Fantasy – Page 2 – Bibliophile Gathering

Review: Grave Peril (The Dresden Files #3) by Jim Butcher

February 21, 2016

Grave Peril ( The Dresden Files #3) by Jim Butcher
Published: September 1, 2001

Harry Dresden – Wizard
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden has faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. It comes with the territory when you’re the only professional wizard in the Chicago-area phone book.

But in all Harry’s years of supernatural sleuthing, he’s never faced anything like this: The spirit world has gone postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble – and not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone – or something – is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn’t figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself….

That’s exactly how I want to begin this review. This book was PHENOMENAL. A really good way to just throw this series up a notch and into a really good high gear. This book really opens up a lot of information about Harry and the people who Harry has been interacting with. Harry grows even more loveable and so do his friends.

Michael is the new addition and he’s a WONDERFUL character. A righteous man who wields the sword powered by faith magic which is just bad ass. Michael is great and his back and forth with Harry is very close to that of Sam and Dean in Supernatural. It’s really great.

I have to say I enjoyed this book a ton because it was more action packed than the last two. I loved meeting Michael and Charity and the relationship between Harry and them. But my favorite is that I keep getting to learn more about Harry. In this book we meet Lea, who has a big tie in the history of the Harry. Also we learn more about how the Vampire courts work and I thought that was super awesome. Thomas is hilarious and I loved him has a character and I hope he comes back

In the end Harry ends up a bit different, changed from everything that happens in this book and it worries me as to what will happen in the next one. I seriously gobbled up this whole book and I really do hope that as you people read these reviews and see that I love this series so much, I hope you all decide to at least try The Dresden Files. Harry is a wonderful character and develops more and more with every book and the other characters that are becoming more permanent are growing as well, in 2014 Jim Butcher released the 15th Dresden File book and is now continuing with books 16-20. So there’s a lot to read, and go through for Dresden Files, and I cannot wait to read each and every one

Review: Armada by Ernest Cline

December 14, 2015

Armada by Ernest Cline
Published: July 14, 2015

Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure.

But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe.

And then he sees the flying saucer.

Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.

No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?

At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make Ready Player One a phenomenon.

First of all I’d like to say that this book was really good. I feel like I connected with Zack the most especially when he’s playing videogames and the way he geeks out about them. But I felt like almost all the characters went by unnoticed.

I love how the setting made me feel like I was right there with Zack and the crew. But at the same time I feel like the connection and the setting didn’t really make up for the whole predictability of the book. I felt like I could tell what would happen about 3 Chapters ahead and, without a doubt I was correct.

This book was super entertaining and interesting it just got a bit repetitive and a bit bothersome that I knew what was to happen. Also, it didn’t feel as though it was written any differently than Ready Player One. I WAS hoping that Cline would write something interesting and different than his previous book but the way it was written Zack reminded me quite a bit of Wade.

November Wrap Up and December TBR

December 1, 2015

November was an alright month for me, nothing too bad but nothing too exciting either. I’m 2 books behind on my goal for 60 books this month, which is semi upsetting but I did take down 5.25 books this month! 7 left to reach my goal. So fingers crossed people! Here’s what I read in November

Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee – 3/5 Stars

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins – 2/5 Stars

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider – 3/5 Stars

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson – 4/5 Stars

The Martian by Andy Weir – 5/5 Stars

(some of) Armada by Ernest Cline

And here’s what I hope to read in December

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (THIS IS OUR BOOK OF THE MONTH!)

Armada by Ernest Cline

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Grey

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

The Rose Society by Marie Lu

I’m super excited for all of these reads! I hope this is how my month goes and I get to my challenge goal for the year! Have any of you read any of these titles? What are you guys reading this month?

Review: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

November 24, 2015

Steelheart by Bandon Sanderson
Published : September 24, 2013

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics…nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart – the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David’s been studying, and planning – and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

I haven’t read a book this good in a while (aka October when I read Queen of Shadows). I loved this book from start to finish. There was always some sort of action going on, something that kept me on my toes. I still cannot believe how great this book was!

Super well written the whole team was an array of different walks of life who come together to take down one of the biggest, strongest, most enigmatic epics out there. For one boy who is searching for revenge and a better world. I enjoyed David as a character although at times I felt like he acted much younger than 18 and which he’d mature a bit, seeing as he was a man who essentially raised himself for 10 years in an crazy dystopian place.

The plot and continuity of it was great. I loved the progression of the whole thing. It was more of an up and down up and down plot line. There were the climactic and then a mellow out, and then moments later you’re reading a super action packed scene again. It was super action packed.

The writing was wonderful too. I never expected to like this book so much. I’ve had trouble with high fantasy and just regular fantasy books, but Brandon Sanderson does amazing things. I found it to be a good read, somewhat challenging at times, but not as challenging as I thought Mistborn was (at least the first chapter of it that I’ve read), in the aspect of content. This was much easier to read.

I really recommend this book to anyone, it’s almost written in a way that you could imagine it as a TV show or a really good action movie. It was really easy to visualize the setting and the characters and the scenes.

Recommendation Friday

November 20, 2015

RecommendationFriday

It’s that time again and I’m finally finding enough time to be able to participate in weekly posts and what not. So here we go for recommendation friday! We’ll be hopping into some high fantasy that’s super engaging!

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Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Nobody fights the Epics…nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

So I’m currently reading this/ listening to this at work. And I think this book is absolutely amazing. So amazing to the point where I’m willing to put it up for recommendation while I’m in the middle (yes, i’m legitimately about half way through) of reading it. I picked this up because I kind of wanted a segue into reading the Mistborn series. I’ve been super intimidated with the amount of detail in these books I thought to pick up Steelhart.

This book is about humans who get these powers and turn into Epics, but Epics take over the world and this one boy David is trying to get revenge on Steelhart. The one Epic who rules Newcago (Chicago) and the epic who murdered David’s dad.

The concept is AMAZING. Super heroes gone bad. And I have to say that the writing is amazing. I’m always so engaged whether I’m physically reading or listening. And when I do listen it’s almost like a TV show. It’s written with such ease and fluidity and thought that it’s just great.
So please if you’re looking for something with action and adventure and fantasy please pick this up. Or something to ease you into high fantasy like I do. Please please please nab this.

Stephanie-Signature

Review: Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee

November 20, 2015

Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee
Published: August 5, 2014

In the Labyrinth, we had a saying: keep silent, keep still, keep safe.

In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where shecame from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.

Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power.

I found this book entertaining for the first half and then everything kind of fell flat. I disliked Kai and Reev and their relationship as siblings. I feel like Kai was a bit TOO naive. I hated how she was so clueless in a way but I thought her whole controlling the time power was pretty awesome.

I just really had the qualm against the plot laying flat towards the end. The overall concept was awesome, but I just feel like it wasn’t executed correctly. There were some things like the gargoyles that I don’t think tied in properly. And I think it would’ve been awesome if there was less Avan/Kai romance and more action.

Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

August 27, 2015

The Bone Season by Samathan Shannon
Published: August 20, 2013

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

Oh my goodness. I cannot believe it took me so long to read this. This book was just so beautifully written and SO UNIQUE! So it’s about a girl named Page who is clairvoyant but beyond that she’s one of the most rare clairvoyants out there, she’s a dream walker. She can walk into peoples dreamscapes and push them to the point of insanity/death. It’s super crazy and there’s a whole bunch of different voyant types. So the whole big thing about this book is that it’s a future set book and Paige is kidnapped and brought to the remnants of Oxford. Where voyants are awake during the night and sleep during the day and those who are brought into the city have to work their way up from white to pink to red jackets. Red Jackets are the highest ranked and whoever doesn’t pass their testing gets a yellow jacket and whomever doesn’t pass again turns into a jester of sorts.

It’s a very old school set government Nashira Sargas is “The Blood Sovereign” who basically rules everything with Arcturus (Warden) as her betrothed who also goes by “The Blood Consort” These two VERY HIGHLY RANKED people find interest in Paige. And Warden takes her under his care to teach her how to control her powers of dream walking and pass her tests. I don’t want to go TOO much further into the plot because I’m already super excited and worked up and I DO NOT want to spoil this.

But anyway so I want to give Samantha Shannon the biggest round of applause because I think this is one of the most unique things I’ve read in such a long time. A brand new concept that just sucked me in and was action packed for the most part. I’d say 80% action. 20% WHY ARE YOU MAKING THESE CHOICES WHAT IS HAPPENING OMG THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING ALL OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON. That’s the best way I can explain it.

The characters. OH MY GAHD The characters. I loved Paige. WARDEN oh man he was so swoon worthy. Nick was amazing I fell in love with Nick. All the characters were different all had different flaws and Nashira was just pure bitch and it made me hate her so SO SO much. She was almost as bad as Dolores Umbridge on how much I hated her.

The writing was fabulous. SO descriptive but not to the point where you had an 800 page book on your hands. There are so many good things I can say about this book but I like to keep my reviews a bit on the shorter side and I’ve clearly surpassed that. I would DEFINITELY recommend this book if you enjoyed anything related to Divergent and are looking for more of an adult fantasy to dive into. I know most adult fantasy can be hefty but this most definitely has it’s moments where you can (I didn’t) get a bit lost. But have no fear, it all resolves itself in the end. Please pick this gem of a book up. The Mime Order is the second book in this series and then it’s rumored to be a seven book series. Which makes my heart jump with ALL THE JOY.

Recommendation Friday: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

August 21, 2015

rec friday

Hey guys it’s Stephanie with another week of Recommendation Friday! So here it is!

A Darker Shade final for Irene

So, I’m recommending A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London—but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her ‘proper adventure’.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—trickier than they hoped.

If you guys like fantasy, I HIGHLY recommend this book! I couldn’t put this one down. And I highly suggest reading V.E. Schwab’s other books. As well as the sequel to this book. This book was written so flawlessly it’s insane. I loved her writing and everything was just gorgeous. The world building was pretty damn cool. The villains were great. The protagonists were AWESOME. Gah I can not explain how amazing this book is. Please go pick it up!

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