The Shadow Reader (McKenzie Lewis #1)- Sandy Williams

McKenzie Lewis has an ability sought by both the Court Fae (variation spelling on 'fey' used in this book) and the Rebels: she can track fey based on the 'shadows' they leave behind. In the human world, McKenzie is trying to finish her English degree and get on with her life, but the fae have other plans for her. She has been working for the fae king for years and has been in love with his sword master, Kyol, for just as long. However, she is tracked down and kidnapped by the rebel fae who want to unseat the corrupt king and put one of their own on the throne. To do this, they need McKenzie's talents to find and gain control over the hidden portals in their world. McKenzie must decide who she can trust and whether or not her affections for Kyol can be replaced by the rugged rebel leader, Aren. Aren teaches her the forbidden fae language and opens her eyes to the corruption of the Court. The fighting begins to claim lives, both mortal and fae and McKenzie's decision could be the single thing that decides the outcome of the war.

Overall Merit: Let me start by saying, this is the perfect example of a misleading cover. I don't think McKenzie so much as touches a sword in the entire novel, in fact she spends most of her time getting injured and rescued by people who can actually use a weapon properly. This book did not gain points with me because to be honest, I didn't understand McKenzie's powers very well and from what I saw of them, they didn't seem very useful. The story was not that interesting or well thought out. Plus, it was totally predictable. I mean it wasn't an awful book or anything, but there wasn't even any good romance to make it better. Score- 6

Characters: I apologize in advance because this is going to turn into a rant about character names. McKenzie. What the bloody hell? If you must use a horrible spelling of the name, don't put random capitals in the  middle of it, it's distracting. What's wrong with Mckenzie, or Mackenzie? Personally, I prefer the vowel before the 'ck' it looks prettier and makes the name less irritating. McKenzie is a bad name in general, but Williams makes it worse with the pretentious spelling. I mean I've seen much worse names, but that's only because I can't pronounce them. To add to that, I didn't really like McKenzie very much, she didn't have much of a personality. Sure, she kept trying to escape from the Rebels and blah, blah, blah, but she didn't do all that much. She was a space filler, not a character. The two love interests weren't interesting either, Aren was ok, but Kyol was meh. I mean all the characters were just kind of flat. Score- 5

Blush Factor: I don't like love triangles at the best of times, however this one didn't bother me so much. Then again, that might have to do with the fact that the characters were all way too boring for me to care what happened to/with them. Aren was a bad boy, but not really and then Kyol was supposed to be a stoic, deadly swordsman, but again not really. McKenzie eventually chooses Aren, sorry to spoil it, but it was pretty predictable. Score- 6

Structure: This was actually a first person novel, which was somewhat surprising since that doesn't show up often in this genre. Nonetheless, the narrator (McKenzie) was not interesting enough to make me enjoy her perspective. It followed linear story structure and well there were virtually no plot twists. Then there was some weird stuff going on with humans who hunted faeries and I got confused. The weird relationship with technology didn't fly that well for me either. I wasn't convinced that the fae were actually fae, there wasn't anything very faerie-like about them at all. Williams did not ground her mythos well enough for the world. Also, what the hell are the weird electrical impulses that seem to run through fae skin? I was confused and not very pleased with the structure of this world. Score- 4

Plot: In one word: predictable. There wasn't much of a plot and the plot that was there wasn't interesting. I was pretty bored throughout the novel--thank Rhiannon it was short. Seriously though, nothing new happened here. McKenzie was kidnapped a bunch of times, there was a pathetic attempt at a battle at the end. Some sort of convoluted plot was concocted. Even the romantic tension fell flat. This book sort of had potential, but it definitely wasn't worth the money I spent buying it. Score- 4

Vervain says: "Human technology weakens fae magic."

Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera #1)- Jim Butcher

In the realm of Alera when people come of age they are bonded with a fury (an elemental spirit). However, fifteen year old Tavi never bonded with a fury and therefore is a bit of an outcast and an unlikely hero. When an agent of the First Lord named Alera runs into him in the middle of the storm, she brings with her a war in which Tavi will prove instrumental in making sure that the 'good guys' win.

Overall Merit: This story was meh. It got really good reviews on Goodreads.com, but to be honest I didn't like it that much. I didn't connect with any of the characters and while the technical writing was strong and cohesive, the story didn't really interest me that much. The plot was complex and well thought out, but for whatever reason I did not like this book. It wasn't bad, like I didn't put it aside for an extended period of time, I just didn't love the story or the characters. Score- 6

Characters: The two main characters, Amara and Tavi were fine I guess. They weren't caricatures or anything, but I couldn't relate to them at all and I didn't feel like I was given enough access to their emotions. I didn't feel their fear or anguish and there was no real tension for me. I mean I rooted for them if only because as a reader I was supposed to, not out of any sense of loyalty or attachment. Between the two, I definitely connected better with Tavi, he was a more convincing character and a bit more sympathetic, but Amara was really hard to link with on any level. For one thing, I didn't know enough about her past and what her story was, heck I couldn't even tell how old she was! She didn't have enough inner turmoil to make her interesting. In terms of antagonists, I felt like there were too many and that made it confusing, but on the other hand, none of them were very strong. Score- 6

Blush Factor: Essentially N/A. This was barely there and what was there isn't worth mentioning.

Structure: Structure was fine. Solid. I swear I did actually read this book, I just have very little to say about it. It switched between three or four perspectives, but mostly stuck to Tavi and Amara, easy to follow. The story was pretty much straightforward. There were a few too many side stories going on and I didn't exactly buy them. Also, I felt like the elemental magic has been done to death and while Butcher tried to make it a bit different, it wasn't different enough to carry the story. Score- 7

Plot: Again. Standard fantasy. There wasn't anything interesting done here. Like really there was nothing interesting done here. This was a fantasy book that didn't bend any boundaries or create anything new. Sure Butcher tried with some weird extra humanoid, but he didn't explain the Marat well enough to make it worthwhile. I really wanted this story to have some kick, to bring in something unique, but I swear he just took a list of fantasy elements, slapped them together into a book, and called it a day. Score-6

 Vervain Says: "The Marat are essentially human, I'm still trying to figure out what makes them different."

Bloodring (Rogue Mage #1)- Faith Hunter

In a post-apocalyptic world ruled by Seraphim, neomages like Thorn are relegated to luxurious "prisons" called Enclaves. However, when Thorn came into her powers she realized that she could hear the thoughts of all the others in her New Orleans Enclave. Between going insane and living as a fugitive in the human world, she chose the latter and has lived in fear of discovery for the past ten years. However, her life of faux-normalcy is shattered when her ex-husband Lucas is kidnapped by dark forces, Thorn knows that it is not long before they come after her. Then there is the issue of the kylen (part human, part seraph), Thaddeus, who shows up at her doorstep and starts asking questions. She is strangely attracted to him in spite of the knowledge that any misstep will result in her being killed by the humans or shipped back to her Enclave--either way her death will be inevitable.

Overall Merit: I loved the premise behind the book so I forced myself to slog through it and it did get better by the end. However, for the most part it was remarkably slow and filled with unnecessary characters. I did like Thorn's powers, stone mages are not common, most authors opt for all-around powers or elemental magic, so Hunter's innovation was a plus. I really wanted to like this book and was so disappointed that I couldn't bring myself to enjoy reading it. Usually a 350-some-odd-page book will take me about 3-4 hours to read tops, so about a night or two worth of reading. This book dragged on for a good four days and often put me to sleep early. If I'm really into a book I will push through the exhaustion and read into the wee hours of the night. I could not do that with this book, even though I desperately wanted to. I mean the characters weren't bad or anything and the romance had potential, but the story dragged and there was not enough action by a long shot. Score- 6 (for premise)

Characters: Thorn was a solid character, I really did like her, but I felt like the others were not fleshed out enough, especially Thaddeus (Thadd). He showed up at random intervals during the story and Thorn seemed way more focused on her cheating ex-husband, Lucas. The other characters like Jacey and Rupert didn't do all that much and then there was the random kid, Ciana who showed up and didn't do much but serve as a bad plot device. The same things could have happened without her. Audric might be the only one who got any fleshing out other than Thorn and that was probably only because he shared a secret with her. Score- 4

Blush Factor- What blush factor? No really, it kept going on about how Thorn was "in heat", but nothing ever happened. Yes, she suffered with her intense sexual desire, but again nothing happened. There was no romance, no chemistry between any of the characters. If Hunter hadn't told me that Audric and Rupert were a couple there was no way in Hell I could have guessed it for myself. I was promised a nice romance sequence between Thorn and Thadd and I got nothing. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Mushy-gushy fans, don't waste your time. Score- 2

Structure: I loved the idea of the post-apocalpytic society ruled by Seraphs. It was lovely that the world nearly ended after a series of horrific plagues. And people getting branded for cursing? Beautiful. Eternal winter/mini ice age? Gorgeous. So where was the story to go along with this imaginative new world? I'm still looking for it, I'm afraid. One of the main problems is that there were a zillion things going on at the same time. There was the thread with Lucas and the one with Ciana and then there was something going on with a weird amethyst at the same time. For a moderately short book, way too much. I got lost and confused, I mean that might have had something to do with the fact that I was skimming, but I skim a lot of books and still manage to keep up with the plot. Score- 5

Plot: This was so promising. I read the back of the book and got excited. I do give Hunter credit for doing her research, as most of the factual basis, including the names of the Seraphim, were spot on. The story though was lacking at a fundamental level. She stretched it in too many directions instead of focusing on one main plot line. I wanted to follow Thorn on her adventures, and potential budding romance with Thadd, instead I was reading about things I didn't care about. It's nice that the people have a picnic on a day that the sun chooses to shine, but how the Hell does that relate to the story? If she had focused her plot and honed in on the important details, it would have been a much more solid novel. Score- 4

 Vervain says: "Neomages have a special glow about them so Thorn has to use amulets to dampen her glow and blend into the human world."





In summation: I was disappointed.

The Trouble With Spells (Of Witches and Warlocks #1)- Lacey Weatherford

Portia thinks she is a normal teenager until she reaches her sixteenth birthday and is informed point blank by her grandmother that she is in fact a witch. She also discovers that high school bad boy Vance Mangum is a member of her coven and that they are inexplicably linked. The two begin a passionate relationship, which is soon threatened when Vance's dark past threatens to catch up with him. Portia must harness her budding powers to protect the one she loves and keep him from falling to the same darkness that consumed his father.

First an apology: This book is going to take the brunt of my ranting about YA Paranormal, even though it was not inherently that terrible. I've pretty much had it up to my ears with this genre and I need to yell about it or I'm going to end up snapping at Vervain and losing an eye in the process.


Overall Merit: This book was definitely a mushy teen romance, so if that's your thing then go for it. I mean it wasn't terrible, my feelings are just very lukewarm. There was nothing new done in this book, all the same motifs were rehashed in exactly the same way they've been before. To add to the lukewarm factor, Portia and Vance were not all that interesting and Vance had a major Edward Cullen complex going on (brooding, stalkerish, etc.). If you have nothing else to do then go for it, I guess. It won't make your eyes bleed or anything, but it's pretty bland and lacks the novelty and characters to keep the trite story afloat. Score- 5/6

Characters: In Vance, Weatherford promised me a bad boy. However, she spent a ton of time telling me how he was so badass instead of showing me. Riding a motorcycle and wearing a leather jacket does not make someone a badass. Portia was nothing special. Yea, she had a weird mental connection with Vance that was never properly explained, and yea she turned out to be super powerful, but making the protagonist powerful is not a substitute for giving her a personality! They weren't horrible characters, but again, nothing worth taking note of. Score- 6

Blush Factor: Ok this might actually be the thing to make me go completely mental. Why is it that in EVERY SINGLE FREAKING YA PARANORMAL there's some ridiculous scenario in which the girl wants to have sex and the guy makes up some lame-ass excuse as to why he won't have sex with her. Unless you make it clear that the guy is very religious or that he'll spontaneously combust if he has intercourse out of wedlock, I'M NOT BUYING IT! First off, it makes it seem like teenage girls are all super horny and want to screw and that teenage boys are all saints who want to respect the girl and wait for marriage. I'm sorry, but we do not live in Jane Austen Land! This is 2012 and the average age a girl loses her virginity is SEVENTEEN. Would it kill an author to have the girl be the one to say no? Making the female protagonist into a little nympho is NOT ORIGINAL! Score- 4

Structure: Ok, why the Hell sixteen? I'm getting so, so, so sick of that being the magical age. What's wrong with seventeen? Eighteen? I feel like sixteen works because it makes it socially acceptable for the female to be in a serious relationship (which is wasted if you refuse to make it a proper relationship to begin with). Nothing new here, standard, I'm magically in love with you after 24 hours, when can we get married and spend eternity together? Also, Weatherford definitely should have put more effort into the magic system. It seemed very slapped together almost laissez faire and would have helped the book instead of hindering it if it had been more solid. Score- 5

Plot: Eh. This was sketchy. So much effort was focused on the irritating romance that the plot sort of fell by the wayside and resurfaced when it was convenient. I did not like the ending, I thought it was predictable and kind of stupid. The problem with this genre is that the conflicts seem to have such easy resolutions that it's laughable. This category was a little bit pathetic and I didn't buy it for the most part. Weatherford should have focused on making a stronger story, rather than relying on the mediocre romance to keep the novel going. Score- 4

 Vervain says: "The weird thing about the magic in this book was that it was very self-determined. For example, when Portia wanted to design a spell for protection she pretty much got to make up the entire thing, which didn't ring entirely true."

Katie's Hellion (Rhyn Trilogy #1)- Lizzy Ford

Katie is having a terrible day. First she gets pulled over for driving two miles over the speed limit, and then she gets in trouble for not taking care of a son that she knows she doesn't have. According to everyone around her, she has amnesia due to a rape, but Katie knows that this can't possibly be the case. Her suspicions are confirmed when it turns out her "son", Toby is actually an eons old angel and a mysterious man named Gabriel shows up at her house claiming to be something called a 'Death Dealer'. Apparently, Katie's blood is special and it has something in it that makes her immune to immortals and therefore an immortal's mate. However, she isn't just an immortal's mate, she's an ancient's mate (which is like a step above an immortal's mate). By all rights, she should go to the eldest Ancient, but instead she is claimed by the outcast half-breed, Rhyn who rescues her from the depths of Hell.

Overall Merit: The problem with this book was that there were way too many things going on at the same time. Since the books were short, I read the whole trilogy, but the problem was consistent throughout. There were a million things going on and it was difficult to keep a firm grasp on the storyline. The characters were strong, which is always a plus, but I felt like the story was going in like twenty different directions at the same time and I found myself confused by what was going on and where the plot was going. I think that the other book by Ford that I scored (Damian's Oracle) was a much stronger book. Score- 6

Check out the trailer:

Characters: Rhyn is interesting. He is definitely a typical bad boy stereotype, but centuries in Hell have made him bitter and at times cruel. He was my favorite character if only because Katie wasn't nearly as solid. Her character tended to waver at times and I didn't get a good sense of who she really was. I do rather detest the annoying sister. I feel like this is an oft used character who is remarkably irritating. True, she can act as a foil for the heroine, but more often than not, she overstays her welcome and starts to get in the way of an enjoyable reading experience. There is a good reason everyone hates their siblings at one point or another. I already hate my siblings, I don't need to hate someone else's too. Score- 6

Blush Factor: To be honest, there wasn't a ton of romance in this book, that didn't come until the later books in the trilogy. I mean you know who's going to end up together from the start and I was a bit disappointed that Rhyn and Katie never really resolved their feelings for each other until later on. Even the end result of their romance was disappointing (by the third book). Not my favorite part, I liked the romance much better in Damian's Oracle. It wasn't horrible, it was kind of just nonexistent. Score- 6

Structure: Nothing new here in terms of writing style. I think Ford's problem is that she tried to cram a ton of information into a small amount of pages without giving the reader a chance to let it all sink in. She could have made the book a lot longer and structured it better so that all the plot lines had a chance to naturally converge. Instead, the writing seemed hurried as if she wanted to get a crazy amount of story down without developing the world or the conflict well enough. Score- 5

Plot: As I've said several times--way too much going on at once. I was incredibly confused. Ford needed to pick one or two subplots max instead of having twenty going on all at once. Also, I kept reading and reading waiting for Katie and Rhyn to get together, but she dragged it out horribly so that by the time I got to the end of the book I basically didn't even care anymore. This book had potential, but I wasn't seeing the necessary execution. Damian's Oracle takes place under a similar premise, in a similar world so go for that instead of this one. Score- 6

Vervain says: "There are seven Ancients, but most of them are dead."

Dragon Bound (Elder Races #1)- Thea Harrison

When Pia, a half wyr (shapeshifter) half human is blackmailed into stealing something from Dragos Cuelebre, she thinks that changing her name and appearance will be enough to hide herself from his wrath. Of course, hiding from an extremely powerful and wealthy dragon shapeshifter does tend to be a bit of a challenge--especially if he's after your head. Under any other circumstances, Pia would likely be dead, but it turns out that Dragos is intrigued and amused by the fact that she was able to get past the powerful warding spells on his hoard. So instead, Dragos claims her for his own and intends to explore the curious desire she sparks in him as well as her secret abilities.

Overall Merit: This was a class A romantic fantasy as in it followed the cookie cutter format that brings lonely, single girls temporary happiness everywhere. Well, at least the ones who aren't jaded like me. Pretty much: boy meets girl, boy feels very protective of girl, girl pretends she doesn't like being protected even though she secretly does, boy and girl have sex after like twenty pages, girl ends up getting pregnant with magical and illicit baby, girls tries to hide this from boy, boy finds out and becomes even more protective, girl admits she loves boy with all her heart, boy and girl live happily ever after for the rest of eternity. The end. Wow, because who doesn't want a super-rich boyfriend who puts his private bodyguards up to babysitting you? I mean sure all the girls in these books protest, but they love the attention, we all know they do. If this is your thing, and I'm sure it is for many people then go for it. I'm going to give this book two scores: one based on my fed up and jaded brain, and the other based on the average 20-some-odd-year-old lonely and sexually frustrated romantic (LSFR).
Me-6 LSFR-11

Characters: Pia was plucky, I liked that, but it seemed like all her spark was doused as soon as Dragos took his shirt off. Come on, be realistic, when was the last time you felt lightheaded and lost all coherent thought because a hot guy took his shirt off. Yes, I know I hate everything, but still. While Pia had potential, Dragos was such a stereotypic alpha-male that it made me kind of nauseous. (For a much better alpha-male dominated romantic fantasy check out the Tairen Soul series, that one had a phenomenal plot.) He basically got angry if anyone touched Pia except him and went all dragon on their ass. Also, he was supposed to be an ancient "Elder wyr", but I wasn't getting that impression from him, he acted young and hotheaded so I didn't buy his supposed age. Score- 7

Blush Factor: Oh my was there sex here. Keep the children away. You know when Pia describes herself as being "destroyed" that there's a hardcore male dominance thing going on. The problem was, there wasn't any real 'romance' here, just Dragos constantly smothering Pia, rescuing her from falling/walking into things, and then throwing her onto the bed and ravaging her every 20 or 30 pages. All romance was further destroyed when she was like, "Omg I'm preggers with a dragon baby!" Why does Pia have to get pregnant to finally admit that she loves Dragos? Pregnancy shouldn't be a contract of love, it certainly isn't in real life, but in this book it definitely felt that way. Harrison tried to make this better by having Pia seem like a 'mystery' to Dragos, but to be honest I'm pretty sure he was the only one who thought anything was even vaguely mysterious about her. Score- 6

Structure: The mythology behind books like these is essential to having a smooth story, but somehow it is always forgotten. It seemed like Harrison was inventing the rules of the world as she went along, rather than having a firm idea when she started writing. I didn't quite understand the structure of her "Other World", which seemed like it would be important and also, the wyr, half-wyr structure confused me. Other worlds are difficult to pull off, for sure, and the main issue is they tend to be too ephemeral and difficult for the reader to envision. The scenes that took place there were difficult for me to follow because it was tough for me to orient myself within the new world. Score-5

Plot: Books like this often spend too much time focusing on the romance (sex) as opposed to the plot line. There was a story going on, but it brought me to a lot of dead ends. For example, there was something brought up about Pia having a relation to the Elves, but after the initial mention, Harrison never mentioned it again, which would be fine, but I know this book doesn't have a technical sequel (it has companion books). I can also understand that Pia might not want to know about her past, but there definitely should have been more curiosity there if not from her, then at least from Dragos. I felt like Harrison didn't know exactly where her story was going because it sort of faded in and out of focus and the conclusion seemed too simple and didn't really work that well. I wasn't pleased. Score- 5

In summation: if you're looking for a good romantic alpha male smut book then go for it. Otherwise, you'd best seek your fantasy fix elsewhere.


Vervain says: "In this book, names have power, but when it comes time for Pia to reveal her true name, we never actually find out what it is! That seems like a cop out to me."

Insatiable- Meg Cabot

Meena Harper is sick of hearing about vampires (I think everyone in the world is sick of hearing about vampires), but this doesn't stop her bosses from forcing her to work on a project that incorporates the supernatural beings into her television show. However, Meena has a supernatural talent herself that seems to always get her into trouble: Meena can see when someone is going to die. So when she meets Lucien Antonescu, she can't understand why she can't see his demise--maybe because he's already dead. Meena and Lucien fall in love, a dangerous action seeing that he is being hunted by holy knights from the Vatican. Soon it will be up to Meena to decide where her loyalties lie and if love is enough to make her choose a new fate.

Overall Merit: I was actually so excited when I thought I found a book that was going to go against the stereotypes of a vampire romance novel, even the trailer suggested that this was the case. However, while it started off with the heroine renouncing the whole vampire love story nonsense, she ended up falling right into the hum drum cliche that Twilight started. I was desperately hoping for something a bit more snarky and satirical. Meena had the potential to turn this into a satirical biting novel, just by the nature of her character, but she was too busy swooning over Lucien and his "hotness" to channel that snark power. Also, making a vampire turn into a dragon does not count as original. It counts as weird and unnecessary, especially when it seems like it's being used as an excuse for a horrible metaphor. Score- 6

Check out the trailer:

Characters: I liked Meena, I really did. Or at least I thought I did. I thought she was going to do something epic with her death discerning powers, but she didn't. This element seemed extraneous and I wondered why Cabot even bothered putting it into the story. Sure, it gave Meena something to morally struggle with, but the moral struggle shouldn't be over something that takes away from the story. There was definitely humor brought mostly by Alaric Wulf (my favorite character in the novel). I mean he was pretty hilarious: a socially awkward, comic book collecting vampire hunter--doesn't get much better than that. Alaric was the saving grace of this book because he actually made me laugh. However, I had a real *bang head on desk* moment when he fell in love with Meena. I love geeky guys, but when they fall in love with the wrong person it upsets me. Lucien was a cliched vampire prince who could read minds. Cough Edward Cullen Cough. Do I need to elaborate? Score- 8 (because I loved Alaric)

Blush Factor: Yes, there is sex. This is a vampire romance novel, not written by a Mormon, of course there's casual sex. Keep young adolescents away from this book because the smut is pretty blatant. Nothing new happened here, you knew from page 20 that Meena and Lucien were going to get it on, and get it on they did--after one date. Score- 4

Structure: If you couldn't tell, this was mainly third person from Meena's perspective, with glimpses of Lucien and Alaric sprinkled throughout. Nothing new happened here, the technical writing was effective and clean. Score-8

Plot: Cliche. If I had to say it in one word it would be cliche. It was advertised as a parody or a satire, but what I got was a standard love triangle vampire story. This book was pretty much what Twilight would have been if Bella weren't such a block of tofu. The supporting characters saved it a little bit as some of their antics were mildly amusing, but overall this book made me very sad about the future of fantasy. Score-5

In summation: If you want the perfect example of a lovable and epic geek then read this book or at least skim the parts with Alaric.

Vervain says: "Meena's visions of the future aren't definite, she has the capacity to change them. However, this doesn't make the power any more useful as a plot device."

Incarnate- Jodi Meadows

In a world where everyone has been reincarnated hundreds of times, Ana is a nosoul. A few years before her birth, a woman named Ciana died, Ciana was supposed to come back, but she never did. Ana was born instead. While all the others in her world remember their past lives, she has none and that makes her a threat--dangerous. Ana's cruel mother, Li casts her out of their home on Ana's 18th birthday. Ana has no choice but to go to Heart and see if she can figure out why she was born and if she will be born again or if her life will fizzle out. Li gives her a faulty compass and she loses her way to Heart. She is rescued from freezing to death in Range by a mysterious man named Sam. They venture to Heart together, a place where he will be her greatest ally and possibly her greatest love.

Overall Merit: First of all, I love the cover so kudos for that. Secondly, the premise was fascinating. Imagine remembering all of your past lives for millennia. However, some of the storytelling didn't ring true for me and I was especially disappointed by the ending. The world didn't make sense because there simply weren't any rules in place. There were dragons and sylphs running around and some god-like entity called Janus, but we never knew whether or not he was real and if he was what purpose he served. Also, in the story, the people just found Heart already built and waiting for them. What?! No, just no. At the beginning, Ana had a motive: find out why she exists, but after about a day she seemed to forget. She was way too busy drooling over Sam for 80% of the novel. This book had so much potential, but it fell flat. There were too many inconsistencies and technicalities that went unexplained. Score-6

Characters: The characters all had a fatal flaw, they were almost good but not enough, the antagonist was almost evil, but not enough, etc. They were boring. Ana was dull, she is a passive character who steps up at random moments to rescue someone, usually Sam. However, how come she can stand up to sylphs, but when she sees Sam sneaking out every night and overhears him talking behind her back, she can't confront him about it? Where is her backbone? Sam wasn't very interesting either and I didn't buy his "crippling" fear of dragons. It was a cop out. Meadows makes him seem like a brooding artist character, only to reveal that he's distant because he's afraid of dragons. Hmm...yea no. Li was the only real antagonist, and well she wasn't even that interesting. It seemed like she was being mean for the sake of being mean. She had some connection with Ciana, but it was never established properly and therefore her animosity wasn't convincing. Score-6

Blush Factor: This consumed the entire story. Literally the whole novel was about the romantic tension between Sam and Ana, which would have been fine if it were actually interesting. It actually got frustrating how slowly it moved. It's like "just kiss her already!" There was nothing unique about their romance and when I can predict exactly what's going to happen, it makes me irritated. Basically it was a standard YA romance that took up more space in the book than it should have. Score-6

Structure: Standard linear first person, but the thing about first person is that it's limiting so unless the narrator is compelling, the reader is apt to get bored. Ana was not a very interesting narrator. For all her abusive upbringing there was no inner turmoil, I could not feel her angst! YA novels are supposed to have a TON of angst! Nothing interesting happened in terms of structure. First person is pretty straight forward so nothing new here. Score-6

Plot: Before I start, I promise that this category will score extremely low. The concept was there and it was brilliant, but the execution was painfully bad. What started as a promising story turned into a long running love story with a protagonist who seemed to forget what she had been looking for in the first place. Sure she spent some time researching in the library, but  most of her time was spent mooning over Sam and learning to play the piano because apparently she had a passion for music. The ending was atrocious, talk about a deus ex machina (literally). I won't say exactly what happens, but just know that you couldn't possibly conceive this ending because no one in their right mind would come up with it and think it was a good idea. No offense to Meadows, but this was pretty sad.

Vervain Says: "Deus ex machina is a Latin phrase and it literally means 'God out of the  machine'. In other words, it is when a writer invokes a god or higher power or even just brings in a character that seems to have all the answers and can put the story to rights with little difficulty. This is a device that should be avoided at all costs." 

The Wizard's Ward- Deborah Hale

Maura's world of Umbria was ravaged by Hanish invaders and the only hope of restoring Umbrian power is to find and awaken the mythical "Waiting King". However, the only one who can do this is the "Destined Queen". Maura's guardian, the wizard Langbard informs her on her birthday that she is said "Destined Queen" and she must venture to the magical grove where her husband awaits. That afternoon, Maura finds herself in the woods gathering some magical herbs when she rescues a young outlaw named Rath from some Hanish soldiers. She brings him back with her to Langbard's cottage and the wizard decides that Rath will accompany him and Maura to Maura's Aunt who is in possession of the map that will lead them to the grove of the "Waiting King". Am I the only one who could see what was coming as soon as I read the synopsis on the back of the book?

Overall Merit: I mean, it wasn't a bad book. Then again, neither was it a good book. For all the interesting premise, the story fell rather flat. Not to mention, if I can guess the ending by reading the synopsis on the back it is not a good sign. Same goes for the characters. They weren't bad characters, but I didn't find myself caring about them all that much. By the end of the book I got pretty bored because I knew exactly what was going to happen. Not really worth your time. Score- 6

Characters: They were non-descript. I for one did not take Rath very seriously as an outlaw, he was far too civilized for that and there was not enough inner turmoil over his identity. There should have been more of a struggle between his desire to be good for Maura and his instinct to behave like a thoughtless boor. Maura was ok, she annoyed me a bit at points, but there was nothing so horrendous about her character that made me want to stop reading. I think that Hale tried to make her a plucky, strong female heroine, but the attempt fell flat. Maura was too goody-goody for that. Score- 6

Blush Factor: This aspect of the book irked me. There was all this really horrible attempt at romantic repression where it got to the point where I was just like "either be with her or don't just make up your mind!" Obviously Rath and Maura end up together (if that was a spoiler I'm really not all that sorry). However, the thing that bothered me the most was the gratuitous sex scene at the very end of the book. It really did not fit at all and it made me question the morals of the characters. I'm not a prude by any means and if sex is appropriate then go for it, but going off the basic tone and cultural structure of the book it didn't work. Score- 4

Structure: It was linear and third person from Maura's point of view. Nothing interesting was done here, but it wasn't convoluted or confusing. Score- 5

Plot: This could have been interesting, but it seems like Hale came up with an initial premise and never really did any development beyond that. The stakes weren't high enough, meaning I never felt like the characters were in imminent danger. A good story beats the character over the head with a mallet until they are ready to collapse. Neither Maura nor Rath faced any such predicament. It was far too easy for them to get to the grove and the Hanish threat that was introduced from the beginning wasn't used to its full potential by a long shot. Score- 4

In summation, I strongly advise avoiding this book unless you are given an important puzzle and the only way to solve it is hidden somewhere in the pages of this rubbish.

Vervain says: "There are two types of magic used in this world: mortcraft and vitcraft. Mortcraft calls upon dark powers whereas vitcraft is a nature based form of magic. 

Foxmask- Juliet Marillier

This is a companion book to Wolfskin, however this novel can stand alone just fine. It is the story of young Creidhe, a talented weaver who follows her best friend and love interest Thorvald on a quest to find his father who was banished from the Light Isles in disgrace. Thorvald and his friend Sam set out in Sam's fishing boat and Creidhe stows away in the hold--she is convinced that Thorvald needs her even if he refuses her help. Sounds like a healthy relationship, I know. Anyway so per maritime tradition, they get caught in a storm and wind up on another island, where the people are living in terror of the Unspoken (a mysterious people, desperate to find their missing seer called the Foxmask). Thorvald and Sam are put to work to "earn" the supplies they will need to repair the ship. Creidhe, on the other hand, is taken away to stay with the other women in isolation. However, evil is brewing as "The Hunt" approaches and the men are determined to find the missing Foxmask before another sacrifice is made.

Overall Merit: I didn't love this book as I found the premise confusing. It took me a while to actually wrap my head around the whole Foxmask concept and  I found some of Creidhe's inaction to be slightly out of character. The romance was also a bit disconcerting and while I enjoy Marillier's writing as a general rule, this was not one of her stronger books. Score- 6

Characters- I don't know if the author intended for the male protagonist (Thorvald) to be so utterly irritating. I did not like him at all and I think she tried to make him somewhat sympathetic, but I could not make myself like him. Creidhe was muddled, sometimes her voice was clear and other times she sounded like a different person entirely. By the end she also started to irritate me. The main antagonist, the chief of the Long Knife People, got to be annoying as well, he was too cliched suave villain stereotype. Definitely not Marillier's best characters. Score-5

Blush Factor- This was definitely PG-13 (I'm going off the fact that they let Breaking Dawn slide through those cracks), there was a sex scene between Creidhe and an unexpected character. However, in terms of the quality of the romance, I found the sequencing frustrating. True, people are often dense in terms of feelings, but Creidhe was literally beating Thorvald over the head with a valentine. It annoyed me. There was an unexpected plot twist, which helped make up for it a little bit, but even then, this new relationship was creepy and based purely on physical attraction. Score-6

Structure- The structure was linear, switching perspectives between Thorvald and Creidhe. It was easy to follow, but as always I find myself more enamored with one perspective over the other. While I didn't love either narrators, Creidhe was definitely more interesting. The writing was succinct and crisp as expected from Marillier. Score-8

Plot- It was definitely original, there was no lack of creativity in the world or the story, but at some places it seemed very forced and there were some things that didn't quite do it for me in terms of "suspending my disbelief". One such example is the protocol followed for the Foxmask, I didn't quite buy the whole leg breaking, eye gouging bit. Either way, points for creativity. Score-8

In summation, I'd only suggest reading this book if you read Wolfskin first and feel compelled to follow the world a little bit more. Otherwise, probably not worth your time. You'd be much better off with any of Marillier's other books.