Book Review: Tempest Reborn

Book Description

Release date: May 28, 2013 | Series: Jane True (Book 6)

Anyan may be trapped in an evil dragon and Blondie may be gone, but Jane knows one thing: she's not about to give up. She's ready to tear down heaven and earth to save her lover, despite those who believe he's lost.
Luckily for Jane, those who've given up on Anyan do not include those closest to her. Defying The Powers That Be, Jane and Company form their own crack squad of misfits, in whose hands the fate of the world may well rest.
With a little help from her friends, the Universe, and lots of snacks, Jane embarks on her greatest adventure yet, confident that with great sacrifice comes great reward. The question is, who will be that sacrifice?
The fantastic conclusion to Nicole Peeler's urban fantasy series featuring Jane True. (From amazon.com)

 

Review:

I wanted to love this book, I really did. I’ve been a fan of Jane True and company since Ms. Peeler published the very first Jane True several years ago. Jane is a spunky character who fiercely loves her friends, family and  hometown (and the ocean).

Warning: slight spoilers for earlier books included in this review. If you haven’t read previous books, stop here, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, unless you don’t care about spoilers. Me? I read the end of books first because I have to know, but I digress.

I realize many of my problems with the book are personal preference. When did Jane become British? She began using “whilst” in her inner monologues this time around and it nearly drove me insane, like it always does when American authors use that. To me, it’s like they are trying to sound fancy and more scholarly—Ms. Peeler is smart, she doesn’t need to “try” to sound smart or European. It also irritates me when American authors use “as” in place of because. It comes off as a misguided attempt to to sound literary.

Word choice quibbles aside, Jane read completely different this time around.  Her personality was more abrasive to me; she also seemed more frail emotionally, (understandable) because her lover was not there and she had a lot of inner turmoil relative to the methods she might need to use to save him. I did love the emphasis on friends working together to save the world and how they all had each others’ backs during fights. I didn’t really buy her as the champion. Yes, she had the power that was gifted to her and she listened to her friends who had more war experience (planning and execution of those plans) than she did, but it still didn’t “feel” right to me as a reader.

Anyan and Jane /sigh. I’ve been cheering for them to get together since the first book (never did like Ryu as a leading man), but I didn’t like them together as much as I wanted to. I loved the build up, but the keeping them apart felt artificial. Also, in the past few books, Jane calling him “Puppy” just didn’t sit well with me. Seemed too weird. I know he’s a barghest (big black dog) shapeshifter, but I still didn’t like that term of endearment.

All complaints aside, overall the book was well-written and was a (mostly) satisfactory conclusion to the series. I definitely would not recommend picking this series up with the final book, because of back story involved but it’s a must-read if you’ve read up to this point (Book 6 in the series). It’s an easy, light read, I just couldn’t get into it as much as the other books, which I tore through from the moment I downloaded them to my kindle.

Recommendation: If you have started the series, you should read it to complete it. You’ll probably enjoy it, I just had personal issues with the book that detracted from my enjoyment.

Sensuality: some descriptive sex scenes, not for younger teens.

Rating: 3 stars (that’s a bit generous  because it took me about a month to finish it when I normally devour a book in an evening)

Book Review: Dead Ever After

Book Description: (from Amazon)

THE FINAL SOOKIE STACKHOUSE NOVEL
There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart....

Sookie Stackhouse  finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.
Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…

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Book Review:

It’s time to say goodbye to another series. I finished this several days ago and have been letting it sit and find the longer it sits, the more satisfying the ending.

Sookie’s been through the wringer in the last few books, both physically and emotionally. People have developed very definite ideas about which character Sookie should end up with romantically. The bottom line is, not everyone will be satisfied with the ending; it will leave a sour taste in some people’s mouths. My purpose here is not to give spoilers or to join in any argument about the ending to Ms. Harris’ series, as it is hers to write and end as she chooses. Other quibbles I’ve read that people have with the book is parts have a different PoV (3rd person omniscient in addition to the normal 1st person—Sookie). I’m used to series jumping around PoV to PoV, so this didn’t bother me.

The murder was to a character I didn’t mourn at all though the family did garner a bit of sympathy. I THOUGHT I had figured out who was to blame, but I was only partly correct (have to add that I love it when I’m surprised at least a little bit!). Most of the loose ends were tied up in a satisfactory manner, but I still look forward to this fall, when the book that wraps everything up with everyone in Bon Temps is released.

I feel like I can’t say much more without giving anything away. If you’ve read the series, read this book. It’s a really good conclusion to the series, highly recommend.  The best line in the book, bar none was: “Life should imitate romance literature far more often.” The last 2 paragraphs remind me of why I love this series. Sookie is a strong, independent woman who doesn’t lose her head in a crisis. Thank you for introducing us to Sookie, Ms. Harris.

Sensuality: some sex, would let older teens read.

Rating: 5 stars

Book Review: A Memory of Light

Book Description: (From amazon)

Since 1990, when Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time® burst on the world with its first book, The Eye of the World, readers have been anticipating the final scenes of this extraordinary saga, which has sold over forty million copies in over thirty languages.

When Robert Jordan died in 2007, all feared that these concluding scenes would never be written. But working from notes and partials left by Jordan, established fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson stepped in to complete the masterwork. With The Gathering Storm (Book 12) and Towers of Midnight (Book 13) behind him, both of which were # 1 New York Times hardcover bestsellers, Sanderson now re-creates the vision that Robert Jordan left behind.

Edited by Jordan’s widow, who edited all of Jordan’s books, A Memory of Light will delight, enthrall, and deeply satisfy all of Jordan’s legions of readers.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass.
What was, what will be, and what is,
may yet fall under the Shadow.
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

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Book Review:

As I wipe a few tears from my eyes, I wonder how in the world do I review the final book in a series that took over 4 million words and nearly 12,000 pages to complete the tale (wikipedia). In this saga of good vs. evil, you expect some characters you’ve grown to love while following this series for years will play their part in the Pattern and die. I tried to not think about that as I read A Memory of Light and just allowed the story to unfold as Jordan intended it to be told, albeit through another writer, Sanderson.

This was a (mostly) satisfying conclusion to the series in that it tied up loose threads from the myriad of storylines. I wanted more though, that’s where the mostly comes in! I suppose though, that one of the first rules of Being a Master Story Teller ™ is to leave your audience wanting just a little bit more and in that, Jordan greatly succeeded. He created a world where we really began to care about the characters, to think about them while away from the created world. If you’ve never read a Wheel of Time book, this is NOT the place to begin. Do not pass Go, Do not collect $200. Start with The Eye of The World, originally published in 1990, and read the series in order, all 4 million+ words. It’s a rich tapestry, intricately woven to pull you in. The characters are fantastic, and watching them develop throughout the series is truly a treat. Even if you don’t want to actually read the series but are kind of interested, you might consider listening to the audiobooks. The voice actors truly deliver amazing performances (a man and woman read respective parts).

It took me quite a while to read this final installment for a few reasons: finishing grad school, wanting to savor the last book and some parts just kind of drag in the middle. I know the author is setting the stage, but I really didn’t need to read for the hundredth time about the forces of good being overrun by Trollocs. I get it. The Shadow has nearly inexhaustible forces to block in our heroes so someone can come in and save the day.

Rand’s fight with the Dark One was very different from what I expected, though I’m not sure how else it could have gone with a spirit entity.

Criticisms aside, this really was a fantastic conclusion to the series. It was full of hair-raising moments, chilling moments, awwww moments, gasp-out-loud moments, dread-inducing moments, stomach-dropping moments, eyes-bug out-of your-head moments, LOL moments and teary moments. It’s quite a wild ride and you won’t regret sticking with the series to its completion.

Since I don’t want to give spoilers, there’s really not much more I can say except for if you like epic fantasy series and choose to make the time to read long ones, you will be the richer for having read this one. There’s quite a lot of plot a child will not be able to grasp (we’ll leave out the sheer size of the series for that consideration), but older teens and adults who enjoy fantasy will likely relish diving into this series. Highly recommend.

Sensuality: It’s the end of the world, people, there’s nothing in this one that I remember.

Rating: 5 stars

It’s almost done!

Hi folks! I know, I know, it’s been a while, but not for lack of reading! I’m wrapping up grad school in the next week and beginning life as a librarian.

For those of you who don’t know, the past few years have been an amazing journey personally, intellectually as well as professionally. I feel like a completely different person, though I know I’m fundamentally the same. Transformed with purpose, I guess you could say. I’ve lost my mom, my dad and my favorite grandma, lost 80 pounds and in a week will have a Master’s degree and a new profession, 2 kiddos will be seniors next year and the other a junior. My husband and I joke about being on a 2 year plan now, but it’s really true. In all likelihood, in 2 years, we’ll have one in college, one in a technical school and one on the way to the military. Life surely does look different now than it did 2 years ago.

 

What have I been reading?

I’ve been savoring the final book in the Wheel of Time series, Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. So far, 5 stars and I can’t anticipate changing that. If you want to read a truly epic tale, this is one for your must-read list. I should preface this by saying make sure you have a bit of time though because the series has almost 12,000 pages. The audio books are fantastic if you would rather listen, most of them are between 30 and 40 hours with a grand total of 461 hours.

I read the second Vlad book in the Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost: Twice Tempted. I’ve always loved Vlad and it was fun to meet his love, but I’m really looking forward to reading another Cat and Bones book, which should be out soon. 5 stars. Ms. Frost knocked this one out of the park.

Black City by Christina Henry was another fantastic read. 5 stars.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. 5 stars.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin . 5 stars.

The Color of Earth by Dong Hwa Kim. 5 stars.

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor. 5 stars.

Touch of the Demon by Diana Rowland. 5 stars.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. 4 stars.

I’ve read others too, some for my Young Adult Literature class, but these were the ones I really enjoyed and think people who read similar books will enjoy as well. I’ve probably read more that I can’t remember right at this moment, but I can always tell you about them later! Happy reading!