Book Review: Owl and the Japanese Circus by Kristi Charish

Author: Kristi Charish
Published by: Simon and Schuster Canada
Publish date: January 2015
Pages: 432
Series: The Adventures of Owl, book 1
Huge thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for providing this book for review!


Ex-archaeology grad student turned international antiquities thief, Alix—better known now as Owl—has one rule. No supernatural jobs. Ever. Until she crosses paths with Mr. Kurosawa, a red dragon who owns and runs the Japanese Circus Casino in Las Vegas. He insists Owl retrieve an artifact stolen three thousand years ago, and makes her an offer she can’t refuse: he’ll get rid of a pack of vampires that want her dead. A dragon is about the only entity on the planet that can deliver on Owl’s vampire problem – and let’s face it, dragons are known to eat the odd thief.

Owl retraces the steps of Mr. Kurosawa’s ancient thief from Japan to Bali with the help of her best friend, Nadya, and an attractive mercenary. As it turns out though, finding the scroll is the least of her worries. When she figures out one of Mr. Kurosawa’s trusted advisors is orchestrating a plan to use a weapon powerful enough to wipe out a city, things go to hell in a hand basket fast…and Owl has to pick sides.

Wow. WOW. You guys, this book! It totally came in out of nowhere and made me fall in love with it! 

Owl, guys. OWL. She's amazing! She's tough and flawed and hilarious, and I adore her. Her vampire-sniffing cat, Captain, is awesome, and I kept looking at my own huge-bellied cat and asking him, "WTF, dude, you can't even jump onto the damn windowsill without falling!"
Rynn is dreamy, and what little romance there is in OatJC (yeah, I shortened it. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it?) is done well and tastefully. Y'all know that I'm not a fan of a ton of romance in my books. ;)
Nadya is another really great character, and the type of best friend everyone wants to have. Smart, tech-savvy, with the ability to keep up with your drinking! 

One of the best parts about this book is the unique twists on the monsters! Vampires aren't just your run-of-the-mill vamps, and Ms. Charish also includes some lesser-used baddies like naga and ghouls and demons. 

But the best part of this book--and it was tough to pick one best part because I really loved this book. I mean, I stayed up until 5 frickin' am reading it one night--was the epilogue. Man, I wish I could say more, but I LOVED THAT ENDING. 

Seriously, if you're a fan of Indiana Jones, constant action, snipe, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural or archaeology, you're going to love Owl and the Japanese Circus.
READ IT.

Bring on book two!

Book Review: Love Chosen by Marne Ann Kirk

Paperback
277 pages
Release date: March 20, 2012
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Series: The Fae Dragon Chronicle #1
Author: Marne Ann Kirk
Thank you to the author for providing this book for review!

For millennia, dragon and fae have peacefully co-existed, but the fae themselves have lived segregated and very different lives. Now a malevolence threatens to separate them all permanently. Can a Queen's guard and a rebellious outlaw join forces to defeat this common enemy? Tyler's touch sparks fierce desire, drawing Issie to him, but she despises his way of life and all that palace society represents. If he learns she wields majic to help the less fortunate escape the kingdom, he'll charge her with treason. Her punishment - death. Issie is a sassy rebel who is constantly looking for ways to circumvent the conventions of their society. Tyler's head warns that she's a non-majical lower, beneath him. His heart sees by her inner strength and outer beauty. Only a binding love will lend them strength to save her life - their world. Can either of them bend enough to trust that love?

I LOVED the first half of Love Chosen. Sadly, the second half had big shoes to fill...and while it was okay, it fell kind of flat.

Issie is a great character. She's strong and smart and kicks serious ass.
Tyler, on the other hand, felt forced to me. I didn't feel the chemistry that was supposed to be between he and Issie.
And the sex scenes--which are VERY graphic--were also VERY cheesy, rushed and unrealistic.

Okay, now that THAT'S out of the way, I'll get to the good bits!

Ms. Kirk's Fae Dragon world is amazing. It's amazingly real and definitely a place I'd want to visit!
Her characters are vivid and alive, and you come to care for them very much.
Her dragons are wonderful and so very easy to love (and fear), and the magic, the trials, the royalty and the mystery were all so well written and a real pleasure to read.

I breezed through the first hundred pages or so...and then just kind of plodded through the rest.

Luckily the end DOES make the last half worth reading, and because of that ending, I will be picking up book 2.
Must....know...what happens...next!

If you like romantic fantasy, I think you'll LOVE this book.
It went wrong for me because I prefer a bit of romance in my fantasy, and this is pretty much the other way 'round. ;)

Let me know if you read it!

Book Review: Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle

eBook
Release date: July 23, 2012
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (Random House)
Author: Victor LaValle

Lucretia's best friend and upstairs neighbor Sunny-a sweet pitbull of a kid, even as she struggles with a mysterious illness-has gone missing. The only way to get her back is for Lucretia to climb the rickety fire escape of their Queens tenement and crawl through the window of apartment 6D, portal to a vast shadowland of missing kids ruled by a nightmarish family of mutants whose designs on the children are unknown. Her search for Sunny takes Lucretia through a dark fantasyland where she finds lush forests growing from concrete, pigeon-winged rodents, and haunted playgrounds. Her quest ultimately forces her to confront the most frightening specter of all: losing, forever, the thing you love the most. Lucretia and the Kroons is a dazzlingly imaginative adventure story and a moving exploration of the power of friendship and the terror of loss. This all-new novella serves as the perfect companion piece to The Devil in Silver, a thrillingly suspenseful work of literary horror that continues the story of Lucretia.

This was a weird book. Not at all what I expected, and that's not a bad thing. It was creepy and a bit disturbing and it made me think. It was sneaky that way, with the thinking.

These are always the toughest reviews for me to write. The ones where I didn't love the book, but I didn't hate it either.
This book is really just kind of ho-hum for me.

It's a novella, so it's an easy day-read. The characters are interesting, and I did really like Loochie.

It's the horror bits that were just okay for me. I prefer my horror to be realistic, and Lucretia and the Kroons is more a fantasy-horror.

That being said, it did interest me enough to want to read it's companion novel, The Devil in Silver, but only because it continues the story of Loochie...without the odd Kroons.

If you're looking for a short read and you like off-the-wall kind of stuff, you might like Lucretia and the Kroons.
I'd say it's for ages 16+. Some of the horror bits might gross out younger teens.

Book Review: Rift Healer by Diane M. Haynes

eBook
Release date: March 12, 2012
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Author: Diane M. Haynes
HUGE thank you to the author for providing this copy for review!

After a minor earthquake, the enchanted forest in Bidwell, MA, is infested with monster-spewing rifts. Gisele's great nephew, the gifted Micah, and his distant cousin, Selena, arrive to assist. Together with Gisele's summer students, twins Haley and Lacey, they will try to help the magical forest. Much to the consternation of the beautiful Selena, Micah identifies Haley as The One whom he'll share his future. But after witnessing a terrifying display of Micah's Gift, Haley cools to his advances and unexpectedly discovers her own Gift-- she can heal the earth.  Monsters, mayhem, and teenage angst follow the small group as they confront evil in the forest and a dangerous prediction that 'one will fall'. Will they heal the rifts in time? Can they save the unicorns? And is Haley really destined to be with Micah?

Okay, I'm ashamed to say that this book is a classic 'don't judge a book by it's cover' case for me.
I'm not really a fan of the cover, and the blurb on the back was only mildly interesting. Those things almost made me pass on this book.
HOLY COW, that would have been a HUGE mistake!!

Let me try to put this into perspective for you--
I have a 4 year old daughter, and I've been buying YA and MG books for her. Yes, I realize that she won't be able to read them for years. I just want to have the books I LOVED on hand for her for when she's ready.
I have Anne of Green Gables, Black Beauty, Heidi, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Are You There, God...?, The Book Thief, and many more.
All classics, all amazing books.
Guess what else will be on that shelf soon? You got it. Rift Healer. THAT'S how much I LOVED this book, and THAT'S how much this book means to me now.
It easily deserves a spot on my daughter's shelf with the classics I fell in love with as a girl.

Rift Healer transported me back in time. I was again 12 years old, adventuring beside our heroes, twins Haley and Lacey.
I could feel my heart pounding during the battles, I held my breath during the anxious moments, and 12 year old me blushed right along with Haley when Micah would say something sweet.

This book is like a mash-up of Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, Narnia and The Lord of the Rings--but it's so fantastically UNIQUE.
The characters are amazing and wonderful. The writing is so vivid that you WILL be in the forest alongside Giselle. You WILL hear The Terrors. You WILL feel the grass beneath your feet. You WILL see the beauty of the flowers.

Without spoilers, I can tell you that the last battle will have your heart in your throat, and that you'll fall in love with the Greenman. ;)

I don't know if Rift Healer is the first in a series or if it's a stand-alone novel--but I truly hope this isn't the last we've seen of Haley, Micah and the rest.
I can tell you most definitely that every single one of these books, if written, will find it's spot on my shelf ready and waiting.

I HIGHLY recommend Rift Healer for middle graders and teens 10+. There is NO excessive language or sexual scenes, and I'd be very comfortable letting my daughter read this book when she's ready for it.

Thank you SO MUCH, Diane, for allowing me to read this gift.

You can purchase Rift Healer here.... And I really hope you do.

Book Review: Thief Of Hope by Cindy Young-Turner

eBook
Release date: May 16, 2011
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Series: Kingdom of Thanumor #1
Author: Cindy Young-Turner
A HUGE thank you to the author for providing this book for review!

Sydney, a street urchin and pickpocket in the town of Last Hope, has managed to evade the oppressive Guild for years, but there is no escaping fate when she's sentenced to death for associating with the resistance.  After she's rescued by a wizard, Sydney is forced to accept that magic--long outlawed throughout the Kingdom of Thanumor--still exists, and the Tuatha, a powerful faery folk, are much more than ancient myth and legend. When the wizard offers a chance to fight the Guild and bring Willem, bastard prince and champion of the Tuatha, to the throne, Sydney embraces the cause as a way to find her own redemption. But Sydney's fear of the Guild, distrust of authority, and surprising connection to the Tuatha threaten Willem's success.  Can she untangle the strange threads that entwine her life not only to the fate of the kingdom, but also to Willem himself?

You know, I get so excited when I get to write a good review for a debut author! And this one right here? This is going to be a GOOD review! ;)

Thief of Hope is the first book in a series about our main character, Sydney, our champion, Prince Willem, and the Fae folk, the Tuatha.

This is the part where I geek out a bit and tell you that I LOVE anything to do with the Tuatha. You see, in two MMO's I've played (one I currently play!), my main character has been Irish and has had Fae blood.
The Tuatha de Danann are a big part of Irish folklore, so I was very excited to see Ms. Young-Turner using them in her book!

In many ways, this book reminded me of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series--although it's pretty much COMPLETELY different.
It was mostly Sydney--a tough street urchin with a mysterious past-- who reminded me of Vin!
Sydney is a wonderful character. I loved her so much! She's just so REAL, y'know? It's refreshing to read a fantasy novel where the main female character isn't a Mary Sue!

Willem is very swoon-worthy, with his blonde locks and understanding ways. Oh, it was hard to read some scenes where Sydney realizes that she.....Ack! Spoilers! ;)

But one of my favourite characters was easily Oryn. He's SO Gandalf-like, with his disappearances and cryptic speech!

Thief of Hope is NOT written like a typical debut novel. The world is written perfectly, the scenery is beautiful, the characters are vivid and fresh, and the battle scenes had me holding my breath with anticipation and worry!

I can't WAIT to read the second book in the series, and I truly hope we learn more about the Shadow Folk,  and the Tuatha as the series progresses!

I highly recommend Thief of Hope to all adult fantasy-lovers! It's SO GOOD!

Book Review: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

eBook
Release Date: July 10, 2012
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Series: Seraphina #1
Author: Rachel Hartmen

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high. Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Fantasy will always be my first love. Sometimes, when I stray for too long, I forget just how much it really does mean to me.
So thank you, Seraphina, for reminding me and for bringing me home again. :)

This is a REALLY good book. It's got dragons and battles and romance and mystery. Teens who already love fantasy will love Seraphina.
However, this is NOT a good introduction-to-fantasy book.
It does lag a bit in the middle and I found my eyes glazing over for a chapter or two before it picked back up.

Seraphina is a wonderful character. The 'garden in her head' is an amazingly brilliant idea. Wow.
She's very likable and by the end of the book, I didn't want to leave Goredd. I wanted to follow her new adventures right away!

The dragons are written in a new and unique way. Genius, really. Dragons that can take human form and walk among us!

My favourite characters are minor, but oh, so important. Fruit Bat and Loud Lad. I know you'll fall for them just as hard as I did. ;)

There are a few parts that will make you emotional and one or two that will make you laugh out loud.

I'm really, really looking forward to book 2.

I definitely recommend Seraphina to fantasy lovers of all ages!