Saturday Pages: Mini reviews of Outcast & Swamp Bones!!

Hello guys!

This week's Saturday Pages is happening a lil latter than usual, but they almost didn't happen... I was extremely tired last night and went to sleep without having any posts ready and today I woke up feeling rather tired still, but I decided to still manage to crank up a pair of novellas reviews that I had pending!

One of them is a novella that I got this week on NetGalley so it will totally count for my ARC August list!

 Swamp Bones: A Novella by Kathy Reichs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I've always been a big of both this series by Kathy Reichs and Bones the tv series (at least till I lost interest once the drama got a bit too much for me) even if they were rather different. I had forgotten a bit about the books till I saw this novella on NetGalley and realized I had missed reading one book and there was another coming! So I just got the previous book to this one and preordered the next!

Swamp Bones is a novella that can be read without having read all the Tempe Brennan books since it's a story on its own, but I don't think it's the best of the Tempe stories either.

But even as one of the weakest stories in the mystery sense of the murder(s) to be solved, cause there was a point were the suspect was pointed at too easily, so much that I was expecting it to be a red herring, the story was always fascinating because of the way the science is weaved in. Even if most of the science was about pythons in this one, and snakes are one of my few irrational fears!

Tempe can be a bit too rash and impulsive and given some of the bad situations that has got her into in the past, it makes me wonder why she doesn't seem to learn given how intelligent a character she is. I guess we all have our flaws, and hers is being a bit rash and overly optimistic on outcomes.

All in all, a good enough novella that really got me in the mood to read more Tempe Brennan books! 3 stars to this one (for the too obvious resolution).




Outcast by C.J. Redwine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Outcast is the very much awaited novella featuring our dear Quinn and his sister Willow's story before they meet Rachel and Logan and become allies. This is the story of why Quinn understands how broken Rachel can be and how both he and his sister got exiled from their tribe and came to meet Rachel's dad.

Quinn has always been a very interesting character and we knew there was a lot more to his past than what he himself or his sister had revealed before, both about what caused their exile and why Quinn refused to kill when fighting and in this novella, we find out exactly how horrible their childhood was being trained to be killers with the excuse of being defenders, and how abusive their relationship with their father was.

We see Quinn from feeling like what they're doing is wrong, to finding the strenght to face his father and try to put a stop to his madness when he thinks of protecting his sister and finds an unexpected ally on Rachel's father when Jared stumbles onto the village's perimeter trying to hide from Rowansmark agents.

For a short novella this one packs a really emotional punch and we find ourselves loving and understanding much better both Quinn and Willow and even get a lil better understanding of what a good man Rachel's dad was. One of those novellas that are a joy to read, even with the tough themes in it which earns it 5 stars.



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Mini Reviews: The Iron Fey novellas by Julie Kagawa!

I've said it before, and I won't tire of saying it, I really enjoy reading novellas. They're perfect read for those days when I really don't feel like reading a 200 or more pages book but still feel like reading a complete story. Today I'm reviewing the 3 novellas that are part of the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa.


Winter's Passage by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a short novella to be read between the Iron King and the Iron Daughter, and it serves sort of a refreshing of how things are left. Meghan and Ash are on their way to the Winter Court but she asks for a small detour to make visit Puck to make sure he's okay. During their journey, they start being hunted by a dangerous monster.

This was a short novella and the main purpose might as well have been to introduce a character that we'll encounter in a later book and establish it as dangerous even to the Unseelie prince.

The relationship between Ash and Meghan is still a bit on an uncertain state still, and the fact that Meghan is keeping her promise to Ash, even though it is quite hard on both of them.

Even if this one wasn't the most amazing novella ever, it was a good reminder and a way to introduce a new character. All in all a 3 stars read.




Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I actually read this novella right after the Iron Daughter instead of after the Iron Queen, so I was a bit confused about why Puck and Ash were on their quest, but I still managed to enjoy this one quite a lot.

It's a Puck POV story, and his voice is fantastic this time, he's such a fun character! Full of mischief but also extremely loyal and brave. So when he's torn between helping Ash or taking a chance to try and get him as a rival out of the way, he ends up being a good guy cause it also means he's gonna play one of the biggest pranks in history and do it under Titania's very nose!

It was very entertaining reading about him, ice-boy and Grimalkin, and the dynamics between them are always a lot of fun. Well deserved 3.5 stars for this novella, one that is a must for any Puck fan.




Iron's Prophecy by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the kind of novella that makes me glad I read it. It's something that any fans of the books would have wanted to read about and also gives us quite a bit of information that ties The Iron Fey with the spin-off series The Call of the Forgotten.

The ending of the Iron Knight was good and satisfactory but I wanted to see a bit more of the Iron Realm, Meghan more established as Queen and Ash being the king consort, or however that ended up working on, and not only I got that (that I'm sure was something a lot of fans of the series wanted) but also the explanation for that prophecy mentioned on the Lost Prince and the Iron Traitor (in the Call of the Forgotten series) and I really felt for Meghan and Ash when they got themselves with such an awful choice to make.

And after having read both The Lost Prince and The Iron Traitor, I'm really left wondering if that was the right choice and gives me even more food for thought of what might happen in the next book!

Well deserved 4 stars for this one.



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Mini Reviews: Mitosis & The Boy In The Smoke!!

Hey everyone! I've said it more than once, but I really enjoy novellas, not only they can be excellent prequels to give us more information about a series we already love, but can also work as a bridge between books in a series adding some extra info, or give us a different POV from another character in a series providing more info (again).

So today I have a prequel to Maureen Johnson's Shades of London : The Boy In The Smoke and a bridge between books novella in The Reckoner's trilogy by Brandon Sanderson: Mitosis.


The Boy in the Smoke by Maureen Johnson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have the Shades of London series in my list for my Series challenge and I decided that I ought to start with the shorter book that is also the beginning.

This novella starts in a very prosaic way, with the story of Stephen, a boy of a wealthy family that is ignored by his parents. He wants to be a policeman and do something useful but since he's always been a good boy and do what he's supposed to, he ends up going to Eton and continue to be ignored by his parents.

There are some big issues dealt with here and all done in a very sensible way, nothing crass or cheap. Absent & cold parents, drug addictions, suicide attempts... it all weaves into the story to make Stephen the boy in the smoke. By the end is when we get an glimpse of what else might be there for this series, and this is quite a fantastic setting stone. Well deserved 4 stars.





Mitosis by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mitosis is a short story set after Steelheart. David and the Reckoners are helping Newcago to get some semblance of normalcy, even if people are still waiting "for the other shoe to drop". But that doesn't mean other Epics won't try and take Newcago for themselves, but it seems the Reckoners won't be alone in the fight this time.

While this is a very short story, there are hints as to how to figure out the weaknesses of Epics, and we see that the Reckoners are changing things, not just killing Epics.



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Mini Reviews: Life Before Legend and Darla's Story!

Today I'm here with a pair of mini reviews for two novellas that are part of two series. Both novellas are also part of my Dystopian Reading Challenge 2014.

Life Before Legend by Marie Lu

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Life Before Legend are two short stories about Day and June, when they were both 12 years-old. These stories provide a bit of background story on both of them, even if the insight that they offer is not as game changing as other novellas I've read for other series.

We see June's first day in college as a 12 year old, and we see more of her insecurities, because she wonders if she'll fit in at college any better than she did in her previous schools. This is a June that is as brilliant as the one we know but that is still trying to fit in, even when she fears it'll be more of the same. We see more of her relationship with Metias which I really like, and we see her assert herself and resign to be a loner once again.

Day's story also provides a different kind of insight. He's already on the run and already fighting the Republic in his own way, but he isn't the famous Day yet. This is the story of his first kiss, but also the story of one of his first big hits on Republic officials. We see how Day wants to make things right and why he thinks the Republic is wrong and not just by what happened to his family.

We learn more about June and Day and how they became who they are in Legend, but it's not a must-read novella to help us understand them better. A 3 star read.



Darla's Story by Mike Mullin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I had started Ashfall when I read this novella, but I had read only a pair of chapters when I saw that this one was sort of a prequel, and I decided that I had to read it first. And I'm very glad I did, cause it helped me understand Darla so much better when we meet her in Ashfall!

Darla lost her dad a while back and since then, she's had to juggle school and work in the family farm to keep going, since her mom retreated inside religion.

They're both at the farm when the eruption happens, and they deal with all the horrible effects as best as they can. Once the initial shock is past Darla's very practical side and her mechanical abilities prove a blessing for them both and they start thinking of long term planning. Then one day a visitor arrives at the farm and despite Darla's misgivings, her mother wants to help. I was so very much with Darla in this one, cause the old lady was either delusional, in denial or gone cuckoo, and all the kindness that Darla's mum was showing her wasn't doing her any good. And the lady proves Darla right by running away with their stuff.

It's no surprise that by the time that Alex ends up in the farm's door, Darla feels very hostile against new people landing there in need of help.

A very relevant novella to the character development, that show us where Darla is coming from and how she became the Darla we meet in Ashfall. 4 stars for this one.



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Friday Reads: Mini Reviews: Proxy and Annie and Fia!

I'm gonna start this week's Friday Reads with a pair of Mini Reviews for two novellas that released this week.



Annie and Fia by Kiersten White

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Annie and Fia is a short novella that can be considered a prequel to Mind Games. It is told in the same way that Mind Games was, jumping through time in each chapter and alternating between Fia and Annie's POVs.

We get a look at some of the events that shaped the Annie and Fia that we met in Mind Games, some of the events that seemed to have been the turning point for both of them. We get to see Annie's first vision and we get to see how she had to deal with people being cruel to her. And we see Fia losing her innocence and getting herself tangled more and more in the darker side of the "school" and how she keeps on putting Annie before her every time.

Might be cause of its short length or maybe cause we've already heard about some of the events that happen, or we already see the sisters changed in Mind Games, this one didn't seem to add that much to the overall story for me, maybe a bit more understanding to the way Annie clings to the only happiness she had in the school and how Fia seems to sacrifice everything to keep Annie happy.

All in all, 3 stars for me.




Proxy by Mindee Arnett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Proxy is a prequel novella for the new science fiction series by Mindee Arnett.

In Proxy we meet all the main characters that we will be following in Avalon, the first book in the series, Jeth and the rest of the Shades. We are introduced to them and what they do for a living. We're thrown right away into the action and we get to know the characters by the way they act.

I was quite excited about Proxy cause it is an introduction to the world of Avalon and I'm happy to report that I'm already in love with Jeth and his band of smart misfits! I am a lover of science fiction and if Avalon is like Proxy, it is quite promising! Full of action, with enough development to make you care for them and look forward to read more about them. There were no hints at a romance at all, and I wouldn't be upset if there was none in Avalon. Not that I don't appreciate a well done romance, but I feel like I need a bit of a break and reading some adventures in space without romance taking over the plot sounds great.

There's also the first chapter of Avalon at the end of Proxy and damn, does it leave you wanting more!

4 well deserved stars to this introduction to the Avalon world.



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Mark This Book Monday: Mini Reviews for Bitter Sweet Love and What to Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything!

Hey guys! I'm starting the week with another edition of Mark This Book Monday's mini reviews for a pair of novellas.


What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This installment in the Bane Chronicles has to be my favourite so far. Not only it is contemporary with TMI, but also gives us a glimpse of what's happening outside of Clary & Jace's perspective. Not only that, it also gets into the more personal side of Magnus, the one that show us his human part more than his flamboyant warlock side.

Magnus is hired to summon a demon on Alec's birthday, and while he waits for the client to return, he analizes his relationship with Alec, relives a few memories, makes a pair of calls for help and manages to find the perfect gift for Alec.

Getting to see their relationship from a first person POV made me care even more for these two's relationship, and I'm so hoping they'll survive the last TMI book! To use the proper phrase for this... I so ship these two!



Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Bitter Sweet Love is our introduction to the new series by Jennifer L Armentrout about gargoyles, which made me quite excited since the books about gargoyles aren't really all that common!

This novella is our first introduction to the world of the Wardens, gargoyles that have a very patriarchal structure (that bothered me a bit) and their purpose is to fight demons to keep humanity safe.

All of that we find out through the story of Jasmine and Dez, two childhood inseparable friends that were going to be "mated" (get officially together according to Wardens' law) before Dez suddenly left and stayed away for 3 years. Then he returns and tries to win Jasmine back. We also get a peek at the main characters for White Hot Kiss, the first book proper on The Dark Elements series. I'm also hoping we'll get to see Jasmine and Dez again as the series progresses.

Bitter Sweet Love was a very much entertaining and sexy read, with the trademark swoons and humour I've come to expect from JLA, so I think this new series will be another I'll be following. A 3.5 to 4 stars read.



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