Sunday, February 16, 2014

Melanie's Week in Review - February 16, 2014





I'm baaaaaaaaccccckkkkkkk. Did you miss me? I hope so. I have read a few books since I wrote my last Week in Review but I don't want to overwhelm you with them all at once so will share a few of them with you today and more next week. So what did I read?

I started my break reading two books in Robin LaFevers' His Fair Assassin series, Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph. This series has appeal for anyone who likes young adult fantasy, paranormal or historical fiction. I thought they read more like historical fiction despite the fact that the heroines were in their late teens as the stories are set in the 15th century so that is practically middle age. The heroines are part of an order of assassin nuns. I know that assassin nuns sounds odd but they are part of an order that worships the god of death in this case St. Mortain. The setting is the late 1400's in Brittany and the plot of both books focus on the Duchess of Brittany and who she needs to marry to save the state from France and the evil Count D Albret. This is a great series that is well written and has lots of historical details to make the characters come to life.

You may remember back in January I reviewed Master of Crows by Grace Draven which I quite enjoyed and LOVED the cover. I decided to try another of Draven's books and found Entreat Me. Draven did it again with another solid fantasy HEA love story and it was beautifully illustrated. The cover was pretty although not quite as dramatic as Master of Crows but there were a lot of gorgeous illustrations within. This time it's the story of Ballard who was cursed by his wife 400 years ago. He is slowly turning into a horrid creature with bark like skin, horns and claws while his son (who is also cursed) turns into a werewolf type animal. The heroine, Louvaen has travelled across the country to Ballard's castle in the effort to save her sister Cinnia. Needless to say Louvaen and Ballard are immediately attracted to one another but Ballard's curse could be the downfall of them all. This story was much more sexy than Master of Crows but it a had much more sinister under current to the plot with the curse and what was happening to Ballard and his son. I enjoyed the story and always enjoy reading a book that is so beautiful to look at. If you don't mind sexy scenes with a man who is turning to a tree with horns and claw then it's the book for you.

The final book I am going to tell you about was one I got through NetGalley - Enduring Chaos by Catherine Fitzsimmons. This is the first in the Sisters of Chaos series and is the epic fantasy story of Damian Sires who has been cursed with a destructive power that she can barely control. Most of her life she has hidden who she really is behind a veil and in her father's protection. Everything changes and she is on her own as her powers start to rise with the potential to destroy everything and everyone she loves. I chose this book mainly for the intriguing cover and well, I really like fantasy. I thought the premise of this story was interesting but just didn't find Damian that interesting and thought she was a bit one dimensional. There are two more books of the series to go so there is always hope that this character will get rounded out. I also hope that Fitzsimmons considers the flow of the story as some parts were a bit disjointed. Overall, I thought that Enduring Chaos has a lot to offer especially in its mythology and world building and there are opportunities for Fitzsimmons to make a good story into a fantastic one.

Well that is enough for me for this week but I will have more to tell you about next time so until then Happy Reading.


0 comments:

Post a Comment