The Bloggess on Books: Prophecy (The Dragon King Chronicles #1) by Ellen Oh

Title: Prophecy
Author: Ellen Oh
Series: The Dragon King Chronicles #1
Release Date: January 2, 2013
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Paranormal



The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms... is a girl with yellow eyes.

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope...

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

Review:

A friend of mine who was book blogging about the time this book was announced it was being said I needed to read this book because there was a lot of positive feedback behind it. So when it was released I downloaded it onto my Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet. Then I went about my merry way for a couple of days. I started reading this book yesterday when I got home from work and while I really wanted to like it, it was only 'meh' for me.

Kira is the only female in her king's army and the prince's bodyguard. She also has another thing going for her, she can sense demons. Which in the long run was quite helpful but it wasn't really a focus when "stuff" hit the fan. I would have liked to see the author spend a little more time on this but it just didn't happen.

When "stuff" hit the fan and things should have been memorable, I've got nothing. If you read the blurb the last sentence says "Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy." Well to be honest, I feel that there was a TON of ancient lore, a TON of action but the rest Prophecy came up short on.

I just didn't connect with really any of the characters either. Kira for me was too wishy washy for me. Once second she's on the highest high the next she's on the lowest low and it started to drive me banana's. I did like the prince though. He gets a pretty big burden placed on his tiny 12 year old shoulders. He could have run away with his tail between his legs but he stepped up to the plate big time. There were several characters that I felt were just "filler material," I didn't really understand why they were there at all.

I will give the author some major props for writing Prophecy in a "real" way. There is war in this book and people die. Many families are destroyed. There is a bunch of political stuff too that I'm not even going to try to process right now. It's not all "unicorns that poop sunshine" in Prophecy. Since this is a debut for this author I'm not going to quit this series yet. For all the negatives I found with this book it was a page turner and I finished it in about a grand total of 3.5 hours. To quote Brokeback Mountain..."I can't quit you!"

Rating: 2/5



The Bloggess on Books: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2) by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Author: J.K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter #2
Release Date: 1998

Genre: Fantasy/Middle Grade

Ever since Harry Potter had come home for the summer, the Dursleys had been so mean and hideous that all Harry wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature who says that if Harry returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor and a spirit who haunts the girl's bathroom. But then the real trouble begins - something is attacking Hogwarts students, turning them into stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past reveals dark secrets? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects ... Harry Potter himself!

Review:

I was worried that The Chamber of Secrets was going to suffer from "second book syndrome." I was pleasantly surprised that I was entirely wrong. I think that even though this book started off a little bit slow, just like book one, that it progressed at a pretty decent speed as well. There was a TON more action in this book than there was in book one!

Harry has just spent a MISERABLE summer with the Dursley's and is ITCHING to go back to Hogwarts. Counting down the days! He's worried about his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, he hasn't heard from them all summer. While on his summer vacation we are introduced to Dobby the house elf. Dobby delivers some disturbing news to Harry but that doesn't deter Harry from going back to school.

There are several new characters that are introduced in this book, one of which is Ron's little sister Ginny. Then there is Gilderoy Lockhart, who I have a love/hate relationship with...in that I LOVE to Hate him. He's such a miserable character and once the truth is known about him I disliked him even more!

What I really enjoyed about this book was that NOTHING was set in stone. Just when you thought you had it figured out there was a twist delivered that totally derailed your thought process. When "stuff" hits the fan and things get so interesting that I literally could not put this book down it was an AWESOME feeling. Even HARRY is accused of all the bad things that are happening at the school! Once the final twist is dealt and we've figured out where the Chamber of Secrets is at I could not wait to see what happened next. I was quite surprised to see who the actual bad guy was in this book and how he was dealt with. Great stuff ladies and gents!

Overall, I can honestly say that though not my favorite Harry Potter book so far, it was definately good. I can only see this series getting better as Harry ages and becomes a more experienced wizard!

 

Rating: 4/5

The Bloggess on Books: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Author: J.K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter #1
Release Date: April 11, 2003

Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult


Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He’s never worn a Cloak of Invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry’s room is a tiny cupboard under the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in ten years.
But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him… if Harry can survive the encounter.

Review:

I feel like one of the last people in the world who hasn’t read the Harry Potter series. When it first came out I just didn’t think it would fit my reading personality. Then when I decided to venture Book Blogging  EVERYONE seemed to have read this series and LOVED it. So my interest was peaked but I held off because I didn't want to read it and have it not live up to the high expectations that I already had in my head for this series/book.  I'm glad that I was finally talked into reading this series.  It may have started a little slow but it picks up speed!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone starts off when Harry is a baby, shortly after You-Know-Who has murdered Harry’s parents. Then the next time we see Harry he’s a young adult living a miserable life with the equally miserable Dursley’s who happen to be his emotionally abusive Muggle (non-magic human) aunt, uncle and cousin. The older Harry is getting the more really weird things start happening and he doesn’t know why. See he’s been led to believe that his parent’s were killed in a car accident which is the furthest thing from the truth. See young Harry is a wizard, he just doesn’t know it yet.

Then the letter from Hogwarts arrives and things start to get a little clearer for Harry.

This is also the point in the book where I really started to really become engaged in the story. Up to this point in the book I was pretty lukewarm on what I was reading, it started off a little slower than I usually like.  Then when the letters from Hogwarts start arriving and Uncle Vernon starts going a little whack-a-doo that is when I truly became invested in the the book. This is also the point where a whole host of new characters are introduced to us. My personal favorite is Hagrid. He’s this big loveable “giant” that is sent to make sure that Harry makes it to Hogwarts on time.

Once Harry is at Hogwarts there’s a whole bunch of new characters that keep the pace of the story chugging along and kept me interested. George and Fred Weasley are AWESOME and are good for a chuckle here and there. Ron and Hermione become Harry’s constant companions and then there is Draco Malfoy….I just want to punch that kid in the throat! I have a love/hate relationship with him. In that I truly LOVE to HATE him. The teachers at Hogwarts are pretty great too. Even evil Professor Snape.
The most interesting part of the second half of the book was the introduction of Quidditch. Which is the favorite game of the magic world. I thought that the Quidditch was well described and the training and games were well written in the book.

Then there is the twist at the end. I NEVER saw that coming at all. Just when I thought I knew who the bad guy was then this twist is thrown in just to say “nope you’re wrong.”

Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised by this first book in the series. I wish the beginning of the book had moved a long a little faster than it did but it didn’t prevent me from liking the book any less. I thought that characters in this book were well-developed and well written too. There wasn’t a TON of action in this book but it’s also the first book in the series and the author is building up EVERYTHING that is Harry Potter for later books so I’m letting it slide this time.

Rating: 4/5

The Bloggess on Books: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers ( His Fair Assassin #1)

Title:  Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Series: His Fair Assassin #1
Release Date: April 3, 2012

Genre: Fantasy/Historical Romance/YA/ Mystery

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Review:

This book had been sitting on my TBR bookcase since I bought it on Release Day last year.  Why you ask has it been sitting there so long?  Well I have a TON of books that I've bought as a result of following book blogs for a LONG time.  I didn't really have any expectations when I picked up Grave Mercy.  All I really new about the book was that it was about the handmaiden's to Death.

Our heroine, Ismae is one of Death's daughters and narrowly escapes the brutality that is her bogus arranged marriage when she is helped to reach the convent of St. Mortain.  At the convent the occupants serve the god of Death himself.  Each person has been blessed with a gift, a very dangerous gift.  Ismae is very good at serving her God but then when Ismae is asked to participate in a very important assignment that will take her into the heart of the high court of Brittany she finds herself woefully unprepared for all the things that take place.  Or the man that eventually steals her heart and makes her believe again.

Our hero, Duval, is the Duchess' half brother and is doing everything in his power to keep his sister safe but also see that she is crowned.  At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like Duval.  He had this swagger about him that I was lukewarm on in the beginning but as the plot thickened I grew to enjoy Duval very much.  Plus, as an added bonus, he's attracted to Ismae even though he really doesn't want to be.

There are so many things that happen in this book that had me turning pages even when I should have been doing other things like eating or getting enough sleep for work.  It was a freaking roller coaster that I just could not put down.  Plus, I really enjoyed almost all of the secondary characters with the exception of 1 or 2.  I can hardly wait to dig into the second book, I thought that Ms. LaFevers did an excellent job building up the story so that it will flow easily into Dark Triumph.

Rating: 4.75/5