Blood and Ice by Robert Masello

4 Stars
Recommended

For most of the book, Blood and Ice, is two incredible stories, beginning 150 years ago with the harrowing events that transpired on the ship, Coventry, once it was blown far off course into the dangerous waters of the South Pole. Sinclair, an affable, idealistic young soldier, and his beloved, Eleanor, are chained together and thrown overboard into the freezing glacial waters. What crime did they commit that the crew thought they deserved such treatment?

Fast forward to present day, to Michael Wilde, journalist, an adrenaline junkie high on life until a terrible accident forces him to withdraw from life, an accident that has left the woman he loves unconscious in a hospitable bed, her prognosis grim. Michael's employer, after months, pushes him to take an assignment on how scientists work in the most extreme climate in the world, the South Pole.

The author does an excellent job of alternating between both stories with thrilling suspense until they collide, mixing science and folklore in an exciting way. I'm almost afraid to say the word....shhh, come closer...closer....vampire...because perhaps you might think I'm giving something away. But I'm not; it's on the back of the book (but strangely not in the classification for the Library of Congress) and told in a way you would not expect.

The magic is the unique story and how it brilliantly unfolds. Robert Masello is a wonderful storyteller. There's nothing cliche about his writing and it's not like any other vampire novel I've read before. His masterful descriptions made me feel like I was there along side each and every character, experiencing it all for myself, and isn't that why we read-to live vicariously through the characters? To feel the excitement and pride of the soldier eager to fight for his country? To feel the bone chilling bite of the arctic wind on our skin, or feel the claustrophobic dive in freezing arctic waters and seeing with our minds eye a glacier wall descend and disappear into the dark depths below?

There's a lot that's scary in this book: Arctic diving, living in the harshest environment in the world, the Crimean war and the conditions afterwards, and for those that love the paranormal, the vampire- still scary, even if you know it's coming.

As always, what makes me love a book, is the way an author makes me love the characters so much that I can't put the book down, the way they can turn a phrase making me shudder with fear or my eyes well up with heartfelt emotion. (I'm weird that way) It's awesome when that happens! This is a great story blending history, science and horror. I ~almost~ want a sequel. I can't help wondering what the characters are up to now.

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

City of Glass is a perfect conclusion to the Mortal Instrument series by Cassandra Clare. The main characters have grown throughout the series, but come into their own in this final installment, each facing their weaknesses, and drawing on their strengths to confront their darkest fears.  

It's clearly evident that Cassandra Clare has grown as an author, as well; her writing is more focused, descriptive and the pace is dead on.  I lost myself in the story.  For the last several chapters, I was choking back sobs, unable to put the book down.  The emotional conclusion had me crying and snotting all over myself.  Somebody remind me to buy tissue!


Additionally-and lucky for us, if it's true-there are openings that hint the author may continue writing stories that take place within her shadowhunter/downworlder universe, perhaps including the Faerie Queen, Meliorn, Raphael, Simon, and the mysterious girl mentioned only for an instant, with brown hair, a long white dress, and looking vaguely familiar to Clary...

The Mortal Instruments is a wonderful, smart, action-packed series and it was fun to be guided through it all by Cassandra Clare's blossoming talent.

5 Stars

Jennifer Armintrout: An Original

I love all things fae and can't wait to read these books!
Queene of Light will be out in October.
Followed by Child of Darkness in November.
And the whole thing concludes in Veil of Shadows in December.
If you got to her blog you can click on the book cover and read the back. It sounds great.  Plus, check out the comment by Gena Showalter!

http://jenniferarmintrout.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-promised-that-you-would-see-it-here.html

Her vampire series is excellent! Try them out while you wait for her new books.
 
  

Since I'm a big Melissa Marr fan, I had to post the UK book video for Wicked Lovely. I hope it works. Fragile Eternity will be out next month. Can't wait!

Keeping In Touch with Followers

In January I was excited about having weekly book giveaways but it didn't last long because brutal reality invaded my dreamy perception of my perfect little world.  I seriously hate when that happens.

My ka-ching decreased considerably.  After deciding to change jobs to allow more time to focus on my writing, I could no longer afford buying the occasional new books to fill in the giveaways that I couldn't get from authors.  I also went through some kind of worm hole and found that, although I am working fewer hours, I actually have less time.  And it isn't because I'm writing; it seems everyone wants me to do something now that-to them-I'm being leisurely.

Said worm hole has in no way intruded upon my reading time.  Books are my escape, my narcotic, and I'm hopelessly addicted to the characters and their stories that authors skillfully weave.  I don't always have the time to update this page though, sorry to say, but one of my more recent reads was The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall.  OMG! I love, love, LOVE that book!  If you have a chance, read it.  I highly recommend it.  The ending left me crying for more, and I thought about the story several days once finished. I researched an old interview with the author, and at the time she wasn't  planning a sequel.  At first I was heart broken at losing these beloved characters, but then I realized that it's a mark of a good novel, to leave your readers wanting more and allowing the character's future to live on in the readers imagination.  It felt right to me.  I was happy.  But then I found out, The Girl from Junchow, the continuation of the story, will be released June 2nd.  I am so all over that book when it comes out, but it brings forth a few questions.

Why is a stand alone book, wonderful and deserving of great praise, continued?  Is it the publisher urging the author to write?  Is it the fans?  Is ka-ching the driving factor?  I have made my peace with the end and now I'm faced with something new and guarateed to be a better thrill ride than I imagined, or will it?  What if it sucks?  How will the sequel influence reader's perception of the first book, or will it at all?  When does an author say "enough is enough?"  Perhaps the author felt her character's story needed telling.  I hope that's why she wrote, The Girl from Junchow, because then, as a fan, you know her heart is in it, and that can only mean it will be an exciting piece of work.

Do you think fans can influence whether an author continues a story?  I've sent Robyn McKinley a few fan letters praising, Sunshine, and if there were any plans for a sequel, to which she hasn't replied.  Gee, I wonder why?

Now I feel I must clarify something about myself.  I am not a crazed fan with nothing better to do than to harrass authors.  In fact, I've found that most authors enjoy their fans and correspond when they can (at least those I've contacted).  So by McKinley's silence I can only surmise there will not be a sequel to Sunshine, which contains one of the only vampire scenes that scared and shocked me.  It begins on page 12 of my older edition.  It was white knuckle reading for me!  I wasn't expecting the turn of events and it blew me away.  The book continues to be one of my favorites for that reason.  And the ending left me craving more.  Sign of a good book, remember?  But in this case, I have not come to grips with the ending.  My only complaint would be too much baking and not enough Constantine.  More Connie, please! kthxbai! 

In my mind, Constantine is a dangerous predator that fell in love with Rae, a young woman, long before Bella and Edward were even dreamt about.  A sequel to this book leaves the story wide open.  It could go anywhere.  I personally would love to see a follow-up to this story written with adults that enjoy horror in mind.  Constantine isn't beautiful, but he definitely is incredibly interesting and charismatic, and I couldn't help but fall for him.  I'd love to see a sexy, romance, horror continuation and if there isn't a happily ever after, that's okay.  I just want more, darn it! Maybe Robyn McKinley isn't "feeling it", in which case, my imagination will have to continue to run wild until it settles on something that satisfies it and could put this longing to rest.   LOL!  I have found some great vampire series that fit the bill, though.  I am enjoying Jennifer Armintrout's books.  By the way, check this out:  http://jenniferarmintrout.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-promised-that-you-would-see-it-here.html

I'm presently almost finished with City of Ases by Cassandra Clare.  What a great YA series.  On March 24th, I bought City of Glass, the conclusion of the trilogy and I can't wait to get started on it.  I bought the very last copy in the book store and I found it by chance hidden behind a bunch of books in another section so I think I took someone's hidden secret stash they were going to come back for later.  Oops!  But it's dog eat dog world out there and if you snooze you loose so I WIN!  HAHA!

Well, this turned out to be a much longer post then I planned and it's pure randomness. Anyway, as time permits, I hope to have giveaways for books I'm passionate about by authors I enjoy or personal books I can part with easily.  

Happy reading, everyone and have a wonderful day.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Save your money and get this used or borrow it from the library or a friend. This is not what it's hyped up to be and don't fall for the marketing tricks. This book falls flat. The best thing about it is the title.

I'll give it 2 stars just because it kept me turning pages out of curiosity only. The characters lack depth and the reader is stuck inside the main character's head as she endlessly, prattles on about the same things over and over again. It didn't take long to get tired of the words fence, path, Unconsecrated, ocean and the endless I, I, I! Yes, it's a first person POV but it was painful to be constantly reminded of it, which I'm certain is not supposed to happen. 

I didn't care one bit about these characters.  It could have used more dialogue between characters to give readers a richer, deeper sense of their connection, their struggle, their emotions.  The cover mentions romance but it isn't there. Questions are left unanswered, but perhaps this is purposely done, to give a reason for a sequel.  I may read the sequel but I won't fork out the cash for it.

This debut author has the ability to write great "hooks", and with practice I think she can write a more involved story that will arouse readers to connect emotionally. This story just feels like a bare bones rough draft that could have been fleshed out to be a really great read. 

The Reincarnationist

From Amazon: After a bomb explosion nearly kills photojournalist Josh Ryder, he begins experiencing flashbacks—or, perhaps, memories—of events that seem to have happened to him 1,600 years earlier, in another life. Convinced these episodes aren't figments of his imagination, he enlists the aid of the Phoenix Foundation, a group that specializes in past-life research. Later, when he becomes involved in the unearthing of an ancient tomb—and experiences a connection with its long-buried resident—Josh realizes he has a chance to right a wrong that happened a millennium and a half ago, not to mention an opportunity to solve a series of modern-day murders. This is one of those books that succeeds in spite of itself: the story itself is so appealing that you can't stop reading. Josh Ryder is a difficult character to pull off (among other things, he's a man in love with a woman who lived 1,600 years ago), and at times he comes off a little loopy. But for the most part he, like the novel itself, is surprisingly well grounded in the real world.

This book is well written when you consider how the author is able to write the past regressions and have them flow so easily without the reader getting confused. It was excellent; the story is filled with suspense, excitement, intrigue and leaves you wondering how many souls can exist in a body at one time! You'll love this if you enjoyed the Da Vinci Code but this The Reincarnationist far exceeds what Dan Brown tried to accomplish. Interesting topic and I recommend it. And lil ol' me, always falling love with the leading male character! Yes, I know he's fiction! /cry

5 Stars

Sequel: The Memorist (available now)