Mini-reviews- Ghost busting and vampire hunting!

Today, quick reviews of Hamlet II-Ophelia's Revenge by David Bergantino, Butterfly vol 1 by Yu Aikawa and Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis.

Title: Hamlet II-Ophelia's Revenge
Author: David Bergantino

Series:  Bard's Blood

Published:  4 February 2003 by Pocket Books

Warnings: sex and gore

Source: bought

Review: Cameron’s father was murdered, his ghost tells him his aunt did it, and he randomly inherits Elsinore Castle, which he’ll get control of when he turns 21. He and his friends go to Elsinoret o celebrate. So, bunch of young adults, alcohol, and fun times. But there’s a problem-the ghost of a girl who drowned centuries ago is back, and she wants her Hamlet.

I love Hamlet so much. This was an impulse buy because it was Hamlet and it was cheap. I wasn’t really expecting much.

Part of this is a straight adaptation of Hamlet shoved into a modern day setting, which I am not against in the slightest. The names got adapted ok (Laertes becomes Larry, Gertrude becomes Geri, the theatre players become rock band The Playaz) apart from Cameron, which is seriously random compared to Hamlet.

Ophelia in this, is a  ghost who leads to some very big things happening. She’s interesting as ever, and is the one who develops most as she possesses various people.

The writing isn’t amazing, and some parts of the book seem a bit forced.

Overall:  Strength 2 tea to a quick, spooky redo of Hamlet.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | 

Title:  Butterfly

 Author: Yu Aikawa

Series:   Butterfly #1

Published:  1 March 2011 by Tokyopop

Warnings: suicide, violence

Source: bought

Review: Ginji is highly against anything to do with the occult, due to the fact that he is haunted by the ghost of his brother, who killed himself. When he gets into an fight at a haunted mansion, which leads to them demanding bills and reparations, he has no way to pay up. Until a child called Ahega shows up and asks him to help out. Ginji can earn 20000 Yen a job-with the job being ghostbusting!

 This was  cheap at the Tokyopop stall. I got it not knowing what to expect. It was better than I thought it would be. There’s some humour from the awkward train of thought that Ginji has when wondering about the job,  and other little spots here and then. Ginji and Ahega complement each other well in terms of abilities (destroying and creating illusions respectively). Ginji shows more depth now, but I’d like Ahega to have more development later-there’s an interesting backstory coming. The characters in the short-bit-mystery (the swimming chapter) were also well developed.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea to a supernatural manga with promise.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | 

Title:  Hard Spell

 Author: Justin Gustainis 

Series:  Occult Crimes Unit Investigation #1

Published:  26 July 2011 by angry Robot 

Warnings: violence, suggestive situations, 

Source: bought

Review: Detective Stan Markowzi is on the Scranton’s Police Department’s Occult Crimes Unit. He does exactly what you’d expect him to do-run around dealing with it when vampires, werewolves, faeries and the like mess up. The main plot starts when someone gets killed with mysteriokus symbols carved on him. That someone is a vampire. As more killings happen and some guy shows up claiming to be able to tell them everything, Max 

 I remember trawling round the internet and finding someone describing this as pararnormal investigations taken to the extreme end of fun. definitely my thing.

Rachel was my favourite character-she was sensible, and did a bit for plot development (pace advancement really). Stan was a good narrator and had a tragic backstory that motivates him.

It’s definitely fun, though maybe not my kind of fun. it takes a lot of cliches, like lesbian vampires and the white witch, which I like in moderation but got a bit overdone in parts.

The writing  plays with sarcastic humour in places. I have huge love for the hellhound on the police team. Called Daisy.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea  to a... unique pararnormal investigation. I’ll definitely read on in the series.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |

News-the quickie

I'm doing CampNaNoWriMo about someone who accidentally buys a key that opens a gate to hell ,and also accidentally sells their soul. I'm writing it all on paper and my wrist hurts. I have 5000 words at the moment...

I have sports day this week. Aka a day promoting health by running for two minutes, then sitting around eating cake.

Things for Rainbow Reads are picking up a bit!
I picked up Luna by Julie Anne Peters and The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson from a bookshop. I also got I Am J by Cris Beam and Wildthorn by Jane England from the library.
Anyone want to help out by participating or contributing to discussions?
Emails being sent to all those already signed up shortly.

Anyone going to Wonder of Words festival next week? More info here.

It's the DOCTOR WHO PROMS NEXT WEEK I CANNOT WAIT THIS WILL BE THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER.

Awesomeness of the week-What's this?   (via slasher-flicks)

Book Review-Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

Title: Spellbound

 Author:  Cara Lynn

Series:  Spellbound #1

Published:  

Length: 341 pages

Source: I think the publisher. Or a gift. Forgotten.

Other info: Book 2, Spellcaster, was published last year.

Summary :  What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death? Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to— Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight. But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives— visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

Review:  Emma Connor moves to a fancy new school, after the latest near death experience is the last straw. Not much happens to begin with, but things start drawing her to Brendan Salinger. Such as his good looks. And his niceness. And the fact that they’re soulmates. Which shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but it is due to the fact that she’s meant to die horribly after she finds him. As they try to escape the evils of fellow   students and the while idea of the curse, Emma and Brandon realise how tightly together they are bound.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from this, but it certainly wasn’t this!  It’s a nice new take on the concept, and it comes off really well.

Emma was very nice. You get into her head really well and she’s funny and real. Brandan was nice, but he has annoying habit of showing up to save Emma most of the time. I would have liked her to do a bit more, considering that she handles everything else pretty well-she shouldn’t need someone to come save her from the school bully. Angelique was my favourite character-the fact she’s a witch and also her general way of being makes me think that we’d be good friends. Anthony and Kirsten were realistic and good antagonists.

The thing I enjoyed most was the book of the legends and the stories they  tell-beautifully written and intriguing.

This is very romance, which works plotwise because of the way the legend has it all set up, but when translate into actual  happenings, it makes it all a bit instalovey, even when you know it’s all due to the legend.

Plot wise, interest levels vary. Low to medium to start with, then you get the legend, theyget higher, then it goes down a bit, then comes up for the climax.

I would have liked to see a bit more of the magic side to it all.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea to a book for people who want a lot of romance with their magic.

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

Author Interview-Robert L. Beck

Today, we have Robert L. Beck talking to us about Dawn of the Knight.

Tell us about your book.

My current release is actually my first book titled, “Dawn of the Knight.” It is a fast-paced, young adult, action/romance novel. It ‘s  the story of a fatherless Canadian high school boy, Lance Rock, who has been homeschooled and trained by the United States government’s former top operative. For his senior year, Lance decides to travel down to California via a student exchange program in the hope of finding a girlfriend as well as freedom from his regimented life. Once there, he inadvertently ends up in the home of a mother and her two teenage daughters—the oldest, Shannon, being the prettiest girl in the school! Lance is forced to use his skills to defend them and himself from the woman’s ex-husband—a crime-lord who has been terrorizing the family for over a decade! That is the basic plot. However, there are many sub-plots going on throughout the story

                                                                                                                              

Can you tell us about the journey that led you to writing?

I never, ever, thought I’d be a writer. I never had any desire for it. I actually had a desire to be an artist/illustrator, but my life didn’t turn out the way I thought it would. My oldest son was a communications major in college. I thought that he would be the one to take up writing. I did an Amazon.com search and bought three of the most highly recommended books on how to write fiction that I could find, and then gave them to him. He chose not to pursue writing, however. Three years ago I became extremely discouraged with my job and my life. I decided I would try to write a story as a means of escaping the boredom. But first, I read the three books I had purchased for him. They were so helpful that I’ve actually credited them in the acknowledgment section of my book! I’m a huge fan of operative type characters having grown up watching James Bond, Derek Flint, The Wild, Wild West, etc. When I was younger, I had read a 1960’s young adult teen spy series titled, “Chris Cool/Teen Agent,” by Jack Lancer, and I loved it. That series only lasted six books and I decided that if I would ever write a book series it would involve an operative type teenage character. I’m originally from Canada so I made the protagonist Canadian as well. I also knew I didn’t want him working for a government agency. I thought, what would happen if you put a teenage boy with operative type skills in a high school setting? The result is this story.

Do you have a musical playlist you listen to while writing? If so, what kind of music?

I don’t listen to music while I write. I prefer complete silence in order to properly focus my thoughts. However, I do love music and in particular, movie music scores. I collect them. When I listen to them, I often envision specific scenes from my book. I also love soft rock/pop music—especially from the eighties. There are certain songs will make me think of specific characters and scenes in the story as well.

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

I’m not sure if this is a quirk, but I actually never learned how to type! I “finger pecked” my way through an 85,000 word novel! I don’t recommend this for anyone else, however. I’m constantly making typos and having to go back and correct them. *laughs heartily*

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Three of my favorite authors are John Norman, Harry Harrison, and Daniel Defoe. All three have written action stories using a first person POV and this influenced me greatly to write from that perspective as well.

Do you have anything else to say?

I read fiction to escape the world I live in with all its ups and downs and to be entertained. I think “entertaining” should be the most important quality a fiction book possesses. I can honestly say that my story, “Dawn of the Knight” is highly entertaining, if nothing else.

Robert's blog is here and you can obtain Dawn of the Knight for free on Smashwords.  

Book Review-Immortal City by Scott Speer

Title: Immortal City

 Author: Scott Speer

Series:  Immortal City

Published:  5 April 2012 by Scholastic

Length: 405 pages

Source: won

Other info: Sequel, Natural Born Angel, is available now.

Summary : Jackson Godspeed is the hottest young Angel in a city filled with them.
He's days away from becoming a full Guardian, and people around the world are already competing for the chance to be watched over by him. Everyone's obsessed with the Angels and the lucky people they protect - everyone except for Madison Montgomery.
Maddy's the one girl in Angel City who doesn't breathlessly follow the Angels on TV and gossip blogs. When she meets Jackson, she doesn't recognize him. But Jackson is instantly captivated by her, and against all odds the two fall in love.
Maddy is swiftly caught up in Jackson's scene, a world of glamour, paparazzi - and murder. A serial killer is on the loose, leaving dead Angels' wings for the police to find on the Walk of Fame. Even the Guardians are powerless to protect themselves in the face of this threat & and this time it's up to Maddy to save Jackson.

Review: This world knows about the existence of angels, and the angels make a profit of it. Jackson Godspeed is a rising star in this world, and every girl wants to date him. Apart from Maddy. Guess who ends up the lucky girl? Anyway, among that, someone’s killing angels. And going by the pattern, Jackson’s next.

I generally love the world that has been set up here. The angels are wonderfully consumerist, refusing to save a guy from a car crash when they save the one sitting beside him because the first one didn’t have insurance. They’re also humanlike in other ways, chasing after celebrity and fame over the things that you would normally associate angels with. And in Jackson’s case, falling to emotions.

Maddy and Jackson are good characters that make a great couple. I like the fact that she’s not totally lovelorn with the angels, and that he cares enough for Maddy to majorly defy what’s expected of him in a society guided so tightly.

It was well paced. Something was always happening and I never found myself getting bored with the plot or world. It’s a little predictable, but a lot of fun.

I’m still really confused why Jackson was next on the list of angels. It might have been done by fame, but I don’t think he’d done anything major  in the angel world by then other than be born pretty. It can’t have been by age, because there was an older guy before him. It seems like a random plot point to be  fussing over, but I must have either missed it or not had it explained, and I get a bit picky over things like this,

I’m glad there’s room for a  sequel, what with the reveal of the antagonist. And then there is a sequel! I’ll read it some time.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a starry supernatural romance with a good murder mystery added in too.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |

Waiting on Wednesday-Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we show off books that we want to read but have not been published yet. 

Title:  Between the Devil and the  Deep Blue Sea
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Release Date: 15 August 2013, published by Dial.
Link to / Summary from Goodreads: You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…
Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.
Blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeously told as it is terrifying—a debut to watch.

Why I want it: Gothic romance. Scary gothic romance. Featuring the Devil. And the sea. And the summary makes me think of  two songs by my favourite band, Birdeatsbaby (What the Water Gave Me and Tastes Like Sympathy). And gorgeous cover.


What are YOU waiting on this week?

Book Review-Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Title: Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares

 Author: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Series:  N/A

Published:   26 October 2010 by Knopf books. October 2012 by Mira Ink

Length:274 pages

Source: netgalley

Summary : “I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Review: Dash is doing his normal tour of bookshelves when he sees a red notebook among the books for sale. As it dares him to go find French Pianism , Fat Hoochie Prom Queen,The Joys of Gay Sex  and What The Living Do to make a message, he does it, and it ends up with him and this girl who set him the tasks

I was told lots of good things about this. How sweet it was, how different it was, and such. , Lily, passing the notebook back and forth, setting each other dares over the Christmas season.

The first half was very good. Dash and Lily send each other all  kinds of places, such as klezmer rock concerts, and Santa’s grotto, and it’s all a lot of fun. At some point it gets a bit samey and a bit boring and the magic is lost a bit. Like most romance books,

The idea is both good and terrible. It’s adorable in that they start really liking each other after a  shedload of written communication, but there was just a part of me thinking “I know your directions were really clear and I know most unsavoury types probably wouldn’t be interested in doing this but don’t you think there may be a few issues in setting up serous correspondence with a stranger who, despite your instructions at the start, might not be a teenage boy.”

Dash is cute in parts, super irritating in others. No one reads a dictionary and actually remembers it all. Especially not teenage boys. And it’s nice that he’s well read and all, but sometimes he shows off about it to the point of annoyance. Lily’s the same. She starts off sweet and happy and then she starts talking about gerbils and complaining about everything and i  don’t even know about Shrilly. I just didn’t care.

There’s a lot of secondary characters that I felt generally indifferent on. They’re a colourful lot, and all a bit different.

I’m not a part of the drag/trans* community, but I’m fairly sure that the “she-man” reference is not right, and it annoyed me. Especially from a book worked on by David Levithan, who is meant to be a big name in the LGBT literature group, I wonder how  it got through.

I know it’s not a huge part of the story, but I really want that klezmer rock group to exist! There’s a klezmer piece in one of the exam syllabuses and I love it. Anyone who fuses it with rock must be awesome. //music fangirl over.

Despite all this, I did enjoy this. It was a break from all the darker, heavier stuff I normally read, and is good as a cheerup read.

Overall:  Strength 3.5, more a 3,  tea to a cute romance that got really annoying in places.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Rachel’s website | David’s website

Book Review-The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Pirate’s Wish

 Author:  Cassandra Rose Clarke

Series:  The Assassin’s Curse #2

Published:  4 June 2013 by Strange Chemistry

Length: 336 pages

Warnings: violence, fade to black sex scene

Source: netgalley

Other info: The Assassin’s Curse was reviewed here.

Summary : After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse: complete three impossible tasks. With the help of their friend Marjani and a rather unusual ally, Ananna and Naji make their way south again, seeking what seems to be beyond their reach. Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.

Review: The Pirate’s Wish picks up straight after The Assassin’s Curse. Ananna has realised her feelings for Naji, and they set about completing their three impossible tasks. After being picked up by friend Marjani and a manticore (how awesome is that?!), they travel south, trying to find ways of completing these things. As they are chased by pirates wanting vengeance and beings from the Mists,  they wonder if it’s going to be possible to break the curse, and also what they’ll do if they manage it.

I really enjoyed The Assassin’s Curse, and was looking forwards to this one. We spend a lot of time in The Pirate’s Wish in different lands to last time, with visits to manticore societies, and  to courts, and a lot of time on a pirate ship.

My favourite character was either Ananna, who was just as smart and sassy as in the  first book, and learning a little more magic and figuring out what she wants to do regarding all this,  or the manticore, who had a funny retort for everything when we first met her, often regarding eating people.

I loved the fact they just get hold of a boat and command it and the intercrew dynamics are both funny and touching as it really defines  the friendship bond between Ananna, Naji and Marjani.

The story gets resolved in an unbelievable way. Magic comes into it, and it really works for the way it was set up. The very end was a little sad, but I can see a lot of adventures in Ananna’s future.

I said in my review of The Pirate’s Wish that I think Angry Robot should do an omnibus edition of this series. I’m glad that it wasn’t cut down, because the story here is so full and the happennings so good that if we lost it, then it’d be a shame. But  it did seem like The Assassin’s  Curse was just cut off midway, and as this is a direct follow on, I think I’d prefer to read the whole story in one sitting, megabook or not.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a fitting end to this series. Looking forwards to more from Cassandra!

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |