Death Sworn (Review) by Leah Cypress

Ileni was trained since birth to be a sorcerous, she was suppose to be the best, strongest, most powerful person on Earth. But Ileni started to lose her magic, she felt it leaving her long before her teachers and friends new, simple spells took to much effort and left her drained. She was becoming of no use to her people, so they sent her away. 

They sent her into the mountains, to teach the assassins with what little was left of her magic. For centuries the assassins left those with magic alone, and helped protect them from the Empire who wished to kill them and take their power. All they asked in return was a teacher to enter the caves and teach it's students basic magic. 

The Elders send Ileni for one purpose, to find out what had happened to the previous two teachers. Both had died under mysterious circumstances, and only two months apart. She could still be of use to her people, using what magic she had left she could find out why all the teachers of the Assassins were dying. Ileni was ready for her mission, the worst thing that could happen to her was that she would die, and death was something she not only could accept, but yearned for in the absence of magic. 

Things are difficult in the mountain, everyone around her could kill her as easily as look at her, she has no friends, and Ileni realized that the previous teachers had been involved in dealings and practices that didn't uphold with the values of their people. Secret meetings, private magic lessons, murder and plans more than twenty years in the making are coming to light as Ileni continues to run out her magic trying to find out what's really going on in the Assassin's Mountain, and nothing she finds is good. 

I thought this book was great. It was a afar and simple read. Leah Cypress wove a beautiful tale with a whole separate world with a rich history. The characters have depth and emotional levels, the descriptions of the different places in the book created a picture that I could see in my head, and scenes that fluidly moved te story forward seamlessly. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a fun fantasy adventure series. 

Zombie Fallout

It all started with the flu, or the flu vaccine to be more precise. H1N1 was tearing the world apart, until the scientists thought they found a cure. The public was so desperate for a remedy that the scientists didn’t go through their usual trials, but rushed the vaccine all over the world. People lined up, but all to soon realized that the vaccine that was suppose to save them all was really going to doom the world. One of the side effects of the vaccine, the only side effect of the untested vaccine pushed onto the pubic was a spiked fever within days of inoculation. A fever that got worse and worse until the person collapsed and died. They didn’t stay dead though, that would make for a boring story. They got up again, this time with a taste for human organs and blood.

These creatures, or Zombies as the public called them, ransacked the land, killing any and all things they met. Within a few days of the H1N1 vaccine being distributed, there was almost no humans left. That is where Mike Talbot’s story starts.

This seems like a good, hard-core action packed zombie book so far right? Well, you would be wrong, so wrong. It reads like the writing of a fifteen year olds journal. The human isn’t just “guy humor” filled with stupid puns and sex jokes, but rather the humor of an adolescent boy who hasn’t had sex, or even kissed a girl yet. The main character is a weak pathetic excuse for a man, trying to act macho when really he is a spineless git. Even during battles he takes time aside from, you know saving people and his family, to think about how the zombie might have looked before the infection, and how they might have looked naked. Mike groans on and on about how he’s a “survivalist,” but really he has no idea what to do.

I had this novel on audio book, and it was so difficult to get through, it was written so badly. It took me months, literally months to get through it because I found it just so painful. Don’t read it, there are better zombie novels out there. Heck, there is better Walking Dead fanfiction.

Under My Skin (Skinned #1)

I honestly sort of forgot about this book, I think I read it at the beginning of January and never really took the time to write or even thing about it. What does that tell you about the book? A bit boring actually. To much cheesy romance, predictable plot lines, and over done vampires, werwolves and other mythical creatures. Just the main characters name is pretentious. Eryn, with a y?! No offense to real life Eryns, but really? Trying to make the characters seem more mystic by adding "Ys" where they don't belong is so aggravating.
Now the story, Eryn lost both of her parents a few months ago under unusual circumstances. Her mother was a hybrid wolf and her father was a mystical hunter. After their deaths, the council sent her to live in a small town with her grandfather, only the small town is full of mystical beings. Even without realizing it Eryn is drawn to the goth girl and her egocentric, "weirdo" crowd. Turns out they are fairies, hunters, witches and wolves. But the real problem in town, the vampires. And unluckily for Eryn, the leader's son is obsessed with her. Two sides of the paranormal are tearing the town apart, and Eryn is stuck in the middle. What side will she choose, especially since both sides are keeping secrets and nothing is as black and white as Eryn first thought it was.
If you like books like Twilight, Immortals, or any of the paranormal romances that have gained popularity the last few years then you will like this. But for me, I prefer a little more action and paranormal rather than the romance.

Endless Knight: The Arcana Chronicles

While I am not a huge fan of romance, especially the paranormal kind, I can get past it in this series because it is so good! I find myself looking at least once a week to see when the third novel is going to be published. While the first novel in the Arcana Chronicles was great, this sequel Endless Knight is even better.

Evie has accepted her powers and her fate, despite her feelings for the mortal Jack, she starts using her powers to keep herself and her current allies alive. Jack is scared and starts to see her only as a monster, that is until she is kidnapped by Death, aka Eric. While in his stronghold Evie learns more about not just her powers, but her previous selves, and her relationship with Death. He is not all he’s cracked up to be, rather a good guy. And Jackson, he isn’t the good guy that Evie thought he was.

Alliances are shifting, relationships are changing, and everyone that Evie thought was on her side have been lying to her since the beginning. I hate that the ending is a cliffhanger, but I love this series. I think the whole Tarot card exchange is amazing, and I love how complex and muti-layered the characters are.

Insanity (An Alice in Wonderland Retelling) by Cameron Jace

Keeping with the last posts theme of Alice in Wonderland retellings, Insanity by Cameron Jace is another semi-well rated novel on goodreads.com. I have very mixed feelings on the novel, when I first read it I gave it 2-stars, but its one of those novels that makes you think. I have found myself thinking about and ever talking about this book with friends.

            Alice Wonders is in a mental institution, she doesn’t remember anything before a few weeks ago. Apparently though she is responsible for the death on all her classmates, the final act that pushed her family and the courts to send her to Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum. Alice has been talking crazy for years though, ever since her sister lost her one afternoon when she was seven. Everyone thinks that Alice is crazy, but Alice knows that she isn’t. And there are others in the institution, others who believe her, who know the truth. Monsters of Wonderland are in the city, Lewis Carroll’s novels, while fanciful, are how he dealt with his encounters with the monsters, and a way to play down what he and a little girl actually had to do all those years ago to trap them in Wonderland.

            Now, people are being killed and Alice and the patient dubbed “Professor Caterpillar” are the only ones who believe (and know) that it is the Cheshire Cat, which means if one monster has escaped Carroll’s enchantments, more will follow. And the Cheshire Cat cannot be working alone, after all, he has never worked alone. Alice and the Professor have to find a way to get out of the asylum and stop Cheshire, but getting out isn’t the problem, its walking the fine line between crazy and wonderland.

            In retrospect, I actually liked this novel a lot more now than I did when I first read it, the ending was amazing! I mean, the last two pages, were awe inspiring. It makes me want to not only read the sequel when it comes out, but read some of Cameron Jace’s other fairytale retellings.

Death of the Mad Hatter by Sarah J Pepper (Review)

I have always loved fairy tale retellings, it is one of my favorite genres. While I’m not the biggest fan of Alice in Wonderland, not that it isn’t a good book I just think there are a lot better ones, Alice in Wonderland retellings tend to be the ones I gravitate toward the most. In large part I think it is because The Looking Glass Wars is one of my all time favorite series, and I am always trying to find another Alice In Wonderland like that. Usually I am left very disappointed, but when I read Death of the Mad Hatter, I was pleasantly surprised. It was fairly good, great characters, and full of intrigue.

            The fortuneteller foretold in one of his many prophesies, “If the king loses his head, then the Queen with a Bleeding Heart would rule the Red Court until Time ceased to move forward. When a second carried on for infinity, every creature in Wonderland would tip their Hat to the misfit girl with a Boy’s name (or was it a boy with a Girl’s name?) who’d end the Reign of Terror. However, it all hinged on the One-Eyed Hare being able to convince an inspirable Heir that the impossible was indeed possible—like stopping time—and that Love was worth a Beheading.” No one quite knew what it meant, all the creatures from Wonderland knew was that Alice was responsible for the Mad Hatters death, and she was one of the Queen’s lackeys. No one trusted her, why should they? All she ever seemed to do was get people killed, and keep the evil Queen in power.

The people had one hope, a hope that they didn’t even let themselves believe, that a son born from a Wonderlander in a foreign land would one day return and take the throne that should have been his.

            That is why Alice came back to the ordinary world. She had a mission, to find the would-be-heir and bring him back to Wonderland, so that the Queen might kill him. Only the boy was not what she expected, he cared with all his heart, and she soon found herself falling for him. But self-preservation had always been at the top of Alice’s list, and when it came down to betraying the Queen, she felt it best that her head stay attached to her body. Would things come to pass as the Jack prophesized? What did the prophecy even really mean? Alice has made a lifetime of mistakes, and she might be making one more.

            I thought this book was well written, with great humor and emotion. It was a great retelling, and a book that stands on its own without sequels. I loved the characters and how Wonderland and the regular world were connected in the oddest ways. I would recommend this novel to anyone loving the story of Alice in Wonderland, fairy tale retellings, and fantasy adventures.