Hello there and welcome to Sunday!
As always, I'm going to post a few reviews. I was hoping to get a few more up than what I have here, but life gets in the way!
Opal by Jennifer L. ArmentroutMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have to say that I was highly anticipating this book. I just love the Lux series, especially the banter and relationship between Katy and Daemon.
So let's start with the cover. Well, it's sexy as always. I particularly love the color scheme for this one. There's just something about the darkness of it that draws me in. And dare I say is that a face floating in the background to the left? Hmmm.....In any case, I can say that this cover is my favorite so far of this series.
Now on to Katy. Well, she's Katy as usual. I do see more of a mature Katy in this book. Whether that is due to her actually growing up or being forced to grown up, well, I'll go with the latter. She has been exposed to so much, seen so much, she really has no choice. She continues to have a bit of her teen angst, which is typical of the characters in a YA book. I am bothered a bit by her willingness to try and be a martyr. She thinks that everything is her fault, that it all revolves around her. This makes me a bit batty to be honest. It's like she can't see things that are right in front of her face.
Daemon, well, he's smexy as always. And so swoon worthy. I can certainly see a total change in him with this book. He is calmer, less snarky, more willing to admit his feelings. He continues to focus and protect those he loves without abandon. And watching his relationship with Dawson is nice. I love to see how he and Daemon start to reconnect in this book. I want to see more of Dawson for sure, Shadows just was not enough.
In all honesty, I missed the snarky Daemon in this book. And I missed the unrelenting banter between him and Katy. The absence of these two things annoyed me and left me wanting more. He almost felt wishy washy to me, and that is so not what I expect out of him.
And the return of Blake, well, that was not unexpected at all. I actually thought that perhaps he may have changed from the last book. May have seen his wrong doing. May actually have wanted to help out. But once again, he is selfish, no shocker there, I suppose. I just want to drop kick him.
I do like the story line and plot of this book. I have to say that it was a bit slow for the first third or so, then it picked up a bit. I anticipated something terrible happening in quite a few scenes, but it didn't. I thought for sure we'd see the return of some Arum. The ending, however, pretty much made up for that. What a cliffhanger. There is no way you can't read the next book to find out what happens.
If it wasn't for Jennifer's awesome writing, I am pretty sure I would not have rated this book a 4. I was quite upset with the editing errors that were made. I do know that the author is aware of this and has addressed it, which is why I won't go any further than to say the inconsistencies towards the end of the book were what brought my rating from a 5 to a 4. Jennifer still remains one of my all time favorite writers.
4 out of 5 stars from me and looking forward to the next installment for sure!
TRANSCENDER: First-Timer by Vicky SavageMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was given this book for free as part of a Blog Tour through Crossroads Reviews. This has in no way influenced my review.
Blurb from Goodreads:
First I’d like to address the cover of this book. I have to say that it does not draw me in. I feel like it’s missing a bit of something. And seeing as I really liked the storyline, I really think that a better cover would draw more readers to pick this book up and read it.
I really loved the main character, Jaden Beckett, in this book, at least for the first half. She’s witty and funny. She’s strong willed and snarky. I have to say that I did not find her personality to be that of a 17 year old girl. She came off as much older to me. And, while I know she has had to grow up more quickly in the last year since her mother died. I just didn’t get the feeling that she could have become so mature in just that year. Perhaps I missed something. And she is very easy to forgive, especially Ryder, which kind of surprised me seeing as he did do a terrible thing to her at the beginning of the book. She came across as somewhat unbelievable which made it hard to connect with her.
Ryder, well, he’s sexy, honest, loving, caring, fierce, strong, and a totally “swoonable” book boyfriend. I was overwhelmed by his complete and utter attraction to Jaden. He gave himself over so easily to her, and so quickly. I was fairly untrusting of him for most of the book because of this. It just really bothered me. Even though he tells her that he’s known he’s loved her since they were kids, I just could not wrap my mind around it. He was also hard to connect with. I almost felt that although he loved her so much, he was still distant in a way. I didn’t feel the connection between them as much as I would have liked.
Ralston is by far one of my favorite characters in this book. I love his “professor” attitude. He’s also quite cryptic, which lends to his mystery for sure. I wasn’t sure if I could trust him or not. I didn’t know if he was on Jaden’s side or the side of the IUGA.
The supporting characters are a nice touch to the story. Drew is an awesome brother. I would totally want him in my family. Jaden’s dad is also easy and understanding. Her mom is strong, but you see a softer side of her when it comes to Jaden. And I can see how some of the characters will definitely be assets to Jaden in the future: Maria, Christine, Andrew, and many others.
I love the plot line and idea of this book. Science fiction with a bit of what I might call fantasy. It’s an interesting concept, having the same person in different realities. And being able to transcend those time lines and barriers to actually get to those other places, so interesting and fun. And the world building is so awesome. I love the alternate universe the author creates on earth. The idea of living in a dome, of earth’s atmosphere actually being toxic to us is something that really isn’t that far off from what could be a reality in our world. And the author employs so many “green” ideas, it made me happy to see this in a book. I especially loved the hydroponics. The description totally reminded me of Epcot’s ride “Living with the Land” and since I’m a Disney freak, well, there you go!
I really enjoyed the author’s writing in this book. It was easy to read and flowed very well. The dialogue between the characters was believable.
All in all I really enjoyed this book. I found that the beginning really took off with a bang, but then the book kind of slowed down as the author did her world building and built her character relationships. I kind of wish she would have had a few more action scenes or scenes that caused me to be a little more on my toes. I didn’t really feel this until the end of the book.
3 stars from me!
Iron's Prophecy by Julie KagawaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a nice little seg-way into The Lost Prince. I was wondering how Kagawa was going to connect the two (tho I know some of the characters remain the same). Now I am ready to move on.
Another Iron Fey told from Megan's POV. I am actually sick of her narration and ready to hear from someone else! I preferred The Iron Knight over this book because I loved hearing from Ash. Megan is a bit whiny for my taste and truth be told I am happy to have this series come to a close.
I was happy to see our old friends Grim and Puck. I really love them, especially Puck. I am still confused as to what being a cat has to do with anything Grim says. And I'm wondering if we will see more of him in The Lost Prince.
The oracle is woman scary badass woman. I thought for sure Megan was doomed, but once again her powers are more than she ever thought possible. So I was glad to see a somewhat happy ending to this story.
This was my favorite novella of the three that go along with this series for sure. Seems to be so much more of a story. And, again, I love how it bridges into the Call of the Forgotten series. I am looking forward to reading this companion series for sure. This has definitely left me wanting more.
4 out of 5 stars.
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