Category Archives: 2 Flames

DARK OF THE MOON
Author: Tracy Barrett
Source: RAAB Associates
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books; None edition (September 20, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0547581327
ISBN-13: 978-0547581323

Ariadne is destined to become a goddess of the moon. She leads a lonely life, filled with hours of rigorous training by stern priestesses. Her former friends no longer dare to look at her, much less speak to her. All that she has left are her mother and her beloved, misshapen brother Asterion, who must be held captive below the palace for his own safety.

So when a ship arrives one spring day, bearing a tribute of slaves from Athens, Ariadne sneaks out to meet it. These newcomers don’t know the ways of Krete; perhaps they won’t be afraid of a girl who will someday be a powerful goddess. And indeed she meets Theseus, the son of the king of Athens. Ariadne finds herself drawn to the newcomer, and soon they form a friendship—one that could perhaps become something more.

Yet Theseus is doomed to die as an offering to the Minotaur, that monster beneath the palace—unless he can kill the beast first. And that “monster” is Ariadne’s brother . . .

Since I never really paid any attention in school when they were discussing Greek mythology,  I wasn’t too sure what to expect in Dark of the Moon.  It is based on the Greek myth of Theseus, Ariadne, the Minotaur and the labyrinth.  Now since none of the myth was familiar to me, I knew this would be something fresh for me to read.

I really had a hard time getting into this book.  It begins rather slowly and had an overabundance of narrative dialogue that was a little repetitive at times.  It didn’t really start getting interesting until the characters started their dialogue and started interacting.  Although the dialogue picked up the pace of the book, it still wasn’t as interesting as I was hoping it would be.  I wasn’t a fan of the characters like I should have been.  Maybe if I had known about the legendary myth at little more, it would have had me engrossed in the revelations a little more.

While the story wasn’t as great as I was expecting, the author did execute  the story with a twist nicely.  She has you thinking how tales can be twisted throughout the ages and how some things might have been different from a different point of view.  If you are a fan of Greek mythology then I would say to give this book a chance.  You might just find out more about the legend than you already know.

BREATH OF ANGEL
Author: Karyn Henley
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (June 21, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307730123
ISBN-13: 978-0307730121

The stranger’s cloak had fallen back, and with it, a long, white, blood-stained wing.
When Melaia, a young priestess, witnesses the gruesome murder of a stranger in the temple courtyard, age-old legends recited in song suddenly come to life. She discovers wings on the stranger, and the murderer takes the shape of both a hawk and a man.

Angels. Shape-shifters. Myths and stories—until now.

Melaia finds herself in the middle of a blood feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm. When the feud turns violent and Melaia becomes a target, she finds refuge with a band of angels attempting to restore the stairway. But the restoration is impossible without the repayment of an ancient debt—the “breath of angel, blood of man,” a payment that involves Melaia’s heart, soul, and destiny.

Breath of Angel is the first book in the Angelaeon Circle series.  The cover is what originally captured my interest in this book.  It was dark and eerie which seemed to fit my mood at that time.  Unfortunately, this book was not as great as I was hoping.


Everything you would want in a plot is touched on in this book.  At times, it became to be a little cliched.  There are many books out there that feature angels and such, but this book really didn’t have anything to really stand out in my mind and make it great.  I wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t fall for it like I have done with other books in the past.  This book is also classified as a Fiction Fantasy.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is just a paranormal read.  While I love a great paranormal book, fantasy has never been one of my favorite genres.  I am not a huge fan of priestesses and magic.  Maybe that is one of the reasons this book didn’t fit well with my reading habits. 


Now if you are a fantasy reader, then give this book a try.  I on the other hand, was not a fan of it.  It could have been my reading mood at the time, so I might give this book another go somewhere down the line in the future.

MATCHED
Matched #1
Author: Ally Condie
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (September 20, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 014241977X
ISBN-13: 978-0142419779

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander’s face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham’s face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it’s a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she’s destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can’t stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

After seeing so many reviews on this book– some good and some bad– I caved and decided to read it since the publisher sent them to me.  I knew it was a dystopia themed book, but I still didn’t know what to really expect.  In dystopia novels, the author has such creative freedom that you never really know what type of world you are going to step into when you open the book to read the first page.  


In the first few chapters my interest was captured with the characters and the Society.  I anxiously awaited the Matching ceremony along with Cassia and Xander.  Unfortunately, after the Matching ceremony is concluded, my interest started to dissolve away like the paper in the book.  I had a hard time finishing this book and it wasn’t because of the emotions that should have gripped my heart.  Instead, it had to do with the fact of repetitiveness and story that could have been chopped to move it along faster.  The poetry was nice for the first half of the book, but after awhile it started to get annoying and forced on the reader.  I know the poetry is suppose to hold some meaning, but I felt it to be confusing for the reader to keep up with.


I also didn’t understand the attraction that Cassia had with Ky.  It was so instantaneous and off the wall that it never really clicked with me.  I have heard other readers have this problem as well between the two characters, so I know that I am not alone in this one.  Xander was patient and understanding up to a point, but I felt he needed to defend his relationship with Cassia a little more. 


By the end of the book, my curiosity was peaked again but it came too near the end.  I wish my interest could have been throughout the whole book and not just an ending that left me with more questions than answers. 

HADES
Halo #2
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (August 30, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312656270
ISBN-13: 978-0312656270

Heaven Help Her.

Bethany Church is an angel sent to Earth to keep dark forces at bay. Falling in love was never part of her mission, but the bond between Beth and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier Woods, is undeniably strong. But even Xavier’s love, and the care of her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can’t keep Beth from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, the demon Jake Thorn bargains for Beth’s release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly, her loved ones, as well. 
 

After reading Halo, I was a little hesitant on reading the sequel since I wasn’t impressed.  For some reason, Halo didn’t click with me in spite of being a favorite among other readers.

In Hades, again the story is slow moving for me.  While the first few chapters do seem to be at a better pace than the previous book, I still had a hard time getting through the book.  At times it even seemed to stall out with no story arc or drama to keep the reader entertained.  Also, when you think of Hell, don’t you think of pure evil and fire with demons?  In Hades, Hell is just basically a small town with a bunch of void around it.  To me, Hell didn’t seem to scary, just like a run down area of a town in need of TLC.  I couldn’t enjoy the characters in this installment either.  Some were too naive, and others didn’t fit the role they were suppose to be playing in the book.

While some parts of the book were okay,  the rest of the book again fell flat for me.  While the cover is gorgeous again as well, the story isn’t as nice.  I wanted so much more and this series has so much potential if only it could be cut and restructured.  If you were a fan of Halo, then I am sure that Hades will meet your expectations.  If you weren’t a fan of Halo, there wasn’t much of an improvement from the first in my opinion.

NOCTURNE
Author: Syrie James
Source: FSB Associates
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Vanguard Press; Mass Market Edition edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159315674X
ISBN-13: 978-1593156749

When Nicole Whitcomb’s car runs off a Colorado mountain road during a blinding snowstorm, she is saved from death by a handsome, fascinating, and enigmatic stranger.

Snowbound with him for days in his beautiful home high in the Rockies, she finds herself powerfully attracted to him. But there are things about him that mystify her, filling her with apprehension.

Who is Michael Tyler? Why does he live alone in such a secluded spot and guard his private life so carefully? What secret–or secrets–is he hiding?

Nicole has secrets of her own and a past she is running from–but Michael understands her better than anyone she has ever known. Soon, she is falling as deeply in love with him as he is with her–a profoundly meaningful experience that is destined to change their lives forever.

As the sexual tension between them builds, however, the clues mount up. When Nicole learns her host’s terrifying secret, there is nowhere for her to run but into the blizzard raging outside, and Michael may be the only one who can save her life.

I was really excited to get the chance to read this book by an author that I had not discovered yet.  While the first few pages started out strong, by the end of the book I was not as thrilled as others might have been.

I liked Michael and thought the tortured vampire would be able to be enough to keep my interest moving along at a great pace throughout the book.  Unfortunately, adding Nicole into the mix made it seem childish and naive with no sparks between the two for a romance.  I also couldn’t help but notice it was eerily parallel to another vampire book that is out in the market today.  I rolled my eyes at the point in the book when Michael told Nicole the truth of what he is.

With apparent difficulty, she opened her eyes again and whispered groggily:
“Say it.”
“Say what?” he asked gently.
“Say that you’re a vampire.”
–page 125

I just couldn’t get over all of the cliched dialogue and overdone speeches.  The ending was bittersweet and not one I was a fan of especially since it could be left open for further books that are at the moment, not on the author’s agenda.  I like happily ever afters in my romance books and at least hopes of future happiness.  I was disappointed that the author felt the need to torture the reader with the ending given to us after investing so much time in reading the book.  Not one I would read again.