Review by: Stacy Palm This second installment was an awesome follow up to one of my favorite books last year. I loved where the author took these characters. This is not a happy fairy tale where everything is right with the world; bad things happen to good characters, but Sharon Bayliss is brutal with a deft hand. This book follows where the last one left off. Where the first book focused mainly on the father in the story and was structured around the adult situations related to having an affair and the consequences of that action, but this story is focuses on the children. This book feels more like a young adult novel than the first, dealing with first loves and forbidden loves. It tells the story of what can happen when people hate and how that hate can infiltrate a family. I don't want to give anything away, but we learn more about the different seasons of witches, how they interact, what their proficiencies represent, and powers they inherit. Overall this was a really strong second book. It did not feel like the "middle" story. It has a strong plot, and develops the characters we already know very well along with introducing some new characters. I get lost in theses tales; they are well written and create a wonderful alternate world immersed in our own. Review by: Mark Palm I have been as guilty as the next person when it comes to over-using the roller-coaster metaphor. So there is no reason that I shouldn’t do it again. Ticker by Lisa Mantchev is exactly the kind of book that deserves the roller-coaster metaphor. The plot unwinds at a break-neck piece and Ms. Mantchev throws the reader right into a world that is dizzyingly complex and full of details. Penelope “Penny” Farthing (wonderful name) is a sixteen-year old girl whose parents have been kidnapped, their factory blown to bits, and the doctor who implanted her clock-work heart, which she must wind once a day to stay alive, is a wanted murderer. That’s just the first few pages. After that Penny and her brother Nic, and Penny’s friends Marcus and Violet, a baker with the words BAKE CAKE tattooed on her hands, receive a message demanding confidential information in exchange for the Farthing’s lives. Throw in Marcus, a dashing young military officer who strikes Penny’s fancy, a medium who uses machines to speak with the dead, steam-powered horses, mechanical butterflies and flying carriages, along with dozens of plot twists, and you begin to get an idea of what Ticker is like. Only an idea, though, because Ms. Mantchev crams loads and loads of more detail in, and also manages to make Penny winning and charming and smart as you could possibly want. What makes it all so winning is that despite all of the countless invention, and endless detail, and plot twist and turns, the story still manages to be the center of the book, and it’s a good story. Penny is more than just a winning heroine. Her back-story is touching and believable, and adds depth and nuance. As I said earlier, Penny is the star of the book, and rightly so, but Violet comes in s close second. Most of the men fill their roles, but can’t begin to compare with the women when it comes to being interesting. It’s a little complaint. I barely noticed, because I was so wrapped up in Ms. Mantchev’s world and story that I didn’t really want it to end, even as I had to force myself to slow down so that I could savor all of the little things that made this book so good. In this age of huge books Ms. Mantchev does all this in fewer than three hundred pages. Admirable, but if she decides to return to Penny and her world again, I just might like to see her stretch it out a bit. Review by: Avalon Palm Have you ever had that moment where it doesn’t feel like you’re the one controlling your body? Like the words coming out of your mouth aren’t yours? Like every step you take is someone else’s, but it’s actually yours? I have. What if it actually wasn’t yours? Lark and Wren are twins. Wren died at birth, and throughout her life Lark has still felt, and seen, Wren beside her. Eventually she learned that her sister was a ghost. One day, a group of kids gets her to come to them to ask for help. They ask for her help in fighting off another, not-so-good ghost. Now, Lark isn’t exactly a ‘friendly’ person. She doesn’t like these new kids, and she doesn’t like that they’re endangering her sister. But oh no, Wren is falling for one of them. And Lark loves her sister too much to let her break her heart. Wren convinces her sister to help them, and a terrifying adventure begins. Once again, Kady Cross leaves us begging for more. This is easily one of the best books I have ever read. I hope you read it too. Review by: Stacy Palm Scheduled For Release: March 31st, 2015 I've fallen in love! This is in my Top 5 All Time Favorite Series - Right up there with Outlander, Hunger Games, Fever, and The V Series. I don't like to give any bits of the story away, but this world is one that haunts my dreams. I find myself so involved with each book that my mind simply won't let the story end. Every character feels genuine and alive. The world is just as unique and vibrant with each new journey. I adore Kricket, she is strong both mentally and physically. She is a character that is a shining example of leading character that is a good role-model for young adults. Often while reading other YA novels, I sometimes get the feeling that the main female protagonist has been "dumbed down" or the blonde effect begins to show, but not in this series. Here we have a leading female who is smart, calculating, determined, and able to not only stand on her own, but lead. That is most likely the top reason this series has become one of my favorite. I highly recommend starting with the first book, Under Different Stars which is available right now. You can click the image to the right to purchase from Amazon. Then continue the adventure with this book, Sea of Stars, when it is released on March 31st, 2015. One other note: Whomever did the cover art for these books has done stellar work! These are absolutely beautiful and so complimentary to the story. Review by: Mark Palm If there were as many serial killers in the world as there are novels about them I would be fitfully tossing in my bed each night, unable to sleep because of the assault rifle tucked beneath my pillows. It would seem that we can’t get enough of them. If each one was as good as Huntress Moon I know that I couldn't get enough. Even though there are bound to be similarities between this book and all of the other novels in the genre Ms. Sokoloff gives us plenty of original twists to make this a terrific thriller. FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke witnesses the death of an undercover agent on a busy San Francisco street. What seems like an accident bothers him, and he begins to suspect that a woman he saw speaking with the agent right before his death may have been involved. From this simple premise a long and twisting story unfolds. We follow Matthew as he finds himself investigating the woman he saw, but also an older case, a famous unsolved mass murder that inspired him to do what he does. Matt is a vivid character, and the woman he is hunting, the enigmatic huntress is even more so. The rest of Matt’s team, and his colleagues, are solid, if less interesting. They fill their roles, however, and push the plot and story along. Ms. Sokoloff seems spot-on in her procedures, and protocols, and she gives us a view of law enforcement that is free of most of the clichés that usually make me grind my teeth. Of particular interest is the way she handles the intricate cat-and-mouse game between Matt and the woman he is pursuing. There seems to be a connection between them, and Ms. Sokoloff does an excellent job in letting it simmer, and teasing out the details to show the nature of the relationship between them. As always, in books like this, that feature a ton of smart plot twists and turns, I can only divulge so much without spilling the beans and ruining the book, but I can tell you that each session with this book kept me up later and later, reading just a few more pages to get to the next scene. I am sure that you have heard the word “chilling” applied to a ton of thrillers, yet in this case it fits. Huntress Moon works as much like a horror novel as it does a thriller, borrowing the best from each, and leaving the worst behind. As this book came to a close I found myself longing to read the second installment, and that is rare for me. Blood Moon here I come. |
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