Darkness Unbound: The Dark Angel Series #1 - Book Review

This author was recommend to me on whatshouldireadnext.com as being similar to Kelley Armstrong. Regular readers will know I am a huge fan of Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, and I was excited to think I might have found something on a par with this adult fantasy collection. However I can't help but think I built this book up for a fall.

Summary courtesy of Amazon: Born from a lab-enhanced clone mother and an Aedh father, Risa Jones can not only talk to the souls of the dying and the dead, but she can see reapers and walk the grey fields that divide this world from the next. They are skills she rarely uses, however. But when her mother asks her to help the parents of a little girl locked in a coma, she reluctantly agrees. What she discovers terrifies her: someone has ripped the girl's soul from her flesh. As it turns out, a creature consuming the souls of the innocent - and not so innocent - is the least of her problems. Because someone wants to rip open the gates that divide hell from earth, and Risa is a key component in their plans. And the only person standing between her and disaster is a reaper who isn't exactly on her side.

I was disappointed by this book. I wanted it to be so much, which it did try to be, but just wasn't.

What confused me the most was the over complication of the supernatural races. The protagonist Risa Jones is half Werewolf, half Aedh, who can shift her facial features to look like others, see reapers who come to collect dead souls, walk the area between life and death, turn in to a wisp of smoke, has a large sex drive (thanks to the werewolf in her), can feel her Mom's emotions.... I'm sure there is more that I have missed out. And don't forget her Mom is a blind clone with spirit guides and Dad is full Aedh which only adds to the confusion of her true heritage. I just found it all so unnecessary. Why not just stick to one race and develop it?

It is also a very adult series. The beginning of the book hints at adult themes of friends with benefits and relieving her 'needs' by almost strangers that just didn't sit well with me. It gets almost pornographic at times, and not that nice romantic throes of passion pornographic - just graphic. This may be appealing to some, but it didn't add anything to the narrative, and her partner just disappears when the real action starts, never to be seen again.

This is also a second series for Keri Arthur, after a considerably more popular one. The Riley Jenson Guardian series has a total of 10 books, and has now been declared finished. But Riley Jenson plays quite a large role in this book as Moms friend / Auntie, leaving me feeling a lot has happened that I don't know about in previous books. It feels like it has been written for the fans and not for a new reader like myself.

In summary, I didn't like much about this book. But I did finish it. About half way I posted on Goodreads I was going to give it a rest and come back to it, as I really wasn't enjoying it, but in bed that night I opened it and began reading it again without even thinking.

For this point only I will give it:

2/5

Despite all this, I feel that the Riley Jenson Guardian series does sound very interesting. So I might be picking up one of these to read sometime in the future. However I am sad to say, I will not be seeking out the next book in this series.

Thanks for reading,

Rie x

My Top 10 Books I Want To Read, But Never Quite Got Round To!

Rather than the next ten books I am going to read, this post is about some classic titles and more contemporary supernatural fiction that I have heard a lot about, but has never made it to the top of my reading pile.

They do vary quite a lot, but are all on the list because they have been recommended to me at school, in college or from friends on and offline.

Listen what I have to say about them here:

1. Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
2. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien [reading now!]
3. 1984 by George Orwell
   
4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
   
5.  Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
   
6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [free to download on Kindle]
   
7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (3 book series) [also available for single book download here]
   [First book read]
   
8. Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith (10 book series) [also available for single book download here]
   
9.  House of the Night Series (first six) by L.C.Cast & Kristian Cast (10 book series) [also available for single book download here]
   
10. The Host by Stephanie Meyer [read]

Please comment below and let me know what you have heard a lot about and is on your reading list.

Is there something I need to add to my reading list? Let me know in the comments.

Thank you for reading & watching,

Love Rie x

City of the Falling Sky by Joseph Evans - Book Review

I began reading this book last Tuesday and stayed up a lot longer than anticipated. Four hours of reading later the only thing that stopped me from going on was falling asleep with a Kindle on my face, and I knew this was going to be a good book.

Summary Courtesy of Amazon: When Seckry Sevenstars is forced out of his village by the greedy Endrin Corporation and relocated to the daunting metropolis of Skyfall City, he harbours resentment for the company and vows to get them back one day for taking away his home, his school and his friends.

Fortunately, the marvels of the city do a good job in distracting Seckry from his anger and homesickness, and it isn’t long before he’s competing at Friction (the city’s most popular multiplayer video game), slurping awe-inspiring multicoloured milkshakes, and getting butterflies on his first date.

Then, when a mysterious email asks Seckry to break into the headquarters of the Endrin Corporation and steal a container full of worms for a hefty sum of money, his anger resurfaces, and he can’t resist the revenge he promised himself.

Alone at night, Seckry creeps through the sewers whilst wondering what experiments Endrin might be doing on the worms, and emerges into the silent complex. But the worms aren’t the only thing that he finds. Staring at him through the darkness, with wide, innocent eyes, is something that makes Seckry’s heart almost stop.

A girl.

She’s shaking, petrified, and has no recollection of who she is or what she’s doing there. Floodlights bleach the area and Seckry has no choice but to grab a hold of the girl and escape with her. Suddenly the question of what Endrin were doing with a few worms becomes the last thing on Seckry’s mind. What were Endrin doing with a human?

This book was a suggestion from Amazon, and without even reading the description, I decided to purchase it on a whim for just 99p. 

My first impressions of this book was its recommendations on its cover, in this image it is a little to small to see, but one recommendation says it is "even better than Harry Potter" from one young reader who claims it was the best book they have ever read. This is a big statement to make. One I didn't think much of and read on regardless of this claim.Yet there is a serious similarity to J K Rowlings characters within the book. Snibble, the class bully, for example bears an uncanny resemblance to the character of Draco Malfoy accentuated by his thug-like body guards that follow him around. The headmaster of the school and Mr. Vance & could almost be translated into Professor Dumbledore and Prof. Lupin at a push. 

Despite this, the narrative is surprisingly original. Drawing influences from the bible, (with "for Geddins sake" being my new expletive of choice!), current debates of genetic modification, corporate responsibility and even school budgets it is topical and engaging. It is like a neatly tied braid, with no detail being provided that is not essential to the story line, no complex red herrings are used or for that point needed, but a clean and satisfying narrative that is almost impossible to put down. The only unanswered question which is teased upon the entire book is enough motivation for me to read the next book in the series. 

The need to be creative, and invent new names for things, was a little annoying. God is now Geddin, and Jesus = Sekry (or his nick name anyway). Ellonberrys sound delicious, but was it really necessary to rename blackberry's? I am just not sure it adds much too the book. 

One of the books unique creations on the other hand is something I do wish was real. Friction. A virtual video game that suspends your body in a pod while you play though an avatar in a virtual game of treasure hunt. Sign me up now! This book is set in the future, so I will keep my fingers crossed. 

As a young adult (YA) book, at first I found it a little tedious. These are young protagonists currently in senior school and you can tell that. But when Seckry fell in love, I fell in love with this book. It is beautifully written (some Kindle books feel like they have missed out on the editing process but this is almost perfect) and I was sad to finish it.

From one lover of fantasy fiction to another, I loved this book. This is one of the best YA fictions I have ever read. And one day, with the right publicity maybe it could be as big as Harry Potter. I struggled marking this but as a YA I have to give it:

5/5

Since purchasing this book, it has now gone up to £2, but I still think this is great value for a good book. You can download it from Amazon here.

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

[since purchasing this book, it has now gone up to £2, but I still think this is great value for a good book!]

Underworld: Awakening - Film Review

On Wednesday I went to see Underworld: Awakening with my boyfriend at the cinema, and really enjoyed it so wanted to let you guys know why.

Summary courtesty of  IMDB: "When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrioress Selene leads the battle against humankind."

I first learnt about and watched the Underworld films, which there are now four, through my friend Sam after I purchased them for him as a gift. I loved the different interpretation of vampirism and werewolf / lycans that these films portray. They are dark, and also quite sexy.

I was lucky enough to go see this at the Odeon cinema in Southampton that offered the IMAX 3D experience, which I thought was really good. The boyfriend feels that the 3D is a little unnecessary, yet I revelled in the audio that moves you in your seat, and the images that literally at times glitter. It really did add to the cinema experience, which I didn't really understand the hype about before. I would never enjoy that as much on y TV at home.

This is an action movie, it is violent, it is dark.I don't normally like this in a movie (Saw is my worst nightmare!) but I really liked it in this movie, as it works. It has a narrative, it is predictable in parts and surprises you in others which is a mix that I think is hard to achieve. It has been left wide open for another movie with a some big unanswered questions.

I talk more about the movie in this really short vlog:

After filming this video I did a quick search on other reviews. I mentioned in my last video how much I have spoilers and found some classic cases of careless reviewing. I found this one review that comes with a serious spoiler warning from me. But I wanted to include it as I thought the points it made were valid, and quite funny. 

I give this movie 4/5 (it loses a mark for at times being quite scary!!)

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

What should I read next?

I have just stumbled upon (funny enough from stumbleupon.com) a great website for people like me who want introducing to new authors.

Whatshouldireadnext.com is a fab little website, where you enter one of your favourite books, and it searches thousands of different titles to find something similar you might like.

I can see myself using this a lot, as I often do get stuck in a rut of serial reading all the books from one author (you only need to look at the number of reviews I have for Kelley Armstrong).

So go have a look, search, and find your new favourite!

Please comment below and let me know what you have discovered and if you enjoyed it.

Thanks as always for reading,

Love Rie x

My First Ever Vlog and Book Review of South of the Border West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

I have been thinking about venturing into the world of vlogging for a while now. I use YouTube like TV whilst I am at university and have become particularly fond of some of my favourite beauty gurus vlogs of late. 

I just didn't really know how this would tie into my love of reading, and this blog until I came across a vlog posted on Girl Who Reads. She was just talking about what she had been doing recently and what books she had been reading, and suddenly it clicked.

So I charged up my camera, and after just a few takes and some editing I had created my first book review vlog. I still have a long way to go in the quality of the filming, sound and content department, but I really hope I can use this as another tool to share my love of authors, books and reading. 

So finally, what the video was all about: South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami.

Summary courtesy of Goodreads.com: Growing up in the suburbs of post-war Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. Together they spent long afternoons listening to her father's record collection. But when his family moved away, the two lost touch. Now Hajime is in his thirties. After a decade of drifting he has found happiness with his loving wife and two daughters, and success running a jazz bar. Then Shimamoto reappears. She is beautiful, intense, enveloped in mystery. Hajime is catapulted into the past, putting at risk all he has in the present.

My friend Laura raves about Murakami, her favourite author, and recommended that I took a look at some of his books. He is know for using a pinch of surrealism and fantasy in his novels, which sounds like something I would love to read. She lent me this book, which is the only one she had with her, with the warning it is a bit different to his other works, but still well worth a read. 

It is a relatively small book, only 213 pages but is superbly written. The beauty is in the little details. This quote in particular I really liked:

"Her hand, which up till then had laid on the back of the sofa, she now placed on her knee. I stared vacantly at her fingers tracing the plaid pattern of her skirt. There was something mysterious about it, as if invisbly thread emanating from her fingertips spun together an entirely new concept of time." (pg: 15)

If I am honest, this isn't a book I would choose to read, but I am really grateful that I have had an introduction to a fantastic author. There is a lot of buzz about him online, and some of his other books sound a lot more my style. 

You can watch my video about it here:

Regretfully I have to give this book only a 3/5 

Thanks for reading [& watching],

Love Rie x

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris - Goodreads.com Review

I have just joined Goodreads.com a book reviewing website that I still don't really know much about.

So as I explore its functionality I wanted to post a review of a book I finished a long while ago, but still one of my all time favourites.

Consider these little bite size reviews written by me, which I have imported from this website.

Yet don't feel left out, as always my full length reviews will always be posted here first.

Happy reading!

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is easily my favourite book of the entire series so far.


I make it no secret that I am in love with the character of Eric Northman, and lets just hope he keeps loving our Sookie.


I have a real love-hate relationship with Miss Stackhouse, but I will keep purchasing and devouring these books because of Eric.


Having said all this, I appreciated this book because I knew the character of Eric before he lost his memory, and was all the sweeter for reading it within the series.


For lovers of love, sex, fantasy, supernatural and any fiction.

Thanks for reading

Love Rie x
View all my reviews