Book Review: The Bone Witch By Rin Chupeco

The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spite.

BUT THE GIRL WAS FIERCER

Tea is unique for she is a bone witch feared by all in her kingdom.  Her magic sets her apart from other asha for it goes beyond the boundaries of the living.  However, power comes with a price forcing Tea to leave her home and train with an experienced bone witch.  There, Tea puts her energy into becoming a dark asha.  But even as she gains knowledge and power an evil rises forth from its hiding place intent upon destroying the kingdoms and the asha.  So, Tea must be stronger than she and anyone thought she could be.  Because war is brewing placing everything and everyone that Tea holds dear in mortal peril.

This book was good but I had a major issue with it.  The chapters in italics were horrible.  They raised more questions than were answered in the book and it gave away what could have been major plot twists.  I understand that Tea was telling her story in the past tense but sometimes it was boring and hard to follow what happened in the past and what was currently happening.  Plus they did nothing to contribute to the story and it was told from a different perspective telling us things that the Bard noticed about the bone witch such as her scar but we didn’t learn about how she received the scar until the very end of the book.  It would have been better to just skip all of the italic chapters and the book would have still flowed somewhat smoothly.

Beyond that, I thought the book was good.  I liked the idea behind the book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the daeva.  The characters were diverse and interesting to read about.  Tea grew from a girl who knew nothing of magic to a very powerful bone witch.  I hated Prince Kance for I felt that he had little character growth and was one of the those boring princes who are kind, good, and handsome but that is about the end of their character.  Fox, Tea’s brother was fun to read about for I felt that he grew beyond the fact that he is dead.  He was always willing to help his sister and guard her.  Kalen was amazing.   He hated Tea which added arguments and spice to the book.  Halfway through the book, I predicted that he would become Tea’s lover and at the end, I realized I was right.  I liked Khalad’s character for he was kind and sweet plus his job as a Heartforger was enthralling.  He seemed to me to be the quiet and wise friend.  The other asha made the book slightly more engaging but sometimes I was confused as to who was who in the Valerian household.

Despite the chapters in italics I enjoyed the book and would recommend it especially if necromancy and magic are intriguing to you.

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Book Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Lady Aileana Kameron the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas is a stunner, a liar, a murderer, and a Falconer.  She has everything she could possibly want; brains, charm, wealth, a title, and beauty but she only looks the part of an aristocrat.  She has a secret.  She has the rare ability to sense the faery race which is obsessed with slaughtering humans.  Since her mother’s death, Aileana has trained to kill the fae.  With a knack for inventing weapons, she is dedicated to slaying the fae and seeking her revenge upon the one that killed her mother.  But she is also a Falconer, the last of her line, and she is the sole hope to save the world from an army of fae.  Aileana longs to exact revenge for her mother’s murder but first, she must save the world.

This book was amazing! The main character was stunning.  She fought faeries, saved lives, created inventions, built an airplane and an automobile, and she jumped out of the airplane.  She was a completely bad ass character who emotionally dealt with seeing her mother’s heart ripped out by a faery before her eyes.  Kiaran, her faery trainer, was wonderfully mysterious and hid his own hurts and painful past.  The tale was brilliantly told and the action was constant.  There was never a boring moment.

However, the end was sad.  She didn’t save her city.  She failed her people and it ends on such a cliffhanger.  “You really believe me to be your worst enemy.” He glances over at Kiaran, an emotion in his gaze that I can’t comprehend.  Then he says something I’ll never forget. ” You’ll wish you had killed Kadamach when you had the chance.”  Kadamach is Kiaran.  So I was like what? Why?  But I had no answers as to why the main character should have killed the faery she just kissed before the final major battle.  And I want the second book so bad.  I put it on hold from my library so I should get it here soon.

I would highly recommend this book especially for lovers of the fae.  I have read many fairy books but this is by far one of my favorites.  It may not be completely historically accurate but that is a minor detail easy to overlook.  Read it and you will not regret it.

Book Review: A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess

Henrietta is in a city full of lies and secrets. Her friend Rook is turning into a monster and as she desperately searches for a cure she must hide the truth of who she really is; a witch and definitely not the chosen one.

When she finds what could be the answer to defeating the Ancient Ones she sets out on a journey with Blackwood, and Magnus intent upon stopping the ancients once and for all.

This book was phenomenal. I was on the edge of a precipice which the book could simply push me into for I there were so many twists that I never saw coming. The main character was wonderful and it was easy to connect with her desire to heal Rook. Furthermore, the book was boring at the beginning but steadily grew more intriguing.

****Spoilers Ahead****

Close to the end, we found out that the evil Ancient was her father! I did not see that coming. And then there were two love interests and when she finally told Rook she loved him, I screamed. I screamed in horror for it is so cliche to fall in love with a best friend and Rook was never my favorite character. But I hated how Blackwood proposed. I mean honestly, we don’t even know if she truly loves him. Did she just agree to marry him because Rook was out of the picture and she’s unclean?

Book Review: Shadowcry by Jenna Burtenshaw

In a world where fear of Wardens tearing apart towns for a war abound, special people called the skilled can cross the veil between the world of the living and the dead.   They are hunted and feared.

When Kate Winters accidentally raises a blackbird from the dead she realizes that she is skilled.  Immediately, she becomes the most hunted person in Albion for she is the only one that can unlock the secrets of an ancient tome, Wintercraft, which holds knowledge and power about the veil beyond anyone’s imagining.  She is captured and taken to the ancient graveyard city of Fume where her parents were killed ten years ago.  To harness her powers and escape she must make a deal with one of the most feared killers in Albion.  But, can she live up to that deal without dying before she has a chance to fulfill it?

This book was unique.  I loved the storyline and the take it had on life and death.  The characters were also intriguing especially Silas Dane who is a collector.  He is not fully dead nor fully alive and it was interesting to read about his struggles and how he hid them beneath his formidable veneer.  I liked how the author portrayed him as a fighter with sheltered hurts that plagued him.  I did not find Silas understandable at the beginning of the book and I hated him.  However, as the chapters went on he became my favorite character.  Overall, his character was excellently rendered.

The main character, Kate was fun to read about but her character could of been developed further.  Kate grew in her understanding of the veil but emotionally I felt that the growth could have been improved.  I still liked her character and the book was stunning as a whole.  I would recommend it especially to those who want a unique and darkly emotional book.