My lord this book scared me shitless . It wasn't jump scares or gore, at least not until later. It was the anxiety-inducing, constant self-doubting, hMy lord this book scared me shitless . It wasn't jump scares or gore, at least not until later. It was the anxiety-inducing, constant self-doubting, horrible unease the writing produced. It made your skin crawl and held your attention in a vice grip.
I loved Patricia because she wasn't perfect and made mistakes. But you understood her actions, even when they got too much, too cringey, too real and honest.
I love how the book built up James's character, so your perspective of his character altered the more you uncovered.
The mundane normalcy of the daily life with the shocking jolts of horror and supernatural events was jarring in a good way. It really pulled you into that Southern, American neighbourhood, with all the etiquettes and stereotypes, but it pulled back the skin so you could see the bones beneath. The ugly, the human and non-human.
I've never read a truly frightening and disturbing vampire novel in my life. Would definitely recommend, though I suggest regular breaks when you can't stomach the darkness. Surround yourself with puppies and rainbows and chocolate before you dive back in....more
Wonderful sequel. To review! .. . . . Wow, what a great follow up to what was already a wonderful book (Crimson Lake)!
So to kick off, Ted Conkaffey and hiWonderful sequel. To review! .. . . . Wow, what a great follow up to what was already a wonderful book (Crimson Lake)!
So to kick off, Ted Conkaffey and his quirky, odd, but lovable partner, Amanda have another case to solve. Two people, a young man and young woman are found shot dead in a bar and the PIs get called in by a family member early on to solve it, much to the displeasure of the police!
They work unofficially alongside Pip Sweeney, a new detective with a lot on her shoulders. Amanda and Sweeney form an unlikely alliance as they try to solve the murders.
Whilst this is going on, Claire Bingley's case (the case Ted was accused--but not convicted--of committing in book one) has new leads and Ted is thrown back into the nightmare he's tried very hard to put behind him. Amanda in the beginning gives Ted an envelope with information about his case and he's held off reading it, up until Claire's father storms into his house. It's pretty intense from then on!
So while Ted is trying to clear his name, others are helping to find the real rapist and attacker of Claire, and eventually--but with initial reluctance--Ted gets swept up in it.
I found the hardship he suffered, especially the separation from his young daughter, very upsetting and emotional. I truly sympathised with him and I understood a lot of the characters' decisions even if I didn't always agree with them.
In this book, many of the questions that were left unanswered in the first book, finally start to be resolved and we see more about Ted's case and what really happened.
Despite it being slightly disturbing and uncomfortable to read at points, I was thoroughly engrossed! The characters were as ever impressively written and complex, as was the plot. There were several plots intertwined into this one awesome book and they moved from one to the other seamlessly. I didn't feel jolted at any point.
I did find the climax with the case of the two murdered kids in the bar to be sudden. I thought that I didn't see enough clues for the answer to be found out, but I'm not Amanda Pharrell, so I'll let the author off on that one! However, once I found out who had killed them, it did make sense and I realised there was more clues than I initially thought. But there was one particular moment in the book that did confuse me, and that was the fat, gun-loving woman with serious lack of hygiene. I didn't quite understand what was her intention and the point of the scenario besides shock factor and unease. I must have missed something?
All in all this was very entertaining and I'm definitely listing Candice Fox as one of my favourites! Cannot wait to see what more she has in store for us! ...more
This took me sooooo longggg to read though because I was so busy and it is a pretty big book. Anyway, that being said,Wow!! What a corker of a novel!!
This took me sooooo longggg to read though because I was so busy and it is a pretty big book. Anyway, that being said, it was really well paced and kept my interest. One point I did wonder what more it had to say but then felt stupid when I realised there was A LOT still to reveal.
The ending was absolutely amazing!
The summary of the book--without giving away spoilers--is about a girl called Nona who through unfortunate circumstances is taken away from her out-of-the-way village by a child seller, to a city where she is sold to a man called Tacsis with the intention of being potentially trained as a cage fighter. People who have special abilities are highly sought after. There are four types of blood that buyers and sellers look out for. Hunska, Marjal, Gerant and Quantal, which are all helpfully mentioned and their traits explained in the very beginning of the book, before the story. Thank you, author for that. Most people have at least one of those special abilities in their blood (some have more than one and they are very sought after as they're rarer and potentially more powerful). The stronger their blood, the stronger their abilities. Gerant are obvious, as they're people of great size. The more Gerant blood is in someone, the bigger their size. Hunska are distinguished by there speed, and are known to be usually dark-haired and dark-eyed. Marjal are able to tap into magic and Quantal are able to walk the Path and can work greater magics than Marjal. The Path, from what I understood is an invisible Path between life and death that is extremely difficult to walk on, but with each step, increases your powers, and can be very addictive. Too long on it can kill you or those around you when you step off it, back to reality. It was very interesting and also difficult to imagine. I would love to see how they portray this on the big screen, if that ever comes to be.
After a lot of problems, Nona, the main character finds herself at a Convent that teaches girls how to control their abilities. And a lot goes on after this. Finding friends, enemies, learning, discovering, causing trouble, facing trouble. There's a lot of politics and secrets involved. And betrayal which was rather beautifully written near the end of this book. I really felt the emotions of those involved.
Characters were complex and many, and to be honest, I'm terrible at remembering people, especially when they have names like Sister Tallow and Sister Rule. I only remember a few of them and I had to search for them throughout the novel (which is easy on a Kindle really but still) because I had to refresh my memory of who they were and what they'd done previously. Even so, that's just me, but the writing does create beautifully complex and striking individuals with their own stories, dreams, fear and hopes. I adored that side of the book.
The setting was some other land that I couldn't decipher where it could be or WHEN it could be. I suspect it is somewhere in the past, and the land is completely made up, and the names of things were unusual and had me wondering about the history. I liked that they called the sun the Focus. The place is a prisoner to the ice which engulfs most of the land, there's also the Corridor where the ice surrounds or is in the ice, I wasn't quite sure when I imagined it in my head. But it gave me the feeling of a civilization at the mercy of ice which continues to take over the land and drive away every living thing.
The plot was long and complicated and full of hidden meanings and twists and turns. It's the kind of book I could read again and again and see something new that I happened to miss the previous time/times before. I like that a lot. It's clear the author put a lot of love and time and research into creating this wonderful novel.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading it again. I cannot WAIT for the second book which I imagine will follow Nona and her friends and Sisters as adults rather than as kids. It was so brilliant to connect so deeply and emotionally with characters who are only nine to eleven years old. I want to know how that will differ as they mature.
But first, the cons: This is one of those books that if you don't keep going, you'll miss out on the fun. I noticed quite a few reviews staGreat book!
But first, the cons: This is one of those books that if you don't keep going, you'll miss out on the fun. I noticed quite a few reviews stating that they DNF it and that's kinda sad but I guess I understood their reasons.
I personally like it a lot. It was funny and enjoyable! If I hadn't checked it out on Goodreads I probably wouldn't be mentioning this anyway.
The only problem with it that I found was the layout/format/style. It has these continuous footnotes throughout from Dirk, the assistant or whatever, and Jeff the head of the show Rolling with the Royces. And these were irritating to be fair but I learnt to ignore them. They weren't necessary IMO, and they came at awkward moments jarring a sentence and sometimes the numbers were so far from the footnotes that when I did bother to read them I was like, What's this referring to? It makes sense with the whole reality show, fakeness and scripted everything kinda style, but it didn't help the book. I felt it hindered it actually. BUT, despite that, I really did like the book.
It does take some reading, I'd say up to 60% or maybe more for everything to fall into place. The big secret and reveal is far later, like in the 90%. But I was kept so entertained all the way through I didn't mind the wait. There was obviously something to wait for, and it made it clear from the beginning which helped to keep my interest.
Characters wise, well they were certainly colourful. And their names were hilariously apt to the whole ridiculousness of reality TV. Sorry to anyone who has those names, I mean no offense. It works is all I'm saying and adds to that whacky doodah flavour of the book which I loved.
The MC, Bently a.k.a Bent is driving the story and I liked her a lot. She does a lot for her family, even when they're initially ungrateful and self obsessed but the great thing about this whole book is how all of them, even Bent's mother bettered themselves. Mercedes (the Mom--though she wouldn't have let them call her that EVER until three quarters into the book, if that) who finally reconnected with her motherly roots that had practically been severed from a long career on reality TV and materialism and spotlight and fakery. It was nice to see her warm up to her kids again.
And Bent's older sister, Porshe who is practically Merc's twin in the beginning. All about the spotlight and being noticed. But discovering love and the power of family and everything that happens to shake all that up brings her back to what really matters.
Then there's the little gay brother, Bach. He's the calming one, the guy who takes it all on his shoulders and plays it cool, but he finally shows how much the pressure has got to him and it's nice to see him not be perfect all the time. To see, like the others, what they're REALLY like, really feeling, and really wanting in life.
As for Bentley herself, she wants to go to college, be free of the fame and paparazzi and everyone controlling her life, making her memorize a stupid 'Bently bible' that lists how she should be, what she should eat, where, do, say. She decides she doesn't want it anymore, but she puts her family before her own needs. And she also finds love in a rather sweet and swoonworthy male by the name of 'Venice' who she befriends from months prior, spending time with him during her two hour freedom slots on Wednesdays at the library. Where she can just be herself and nobody recognizes her. Or so she thinks...
It's a feel-good story, made me laugh and gasp aloud. The bit where Whitey punches Jeff had me howling with laughter after I'd recovered from the shock. I love a good ass-kicking.
I'd definitely recommend this book, all I can say is, if you can allow yourself to go with the flow and get used to the weird format, you won't regret reading this book. It's a good one. And I give the cover art a solid four stars. It's really spunky and bright. Just like the story. ...more
I loved the concept, the plot, the characters, the mystery and suspense. It was exactly what I needed.
Ada a.k.a Vivi a.This was absolutely wonderful!
I loved the concept, the plot, the characters, the mystery and suspense. It was exactly what I needed.
Ada a.k.a Vivi a.k.a Arden is a famous female illusionist. She takes on the business after her mentor and boss leaves. She was the first ever, Ada is the next best thing. And someone in the very beginning--believed to be Ada's husband--has been killed with an axe shoved in his belly and Ada is the suspect. Captured by a policeman who has a fatal bullet lodged in his spine from a previous case, has a lot riding on finding the killer. He'd just found out that day that he could die or become paralyzed at any moment, thanks to the bullet moving about, so as soon as he sees Ada running away, he makes chase, captures her and takes her to an office for questioning.
This is where we learn all about Ada from when she's about twelve up to the present. And it is a story full of so much. I couldn't put it down.
The big question lurking in all of this--well QUESTIONS--is did she really kill her husband? And then later it's, WHO IS her husband? Because her storytelling leads you in one direction and then flips you on your ass and leads you in other. Just when you think you've figured it out it laughs at you and says 'Guess again'. I loved that!
The whole thing is about Ada facing her fears, sharing her story and following her adventures. She starts off wanting to be a dancer--thanks to her mother's influence--but from the beginning her life is shadowed by the psychotic Ray, who to everyone else is a good and kind young man who cares for the horses in the stables and is the son of Ada's mother's husband. So her stepbrother. In gtruth, he's a nasty piece of work and Ada discovers this by accident when she walks in on him cutting himself, but instead of it being about depression and self harm, the guy is absolutely adamant that he has super healing powers. Ada is actually the one with the powers and once he learns this, he won't leave her alone. He feels he has a right to her, that he OWNS her. And just like the rather repulsive 'hobby' of his to break animal's and attempt to heal them, he does it to Ada just before she's about to perform to a famous retired dancer. Her future hangs on that performance and Ray takes it away through malicious and jealous intent, throwing her from the balcony of the barn at the mansion she is meant to perform at.
From then on, her life goes shifting in another direction entirely, and though she completely heals, she knows she must escape Ray and his evil. He believes that her healing is his doing, not her own and that makes her life all the more in danger. And when she fleas to New York, it is there she discovers her true calling. Magic, illusions, and standing on the stage being applauded. But the thought of Ray is always lurking in the back of her mind.
It's a magical story, full of twists and turns and I loved the richness of it. The emotional rollercoaster of it. The romance and suspense were wonderful. I loved Ada and her strength. I loved her determination and wit. It was fun to read but it wasn't what I'd call light and airy. There was darkness in it too, hidden in the happy, light moments and that made it perfect for me.
I can't praise it enough, and for that it gets the full five stars. ...more
Well this was wonderfully oozing full of magic, culture and mystery. Every time I picked it up to read it, I was sucked into its vortex and had to forWell this was wonderfully oozing full of magic, culture and mystery. Every time I picked it up to read it, I was sucked into its vortex and had to force myself to come up for air.
The Bone Witch is Crooked Kingdom meets Memoirs of a Geisha, with a plethora of cultures thrown in.
Plotline in my own words: Girl called Tea (which makes me like her already) discovers she's a Dark Asha a.k.a Bone Witch when she accidentally raises her brother from the dead after he was tragically killed my a Daeva--a weird creature of sorts that is technically dead and contains a bezoar inside it which is extracted by powerful Dark Ashas every so often and used medicinally. Tea then gets plumetted into a world of Asha, apprentices, mystery, death, Daeva, skeletons running around or being raised from the ground, and whodunnits!
Let's get my qualms out of the way first. Really it's only one.
When I said it's like Crooked Kingdom meets Memoirs of a Geisha, it is VERY much so. The latter in particular. So many scenes in the book had me frowning as I got that unpleasant sense of deja vu knowing I'd seen/read something similar in MoaG. I'm not sure if that's a coincidence, but I doubt it. The apprentice learning the art of dance, music and etiquette; the rival Asha's attempts to humilate Tea and her house along with all the other jealousies and insecurities; the whole Asha house system that is strikingly familiar to the Geisha house; the purpose of the Ashas to go out there and entertain folk in TEAHOUSES; And then the special dance performance and the rivalry about who gets to play the main part. It is very familiar.
But despite the familiarity, it DOES work. It works very well with the magic, with Fox, Tea's dead brother walking around. The conspiracies flying around and mystery dripping from every wall. It works, but it is not entirely original, but I understand that if the author did take inspiration from MoaG, that she put it to great use.
The world she has created is very intriguing, and confusing at once. It has the strong sense of Japanese culture in the Asha house and the teahouses and the sense of duty and respect that is publicly displayed. But then I was confused when they started mentioning Sabzi Polo and panir and lavash bread. I'm married to an Iranian, and make Persian food regularly, so it was nice to read that hint of culture but equally puzzling as I'd had Japanese culture in my head. And then it has glimpses of what I detected to be Russian or Eastern European culture. The author has basically thrown in her favourite cultures into a pot, stirred them up and left them to stew and the result is a very interesting, tasty fusion. That is where it reminds me of Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom, the latter of which I'm still reading FYI.
Characters: I love the voices in the story. The characters have their own unique voice and characteristics that are made very clear and each one is lovable and interesting in their own right.
I can't decide who I like more. Mistress Parmina is probably the most colourful of the lot. She has this strict, slightly unpleasant old lady vibe to a T, but there's more to her than meets the eye and I like her complexity.
Tea is a great lead, with her insecurities, strong mind, intelligence and sense of morality. She's not clueless but inexperienced. She's not nasty or rude but stubborn. And she has a mind of her own but respects others and their opinions.
Fox also has his charms. I like his protectiveness and his unwavering ability to put Tea at ease, never letting her get worried about his own problems. He's dead, and I felt like he felt he owed it to her, because he wouldn't be there if it wasn't for her. They feel duty-bound to each other. And it's kinda beautiful. But he also has secrets and layers which stopped him from being stereotypical protective big brother.
Oh and there are many great, boisterous and lovable individuals in this book but I really warmed to Polaire, just because she was so clumsy and lazy, she spoke honestly--usually brutally and without sugarcoating things--and she was fond of swearing and insulting people. I just liked her for her flaws, and found her funny.
The description was wonderful in this book. Initially, I admit, when I first discovered the author's love for describing every detail of a woman's hua (traditional dress), I couldn't resist the urge to skim read, which I did maybe for one or two pages in the beginning, nothing major. But when Older Tea explains how every Asha's hua is a representation of the character and uniqueness of the one it is made for, I became intrigued. When I took the time to read it, the description was so easy to absorb and picture. It's very hard to easily aid a reader into creating a mental picture of what a character looks like, let alone what they're wearing as well. I found it surprisingly easy.
Another thing I also loved was the way the chapters were cleverly laid out. We had Young Tea as an apprentice Asha, and that was in first person POV of Tea. And then when her chapter ends, it switches to present Older Tea, with a man who is observing her, asking her questions, and it is from his POV, and that was very entertaining. It's interesting because we see her through the eyes of someone else, but also we see what she becomes and it leaves us curious to know more. And the best part about those chapters (which are in italics) is that they leave glorious teasers that transition into the next chapter; we want to know more because she leaves little hints of things to come without giving it away and it forces us to read on.
I know some people dislike that way of story writing, claiming it's spoilers, and therefore spoils the suspense. But I disagree. A spoiler tells you exactly what happens next, without ceremony. A teaser HINTS at it, without giving it away and leaves you demanding answers. It adds to the suspense, it doesn't remove it.
I would definitely recommend this book to YA lovers, people who like magic and witches and fantasy with a bit of creepy mystery! ...more
Okay so Rose is in prison. Whoopsie. She's swapped with Dimitri. He's now become more accepted and people are less terrified of him suddenly going allOkay so Rose is in prison. Whoopsie. She's swapped with Dimitri. He's now become more accepted and people are less terrified of him suddenly going all red-eyed Strigoi and shouting 'BOO!' before devouring them all. Rose is to thank for that. Your welcome, asshole.
She worked hard to get Dimitri accepted by the susperstitious folk, who couldn't believe their eyes and did everything to bring out the Strigoi they believed was still hiding in Dimitri. And he still is pretending Rose doesn't exit. To be fair, she starts behaving like a spoilt brat, pouting and shouting every chance she got, but I didn't blame her. Her frustration mirrored mine, or mine mirrored hers, whatever.
And then Queen Tatiana is staked! HOLY SHIT! Big uproar. And it turns out that the stake was Rose's. Oh dear. And Rose publicly threatened the Queen thanks to the injustice going on at the time--she no happy with the new law that Guardians should be out in the field much younger--and makes it known in a rather satisifying public display. Which goes against her when Tatiana is found dead in her bedroom with a stake poking out her chest. Rose's stake as I said. So Rose is locked up. And it's up to her friends to bail her out. Abe does his thing. Adrian his. And FINALLY Dimitri his.
The moment I started to like Dimitri again was when she was captured by the vamp police. He fights to defend her. Fisticuffs can profess one's love as much as words as far as I'm concerned.
This novel is a lot about discovering the truth--the WHO-DUN-IT?--as well as bringing Dimitri back to her. He starts to believe in himself, in them, again. And that was a wonderful thing. Rose goes through a lot in this book and has to restrain herself a lot.
She and Dimitri escape the Court together, with the help of her friends and a ton of explosives, unbeknownst to Rose at the time. They go after Sofia Karp, Rose's former teacher who turned Strigoi herself in the throws of insanity. Also a spirit user. They need her to find the possible illegitimate child of Lissa's father. If they find the child, Lissa can get a place on the Council and it'll help a lot of things blow over. She could even potentially be queen. This book is also a lot about Lissa going through trials to become potential queen along with other members of royalty. They encourage her to step forward--even though she can't actually be accepted as queen without another member of her own family living--so a lot of things are riding on Rose and Dimitri to find this child.
They find her, and it is someone who we've met before. That's all I'm saying. And Lissa does become queen. Rose gets shot saving her in the process. But the ending wasn't quite happy. Lissa has trouble accepting her half sister because it just reminds her of how her father cheated on her mother. And Rose and Adrian who have been a rather odd couple since Dimitri become Strigoi finally confront each other. It was painful to say the least. Adrian has been nothing but good and patient in all of this. He gave Rose space, knew how much she loved Dimitri and his heart was crushed when he discovered Rose and Dimitri had got together. So much happens in this book that I can't mention because it's too long, but the ending, with Adrian upset me.
Sure, Rose and Dimitri are together and Lissa is queen but it left a bitter taste in my mouth. In Rose's defence, Adrian put her in a difficult position after Dimitri turned Strigoi. He asked her to go out and made it almost like a deal which she felt emotional blackmailed to accept. At least that's how I saw it. He genuinely liked her, loved her even, but he knew about Dimitri, about where she stood emotionally and he still brought it up. She accepted it though, perhaps not wanting to upset him and also because she wanted to move on from Dimitri, see what would happen with Adrian. She liked him, loved him maybe, but not like she did Dimitri.
But to sum up the series I think this book did what it was supposed to. I thoroughly enjoyed the books and after reviewing this, I feel like I want to pick them up again! ...more
Okay, so to recap. Dimitri's gone Strigoi, he's captured Rose, imprisoned her. She escapes, stakes his ass and then discovers he is still in fact alivOkay, so to recap. Dimitri's gone Strigoi, he's captured Rose, imprisoned her. She escapes, stakes his ass and then discovers he is still in fact alive, is super pissed and is no more Mr Nice Strigoi Guy. He's made it clear he plans to kill her, and he has no reason to hunt her down because he knows exactly where she is. 'Oh shit, oh no' moment. Buuuuuut, he's not dead so yay because after she staked him, she discovers there's a way to bring him back from Strigoi to his good ol' Dhampir self. He'll get his soul back and not be an evil, blood-sucking dick.
It starts with the letter he sends Rose:
You forgot another lesson: Never turn your back until you know your enemy
is dead. Looks like we'll have to go over the lesson again the next time
I see you-which will be soon.
Love, D
Ohh momma creepy jeebies.
[image]
The last book was brilliant. The third and fourth are by far my favourites. This book follows on from the impending doom. There's the final Guardian exams which Rose aces. They even pump up the difficulty for her because she's dealt with them before, and they're super impressed with her.
Abe, Rose's recently discovered father, sends a message to Viktor Dashkov in prison, trying to bribe him to tell them where his brother Robert is. Robert is a spirit user, and Rose discovered in the previous book that he once brought a Strigoi back to life, which she chases up as soon as she discovers that she didn't kill Dimitri.
Rose knows the only way to convince Viktor to help them is to break him out of prison. So she, Adrian and Lissa do just that, and it was so fun to read. They then travel to Las Vegas to meet Robert and whilst they're there, they bump into evil Dimitri and again Rose hesitates to kill him. She doesn't want to obviously but it puts her at risk of death, fortunately Adrian saves her ass AGAIN and they escape. But so does Viktor with Robert in the kerfuddle.
A lot of stuff goes down, but the most important of it all is that Dimitri is turned back Dhampir, and after all Rose went through to get him back, HE IGNORES HER. I mean WTF!? He refuses to see her because he's got it in his head that she'd be better off without him, because she's too dumb obviously to make that decision for herself. I mean what the f*ck does she know about her own feelings. He's just too guilt-ridden to face his damn problems.
Anyway, this novel is like a spring tightening. And then exploding in a huge, fiery climax. The aftermath however, is disappointing as f*ck and leaves more problems than it started with. So, addicted, I read on.
I just love the world that's been created here. And the characters. I care about them, I want them to win and I feel their suffering greatly.
And in a weird way, at the end of this, I kind of missed Dimitri the Strigoi. He was more fun than Dimitri the Infuriating Martyr. But *shrugs* things have a way of sorting themselves out, in the end....more
Wow this kicks you right in the feels, doesn't it? Not to put too fine a point on it.
So Rose goes on a quest to search for Dimitri and his Strigoi behWow this kicks you right in the feels, doesn't it? Not to put too fine a point on it.
So Rose goes on a quest to search for Dimitri and his Strigoi behind in the naively described 'freezing' land of Siberia. She intends to kill him because she loves. Sounds fun already. Oh, what love this is. No, seriously, despite my jesting, it is quite a sweet albeit bitter plot. She knows that he would never want to be a Strigoi, to be without a soul and wandering around killing innocents. It goes against his Dhampir guardian nature. He was good, warm, full of life. And she doesn't know what to expect when she finally meets him. And my GOD the moment she meets him is so chilling and had me rereading it a couple of times just so I didn't miss a thing.
This book was full of intrigue and great characters. Rose ends up with Dimitri's family through some happy twist of fate, and stays there for a time. The feelings that being in Dimitri's family home stirs up is enough to make me reach for the tissues. I really felt for them both. It was so heartbreaking. She meets this dodgy dude called Abe, and he seems to have an agenda alright but not what you would expect. And when you finally realise who he is and what he's up to, it all makes perfect sense.
Rose then joins forces with a group of vigilante dhampirs who go around killing Strigoi by themselves, not under any order of the vampire race, but as rogues. I found their reasons reasonable enough, if a bit unorganised. I was in Rose's boat on that one. She decides to join them when she figures Dimitri might be in a city and she's proven right. After much interrogation of Strigoi, she finally finds one that knows Dimitri, and tells him to send D a message. And he gets it.
From then on she's pulled into a world of Strigoi against her will, a man who looks like the man she loves, but just isn't, despite what her heart is desperately seeking. Things go stokholm syndrome and blood whoring from there. You get it, I got it. She's trying to hold onto something but at the expense of falling into darkness. That period of the book where she became so weakened by blood loss and high and addicted to the endorphins from the bites (Strigoi bites are super strong compared to a Moroi as well, so mega drug ride), she was easily manhandled by a mere human. And that makes her feel so ashamed of herself. She's a strong, capable Dhampir guardian who has been reduced to an addicted, blood whore all because she's trying to cling onto the man she loves, hoping that he's still in there somewhere.
FYI, I love this moment in the film. It's where I see how much Dim loves her, just by the way he says her name and looks at her. *swoon*
She finally accepts reality, manages to escape and after a brutal battle of strength and wits, she sends him to a watery grave with a silver stake lodged in his chest. It's a powerful, gutwrenching moment for someone like myself who really connected with Dimitri's character, and believed in their love, felt the power of it.
But then she gets a letter waiting for her back at the academy, with the stake inside, and that little doubt she had at the time she'd shoved the stake into his chest, uncertain for a moment that it hadn't penetrated deep enough, turned out to be true. He's alive. Or as alive as a Strigoi can be and he's one pissed off Strigoi, intent on killing her.
It's poisonous, it's torture. But I loved it.
This book, and the third book are my favourite in this series. They really had me hooked and hauled me with them on their messed up emotional ride. I'm not a sucker for vampire romance as such (har har I did a punny), I just like the sort of mystery, forbidden, adventurous, passionate and all consuming element that usually goes hand in hand with this genre. I like vampires in general to be what they used to be: bloody-thirsty, dangerous monsters. But I also like layers and complexity. I like drama, pushing boundaries, and I just like love in a story. Not lovey dovey, but a love that gets battered and stretched and tainted but keeps on firing, keeps on giving, even taking. Because that's epic. And this, to me, was pretty epic.
Plus, there was a lot of ass kicking. That's always good. ...more
Well I wrote a long ass review that didn't save. Fuck you very much, Goodreads.
But this book was awesome and soul crushing. I'm on the next one. Can'tWell I wrote a long ass review that didn't save. Fuck you very much, Goodreads.
But this book was awesome and soul crushing. I'm on the next one. Can't be arsed to rewrite another review. So yeah. Whatever.
*EDIT*
So I'm on the last book and have some time to rewrite this goddamn review. I can't just leave one book unreviewed, my OCD won't allow it. I've also decided to try out a slightly different reviewing technique, using my bookshelves and my book highlights as guides.
I also don't usually like doing a plot summary of the novel and what happens--I tend to skip over that when I read other people's reviews too, oddly enough--but I'll do one for my fave books in my usual, snarky and probably hilarious fashion because that's just the way I am. Here goes.
So, in this book Dimitri and Roza are still going through the whole 'I can't be with you but I need you so I'm going to stare at you from a distance and pine and tell you we're not right together when I not so secretly want to be with you' fight. And it goes on for a while but who can contain such immense sexual tension, eh? Not these two. In other news, Rose is seeing Mason everywhere. His ghost. And she's trying to hide that crazy fact for fear of being thrown in a loony bin, but that backfires when she gets assigned to be Christian's guardian for the guardian test. She's openly pissed off about not being assigned to Lissa, and in Rose fashion, she makes a big song and dance about it. Swearwords galore. Cos, that's how she rolls and I love her for it. It's guardian testing time for all the novices, who are assigned a Moroi to guard, whilst school guardians pretend to be Strigoi and 'attack' them, testing the novices reactions, defence and skills.
One of the guardians distracted Ryan while the other--Dimitri, I now saw--grabbed Camille. She screamed, not faking her fear. She apparently didn't find being in Dimitri's arms as thrilling as I did. --I don't know why that makes me giggle every time I read it.
During a surprise 'attack' by 'Strigoi' a.k.a Guardian Stan, Rose sees Mason and freezes up, letting Christian get 'killed'. And because of her song and dance about not wanting to be his 'guardian' the guardians and school board think she did it on purpose. Rather than admit she's seeing ghosts she decides to accept punishment.
She does later admit in a way that Christian isn't as bad as she makes out to be. To be honest, they make a great team. They did in book two against the two Strigoi who kidnapped them, and they do later on when Strigoi attack the school.
"Isn't he (Christian) a pain in the ass?" "Yes," I said, licking icing off my fingers. "He is. But for the next six weeks, he's MY pain in the ass."
--
"I have a feeling we're on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other." - Christian "I already have a nickname for you, but I'll get in trouble if I say it in class." - Rose "Ah," he (Christian) said happily. "THAT'S the Rose I know."
Lots of brooding, fighting, arguing, snarkiness and within that, Rose senses darkness, unexplainable beatings up of Moroi, which she discovers are Moroi forcing other Moroi to use compulsion by torturing them with their magic and making them use compulsion to defend themselves from the pain. They do the same to Lissa, and Rose runs to her rescue.
The overuse of magic so close to magic wards that circle the academy as a protection against Strigoi attacks--cos they can't pass through them--actually breaks the wards. Makes them weaker bit by bit. No dead can pass through wards, and the fact that Rose kept on seeing Mason every now and again was a big flashing sign that something was wrong, it just took a while to figure out WHAT. It was a warning, and he was trying to tell her about the Strigoi, but ghosts don't have much communication skills, save for a sad stare and a nodding or shaking head for yes and no answers. He only gets the chance to speak when he finally announces "They're coming" just before the school is under attack. FYI, this is not so long after Dimitri and Rose FINALLY get it on.
And before I have enough time to celebrate it, Dimitri is bitten by a Strigoi when on a rescue mission to get students who were kidnapped during the attack and hidden in a cave nearby. Rose tries to save him but is annoyingly pulled back by guardians.
It's a painful pain in the ass, but one I even more annoyingly discovered would happen--by accident--when I was pinning away on Pinterest...
[image] So, since starting book one I've had THAT FUCKING PIN in my head and have been waiting for it to come true and hoping it didn't. And it did. And I cried. This book hit me in the mega feels.
Here's the actual quote from the book...
"Mason, is Dimitri dead?" Mason shook his head. "Is he alive?" Mason shook his head. Neither alive nor dead. The world swam around me, sparkles of color dancing before my eyes. The lack of food had made me dizzy, and I was on the verge of fainting. I had to stay in control here. I had to ask the next question. Out of all the victims... out of all the victims they could have chosen, surely they wouldn't have picked him. The next words stuck in my throat, and I sank to my knees as I spoke them. "Is he... is Dimitri a Strigoi?" Mason hesitated only a moment, like he was adraid to answer me, and then--he nodded. My heart shattered. My world shattered. You will lose what you value most... It hadn't been me that Rhonda was talking about. It hadn't even been Dimitri's life. What you value most. It had been his soul.
IMMENSE FEELS. I DIED WITH HER. It was so so so hard to read. And I had to pause after it to get my bearings. Wondering what she'd discover when she met him face to face. Because that was inevitable. She HAD to eventually run into him.
And it didn't surprise me when she chooses to do that herself. Because she'd made an unspoken promise to him that if he turned Strigoi she would end that for him. He never wanted to be a Strigoi, and he'd said he'd rather be dead if he did. She wanted to do that for him. She feels like she owes it to him.
So she drops out of St. Vlad and goes off to find him, choosing him over Lissa, as Lissa puts it when she catches her at the gates and demands to know why she wants to leave her. Finally, Rose puts herself first and says just as much to Lissa. That this time it wasn't all about dear Lissa. Rose was doing this for HERSELF. She wanted to take control of her life for once, and I felt relief for her, and sadness for Lissa as well. It just goes to show how well the author has filled out these characters that I care and understand where each of them is coming from.
BOOKSHELF SUMMARIES (This is where I expand on why this book is in some of my bookshelves)
Crushed-by-backstory-avalanche: The problem with these books is the author likes to summarise what has happened in previous books to help us make sense of what is going on in the current book. Just in case you've forgotten or you're stupid enough to not start from the beginning. It's not necessary personally, and I have to repeatedly scan past a lot of it. Some of it is helpful because it gives a clearer perspective of what has happened, and it helps to just ground you and remind you of things you might have momentarily forgotten in all the drama. But a lot of it so not needed, and so repetitive.
Oh-god-the-frustration: This is because of several things. The forbidden romance and unbelievably sexual tension between Dimitri and Rose that just had me screaming JUST SHAG EACH OTHER ALREADY! Then there was the inner struggle with Rose. She didn't want people to know she was seeing ghosts and thing she was crazy but her test against Stan the guardian when he 'attacked' her and Christian when she saw Mason--perfect timing Mase, thanks--has her looking incompetent. She's trying to choose the lesser of two evils. And Dimitri--who knows her well enough to know she wouldn't freeze up like she claims she did out of fear, because he knows her and also because he's well aware she already fought two Strigoi in the previous book--he asks her what is really going on, she doesn't tell him straightaway. She's scared of what he'll think. She eventually does open up but it's a long frustrating time coming, as much as I understood her reasons.
self-discovery: Rose continues to grow in this book. She's always snarky, loud and outspoken, aggressive and passionate and not afraid to voice her opinions or throw a punch. Her answer to most things is violence. It can get her into trouble. Her mouth can too. But she's starting to learn discipline and controlling her tongue--and fists--taking cues from Dimitri. For example, when Jesse-- a pain in the arse Moroi whom she had a little fling with in book one and who in turn spread horrible rumours about her out of scorn--tries to piss her off with nasty jibes, she choses wit over punches. And it's equally as entertaining.
I gave Jesse a small smile and simply said, "Your wit is always such a delight, Mr Zeklos. I can barely contain myself."
wrist-slitting-time: Because after the glory and satisfaction of seeing the lovebirds finally together and admitting their love, of planning for the future, and seeing him taken away so tragically, I was so depressed and upset by this, hence wrist-slitting. Hey, nobody ever said I was tactful.
TO SUM UP
Great read, great tension and pacing. Lot's of mystery, magic, arse kicking and girl power. Lot's of smexiness and sexual tension and sweet moments. Lot's of sadness and anger, frustration and pain. And loss. It's one of the best books in the series, if not the best. I'd say this book and number four (Blood Promise) are on par.
BEST BITS
And here's a selection of some of my favourite moments I highlighted...
"Took things a bit far, didn't you?" I turned around and saw Ryan and Camille walking several steps back. If I'd been a guy, the appropriate response would have been, "You mean with your mom?" Because I was not a guy, though, and because I had manners, I just said, "Don't know what you're talking about."
--
"You're jealous of Adrian." -Rose Christian fixed his ice-blue eyes on me, and I could tell I'd hit the mark. "I'm not jealous. I'm just--" "--feeling insecure over the fact that your girlfriend is spending a lot of time with a rich and reasonably cute guy whom she might like. Or, as we like to call it, jealous." - Rose
--
When Jesse tries to bring Christian into the 'hand' gang, and Christian replies with his usual snark: "Thanks," said Christian, a slight sneer curling his lips. "Now that you've endorsed me and my family, I can finally get on with my life. It's the only thing that's been holding me back."
--
Christian and Rose warming to eachother: "Rose, I don't know if you're crazy or not, but I'm actually starting to think you might be the best guardian--or soon-to-be guardian--out there." "Did you just give me a serious compliment?" I asked. He turned his back on me and headed inside his dorm. "Good night." ...more
Now this is more like it! The first book wasn't bad but there were minor issues I had, mostly the connection with the characters, or lack of I should Now this is more like it! The first book wasn't bad but there were minor issues I had, mostly the connection with the characters, or lack of I should say. But that was not an issue in this.
The teenage school drama was much more toned down this time. Huge sigh of relief there. And the plot had me hook, line and sinker. I was gripped from beginning to end.
The forbidden love between Dimitri and Rose. The strigoi attacks. The gore. The mystery. The inner struggle, hopes and desires, jealousy and perseverance. The magic!
I am constantly routing for Dimitri and ‘Roza’ *shivers with excitement*. In fact. I'm going to change my name to Rose just so he can call me it in Russian. *fangirl scream*
Okay *puts on serious reviewing tone*, the writing is so well done, gripping, funny, tormenting, entertaining, scary at times. Rose in this novel was more likeable but not because she was funnier. In fact, she's starting to grow up a bit, despite getting a black eye, skiing at break neck speeds, getting pissed, starting fights, breaking up fights WHILST pissed, flirting nonstop and nearly getting killed more than once. That's just a day in the life of Rose. Yet, she's beginning to learn to think before acting. Dimitri is rubbing off on her *dirty giggle*. Laughter aside, it's true.
And when shit hits the fan and she realises she messed up and the consequences are huge, she pulls her big girl pants up and takes responsibility, going to great lengths to fix it. Saving those she loves, and those she hates too and risking her life in the process. It shows that her heart really is golden despite the outward hostility. And seeing her facing up to the strigoi near the end and the tragedy that occurred, really made me like her so much more. Dimitri too, because he always seems to be there to pick her back up. He knows what she needs when she needs it and it's hard not to admire that.
Overall this book had everything I could have wanted. I couldn't fault it. And I instantly picked up the next book so, bravo, author, you have me hooked....more
Not great, not terrible. It was enjoyable, entertaining. A nice light read. But it didn't grab me by the proverbial balls and leave me transfixed, shoNot great, not terrible. It was enjoyable, entertaining. A nice light read. But it didn't grab me by the proverbial balls and leave me transfixed, shocked, screaming, crying and laughing maniacally. I like to laugh maniacally dammit!
Characters wise, I was also on the fence. They're likeable enough but I found the main characters lacking complexity that I've been spoiled by from many other novels, not in the YA genre. I'm not that seasoned in this genre to be fair. That being said, I did like Rose and Dimitri, Mason to an extent though he seriously needs to whack that jealousy monster off his back. Christian was decent and more complex than most of them. I felt there was more to him than the author provided in this book. And Ms Karp. Ah yes the loony one. No surprise there that I'd like her.
My God the teen drama! Like hello, like seriously like whatever. Ugh. That's all I have to say about that. Okay except one last thing. TONE IT DOWN for Christ's sake.
I made the mistake with this as I've done with many others and watched the films first. It's the common belief that the book is always better. A million times better and that's pretty much right from my experience. This WAS better. But NOT a million times so, in my opinion.
Yes, the film was cheesy at times and when I first watched it I thought it was a spoof. But it had its charm. For one, Rose was funnier. She made me laugh so much. And she and Dimitri had bants that I thoroughly enjoyed, such as the surprise attacks and the handcuff car scene. (Well, that sounded dirtier out loud than in my head.)
In the book there was minimal bants and the passion was bland. Even in the famous love charm scene I was left disconnected and disappointed. It seemed stilted somehow. So whilst I like the possibility of their relationship, it wasn't as interesting as the film had been, even in all its cheesy ridiculousness.
Overall it was decent, fun and a quick read that I've enjoyed enough to want to carry on the series. But it won't be one of those super memorable ones, unless it picks up for me in the next books.
Well this was great! The hype of this book was mostly deserved for a change. I say mostly because though I really enjoyed it, other books have grippedWell this was great! The hype of this book was mostly deserved for a change. I say mostly because though I really enjoyed it, other books have gripped me more. I think I'm getting picky with the more books I read. However, this is a solid work of young adult fiction with complex and interesting characters, and relationships.
I love the group dynamic and the pairings of friends and romances. This is the first young adult book where I've been in love with a girl and girl friendship. The moment Inej and Nina had a scene together I was in love. They're so caring for each other and none of it is competitive, forced or shallow and immature. They're above falling out over boys or believing what someone else says about them and falling out with one another.
I also loved Nina and Matthias's love/hate relationship. It had depth and you understood why both sides were the way they were, although the reasons were unravelled bit by bit as the story unfolded. In fact, that could be said for all of them. The author has a fabulous way of bringing up the past and mixing it in with the present. I really loved the conflicting emotions between Nina and Matthias. She being a Grisha--a person with special powers --and Matthias a Fjerdan, who was raised to believe Grisha were worse than animals, unable to feel and are viewed as evil monsters intent on wiping them out. But when he finally meets Nina outside of a cage and gets to know her, he falls in love. And who couldn't with Nina? I mean she is just awesome.
Then there's Inej and Kaz. He's hardened by the betrayal of Pekka Rollins, a con man who fleeced Kaz and his brother out of all their money when they first came to Kerch. Kaz's brother died soon after from illness and Kaz miraculously lived, but it hardened him. He has a hard time expressing emotion, and an even harder time being physical with anyone. Even a handshake without his notorious gloves is abhorrent to him, hence why no one sees him without them until it's necessary. Thanks to the traumatic event where he had to use his brother's water bloated, rotting body as a float to swim from the mass water grave to the shore, any contact of skin instantly takes him back to the feel of his dead brother's flesh. And so, despite his deep feelings for Inej and her feelings for him, you just know it won't be smooth sailing. And I'm kind of a sucker for that.
Inej is a great complex character. Forced into being a sex slave, she is rescued by Kaz and has ever since been indebted to him, though a lot of that is down to intimate feelings for him. With his instruction, she becomes the Wraith, a secret collector, with immaculate stealth and a gift with knives. But I like how in this book, she's still haunted by her time at the Menagerie, and terrified of the woman who ran it and who made her life hell. And she overcomes those fears in a rather satisfying way.
Jesper and Wylan. Haha. What can I say. Wylan is a rich boy turned criminal, who has a decent talent at making explosives and Jesper is a sharp shooter, who can't stay still for five minutes, finds danger addictive, as well as gambling. He takes the piss out of Wylan repeatedly and Wylan's confidence grows over time, giving him the ability to take the piss right back. They form an unlikely friendship and it's a wonderful one to read.
All of these characters have great chemistry with each other. Nina and Kaz is another. They all owe each other something, give each other something, make each other stronger somehow. And I believe this is what makes the story so great. Not the heist, the tricks and unexpected turns, not the world that's been built, the wonderful description and feel of the lands, languages and diverse people, though all of this is brilliant. For me, it's the characters.
Because the author does each chapter as POV switch we get to see the side of all the characters and understand them better, but it is done in such a way that it still keeps surprises. You don't always know what's going on, and it leaves you to enjoy Kaz's tricks.
Great novel and can't wait to read the next one....more
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