All that Glows by Ryan Graudin

Series: Standalone

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Subjects: faeries, magic, supernatural, royalty, princes

Setting: Modern day London, England

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Emrys

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 463 pgs.

HC/PB: Paperback

List Price: $9.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Emrys—a fiery, red-headed Fae—always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment—she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure—Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’s magic and heart to the test.

When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.”

My Review:  This book seemed so promising at first. It fell pretty flat though. Maybe because I don’t like British book that much. Maybe because I’m sick of books about faeries. This book may have had some fighting and magic, but it just wasn’t that exciting.

Emrys is a faery that supposed to protect Prince Richard. Richard like to party and drink. He’s kind of like Oliver Queen from Arrow, but the prince of England. Emrys reveals herself to Richard, and then they fall in love and she’s thinking about becoming mortal to be with him. Some kissing and romantic dates, and all that fun stuff. The fact that the main character is a guardian of a Prince seems unique to me, but most of the story is riddled with clichés that I’ve seen in paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

I don’t want to discourage people about this book. It is kind of long (463 pages), which is probably part of why I got bored with it. It moved pretty slow too. But if you love books about Fay and don’t get bored with them, or if you love anything set in the UK, then you’ll probably enjoy this. It has luscious and descriptive writing.

 I loved the magic that Emrys used. She could shape-shift and cast spells. There were creatures like banshees and green woman and black dogs. Emrys fought those creatures to protect Richard. There’s Queen Mab, Titania,  Herne of the Wild Hunt, but no Oberon or Puck. There’s mentions of the Arthurian Legend being real and Emrys knew Arthur.

I recommend this book to fans of the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr, the Wondrous Strange series by Lesley Livingston, The Faeries Path series by Frewin Jones, The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, or the Glimmer Glass series by Jenna Black.

Cover Art Review: I love this cover. The hand lettering is so awesome and detailed. It has a beautiful effect on it. The photo of the fairy girl looks like the girl on the Faery Path series covers. I like the pink hue.

Descendant by Lesley Livingston

Series: Starling (bk. 2)

Genera: Paranormal Romance/Fantasy

Subjects: supernatural, magic, mythology, Norse mythology, Valkyries, faeries, gods and goddesses

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 325 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “The last thing Mason Starling remembers is the train crossing a bridge. An explosion . . . a blinding light . . . then darkness. Now she is alone, stranded in Asgard—the realm of Norse legend—and the only way for her to get home is to find the Spear of Odin, a powerful relic left behind by vanished gods.

The Fennrys Wolf knows all about Asgard. He was once trapped there. And he’ll do whatever it takes to find the girl who’s stolen his heart and bring her back—even if it means a treacherous descent into the Underworld. But time is running out, and Fenn knows something Mason doesn’t: If she takes up the Spear, she’ll set in motion a terrible prophecy. And she won’t just return to her world . . . she’ll destroy it.

In this pulse-pounding sequel to Starling, Lesley Livingston delivers another electrifying blend of nonstop action and undeniable romance that will leave readers breathless.”

My Review: This book had a lot of things that I really liked, and something that made is slightly boring. I really like most of the characters and the dialogue. I read the Wondrous Strange series, so I love seeing familiar faces again. I also love all the magic and mythology. What I had a hard time with is the 3^rd person narration. I think if I was listening to it as an audio book, I would have enjoyed it more. I listened to the first two Wondrous Strange book read by the author. Lesley does really good voice acting.

I don’t really care much for Mason, unless she says something funny. I love Fenn because he was a Viking supposedly and I like to picture him as a younger version of Thor. I loved that we get to see Maddox again. Him and Fenn have the funniest conversations. I also like Rafe, who’s Anubis. He’s got a great sense of humor too. Pretty much all my favorite parts in this book are humorous dialogue and banter.

I also loved when Mason met Loki. Sadly Loki doesn’t get a big role in this book. I felt disappointed because I love the Thor movies so much and really was hoping for more crazy Loki antics. Loki is kind of my favorite bad guy ever. It seem that the bad guys in this book are parents. Specifically Mason’s father, Gunner Starling. He wants Mason to become a Valkyrie and start Ragnarok. Why do the bad guys always want to cause the end of the world?

I do love all the mythology used in this book. There’s not only Norse mythology, but Egyptian and Greek and possibly some Roman and Celtic. This book has gods from all the ancient religions, pretty much.  Norse is the focus, but there was a lot of Egyptian stuff to because Anubis was in it.

The plot was okay, but I felt like it wasn’t really organized that well. Too much mind jumping. We get not only Mason and Fenn’s perspectives, by also Heather, Cal and a few other character. I don’t think I can truly call this 3^rd person limited. I’m not a fan of switching perspectives without some indication of who’s head we’re in. I was so confused at some points, that I kind of skimmed. The writing itself wasn’t bad. The descriptiveness of appearances and objects were beautifully done. I wanted to picture what was going on, but at times I felt lost.

I do recommend anything by Lesley Livingston. I suggest reading the Wondrous Strange series first because we get some of Fenn’s backstory as a Janus Guard. I recommend this book to fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Kane Chronicles, Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton, Stork by Wendy Delsol, Need series by Carrie Jones, Wildfire by Karsten Knight, Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, or any other mythology YA.

Cover Art Review: The photos are nice and the cover model is definitely supposed to be Mason, but doesn’t have her blue eyes. I think she looks too much like Megan Fox.

Faerie After by Janni Lee Simner

Series: Bones of Faerie (bk. 3)

Genera: Post-Apocalytic Dystopian-Fantasy

Subjects: faeries, magic, supernatural, post-apocalyptic, Missouri

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 261 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $16.99

Publisher: Random House

Summary/ product description: “After a devastating war between humanity and Faerie, Liza’s world was forever changed. Plants and trees became aggressive, seeking to root in living flesh and bone, and newborn children were discovered to have magic powers. Liza was one of these children, and with her abilities she brought her mother back from the ruined Faerie realm and restored the seasons to her own.
Now there are signs of a new sickness in the forest. Piles of ash are found where living creatures once stood. Liza investigates and discovers the Faerie realm has continued to deteriorate, slowly turning to dust, and that its fate is inexorably linked to that of the human realm. To find a solution, Liza must risk crossing over, putting herself and all she cares about at risk. Will Liza be forced to sacrifice her life and the lives of her friends in order to save both worlds?
Here is the exciting conclusion to the Bones of Faerie trilogy, for fans of dark fantasy and dystopian adventure entranced by Janni Lee Simner’s unique vision of a magic-infused postapocalyptic world.”

My Review: A pretty good ending to this post-apocalyptic faerie series. It was a quick and easy read. I charged through it so quickly, that I probably have eye strain. I enjoy the creative world building. It’s very different from other dystopias I’ve read.

In the last book, at the end, Liza left hand was turned to stone. She has this handicap throughout the book. Her hand it frozen and pretty useless. She deals with it well though, and that makes her a strong character. Her abilities as a summoner are growing stronger, still.

I love all the different abilities that the characters have. Allie, is a healer, and Mathew is a shape-shifter/werewolf. There’s Karin, who’s a faerie and a plant speaker. Nys is a stone shaper. So many cool and unique abilities. The summoning ability Liza has reminds me of necromancy. She she’s shadows, which are spirits or souls, and can control them.

The setting of this series is unique. It’s mostly is St. Louis, Missouri, and sometimes in Faerie. The plants are man-eaters, as are most the animals. Deadly nature. Wild magic that made all of nature vicious and man-eating. Not the kind of dystopia you’d ever want to live in. This series will make you thankful that plants can’t eat people.

The end of the book wraps the series up nicely. There are resolutions, and a few twists along the way. This final book may have not been the most exciting book I’ve read, but it was good enough. I recommend this trilogy to anyone who’d like to read a dystopia with faeries. Or dystopian fantasy.

Cover Art Review: This cover it black, with lime green type and image. It’s very minimalistic. It looks like a bush or tree. I like the title type. But the cover is boring. It’s still similar to the previous two books’ covers.

 

 

The Stone Demon by Karen Mahoney

Series: The Iron Witch (bk. 3)

Genera: Paranormal Romance/Fantasy

Subjects: Alchemy, demons, magic, witches, supernatural, fairies

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 320 pgs.

HC/PB: Paperback

List Price: $9.99

Publisher: Flux

Summary/ product description: “After being tricked into opening the doorway to the Demon Realm by Aliette, the Wood Queen, Donna Underwood is faced with a terrible ultimatum from the newly released demon hordes. They demand that the alchemists deliver the Philosopher's Stone, or their reaper storm will plunge the world into a devastating modern-day Dark Age.
Donna is sent to London, England, where she must complete her alchemist's training and learn how to recreate the Stone. But time is running out. Between facing the vengeful demon king, Demian, and collecting the Stone's elements, Donna realizes she must give her own life in order to succeed. And this time, even braving death may not be enough to save the world.”

My Rating: êêêê

My Review: Yet another series comes to an end. So many series I like ended this year. Guess they all have to end at some point. This is the 3^rd and final book in this series. The first book was The Iron Witch, the second was The Wood Queen, in case you’re unfamiliar with it. It’s full of alchemy, faeries, elves and demons. The main character Donna is definitely a strong protagonist. My favorite character is Nav, because he’s the funny best guy-friend. The love interest is still Xan, the half-fey guy, but I feel like there wasn’t that much romance in this book. The world building is amazing. This whole secret society of alchemist is fascinating. It makes me think of Vampire Academy.

This final book was an adventure, kind of. Donna is forced to gather the ingredients to create the Philosopher’s Stone for Demian, and then make it otherwise he’ll destroy Ironbridge. The beginning of the book starts in London, where the last book left off. There’s a masquerade ball thrown by the demon king. Then Donna is back in Ironbridge, Massachusetts, and trying to figure out how she’s going to meet Demian two-day deadline. The fact that there’s a time crunch makes the story move a lot quicker. There’s even parts from Nav and Xan’s 3^rd person perspective because they actually help Donna retrieve an ingredient.

There’s a few funny parts, which are any part with Nav. And also Newton. He’s a demon with a sense of humor. There’s a little romance, and some action. The ending was kind of epic. I was a good ending, thank goodness. It was enjoyable overall. I recommend this series to fans of the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series, the Immortals series by Alyson Noel, the Iron Fey series, or is you are interested in Alchemy and faeries in general.

Cover Art Review: I know this is relevant to the masquerade ball that was in the beginning of the book, but it doesn’t work for the overall story. Not a fan of the face paint and the type of mask she’s wearing. It’s a bunch of stock photos. The masked face was just photo-shopped on and it looks like she has no nose. And the posture doesn’t fit the head. The angle looks wrong.

~Haley G

Endlessly by Kiersten White

Series: Paranormalcy (bk. 3)

Genera: Paranormal Romance

Subjects: Supernatural, magic, vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, faeries, souls, humor, romance, curses, prophecies, government agencies

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 385 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.
The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands.
So much for normal.”

My Rating: êêêêê+

My Review: Oh bleep! Bleep! BLEEP!!!! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEE THESE BOOKS. (Seriously, check out my review for Supernaturally. I did this whole poem about it.)

What an exciting conclusion to one of my favorite series this has been. I loved this series since page 1 of Paranormalcy. I hate that this is only a trilogy. I feel like there could have been more. Maybe a spin-off series? I’d love that. Or a novella at least. Anyways, it was a good ending. Nothing too scary. Just tons of fun and humor and crazy evil faeries. Best faerie-related series ever! Really. I don’t usually like faerie books. Ever since reading the Wicked Lovely series…

I love all the characters and they will probably be one of my favorite casts. This series is fit for a TV show series. Clearly, the author watched a lot of shows with kick-but girls (see the videos of Kiersten talking about Veronica Mars and Buffy on Epic Reads.) Evie’s dialogue is fun a quirky and sarcastic. And the character Jack is funny too. He reminds me of Todd from the Soul Screamers series. Lend is awesome. I want him to be my boyfriend! Lol. There’s this really funny curse put on him that makes him fall asleep. Read this book, you’ll find out. And I think I even liked Reth now. He’s just trying to help in his own twisted way. Really, a lot of the characters that were “bad” in the other books change for the better. This book is pretty epic, with a few subplots that feel almost like climaxes.

I liked Evie obsession with Easton Heights. It make her more real to have a favorite TV show. She just wants to be normal. Speaking of Normal, that’s where IPCA is. It just so happens to be where my friend is now living and going to college. But the book’s still mostly in Virginia and the Faerie realms.

I just can’t believe it’s over. Please CW/ABC Family, someone…please option this for a TV series and don’t screw it up! Or a movie…Okay, well maybe we can at least have graphic novels/mangas?

Cover Art Review: I love the color! So purple! And that dress is just like the one in the book! Beautiful. I love the covers of all these books!

 

~Haley G

Endure by Carrie Jones

Series: Need (bk. 4)

Genera: Paranormal Romance

Subjects: Pixies, magic, shape-shifters, Maine, Iceland, mythology, Norse mythology, supernatural, werewolves

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 260 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Summary/ product description: “It’s all-out war (and no-holds-barred romance) in the climactic conclusion to Carrie Jones’s bestselling series.
Zara is at the center of an impending apocalypse. True, she’s successfully rescued Nick from Valhalla, but it simply isn’t enough. Evil pixies are ravaging Bedford, and they need much more than one great warrior; they need an army. Zara isn’t sure what her role is anymore. She’s not just fighting for her friends; she’s also a pixie queen. And to align her team of pixies with the humans she loves will be one of her greatest battles yet. Especially since she can’t even reconcile her growing feelings for her pixie king . . .
Unexpected turns, surprising revelations, and one utterly satisfying romantic finale make Endure a thrilling end to this series of bestsellers.”

My Rating: êêêêê

My Review: Another conclusion to yet another series I loved. I keep having to say goodbye. I hate saying goodbye! I love Zara’s narration. I so funny and awesome! And Issie is the awesomesauce best friend that I always wanted. (She like the show Fringe!!!!!) I just disappointed about Nick because I loved him in the 1^st two books. In Twilight terms, if Nick to Jacob (cause he’s a werewolf) what Astley is to Edward (cause they’re both sorta sparkly) than I am still Team Nick all the way. Even if he doesn’t like that Zara’s turned Pixie. This book went very quick. I think it could have been longer, but I am still happy with it. I loved the part when she was training other teens how to fight pixies in the YMCA gym. So they go back to Iceland, which is really cool. They search for Hel. Awesome stuff happens. I really don’t want to spoil the ending. It’s a good one, but I still was slightly disappointed. I still give it 5 stars just because it’s the kind of book I was in the mood for. And everything is perfecting wrapped up at the end (Holiday pun is intended).

Anyways, since I just read Endlessly by Kiersten White before this, and Flock by Wendy Delsol, I can’t help comparing this the series to those too. The Stork series was also Norse mythology based and the Paranormalcy series has a quirky heroine, Evie, who is the blond, pink-loving version of Zara (and Katla too. Zara is very similar to Stork’s Katla). I just love books with lots of humor.

This book a great read for the holidays. This whole series is. The wintery world of Bedford, Maine and all the Norse Mythology, perfect for Christmastime.

Cover Art Review: I love that all the covers go together with gold and black and white. I love the serif typeface of the title. I love the gold designs. I love that golden/orange eye.

 

~Haley G