A.M. Bells

Book one and 1.5 Novella of the series "Iron Fey". Woot woot! I've been meaning to read the series for a while now. And as expected I read the first one and the novella in my spare day from exams. Ohh yeah! I go wild when I get a breathing moment from them! I READ BOOKS!
Sooo. What is it about! DUH! Faeries! This isn't the faerie year for nothing.

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart. (Via Goodreads)

This book was bound to be read in high speed roller-coaster ride. The idea of the Iron Fey is amazing and something I have not read before. It was a nice change and of course I loved the anime references ( Myself being and Otaku...faery. ) And I always love to see so much dedication for family in books. Meghan is a wonderful person and sister, and put herself in line for her little brother without a second thought.

Another surprise I had and a pleasant one at that, was Puck. Every time I imagined Puck either if he appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or "Wondrous Strange"
by Lesley Livingston I always had this image of an older man in my head. To switch from that to a foxy youngster was brilliant. I was fond of him from the very beginning.

Still, I am a TEAM ASH girl. Sorry Puck! Ash, oh Ash. Be still my heart. Thank you for making it so that when I hear Ash I won't be thinking of Pokemon. Aside from that, I was a sucker for Ash immediately. Tall, dark, icy and with silver eyes? What is not to like? And his feud with Puck was a nice twist in the story. But it takes Summer's heat to melt ice, right?

His (Prince of Winter 'Unseelie' Court) developing romance with Meghan (Half off-spring of the Summer 'Seelie' King) is sweet but yet heart reaching. Yes, it is your usual star-crossed love, but it's beautiful and not so dumb-witted as suicidal Romeo X Juliet. I have a feel these two will not give up so easily.

This series had easily made it's way on to favorite shelf.

QUOTEEEEEEES \^o^/

Meghan - “You’ve gone off the deep end. Time to cut back on the anime, Rob. There’s no such thing as faeries.”

“I’m a…an otaku faery,” I said, drawing a confused scowl from the chief and bewildered looks from the rest of the camp

Puck - “Ladies and felines,” he stated grandly, grasping the doorknob,“welcome to Tir Na Nog. Land of endless winter and shitloads of snow.”

Ash - "Touch her, and I'll freeze your testicles off and put them in a jar. Understand?"



Winter's Passage is a bridge novella between "Iron King" and "Iron Daughter". Heading for the Winter Court Megan and Ash are tracked by an ancient, powerful hunter. One that even Ash has some tough time fighting with.

We see a new side of Ash in this one in the little time he shows it. He is kind, protective. He and Meghan had a too little time to actually be together but it was sweet and emotional.

QT - Summer and Winter were not supposed to fall in love. T_T

OMG - How dare I forget about Grimalkin?

The amazing, the fantastic and clever yet adorable Cat Sìth! Whom I have to admit, at first he was a she. :D Grimalkin is a brilliant sidekick/companion/voice of reason/cat

A.M Bells

Even if I say I will update more often I fail at it. College is murder in this time. My head is already screaming to stop the torture. Anyway!

Blue Bloods is not a series I am crazy about like I would be for Mortal Instruments or Morganville. I got the first book this summer when I was working in the book fair. Ironically I got it from our competition tent :)). But I just had to get something. I'm not for competition and also the ones there were actually friends and cute boys :D. So, at this moment I have all the books, for some reason, even if it's not one of the books that might ever be first in my "To buy list"

But I have to admit I really liked the novella.

It has three stories:

1. Oliver orientated one
2. Allegra orientated
3. The bonding of Jack and Schuyler

As a side note, Jack has to be one of the first lead guys that I disliked from the beginning. :)) I like a little more now. ^_^ Now that he is finally brave enough to do what he wishes.
And Mimi got in my heart a little with her love for Kingsley Martin.

So, for the first story of the novella, I have to say it was my favorite. Just because Oliver is one of the favorite characters from Blue Bloods. Suffering from de-familiarizing he finds comfort in help in Freya, a witch.
This story left me wishing for more of Oliver and Freya, and hoping. ^_^ Oliver deserves a nice witch girl who won't suck his blood and hurt him.

The second story, is how Allegra met Schuyler's father while they were still as cool. It was a nice change, to "see" Allegra up and about. And not just in comatose.I was left a little confused because of this story but I guess the future books will clear more up.

And the best for last, I guess. ( Well, not for me. My Best was the Oliver story. Yaay.) Schuyler and Jack bonding. Not going so happy at the beginning but with a very hot and sweet ending.

Yup. I really liked reading this one. Nice, short. Just what I needed after a German exam.

PS: There was a lot "bow chika wow wow"! Quite new! :D

A.M Bells

WOW! Just WOW.
I had planned to read this book like a year ago, but when I began I was in such a crappy mood I couldn't enjoy it at all so I stopped.
Good thing too, with a baggage of another year of reading and new wants I read this book in a totally different way that I would have then.

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin. An equally hunky—and equally dangerous—dark faerie soldier named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Sworn enemies, Luke and Aodhan each have a deadly assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen's sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend. Deirdre had been wishing her life weren't so dull, but getting trapped in the middle of a centuries-old faerie war isn't exactly what she had in mind . . . via Goodreads

I loved reading this book seriously. First, because it had Fairy Lore (My college diploma is on Celtic Myths :D) and secondly because it was dark in a way. YES! Faeries are not nice, they are malicious and cruel and psychopaths. Even Tink tried to kill Wendy now that I think about it. Anyhoo!

Lament is a very musical novel, no duh. And it's even more enjoyable if you read it with the right soundtrack. (How creepy was when I was reading this line: "Come away, human child, whispered the voice in breathy timbre, come away from the pain of the world." and the song that was playing in my headphones was Stolen Child sung by Loreena McKennitt).

Luke and Dee were sweet together yet I still had a hope for James because I liked him from the first line he came up. He is a good friend, protective, and funny and honest. And he can pull off a kilt and still be amazing has major scores in my book.

The end was brilliant, at least for me. It was like an Irish Ballad with heroes and such and such, you know ^_^.

*runs to read Ballad*

A.M Bells

I’ve read my first book in the first day of the 2011. Woot! And that was Firelight by Sophie Jordan, a book with dragoooooons. Well, actually draki!
I’ve only read only one other book involving dragons and that is You Slay Me by Katie MacAlister (I’m stalling Eragon for some reason) and it was quite different from this one.
I already declared year 2011 a year of dragons and fair-folk, so even if I am going to read a lot of Debut Authors and of course books from series I’ve been following, I will concentrate a lot more on dragons and faeries. ^_^
So let’s see what’s crack-a-lackin' with Firelight.

Jacinda is a draki, a descendant of dragons and a very special one. She is a the only fire draki in centuries. She’s a special draki, but being special is not always good as she will see. So her mother takes her and her sister Tamra, and flee the pride. She hopes that the draki inside her daughter will fade and they will all live normally.
Struggling in a mortal world that fit her sister and mother perfectly, her only silver lining is Will. Or is he? From a family of dragon hunters, Will is her most feared enemy, but love has other plans. They are the mythical Romeo and Juliet. Hopefully they won’t end up the same way.

Firelight lived up to the praise it got even before the official release. With a gorgeous cover and amazing action and characters, no wonder I read it in less than a day.
I would have picked on the fact that I predicted a lot of developments, but I guess that was because I read so many books. It’s like after you read 18 of Agatha Christie books and you get a knack on figuring the killer as you read more and more. (And she has a lot of books.)
And even if it seemed rushed, the connection and the falling in love actually makes sense as you read. Can’t say the reasons but there are.

What I really liked about it was the struggle of the draki inside her. I’ve never had a draki inside of me (wished though) but I can imagine is not easy to keep in control such a being that defines everything that you are. And that struggle combined with keeping away from the boy that you want to be close...well let’s just say you empathize. It was believable and I guess that is the target of all writers. Congrats Sophie Jordan, you’ve hit your target.

Also what I also liked the straight forwardness of it. I mean is it not so complicated to say: "You want to go out?" he asks suddenly.
I blink. "As in a date?"
"Yes. That's what a guy usually means when he asks that question." A lot more effective than stalking (well, Will did his part of stalking and all, but we’ll leave him alone because that was his strike 1).
All in all, Firelight was really worth it. And the cliffhanger was a nightmare.

A.M Bells

I did a marathon read with this one because I really wanted to finish it before the New Year. Reading it in the same time with Stardust I did it. Just a minute before 31 Dec I finished and the line was drawn at 115 books read in the year 2010. Yaaay!

Sooo, let us begin!

Dru is finally safe in the Prima Schola, or is she?
She started to learn more about what it means to be svetocha, goes to classes, keeps close to the Broken Ash and maybe even gives a try to dating. Christophe has disappeared again and of course the only people that she can trust are Graves, Dibs and Shanks. But mostly Graves.
Lies, betrayals and jealousy, and all have at the core none other Anna.

With the first two books I said I would give them 4.5 points. But this one really deserves 5 points. It was, dare I say, amazing.
Even if Dru should have been in a safe place you feel that is an illusion as you read. There is a lot more to the safeness, as it is to Anna. And Yes, I did have a few reasons to hate her even more. But wow, I had surprises!

I am really getting excited about Ash's evolution and I really really hope he will manage to revert back in his true form. I grew quite fond of the guy.

Also together with the guys from Betrayals (Dibs and Shanks) two more have joined the wagon and I loved them. Benjamin and Leon! They were funny and cool in their way, and I was happy that they were on Dru's side.

Dru of course was herself. Kick-ass and tomboyish just as we got used to her, making guys buy her Midol and finally getting a scent as appetizing as Christophe's apple pie. Oh, and hail the hoodies and jeans. We got to glimpse a little into Graves's past ( *giggle* his full name is “Edgar Hideaki Graves.” *giggle*) but I still root for Christophe.
Speaking of Christophe there are a lot of things we discover about him as well, and not only: Dru's mum, Anna *death glare*, and August ^_^.

QUOTE TIMEEEE \^o^/

"Get me some Midol, all right?"
Benjamin all but choked. Leon studies the ceiling with a great deal of interest, a smile twitching at the corners of his thin mouth. While Benjamin looked ready to sink into the floor, Leon looked highly amused.
I decided I liked him.

"The ice," Leon said to thin air over my head, "has now officially broken."


A.M Bells

Ok, I will have to review two books in the same time. Just because it would have been stupid to review the second volume of Strange Angels before the actual first volume. Since that is how I read them. Why? Because the first volume got lost on the way, did a “little” detour in France and then arrived after a long month and many e-mails to the wonderful people at Bookdepository. They were amazing and patient.

So, here it goes: Strange Angels and Betrayals – Lili St.Crow
I will start by saying that I love the authors pen-name. Don’t know why, but I do.

Dru Knows that the Real World – peopled with ghosts, suckers and zombies – is a frightening place. She’s ready to kill first and ask questions later, so it’s going to take her a while to work out just who she can trust.
Dru Anderson has been “strange” for as long as she can remember. Traveling from town to town with her father to hunt down things that go bump in the night. It’s a weird life, but good one – until in an icy, broken – down town, a hungry zombie bursts through her kitchen door. Dru is going to have to use every inch of her wit and training. Can she stay alive long enough to fall for one – or both – of the guys hungry for her affections? (from the back of the cover)

Ok. First of all, in the first volume is not really clear the “hungry for affections” stuff. But anyhoo!
I loved reading this book for a couple of reasons. One, because I felt like I was reading in a way, Supernatural, where you don’t have a Dean and a Sam. You have a Dru...and Graves...and later Chris (Swoons a little. Second, because Dru is such a great character. You know how adventure books the characters that until that point were mundane and incapable and then suddenly they are freaking fighters? What’s up with that? Dru, has been fighting for most of her life, she is not incapable of throwing a good punch yet she is honestly scared when she finds herself alone and has to keep herself...alive. She is a kid, she admits it, she admits that without her dad and help she can die. For me that was believable. Seriously!

She’s no angel . . .
Poor Dru Anderson. Her parents are long gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she’s just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn’t entirely human. (So what else is new?)

Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England School for other teens like her, and there’s a big problem— she’s the only girl in the place. A school full of cute boys wouldn’t be so bad, but Dru’s killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead. And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide. . .

Can Dru survive long enough to find out who has betrayed her trust—and maybe even her heart? (from Goodreads just because I got lazy)

Also, the thing that I found brilliant: Yes, you have needs! You may be running for your life, but in that moment you have the need to pee. You don’t see this a lot in books. It’s a whole lot of running and fighting, but you never see a moment, in which the character does anything for his human needs. Cramps and all that. Not to mention shaving her legs. In “Betrayals” I was in stitches about this one. When Christophe was in her room, and she was all: Ohh, I didn’t shave my legs.
Here you are, mister gorgeous in you room, you in shorts and maybe a little unshaved. Now this is one moment, that girls can actually relate for real with the character.

Graves: Well, I have a soft spot for him. Because he is Asian. I heart Asians! I kinda felt bad for him. He had his whole life figured out, has the brains. And here comes the new chick and completely blows his plan. He’s a nice guy dealing with all the shit that Dru brought with her and nicely shares with him. Kudos to you man.

Christophe: I don't think there isn't a woman reader out there who is not swooning after this guy. I know I am. I like Graves, but Christophe is something else, I figured it must be that apple pie smell he has going on: "He smelled like smoke too, and under it was the edge of apple pies-spice and goodness. Jesus. Even after all that he smelled like a bakery." Or the danger. Girls like dangerous guys, it's a fact.

"Betrayals" new characters, great addition though I hated Anna and I know I am going to hate her even more in "Jealousy" (No duh! Title says it all). Can't wait to read that one. Hope there won't be any more France detours for my books. I never went to France and I wannaaaaaaaa.

QUOTE TIMEEEE

Strange Angels: "Better to be strong than pretty and useless."

"I guess since the groin is the center of a guy's world, he rarely guesses it isn't the center of yours."

Betrayals:"I crossed my arms over my chest. Jeez, it was cold in here all of a sudden. And had he always smelled this good? Was it a cologne? Eau de Christmas Pie?"

"My legs were on fire. All of me was burning and my back was a solid bar of pain. But it didn't matter.
What mattered was Graved next to me, also rubbing my back and laughing like he'd just found Christmas in his pants."

If I were to give points I guess Strange Angels would gather a total of 4.5 points out of 5. ^_^

PS: The shitty part of reading the second before the first was the fact that I didn't understand the lingo. Like, what in the world was a Svetocha. As well as the many pet names and words Christophe used. That didn't change even after the first book. So after Google-ing like crazy it was the amazing FORUM that cleared things for me.

And I quote: "Christophe is using a mix of Ukrainian, Russian, and Polish pet names. This is the closest translation:
kochana - beloved; love
milna - a very grown up/seductive way of saying 'sweetie'
skowroneczko moja - my pretty; my beauty
moj maly ptaszku - my little bird
moj ptaszku - my bird
moja ksiezniczko - my princess
malutka - little girl; little one
Ksiezniczka - Princess (from Strange Angels)
Other vocab:
moj boze - my God; dear God
dziekuje - thank you
Dyado Koleda - a mythical/religious character from European stories (from Strange Angels)" I think Dyado Koleda is some kind of Santa. ^_^ Awww Chris!

A.M Bells

Tom Boyd is a famous novelist, but after an awful heartbreak he is uncapable of writing. Billie a young woman, and also a character in his novel, appears one night in his home...alive. They make a deal that she will bring back to him the woman he loves if he will write his last volume of the trilogy. But things take a turn when Tom really has to write the novel in order to save Billie’s life.

Not many words to synops this book, and it doesn’t need more. They were enough to make me read. Even if at the beginning I was a little skeptical the action immediately pulled me in. Race to find one missing book, the struggle to save Billie and not to mention the mystery of figuring out how she came from the fictional world in the real world. As a struggling writer and lover of the fictional world, what wouldn't I give to meet face to face a character of mine. I guess that is every writers dream.
The ending was shocking. I never expected it, maybe because it was my first time reading something from Guillaume Musso. But I will read more, that is for sure. It was great!
PS: I’m really thinking in participating in bookcrossing now. Amazing idea!

A.M Bells