Review: THE QUEEN'S WITCH

The Queen's Witch by Karen Chance
A Kit Marlowe short story.
Format: ebook

About The Queen's Witch:

"The Queen's Witch" is a short story connected to the New York Times bestselling Cassandra Palmer and Dorina Basarab series of urban fantasy novels. It features Kit Marlowe in a supernatural thriller set in Elizabethan England.

It's a companion novel to The Gauntlet.

Source: Info in the About The Queen's Witch was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7894520-the-queen-s-witch on 03/08/2011.

Review:

This book picked up where Gauntlet ended. Gauntlet is another short story and I was glad to continue reading with this one. However, this being a short story as well, it felt like just one chapter out of a big book, specially after reading another short story where it only seem to confirm in my mind that these short stories are actually chapters chopped up from a bigger book. Well, it felt like it anyway. However, even though it read like "just a chapter", the story telling is the same compelling quality so I enjoyed this book. The beautiful world building which was started in Gauntlet was reinforced in this one and made more vivid. My only complaint really is that I want to read the rest of the chapters in this bloody bigger book! Maybe I really ought to stop reading short stories!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3
Ending = 3.5
World building = 4.5
Pace = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Freebie Link:


FTC Disclosure:
I downloaded this free ebook from Smashwords at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14755 on 20/06/2011. No compensation received for this review.

Review: COLD DAYS

Cold Days by Jim Butcher
Book 14 of the Dresden Files series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: hardback

About Cold Days:

HARRY DRESDEN LIVES!!!

After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.

He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill.

Guess which Mab wants first?

Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make death look like a holiday.

Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own…

His soul.

Source: Info in the About Cold Days was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12216302-cold-days on 30/11/12.

Review:

A lot of things happen in this book including some revelations and twists in the story which I love! Obviously I am a Jim Butcher die hard fan so this review might sound like a fan-rave, so be warned!

I've been waiting for this book for the longest time! And I was ecstatic to receive it in the mail! I love the new book smell of paper! The glossy touch! The beautiful cover art! And dived straight into it! I tried to savour and read this book slowly but it still went too fast... good thing I have Steel's Edge waiting to be read next or I would be on withdrawal symptoms by now.

There are several reasons why I love reading Jim Butcher. First of which is that he never gives his readers a too stupid to live (TSTL) protagonist! Another reason is that he always delivers a satisfying ending. Well, almost always. Third, is that his stories always have a coherent and robust story structure. In which there is a clear beginning of a story, a conflict in the middle and a resolution at the end, even if the book is part of a series. And as if that is not enough, his plot is complex and comes with surprises at times. Lastly, his story telling quality is compelling! And this book is no exception. Jim Butcher obviously wrote this book with all cylinders firing! Can't wait to read the next Dresden Files book... and it doesn't come out until next YEAR!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 5
Plot = 5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


Thank you to Ken of Paperless Reading for hosting a twitter contest which made it possible for me to win a copy of Cold Days by Jim Butcher!!

Review: STAR TREK TNG: DARK MIRROR

Star Trek TNG: Dark Mirror by Diane Duane

Genre: science fiction

About Star Trek TNG: Dark Mirror:

One hundred years ago, four crewmembers of the U.S.S EnterpriseTM crossed the dimensional barrier and found a mirror image of their own universe, populated by nightmare duplicates of their shipmates. Barely able to escape with their lives, they returned, thankful that the accident which had brought them there could not be duplicated, or so they thought.

Source: Info in the About Star Trek TNG: Dark Mirror was taken from http://getglue.com/books/dark_mirror/diane_duane?=g on 06/08/2010.

My Say About This Book:

I've read this book about 20 years ago. But I could still remember scenes from it. Like Picards' painting. I also remember immensely enjoying reading this book. Unfortunately for me, I only borrowed this book from the library. So I now do not have a copy I could re-read anymore. Keeping my eyes out for a bargain copy of this book though :) I wouldn't rate the world building nor the character development since it has been done a long time before this book with the Star Trek movies, so to me it is no longer applicable. The author is playing in a known field. So the rating relies heavily on the author's story telling quality which is good.

Story telling quality = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Ending = 4.5
World building = N/A
Character development = N/A

Cherry’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Buy Link:

Review: DOUBLETAKE

Doubletake by Rob Thurman
Book 7 of the Cal Leandros series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback

About Doubletake:

Half-human/half-monster Cal Leandros knows that family is a pain. But now that pain belongs to his half-brother, Niko. Niko's shady father is in town, and he needs a big favor. Even worse is the reunion being held by the devious Puck race - including the Leandros' friend, Robin - featuring a lottery that no Puck wants to win.

As Cal tries to keep both Niko and Robin from paying the ultimate price for their kin, a horrific reminder from Cal's own past arrives to remind him that blood is thicker than water - and that's why it's so much more fun to spill.

Source: Info in the About Doubletake was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11473820-doubletake on 03/10/2012.

My Thoughts:

I've waited for a long time for this book. When my pre-order did not come I tried buying it again but amazon keeps sending me this stupid excuses about changed delivery estimate dates, la di bla di bla... I emailed Rob Thurman and she said it was due to the fact that the UK publisher was releasing the book several months after the US release date and that UK retail outlets are obliged to comply with the UK publisher including amazon UK. What bullshit!! So I have to order on the internet from a US seller on exorbitant mailing charges and wait two months for it to arrive!! And then, when I finally got it.... I don't know if anybody noticed but I had this book in my "Reading" widget in the sidebar for the longest time. And it was that long that it took me to read this book. For some reason my mind wanders when I start reading this book and then I have to find the motivation to pick the book up again. That is really strange for me because I am an old Rob Thurman fan and most specially, a die-hard fan of the Cal Leandros series. And probably the same reason why I am a Supernatural TV series fan too. So I am at a loss why this book is dragging... The story is good as any Cal Leandros book is. The "family" theme that ran throughout the book was quite good. The plot is good. But for some strange reason this book dragged big time for me. However, I still enjoyed it and would give it an overall rating of 4 out of 5 (not without bias here with me being a Cal fanatic), but I wouldn't be pre-ordering Slashback (Book 8) anymore (like I did with this book).

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 2.5
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books in the Cal Leandros series:

In The Mail: Water Bottle, Fridge Magnets & Lipbalms

Lookie! Lookie! What Mr. Mailman brought me!

Yay! These are what I got in the mail this week: a water bottle, 2 fridge magnets and 2 lipbalms from www.cecyrobson.com! I didn't even know that I won. I received no emails. Then all of a sudden the mailman knocked on my door and handed me a package. What a pleasant surprise! So thank you to www.cecyrobson.com for hosting a contest which made it possible for me to win these fabulous prizes!! The fridge magnet which showed the book's cover art is simply fabulous!! I don't know what Cecy Robson did, but she sure is blessed by the cover art goddess....

Sealed With A Curse by Cecy Robson
Book 1 of the Weird Girls series
Genre: urban fantasy
About Sealed With A Curse:

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other 20-something girls—with one tiny exception: they're products of a backfired curse that has given each of them unique powers that make them, well, weird… The Wird sisters are content to avoid the local vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region—until one of them blows up a vampire in self-defense. Everyone knows vampires aren't aggressive, and killing one is punishable by death. But soon more bloodlust-fueled attacks occur, and the community wonders: are the vampires of Tahoe cursed with a plague? Celia reluctantly agrees to help Misha, the handsome leader of an infected vampire family. But Aric, the head of the werewolf pack determined to destroy Misha's family to keep the region safe, warns Celia to stay out of the fight. Caught between two hot alphas, Celia must find a way to please everyone, save everyone, and oh yeah, not lose her heart to the wrong guy—or die a miserable death. Because now that the evil behind the plague knows who Celia is, it’s coming for her and her sisters. This Wird girl has never had it so tough.

Source: Info in the About Sealed With A Curse was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14910823-sealed-with-a-curse on 22/11/2012.