Book Review: Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Born of Night 

The League, Book 1

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First Printing edition (September 29, 2009)

Kindle Edition
File Size: 1332 KB
Print Length: 562 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (September 23, 2009)
Publication Date: September 29, 2009
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Ratings: ★ ★    

My thoughts:

This is my first from the author and I'm disappointed. The world building is well-written the first few chapters with intriguing characters. 

My excitement flew out the window as soon as the characters talk. The assassins talk and think like teenagers and I find some dialogue cheesy:

"Three minutes?" Syn growled. "I hate you, I really really hate you".

Syn, one of the toughest assassins, uses the word hate. I don't think assassins would say that to anyone.  Also, I was annoyed with the heroine's constant use of the word 'girl': 

"He's an assasin, girl. You know they're not right in the head. None of them."

"Oh my God, girl! He is the hottest thing on two legs."

Girl? This is not the kind of word one would use in a planet, full of savage people and assassins. Who uses that word on Earth? Kids, teens, and adults trying to look cute! 

The skillful world-building ended after the assassins went planet-hopping. I started flipping back the pages to constantly remind myself of their current location.  The hero is a broken man, I get it but there's too much angst, it eventually bored me. I actually saw this through the end thinking it would get better but it didn't. I don't even remember anything now aside from my written notes. 


About the book:

In the Ichidian Universe, The League and their ruthless assassins rule all. Expertly trained and highly valued, the League Assassins are the backbone of the government. But not even the League is immune to corruption . . .

Command Assassin Nykyrian Quikiades once turned his back on the League―and has been hunted by them ever since. Though many have tried, none can kill him or stop him from completing his current mission: to protect Kiara Zamir, a woman whose father's political alliance has made her a target.

As her world becomes even deadlier, Kiara must entrust her life to the same kind of beast who once killed her mother and left her for dead. Old enemies and new threaten them both and the only way they can survive is to overcome their suspicions and learn to trust in the very ones who threaten them the most: each other. 

Book Review: Sky by R.E. Palmer

Sky

Author: R.E. Palmer
Paperback: 348 pages
Publisher: FrontRunner Publications (January 7, 2013)
Amazon Link

Kindle Edition
File Size: 490 KB
Print Length: 348 pages
Publisher: FrontRunner Publications (November 29, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Amazon Link

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the author, R.E. Palmer. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

The story started out a bit slow. The pacing picked up after a few chapters or so. Tomas Moone has been dreaming about this mysterious girl, he called her Sky. Every time he tried to reach out to her, she would always disappear. There's a reason behind the girl's disappearance and it's connected with Shelley's story, a newspaper correspondent, working on a story of a girl in coma who suddenly woke up and killed people after having contact with her. The storyline is believable, I liked the paranormal eeriness until it became sci-fi something.

Sky is told in different POVs, I enjoyed Tomas and Shelley's perspective but skimmed through all other especially Selene's part. The storyline didn't appeal much to me and it felt like I was just reading the story because I want to know what happened with Tomas' granddad and Carly.

As for the writing style, human characters in this book repeatedly said "...errr" (confused state) in their dialogue and the author also used never ending ellipses in both dialogue and narration, thus, distracting me in reading the story. I don't know the rules on that as I don't do literary analysis in this blog but I just want to say that the above constantly annoyed me. 

To read positive reviews, click HERE. 

About the book:

Tomas Moone has a secret - he’s terrified if anyone finds out, he’ll lose the girl of his dreams he’s so desperate to meet. 

Selene has a secret - she fears if Tomas discovers the truth, he’ll reject her, and the last of her race will be lost forever. 

Carly has no secrets – she’s in a coma. If Tomas fails to rescue her, she will suffer an eternity of horror and torment. 

For the first time in her career, Shelley has a killer story, but she dare not tell it… no one would ever believe her. 

Teenager Tomas Moone thinks he may be losing his mind. For years, he has shared a secret, ethereal romance with a girl from his dreams he calls Sky. But suddenly she disappears, and is replaced by Selene - a dark, mysterious woman. She takes him to new and wondrous, alien worlds while he sleeps, promising power and immortality. Despite this, Tomas misses Sky and longs to see her again. When Selene appears in physical form, revealing the secret of who she really is, Tomas is stunned. Suddenly, he has a new reason for living – to save the planet, and find the girl of his dreams. But Tomas is unaware that Selene has hidden plans for him – plans that threaten him, the girl he loves and everything he holds dear… 

About the author:

R.E. Palmer R.E. Palmer was born in Solihull, England. After ten years as a computer programmer, he left to train as an Alexander Technique teacher to follow his main interest - sports performance. From an early age, he loved to read and soon developed a love of sci-fi, fantasy and horror. After writing a number of short stories since his late teens, he finally completed his first novel in 2012; SKY.

You can follow the author on twitter @r_e_palmer, or visit his website at www.repalmerbooks.com for updates on the sequel.

Book Review: Nolander by Becca Mills

Nolander


Author: Becca Mills
Kindle: 508 KB (File size)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Amazon Buy Link


Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Becca Mills. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.


Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★


My thoughts:


Beth wants to live a simple normal life - go to school, meet new friends, date a guy and eventually have a family of her own. She can't do all these simple things because she has been diagnosed with panic disorder as a kid. She noticed that she is experiencing severe panic attacks only when she's away from her home town. While studying in another town, her panic attacks seem out of control almost on a daily basis and this is making her social life a problem so she decided just to quit school and go back to her home town. One day, she discovers that her panic attack seems to lessen when she's taking pictures. Everything looks almost normal until she sees in her camera that she's taken a picture of what looks like a monster foot. Beth thinks that someone is playing tricks on her so she shows the picture to her friends and right after showing the picture, people suddenly want to kill her.


I like Beth's character. She is simple and very nice to the people around her. I felt bad that she's not getting a normal life because of her panic disorder. I can relate to her character since I have a female friend with epilepsy in high school. Every time she's going through an attack, students would look at her like she's a freak or something. It's not easy to live a life like that. And especially for the main character, Beth, she has no one to guide her except her married brother that she sees only on weekends during Sunday mass. 


The story started out strong with lots of action and twists. It has a good plot, loved the suspense in the story but I had to take out one star because I didn't like where the story is headed.  The monster turned out something else, sci-fi something. Honestly, I'm not really into futuristic theme, especially the story presented in the story, big foot monster turned alien-monster. I was also dismayed with one of the characters in the story. Things went wrong sometime after the character was build up like some great guy. It was such a disappointment for Beth and I felt bad too because I liked that character. Overall, the story has a good plot, twist, and suspense. If you are into monster-alien theme, you might want to pick-up this book.


About the book:


Twenty-three-year-old Beth Ryder is a small-town girl from northern Wisconsin. Diagnosed with panic disorder as a child, Beth experiences symptoms severe enough that she can't go to college or move to a more populous area. They've also made her dating life hell.


As the novel begins, Beth is struggling to make a good life for herself despite the limitations imposed by her illness. She's recently taken up photography as a hobby -- the old-fashioned kind, with actual film.


One day, she takes a picture that show something she can't really explain, something she didn't see with her own eyes -- something inhuman. When Beth tries to find some answers, she makes contact with a dangerous group of people responsible for policing an unseen world of creaturesthat have abilities humans lack. As events spiral out of her control, Beth must leave her restrictive but safe life behind. Thrown into a frightening new world, she struggles not to surrender her family, her identity, and her sense of right and wrong.


About the author:


Becca Mills is an over-educated, under-exercised lover of good coffee, science, and fast cars. And books. Oh yes. She believes the world can be a rough place and that everyone deserves to leave it behind now and then. That pretty much makes books a human right, no?

Book Review: Enemy Through The Gates by D.T. Dyllin

Enemy Through The Gates


Author: D.T. Dyllin
Hardcover: 424 pages
Publisher: iUniverse (January 27, 2012)
Book Link

Note: I received this book free from the author, D.T. Dyllin. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings:

★ ★ ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

This is the first book to the P.J. Stone series, a very good story about dragons... aliens, and mixed with a very intense romance! I liked the main characters, P.J. and Bryn. They've been best of friends since five, they care about each other but the  platonic love they shared over the years has grown into romantic love. I enjoy reading stories about best-friends turned lovers. I can totally relate to the situation, and so I had a good time reading the book. However, P.J. cannot date or be in love with Bryn. According to their laws, a seer (P.J.) cannot be mated to a guardian (Bryn). What would you do if you find out you are in love with your best friend but cannot be with him? 

I am not a fan of science fiction genre, I rarely enjoy books with futuristic story lines but I was surprised I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the author's writing style. She wove a story of aliens and dragons believable to the readers. 

While I enjoyed most part of the book, I was a little annoyed with the men in the story. I hate it when two (or more) guys fall MADLY in love with the main character. In this book, however, there is a reason why all men are attracted to P.J. That's one of the interesting twists in the story. Enemy Through The Gates is a great book, full of emotions! I am interested to read more about this series!

About the book:

P. J. Stone, like most eighteen-year-old girls, is a little boy crazy and somewhat obsessed with finding the perfect boyfriend. Some days she feels like she might be the last remaining virgin in her entire high school, and maybe even the entire tri-state area.

After a traumatic night at a friend’s party, P. J. realizes what she truly wants has been right under her nose all along. Bryn O’Bannon, her best friend and partner in crime since age five, is head over heels in love with her, and she feels the same about him.

But P. J.’s life isn’t that simple. She’s a member of a separate society that exists secretly among the rest of the world; the society raises gifted individuals to protect the world from interdimensional interlopers, and P. J. was taught to put duty before her heart. She is expected to choose a suitable mate in order to perpetuate the Seer line. Unfortunately, Bryn is a Guardian and is forbidden to date—let alone mate with—a Seer such as herself.

As if figuring out her love life isn’t complicated enough, P. J. begins having visions of a threat to her world only she is able to perceive. Now, she must concoct and execute a plan to avert world disaster while at the same time avoiding the dissolution of her love life.

About the author:

D. T. Dyllin was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and very spoiled GSD. This is her debut novel.

Book Review: Blood for Love by Chris M. Finkelstein

Title: Blood for Love
Author: Chris M. Finkelstein
Paperback: 346 pages
Publisher: Crave Books (April 3, 2011)

Ratings:

★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Blood for Love tells the story of mother and son, Martha and Jan living in a planet where love is considered as a dangerous virus. Once a person is found to be carrying this virus in his/her system (in short loving someone), the person will be automatically executed by DeathBT or Death by Torture.

Love is only allowed for mother and child during the first five years. When the child reaches the age of five, the mother and child should separate and must go through love-deprogramming rehabilitation for four weeks. Love deprogramming means torture
for both mother and child, this way love will be forgotten and will then be replaced by hate.

I liked the book, the story was interesting. However, it was not easy to read especially the part where the government is torturing the "love-lovers". After reading chapter 2, I had to stop and put the book down. I wasn't ready for this. It took me days to pick up the book again and when I did, I was surprised with myself that I was able to read the whole book (with some skimming due to cruelty and violence).

This is such a thought-provoking story. The plot is so original and so interesting, even the characters held my attention. Overall, it wasn't an easy book to read because of the violence and cruelty. However, I believe this is a great book I would like to recommend to those readers looking for a unique experience.
 

About the book:

This is the story of the life of Jan, a gifted male D’otian living on a violent, predatory planet. His mother Martha is part of a love-preservation network, outlawed by a world in which love is punished by DeathBT.

When the underground network attempts a daring escape into the poisoned wildlands, they inadvertently cause a catastrophic explosion.

The explosion draws the instant wrath of the now doomed NOV, the only remaining nation on D’ot. The escapees take off into the wildlands, with stolen vaccines that they need to survive out there. The wildlands are aptly named.

Jan is guided to a five thousand year old hidden temple, which holds treasures and knowledge never before seen. The escapees begin to hope for a brave new world of peace and freedom, but the NOV continues to haunt Jan’s dreams.

Can the reptilian humanoids overcome their violent nature?

What will they do with freedom?

Can they control what they have found in the hidden temple? - Goodreads

About the author:

Chris M. Finkelstein was born in the woods and raised by Christian wolves that had become secular Jews by two thousand years of refinement, the first half quite dark. - Amazon

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Chris M. Finkelstein. The review posted above is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Book Review: Riser by Becca Smith

Title: Riser

Author: Becca Smith

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace (June 5, 2010)

Ratings:

★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book very much. The author wove a unique futuristic storyline that definitely grabbed my attention. I think writing a futuristic storyline can be hard as there are so many things to consider. 

In this book, in the year 2020, anti-aging pill or Age-pro was invented and by taking this pill anyone could be eighteen forever. You can actually  determine whether a person is rich or poor by their looks since Age-pro is quite expensive. People who had money can start taking the pill at eighteen while those people who had less money, they usually start taking the pill at the age of thirty. The story is unique too because the lead character, Chelsan has the ability to raise or re-animate every dead thing within the four-mile radius. Reminds me of Anita Blake, the lead character in the Anita Blake Series who's main job is to raise zombies. Such an interesting power to have. 

I would have rated this book 5-star if not for the following reasons:

First, all three guys here are drooling over Chelsan and Nancy. To be honest, it was a little bit annoying to read. I would really prefer guys do not drool over girls.

Secondly, the story became predictable when the killer was known right after Chelsan's mother was murdered. So there's nothing much to think about except the revelation of Chelsan's mom and pop's love story.

Overall, it was a great book. If you are looking for a nice refreshing story, you might want to pick-up this book.

About the book:

Black swirling holes churning madly in the center of every corpse. This is how eighteen-year-old Chelsan Derée sees the deceased. Her ability to connect to the black spinning holes allows her to control every dead thing within a four-mile radius. But that's the least of her problems. It's 2320 and Chelsan Derée has to survive another year of high school, which for her is pure and utter torture, mainly due to the fact that her schoolmate Jill Forester's favorite activity is making Chelsan's life a living hell. If that isn't enough, Chelsan's impossible crush on Ryan Vaughn makes her brain do somersaults on a regular basis, especially since she is positive he doesn't know she exists. And being eighteen Chelsan has to deal with the pressure of whether or not she should take a little pill called Age-pro, which cures aging, making the world eighteen forever and highly over-populated. When Chelsan's mother, Janet, is brutally killed, along with everyone else in her trailer park, Chelsan finds out that she was the intended target. Chelsan must use her power to raise and control the dead to save herself, protect her friends and take down the man responsible for murdering her mother. - Amazon

About the author:

Becca C Smith received her Film degree from Full Sail University and has worked in the Film and Television industry for most of her adult life. Becca wrote and illustrated Little Family Secrets, a graphic novel based on the true story of her great aunt who was famous for murdering her husband. Becca is also the co-author of the teen graphic novel Ghost Whisperer: The Haunted. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and two cats Jack and Duke. - Amazon

Note:


I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Beccaa Smith. The review posted above is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book. 

Book Review: Rook: Allie's War, Book One by JC Andrijeski

Title:  Rook: Allie's War, Book One
Author:  JC Andrijeski
Paperback:  408 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (February 11, 2011)


Ratings:

★ ★ ★   



My thoughts:


The government has discovered another species, called the seers. They look humans only with super powers. The government is using them as weapons in wars, when not fighting they are treated as slaves wearing collars like dogs. 


I actually am not sure how to rate this book. I am in between rating this 2-star or 4-star. 4-star mainly because I enjoyed the story especially the main characters Allie and Revik along with the secondary characters Cass and Jon. I am considering 2-star because as soon as the sarks and seers were introduced, I began skimming. It's like how I reacted when I watched the movie Avatar. I loved the story (even watched it twice) but there were things I just couldn't understand there. In this book, although the story was interesting, I had a hard time understanding the seers and their powers. Overall, it was a good story, I would still recommend this book to all sci-fi lovers out there. 


About the book:

"You are the Bridge..." Twenty-eight-year-old San Francisco native, Allie Taylor, knew she had issues…but she at least thought she was human. In her version of modern day Earth, a second race of human-like beings called seers were discovered in Asia in the early 1900s. Since then, they have fought in two world wars and live alongside humans as second-class citizens. So when Allie meets her first, real, flesh-and-blood seer, she's not exactly thrilled when he tells her that she's a seer like him. Not only that, but according to him, all the other seers believe she's going to end the world. Worse, no matter what she does, everything that happens after that only seems to prove him right. - Amazon



About the author:

JC Andrijeski has lived or spent considerable time in India, Vancouver BC, San Francisco, Albuquerque, Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, San Diego, Prague, London, Berlin, Sydney and Swinoujscie, Poland. She currently lives in McLeod Ganj, India, where she writes full time and does volunteer work. For more information about her and her writing, visit www.jcandrijeski.com.


Note:


I received a review copy of this book free from the author, JC Andrijeski. The review posted above is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.