Fantasy
Snuff by Terry Pratchett Review
October 26, 2011 | 
Author 
Lady Sybil and the Patrician have conspired against Sam Vimes, against his wishes Sam is forced to take a vacation to Lady Sybil’s country estate but wherever Sam Vimes goes crime is sure to be discovered. Snuff by Terry Pratchett continues the adventures of Commander Sam Vimes of the Ahnk-Morpork Night Watch. Sam Vimes initially thinks that crime doesn’t happen in the country or, if it does, no one is around to see it committed but as he struggles to adjust to the role of wealthy landowner he realizes that not everything is as it appears and someone is always watching.
I should preface this review with the fact that I am a huge Terry Pratchett fan. My husband has banned me from reading his books in bed because I giggle so much it shakes the bed. As a reviewer I am always excited to get advanced copies of books, I have to admit it is one of the perks of being a reviewer, that being said, when I received my copy of Snuff there was school girl squeeling, victory dancing and bragging to anyone who would listen that I had a copy in my greedy little hands. 
Okay, now on to the real review. Snuff is the eighth book the Nightwatch line and the 39th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. When a writer is as prolific as Terry Pratchett I always have the fear that the next book to come out will not hold up to the previous titles. There have been Discworld books I have not finished because I lost interest but the Nightwatch series has always brought me hours of entertainment. I flew through Snuff, Sam Vimes so outside of his element that the quiet of the country keeps him awake was entertaining and so outside of his element that the ground feels wrong because Sam Vimes knows where he is in the city by the feel of the street through his boots. The characters are witty, relate able and flawed. Pratchett’s ability to make me laugh while at the same time making me reevaluate my own actions and attitudes on things. I highly recommend Snuff!
You can listen to an excerpt here.
Nightwatch Series Reading Order:
Rating: 
Content: 
Title: Snuff
Author: Terry Pratchett
Format: Hardbound, eBook
Page Nos.: 416
ISBN: 978-0062011848
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: October 11, 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel Review
Aimee has always had strange dreams that come true but lately she has been dreaming about some strange guy who suddenly appears after moving to town. After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel, Aimee is so afraid of being labeled a ‘freak’ like her mother was considered that she ignores the dreams she gets and pretends that everything is ‘normal’ but eventually even Aimee can’t pretend that things in her town are okay as all the worst traits of everyone come out. Then Aimee’s best friend Courtney starts acting stranger than everyone else and Aimee realizes it is up to her to save Courtney.
Alan has moved from Oklahoma with his mother after his uncle passed away. Alan is concerned that something is seriously wrong with his cousin Courtney. As Alan starts to research exactly what is wrong and how to fix it, he starts getting closer to Aimee but will they both be able to defeat the evil that is infected the town or will the evil claim their lives?
After Obsession took me a little bit to get into, not long enough that I stopped reading the book but I wasn’t hooked from the first page. That being said, I really liked After Obsession. I really liked Aimee’s character, she was upbeat during a difficult time but still dealt with insecurities and fears, not obnoxiously upbeat but an active striving to be happy at all times. Alan is a good guy trying to fit into a new town that doesn’t have a football team, a sport he excels at. The story is written in first person but switches from Alan to Aimee and back again, at first this was a little confusing but I think that had more to do with the fact that I don’t always read chapter headers than anything done by the authors. After Obsession deals a little bit with demon possession, I was a little hesitant going into this novel about this topic but Jones and Wedel did a fabulous job of being scary and concerning without being too occult or over the top scary. Sometimes when an author has a strong series that I love (like Jones’s Need series) other works by that author feel very similar to other series, that didn’t happen here. Also, too often in YA novels there is no parental figures or involvement in the teens lives, here both Aimee and Alan had parents who were involved in their lives and concerned about them just not physically there because they were working. I really liked this aspect of the novel in addition to Aimee’s super cute Grandpa. Be aware that the novel uses the F* word twice, mostly to show the difference in attitude of Courtney between normal life and when she is influenced by the demon but it is there. After Obsession was an entertaining read with a great heroine who is likable and I look forward to further collaboration between Jones and Wedel.
Rating: 
Content: 
Title: After Obsession
Author: Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel
Format: Hardbound, eBook
Page Nos.: 320
ISBN: 978-1599906812
Publisher: Bloomsbury Teen
Release Date: September 13, 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon, Bloomsbury
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Posted in Fantasy, Review, Romance, Young Adult | 
Tags: Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult | 
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Lord of the Vampires (The Royal House of Shadows) by Gena Showalter Review
Nicholai is a vampire kept as a slave with no memory of his previous life. Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter opens with Jane, living in our contemporary world, reading a strange book that was anonymously sent to her about Nicholai that calls to her. When Jane wakes up the next morning she finds herself in a different world with everyone believing she is someone else and finds herself attracted to the sexy but mysterious Nicholai. Unsure who she can trust in this magical world, Jane must brazen out the facade of who she is while trying not to get killed.
Nicholai struggles to remember who he was, knowing that he must return to where he came from but unsure why. Nicholai is determined to not allow anything to get in his way and that includes the strangely vulnerable Jane. Nicholai finds himself drawn to Jane and as the memories start coming back, he starts to realize how important Jane is and was but if she returns to her world he isn’t sure he can get her back.
Loosely based on the idea of Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Vampires is about a woman who finds herself essentially falling through a rabbit hole to a whole different world. I admit I had some concerns going into the story because Nicholai is a sex slave but the story didn’t really get a whole lot into that, briefly mentioning at the beginning but not any specific details. Lord of the Vampires is the beginning of a new series The Royal House of Shadows about Nicholai and his siblings, separated by magic but all with a consuming need for revenge, all the books in the series are based on a different fairy tale. I have to admit that Nicholai was okay as far as a character goes but Jane was amazing. Her strength to overcome all the trials she had made her endearing and made me cheer for her at times. Lord of the Vampires was okay as far as read but I am interested to see the other author’s take on their fairytales so I will continue to read the series in the upcoming months.
You can read an excerpt here.
The Royal House of Shadows:
Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter
Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe (Sept. 20, 2011)
Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen (Oct. 25, 2011)
Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh (Nov. 22, 2011)
The series has it own webpage and can be found here.
Rating: 
Content: 
Title: Lord of the Vampires
Author: Gena Showalter
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 288
ISBN: 978-0373618668
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon, eHarlequinn
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Posted in Fantasy, Review, Romance | Tags: Fantasy, Paranormal, Reading Order, Romance | No Comments »
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini Review
Helen Hamilton has always known she is different from the others living on Nantucket Sound but when a new family moves into town even she is shocked by her reaction to them. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini begins with the Delos family moving to Nantucket, not really interested, Helen is shocked by her strong reaction to Lucas and even more shocked when she tries to kill him. This just isn’t Helen’s year, not only does she try to kill someone she doesn’t know, she is suffering from strange dreams that leave her feet covered in dust and cuts and now she fears she is suffering from hallucinations.
Lucas and his family have moved to Nantucket Sound to get away from their family politics and now find someone that they didn’t believe existed. Lucas finds himself drawn to Helen but he fears that they are just on a path set up the Fates, destined to end in tragedy. When Helen is attacked several times, Lucas starts to wonder if he cares if he is destined to end in tragedy so long as Helen is safe.
An interesting take on the mythology of the ancient Gods and Goddesses, Starcrossed was a great read. Helen’s feeling of being different and finally finding out who and what she is are believable and touching. I loved the scenes in the kitchen centered around Lucas’s family but especially his mother. Unlike so many YA novels (so many of them have nonexistent or non paticipatory parents), Starcrossed has some great parental figures for all the youth characters and I loved the Delos’s family dynamics. I flew through Starcrossed in one morning but the build up to the second novel, Dreamless, has me really looking forward to the next novel!
You can read an excerpt here.
Awakening Reading Order:
Dreamless (May 2012)
Unknown Title (unknown date)
Rating:
Content:
Title: Starcrossed
Author: Josephine Angelini
Format: Hardbound, eBook
Page Nos.: 496
ISBN: 78-0062011992
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: May 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
So Starcrossed has its own theme song, performed by a German Band called the Demigoddesses, how cool is that? I have posted it here for your listening pleasure.
Posted in Fantasy, Review, Romance, Young Adult | Tags: Contemporary, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult | No Comments »
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