Mini-reviews- Tainted by A E Rought and Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

Title: Tainted

Author:  A E Rought

Series:  Broken #2

Published:  October 2013 by Strange Chemistry

Source: Netgalley

Review: Post events of Broken, Alex and Emma should be able to get back to their normal lives. These plans gets scrapped when Hailey Westmore turns up—Alex’s ex-girlfriend who we are quickly introduced to as a “manipulative, spoiled witch”. People start dying and it’s clear there’s more secrets that may come out.

This book is told from Alex’s POV as opposed to Emma’s which was a nice change because it helps  you understand the Alex from Broken a little more too. It also means the narrator knows things that everyone else doesn’t, a feature I like sometimes in mysteries.

The beginning was good. Something big happens in a car which really changes the dynamics, which I liked, and the way that scene was written kept me gripped. Later, it wasn’t quite as good-it’s quite predictable and the villain, while being beautifully crazy, isn’t very deep at all.

It’s very over the top with use of tropes and lots of romantic lines that you’ve heard before. There’s a lot of focus on the romance, which I found less interesting than all the action going on. Alex also goes a bit broody and annoying at times.  I liked Emma just as much as in Broken.

There’s still bits of Frankenstein in here, but there’s bits of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde in here too.

I liked the fact that the deers were still a thing. 

Overall:  Strength 3 tea to a book where we saw different parts of other characters.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | 

Title: Blood Magic

 Author: Tessa Gratton

Series:  Blood Journals #1

Published:  26 April 2012 by Corgi

Warnings: cutting (for magic, but still cutting), lots of gore

Source: borrowed from friend

Review:  Ever since her parents were murdered, Silla’s been mentally scarred. Nick’s the new boy in town with past experiences of magic. When he finds Silla experimenting with magic, they form a bond, and romance happens. And then there’s a journal kept by Josephine, a girl from years past whose experience with blood magic will highly shape theirs.

From the start, you’re pulled in. The magic and intrigue starts pretty quickly, and promises to build.

The story is narrated by Nick and Silla in alternating turns. They’re two very contrasting characters that work together well. The writing is intricate, gothic and a bit longwinded in places.

I must admit, I didn’t read all of this. The copy of  Blood Magic that I got had journal entries in copperplate, which I looked at and thought “Eyes broken enough anyway. Not even going to try decoding that.” *bases view of plot on characters’ reactions to this*

The magic system is good. Due to it all requiring blood, this book isn’t for the faint hearted!

I didn’t really get into this for reasons unknown. I got characters mixed up a bit every now and again, it took a while for Josephine’s relevance to become clear, but the main thing is that it didn’t have that spark of awesome for me.

Overall:  Strength 2 tea to an atmospheric magic story that I didn’t get into.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- Broken by A. E. Rought

Title: Broken

 Author: A.E. Rought

Series:  N/A

Published:   8 January 2013 by Strange Chemistry

Length: 384 pages

Warnings:  graphic gore in places

Source: netgalley

Summary : Skip this if you don’t want too spoilers!

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.
When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.
The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

Review:  Emma’s still mourning for Daniel, once her boyfriend and now the last in a mysterious line of deaths. One day, a boy turns up at school. General badboy Alex fights to defend her from Josh, is very kind to her, and is also quite like Daniel. Quite a lot.

I heard about this somewhere, and requested it from netgalley because I thought it would be interested.  By the time I read it, I’d forgotten why I wanted it. So I went in remembering nothing  about this.

It’s really easy to pick up on the characters. Emma, it didn’t take me long to know I wanted to befriends with her.  Favourite book-Dracula. Cat-Renfield. Describing the gym as a torture chamber? Heck yes.

To start with, she goes on too much about Daniel. I get that he’s recently died, and that you loved him, and it’s all very relevant to the plot, but every few sentences talking about him to start with really gets on my nerves.

Alex is a dark tortured soul with good reason. He ends up nearly getting Emma’s heart, and he’s the kind of guy I really really want to give a hug.  Josh is horrible, and it’s a big plot twist when we discover exactly why he is like he is. The other characters are a good support cast for Broken. And I really lovet the cat.

The romance is really sweet. What with Alex coming out with words...that aren’t his own, but still having feelings of his own, as Emma and him try to understand what he keeps seeing, and other things, and seeing them support eachother throughtout things,  I liked seeing them fall in love.

The big thing around Alex is TOO DAMN PREDICTABLE. I guessed a few minutes after Emma’s comments on the way he moves and so the big reveal wasn’t that much of a big reveal. But other happenings, such as the deer scene and the bit in Alex’s house and the ENDING.

Definetly the best bit was the ending for writing, engagement, and tension.. The first three quarters- I’m kind of enjoying this  good book. The scene in the lab with the father onwards? HOLY DFJKLSDK WOW.              Once you get to that part (a very easy thing  to do), you won’t be able to put it down until the end.

Overall:   Definitely  a retelling, but not completely follow the line, more taking an idea and running in another direction. Strength 4 tea to a romantic twist on Frankenstein with a lot of mystery and tension. I’m not sure if this will get a sequel or not, but I’d definitely like to see more from A E Rought.  

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website |