Review: The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Book: The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton
Series: The Faerie Ring #1
Genre: Fantasy / Young Adult
Buy A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository
Available Formats: Print / Ebook
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
First Sentence: "You wouldn't be here pickin' pockets, would you?"
How Did I Get This Book: From Publisher, For Review
Description: Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger.  
The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.
Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty… 

The Faerie Ring features a dynamic, likable cast of characters.  The heroine, Tiki is strong-willed, independent, courageous, loyal and caring. Basically, she’s my kind of girl.  Honestly, I loved all of the characters – so much in fact that I wish I could have seen more of them. I understand that the book is centered around Tiki, but I would have loved to learn more about her self-proclaimed “family” – especially Fiona and Shamus.  They both appear to be incredibly interesting characters. In my opinion, Hamilton has struck gold with this ragtag group of petty criminals and I would love to see her expand on them.

The romance between Tiki and Rieker was paced extremely well and I found myself wholeheartedly believing their relationship and interactions.  There wasn’t an all consuming pull between them – they BOTH could keep their heads on straight. Granted, TIki irritated me at times, but I am infinitely grateful that Hamilton wrote her with a independent streak a mile long. Rieker for his part certainly wasn’t perfect either. But he tries to do right by Tiki and that’s all we can really ask for.

However, I felt like a lot of the drama between Tiki and Reiker was unjustified and unnecessary. I am not saying that Tiki should have trusted him right off, but I felt like their relationship traveled in circles. She made some choices that I found rather naïve and she was constantly jumping to conclusions.  

Let’s talk about the setting for a minute. I will be upfront with you – Victorian London is one of my absolute favorite settings.  I will read practically anything that takes place there, so I was instantly on board for The Faerie Ring from the word go. That being said, I obviously adored that aspect of the book Hamilton did an incredible job with both the setting and crafting the characters to fit into the setting.  

I did have a few issues with The Faerie Ring, but all things considered, Hamilton has created one heck of a story. It’s got excitement, mystery, danger, romance and a healthy dose of magic. I cannot wait to see what comes next for Tiki!

Favorite Quotes

Just like a kitten pretending to be a lion.

Oh bloody hell. She'd just stolen the queen's ring.

Tiki was uncomfortably aware of how close Rieker was standing to her, yet at the same time she felt pulled toward him, as though in the grip of a magnet.

Tiki ran hard, ignoring the startled looks of strangers. It felt good to run, to run away from her sadness and fear.

Expecting his usual aloof expression, she saw instead that his smoky eyes were locked on her face and the walls that he usually hid behind were gone. There was something that looked almost like longing in his expression. 

Rieker's hand slid from her wrist to her hand, and his fingers entwined around hers. Before she could move, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. Instead of being afraid, Tiki felt an odd sense of safety.

"My God, girl, you can bugger up any well-thought-out scheme."

A few strands of his long, dark hair had been caught by the wind and blown against his face. Without thinking, she reached up and smoothed the strands away from his skin, wishing she could smooth away the pain etched there.

"One minute sweet and nice, like a lovable little kitten, the next she'd give you a pop in the jaw if you say the wrong thing."

A cry of despair escaped her lips. When had she fallen in love with him?

"We're bound by more than love, it would seem. Destiny seems to have plans for us as well."

Review: The Tinkerer's Daughter by Jamie Sedgwick

Today is my tour stop for Jamie Sedgwick's The Tinkerer's Daugther! This tour was put together and hosted by Book Lovin Bitches.

Book: The Tinkerer's Daughter by Jamie Sedgwick
Pages: 314
Genre: Fantasy / Steampunk 
Buy A Copy: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
Available Formats: Ebook / Paperback
Publication Date: January 25th, 2011
First Sentence:  "My only clear memory of my father is from the day he left me."
How Did I Get This Book:  From Book Tour (Book Lovin' Bitches)
Description: Breeze is an outcast, a half-breed orphan born into a world torn apart by one thousand years of war. Breeze never knew her elven mother. When her father -a human soldier- is called back to the war, he leaves Breeze in the safest place he knows: in the care of a reclusive tinker. The Tinkerman's inventions are frightening at first; noisy, smelly, dangerous machines that have little practical use. But elves mature quickly, and Breeze is no exception. When the war comes home, Breeze sees an opportunity. If she succeeds, she will change the world forever. If she fails, Breeze will be considered a traitor to both countries and she'll be hunted to her death.

The Tinkerer’s Daughter is certainly an interesting undertaking. It aims to combine steampunk and high fantasy and yields so-so results. Breeze is a half-breed; half Tal-mar (elvan), half human. Due to her unusual heritage, she has led an extremely sheltered life, but that all changes when she is left in the care of the Tinkerman. 

Breeze is, if anything, an intriguing character. She has inherited features from both her parents; which makes her an entirely unique individual. She possesses magic, but does not suffer from the ill effects that iron usually has on the Tal-mar (Elves/Fae). While her magic presented a sort of exciting unknown quality, I thought that some of Breeze’s other qualities hindered the story – mainly her strange aging. Breeze has an unusually long lifespan and physically matures faster than normal humans. So, her body matures faster than her mind. This means when she looks like a teenager, mentally she is still a child. But then, she is incredibly smart – like genius smart. She begins helping the tinkerer with his projects and is instantly able to grasp extremely difficult concepts and ideas. Long story short, I had a rather difficult time getting a hold on her character – which means I struggled to connect. Unfortunately, I just was never able to really get a read on her.

I also struggled with the plotline of the story. I thought there were elements that were well-done, but there were also things that I wish were done differently.  Let’s start with what I liked about the plot. I was a huge fan of the relationship between the Tinkerer and Breeze – I thought there was something so genuine about it. I love that neither one of them were expecting to find solace in each other – yet they did. I also enjoyed the whole racism twist on things – a lot of hate is thrown Breeze’s way. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like stories about underdogs overcoming the odds and finding acceptance? 

However, like I said, there were some things I did not like about the plot. My main issue with it was it’s predictability. Honestly, it was incredibly easy to work out. I for one, like stories to surprise me and unfortunately, The Tinkerer’s Daughter didn’t. 

I also wasn’t overly impressed with the writing style. It’s not that I found errors or struggled to understand things, it’s just that the writing didn’t grip me. I am not sure if this can be attributed to the predictability of the plot, but the writing seemed, for lack of a better word, bland - I wasn’t swept up by it.

That being said, I did enjoy The Tinkerer’s Daughter. I am a sucker for steampunk stories and I was really intrigued by Sedgwick’s decision to combine it with a high-fantasy storyline and setting. It took me a while to get through this one, but in the end, I was glad I read it.

Favorite Quotes

"No it wasn't just that he was gone forever. We were gone. That magical spark between two people who love and understand one another explicitly was gone forever from my life, and it left me less than whole."

"Anything's possible, if you try hard enough."

"There are millions of things that could go wrong every day, from the time we get up in the morning to the time we hit the pillow at night. We can't live our lives worrying about what-ifs. We have to focus on doing the best we can, and making the most of what we've got."

"I turned away and left him standing there with his jaw hanging open, stricken speechless by the very audacity of the half-breed girl who wouldn't take "no" for an answer."

Review: Blood Faerie by India Drummond

Book: Blood Faerie by India Drummond
Series: Caledonia Fae #1
Pages: 203
Genre: Young Adult / Urban Fantasy / Horror
Buy A Copy: Amazon
Available Formats: Ebook 
Publication Date: June 1st, 2011
How Did I Get This Book: From Author for Review
First Sentence: "Eilidh detected the greasy scent of evil moments before she heard the scream below."
Preview Book: Read Chapter One
Description: Sentenced to death, Eilidh ran—away from faerie lands, to the streets of Perth, Scotland. Just as she has grown accustomed to exile, local police discover a mutilated body outside the abandoned church where she lives. Recognising the murder as the work of one of her own kind, Eilidh must choose: flee, or learn to tap into the forbidden magic that cost her everything. 

I had the pleasure of reviewing India's last book, Ordinary Angels and was instantly a fan. Her latest effort, Blood Faerie, makes an incredible impression as well. From the very first line, Drummond had me completely hooked into Eilidh's world. 

I am not going to get into analyzing the story, because believe me, it is amazing. It's beyond creative; I have never read anything quite like this before. Drummond breathes new life into the tried-and-true faerie story with this adventurous and exciting story. What really stood out to me while reading Blood Fearie was the writing. In short, I thought it was beautiful. I must have flagged 20 different passages; some for humor, some for beauty and some just for the striking sentence construction. Take a look at some from the selection below, I managed to narrow it down to 12 - which took a great deal of effort. 


The characters and settings are also unbelievably well done. It is impossible not to connect with Eilidh; even though she technically isn't even human. She is an outsider, who has been forsaken by her people - yet she remains a caring and loving individual. When she met and formed an unconventional friendship with a local police officer (Quinton Munro), I was practically jumping for joy. As a reader, you cannot deny these two; their scenes together are pure magic. Being a faerie, Eilidh is intelligent, yet naive when it comes to human interactions. This creates a number of hilarious scenes between human and faerie, including a mishap involving a shower.


Like I mentioned above, the settings that Drummond depicts are incredible. The story takes place in Scotland and features both bustling, modern cities and lush, spacious forests. I could picture each vivid detail while reading Blood Faerie, and was completely swept up in it. 


Blood Faerie is an incredible effort by Drummond. It is undeniably creative, interesting, exciting and unique. The writing is beautifully done and Drummond constructs an unforgettable set of characters that you will easily fall for. I for one, adored Blood Faerie and cannot wait for the sequel to come out.

Favorite Quotes

"Evil smelled like nothing else, worse than a rotting corpse, worse than sewage and disease, more vile than the fumes that billowed from modern machinery, more cloying than the shame of drunken whores."

"In her time in the human city, she'd noticed the police often had that stance, as if making themselves oak-like would deter wrongdoers."

"A hard pain it Munro's spine as it lurched into an awkward curve, arching his back off the surface where he lay. Muscles contracted, jerking and releasing, jerking and releasing. The calm voices grew insistent and frenzied, but in a controlled, orchestrated way."

"Her body poised with the tension of a wild animal, ready to pounce - or to flee. So beautiful, he thought. As he voiced the words, she faded away, and his world returned to blackness."

"The pair stood in long silence. Another thing Eilidh missed. Humans rushed everywhere, filled every moment with noise. They lacked the discipline of quiet."

"...but those eyes made him take her very seriously. Beautiful, yes. Delightful and enchanting, definitely. But absolutely dangerous."

"Perhaps, more than anything, it occurred to her that maybe she didn't have to spend the rest of eternity alone. One person could know, perhaps. One friend. Maybe. This strange human shed a ray of hope into her life."

"Her tone held a challenge. She did not need his condemnation or what his pity. Once, she had wanted his love, but that time had passed into dust. There was no point wanting things that could never be."

"He wouldn't have to search for her long. She was nestled in his thoughts like a pebble in his shoe. His mind pointed toward her as if she were true north."

"Although she had a slight build, Eilidh was solid and heavier than she first appeared. Rather than throw her over his shoulder, he tried to carry her as though propping up a drunken friend. People would accept the latter without question, but a burly guy carrying a woman fireman-style? That might draw second looks."

"Munro stood in the doorway, watching the two faeries peer into his fridge as thought it was the strangest thing they'd ever seen."

"Without warning, he felt a familiar tug. Eilidh. If the intensity of the sensation was anything to go by, she was coming back and moving quickly. He had no way of knowing how long she would take, but it made his heart lighter to know he would see her soon."

Review: Moon Spell by Samantha Young

Book:  Moon Spell by Samantha Young

Stand-Alone or Series: Series, The Tale of Lunarmorte #1
Pages: 222

Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
Purchase A Copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
Publication Date: March 1st, 2011

Description:  Existing in the shadows of our world are supernatural races; children blessed by the ancient Greek gods with unimaginable gifts, and at present they are fighting a two thousand year old war with one another.

The Midnight Coven, an alliance of dark magiks, faeries, and daemons born of black magik, believe that vampyres and lykans are lesser supernaturals and a threat to mankind.
The Daylight Coven, a confederate of light magiks, faeries, vampyres and lykans, believe in the equality of the races.

Into this war, seventeen year old Caia Ribeiro is born, a lykan with a heritage unlike any other. A heritage that, whether she wants it to or not, will put her into the ver heart of battle.

 

Moon Spell is a remarkable young adult fantasy that is propelled by lies, deceit and love. The writing style is quite unique; though it is targeted to teenagers, it reads more like an adult urban fantasy than a young adult novel. I would imagine this is due the age difference between the two main characters. Caia is a seventeen year old who has recently been reunited with her lykan pack. Lucien, who is ten years her senior is the pack alpha and her primary love interest. I will be honest, the age difference does bother me a bit. I wish Caia could atleast have been 18 - but I guess it's no different than a vampire creeping on a teenage girl. And Young does go through great pains to emphasize how different the pack is from normal humans, so it cushions the shock a bit. Anyways, I think this range of age contributes to the unusually tone of the book because it has to properly capture a teenage girl and a 27 year old man. 

Caia is a marvelous character with a huge independent streak that doesn’t bode well with the pack, who obviously, are more “group” people. She wasn’t raised with a pack and therefore has always kept to herself. The heartthrob of the book, Lucien (the pack alpha) is very thing you’ve come to expect from alphas; he is completely swoon-worthy and incredibly overprotective. He is drawn to Caia more than anyone before and at first it scares him. He doesn’t really know how to react to her. Together they are the perfect match – she is the yin to his yang. She balances him out; where he is quick to act on his emotions, she is usually calm, quiet and collected.

The rest of the pack is incredibly colorful and unique.  Some Caia counts as friends, but unfortunately there are those who are dead set against her.  They are weary of her presence – with her slight build and calm demeanor she is obviously different. Despite the tension Caia manages to make a few strong connections with a few of her teenage peers – mainly Sebastian and Jaeden.  These two characters do a great job of defusing the tension of the novel.  

The plotline chugs along at a respectable pace and there are more plot twists than I care to count. Every time I thought I had things figured out, the story took an unexpected turn.  Young also is somehow able to bring something new to the ‘werewolf’ table – she connects them to Greek Mythology.  This places a fun spin onto the traditional take of werewolves and allows for some surprises to take place. 

I am eager to dive into the sequel, River Cast to see what becomes of my new favorite lykans. If you are looking for an exciting fantasy read that will keep you on your toes, then give Moon Spell a try!

 Favorite Quotes

"She held herself far more coolly than the rest of them. She was like water to their fire."

"Lykans were an emotional lot, he was used to women crying and shouting over nothing. But the sight of Caia curled up on the bathroom floor with true pain behind her eyes had done something to his insides. He never wanted to see her like that again."

"Just as he pulled his t-shirt back on, he looked back up at her window to see her standing looking down at him. She wore  a small smile, her eyes really soft on his for the first time. She gave a slight wave, and moved away from the window into the darkness of her room. Something inside Lucien split open."

"She had never wanted to feel anything for anyone and now her heart was breaking for two lykans."

"She lay panting underneath him, her eyes wide on his as he gazed back at her with such tenderness and lust she thought she would shatter."

"She closed her eyes and slumped in her chair, refusing to look at the big oaf."

"Holy Artemis, how could she still want him after that he-man display of outrageousness?"

"Oh, please," he scoffed, "Enough with the threats you pint-sized harpy."

Review: Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

 

Book:  Born At Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Alone: Series, Shadow Falls #1
Pages:  416

Genre: Young Adult
Purchase A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository
Publication Date: March 29th, 2011

Description: Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams,  Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever.  Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.”  Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.
Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either.  Or does she?  They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason.  As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas.  Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past.  Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. 
Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

Born at Midnight was an entertaining read for me, but it did not bring anything new to the table. Paranormal Young Adult Romances are absolutely everywhere and unfortunately, this one did not stand out. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but I cannot say that it made a lasting impression on me.

I found the story overall to be a bit, shall we say, theatrical. The characters themselves are all a bit over the top and extremely dramatic. Kylie tends to wallow and whine for the majority of the book – which got under my skin. In the rare instances that she put her big girl panties on, she was a smart, snarky character. I can only hope that she will grow up a bit during the next book and learn to stop complaining all of the time.

However, I am completely in love with the secondary characters; especially Kylie’s two roommates, Miranda and Della (a witch and a vampire) and the perverted shapeshifter, Perry. All three of them have a great dynamic and I would have loved to see more of them. They liven up the story and often draw Kylie away from her poor me pity party.

Now, let’s talk love interests. Oh my, there are just so many. Are you tired of the dreaded love triangle? Yeah, me too. Unfortunately, Hunter’s solution for this is to create a love square. Here we have traditional good boy vs. the “misunderstood” bad boy, but now we’ve added exactly one apologizing ex-boyfriend into the mix. Tell me, how many suitors does one girl need? Because there are so many different options, we don’t spend a great deal of time with any of them in particular. Therefore, I did not get a good handle on them and they just end up seeming a bit stereotypical. The additional boy also doesn’t solve the problem of predictability – it is still obvious where the story is going with this one. Simply follow the angst kiddies. 

Like I said before, I did enjoy Born at Midnight while I was reading it. The story is easy to follow and the characters are certainly entertaining, but do not expect anything out of the box. Hunter sticks with the tried and true Young Adult + Paranormal Romance formula and produces a light, entertaining read. If you are looking for something to keep you occupied for a few hours that does not exactly bog your brain down, then give Born at Midnight a try.

 

Review: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

Book: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price
Series or Stand-Alone: Series, Alex Craft #1
Pages: 325
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Description (From Goodreads): As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself—who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans—nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around…

To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something—though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex—but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life…and her soul.

When I first heard of this book (no doubt somewhere on the blogosphere) it immediately caught my eye. I have read a lot of witch books recently – but Grave Witch stands on its own. While the plot was somewhat formulaic , Price brings enough excitement and creativity to the table to keep things interesting.

Alex Craft is a P.I. who also dabbles in grave magic. She can raise “shades”; unemotional versions of the former person. She is what I’ve come to determine as your traditional Urban Fantasy heroine – her circumstances are rather bleak, she’s had a rough life and is incredibly snarky. What stands out about Alex is her grave magic. While I have read plenty of books where witches interact with ghosts, I have never seen anything to this extent. It is really quite fascinating how the magic works, how she slips in and out of “grave sight”. Using her sight causes her to go temporarily blind and causes her body temp to drop substantially.

However, the real goldmines in Grave Witch are the secondary characters -especially my personal favorite character, Death. Yes, Death. Because of Alex’s slightly malfunctioning grave magic, she is the only living person in the world who can see Death (without using Grave Sight). Therefore, the two of them have an interesting bond.  Death occasionally stops by for a chat and some coffee, or to reap someone’s soul in front of her. He is drop dead gorgeous (pun intended) and gives off somewhat of a romantic vibe. I personally, love this idea. I have no idea how a relationship with Death would work, so of course, I am all for it. I say go for it Price.

The other romantic interest for Alex is the cop she is working with, Falin Andrews. I loved the interactions between Falin and Alex – they play off each other nicely.  But, while I liked Falin’s character – he definitely wasn’t an original concept. I think we’ve all seen the hot overbearing, un-approving sort of “frenemy” who drips with sexual attraction. Honestly, been their done that. However, Price does manage to throw in a few plot twists where Falin is concerned, so things do start to get interesting.   

While some of the plotline and characters were rather formulaic, I still enjoyed Grave Witch. Price injects enough excitement, action, suspense and originality (especially with my friend, Death) that things stay interesting. The pacing was good; it never really felt drawn out or rushed. I did enjoy Grave Witch, I just wasn’t madly in love with it. I will be reading the next book, hopefully I will love it. There is definitely a great deal of potential and there are numerous places for the plotline to go, so hopefully book 2 will stray from the traditional urban fantasy a bit more.