Book Review: Illuminae

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) 

By Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
****

“Perhaps bravery is simply the face humanity wraps around its collective madness.” 
― Amie Kaufman, Illuminae

A cross between Firefly and BSG, but with more teen breakup drama!

Kady and Ezra have just broken up when an evil tech corporation bombs their little ice planet, killing most of the inhabitants. Our heroes manage to escape to one of three space ships, but not together; Kady ends up on the science ship, Hypatia, while Ezra winds up on the military ship, Alexander. But now they're being chased by the BeiTech dreadnought, Lincoln. As if running for their lives from an evil tech company wasn't bad enough, BeiTech released some kind of chemical weapon on the planet and people are getting sick. And the Alexander took a lot of damage, particularly to its AI. Frying pan, meet fire.

In a departure from most other books I've read, I found myself more drawn to the action and format of this book than the relationships between the main characters. This never happens - I tend to read for the people not the place. But in Illuminae, the format was half the fun - the memos and emails and messaging drew me in to the events instead of distancing me from the characters. 
Alternately, while I was drawn to the characters, I wasn't drawn to Kady and Ezra's relationship. I found the relationships between them and secondary characters far more interesting. I was particularly fascinated with AIDAN's character and the portion of text pulled from its data. So well done!

Pros: detailed space chase, hacker extraordinaire, evil robot
Cons: icky love stuff, that ending (I'm not so sure about that wrap up - I liked Kady giving the finger to BeiTech, I like that AIDAN will likely be back, but I'm not so sure that I think Ezra coming back is the right thing. I hate it when lead characters die, but I thought the story was far more interesting with him dead. Almost would say the same for Kady; like for reals, how did she survive that?! ) [Highlight for spoiler]

All in all, Illuminae was a great book and I'd highly recommend it. Great option for reluctant readers and sci-fi nerds of all ages (come on, it has space zombies AND an evil AI!).

Audio Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) 
By Laini Taylor
Narrated by Khristine Hvam
****

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.” 

Karou is a teenager who attends a school for the arts in Prague. She has blue hair and tattoos, the most obvious of which are the eyes on each palm and "true" and "story" on each wrist. She's also a brilliant artist and her friends love to look at her sketch book for the fantastic creatures she draws there. In addition to the beautiful drawings, Karou tells stories of the different "characters." What her friends don't know is that these creatures are real, and they're Karou's family.

Karou's family are Chimera - creatures made up of different animal parts (kinda like the Sphinx). Unbeknownst to Karou, her family has been fighting a war for a century: a war against the angels.

Enter Akiva, a beautiful angel who comes to earth to close the portals Karou's family uses to access our world. Akiva meets Karou and the sparks (and flames) fly. They fall in love, but there's far more to their story than either could possibly guess.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a mesmerizing mix of love and hate, peace and war, romance and tragedy. Taylor has fused together two worlds in a fascinating and believable way and Hvam narrates it beautifully. And just when you have hope that everything will work out for our star-crossed lovers, Taylor comes along and sucker punches you. Thank heaven's there's a sequel!

This is a great story for anyone who enjoys paranormal romance, mythology, or stories that take place in foreign locales. Highly recommended.

P.S. Check out this book trailer I did for Daughter of Smoke and Bone!

Book Review: The Curse of the Tenth Grave

The Curse of the Tenth Grave (Charley Davidson #10) 
By Darynda Jones
*****

"There are those in this world who, when they have to get up in the middle of the night to pee, turn on the light. And there are those who leave it off...I pee in the dark, baby." ― Darynda Jones, The Curse of the Tenth Grave. 

Review contains mild spoilers for the book and the series. Read at your own risk!

Things have really changed for the characters in the last few books in the series. Charley is back home in Albuquerque and back on a few new cases, all whilst rocking some new major powers, which makes her narrative even more interesting. On the bright side, she manages to solve her cases (per usual) without being beaten and mangled at the end of the book (not per usual). I really appreciated that, and hope that's one side effect of her new celestial powers. But with all that, she's still the same snarky, slightly juvenile character I've grown to love. It really makes me wonder what she was like in her "past life." Was she always like this? Was she once noble and serene? Or was she faking noble and secretly snarky the whole time, and now she's getting to be her true self? I'd read that novella!

The way things are progressing, I'm wondering where this series will lead. Do we have bunches and bunches of books to look forward to until the Big Event? Or will Jones fast forward at some point? Either way, I'm in it for the long haul!

**I received an Advanced Review eGalley of this title from NetGalley**

Book Review - Feint of Art

Feint of Art (An Art Lover's Mystery #1) 
By Hailey Lind (Pseudonym for Juliet Blackwell and her sister Carolyn)
*****

This cozy was fantastic! It had a little more action than most cozies, enough that I'd totally watch it as a show on USA or TNT. Annie is a struggling artist who had a little run in with the law as a teen when she joined her grandfather in a forgery spree. After quickly learning her lesson and going straight, she tried to make a career in art restoration, only to have her past bite her in the butt as she got booted out personally by the Brocks of the Brock Museum.

Fast forward several years and after a short spurt in ho-hum office drudgery, she was inspired to turn to interior design, with faux-finishes and the like. Until an ex asked her to verify a painting. Chaos, murders, kidnappings, thievery, and shenanigans ensue.

Annie was a great heroine, with a lot of spunk, some moral fiber, and a healthy helping of knowledge about the world of art forgery (her grandfather is one of the greats, after all). In addition, there were a lot of minor characters that I also loved - Inspector Annette was pretty darn awesome (I'm totally picturing Gina Torres), neighbor Pete was endearing, and the X-Man was very Neal Caffrey, and Fender Bender has the potential of joining X as a potential suitor. 

I'm oddly drawn to books about art forgery. I don't know why - it's not like I can draw anything better than a stick figure - but I find it fascinating. Hence, the career background and plot set up for this particular amateur sleuth was a lot of fun. It also made sense that Annie would find herself investigating, considering she has a very distinctive skill set and knowledge base that even experts in the field wouldn't be able to compare to. I prefer my cozy detectives to have a good reason for getting mixed up in the investigations. 

Highly recommended. 

Book Review: The Dirt on Ninth Grave

The Dirt on Ninth Grave (Charley Davidson #9) 
By Darynda Jones
*****

"I took a quick sip of my coffee before explaining. "I'm, like, stupid smart. I'm probably a prodigy of some kind."" --The Dirt on Ninth Grave, Darynda Jones

I love this series so much. There was a major twist that occurred at the end of book #8 that sends Charley to Sleepy Hollow, New York, where of course she meets the headless horseman. 

I won't go into what the twist is, but it changed Charley's circumstances. Despite what was a pretty big change, the book itself didn't really differ in tone or structure from previous books. If you're anticipating a major change, the way I was, you're not going to get it. That being said, I've enjoyed the tone and structure for the last 8 books, so I'm not too disappointed in the way this one played out.

Charley remains our snarky heroine, Reyes still steams up any room he enters (good thing since the story takes place during a New England winter), and Cookie is still the best friend we all wish we had. We have various threats of natural and supernatural natures and the story arc progresses further. All in all, this series still ranks among my favorites, and Ninth was another great addition to it.

**I received an Advanced Review eGalley of this title from NetGalley**

Book Review: Cocaine Blues

Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher #1) 

By Kerry Greenwood
***

“Her heart was beating appreciably faster, and she took more rapid breaths, but she was enjoying herself. Adventuresses are born, not made.” 
― Kerry Greenwood, Cocaine Blues

I absolutely adore Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries - the show. I'm afraid this is one of those rare times when I can honestly say the book *wasn't* better. 

There was much more detail to the mystery in the book - obvs - though the first episode did follow the plot fairly closely (book #1 = episode #1). The main problem I had with the book was that I never managed to connect to the characters. I made an instant connection with the characters on the show, even immediately shipping various pairings (Dot and Hugh 4eva!). Of all the characters in the book, I felt most drawn, of all people, to Bert. If I could have mustered up enough interest to ship any characters in the book, it would have been Phryne and Bert. For anyone who's watched the show, this sounds like crazy talk. But Hugh didn't exist, Dot was a bit harsher, and Jack was kinda dumb (and barely present). 

So there you have it. Watch the show. If you loved it, learning about its origins is interesting, but a little boring. At least it's a super quick read.

Book Review: Magic Breaks

Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels #7)   

By Ilona Andrews

*****

“Fortune favors the brave," I told her. It also kills the stupid, but I decided to keep that fact to myself.” 
― Ilona Andrews, Magic Breaks

Another great entry in the Kate Daniels series! I'd heard rumors that this was the final book, which made me incredibly sad, but that's not quite the case. According the the author's note, while this entry does sort of complete the 7 book arc, the books aren't over yet (there will be 3 more!). Roland turned out to be too big to wrap up in one book. I'm glad - I'm not ready to be done with Kate and Curran's world (even though I'm also enjoying Andrea's spin-off series, I want them BOTH).

A note on the cover art - I'm super pleased that this series finally got a hardcover edition! Up until recently, the print books were only released as mass market paperbacks. I don't care what format the book's in, as long as it's good, but some people are picky (or snooty) and won't try a mass market for whatever reason. Also, there's a bit of "a book has made it if it's hardcover" and it's about bloody time this series was given that particular "honor." That being said, as much as I think this is a great looking cover, and the cover model is gorgeous, I don't think she has the mature look that the last model had. I'm sure this lady could kick some ass, but I'd believe it more on a YA novel - she just looks too young for Kate. The woman on the old covers looked like she could not only kick your ass, but she'd enjoy it, too.

So, back to the story. I'm going to try to be spoiler free here... Kate and the crew are back in Atlanta after an exciting trip overseas and are now waiting for the inevitable attack. Which comes, but not how they were expecting it. Hugh does a thing and Kate has to scurry to keep everything from blowing up on her own since Curran is out of town. Bad stuff happens, people are hurt, Pack politics make things even harder, and eventually Kate gets a face-to-face with Roland. 

The face-to-face was not at all what I was expecting, but in a good way. Kate has to make some hard choices, but they make complete sense and suit how the character has grown over the course of the series. And Roland was more than the baddest-baddy-to-ever-bad. He was interesting, even a little quirky, for all that we know he's an evil bastard. He's actually fairly charming, and that last little bit in the epilogue? That was kinda priceless. I'm really excited to see what happens next!

A final note: at the end of the book is a short story written from Julie's perspective that takes place before the action in this book. Kate takes her to a new school, one for kids with magic, and Julie doesn't want to go - she wants to stay with Kate. But to Julie's surprise, the school is hiring her to help find a missing girl and Julie's intrigued enough to take the job. And so Julie get's her own baby-mystery and I LOVED IT. I would read the hell out of a Julie-centric YA series. It would be AMAZING. According to Ilona Andrews's Goodreads page, someone asked if they'd be writing more, and it sounds like we could maybe possibly hopefully get more Julie short stories. Finger's crossed!

Book Review: Cast in Flame

Cast in Flame (Chronicles of Elantra #10)

By Michelle Sagara
*****
eGalley provided by NetGalley

"On the second day after her return to Elantra, the city she policed as a groundhawk, Private Kaylin Neya fell out of bed, daggers in hands, knees bent. After one confused moment, she sheathed her daggers, took a brief look around the otherwise empty royal guest chambers that served as her temporary home, and let loose a volley of Leontine curses." --Cast in Flame, Michelle Sagara

I really, truly love this series. Every time I pick up a new book in The Chronicles of Elantra, I think that I should re-read the previous titles to refresh the story (these books are dense and a refresher would be helpful), but I can never put off reading the newest book! And after a chapter or so I'm so deep in the world that it doesn't matter anymore.

In every fantasy world there are rules for how the world works, and generally those rules center around some kind of magic. In Sagara's world, there's plenty of magic, but the power in the magic is in "true words." I love that there's a whole fictional world built on the power of words. I also love that Kaylin (our heroine), though armed, generally saves the day by compassion and hope, rather than epic sword-fighting or laser-beam eyes.

In Cast in Flame, Kaylin has just arrived back in Elantra after her eventful trip to the West March. She's still homeless and living (uncomfortably) in the Palace. Her dragon roommate is having issues with the Dragon Court, and the Barrani that returned from the Green are causing trouble, too. Kaylin has to sort out a new threat AND find lodging that will accept a dragon and the Dragon Court's intrusion, and she's not sure which job will be more difficult.

A great addition to a great series!

Book Review: Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet

Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (Charley Davidson #4) 
By Darynda Jones
*****

“I lowered the gun but didn’t holster it. Not just yet. She could turn out to be psychotic. Or a door-to-door salesperson.” 
― Darynda Jones, Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet

A little background on the series: Charley Davidson is a PI and helps out the cops as a consultant, namely her dad as she was growing up and now her uncle. It turns out it's a lot easier solving homicides when you can talk to the murdered folks. Charley not only sees dead people, but she's the grim reaper -- she helps the dead with their unfinished business and they can pass through her to the other side. She's also incredibly sassy, which I love. Oh, and she's kinda dating the son of Satan (literally, not figuratively).

Back to Book #4. In most urban fantasies, the main character goes through a lot -- much of it violent and bloody -- but generally they bounce back from horrible events pretty quick. In Third, Charley was tortured. In Fourth, there are actual ramifications for that torture. One thing I really liked about this book is that Charley suffers from PTSD; she's afraid of leaving her apartment and feels fear with the slightest provocation. It brought more reality to the fantasy.

Now, it's a rare event for me to guess the mystery before it's revealed, so it's not strange that the mystery and twist with the PI investigation came as a surprise to me, but I still like it when that happens. And the danger-level (as well as what Charley is able to do with her as yet undiscovered powers) was also raised this time around, so I'm looking forward to where the story goes in book five.

Highly recommended.