Next Time in March

I recently started reading the two novels, Emma and Dead Witch Walking. Emma is a classic novel and was written by the famous author Jane Austen. I am about a fourth of the way through the novel. It is not my favorite Jane Austen. The book that holds the title of being that is Pride and Prejudice.  It introduces a lot of characters in the first few chapters so I would suggest taking some notes on who all the people are. It has a lot of description and has that old English way of talking. Emma also has a movie, which I saw several years ago.  The movie is, so far, a lot like the book.

The other novel, Dead Witch Walking, is a novel that I finished just a couple of days ago. I found it to be very entertaining and I really liked the plot. It is the first in a series, named after the main character Rachel Morgan. It is in the supernatural fantasy action genre. The author is Kim Harrison. I would highly recommend because I could not put the novel down. It was extremely good and its characters are well written. A perfect first novel to the series.

Next month, I am going to review the novel Nightseer written by Laurell K. Hamilton.  This is the first novel that I read by this author and I did not particularly like it.  Something was just missing for me, to really enjoy reading it. It was Hamilton's debut novel. This novel is a supernatural fantasy novel. This novel may not have given readers a great novel, but it did give readers a great new (then) author.   I may not have liked this novel, but I really enjoy reading her series, the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels.

I am also going to review the novel Guilty Pleasures. Guilty Pleasures was written by Laurell K. Hamilton. It is the first novel in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. It is a supernatural action, crime novel. I reviewed the third novel, Circus of the Damned, in January. It introduced the story and the characters really well and had a great fast- paced plot to create an amazing novel. The novel has a rather dark setting, with characters that all have a dark aspect to their personality. This is perfect because this aspect of the novel shows up in all parts of the novel- the romance, the action, the mystery, the crime, the supernatural. Guilty Pleasures is a very good read.

Blood Before Sunrise review

Blood Before Sunrise was written by Amanda Bonilla. It is a supernatural action fantasy novel. Blood Before Sunrise was published last year in 2012. It is the second novel in the Shaede Assassin series.

As the second novel of the series, it builds on the characters and their relationships. This novel particularly builds on to the main character, Darian, and  her relationship with those closest to her. This novel starts several months after the end of the first novel.  Darian and her boyfriend, Tyler, are having problems in their relationship. Both of them want to protect the other and in doing so it makes the other angry. Darian also has problems opening up to Tyler and ends up lying to him, while she is trying to find her friend's daughter.  Every time she lied to him, I felt like screaming at her and then at the end Tyler leaves her, which was an absolutely awful ending.  I really hope that the next novel resolves this and that they get back together.

In this novel, I also discovered a progress in Raif, Darian's friend and mentor, and Darian's relationship. Raif become a best friend and a brotherly figure in Darian's life. He helped her with her issues and in this novel, she wanted to help him finally find his daughter. She is successful in her endeavor to find his daughter and helped reunited them, but not before discovering a plot to destroy all humans.  She is strong, independent (almost too independent), and a loyal character. She is only just discovering her full potential and is still discovering who and what she is.

I would recommend this novel, if you enjoyed the first novel, Shaedes of Grey. I thought this novel definitely could have been better and enjoyed the first novel much more. I would also recommend this novel to those that enjoy drama, romance, action, and the supernatural.  Blood Before Sunrise will hopefully just be a stepping stone in the series and that the next novel is better. I hope the next novel also brings Darian and Tyler back together, permanently. The author brought the two characters together in the first novel and she can bring them back together in the third. Blood Before Sunrise was not especially good, but it was not bad.

Touch of Frost review

Touch of Frost was written by Jennifer Estep. It is the first novel in the Mythos Academy series. Touch of Frost is a young adult supernatural fantasy novel. I read this novel a couple of months ago, and it was extremely good. I  could not put this novel down and read all the books, in the series so far, in a couple of days.  It was released on paperback in the middle of 2011.

I really liked the myths that were incorporated into the plot and the setting. The author used a lot of references to Greek, Roman, and Norse myths, in particular their gods and goddesses and  the different cultures warriors. These warrior included the Amazons, the Valkyries, the Vikings, and the Romans.  The main villain of the novel is also a myth, Loki, the Norse god of chaos and the main character, Gwen, is a gypsy.

Gwen is new to Mythos Academy, which is where people with abilities come to train and learn to protect themselves from Loki and his followers. Gwen has to adjust to this new system and culture that they have at the academy. She has not made any friends yet and just lost her mother before going to the academy. She is very curious and it shows throughout the novel. She uses this curiosity to get into dangerous situation and soon becomes aware that there is someone at the school that is dangerous. This curiosity also allows her to finally make friends with some people.

There is a little romance in the novel. There is not a whole lot because it gradually progresses throughout the series. In this novel, Gwen meets Logan, a Viking warrior. Logan has the image of a player, a bad boy, and one of the best fighters at the academy. Gwen initially does not want his attention and changes her mind about him several times throughout the novel. Logan does try to protect her when she is struggling to figure out who stole an artifact and murdered a girl in the library.  I hope this relationship between the two characters grows and that they resolve some of their issues. The author does not have a lot with Logan in this novel and I would like to see more parts of the next novel to include Logan.

I would recommend this novel, Touch of Frost. It was very good and I can not wait for the fifth novel, Midnight Frost, to be released. Touch of Frost is a must read.