Remnants by Lisa T. Bergren

The elder likened the Hour of our Call to a tidal pull, the first birthing pangs of a pregnant mother... but to me it felt like a scream building inside. Excitement and glory, swirling in a ball within my chest. Electrifying. Mobilizing.

Did I really say I was going to post this review three days ago? Has it really been a month already since my last post? I'm clearly just so damn absentminded I should be responsible for little else. That's why I keep rejecting your blog tour invites and review requests, people, and not because it pleases me... much (but there would be no confusion if more read a certain web page). Anyway, I did make an exception to my current policy for one of the few authors I would bend over backward because I wanted to be a part of her latest book's outbreak into blogging society. Have I done a good job with keeping up? I could've done better, I freely admit. But the point is I'm more or less ready to talk about my feelings on the matter.

I'm going to be upfront and say I am pretty darn disappointed with Remnants/Season of Wonder and... just why did I think I wanted to be honest upfront? It's painful to say even that much when I utterly adore Lisa T. Bergren, as a person and an author. I feel guilty, even knowing I don't owe the lovely Lisa an unqualified happy response to what I read. However, whether this wasn't my cup of tea or that I found it strangely lacking, the overwhelming conclusion is that I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as I'd hoped.

A promising first few chapters combined with my enthusiasm to have something else of the author of the River of Time novels cross my lap made it ease to delve into this new world filled with new characters in what looked to be an engaging and exciting story. I was intrigued by these warriors of God fighting for the remnants of a world that wasn't my world but felt eerily familiar.

But the foundation of what is built for us doesn't hold strong for very long.

It took me little to no time to realize that while I snickered at the humor that wanted to be there and tried to love the potential of a long-brewing romance between the main characters, I didn't see, didn't feel, and ultimately didn't care. It became difficult to keep my attention firmly pressed to the pages when I was so distant from these people trying to rally together to save the world, a world that provoked a few questions, yes, then promptly lost my interest as did most everything else.

It's an interesting book, for all it's needlessly overwhelming length, but that's all it amounted to in the end. It wasn't gripping or immersive or any of the other fun words I like to use to describe the state a book put me into. And so I may retain a mild curiosity for the next book in the series, but nothing more.

Hardcover / 414 pgs / April 8th 2014 / Blink / Goodreads / $15.99

My copy was sent to me as an ARC for the Remnants blog tour.

What did I rate Season of Wonder?

Reaction to.... The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

TO UNCOVER OR BE COVERED:
I’m never too old for big faced ladies on a cover, even if she doesn’t look THAT Asian (or not at all, really, so boo), but there was something chilling and dark about THE IMMORTAL RULES , while still giving off enough emotion to be intriguing with the stone-cold face carrying a dripping tear around—which is the perfect way to portray Allison, Asian or no. With THE ETERNITY CURE it’s a little bit like chocolate cake for the eyes, with it’s beautiful design and it’s bold yet simple color scheme, BUT as you’re devouring it you don’t stop to think of what’s inside. So while this cover satisfies my superficial and immediate needs, if I’d walked past this cover in a bookstore I wouldn’t have a clue about what this is supposed to be about. While I’m not sure that’s a good thing, I know that I’d still stop and read the dust jacket because it IS eye-catching. So, ultimately, it’s a well-done for you, Harlequin Teen.

SUMMARY: Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

I swear, consistency and I are old friends and we hang out as often as possible, but I can’t be consistent if I HAVEN’T EVEN FINISHED A BOOK. Working is no party, my friends, as I’m sure many of you know, so, yes, I’d try to go home to THE ETERNITY CURE and get going on it but then my worn body would give out EVERY SINGLE TIME. Now, I know why grownups are so miserable: they CAN’T EVEN read.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS:
Stepping away from her fantastical, decidedly light-in-comparison world of the Nevernever, last year Julie Kagawa spun an entirely new realm for us, one filled with darkness, where, by the time we crack open the cover, the last of the bright spots are rapidly going out. The world that has been left behind after the spread of the deadly, mutating Red Lung virus is one of ash, blood, broken minds, and hopeless souls. It is the picture of a ravaged humanity, where people have been mostly reduced to their most basic and most imperative of functions: survival. As heart-breaking, tragic, raw, and blunt as that. Trust, happiness, and affection are forgotten things, like books and reading. In THE IMMORTAL RULES, we navigated through this world with Allison the Fringer at the helm, then experienced the horror of being the vulnerable passenger as the imminent collision that would change everything hurtled closer.

Allie the Vampire might as well be a separate entity all together. Living from in the shoes of a genuine monster has forced her to grow at a speed that’s as unnatural as the fangs that protrude when Hunger arises. And from beginning to the end of THE IMMORTAL RULES, Allie learns what it is to bond, love, and befriend. But happiness can’t last for long, not in this dilapidated world and not for a vampire.

With a new mission and a new course set ahead, Allie is on the hunt for her sire, a man whom she attaches the most complicated of bonds—strictly familial, I’m afraid—and whose sanity and existence is in peril even for an immortal as old and powerful as he. Taking place less than a year after THE IMMORTAL RULES, Allie’s quest hasn’t gone as intended, and will continue it’s downward spiral in THE ETERNITY CURE.

WHERE WE GO:
I remember some people mentioning that THE IMMORTAL RULES was a little slow at the starting line, and I know I didn’t have that problem. I discovered that, annoyingly, this time around with THE ETERNITY CURE. But, true to Kagawa’s talent it picks up well and pretty quickly, and that initial slow start almost serves a purpose. Like any thrill ride of life, where you think you’ve got it in the bag because it’s appearance is deceiving, the illusion is what builds the terror or the anxiety. In this case, I don’t think I would’ve been quite so wound-up if it hadn’t been for that sly opening.

You’d think that after THE IMMORTAL RULES, where we traveled from within the Inner Wall and the Fringe inside a vampire city, the outside toward a camp of remaining humans in search of a rumored haven, I’d’ve seen it all. But, one thing Kagawa is really good at doing is creating a new landscape within an already existing one. From Old D. C.—where poor Abe is barely hanging on—inside a White House under new management to the underground web of sewers leading to the heart of the Rabids nest and beneath the Fringe where the mole men are said to lurk, there are far darker places to tread.

WHO WE ARE WITH:
Allie hasn’t undergone a shocking and unexpected metamorphosis since last we were with her. She’s still the same cold, expressionless badass katana wielder capable of many dark deeds and is only willing to leash the blood-sucking monster within her to a point, toeing the line that meets with her own standards. She is accepting of her new nature, what she is and isn’t capable of doing, but she’s chosen the kind of monster she has become, as Kanin would say, and I would say one that could even be termed honorable, if nothing else. With a strong, stubborn will and a katana strapped to her back, I firmly believe there isn’t much this girl can’t take on.

‘Cept maybe Jackal, the once and future raider king. I didn’t get any awesomeness vibes from him in THE IMMORTAL RULES, but man, was my doubt foiled! THIS DUDE.



If Puck were in a vampire book, where he was a malicious, unrepentant raider king who is cunning and mostly evil and slightly more witty, he would be Jackal. Don’t let me unintentionally deceive you: Puck and Jackal are not one in the same. AT ALL. But, oh, I do love good parallels. At first, his attempts at being annoyingly arrogant and witty were actually annoying, because I kind of thought here comes this typical character set up to be the comic relief or whatever. But, that quickly went away when I realized how wrong I was.


Yes, I’d always suspected this but…

Unfortunately, as often as they gave me happy chills and other cheerfully dirty thoughts, I wasn’t feeling the romance between Zeke and Allison as much. Some of the actual scenes, were, as I kind of hinted, pretty sexay and feels-ridden, but mostly they felt out of place and thrown together oddly. Whenever there was an affectionate quip or public kiss , whatever the case, I was never fully into it because I kept thinking something like, uh, guys, her Sire is RIGHT THERE, Jackal is RIGHT THERE, and ALSO: THERE ARE DEADLY THINGS EVERYWHERE. So not the bloody time. Not the time. Cool the pants fire.

THE LITTLE THINGS:

1. Running Into Jackal
2. Infiltrating A Nest Of Rabids… With Jackal
3. Finding The Mole Men… With Jackal
4. Running Into Zeke… With Jackal
5. Oh! And, Uh, Jackal
6. THE ENDING so fucked up, Julie

I’ve gotta stop promising I’ll not do the whole “THE ENDING!” following –Insert Wavy Hand Gestures As An Attempt At Eerieness And Drama- because I’m a liar. But, seriously, even as I saw it coming, I still couldn’t contain the shock and awe… and anticipation. Mostly, because yes I’m looking forward to more badassery on Jackal’s part, but also because I imagine that The Forever Song is going to have some PRETTY EPIC STUFF involved. Not to mention that a certain psychotic vamp has once again been thwarted by our Allison Sekemoto (if his limb deduction is any indication).



And I’m SURE his vengeance will create a catastrophic quake in Allison’s world.

Hardback / 446 pgs / April 30th 2013 / Harlequin Teen / Goodreads / $16.99

I received an e-galley of this book from Harlequin Teen via Netgalley.

Reaction to... Angelfall by Susan Ee

TO UNCOVER OR BE COVERED:
At first, I didn’t think much of the cover of ANGELFALL by Susan Ee but after closer inspection, adjusting the ol’ eyeglasses and such, I realized the cover may not be flashing its stunning qualities, but perpetuates a subtle draw that has something to do with how perfectly fitting to the story it is.

SUMMARY: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

As ya’ll may already know I consider Small Review to be one of the most outrageously mag bloggers out there in the known blogoverse and so any recommendations she’s bestowed onto me, I immediately comply. No, I slide across tiles to my desk chair and reach for the mouse in desperation wherein Amazon becomes my sole focus for the REST OF LIFE that day. Because I have to buy that book, no matter WHAT it may be. In this case, ANGELFALL is her latest personal recommendation and, well, now you know why I’m reviewing this now…

WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS:
The apocalypse has come, truly beginning when the angel Gabriel was shot down, displaying mankind’s lack of welcome to the say the least! Since that time, humans unknowingly entered a losing bid in the war—if you could call it that—that followed.

The streets are deserted mostly in the day, and then there are those who risk the wrath of the angels to prowl at night. Gangs, people-eaters, demons and angels—neither of whom are good—and nighttime is perhaps more dangerous than being seen in the light. But Penryn must take that risk, alongside her family of two more—a schizo mommy dearest and a paralyzed younger sister. And when her dangerous mission loses her all she loves and protects, she means to do all that she can to restore her family—even if it means touching shoulders with an Angel, one who’s seen few joys himself (which he demos with bountiful sarcasm!).

WHERE WE GO:
THIS is exactly what I want a post-apocalyptic place where angels be beasting to look like! It’s surreal to us because, had you not had Walking Dead to refer to, could you really perfectly picture a seemingly deserted world, where humans are barricaded indoors and predators skulk in all the dark corners? Ee creates a vivid darkness in her world that translates beyond just what the scenery looks like but into the very manner of Penryn. It’s survive, flight, or die in this new world, and trust is as broken as the telly. Our world is dilapidated, hungry, and frightening, where the mad run amok and the angels prey from overhead. It’s quite perfect, right upfront. It even has questing… QUESTING.

But that perfection continues as we explore each avenue of this new reality on the journey toward restoration of what Penryn has lost, and what Raffe, the reluctant companion Angel, seeks to gain. Hope is dim, resistance is awakening, and through it all there’s this bone-chilling terror of the unknown, which has gained in numbers since normalcy took the right out of town.

WHO WE ARE WITH:
But, oh, angel boys, all that dark and dismal stuff, as delightful as it really is, isn’t as AMAZING as every hilarious syllable that slips between our two reluctant companions on this unexpected quest. Raffe isn’t a jerkface, not really. He’s impressively sarcastic and lickably corded ALL UP ON his person, yes, but he’s not your typical bad boy blah blah blah. He’s sweet, in his way, and honorable. Blunt, can’t forget blunt. There’s just something so addictive about his character! Hook him up with Penryn—not literally, yet, I’m afraid—and she’s a little less intense, a little more prone to smiling and thinking of things other than the world’s unending doom and her torn family. But one thing I absolutely dig about my girl Penryn here is that she neither loses her tenacity nor her practicality, even if it makes her cruel or unhappy. She has a clear-cut goal, one that won’t be deterred even by a badass angel with a tendency toward crankiness and humor at the same time.

THE LITTLE THINGS:

1. Penryn Kicks Ass All The Time
2. Penryn Can Save Herself And Maybe Somebody Else Too
3. Angel Soothes All The Nightmares
4. Angel Mangles Scorpion Monstrosity
5. Angel Delivers Penryn *MEGA SWOON!*

I’m kind of mad. ANGELFALL by Susan Ee has pretty much ruined all other angel books for me, because—Unearthly aside—I don’t think I’ve ever loved a book like this more. It’s how each character kind of needs a *HUGGLE-GLOMP*, how the world can be so bad and yet Ee beautifully incorporates hope and pride in mankind. So my expectations for books with twisty angel lore have reached the glass ceiling, I’m afraid. Poor angels. But, lucky me, Ee is writing another one. Now, if she could only make the release date, I don’t know, tomor—EFF THAT—right now then we’d be all good under the hood.

Paperback / 284 pgs / Feb 14th 2012 / Feral Dream / Goodreads / $6.99

I bought a copy from Amazon because of Small Review.

Don’t Want To Be Eaten By the Dumb Vampires

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The Scourge Blog Tour: The Scourge by A. G. Henley Book Review + Giveaway – Then I hear them, crashing through the forest behind us, shrieking as they come.

Title: The Scourge by A. G. Henley
Author Info: Bio | Blog | Facebook
Publication: Jan 31st 2012 by A. G. Henley

“ I duck out of the storeroom and into the main cavern, stepping carefully across the uneven floor...

Story Arc: Series E-book: 320 pages Age Group: Teen, YA

Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Excerpt(s): pg 78% -------- Purchase --------