Book Review: Shadow Sun (spoiler free)

Shadow Sun (Nevemor #3) by Lani Lenore

Release Date: November 3rd, 2015

Publisher:

Format of Novel: E-Arc/Nook (received from author in exchange for an honest review)

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary (from good reads): As it began, so shall it end.

Time has passed since the Rifter went into the sun, and while Wren has missed him terribly, she does not doubt that he will come back. She has tried to shadow her grief as she travels across Nevermor with what is left of the Wolf Pack, attempting to heal the land and restore it to its former state. But that task is made more difficult by plummeting temperatures, and the fact that the sun seems to be slipping farther away.

When a different sort of darkness comes over the land, Wren discovers that not only may she be looking to preserve the world for Rifter’s return, but she may have to save it from him as well.

Shadow Sun is the epic finale to the Nevermor trilogy, a dark fantasy based on Peter Pan
- - - -
Well guys, Happy Halloween! Today is the day we conclude the Nevermor trilogy by Ms. Lani Lenore with a short, spoiler free review since I got to work tonight at our Halloween store. And as a bonus, I will do a full on fan girl based review on November 3rd. (The book's release date). So let's get to it shall we?

This novel was a stunning conclusion to the trilogy with twists, new people, and finally- Rifer's past. From what was given, the book was left at a few months after the events of Forshaken Dreamscape. Everything  in this book was such a mind bend in specific parts that I have no exact words how to described it to you without spoiling so much. The characters, old and new were a wonderful blend and their growths were on point. The plot was point and Lani took it with a greater length from the other two books.

In this book, we learn about Rifer's past and how the war between the wolf pack and Scourge's pirates came to be in the decaying world of Nevermor. We also learn about the meaning of Sly's visions, everyone's hidden desires, and the return of a old face finally returns after 'years' of being gone for so long in Wern's life. There's so much to say, but I will create a spoiler-based review once the book releases to the public's eye.

Guys, this entire trilogy was absolutely breath taking and so beautifully done that I'm still waiting to hug a physical copy of this lovely book to complete my collection. Lani Lenore is a author that really needs to be recognized more for her talent in the horror arts of fiction, especially for this particular day. Alright guys, I hope you all have a lovely and safe Halloween, I'll be working till the adults are allow to have fun lol. I'll see you all with another review on Monday.

Happy howling!

NaNoWriMo Tag

Hey guys, today we are going to do something a little different because we are almost to the time of hell and fantastic fun times. That's right, its almost time for National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for us crazy writers. So, I figured let's start the Pre-NaNoWriMo with a fun tag I found on youtube created by Kristina Horner. It's basically a tag about the experience of NaNoWriMo and to encourage people to try this event out for the first time.

Let's get started!

- - -

1) How many times have you done NaNoWriMo?

I've done it on and off for five years now. As a person with very low confidence in thyself, I never really sat and done it because events happened during that time. But, last year was an eye opener because I did it and won with my Reaper story by five words lol.

2) How did you find out about NaNoWriMo?

Umm.. Through fiction press and the blog "Let The Words Flow/(Pub)lishing Crawl" when I was sixteen. Helped me get through a rough patch in my life at the time and encouraged me to write again.

3.) What was the name of the first novel you attempted with NaNoWriMo?

Ring of Roses, a fantasy about a ritual gone wrong and a girl finding out the truth about her biological mother.

4.) Give us a I sentence summary of what you're writing this year.

Uh.. I don't have one.. I'm still debating if I'm doing this at all this year or not. Sorry!

5.) What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

My grandpa told me before his death "Just write the damn book, we're always behind you if you need the push" so I keep the words close to my heart because he was my biggest fan..

6.) Did you ever take a year off from NaNoWriMo? Why?

Yep, Personal reasons that I don't want to explain on here.

7.) What's your biggest inspiration when figuring out what to write?

Anime, music, and probably daydreaming.

8) Read us the first sentence from one of your novels

I can't really read it since I can't record stuff at this time, but I have one for you guys from a random thing: "Every memory is similar to a single petal of a flower. Holding onto its vibrant scents of the specific memory till it looses its gentle grip on the unbearable reality forever."

9) Why do you love writing?

I don't have a reason behind it, I just do.

- - -

Alright so that was the NaNoWriMo tag. What are your answers for this cool tag? Send me the links to your blog posts or videos so I can see them! I hope you all have a great day and happy howling my fellow wolves!

Links:

My NaNoWriMo (Let's be buddies!): http://nanowrimo.org/participants/rayne-wolf

The Tag video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjP-mr0hprY&index=1&list=FL3ujVaxy12x5398r3CqihvA

Book Review: The Raven Boys

 

The Raven boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: September 18th, 2012

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Format of Novel: Paperback

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary (from good reads): Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

- - -

At first, I didn't plan on starting this series until all of the books came out. But, I decided to give this series a chance and I'm happy that I did. This series is so much better compare to her wolf series (and yeah, this is coming from someone that loves wolves with a fiery passion). The writing style was beautiful and the cast of characters were unexpected and fresh to my crazed mind. The twists and turns between the new group of friends were never ending and that really got me to fan girl loudly while in my room. The relations between the 'raven boys' were really interesting. I loved Ronan with his tough guy act and his unique ability (which is more revealed in the sequel), Adam's yearning for independence and love, and Gansey.. Oh Gansey, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He's been trying so hard to help his friends out while looking for this mystical ruin and the Raven King.

Blue Sargent was a very nice touch as a female protagonist. I thought she was going to be a weaker character, but I was completely wrong. I like how she doesn't have a crazy ability about her, but yet she still maintain a strong will to keep going and have a stubbornness to her that literally shines like the boys do in the series. The cast of characters were a wonderful bunch all together and I wanted so much more from them.

But, what really brought my attention to this book was the word flow and the power of Maggie's writing style. It's just so freakin' beautiful and lyrical. Her writing literally pulls you right in for an all-nighter and it's so realistic that you feel like you're a character in the book. She makes her words similar to classic literature we're force to read in class, but she makes it fun.

All in all, I found this story compelling and breathtaking. Everything about this book was original and whimsical with the word flow. The series is worth reading if you enjoy the mystery and an odd bunch of people banding together to uncover those mysteries of the Raven King.

What were your thoughts about this book? Tell me in the comments below and I'll be back with another post tomorrow. Happy Howling!

Book Review: Shiver

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: August 1st, 2009

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Format of Novel: Nook

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary (from good reads): For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without.

Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.
- - -
Normally I would fan girl about lycanthrope in Young Adult books. Almost to the point where a review like this one would be nothing, but everything a young teenage girl gossiping on how cute the characters and the whole plot was on point. However, this was a book I wasn't a huge fan nor was I disappointed in it. To me, this book was a flat plain on a developing hill.

Don't get me wrong, I love Maggie Stiefvater and her beautiful writing (aka Raven Cycle series) and her way to bring out characters in a entertaining way. But, for this book, I almost didn't finish it because I was muttering curse words at the lack of the lycanthrope I craved. The plot was completely flat, but it lingered in hope for a better continuation of the trilogy. However, what did drawn me into the book was her writing style and her idea of lycanthrope. I'd enjoyed how she made the curse more season related because I do think wolves are more associated with winter than summer. It was a great idea, but I wish there was more to it.

The characters were flat as well in my opinion. I didn't like how there wasn't any growth to Sam and Grace throughout the novel. I liked the romance between the two, but I wanted to see more other than the romance. As for the other characters, I think there were a little stronger than the protagonists, but perhaps there will be a better out look in the other two books.

Overall, I did enjoy the idea of the book, I just felt that this book was a slow debut to the trilogy. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to read the rest of the series, but maybe I will in the near future because I do love Maggie Stiefvater as a author and I want to give the series another try because of my love for her writing. What did you all think of the book? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be back on Tuesday with another review.

Happy Howling!