Book Review: The Nutcracker Bleeds

The Nutcracker Bleeds written by: Lani Lenore
Release date: December 3rd, 2014
Publisher: Self-Published/Smash words website
Format of Book: Paperback
Summary (From goodreads): A horrific retelling of the classic Nutcracker story. On Christmas Eve in 1905, a household in London finds itself under a centuries-old curse when a strange new toy is brought into the house.

A young nanny named Anne is immersed in the horrific world of her unstable charge, Olivia, when a bite from a mouse makes her the size of a doll. She must brave a world of mangled and demented toys that have come to life. Each has his own vendetta- the most unrelenting of which is the mysterious and handsomely-carved nutcracker, who becomes Anne's only sane ally.

There is war in the lower levels of the house between the rodents and the toys, yet Anne's only concern is getting Olivia and herself back to the way they once were before it is too late for either of them.
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Words cannot expressed how much I loved reading this stand alone. Most of this review will most likely be me fan-girling up a storm. But, I will try to keep this in a semi-professional level lol. So this book is more or less a re-telling of the story Nutcracker. I'm pretty sure some of you have heard of the ballet before and seen Christmas specials based on this story. However, I have never been to New York City long enough to watch it and when I'd heard of this writer on fiction press that wrote a horror version of this, I've decided to buy this book. (Along with the first two books to her Peter Pan retelling trilogy).

Upon reading this, I never wanted to leave the fairy tale. Lani Lenore did a fantastic job with bringing this world to life with the characters and the plot in general. I've never seen the famous ballet, but now I just want to go to NYC and just to see it for myself. I loved how twisted and diabolical many of the characters were throughout the adventure, especially the rats and the humans like Todd and Olivia's father. Anne, one of the leading protagonists, brought out the 'real-life' ideal into the Nutcracker's world since 90% of the time I almost forgot about that many of the enemy forces and Armand were toys. She was young, yet became quickly adapted in both Olivia's world and the curse. From that, the author was able to blend into the 'adult' themes into this and made the story so gruesome and ironic in a sense that I thought it was beautifully written. I say the word ironic because the author was able to make the toy/rat characters more humane than toys. Plus, the aftermath of the story completely brought out that sense of irony into it and other things that I don't want to spoil you all with right now.

Overall, this story was fantastic and you can read it anytime, especially during the holidays or Halloween if you celebrate it. Pick up this book if you are in a need of a tale like the Nutcracker. Happy Howling!

Book Review: Sapphique

Sapphique (Incarceron #2) written by: Catherine Fisher
Release date: September 18th, 2008
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Format of book: Paperback
Summary (from Good Reads): Finn has escaped from the terrible living Prison of Incarceron, but its memory torments him, because his brother Keiro is still inside. Outside, Claudia insists he must be king, but he doubts even his own identity. Is he the lost prince Giles? Or are his memories no more than another construct of his imprisonment?

(Possible spoilers from the first book)

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This book was the dramatic conclusion to the infamous duology, Incarceron. Compare to the first book, I felt that this book was a 50/50 thing when it came to everything. The plot of the story began a few months after Finn escape from the hell hole. You got different things going on with various point of views, which allows us as the reader to see the variety of the aftermath and the new mysteries.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book because it felt dry in certain parts. The characters didn't develop any further as I would normally see when reading trilogies, but the second book to the duology in my opinion didn't leave a fantastic conclusion. However, I did enjoy some parts of the story with the different point of views. It was nice to see the different angles of the focused characters and it was a nice touch to the book. I especially that I liked the scenes with Attia, she developed a lot more than Claudia did. But, considering this was about Finn's story, I felt that Fisher could've used Attia and Keiro's adventure in another book. Keiro was a great choice to tag along with Attia.

I wanted to embrace more of Finn and I didn't think we didn't get that with this book. Sure, he had to prove that he was indeed the long-lost prince, but given his amazing ability to tell stories and his tricks he learned from his oath-brother. Maybe it was an odd mystery of falsehood and political secrets, but since this duology is based on Finn and the journey he was forced to embark on to escape from the prison, we'll never know. (Unless, we re-read it ten times or are really into political undertones in books).

With the twist about Jared, it wasn't as dramatic as I wanted too. But, I liked it overall. The other characters were somewhat annoying as well, especially Claudia, Casper, and the fake Giles. (Burn them with fire). I almost didn't finish the book when I had to read scenes involving them. I just wanted to throw my book at the wall. Although, if it was for the vivid descriptions of this world and the scenes with Attia and Keiro; then we wouldn't be having this review today.

All-in-all, this duology was decent, the political system in the prison was well written. The characters were cool, but I wish that they developed more in my perspective. And the adventures were a great thing to read about.

What about you guys? Did you enjoy this duology? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be back with another post tomorrow. Happy Howling!







Read-a-Thons

Hey guys, today's topic involves something that many of you are familiar with if you are part of the reading/book tube community. Read-a-Thons. Last night, I decided to be a complete idiot and start my own read-a-thon with books I haven't read at all. And as it turns out, if you include the books in my nook, I ended up picking out 14 of both unfinished and new books. So yeah, I'm insane, haha.

Considering I'm still on the job hunting bliss, I decided that the read-a-thon is to assist me maintain a self focus for books and possibly inspiration to write again. Now, I get that many read-a-thons don't truly start till July if you follow the book tubing community and their daily vlogs, but sometimes I personally think doing one for yourself is a cool idea as well. With that being said, allow to present the books I have my list, the page goal, and the deadline. So for the deadline, I'm giving myself till Friday at 8pm. I'm leaving next weekend on a little vacation with a very good friend of mine and his girlfriend, so I'm not going to focus on reading once that I step out of the train. I started my read-a-thon last night and managed to read about 233 pages out 3,698 pages before today. And speaking of the pages, if you saw the number, then yes you're right- I'm crazy. However, some of my books are on my little nook, so I get away with it. (still crying on the inside)

And finally, the books. You can find these on good reads, random book-related websites, or at your local book stores. I'm not going to go into full details about the books, I'm just gonna list them to you guys.

1. How to write a Novel by Nathan Bransford

2. The Poor children by April L. Ford

3. The Falconer by Elizabeth May

4. The Game by Terry Schott

5. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

6. And then there were none by Agatha Christie

7. The nutcracker bleeds by Lani Lenore

8. NeverMor by Lani Lenore

9. Forsaken Dreams by Lani Lenore

10. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

11. Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

12. Plot vs. Character by Jeff Gerke

13. On writing Horror by Mort Castle

14. Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

 

And now, after jolting down this list, all I can now is wish me luck. What books are you starting this summer? Let me know in the comments below, happy howling!



Summer Plans are among us!

Hey guys, sorry for not being active in the last few days. I've been caught up in planning future posts for this blog along with the okatu blog I created to be public in July. A lot of you may of already realized that I'm not posting as many book reviews as you may of like, but I'm fairly new to it since I decided to do it full time now. So at this moment, things are slow! (I really got to stop being so excited over odd things lol).

Today's blog post is to inform you all what is going on and what's coming up for the summer and possibly a permanent thing for the future of this blog. Any who, let's begin shall we?

This coming July, I will be starting up another blog to be a companion towards this one. However, the main focus of the other blog is on my other love, aka, Anime. Thanks to Japanese anime/manga, it got me inspired to be a writer and a avid reader ever since I was thirteen years old. So I figured, why not post reviews on anime and video games as well.

For this blog, I plan to do more book related posts and write more about writing. I have come to realize that I am one of the laziest people in the book community and now it is time to start embarking on the writing business to get my foot out the door, and to get to know all of you. (which is one of the biggest aspects of the business) ^-^.

These are just tiny plans, but hopefully everything will be kick ass and we can kick the world around with our reading/writing knowledge! See you guys tomorrow. :)

Happy Howling.

Book Review: Incarceron

Incarceron Written by: Catherine Fisher
Release date: May 3rd, 2007
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Format of book: Paperback
Summary (from Good Reads): Incarceron-- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology-- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, a typical medieval torture chamber-- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison-- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device-- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born..

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If you want to experience a odd mixture of steam punk, fantasy, and sci-fi, then pick up this duology. This book was a beautiful read. The world was wonderfully crafted and the characters were strong with each of them holding onto their own personalities that shinned throughout the book. Like the Trylle Trilogy, Fisher's duology developed an unique political element and the prison being a living thing is original and haunting to the reader's eyes.

 

The characters Catherine Fisher created were the ones that kept you on the edge of your feet. You got Finn's amnesia and 'visions', which makes him a iffy characters because of his ability of story telling. You got Keiro being the A-Game thief and fighter, then you got Attia, the mysterious girl. And finally, Claudia, a spoiled princess on the quest to discover the truth with the limited sources she is provided in the 'real' world. All of these characters bring the story to life with the constant drama and emotional pulls between them, and it made me wanted to jump right into the next book. Although, out of all of the characters, I fell in love with Jared the most. He is so cute and helpful with his vast intelligence of the prison and the shadowy Sapphique (the one that got away from the prison). In a personal opinion, I think he also holds a certain mysterious within him and that's why the warden kept him in the palace for so long.

 

Catherine Fisher's concept with the prison was amazing. The descriptions were so vivid that you were able to picture yourself being within the walls of the prison itself. It's so cool to see how the prison itself was a character of its own and it brought out the suspense element into the story.

 

Overall, this story is an fantastic read and if you are fan of the elements I've mentioned, definitely pick up this book. I'll see you all again with another post.

 

 Happy Howling.



Book Review: Ascend

Ascend (a Trylle Novel) written by: Amanda Hocking
Release Date: April 24th, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format of Book: Paperback (bind up of trilogy)
Summary (From Goodreads): Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself. If she doesn't surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe. But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind.. even if it's the only way to save them?

The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn't the only thing she stands to loose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she's about to make the ultimate choice.. who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life-- and now all their lives might be coming to an end.

Everything has been leading to this moment. The future of her entire world rests in her hands--- if she's ready to fight for it.

(This review has spoilers, please don't read if you haven't read the trilogy). *Apologizes for posting a day late*

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Out of all of the books, I found Ascend to be the best one out of the entire Trylle Trilogy. Compare to the other books, this one had given me what I was looking with the dramatic standpoints and the fights. It matched the fast pacing in the wording and I was glad to read it to the very end. Wendy finally grew up to be a respectable queen and it was amazing to see how much effort she had to pull in order to achieve peace. The other characters involved in a good pace as well, though I kept questioning about what happened to Rhys because he appeared in a couple of chapters and then he suddenly went poof. I love Rhys as a character so I was a little bitter about it when I couldn't find him anywhere else in the book. I mean, maybe I missed him when I was reading, but I'm not so sure.

The fight between Wendy and her father was very quick yet it was the 'big' moment for Wendy because she ended up evolving into the proper queen she was suppose to become at the end. Though at the same time, I really wanted to see more of the fight, I felt that it was rushed and a little weak. Maybe its because I'm use to reading prolonged battles from manga and other fantasy series, but in a personal opinion, this fight was meyhh yet important to Wendy's character development.

I really enjoyed how most of the major characters were able to get a 'happy' ending so to speak. Everyone was able to find that inner peace and they began the build up for a better future and in Hocking's new trilogy "Kanin Chronicles", readers will be able to see the 'new world' that Wendy and her friends are re-building. I'm not sure if I'm going to read that particular series, but maybe in the near future I will.

Overall, this trilogy was pretty good, it was unique and very fast pace. The character each had their own personalities to make them lively and original, and the concept of the trolls was cool as well. If you want to read about something completely different in terms of fantastical creatures, read this trilogy. See you guys next time for another book review and more.

Happy Howling everyone.



Book Review: Torn

Torn (a Trylle Novel) written by: Amanda Hocking
Release Date: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format of Book: Paperback (bind up of trilogy)
Summary (From Goodreads): When Wendy Everly first discovers the truth about herself-- that she's a changeling switched at birth-- she knows her life will never be the same. Now she's about to learn that there's more to the story..

She shares a closer connection to her Vitta rivals than she ever imagined-- and they'll stop at nothing to lure her to their side. With the threat of war looming, her only hope of saving the Trylle is to master her magical powers-- and marry an equally powerful royal. But that means walking away from Finn, her handsome bodyguard who's strictly off limits.. and Loki, a Vitta prince with whom she shares a growing attraction.

Torn between her heart and her people, between love and duty, Wendy must decide her fate. If she makes the wrong choice, she could lose everything, and everybody, she's ever wanted.. in both worlds.
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(This contains a few spoilers for those who haven't read 'Switched'.)

This is the second book to the Trylle trilogy by Amanda Hocking and unlike the other one, I really enjoyed Torn. The book was fast-paced like the first one and I loved how the characters were shining more in their personalities and growth. It helped me developed the patience to keep going with the story. At this time, I'm just about to finish with the final and I'm glad that Hocking managed to build up more of the political aspect in her world building.

Now with Loki, I liked how there was a twist with his character development and that he's trying to prove his worth to be with Wendy, but of course you gotta have the little mystery to the new love interest. It's almost like he was the guy version of Wendy, which was weird, but okay in a way. And with Tove? I sort of already figured out he was gay, but he's such a sweetheart. I wanted to hug him. I'm glad he's willingly to help Wendy out and protect the people he loves, but I hope he finds his true love someday. I'm also very happy that Matt is now part of the journey with Wendy, he is such a perfect big brother. I can't wait to see more of him in the next book.

What I didn't like was how Finn and Wendy's relationship developed throughout this book. It almost mirrored her biological parents' relationship, but at the same time, with the world's political rules that separates them for being a couple, it made it difficult for me to feel sympathy towards them. I just wish there was more development in Finn's character to see if he is going end up with Wendy or not, or at least, fight for her in the right way.

Speaking of Wendy's biological parents, I really disliked how it was predictable to see Wendy's father being the Vitta King. I think in my own personal idea, I would've wanted the Vitta king to be someone like the Chancellor since he's obsessed with Wendy in a sexual way, but I guess this idea was pretty cool. Queen Elora is starting to grow on me, I felt bad for her and the life she had endured before she gave birth to Wendy. It shows that she had potential to become a great mother if her 'husband' didn't want to kill her and she didn't have to dealt with the switched rule for the babies.

On good reads, I gave this book a 3.5 star rating out of five (even though it says 4 stars). It was a good continuation of the trilogy, just wish there was more action instead of training and weird ass romantic attempts on Wendy, and that the 'twists' were more 'holy shit' than 'ohh okay' moments. Hopefully in the last book, things will more dramatic and action-packed. Overall, Amanda Hocking really gave the title name 'Torn' light in her story. I will be back on Saturday with the review for the last book of the Trylle Trilogy. I will be going all out with spoilers and my overall opinion in the trilogy. So if you don't want to be spoiled on the book, please read the trilogy first.

Happy Howling.

June TBR List

Hey guys, today I'm going to present my June TBR list on here. I did plan to post this in a you tube video, but I felt like it was better to do it on here instead. (I still haven't gotten my laptop completely fixed yet to my expectations) A lot of books on this list are ones that I'm still reading at this time, but the 'new' ones are ones that I haven't started yet and I wish to read during the month. Let's get started shall we?

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Books I plan to read:

(I've decided to buy four books last night as a self graduation gift)



 

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas: I have the other books, so why not? The series is beautiful.

The Nutcracker Bleeds by Lani Lenore: I've been dying to get this book and explore the world of the Nutcracker ballet, it has a horror element to it, so bonus!

Nevermor (book one) & The Forsaken Dream (book two) by Lani Lenore: These two books are part of a trilogy that is focused on Peter Pan. I've heard positive things about these two books so I cannot wait to read these as well!

Ascend (Trylle #3) by Amanda Hocking: The final book to the Trylle trilogy. I'm not entirely sure I will enjoy or not, but I look forward to reading it once I'm done with Torn.

Now for the next section:

The books I'm currently reading:

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan: This is the second book to the Percy Jackson series. I started the series late, I know. I managed to buy the first three books in a bind up on my nook for a mythology course I was taken in college and I fell in love with Percy's story so far. The second book is not disappointing me yet so I look forward finishing it.

How to Write a Novel by Nathan Bransford: This writing-help book is really good so far and its encouraging as a writer to read these 'rules' by the writer. It's funny and really insightful. I'm halfway through it so I hope to finish it a week or so.

Torn by Amanda Hocking: The second to the Trylle trilogy. Unlike the first one, I'm actually beginning to enjoy the adventure and the political aspect to the Trylle and Vitta Society. I'm almost done with it and I plan to write a full review on it once I'm done with it.

Writing Movies: by Alexander Steele: This E-Book is from my screen writing class and I've always had a interesting the field, so I want to keep reading this book and see where it takes me.

The Game by Terry Scott: This is another E-Book I downloaded for free and I'm about almost halfway into it. Its slow, but I'm willingly to finish it when I can.

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That are all of the books I plan to read during the month of June. If for some reason I cannot complete the list, then I don't know what to tell ya. o.O What are the books do you plan on reading this month? Tell me in the comments below and I'll see you later.

Happy Howling.