Book Review: Champion

Champion (Legend#3): written by Marie Lu
Release Date: November 5th, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Format of Novel: Hardback
Summary (From Goodreads): He is a Legend.
She is a Prodigy.
Who will be Champion? 

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position. 

But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything. 
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~Warning: The following review will have some fan-girling and spoilers. If you have not read this book, please read the other two books before reading this review.~

After receiving this book for the holidays by my awesome roommate, I finally gotten the chance to read it after making a goal to read the first novel to "Game of Thrones" completely. In the end I'm glad that I waited to read this book because this novel was a really good end to the entire trilogy. The plot was fast paced after eight months from Prodigy, and we got to feel more emotional depth between the two focused characters, June Imparis and Day Wing. With the sudden rebellion from the Colonies, Day and June are also facing a difficult challenge to stop the new found plague and to somehow bring all countries together as a whole instead of going against the Republic. Minus the fast pace of the sudden battles between Commander Jamieson and the leader of the Colonies, I did enjoy the romantic moments we got to see with Day and June, which made it so heart wrenching to see the actual effects of Day's disease taking over him slowly.

I also enjoyed the way June was becoming more humane and going back to her roots as a soldier instead of a odd politician. It shown that while she did care for her beloved country, she did wanted a normal life and she wanted to be with the people she truly cared about and avenging her brother Metais. The other characters grew on me as well, but not like Day and June since they were more in the background instead. I was glad that Tess and Eden made it out of the testing and plague okay and that they were able to help out in the battle after all.

What really killed me was the end. I couldn't believe how Marie Lu created the emotional feels between June and Day. I'm really grateful that the author included the epilogue because if she didn't, then I probably would've cried like I did with Alex Bracken's Darkest minds trilogy. The epilogue gave a new start and a shine on how much everyone has grown and gained a certain peace in themselves and the world around them. All in all, Marie Lu's trilogy as a whole was fantastic and I truly recommend this series to you guys. It was well thought out, the characters were brilliant, and the story overall was memorable.

Happy Howling.

Book Review: Prodigy

Prodigy (Legend #2): Written by Marie Lu
Release Date: January 29th, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Format of Novel: Hard Cover
Summary (From Good Reads): ~Second book to the trilogy~
Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?
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~Warning: There will be a couple of spoilers for people that haven't read the book yet.~

In this exciting sequel, readers are left in the aftermath of Day and June's escape outside of the Republic's Los Angeles. With the older brother of Day dead in his place, he follows June as they search for a way to escape the military's hands. In a odd turn of events, they stumble upon a rebellion group known as the Patriots, the only group in their country with a deep desire to take down the Republic once and for all. In spite of joining them, the real question still lies within this story, can the duo trust the group or be alone in the upcoming war?

I read this book last year after buying it with the money I gotten from the holidays. Just like the prequel, Legend, I fell in love with this book. It was so fast paced and June and Day's character growth kept on moving along with the actions. Not only that, I also loved the new characters Marie Lu introduced like Pascao, Eden Wing, Commander Andrew "Razor" Desoto, and Anden Primo (the new elector). And the amazing return of Tess and Kaede. Each of the secondary characters had a specific growth to them and it really killed me when death lingered on some of them.

In terms of the plot, Marie Lu seemed to focused more on the political development between the people that were involved in it and the Republic as a nation. Regardless of the fact that Day's point of view was in this book, I felt as so this story was mainly about June and the discoveries she soon finds while trying to manuplate the new elector for the Patriots. I noticed right away that June's character growth was more focused since she shown deep signs of doubts and self yearning to heal and figure out her feelings for Day. I loved her as a character in this book because I had the need to hug the crap out of June since she lost her brother and her 'perfect' world kept crashing down all around her. I also felt the same way when it came to Day as well since he personally witnessed his older brother and mother murdered in front of him by the military.

All in all, this was a wonderful sequel and considering it took me just two days to wolf down the last book to this beautiful trilogy-- I will post a review for Champion tomorrow afternoon. Prodigy was quick, powerful, and all in all, crazy with a side of action and love. If you guys haven't read this book or Legend do so now, you will not be disappointed. Happy Howling!

Camp NaNoWriMo

Hey everyone, how are things? I apologize for not posting in over a week, but after finally landing a job I needed to get things figured out. Since the last time I have posted, I had worked in Dunkin' Donuts where I live, however after dealing with the morning rush over there- I froze and went to another job as of yesterday evening. As much I was grateful for the job, I couldn't do it, but now I'm working at a movie theater in my hometown and let me tell you something, I love it so far. Yeah I know it's only the first few days, but I felt like I was cloud nine over there. It's a really cool job so far and I can't wait go back there this week. :) And considering that most of my hours over there are in the late afternoon, I have time to interact with you guys on here and do some writing!

Speaking of writing, let's talk about the latest event that's approaching very quickly-- Camp NaNoWriMo. This particular event is a sub event for the actual NaNoWriMo that takes place in November. Camp NaNoWriMo takes place in two different months, April and July. Now I know a lot of you are writers so you guys do know what it is, but I'll explain for those who don't understand it. :)

Camp NaNoWriMo is a free event where you reach a word goal on your current story project, whether is a first draft or a revision of your special story project, or even a sequel to a trilogy/series. The normal word count you have to reach by the end of the month is 50,000, but experienced writers can go beyond that if they wish too. It's very similar to the NaNoWriMo and the pre NaNo that takes place in October. You get to meet fellow writers and create daily word goals for yourself to improve your writing. Even though you don't particularly win anything, this event helps writers during the summer to become stronger in what they wanna do in life. I love these events because it helps me figure out what story needs to be done, how to understand the concept of deadlines and stress, and the concept of having fun with your story. I'm gonna give it another whirl with a project I've been planning since I got home from college, so I hope you guys are gonna give it a try with your story as well. I'll post my updates on and I'll love to hear from you guys and your progress as well!

Here's my profile, you have a account, feel free to add me!: http://campnanowrimo.org/campers/rayne-wolf

A new discovery: Weird Fiction

Hey everyone, happy father's day!

Hope everything is going well. So this weekend has been a odd yet exciting one for a couple of reasons. One: I got a job and I start Monday morning. And two: I've been researching again. To me, researching literary stuff is a breath of fresh air because I have been in a slump lately, and after finding out that I was hired somewhere brought my spirits right back up. It's exciting to feel like an actual almost twenty one year old and having the ability to earn my own cash, but it is also nerve wrecking because of the fears of messing up in front of the public. But, as a writer, I know I have to build up the courage to speak to people one day and this new job will be the ideal concept for me to learn.

Speaking of learning, like I said a moment ago, I have been researching. I wanted to re educate myself with the different types of fiction the entire world likes to create. For example, psychological, speculative, and so forth. However, by my surprise when I was looking up the horror fiction, I stumbled upon a whole different concept of ghost fiction. I'm sure you guys probably have heard of this particular type of fiction I'm going to explain to you, but in case you haven't-- allow me to explain it to you. Surprisingly, its called "Weird Fiction". Odd right? Even I was surprise about it.

Weird fiction is a concept of ghost/macabre stories, and a sub genre of speculative fiction. It was created around the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The concept of weird fiction focuses on a specific elements of horror, supernatural, and fantasy. As it blends in with other elements like mysticism and scientific, the word 'macabre' is taken very seriously in writing. If readers and writers were to understand macabre and enjoy in literature, just make sure you are mentally and emotionally prepare for it since macabre is the concept of absolute gore and violence. When reading a novel with macabre in it, you have to breathe in the air of death, the un-dead, and hell. And writers, you have to deliver it if you want to scare the crap out of your fellow readers. If you want inspiration of this sort of thing, read some Edgar Alan Poe, Stephen King, and H.P Lovecraft. In America literature, they are the kings of this sort of thing. As for the multi-cultural literature, look into Hans Holbein the Younger and Ingmar Bergman.

Bottom line here is, weird fiction is around and hopefully it will continue to grow even stronger with the speculative stories in the near future. I hope you guys enjoyed this little lesson and I'll see you all tomorrow. Happy Howling.

Book Review: Legend

Legend (Legend Trilogy #1): written by Marie Lu
Release Date: November 29th, 2011
Publisher: Putman Juvenile
Format of Novel: Paperback
Summary (from goodreads): What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets. 
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 This is the first book to Marie Lu's debuting trilogy and holy crow what a impact this thing had in late 2011 to now! This book is the start of the trilogy with an amazing plot, characters, and the world behind it all. I fell in love with the dual point of views and the characters, especially the two main protagonists were so emotionally wrenching, I think I will go bear hug their creator!

Legend begins with the concepts of getting to know the well know prodigy, June Iparis and the underdog (whose really a wonderful bad ass) of the Republic slumps Daniel (Day) Wing. Readers will see how crazy people like June and Day will go to protect the values and families they deeply care for so much. In terms of the story itself, the main plot of Legend is mostly focused on the developments of June and her realizing that her world is a crazed up one after she goes off to locate her older brother's killer. I liked that readers got to see both sides of the story because Marie Lu was able to deliver the emotional outage of how Day and June feel about the world around them and we get to see that these two characters are very similar to one another even though they were raised very differently.

What also makes this story really appealing in my eyes is the idea of the different diversity within the characters. I loved the idea of Day being half Mongolian and Kaede being one of the few Japanese women in the series. It brings a thought of races coming together in the worse of times and it made me smile to see them being really amazing characters that grow further as the trilogy progresses.

The plot sounds similar to the Divergent trilogy, but I'm so, so, so glad that it's nothing like it at all. Marie Lu knew what she was writing about, she knew the characters, and this book was a fantastic start to her debut trilogy. 

Happy Howling.

Book Review: Scarlet

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2): Written by Marissa Meyer
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Format of Novel: Paperback
Summary (from goodreads): ~Second book to the series~ Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner
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~Warning; there are some spoilers if you haven't read the first book yet~

As promised, this is the review for the second book of the Lunar Chronicles. Upon reading this, I got into more than the first book for a couple of reasons. One-- I love the red riding hood fairy tale and two, I loved Scarlet and Wolf. Both of these characters shined and they truly took everything to the next level to the series in my eyes. Now before I give my intake on how much I enjoyed these two, allow me to go about the other parts of the story.

In the exciting sequel to the Lunar Chronicles, the story takes place right after Cinder is arrested for her crimes in the palace and in a brand new location (fictional Paris/France). By doing this, readers were allow to experience the continuation of older characters with their struggles and see the beginning parts of how the newer characters are forced into Cinder's now longer quest to defeat the Lunar queen. Unlike the previous story, I thought that in terms of pacing, Scarlet was faster in some areas because of the increased action with Wolf and Scarlet as they go to rescue Scarlet's grandmother. And because of it, it made me enjoy the concept of the two newest characters as a whole along with Captain Throne and how they are now a part of the action. This book in general was a enjoyable read and it makes me really want to go buy Cress right now! Any who, speaking of the new characters, let's talk about them.

Since the story was based on the concept of the Little Red Riding Hood, Marissa Meyer focused on the developments of Scarlet (red riding hood) and Wolf (the big bad wolf) as key characters for the series. I truly loved these two as characters because of how much different they yet she kept their roles as those specific characters in check. I loved Scarlet for being spunky yet gentle and passionate about everything in life. She made me want to hug her and connect with her so she wasn't so alone in her quest since you know... (For those who read this will get what I mean here). Yet she also made me feel like I should run away from her since I don't want her shooting me with that gun xD. As for Wolf, man he is one handsome cutie pie. He's strong, angry, passionate, yet so shy and unsure about everything. I loved him more than Prince Kai and Throne. Wolf in my eyes is exactly want Cinder and her rag-team of awesomeness needs to get the ball rolling so I was in awe to see him becoming a key member of the group.

In general, this story was an excellent installment for the Lunar Chronicles. It will keep you wanting more, the character are very memorable, and writing is beautiful. If you haven't picked up the first two books of this series, please do so if you are looking for new stories to read. Happy Howling!

Book Review: Cinder

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1): Written by Marissa Meyer
Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Fewiel and Friends
Format of Novel: Hardcover
Summary (From Goodreads): ~Book one to a four book series~ Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

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Before I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, I never knew there was another modern 're-telling' of the epic fairy tale Cinderella, until I read this book. At first I wasn't too keen about the sci-fi concept towards this novel, however once I did a little research and read the book after it was release, I fell in love with the story. The story is about a young teenage mechanic named Cinder and her quest to figure out the mysterious lunar queen after encountering the young and very handsome Prince Kai. In her world, you get to experience it in different sectors, but in this first book, the story focuses on New Beijing and the current plague that is hurting the majority of the population. The setting in the story was told a very interesting way. In my head, it felt like i was dealing with a sci-fi world with all of the mentioning of the futuristic technology, but when I read this, I quickly fell in love with the narrative and the characters. Those couple of things made the story more interesting and entertaining.

Out of the characters so far in the series, I have to say that Cinder is really one of the main favorites in my heart. I loved how she is a outsider to many people, yet she is willingly to do anything to fulfill her younger sister's dying wish and figure out the meaning behind the Lunars. She shows the qualities of a female protagonist with intelligence, bravery, girly awkwardness, but she is also sensitive, emotional and so forth. 

One of the only things I didn't like about her was the way she let people abuse her verbally. I mean, yes I do understand the idea that she has to muster the hidden courage and get that push out of her, but I think by the time she does take action where the climax in the story takes place-- she is already a weaker character in my eyes and things are deadpan towards the end. However, its also makes sense since we do get to Cinder becoming a even more stronger character as the series progresses. Sometimes I just don't enjoy the concept of the first book to a series being at odds with the climax and falling action, but in the end I had to remember that this story is based on a different idea of Cinderella so your gonna see the missing shoe, the epic escape and everything else that is related to the story.

Over all, I enjoyed Meyer's debut and I just read the second book, Scarlet. I recommend this series for those that really enjoy these particular modern fairy tales. Marissa Meyer is a powerful, energetic, and talented writer. You will learn how to feel inspire with her amazing world building and crave more as each page is turned.

Stay tune for tomorrow for my review on Scarlet! Happy Howling my fellow wolves.

Online Story Review: A Little Insane-Building a Monster

A Little Insane- Building A Monster: Written by Amyscene
Location of Story: WattPad.com
Number of Chapters: Fourteen
Part of a Series?: Yes.
Summary from WattPad: Hart is supposed to be alone. His dark world has no room for another. Especially not his new victim, Riley. But this time it's different, and there's no going back once this twisted romance unveils
~First book to a series~
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I figure that I'll post a different type of review today since I didn't post as much last week. In this particular review, I am going to focus on a story I quickly fell in love with on watt pad. I shall warn you now, this is a boyxboy/yaoi/male slash story and if you are not into these sort of stories-- then don't read it or read this review.

Any who, let me first say that I absolutely LOVE the cover! It's so beautiful and matches the story as a whole. Feel free to cover lust of Amyscene's talent. Haha. Now, the story in general at a glance feels like a typical thriller/slash feel within the content. However, once you got further into the plot, holy crow its so different because:
 Cue the paranormal and mind blowing undertones!

Its so dark and gory. It's beautiful with character development between Riley and Hart, the romance is creepy yet so right when dealing with a story like this, and the secrets. Man oh man the deep secrets behind Hart's motives with Riley so crazy and confusing, it will keep you wanting to read more and more. That being said, let's talk about the two focused characters. Now I won't go into full details considering this is the first book to Amyscene's series, but I'll give you a small insight on them.

When the story begins, we are introduced to Hart right away. He is know to be very violent, intelligent, and very fashionable in a way. Right away, you can see that he possesses the typical traits of a serial killer, so when we see the interaction between him and Riley, we can tell right away what's going to happen. Yet as the story goes deeper into the mystery depth of it, Hart has a struggling personality, as a reader, you shouldn't connect with him since he is the 'main' villain, but at the same time, you can sympathize with him because he leaves off a vibe that makes you want to hug him till you physically can't breathe, especially with the moments with Riley. Now before I end this review, let's talk about Riley.

Riley is the victim in the story, yet somehow readers like myself can probably feel that he's something completely different the more you read it. I personally enjoy Riley because of how he tries to get to know Hart and trying to escape the house that he's held captive in. He's a sweetheart and I just want to hug him. Amyscene really knows how to create innocent yet crazed male characters and I really look forward to reading the sequel to this series. I'll see you guys later and here is the link to Amyscene's watt pad account. Feel free to take a glance at it and at mine too. Happy howling!

Amyscene's watt pad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/Amyscence
Mine: http://www.wattpad.com/user/xRayneWolfx

Why I think Good-reads is a awesome website

(This is a short blog post, thanks for the 150+ views! Feel free to comment!!!)

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Goodreads.com, its a cool site. It's one of the only sites I have been using to keep track of what books I've read, what books to read in the near future, and so forth. I'm sure many of you readers have an account to this or any other website that relates to good-reads. (Please let me know, I'll love to sign up for one!). I mean, you are a huge reader then you should probably sign up to keep track and get to know other readers.

I signed up for this site a few years ago, I figured why not since I knew I was going to be more of a avid reader by the time I got into college. At first I believed that the site was boring, being a shy person in general, I never really interact with other readers as much as I should. Once I gotten to know a few people at the last college I went too, I found out that they used this site too. I was excited to add them and figure out what books we could geek about whenever I saw them. I literally have this one friend on Good-reads from college I met three years ago that has probably read WAY more books than everyone I know and myself in the entire world. I mean, holy crap. She is a crazy and speedy reader, which is pretty awesome since she is also a mother to a young toddler so you gotta wonder how the heck she manages to read so much.

Not only you can keep track on what books you want to devour, you can also look up your favorite authors! I mean really, its so cool to see the authors you enjoy be on that site and read their blogs and see what books they're grabbing for their own personal down time. Hell you never, you'll probably enjoy the books you're reading or point you to a brand new book you never even heard of before. It's a great thing to see since you can probably have a small chance to be a part of interactions things or a promotional events for authors.

All in all, I suggest you guys take a look at this site. If you already did, feel free to add me on there: (xRayne Wolfx). I promise I don't bite and I hope we can all chat about books in the near future. Stay tune for tomorrow (I don't normally post on Wednesdays), I'm gonna attempt a anime review post next! Howl fellow wolves, bye for now!

Book Review: DarkFever

DarkFever written by Karen Marie Moning
Release date: October 31st, 2006
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format of Novel: Hardcover
Summary (From goodreads.com): ~Book one in the series~ MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

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Alright, again I apologize for not posting as much. My internet was being weird and I was caught up in reading this book just so I can review it on hand. So unlike the previous of books I have review in this blog, this book is more a higher 'young' adult range or as people would say it now-- new adult fiction. This involves more sexual undertones and informational background on what fairies are.

As I read through this book, I can say that I'm not really big fan of it but I did enjoy it at the same time. No not because of the sexual stuff, but it was mainly because of the plot and characters overall. Now I get that this book is the first one to the long series, but I felt that Moning should've added a lot more than what a first book can handle. The book itself was okay and the narrative was really cool since it felt like I was personally listening to MacKayla's telling me the entire story herself. However, regardless of that fact, I did have issues with book.

The plot in my opinion felt empty. Moning did create a interesting world and characters, but the story line didn't really have much. For twenty five chapters, I wanted more. I think the story could've created a buddling romances between MacKayla and Jericho, but since I still need to read the other books I don't have much of a opinion to give a full-on review about the series as a whole. With the characters, I didn't enjoy MacKayla as much as I would like too. At first I felt as so she was really, really whining, but as the story continued on, I grew to like her snippy attitude when she arrived in Ireland. As for Jericho, I like the idea of him being a mysterious bad guy, but I really wanted him to give out a little more emotion as a person. In a way, he was dry and all he gave a crap about was the Sinsar Dubh, which is the most important object talked about in the story. 

While I did enjoy the read and the new experience on reading about fairies, I wish this story had more depth towards it. I am curious about reading the other books to this series, but I'm not sure if I'll enjoy fully since I had some issues with this one. But, like any other book, its a read and if you guys are into faes/fairies and celtic mythology, then pick up this book for your curious minds. Have fun reading and see you guys tomorrow.