[Review] The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Rating: 2 stars

Published: June 11th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kristen Petersen doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.

Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.

Sigh. 

This book made me tired. Here's why.

On a superficial level, The Friend Zone is about Kristen Peterson, who must fight off a growing attraction to Josh Copeland, who will be the best man at her best friend's wedding. She's in a long-distance relationship with Tyler, who works in the military overseas and who will be coming home soon. Kristen also believes that she and Josh would never work out, because, in the long-run, Josh wants a large family, and Kristen cannot do that, with her big secret: after years of painful, almost life-threatening periods, she's about to have a procedure that will prevent her from having children.

[Review] Phoenix Rising by Bryony Pearce

Phoenix Rising by Bryony Pearce

Series: Phoenix Rising #1

Rating: 2 stars

Published: June 1st 2015

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a future world where fossil fuels have run out and democracy has collapsed, an outlawed pirate crew fight for survival on their ship, the Phoenix, kept afloat by whatever they can salvage or scavenge on the debris-filled seas. Toby has never known anything other than life onboard the Phoenix and he's desperate for adventure. But when trouble comes hunting the Phoenix down, Toby realizes that what you wish for isn't always what you want. He meets beautiful Ayla from the Banshee, a rival pirate ship and sworn enemy of the Phoenix, and his world is thrown into disorder. How can he know who to trust and what to believe? The future rests on him making an impossible choice...

It's really hard for me to enjoy the steampunk genre. For me, I love knowing my setting crystal clear. I feel weird in some steampunk stories because the time and place is ill-defined. I had this problem with Phoenix Rising, where I had honestly no clue what was going on for a good portion.

[Review] Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James

Gilded Cage by Vic James

Series: Dark Gifts #1

Rating: 2 stars

Format: ARC Paperback

Published: February 14th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

In modern-day Britain, magic users control everything: wealth, politics, power—and you. If you’re not one of the ultimate one-percenters—the magical elite—you owe them ten years of service. Do those years when you’re old, and you’ll never get through them. Do them young, and you’ll never get over them.
This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit.
Have a quick ten years. . . .

[Review] The Possible by Tara Altebrando

The Possible by Tara Altebrando

Rating: 2 stars

Format: ARC Paperback

Published: June 7th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

Some storms rage from within.
What if…a teenage girl could move objects with her mind?
What if…someone turns up at her door asking questions she doesn’t want to answer?
Kaylee lives a normal life with her adoptive parents, and almost never thinks of her birth mother, Crystal, who is serving a life sentence in prison. But the woman at the front door is producing a podcast about Crystal that is about to blow Kaylee’s forgotten past wide open.
What if strange things have been happening Kaylee’s entire life, things she could not explain? What if she’s more like her mother than she ever imagined?
What if the podcast is about to put her on a collision course with Crystal—and her darkest self?

My first #ARCAugust read!

I can't really say much about it, because the book itself was very bland. The entire time we are dealt suspense around the main character, Kaylee, and whether or not she inherited telekinetic powers from her estranged, psychopathic mom, Crystal, who is currently in jail for killing Kaylee's little brother. There's a lot of buildup and not much spark for the reveals. The characters weren't that interesting - Kaylee more or less annoyed me at times. I found myself just trying to finish this book.

[Review] The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

Series: Prisoners of Peace #1

 Version: ARC Paperback

Rating: 2 stars

Published: September 22nd 2015

Goodreads Synopsis:

The world is at peace, said the Utterances. And really, if the odd princess has a hard day, is that too much to ask?
Greta is a duchess and crown princess—and a hostage to peace. This is how the game is played: if you want to rule, you must give one of your children as a hostage. Go to war and your hostage dies.
Greta will be free if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday. Until then she lives in the Precepture school with the daughters and sons of the world’s leaders. Like them, she is taught to obey the machines that control their lives. Like them, she is prepared to die with dignity, if she must. But everything changes when a new hostage arrives. Elián is a boy who refuses to play by the rules, a boy who defies everything Greta has ever been taught. And he opens Greta’s eyes to the brutality of the system they live under—and to her own power.
As Greta and Elián watch their nations tip closer to war, Greta becomes a target in a new kind of game. A game that will end up killing them both—unless she can find a way to break all the rules. 

Goats - the shapers of history.

That, my friends, is what most of the book is made up of. Goats. Not that I don't like goats, but it says a lot if there was more goat mentioning that say, actual character development. 

Conceptually, this story sounds really cool. For the first chapter, I was reeled in. Children of rulers taken as hostages and killed if their country enters a war? AI's running the world? Count me in. It's something different from the other dystopia novels I've read. 

But it wasn't executed the way I hoped. There's Greta, our main character and one of the seven hostages being held in the Prefecture. There's Xie, another hostage and one of Greta's love interests. When their friend Sidney gets killed by the Swan Riders, who do the killing of hostages when countries declare war, Elian comes in his place, as the hostage of the newly formed kingdom of Cumberland. Elian is rebellious when Greta is obedient - but the two of them learn much from each other.

[Review] A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

Series: Kingdom on Fire #1

Rating: 2 stars

Published: September 20th 2016

Goodreads Synopsis:

I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer. The prophesied one. Or am I?
Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. When she is brought to London to train with Her Majesty's sorcerers, she meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, young men eager to test her powers and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As Henrietta discovers the secrets hiding behind the glamour of sorcerer life, she begins to doubt that she's the true prophesied one. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city--and the one she loves?

A Shadow Bright and Burning takes place in the heart of Victorian England, where magic is free and demons know no bounds. We follow the supposed chosen one, Henrietta Howel, who has been recruited with other sorcerers to test her mettle against those who threaten the British Isles. But, everything and everyone is not as they seem, as Henrietta soon finds out.

"Seven are the Ancients, seven are the days,
Monday for R'hlem, the Skinless Man,
On-Tez on Tuesday, the old Vulture Lady,
Callax is Wednesday, the Child Eater
Zen the Great Serpent crisps Thursday with his breath,
On Friday fear Kozoroth, the Shadow and the Fog,
Never sail on Saturday says Nemneris the Water Spider,
And rain on Sunday brings Molochoron the Pale Destroyer."

This book has a world building style similar to Truthwitch, meaning the scope of the topics and lore of the story is far reaching, but the roots simply do not dig deeply enough. I was bombarded with waves of information without the explanation. There are sorcerers, magicians, and witches. There are faeries and Unclean. There are the Ancients, who are the bad guys of the series, but are so faintly touched upon that I only remember what one of them is/looks like. Or two. It's certainly hard to remember.

[Review] Ivory and Bone (Ivory and Bone #1) by Julie Eshbaugh

Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh

Series: Ivory and Bone #1

Rating: 2 stars 

Version: ARC Paperback

Published: June 7th 2016

Goodreads Synopsis: 

A prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice.
Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe—that’s the life seventeen-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless—and nearly grave—mistake. However, there’s something more to Mya’s cool disdain…a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya’s past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.
As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he’s trusted. One thing is for sure: this was a war that Mya or Lo—Kol doesn’t know which—had been planning all along.

Ivory and Bone is set to be a prehistoric romance that reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. Or West Side Story. I don't really remember if I even read Pride and Prejudice.

[Review] Fate of Flames (Effigies #1) by Sarah Raughley

Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley

Series: Effigies #1

Rating: 2 stars

Release Date: November 22nd 2016

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Four girls with the power to control the elements and save the world from a terrible evil must come together in the first epic novel in a brand-new series.
When Phantoms—massive beasts made from nightmares and darkness—suddenly appeared and began terrorizing the world, four girls, the Effigies, each gained a unique power to control one of the classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Since then, four girls across the world have continually fought against the Phantoms, fulfilling their cosmic duty. And when one Effigy dies, another girl gains her power as a replacement.
But now, with technologies in place to protect the world’s major cities from Phantom attacks, the Effigies have stopped defending humanity and, instead, have become international celebrities, with their heroic feats ranked, televised, and talked about in online fandoms.
Until the day that New York City’s protection against the Phantoms fails, a man seems to be able to control them by sheer force of will, and Maia, a high school student, unexpectedly becomes the Fire Effigy.
Now Maia has been thrown into battle with three girls who want nothing to do with one another. But with the first human villain that the girls have ever faced, and an army of Phantoms preparing for attack, there isn’t much time for the Effigies to learn how to work together.
Can the girls take control of their destinies before the world is destroyed forever?

I really wanted to like this one. Really.

But how can I like it when I hate the main character?

[Review] Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Rating: 2 Stars

Series: Wings #2

Release Date: June 23th 2009

Goodreads synopsis:

Although Laurel has come to accept her true identity as a faerie, she refuses to turn her back on her human life - and especially her boyfriend, David - to return to the faerie world.

But when she is summoned to Avalon, Laurel's feelings for the charismatic faerie sentry Tamani are undeniable. She is forced to make a choice - a choice that could break her heart.

FAERIES ARE FLOWERS

Spells is the second book of Aprilynne Pike's Wings series. After discovering that she is a fairy is the first installment, Laurel attempts to learn more about not only what but who she is, and who she wants to become. To due this she visits Avalon, the magical faerie homeland and learns about her powers to protect the ones she loves. There she is both enchanted and disturbed by fairy society. Away from Avalon, life becomes only increasing chaotic as Laurel deals with her family, best friend,old enemies, and new allies who still may be more foe than friend. 

What I liked was the expanded mythology. It seemed so interesting, strange and unique. With out giving specifics away, not only are the fey plants but they have a strict class system based on what season they bloom. This is justify by the increased rareness and power of each class. I found the lifestyles and interactions of various fey very interesting.There are a few hints of Arthurian, Celtic, Japanese, and miscellaneous mythology but so far these are only tidbits as Pike continues to draw primarily from her own imagination for a magical system.

What I disliked was the choose to focus on romance over both plot and mythology.The book starts with the main character ENTERING the faerie realm. Not only that, but she is going to LEARN about magic. Yet Pike doesn't go into much detail about what she's studying besides listing half a dozen random plants and their uses use here or there. I mean their's a scene where Laurel is a room FULL of magical experiments and the narrative focuses on another girl's jealous and Laurel's amazement at seeing serious students. SERIOUSLY I would love to have seen different plant species,potion recipes, a clue to how they work, instead we get one sentence about a plant grow faster. Avalon is used mostly as an excuse for Laurel to spend time with Tamani. Most of story taking place there focuses on their growing relationship. Likewise most of the story outside of Avalon has Laurel spending time with David or thinking of one of them. Even when she is in danger,the moments when the story is most plot driven, she is with one of them. I can't fairly determine how strong a main character Laurel is because she is rarely forced to deal with problems on her own. However, worrying more about boy issues than murderous trolls is never a good sign. 

Overall The thing is I usually like fantasy romance books, but I need there to be a main conflict that supersedes the romance. I need to feel like plot is the prime rib, with action, humor and romance all added to the dish like accentuating flavors, adding to my enjoyment. In this book it was the other way around, the one conflict being addressed continuously throughout the book being the main character's love life. The other (often life threatening) problems were secondary, focused only here and there by the narrative, and consequently the readers thoughts. Overall these conflicts made up a comparatively small portion of the book, leaving the love triangle as the main course. It's not that the Pike's magically mythology didn't stand in it's own right, just not enough.