For Review: Scent of Magic (Maria V. Snyder)

*This is book #2 in the Healer series*


(Goodreads Blurb/Link)

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.


Published: December 18, 2012
Source: Netgalley- For my honest review
Cover: NOT diggin' it


My Thoughts:
 This review will contain spoilers from Book # 1: Touch of Power

The end of Touch of Power left us with the death of Avry as a result of healing Prince Ryne of the plague. Then she was brought back to life. Now you're caught up.

In Scent of Magic, Tohon is on a destructive murderous mission to become ruler of the 15 realms, leading his army of dead to crush anyone who gets in his way.  Taking advantage of everyone thinking she's dead, Avry infiltrates Jael's camp to get information and look out for Tohon spies. She's SUPPOSED to be laying low as she promised Kerrick.  But that doesn't work out so well.  Meanwhile Kerrick goes back to Ryne's camp to assist with war plans and runs into some difficulties of his own.

As far as sequels go, this one was pretty good. I didn't like it AS much as Touch of Power but it's a must read for fans of this series.

Kerrick and Avry are separated for about 80% of Scent of Magic. The supporting characters that I grew to love in the previous book don't show up as much. I missed their interactions and back and forth quibbling. I also missed the romance between Kerrick and Avry.  There's a lot of action in this book, but it's more focused on war strategy.

That said, Avry as a main character was able to stand on her own and continues to kick butt. At 21, Avry is brave, independent and a skilled fighter. I love to see strong female characters kicking butt and taking charge and Avry does just that.  As difficult as it is to be separated from Kerrick, Avry doesn't take the woe-is-me-I'm-nothing-without-my-love attitude. Which is a good thing because her focus needs to be on using her skills to help stop Tohon and his dead from taking over.

The point of view switches back and forth between Avry and Kerrick. This was vital to making the story more interesting. Let's face it, Kerrick's my favorite and I especially love the parts with him in it. The story's just going along, going along, la-de-da, not bad.  I get to the last 20ish pages or so and then BAM. CLIFFHANGER CITY! WHAT the WHAT!?! What's going to happen next?? EEP!
Immediately drawn back in.

Bottom Line:   A solid sequel, if for nothing but the last 20 pages.  3.75/5

Book haul!

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren and Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.


I haven't bought any more actual hold in my hands books. I have plenty to keep me busy and there's going to be lots of new releases coming up in the next couple months so I'm trying to hold off.

BUT I just can't resist a good e-book that's ON SALE. I don't use my Kindle very often. I might read 1 book a month on it for fun. I just don't like it nearly as much as the real thing.  I use it for most of my FOR REVIEW books.  BUT as I'm sure most people know, every month Amazon posts a new listing of 100 books that are $3.99 and under and I always find something to buy. I mean, ON SALE. I can't resist!

 Purchased Amazon E-Books (all for cheap!)

 

 

 

 

 

*This one wasn't on the list I was talking about above, but it was only $3.99. AND I LOVE Colleen Hoover's writing. I highly recommend her other books Slammed and Point of Retreat! I can't wait to read this one!

 

Netgalley FOR REVIEW

 

 

 

A HUGE thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Disney Hyperion for the approval! I'm SOO freaking STOKED to read these!!

 

 

WELL that's it for me this week! Leave your haul link in the comments and I'll check it out!

 

 

 

For Review: Point of Retreat (Colleen Hoover)

 

(Goodreads Link) 

Source: For Review, Netgalley

Why I wanted to read it: Because I LOVED Slammed and couldn't NOT read this one.


My Thoughts:

Point of Retreat is the follow-up to Slammed, one of my favorite reads of 2012. This review will contain spoilers of Slammed. SO GO READ THAT ONE NOW!!

Point of Retreat was everything I was hoping for and more.  Having loved Slammed, I was a little worried that this one wouldn't be as good. Will and Layken are together now and still living across the street from each other. Layken's mom has died and she is taking care of her brother while Will continues to help raise his little brother.  I knew this book was going to involve a past love of Will's and this was going to create a conflict between him and Layken.

 This storyline could have been boring. BUT Colleen Hoover has this amazing ability of taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary!  She does this by creative writing and making her characters come to life.

If there's one word I could use to describe the characters in this book it would be authentic. I LOVE ALL of them.  I want to be in their little family.  And Will. Oh my. What a freaking catch.

This book made me cry but it also made me laugh out loud and gave me that feel-good feeling.
It's a must read for anyone who enjoyed Slammed.

I highly recommend these books to anyone looking for a contemporary YA read filled with authentic characters, laughter, incredible writing, all around amazingness and a bit of slam poetry.

Favorite Quotes:

"I've learned something about my heart. It can break. It can be ripped apart. It can harden and freeze. It can stop. Completely. It can shatter into a million pieces. It can explode. It can die. The only thing that made it start beating again? The moment you opened your eyes."

"It's like you came along and woke up my soul."

"Sometimes it feels good to have your biggest fears discounted with a simple compliment."

Bottom Line: Point of Retreat was an on-point follow-up to Slammed and Colleen Hoover is butterflying brilliant!  4.5/5

My Thoughts: Slammed (Colleen Hoover)

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.
Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.
Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart. (Goodreads Blurb)




My Thoughts:

Slammed is one of those books that just sucked me in. The writing was easy, the characters came to life and the story was well written.  I laughed, I cried, I loved, I swooned.  I freaking loved this book to pieces and it slammed its way into my heart.

The story of Slammed was written in such a way that I felt completely immersed. It was so realistically realistic. I felt like the characters could be anyone. Layken as a main character was highly likeable. It’s the small things that really helped me attach to her, like when she pretends to be a zombie and chases her little brother around or the incident with the Darth Vader bedroom slippers.    The relationship Layken has with her mother is, again, realistic. It’s not perfect, but what relationship is? There is immediate chemistry between Layken and Will when they first meet; they're cute and awkward and I love them.  And speaking of Will…I was in need of a new favorite bookish boy. Why can't he be real?? ARG.  This book only helped cement my love of boys-next-door (or in this case boys across the street).

2 of my favorite things about this book:

#1 Poetry slams!! Before reading this book, my knowledge of poetry slams was what I’ve gathered from television. All I could think about was the episode of Boy Meets World when Cory gets up and slams TOPANGA! I imagined a dark room filled with people wearing berets drinking espresso and contemplating the universe. The poetry slams in this book RULE!  And I want to go to one!   It’s not just about reading lines off a page; it’s about performing something that lets people “see a glimpse into your soul”.  Who knew poetry slams could be so cool? I know I didn’t. The poems that were presented during the slams were very touching, especially the one Will does at the end of the book. It definitely spoke to my soul.

#2 I love books that include song lyrics. Whether they are given at the beginning of the chapter, as is done in Slammed, or at the end or just randomly scattered. Song lyrics can add a lot of depth and meaning to a story. As did all the Avett Brothers lyrics that were included in this book. I’ve never listened to this band, but they are poets in their own right and I will definitely be checking them out now.

Overall, this book was a slice of apple pie heaven that I want seconds of. Oh that’s right, the second book is already out! Point of Retreat, we'll be meeting very soon.

Favorite Quotes:

“Despite my objections I realize, almost pathetically, that I have just experienced the most passionate kiss I’ve ever received from a guy and it was on the freaking forehead.”

“Forever I will move like the world that turns beneath me. And when I lose my direction, I’ll look up to the sky. And when the black cloak drags upon the ground I’ll be ready to surrender, and remember well we’re all in this together. If I live the life I’m given, I won’t be scared to die.”- The Avett Brothers

Bottom Line: To NOT read Slammed by Colleen Hoover..well that’s NOT a good idea. J 4.5/5

I've included the very funny video of a poetry slam courtesy of Boy Meets World. You're welcome.



In My Mailbox #16

Only one book this week for my Kindle but it's a goodie.

For Review from Netgalley:

Slammed by Colleen Hoover (I've already read this and loved it, review will post later this week.


Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.
Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.
Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.  (Goodreads blurb)