Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 3 of 5 genies
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Magic, Fairies, Paranormal, Adventure, Romance
Published: February 1, 2010
Pages: 363
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: Library Loan
Format: Paperback
Purchase At: TheBookDepository.com or Amazon.com

Goodreads Summary

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

My Thoughts

*Ahem* As I am queen procrastinator I would like to now announce this review.

2 weeks late.

*Crowd boos*

Yeah, I know, On with it:


Ok so, confession time! I liked this more the second time around (can I call it that since I technically didn't finish it the first read through? BAH!)



Rating: 3 genies

Characters: 4 genies

Plot: 3.5 genies

Setting: 5 genies

H.M.: honourable mention must go to Puck! Count me as your newest fan, Goodfellow.

P.A.: Problem Areas? I only had some with the QueenI have a rod up my bumTitania and Meghan which is funny because Queen mab is a total broad as well. She just isn't as bad a word as Titania; I'll get to talking about Meghan later...

I'm kind of still in shock that I got through this, I mean who would have imagined I'd be here, writing asecondreview that doesn't contain multiple four letter words at every given instance???

NOT ME.



Because quite frankly, I couldn't stand reading this the first time around. It was probably one of those cases of building myself up and having it fall flat. Everyone was talking about the Iron Fey series as if it was the shiz - Team Puck this, Team Ash that - I mean really?!



That monkey business ain't even intelligent. It's decent, in my opinion, a good read flourishing with beautiful writing and entertaining characters often over-shadowed by an at times juvenile protagonist. The story gets you where you want to go and back, it does the job. And honestly this girl is not the worst ever, I've hated some leading ladies worse than Meghan, oh be sure of that! I hear that she's more bearable as the series progresses so we'll see how our relationship goes from there, but I'm taking it all with a grain of salt.

Having hopes set high and then watching as the are dashed is a hard thing to experience; I get what you might be thinking, "Suck it up princess, shiz happens," but until you've felt what it's like to go into something expecting one thing and coming out with another...Well you just don't get it.




I have minimal to no qualms with the writing, the plot is developed very nicely as is the action; although the way Meghan continuously lands herselfand others into trouble is tremendously annoying.

I couldn't help rolling my eyes and kind of yelling into the book, "STOP MAKING PROMISES, YOU DUMMY!! THEY ARE NOT NICE PEOPLE. THEY ARE THE FEY WITH THE VERY SHARP TEETH!"




Gosh, you think a person would learn.

However, she is just sixteen, and maybe at that age you don't exactly have all your magical castles and rainbow stockings quite together yet, so I will make an allowance.Even though I really am just one year older myself.Just. This. Once. Because it is almost Christmas and I like being on the good list. Hear that, Santa, give me what I want!

*Note: I will probably not get what I wished for as Santa hates me. He doesn't come to my house anymore and my father eats all the cookies, yes it has nothing to do with this review, but I might be ADD and thought to mention. If you are experiencing such discrimination, let me know. I would love tohate ontalk about Santa with you.*

------------------------So basically----------------------------


I'd say this was an average experience for me, I got in and out pretty much the same; it killed time and by the end I kinda was glad I got through it. When I dropped this the first time I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe I'd given up to easily (I did stop on page 91!) So I sat down and after reassessing it, asked the library to loan me the book one more time.

That was a pretty great move, because now I like Grimalkin more than I did before and secretly harbour a dream to capture him in plush. Yes, plush! I would adore a furry one by my bedside, what with the sharp teeth and crazy smile and eyes that never stop staring....You get the idea. Read this book from your library if possible, I'm glad I did.

Review: Betwixt by Tara Bray Smith

Betwixt by Tara Bray Smith
My rating: 1.5 of 5 genies
Genre: YA+ Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Dark
Published: January 1, 2009
Pages: 512
Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Purchase At: TheBookDepository.com or Amazon.com

Goodreads Summary

For three teenagers, dark mystery has always lurked at the corner of the eyes and the edge of sleep. Beautiful Morgan D'Amici wakes in her trailerpark home with dirt and blood under her fingernails. Paintings come alive under Ondine Mason's violet-eyed gaze. Haunted runaway Nix Saint-Michael sees halos of light around people about to die.

At a secret summer rave in the woods, the three teenagers learn of their true, changeling nature and their uncertain, intertwined destinies. Riveting, unflinching, beautiful, Betwixt shows a magic as complex and challenging as any ordinary reality.

My Thoughts

Creepy does not even come close to describing this book. I wanted to like it, and even put in an honest effort into reading the first couple chapters, however it royally sucked. The characters were all so trashy and the author's attempt at making them seem different from every other YA Paranormal stereo-type really didn't come across very well.

Many of the people featured in this book have serious issues and I could never get into it because of how unrelatable the characters were to me. The guys have issues, the girls need to learnt that skanky behavior is not in. All of them should see someone about the possible STD's contracted during one of their ridiculously skeevy parties and Smith needs to learn that twisted literature like this is NOT Y. A. It is mature. Trying to make a quick buck by marketing the book out to "Fans of Twilight" is a technique that is getting pretty old for me fast, and especially when the content boarders highly on being a little too adult.

I enjoyed the cover and thought that it was pretty for a while - hence why I bought it - but eventually the compounded weirdness of everyone just grew too much to handle. This book is weird. Save yourself the money, I kind of regret now that I didn't. The only thing going for this book is the creativeness of its concept, I have never seen anything like this before. If you want something different, a little bit startling, and do not mind the tad slowness in terms of pace, this book could work better for you. It just didn't do it at all for me.

Verdict: Something saved this book from completely sucking. Otherwise, it would be forgettable at the very best, and yet, there were redeemable qualities somewhere.

Review: The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams

The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 genies
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Adventure, Fiction
Published: October 25, 2011
Pages: 307
Publisher: Ace
Source: Library Loan
Format: Paperback
Purchase At: TheBookDepository.com or Amazon.com

Goodreads Summary

There can only be one allegiance.
It’s her time to choose.

Some humans can see the fae. McKenzie Lewis can track them, reading the shadows they leave behind. But some shadows lead to danger. Others lead to lies.

A Houston college student trying to finish her degree, McKenzie has been working for the fae king for years, tracking vicious rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn’t her only secret. For just as long, she’s been in love with Kyol, the king’s sword-master—and relationships between humans and fae are forbidden.

But any hope for a normal life is shattered when she’s captured by Aren, the fierce and uncompromising rebel leader. He teaches her the forbidden fae language and tells her dark truths about the Court, all to persuade her to turn against the king. Time is running out, and as the fight starts to claim human lives, McKenzie has no choice but to decide once and for all whom to trust and where she ultimately stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.

My Thoughts

I loved this book. Like honestly, it is such an exciting read and it's weird how surprised I am to say that - this book was exciting. Was it perfect? No, very close, but not quite. Williams made the fey sexy and different and so interesting to read about I was wishing myself for a hot fey guy. And other than with Ash from The Iron Fey series that has never happened before.

I guess a part of me still pictures faeries as dancing tree people, or was that the sprites? Anywho, I don't think:

Ooooh, Faerie = Hot!!

Usually, now because of this book, I do. A friend actually recommended this to me - thanks bud! - and I'm so thrilled to have gotten on board with this series. McKenzie is a good heroine. Somebody mentioned that she is constantly in need of saving; well if you were stuck in some dangerous other-world, what would you do? Don't lie, we all know you would not be pillaging the land and proclaiming yourself king/queen. What do you take me for? A human?! On a more serious note, I actually believe that it showed the level and severity of the fey's lethality, the chaos lusters were a fabulous touch on the author's behalf because they were a sure-fire way that no matter what she did McKenzie would always be visibly human. Imagine your skin on fire with skittering lightning, now that's a lot of pressure to fit in!

That said, the setting was purely brilliant; I was both terrified and enthralled by the realm as well as its interesting characters and frightening politics. It's just so weird to think about because they live for, well, forever and I'm kinda just equipped to think of the here and now - max a decade or two in the future - at the moment. How do the faeries handle one person ruling for forever?

{INSERT BIGGEST BRAIN SNAP, CRACKLE, POP EVER} *Judith has officially been mind-stumped.

Now to the MEN. Hey, Williams, do you mind me saying that your male characters are very delicious, like smouldering HOT?? Because I think so. It's funny because Aren and Kyol are described as having both the same coloured eyes but she manages to make them completely different. What I mean to say is that most times the rivalling males will look nothing alike. One could be light haired and dark eyed whilst the other would look like some dark haired and blazing eyed stud, it usually goes this way, but this author manages to make both Kyol and Aren similar but still so unique. It was hard at the beginning because a part of me got so absorbed in who she would ultimately choose - mind you there is nothing wrong/boring with the book that my mind was focussed so steadily to the main character's life more than anything else - but the girl's life was complicated!

It got to the point where I was wishing Williams would make the decision for me. Bottom line, they are both very excellent candidates.

That aside, the plot was engaging, the writing almost flawless - I felt like I was gliding through this book - and the characters, both creepy and not, were developed to perfection.

Some indisputable Facts: I liked The Shadow Reader and I like McKenzie. I also love Williams because the woman is awesome. That is all, Now where is my sequel?!

Final Thoughts: Really good Book! 5/5

Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
My rating: 3 of 5 genies
Published: September 1, 2010 by HarperTeen
Pages: 355
Source: Library Loan
Format: Hardcover
Purchase At: The BookDepository.com or Amazon.com

Goodreads Summary

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.
Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.


So much for normal.

What I liked 

Evie is a likeable protagonist, and extremely easy to follow – a little naive perhaps and at times juvenile – but it is made evident the reason for why this is so. Perhaps the author stressed her locker fetish a bit much and made her childlike almost to a fault, but she is okay by me. Okay enough that I will look into the next book in the series, however not to buy because the ratings for that are floundering at the moment and I am not impressed enough to spend my dollar on something so iffy. It was all so decent. The story was decent, the romance - surprisingly - decent (and kind of cute) also.

You would think that because the protagonist is so new to normalcy things like her first kiss or even holding hands with the guy she likes (Lend is awesome!) would be heavily exaggerated. Luckily though, there is Easton Heights, a very clever invention on White's part to ease much of the differences between Evie and the typical YA protagonist mainly due to her very different background. This fictional high school drama was the perfect educational guide to the world of: Let's Kiss Everything/Everyone/Everywhere, Um, Teenagers.

That helped so much and actually a lot of things in Paranormalcy were innovative. Say, the complete un-attractiveness of other paranormals - vampires in particular - and Evie's ability to see through glamour. Brilliant!! The only thing I kept wishing for was that Edward could kind of superimpose himself into a page but only long enough for her to actually see the pedophilic man lurking underneath! I see you...




Side-note:(And Black people are not the only pedophiles guys, so any trolls trying to bring that up with regards to my gif better get the sitting down! I am black also, and somewhere there is a Hispanic, Caucasian, Asian or even Indian agreeing with me that pedophiles are of all race/color. Need I bring to mind once again Edward? He was white, y'all.)

Speaking of shady characters, Reth was a peculiar one. Reth, Reth just wanted to dance!




And totally creepy-like, but hey! It's all good... I think.

Bottom line though, Reth was evile. EVILE, I say!!! And I loved him. Let me explain: What I mean to say is, Viv wasn't much of a villain, I just ended up feeling bad for her the majority of the time so that completely fell through for me, but Reth was right there to make me hate him without thinking too much about it. Good Old, Reth! As the creepy/over-protective/psychotic/hot-faerie-ex he was the perfect target for my fury.

Raquel was good too, however I'm left unsure how to think of her at this point. Either as a mother-figure to Evie but conflicted by her duties to IPCA? Or A platonic, responsible woman handling best the responsibilities thrust upon her? The unsurity from the protagonist, Evie, only seeped through to me and I suppose only time (and the next book) will tell where things between those two lie.

What Needed Work

With the constant switch between juvenile and then kind of mature, the overall mood of the story was extremely hard to pin-point. Evie's wide-eyed exuberance and kind of clueless behavior was not a selling point for me. I mean: "OOH, A REAL-LIFE LOCKER ANYONE?!"

Yeah, no thanks.

There was a point in my reading when I was like, 'I could be reading something way more exciting,' and this came about because I set my standards way too high. I was expecting WOW and got, IT'S DECENT. So that was a disappointment. I'm dealing with it.

I did love the story and Lend, though. Those things will keep me coming back for the second book! Do not set your expectations too high (it isn't as bad as that sounds) and try it if you're looking for some mild entertainment/an easy read.