe) as everything does seem to revolve a lot around him, as his family currently has the High Magic. Also there was just something about Alistair that drew me to him as a character, than the other ones.

I think the one thing that bothered me about the book is that all the villains are not really villainous throughout the book. Many of the characters just put up a front of how they believe they are supposed to act. Do not get me wrong there are some villainous acts that occur, I just thought there would be more, given the title and the nature of the plot of this book

Foody is off to an amazing start in this series. I was really impressed with the darkness of the book and developing four main characters fairly well. I look forward to reading the second book in this series, and I know I'll be looking for the audiobook version as it was simply awesome was to read this book.

Enjoy!!!

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Kevin O'Brien: The Night She Disappeared

Kevin O'Brien what happens when you cannot remember what happened the night before and you are the last person to see someone alive:

 

Anna is Seattle TV reporter and she ended up doing (more like forced) a piece on Courtney for the news who just happens to be her boyfriend/lover Russ's wife .Anna doesn't drink very often and she certainly should never drink with her lover and his wife, yet someone Anna finds herself in this situation. The hangover is brutal but she can't help thinking that something worse happened that night, and her mind first goes to that Courtney has realized that her and Russ are together. The truth is much worse, Courtney is missing and the last people to see her alive were Anna and Russ. The spot light is even more an Anna as everyone from neighbour, police to online TV celebrities try to figure out what happened to Courtney and are determined to try anything to get to the "truth". Anna only wishes she could remember what happened on the Night Courtney disappeared

 

I had high hopes for this book but to sum it up I was really bored throughout the book. I did not find it suspenseful at all, book just felt bland and flat and I was forcing myself to pick up the book just to finish. So you know by then that it is not a book that is keeping you engaged.

The main character was just okay and not really well defined as a character, though i think that O'Brien was trying to flesh her out as one, but just never got there. Most of the book is really spent with Anna sitting around her houseboat waiting for news of what happened to Courtney from the police. She does a bit of digging on her own, but that leads no where and is not the main focus that O'Brien chooses to take with the plot. I think I would have like the book better if Anna had done more sleuthing, but the type of reported that O'Brien has Anna a be (feel good pieces) sleuthing does not fit her wheel house.

I figured it out quite early and I will admit that i did not see one twist coming, but when that twist was revealed didn't find is shocking or adding anything to the story as I had already had it figured out. Like I said above the suspense was never there, from the mysterious phone call, to Anna not being able to remember what happened the night before, nothing gave me the edge of my seat feeling

I did like the nod to Gone Girl in the book as as you’re reading it you do start to think the same things, and there is a large portion of the population who had read that book.

I really struggles to finish this book, an honestly I give myself props for finishing it. I think if it had not bee a book i received off of Netgalley I wouldn't of. This one just wasn't for me. 

Cheers!!!

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Charlaine Harris: Dead Until Dark

In the first in the series, Charlaine Harris show's what happens when a Vampire shows up in a small rural town:

 

 Sookie Stackhouse could be an server in a bar in a small town, but the truth is that Sookie has a secret; She is able to read the minds of all the people around her. She shields herself the best she can but sometimes the noise slips through. That is until he walks into the bar, a Vampire, his mind is silent to her and it is heaven. But Vampires are not always wanted in small towns and someone or something is determined to make sure that this one does not stick around.

 

Yep you guessed it I am probably one of the few who enjoy the Urban Fantasy genre that has not read Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series, and my only defense is....I have no idea why I did not pick it up at the time of release, maybe i had read too many Vampire books at the time, but honestly I do not know why.

Maybe I would have enjoyed this book when it first came out, but reading it now, it just felt like there was a lack of story, lack of anything happening, just a woman who enjoys the silence in her mind that she feels whenever Bill is around. There is not much character development either and Harris tries to make the Vampires scary but yet it falls into the troupe that they are all good looking as well. We get a bit of a picture of the Vampire Underworld, but it is not really fleshed out.

I struggle with Sookie as a character, she does not really think anything of herself, other than how other people perceive her, which is basically dumb and slow. This has warped her own thinking of herself to fit these expectations and she considers her mind reading ability as a malady. I think I could get behind Sookie as a character, if all her problem were not solved by the introduction of a Man (Vampire). As soon as he comes into her life she all of a sudden has purpose? Not my thing. 

I know I won't be continuing on in this series, there wasn't much I liked about the book, except maybe the ending. Plus I feel hints of a love triangle coming around, so i'll just stop now. For those who have read the book and watched to show, is the show any good?

Cheers!!!

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Thomas Kies: Random Road

In his debut novel Thomas Kies introduces readers to crime reporter Geneva Chase:

Geneva Chase is a veteran crime reporter who knows how to find answers, cultivate sources while trying to hide her alcoholism so she is not forced to leave another job. Chase catches a break when she lands a homicide of 6 in a wealthy  neighbourhood. The headline is eventually picked up by major news outlets and Chase knows this is her time. Chase want to know everything about these rich and entitled citizens. But the more she digs, the further she puts herself in danger and her inability to get sober threatens to undo everything she has worked so hard for.
 

This is one of my favourite reads this past year. I really enjoyed the plot and characters that Keis created for this book. This book is very much a character driver more than plot but Keis is able to keep you engaged in the story. He achieves this by having Chase, an investigative reporter, investigate more than one crime. I mean there is the main event with the murder of 6 people, but as Chase is not a police officers so she doesn’t have access to all the crime scene information, she has to use different forms of digging in order to get information. I appreacite Chase's ability to think outside of the box to get the information that she needs, as well as cultivating sources.

Well to say that the main character has flaws is an understatement, as Chase is an alcoholic, hides the fact that she is one, lies about always needing a drink and for the most part she does not apologize about this side of her. She is fine, even happy to see the world through shades of vodka. Maybe disaster may be a better description of her.

I like flawed characters, they seem more like real people than the perfect ones that some authors write. I like Chase’s tenacity in her life and work and you can tell that she has heart as well. I will questions some of her decisions she makes especially with Kevin, the love interest in this book, but I’m sure people would do the exact same thing that Chase and Kevin do in those circumstances. Chase may be flawed but aren’t we all. And as this is very much a character driven book, I appreciate the complexity of Chase’s character and though she is flawed you cannot help but like her.

I will say I was able to figure out the main Murder, but this did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the book as I liked following Chase around while she investigated this and did reports on her other stories.

I look forward to reading another book in this series to see where Kies takes his characters and to see what case catches Chase's eye next.

Enjoy!!!

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Kerri Maniscalco: Kingdom of the Cursed

You will need to read the first book within this series, Kingdom of the Wicked, in order to understand the characters world and characters in this series.  

Kerri Maniscalco shows what happens when a woman makes a deal with the Devil:

Emilia is in big trouble, not only has she made a deal with the Devil (literally) to marry him, she must also navigate the court of the underworld and Hell is nothing like she thought it would be. But she is here to find out and punish who murdered her twin sister and she will stop at nothing to achieve this. Emilia will be tested in every way as she seeks the truth about herself, her sister and the path that she is on.

I was really excited to read this book. I thought that Maniscalco had done a great job in the first one in mixing murder and romantic tension throughout. Well I am not sure what I read here but It was not what was expecting at all. There was nothing in this book from the first book that I enjoyed in this book. Honestly, if you want to read about some steamy scenes and about dresses then pick up this book. But if you are like me and enjoyed Emilia trying to figure out who murdered her sister and the witch aspect (spell casting and such) then I am here to tell you that NONE of that is in this book except for in passing thoughts a few times by Emilia.

This book was all about sex, whether thinking about it, or almost getting there or wanting to get there. It was ever present in all of Emilia thoughts throughout the day so much so that the entire “plot” is centered around these facts. It's a whole enemies to lovers thing on steroids throughout the book. I ended up skipping a large portion of the book, as I had been told that the last 20% of the book where it picks up in interest level. Additionally, the book was very predictable, the big reveal can easily be deduced from the very beginning.

The thing is that Maniscalco introduced some interesting secondary characters but does nothing with them other than to give Emilia relationship or sex advice.

While i finished this book, I do not know if I will continue on in this series. Maniscalco seemed to think that by upping the book to a New Adult genre and loading it with romance and sex that we would not realize the lack of plot. So if Maniscalco continues down this path with the next one, I know I won't be reading it.

Cheers!!!

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T.J. Newman: Falling

In her debut novel, T.J. Newman, a pilot is forced to make the hardest decision, his passengers or his family:

Bill is called in on his day off to pilot a flight to New York City. 143 passengers don't realize that their lives are in Bill's hands more than normally. Bill's family has been kidnapped and he has been given a choice, Crash the plane or watch your family die. Only one choice can be made, will Bill choose his family or the 143 souls plus crew on his airplane.

Well if you want to add additional thrills while reading this book, start reading it on a plane like I did. Nothing will have you checking out the other passengers and flight attendants like this book, especially that opening scene, it had me looking over my shoulder and down the aisle constantly. If I could have seen into the cockpit I would have been checking it out as well.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I think that it was well written. There are several twists within this book and some extremely tense moments, but that said I feel like you know how the book is going to end, it had to come to a happy ending as many authors shy away from the tragic ones, so this in itself took away the suspense of the book for me.

I personally preferred the airline aspect within this book. I think that is where Newman shines with the knowledge of how things are done, and how much of your life is in the hands of the pilot and flight attendants. I appreciated how they interacted with each other and the passengers as well. It was interesting to read how the flight attendance peg people right as they come on the flight as to whether they will be useful or not in a emergency situation.

I found for the most part that the characters in this book are underdeveloped and underwhelming. I think my favourite character is Jo, one of the flight attendants. But other than that, I just felt like the characters were very much on the surface level, and maybe Newman had a few too many of them to try to balance them all and create more in depth characters.

For a debut novel, Newman did a good job in creating and overall plot and story for this book, even though the suspense was lacking, I was still drawn into the overall story. I look forward to reading what Newman releases next.

Enjoy!!!!

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