Category: Z-Old Users (Page 46 of 50)

BOOK REVIEW – Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles #3) by Melina Marchetta

BOOK REVIEW – Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles #3) by Melina MarchettaQuintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles #3)
by Melina Marchetta
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

There's a babe in my belly that whispers the valley, Froi. I follow the whispers and come to the road . . .

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi must travel through Charyn to search for Quintana, the mother of Charyn's unborn king, and protect her against those who will do anything to gain power. But what happens when loyalty to family and country conflict? When the forces marshalled in Charyn's war gather and threaten to involve the whole of the land, including Lumatere, only Froi can set things right, with the help of those he loves.

“Our bodies aren’t strangers,” he said, his voice ragged. “Our spirits aren’t strangers”. He held her face in his hands. “Tell me what part of me is stranger to you and I’ll destroy that part of me.”

Truth to be told, I was wary at first, out of fear to be disappointed by this last journey through Lumatere and Charyn. I couldn’t have been more wrong – indeed Quintana of Charyn was wonderful, as it contains all that I wanted and even more : painful at times, heartbreaking, hilarious, I felt all kind of emotions and wasn’t always able to control them. This book was beautiful.

Let’s deliver some awards, okay?

“Because people aren’t interested in the truth, Dafar. They’re interested in what keeps them safe. They’re interested in being looked after. They’re interested in a tale being spun.”

Top 4 of the best meetings
– you know the feeling – you’ve started to care for several characters in the first two books and then you get to watch their meeting. Precious.
Perri and Quintana. Adorable and filled with daggers (yes, that’s possible)
Finn and Gargarin. Men. Nothing more important to do than arguing about mythology. Did I mention that I loved them?
Quintana and Lucian. Hilariously inappropriate – this meeting took the form of a not-so-constructive discussion about Lucian’s sex performances. Yeah, you heard me.
The Turlan lads and the stupid Lasconian. Is it wrong I smiled so big when they defeated these annoying pricks? Take that for Froi!

“Finnikin laughed. “All I had to do was stop the horse and say, ‘I think…’ and they were racing back into the woods to you.”

Into the category of “words I wouldn’t want to use but couldn’t help but laugh about”, the winner is Quintana with her constant use of “swiving”.

Into the category of “you made me want to throw my book on the wall”, the winner is Queen Isaboe whose decisions if understandable stayed often incredibly annoying.

Into the category of the best bromance scene, the winners are Froi and Finnikin for the “you fainted/No, I didn’t” scene.

“You’re not going to start crying, are you, fool? Quintana asked bluntly. “It irritates me”.
Tessadora made a clucking sound of annoyance.
“What did I tell you?” she said to Quintana in a reprimanding voice.”

✭ Now, into the category of the incredible characters, because they’ve all their story to tell and because each and every one of them earned a little piece of my heart, the winners are :

Lucian for the most bittersweet monologues and the way he can’t help but care.
Phaedra because maaan, did this girl had patience to stand these Charyn whinnies.
Finnikin because he’s a ray of light in the story – adorable and kind, comprehensive and patient, this ginger catlove the surname, by the way.
Perri because every story needs his blunt guy.
Lirah because she refuses stereotypes and for her half-mean, half-hilarious protective comments.
Froi, of course, for his courage, his loyalty, his selflessness and his perseverance – because his quest to be accepted for who he truly is moved me like nobody else could.

✭ Yet surprisingly, despite the fact that Froi stole my heart, into the category of the loved-whatever-it-takes character, the winner is Quintana because she’s deliciously inappropriate, refreshingly selfish, fierce, proud, courageous, in a nutshell : insanely amazing.

“Because he sang for Quintana of Charyn. He sang for the misery of her life, the poison in her body, the scars on her skin, and the courage in her character.”

✭ And finally, into the category of best adorable support, the winner are my boyfriend because he stand my “OMG! FROI!” and other irrepressible giggles I let out during hours, and my lovely Chelsea because I spammed her with the same thoughts. Sorry about that.

PS : I saved so many quotes that it was really hard for me to refrain myself here. I did refrain, even if it seems I’m spamming you 😉

“He couldn’t think, and he couldn’t breathe ; his head, his chest, everthing felt as if it would explode, and he tried to count, tried to remember anythink…”

BOOK REVIEW – Any Duchess Will Do (Spindle Cove #4) by Tessa Dare

BOOK REVIEW – Any Duchess Will Do (Spindle Cove #4) by Tessa DareAny Duchess Will Do (Spindle Cove #4)
by Tessa Dare
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

What’s a duke to do, when the girl who’s perfectly wrong becomes the woman he can’t live without?

Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, has no desire to wed this season--or any season--but his diabolical mother abducts him to “Spinster Cove” and insists he select a bride from the ladies in residence. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. He chooses the serving girl.

Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn’t dream about dukes. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week’s employment. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother’s “duchess training"...and fail miserably.

But in London, Pauline isn’t a miserable failure. She’s a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure--a woman who ignites Griff’s desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Keeping Pauline by his side won’t be easy. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess--can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart?

Once upon a time I read a book from Tessa Dare and rated it 2.5 stars…

Although it started so good …

The beginning was freaking hilarious : During the first 30%, I was ready to crown Tessa Dare as the most awesome HR author of the world. Just have a peek at the text I sent Chelsea :

Oh, LL = Lauren Layne, of course!

Let’s meet our strong heroine : To be frank, Pauline won me from the very beginning, at this point exactly :

“It was hers now, wasn’t it? She’d paid for the contents. “For example, everyone knows I’m incurably clumsy.”
“Pauline,” Sally warned. “Please don’t”
Too late. With an angry heave, she launched the bin’s contents into the air.”

Impulsive and proud? That’s my girl.

Give me some broody male-lead : I’m going to repeat myself (I might be a parrot after all), but during the first 30%, I fell in love with this lonely duke and his interactions with Pauline. That was funny, snarky, inappropriate, deliciously adorable.

“It was nothing.”
The only manly reply, naturally. In truth, he suspected he’d pulled a muscle somewhere between vaulting the sofa and playing Jack Be Nimble with the ottoman …”

… So bad it didn’t last …

✘ I’m sorry, but I was kind of bored at some point. Yeah. When I start eyeing the percentages on my reader every five minutes, that’s generally not a good sign. Sigh.

The romance didn’t work so much for me : Now, here’s my main complain. Let’s face it, that’s an historical romance, that is to say, the whole point is … the romance. Overall, except from the first 30%,
again
, I didn’t feel the spark I loved between Colin and Minerva in A Week to be Wicked.

Unconvincing twists plot spoilt my read : I can deal with unbelievable twists, I mean, hey, I loved A Week to be Wicked and we deal with a ridiculous kidnapping attempt there, but here I found myself strangely careless of the explanations given to explain Griff’s behavior. I wasn’t convinced.

✘✔ Why, hello, strangely tolerant Duchess : Now, here, I don’t know if I’m supposed to be thankful for her open-mindedness or be annoyed by the fact that it’s utterly unbelievable for a Regency Duchess. Let’s call it even, okay?

“Oh. I see. So your grace never curses.”
“I do not.”
“Words like cor … bollocks … damn … devil … blast … bloody hell …” She pronounced the words with relish, warming to her task. “They don’t cross a duchess’s lips?”
“No.”
“Never?”
“Never.”

Overall, I can’t deny my disappointment and that’s what decided me to rate it only 2.5 stars. Indeed I enjoyed it far less than Colin and Minerva’s story. However, I have trusted Tessa Dare to offer me historical romance both steamy and hilarious – what I found in Romancing the Duke and A Week to be Wicked – and I still do.

BOOK REVIEW – A Week to be Wicked (Splindle Cove #2) by Tessa Dare

BOOK REVIEW – A Week to be Wicked (Splindle Cove #2) by Tessa DareA Week to be Wicked (Spindle Cove #2)
by Tessa Dare
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

When a devilish lord and a bluestocking set off on the road to ruin...time is not on their side.

Minerva Highwood, one of Spindle Cove's confirmed spinsters, needs to be in Scotland.

Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, a rake of the first order, needs to be...anywhere but Spindle Cove.

These unlikely partners have one week to

• fake an elopement
• convince family and friends they're in "love"
• outrun armed robbers
• survive their worst nightmares
• travel four hundred miles without killing each other

All while sharing a very small carriage by day and an even smaller bed by night.

What they don't have time for is their growing attraction. Much less wild passion. And heaven forbid they spend precious hours baring their hearts and souls.

Suddenly one week seems like exactly enough time to find a world of trouble. And maybe...just maybe...love.

“When a girl trudged through the rain at midnight to knock at the Devil’s door, the Devil should at least have the depravity – if not the decency – to answer.”

Guys. Guuuuuys. I think I may be a romantic.

Yes there are parts completely unbelievable and twists rather roll-eyes worthy – of course. But you know what? That’s okay, because what Min and Colin are offering us? That’s a tale – a show of deception, the triumph of the lies – and that’s hilarious.

Yes the plot is predictable and we run into some sentences very cliché sometimes. But you know what? There’s also several damn hot scenes and if Colin’s personality has been already seen in other novels, well, he’s fucking awesome in this role of the sarcastic, infuriating, devilish, and somehow delusional Lord. As for Minerva, well, she’s pretty amazing. Moreover, the scientific similes of Minerva and Colin completely cracked me up.

“I’ve always thought that word sounded splendidly naughty.” He let it roll off his tongue with ribald inflection. “Logarithm.” He gave an exaggerated shiver. “Ooh. Yes and thank you and may I have some more.”

Plus I have a theory about the clichés we find in this story. Yeah, I know, I’m not some investigator. Perhaps I’m delusional. But still. I’m almost sure that Tessa Dare plays consciously with the clichés she includes. Why? Because when a reaction or a sentence seems dripping with cheese, that’s always followed by something which makes fool of it.

Colin is being completely overdramatic?
→ Miranda hurries to call him on his shit.

Colin wants to offer Minerva his ring as a sign of love?
→ The ring stays stuck on his finger. A long time.

“You taste of ripe plums.”
She couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Now that’s just absurd.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s too early in the year for ripe plums.”

See? I could add some examples but then, I’d spoilt the story too much. Maybe I’m wrong, I’m just a random reader after all, but it pleases me to think that Tessa Dare is able to do that. I guess you’ll have to make your own opinion about it.

“My name is Minerva. I’m not your pet. And you’re deranged if you think I’d ever marry you.”
“But I thought you just said – ”
“Run away with you, yes. Marry you?” She made an incredulous noise in her throat.
“Please” .

Yes it awfully looks like instalove. Yep. Because there’s no denying that falling in love in a week is instalove. But then, I strangely didn’t care that much, as I saw this book as a fairy tale. A wicked and silly journey into the foolish heart of mine. And you know what? A day after finishing my read I can still feel the butterflies.

“But now that he was seized with lust for her, she ought to at least reciprocate with a grudging-yet-helpless infatuation. So much would only be polite.”

Yes the pacing is uneven and the story kind of drag towards the end. But you know what? I must confess that I wanted my HEA. I was shipping Colin and Minerva like crazy and despite the fact that Colin’s transformation can lead to awkward moments, well, I was smiling so big it hurts. Right. I think I may be a romantic after all. Don’t tell anyone.

In a nutshell : Here’s a somehow predictable romance book, where we find characters who fall in love pretty quickly, whose comments are sometimes a bit cheesy, and where some situations will make you roll your eyes something fierce, yet it was a page-turner and I laughed and
giggled 
GIGGLED so much I just can’t rate it below 3.5, and I’m rounding it at 4. Not to mention the steamy scenes. Did I talk about that? Yeah?

As guilty I can feel about that, it was a complete enjoyment. Damn. I’m ruined.

BOOK REVIEW – Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

BOOK REVIEW – Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon SandersonMistborn : The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)
by Brandon Sanderson
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with color once more?

In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage - Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

Because let’s face it, this book is basically a book version of a RPG game.

Thanks so much to my Indy Kitty Cat Chelsea and my French fellow Lucy for reading it with me. That was such a commitment 😉

Warning : if you think that my review is kind of useless, don’t worry, you’re probably right. However, as there is a large amount of great reviews out there, I’m not going to feel guilty about it.

Main Quest : Save the world of course, what do you think?

We have our regular high-fantasy here :
– a world ruled by a tyrant? ✔
– a magic system? ✔
– a master and his apprentice? ✔
– a quest to fulfill? ✔

Truth to be told, there’s so much to love I can completely understand why these books are so highly rated. Really. However, I feel the need to temper my enthusiasm. Yes, that’s a good plot. Now, is it incredible and never seen in high-fantasy? I don’t think so. That’s good, very good, but still, I’m waiting to be mind-blown, to get the overwhelming feelings that Robin Hobb’s books offer me. I don’t know. Of course I was wide-eyed and enthralled at some point, I can’t deny it. But still – perhaps I’m harsh, but I’m waiting for a better immersion in this world, as even if I find the concepts interesting, they’re aren’t fully developed in my opinion.

Now, the magic system and the world-building are basically a book version of a RPG game. How could I not love this, how? I mean, I was consciously thinking about the play control I would use to Push and Pull in a game (I think L2 Pull and L1 Push would be great). And the use of smoothing looks awfully like Speechcraft. Aka, for Morrowind noobs, the ability to intimidate/admire/taunt people we meet to get what we want.

Additional information : as in Morrowind, we can read books within the book which allow us to have a look at the world’s inhabitants beliefs sometimes, and it contributes to challenge the game book experience.

Can I have this game? Yeah?

Well, the map seems really large, but unfortunately we don’t get the opportunity to visit it, as we’re stuck in Luthader for the most part. That’s why I hope the extensions and other DLC sequel will let us fully discover this world.

Vin is a strong heroine who learns to like going to balls, and it makes her way more relatable than if she was only our regular magic fighter. What I appreciated the most was the fact she didn’t trust anyone at first and was still willing to learn what exactly friendship was. Now, her characterization isn’t that great, because she seems to succeed in everything she does. Of course I liked her – but let’s face it, until now, she’s special, she’s the One, she is our fantasy world savior. In any case, I must admit that I’m eager to see how her personality evolves in the sequel.

Kelsier is awesome in his anti-hero way, as there is no depth to which he will not sink to succeed their rebellion. Not a knight, a crewleader. Not a parangon of altruism, but selfish, and then, so more believable. As for the other members of his crew, they’ve all something to contribute to the story and I was pleased to see that the secondary characters’ characterization was not lacking of substance.

And there’s Elend. Well, I can’t even explain why I liked him from his first apparition. I just did. And even if I can rationalize my attraction in saying that he reads, that his comments are slightly sarcastic as I love my male-leads, that he’s an idealist who thinks that words are the most potent weapons, that he offered me my biggest laughter … I won’t lie to you, at first, there’s no reason why I love him. Except, somehow, I do. Go figure.

Since I read and loved Legion series by Sanderson, I had to be prepared but somehow you never really are, you know? I’m not going to state how perfect this book is because you know – it isn’t. However, the fact is, this book was just so damn entertaining. That’s true the pacing was slow at first, but then, that’s quite average for a high-fantasy book. I mean, hey, world-building people. By the way, I found it way faster paced from 35% to the end.

Would I recommend this book? Sure I would.

BOOK REVIEW – Crushed (Redemption #2) by lauren Layne

BOOK REVIEW – Crushed (Redemption #2) by lauren LayneCrushed (Redemption #2)
by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Growing up in New York, Michael St. Claire never expected to spend his twenties wearing cowboy boots. But that was before he learned about his real father, a total stranger with a family in Cedar Grove, Texas. Once in the Lone Star State, Michael meets Kristin Bellamy, who is exquisitely refined and everything Michael always thought he wanted in a woman. The only problem is that Kristin is dating Michael’s new half brother, Devon.

Kristin’s mouthy, curvy sister Chloe has always been in love with Devon Patterson. So when Michael offers to help Chloe break up Devon and Kristin, Chloe agrees to a deal that seems too good to be true. Before long, Chloe finally gets her man, only to make a startling discovery: She no longer wants the guy she had to fight for—she wants the one who stood by her side.

After all he and Chloe have been through, Michael swears he’s damaged goods. Can Chloe convince him that love is worth the risk?

♥ BR with my wonderful Star-Crossed ladies, Chelsea and Jen ♥

Don’t you hate when you’re completely unable to gather your thoughts about a book? That’s so annoying. Right?! Because I’m a scientific girl I’m really not. At all. I decided to complete a quizz to help me decide.

Who knows? Perhaps it will help you too. One can hope.

Cross the odd one out!Romance facts, anyone?
Typical NA package with instalove, instalust, virgin and pure but beautiful perfect heroin Nope!
Not free of stereotypes : hello, player, nice to meet you! Need a savior? Why, thank you, mean perfect sister, need a slap? Love triangle, anyone?
✔ Gradual and believable love-story

Rate the characters! Or try to, anyways.

Match the sentences!Plot facts

Continue reading

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑