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Reflections - Clifton Kenny

***I was given a copy of this book from the author for an honest review.

First Impressions: The covers cute. I like the reflection caused by the northern lights.

Book Bit: The story follows our main character, Shane and his two friends, Paige and Jimmer. In the 1970′s, 8th grader Shane is full of apprehension. He’s the youngest of four children, followed by his perfect older brother, and his modelesque sisters, he’s not quite sure where he fits in. Shane starts having visions after running into the soccer coach along  his paper route. Not sure what to do, he enlists the help of his two best friends. Paige, his best friend, his new crush and all out science geek covers the more systematic side of his gift. While Jimmer, a history buff covers the more paranormal side. Shane and friends must try and solve the reasons why he’s having his reflections, and how to go about controlling them. 

Rating: I’m giving this a 4. It was a good book, it kept me entertained, although some parts dragged for me. I could honestly care less about soccer, and wasn’t sure of the soccer terms that were used throughout the book. Some times it read like textbook, but as someone who loves knowledge, it didn’t bother me that much. The dialect was really fantastic, and I could see my 14 year old self as a counterpart of Shane. He was very relatable.

***SPOILERS***

I’m not someone who is a history buff, so a lot of the history lessons, I skimmed over. History is my least favorite, which is a main reason on why I usually can’t stand Historical Fiction. I was glad to see this book didn’t read like a HF for me. 

I loved the daydreaming. As a reader, you see many, many characters “daydreaming” but you rarely actually see their musings. I loved that I was able to see what was going on in Shane’s world, as opposed to just stating the protagonist was “daydreaming” It made Shane completely relatable. 

I liked that it crossed Science and pseudosciences. The astrology bit was nice, and was well researched. It’s rare that I find a para book that crosses the sciences.

The evolved names was cool. It made me want to go back into my family tree and see if Alysha, was a play on any of my ancestors names. It was not. 

One of the things I didn’t like was the rape, and probably not for the reasons you would expect. Shane daydreams of being the hero. He tries to be the hero by saving his eldest sister from the bully, but his brother gets there first. He tries to take action, though. Why did he not try to take any action when it was revealed  to be Smitty under the mask?

Also, I’m sorry but why is he looking at his naked sisters? Why do they change in front of him! WHY DO THEY THINK ITS OKAY TO PEEK ON CHANGING LADIES. I am so not okay with this. I just found it really freaking gross. I understand he’s a teenager, and hormones and all.....but his sisters?

There was no opposition until the last 10 percent of the book, and even that wasn’t a real opposition. The entire book was Shane and friends finding out about the pact and the reasons why he can do what he can do. I really liked that, but I think I would have given it five stars if there was some force fighting against them. 

I really liked the message of the book. Hope. No matter how bad things are, no matter how bad things can get, you can always find the hope to continue. 

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The Heiresses - Sara Shepard

First Impressions: I thought the cover was pretty cute. I felt like I was going to like this book, because i've liked a lot of Sara's books in the past, so I'm going in with high expectations.

Book Bit: This was told in three POV's: Aster, Corinne and Rowan. The story revolves around three of five heiresses to a Diamond Dynasty. American Royalty. The main story takes place five years after the death of a possible CEO of their company, Steven. As they get closer to the truth of what really happened that night, they become closer to their own demise. Someone is out to get them, they're just not sure who.

Aster- She's the typical party girl, Heiress. Hate to say it, but think Paris Hilton mid 2000's. After witnessing something terrible, she lashes out in the only way she knows how. Suddenly, she finds herself cut off from her family's wealth, but must take a job at the family company if she ever wants her allowance again. While there she meets a geeky boy, Mitch. Through the mystery, she must decide if the lifestyle she really wants is the life she's living now, or the party girl persona she puts on.

Corinne- The goody two shoes. She's spent her entire life working her way to the top. Never taking a break, never backing down, she lives to please everyone but herself. Five years previous she finally decided to let loose, and it shattered everything she knew about herself. Now Engaged, she must decide if the life she's always believed in is the life she truly wants.

Rowan- The tom boy. Her entire life she's been one of the boys, and now what she wants more than anything is to finally find her happiness. The one boy she fell in love with, her best friend, married her cousin and she's never been able to move on. When tragedy strikes, and she finds herself in bed with her cousins husband she learns the hard way that what glitters isn't always Diamonds. She must look within herself to see what she really needs, and if she can accept the love she thinks she deserves.

Rating: I'm going to give it a 4. I really liked the story. I knew that I would. It has all of Sara's typical plot points: backstabbing, heartache, rich girls, murder and mystery. It kept me guessing the entire book, and when the murderer was revealed, I didn't see it coming. It would have gotten five stars, but there were a few slight problems. Some plot holes were left: Who is the writer of the blog? I had my sights on the Grandmother. I mean, isn't all publicity good publicity? I could so see her writing it. I'm pretty sure however, in the final chapter it's revealed to not be her. Who knows though. I have read somewhere that she was maybe thinking of writing a followup. I seriously hope she does, I NEED to know who the mysterious writer was. I think it has to be someone close to them, but whoooooooo is it? This is also labeled as an "adult" book, it read more like a Young Adult to me. I don't really think it's a problem, YA is my favorite. But I had a hard time remembering that they were in their late twenties to early thirties.

*****SPOILERS******

I SO SHIP ASTER AND MITCH. I thought he was the cutest thing. It really made me happy that she was able to grow up in this book and leave her wild lifestyle in the past. Good for her. I also really want to know if Corinne and Will ever went to their daughter's house and explained what truly happened with those letters. I think it would be nice for them to meet her. I felt Rowan's pain. The most difficult thing I've ever been through was moving on from someone I never thought I'd have too. I still, six years later, struggle every single day. I'm so happy she was finally able to see James for who he really was. I'm so proud of her for having the courage to finally move on. But seriously, I would NEVER sleep with my cousins husbands, even if they were the love of my life. I'd literally move states and never speak to them again if I thought I would stray and do the kinky with them. seriously. Whatevs. I guess when you can have anything you want the same rules don't apply.

It was a good book though. Wish the second would come out or she'd explain that dang ending!!

Still not sure how to end this.

Peace out, homles.

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Ordinary Angels - India Drummond

After reading Ms. Drummond's previous series, I thought to give this one a try.

First Impressions: The cover was cute. I loved the color palette that was chosen. It gave me that Sookie Stackhouse vibe.(After a google search, I found there was a few different covers.) I wasn't expecting a lot as far as the novel went. I figured it would be just okay, and nothing too amazing.

Book Bit: It was told from the main character, Zoe's perspective. Zoe is what some might call a medium, someone who can communicate with the dead who refuse to pass to the other side. While at work she meets a mailman, Alexander, who isn't a mailman at all. He's secretly an Angel, which is no secret for Zoe because apparently she can sense that he's different. An Angel named Thomas calls Zoe while shes at work asking her to testify at his hearing. She agrees with no problems. With Alexander's Court date looming, tragedy strikes. A coworker of Zoe's ends up dead in the basement of her work, and her good friend a ghost is missing. Zoe must piece together what happened to him with help from Thomas and Alexander.

Rating: I'd give this book a 2.5. I found Zoe to be a bit irksome. I can't really pinpoint what it was about her that annoyed me so much. Maybe it's the fact that she fell "in love" with Alexander after four meetings. Let me start by saying this, okay, I'm all for romance books with speedy love stories, but that's only in certain situations. If the characters are paranormal and it's in their nature to mate, I can understand, I like that even. If it's not in their nature to Mate, or to meet a "soul mate" I don’t like it. I'm all for the pararoma insta love, but for me, it has to be some type of bond. I don't like when two normal people (or pararoma couples) fall obsessively in love in a matter of days. Alexander also kind of got on my nerves a bit. The only character I truly liked was her ghost pal, Henry. The actual story was kind of cute, albeit a bit confusing. It's a light read, only taking me around four hours, so I'm not super disappointed.

*****SPOILERS******

I'm really confused about this. It seems all of Ms. Drummond's work confused me. That being said, I do believe she shows great potential as a writer. She has tons of talent, and her story lines are enjoyable. I just wish she could find a way to explain things better.

There were a few plot holes in this narrative, although, that may have been on purpose. It states at the end of the book that there was a book two planned. I didn't see any mention of it on her Goodreads, I also couldn't find anything related to it on google. Maybe the plot holes were supposed to be made clear in the follow up.

Zoe is called many things in this book: a medium, a seer, and lastly a stalker. I believe it's confirmed she is a stalker by the final page. While she's fighting the halfangel, and the demon, she has this ability to know and see their attacks play out before they happen, giving her the second to move out of the way or counter attack. That's cool. It's not explained why this happens at all. The only theory I could come up with was when she first touched the knife, it started to unlock her Stalker powers. The longer she holds it, the more her powers grow. That would be something I could understand, it's just not explained in the book.

It's also not clear what the doorways are for. Some ghosts are entrusted a key, something they feel strongly drawn too, even if they don't know why. These keys unlock the doorways, but it's not entirely clear on what lies beyond the doorways. It's also how Henry died, which again, i found confusing. I almost swore it said Human's couldn't open the doorways, but living Henry was able to with zero problem. It also said that before Henry died, he was just roaming though one of the passages. It never states what actually caused his death.

One thing i found super annoying about the Insta Love was Zoe's reaction to dating an angel. I'm sorry, but the first rule in dating someone who lives forever, is talking about what's going to happen once they start aging. It never happened here. Does Zoe just expect him to love her when she's old and wrinkled? Never find another love once she's dead? Nope, never explained. Also, do Stalker's live forever? I'm curious how this relationship is supposed to last if the answer is no. Again, maybe that was supposed to be explained in book two.

Oh well.

Don't judge, but I still don't know how to end a review.

Bye. :)

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Age of Druids - India Drummond

First Impressions: The cover wasn't that great. It was just pretty basic. I have to say I had higher expectations for this book, more so than the previous books.

Book Bit: This story was mostly told from Munro's POV. We had slight POV's from Lisele and Rory as well. A few months have passed since the ending of Elder Druids, and Huck and Demi are still lost. Munro, along with a few Fae, head to America and try to find the couple. Along the way he finds a mysterious Gateway with Runes he has never seen before. Curious, after making his way home, Munro contracts Rory and the newest Druid, to go seek help from the first Druid. After finding him, he sends them on a mission of his own: find the lost cup, and he agreed to help with the gateway. If they can find the cup, he will also restore Rory and Flur's bond. The Druid's Kingdom is almost complete, but they still have to cast their votes on who they want to sit on the Throne. Huck and Demi are running out of time and Munro still has no idea on how to find them. He must decide if he will risk the children's life in order to find them.

Rating: I would give this one a 3. Like the rest of the series, it wasn't a bad book. It did keep me entertained, but it didn't rock my world. The story line was very confusing. Towards the end of the book, I honestly had no idea what was happening. Again, all though it was confusing, I was able to pretty much follow what was happening. I just didn't fully understand HOW it was happening. It could have been explained a lot better, or it could have go into more depth. (Which probably would have confused my dumbass even more.) The entire series was a bit confusing, but the over all story lines were nice. They weren't the strongest I've read, also not the weakest, kind of just down the middle. It was a bit generic in some aspects.. okay, in a lot of aspects. Some of the characters were a bit one dimensional. Some of them, I absolutely could not stand... but at least it's an emotion.

*****SPOILERS*****

I am so freaking confused by this book. The children age, somewhat like Flur did, but then they are able to go back into their baby bodies. It's so fucking weird, and i don't understand it at all. The entire ending made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. Don't misunderstand, I got what happened, I'm just confused on how it actually happened. It was almost as if she didn't pay attention to the Druid/Fae powers she created in the beginning of the series. They were just all over the place in the ending. Oh well.

One more final rant about Flur and Rory. Omg, I don't think two characters have ever annoyed more more than the two of them. Like, I literally had moments when I rolled my eyes. Rory was going to sell Flur. Okay, I get everything she's done in the past, but I don't understand how he would agree to sell her. He hates her, he loves her. He wants to murder her, he wants to rip her clothes off. It's just disgusting. They agree to sever their forced bond, and she agrees to stay in the lost Queendom. I understand she's really more like twelve in her decision making, but how can she not see the potential evil in him? Is she really that fucking ignorant. That's besides the point, who really cares? Rory on the other hand is an entire new level of stupid. Fueled by nothing but his arrogance and his jealously, he sneaks into the Undersea Fae's Queendom. To STEAL. How in gods green earth did he ever think he would get away with that? Honest to god. I knew from the moment he hatched the plan it was going to end badly, I don't think there was even a possibility of his plan working. I swear to god, if they had named him as the King I would have shattered my Kindle. Obviously, it was pretty obvious that despite his misgivings, Munro was going to end up as the king. Quite frankly, I would have rathered Aaron ended up as the King. I liked Munro, he was one of the only characters that I could stand, but he doesn't seem like the Kingly type to me. Whatever.

I kind of don't want their to be a spinoff on the children, but I would read it. After putting in the time it took to read this series, and the time it took to jot my feelings down, I've already invested to much time not to read them. I will say, I think the spinoffs would be better. Even though I found the ending of the book beyond confusing, I liked the children as adults. They interested me. I'd like to read it only for the fact that I'd want to know more about their powers. If it's anything like the past four books in this series, they're going to be able to do anything. It seemed their was no logic behind the powers, and it was as if anything they wanted their powers to do, their powers could do.

Sorry for the rambling.

Caledonia Fae - India Drummond

I will not be reviewing books one and two in this series. I read them months ago and have forgotten vital details. 

Enemy of the Fae - India Drummond

The cover is does a really good job in depicting the contents of the story. We “learn” a lot about runes in this book. I put it in parenthesis because I walked away learning nothing. I was honestly very confused about the “reading” of the runes. It does state that Humans would never be able to understand them. There’s that. I’m going to come out and be completely real-I feel personally attacked. Whatevs. The cover is actually very pretty. It’s quite simple, but I believe that to be it’s elegance. 

I like that these story’s can be read as standalones, although the characters remain the same in each book. If you don’t want to commit to the entire series, you don’t have too. Each book (so far) has a nice, crisp ending. 

Queen Eilidh has taken up the throne rather gracefully. She seems to be fitting in well with the Royal Faes. Enemies has risen up against the Queen, and it’s down to her and her lover, Quentin Munro to track down the traitors. Munro must also face a new battle as he learns to understand and unlock his powers. 

****SPOILERS****

There were a few things I didn’t quite grasp out of this book. Firstly, Munro and the other Druids are unlocking new powers and returning to the times of their ancestors. I think it’s cool that they’re now going to be more involved in the series, as opposed to background characters. What i didn’t grasp is that their was never any mention of their former glory. You would think as they were explaining to the Druids, what exactly it meant to be a Druid, it would have popped up. Yeah, I get that their hasn’t been one for several millennia. I just think it’s a bit odd. Secondly, I actually really enjoyed that they tried to force a bond. I was curious about that in the previous book, wondered if it could possibly be done. It can, it’s not pleasant. What I don’t grasp is how it happened. This little girl, this eight year old girl, goes into the time stream and comes back as a full fledged adult. Yeah, Magic. Human’s don’t understand magic, *eyeroll* This was a major plot point, and I felt that it could have been better explained. The author also could have gone without the fucking pedophilia. Yeah, she may look like a full grown woman, but she still acts like an eight year old brat. I found those parts very disturbing. Thirdly, I didn’t like the new developments between  Queen Eilidh, Munro and  Griogair. Call me old fashioned, but I’m not big on poly in books. I think it’s fine in real life, if that’s what makes you happy. You do you, boo. I understand feelings can change, and they can grow. I just saw no romantic feelings pass between Eilidh and  Griogair in the past book, and it honestly seemed kind of forced in this one. I haven’t read the previous books in like six months, but i seem to remember Munro didn’t like the thought of them being together romantically. In this book however, he’s all for it. Leads me to wonder if the next book will have a damn threesome.

Actual rating of this book is 3.

It’s not a bad read. I found a lot of the information confusing, a lot of the fae teachings, but I found the plot enjoyable. The writing of Ms. Drummond is simple, yet sophisticated. It’s not going to take you on a wondrous journey, but it will get you out of your head for a few hours. It’s a very light read, only took me about five hours to completely finish. If you’re looking for a book you don’t have to fully commit to, just something to fill in your day. This is an excellent find. 

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No internet

It would figure that once I started my blog I couldn’t post for three weeks. Story of my life.

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A Court of Wings and Ruin - Sarah J. Maas

Woow. What a series. It had everything I wanted, and so much more. I was looking for a series that would shake my very foundation, and I found it. After years, and years of searching for my next book obsession, I can’t believe I finally found it. 

I’ll try to keep the spoilers towards the bottom. 

ACOWAR starts where the previous book started. Feyre is now in the Spring Court, only this time, she has a clear agenda. Destroy, destroy, destroy. After the horrible disaster of her sisters being thrown into the cauldron, after finding out Tamlin betrayed their kind to get her back, she sets her plan into motion. Claiming that Rhys had indeed stolen her away from him, that he had altered her mind, she chooses to return back with Tamlin and Lucien. She must stop them and also spy, from the inside. 

After coming to the Spring Court to tackle her plan, she finally leaves. Our dear friend, Lucien at her side, if only to see his Mate, Elain. When we finally get back to Valeris, Lucien is SHOOK. Everything he believed about the Night Court, was proven to be incorrect. 

Moving on, they hatch several plans in order to rid the world of the Big Bad Wolf. Some plans go south, most are seen through. Again, I’m going to end the actual Synopsis of the review here. I don’t want to spoil anything for those of you who haven’t read the book. I’ll just leave you with, read it. 

Seriously, go read it.

***SPOILERS***

Can we talk about their Dad. OMG. I was so sad to see him go, but I was so unbeliebably happy when he came. This man, who had let his daughters fend for themselves, this man, who let Tam take Feyre with no qualms, this man redeemed himself in a way i never saw coming. When the calvary arrived, Daddy at helm, I screamed. It’s so very rare that a book shocks me, so rare that it does something I totally didn’t see coming. Ya’ll, I didn’t see that coming. I was so happy for Feyre, Elain and Nes. Even though the happiness is short lived, he died with his family close. He died with honor and grace. He had made up for all the of the sins of his past. He atoned, and left the world with dignity. 

Tamlin, sweet, sad, awful Tamlin. My main problem with this is, I could not for the life of me, see him as the villain. I mean, I know he made some wrong choices, but he made those choices out of love. Out of his love and need for Feyre. The only reason Tam even went to the King was because he believed Feyre had been Ensnared by the Night Court. The reason Feyre went into the Mountain in the first place was to save Tam. Yes, after she got there she wanted to save everyone, but her main focus was to save Tamlin. Save her love. I understand the trails that she went through, that everyone went through.. and I understand the scars they inflicted became permanent. I completely understand that it changed them. But Tamlin, even after locking her in the castle, he couldn’t understand why she would willingly leave. After saving the Courts, he had zero doubts of the love he believed (she once) she felt for him. He couldn’t even comprehend that her love was slowly dying. Obviously he sent the troops after her. Whatever. She writes him a note, WRITES A NOTE, to break things off. This is where I had a problem. No fucking wonder Tam went to the King. Lucien then finds her in the woods, and begs her to come home. She declines, says she now is home, and they need to move on. Okay, cool. This is honestly more fuel for Tam’s rage, his suffering. Why wouldn’t they believe that the Night Court put her under a glamour? Why wouldn’t Tamlin and Lucien, knowing they are no where near strong enough to break the bond, risk their lives to make a deal with the King? Remember, Tam only knows of the bond made under the Mountain at this point, He doesn’t realize they’ve Mated. Tam did what any person would have done in his situation. Obviously, if he’d realized she’d been unhappy to begin with..... but he didn’t. Lucien noticed, but he’s basically a coward at this point. If Feyre had, had the balls to meet with Tam face to face, instead of the letter, it might have turned out differently. I mean, obviously, he’d be incorrigible, he’s be furious, but i think after seeing them, and after time he would have began to heal. I mean, he could have still made the decisions that he made, but then he would have had a real choice. He did the only thing he thought could save his Bride. AND THEN, Feyre decides to play along and tell him, she was indeed under a glamour. This is where I have problems. Okay, i get it was a necessary evil, but she played him. She played him for a fool. I mean, even if he realized deep down she was playing a role, he still loved her. Him going to the King was wrong, but he did it out of love. I understand her sisters got thrown into the cauldron, and she’s pissed. But honestly, that was not because of Tam or Luc, that was all Ianthe. She willingly pretended to love him. I’m sorry, but that’s so incredibly wrong. I don’t care what excuses she had, she could have came up with a better plan. She could have left with Tam and Luc and then when they were out of danger find a way to return to Rhys. No one deserves to be played like that. I’m just saying, if she hadn’t, the story could have been entirely different. Feyre cast Tam as the villain, and he didn’t deserve that role.

Wow. long, sorry. But when Tam was the final one to give a peice of himself to Rhys, and bring him back, I cried. Be Happy, Feyre. I haven’t cried that hard over a scene in so long. Honestly think I cried harder than when Dobby died. 

I can not wait until the spin offs come out. I can not wait until I know how Cas and Nes turn out. OMG, I need to know who Elain is going to end up with. I’m kind of rooting for Lucien. I mean, I love Az, but he deserves his own Mate. 

Anyway, I don’t even know how to close out this review. The book was a amazing, I already know it’s going to get much love on my shelf in the future. It will definitely be a book I choose to read over and over. Well done, Sarah. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for the future. 

A Court of Thrones - Sarah J. Maas

I’m not going to be doing a review for the first novel in this series, as i read it months ago and forgot a lot of details.

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas

I was first introduced to this series by a good friend of mine. After months of her begging me to read this series, i relented. I’m honestly not sure why it took me so long to agree, but i’m sooooo glad i finally did. 

The cover of this book is nothing special. It’s pretty, but that’s about it. It doesn’t drag me in, it doesn’t yell at me to read it. This is where the saying, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” comes in. This is one of the greatest books i have ever read. I’ve noticed a lot lately, the book covers that are so beautiful, so eye catching aren’t the best books to read. I mean, they’re good, but the cover is the most beautiful aspect of the book. Whereas, the covers that are simple, plain even, will take you on a wondrous, amazing, breathtaking journey. As this book did for me. 

It starts where the previous left off. Everyone is reunited in their appropriate Fae Courts. Everyone is celebratory that the evil, Amarantha has been destroyed. Everyone it seems but our dear, lovely, Feyre. 

Feyre is a wreck. Having slain two innocent young Fae, she can’t seem to move on. This is something that really bothers me about a lot of characters. They’ll slay an entire village, and mope about it for two days. It’s so unrealistic. Unless you’re completely unfeeling, you’re going to have a very difficult time moving on. Sweet, strong Feyre is the opposite. She grieves, and she grieves hard. She can’t eat, she can’t sleep. One of her biggest joys in life, painting, physically makes her ill. The beauty and wonder of taking a brush to canvas, in her mind, she doesn’t deserve that. 

Tamlin, the single being that saved her last book, is the single thing that destroys her in this book. Tam loses a bit of himself, as Feyre does. I guess being tourtured will do that to ya. Instead of being the lovely man he was in the previous book, in this insallment, he’s broken beyond compare. Being so careful about Feyre’s safety, he chooses to keep her isolated. Which only seems to make Feyre fight that much harder against him. True to his word, Rhys comes to collect Feyre once a month. 

We seen a glimmer of Rhys true intent towards the very end of the previous book. In this one, we learn of Rhys heart. One of the reasons it took me so long to dive into this book, was that i knew Rhys would steal Feyre’s heart. I loved Tamlin. I loved him so freaking much. I didn’t want Feyre to end up with Rhys. I didn’t understand how if she loved him so much, if she loved him enough to break the curse, why wasn’t that enough? My friend helped me realize, we all grow. It may take years, it may take weeks, but we all are capable of changing. Tamlin was what Feyre needed at that time. After all the growing, healing the two of them have gone through, after all the losses they have suffered, Rhys in who she needs now. 

After an evil act, though i’m sure with good intentions, Rhys’ comes to Feyre’s aid. So it begins. Let me tell you, without giving away spoilers, this is a love story for the books. 

In fact, I’m going to end this actual review right here. This book is way to wonderful to be spoiled. It’s intense, page turning, captivating, and honest to god, speechless. I started at my screen for a solid ten minutes just trying to absorb the most out of this book. 

Each of the characters in this book are their own. Each have their own voice, their own personality. They are so relatable, but at the same time, they are so much better than anyone else. These are the kind of friends you want to have in your life. 

This is the first series by Ms. Maas that I’ve read, and I can not wait to read her others. If it’s anything like this, I could never be disappointed. The writing was amazing. It was as if I was Feyre, the story never failing to pull me in deeper. I was living her life, and for those few short hours, I was taken to another land. Those are the best books, at least in my opinion. Books that take you over the edge, books that keep you hanging for the next word. Books that take you to a land of print, and then become part of your reality. 

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Like I said guys, I’m completely new to this world. If you have any advice/input I’ll be honored to hear it. Always looking to improve.

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Soul Seekers - Alyson Noel

Fated, Echo, Mystic and Horizon 

I was first introduced to this series about ten years ago after i finished reading one of her previous series, Immortals. You will hear me often say that i usually only read series after every book is published. I read so much that when the next book in that series is out, i have already forgotten everything that came before.

I realize this series has been completed for a few years, but i’m just now making my way back to Alyson Noel.

As this is my first official review, i’m not sure how to go about it. Bear with me while I’m learning.

I’ll start with the first in the series, Fated. (I will add the following books in the saga to this post so that they are all together. If i’m even allowed to go back and edit posts.)

Fated by Alyson Noel

My first impression was that the cover was gorgeous. I loved the Ravens, which turn about to be very important towards the middle of the story. I read this in paperback, as opposed to my normal method of ebook. Loved the sleekness and the way the book felt, which was something i surprisingly missed.

The book started off slow for me. ParaRoma is one of my favorite genres, and they normally pick up quite fast. We were introduced to Daire, our protagonist, although her name (like many of Ms. Noel’s) was hard to pronounce, did a quick google and got Dawrah. I didn’t like Daire at first. It was almost as if she had a better than you attitude. Was glad to say by the end of the book, I did start enjoying her. Her mom is a professional celeb makeup artist, so Daire was a regular jetsetter, never having a place to call home for more than a few months. She has weird visions in front of strangers and not-so-good-for-you boyfriend. Everyone, including her mother thinks she’s psychotic.

We meet her grandmother and things start looking up. She reveals Daire’s not crazy afterall. (Surprise!) She’s actually from a long line of Seekers. By the end of the book i’m still not entirely sure what a Seeker is supposed to do, apart from kick the Coyotes ass. We go on to meet her love interest, Dace, along with his evil twin brother, Cade. Both are part of the “Coyote” clan. However, Dace was raised by his mother and is supposedly like heaven-on-earth pure. His brother, raised by their father, is obviously the complete opposite. We meet Xotichl, a blind but very able friend. Her blindness helps her read energy the way others can’t. We also meet Lita, the typical mean girl. Although towards the end, she changes her ‘tude and becomes one of the good guys.

Trying not to give too much away, in the end good conquers evil. As it usually does. Honestly, i picked this book up because i needed a series book boyfriend moment, and sadly did not find it in Dace. I mean he’s a good book boyfriend, a bit one dimensional. Doesn’t pack up to Edward, Jace or Caleb for me. (I know, IVE HEARD IT BEFORE)

As far as the actual book goes, i liked it. That’s about it. I didn’t hate it, i didn’t love it. It could have been much better, but likewise, I’ve read much worse. One thing that bugged me was that when the book would part into a new section, it didn’t pick up where it left off. Sometimes the parts would pick up a few days later after the last section. Example: Part 1 ends with Diare wanting to leave her destiny and her grandmother behind her. She almost gets ran over. Next part is a few days ahead and we find out her grandmothers friend found her, and she is already on the mend. After that, we find out she no longer wants to leave her destiny. It’s not big thing, I’m just the kind of person who wants to know why she came to that conclusion. Why now does she want to embrace her new life and stay with her grandmother? I also found that in some parts (the unimportant bits) the author was very descriptive. I mean, she would describe that tree as if no one had ever seen a tree before. When we got to the actual parts that should be described, the monsters Cade was creating, there was none. I would rather understand what they looked like, as opposed to what a damn tree looks like. Another thing that bothered me, descriptive wise, it could get very repetitive. Yes, you don’t have to describe how bright Dace’s soul is, once is enough. You don’t have to keep repeating how much Cade is the opposite, we’re not going to forget they’re different people in twenty pages when you go to describe it again.

I also felt like Alyson didn’t know where she wanted this book to go. It has a bit of everything; there is Native American heritage, Latino heritage (which there is nothing wrong with multiple heritages, or multiple species) but she almost combines the two. The Native American’s can do the same exact things a Seeker can do, and vise versa. Almost as if they are part of the same Paranormal figures, which they shouldn’t be. Both seem able to enter the ether worlds, both seem to be able to astral protect, both are telekinetic etc. They should be two distinct types of magic beings. I still don’t understand if a Seeker is supposed to be a witch, or if she is another type of Para. Same with Dace/Cade, it only refers to their family as the “Coyotes” Doesn’t explain much more than that the Seekers are meant to keep the Coyotes in line and make sure they don’t commit too many evil acts.

I would give the first book, Fated, 3 stars. It started off slow, it got better. Like i said previously, it by no means was the worst book that I’ve read, but was by far not the best book either.

Echo by Alyson Noel

I honestly didn’t expect much of this book, considering I only liked the first one. I will say that the second, in my opinion was better than the first, but not by much. My first impressions of the cover…….beautiful. Same as the last. This book takes place in the winter, so the cover is fitting.

It starts off with our couple super happy and in love. Obviously, it doesn’t last. Without giving too much away, Dace and Daire romance fuels Cade’s power. Because Dace/Cade share two parts of one soul. (Cade is the bad part of the soul, Dace the good part.) Because they share, Dace’s happiness seems to make Cade stronger. It would seem then the opposite should take place, and Dace become stronger when Cade is having strong emotions. That doesn’t seem to be the case. Which makes zero sense. Whatever. So our happy couple decides they need to break up, and not make Cade any stronger. If you’re someone really rooting for them, don’t fret, they’re back together in like a chapter.

I honestly seem to like their friends more than them. Lita is a riot and every time she has something to input, it always makes me giggle. Xiotchel is fun and sweet. She seems like she would be very sensitive to others pain, and would be a very kind and gentle soul.

This one finishes what the first was unable to do, destroy Cade’s monsters. The end of the Fated we see Daire and Dace destroy a few, reuniting the souls with their hosts, including her grandmother, Paloma and our now nice Lita. Cade is up to his wicked ways and traffics an army of drunks to send into the ether world to mine a rare stone. Daire being her reckless self follows suit intent on killing Cade, for no other reason than to be back with her boytoy, Dace. (No really, she tries to kill him to also stop his evilness. So she SAYS……) She fails. (ShocKER)

In this novel we’re aslo introduced to Dace’s POV. We learn Dace basically had no training, and so we begin to read as Dace is trained. (takes a total of like three days for him to be a fucking master((eyeroll))) Dace also plans on killing Cade, even though he’s supposed to be super pure. One would thINK if he’s so innocent and sweet he would even tempt to think of an alternative. He doesn’t.

Dace decides to become one with Cade (astral projection, maybe? idk.) He also decided to steal a part of his soul, so that Cade won’t be AS strong. Really fucking stupid, like whhhhat could possibly go wrong?!?!? So now Dace’s perfect soul is tainted, causing our sweet wonderful Daire to basically reject him.

Daire goes to rescue the slaves in the ether, and murder Cade. She destroys all of his monster minions as if they are nothing. As if she’s not 120lbs soaking wet, as if she is fucking Jackie Chan in disguise. Seriously, how are we supposed to believe she can take on like 40 monsters at once, with no break. After the monsters are killed, and the slaves escape, she goes to find Cade.

She finds Cade, tries to kill him. It fails. Dace comes rushing into save her, he fails. She also notices that his soul is now tainted. Like how can she possibly love him if he’s no longer pure and perfect? Cade then tries to kill Diare, he actually succeeds. (He would have) Dace then tries to kill himself, so that he can kill Cade. (Because apparently now, whatever happens to one will also happen to the other.) Whatever. As Daire is seconds away from dying, an angel? comes in and sweeps her up. He gives her a kiss, and restores her life. Okay, again, Whatever.  

A bit earlier in the book we learned of the prophecy that basically says, one of them must die. Okay, Cool. I can get behind that. And then BOOOM the prophecy is erased. Isn’t that kind of like impossible? Isn’t the point of a prophecy is that it’s basically a fixed event, in which it has to play out one of a few ways? The prophecy must happen, but the ending can be changed, it can be fought against. It’s very confusing. Also, how ignorant are these characters, they talk and talk and talk about the prophecy, but neither one of them tells the other that in their version the opposite dies. You would THInk Daire would tell Dace, that in her dream of the prophecy, he’s the one who dies. You would thINK Dace would tell Daire in his version, she dies. That doesn’t happen. Though why, is a fucking mystery. I don’t know how they would be as stupid as wanting to learn everything about a subject, and then not share what they do know with the other. idk, man.

I said i liked this one better than the first, even though i made more rants on this post, I stick to that statement. I would give this one a 3.5. It was better, it was a bit more confusing, but the story was good. I probably won’t reread it, but i will read the others.

Mystic by Alyson Noel

First thoughts on the cover.. I didn’t like it as much as the previous two. I liked that it showed the Key she and Dace wear, but other than that it was a bit blah when compared alongside the previous two.

I’m going to try and save the spoilers for the end of the review. The last thing I want is to ruin someones full experience when reading this series.

In the third part of this saga were introduced to a Mystic by the name of Axel. We get a small glimpse of him towards the end of Echo, when he chooses to save Daire. He resides in the upperworld, and takes a big risk when he saves Daire. Again the descriptions of what these paras are is confusing. It doesn’t really state what a Mystic can do, other than they’re magickal. Yeah, okay, even humans are magickal? Why don’t we just pass around a magic license since it appears everyone is capable?

Daire learns the full truth of what happened to her while in the Enchanted Spring, when she takes herself and her two friends, Lita and  Xiotchel to the middleworld. Because that makes sense. Literally, we learn in the first book that we’re not supposed to tell anyone, let alone take someone into the ethers. So what are we gonna do? We’re gonna take our goddamn friends. Nothing bad seems to happen to them while they’re there, contrary,  Xiotchel can now see shapes.

We follow as Diare tries to save Dace, and succeeds. We learn of Phyre in the previous book, and let me just tell you, the girl is fucking psychotic. Like she’s seriously loony. FULL ON CRAZY BITCH. Okay, granted it’s not entirely her fault, but still..

We see a lot of protecting of Cade in this book. Since the brothers are two halves of a whole, what happens to one, also happens to the other. Unless you’re Cade and you can quickly shapeshift into your monster? Yeah, makes a lot of sense.

As we reach the end, we see Daire and Dace come face to face with death. (ShOCKer) Surprisingly, it’s not technically at the hands of Cade or the Coyotes. We learn Cade is up to his old tricks, and tries, once again, to enslave everyone.

**Bigger Spoilers ahead**

TURN BACK NOW

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Yeah? No?

Anyway, we learn in the first few chapters, Axel is what they call a “Mystic” yeah, cool. We also learn that its a human spirit guide. What was wrong with the animals. Honestly, his purpose (apart from carrying the souls to their eternal resting place) what beyond confusing. We also see Raven, an animal spirit guide, was denied entry when he tried to follow Daire and Axel. Again, ONE WOULD THINK if they’re pretty much the same thing, both would be allowed entrance. Whatever.

Axel is also apparently Dace’s spirit guide. He chose to save Daire, not Dace. It was claimed that by saving Daire, he would in turn save Dace. I honestly didn’t see it that way. In an essence the prophecy was destroyed/rewritten because of him. We learn Daire was in actuality supposed to die that night, and the twins would have been saved. That makes zero sense, but whatever. I mean, wouldn’t it have just been a lot simpler to save Dace? You know, the actual person you’re supposed to be looking out for?

Another thing, we learn in the previous book about Dace being an Echo of Cade. Okay, cool, but then wouldn’t Cade also be an Echo of Dace? You know, because, they’re supposedly connected? Whatever.

I kind of have a love/hate relationship with  Xiotchel atm. It’s not the characters fault, she’s awesome. I blame the writer. We learn shes can now see shapes as well as energy. That’s awesome, good for her, i can get behind that… But in the last few pages of the book, we learn she blew open the doors to get everyone to escape the bomb? I don’t understand the point of making humans magickal. If she is not a paranormal being, if she in only super intuitive, she should not have that fucking ability. It just genuinely makes no sense, and i don’t like it. It gets on my damn nerves. Stop giving magic abilities to people who were not born to have them!

Also, the fucking psycho, Phyre. Why? You can not poision someone over and over throughout their childhood and slowly build up a tolerance… Okay, you technically probably can do that.. but their saliva would not become poisonous. Again, didn’t really make much sense. Whatever.

Paloma dies. Honestly the worst part of the book for me. I really liked her, i thought she was super cute. But seriously, the way she dies. As a reader, i saw it a mile away. I find it incrediably irritating that Daire/Dace/ Xiotchel/Lita didn’t see it coming as well. I mean, honestly, how fucking ignorant can someone be? If the bad guy gives you a fucking gift, you don’t just keep passing it around trying to make sense of it.. You toss that motherfucker in the damn ocean, you bury that shit in the desert…You give it to someone you seriously hate, because you know nothing good is coming of it. Seriously, Alyson? Paloma? Fuck you. She was literally the only good character, apart from my girl Lita, in the damn series.

I’m going to rate this book 3.5 stars. Didn’t get that much better for me. I didn’t find it amazing, found a lot of it annoying, but also wasn’t the worse thing I’ve read. I’m obviously going to continue on to book four, for no other reason than i have to know how it ends. I owe it to myself after the last four days of reading. Also kind of can’t wait to get back to my kindle, I’m remembering why I always select my kindle now.

Horizon - Alyson Noel

This was my favorite cover of the saga. I love the firey dress, gives me serious Katniss vibes. I loved that Dace was farther back on the cover, almost out of view. It played very nicely with the content of Horizon. 

Horizon follows Daire and the gang as they try to rid the world of the Coyote for good. We learn early on, Dace stealing part of his twin brothers soul wasn’t a smart move. (yoU DONT SAy) Dace is now destined to become as evil as his brother, destined to give himself over the beast that now resides in him. He decides to distant himself from the gang... who couldn’t see that one coming... The gang, apart from Daire, are grateful. Apparently they forgot all the glorious moments they’ve had together thus far. 

Daire decides to go along with Cade’s plan and trick him into thinking she’s going to join him. Once again, the Coyote is smarter than the Raven and she fails.

Our dear blind friend is now able to fully see. Except that she honestly can’t. This part was highly annoying for me. I’ll save the spoilers for later. I’m just saying for the character who supposedly has the most balanced head, it wasn’t so level in Horizon. 

Lita is as badass as always. Super in love and happy in this book alongside her new boyfriend, Axel. Axel is now fully human, we’re shown that sorely by the sheer number of bunny fuck sessions the two of them have. Seriously there are like four sex scenes in the first twenty pages.

In the end we find Dace’s beast is no match for Daire’s love. How sickly sweet . Good triumphs over evil once again..

or does it?

Does it? 

Please tell me there isn’t going to be a fucking spin off that’s set to take place seventeen years in the future. I don’t think i can handle it. 

***Spoilers up a head***

Seriously,  Xiotchel? I mean, i’m happy that you can see now and everything... but seriously? I mean how can she be stupid enough to forget the reason she was never under the Coyotes influence was because they need sight in order to have power of people? How is it in the previous books she’s so quick to brag about her never losing herself while they are around? Conveniently, as soon as she gets her sight restored she forgets. I’m just saying, she’s a damn idiot. 

Okay, i get that Axel wants to be with Lita and he chooses to become human. That’s nice, happy for them. But honestly, Axel left so many plot holes that the author conveniently forgot to fix. Firstly, how was Cade able to see Axel during their first meeting? He wasn’t supposed to be able too. Axel even said that’s a mystery he needed to solve. Yeah, it’s never solved. It’s tossed out the window. Speaking of Cade, apparently towards the end, he wasn’t as evil as he was in previous books. When Dace stole a bit of Cades soul, he ended up leaving a bit of his in it’s place. Okay, i honestly figured that would happen. I figured as a result Cade would be less evil. That happened, what i don’t understand is why Cade wasn’t saved at the end. It’s obvious that even though now some light is beginning to shine through his soul, he rejects it. All i’m saying is that he did have the potential to become something more than what he was born to be. For them to snuff him out, right when he had his only real chance.. I don’t know man, that felt wrong to me. 

Daire surprisingly didn’t end up annoying me so much in this installment. Thankfully, she was pretty fucking whiny. 

and the ending was probably the only really great moment in the entire series. After they defeated the last Coyote, i though to myself, “Marliz gon be preggo” Guess what? Marliz was preggo. I liked that it happened that way. The Coyote isn’t completely gone, and in seventeen years, they will be back. Kind of gives the series a bit of actual excitement. Wiping out the Coyote Clan backfired. If only we could have seen Cade’s reaction. Ahaha.

I seriously hope she doesn’t plan a spinoff of Marliz kid. God bless, I’m really not looking forward to reading it. 

I would give this book a 3.9. It would be a 3.5 without the hilarious ending. A rating of 4 would be much too high. The series didn’t get much better for me after the first one. However, it really wasn’t a bad series, and would make for a good read if you’re looking for something light. It’s not the kind of series that draws you in, makes you gasp for air, makes you stay up all night reading. It’s a story to read when you’re dying of boredom, and where their is nothing else on the shelf to pick up. Doesn’t make for a bad one time read.