Review: HEXED

Hexed by Kevin Hearne
Book 2 of The Iron Druid series

Genre: urban fantasy

About Hexed:

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.

Source: Info in the About Hexed was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9595650-hexed on 15/04/2011.

Review:

This book displayed the same compelling story telling quality which hooked me to this series in Book 1. However, the fight scenes I think seriously needs a lot more editting and work...

"Of course your enemy is just going to stand around and watch you watch another fight going on between a witch and a demon two floors down because you are the hero... no, they are not going to try to whack you upside the head at all until you are prepared and ready"

...yeah right! This tugs the suspension of disbelief a couple of notches down. Why? Let me quote Brent Weeks of what he said about fight scenes:

You want to write something that’s cool, and exciting, and fun that’s anchored in reality enough that the reader doesn’t get jolted out of the narrative world. That is, even if it’s surprising, you don’t want your surprises to be such that the reader scoffs or becomes aware that they’re reading a book again. At that moment, you’ve broken your own narrative.

[Source: http://www.brentweeks.com/extras/writing-advice/new-writing-advice/]

And with that scene there, the author just yanked me, the reader, from the story... However, because of the very compelling story telling quality that this author displays, I am willing to overlook that and hope like hell that he would get help from a "fight scene expert" (or some such) like the ones they employ in movies to make their fight scenes authentic. Because really, this author has a very good voice!

Empirical Evaluation:
Character Development = 5
World Building = 5
Plot = 2
Story = 3.5
Pace = 4
Ending = 3.5
Story Telling Quality = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Iron Druid Series:


Book 1: Hounded publication date: 3 May 2011
Book 2: Hexed publication date: 5 June 2011
Book 3: Hammered publication date: 5 July 2011
Book 4: Tricked publication date: April 2012
Book 5: Trapped publication date: December 2012
Book 6: Hunted publication date: 2013

Review: ALL TOGETHER DEAD

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
Read by Johanna Parker
Book 7 of the Sookie Stackhouse series
Format: audiobook

Genre: adult urban fantasy

About All Together Dead:

Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life-the shapeshifter Quinn-but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.

The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

Source: Info in the About All Together Dead was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140075.All_Together_Dead on 14/09/2011.

My Thoughts:

Seeing that this is book 7 in the series, I've said most of what I can say about this book in my reviews of previous books plus the TV show adaptation of this series, True Blood. So what is different with this book then? Not much really, other than satisfying more Sookie Stackhouse craving. Feed the urban fantasy addiction. And fill in the gaps to better understand subsequent books in this series. However, one thing remains the same, if not more prominent... it is really annoying when Sookie plunges headlong so purposefully, intently and willfully into trouble and then wonder and wail why she is in such dire predicaments. WTF!! However, I still find that this series is addictive. I just wish that Sookie is not so stupid... This particular installment in the Sookie Stackhouse series is so irritating that I'd give it an overall rating of 2 out of 5. If the world building wasn't so good, I'd give it a one.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 1.5
World Building = 5
Character Development = 1
Plot = 1.5
Pace = N/A
Story Itself = 1.5
Ending = 2

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Sookie Stackhouse series:

Wishlist: PURE

WISHLIST:
Pure by Julianna Baggott
Pure series #1

Genre: YA Dystopian
Publication Date: 8 Feb 2012

Description:

A dystopian novel about a society of haves, who escaped an apocalypse in a futuristic dome-covered city, and have-nots, who survived the nearly destroyed outside world. The have-nots are almost entirely marked or mutated in some manner.

PURE centers around the story of Pressia, a 16-year-old survivor with a doll’s head fused into her left hand, and Partridge, an unmarked Pure who has escaped the Dome to find his mother, certain that she has survived the cataclysm.

Source: Info in the Description was taken from Goodreads on 08/07/2011.

Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

The Vampire Diaries
Season 1
DVD box set
From the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith

About The Vampire Diaries:

The Vampire Diaries is an American teen supernatural drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW Television Network on September 10, 2009, and is currently in its third season that premiered on September 15, 2011.[1] The series takes place in Mystic Falls, Virginia, a fictional small town haunted by supernatural beings. The main focus of the series is the love triangle between the female protagonist Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder), all of whom have dark pasts. Later light is thrown on the mysterious past of the town involving Elena's malevolent doppelgänger Katherine who seeks revenge against the town, Stefan, Damon, and Elena.

Source: Info in the About The Vampire Diaries was taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vampire_Diaries on 27/10/2011.

My Thoughts:

Why are our kick-ass heroines too stupid to live (TSTL)?!! First there is Sookie Stackhouse. Now there's Elena Gilbert. Of course you would slap a vampire because.... he could snap your neck like a twig... second, you are bleeding and the vampire in question is having control problems.... third, because you know for a fact that this vampire is the bad one who likes to kill... and, oh yes,... because you have a major case of TSTL??! At least Sookie was blonde, but Elena wasn't! Okey, okey, I bought this box set because I need something to watch while waiting for True Blood Season 4 to become available in the UK... but let me tell you, I had to be really desperate to continue watching this show. I know, I know, there are a lot of Vampire Diaries fans out there and I would probably get stoned with ripe tomatoes here, but... I don't think I'll ever finish watching this dvd box set...

There are good plot lines but Elena's TSTL is annoying!! It took me a month and a half of constant trying to get through the first disc. It took me two days to get through Seasons 1 to 3 dvd box sets of True Blood. You can imagine my frustration with The Vampire Diaries dvd box set! :(

And Nina might be beautiful but she can barely act...

Empirical Evaluation:
Character development = 2.5
Story itself = 2.5
World building = 4
Cinematography = 4
Pace = 1

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 cherries

Review: BONDS OF JUSTICE

Bonds Of Justice by Nalini Singh

Book 8 of the PsyChangeling series

Genre: adult urban fantasy

About Bonds Of Justice:

Return to the powerful, turbulent Psy/Changeling world created by the “amazingly talented”* Nalini Singh, as a human detective finds himself working the most unlikely of cases—in the dark heart of a Councilor’s domain…

Max Shannon is a good cop, one of the best in New York Enforcement. Born with a natural shield that protects him against Psy mental invasions, he knows he has little chance of advancement within the Psy-dominated power structure. The last case he expects to be assigned is that of a murderer targeting a Psy Councilor’s closest advisors. And the last woman he expects to compel him in the most sensual of ways is a Psy on the verge of a catastrophic mental fracture…

Sophia Russo is a Justice-Psy, cursed with the ability to retrieve memories from men and women so twisted even veteran cops keep their distance. Appointed as Max’s liaison with the Psy, she finds herself fascinated by this human, her frozen heart threatening to thaw with forbidden emotion. But, her mind filled with other people’s nightmares, other people’s evil, she’s standing on the border between sanity and a silken darkness that urges her to take justice into her own hands, to become judge, jury…and executioner…

Source: Info in the About Bonds Of Justice was taken from the author's website at http://www.nalinisingh.com/bonds.php on 02/06/2011.

My Thoughts:

This book started really slow that I thought Ms. Singh has lost her magic with this one. Consequently, it took me forever just to get through the first half of the book. But once I got halfway through, it got quicker and quicker, specially near the end. I wouldn't say that this is the best book in the series, but it is not too bad either. This being book 8 in the series, the world building has been done a long time ago. And I love this urban fantasy world that Singh has created! So I would say, the best recommendation this book has to offer is that it is part of a very good series! Characters and events in this book is mentioned in subsequent books so if you are a long time fan of PsyChangeling series, you would read this book just to have a better appreciation of the books that follow. Keeping in mind that book 10, Kiss Of Snow, is Hawke's story and I've heard is the best book in the series yet!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 4
World Building = 5
Character Development = 4
Writing Style = 4
Plot = 4.5
Pace = 2.5
Story Itself = 3
Ending = 4

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Psy-Changeling Series:
Click on the cover image for more info.