Hot Off the Presses

Hey Blogger Buds,

As you probably know, Tuesday was one of those days, you know, the ones where you wish you had a million dollars to spend at Barnes and Noble. Here are a couple that I was super excited for. (A couple of them are sequels, so avoid the summaries! But I'm putting a quick line about each book below the blurb.)

Summaries are from Goodreads, and links go there as well.

STARLING (Starling Book 1) by Lesley Livingston

"Love is just the beginning... of the end."

Mason Starling is a champion fencer for Gosforth Academy, but she’s never had to fight for her life. Until now. When a ferocious storm rips through Manhattan and unleashes terrifying creatures onto Gosforth’s campus, Mason barely escapes alive. Without help from the mysterious stranger who appeared in the midst of the storm, she might not have made it at all. But now, in the aftermath, Mason’s life begins to spin dramatically, mystically out of control, and the only one who seems able to help her is the stranger who can remember nothing but his name: Fennrys Wolf.

As Mason and Fenn uncover more about Fenn’s past and the strange events that surround them, they realize that Mason’s family — and its dark allegiance to the ancient Norse gods — is at the center of everything. A predetermined fate seems to be closing in on Mason, but is it possible to change one’s destiny?

THOUGHTS: It's about sword fighting. And Norse gods. And it's by Lesley Livingston, who writes a killer New York story.

THE IRON LEGENDS (Iron Fey 1.5, 3.5, 4.5) by Julie Kagawa

Winter's Passage

Never make a promise to a faery. They always come to collect. Now Meghan Chase must fulfill her promise to Prince Ash of the Winter Court and embark upon a dangerous journey into the heart of enemy territory—while being pursued by a relentless new foe and guarding her own foolish heart.

Summer's Crossing

What can turn enemies into reluctant allies? A call from the Exile Queen, Leanansidhe, ties legendary prankster Puck to his archenemy, Prince Ash, on a journey that may end in betrayal and will set them both on an irreversible path.

Iron's Prophecy

Before she ever knew what she might become, Iron Queen Meghan Chase was warned by the oracle that her firstborn child would bring nothing but grief. And even as Meghan and Ash celebrate their long-awaited union, the prophecy stirs.…

THOUGHTS: It's nothing new that I'm probably one of Julie Kagawa's biggest fans. And I'm so excited to get a bound copy of this!

ENSHADOWED (Nevermore book 2) by Kelly Creagh

While Varen remains a prisoner in a perilous dream world where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life, Isobel travels to Baltimore to confront the dark figure known throughout the world as the Poe Toaster. This man, the same man who once appeared to Isobel in her dreams and abandoned her in Varen’s nightmare world, holds the key to saving Varen.

But when Isobel discovers a way to return to this dream world, she finds herself swept up in a realm that not only holds remnants of Edgar Allan Poe’s presence, but has also now taken on the characteristics of Varen’s innermost self. It is a dark world of fear, terror, and anger.

When Isobel once more encounters Varen, she finds him changed. And now Isobel must face a new adversary—one who also happens to be her greatest love.

THOUGHTS: The first book was amazing, and the ending KILLED me. I'm so glad this is finally available!

EMBERS & ECHOES (Wildefire 2) by Karsten Knight

Ashline Wilde may have needed school to learn that she is actually a reincarnated goddess, but she’s ready to move beyond books. She leaves her California boarding school behind and makes for Miami, where she meets a new group of deities and desperately seeks her sister Rose, the goddess of war. But she’s also looking for love—because even though her romance with Cole had to be snuffed, Ash is a volcano goddess—and she doesn’t get burned.
This sequel to the edgy and action-packed Wildefire continues a fiery drama on an immortal scale.

THOUGHTS: Wildefire also had an epic ending. Also: These covers are gorgeous.

That's enough yapping. What books are you all looking forward to?

Peace,

Riv

The False Prince Review

Hey Blogger Buds,

I've got a book review today: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen. It was absolutely amazing.

Blurby:

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing.

To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.

Review:

tl;dr version: Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

The Core of a Book

Hey Blogger Buds,
Today I'm going to try to talk about writing a bit. Now, now, before you get scared, I'm not going to try to give y'all advice. I don't think I'm nearly experienced enough for that. I also don't know why I said "y'all." I'm not a Texan in [poor] disguise. (Or am I?)
But I've stripped down books to the bare basics. This is something really obvious, and maybe some of you understand this already, and you're about to go "Duh" and click that little red X.

A book is a series of character interactions, and the shifting of relationships that results from those interactions.

Meaning?
A book is comprised of chapters, which is comprised of scenes, which is comprised of two or more characters* interacting. Animals are also characters, as is setting/nature. These interactions change characters' views and feelings, and further actions. Those are what further the plot, and carry the story through.

I haven't done this yet, but I do plan on making line graphs on character relationships. The lines will track character closeness as the story progresses, and I'm going to have it colored as well, for emotions they feel toward each other. And yes, there's a difference.

Now that I've simplified it, told you what I think of the bare basics of books, what's your opinion? Do you agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree? Was I at all helpful for once, or my normal, useless self, rambling on to bother you?

Peace,
Riv

*Of course, there are scenes where a character is just thinking. And besides for the fact that those are few and far between**, we're going to pretend that the character's conscience or Evil Drive or whatever is also a character.
**ish

Return of the Jedi

Er...blogger.

AKA me. Riv.

Remember me? It's been a while.

How are you all? I'm fine. Worn out, but fine.

I read a few books in the past month. Johnny Tremain. I am the Messenger. The False Prince.

Two of those books were amazing. Take a guess at the one that wasn't.

I'll give you a hint:

Johnny Tremain.

In other news, I started a tumblr just yesterday. You're welcome to check it out. It's called Page 394. Books, writing, and subtlety, all by an angsty teen who happens to have a penchant for werewolves and the fantastical.

The direct url is http://rivre.tumblr.com/.

That's enough plug for one day.

Click to embiggen. And yeah, I have both.

Peace,
Riv

Red Moon Rising Review

This post was scheduled in advance, but I employed some fairies to help me, and their glamour has a tendency to stop working at the most inopportune times, like when you're loading this blog post. It should run smoothly, though. I hope.

Hey Blogger Buds,

To continue the trend, I've got another gag-worthy book for review this week! It's called Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore.

Disclaimer: This is a review of an ARC. It may differ from the final book.

Blurby:

Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you awhole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny's other half is human. Which is a good thing.

Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods. Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist. But lately Danny's been having some weird symptoms — fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon.

Even though it's easy to be in denial, it's hard to ignore evidence. There's only a month until the next full moon, and Danny's time is running out.

Review:

tl;dr review: Easily one of the worst books I've read so far this year. Granted, I've read an embarrassingly small number of books this year, but Red Moon Rising takes the cake. (And yes, I did just say "takes the cake.")

Full review: I don't even know how to preface this one. Just...I expected better judgement on your part, Disney-Hyperion.

We'll start at the beginning.

CHARACTERS

His name is Dante, and he goes by Danny. Who names their kid Dante? At least in some way acknowledge that Dante is a strange name. Just think of Samhain* "Sam" LaCroix! (No offense to anyone named Dante. It's an awesome name, and I think Mr. Alighieri was a brilliant writer.) And Dante was an alright, though pretty boring, character.

The only good part in the book (besides for one intense scene near the end, though my mood was spoiled by the non-ending) was Dante's best friend, Claire. Claire was pretty awesome.

THE WORLD-BUILDING

The world-building would be funny if it weren't so terrible. There are mentions of McJagger, the Royalings Tones, and David-Bo E. I don't remember it exactly, but there's a Bob Dylan knock-off...with the first name Dylan.

But that's kind of avoiding the giant pink elephant in the room, isn't it? So let's introduce him. His first name is "Wulf." His second name is "Vampyre." I think he can finish the introductions by himself, but I don't think that's necessary. We all see his draw-backs. And the spelling is starting to make my eyes bleed.

From page one, you're assaulted with new terms, like "crit level" and "SynHeme" with little explanation. Some of the words aren't so difficult to understand, but it would have been nice to know about the glossary in the back before I finished the book.

OTHER STUFF

One part of this book left me shaking in anger. For this reason alone, the book should not have been published.

The "vampyres" are all blond-haired and blue-eyes. And, once upon a time, oh, 70 years ago, the German "vampyres", who are the upper-class, decided to round up all those mangy "wulves" in concentration camps. Reference, much?

That's right. We just compared 10** million human lives to mythical dogs who don't even know how to spell. And yes, I'm aware that this book is trying to show that the way the "wulves" were treated is wrong. That's not an excuse to make Holocaust references. Jews have been called "cur" (though I wouldn't be surprised if this book spelled it "cir" or something else equally idiotic) enough without your help, thankyouverymuch.

*pronounced "Sow-in."

**I'm including the 4 million homosexuals and gypsies

Rating: 0*

Currently Song: I'm not even going to waste my time

Peace,

Riv