WW28: THE POWER OF SIX

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering: The Power Of Six by Pittacus Lore

Maybe they'll find a bit of hope in it.

I say, "hopeful" line... :)

About The Power Of Six:

I’ve seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he’s a mystery. But to me . . . he’s one of us.

Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We’re hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we’ll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I’ve been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.

I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.

And I'm ready to fight.

Source: Info in the About The Power Of Six was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13310805-the-power-of-six on 04/06/2012.

Review: AN ICE COLD GRAVE

An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
Book 3 of the Harper Connelly series
Read by Alyssa Bresnahan
Format: audiobook

Genre: urban fantasy

About An Ice Cold Grave:

Hired to find a boy gone missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver head there - only to discover that the boy was only one of several who had disappeared over the previous five years. All of them teenagers. All unlikely runaways. All calling for Harper. Harper soon finds them - eight victims, buried in the half-frozen ground, all come to an unspeakable end. Afterwards, what she most wants to do is collect her fee and get out of town ahead of the media storm that's soon to descend. But when she's attacked and prevented from leaving, she reluctantly becomes a part of the investigation as she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of Doraville - knowledge that makes her the next person likely to rest in an ice-cold grave.

Source: Info in the About An Ice Cold Grave was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140097.An_Ice_Cold_Grave on 03/02/2012.

Review:

The most prominent feature I can say about An Ice Cold Grave is the change of this series' classification. With this book, this series can no longer be classified as Young Adult as I would have said of Books 1 & 2. This series has now taken on an adult theme similar to the Sookie Stackhouse series and True Blood. Thus the PA sticker above.

I was slightly disappointed with this book with the return of Harper's too stupid to live (TSTL) trait. I find it really annoying! Having said that, I also have to acknowledge that Harper's TSTL is not as bad as it was in Book 1. So there is an improvement in Ms. Harris's writing style in the TSTL department. The plot. I find it rather weak and depended on Harper acting stupid to round up the story. Which also brought the suspension of disbelief down a notch. However, it is also undeniable that this book, like the other books in this series and in the Sookie Stackhouse series, has masterful story telling quality with vivid world building. You gotta give kudos for that!! But because I already have Book 4 in this series, I would still continue listening to Grave Secret even though this one was a slight disappointment.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development =3.5
Story itself = 3.5
Ending = 3
World building = 5
Cover art = 1
Pace = N/A (8-hour playing time)
Plot = 3
Narrator = 4.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Thank you to Audiobook Collection (EBSCOhost) and RCT Library for letting me borrow this digital audiobook!!

FTC Disclosure:
This audiobook was borrowed from the library. No money received for this review.

Review: MAGIC DREAMS

Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews
In the anthology HEXED
Book 4.5 of the Kate Daniels series

Genre: urban fantasy

Synopsis:

Four of the bestselling names in romance and fantasy come together in this collection of thrilling novellas featuring powerful women who know how to handle a hex or two...

New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews spins "Magic Dreams." Shapeshifting tigress Dali Harimau finds herself in deep waters when she must challenge a dark being to a battle of wits or risk losing the man for whom she secretly longs.

In "Ice Shards," New York Times bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn returns to the Otherworld as Iris Kuusi, a Finnish house sprite, journeys to the frozen Northlands to confront the crazed shadow of her former lover and break the curse that is keeping her from marrying the man she loves.

National bestselling author Allyson James takes you to Magellan, Arizona, where Stormwalker Janet Begay and her friends are trapped by a powerful curse. It will take every bit of magic simmering beneath her skin for the Stormwalker to survive being "Double Hexed."

From national bestselling author Jeanne C. Stein comes "Blood Debt," in which bounty-hunter-turned-vampire Anna Strong is visited by three witches who ask her to right an old magical wrong. Anna will have to live up to her last name to make it through alive.

Source: Info in the Synopsis was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9633064-hexed on 31/12/2011.

[Image credit: sam-baten]

My Thoughts:

I think all of the short stories in this anothology is part of a series. At least "Magic Dreams" is. So I would suggest that these short stories should only be read in conjunction with the series with which they are a part of. Otherwise they might just confuse the reader. Anyway, Im only reviewing Magic Dreams here out of all the stories in this antho.

As I have said, Magic Dreams is part of the Kate Daniels series, so the world building was done a long time ago with the last 4 books or so in the series. Even so, the reader is given a sketchy background of this world in this short story so beginners or non-followers of the Kate Daniels series could still follow the story line and don't get too confused. However I still do not recommend that you read this short story as an entry point into the Kate Daniels series because: 1.) you will be cheating yourself out of a wonderful reading time with the Kate Daniels books from 1 to 4; 2.) because the short story only referred to the world of the Kate Daniels in a sketchy manner, you will not get a full appreciation of the intricate beauty of this world.

Even though this is only a short story, it managed to present a well-structured story with a full plot and a satisfying ending which I find a lot of the short stories fail to do, maybe because there isn't enough room to do all that. But this book, despite the space constraints, managed to present a well-rounded story. Kudos to Ilona Andrews!! This is also where we meet Suanmi, the dragon, and I love dragons!! I am hoping to see more of Suanmi in subsequent books!

I am already an old die-hard fan of this series, so I already love this book even before I went into it. And at the end of it, despite my expectations, it didn't diasppoint me! However this is where the disadvantages of being a rabid fan made itself most distinctly felt because I've already read most of it in bits and pieces before... despite that I enjoyed this story and would give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 5
Ending = 5
World building = N/A
Cover art = 4
Pace = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Kate Daniels Series:


FTC Disclosure:
This short novella ebook was downloaded for free from the author's website at http://www.ilona-andrews.com/magic-gifts/ on 25/12/2011. No compensation received for this review.

Mr. Mailman: TRICKED

A huge THANK YOU to the beautiful ladies at Bewitched Bookworms for hosting the "The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne – Series Feature & Giveaway" which made it possible for me to win an audiobook copy of Tricked by Kevin Hearne!

Couldn't wait to find it in my mail!! *big smile* This wait is worth another Mr. Mailman feature!

About Mr. Mailman:

Mr. Mailman is a kind of "blog meme" started by Juju over at Tales Of Whimsy to feature books which one is anxiously waiting to arrive in the mail!

About Tricked by Kevin Hearne:

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.

But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.

Source: Info in the About Tricked by Kevin Hearne was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12700306-tricked on 05/07/2012.

WW28: HOLLOW PIKE

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering: Hollow Pike by James Dawson

Lis couldn't deny a swell of relief as Harry announced they were in the same tutor group.

So... Harry is a friend? A crush? A knight in shining armour? Wonder why would Lis want to be with Harry so bad but can't come out with it outright?

About Hollow Pike:

Something wicked this way comes...

She thought she’d be safe in the country, but you can’t escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she’s being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn’t believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn’t believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you’re alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps.

Source: Info in the About Hollow Pike was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10836484-hollow-pike on 30/05/2012.