2 Middle School/YA Reviews

Goliath (Leviathan #3) by Scott Westerfeld

Let me start by saying how much I have enjoyed this trilogy as a whole. I can't wait until the kiddos are a little older - I think they will love it too.

Now, on to Goliath...

I had a lot of fun reading it - read the whole thing in one day. Good pacing, action, and I enjoy the characters.

Leviathan is still hands down my favorite book of the three, but I like the resolution and the character progression that you find in book 3.

For Deryn, yes secrets come out (but I'm not saying how!) and she learns that there could be consequences for more than just herself.

For Alek, he's felt so much responsibility for the war (since it started with the deaths of his parents), that it's shaped most of his actions. He needs to figure out who his allies really are, and what his limits might be.

Both of them need to decide what it is they really want in their own lives, as well, not just what others want of them.

Down to the action and the gadgets - yep, those are still seamlessly interwoven into the story. The world in this series is just so rich, but it never felt overwhelming, like I was just reading blueprints.

The "bad guy" in this one is mad, yes, but like with many characters, his sense of right and wrong depends on your point of view. With a world at war, right and wrong are in a grey area. It does help shape our hero and heroine's actions though, and that's really the point here.

This is the end of the trilogy, and there is an end that I was satisfied with, although I'd be lying if I didn't mention how much I hope that we'll be treated to more from this world in the future. There are so many places it could go.

Circus Glacticus by Deva Fagan

On the surface, this book seems like a rollicking good ride. An orphan with a mysterious rock, an encounter with a strange masked man, an amazing circus that turns into a spaceship, aliens, epic battles, the value of friends and finding a home, all of that is there. It's just that it was missing some of the finer details to draw out the characters and their interactions. It all felt too rushed, and some things resolved far too easily.

Trix is a hard character to like. I think with a few more insights to her character, it would have been easier to follow and root for her. I am used to kids in tween/middle school age books choosing to go off on their own, not involving the adults, but the reasoning behind it and why their new friends would go along with them, needs to be there. Those scenes felt off to me here.

There were parts I enjoyed, but I was left wanting more, and not in an "I need the next book now" way.

[I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book to review for Amazon Vine. Link goes to Vine review.]

Christmas Prezzie List #2 - Young Readers

All righty -here is where we talk about those books for kids who are just getting into reading. For my recs here, I'm mostly going with what the expert (in this case, my eldest kiddo) likes to read. The kid will snuggle on the couch with these books, reading them to herself, her brother, or one of the parentals, so I count that as a win.

Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold

I'd give this one to a boy or a girl. Buzz has a pet fly, named Fly Guy. They have adventures, such as going on a cross country trip or meeting another kid with a pet fly at the park. There was even a school trip to a flyswatter factory. The kiddo thinks they are great. She can pretty easily read all of the words (and it even has chapters like mom's grown up books). The favorites right now are Fly High, Fly Guy and Buzz Boy and Fly Guy (where Buzz creates his own comic book).

Rocks and Fossils by Chris Pellant

It's not just the fantasy books in our house. We bring on the science too. This was a great intro to fossils for first readers (the preschooler loved it too). Just the right level of info along with fantastic photos/illustrations.

Fancy Nancy series by Jane O'Conner

I'm going to say that these are geared more for a girl audience. Nancy is very, very fancy. She loves to dress up, loves first grade, and everything French. She also has an exceedingly good vocabulary (the pages are peppered with the "fancy" name for things). We just recently read the original Fancy Nancy book, but to be honest, that wasn't her favorite. My resident Fancy Nancy aficionado prefers the Explorer Extraordinaire (where Nancy and her best friend Bree have their own nature club) or Poet Extraordinaire (where you have the introduction of many different forms of poetry). There are others on stargazing (another favorite) as well as Tea Parties (got some decent easy recipes and craft ideas in that one). You'll find different versions all over the bookstore/library. There are hardbacks, but also in the First Reader section, you'll find small paperbacks. Illustrations are well done too.

More Recent Reads...

Tiger Eye (Dirk & Steele #1) by Marjorie Liu

I picked this one up as a Kindle freebie (and as of Nov 27 it's still free on Amazon. I checked B&N but right now it's listed at $7.99). Sometimes you get the freebies and think, well, I'm glad that was free, but other times you get one, devour it, then realize you are in trouble because now you want to read all of the rest. Not complaining too much, my TBR list can always use more, and now I get to add Liu's other books.

Very enjoyable paranormal romance. I liked the way that power was introduced. The set up for future books was well done as well - the side characters were likable. The pacing was good too.

Dela and Hari were believable and I liked their interaction. Another one where there isn't a "big misunderstanding." I cannot stand it when the main obstacle is just a miscommunication that could be solved by a 2 minute conversation. Much prefer the action-oriented romances where there is a big bad (or 2) to deal with.

It's a romance, but I also got a superhero/comic vibe from it. The psychic detective agency aspect is fun - Dirk & Steele employ "special talents" who read minds, start fires, change shape, etc. to right wrongs and keep those talents safe from governments or other groups that would exploit them.

Blood Rights (House of Comarre #1) by Kristen Painter

I was expecting more romance - and there is some romantic tension, but this is not a "Romance". I'm putting it into the UF category. I've also seen it referenced with YA, but I don't think that is a good fit at all. This is an adult book, and has some very dark moments (although nothing too graphic or gory).

The worldbuilding was cool - a complex society that you are thrown into. Hidden from human eyes, vampires and other supernatural creatures exist in their own societies. You have the Comarre - kind of like geishas, in that they are companions to vampires, their blood is very powerful, they are known for grace and beauty. A very secretive society, Comarre also have a more deadly purpose. They are well trained in weapons that can kill vampires or other supernaturals.

Chrysabelle, a highly prized Comarre, is on the run. Her patron is dead and she has been framed. She turns to her anathema (outcast) aunt for help. She falls in with an anathema vampire, Malkolm, who is haunted by spirits of those he's killed (physically, Fi haunts him, and the voices of his victims torture him). We also get Doc, Mal's varcolai (shifter) associate, and get an intro into the other supernatural communities, most of the illegal sort.

We've got conspiracies, lots of action, magic jewelry, the devil, and the end of the world as everyone knows it. There is kind of an ending, but it is really just set up for the next book. I'll be reading it.

There are a lot of new terms thrown around for paranormal creatures we fans are all familiar with. It was easy to get into the lingo, though. I have to admit that I was not surprised by who Tatiana turned out to be, but I was surprised by some of the events at the end.

Fate's Edge

Some series just get their own post, and Ilona Andrews Edge series is one of those. You might be familiar with my adoration of Andrews Kate Daniels series. The Edge is different in that each book follows a different couple (like a romance series), but still has the phenomenal world, complex characters, exciting action scenes, and humor that I fell in love with in Kate's series.

Fate's Edge (Edge #3) by Ilona Andrews

One thing that I have come to appreciate from Ilona Andrews books is that I just have so much fun while I'm reading them. Also, the worldbuilding is fantastic, so it really does feel like an escape from real life. This is the third book set in the Edge world, an actually very complex world, but I never felt lost as characters jumped from the Weird to the Edge to the Broken and back again.

If you haven't read any of the edge books, well, first you need to start with On the Edge. You also need to know that the Earth in this universe has the Broken - the nonmagical world that you and I live in. Then you have the Weird, a parallel world where magic is everywhere, in everything. You have Adrianglia, which is in a state of detente with Lousiana, and in book 3, we have the intro of West Egypt.  In between is the Edge where magic still thrives, though not as easily as in the Weird. Filled with clannish, feuding families, they live a hard life. This time we travel to the West coast and get a sense of what the Edge is like in the pacific northwest.

We first met Kaldar, a snarky thief and Cerise's cousin, in Bayou Moon. The battle with the monstrous Hand has left him with a thirst for vengeance and a job with the Mirror, the Adrianglian secret service. His latest job is to find and recover an artifact stolen from West Egypt, and Louisiana's Hand is the likely culprit. The job was done by an expert thief, and it takes one to know one...