Beautiful Darkness

Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2)

by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

3 stars

503 pages

Published Oct. 12, 2010 by Little, Brown and Company

The second book in the "Beautiful Creatures" series was ... well, gothic, dark, depressing, sad and at time really confusing. But it was also pretty thick on plot and character development - yay! I thought it was well done, mostly. There were problems with a few things: 1) Pacing was molasses at times, especially at the beginning. I almost quit the book 40 pages in, I was so bored. There's only so much self-loathing I can take from a character. 2) The book was so flippin' looooong. I mean, 500 pages?? The book definitely could have used an editor who ain't shy with her "delete" key.
That being said, it wasn't unreadable. It WAS entertaining and clever; it just wasn't a stay-up-all-night page-turner.
Some new baddies are introduced in this book - ones with strange superpowers and abilities that defy "the order of things." And that helped move things along.
I wonder if I'll read Number 3. I've actually got it already. Let's see if it grabs me.

Sorcerers of the Nightwing

Sorcerers of the Nightwing (The Ravenscliff #1)

by Geoffrey Huntington

3.5 stars

421 pages

Published June 18, 2013 as an ebook by Diversion Books (originally published in 2002)

  

So I got done reading this a few days ago, and it’s been stewing in my brain ever since – invading my dreams (nay, nightmares).  I’m trying to figure out just what I liked so much about this book, since it’s not the type of book I read regularly. It’s all dark and twisty and slightly disturbing. But occasionally, I am in the mood for something like this, especially after reading something super-saccharine, like Debbie Macomber.

This edition is a re-release of  the 1^st edition, published in 2002 – and the cover of that book is deeply disturbing (and the reason I hate clowns). Had I seen that cover first, I probably wouldn’t have picked up the book. The revamped cover is less disturbing but still has a good creepy vibe to it – it will attract more readers, in my opinion. 

Sorcerers of the Nightwing is YA horror/paranormal at it’s best. The gloomy atmosphere, gross (but not gory) corpses/ghosts and town names like Misery Point add to its appeal. 

 

Teens who grew up on Goosebumps and who want a little more “creep factor” in their books will find this novel to their liking. It’s the next step in the horror progression, with Stephen King as reigning king. It is NOT a Juvenile Fiction book, though. It’s targeted towards older teens.

So a solid 3.5 stars – I docked it because pacing was a bit slow at times and the ending was confusing. Plus, a bit more background/development of the characters would have been helpful. But it is #1 in the Ravenscliff series, so more of that is probably in the successive books. Also, I HATE cliffhanger endings.

Thank you NetGalley and Diversion Books for the opportunity to review this book.

The Reckoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #3)

The Reckoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #3)

by Kelley Armstrong

2 stars

What a disappointing ending to a series that had such potential.
What was the point of the changing colors of the crystal? Where had Mr. Bae been all that time? Didn't he ever try and get in touch with his sons? What about Chloe's dad? What about her mom?
Is Rae really gone with her mother? What happened there? What a sloppy end to a character's story.
Too many questions left unanswered. Too many plot lines dropped.

The Awakening (Darkest Powers Trilogy #2)

The Awakening (Darkest Powers Trilogy #2)

by Kelley Armstrong 

3 stars

 
A solid, yet somewhat uninspired sequel to The Summoning. It had just enough action and plot to keep me reading and ultimately to pick up the last book in the trilogy.
Still no swearing - yay! - and just the inkling of a beginning of a love story. Nothing too distracting.

The Summoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #1)

The Summoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #1)

by Kelley Armstrong

 4 stars

The Sixth Sense meets Goonies. This is pure paranormal kids vs. adults. A nice change of pace. And there are some scary parts - one in particular - that was great! And without much of a love story! Or swearing of any kind!
Engaging writing, decent character development, and correct pacing combine to make this very readable. I've already got my eye on the next book.
What a great find.