Book Reivew

The Awakening

The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy #1)

By: Nora Roberts

Blurb:

In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword—representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own…

When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twentysomething mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father—and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.

This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here, she will begin to understand why she kept seeing that silver-haired, elusive man, why she imagined his voice in her head saying Come home, Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home. Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies—through a portal in Galway that takes her to a land of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny…

Review:

As soon as I started reading The Awakening, I struggled to put it down. I wasn’t able to focus on anything once I started. I was surprised by that because I expected this story to be like Robert’s The One Chronicles. It was very light on romance, like that series, but The Awakening was nowhere near as dark. It was almost like reading a wish-fulfillment book. The main character was miserable in her life, though she had a found family that she loved completely. She finds out that her mother has been hiding a fortune from her and can then live the life she’s always wanted. She goes to Ireland, something I’ve always wanted to do. She starts writing a book and ends up being very good at it, something I’ve tried to do with varying levels of success. She then finds out that there’s a multiverse, and she’s got powers, something I think everyone has wanted at some point in their lives.

Even with how much I loved The Awakening, I did have a couple of complaints. Well, not complaints exactly, but things I wasn’t all on board with. The biggest one being the relationship between the main character and what will inevitably be her love interest. He was a bully while training her and gruff and rude while not, but I was supposed to believe that she was attracted to him. Their “relationship” would have seemed to come out of nowhere if I wasn’t used to these types of books. It was seriously lacking in any kind of attraction or build up.

I also wish it hadn’t ended on a cliffhanger. That’s only a complaint because it was so good I want to read the next book NOW. The next book doesn’t come out till November, so I’ve got a wait ahead. Considering how long I had to wait for this book from the library, I might pre-order the sequel.

Besides all the wish-fulfillment going on with The Awakening, I loved the world that was created. It’s not one I necessarily think I could live in, I love technology too much for that, but it sounded beautiful. More than a few times, I set aside the book and searched for cottages in Ireland. The descriptions were gorgeous. I also loved that all these fairy tale creatures were able to live together in harmony. The world sounded like a utopia, except for the whole fact that a demon god was trying to destroy it and everything else.

The Awakening was an excellent read, and even though it wasn’t like Nora Robert’s books of old, it was one I’m incredibly excited to keep reading. It’s the middle of January, and I’ve already read one of my favorite books of the year. It’s crazy.

5/5

Firefight (Reckoners #2) By: Brandon Sanderson

Firefight-by-Brandon-Sanderson

Firefight (Reckoners #2) By: Brandon Sanderson

Plot:

They told David it was impossible–that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet, Steelheart–invincible, immortal, unconquerable–is dead. And he died by David’s hand.

Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life more simple. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And there’s no one in Newcago who can give him the answers he needs.

Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic, Regalia, David is sure Babylon Restored will lead him to what he needs to find. And while entering another city oppressed by a High Epic despot is a gamble, David’s willing to risk it. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David’s heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic–Firefight. And he’s willing to go on a quest darker, and more dangerous even, than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answers.

Review:

Sanderson certainly knows how to write a climactic ending. I was on the edge of my seat as the book came to a close and immediately wanted to read the next. In the heat of the moment I forgot all the little things that annoyed me and had to know what was going to happen next, now that I’m done though all those little things are rearing their heads.

David is an annoying protagonist. I’m not sure if it’s just because he’s acting like a typical nineteen year old boy or if the writing really is inconsistent. One minute David is figuring out something that no one else has before, the next he’s acting like a complete idiot. Flashes of brilliance followed by extreme idiocy. Could just be a typical nineteen year old boy.

I enjoyed how the world was developed but I’m not really liking the Reckoners. They deal with too much black and white and are so resistant to anything they don’t immediately understand. They don’t seem willing to explore new ideas and it was a constant battle for David to get them to do anything.

There were a few deaths in the book but none of them hit me. The characters just didn’t resonate with me and their loss felt like nothing. Their deaths didn’t impact the story in any way except to prove that someone was evil and honestly I already didn’t like that person.

There’s a short story in between this book and the first, Mitosis. I bought it while it was on sale, but was in the middle of reading something else and then totally forgot it. I highly recommend reading it before this book because it’s referenced several times and seems to do a fair amount of world building by explaining Epics powers and weaknesses.

Even with what I disliked this book was still great. I didn’t think it was as dark as the first and I ended up flying through it. Excited for the next in the series, but I have a wait since its current release date is Feb. 16, 2016.

4.5/5

To Kill a Warlock (Dulcie O’Neil #1) By: H.P. Mallory

To Kill a Warlock

To Kill a Warlock (Dulcie O’Neil #1) By: H.P. Mallory

Plot:

The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch. Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She’s a Regulator—a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she’s either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim. Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie’s got her hands full. As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.

Review:

This book has been on my to-read pile for a while, but for whatever reason, I didn’t read it until now. It’s weird, this is definitely my kind of book, but I never really got into it.

Dulcie is a fairy and her love interest is a Loki, neither are supernaturals I normally read, but both something I’m interested in. Dulcie was gorgeous but hated her pointed fairy ears. She was supposed to be the best at her job and was also writing a novel because she really wanted to be an author.

My favorite parts in the book were the parts where she was writing, the rest was fine but not something I really got into. The bad guy was fairly obvious and because of all the clues that were given I felt like Dulcie was stupid for not realizing it. I’m also tired of books where the heroine is beautiful and has multiple men after her, but that has become a pet peeve of mine.

It was an interesting world and I liked some side characters so I wouldn’t be opposed to reading the next in the series, I’m just not in a hurry to do it.

3/5