Tag: Fae (Page 5 of 7)

BOOK REVIEW – The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

January 6, 2015 / Anna

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1)
by Julie Kagawa
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Warning : I’ll do what I can, but I’m feeling restless – and I’m pretty sure this sensation will end when, and only when, I’ll be able to grasp The Iron daughter. Therefore, before taking the time to write a proper review of each book, I intend to… well, do my best?

This book managed to reach a part of me I had forgotten for years. The part of me who used to watch The Never Ending Story, wide-eyed, to read Alice in Wonderland, eager to meet that odd cat and to visit whatever weird world fantasy on which I could get my hands. All of that is to say that I was constantly mesmerized by the references and eyewinks Julie Kagawa inserted in The Iron King, smiling like a little child full of wonder.

“I don’t even recognize myself.”An image frashed through my head and I giggled with slight hysteria. “I won’t turn into a pumpkin when midnight comes, will I?”
“If you annoy the wrong people, you might.”

Welcome trolls and goblins and squirrels nails! I love you all already.

Color me impressed : the world-building was incredible. Quickly I found myself completely fascinated and captivated by all the details the descriptive and beautiful writing offers us : I am in awe of Julie Kagawa on this one. Cause, you know, contrary to many readers I liked Talon which I’ve read several weeks ago, but there’s nothing in it which can beat the complexity of Nevernever’s world. Nothing.

That’s pretty rare I read a book thinking it’d be awesome as a movie but let me tell you : this thought came into my mind many, many times while I was reading, as I couldn’t help but see what Meghan discovered, with bright and wonderful details, either she described some creature – by the way, I want a cat like this, Grimalkin’s the best, I’m telling you – or the settings, that is to say the never ending forest she travels in.

“It’s an elf,” hissed another, giving me a toothy leer. “An elf what lost its ears, maybe.”
“No, a goat-girl,” cried yet a third. “Good eatin’, them.”
“She ain’t no goat, cretin! Lookit, she ain’t got no ‘ooves!”

I giggled out of amazement. All. The. Time.

A few words about the plot now. As many readers noted it, that’s not the most interesting storyline I had the chance to read about, yet I couldn’t put it down and felt like it just clicked into place nicely. Actually I was on the verge of writing that the pacing was fast, when I remembered that the majority of readers grew bored in the middle of the book. That wasn’t my case. At all. I don’t know if that can be explained by the fact I’m such a sucker for fantasy and always have, I don’t have a damn clue about it. Sorry.

Oh, well. That’s my review after all, so perhaps it should be taken with a grain of salt, but in my opinion this book is compelling and fascinating, as it was such a page-turner for me. *shrug*

And in the end… The surprise. Indeed all the concept of Iron Fey is truly fascinating. I don’t want to spoil potential late readers like I am, so I’m not saying more about that but trust me : that’s quite original and well imagined from Julie Kagawa who took the best of fairies’ world and created an inventive land from it.

That’s what I adored. Of course the forbidden romance made my heart beat faster but you know what? I’d have loved the book without it.

As for the characters, I’m running out of time and it’s the first book of a series therefore I know I’m going to talk about them later so I’ll be short : Meghan isn’t a strong-minded fighter character, that’s for sure, but you know, I’m feeling indulgent with her because she never annoyed me nor maddened me. She isn’t dumb or infuriating, actually she’s pretty average and in my opinion her personality fits perfectly in the plot developments. Furthermore, she knows her moments of pure awesomeness –

“Stop it!” I hissed glaring at both in turn. “Stop it right now! Put your weapons up, both of you! Ash, you’re in no condition to fight, and, Puck, shame on you, agreeing to duel him when he’s obviously hurt. Sit down and shut up.”

Moreover, I really enjoyed Puke and no, that’s not because his character is one of my favorite from A Midnight Summer Dream. Noooo. Despite the fact I can’t bring myself to trust him, I enjoyed his apparitions as he managed to make me laugh with his comments.

“Charming,” Puck commented, gazing around in distaste. “I love the barren, dead feel they’re going for. Who’s the gardener, I wonder? I’d love to get some tips.”

Even if I feel his contentious relationship with Ash might end with a choice to make. ~~I’ll choose Ash.~~ Same for Oberion. Now that I think about it – that idea of bringing them in a young-adult book is wonderfully awesome.

Oh, and maybe you’re waiting for Ash? Nope. I’m not gonna start talking about this cold and infuriating – but exciting and captivating – Winter Prince. Yet. Otherwise I’ll begin to endlessly ramble about his awesomeness and I REALLY want to read The Iron daughter right now. But what an amazing male-lead. Wow. I’m in love. Did you know he was Mab’s son? How interesting is that! Right? RIGHT? Okay, I’m out now. But throwing ice darts? Awesomeballs.

And now, wonderful friends, I’m waiting for your ‘I told you so’. You were SO right.

Sans rancune?

“I am a cat,” Grimalkin replied, as if that explained anything.”

PS : The beautiful arts come from here and here.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
The Iron King #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Anna	Winter's Passage #1.5 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	The Iron Daughter #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Anna
The Iron Queen #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Summer's Crossing #3.5	The Iron Knight #4 Reviews: Chelsea
Iron's Prophecy #4.5 Reviews: Chelsea	The Lost Prince: Call of the Forgotten #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	The Iron Traitor:Call of the Forgotten #2
The Iron Warrior:Call of the Forgotten #3

BOOK REVIEW – Darkfever (Fever #1) by Karen Marie Moning

August 14, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Darkfever (Fever #1)
by Karen Marie Moning
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

I think this is one of those reviews where less is more. There was so much going on at all times in this book and we had so much we had to learn and take in. I still don’t quite understand everything I was told, which will come more easily, I’m sure, in the next installments.

I think the basic thing I need to address is the likability of the story and the characters. As a story, I did find myself inexplicably drawn to everything that was happening. I would put the book down and then feel myself reaching for it after only five minutes of it’s absence, despite the fact that I had no clue what was going on.

No, it wasn’t a favorite of mine, but it was on the cusp of being something very….special. The ending not only surprised me, but made me want to forget that I wanted to read something else after it-I ended up going straight through to book two. I think that says something about the story.

Or maybe it’s the magnetism of the characters. Despite what I’ve heard (and read) of Mac’s vapid tendencies and inner monologue, I found I still enjoyed being inside her head. She was funny and determined, not to be so easily deterred by the brooding Jericho Barrons. Speaking of Jericho…frankly, he is the reason I am so drawn to the story. I don’t know what his deal is, but I have to find out. The whole time I just wanted him and her to kiss, to release the sexual tension that subtlety built between them. It drove me crazy-so here I am halfway through book two already-Just because I want more Barrons.

So, there isn’t much to say aside from the fact that I was pulled in and bought the story enough to move forward with the series. There is just something about mysterious characters in a faraway land (or so it seems…Ireland?? Pretty far away!) where you don’t find out enough about each person, but just have to know more. I am both excited and anxious to see where this series will go.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Darkfever #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Bloodfever #2 Reviews:	Faefever #3 Reviews: Jen Anna
Dreamfever #4 Reviews: Jen Anna	Shadowfever #5 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Anna	Iced #6
Burned #7	Feverborn #8

BOOK REVIEW – Shadowfever (Fever #5) by Karen Marie Moning

August 13, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Shadowfever (Fever #5)
by Karen Marie Moning
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Thanks to all my bestest bestie GR buddies for joining me on my Birthday Buddy Read-Jennifer, Kristin (KC), Sarah, and Sharon chatted along and it was a really fun time. I’ll be happy to reciprocate! Thanks, ladies!!!

Fire to my ice. Ice to my fever.

I’ve really and truly dropped the ball on writing reviews for this series. I can easily blame it on the holidays and even the fact that I read this series so fast that there just wasn’t enough time to write a review for each individual title…but make no mistake, they all deserved a review. Any series that can keep me addicted for five books strong deserves a medal of some sort.

There was something very cold inside me. Always had been. I wanted to welcome it now. Let it chill my blood and frost all my emotions until there was nothing left in me that was haunted because there was nothing left in me.

In my review of book one I struggled with words and what to say. Moning created such intricate worlds that left you grasping for explanations and begging for more. Like many series, the build up and tension of the romance presented in these stories got under your skin, making it the sole reason to push and claw forward, making you crazy with anticipation. That was the case for me, at least.

Shadows are wonderful things. They hide pain and conceal motives.

Jericho Barrons got really deep under my skin. He was such an amazingly strong, broody character with so much mystery woven into everything he said. Protective and fierce, he and Mac had the hero rescuing the damsel in distress bit down, and that’s one of my many favorite things that can happen in books. I love when the mysterious and protective alpha male saves the not-so-helpless heroine-when her will to battle dims and all seems bleak-Moning did an amazing job with that plotline throughout the entirety of the Fever series.

Good and evil, in their purest form, were as intangible and forever beyond our ability to hold in our hand as any Fae illusion. We could only aim at them, aspire to them, and hope not to get so lost in the shadows that we could no longer see the light.

I will admit I was nervous about Jericho for the first couple books. He had something somewhat mean inside him, and he was hardly around. So when he would show up, he was grumpy and would say unnecessary things to Mac-he was still that mysterious, funny guy, sure, but there wasn’t enough information to process what we needed to know about him, thus the basis of his appeal. Yes. I’ll admit it. The only reason I was so inexplicably drawn to this series was my attraction and curiosity for the mysterious Barrons. I would finish one of the books, only to curse silently because I STILL didn’t get what I wanted, and quickly slide right along to book two immediately. It was an obsession-I had to get more of Barrons. And so began my one week reading spree of the Fever series-I was a tornado of reading and I would get headaches from having my nose stuck to the screen for each page that slid by. It was ludicrous, I was a madwoman, and while it hurt when I finally finished and I knew I’d never get to read more about their shenanigans in Barron’s Books and Baubles, I was also relieved to be free of the never ending spell that was Jericho.

I’d snort, but then his tongue is in my mouth, my jaws are wide, and I can’t breathe, and he’s right. One day you do meet a man who kisses you and you can’t breathe around it and you realize you don’t need air. Oxygen is trivial. Desire makes life happen. Makes it matter. Makes everything worth it. Desire is life. Hunger to see the next sunrise or sunset, to touch the one you love, to try again.

I also loved their interactions with one another, Mac and Barrons. He would almost always walk in all broodily with an heir of stealth and silence. They would then bicker and banter with each other and he’d leave just as hurriedly as he had arrived (always with stealth). Their wordless conversations, however, were by far my favorite thing between these two. It was so funny and almost always had me laughing or smiling.

“Ms. Lane.”
“Barrons.”

^^^ALWAYS how they addressed one another, lol. Cracks me up.^^^

The million-dollar question: What are you, Barrons? His answer, on those rare occasions he gave one, was always the same.
The one that will never let you die.

These books went by in a whirlwind that makes it difficult to decipher what happened in each story-yet another reason I am writing one review to cover four books. There was just so much information to sift through and so much mystery. We never knew who Mac could trust and who she should confide in with valuable information. There were generally three evils to choose from: Barrons, Rowena, and V’lane. More often than not, Barrons was her choice of poison, the lesser of three evils-every once in a while she would confide in V’lane, the death-by-sex fae. He proved to be a funny distraction and a comic relief in most situations. I loved all these characters dearly. (Okay, Okaaaaay-FECK Rowena.)

Time is neither scalpel nor bandage. It is indifferent. Scar tissue isn’t a good thing. It’s merely the wound’s other face.

So to sum up-this was a big surprise for me, in part because I pushed it off for so long and didn’t know whether the story would resonate with me. But it did, it got into my bloodstream and deep into my soul-that’s right, I’ll say it-I got the FEVER. 😛

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Darkfever #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Bloodfever #2 Reviews:	Faefever #3 Reviews: Jen Anna
Dreamfever #4 Reviews: Jen Anna	Shadowfever #5 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Anna	Iced #6
Burned #7	Feverborn #8

BOOK REVIEW – The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

August 13, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1)
by Julie Kagawa
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Hmmm. I about plastered a 3.5 on here and I probably should have….but if I’m being honest, I skimmed a ton of this book in the middle. I feel bad rating this so low when I knew this was a fantasy going in, but I have just recently fallen in love with Kagawa’s writing (her dystopian/paranormal series)and I could not pass up an opportunity to read another of her works-fantasy or not. And I’m just completely optimistic-I always think I’ll get past the little bits of odd characterization and be able to zone in on what my sorry ass really came for-the romance and the action. Well, I was on two totally separate spectrums from start to finish: I liked the beginning, skimmed LOADS in the middle, and LOVED the last 30%. Oh fickle, fickle me.

“War?” Something cold touched my cheek, and I glanced up to see snowflakes swirling in a lightening-riddled sky. It was eerily beautiful, and I shivered. “What will happen then?”
Ash stepped closer. His fingers came up to brush the hair from my face, sending an electric shock through me from my spine to my toes. His cool breath tickled my ear as he leaned in.
“I’ll kill you,” he whispered, and walked away.

I’ll start with why I decided to rush to book two….one word: Ash. Guys, I am not someone who solely bases their reviews and reasons for loving a book on a male lead, but I just did not get enough of the dark prince, Ash. Once he entered the story my eyes lit up and my imagination took hold of the story-my heart started beating faster and I started to speed read just to get more of what he was saying and doing. I just couldn’t get enough of him. And it almost seems to go hand in hand with this author (I’ve just noticed) that when the guy gets heavily involved, drama and action and malice ensue. Perhaps this is the reason I’m so drawn to her writing and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

“No one touches her,” Ash said, his voice coated with frost. “Touch her, and I’ll freeze your testicles and put them in a jar. Understand?”

I’m also not ashamed to admit that certain….creatures? don’t sit well with me. In small doses the fantasy elements are fine and, again, I realize this is strictly a fantasy, but I didn’t start to fall in love with the story until all the introductions of characters were complete and we could focus on the journey and not so much every mythical creature known to man. For instance-in book two, there’s just as many creatures, but it is a five star book at 30% (it was a five star from page one) because of the progression of the story and we already know what is going to lay ahead and what we should be expecting. There’s not a ton of info dump like in this book.

On the one hand, I can say that Kagawa is excellent at world building in both her series I have discovered, and in her other series it worked for me, for the most part. But I think I was just shocked into submission for the first 60% of introductions here and I’m just now on equal footing as the story. I take a while to fall in love with a story when I am skeptical to the premise, but I will admit that when it came time to ask myself-Okay, so do I care about what happens to these characters, and would I be upset if I stopped after book one and never found out what else there was to see?-and I came to the conclusion that, yes, I did care.

It was like a color given emotion: orange passion, vermillion lust, crimson anger, blue sorrow, a swirling, hypnotic play of sensations in my mind.

All I know to say to everyone is that this is a fun story (at least near the end) about a COMPLETELY forbidden romance where the male is a winter prince and the female is a summer princess-see the problem? Their loyalties are to their families and the kingdoms they come from and it is treason to fraternize with the enemy (romantically, that is). Ash was sent to retrieve Meghan for his mother and also the queen, and when Ash finds and attempts to capture Meghan, they make a deal to find and save her brother, and then she will go willingly with him to the queen. Deals with Faeries (sigh, I know) are unbreakable and punishable if you attempt to get around them-they will come for you one way or another.

I licked my lips and whispered, “Is this where you say you’ll kill me?”
One corner of his lip curled. “If you like,” he murmured, a flicker of amusement finally crossing his face. “Though it’s gotten far too interesting for that.”

All in all I ended up really enjoying this book and I’m loving the second. I’m all for forbidden romances and perilous, scary journies where no one is safe no matter how careful you are. I didn’t 100% connect with Meghan as a character, but already in book two I love her. The only other character I feel deserves some recognition is Grim, the cat who also struck a bargain with Meghan to help her out along the way. He was funny, witty, sarcastic, and he just kept coming back-he was loyal and fun and he was a great addition to the story. So, I’m off to read and hope that the second novel keeps the pace up-I am so hooked!

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
The Iron King #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Anna	Winter's Passage #1.5 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	The Iron Daughter #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Anna
The Iron Queen #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Summer's Crossing #3.5	The Iron Knight #4 Reviews: Chelsea
Iron's Prophecy #4.5 Reviews: Chelsea	The Lost Prince: Call of the Forgotten #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	The Iron Traitor:Call of the Forgotten #2
The Iron Warrior:Call of the Forgotten #3

BOOK REVIEW – The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa

August 13, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2)
by Julie Kagawa
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

I’d sacrificed everything-family, home, a normal life-for the stupid greater good. I had worked so hard; I was trying to be brave and mature about everything, but now I had to watch while the thing I loved most was killed in front of me?

It’s so hard to write reviews for series that you are consecutively reading, especially if you don’t have access to an internet or computer on the weekends like me. So hopefully I can separate the two books I’ve been reading so close together so that I can assemble a somewhat coherent review. It turns out that after book one of this series, I have been hooked and unable to put these down no matter what I’m doing or who I’m ignoring.

When you can’t breathe, each second feels like an eternity.

The Iron Daughter was, for me, on a whole different level than book one.

Now, I loved the end of TIK, but compared to the action and forbidden romance and heartache in book two, there just isn’t a competition for me. In this installment, we start off with Meghan upholding her end of the bargain-she is residing in the Unseelie (winter fey) palace and unable to leave because of her promise to Ash (promises/pacts/vows) which can’t be broken once made. But, aside from that, she doesn’t want to break it-she has fallen in love with Ash and wants nothing more than to face the world with him at her side. There’s just one problem-once they reached the winter court, Ash no longer shows his affections for Meghan and has started treating her with disgust and disdain. He is once again the icy prince she first met not so long ago and she doesn’t know what to make of it-didn’t he share the same feelings as she? Was he not the one who saved her countless times and risked his life for her? And the biggest question: Is he just acting for the winter court to keep her safe, or was it all an act with her…to get what he wanted out of the bargain?

What would I do now? Ash despised me. Everything he’d said and done was to bring me to his queen. He was a cheat. He’d used me, to further his own ends. And the saddest part was, I still loved him.

One thing I will say is that Meghan started out a little like a lovesick puppy, but it never really annoyed me as it did others. She is hurt, confused, and she doesn’t know what she will do in the freezing palace without her ally, the boy she fell in love with. Being that she is of the summer court, she is in an environment that is hard to live in and the winter fey are less than receptive-constantly trying to toy with her, cause her problems, taunt her with her claims of love for the unattainable prince and how he could never love her in return-she has never felt more alone.

I didn’t want to face him now. I didn’t want to think that he could be gone from my life forever, vanishing into a world where I couldn’t follow.

Ash, again, stole the show for me. He is brooding, mysterious, protective, and lethal-we didn’t get him 100% of the time, but we got enough of him that I was more than happy. His decisions and proclamations of love were so swoon-worthy that I had to settle down and just. Stop. highlighting. While Ash appeared stubborn at first, we get to see his emotions unfold as the journey progresses and it makes it all the sweeter when we reach the climactic and (woot woot) perilous conclusion.

“Forgive me,” Ash murmured, and I heard the faintest of tremors beneath his voice. “But I can’t…I won’t…give her up. Not now, when I’ve just found her.”

I am so beyond ecstatic that I found Julie Kagawa and her magnificent writing. It has been a while since I have found a book that has that perfect mix of romance, action, suspense, forbidden love…and a totally handsome prince who keeps my mind occupied way more than he should. When was the last time I’ve been so excited after a book….oh wait, wasn’t it? Yes. Yes it was-it was her otheeerrr series (The Immortal Rules, The Eternity Cure) that had me desperate for more. What I love most about Kagawa is that while she throws in additional love interests, her main characters know what they want. They might look at the prospect of what else there is, but they don’t veer from what they want and need-there are no senseless love triangles or unnecessary drama. Every problem has a place and she pieces it together seemlessly. She weaves such beautiful strings of words together that continue to mesmerize and render me useless. I love this author and I love what she does with her worlds. There is no lack of creativity and there is no dilemma the same.

“…Make your choice.”
Ash looked at me. I saw pain in his eyes, and a little regret, but they shone with such emotion I felt breathless. “I already have.”

Sooo here I am in the middle of book three and I’m still completely satisfied. The fantasy has stayed even with the other elements and kept me completely at ease in my comfort zone. Now, I can only continue and hope that nothing horrible happens (well…..nothing tooooo horrible hahaha) and that we keep getting Ash and Meghan time…because I am completely and utterly hooked on their adorable relationship and the dangers they face because of it.

“They see only this outer shell, not who I really am, beneath. You have. You’ve seen me without the glamour and the illusions, even the ones I show my family, the farce I maintain just to survive. You’ve seen who I really am, and yet, you’re still here.” He brushed his thumb over my skin, leaving a trail of icy heat. “You’re here, and the only dance I want is this one.”

…..Final thought-one of the new characters tore my heart completely open and left me speechless with the loyalty that came with that alliance-HE is not one to be missed and is a completely fun addition to this compelling series. That is all…

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
The Iron King #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Anna	Winter's Passage #1.5 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	The Iron Daughter #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Anna
The Iron Queen #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Summer's Crossing #3.5	The Iron Knight #4 Reviews: Chelsea
Iron's Prophecy #4.5 Reviews: Chelsea	The Lost Prince: Call of the Forgotten #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	The Iron Traitor:Call of the Forgotten #2
The Iron Warrior:Call of the Forgotten #3

Jen	Chelsea
Arielle	Cassie

Jen	Chelsea
Arielle	Cassie

BOOK REVIEW – The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis:

“I don’t even recognize myself.”An image frashed through my head and I giggled with slight hysteria. “I won’t turn into a pumpkin when midnight comes, will I?” “If you annoy the wrong people, you might.”

“It’s an elf,” hissed another, giving me a toothy leer. “An elf what lost its ears, maybe.” “No, a goat-girl,” cried yet a third. “Good eatin’, them.” “She ain’t no goat, cretin! Lookit, she ain’t got no ‘ooves!”

“Stop it!” I hissed glaring at both in turn. “Stop it right now! Put your weapons up, both of you! Ash, you’re in no condition to fight, and, Puck, shame on you, agreeing to duel him when he’s obviously hurt. Sit down and shut up.”

“I am a cat,” Grimalkin replied, as if that explained anything.”

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BOOK REVIEW – Darkfever (Fever #1) by Karen Marie Moning

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BOOK REVIEW – Shadowfever (Fever #5) by Karen Marie Moning

Fire to my ice. Ice to my fever.

There was something very cold inside me. Always had been. I wanted to welcome it now. Let it chill my blood and frost all my emotions until there was nothing left in me that was haunted because there was nothing left in me.

Shadows are wonderful things. They hide pain and conceal motives.

Good and evil, in their purest form, were as intangible and forever beyond our ability to hold in our hand as any Fae illusion. We could only aim at them, aspire to them, and hope not to get so lost in the shadows that we could no longer see the light.

“Ms. Lane.” “Barrons.”

The million-dollar question: What are you, Barrons? His answer, on those rare occasions he gave one, was always the same. The one that will never let you die.

Time is neither scalpel nor bandage. It is indifferent. Scar tissue isn’t a good thing. It’s merely the wound’s other face.

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BOOK REVIEW – The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

“No one touches her,” Ash said, his voice coated with frost. “Touch her, and I’ll freeze your testicles and put them in a jar. Understand?”

It was like a color given emotion: orange passion, vermillion lust, crimson anger, blue sorrow, a swirling, hypnotic play of sensations in my mind.

I licked my lips and whispered, “Is this where you say you’ll kill me?” One corner of his lip curled. “If you like,” he murmured, a flicker of amusement finally crossing his face. “Though it’s gotten far too interesting for that.”

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BOOK REVIEW – The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa

I’d sacrificed everything-family, home, a normal life-for the stupid greater good. I had worked so hard; I was trying to be brave and mature about everything, but now I had to watch while the thing I loved most was killed in front of me?

When you can’t breathe, each second feels like an eternity.

What would I do now? Ash despised me. Everything he’d said and done was to bring me to his queen. He was a cheat. He’d used me, to further his own ends. And the saddest part was, I still loved him.

I didn’t want to face him now. I didn’t want to think that he could be gone from my life forever, vanishing into a world where I couldn’t follow.

“Forgive me,” Ash murmured, and I heard the faintest of tremors beneath his voice. “But I can’t…I won’t…give her up. Not now, when I’ve just found her.”

“…Make your choice.” Ash looked at me. I saw pain in his eyes, and a little regret, but they shone with such emotion I felt breathless. “I already have.”

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“I don’t even recognize myself.”An image frashed through my head and I giggled with slight hysteria. “I won’t turn into a pumpkin when midnight comes, will I?”
“If you annoy the wrong people, you might.”

“It’s an elf,” hissed another, giving me a toothy leer. “An elf what lost its ears, maybe.”
“No, a goat-girl,” cried yet a third. “Good eatin’, them.”
“She ain’t no goat, cretin! Lookit, she ain’t got no ‘ooves!”

“Ms. Lane.”
“Barrons.”

The million-dollar question: What are you, Barrons? His answer, on those rare occasions he gave one, was always the same.
The one that will never let you die.

I licked my lips and whispered, “Is this where you say you’ll kill me?”
One corner of his lip curled. “If you like,” he murmured, a flicker of amusement finally crossing his face. “Though it’s gotten far too interesting for that.”

“…Make your choice.”
Ash looked at me. I saw pain in his eyes, and a little regret, but they shone with such emotion I felt breathless. “I already have.”