Review: Night of the Soul Stealer (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #3) by Joseph Delaney

Book: Night of the Soul Stealer (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #3)
Author: Joseph Delaney
Release date: 08/16/07

Excerpt:
As the weather grows colder and the nights draw in, the Spook and his apprentice Tom Ward must be even more vigilant in their battles against the boggarts, witches, and ghosts roaming the county. When they receive an unexpected visitor, the Spook decides it is time to move to his winter house in Anglezarke. It is a bleak, forbidding place, full of witches and secrets. Tom hears rumors of menacing creatures stirring on the moors nearby, including the evil beast called Golgoth. Who was the mysterious visitor? And is Tom prepared for what he will find in Anglezarke?



Review: 
I actually finished this book a week ago and just forgotten to write a review. I think mainly it's because i don't have much to say. Compared to the previous two books this one felt like a filler. You learn some important things about characters, but nothing to add to the "larger picture". We also weren't treated to the "freak of the book". Instead we get a failed apprentice that has dabbled way!! to much in the dark arts. We only get our monster for a brief second and it was like Mr. Freeze the monster version. 


All in all 4 instead of 5 bunnies

review: Curse of the Bane (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #2) by Joseph Delaney

Book: Curse of the Bane (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #2)
Author: Joseph Delaney
Release Date: 09/01/06

Excerpt:

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, rid the county of witches, ghosts, boggarts, and other creatures of the dark. And there's some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger. The Bane!

But the Bane is not their only enemy. The Quisitor arrives, intent on hunting down anyone who meddles with the dark. Thomas Ward and the Spook must prepare for the battle of their lives.

Review:
As of late with series the second book hasn't live up to the potential of the first. This cannot be said about the second book of the "Last Apprentice" series. In it Joseph Delaney has proven himself to be a stead fast author whose works has weakened, but appears to be getting better and better.

The tale takes place a few months after the first. Tom and the Spook must journey to Priestown for the funeral of the Spook's brother. There the Spook plans to finish some unfinished busy. Namely finally get rid of the "Bane" once and for all. Things go far from planned. The Bane has basically gotten to most of the town residents and not only that the "Quisitor" has come to town. And he has Alice. Things aren't looking up for Tom and the Spook.

First thing first how they manage to advertise this series to kids is beyond me. This book and series is clearly and utterly YA. I say this because it deals with adult themes and it gets really scary at some points. Here i am at 25 years old and in certain parts i wanted my dog with me. The author goes on to create a driven plot where nothing is as it seems and you're really not certain of anything. Bonus yet is that Alice keeps becoming more and more key to the story. Alice is the type of character where you're not that sure what she's about, but you want to keep routing for her. She knows what she wants and dammit she is going to get it.

The bane is also an interesting creation. In it the author seems to have taken the early idea of the Devil in beast form. The Bane is conniving, tricky, and an interesting horror character different from your normal monsters. He is also extremely scary and you find yourself rooting for Tom to kill.

Tom himself is growing in this book. He's no long the unsure kid as he was in the last book. He knows what he has to do and faces it like a man. The interesting thing with him is that he keeps showing hidden powers within. It probably helps that his mother is more than likely a powerful witch and his best friend one as well. He's become your harry potter of horror.

I'm sure i can say more, but many other reviews have said so. Plus as i have dusted for the first time in months my head is a bit stuffy.lol

Final rating: 5 Bunnies. Brilliant writing, characters, and plot development.

review: Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #1) by Joseph Delaney

Book: Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #1
Author: Joseph Delaney
Release date: Aug 1st, 2006

Excerpt:
"I was going to learn how to protect farms and villages from things that go bump in the night. Dealing with ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties would be all in a day's work. That's what the Spook did, and I was going to be his apprentice." Twelve-year-old Thomas Ward, as the seventh son of a seventh son, has no inheritance and is bored with farm work, and even though his new job will mean the superstitious villagers will forever shun him, he is eager to go off to adventure with the tall, hooded man he calls the Spook. His mother, a magical person herself, approves, and the Spook's teaching is strict but kind. But when Tom has only learned enough to be able to control their house-boggart, he is tricked by Alice, the young daughter of a witch family, into inadvertently releasing and then killing Mother Malkin, a witch the Spook has imprisoned in a pit. This is no polite wicca-type witch, but a snuffling, slime-trailing, cannibalistic creature reminiscent of Tolkien's nasgils. The story of Tom's escape from the reincarnated witch's hideous revenge is full of horrible details, as Alice helps, and then once again betrays him. This well-crafted novel marks an auspicious start for an exciting and fast series for young teens.

Review:
Wow.. just.. WOW... I picked this book up at Borders last weekend and started reading it almost immediately. Now at first it took me awhile to get into it, but when it did... It was brilliant. I have to say quite refreshing to see all the things that go bumping through the night in their original forms. Our current literary culture has sort of white washed all things paranormal so that they're aren't scary anymore. That is not the case with this series. This book was written for mid-teens and here i am almost 25 and i got scared.

The setting it what i would say 17th century Europe. Young Tom is the seventh son of the seventh son and it is his mother's wish that he become a "Spook". Spooks are people who deal with all things evil, paranormal, or just not right. People need them, but they don't want to be around them. Needless to say Tom isn't looking forward to the job. It doesn't help matters that barely two weeks into his apprenticeship he meets Alice. A girl with pointy shoes. Someone the spook said he should avoid at all cost. That mistake basically sets forth the whole series and book.

It's after this point that Mr. Delaney starts to weave a suspenseful tail. Just like Tom you're not sure whom to trust and or what to do. All you know is that you have to keep on reading. Needless to say i've already ordered the next two books from amazon. ^^

Rating: 5 Bunnies. Brilliant and original.

 

Review: A Werewolf in Manhattan (Wild About You #1) by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Book: A Werewolf in Manhattan (Wild About You #1) by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Release Date:  01/04/2011

Excerpt:

 Emma Gavin writes about werewolves, but that doesn't mean she believes in them-not until a pack of real-life New York weres decide to investigate the striking accuracy of her "fiction".

When Aiden Wallace, son and heir of the pack leader, tries to sniff out Emma's potential informant, he discovers something even more dangerous- an undeniable attraction to her.

Review: 

I was very excited about this book. I love Vicki Lewis Thompson since i read "Babe on a Broomstick" and couldn't wait to start this one. If only i had the same enthusiasm to finish it. To put it blankly i know Vicki tends to walk a fine line between sex and erotic sex. The thing is that in the books i've read is that the sex was secondary to the bigger storyline. A storyline that is often so witty and funny i can't put it down. This book seemed to have the word "sex,good looking", or similar adverbs/adjectives every other page. I get it. Both Emma and Aiden just seem very very oversexed. I felt the need to yell at them to go get a room and get it over with so i can get back with the story. Needless to say i never finish the book. I just couldn't take it anymore. So i'm putting it on my bookshelf to try it perhaps some other time.  

Final Say: This was a great disappointment. I'm almost glad it's going to be about a year before the next one comes out. It'll give me time to decide if i want to read it or not.

Water bound by Christine Feehan

Water Bound by Christine Feehan
Release Date: July 27th, 2010

      Rikki Sitmore is not your average female.  She has strange reactions to things people may consider normal.  She only likes to eat peanut butter and broccoli and likes everything to be pristine and untouched. She might also be a sociopath because her parents, foster families, and fiancé’s houses all burned down and many of them died. But being a possible serial arsonist is not even the oddest thing about her. The winner is that she has the ability to control water (think water-bending in “Avatar: The Last Airbender” style). Rikki is therefore surprised that she didn’t sense the giant tidal wave until it was literally crashing down upon her. The tidal wave doesn’t just bring water, however, but also the most dangerous-looking and handsome man Rikki has ever seen. Against her better instinct, she decides to save him. During the rescue, she shares a moment with this dangerous man that is sure to shake her world.

 

       

      Lev Prakenskii is a very dangerous, deadly, and handsome man.  This is the one thing he knows as he finds himself slammed against the rocks after falling into the ocean. The next thing he knows, he is saved by a beautiful woman whom he can’t help thinking must be a mermaid. She pulls Lev out of the ocean and the dizziness and uncertainly causes him to react in a way that would have King Triton stabbing him with his triton. Rather than throwing him back into the ocean, the strange woman responds angrily to his actions. This rather sobers Lev up to the fact that Ariel did not save him, since she is yelling and not singing to him. Despite his dangerous behavior, the woman takes him home. Lev soon realizes he can’t remember anything except that he has killed a lot of people. The one thing he does know is that he wants to spend his life with this mermaid-like woman.

    

         I’m the first to admit that I’m no literary expert, but my biggest problem with this book was what I found to be poor writing. The author overuses adjectives and has the tendency to be repetitive and redundant.  I did not need to be reminded on every page that Rikki is a strange woman. I also got the point after the first fifty times that Lev is a deadly and dangerous man who has killed a lot of people.  I was tempted to start a drinking game every time I came across the words strange, deadly, dangerous, handsome, and a quite a few others. Needless to say, I would have been very drunk by the time I came to page two hundred, and the book is near five hundred pages long. Also, do we need a twenty page sex scene? A paragraph about walking into a grocery store?  This book really could have benefitted from a strong editorial hand. The weak editing really ruined the story for me.  I could not concentrate or care about the story because I kept trying to edit it in my mind.

      

       Setting aside the editing issue, the story was rather weak as well. I really felt no connection to either Lev or Rikki. None. I’ve never read a book where I’ve never even felt a small connection. Because I felt no connection to either of the characters, I could not care less about what happened to them. There were exciting scenes here and there, but they are quickly overridden with the overuse of repeating themes and thoughts. I really thought when Lev’s past was revealed, the story would take an interesting turn. It didn’t. The major plot points are who is starting the fires and trying to kill Rikki and whether Lev can escape from his dangerous and deadly past. Both are resolved in the most lackluster way possible.

     Oh yeah, Rikki and Lev got together at the end and I was relieved that the book was over.  Those who don’t mind a lot of adjectives and repetitiveness will probably like this book better than I did.

"Shiver and Linger" by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver by by Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date:  Aug 1st, 2009

Excerpt:
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human ... until the cold makes him shift back again. 

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Review:
This book came off as a surprise. I really thought when i rented it from the library that it was just going to be another badly written and over hyped book. I just picked it up out of curiosity. Now i won't say i'm bowing at the feet of the author since it had some issues, but i was really impressed. Impressed enough that i'm definitely going to be reading the next book in the series and hope they make a movie adaptation of it. 

The premise of the book is basically when she was a young girl Grace got attacked by wolves and also ended up being saved by one. This particular wolf became her "special wolf" and she started forming a relationship with it. Years later after a follow high school student gets attacked and supposedly killed that Grace finally realizes the wolves aren't regular wolves, but werewolves. This is confirmed when she finds "her wolf" in human form naked and bleeding on her front desk. Thus the story really starts.

As i mentioned earlier i was impressed with the book. I thought Maggie's take on werewolves was quite original. And written in a way that they don't have to sparkle like a fairy and look like greek gods and goddess. Now i have to admit as i said earlier i found some flaws in the book. I think this is mostly because it's directed at a younger age group than myself. Therefore i found the writing to be a bit "simple" at times where i wanted more substance. I believe though if i was in my teens when i read this i would have given it five stars and gold sparkles. It's just a matter of more mature taste. 

Final rating: 4 Bunnies. Good story, plot and characters, but not good enough to get five stars from me. 

Linger by by Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: July 13. 2010

Excerpt:
In Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past…and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabel, who already lost her brother to the wolves…and is nonetheless drawn to Cole. At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love–the light and the dark, the warm and the cold–in a way you will never forget.

Review: 
Before i get to my review i'm going to say something up front. This book made me cry. No i didn't cry from the tragic love story. Nor any of the characters. I cried because of the deer and the bad memories it dragged up. I shall get to this later. 

I finished the book this morning and i have to wonder what happened? The first book was really good and entertaining. In this one i felt like i was reading a teen soap opera. Oh *puts hand to my fore head* the tragedy of not being able to sleep with you boyfriend every night. Oh the horror of being popular and famous. The agony of turning human and not knowing if it is going to last. Drama. Drama. Drama. 

How is it that characters i previously liked suddenly became shallow and a character cut out of the angst teen. Sam had no backbone. He was like "yes Grace. You're the smartest Grace. I kiss your freaking feet Grace". Grace was all to her parents "I hate you. You don't understand me". Runs away to Sam. Isabella was just Isabella though. I didn't like her that much in the other book. 

The only character i liked was Cole and i only liked him when he was using his brain. During the parts when he was dissecting the werewolf theory i was captivated. I couldn't put the book down. He really was the only redeeming character in the whole book. Funny thing is that it was his scene with the deer that made me cry. 

I cried because the deer dying brought back memories of previous bunnies i owned dying. I still remember their screams of agony and the hopelessness in their eyes. Then being completely helpless to do anything about it. I just couldn't enjoy the book after it. It made me upset as Cole was. It's amazing how a two page scene can ruin a book for you. 

Final rating: 3 Bunnies. 

 

* Cruddy review i know, but i deer scene really ruined the book for me. I think about it whenever i think of the book. 

"Blonde with a Wand, Reading Between the Lines, & The Vampire and the Virgin"

Blonde with a Wand by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Release Date: Feb 2nd, 2010

Excerpt: 
Sexy witch Anica Revere has one rule: never under any circumstances get involved with a man before telling him she's a witch. Still, what's one silly rule? Especially when the guy in question is as cute as Jasper Danes. But when Anica and Jasper have a spat, she breaks an ever bigger rule of witchcraft and turns him into a cat. Bad news for him. Worse for her.. 


Review: 
If Jasper Danes were to meet any witch I’m sure he’d want to meet Samantha from Bewitched. That would be of course if he believed in witches after all. He met Anica Revere at her coffee shop “The Wicked Brew” and has fallen head over heals in…. lust with her. His plan when he took her out to dinner at La Boheme was to get laid. Not to get turned into a cat. Little did he know that he did not find his Samantha, but instead his Endora. 
Anica Revere knew she wanted to date Jasper Danes the moment he stepped into her coffee shop. The poor thing was suffering from a broken heart and she felt it was her duty to heal it. She did not plan on meeting Jasper’s ex-girlfriend that night at the dinner. Neither did she plan on finding out that Jasper was a liar and a good one at that. His trick of picking up girls by pretending to have a broken heart when the truth was that it was him breaking the hearts ended with her. When Jasper chased after her down the street she did what ever good witch did when being pursed by a rake; pulled out her wand. Little did she expect to loose her temper and recite a spell that she had read once in an old magic book; More so for that spell to end with Jasper a cat and her with no magic. This was the situation that found our hero and heroine in at the beginning of “Blond with a Wand”. 
“Blond with a Wand” was the first book I have ever read by Vicki Lewis Thompson and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really can’t remember the last time I have ever laughed so much while reading a book. From Jasper kitty nearly losing his “prize possessions” to Anica having to figure out how to deal with a boyfriend she’d turned into a cat this book was a major win from front to cover. My only complaint was that there was too much sex in the book. It really went to a point of ridiculousness sometimes. Most of the time I found myself just skipping the parts; especially the oral sex scenes. I’m the type of person who finds the act of oral sex just a tad disgusting and therefore cannot read it. 
Overall a great book and I look forward to reading the sequel which starts Anica’s sister Lily. 

4 Bunnies for: humor, great plot line, well written characters, believable romance, and a well written book from beginning to finish. It misses 5 stars for me for being a bit over sexed for my taste. 

Reading Between the Lines
Release Date:  Jan 1st, 2004

Excerpt 
Sometimes reality can be hotter than fiction!

Mr. Valentine

by bestselling author

Vicki Lewis Thompson

Romance author Candy Valentine is actually the very rugged, very masculine Jack Killigan. But noboby knows that -- including his publisher! So when Jack discovers he's just been signed up to do a book tour, he's stuck . . . until he convinces his best friend, Krysta Luekenhoff, to be "Candy" for the week. Only, between sharing hotel rooms and reading Jack's steamy novel, Krysta's curiosity is at a fever pitch. Can Jack make love as well as he writes it? There's only one way to find out . . .

Review: 

Ok first things first. I only read the Vicki Lewis Thompson story in this book. Leslie's didn't interest me one bit. Therefore this review is only going to be about Vicki's story. 

Vicki's story is titled "Mr. Valentine". Now you have to admit the first time you read this title you probably think of a Fabioisique type man on a dating show. Well that would be the complete opposite. This short story follows factory worker Jack Kiligan and his long time friend Krysta Luekenhoff. Krysta and Jack have known each other all their lives being their families were friends. They lost in touch with each other once Jack dropped out of college to see the world. They find each other again when Jack gets a job at the paper factory where Krysta works in the contract department. Krysta believes that Jack is going no-where in life. That is till he comes to her asking her to pretend to him for a phone call. This is because he had written a romance under a female persona and the publishers are going to be expecting a female on the phone. Krysta agrees to pretend to be "Candace" for Jack and eventually gets more than she bargains for. 

I have to admit this is one of the best short story romance i've ever read.I found that i really liked Krysta and Jack a lot. They were funny, had great chemistry, and the whole story was hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. I also loved the premise of a male romance writer. Jack doesn't sign his actual name at first because he's a bit embarrassed and thought that he would be rejected because he was a guy. Those are two things i can totally see a guy believing. Later in the story he actually gets some justification in his belief because the publishers were interested in "Candy" because they believed she was a pretty lady. When Jack admits he was the writer the whole deal almosts falls through. Luckily Krysta is on hand to pull some damage control. 

So all in all i would say five Bunnies, but since i didn't read the other story i'm only going to give 4.  

The Vampire and the Virgin by Kerrelyn Sparks

Release Date: March 9, 2010

Excerpt: 
"New York Times" bestselling author Kerrelyn Sparks continues her popular "Love at Stake" series with battle-weary vampire Robby MacKay who finds love while on vacation. 

Olivia’s packing list: 

1. Sunscreen 
2. Bathing suit 
3. Flip-flops 

FBI psychologist Olivia Sotiris is looking for a cool ocean breeze, sand between her toes, and a break from her crazy, and sometimes dangerous, life. But when she escapes to the Greek island of Patmos, all she gets is a meddling grandmother trying to marry her off. None of the men there interest her—except a mysterious Scotsman named Robby MacKay. 

Robby’s packing list: 

1. Synthetic blood 
2. More synthetic blood 
3. Jogging clothes (even a Vamp has to stay in shape!) 

Robby needs to cool off, too, since all he can think about is revenge on the Malcontent bloodsuckers who once held him captive. But then he meets Olivia, the beauty with wild curls and a tempting smile. When a deadly criminal from one of her cases back home tracks her down, Robby will have to save her life, along with giving her a first time she’ll never forget. 
Review

FBI agent Olivia Sotiris is on a much needed vacation at her grandmothers’ house on the Greek island of Patmos. All she wanted to do was relax and forget about Otis Crump whose somehow been stalking her from his maximum security jail cell. Relaxation isn’t something her grandmother has in mind though. Her grandmother is determined to see twenty four year old Olivia engaged, married, or have a significant other by the time she leaves the island. She’s getting assaulted by so many single men that it would be surprising to learn she was secretly the new “Bachelorette”. It doesn’t help that Olivia has “a gift” that she can read other people’s emotions and know when they’re lying. This kind of puts a damper in a relationship. Then one wakeful night she goes outside and see’s a mysterious figure jogging on the beach. Olivia, being her grandmother’s daughter, takes her grandmothers telescope and uses it not to watch the stars, but the man running; and what a man he was. What is even more intriguing about this man is that she can’t read him. 
Robby MacKay is determined to get into shape again after being brutally tortured by “The Malcontents”. His great great great grandfather Angus has decided that a vacation, and a therapist, is just what Robby needs. Robby agrees to the vacation, but not the therapist. He decides to go and stay at a covenant members house on the Greek island of Patmos. Course he’s not going there for the sunny beaches. That’s because Robby is a vampire. Not the sparkly kind, but the real dead during the day, drinks non-animal blood, only come out at night vampire. Course he has a few abilities up his sleeve including teleportation, super strength, hearing, and sight. He’s practically a nocturnal superman with his kryptonite being silver. Now one night as Robby is jogging on the beach he spots what he believes to be an angel. Now he has on authority from Anakin Skywalker that angels are the most beautiful thing in the galaxy, but they live on the moons of Iego so obviously this woman can’t be one; Perhaps a goddess. Whatever she is Robby is intrigued and so the story begins. 
This book was different for me because I rather like the plotline, but hated the romance. I mean hated. There was no buildup or even friendship for Robby and Olivia. It was merely “You’re hot. No you’re hot. We’re both hot. Let’s have sex”. This is after knowing each other for two days. They also greatly love each other after only each other for TWO DAYS. It’s like they needed “True Love's Kiss” from Enchanted playing in the background. Perhaps some fields to frolic through. It’s completely unrealistic and seems like lazy writing. Something I find highly troublesome since the main plotline of a serial killer being obsessed with Olivia and was somehow stalking her was engrossing and well done. I really wanted Olivia to end up with J.L at the end. They had more chemistry to me than she did with Robby which seemed to be all about sex and good looks. To me Robby + Olivia = love based on sex and lust of each other. Olivia + J/.L = friendship, mutual respect, and the right road for a healthy and happy relationship. All I could think of at the end was the divorce court would be in Robby and Olivia’s lives in a few years since you can’t expect a relationship to last on mere lust and the ability to not be able to read the guy’s mind. It just doesn't happen, but this is Kerrelyn’s world and she can do what she wants. 


So 3 Bunnies for: Awesome plotline, well written side characters, & being a page turner.