Lucifer (Sons of Old Trilogy) by Annabell Cadiz - Book Spotlight

Many weeks ago Annabell reached out to me to see if I would be interested in her first book, Lucifer. Due to my hectic work schedule and being bad with my time I have unfortunately not been able to finish the book - despite loving its opening chapters. 

So I wanted to give you a bit of a "Spotlight" on a fab YA fantasy book now, and follow up with a review in a few weeks when I get myself in gear!

Synopsis: Have you ever wondered what could be hiding in the shadows?

Well, for eighteen-year-old Zahara Faraday, she doesn’t have to wonder. You see she comes from a lineage of Light Witches, those who have chosen to help protect and serve between the supernatural world and the human world. The only problem is Zahara, like her father Solomon, is as human as a human being can be whereas her mother, Mia, and her Aunt Catalina, were born as Light Witches. As a family they hunt down rogue supernaturals—creatures who harm humans or who have committed an act against their kingdom. 

Zahara’s hunting skills are usually kept dormant since her parents would prefer she live life as a normal human girl without knowledge of the supernatural world. She plans on doing just that—except when she finds a couple being attacked by fairies, she has no choice but to step in. Before she can return to pretending to be blissfully ignorant, Zahara encounters a problem she isn’t the least equip to handle: Bryan Hamilton, the good looking new co-worker she has to help train. In a heartbeat, her best friend, Becca King, has set her up on a double date with herself and her new crush, Rekesh Saint-Louis, who happens to be the most powerful leader of the biggest Imago Coven in South Florida –supernatural creatures with the ability to control water . . . and suck out human souls. 

Zahara has no time to focus on how she’s going to explain her double date with her best friend and the enemy they have a tentative truce with to her parents because soon one of the members of Mia and Catalina’s coven is found murdered with a strange tattoo of a snake with wings carved into his arm.

Zahara is then thrown into a whirlwind battle with an angel determined to have revenge against God, an Imago coven she doesn’t think they should trust, and slew of dream-eating fairies and powerful Nephilims, hybrid children of angels and humans, more than happy to rip her to shreds.

Normal just got a deadlier definition.

~~~

Read more about Lucifer by Annabell Cadiz on Goodreads. 

Have you read Lucifer? I would love to know your thoughts - but no spoilers please! I am looking forward to finishing it.

Love Rie x

The Passage by Justin Cronin - Book Review

A journey into post-apocalyptic world in the not so distant future is every dystopia fiction fans dream come true, and every humans worst nightmare.

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Amy Harper Bellafonte is six years old and her mother thinks she's the most important person in the whole world.

She is.

Anthony Carter doesn't think he could ever be in a worse place than Death Row.

He's wrong.

FBI agent Brad Wolgast thinks something beyond imagination is coming.

It is.

THE PASSAGE.

I will start this review with a warning; this book is not for everyone, but if you are not faint hearted and start with The Passage it may just consume your life.

I first heard about this book more than a year ago from some colleagues at where I worked at the time, The Passage was being talked about everywhere; top of the best sellers in WHSmiths, raved about by all that read it, warnings about its complex dystopian themes but no one could quite tell me about what it was about. Because of this I never found the time for this great volume of a novel. But a couple of months ago I had some money in my Amazon account and the cover reached out to me from my black and white Kindle screen begging to be read.

This is not a short read, and all the better for it. It covers more than a 100 years from the perspective of a spiralling cast of protagonists, each one with their own back stories and rich lives revealed to you when the time is right. The narrative is weaved by these rich characters in a ever more complicated web, and when the final destination finally reveals itself you are dragged rather than being allowed to follow them on their quest.

More than once trapped within its pages I couldn't possibly see where it would take me next. It felt like the dooms day was upon them and they would never last the night, until something happens that allows them to continue their journey. 

This review is deliberately vague to allow anyone who has not read this yet to discover its secrets in the way Cronin intended, as the result is a modern masterpiece.

9/10

If you want to read short teaser of this book, it was my last weeks Teaser Tuesday. I have never read anything like this before, and would recommend it to anyone who loves a rich gritty and unique narrative, but has the stamina to stick with this 1,000+ page novel, hence loosing a point in my rating for its length.

I would love to speak with anyone who has read The Passage to discuss the finer points of this fabulously complex book. More so, I would love to discover what the second book in the series, The Twelve , has to offer and will do as soon as I can!

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

Teaser Tuesday

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme (a.k.a. Tag), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
 1. Grab your current read
 2. Open to a random page
 3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page, please no spoilers!
 4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser is:

The Passage by Justin Cronin

"'Amy, why didn't you say anything before?'

'I am sorry. I think I had forgotten how.' She was frowning inwardly, as if puzzling over this thought.

'But now I have remembered'" 

Right, I want to know your teasers too! Please post a link to your teaser in the comments below. Don't have a blog? Then please leave your teaser in the comments in full. I both love an hate reading teasers, they always introduce me to some fantastic books but my TBR piles always get so much larger!

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

My New Year's Resolutions for 2013

As another year has ended I have jumped on the bandwagon of making some promises to myself for the new year ahead. I do this every year and I am not sure I have ever stuck to them for more than a few hours. But I was hoping by writing them down here for you all to see you could help me keep on track. I would also love to hear what your guys news year's resolutions are and maybe I can motivate y'all to achieve your goals for 2013!

Following the sound advice from one of my work colleagues I am not going to just name my resolutions for the year, but give a brief step-by-step plan, lets call them tactics, on how I am going to achieve them. I have split these up into bookish blogging resolutions and personal ones, so if you are not interested in my general drivel that isn't talking about books you can just skip the end of the post. This might be a bit of a long'un as I have posted in a while, so I have added some cute animal pictures along the way to say thanks for reading and give you a break :P

So here goes....

BOOKISH BLOGGING RESOLUTIONS

1. Finish at least two books a month: I have a terrible habit of starting lots of books in my excitement of their release, cover or a great recommendation. However I am failing miserably at finishing... well any of them! They just keep adding up and adding up until I now have 6 books on the go and have become a little scared to pick any of them back up. So my tactics for finishing 24 books in 2013 are -

• From today I will not start a book until I have finished at least one from my bedside table.
• Only read books I enjoy, and not being scared of abandoning a book that I am not impressed with. Life is too short for reading books you don't enjoy!
• Find time for reading during the day, such as my lunch break or after dinner in the evenings. I tend to only read in bed meaning when I get a wee bit sleepy reading just gets forgotten when my hearts not in it.
2. Post at least one post a week: December was a horribly busy month for me, and I neglected the one thing I love the most... blogging about my beloved books! To help my tactics are -

• Remember not every blog post has to be a book review and bring in different content.
• Try not to write 1,000 word essays about books. Instead I will focus on writing short, snappy and sexy reviews.
• Ask for help. I have had some fantastic people contribute to Rie Reviews in 2012 and I would love to invite them all back to write more!
  
  
  
3. Proof read more: Often in my haste to get a blog post out I fail to proof read and spot the most obvious errors. Not only does this look awful to you guys that take the time out of your day to read this, but it makes me so mad at myself when I go back and look at these posts a few days later! TACTICS....
• Always read posts at least twice before pressing publish.
• Proof read in the preview mode as well as in editing mode. The change in background should help me spot formatting errors.
• When I have finished a post and not feeling up to proof reading, I will save it and publish it the next day once I have had the time to read it again.

PERSONAL ONES

1. No more snacking! I can take a pretty good guess that over half my calorie intake is from snacking alone. I am grazer and will often stretch my lunch at work over 2 hours as I pick and nibble of different food. Then there is elevenses, afternoon tea, post work binge and late night... well.... snacks! My tactics -

• Eat more at meal times, especially breakfast to keep me going the whole morning. That's right Rie you are going to start eating fruit after your cereal!
• Eat regular meals, even at the weekends.
• Get some will power! I don't think I am even hungry when I snack. Its a habit that I just need the will power to kick!
  
  
  
  
2. Save money: When I have money I spend it. You have to treat yourself every so often but daily treats no longer make them treat like. I have a future ahead of me that needs funding! My tactics -

• Set monthly goals for saving money and most importantly stick to them
• Less snacking will mean less money spent on snack food! But also making sure I prepare breakfast and lunch to take with me will save those precious pennies.
• Remember what I am saving for!
  
  
  
  
  
3. Work life balance. When I was studying I could blame essays and looming deadlines for my late nights at the computer whilst knowing it was really the laying in till lunch time and the 3 hours wasted watching YouTube videos. Now I am in the real world and work in an office that is where I should work, and not take so much home with me. My social life has seriously falters the last few months and I have missed out on a lot of things that I used to love to do. I need to learn balance so that neither my work or personal life suffers...
• Plan my work time more efficiently. 
• Spend at least one evening a week doing something I really enjoy. Sims, reading, taking a long bath. They are also important to me!
• Take a day out every now and then with an old friend. I have missed some guys from days gone by due to my neglect. I am going to dedicate a whole day to each of my girls and guys out there that I love so much just to catch up. You know who you are :)

Leave me your resolutions in the comments please! Here's to a happy, healthy and successful 2013!

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

True Blood (Series 1) - TV Series Review

I’ve read the books, and know the story but the first series of True Blood, produced by HBO is an ‘interpretation’ of the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris well worth the watch.

True Blood , TV series by HBO based on the books by Charlaine Harris

I borrowed this off my driving instructor, of all people, after we struck up a conversation one lesson about the series. Promised an edgy fantasy drama, from someone who hadn’t read the books seemed a great start, but I was very curious about some character names I didn’t recognise.

This 12 episode series was polished off in just over a week. Thanks to a rainy Sunday and more than a few evenings curled up on the sofa, I really became emotionally invested in the series and its characters. Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse) and Stephen Moyer (Vampire Bill) are fantastically cast to really embody the characters of my imagination. Terra and a new lover for Sookie’s brother Jason are completely re-invented and provide additional narrative streams that add some great extras to the plot.

Vampires, shape shifters and more are blamed for a multitude of sins, but the real trouble is caused by the people you least expect, providing some nail biting moments to some real shockers.

Overall I loved the series, and I believe it is just as enjoyable as the books, if not more so (yes I did just say I enjoyed the TV series more than the books) as it brings the series to life in a truly sexy way!

I enjoyed the series so much, the other half got me the box set of the first 4 series on Blueray for my Birthday, and I am already half way through the second series. Cozy evenings in just got gory, sexy, violent and vamped.

I give the series:

9/10 (Loses a point because I think these can get better, and I want to wait and see what the rest of the series has to offer).

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

Lilith by Victoria Limbert - Book Review

An original, adult fantasy novel that packs a punch!

Lilith (Twin Souls) by Victoria Limbert
After a traumatic event suffered at a young age, Annette Anderson believes she had been cursed with the 'Sight'. The ability to see the Hellworlds and demon souls drove her in to a world of sin and sex, attracting the unwanted attention of the Underground. After months of torture, the She-demon, Lilith, attempted to take Annette's body and drive out her human soul. Unexpectedly, Annette's soul fought back, trapping Lilith, leaving them to reside together on a shaky truce.
Along with the help of Michael Daltry, a detective with the Metropolitan Police and Rowan, a demon ordered to protect them, Annette and Lilith must work together to uncover the reasons behind a spate of grisly murders that has hit the the busy city of London.
If they fail, it will truly be Hell on Earth! 

I downloaded this book on my Kindle many months ago, after sighting the author on Twitter and being enticed by a link. I can’t remember how much I paid for it, but I must have been attracted by a low price, as I downloaded without even reading the description or any reviews. The result was me starting Lilith with no pre-conceptions or warning of the very adult content… but something that made a novel written to shock… well… shock!

Protagonist Annette, a troubled young woman who turned to the dark side of life after being abused as a girl, hides an even darker secret – she has Twin Souls. In a Host like fashion (you know… that OTHER book by Stephanie Meyer), a powerful female demon fails to extinguish the human’s soul, thus forced to co-exist.

The opening chapter of this book is fantastic. Something about this dark, mysterious introduction to Annette’s predicament really sets this narrative off on the right beat. Yet as the theme continued it was a little more difficult at times to read. The un-romantic sex filled sections of the book failed to capture my interest. The raw, animalistic lust seemed to go one step to far proving an uncomfortable reads (demon rape has never really got me going).

Despite this Annette’s predicament does throw up some truly fantastic demon characters, three dimensional and gritty each one of them was unique. Rowan proved to be a particular favourite of mine, and the promise of romance from a human police officer offers a little light relief. Others are truly terrifying, and I fear may stick with me for a long time to come.

Overall this original fantasy novel was a good read, but was in parts a little too much for my more prudish YA tastes. If you are a reader who doesn't mind a lot of violence, tonnes of sex and some terrifying demons you will love Lilith.

8/10

This book, as far as I can see is only available to Kindle download, and you can pick it up here for £3.08.

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

Fallen by Lauren Kate - Book Review

Guest post by Ross Phillips: "Like genuine Picasso in a vat of wallpaper paste."

Fallen by Lauren Kate: 'When Lucinda Price was sent to Sword and Cross Reform School, she knew it would be hard, but she had no idea what lay in store for her. She never went looking for trouble, but it finds her--in the form of true love, death, murder, passion. Can she survive long enough to learn why she's always been haunted, why disaster seems to follow her around... can she survive at all?'

Right well this is going be a difficult one for me, these books are very very easy to completely ruin if anything is inadvertently given away, so now I've got to tell you what I like and what I didn't in such a way as to give absolutely no hint whatsoever to the plot hmmm here goes . . .

This series follows the adventures of Lucinda Price (commonly refered to as Luce) as she starts at a reform school after her involvement in a mysterious accident in her last school. Luce is a very 'passive' character who comes across as being somewhat dragged through the narrative rather than driving it. She also suffers a distinct lack of personality through most of the first book and although she gradually develops more of one through the series those looking for a strong female lead will probably have to settle for some of the supporting characters like Arriane.

In contrast to to Luce the supporting cast is much more vivid with each having a definite personality and place within the plot with no one character feeling superfluous.

In terms of plot there is a lot in this series I like, with plot elements which I really approve of, fresh ways at looking at old ideas and twists which took even me by surprise this series has a lot going for it and like Luce herself has great potential, but sadly all that potential feels squandered, crushed under a barrage of cliche that makes the romance (which is meant to be the driving force behind the plot) feel purile.

I can't help but think this series would have been better off aimed at a more mature audience. It feels like the author started out writing a full-fat dark fantasy romance (to which all the ideas and elements lend themselves perfectly) but then decided to 'cash-in' on the current Twilight inspired trend of trashy, teeny paranormal romance.

Like genuine Picasso in a vat of wallpaper paste.

4/10

Love Ross & Rie x