Book Reviews:
Carter, Rachel E.
Carter, Rachel E.
YA/Paranormal/Romance
Heath, Lorraine
Historical Romance
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Book Review Request: First Year (The Black Mage #1)
Title: First Year (The Black Mage #1)
Author: Rachel E. Carter
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, RomanceDate read: September 9, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)
Summary (cr: goodreads)
Before the age of seventeen, the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice-follow tradition, or pursue a trial year in one of the realm's three war schools to study as a soldier, knight or mage...
For 15-year-old Ryiah, the choice has always been easy. Become a warrior and leave the boring confines of her lowborn life behind. Set to enroll in the School of Knighthood on the eve of her next birthday, plans suddenly shift when her twin brother discovers powers. Hoping that hers will soon follow, she enrolls with Alex at the Academy instead -the realm's most notorious war school for those with magic.
Yet when she arrives, Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted apprenticeships. Every "first-year" is given a trial year to prove their worth -and no amount of hard work and drive will guarantee them a spot. It seems like everyone is rooting for her to fail -and first and foremost among them Prince Darren, the school prodigy who has done nothing but make life miserable since she arrived.
When an accidental encounter leads Ryiah and Darren to an unlikely friendship, she is convinced nothing good will come of it. But the lines become blurred when she begins to improve -and soon she is a key competitor for the faction of Combat... Still, nothing is ever as it seems -and when the world comes crashing down around her, Ry is forced to place faith in the one thing she can believe in -herself. Will it be enough?
My Review: (also in goodreads)
It's always an honor to receive a book from the author asking you to give an honest review about it. It means they value your review and your ability to review without any pretense. Therefore, I'm going to give this an honest review:
This is a review long overdue. I received this copy from the David Estes R&R group and I am too ashamed to have to read this only now. But I am glad, I am glad because I found a gem in this. The story begins with Ryiah and her twin brother Alex off to the Academy to train in becoming a mage. Alex who has his heart set on becoming a restoration mage already knows that he has magic within him, in which his sister Ryiah is still struggling with her magic. She is already panicking since she wants to be a Combat mage. And just when she found her magic she finds that hers is an unpredictable sort. Her life at the academy wasn't all rainbows and butterflies, while she was living her dream, her stay was tough: Darren, the non-heir prince not liking her and treating her as a lowborn trash, Priscilla who is out to make her life miserable and not to mention her very difficult training life. The only consolation aside from having her twin brother with her is gaining a new friend in Eve, a highborn who isn't good terms with the non-heir prince. Having to train for one of the five spots as the Black Mage's apprentice may be a long shot but she is fighting to win that spot.
This book is the mix of young adult romance, magic and adventure and that academy plot rolled into one. Having that kind of adventure while at school or at camp (*ahem* Harry Potter and Percy Jackson) is pretty cool. It makes boring school life a bit more interesting. Ryiah is an interesting character. She is stubborn, headstrong and independent as well as unpredictable. If she wants something she will work hard for it with all her might and that makes her a relatable character. What I liked is the relationship between Darren and her. Though I think that the boy she met at the solstice ball will be a recognizable character in the next book. I liked how the book ended, it wasn't dragging and it didn't have that excess plot...it ended just the way it did, like you would be asking for more. I can't believe that this would be the author's debut series, I liked it and I am now a fan. This series has potential. I will be happily devouring the sequel. I hope though that this would be available in the local bookstores from where I'm from.
Till the next read...
From the shelf: When the Duke Was Wicked (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James #1)
Title: When the Duke Was Wicked (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James #1)
Author: Lorraine Heath
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency RomanceDate read: September 7-8, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)
Summary (cr: goodreads)
They are England’s most eligible bachelors, with the most scandalous reputations. But for the right woman, even an unrepentant rogue may mend his ways…
Lady Grace Mabry’s ample inheritance has made it impossible for her to tell whether a suitor is in love with her—or enamored of her riches. Who better to distinguish beau from blackguard than her notorious childhood friend, the Duke of Lovingdon?
With no interest in marriage, Lovingdon has long lived only for pleasure. He sees little harm in helping Grace find a proper match. After all, he’s familiar with all the ploys a scoundrel uses to gain a woman’s favor. He simply has to teach the lovely innocent how to distinguish honest emotions from false ones. How better than by demonstrating his wicked ways? But as lessons lead to torrid passion and Grace becomes ensnared in another man’s marriage plot, Lovingdon must wage a desperate gamble: Open his heart fully—or risk losing the woman he adores…
My Review: (also in goodreads)
Second chances is the theme of this story. It is London Debutante season once again and because Grace wants a husband who will love her past her dowry, she seeks help from her childhood friend Duke Lovington. Lovington has been acting like a scoundrel since his wife and daughter died, a marriage he had since he was 19, so he wasn't sure if he could give the right advice about love since he has loved and lost greatly. I liked the fact that whatever was brewing between the two of them, it had a sense of familiarity especially because they grew up together and Grace once held a torch for Lovington.
Till the next read...
From the shelf: The Luckiest Lady in London (The London Trilogy #1)
Title: The Luckiest Lady in London (The London Trilogy #1)
Author: Sherry Thomas
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency RomanceDate read: September 4-7, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)
Summary (cr: goodreads)
Felix Rivendale, the Marquess of Wrenworth, is The Ideal Gentleman, a man all men want to be and all women want to possess. Felix himself almost believes this golden image. But underneath is a damaged soul soothed only by public adulation.
Louisa Cantwell needs to marry well to support her sisters. She does not, however, want Lord Wrenworth—though he seems inexplicably interested in her. She mistrusts his outward perfection and the praise he garners everywhere he goes.But when he is the only man to propose at the end of the London season, she reluctantly accepts.
Louisa does not understand her husband's mysterious purposes, but she cannot deny the pleasure her body takes in his touch. Nor can she deny the pull this magnetic man exerts upon her. But does she dare to fall in love with a man so full of dark secrets, anyone of which could devastate her, if she were to get any closer?
My Review: (also in goodreads)
One of my favorite romance sub-genre has always been historical romance. It may well have been because of being in love at first read with 'Pride and Prejudice'. But mostly of how both protagonists carry themselves. They quarrel and flirt with ease, humor and poise. Even their coupling (as they call it) is quite lovely to read, like poetry. I enjoyed this novel quite a lot. This plot is kind of cliche with having an arranged marriage in a season where debutantes go to London to find the perfect match. Louisa is in London to marry to help her family even though she has no dowry to promise her future husband. With the help of her aunt sponsoring her, she's in. She had a couple of gentlemen in mind when she was singled out by London's Ideal Gentleman Lord Wrenworth dubbing her as the luckiest lady in London and the story starts from there. The plot has all the necessary ingredients for an arranged marriage: the interest, the looks (especially the looks), and of course the chemistry plus the male protagonist's sad past. All in all, I enjoyed reading this. Plus, I think Felix would be a lovely professor.
Till the next read...
Saturday, September 5, 2015
From the shelf: Girl Missing
Title: Girl Missing
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, ThrillerDate read: September 4, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)
Summary (cr: goodreads)
A beautiful young woman’s corpse is found dumped in a garbage-strewn alley. Now laid out in the office of medical examiner Kat Novak is an unidentified body that betrays no secrets—except for a matchbook clutched in one stiff hand, seven numbers scrawled inside. When a second victim is discovered, Kat begins to fear that a serial killer is stalking the streets, using a deadly drug to do his dirty work. The police are skeptical. The mayor won’t listen. One of the town’s most prominent citizens, with a missing daughter of his own, is also Kat’s chief suspect. As the death toll rises, Kat races to expose a deadly predator who is close enough to touch her.
My Review: (also in goodreads)
Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double,Vanish, The Mephisto Club, The Keepsake, The Silent Girl, Last to Die, Die Again
Rizzoli and Isles short stories: Freaks
This book was previously published as 'Peggy Sue Got Murdered' for its working title. Now re-published with the authors forward, this book as she says is the bridge from her previous writing style of romance and thriller transitioning to the Rizzoli and Isles series. This is also the first novel of Tess Gerritsen that I would read outside of the beloved series. This centers around Kat Novac a divorced, assistant Medical Examiner who suddenly got into a case that would be bigger than she thought and it started when her fellow asst ME asked for a favor. I could clearly see the transition of the author's style to what the Rizzoli and Isles series is at, now.
With the right blend of romance and thriller, this book still got me reeled in...especially the chemistry of the protagonists.
Till the next read...
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