Wildwood Dancing (Wildwood #1)- Juliet Marillier

In the woods of Transylvania live five sisters and their father. The second oldest, Jena spends her time exploring the forests and enjoying her freedom accompanied by her unusual pet frog. Inside the castle where the girls live is a portal to the magical Other Kingdom. Every full moon, the girls pass through the portal and dance through the night with the inhabitants of this world. Their visits are filled with joy up to the point that the eldest daughter, Tatiana, falls in love with one of the more dangerous inhabitants of the Other Kingdom. However, there is little at stake until when their father falls ill and their cousin Cezar comes in and takes control of the household while their father travels south to recover. Cezar tries to prevent the girls from returning to the Other Kingdom to partake in their monthly revelries. Jena will be tested to see if she can save her sister from the clutches of her dangerous paramour and if she can stave off Cezar until her father recovers and returns home.

Overall Merit: This book was filled with standard fairytale elements and the female protagonist was strong yet flawed at the same time--Marillier has a talent for these sorts of leads. The fairytale elements drew a good amount from mythology, but it seemed a bit muddled at times as if she couldn't decide which pantheon she wanted to draw from. The fairy world she crafted was vague, but I guess that was the point. For the most part, it was an enjoyable read even though it used the typical fairytale story structure, quests and true love included, as a crutch. There was a definite "Twelve Dancing Princesses"feel to the novel, but to name that the central thematic fairytale would be a fallacy due to the overwhelming amount of fairytales present. The main thing that bothered me about the story was that it seemed to convenient for the father to be sick and unable to communicate with his daughters, thus leaving an opening for Cezar to come in and take control.  Score-8

Characters: I understand that Jena was the main character, but it would have been nice to flesh out Tatiana and the other sisters a bit more. Tatiana was a moonstruck teenager and didn't progress past that--she didn't need to overcome anything to end up with Sorrow, all the work was done on his end. Jena's flaws were what made her strong, but when the big reveal about her love interest comes to pass, her response was confusing and out of character. Cezar would have been a better antagonist if his motives were more believable. I didn't buy that he was holding on to a grudge from so many years ago and that he still hadn't gained closure from a trauma that occurred so many years in the past. It's fine to have a vendetta or something like that, but the intensity of this one and the reasoning behind it did not   Score- 6

Blush Factor: Gogu and Jena were a cute couple, even with the whole enchanted frog thing going on. However, the Tatiana and Sorrow romantic arc seemed a bit forced. I wasn't getting any chemistry from that couple. I know that Marillier was trying to complicate the romantic arc for Jena and Gogu and make it more hard-won, but there were better ways to go about it. Both Gogu and Jena behaved in ways that were very uncharacteristic. There wasn't any major chemistry in the couplings, unlike in some of Marillier's other novels where the reader is rooting for the lovers the entire time. Not to say that the romantic aspect was bad or unsatisfying, there were just some aspects that were disappointing or unrealistic. Score- 7

Plot: There seemed to be a ton of different plot elements going on at the same time and while they all seemed to stick to the same story, I thought that having so many conflicts going on at the same time was incredibly distracting. The companion book, Cybele's Secret, had the same problem. Mariller had characters running around on quests right and left and trying to dodge Cezar at the same time. It was just way too much going on. None of the elements were inherently bad, but when put together in a slapdash manner it was confusing and disorienting. Score- 6


Structure: This was largely Jena's story and while it's fine to leave the supporting characters to be not as fleshed out, I felt there was an imbalance to the amount of backstory each one got. For example, we get a lot of information on Cezar, Gogu, and Tatiana (to a certain extent), but the other sisters are somewhat ignored as well as many of the other characters who seem thrown in there, but don't serve much of a purpose. As I mentioned earlier, my main issues with the story were the unrealistic aspects. I know that women were supposed to be married young during the approximate time-period of this story, but fifteen seemed a bit too young to me. Jena also didn't really act like a fifteen year old--she seemed to be more around seventeen. Score- 6

Vervain Says: If you liked Marillier's other books then you may as well go ahead and read this one too.

The Marvelous Land of Oz (Oz #2)- L. Frank Baum

Hello non-existent readers! I am back from an extremely long hiatus--my sincerest apologies. It is only now that I have finished writing my infernal papers at University that I have the chance to read books again and share my oh so humble opinions. Shut up Vervain. Yea well right back at you. Sorry about that, she's a bit tetchy today. Nevertheless, I hope you are all having a lovely time with the return of the sun. I, for one, am displeased, but the weather does not seem to hold my opinion in very high regard. Anyway, I'll retreat to my library now and leave you with the following review:

My dear readers, if you have any knowledge about the Oz books that follow The Wonderful Wizard of Oz then you have my temporary respect and perhaps I shall let you live another day. L. Frank Baum--a horrible mortal I'm sure--actually wrote fourteen Oz books all of which I read in my childhood. Since it is summer and the pesky Seelies grow ever bolder, I picked it up again so that I could stay cloistered in my library. True, it is a children's book, but a classic nonetheless and I advise any fantasy readers to look to it for nostalgic value.

The story starts with a boy named Tip who is the ward of a wicked witch named Mombi. He hates his 'foster mother' (for lack of a better term) and decides to play a trick on her. Tip creates a man with a pumpkin for a head and sets him up to frighten Mombi. Mombi, of course isn't frightened and instead uses some of her 'life powder' to bring the man to life. The man is christened Jack Pumpkinhead. Later that night, Tip steals Mombi's life powder and brings a sawhorse to life so he can escape with Jack Pumpkinhead. As all good stories in Oz begin, they decide to run away to the Emerald City. They arrive in the City and all is well until a group of greedy and selfish girls armed with knitting needles invade the city and take over. Their leader, General Jinjur, declares herself queen and kicks out the Scarecrow (anyone who read the first book instead of just watching the movie will know that the Scarecrow was named king of the Emerald City after the Wizard left). The companions must travel through the land of Oz and seek help from the Tin Woodsman and eventually Glinda the Good to put the rightful ruler on the throne of the Emerald City.

Overall Merit:  The word I would use to describe this book, and all the books in the series is: charming. They are adorable and whimsical and although they are written for children (most likely Seelie children unfortunately) I still enjoyed every minute of it. Of course, there isn't a whole lot of action and the enjoyment relies heavily on suspension of disbelief, but it is still a wonderful read (no pun intended, this comment is aimed at someone who knows exactly who he is). I would highly encourage you to read the original Oz book if you haven't already. Score-7 (for sheer nostalgia/charm factor)

Characters: Oh this book. My non-existent feminist readers are going to hate this part of the review. However, I'll preface this by saying that fans of the movie might be disappointed to discover that Dorothy is not a character in this book, but never fear, she shows up later in the series. The main group of characters are just the right combination of quirky and lovable. Now for my feminist readers you will hate the depiction of General Jinjur and her army of foolish, vain girls. For my non feminist readers, you will hate them because they are annoying and stupid (let's keep in mind that this was written in 1904). Mombi was a standard one dimensional villain, in fact all the characters were one dimensional. But my dear readers, it's Oz be a little forgiving. I'm biased of course--these books were a major contributing factor to my childhood. However, when my father discovered that I was indulging in Seelie literature, I was beaten thoroughly. Score- 5 (I'm trying to be realistic)

Blush Factor: N/A

Plot: The plot was predictable, you knew what was going to happen from the very beginning although there was a surprising twist at the end. I won't spoil it for you since it does end up being a large factor in the subsequent books. However, if you are looking for something convoluted and intense you are reading the wrong thing. The plot may be sugarcoated, but it still makes you happy to read it just because it is so lighthearted, which makes it difficult to find fault in it. Score-5

Structure: This was lovely, there is no other way I can describe a return trip to Oz. While the characters weren't complex or conflicted, they were still very creative--I want to spend time with a Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug who spends his time making bad puns and acting better than everyone else. It is a goofy and silly book, but that is what makes it so enchanting. The world that Baum creates is both ridiculous and brilliant at the same time and that is a major factor in what makes the book so thoroughly enthralling. Score- 7

On a side note, I will be writing a guest post for Irritating Paramour's blog, which you can check out here: http://eyeforaneyepiece.wordpress.com. Be warned, his posts are dry as burnt toast, but I plan on adding a bit of butter to them, possibly jam too if he lets me. Until next time, which I promise will be soon!

Vervain Says: It had better be soon, Adriana, or I'll set fire to your skirts.

The Fairy Godmother- Mercedes Lackey

In the Five Hundred Kingdoms, everyone has a role to play, whether it be that of a normal peasant or noble, or something more important. This role is determined by a force called the Tradition. Once the Tradition decides that a person is useful or important, magic will culminate around said person and push them on a path toward their inevitable destiny. However, sometimes the logistics don't always work out correctly. Elena was supposed to be a "Cinderella" in her world. She has the evil stepmother and sisters to boot, but as luck would have it, the prince of her kingdom is eleven and not a viable candidate. So instead, she finds herself apprenticed to the fairy godmother of her kingdom and is poised to take over her position as soon as she learns how to control and use the magic that the Tradition has bestowed upon her.

Overall Merit: This was a fluffy book. It was fun to read and I did enjoy the world that Lackey created. This was my first Mercedes Lackey book so I don't know a whole lot about her writing style. To sum it up in one word: cute. The book was cutesy and headed for an inevitable happy ending, which I guess is to be expected in a world governed by fairytales. It wasn't anything so amazing, but I liked the concept of the world and it was a quick read. If you're looking for intense, well-written fantasy/characters/plot then this probably isn't your book, but I mean it was a very light read--'beachy' if you will (not that I know so much about beaches, Unseelie is sadly deficient)--so I finished it in a few hours. The main gripe I had was the romance. This romantic sequence pissed me off/confused me to the extreme. More on that in 'Blush Factor'. Score- 7

Characters: Not a whole lot of substance here. As I said, the characters weren't very well-written. I didn't get any real emotion from anyone and I didn't particularly care about Alexander or Elena. They weren't annoying characters, which always buys some points in my book, but they were flat. Elena was ho-hum not that interesting and her personality wasn't there. She never expressed any real emotion--same issue with Alexander. Sure, Lackey told me he was annoyed/wanted to throttle Elena, but she didn't show me his frustration. The other characters were basically sketches, thrown in to help the plot along, but they literally had no personality or were so stereotypical that they may as well have been stick figures. Score- 5

Blush Factor: *SPOILERS* Don't even get me started. This was one of the worst romances I have ever seen. First off, you knew that Elena and Alexander were going to get together as soon as she drags him away from his quest to 'punish' him. Then, he tries to sexually assault her, which I find is never conducive to any sort of kind feelings. After, when he becomes more civil, they start having freaky shared sex dreams and somehow along the lines end up falling in love. And finally, out of the blue he asks her if she's been having the same dreams as him and then when she says yes they go up to his rooms and have a weird variation of sex. What the Hell? Score- 3

Structure: I really did like the world, which is why I give some kudos to this book. I liked the pseudo fairytale setting and the magical rules of the world. Lackey gave good definition to her magic and the rules governing the world, which was amenable since so many writers neglect to do that. The story wove in and out of Elena's and Alexander's perspectives, which was standard, but I wished there had been more definition when the perspectives jumped. I got a line break and that was it, just a formatting issue, but still something to note. If you do decide to check out the book, do it for the world structure. Score- 8

Plot: I mean there was a plot, it wasn't a very good plot, but it was a plot all the same. I hated the ending, it was extremely rushed. It felt like Lackey was trying to avoid major conflict, realized that was impossible, and ended up putting it in at the end and sweeping it under the carpet as quickly as she could. The premise was decent, not super strong, but not awful either. Lackey could have done something much more interesting with the world. There really wasn't enough conflict. Elena mastered her magic in what felt like moments, Alexander was helped by fairies, and the final 'epic' battle was over in a few pages. No one died. Everyone lived happily ever after, even though the message that Lackey kept driving home in the book was that it didn't work like that. Score- 6

Vervain Says: "Fairy Godmothers are responsible for quest giving, testing heros, and keeping magic from running amok."

Warbreaker- Brandon Sanderson

This is the story of two princesses, Vivenna and Siri, one of whom is destined to marry the God King of Hallandren. It is also the story of a minor god who hates his job as one of the Returned, and another immortal who is trying to correct his mistakes made centuries ago. In their world, people who die under the right circumstances join the pantheon of the Returned, and live as gods for the rest of eternity. However, the gods need Breath to live, Breath, which is the source of Biochromatic power that every person possesses to a certain extent. A power that will prove to be the undoing of many and the fortune maker of few. Only through the collective efforts of Siri, Vivenna, Lightsong, Susebron the God King, and Vasher the Warbreaker will an inevitable war come to a less than devastating conclusion.

-I apologize for the vague and patchy synopsis. However, given the contents of the story I had little to work with. Here's an interview with Sanderson that might clarify things a bit.

Overall Merit: First off, the cover is gorgeous, but that's through no merit of the author. I think this book disappointed me more than it would someone else because the Mistborn Trilogy was just fantastic. For some reason, Sanderson was able to capture all of his literary prowess in those books, but fell far from the mark in this standalone novel. I do have to give credit where it's due and say that Sanderson is a genius at creating new worlds. The world in Warbreaker was intrinsically fascinating and thrilling, but the rest of the story, plot, characters, etc fell flat. Score- 7

Characters: Often times when there are a lot of perspectives going on at the same time, a reader will favor one perspective over the other perspectives. In fact, I've yet to find a multi-perspective book where this hasn't been the case for me. Then again, this is all relative because I found nearly all the characters to be annoying. Vivenna was bratty and spoiled and Sanderson kept talking about how she was 'so well controlled', but I never really saw it. Okay, I sort of did, but only through a really annoying plot device that he exploited far more than he should have. Vivenna and Siri, as royal princesses of Idris have the ability to change their hair color based on mood. Sanderson used this as a copout because instead of giving us other indicators as to how the girls were feeling it would just be like "her hair flared red", "her hair bleached", etc. Siri was also annoying because for such a 'rebellious' girl, she really didn't do anything all that rebellious. I don't know, Vin and Elend (Mistborn) were more real for me and I actually liked them as people. Score- 5

Blush Factor: This was a presence in the book, somewhat. I mean it's weird, Mistborn was uber chaste and then Sanderson spends a good deal of time talking about just how big Mercystar and Blushweaver's (two of the Returned) breasts are. Then there's the whole weird thing going on with Susebron and Siri (horrible name choice by the way). I don't know, I mean the Siri x Susebron thing wasn't bad, it was kind of sweet actually so kudos for that, but then he tried to do something with Vivenna and Vasher. The whole book was all over the place. This wasn't a terrible aspect, but neither was it that important. Solid, I guess. Score- 7

Structure: There were too many perspectives and I didn't enjoy reading most of them, in fact I kind of skimmed all the chapters that didn't involve Siri and Susebron--the only side story I found moderately entertaining. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I didn't really care about most of the characters, but Susebron, the God King intrigued me and I actually somewhat wanted to find out what happened with him, even though I could care less about the rest of the story. Score- 6

Plot: Ok, this was really, really contrived. There were way too many things going on and I even though the book was very long, it wasn't nearly long enough to flesh out all the details Sanderson was trying to cram into 600 pages. To be honest, all I got was there was some kind of conspiracy with the God King and a war was on the horizon. There were about 20 different rebel factions and it was nigh impossible to keep track of. Things were going on with Vivenna and some other things with Lightsong. Like I said, the only chapters I actually liked reading were the ones with Siri and Susebron. Score- 5

Vervain says: "Read the Mistborn Trilogy, but avoid this book unless you're absolutely desperate to read something else by Sanderson."

Masques- Patricia Briggs

Aralorn is a noblewoman turned spy/assassin. She realized early on that she was not cut out for court life and left home to pursue a more fitting occupation. One day, she rescues a dying wolf who turns out to be a powerful mage in disguise. He becomes her companion and after four years eventually learns to trust her. Aralorn has been given a new assignment: spy on the ae'Magi, the powerful and charismatic leader of the mages. With shapeshifting magic of her own, she accomplishes this task, but also learns how cruel the man is behind his charming facade. Few dare speak ill of the ae'Magi as mages are to be respected and feared, but Aralorn sees the evil in him and makes it her mission to see him destroyed. Only with Wolf's help and a great deal of magic will this be a successful endeavor.

A quick note: This book is pretty obscure as in, there weren't that many copies printed. Should you want to read it, I think you'll be hard pressed to find a copy.

Overall Merit: This is very different from Briggs later work (see the Alpha and Omega series). It is unpolished and at times hard to follow. I like her character work so kudos for that. Because this was her first novel and written at the age of 20 nonetheless, I have to cut her some slack. I liked the concept and the relationship between Aralorn and Wolf, but she spent a lot of time describing unimportant things instead of focusing on the plot. There were a lot of extraneous characters and events and I think if the story had been taking in a different, more succinct direction it would have been stronger. Score- 7

Characters: This was the one aspect that Briggs did the best with. I liked Aralorn and Wolf. Wolf's personality and backstory was the stronger of the two, but Aralorn didn't annoy me in the way that so many fantasy heroines manage to do. She was legitimately independent and although her personality didn't smack me in the face with strength, she was solid and more importantly, not irritating. I mean there was no uber strength here, but the characters were enough to make me want to continue on and read the sequel even though I didn't absolutely adore this book or anything. Score- 8

Blush Factor: You can often tell a lot about an author (age, religion, political views) based on how they handle the romance in a novel. That may not sound very plausible, but if you look hard enough, patterns emerge. Look for things like, the presence and usage of homosexuality, waiting until marriage, etc. This romance speaks of an author who is young and worried about being too explicit or too offensive and errs on the side of caution. It was sweet and I'm glad that she exercised restraint instead of throwing Wolf and Aralorn into a head-over-heels smoldering romance. However, there were times where the romance might have been too subtle and easily missed by a careless reader. Score- 6.5

Structure: This bothered me a bit because Briggs switched in and out of perspectives using page breaks, a technique that annoys me at the best of times. It's really more personal preference than anything, but it makes it less confusing for me if the author breaks perspectives up by chapters, rather than having a very long chapter with multiple perspectives. Chapter changes allow the reader to fully depart from one perspective and transition into another whereas page breaks can leave the reader stranded, straddling two perspectives and wondering why the story suddenly changed. Also, her transitions were a bit muddled and often I couldn't follow where the story was going or why she had chosen that specific place to break off. Score- 5

Plot: Yes, this was cliched, but when I started the book I didn't expect anything more. If you can accept the cliches and read without being too critical then the book isn't that bad. If you're a stickler for banalities then you'd best steer clear. I mean there have been several iterations of "kill the evil mage". This story didn't bring anything super new to the table. I gave this book the score I did because it didn't irritate me. I wasn't a phenomenal story and there wasn't anything new here. Score- 6

Vervain says: "Aralorn uses 'green magic', which she inherited from her mother. This means she has the ability to shape shift, but not as effectively as if she were full-blooded instead of half human."

Hazy Shade of Winter (Unbound Series #1)- Jessica Bradshaw

Jude can see ghosts, which is okay by her for the most part, but it puts her guardian angel Samuel in a tizzy. Her main concern is the incessant bullying she faces at the hands of her peers in school--it it so bad that she is forced to transfer at the end of the year. Samuel is with her all the way; not that he has a choice. Usually, a guardian angel, or sentinel has access to their charge's 'book' and through that they can keep tabs. However, in Jude's case, Samuel isn't allowed to see her book, which drives him crazy and makes it so that he has to spend every waking moment watching her in person. As luck would have it, Samuel is falling in love with Jude in spite of himself, and more than ever he wants permission to fall so he can be with her, but it seems his supervisors have other plans.

Overall Merit: I didn't like the story so much as I really liked the afterlife structure. I'm a huge fan of all things afterlife (the more twisted the better), but seldom do I find anything unique. This book relied heavily on the concepts of reincarnation and made Heaven seem very bureaucratic, which again was something I hadn't seen before. Bradshaw's writing is skilled and captivating--another plus for the book. However, both Jude and Samuel were moderately annoying characters and I didn't really care about them all that much. Score-7.5

Characters: I didn't find the supporting characters realistic--they were too 'cliched high school sitcom' I felt like I was in a scene from Mean Girls while Jude was still in the U.S. Jude annoyed me also because her character wasn't consistent. She's portrayed as this geeky, socially awkward girl, but then once she gets to the U.K. she's cool all of a sudden? I think in trying to make Jude unique, Bradshaw went overboard and made her kind of obnoxious and pathetic. Samuel is consistently self-described as a 'cad', but I didn't get that impression at all from him. This is a risk that writer run too often. If a character describes him/herself as being something they should be that something unless it is obvious that they are delusional about their self-image. Not the case for Samuel. I mean she sort of tried to throw it in in his flashbacks, but I really wasn't convinced. The characters weren't awful, but neither were they people who I would love to meet in real life. Score- 7

Blush Factor: Eh. That's all I can really say. Eh. I mean I guess it was sort of romantic with Samuel running around whining that he wanted to be with Jude. And I mean it was a decent attempt when Jude temporarily dated one of her friends, but to be honest the romance was weak--especially since you knew what was coming due to a poorly placed prologue. (I am not a fan of prologues at the best of times, but especially not when they're Twilight-esque and give away the ending before the damned story even starts.) I'm not going to lie I was bored and read the second book...Bradshaw needs to work on her romance. It's as if the characters go through the motions, but I DON'T FEEL THEIR BURNING, FIERY PASSION!!!! Score- 5

Structure: As stated earlier, I had gripes with the prologue, but then again also the ending. I felt like Bradshaw wrote the ending first and then manipulated the story so that it would culminate where she wanted it to. I don't like this approach for several reasons, the main one being that it locks the story in and doesn't allow nearly as much wiggle room as if it were left to flow to a more natural close. The technical writing was very good however, so I have to give some kudos for that. Score-7

Plot: Like I said, it was kind of like a bad high school rom-com with angels. The plot wasn't anything so innovative, and I know Bradshaw was hinting at some demonic activity, but I didn't see nearly enough of it to really consider it part of the plot. I felt like she made too much of an understatement with it and either she should have brought it to the forefront more or excluded it completely, rather than weakly hinting at it every now and then. Score-7

Vervain says: "Sentinels can petition to fall--meaning they gain a human body and get to spend that lifetime in mortal form."

Demons at Deadnight (Divinicus Nex Chronicles #1)- A&E Kirk

Aurora has always seen demons, but it didn't become  a real problem until recently when she moved back to Gossamer Falls. Now her sightings have grown more frequent and far more lethal--something nasty definitely wants her dead. And why do the demons keep calling her 'Nex'?
In walk her old childhood friends: The Hex Boys. They are secretive and notorious for their destructive capabilities. However, they are the only ones strong enough to protect her from the demons. Aurora and the Hex Boys will have to work together to figure out why she is being targeted before it's too late.

Overall Merit: I don't understand why young adult authors always feel the need to harp on how unattractive the female protagonist thinks she is. I mean I get that it's a device to help the reader identify with the character, but I find it annoying. If you must comment, do it once, not a million times. Also, who decided that tall on a girl was unattractive? I've read a lot of books recently where the girl complains, "Oh, I'm so tall, that must mean I'm awkward and ugly." Umm no? Sorry, back to the important stuff. Anyway, so this book was meh, for lack of a better word. I didn't hate it, but the protagonist was annoying and Kirk( A&E are two separate people, but I'm going to refer to them collectively) tried to make the Hex Boys funny, but more often than not I found myself cringing instead of laughing. The plot was not as focused as it could have been and I felt like the characters didn't pick up on things that should have been obvious. Not horrible, but not great either. Score- 7

Check out the trailer:

Characters: Like I said before, Aurora was annoying. She was awkward and whiny and not a character I enjoyed following very much. The Hex Boys were funny at times and I did like them to a certain extent, but sometimes their personalities blended and I had a difficult time telling them apart--that's the danger of having a lot of characters with a similar function. Also, I didn't buy a lot of the drama it was too overblown and some of the boys came off as caricatures more than characters. As a rule of thumb if there are a lot of supporting characters you have to commit to making them just as real and unique as the protagonists or risk confusing the reader. Also, one character who irritated me to high Heaven was Gloria (you'll meet her if you read this book), she was an obnoxious little twit and I thought Kirk would have done better to eliminate her. One thing I did like was that the families were in the picture and Kirk did a good job with this (you know blackmailing siblings, "I'll tell mom", all that good stuff). Score- 6

Blush Factor: This was again nothing that interesting, I did appreciate that it wasn't the wham-bam instantaneous romance that usually happens in YA, but I didn't feel a ton of chemistry between Ayden and Aurora. Sure he was hot, but all the Hex Boys were so that didn't do all that much for me. It was a slow build up and well I don't know if I could even consider romance a legitimate part of this book. Score-7

Structure: Nothing new here. Aurora's perspective throughout with a few side glimpses into the antagonists. The main issue here was that there wasn't a clearly defined villain, which bothered me. I wanted to know exactly who was out to get Aurora, not just a vague idea. Also, there was a group called the Divinicus, but I didn't understand the underlying structure and hierarchy, which is always a problem. Writers tend to forget that while they know everything about their world, a reader does not. Score- 7

Plot: There was a plot, but it was patchy and not well connected. I felt like there were a lot of little things going on at the same time, but the underlying thread to link them together was frayed. Again, there wasn't any major innovation here and to be honest the story was hum drum predictable and somewhat cliched. Also, I'm going out on a limb and saying that it sounded suspiciously like the anime Pretear. Score- 5

In summation: I'm going to suggest that you don't bother with this book, unless you're like me, and need an inexpensive ebook, and have WAY too much time on your hands.

Vervain says: "The Divinicus Nex is supposedly a person with the power to sense and locate demons. Aurora is the first female Divinicus."

Angel Burn- L.A. Weatherly

Willow is gifted with the power to look into the future and decipher the hopes and dreams of others by touching them. She doesn't know where her power comes from as no one else in her family is gifted. It isn't until the assassin, Alex, shows up with instructions to kill her that she finds out what she truly is and why her powers exist. However, Alex isn't the only one who wants Willow, she is also being chased by legions of evil angels and their followers. She must team up with and learn to trust Alex to escape from the angels because she might be the last hope for the human race's survival and freedom.

Overall Merit: When I picked up this book from the YA section of the library, I was thinking one thing: this is going to be exactly like every single angel book out there. Weatherly tries very hard to break out of that mold and in some ways she does, so bravo on that front. Her angels are dark, soul-sucking creatures who lure humans in and feed off them. See this would be original if it didn't sound exactly like another type of supernatural being. Let's think, where have I heard that exact description before...? No way, it's a vampire!  Please, for the love of all things fantasy, come up with some new ideas! To be nice, I did like that people who interacted with the angels slowly withered away from disease. Willow's character disappoints because she is set up to be such a kick ass heroine and then she just isn't. My main issue with this story is the missing plot line. The story plods along for a good 350 some odd pages, but nothing actually happens until like the last 20 pages! Score- 7

Characters: The biggest issue I had with this category was that the antagonists didn't seem to be trying very hard to do anything. It seemed like they were like "oh, well we want Willow, but before we exert any effort getting her let's have some afternoon tea." Willow had the potential to be a badass. I mean come on! She fixes cars for fun and is a psychic, I wanted someone more quirky, someone unique. What I got was a gushing, lovesick girl, "oh Alex, I wanna snuggle!" Where are my villains!? Sure there was Raziel, but he seemed to spend a lot of time bossing people around and gloating about his wickedness as opposed to doing anything proactive. Score- 4

Blush Factor- The entire novel was consumed by a cheesy romantic "subplot" to the point that it would have been more productive to write this as an erotica novel. Weatherly went out of her way to put the characters in situations in which they would have "no choice" but to embrace each other or get all touchy feely. I'm just as much of a sucker as the next girl for a good romance thread in a novel, but this wasn't even well done. It was cheesy and to be perfectly honest a seventeen year old guy is not going to behave like Alex does. (Like I said, it would have made a better erotica, provided the characters were older.) Score- 4

Structure: This might have been the undoing of the entire novel. There were far too many POVs going on at the same time and therefore things were revealed to the reader before the protagonists were aware. If done WELL this can be effective and make a story better, but when I learn what the "villains" are going to do there is no element of surprise and in a story with an already weak plot line this just bangs the final nail in the coffin. As a reader, I want to experience the action along with the protagonists, I should be traveling on a journey with them. If I already know what's going to happen then the impact is minimal. Score- 2

Plot: Hmm...still searching for this...give me a second...ah there we go! 350 pages in, whew thought I'd never get there. I mean there was sort of a premise...? There was a definite deus ex machina employed at the end to try and salvage some sort of action from the extended period of nothingness. There was a lot that could have been done with this concept, Weatherly just didn't take advantage.

Vervain says: "Alex's full name is Alex Kylar, his job title: Angel Killer. If that doesn't make you cringe, shame on you."