Twisted Kingdom

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry to have been such a bad blogger and that Kailana had to maintain this blog by herself. However, I don't know how often I'll be contributing to this blog in the future. It's not that I've lost interest in blogging or reading... simply, the books I read are more geared towards romance, even with a lot of paranormal elements, than fantasy or sci-fi and so, I think that reviewing those books here is just the wrong place. However, the book I'm going to review today is pure fantasy :D

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
published by Del Rey in September 2007

Tragedy has struck His Majesty's Aerial Corps, whose magnificent fleet of fighting dragons and their human captains valiantly defend England's shores against the encroaching armies of Napoleon Bonaparte. An epidemic of unknown origin and no known cure is decimating the noble dragons' ranks-forcing the hopelessly stricken into quarantine. Now only Temeraire and a pack of newly recruited dragons remain uninfected-and stand as the only means of an airborne defense against France's ever bolder sorties.Bonaparte's dragons are already harrowing Britain's ships at sea. Only one recourse remains: Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, must take wing to Africa, whose shores may hold the cure to the mysterious and deadly contagion. On this mission there is no time to waste, and no telling what lies in store beyond the horizon or for those left behind to wait, hope, and hold the line.

Genre: fantasy, dragons

Fans of the series, you won't be disappointed.

I was looking for books to buy one day and came across Thief with no Shadows by Emily Gee. The back blurb sounded good and there was a quote saying something like "great romance story!" ... and so I bought it. I guess I'm easy LOL

Thief with no Shadows by Emily Gee: 2.5/5
published by Solaris in April 2007

Melke is a wraith and so has the ability to become invisible. As a result, wraiths are usually persecuted because they are great thieves and spies. Melke has promised her mother that she would never become a thief; however, she breaks that promess in order to save her younger brother, Hantje, from the fire-breathing salamanders. So in exchange for her brother, she must steal a necklace from the sal Vere.

As soon as Bastien sal Vere is aware of the theft, he goes after Melke, but he is too late. Furious, he forces Melke to steal back the necklace. See, what Melke didn't know was that the necklace was made up of tears of psaaron, some sea creature, and it was the solution to a curse... and so Bastien desperately needs it in order to free himself and his sister.

I've had this book for almost 6 months now I believe. What attracted me to this book was the cover, which I think it's absolutely gorgeous. This book also sounded quite different from the other paranormal books I've been reading, since the main character is a clairvoyant.


Touch the Dark by Karen Chance: 4/5
published by ROC in May 2006

Cassandra Palmer is a clairvoyant on the run. Her parents were murdered when she was four years old and she was raised by a vampire mobster, Antonio. Cassie is presently running away from Tonio and his men, as she's given proof of his illegal activities to the FBI. After three years, she's been found and plans to run away again... however, there's someone that she has to tell first... In the end, all Cassie does is run into something very complicated and mysterious.

All right, today was supposed to be buddy-review-day; however, we've been quite busy and well, we haven't receive any new guest reviews... So here is one of my reviews instead :P

Atlantis Rising by Alyssa Day: 3.5/5
published by Berkley Sensation in February 2007

Atlantis is an archipel of 7 groups of islands and was swallowed by the seas eleven thousands years ago. Each group of island has a leader and a group of warriors, named the Warriors of Poseidon. Leading all these warriors is the high prince of Atlantis and his own personal guards. The Warriors of Poseidon are not humans, but close. All can control the water elements (rain, mist, oceans, etc.) in addition to their own specific power. Their responsibily is to protect humans against vampires, creatures resulting from the union of Chaos and his daughter, Anubisa, as well as werewolves - who have all come out in the open not too long ago.

The present high prince is Conlan and has been abducted and tortured for more than seven years by Anubisa. He finally escapes and returns to Atlantis, but is too late as Poseidon's Trident - symbol of Atlantis King - is stolen by one of Conlan's subordinate. Conlan decides to go back on Earth to retrieve the Trident and inadvertantly saves a human, Riley Dawson who turns out to be an aknasha - an empath who can feel others' emotions as well as project her own in others' mind and also a power that once upon a time was bestowed to only Atlanteans.

All right, today was supposed to be a guest review, but we still haven't received any except for Stephanie's which I already posted. Need I remind you our contest? LOL :) Anyway, as a result, you guys will have to content with a review of mine... which was supposed to be posted on Friday... what can I say? I was a bit busy, reading other books ^^; Anyway, here we go...



I've discovered Margaret Weis through her fabulous Dragonlance Saga co-written with Tracy Hickam (just read their books, you can skip all the rest which are spin-off written by other authors based on her world and characters). It is really an awesome saga - a bit similar to Lord of the Ring. In any case, I think she's a great author... So when I saw Warrior Angel at the bookstore, I didn't hesitate to purchase it, even though I wasn't aware she had this book coming out. You'll find Warrior Angel in the romance section - her first attempt away from fantasy- but I mean, there's angels and demons so it fits this blog :P By the way, just in case you're wondering, Lizz is her daughter.



Warrior Angel by Margaret & Lizz Weis: 1.5/5
published by Avon in February 2007

Dereck de Molay was a knight of the Knight of Templar and was tortured to death by the Inquisition. Angered at God for abandoning him, Dereck refused to ascend to Heaven and instead, became a reputated general Warrior Angel, defending Heaven against Hell. Centuries later, Dereck is given an important mission which requires him to become human again.

Rachel Duncan is a commodities trader with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and loves working at the pit, making trades and money. Everything is going wonderful at the moment and she believes to have met the man of her life, Andreas Zanus. He's rich, romantic and the dream, perfect man every woman dreams about. Her only problems: he's a client and although he's a dream man, she is unsure of her feelings for him. Instead, she's attracted to the new doorman with a very old vocabulary and manners.



Genre: paranormal romance, angels, Hell
Series: none

Review: What can I say about this book that the grade didn't say? Seriously, I was really disappointed by this book. I was expecting something much better, given what I've already read by Ms. Weis Mother. Even the romance in her fantasy saga was better than in this book ^^; I guess she tried too hard to write something "romantic" and so missed her shot.

The Characters - BORING! Really, I dislike Rachel, I thought she was a bit superficial and she didn't know herself either, what she wanted and what she needed. She just went out with Zanus because he was supposedly the dream/perfect man. You get emotions from her, but I thought it was shallow. Dereck is not as bad, but still... I thought he adapted himself too quickly to this new era... remember, he lived centuries ago! and poof, suddenly, he's a doorman in Chicago and doesn't ask too much questions... didn't fly with me. There was lack of developement for the characters and worst, no chemistry between them. I can't really understand why Dereck fell in love with Rachel... There were other characters, most of them superfluous in my opinion, but they don't appear much.

The Story & Writing - the writing style was okay, but the story? Not enough world-building and the plot wasn't interesting. I think that Ms. Weis (mother and daughter) didn't know what to focus about... the romance or the story, and it showed, unfortunately. All in all, you are told facts and things without details or how it happened. When I read a book, it's for the journey, the adventure. But there was none here - the reader wasn't brought along, didn't witness anything. Even the ending... why did Dereck come back?

The Cover - interestingly enough, that's the best part of the book I think ^^;

Am I keeping this book? Don't think so...

Anything else? Really disappointed. Hope that Ms. Weis' next venture in romance goes better. I mean, if she wants to write romance, she doesn't have to change much her writing style. Still write a good adventures with good characters and just emphasizes a little more on the romance... In the worse case, her books will still be shelved in the fantasy section. Better write a good fantasy book than get bad reviews.

Hourrah, hourrah! This is our first review for an e-book and we hope that everyone will enjoy it :)

Wings of Love by Dayna Hart
published in February 2007 by Forbidden Publications, available here.

Aimée is about to celebrate her 21st birthday and is very excited about it. However, her life suddenly takes a new turn and changes forever when she starts seeing fairies. The news does not please her mother, Cristina, at all and her behavior becomes even more erratic and high-strung than usual. It is only when Aimée meets Lael, a cupid fairy, that she discovers that her life, her mother and her father - a father that she has never known - are linked tightly to the world of fairies and that they need her.

Nath is in black and Kailana is in this colour.

Review: This is the first fantasy e-book that I have read and I think it holds a lot of promises. The story is a bit slow at the beginning and a bit confusing which is due, I think, to Ms. Hart trying too hard to be mysterious. However, the pace picks up and it becomes very interesting once Aimée meets Lael, as the truth unveils. This is my first fantasy e-book too. Normally I avoid e-books because I find it hard to read on the computer. I get too distracted. I agree that it starts off a bit slow, but my problem with it is more that just when the book gets interesting, it ends. I found the book too short. I was glad to hear that there is supposed to be a sequel because now I want to know what happens next.

Now, the characters. I think that Aimée is an okay heroine. The main problem I see with her personality is that she acts and sounds like an 16 years old girl instead of a 21 years old woman. Since the story is quite short, readers do not have time to connect fully with her so it's quite hard to form an opinion; however, I think that Aimée would have been more likable and readers would have been more sympathetic/compassionate with her if she'd been described as an 16 years old girl. As for Cristina, she's not very likable and it's all due to her attitude. It's hard to tell whether she's a good mother or not, it's hard to tell whether she loves and cares for Aimée or not. I guess she's bitter and have grieved too much? Although her attitude is understandable by the end of the book, it is not excusable. Finally, Lael - probably the most interesting character of the book. He's very intriguing and steals the show from Aimée by his look and personality. I found Aimee really childish, too. I do not think that she acts almost 21 years old at all through the book. I thought she could have been represented a bit better, or as Nath says, be about 16 instead of 21. I liked Aimee enough to read the whole book in one sitting. Her mother annoyed me, though. She was believable for our time frame, though, a time frame where women are looking for new ways to stay young. Cristina is very big in the plastic surgery and other age-saving methods. It makes her hard to read because her face does not reveal facial expressions. You do get to understand her by the end of the book, but I am not sure if she handled situations that well. Lael was my favourite too. Just look at the picture on the front of the book and remember that he is cupid, of all people. Not your conventional cupid, huh? He was my favourite character in the book, and I look forward to seeing more of him in future books.

Verdict: As a story, this book falls short a little bit as there are many unanswered questions at the end and the beginning was quite slow and confusing. However, if this book is the beginning of a series, then there's a whole lot of potential and I'll keep reading just to find out more about Lael and Aimée. I agree. When I finished it I wondered about the ending. It made a big difference to me to learn that there were more to come, it makes the book better to know that I will hear more about Lael and Aimee in the future. I look forward to seeing more from them in the future!

From Chapters/Indigo:

Meet the D'Artigo sisters: half-human, half-faerie, they're savvy-and sexy-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. But their mixed-blood heritage short-circuits their talents at all the wrong times. Delilah shapeshifts into a tabby cat whenever she's stressed. Menolly's a vampire who's still trying to get the hang of being undead. And Camille is a wicked-good witch, except her magic's as unpredictable as the weather, as her enemies are about to find out-the hard way.

Blurb at the back of the book:

At the Wayfarer Inn, a portal to Otherworld and the local hangout for humans and beasties alike, a fellow operative, Jocko, has been murdered. Every clue points to Shadow Wing, the soul-munching badass leader of the 'Subterranean Realms'. He's made it clear that he aims to raze humankind to the ground, turning both Earth and Otherworld into his private playground. Our assignment: Keep Shadow Wing and his minions from creeping into Earth via the Wayfarer. The demons figure they're in like Flynn. After all, with only my bumbling sisters and me standing in the way, how can they miss? But we've got a secret for them: Faulty wiring or not, nobody kicks ass like the D'Artigo girls...

First book in the trilogy, Witchling has been an utter disappointment for me T_T I've been anticipating this book every since I've read the synopsis and seen the cover, which was probably at the beginning of the summer 2006. The blurb sounds good, the cover is awesome, unfortunately, the storyline is another story. This trilogy is told in the first-person and the first book features Camille. I won't give a synopsis, because the book blurb basically sums up the story well and because this book was for me a Did Not Finish. Yes, a DNF... I can't even remember when was my last DNF...

So what was wrong? Let starts with the world building. So you have three Realms: the Otherworld which I guess is the Feary world in which you find all kind of paranormal creatures: shiftshapers, witches, sorcerers, fearies, elves, unicorns, gargoyles, vampires and etc. This realm is governed by the Queen; however, the aristo/government is pretty useless as it is corrupted and addicted to opium. There are portals which allow these creatures to go to the Earthside where humans live. The last Realm is the Subterranean Realm where demons and "not very good" creatures live. I thought the fantasy world in this book sucked. First, the Otherworld is so corrupted, it doesn't seem to have order at all... frankly, why would the Sisters miss home when it is soooo mess up? In addition, I don't even know if there's some hierarchy or does every type of paranormal creatures are equal... I mean, the Queen is a Faery, so are Faeries superior to say witch? Are vampires welcomed? How can three sisters who are born from the same parents can be witch, werecat and 'psychic'? By the way, Menolly wasn't born a vampire... she had some acrobatic and climbing powers (?!?), that's why I call her a 'psychic'... although it seems her powers have completey vanished since she became a vampire. Anyway, back to the topic, are the powers inherited genetically or what? But then, maybe it's my limited knowledge of Faeries... Anyhow, I didn't like the Earthside either. Humans are aware of the Faeries (and other paranormal creatures?), some wants to get rid of them and some creates fanclub to worship them. It was totally ridiculous the Faeries Watchers Club! Basically, Faeries are considered as special attraction, ^^;, almost a bit like some celebrities. You get news of them in gossip papers, you have fanclubs which are very possessive and you even get tourists who want their picture. Urgh. So the D'Artigo sisters don't hide the fact that they are Faeries, but they hide the fact that they are Otherworld Intelligence Agency (OIA) agents. To sum it up, I didn't like the world: too many creatures scattered everywhere with no order and not enough explanation of how the worlds were functioning.

Then, the characters... I guess the sisters are supposed to be gutsy and strong, but it came out all wrong. Instead, I felt that the D'Artigo sisters were weak, scared and stupid. I didn't even read a witty reply from any of the characters. It was sad... I mean, as they investigate the murder and learn that it's the work of demons, they get scared at every turn. In fact, think a bit of the Halliwell sisters from 'Charmed,' you know, always scared and nervous. But the worst came when Camille was like: I wish Father was here. What? You're this supernatural creature, surrounded with your two sisters... you three have considerable amount of power, even if you don't have much control over it and you want your Father?!? It said that the D'Artigo sisters kicked ass... I didn't see that at all. At all. As for the male characters, you have basically three: Chase which is a human working also for OIA. He is freaking annoying. You've been working with the OIA for a considerable amount of time already... so much that you've even create a unit that sounds like CSI... but at every turn of the story, you're surprised to learn that X being exists and how the Otherworld functions. Basically, the way he was introduced in the story, he was to be an ass. As an ass, I had every right to dislike him and think he wouldn't really be important... but then, he became Delilah's lover... and that's supposed to make me suddenly like him better? I don't think so, sorreh. Then, you have Trillian which is a Svartan (some sort of Dark Faery) and Camille's lover. It seems that Svartan are known to get bored of their lovers and throw them away... that's why Camille put an end to their relationship. Anyway, Trillian is perhaps the only character that I enjoyed. Only he wasn't really important, except to have sex with Camille... and finally, Morio who is Japanese and a fox-demon... He wasn't bad either, but I also think he doesn't have much purpose in the story than play third-party in Camille's relationship with Trillian.

The romance... urgh. I actually don't think that this book has an ounce of romance... oh actually, yes, a tiny bit that involves Menolly, but that's it. Camille and Trillian's relationship is a heavy dose of lust. LUST, not romance. I don't get Camille: she loves Trillian, but she doesn't like him. Hello? You can't love someone if you don't like him. You love having sex with Trillian, okay. You lusts after Trillian, true, but in any case, you DON'T LOVE HIM. Ever since her break-up with Trillian, she hasn't find a man to be with, well that's not because you LOVE Trillian... it's just that you find the others unsatisfying. There's a HUGE difference between love and lust and I'm astounded that the author is not making it. There's a saying in their world that say: Once you've bedded a Svartan, you'll never go back. But that still only explain the lusting part, not the loving part. Basically, Camille keeps saying that sleeping with Trillian is a mistake, but she keeps going back for more. Anyway, I don't see the love between the two... I don't even see chemistry. Usually, in a romance... making love can be a mistake at first, but then, feelings develop, story develop and at the end, it is no longer a mistake, it's right... well, this is not happening in this book. Worse. Worse. Camille sleeps with Morio. Okay, it was under a spell, but STILL... she goes back for more with Morio. This is just so screwed up! Morio might bethe first guy Camille's been attracted since Trillian... but this doesn't bode well with me at all. You might want to break thing off with Trillian in that case, Camille... oh but no, the author comes up with the terrific idea that: Faeries are not monogamous, so basically, all Trillian has to say is: You can sleep with him as long as it doesn't affect us. Well, it affects me, the reader because I don't like it. I'm old-fashioned... I don't like the H/H to be unfaithful to each other, is that too much asking? This is why I've almost give up on the Stephanie Plum series... this is why I'll never touch LKH books... did the author think that readers actually enjoy this? Not knowing who the heroine would choose? Oh, but there's worse... Delilah and Chase. Delilah's never had sex... at least not in human form. Sorry, but does this mean what I think it means? Because yuck, in that case, I don't want to know more. But what flaggerblast me the most is that Delilah and Camille are in a dangerous situation, with three demons to catch, an artifact to find before Shadow Wing, and saving the world... Camille is discussing the situation with Trillian and Morio, who are at each other's throat for Camille's attention. Delilah comes back... Camille immediately guesses that she'd had sex with Chase, so she drops everything and wants to have a talk with Delilah to see what she thought of it. My jaws dropped at that moment. I swear. I just thought this was the most inappropriate moment!

Anyway, last thing... the tone of the narration. I thought there wasn't much emotion in it... It didn't catch my attention, didn't grip my feelings, didn't even entice me. I thought it was bland, relating what was happening, giving explanations when the author thought it needed some. Not enough opinion/pov from Camille... or at least, no concrete opinion/pov... Yeah, if I had to describe the book, I'd say bland and frustrating. Didn't even crack a smile and that's telling.

Grade: DNF

Hunting the Hunter by Shiloh Walker:
plotwise 3.5/5
enjoyment: 2.5/5

So this book gets 2 grades... why? because I'm afraid of being unfair ^^;

Genre: paranormal - vampire, psychic, shapeshifter

Kane Winter is a bounty-hunter, turned vampire-hunter after the day he saw his partner, Duke - a shapeshifter, getting killed by vampires. He doesn't have much memories of that night, except for this woman... Turns out that Duke is not dead - don't worry, he's not a bad guy either. He became a "hunter" as in, he hunts everything and everyone that prey on the weak and innocent. His coach of the moment is Kendall, the woman that Kane can't forget. After meeting Kendall, Kane lusts for Kendall; however, he misunderstood the situation and thought Kendall and Duke was a couple. So one year later, after having dreams of Duke being tortured, Kane sets off to find Kendall and Duke. He arrives just in time to have sex with Kendall and to help with Duke's disappearance. Turns out the "evil" in Cincinnati is an old acquaintance of Kendall...

All right, so my thoughts? First, I like the idea that the Hunters, plural, are after everything that prey on the weaks - drug dealers, rapists, serial killers, ect. It makes it a bit different than a vampire hunter among the vampires. Aside from that, I thought that the plot had real good potential and the intrigue was a good one... However, it was not well presented to the readers. I thought the story was all over the place, that it didn't have a pace. Btw the night Duke is believed dead and Kane finds Duke again, that's 2 years... then, 1 year for the dreams to bring Kane back in the story... and then, you have a story that probably spanned on 3-5 days, interrupted by sex. I have nothing against sex, but in this one, it seems to occur at wrong moment. Also, reading "pussy" a few times a page does something to my enjoyment level, as in bring it down. My other problems are not enough of characters development/background - again, you get pieces and bits here and there, but not enough to get a good understanding of them, esp. Kane... and also, not enough world building. The author introduces witches, vampires, psychics, werewolves and shapeshifters and also, the Hunters academy, Excelsior; however, she doesn't put any boundaries. All you know is that humans are different from Others, but what about Others among each other? Agnes, who is a witch is 500 y.o., Vax, another witch must be 150-200 y.o. and Kendall is 300 y.o. So yeah, no idea about this world... or maybe, maybe that the world building explanation was done in a previous book since I read that the author had some books from the same world as e-books from Ellora's Cave. Still, she could have given some more clues.