Anomaly (Causal Enchantments #4): Ebook Review

4.25/5 Stars

Anomaly
(Book #4 Causal Enchantments)
By KA Tucker
February 24th, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

The final book in the series! I was really interested to see what direction the story was going to take!

Synopsis:

The last thing Evangeline remembers is dying and seeing the 4 fates portraying themselves as angels and telling her to choose between dying as a mortal or living as a vampire. Probably the easiest decision Eve has ever had to make, so she happily accepts their offer to become a vampire. Now she’s woken up in a cave with concerned faces surrounding her. She was miraculously brought back to life since Viggo snapped her neck but her vampiric transformation took longer than Julian and Veronique’s (apparently accepting the offer was a package deal and the humans cursed with the Death Magic became vampires).  Another concern is her apparent lack of blood lust.

It doesn’t take long before Eve and the others around her start to notice other anomalies of her transformation. What could this mean? Is it a gift or a curse of the Fates? Is she being toyed with for the fates sick amusement? Will any of these new abilities help her in the impending war? While everyone is baffled by Eve there are more pressing matters at stake. Like if Viggo can be stopped before he exacts revenge, or how many fledglings have been built up in the mutants army, and can they be thwarted before the wreak so much chaos that the world can no longer ignore the threat of blood thirsty vampiries?

What I thought:

Well my initial thoughts on this book was that it almost seemed like I was reading a better version of the 4th book of Twilight. Eve, Julian, and Veronique all magically become vampires. Fiona gets brought back to life so we don’t have a mopy Bishop, and everything is cotton candy – well except the impending doom of the world. Another ‘Bella’ like quality Eve has is her uncanny ability to resist human blood, among some other mysterious abilities the fates hint at.

As much as I don’t want the main characters to die it’s too fairy tale to have everyone walk away unscathed, and as I read it I would worry it’s going to end like Twilight where there’s the big looming battle but everyone walk away like it was nothing. This is part of the reason why I love/hate Game of Thrones so much. Life is cruel, unpredictable, and while most of time we read books to escape that, it can be hard to sometimes swallow down that everything worked out so well.

This last book does take the life is butterflies and happiness approach, and I’m not too mad at it, because it did end differently than expected. I still like how the story played out with the fates, their manipulation, and the characters. I don’t however agree with everyone turning on Sofia for making a very hard but needed decisions…

**SPOILER** Amalie or the world? I don’t think this decision was much different than the one Evangeline made about Veronique. Eve didn’t know if the witches would keep Veronique alive or kill her, but she gambled with her life none the less to try and defer a war. Nobody seemed too mad at the decision aside from Viggo. But Sofia makes a similar call and everyone turns their back on her. To also be fair Sofia made a very difficult decision before even nuking New York, she decided to try and save it and destroy the fledglings instead of nuking it out right. Everyone agreed to this less callous decision knowing full well that going up against that many fledglings may cost some of them their lives, and when it did they all blamed Sofia for the deaths of their fellow vampires.
**Spoiler ended***

I would recommend this series because I did enjoy it quite a bit, it was quite the roller coaster! I think my favourite book out the series was the second, :).

P.S. I love Max and his hilarious comments, and I would have to say I would probably do despicable things to have an immortal dog I could talk telepathically with! <3. I think Evangeline is totally abusing the awesomeness of her canine compadre!

Kobo series: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/the-causal-enchantment-series\

Allegiance (Causal Enchantment #2): Ebook Review

4.5/5 Stars

Allegiance
(Book #3 Causal Enchantments)
By KA Tucker
September 25th, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Synopsis:

We start our third adventure with our gang of vampires flying to Paris after the leaving the crazy Death island. While on the plane Evangeline frets about 2 newly discovered secrets. Secrets she must keep. If the other found out about Julian he would surely be a goner, or if the trio of Earth Vamps found out about Veronique a war would most likely ensue to get her back.

For now Eve must bite her tongue and pray that Julian can keep his secret from the newly infatuated Amalie, and that Veronique can hang on until Eve can get her out of the witches clutches. But each day gets a little harder as Sofia and Mage eye Eve with concern worrying about the effect of the Death Magic used on her, and what it is transforming her into. At the moment she is a black hole for magic and vampire powers, but will get worse and will she become like THEM? A mere touch of her skin able to kill those who she holds dearest? The worry eats at her. Trying to keep Amalie from tearing Julian’s clothes of gets harder day by day, and her guardedness of him only arises suspicion in Caden and Amalie. While the vampires can’t read her mind, or her emotions, they can tell that something is certainly brewing under Evangeline’s surface and it is tearing away at her.

How much longer can she keep these secrets? And how much longer do Julian and Veronique have?

What I thought:

This novel has a lot of inner turmoil, since Evangeline is keeping 2 very important secrets to try and keep people from dying. She also has to deal with consequences of her rash decision of accepting the Death tribe's magic to separate herself from Veronique, all the while coping with the strain of what lying to Caden is doing to their relationship. There were some pretty interesting developments in this part of the story I wasn’t expecting, and again Tucker kept me on my toes.

Only one more to go!

Kobo series: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/the-causal-enchantment-series\

Asylum (Causal Enchantments #2): Ebook Review

5/5 Stars

Asylum
(Book #2 Causal Enchantments)
By KA Tucker
December 29th, 2011
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Synopsis:

Opening a portal between Earth and Ratheus went even worse than Evangeline ever anticipated. In a panic to save her friend she had impromptu planned to transport them back with the council of Ratheus vampires hoping Sofia could deal with the devious hitch-hikers. What she hadn’t expected was every vampire that touched the statue to come also, turning 4 to 19, and from 19 to over 100! Nor for Caden’s prediction of his lust for her blood to come true upon portaling to Earth.

Now for her own safety Eve, the house hold staff, her faithful dog brigade, and two orphaned Colombians have been transported to a cabin in a snowy nowhere. With little to distract herself Eve is constantly worried for Caden, her friends, and Sofia.

Acting quickly Sofia sets the majority of Ratheus vampires ablaze, burning about 70 of them in her wake. But Sofia is far from safe locked in the walls of the Manhattan home with 40 ravenous Ratheus vampires to feed, and the irate Viggo and Mortimer over Evangeline’s disappearance before Veronique could be brought back. Equally concerning are Eve’s so called friends gorging themselves on human blood, and confessing that the used Eve to gain entry to their human plentiful world. Unable to get Caden alone Sofia cannot check if this is charade to save themselves from Viggo’s wrath or the truth. To make matters worse she must also deal with an impossibly powerful vampiress, Mage, who gives her cryptic messages of Earth trending towards the doom of Ratheus.

Can Sofia save Veronique without killing Eve? Or do so before Viggo finds her? Can 40+ vamps survive trapped under one roof? Or will Earth suffer the same fate as Ratheus?

What I thought:

Wow, when I thought I had this book figured out I was wrong. It was liked reading about a sinking ship and every time you tried to plug a hole the pressure would cause a bigger hole to rupture somewhere else! There were a lot of interesting things that Sofia kept hidden from everyone that we slowly see surface one piece at a time. When I finished this one I was surprised at how quickly I had finished (because I couldn’t stop myself from compulsively reading it!) Tucker really knows how to dangle to carrot in front of your face and have you running in circles trying to get it.

The only complaint I have about this book is that it switched between Eve and Sofia (which is fine) but she didn’t mark the chapters as such. You just figured every other chapter rotated between them on your own.


Kobo series: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/the-causal-enchantment-series\

Anathema: Ebook Review

4/5 Stars

Anathema
(Book #1 Causal Enchantments)
By KA Tucker
Papoti Books (July 15th, 2011)
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

I had this as a free ebook sitting on my kobo for a while until I decided that this was the next series I wanted to start. I tend to leave unfinished series until later because who like waiting? I sure don’t! Anyway K.A Tucker, Suckered me right in! Just like with Jenny Pox now I must finish this series! (Oddly this one is also a 4 book series). I am hoping I like the other 3 books as much as this one, :).

Also as a side note it took me until the 2nd book to realize it was causal enchantment not casual enchantment.

Synopsis:

If you thought breaking a mirror was bad luck you should see what happens when you break a lamp! After volunteering at a local homeless shelter Evangeline trotted through the blinding rain only to collide with an ornate lamp on the sidewalk. After profusely apologizing to the store owner she offers to replace the lamp for breaking it with her clumsiness. The owner confesses that the lamp is not only one of a kind, but also $10k.

The coffee house owner, Sofia, invites Evangeline into her shop and offers her a job to help her work off her ridiculous debt. With no work experience, and a desperation to gain some Evangeline is more than happy to accept!

On her first day on the job, Sofia tells her that she must go to New York for some important business and will be closing the shop for a few weeks, but not before she gives Eve another unbelievable offer. Her debt will be cleared if she comes to New York with Sofia for a few weeks to run some errands for the shop. Although completely unprepared for this Eve agrees, since her foster mother offers little protest.

Upon arriving in Manhattan in the most beautiful and expensive house Eve has ever seen, she is then un-expectantly showered with extravagant gift. But the designer clothes, and gorgeous house can only distract her so long from the oddities surrounding her: the violent fights between Sophia and Viggo, the monstrous/smart guard dogs, and the beautiful/frightening cave people she vividly dreams about.  Evangeline slowly realizes that she caught in an intricately fabricated web of lies and deceit with no one turn to and no way out.

What I thought:

I was quite surprised about the elaborate plot surrounding poor Evangeline, and the amount of deceit. Tucker put quite a bit of thought into the background of this story. I couldn’t put this book down and when I finished it I also immediately bought the series. (Which was a great deal 4 books for $6! Compared to over $3 a book) I really enjoyed this first book and I’m interested to see what path the series takes.

I would recommend this book to any readers that enjoy magic, romance, and vampires ;).

Anathema (kobo free): https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/anathema-causal-enchantment-1
Kobo series: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/the-causal-enchantment-series\
Anathema (kindle free): http://www.amazon.ca/Anathema-Causal-Enchantment-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0052ZZWC4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442365419&sr=8-1&keywords=anathema+tucker

I am Legend: Ebook Review

4/5 Stars

I am Legend

Richard Matheson

Genre: Horror

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t a fan of this movie. After a certain death in the film it was all downhill for me. But I was still intrigued by the book since this was the 'alleged' grand-daddy to zombies.  So I decided to give a book a go since I heard it was quite different from the movie, and after reading it seems the movie only took after it in concept.

Synopsis:

As far as Robert Neville knows he is the last non infected still alive. It has been months since he has seen anyone walking around that hasn’t tried to kill him. The world has been infected, the diseased have become vampires and since he is only one left alive, he is the only one that can find a cure. That or kill every last one of the b*stards! But Neville is no doctor, or scientist, or anyone special really. He is just a man trying to survive one more day and not be shredded to pieces.

The real question is, how long can the last living, breathing, blood producing man live in a world of vampires?

My thoughts:

Aside from the man’s name being Robert Neville and a brief dog cameo there is little in common with this book and the same titled (and third rendition) movie. For that I am thankful! The book takes a completely different approach than the movie. It more focuses on Robert psychology as he tormented by the walking dead, lives a sad solitary life as the only man left, deals with the death of his family, and is trying to survive in a world that if you’re out a minute past dark – you’re dead.

This was really interesting to see how he coped with the insane world around, with the vampires taunting him to go outside, and with no one to talk to. It’s from the point of view of man desperate to be safe, while secretly hoping against all odds there are other survivors, and figure out the cause for vampirism.

The last few pages of the book were the most powerful, and I found this novel to be a very well written and an interesting read. I would definitely recommend it to any one that likes apocalyptic, dystopia, vampire or zombie books.

The Princess Bride - Book Review

2.5/5 Stars

The Princess Bride

Muybridge/Goldman

Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Action

I was pretty excited to see this. For the strangest reason I believed, since I first saw the princess bride many years ago, that the book the grandfather was reading never actually existed, it was merely a plot device! I was wrong!

I am big fan of this movie, and I have seen probably it at least 5 times. Naturally I was interested to see if the book had anything to add to it – not really.

Synopsis:

Meet Buttercup, a farm girl with a silly name that is a diamond in the rough, if only she brushed her hair and bathed once and a while. She lives on a cow farm with her parents and a hired stable boy named Westley. Buttercup doesn’t care much for boys and would be happy just spending all of her time riding horses. That is until a duke and duchess come to their property to investigate how the make such ‘fine’ milk.

When Westley catches the duchesses eye, Buttercup becomes obsessed with what the duchess sees in Westley, and this brings her to realization that she has been in love with Westley for years without even realizing it! But Westley wasn’t the only one the Duke and Duchess noticed, the Duke could only stare at Buttercup and see her potential for beauty.

After the Duke and Duchess leave, and a sleepless night Buttercup professes her love to Westley to only have him close the door in her face. Heartbroken she spends the day crying in her room, until Westley comes later that to tell her that he loves her and is setting sail for America to make a new life for them, and that he will send for her.

But soon after news is brought that Westley’s ship has been attacked by pirates – pirates that leave no survivors. Buttercup is beyond devastated and vows never to love again. But how can this be?? How can a couple that loves each other so much be destroyed? Well… that is where the adventure begins…

My thoughts:

I was happy to see that the book didn’t stray too much for the movie at all. Except for the zoo of death which I think was rightfully cut because it is awful! Now you might be wondering if I loved the movie so much why did I give the book such a bad review if it was so similar to the movie?

Excellent question blog reader! I read the abridged version of this book and it had some unexpected narration within it. By this I mean, it explains a man’s hunt to find the Princess Bride novel for his son because his father read it to him and he loved it so much. What the man didn't know is his dad only read to him ‘the good parts’. Apparently the original story was needlessly fluffy so when Goldman re-released the abridge version he cut out these fluffy parts and TOLD the reader that he cut them out. It’s like the story was constantly being interrupted by it! And not in a cute way like the movie in like a “Originally Muybridge wrote 20 pages about this, and 12 pages about that, and another 8 pages about this, so I cut it because nothing eventful happened”. It completely pulls you out of the story. That and Buttercup almost seemed a bit heartless or fickle with her love for Westley in the book which didn’t come across in the movies…

I honestly don’t think the book added anything to the movie, except for making the bad guys being even bigger creeps. If you’re a big fan I guess give it a go, you may like it more than me, but to anyways one else I would not recommend. In this rare case the movie was better than the book.

Tommy Nightmare: Ebook Review

5/5 Stars

Tommy Nightmare

JL Bryan

Second in The Paranormals series

Genre: Horror/Paranormal Romance

Synopsis:

A boy with a dark past turns into an even more frightening adult. Tommy was an abused foster boy, who learns to defend himself with a touch that inspires the purest of fears. As he ages he is happy to take advantage of this power to bend people to this will by inspiring their worst nightmares. He is Ashleigh’s opposite, and while she made people love her and get whatever she wanted with her touch, he does much the same to manipulate.

If you thought you were done with Ashleigh, think again she manages to slither her way back in, in ways you could not anticipate.

But this book isn't just about Tommy Nightmare. His path is soon to intertwine itself with Seth and Jenny’s. There are mounting concerns for poor Jenny as she deals with the guilt of her massacre, begins to question her relationship with Seth, the 100+ dead bodies don’t go unnoticed by the CDC and FBI, and Tommy is on his way.

My thoughts:

Love, love, love this series! I could not put it down! Unfortunately I read it a few years ago and was too lazy to write a review so, this is all my ‘lasting impression’ of the book. I remember the book had a great pace, even more characters that had their own interesting arcs. In this book we are hinted at more Paranormals in upcoming books. It does delve a bit more into what the Paranormals are, but there is still so much more to come in the future books.

He writes amazing villains that you love to hate. With Tommy you feel bad for him because of his past, so you can understand him somewhat. But when he uses his powers to destroy people unlike Jenny, he’s hard to still like. The story, the characters, I know I will HAVE to read this series more than once, it’s so good!

If you loved the first book then I can assure you will enjoy the ride all the way to the end. Definitely recommend this book.

Jenny Pox: Ebook Review

4.5/5 Stars

Jenny Pox

JL Bryan

First in The Paranormals series

Genre: Horror/Paranormal Romance

Synopsis:

Jenny 'Mittens' Morten can't wait to be done with high school. People terrify her. At the age of 18 she has never had a friend and has tried to never come in contact with anyone from her school, for one simple reason. One touch from her and you're dead.

Jenny goes pretty much unnoticed by all her classmates except for one girl who loves to torment her, Ashleigh Goodling. She doesn't learn how powerful Ashleigh's deadly influence over people can be until something starts developing between her and Ashleigh's boyfriend, Seth. Seth just so happens to be the only boy in the world that is immune to her touch.

How long can Jenny keep her deadly touch a secret with Ashleigh doing everything in her power to destroy her?

My thoughts:

I loved this book. It had such an interesting story idea, and a nice twist at the end. I was sort of thinking it's like X-men without Xavier. Sort of like what life would be like if you had powers but no mentor, and no one to understand you. I love books about kids with powers. The writing was really good, and I loved the characters, they were very well developed. The main character, Jenny, is the lonely awkward girl that is struggling through life. Imagine not being able to touch a single human being or any living thing? She has to wear gloves, long sleeve shirts, and pants all year around just to avoid skin contact. Even though she is deadly, she still has this light to her and in her heart she's a good and caring person.

The genre is horror, and I kept sitting there wondering, what's so scary about this? But then sh** hits the fan at the end and you're like oh that's why! I wouldn't say this book is scary, it can get a little gross, and it definitely has its suspense.

Would I read more by the author? Hells to the yeah, I've already gotten a hold of book 2. I would recommend this series to anyone who likes super natural books, I would lump this under an ADULT paranormal romance/horror novel.

Find it here for (free) Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/jenny-pox