My review of The Iron Queen

The Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa 
Release Date: January 25th, 2011


My name is Meghan Chase.


I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.


This time, there will be no turning back.
 
I think it is safe for me to say that the Iron Fey series is one of my MOST FAVOURITE SERIES EVER! I have so much to say about this book. I finished it last night and was in tears, I have to be honest, I've never cried so much over a book before. The Iron Queen has an interesting plot and extremely addictive characters. I can't get enough of them.


The Iron Queen picks up where the Iron Daughter ended. Ash and Meghan are in the mortal world, trying to figure out there next move and what to do with their lives. But they get given a once in a life time chance to change everything. To make-up for what they did wrong. They must kill the (false) Iron King.


Meghan; I feel that she has really grown as a person since we first met her in The Iron King. She's stronger emotionally and physically. She is loyal and doesn't like to see her friends and family get hurt, and she would do anything to stop that from happening, even if it means risking her own life. She is a brave young girl and I wish I could be more like her at times.


Ash; Damn, I have fallen hard for this guy. This dark haired boy has captured my heart and locked it in a jar. He's so dreamy. In this book he changed. He's happier, some how lighter and less tense than he was in the other books. I love the romance between him and Meghan, the love that they share is very strong, I admire that. The more I talk about Ash, the more I want him to be real.


Puck; Poor, poor Puck. Always been second best. I feel for him, having the one that you love to not love you back. To see them with someone else. Sigh, but after all that, he can still put on a brave face. Puck is truly a saint. He added humour to this book! Joked when times got tough and lightened the mood with his friendly personality. I do hope that something good happens to Robin Goodfellow in The Iron Knight.


It was nice to see some characters from the first book to have a quick apperance, not forgotten! One thing I miss, Iron Horse. I was really warming up to the big guy. 'Ariella' came up in many convosations. Eventhough I don't like her, it's fasinating to find out more about Ash's previous life and whom he used to love. When your reading the book, you can feel how much it pains him to talk about her and how she died.


Who really wants to take another glance at the Twilight pile in the corner of the room, when you have THE IRON FEY series tempting you on the other side of the room? Bye, bye, Edward Cullen! Heeeeellllooooo, Prince Ash!


My favourite quote:


"Hey, princess.”
“Hey,” I whispered, as Ash slipped his arms around my waist from behind, drawing me close. I could feel his glare aimed at Puck over my head, a silent, protective gesture that spoke louder than any words. Mine. Back off.”
Hahaha, that one made me smile! Talk about over-protective! But then again, it's really cute.


I must say, Julie Kagawa is a brilliant author! I can't wait to read her upcoming books, including a vampire series? Hmmm, this shall be interesting! As long as there is an interesting boy and a good plot, oh, and nothing like Twilight, I think I will LOVE IT!

Rating

Giveaway & Interview with Georgia Twynham!

Hey,

I'm excited to tell you that.....Georgia Twynham, author of The Thirteenth series is here! You don't know who Georgia is? Keep reading!

About the author:

I’m a geek who loves to talk far too much. Although that comes in handy now, as I spend a great deal of time in schools, motivating children to have the confidence to write. I love running, and spending time on Facebook and any other social network that will have me. My dream is to complete the Thirteenth Series and then see it on the big screen. My greatest achievement to date is my very cool 11yr old daughter – and she loves my books!

Georgia Twynham is the author of the Thirteenth series that is popular in the UK. You can reach her: On Facebook, On Twitter, At her website

Here is the summary of The Thirteenth, the first book in the series!

The Thirteenth (The Thirteenth #1)

Imagine starting at the end and finishing back at the beginning. This is the story of a teenage girl called Valerie Saunders who is about to be thrown through time and space. Being bestowed with abilities beyond her wildest nightmares, she discovers that she not only has to deal with turning eighteen, her first job and an un-wanted tattoo, but also magical powers and intense urges to fall in love. She envisaged she would spend her life blending into the scenery, not blowing it up!

You can read the first chapter HERE.

You can read MY REVIEW of The Thirteenth HERE.

After reading that you must be REALLY excited! So here is the interview I had with Georgia!

Where did the idea for The Thirteenth come from?

I grew up loving science fiction and fantasy - in particular Flash Gordon and Star Wars. I felt there was a niche in the market for girls; a female super hero they could look up to. I suppose Val is everything I ever wanted as a child.

What/Who inspired you to write?

J.K. Rowling. I read Harry Potter at one of the lowest points in my life and was fascinated by this single mother on benefit who had created such an amazing story. I was so shocked I decided I would try and a write book – I was a single mother at the time, very odd assumption I guess. Still not sure how that worked, but I’m still doing it.

In 10 words describe your book.

A breath-taking ride you wish would never, ever end!

What can people expect when they read The Thirteenth?

Action, friendship, twists, turns, fantasy and sci-fi. On-the-edge-of-your-seat situations and a group of friends that you will just want to spend time with.

Horror or Romance?

HORROR. I’m reading The Omen right now and my Christmas read is Stephen King’s Carrie.

If you could have one superpower what would it be?

Invisibility – to just move among people and them not know! Awesome!

What book do you wish you could have written?

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.

Harry Potter or Twilight?

Hands-down Harry Potter – although respect to Stephanie Meyers.

In 10 words, tell everyone why they should read your book.

If you love strong women with super-powers, read it!

So, now is the moment you've all been waiting for....THE GIVEAWAY! Georgia has kindly offered to give FIVE lucky people the first two books in The Thirteenth series! (E-Copies)

 

Enter the Rafflecopter below! I'm giving you A LOT of chances to win this! :D 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone,
Sam :)

My review of The Thirteenth

The Thirteenth (The Thirteenth Series #1) by Georgia Twynham 
Release Date: November 9th, 2009

A fun and extremely interesting read!

 Imagine starting at the end and finishing back at the beginning. This is the story of a teenage girl called Valerie Saunders who is about to be thrown through time and space. Being bestowed with abilities beyond her wildest nightmares, she discovers that she not only has to deal with turning eighteen, her first job and an un-wanted tattoo, but also magical powers and intense urges to fall in love. She envisaged she would spend her life blending into the scenery, not blowing it up!

Val has a calling, but which side is dialling her number?

The Thirteenth is the first book in a 6 book series. I found this a great start. I picked it up and quickly got lost in the story.


It all starts with Val, a hard-working teenager, who cares a lot about her family. She begins to have strange nightmares that seem too real to be conjured up from her imagination. But one day she wakes up with a tatoo, she doesn't know how it got there. She makes friends with Shane, a boy working at a tatoo parlour, who has connections with people who might be able to help her, but nothing is that simple.....

Val, the main character, is a normal teenager. Like every other girl in the world, she has her problems. Parents, work, boys, friends, etc. You can easily relate to Val, since she is quite emotional at times, she cares a lot about her friends and her parents. Georgia Twynham has done a good job making her characters as real as possible. Some authors tend to run with the fairies and pretend that everything is alright, and I was happy to see that Georgia considered how each event would affect her characters.


Take a look at the cover, it's definitely intriguing. I also like the line: A girl, a number, a destiny....
Sounds pretty good? Gets your curiousity going.

The plot was addictive and as the story went on, I found it harder to put the book down. There's so many mysteries to solve, so many characters to read about and so many twists! I don't want to say too much about the book because I might get over excited and tell you everything that happens.

I have become attached to the main character, Val, I will take pleasure in reading the next book. I recommend this to all YA lovers!

Rating

- A special thanks to Georgia Twynham for providing me with an E-copy

My review of Slumber

26/01/12 - Slumber (The Fade #1) by Samantha Young - Released 17th May 2011

Addictive.

A sleeping beauty may be the damsel in distress, but her White Knight? Why her rather un-knightish best friend of course. And the White Knight’s White Knight? Well… none other than her reluctant mortal enemy…

When Haydyn falls victim to the mysterious Sleeping Disease, the world of Phaedra is thrown into Chaos.
Rogan, Haydyn’s best friend and handmaiden, is the only one who can save her. Together, with the Royal Guard and their young Captain, Wolfe Stovia, Rogan must set off across the provinces to find the Somna Plant that will wake Haydyn from her dying sleep.

Beset on all sides by the chaos, Rogan tumbles into a dark world of kidnapping, prejudice, betrayal and love… a journey that will change her forever, and a journey that will change their world forever, if she does not retrieve the cure.

After I saw this on amazon for free, I couldn't resist trying out another Samantha Young book! I read Smokeless Fire a few weeks ago and found it entertaining, so I was hoping for the same reaction while reading Slumber. To my surprise, I ended up liking it more than I expected!

Characters
Rogan; an interesting young girl, she knows how to handle herself in alarming situations. She is a fighter, yet vulnerable at times. She wasn't boring, like I thought she would be, instead she was exciting, full of energy and spirit!

Wolfe; Swoon-worthy boy here! There's so much I want to say about this boy!!!!! He was delightful. Moody at times but always has a good reason to be. He does take his job as a protector very seriously, and he can't help but doing his job when he does not need to. He wants to protect everyone, keep everyone, except himself, out of harms way. He is very passionate and can be very kind, but he has some secrets of his own. I was eager to read more about him as soon as he and Rogan set off on their quest.

I don't have much to say about the rest, okay, that's a lie. I have PLENTY to say about the awesome characters that were introduced in this book. I found them all quite intriguing, they all had a story to tell. L, for instance, was a strong and confident young woman. She helped Rogan with her quest when she did not need to. Very generous.

Slumber, wasn't a book that I thought I would read. It was the cover that interested me in the first place, but of course having seen that Samantha Young wrote it was a bonus. I would love to have a real copy of the book to see what the cover is like for real. I must say, all books by Samantha, have beautiful covers! I absolutely love them!

I am now seriously addicted to Samantha Young's books. They are all so easily to get lost in and so easy to enjoy! Samantha also has a very unique writing style, that I really do love. I recommend this to all YA paranormal lovers.

I rate this book:
  
4 Falling Books

My review of Vampire Academy

26/01/12 - Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead - Released 16th August 2007

A brilliant start to the series!

Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever...


After reading Bloodlines, I immidiately ordered this, I knew that Richelle Mead wouldn't let me down! She delivered an action packed book with twists and characters that could never bore you.

I was a little confused at the start, reading Bloodlines before this series isn't a good idea, warning you all! Eventhough I was slightly confused with some parts, I throughly enjoyed it. Vampire Academy is different from the cliche Vampire books, it brings more excitement and much more interesting story lines, everyone is TOO obssessed with Edward Cullen from the best-selling series, Twilight. I think Vampire Academy is a lot better, who REALLY wants to read about vampires who go up to a human and says:

"Stay away from me, I'm dangerous, goodbye."

Vampire Academy is much more interesting, it makes much more sense and the characters are so much more delightful. Once you start reading this you won't be able to put it down, there's so much to think about and so many mysteries to solve. You play guessing games with yourself, but none of your predictions are correct. This book was full of surprises that I never saw coming.

I loved all the characters. They all had a good and bad side to them, even the all-too-gorgeous, Dimitri. I really enjoyed reading about him, because after reading Bloodlines, I didn't quite understand his relationship with Rose, but now everything has become crystal clear. Mia, I didn't like her, she was a stupid girl, I thought. She was so determined to make people's lives a misery? What is up with the girl? She is absolutely mental, she depressed me, every time I saw her name I wanted to hit my head against a wall.

Favourite quotes:
"Do you think I'm pretty?"
"I think your beautiful."
"Beautiful?"
"You are so beautiful, it hurts sometimes”

I would die for a boy to say that to me, unfortunately, boys now a days are stuck to their X-Boxs. I think this quote is seriously cute. The guy who said this is definitely swoon-worthy!

I can't wait to see what other masterpieces Richelle has instore next!

I rate this book:

4.8 Falling Books