Review: "The Dragon's Call" by K.W. McKabe

I have to admit, I was hesitant to read and review this book - only because I've never read a dragon-based fantasy book before and worried it might fly to the peaks of high fantasy, losing me somewhere among the clouds. However, the fire-breathing (not-so-mythical) creatures were introduced and crafted in such a way that grounded the story in a great way.

Overview: (supplied by author on Amazon.com) In a thoughtless final act of destruction, humans wake the one creature of legend they have no protection against. Years after the complete subjugation of the human race, Derek, heir of the Dragon Queen, and Cecily, create a tentative friendship. But something or someone is stalking the human enclave. Cecily and Derek must find out who and why before she's next.

I was most impressed with how the author seamlessly integrated a fantastical overtaking by dragonkind into a very plausible outcome. She uses two POVs, and it's interesting because one is a man who survived through the war and the other is a girl who's never known anything else. So it's fun to see how differently they react to the same situation. And she does a great job of giving each POV a very clear voice. My favorite character is Derek, the love interest and heir to the dragon throne. I am also particularly fond of Cecily's father. His decisions and reactions feel very authentic, and even when they make me mad, it's so well done that it makes me feel like a teenage girl holed up in my room in my parents' house again. My one gripe is that the tempo of the writing changed a bit towards the end of the book. But I'm definitely interested in seeing what happens next! I give it four stars :)

Review - "Fallen" by Lauren Kate

To start, there are a lot of elements I really liked about this book. For starters, the writing was very well done: descriptive and artful. It was also a very different concept for a YA fantasy book from what I've read, from start to finish. Luce, our protagonist, is sent to reform school after her bystander-involvement in the fiery death of a would-have-been boyfriend. It's there that she meets a few new friends, a couple of mean girls, and, of course, a couple of boys that make her heart flutter (in very different ways.) Without giving too much away, I also really admired the concept of the fantasy element in this story. It was a big undertaking, and for me it made the story.

Unfortunately, although it's hinted, this element doesn't really come to light until the last 40-50 pages. It piques my interest about the sequel, but I never attached to the protagonist. I liked all of the other characters better than her. Luce's reaction to things great and small usually went against my own instinctive reactions. Because it's written in third person, the author can get away with using more omniscient descriptions in Luce's reactions, but it became distracting and almost aggrevating for me. At one point, something really horrible has just happened and Luce is in pieces, and then she's thinking about scrubbing her fingernails.

Daniel - love interest #1 - has some epic mood swings, and gave me emotional whiplash. His reasonings are well explained towards the end, but if I was Luce I would've told him where to go and how to get there after the first interaction. I like a little volatility, but it was a little too much of a roller coaster for me, especially because so much is a mystery or just hinted out throughout most of the book. Maybe it would've read better for me if it was done in 1st person, because although it's in 3rd, it's a very limited POV.

All in all, I would still give it 3 1/2 stars because it is well written and the fantasy element Lauren Kate tackles is EPIC, to say the least. I also really like a lot of her secondary characters. I just didn't hit it off with Luce. I know I'm in the minority here, obviously, because it's a New York Times Bestseller and has several successful sequels behind it. I can see why the teen market would eat it up, it just a little confusing for me.

Review Kharma

I love to read almost as much as I love to write. As an author I met at the Decatur Book Festival last weekend says about books: "They're the cheapest vacations you'll ever take." And it's rare that I come across a book - especially in my YA/Fantasy genre - that I don't like. The plots are usually addictive enough to pull me through any sluggish scene or awkward run of dialogue. But I've got one I struggled through for a few nights in a row, and then finally called it quits and put it up for a rainy day. It's not that it's not good, necessarily, but reading it felt like work, and I've already got three jobs and a toddler. I've got work in spades.

The thing is, I really wanted to like it. I loved the concept. The beginning was non-formulaic in a great way, but I never connected to the story. There was no one to root for early on, and I love to be a cheerleader. So here's my quandary: do I write a review about it?

Let me start by saying there's a difference between a negative review and a nastygram. One of my jobs is as a social media specialist for small businesses, and I see hundreds of examples of both types of reviews every day. There are customers that didn't get their way and so they're mad and they want the whole world to know exactly how mad they are, and then there are those not-so-favorable reviews that can actually be extremely useful - despite how painful they feel. These reviewers care about the business/product and about its well being. They noticed a problem, and they want the problem to be fixed because they believe in the overall mission of the business/product. These reviews and the customers who took the time to write them are priceless.

But then there's the other side of the coin: I really don't want to hurt the author's feelings. I know how hard it is to a) finish a manuscript b) get it accepted by a publisher, and c) be willing to bare your heart and soul and risk people tearing it to shreds. And, to be perfectly honest, I also really don't want to brass the author off either. I'd like to think I will be able to be so objective about the inevitable negative reviews that will come up once my book is released. Okay, lets get real. They're going to haunt me like a second piece of cake. But I also do want to know the truth. If I don't see my mistake, I'm just going to keep making it, and that's not good for me or potential readers. But I don't want to set myself up for a nastygram just because I wasn't the biggest fan of a book. So the questions remains: to review, or not to review? Opinions welcome...

Review: "Wake" by Amanda Hocking

In a nutshell, I read the first 200 pages in one night, and the following day counted down the hours and tasks and jobs and mommyhood that stood between me and the ending. To conclude: I can't wait for the sequel - "Lullaby" which is set to be released next winter.

Now to dive a little deeper. What I enjoy most about all of Amanda Hocking's books is how real her characters feel on the page - no matter how fantastical their DNA. If I pick up one of her books, I know I can count on believable, endearing quirks, true conflict, quiet sacrifice, and natural dialogue, and "Wake" did not disappoint. I really appreciate that her characters have limits: they get brassed off if someone does something mean, sneaky, shady, etc. As they should. And it's so refreshing.

Amanda also did a great job presenting the story through two third-person points of view. There wasn't a ho-hum page from 1-309*, driven forward seamlessly from one sister's perception to the other. I was also very pleased with how the first book in this new series ended. Yes, there are a ton of loose ends, but a critical decision is made and carried out in the last few pages.

A couple of side-notes: I am a sucker for a great character name, and Gemma -the water-loving protagonist in Wake - is now at the top of my list for favorite names ever. The only thing that really unnerved me about the book was that Gemma goes swimming in the ocean alone at night on a regular basis. It works for the character and the story, but it 100% creeps me out. I get paranoid in the deep end of a swimming pool and am scared to touch the bottom of a lake. The idea of diving into a big black pool with things that can and will eat me on a nightly basis honestly gave me a case of the heebiejeebies every single time she headed for the bay.

* the hardback version of "wake" has 309 pages :)