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Waiting on Wednesday (20)

Author: Patricia Briggs
Title: Masques
Series: Aralorn #1
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: September 28th 2010
Publisher: Ace
Edition: Paperback
Blurb:

After an upbringing of proper behavior and oppressive expectations, Aralorn fled her noble birthright for a life of adventure as a mercenary spy. Her latest mission involves spying on the increasingly powerful sorcerer Geoffrey ae'Magi. But in a war against an enemy armed with the powers of illusion, how do you know who the true enemy is-or where he will strike next?



Author: Ilona Andrews
Title: Bayou Moon
Series: The Edge #2
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: September 28th 2010
Publisher: Ace
Edition: Paperback
Blurb:
Cerise Mar and her unruly clan are cash poor but land rich, claiming a large swathe of the Mire, the Edge swamplands between the state of Louisiana and the Weird. When her parents vanish, her clan’s long-time rivals are suspect number one.

But all is not as it seems. Two nations of the Weird are waging a cold war fought by feint and espionage, and their conflict is about to spill over into the Edge—and Cerise’s life. William, a changeling soldier who left behind the politics of the Weird, has been forced back into service to track down a rival nation’s spymaster.

When William’s and Cerise’s missions lead them to cross paths, sparks fly—but they’ll have to work together if they want to succeed ... and survive.

Review: The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu

Title: The Iron Hunt
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Hunter Kiss #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: May 6, 2010
Publisher: Orbit
Edition: Paperback
Blurb:

During the day, Maxine’s tattoos are her armour and she is invincible. At night they peel from her skin to take on forms of their own, leaving her human and vulnerable, and revealing themselves to be demons sleeping beneath her skin. But these demons are the best friends and bodyguards a woman could have. And Maxine needs bodyguards. She is the last in a line of women with power in their blood, trained to keep the world safe from malignant beings who would do us harm.

But ten thousand years after its creation, the prison dimension that kept the worst of these from us is failing, and all the Wardens save Maxine are dead. She must bear the burden of her bloodline and join the last wild hunt against the enemy.

This is the first book of the new series Hunter Kiss in which we have Maxine, the last warrior of her kind, trying to stop the demons from destroying the planet. The world in which the story is set is nothing new to the genre, but Maxine does have some unique characteristics. She has been taugh since childhood to be independent and to not have any long term relationships of any kind but she's lonely and gets tired of following the rules, so she settles in Seattle.

One of the problems I had with the book was that most of the characters where already established, so I didn't really feel a connection with them and I didn't care for them as much as Maxine (especially for Grant). And then there were other characters of which we didn't know anything at all, like Sarai, Jack & Tracker, which was really frustrating.

I loved the idea of the "living tattoos" that make Maxine untouchable at day and then at night they come to life as "her boys", little demons that defend her to the death. They were really cute and funny and at the same time absolutely lethal.
Another think that frustrated me was that it was obvious that there were a lot of kinds of demons, but Maxine didn't really care about that, so that means the reader doesn't get the information either, and not being able to tell which one was which one drove me nuts.

While this book was interesting and in some ways had fresh ideas, sometimes it didn't really go anywhere and even though it has great characters and at the end we do get some sort of closure, I was expecting more from the book, especially more action. I'll have to read the second book to get some sort of final conclusion.


Memorable Lines:

Rex stared at me like I was viler than a splat of diarrhea. ‘You just don’t care, period. You’re still looking for an excuse to kill me, Hunter.’

‘I don’t need an excuse.’ I tugged sharply on my gloves. Mary stared, but I no longer cared if she saw my tattoos.
Rex, despite his bravado, stepped back.


Next Books:
2. Darkness Calls
3. A Wild Light


Rating:


* I received this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

Title: Tangled
Author: Carolyn Mackler
Series: None
Genre: YA
Release Date: December 29, 2009
Publisher: Harper Teen
Edition: Hardback
Blurb:
Paradise wasn't supposed to suck.

Not the state of being, but a resort in the Caribbean.

Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all there for different reasons, but at Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Paradise will change them all.

It will change Jena, whose first brush with romance takes her that much closer to having a life, and not just reading about those infinitely cooler and more exciting.

It will change Dakota, who needs the devastating truth about his past to make him realize that he doesn't have to be a jerk just because people think he's one.

It will change Skye, a heartbreakingly beautiful actress, who must come to terms with the fact that for once she has to stop playing a role or face the consequences.

And it will change Owen, who has never risked anything before and who will take the leap from his online life to a real one all because of a girl he met at Paradise. . . .

From confused to confident and back again, one thing's certain: Four months after it all begins, none of them will ever be the same.


Tangled is the tale of 4 teens and is written from the point of view of all of them. The first narrator is Jena. Through her we meet all the teens. She has some issues with her looks and she deals with them in her story. I liked how well the author managed to write about them and how Jena doesn't change instantly, it takes her time to accept herself.
Her part of the story is my second favourite and I wished the author could have given us another glimpse into Jena's mind.

Next comes Dakota. He's a messed up teen that is trying to deal with some heavy stuff. He doesn't value himself much and the people around him aren't helping. I started reading his part thinking he was a selfish jerk, but we find out why he acts that way and that absolves him a little. I wished we could have seen him apologize for the things he did and although he does feel sorry, I don't think it was enough.

Then we have Skye. My first impression of her wasn't a good one. She seemed a selfish brat who was looking for attention. I didn't change my mind after reading from her point of view. She's dealing with issues, too, but I have no idea where they came from or why she didn't ask for help. In short, the only thing I liked about her story was that we get to se Jena again.

Finally we have Owen. He's Dakota's younger brother and he prefers dealing with online life as opposed to real life. He has been sheltered all his life but thanks to the help of a friend, he finally begins to live real life. This was my favourite point of view; I think it was because I could relate to him the most. I loved how even though he overcame his fears he still was scared. I also liked how Jena plays an important role in his story.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read about fears and complexes and how to overcome them. The way it was told was fresh although I would have prefered to read more from the point of view of Jena and Owen.


Memorable Lines:

This was not how it was supposed to happen. I was supposed to bump into him when I was clothed, my hair blown out, makeup on. I know some girls, like Skye, can pull off the au naturel thing. But I need all the intervention the cosmetic world has to offer.

As he climbed into the tub, I had a sudden panic that I was going to fart and even though the light was faint he’d detect telltale bubbles. I quickly reassured myself that the jets were on (good move, Jena), so I was covered on one front. But that still left me in a hot tub, barely clothed, with the hottest guy on the planet.

It doesn’t get more awful than this.

Rating:

International Contest Sunday (16)

- Amina Black will give away Personal Demons & The Iron Daughter to 2 winners when she gets 100 followers.
Ends when she gets 100 followers.
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* Michelle Hodkin is giving away a copy of The Duff by Kody Keplinger.
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- In Which a Girl Reads is having a huge blogiversary contest. 3 winners will get to choose books from her list.
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- End of Story, Next Book is having a 100+ followers giveaway. You could win a book up to $15 from the Book Depository.
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* The Bibliophilic Book Blog is having a blogiversary giveaway. You could win an E-reader, books, swag ...
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