Reader Rayna

Month: December 2015

  • Magic Strikes Book Review

    magicstrikesTitle: Magic Strikes
    Series: Book #3 in the Kate Daniels series
    Author: Ilona Andrews
    Publisher: Ace
    Publication Date: February 20, 2009
    Genre: Adult – Urban Fantasy, Romance
    Pages: 310
    Format: Gifted Paperback

    When magic strikes and Atlanta goes to pieces, it’s a job for Kate Daniels…

    Drafted into working for the Order of Merciful Aid, mercenary Kate Daniels has more paranormal problems than she knows what to do with these days. And in Atlanta, where magic comes and goes like the tide, that’s saying a lot.

    But when Kate’s werewolf friend Derek is discovered nearly dead, she must confront her greatest challenge yet. As her investigation leads her to the Midnight Games—an invitation only, no holds barred, ultimate preternatural fighting tournament—she and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, uncover a dark plot that may forever alter the face of Atlanta’s shapeshifting community…

    As this is the third book in the series, there will most likely be spoilers.

    I think one thing that I really enjoy about this series is that there is a major encompassing plot to the whole series (defeating Roland, the Big Bad) and that each book has its own subplot that’s specific to that book.

    For this book in particular, it was all about getting back at the guys who brutally injured and attacked Derek, Kate’s shapeshifter “sidekick.”

    Now, I really like Derek and his personality, so I was all for this plot. I thought that it was definitely engaging and that there was a lot going on in the book to not be bored with.

    There was more lore about creatures and magic, this time focusing more on Hinduism and some aspects of the gods and deities of that religion, and their own twist in the book’s world – which I really appreciated. Yes, at times it was kind of long winded and maybe a little excessive, but I found the tales fascinating. There was also plenty of action and enough detailed descriptions to really figure out just what was going on and who was attacking or being attacked.

    I actually found the details to be a lot more thorough in this book than the previous two. Or maybe I’m just not really remembering the details; who knows? But I did highly enjoy that aspect of this book.

    Once again Kate was pretty badass. She took on a lot and dealt with a lot of things more mentally than before. She came to the realization that Roland was behind a lot of what was going on, and I also liked that she went into backstory about how Roland is her father and that’s why she always has to burn rags and clothes and such with her blood on it. Her blood holds special properties and magic that make her wicked strong, and I kind of really like that aspect of her.

    We got to see more side characters in this book including Jim, Raphael, Andrea, Doolittle, and a new girl, Dali, who’s a weretiger. I really appreciated being able to see more shapeshifters in action because I really loved the shapeshifters as a whole, let alone as individuals. I just think that the concept behind them is pretty cool to imagine. I think that the team aspect that was used in this book was really well suited for the plot and that it was well suited for the characters, as well. Even though Kate is used to doing things on her own, she relied a lot more on others, which was a good character development point.

    The romance in this book did grow a bit more, too, which is always nice for someone who loves love. As someone who loves love, it was awesome. It made me smile and swoon a bit, and I really craved more, but of course it didn’t go as far as maybe I would have liked, but it was still really steamy. But just so we’re clear, the romance was only sprinkled in about three times throughout the whole book, so it’s not like it encompassed the whole thing, for those who want more action and less romance.

    Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I think it was a strong, solid edition to this series and I highly recommend it if you’ve read the first two books.

    I rate this book 4/5 stars.

  • Totally Should’ve Book Tag

    Hey guys, today I’m going to be doing another book tag. This one was created by Emma of emmmabooks over on YouTube and I kind of really liked this tag, so… here we go!

    1. Totally should’ve gotten a sequel

    Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. This book was just so damn CUTE and I need a sequel. I need to see Simon in college, or past college, or something. I just need more CUTENESS.
    2. Totally should’ve had a spin off series

    Not even so much a spin-off series, but maybe a spin-off book, would have to be Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I love, love, LOVE this book so much, and I really wish there was a spin-off of Levi’s story growing up, or maybe even one from Wren’s point of view. Yesssss.
    3. An author who totally should write more books

    Tahereh Mafi! She’s a really great writer that really draws you into the characters’ lives and has really lovely prose, so I think she should definitely write more.
    4. A character who totally should’ve ended up with someone else

    I can’t really say… I’m generally happy with who ends up with who in books.
    5. Totally should’ve ended differently

    Allegiant by Veronica Roth, and not for the reason you’re thinking. Just… this entire book should’ve been different, in my opinion.
    6. Totally should’ve had a movie franchise

    Maybe the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor. Those would be pretty epic movies, don’t you think? Romance, betrayal, war, friendship… I mean, why has this not been made into a movie already?
    7. Totally should’ve had a TV show

    The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson. Yes, there’s only going to be three books in this series, but it would be so good as a TV show. There’s so much detail and story to be told through it that it could work as either a movie or show, really.
    8. Totally should’ve had only one point of view

    Again, Allegiant. The voices got too mixed up and they sounded like the same character all the time.
    9. Totally should have a cover change

    The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead are pretty ugly. I mean, they’re cheesy and should fit more with the novels. And the cover change they did have? Yeah… not really a cover change if you’re just going to cover up the old pictures.
    10. Totally should’ve kept the original covers

    The Diviners by Libba Bray. Now, I actually haven’t read this book or series, but I do quite like the original cover. It’s really pretty and it kind of speaks to the mystery behind the book. And then they changed it to be… well, a bit more boring and I just don’t get why.
    11. Totally should’ve stopped at book one

    I honestly have no idea. I don’t think I’ve ever read a sequel where I wished it had just ended after the first book.

    And there you have it! The totally should’ve tag. Let me know some of your answers in the comments below. I’m interested to see some of your answers.

  • Days of Blood & Starlight Book Review

    daysofbloodandstarlightTitle: Days of Blood & Starlight
    Series: Book 2 in Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy
    Author: Laini Taylor
    Publisher: Little, Brown Books
    Publication Date: November 6, 2013
    Genre: Young Adult – Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
    Pages: 513
    Format: Purchased Paperback

    As this is the sequel, there will be spoilers in this review.

    Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.
    This is not that world.

    Art student and monster’s apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is–and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

    In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

    While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

    But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

    This sequel held many aspects I wasn’t expecting, and it was just as beautiful, if not more intense, than the first.

    I found this sequel to be a little slow at the beginning, but I don’t know if that was because I was in a reading slump at the time. But once I got more into the story and saw a lot more happening than what I first thought, I was hooked.

    The storyline picked up right where it left off, or just a short time after, and it was interesting to see just how different the characters were for one reason or another: Karou knew the truth of her past; Akiva had his own guilts to deal with; many things had happened in the time between what happened in the last book until now and it was just mind blowing to see just what was going on.

    I thought that this book was a bit more intense and serious than the last. It focused more on the war aspect, and a lot more on resurrection and plots and vengeance than I was expecting. It did have a few light-hearted moments, but this book was mostly one in which dealt with a lot of different action sequences from one to the next and the next.

    This book followed a lot more perspectives than the last, too, where it included not on Karou’s and Akiva’s points of view, but also a seriph soldier, the White Wolf, a new/old friend, and several others. I thought that the way Laini Taylor placed those new voices into the story truly benefitted it rather than hindered it as it was good to see what was happening in both worlds and in completely different places in those worlds.

    As for the characters, I thought that Karou was being a bit too rash when it came to some things, though I could understand where her anger was coming from. She tried to do her best with what she had to do, but I also just think that she could have tried to be stronger or acted more on certain things. Though she was broken emotionally and tried to be strong in front of others for her own safety, when she was around friends and finally had some glimmers of hope, I think that’s where she really shined.

    I really enjoyed getting to see more of her knowing that she’s chimera, as well. Though she struggles in her environment, and with her memories, I think that by having her memories unlocked she was able to deal with a lot more than if she hadn’t had those memories back in the first place. And a few times I wanted to smack her because I thought she was just trying too hard to be mad at Akiva. Or maybe that was just me wishing for some more romance. Who knows?

    At first I thought Akiva was just being too… emotionless? Reckless? I’m not sure what the word is that I’m looking for, but I thought that he was just kind of floating there for a while. But I did love that he was extremely brave and tried to save as many chimera as possible before the seriph slaughtered them. I think those moments really showed his character and how much he changed from before and after he met Karou/Madrigal.

    As time progressed in the story, I thought that Akiva was holding a lot more secrets than he originally let on, but I also think that he, himself, doesn’t know what those secrets are. The fact that he was able to experience certain things was interesting and I really want to see it come into play in the next book.

    We also got to see parts of the story from Thiago, whom I dislike greatly; Ziri, who is an awesome friend for Karou and just a gentle soul for sure; Zuzana, whom I love because of her fiery spirit and her willingness to just chill with some monsters; and others. It was definitely a treat to be able to read parts of the story from these other perspectives because it showed multiple events happening at once, but in different places and in different worlds. Plus there was some extra backstory in a few places, which is always nice to have.

    I think that the next book is going to be an epic one. There’s going to be a lot more battling and war, and probably more loss occurring, but I also have hope for Karou and Akiva, and all the others, and I really am excited to see what happens next.

    Overall, I thought this was a strong sequel. It didn’t falter from the original storyline, but added to it, and I think that we definitely got to know the characters better and that we got to see more of who they are and just what they’re fighting for. And as always, Laini Taylor’s writing is beautiful and strong.

    I rated this book 4.5/5 stars and highly recommend it if you’ve read the first book.

  • Remembering Why You Blog

    So I wanted to talk about something that I think is extremely important: remembering why you started blogging in the first place. I got this idea from Jeann’s post on Happy Indulgences about how, as readers, why it’s important to remember why you started blogging in the first place.

    And so, I wanted to talk a little bit about that.

    Why I Started Blogging

    Because I love books. I love to read and be taken to places I’ll never go, have never been, have traveled to before, and can only dream about. Books are amazing, wonderful gifts granted to us, and I think that, as readers, we can sometimes take that for granted when it comes to blogging.

    As Jeann said in her post, “Reading is a passion, but by pressuring yourself to keep up with the long TBR, it can become a chore.”

    I think that we sometimes it can be difficult to remember that when it comes to reading, it truly is about the passion and love for it. When people get ARCs or review copies or even buy a crap ton of books, they can often feel overwhelmed by that pile and lose sight of why they started blogging in the first place.

    And Sometimes, I Forget That

    I’ve mentioned in several posts about how stressed I am when it comes to reading, or how hard it is to keep up and read as many books as I can in a month.

    I’ve been told many times (directly and indirectly) that it doesn’t matter how many books you read in a month as long as you’re reading. Heck, I think I’ve even said that before – and it’s true! As long as you’re still acting on your passion and love for reading, it doesn’t matter if you read one book in a month or fifteen.

    And I think when it comes down to the blogging side of it, I forget that it’s okay to not always have a review every week of a different book. Yes, sometimes I disappoint myself, and I’m sure that’s inevitable, but I’m still putting out content about the things I love and care about. I think that’s what’s most important.

    Sometimes You Need a Push

    I think that it’s good to be reminded once in a while about why you started blogging in the first place. Was it to “get big” and well known? Was it to share your passion and love for something? Was it to just journal for yourself, but on a more public platform? I think that remembering just why we started, we can reflect back and see if we felt more successful before or after any changes may have taken place.

    For me, personally, I did it to connect with others and get my own opinions out into the world. Yes, I’ll admit that part of me did want to get “followers” and whatever, but after I started to really get into it – especially this year – I discovered how much I just loved talking about anything and everything that had to do with books, reading, hot topics, and the community.

    I found that, even if I didn’t get a lot of people looking at my content, it was okay because I still was happy with what I put out, and I think that’s the key.

    Reading Is a Passion

    If you’re a book blogger like I am, then you probably love books. I’ve always loved reading, but I never really understood and fully grasped that love until just this past year. I have read more books this year than ever in my life at one time, and I find that amazing.

    This community has brought so much joy and happiness to my life, and I think I forgot that for a while.

    As Jeann also said, “Whether we blog, bookstagram, booktube, tumblr, or whatever, WE’RE ALL READERS. We are a community of people who are passionate about books, and we should be appreciating how each and every one of us contributes to the love of reading. There aren’t enough people in the world who appreciate reading as a hobby, so it’s important to love, enjoy and appreciate it together.”

    I sincerely hope that you remember why you started blogging and why you chose reading as your passion. It’s an amazing and wonderful journey we’re on together as readers, and I hope that we can all enjoy it together.

    Let me know your thoughts on this subject. Why do you blog? What first motivated you to begin your blogging? What motivated you to read?