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Review: Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore
Some people are just born with a little something extra. Sometimes that something special is obvious, other times it’s not. But when you are a Graceling, there is no hiding what you are. Special. Different. Dangerous. Katsa’s mismatched eyes mark her as a Graceling. Being a Graceling means you have different powers. Some graces are useless, like predicting the weather, while others have more useful graces like reading minds. For Katsa, her grace is killing. But is being a Graceling the same as being a monster? As soon as her uncle, King Randa, realizes what her grace is, he uses her as a hired thug, punishing other realms for their…
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Review: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo
Sinister monsters lurk in the endless darkness of the Shadow Fold….a condemned fragment within the land of Ravka. On the Fold, Alina Starkov and her army regiment (which includes her best friend, Mal) are attacked by these evil beasts. In the face of certain death and desperation, Alina reveals an ancient power that has been dormant inside her, which saves Mal’s life. But once she reveals what she is, others conspire to steal her power but one intends to foster it–the Darkling. The Darkling takes Alina under his wing, seducing her with promises of power and peace. Alina is captivated by him, like calls to like.
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Review: Shades of Milk and Honey (Shades of Milk and Honey #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal
Woven intricately out of the ether, Mary Robinette Kowal creates and exhilarating new world of enchantment that will please Jane Austen fans and illusionist fiction fans alike. In the Regency era, Dorchester countryside, Jane and Melody Ellsworth are as opposite as any two sisters can be. While Melody is beautiful and charming, Jane is plain and lacks the feminine charms to secure a husband. Almost a confirmed spinster, Jane possesses other talents that might make her appealing to the right man…..she is a glamourist. Well accomplished in the art of glamour, Jane captures the imagination of all that she meets….wow people with her skills, but it is Melody the eligible bachelors are…
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Review: Wizard’s First Rule (Sword of Truth #1) by Terry Goodkind
Wizard’s first rule: people are stupid. Richard Cypher is brooding over the murder of his father in the woods surrounding his house when he glimpses a woman blazing quite the trail behind her. Intrigued, Richard starts following her. What he finds is an unexpected ambush meant to catch the lovely women, Kahlan, unaware. On instinct Richard feels it is his duty to save her from the ambush and protect her. There is no denying the confidence radiating from Kahlan. Though she is beautiful, Richard recognizes she is much more than just that. He is drawn to her strength…she is mesmerizing. He would love nothing move than to save her and…
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Review: Crushed Seraphim by Debra Anastasia
The Devil made me read it! The Devil, AKA: Satan Jack, guards the gates of hell, admitting all the evil this world has to give. While Satan Jack sucks down cigarettes and souls, Seraph Emma is being tossed out of Heaven. Emma is sent as a Christmas Angel to the lost, self-loathing vampire, Jason, in hopes of redeeming his soul. The task seems impossible but soon the vampire begins to come around and have faith. In Heaven, a rogue angel (Everett) partners with the Devil to trap God in Hell leaving himself in charge of Heaven. With God trapped, Everett begins tossing al the seraphim out of Heaven and unleashing unthinkable…
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Review: A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3) by George R.R. Martin
Five kings. One throne. When you play the Game of Thrones you win….or you die. In George R. R. Martin’s epic high fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, plenty of characters meet their valiant demise, but there can only be one king who will sit the Iron Throne….but which king? In the third book, A Storm of Swords, many different plot lines and POV’s finally begin to come to maturation but just when you think you have the series, a plot line, or character all figured out and summed up….Martin takes you in an unexpected direction. For me, this was the best book in the series so far.…
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Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Richard Mayhew has no idea what awaits him in London on the eve of his going away party in Scotland. His friends pitch in to get him a going away gift, a white umbrella with a map of the London Underground. He can’t help but stare at the umbrella with an eerie omen of impending disaster….little does he know how right he is. For three years, Richard’s life is more or less normal. He works in business and he is engaged, but he still can’t help but feel disenchanted. One night, Richard’s life changes drastically….he encounters a girl bleeding on the streets of London. With his decision to help her,…
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Review: A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) by George R.R. Martin
War is coming. All over the Seven Kingdoms, chaos reigns! With King Robert dead and the Lannister family on the brink of scandal…the fate of the Iron Throne is in question–four different self professed ‘kings’ proclaim their imperial rule over the Seven Kingdoms threatening to divide the realm. Brother against brother–house against house–alliances made and broken–war changes everything. A Clash of Kings is the second in George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. I think this is the longest and most complex books I have ever read (1,009 pages). Though it is long, the story itself is rich and the prose lyrical–this series definitely reads like…
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Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) by Laini Taylor
What happens when the good becomes the evil? What if everything you know about heros and villains was wrong? In Laini Taylor’s debut YA fantasy novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, everything you know about traditional good vs. evil cliches are wrong. This is the story of Karou and Akiva. Karou is a demon–Akiva, is an angel. In this series, the angel is the devil in disguise. Karou is not like other girls. She speaks 20+ languages, natural peacock blue hair, and a body covered in tattoos including two mysterious eyes on her palms. She lives in Prague and attends an art institute by day, but when the sun goes down–her real…
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Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
How do you escape the reality of your mundane existence? Do you come home from work and sit mindlessly in front of the telly? Do you listen to music on your iPod? Watch the latest flick at the movie theater? Surf the internet for hours searching for the perfect picture of a white sandy beach (my personal fav!). Or do you get lost in the inky lines of your favorite book? Whatever your day dream is, it should be magical….a place where anything is possible….a place where dreams merge with reality….a place like The Night Circus. Erin Morgenstern’s novel, The Night Circus, is a mysterious anomaly–a story that is fragile and…