Review of “Shadow and Bone” by Leigh Bardugo

Review of “Shadow and Bone” by Leigh Bardugo

I saw the Shadow and Bone Netflix show before I read the book, and I enjoyed the first season, so I bought the book. However, the show covers more than what’s in the book, so I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy the novel. My favorite part of the show was the Crows gang, and they are not in the book, they are in a separate book called “The Six of Crows”, which I haven’t to read yet. So, I went into this book with different expectations than the show.

The world of the Grishaverse – the universe that “Shadow and Bone” takes place in – is an interesting fantasy land that feels like an early 1900’s setting mixed with a Russian aesthetic. Grisha’s are the magic users in this world, and I like the system of magic and ranks of Grisha that Bardugo has created. However, while I do enjoy the Grisha’s magical powers, I don’t think that Bardugo adds enough explanation and detail for how this magic is used and what each rank does, within this world.

The main character of the story is Alina Starkov a young girl that finds out she a rare type of Grisha known as the Sun Summoner. Everyone hopes that she is the key is getting rid of something known as the Fold, which is a shadowland river that splits part of the country. The creator of the Fold is The Darkling, a Shadow Summoner, the antithesis of the Sun Summoner. Alina is then taken away to a palace and trained as a Grisha. While I kind of liked the character I the show, I feel she is very bland in the book. They even changed an aspect of her for the show, that I thought gave her a bit more character depth. In the show she is part “Shu”, a sort of racial slur for Asiatic people. In the book they do not mention that, and barely mention the Shuhan people. One of the best aspects of a good fantasy is the political and social relationships between different races of people or creatures, and that is played out well enough here. 

Since the book follows Alina’s perspective, we don’t get to see what is going on with her friend and sort of love interest, Mal. In the show, we get to follow his journey, and in the book, he just tells Alina in a few sentences what happened to him. Mal is a sort of charismatic character in the show but comes off as a jealous soldier in the book. Because Mal is an expert tracker, he is tasked with finding a rara magical stag that Alina and the Darkling are after, because the stag will amplify their powers.

There is sort of a twist in the book where we find out who the darkling is, and why he wants Alina’s powers. In the show they drag the reveal out longer and set him up better as a villain. My favorite character from this book is a side character named Genya, who is a Grisha servant at the Palace that befriends Alina. While I do enjoy the fantasy world that author Bardguo has created, I just feel like the story of Alina is too generic and not interesting enough to really get me swept up in this book. The love triangle is boring, and her internal struggle doesn’t really work, because again I don’t think Bardugo does a good enough job showing how the characters interact with the world.

I haven’t watched the second season of the show because I heard it wasn’t very good and made too many changes from the books. I will however finish the “Shadow and Bone” trilogy and I’m looking forward to the “Six of Crows” book. If you like young adult fantasy, then you might enjoy this book, but tame your expectations from the show’s portrayal. 

Thank you all for reading, let me know what you think about the book in the comments below. Be sure to follow me on social media and if you want to support me as an online creator and writer you can donate to Buy Me a Coffee. Also, if you like to read science fiction short stories, check out my new book, The Chimera Prophecies and Other Short Stories. Thank you!

Review of Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Review of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: 

the Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

    So, going into this book I did not remember anything. I had got the beginning with the Hunters of Artemis confused with the ending when Thalia decides to join. I did not remember Bianca and Zoe Nightshade, and I thought Nico was introduced in the 4^th book. I did remember the scene at the Hoover Dam, but I thought it was with Annabeth in the second book. So, the story of this book was a big surprise to me reading it this time around. It was a lot of fun going into this book not knowing what to expect. I think this book is structured narratively, more like the first book, where we get thrown into a situation, then meet up at Camp Half-Blood, get the quest from the Oracle, and then the group goes on a mission. It’s a mystery as to who the General is, just like we didn't know who the lightning thief was, and then we end back at Mt. Olympus. 

Now, the second book also had a trio go on a quest but it was structured differently, and I mentioned felt rushed. This book didn’t feel rushed, but I will say they go to too many locations. We could have dropped the ski resort town, and just moved Grover communicating with Pan to a different location. I kind of also think it was a missed opportunity for Percy, the son of Poseidon, to go to the Hoover Dam, and not use his water powers. That could have been fun and cool, because I like to see Percy use his powers in different ways and situations. 

The other thing I liked was the slow reveal of the new prophecy by the oracle. One shall be lost in the land without water, ended up being Bianca, the titan’s curse one must withstand, was Percy needing to hold the sky up, and one that should perish by a parents hand, was Zoe, and all along the way, Thalia and Percy kept suspecting that their father’s might try to kill them. So, it’s great the way the prophecy plays out. I like having Grover back, and seeing how he’s changed since the first book. He’s more confident in his skills as a satyr, and he continues to follow his dream of finding Pan, and while he is still the fun Grover, he’s not used as much as a comedic relief character. I like the relationship between Percy and Thalia, being kind of competitive with each other, but also learning to respect each other, similar to Percy and Annabeth in the first book. Thalia is a strong female character but very different from Annabeth and Clarisse. I’m a bit sad to see he go off with the Hunters at the end of the book. Zoe Nightshade and Bianca were also cool female characters, that we unfortunately let go in this book. 

Like Grover in the last book, we don’t get much Annabeth in this one, but what we do get is great, and I like getting to meet her father and step-mother. We get a little bit more of Luke being the villain in this, and his almost desperation to have Thalia and Annabeth at his side. I still don’t care about Luke being a villain and whether or not he should be redeemed. I’m with Percy on this, let Luke die. While I vaguely remembered there was an ophiotaurus, I think I got it confused with the Hippocampi from the last book. But I like Bessie the ophiotaurus because it brings out a soft side of Percy that reminds us why he is the protagonist and hero of the series. When all the Olympians wanted to kill Bessie just to stop the prophecy, Percy says it’s wrong to kill an innocent creature. So, I like the introduction and mystery of Bessie in this. We don’t get a lot of Chiron, which is honestly something that has surprised me in these books, because I remembered him as being a bigger mentor figure for Percy. We do get a nice scene of Dionysus helping Percy in San Francisco, but he is still not someone that likes Percy.    

By the end of the book, we also learn that Nico is the son of Hades and that he runs away, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out, and I think we might find out who got Nico and Bianca out of the Lotus Hotel, probably as another way to try to control the prophecy. Thalia removed herself from the prophecy by joining the hunters, so she’ll never turn 16, and Percy is only 2 years away from his 16^th birthday. But Nico is like 10 so he’s 6 years away, and I don’t think Luke and Kronos are going to wait that long, so I still think that the prophecy about a child of the big three is about Percy, thus the series of books. 

So, I think that this book does a great job of following the standard quest storyline, but tying it in more to the overall story arc of the series. Whereas the first two books felt a little bit more like standalones, this book I think does a great job bridging the first two books and what’s to come in the next two books. Even though I didn’t remember the events of this book at all going in, I got to say I really enjoyed this book a lot. In contrast to me remembering that I loved Sea of Monsters and then read it again and it wasn’t as good. I don’t remember a lot about the next two books, so that is exciting to look forward to. 

So, that’s my review for The Titan’s Curse. Thank you all for reading the review, and stay tuned for the next book review, Battle of the Labyrinth. Be sure to let me know what you think about the book in the comments below.

Review of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Review of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: 

The Sea of Monsters” by Rick Riordan

Going into reading this book, I remembered it being my favorite of the series. After reading it, I do not think it will be my favorite of the series, I prefer the first book to Sea of Monsters. The second book is the shortest in the series, and I think it suffers from that. Many parts of this book feel rushed, and other parts that could have been rushed, the chariot race, weren’t. We didn’t get to spend enough time with Clarisse or Luke, even though they play crucial roles in this story. We mostly spend our time with Percy and Annabeth, which I love, because we see how their friendship has grown and how they’ve learned to open up and trust each other. Also, I do like Annabeth’s character arc of not liking Tyson because of her past interactions with cyclops, but then comes to realize that Tyson is different, and she gives him credit for helping on the quest. Percy also has a small arc with Tyson. First, he likes him as a friend when he thinks Tyson is human, then he’s ashamed of having a half-brother that’s a monster, and then realizes how much he cares about Tyson when he thinks Tyson is dead. Then in the end he proudly proclaims Tyson as his brother, and it’s kind of sweet, since Percy has been an only child his whole life.

However, with this book being so short, we don’t get the same character development from the other characters that we have spent less time with. I think Clarisse is an interesting character, being the daughter of Ares, and feeling his pressure to finish the quest, while also knowing that she DID need Percy’s help. But we don’t really get to know Clarisse, and how she feels. I would like to know more about Clarisse and why she feels this pressure to live up to her father’s expectations. I can’t remember how much Clarisse we get in the next books, but I think this is the most we get from her, and it’s a little disappointing. There’s also not a lot of Grover or Chiron in this book, the two characters that started off the series at the beginning of Lightning Thief. They were two characters that endeared us to the story. I feel like Grover is the heart and was kind of replaced by Tyson in this book. Chiron is the mentor figure that doesn’t get replaced in this book, so the role is just absent. The reveal of Chiron being the son of Cronus was mentioned and then never discussed after that. Which seems like it should be a big deal, but I don’t know if this will come back up again. Even Tyson comes off as just the simpleton, goofy, little brother, instead of an actual character. Luke has this whole plan to resurrect Cronus, but I think we only get two scenes with Luke in this book, and we need more of him, and him recruiting people to his cause in order to understand him as a villain, and root for him for some kind of redemption. At this point, I just don’t care about Luke, even though we did get to meet Hermes his father. I do like Hermes, he comes off as this fun, mail man business man type, and I like how he speaks to Percy. He doesn’t just treat him like a little kid or is dismissive with him, which is nice to see from one of the Gods, because Percy hasn’t really had any positive encounters with the gods, even Poseidon was a bit cold. I also like the two snakes on Hermes staff, they provide some good comedy.

Throughout the book, Percy and friends take on several new monsters. I like the opening dodgeball scene against the giant cannibals. However, I feel the other monsters were rushed. The new trio is barely camping out for a few minutes before they are attacked by a hydra, and then instantly dispose of it. I also like them going to Circe’s island, but again we don’t’ spend any time here. I wish they would have tied it in more with Circe in mythology. Then they encounter the sirens, and that does reveal Annabeth’s fears, giving us an insight into what’s bothering her, which is a great scene, since Percy learns about it, and it bonds them more as friends. But it’s still a pretty short scene. Then they go up against Polyphemus, a giant cyclops, and they manage to trick him fairly easily. Then in the end Percy has to fight Luke in sword combat, even that feels rushed, and I don’t feel the stakes. I don’t ever worry that Percy is in danger, and I don’t worry that Luke is actually going to kill Percy. I know these books are written for middle grade, but you can do that and still deliver compelling characters, action scenes and make the reader feel like the characters are in real danger.

What I do like is that this book continues the overall arc of the series, revealing the prophecy about a child of the big three, which is why Percy is so special in this world. And then the reveal at the end with Thalia, now Percy is not the only child of the big three. Also, the reveal of what really happened with Annabeth, Luke and Thalia, something that was hinted at in the first book, but we learn that they were attacked by a cyclops, and that Thalia sacrificed herself and turned into a tree, and now the golden fleece has cured her, and we get Thalia back. It’s a great way to tie these stories together. We also learn that the golden fleece can resurrect Cronus, and that is Luke’s plan. I’m still not sure how Luke’s plan in the Lightning Thief ties into his plan in this book. Was this his plan all along or did they need to change plans, after Luke failing at the end of The Lightning Thief?

So, overall, I still like this book, I just don’t love it the way I did when I first read it. Partially because that was over ten years ago, and I’ve learned as a writer, what goes into good characters and storytelling, so my metric for what I like when I read something, has gone up. I think about these stories more critically. I think when I first read this, I just liked that it was fast-paced and fun. Now that I’ve read the entire series, and I’m looking for more, the fast-paced nature is a hindrance, and we need more time spent on the new characters. We’ll see how I end up ranking these five books, maybe this will still be better than the last three, but I have a feeling that I will enjoy the next book "The Titan’s Curse", more than I did the first time I read.

Thanks you all for reading and please leave comment below about your thoughts on the book.

Review of Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan

Review of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: 

The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan

As a kid I found Greek mythology to be fascinating, so when I saw the Percy Jackson book was kind of like Harry Potter with Greek Mythology, I knew that I wanted to read it. This first book works well as a somewhat standalone book, but also sets up the overarching story that will take place across the five-book series. The first few chapters do a great job of introducing us to who Percy is, as well as slowly reveals this world that is inhabited by Greek mythological characters and creatures.

The story is a typical hero’s journey, with the two best friends, and the mentor figure, and Percy at first rejecting this new world, but then accepts the quest. I like that Percy is not just an overpowered character who is good at everything. Percy has his strengths, he’s naturally good at sword fighting, but not the best, and he also has his weaknesses, which are mainly due to him being an unexperienced twelve year-old kid. Annabeth and Grover also have their strengths and weaknesses and the three of them complement each other well on this journey.

The middle of the book has the trio on the quest, battling monsters at different locations throughout the country. I like seeing this trio of kids defeating these Greek monsters, and it’s an interesting way to explore how the Greek mythological world fits into the “real” world. At first the encounter with Ares, the God of War, seems like a side quest, but I like that it ties into the ending of the book. I think the narrative structure and flow of the story is well done. The plot is always moving forward, and we get bits of information as needed throughout the story progression. The one thing I would complain about is the villain is not present enough, and a few scenes feel rushed, in order to keep the pace moving.

One of the things that I enjoy about this book, is the fun of the magical world, and how Greek magic works. Camp Half-Blood is a fun place to explore, and I like the concept that humans see what they want to see, it’s called “the mist”. I like how the magic is used and incorporated into the quest and the real world. Like Percy using his pen that is a sword, Riptide, or Annabeth and her invisible baseball cap. The world building in this book is well done, and leaves plenty of room to expand in later books. This book also sets up threads that will be explored more in the next book, and beyond.

The twist at the end of the book, is mostly well done, although I do feel that the climax of the book is a bit rushed, and we don’t spend enough time with the big three gods, Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, despite the big deal that is made about them not being allowed to have anymore half-blood children. We briefly meet each of the big three, but they don’t leave a huge impression that makes us care about whether or not it’s special to be a child of the big three. Nor do the Olympic gods and Hades come across as likable characters, which actually helps to empathize with Luke’s motivations.

When I first read this book I really loved it, and immediately wanted to read the rest of the series. On this reading, I still really enjoyed the book, and found a few surprises that I didn’t remember, because I’ve seen the movie version more times than I’ve read the book. I really enjoyed the middle section with the trio on the journey battling monsters in pursuit of the quest. I think even though there are parts where the story feels rushed, overall it is well told and the characters are interesting.

Thank you for reading my review. Let me know what you think about Percy Jackson in the comments section, and stay tuned for the next review, the second book in the series, “Sea of Monsters.”

Review of “The Last of the Moon Girls” by Barbara A. Davis

 

Review of “The Last of the Moon Girls” by Barbara A. Davis

Eight years ago, Elzibeth “Lizzy” Moon left her small hometown of Salem Creek and moved to New York City. She works as a creative director for a perfume company and when she gets news that her grandmother, Althea Moon, has died, she makes the hard decision to go back and revisit her past. The Moon women all possess unique magical abilities and while never said in the book, people suspect them of witchcraft. Eight years before she left, two teenage sisters were murdered and Althea was the prime suspect. The girls were found dead in a pond on Moon Girl Farm, the land that Althea owned. When Lizzy comes back to town, she is determined to clear her grandmother's name and sell the farm.

 

Unfortunately the farm buildings need a lot of work, and her childhood neighbor Andrew, who is an architect and contractor, has taken it upon himself to fix it up. The two reconnect and Andrew confesses his feelings, while Lizzy makes it clear she can't have a “normal” relationship because of her family history. Althea’s friend Evvie currently lives at the farm, and then Lizzy’s estranged mom shows up all the while Lizzy is stirring up old feelings in the town about the murder of the Gillman girls. Not every one wants to know the truth, and when Lizzy is threatened, she does not back down.

 

This was a book that I had seen scrolling through Kindle or browsing at Barnes and Noble, but had no idea what it was about. I decided to give it a read mostly because I love the title. The book starts off slow, establishing Lizzy’s life in New York and her complicated relationship with her boss. The story begins to take shape once Lizzy reaches the farm. Wanting to be rid of her family’s past, she was in a hurry to get the farm ready to sell. Her interactions with Evvie and the book that her grandmother wrote to her, encouraged Lizzy to solve the mystery of the Gillman murders to clear her family's name.

 

The narrative structure of the book is done well. Author Barbara Davis uses excerpts from Althea’s book to push and motivate Lizzy’s actions along the way. Bits and pieces of new information are slowly revealed about the murder and the threat to Lizzy increases as the book progresses. Even though the mystery is a bit predictable, and the truth was not as salacious as I wanted, it was still well executed. I enjoyed Lizzy conducting her own investigation and questioning people, with some help from an ex Salem Creek police officer.

 

Even though I enjoyed the main character Lizzy Moon, her character development was a bit underwhelming. The romance subplot was cliché but also rushed. Numerous times Lizzy tells Andrew she can’t be with him but she never admits that she has any romantic feelings for him. The better relationship that has less time but better development is between Lizzy and her mother.

 

The town itself is very much a character. It represents the hatred, persecution, and how fear and the unknowing drive people’s judgments and actions. The Moons were already seen as “weird” before the townsfolk thought Althea killed the Gillman sisters. After the murders, the Moon’s were shunned by certain people and it's a big reason why Lizzy left in the first place.

Not knowing what to expect from this book, I was pleasantly surprised. Once Lizzy gets to the farm and the murder investigation starts, I was hooked. Even though we never actually meet Althea Moon, her presence and wisdom loom over the whole book. It has a lot of cliché’s and as I mentioned some the character developments were lacking. Despite its flaws, I loved this book and want to read it again. It’s a young women’s journey into adulthood with the stigma of her past and family ostracizing her from the community wrapped up in a murder mystery.

Thanks you all for reading and please leave comment below about your thoughts on the book.

Review of “The Wise Man's Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss

 

Review of “The Wise Man's Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss

A The Kingkiller Chronicles novel

The follow-up to The Name of the Wind picks up right where the last book left off. The story continues Kvothe's early days at the university and revolves around some young adult drama and romance. The first half or so of the book takes place at the university before Kvothe leave and starts a new journey. While I enjoy the expansion of world building in the latter part of the book, my favorite parts of the story take place at the university. I just love the characters and lifestyle that revolves around the university. 

 

This book does expand the world the author has built, by having Kvothe travel to other cities and different regions of Temerant. While I do like seeing more of how this world operates, I think this book has too much going on, that makes the story feel like it is being dragged out. There are parts where the pacing feels really slow. This book feels like the author committed to doing a trilogy before actually planning out the story, because parts of this book could have been saved for another book, to make the narrative flow better.

 

For me, I love the characters and interactions at the university. That’s the heart of the story. I love the relationships and friendships between Kvothe and the other students. In this book Kvothe also has a sexual awakening, which feels appropriate when he returns to the university. One thing that I like is that one of the female characters flirts with Kvothe, and he is either oblivious or ignores her because he is hung up on another girl. It feels very much like the reaction of a teenage boy, and in the end his friend gets the girl.

 

While this book does a good job continuing the story of young Kvothe, it does leave me wondering if we are ever going to catch up with his life as older Kvothe. Given there is only one book left in the trilogy. Kvothe does learn a bit more about the people that killed his parents, and we still don’t know who Denna’s “master Ash” is, which I hope we get answers to in the next book.

 

There are aspects of this story that I enjoy more than the first book, but I think the narrative structure isn’t as solid as the first book. It very much feels like a middle chapter to a trilogy. I still enjoy these characters and look forward to (someday) reading the third book.

Thank you for reading this review, follow me on Twitter, @AshlieKManger. If you want to support the blog and me as a writer, you can buy me a cup of coffee. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheChosenGirlA

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Review of "Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

 

“The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss review

A The Kingkiller Chronicles novel

As someone who doesn’t read a lot of fantasy novels, this book was recommended to me after I stopped reading “The Way of Kings” by Brandon Sanderson because I felt it too dry. So, I was a bit skeptical when I started this book. The opening sets up the narrative framework for the story. A man that chronicles stories of extraordinary people find an innkeeper (Kvothe) with an extraordinary journey. The book is mostly told as one big flashback with interspersed moments of the innkeeper and the chronicler. While I understand the author setting up the story of Kvothe, building the mystery about his past, I find the parts at the Inn to be a bit, uninteresting.

 

As the story continued, I found myself sucked into the journey of young Kvothe. I loved how the author portrayed Kvothe’s parents. They had personality and genuinely loved each other as well as Kvothe; while also teaching him life lessons. They weren’t bland, overbearing parents. They were real people, and that attachment to these characters is what drew me into the story.

When a terrible accident occurs, Kvothe is left alone, orphaned and in the middle of nowhere, with one goal in mind. He wants to attend the university and become an arcanist to study what happened to his parents. This is where a good chunk of the story takes places and I enjoy the adolescent antics that occur at the university. Kvothe also meets a mysterious young girl, that becomes a focal point and motivation for much of his journey.

 

The overarching plot of Kvothe trying to learn about the people that killed his parents, plays out more towards the end of the book. The author only offers crumbs of information and brings up more questions than it answers. The title of the book, “the name of the wind” is a central theme around the character of Kvothe and adds to his power and mystique by the end of the book.

 

While the narrative framework of an older Kvothe recanting his life story is interesting, I find the opening can be a bit boring; and the interludes at times slow down the pace of the novel. The world that Rothfuss has created is both detailed and immersive. The dialogue is easy to follow even if some of the elements (magic, currency, locations, social customs) can be hard to understand at first. While the fantasy world does have magic and monsters, it treats them in a way that feels grounded and realistic. Characters are the central focus and the world building around them enhances the story, but it's not what kept me returning.

 

This is the first book in a trilogy, so the story is not complete, and the ending made me want to pick up the next book immediately. I went in a bit hesitant about reading this book, partially because it is very long. However, I really enjoy young Kvothe’s journey and the world of Temerant, that author Patrick Rothfuss has created. The magic system is well done, and the different cultures, peoples and races are well developed. I look forward to reading the series, if Rothfuss ever completes the trilogy.

Re-read of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

With the upcoming Disney Plus show, I decided to do a reread of the Percy Jackson series. I first read the books back in 2010-2011, and I loved it. I liked the movies, but they were very different. So, I'm excited and hopeful that the TV show will be good. I was nervous to see if I would still like these books now that I'm older. I am pleased to say that, while yes these books are for a younger audience, I still had a lot of fun reading the first book. It feels great to get back into this world again. I'm looking forward to see if the second book will still be my favorite. I love the pacing of this book, it keeps moving along, no filler, and I love the character interactions.

Even though I do have physical copies of the books, I am doing this re-read with audiobooks, and the narrator does a decent job, but sounds very young. So, I'll be doing book reviews for all five books in the series. I'll do a ranking of the books when I'm done, just to compare to what my rankings were prior to this re-read. So, if you're a Percy Jackson fan stay tuned to the blog for reviews. I'll also be doing reviews on my YouTube channel and podcast channel. It will be called the Percy Jack:Son of Poseidon podcast. 

Follow me on social media @AshlieKManger for updates on when the podcast goes live. Be sure to let me know what your thoughts are about the Percy Jackson books. Thank you for reading and take care! Happy Holidays!

Alpha and Omega "Cry Wolf" by Patricia Briggs

Alpha and Omega book “Cry wolf” by Patricia Briggs

A spin-off from of the Mercy Thompson books, this series follows the son of Bran (leader of the wolves in America), Charles and his mate Anna. Both Bran and his sons Charles and Samuel are recurring character in the Mercy Thompson series, but this book focuses solely on Charles and his mate Anna, and we learn more about Bran and his sons. “Cry Wolf” is actually a continuation of a short story titled “Alpha and Omega”. 

Author Patricia Briggs wrote a collection of short stories set in the Mercy Thompson world. The first short story titled “Silver” tells the origin story of Bran, whose mother was a witch and turned him and his son Samuel into werewolves. It’s an interesting story that offers more insight into Bran as a character. The short story Alpha and Omega is about how Charles and Anna meet at her old pack. The book “Cry Wolf”, picks up right where the short story left off, and explores the budding relationship between Charles and Anna.

Anna is a shy girl, that had been mistreated by her old pack and is uncomfortable being with a man. Charles is the son of the Alpha of all wolves in America, and is himself an Alpha, and not used to someone like Anna. It’s revealed in the short story that Anna is an Omega wolf, which means she has unique qualities that other wolves don’t possess. As an Omega, Anna isn’t compelled to follow the orders or influences of an Alpha. Omegas can also influence others wolves themselves but are similar to Submissive wolves. Omegas are rare, and they are born that way.

This book explores new areas of wolves and the history of werewolves. This book also introduces a character named Azreal, also known as the Moor. This character shows up in the 7^th Mercy Thompson book, “Frost Burned”. Having known the character first in that series, it was interesting to learn his backstory in this book. The Moor is a character that lost his wife centuries ago, and she was an Omega wolf. Ever since The Moor joined Bran’s pack, he’s been trying to get Bran to kill him. After the events of this book, I think the Moor gets some closure, and then we see how he’s moved on in “Frost Burned.”

The main plot of this book is that there have been sightings of werewolves in the mountains and Bran sends Charles to investigate. Charles and Anna discover a rogue wolf, that just wants to be left alone, but is not the killer they are looking for. Then they discover a witch who has created a golem that looks like The Moor’s dead wife. The witch is connected to The Moor’s past and is the reason of his wife’s death. The Moor figures this out and then tries to go and help Charles.

Ultimately, I found this book to be a bit boring, and w

hile interesting past details and histories of some characters, I had a hard time getting through this book. The witch villain plot was kind of confusing and all over the place. The relationship between Charles and Anna is not well done. I understand that being a ‘fated mate’ is something that wolves can’t control, but that doesn’t explain Anna just getting over her past trauma so easily. They do a good job of showing that she cares for his physical wounds, and that Charles is being patient with her emotional situation. However, I just don’t feel any chemistry between the characters, and Anna agrees to marriage too easily.

Overall, I think the idea of a spin-off series set in the world of Mercy Thompson is a great idea, I just think this book wasn’t well executed. I found the short story to be more compelling than the book. Since I wasn’t big on this book, and I read the first few chapters of the second book and couldn’t get into it, I’m going to shelve this series for a while, and move on to other books that I want to read. So, look forward to new posts, and hopefully some short stories as well. Thank you for reading, and be sure to leave a comment below, or you can help a struggling writer by buying me a coffee here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheChosenGirl 

Current list of previous posts

Welcome all readers and book lovers to the Fantastic Literature Review blog. If you're new to the blog and don't want to browse through the back catalog of reviews, then here is an updated full list of all my previous reviews and posts. Check the list and see if there is a story or book that you like, and click on the link for the review instead of searching the blog. Enjoy the reviews and thank you for reading!

Book Reviews

Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

Moon Called

Blood Bound

Iron Kissed

Bone Crossed

Silver Borne

River Marked

Frost Burned

Night Broken

Fire Touched

Silence Fallen

Storm Cursed

Smoke Bitten

Soul Taken

          Harry Potter By J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Quidditch Through the Ages

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

Catching Fire
Mockingjay
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

John Steinbeck Novels

Tortilla Flat

The Pearl
Of Mice and Men
The Grapes of Wrath
In Dubious Battle
The Red Pony
Cannery Row

Dracula and Frankenstein

Bram Stokers Dracula (part 1)

Bram Stokers Dracula (part 2)
Bram Stokers Dracula (part 3)
Bram Stokers Dracula (part 4)
Bram Stokers Dracula (part 5)
Frankenstein (part 1)
Frankenstein (part 2)

                        More Book Reviews

The Prisoner in the Sky by F.R. Colom-Brana

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Where the Crawdad Sing by Delia Owens
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Short Story Reviews

Science Fiction

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Robbie by Isaac Asimov
The Star by H.G. Wells
An Express of the Future by Jules Verne

All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

Ark by Veronica Roth

Exiles of Tomorrow by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Horror and Dark Fantasy

The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe
Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe
The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce

The Boogeyman by Stephen King

The Man Who Loved Flowers by Stephen King

Troll Bridge by Neil Gaiman

The Gray Wolf by George MacDonald

Dramas/American Classics

Pigeons at Daybreak by Anita Desai
Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Barn Burning by William Faulkner
Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner
The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck
The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The White Quail by John Steinbeck
Odour of Chrysanthemums by D.H. Lawrence

 

Author Spotlight
Jules Verne and Science Fiction
Stephen King and IT
Philip K. Dick
Suzanne Collins
John Steinbeck
Shirley Jackson
 

The Lord of the Rings movie reviews

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Return of the King

Literary News

The Hunger Games prequel book
Margaret Atwood interview for "Testaments"
Amazon Prime short story collection "Forward"

Editorial List

The Wizard of Oz movie quotes
Ranking Songs from The Wizard of Oz
Top 50 list of Horror Books
NaNoWriMo.html
New Years Reading Challenge Tips
Literary Theme of the American Dream
Print vs. Digital Media
Harry Potter Books and Movies Rankings

Captain Marvel vs Wonder Woman (movies)

If you like movies check out the movies review page. I've not updated it in a while, but some reviews include Spider-Man: Far From Home, Justice League, Aladdin (2019) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Movie Reviews