All posts by skyebjenner

The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for magnus chase and the hammer of thor book cover

Title: The Hammer of Thor
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Norse mythology, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 12th April – 16th May 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Puffin
Year: 2016
5th sentence, 74th page: The nightly numbers ranged from zero to twelve.

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Synopsis

My name is Magnus Chase. Two months ago I died fighting a fire giant and woke up in Hotel Valhalla as one of Odin’s warriors. Time of a rest? I wish.

When I meet Otis, an informant with a lead on Thor’s missing hammer, all I get is the name ‘Provincetown’ before a wolf-masked assassin takes him out and warns me to stay away.

Someone really doesn’t want me to find the hammer, and even if I could it’s rumoured to be underground, guarded by powerful magic.

But the giant armies are on the move, preparing to invade. If I don’t find it, they’ll ravage the Nine Worlds, starting with the streets of Boston.

There’s just one person who could help. Someone who demands a very high price: the gods’ worst enemy, Loki.

Thoughts

It took me forever to pick this up after finishing Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer. And now that I’ve finished this… I’m really not sure why. Or why it took me so long to get through the first half of this book. This tale has everything that I loved in the Percy Jackson books, but with Vikings. Which, as much as I love Greek mythology, there is something about Vikings and the Norse mythos that is… better.

For the first part of this book, I kept on thinking of Thor like he is in the Marvel movies… gorgeous, powerful and just plain “good”. The Thor in this story is nothing like that. Actually, he’s kind of a bumbling moron. And he farts a lot. And you know, he’s the reason that the whole mess in this story even happens. Because he’s a moron. Which adds a great level of humour throughout the whole novel. One that makes me grateful for Riordan’s writings. And makes me think that I need to keep adding some of his books (the few I don’t have) to my bookshelves.

There are hints from the very beginning of this tale that it isn’t all about Thor’s hammer. But, since I was so caught up in the action and what was happening to Magnus and his friends, I didn’t really pick up on them. It was only in hindsight that I managed to understand all the little clues that Riordan was sliding out for my slow little brain to grasp. Which is kind of great in a book that is aimed at a younger cohort. It makes me excited to reread this book at some point in the future. Read and reread and reread over the years to come, being able to find other “duh” moments throughout this story.

I was so impressed with Riordan’s use of a Muslim lead character in Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer. I was even more head over heels in love, completely impressed, making this man my idol when I realised that he has a trans-person as a secondary lead in this story. Talk about helping to raise a generation on acceptance and love. Alex is feisty and fun, if not a little angry and damaged at times. Also a little too obsessed with taking off people’s heads with a wire… but I digress. Having two people from minorities that are being ostracised today means that I can’t wait until they feature even more strongly in the next Magnus Chase story! Now where did I put that book…??

<- The Sword of SummerThe Ship of the Dead ->

Image source: Amazon

Unbound by Kim Harrison, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson & Jocelynn Drake

Book Review, , , , , , , ,
Overview
Image result for unbound book cover kim harrison

Title: Unbound
Author: Kim Harrison, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson & Jocelynn Drake
In: Unbound (Kim Harrison, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson & Jocelyn Drake)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Short story collections, Strong women, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 29th March – 7th May 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Publisher: EOS
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: Startled, Jenks turned in the air even as Daryl caught her breath only to start coughing.

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Synopsis

Five master of dark fantasy cross the borders between our world and others.

Not all huntersa are bound by human laws…

Revisiting the paranormal realms they’ve made famous in their wildly popular fiction, New York Times bestselling authors Kim Harrison, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson and Jocelynn Drake – plus New York Times bestselling YA author Melissa Marr with her first adult supernatural thriller – unleash their full arsenal of dark talents, plunging us into the shadows where the supernatural stalk the unsuspecting… and every soul is a target. 88 Get ready for the ride of your life – because the wildest magic has just been unleashed…. and evil is about to have its day.

Thoughts

This was a great collection of urban fantasy novellas. Not only did it introduce me to a few new worlds (that are now sitting impatiently on my To Buy List), but it also swept me away into a couple of worlds that I already love, and can’t wait to sink my teeth into again and again. The great balance of known worlds and new ones made me incredibly excited to crack the pages of this collection, and I’m mostly just disappointed that it took me so long to do so…

The stories in Unbound run across a series of paranormal settings and creatures. Yet, they all have powerful women as their core. There is something that always draws me back again and again when the woman is the powerful lead, when she is independent and strong. Even if things tend to go a little haywire when they try to do the right thing…

It took me a little while to read this book. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to dive into the stories, but rather the opposite. I was a little concerned about the depths of my obsession with the stories. I didn’t want to go out and buy a heap of other novels when I still have so many to read. But, honestly, if I wasn’t concerned about spending too much money… I probably would have read all five of these novellas in a day or two. They were all completely amazing!

 <- Two Lines ReviewLey Line Drifter Review ->
Image source: Harper Collins Publisher

Bit the Jackpot by Erin McCarthy

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for bit the jackpot erin mccarthy book cover

Title: Bit the Jackpot
Author: Erin McCarthy
Series: Vegas Vampires #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Romance, Vampires
Dates read: 15th – 16th May 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: In fact, at the moment, as she stood up, she had a sly little smile of satisfaction on her face, despite her no-nonsense words.

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Synopsis

The USA Today bestselling author of High Stakes returns to Sin City, where you can get bitten by the gambling bug – or by the sexiest vampire you’ve ever seen…

Campaign manager – and vampire – Seamus Fox has had his fill of women, since he’s been keeping tabs on his presidential candidate’s wife and female entourage. But suddenly he finds himself obsessed with a mysterious stripper who dances behind a screen. The sultry, yet shy, Cara Kim whets his appetite for more. Leave it to Seamus to fall fangs over feet for that rarest of Vegas attractions – a good girl. After a sudden run-in on the street, thought they may soon have a lot more in common…

Thoughts

This is such a fun, easy, cutsey little read. It doesn’t involve a lot of thought processes to actually read. But it definitely leaves you with a happy, completed feeling when you finish it. Alright, throughout the story there are a number of moments in which you want to just smack Seamus over the head. And tell Cara to get over her shit and be a real adult. But, as a general, this is a fun, easy and cute read. One that I will probably pick up again and again, whenever I just need something happy and cheerful. Something to remind me that the world is actually a happy place and true love does exist.

I never thought I’d read a story about a virgin stripper. It was something of a paradox. One that I wasn’t entirely sure I’d like at the beginning. After all, it is dealing with a number of extremes of a woman’s sexuality. But, somehow McCarthy makes it work. Cara is completely strong and independent. But she’s also incredibly vulnerable, unsure… and in so many ways, prejudiced. She has such odd ideals that make her act and think in a way that makes you want to smack her around the back of her head and tell her to get a clue. Which of course makes the book impossible to put down.

I don’t like uptight men. I don’t like them in real life. And I don’t like them in books. Generally. There is something about Seamus that made me start to think about revising my opinion of uptight men. Only a little bit because every stupid moment that he had was because he was completely rigid and unbending. This was not the kind of man that you think of as your dream man…or at least, it’s not the kind of man I could picture as that. But him and Cara work so incredibly well together that you still have a skipping heart every moment that you read about such a perfect couple.

Although this is very much a cutesy love story, I like how it becomes a little more complex with the back storyline. The election battle which is set up in High Stakes continues, but gains a lot of traction. Things start to get a lot more hairy and you wonder what evil levels the Italian will sink to next time. What the next plot will be and how the “good guys” are going to beat it. Everything you need to create a storyline that is not only fun and engaging, but also makes you impatient to turn the next page.

 <- High Stakes ReviewBled Dry Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Heathcliff Is Not My Name by Michael Stewart

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: Heathcliff Is Not My Name
Author: Michael Stewart
In: I Am Heathcliff (Kate Mosse)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Retellings
Dates read: 16th May 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Borough Press
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: You hear a fox scream and an owl cry.

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Synopsis

A great, and different point of view to the story of Heathcliff and his unhealthy obsession with Cathy.

Thoughts

This is a bit of a ranty, ravy type of story. Just one block of text that recounts Heathcliff’s impressions of Cathy and her family as he grew up. That makes his tale a little more tragic. A little more relatable. Even if I still think he’s a douche.

There is a certain divorcing from the name Heathcliff throughout this story. A sense that the story we all know isn’t really the true story. That there is so much more beneath the layer of the tale. So much more to Heathcliff than such an overwhelming douche.

Alright, so this story might have made me soften a little towards Heathcliff. It gave him a little more personality and reason for his emotions than any other retelling of Wuthering Heights I’ve read so far. But it only made me soften, not completely thaw towards the capital douche.

 <- The Wildflowers ReviewOnly Joseph Review ->
Image source: Harper Collins Publishers

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Book Review, , , , , ,
Overview
Image result for halfway to the grave book cover

Title: Halfway to the Grave
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Series: Night Huntress #1, Night Huntress Universe #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Strong women, Urban fantasy, Vampires
Dates read: 7th – 10th May 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Avon
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: Dinner for two.

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Synopsis

Flirting with the grave…

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father – the one responsible for ruining her mother’s life. Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.

In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She’s amazed she doesn’t end up as his dinner – are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn’t have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side… and Bones is turnign out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

Thoughts

I couldn’t believe how much I loved this story! I knew it was something that was going to go to the top of my favourites lists, but I had no idea how much I would love it. I was kind of expecting another great urban fantasy story that would sweep me along with a kick ass chick as a lead and a great alpha male by her side. I didn’t realise that this story would seriously investigate issues of prejudice. That it would highlight the ways in which people turn against a minority just because they’re perceived as something a little different.

Cat is the kind of woman I want to be. She is strong and independent. Has a mind of her own, and even when she falls in love, she doesn’t let it consume her. Rather, it acts as a vessel through which she can become even more independent and accepting of herself. Something that I sometimes struggle with. I think it’s something that we all sometimes struggle with. And it is this independence and strength that makes her make one of the hardest decisions of all at the end of the story. A decision I’m not really sure I could make myself…

Most stories of this type that I’ve read don’t really have a parental figure at all. So having Cat have a mother who starts as her driver, and ends as her executioner was a great twist on the typical trope. Not only did it include the difficulties of family, it also highlighted how the crimes of the past can inform the future. And not always to the best interests of anyone involved. Their relationship breaks your heart a little, but it also shows that not every relationship is good or bad, but a complicated mix of something in between.

<- ReckoningHappily Never After ->

Image source: Amazon

Two Lines by Melissa Marr

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for unbound book cover kim harrison

Title: Two Lines
Author: Melissa Marr
In: Unbound (Kim Harrison, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson & Jocelyn Drake)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 7th May 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: EOS
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: I’ve done everything I could to avoid this moment.

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Synopsis

Eavan resists sex and murder that morph her into a glaistig until Daniel Brennan, sex slaver, tempts her into both.

Thoughts

I’m incredibly disappointed that this novella wasn’t part of a bigger series. I loved the idea of these fae women who rely on sex and death to live. That one of the children of the family refuses to continue in the line that is accepted by all of her family. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved this as a standalone, but I quite possibly would have loved it even more if I knew I had a whole new series to sink my literary teeth into.

In some of the older literature women are often demonised when they are strong and sexual. It’s a recurring theme throughout a lot of the stories that I read. And although I really don’t like the routes of the theme, I do love reading about it. Strong, independent women that are not exactly pure and innocent. That are sexual and powerful in their own rights. Eve manages to encompass this, but still have that beautiful, human vulnerability that is sometimes lacking a little in the characterisation of such women.

There is a love interest in this story, but it is a teasing one. And, unlike many other stories which have a love interest, I didn’t actually mind that their relationship was left open-ended. Normally I like the couple to get together in the end of the story. To have a bit of the “ride off into the sunset” feeling to it. There was no such thing in this story and I completely revelled in it. After all, this story really wasn’t about a romantic entanglement, it was about temptation and choosing your own path.

 <- The Dead, the Damned and the Forgotten ReviewUnbound Review ->
Image source: Harper Collins Publisher

Stronger Than Time by Patricia C. Wrede

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for black thorn white rose book cover

Title: Stronger Than Time
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
In: Black Thorn, White Rose (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Retellings, Romance
Dates read: 7th May 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Prime Books
Year: 1994
5th sentence, 74th page: “I know the plant,” Arven said shortly.

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Synopsis

What would happen if Sleeping Beauty’s prince was just a bit off on his timing? How would the two star crossed lovers meet and live their happily ever after?

Thoughts

This was such a beautifully bittersweet storyline. Sleeping Beauty (the Disneyfied version) has always felt a little bittersweet to me. After all, a mistake on her parents’ behalf curses her to a hundred years in sleep. A hundred years in which her loved ones, friends, acquaintances are all unable to live their lives. And it is just the single kiss of a man who is fighting brambles which saves her. In this retelling, Wrede asks just what would happen if the prince were too early or too late? What would happen if the fairy tale just didn’t quite happen the way it was supposed to?

I’m a big believer in destiny. I like the idea that you have a soul mate and that there is someone out there for you. I love when I’m reading the idea of being pulled towards a certain moment or person in time. But I’ve never really thought about what happens when you’re a little too excited and you just don’t quite manage to get the timing down pat. What happens when an impulsive young fool decides that he should ignore everything that has been laid out before him. And it’s this idea that makes the storyline so bittersweet. It made me love the ending and clutch this book to my chest with a happy little sigh.

<- Words Like Pale StonesSomnus’s Fair Maid ->

Image source: Goodreads

Laughing All the Way to the Mosque by Zarqa Nawaz

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for laughing all the way to the mosque book cover

Title: Laughing All the Way to the Mosque
Author: Zarqa Nawaz
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, Comedy, Memoirs, Muslims
Dates read: 21st April – 7th May 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Virago
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘Too late,’ said Dr McMaster.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

Being a practising Muslim in a Western society is sometimes challenging, sometimes rewarding and sometimes downright absurd. How do you explain why Eid never falls on the same date each year; why it is that Halal butchers also sell teapots and alarm clocks. How do you make clear to the plumber that it’s essential the toilet is installed within sitting-arm’s reach of the tap?

Zarqa Nawaz has seen and done it all.

And it’s not always easy to get things right with the community either: Zarqa tells of being asked to leave the DBW (Dead Body Washing) committee after making inappropriate remarks; of undertaking the momentous trip to Mecca with her husband, without the children, thinking (most incorrectly) that it will also be a nice time to have uninterrupted sex; of doing the unthinkable and creating Little Mosque on the Prairie, a successful TV sitcom about htat very (horrified, then proud) community.

You have to laugh.

Thoughts

I’ve not really read much about Muslim culture and religion. I’ve really only recently started to delve into the world of non-fictional books. It’s an area that is absolutely fascinating and I can’t wait to continue to find more and more stories like this. Especially written as well as this novel. Nawaz is brutally honest about her life and her religion, but tempers everything that could feel quite serious with a lot of humour. I was constantly laughing out loud throughout this story. And at the end of every long day, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again.

Most of the biographies that I’ve read lately follow a very linear storyline. They’re the kind of tales which work in a very obvious and understandable manner. They’re not jumpy, and they tend to cover a smaller span of years. Laughing All the Way to the Mosque was completely different. Each chapter was a whole new adventure. Which made the storyline overall incredibly jumpy. Actually it almost worked as a series of short stories together, rather than one big, long journey.

Zarqa Nawaz not only sweeps you away with her humour and wit. But, she also helps to conceptualise and help you to understand the ways in which a coloured, Muslim woman sometimes struggles to fit into contemporary Canada. I may be from Australia, but I imagine that many people are in the same situation. This insight provided a great way in which to understand just how difficult life can be from someone who is a minority. And just how funny some of the gaffs made when you are trying to marry different world views together and fit into the society that you call your own…

 <- The Radium Girls ReviewThe Fish Ladder Review ->
Image source: Amazon

Sympathy for the Bones by Marjorie M. Liu

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for an apple for the creature book cover

Title: Sympathy for the Bones
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
In: An Apple for the Creature (Charlaine Harris & Toni L. P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Horror, Witches
Dates read: 7th May 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Ace Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: All my teaching will be for naught if you keep up this way.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

Ruth thought she was raised by someone who loved her. But now she realises that that’s just not quite the case… and she’ll do anything to get out of this sticky situation.

Thoughts

I haven’t read many stories about voodoo or hoodoo (I know there’s a difference, I just don’t know what that difference is…). Yet, it’s something that fascinates me. Which of course immediately drew me into this short story. Especially when the lead female voice was so strong and obviously unhappy with her trainer. Unhappy with the atrocities that she is committing over and over again because the elderly woman is asking her to.

I knew that there would be a bit of blood and death in this story – after all, the title is Sympathy for the Bones. What I didn’t expect was the grave digging, the darkness and the ability of the lead female to turn this darkness to her own advantage. Though I’m not sure if she’s good and was going to walk of into the sunset and live happily ever after. Actually, it kind of felt like she was just following in her mentor’s footsteps and not really pursuing the freedom that she so dearly wished for.

 <- Academy Field Trip ReviewLow School Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

The Dead, the Damned and the Forgotten by Jocelyn Drake

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for unbound book cover kim harrison

Title: The Dead, the Damned and the Forgotten
Author: Jocelynn Drake
Series: Dark Days #0.6
In: Unbound (Kim Harrison, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson & Jocelyn Drake)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Strong women, Urban fantasy, Vampires
Dates read: 7th May 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: EOS
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: It was extremely rare for anyone to know me by name outside my own domain.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

Savannah vampire Keeper Mira investigates murder.

Thoughts

Yet another new series that I would absolutely love to read! Which is kind of annoying, because I need to finish one or two of the 140 odd series that I have gotten partway through… I guess I’ll just have to add another one to the shelves. Since I honestly can’t stop thinking about this novella. There was something that was great about the lead female character, the setting in which it was in and the fantastic urban fantasy world that Drake takes you to.

One of the common themes I find in series is the idea that to be strong and independent, to be respected, women often have to be fierce, and kind of scary. Mira embodies this perfectly. But, what made me love this far too much was the fact that it really bothers her when others fear her strength. After all, her insane powers are what keeps her people safe… and makes them all fear her completely.

 <- Dark Matters ReviewTwo Lines Review ->
Image source: Harper Collins Publisher