Review: Spellbinding

Spellbinding
by Maya Gold
Published: 4/1/13
Published by: Scholastic Print
YA Paranormal

There's more than one way to be powerful . . .

It is during a routine school project that Abby Silva--sixteen and nearly friendless--makes a startling discovery: She is descended from women who were accused of witchcraft back in 1600s Salem. And when Abby visits nearby Salem, strange, inexplicable events start to unfold. Objects move when she wills them to. Candles burst into sudden flame. And an ancient spellbook somehow winds up in her possession.

Trying to harness her new found power, Abby concocts a love potion to win over her longtime crush--and exact revenge upon his cruel, bullying girlfriend. But old magic is not to be trifled with. Soon, Abby is thrust headlong into a world of hexes, secrets, and danger. And then there's Rem Anders, the beautiful, mysterious Salem boy who seems to know more about Abby than he first lets on.

A reckoning is coming, and Abby will have to make sense of her history--and her heart--before she can face the powerful truth.

My Rating: 2 1/2 Coffee Cups 

ARC provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Geeky/social outcast girl Abigail gets assigned to a school genealogy project and finds herself following clues leading her to Salem. She finds that she is descended from one of the original women prosecuted in the witch trials, Sarah Good. Something draws her to the city, and she finds herself both working there at a new age Wiccan shop and befriending the gorgeous guy, Rem Anders, who woks at the cafe next door. She uncovers that she, in fact, does have powers- the rare fire element power. And she has to prevent herself from turning bad. 

Along the way she deals with mean girl bullies, being snubbed by her best friend and trying to make the popular jock fall in love with her.

Ok, so this has all been done NUMEROUS times before. I gave it a read because it looked like it had potential. The thing about this book is that the high school aspects were formed very well, it was somewhat realistic and believable. But once it came to the paranormal aspects the book faltered. As I read though there were so many things that had the opportunity to grow into awesome plot lines. Below is a list.

1. Abby and Rem's relationship.

Now, we see one starting to form. We get hints that this is a soul mate type deal. From the prologue of the book- Abby's re-occurring nightmare- they mention a man who has eyes like Rem watching the witch drown. Even Rem says it's a centuries old love story. But that's it. There's no back story to this at all. How is it a centuries old love story? What does he remember about their lives? If he was her true love, why didn't he seem the least bit upset about her casting love spells on other guys? This was just mentioned, glanced over and then sort of ignored. It left a big gaping hole in the story. It wasn't insta-love because it was obviously established in past lives, but to the reader this was non-existent and confusing.

2. Abby's family tree.

They could've explained a little more about why Abby was having nightmares involving the witch trials. Was she some sort of re-incarnation of Sarah Good? Or Sarah's daughter Dorcas Good who is also briefly mentioned? Or was she just a member of the bloodline? I would go with the latter if Rem hadn't been in that opening scene promising to see her again while she was drowning in her nightmare. 

3. The Circle.

The Circle were a group of people who wanted to complete their "coven" of elements to hand out retribution to the city of Salem for the witch trials. Who are these people? What exactly were they planning on doing? Destroying Salem was mentioned, but how? Why were only certain people in this circle? I understand that a villain (in the paranormal sense- because Megan more than covered the high school portion) was needed to fill in some holes and move the plot along, but they didn't feel very thought out.

  

4. Abby's mom.

It was said her mom died a few years back. Why did she have nothing to do with her family? Did she know and try to keep her daughter out of it? Abby's grandmother was extremely hesitant to mention anything about her family line when Abby was doing her research. Why?

5. Abby's home life.

It was awful. Her father was neglectful, her brother was a normal, self-centered 9 year old boy and the father's girlfriend Danielle came across as devious. But then all of a sudden, with no explanation of the how or why, it was suddenly resolved. Danielle wasn't as bad as she was portrayed and her father paid her a little more attention (no real proof of either was shown, just Abby's brief say so).

I don't know if maybe this is supposed to be a series and the author was planning on addressing some of these issues at a later point, but some type of direction would have been helpful in understanding this better.

If even a couple of these things were more fleshed out and given more thought this would've been a much better book.  

  

Best of January 2013

So according to Goodreads I've read about 32 books in January alone. Some of them good, some of them, well, not so good. Here are my top 3 reads of the month:

#3 Elfin  (The Elfin #1)
by Quinn Lotis

                                   

Before tonight Cassie Tate’s biggest concerns were whether she could pass Algebra and how she was going to keep Elora, her best friend, from dressing her in a skimpy fairy costume for Halloween. Her feet were firmly planted in suburban reality and she had no reason to believe her life would be anything but that of a typical teenager. That is until tonight, when Cassie saw something that no human was ever supposed to see; in the blink of an eye she was thrown into the world of the Light and Dark Elves.

He comes from a realm where light and dark have fought for millennia. He is of a race known to humans only in myths and legends. The darkness that lives inside him is a part of both who and what he is and it makes him the most gifted spy and assassin in the history of his time. His life is not his own; he lives in the service of the Dark Elf King. He slays who he must, has mercy on no one, is relentless in his hunt, and never tires of seeing his prey fall. He is Triktapic, assassin, spy, most feared of the Dark Elves.

Now, in the midst of his King’s complicated plans to expand the Dark Elves’ holdings into the mortal realm, for the first time, Trik finds his loyalties divided. For no Elf, Dark or Light, can turn away from their Chosen.

Unbeknownst to the mortal realm, the battle between Light and Dark is being brought to their doorstep. The only one who can keep it at bay holds darkness in his heart like a lover, and the one who can sway that heart must decide if she can look beyond his black past, beyond his evil nature and see the man he is destined to be.

The question must be asked, does love really cover a multitude of sins? Can true love actually conquer all or will his darkness consume those around him until all that stands is an assassin with the blood of the mortal realm on his hands?

 

#2 Ten Tiny Breaths 

by K.A. Tucker

Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgivable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness


And number one...well I kind of cheated on  number one... It's two books, but only because I didn't think it was fair for the same series to take up two of my slots...

 

#1 Under the Never Sky/Through the Ever Night

by Veronica Rossi

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.
DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each others best hope for finding answers.

 There you have it, my January top three (technically four). If you haven't picked any of these up, it's definitely worth it!

"Waiting on" Wednesday: The Redemption of Callie and Kayden

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's choice is:

The Redemption of Callie and Kayden (The Coincidence #2) 
by Jessica Sorenson
Release Date: 2/28/13

***UPDATE UPDATE***  NOW THE RELEASE DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO FEBRUARY 2014!!

(There's no cover yet, so I'm using a banner pic from the first book)

 Here's a teaser Jessica Sorenson posted on her Blog:

I want to breathe.

I want to feel alive again.

I don’t want to feel the pain.

I want it all back, but it’s gone.

I hear every sound, every laugh, every cry. People move around me frantically, but I can’t take my eyes off the sliding glass doors. There’s a violent storm outside and rain is hammering down against the concrete, dirt, and dry leaves. Sirens flash as ambulances roll up under the port.

My stomach is empty, my heart is hurting, and I can’t move.

“Callie,” Seth says. “Callie, look at me.”

I blink my gaze off the door and stare into his brown eyes filled with worry.

He takes my hand in his, his skin warm and comforting. “He’s going to be okay.”

I stare at him, trying not to cry, because I know I’m stronger than that. “Okay.”

He lets out a slow sigh and pats my hand.  “You know what, I’m going to go see if he can have visitors yet.” He gets up from the chair and walks across the packed waiting room to the receptionist desk.

He’ll be alright.

He has to be.

Deep down, I know that’s not true. His wounds and breaks may heal on the outside and cover with scars. On the inside the healing will take longer and I wonder what Kayden will be like when I see him again—who he’ll be. 

Review: Night Blade (Colbana Files #2)

Night Blade (Colbana Files #2)
by J.C. Daniels (aka Shiloh Walker)
Published: 3/4/2013
Published by: INscribe Digital
Urban Fantasy (Adult)

Kit Colbana is always biting off more than she can chew. She has a knack for finding trouble. This time, though, trouble finds her. Someone from her past drops a case into her lap that she just can’t refuse…literally.

People on the Council are dying left and right and she’s been requested to investigate the deaths. The number one suspect? Her lover, Damon. If she doesn’t clear his name, he gets a death sentence. Even if she succeeds? They still might try to execute him. Oh, and she’s not allowed to tell him about the case, either.

The stakes are high this time around, higher than they’ve ever been. Kit may be forced to pay the ultimate price to save her lover’s life…a price that could destroy her and everything she loves.

My Rating: 4 1/2 Coffee Cups

ARC provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off let me start by saying if you haven't read the first book in this series, Blade Song, you need to get it and devour it NOW. Seriously, $4.29 (yeah I know, random amount) on Amazon, pick it up! This book catches you up as far as the story lines go, but you won't truly get the connection between the characters (be it love or hate) unless you read the first.

This book picks up about 4 months after the end of the first one. Damon is in the process of cleaning up Annette's mess of a cat clan as the new East Orlando Alpha. While he is being occupied by that, Kit's former flame and current Banner contact witch Justin approaches Kit about a case that he's been assigned to. It's a murder case of 5 Assembly member deaths and they are all pointing to Damon. Justin pulls Kit into the case in the hopes that if anyone can either a) find out if it is actually Damon or b) find a justifiable reason for the murders, it is Damon's love Kit. Oh and by the way she's not allowed to tell anyone the case she's working on. And by not allowed I mean the dude puts a hex on her making it so that even thinking about spilling the beans causes her physical pain and she literally CAN'T tell anyone. Oh and she also can't tell anyone about the hex either. Sounds fun huh? 

Along with the return of Colleen, you see some other familiar faces. Some have a deeper role than in the previous book and others are there just long enough to make you smile. Chang (the adolescent club house manager from the last book) is one who has a larger role. He becomes Damon's adviser and you realize just how close the two characters really are. Doyle also appears as a more in depth character as well. You are kind of annoyed by the large were-tiger at first, but by the end of the book you want to hug the furry guy hard.

Along with Kit's search for the truth, she has to deal with the outing of her and Damon's relationship. His clan (with the exception of Chang and Doyle) see her basically as his temporary little side piece. So, what does Damon do to rectify this? He bites her and marks her again- this time on the neck. And makes her sit in on a clan meeting in the hopes that everyone's eyesight will work. I will admit this was a pretty amusing scene.

Kit goes through one hell of a ride trying to unravel this case. She has to deal with everything from drug dealing wolves to freelance witches. Also, the guilt she feels for unwillingly keeping it from Damon is eating her alive. Without spoiling anything, the last 25% of this book squeezed my heart tight and didn't let go. Daniels had me running the spectrum of emotions at the end of this book. To see what Kit went through, man oh man.  

My only question is was the beginning scene in this book, the courier job she had, a sneak peek into what the next book will be about? Hmmm...

   

Teaser Tuesday #1

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading and slightly altered by thebookcafeblog.com

So here's a reminder of the "rules" of Teaser Tuesdays:

• Grab your current read
• Share 2 “teaser” sentences from a random page in your book or a part you really liked and post it as a teaser.
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away; you don’t want to ruin the book for others!
• Share the TITLE and AUTHOR too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

Review: Entangled (Spellbound #1)

Entangled (Spellbound #1)
by Nikki Jefford
YA Paranormal
Published: 2/20/12
Publisher: Self published

Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.
Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-four hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.
The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.
Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection and disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.

My Rating: 3 Coffee Cups 

Copy provided by the publisher for an honest review via NetGalley

The first book in the Spellbound series caught my attention right away. I loved the premise: a set of twins, Grey and Charlene, stuck in the consequences of a spell gone wrong, trying to unravel what happened to make this spell occur in the first place. It had a little bit of mystery, a little bit of romance, some fun paranormal twists- all in all the makings of a great book. And it was. If you overlooked the evil, soul less, sociopathic monster of a twin- aka Charlene. I've never wanted to go through my Kindle and punch a fictional character in the face quite as much as I did her. I just can't fathom how anyone could accept someone so wretched without at least attempting to either a) cuss them out, b) slap them upside their heads or c) have them locked up somewhere. Grey just accepted everything Charlene did and put her through. I understand trying to be the bigger person and all that nonsense, but seriously the girl blocked her magic for most of their lives because she was jealous. She put Grey thru hell on the days Charlene had use of her body and dictated exactly how Grey was to live her life on the days she didn't (having people stalk her and writing nasty letters via notebooks). And that's not even counting the fact that their own MOTHER saw fit to put a protection spell on a fellow student who stole Charlene's boyfriend, because they were afraid she would act out her homicidal tendencies. Now I get the whole Cain and Abel concept, and I'm sure that's what the author was playing into, but it was taken to the absolute extreme and turned somewhat unfeasible.

That being said, if you try and look past all of the far-fetched things Charlene pulled (with no ramifications mind you) this story was intriguing and kept you captivated and reading well past when you promised yourself you would put it down. Raj- once you got into his POV- was a great love interest/partner in crime. He was presented as a bad boy, but once you got to the heart of him you saw that wasn't the case at all. He had his own set of demons he needed to work through. He had depth and he proved to be the only person in Grey's life who was solely and irrevocably on her side, which she desperately needed. They suffered from a small case of insta-love, but it developed into a strong bond that both characters didn't realize they were in search of. There was a tiny bit of a love triangle but (thankfully) that didn't last long as Nolan never really stood a chance. Together they uncovered everything from what caused Grey's untimely death to what happened to Stacy. They even took on powerful coven members to help defunct warlock Adrian out. The one definite thing we found out was that Charlene may have been a big ole B with an itch, but she was not without her co-conspirators.

I am very interested to read the next installment, although it wasn't a cliffhanger there were A LOT of questions left unanswered and issues that need resolving (Charlene still really, REALLY needs her comeuppance)! There are quite a few different avenues Jefford could go with this and I definitely look forward to seeing what direction it heads in.      

Music Monday #1

So I'm currently reading Night Blade by JC Daniels. Which centers around main character Kitasa Colbana, who is essentially a kick butt preternatural assassin. Kit is also half human, so she's constantly underestimated. It's been a common theme in her life from a very young age, being ridiculed and abused because of this fact. So, she's constantly had to prove herself. I've had a random playlist going on my iPod, and "Let Go" by Frou Frou keeps popping up, so it's my "can't seem to get it out of my head and will probably associate it with this book FOREVER" song. Enjoy ;) 

Stacking the Shelves #1

Stacking The Shelves is a meme originally posted by Tynga's Reviews all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual!

This week I ended up getting a number of read for review books, picked up a couple on Amazon and a few on Netgalley. I have to say, the one I immediately dived into was Night Blade (Colbana Files #2) by JC Daniels. I am completely and totally OBSESSED with this series and when I saw that could request the ARC on Netgalley I nearly screamed like a tween girl at a Justin Bieber concert (the book doesn't come out until 3/4). Along with that I grabbed my much, much anticipated Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand. I think I may have to re-read the last one before starting the third back up though- it's been awhile and I need a refresher (and a quick Christian and Tucker fix...mainly Tucker). I also picked up A Song for Julia by Charles Sheehan-Miles, A Shimmer of Angels (Angel Sight #1) by Lisa M. Basso, Craved (Gwen Sparks #1) by Stephanie Nelson, The Demon Lover (Fairwick Chronicles #1) by Carol Goodman, Betrayal's Shadow (The Guardians of Eden #1) by K.H. LeMoyne and The Binding (The Velesi Trilogy #1) by L. Filloon.

TGIF: Freebie Friday

Free on Amazon Today! (and totally worth picking up)

Lunangelique by Kristin Campbell

For Alexis and Alex life has been great. They have loving parents, great friends and live a life every teenager dreams. However, they are adopted and Alexis struggles with wanting to know who their real parents are and not wanting to hurt her adopted parents. Then, a stunning guy moves across the street from them. One who has a secret past and seems to know things about Alexis. One who does mysterious things and leads her to other mysterious persons. One who pushes her to discover her extraordinary birth family and the truth between mythology and religion.

This read was absolutely a 5 Coffee Cup read for me

This is the first book in what is an incredible series! 

Get it on Amazon now! 

Free on Barnes & Noble Today! (and totally worth picking up) 

Prince of Wolves (Grey Wolves #1) by Quinn Loftis

Jaque Pierce was just an ordinary 17 year old girl getting ready to start her senior year in high school in Coldspring, Texas. When a mysterious foreign exchange student from Romania moves in across the street, Jacque and her two best friends, Sally and Jen, don't realize the last two weeks of their summer was going to get a lot more interesting. From the moment Jacque sets eyes on Fane she feels an instant connection, a pull like a moth to a flame. Little does she know that the flame she is drawn to is actually a Canis lupis, werewolf, and she just happens to be his mate; the other half of his soul. The problem is Fane is not the only wolf in Coldspring, Texas. Just as Fane and Jacque are getting to know each other, another wolf steps out to try and claim Jacque as his mate. Fane will now have to fight for the right to complete the mating bond, something that is his right by birth but is being denied him by a crazed Alpha. Will the love Fane has for Jacque be enough to give him the strength to defeat his enemy, will Jacque accept that she is Fane's mate and complete the bond between them?

Definitely a solid 4 Coffee Cup read. Loved Jaque and Fane. The first installment of an exciting series!!

Get in on B&N NOW! 

 

Lookey What I Got: The Liebster Blog Award

 

I was given this award by Avanti from Avanti's Place

I'm uber excited because I had been thinking about and debating on starting a blog for forever and it's nice to know that after a week of having one people enjoy it.

The Rules of the award:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.
2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees
3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen. (no tag backs)
4. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.

Questions from Avanti:

1.   What are you currently reading & why did you choose that book?

      I am reading (almost finished with!) Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. It's been on my Kindle for awhile now but it was chosen for me to read next in my January Random Reads.

2.   Why do you love reading so much? 

      I have been reading heavily since I was able to read the children's book Cat & Dog at the age of like 5. It's an escape from real life and all the stress that sometimes accompany it. For a few hours in your day you become the girl in love with the angel or the teenage boy with a dragon for a friend or even the woman dating a rock star. And while reading you stretch the boundaries of your imagination.

3.   Why did you start blogging?

      I read- A LOT. I can easily finish a book in a day. I started doing reviews on Goodreads and was sending it off to various friends trying to convince them (who are either stay at home moms, grad students or something else with virtually no time to spare) that they need to read this or check that out. One of them convinced me that I should be spreading the word to others and so far I am loving it.

4.   If you could be any character for a day who would it be?

      Hmm this is a toughie. So, I'm going to sort of cheat and do a hybrid. An Elizabeth Bennett/Jo March/Katniss Everdeen/Katy Swartz/Rose Hathaway hybrid.

5.   When you finish a book do you keep it or pass it on?
       It really depends on the book. If I know for a fact that this person or that person will like it, then I definitely pass it on. That's been happening less and less since I got a Kindle though...can't remember the last time I got a physical book.

6.   Favorite movie & why?
      Oh man, there is no way for me to answer this. Movies come in a VERY close second to books as far as things I'm addicted to. There is no way to pick. I can say my favorite from the past year is The Dark Knight Rises. Why? Because the whole series has been amazing and I had been waiting impatiently for the last 2 years for the finale.

7.   Favorite book to movie adaptation?

      Hmm, I am definitely of the opinion that more often than not a movie hardly ever does a good book justice. I guess the best attempts (recently) would be The Hunger Games and The Help.

8.   What type of music do you like?
       Everything. Well, everything except that screaming-can't really understand what they're saying-damn that's loud metal music. But even with that there are a few bands that I don't mind. It really all depends on the mood I'm in.

9.   Where's your favorite place to read?

      I'll read pretty much anywhere, but my favorite place is in the spring/summer in the Public Garden in Boston on my lunch breaks.

10.  Favorite hobby besides reading?

       Dancing. I'm kind of a Spanish dancing junkie. Will even do Zumba to get quick fixes.

11.  If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?

      Well, considering it's 10 degrees outside today my answer at this very moment is somewhere in the Caribbean.

11 Facts About Me:

1.   Between Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks,  I will go for Dunkin Donuts every single time.

2.   I own nearly 300 dvds.

3.   I have 2 big Rubbermaid containers filled with books I can't fit on my bookshelf hidden in my closet.

4.   I was a nerd and read Shakespeare on library days in 3rd grade. I stopped when I got to a Midsummer's Night Dream and picked up Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing instead.

5.   I have 3 tattoos and already have my 4th and 5th planned out.

6.   I am a self proclaimed Anglophile.

7.   My signature is one of many covered over with paint on the wall of Abbey Road Records.

8.   I just sent my first Tweet yesterday.

9.   I will immediately change the station when a Britney Spears song comes on, but will begrudgingly admit to listening to one or two Bieber songs (Ugh!)

10. I can make a mean burger.

11. I am a football fanatic. Pro football, college football doesn't matter.  

Questions for Nominees:

1. Who's your favorite male and female fictional character? Why?
2. If someone could grant you ONE wish, what would you wish for and why? 

3. When did you start blogging, and what made you do it?
4. If you had the chance to meet and talk to a fictional character, who would it be and why?
5. YA movie adaptations - Like it or hate it? Why?

6. Top 5 most charming male fictional characters.

7. Most emotional book you've read?

8. Cliffhangers, love 'em or hate 'em?

9. Favorite genre to read and review?

10. Author you would love to interview and why?     
11. Your most anticipated book of 2013?

 11 Nominees:

1. Classy Me Books

2. Diva in Pyjamas
3. Mary Had a Little Blog
4. Out of this World Book Reviews
5. All About YA Books
6. So Many Books, So Little Time
7. Sitting With A Book
8. Bookish Treasures  
9. The One Minute Bookworm 
10. Fiction Snoop
11. Sab the Book Eater

Review: Bound (Mirrors of Bershan #1)

Bound (The Mirrors of Bershan Book 1)
by J. Elizabeth Hill
Fantasy
Published: 11/17/12
Publisher: self published

“Doesn’t she know you can’t do real magic alone?”

Freshly graduated from the Voleno Academy, Faylanna Derrion is trying to find her solitary place in a world where she and her fellow Magicia are expected to find their magical partner as soon as possible. When her mentor and his partner are taken by a terrible darkness before her eyes, her flight to find help brings Tavis into her life. Can she learn to see him as more than a simple farmer or will she accede to her father’s demands to return to her family’s home, following a path others have laid out for her? Can she choose her own course, after a lifetime of refusing to bind herself to anyone?

My Rating: 3 1/2 Coffee Cups

I received a free copy from author J. Elizabeth Hill in return for an honest review.

This the debut novel from Hill is a great start to what looks like is going to be an addictive series. Hill immerses you in a fantasical world of magic, romance and almost medievil like status structure. But even with all of the imaginative world building the main character Fay and everything she is dealing with is extremely realistic. She is my favorite kind of female MC, strong, smart, very capable, a little bit cocky, with A LOT of heart. She know what she wants and what she doesn't want and doesn't care what anyone has to say about it. Everything she is going thru completely sucks you in , pretty much from the get go. And then she goes and meets Tavis. Oh Tavis. His character is everything that Fay didn't realize she needed. He supports her when she lets him and doesn't resent her when she needs to be independent. He isn't afraid to lean on her and rely on her strengths. And he loves her unconditionally even through her seriously stupid decisions. That main decision is also known as Marcius. For being so smart, I've gotta say in this, Fay was pretty fricken stupid. It's her interactions with this guy that actually had my coffee cups drop. I can't really say too much on the matter without revealing a lot of the plot, but well she should've known better.

Aside from the MCs, a lot of what made this story so addictive and interesting was the strength of the supporting characters. As much as I loved Tavis and Fay, I have to admit my favorite character was actually Ki. He was so multi-dimensional and amazing you can't help but fall a little bit in love with him. But everyone from Ganson to Eliar to even Fay's father was completely fleshed out and consequential to the plot.

There were some editing issues, but not enough to be distracting, but I know they can be for some people which is why I even bother to mention it.

The ending wasn't by any means a cliffhanger (thank goodness!) but there were some very intriguing unanswered questions that I can't wait to read the next one!

January Random Reads

Random Reads is a meme from imlovingbooks.com blog where we pick a random book from our shelf to read within the month. I’m on Goodreads so I’m using a combination of the sorting feature and Random.org to pick the book I’m going to read.

Want to join in on Random Reads?
It’s easy…

1. If you’re on Goodreads enable sorting to your to-read shelf (you should see numbers next to each book now).
2. Go to Random.org and type in the Min as 1 and the Max as how ever many books are on your to-read shelf.
3. Scroll down to the book matching the number Random.org picks.
4. Get to reading!

If you’re not on Goodreads just pick a random book from your list in whatever way you want to do it. You can use the method I used above or come up with your own method- make a friend pick, print out some pictures and play darts, whatever floats your boat. 

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My January Random Read is (drum roll please!):

# 201- Trial by Fire (Raised by Wolves #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Review: Breed of Innocence