Tori's Review: Crave the Night Anthology

Released: October 5, 2011
E-book: 372 pages
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Swell Cat Press
Source: Author
Genre: Paranormal Romance 
Series: N/A
Buy: Amazon

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This collection of never-before-published novellas features paranormal pairings romance readers will pine for. Vampires, demons, werewolves, faeries and even a mermaid will satisfy the darkest of cravings.

My Rating:

My Opinion:
Hidden by Sharon Ashwood -- 3/5
Lila and Rafe are a cute couple, but they don't hold a candle to Sharon's characters in her full length novels. This was not my favorite Ashwood piece of writing, which I am sad to say, since I've loved every book I've read in her series thus far. If this anthology is your first foray into her writing, I highly suggest you give her a second chance if you found HIDDEN to be anything less than amazing.

Having not read any of her books in a while, I felt like I was reentering the universe as a brand new reader. I recognized Darrak's name, but aside from him, I couldn't connect what I read in HIDDEN to anything in the PNR series. So, feeling like I was reading about a brand new world, I was left wanting more romance and worldbuilding. Lila and Rafe have an almost instant attraction, but Lila is the "bad" guy--albeit, a pitiful one. I was disappointed in the romance because it felt slightly rushed, but I understand how difficult it can be to flesh out characters, the romance, and a world in such a short word count.

Final verdict: a good piece, but nothing mindblowing like Sharon's PNR series is.


One Soul To Share by Lori Devoti -- 4/5
OSTS kept me interested the entire time while reading. The world was unique, and I found that, while I may have been weirded out about a mermaid having sex with a vampire (even if she had a human form, I just kept thinking about the tail and fin), I was able to ignore this knee jerk reaction and focus on the characters instead once the story picked up.

My only complaint: I was disappointed when it ended as abruptly as it did, and found myself wishing that Lori had a larger word count to include a final showdown with the Hag. As it currently is...well, I'm disappointed, and a bit agitated. The ending felt anticlimactic at best..

The romance between Nolan and Sarina was convincing, and I found the conflict to flow naturally--two qualities I notice most novellas lack in general. OSTS did not blow me away, but Lori's execution was impressive and I am interested in checking out other titles under her name. Novellas do not usually have that effect on me, so I think that is pretty spectacular.


Cruel Enchantment by Michele Hauf -- 3.5/5
I think this story had the most engaging intro out of the three so far. The big thing in CE was the idea of an Intended, but thankfully, there was no love at first sight. The romance felt a bit rushed, and I wasn't fully convinced that Bree and Rev fell in love as quickly as they did. Part of that was because Rev was an addict, and I felt that he spent a lot of time battling his addiction, and less focused on loving Bree.

This story didn't blow me away, but it was entertaining, albeit, a bit cliche.


Enemy Embrace by Patti O'Shea -- DNF
For whatever reason, I couldn't get into this one. I'm still not entirely sure why.

Overall this is a good anthology. I may not generally be the hugest fan of novellas, but I found at least one new author to check out. My primary reason for checking out CRAVE THE NIGHT was to read Sharon Ashwood's piece. It was not my absolute favorite, it did help make the wait for her next book release to become a bit more bearable.

I would say to definitely check CTN out if you're into anthologies. If, however, you're not a fan and prefer full-length books, you may be better off passing up this title if you're familiar with these authors already. And if you aren't? Well, it can't hurt to check it out, anyway.


Series Order:
1. Crave the Night

Tori's Review: Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Released: April 11, 2012
E-book: 60 pages
Price: $2.99
Publisher: Hachette 
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Jessica McClain
Buy: Amazon

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Jessica McClain was born the only female in an all male race. The only problem is-she's no wolf. Called a curse, a witch and the Daughter of Evil by the superstitious wolves, Jessica decides to fight for her freedom, at age nineteen, the only way she can-in the ring. 

When she's brutally attacked right after her fight, is it enough to finally earn her freedom off Compound, or will she be forced to endure the hatred even longer . . .

My Rating:

My Opinion:
Chapter one has an interesting start, and one that instantly pulled me into the action and kept me reading despite some questions that kept bouncing around in my head; the first and most important question being: how on earth is a human surviving a brawl against a werewolf who is willing to risk his life in order to fight said human? I'm wondering if the threat of the Alpha is ever-present in the werewolf's mind, and in turn, making him hesitant to go all out?

Loved the witty dialogue in the first few chapters. Jessica is definitely feisty and made me laugh two pages in. I like her already. Also enjoyed how we are thrown into the bigger conflict right away, and very smoothly. I think I have a good general sense of Jessica thus far, which is a feat for a new character--in a novella, no less.

Some pieces of the dialogue following chapter one's strong start were a bit long-winded. Realistic in real life, maybe, but I felt it was a bit too long for one person to be talking in a book. I also found descriptions regarding Jessica's father to have a bit too much telling, and not enough showing for my tastes. Necessary, perhaps, considering this is a novella, though.

Both of these, however, were balanced out by my intrigue of the supernatural community that keeps getting mentioned. So far we know that werewolves are prevalent, but what other magical nasties are lurking to munch on our heroine for lunch?

Final verdict: loved the beginning, but after the confrontation, the novella began to drag a little bit with all the exposition. Since this is a prequel to FULL BLOODED, it would make sense to read this first; however, I do not think BLOODED gave the series and characters justice, though from what I've seen, many people absolutely loved the novella. I think the long-winded dialogue will improve as Amanda writes more novels. Hell, maybe this is just a fluke. We'll see when I read FULL BLOODED.

I think that BLOODED would be better to read after checking out the novel. I need a better sense of all the characters, and I currently feel like I do not appreciate them enough yet. I will address this further in my review of FULL BLOODED.


Series Order:
0.5. Blooded
1. Full Blooded (Tori's Review)

Tori's Review: Black Heart Loa by Adrian Phoenix

Released: June 28, 2011
Paperback: 432 pages
Price: $7.99
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Marq @ Love to Read for Fun
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy
Series: Hoodoo
Buy: Amazon


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“An eye for an eye is never enough.” Kallie Rivière, a Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a bent for trouble, learned the meaning of those ominous words when hoodoo bogeyman Doctor Heron targeted her family for revenge. Now, while searching for her still-missing bayou pirate cousin, Kallie finds out the hard way that someone is undoing powerful gris gris, which means that working magic has become as unpredictable as rolling a handful of dice. The wards woven to protect the Gulf coast are unraveling, leaving New Orleans and the surrounding bayous vulnerable just as an unnatural storm—the deadliest in a century—is born. As the hurricane powers toward the heart of all she loves, Kallie desperately searches for the cause of the disturbing randomness, only to learn a deeply unsettling truth: the culprit may be herself. To protect her family and friends, including the sexy nomad Layne Vallin, Kallie steps into the jaws of danger . . . and finds a loup garou designed to steal her heart—literally.

My Rating:

My Opinion:
Have you ever read a book that failed to keep you interested for about 80% of the time, but you still were determined to finish? That's exactly how I feel about this series...and for that reason, I do not know how to rate this book.

The start did not pull me in like the first book in this series, but I still wanted to continue because I was hoping more of a romance would be developed...too bad it never does, but there is a new love interest. The middle dragged, much like it did for me in BLACK DUST MAMBO. I began skimming certain character scenes because I did not want to listen to the same thing repeated for a new character--which brings me to my biggest complaint: the POV swaps hurt the book more than they helped.

I could understand three POVs tops (like the hero, heroine, and a villain), but I find that anything more detracts from the story and starts to become repetitive--like this series seems to be. It makes me wonder if Phoenix is having commitment issues with her characters, because they all sound the same in all the POV swaps. Instead of developing Kallie and Belladonna further, they are two dimensional, though when together they do add comical relief. I'm not sure if she wants Kallie with Layne, and if she does, she is making it incredibly hard to support the two when McKenna is lurking in the shadows and Layne is feeling guilty.

Instead of maintaining a plot full of action that would keep the reader glued to the pages, BLACK HEART LOA beats its readers over the head with the same few scenes over and over: the memory of Kallie's mother's betrayal, everyone being pissed at Divinity, and everyone wanting to sleep with everyone else. These are the horniest characters I've ever read about, and they all feel like they're the same person talking at times.

Deflections also annoyed me this time around. I think it is high time that Divinity stops pushing off the inevitable explanation and finally fesses up (which she has done...kind of). Either have her fess up, or have the characters accept her actions. At this point, I don't care anymore about her motives...just spit it out already and focus on something new, please, instead of having every character mull over her thoughtless actions.

Saying that is awful... I understand the indignation, but showing three different characters being pissed over the SAME exact thing is distracting me from the story and simply exasperates me because I'm reading the same scene over and over.

I probably sound harsh, and I bet many of you are wondering why I even finished the book if I had this much to complain about. There WERE good points in this story: Baron Samedi was amusing, Belladonna made me laugh my ass off, and our demonic wolf and his sneaky actions has me intrigued. I hope he makes more of an appearance in the next few books. January's announcement about the scratch on Kallie is what made me intrigued with the potential of this series...all over again. Will it get more attention in book three? I really hope so...

Am I hopeful that the third book will feature fewer character POVs, focus more on a plot that keeps me interested for more that 15% of the book, and perhaps delve into more character development...and even a romance? I'm not holding my breath, but I still want to read the next release to see what happens next.


Series Order:
1. Black Dust Mambo (Tori's Review)
2. Black Heart Loa

Tori's Review: Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix

Released: June 29, 2010
Paperback: 384 pages
Price: $7.99
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Authors After Dark 2012
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy
Series: Hoodoo
Buy: Amazon

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"There will be times, girl, when all your magic ain't going to be enough, times when it will seem to dry up like mud under the noonday sun, or even make matters worse . . ."

Kallie Riviere, a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a talent for trouble, finds herself smack-dab in the middle of one of those times her mentor warned her about when she visits New Orleans to attend the Hecatean Alliance's annual carnival: her hard-bodied conjurer hookup ends up dead in her blood-drenched bed. And he was killed by something that Kallie would never dream of touching -- the darkest of dark juju, soul-eating juju -- a black dust hex that may have been meant to kill her.

Now Kallie has to use every bit of hoodoo knowledge and bayou-bred mojo she possesses to clear her own name and find the killer -- even as that dark sorcerer hunts Kallie and her friends. But Kallie's search for the truth soon leads her in a direction she never anticipated -- back home to Bayou Cypres Noir, and to Gabrielle LaRue, Kallie's aunt, protector, and hoodoo mentor . . . who is looking more and more like she just might be the one who wants Kallie dead.

My Rating:

My Opinion:
Well, Black Dust Mambo was certainly an interesting book to end my reading break. I began this title at the pool while in New Orleans during AAD12 and have been reading it on and off since then. I was hooked and absolutely loved the lingo and characterization. I also loved the dramatic start.

The only two weaknesses I found were the multiple POVs and the middle of the book. The POVs made this book strong and weak. In the beginning, we jumped from character to character and never got a chance to take a breather--something that I enjoyed since I was constantly on my toes; however, these POV swaps overwhelmed the middle of the book and slowed the story down dramatically as this urban fantasy turned into a "who dun it" kind of story with angst thrown in for good measure. If I had read this book even a month ago, the middle would have made me DNF this series, sadly.

Nitpicks: I wish there were more explanations. What exactly is the loa? Some of the phrases were unfamiliar to me since I'm neither French, nor from the south. I would have liked less lusting (though I suppose after being in NOLA for a week, it's understandable) and more delving into the mysterious aspects of this story's universe, like the Nomads, the HA, maybe even the magic and some backstory on voodoo. I suppose less superficial and more background would have been appreciated, though the wet boxer contest definitely made my imagination go wild.

Strengths included characters that were spunky and easy to relate with. The beginning and ending were jampacked with action that left me wanting more. In fact, I'm ready to read book two due to the cliffhanger and the ending in general. I was craving a romance, and there is a hint to one, and now I want to continue reading this series to see if it will actually happen. What I also loved--especially after leaving NOLA and (oddly enough after too many sleepless nights) missing it--was how Adrian captured the atmosphere of this city in scenes of this book.

There are certainly other UF novels out there that I would recommend over Black Dust Mambo, however, this is the start to a new series with a lot of potential. If you are looking for a refreshing approach to the genre, this book may be of interest to you due to the atmosphere alone. If setting is not big for you, or if you are a bit more critical about slow middles or too many POVs, I would suggest borrowing this book from someone if you're still willing to give it a chance.


Series Order:
1. Black Dust Mambo
2. Black Heart Loa (Tori's Review)

Tori's Review: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Released: January 24, 2012
Hardcover: 320 pages
Price: $16.99
Publisher: Hyperion
Source: Publisher 
Genre: Young Adult... dystopian?
Series: Fallen World
Buy: Amazon


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It starts with an itch you just can’t shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you’ll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.

And then you’re dead.

When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island—no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.

Because how will she go on if there isn’t?

My Rating:

My Opinion:
I'm going about writing my review a bit differently this time around because I feel this book needs a few different ratings... Here we go!

1) Readability: 5/5
The formatting of the book is somewhat unique in the sense that it is written as a journal. I haven't encountered many books written this way, so I thought it was somewhat refreshing that Crewe decided to go in this direction. The journal format truly made the virus plaguing this island more unique and haunting when we get to the end of the quarantine section of the story (the book is divided into three sections: symptoms, quarantine, and mortality). Creepy when you see some of the things written.

If you can suspend enough belief, it's almost possible to view THE WAY WE FALL as a true story, and we're reading a young woman's experience. I didn't quite feel that way, but I'm sure some people will.

The only thing that I did not enjoy about the journal format was the fact that, well, it's written (literally) in Kaelyn's POV, and so we miss out on some details because it's not like an actual first person POV story. But eh, it's not that huge a deal for me.


Characters: 2.5/5
They weren't bad, but they also weren't good, either. I wanted more character development because these characters, who could have left such a huge impression, fell flat for me. Gav was too heroic, Tessa was a phantom, Meredith was... well, frankly, I don't know what she was, but it was clear she was dumped onto Tessa because Kaelyn and her dad were too busy to take care of their cousin/niece.

The weirdest part about this story--and maybe I could chalk it up to the author's attempt at establishing some sort of positive teenage image--was the fact that the teenagers seemed way smarter and more resourceful than the adults. I could buy this if we were in some sort of dystopian society where kids had to grow up and sacrifice their childhood, but Kaelyn and the others didn't. They were normal teens with lofty aspirations. Hell, Kaelyn has a microbiologist for a father. Where are all the competent adults in this story who should lay down the law and beat the kids who are toting guns around? Why are the teens suddenly more proficient and responsible than all the adult figures when shit hits the fan?


Story: 3/5
It was an interesting approach to take, and I enjoyed the fact that Crewe did not hesitate to kill people. This wasn't some happy little love story, and there was some tragedy. The deaths that affected Kaelyn did get a bit excessive, and I felt like it was kind of a cop-out to kill all those adult figures off by the end of the book... probably to make the second book easier to write. But what do I know?


Ending: ARGH/5
Two words: OMGWTFBBQ CLIFFHANGER.

I'm pissed that we get the typical BS-drag-the-story-out-into-a-series....series. I think THE WAY WE FALL would have been incredibly stronger as a stand-alone, and not because I hate cliffhangers. Because seriously? Sometimes I love them and I think they're done exceptionally well and totally reel me in to crave the next book in the series. Oftentimes, however, they piss me off because it's an obvious attempt by either the author or publisher to get readers to buy the next book in the series.

And this, seriously, felt like one of those attempts. Of course I want to read the next book, but a part of me doesn't because I don't want this series to have all that filler usually thrown into a YA series to make it longer. I enjoyed the book, I read it fast, and I was spooked enough, but I could tell by a certain point that things started to drag on. And then I can't help but think about books like BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver where the narrative was precise and that less is so much more.


Romance: Ambivalent
I liked Gav well enough, but I wish he played more of a role earlier on. The romance felt kind of forced. I'm rooting for the two, but I wish the couple was developed way more than they were.


I thought the quarantine section was the strongest of the story. Mortality (part 3) felt like it contained the most filler, and symptoms (part 1) had a few boring parts as well--primarily the attempt at Crewe's part to establish some sort of normalcy. I wish Gav played a role in this part so his character could have developed further. As it is, he seemed like way too much of a hero, and came off as 2D because of it.

Suggested reading? Only if you have night-goggles (read more about this phenomenon here) like I do. But seriously, if you can overlook my complaints, I think you'll love this book. Crewe definitely knows how to pull you in and keep you reading. If you, however, are highly critical of YAs, then I would say borrow a copy somehow, otherwise your head may implode.


Series Order:
1. The Way We Fall
2. The Lives We Lost

Book Dragon's Review: The Magic of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

Paperback: 464 pages
Price: $15.99
ISBN: 978-0765331120
Released: June 21, 2011 (special anniversary edition)
Publisher: Tor Books
Author's Website: http://www.lemodesittjr.com/
Buy it: Amazon
Obtained: publisher review copy
Genre: epic fantasy
Series: Saga of Recluce
Book Order:
1. The Magic of Recluce
2. The Towers of the Sunset
3. The Magic Engineer
4. The Order War
5. The Death of Chaos
6. Fall of Angels
7. The Chaos Balance
8. The White Order
9. Colors of Chaos
10. Magi'i of Cyador
11. Scion of Cyador
12. Wellspring of Chaos
13. Ordermaster
14. Natural Ordermage
15. Mage-Guard of Hamor
16. Arms-Commander

An epic adventure world that has so far spanned fifteen novels and has run for twenty years was launched in The Magic of Recluce, a triumph of fantasy. Young Lerris is dissatisfied with his life and trade, and yearns to find a place in the world better suited to his skills and temperament. But in Recluce a change in circumstances means taking one of two options: permanent exile from Recluce or the dangergeld, a complex, rule-laden wanderjahr in the lands beyond Recluce, with the aim of learning how the world works and what his place in it might be. Many do not survive. Lerris chooses dangergeld.

When Lerris is sent into intensive training for his quest, it soon becomes clear that he has a natural talent for magic. And he will need magic in the lands beyond, where the power of the Chaos Wizards reigns unchecked. Though it goes against all of his instincts, Lerris must learn to use his powers in an orderly way before his wanderjahr, or fall prey to Chaos.

 

My Rating: 3 Dragons

My Opinion:

I’ll preface this review by saying this book was neither good nor bad.  It fell very firmly into the middle “meh” scale for Book Dragon. 

 

My issue with this is that I usually quite like stories that go into the mechanics of magic/world building and that put believable obstacles in the path of the hero(es).  Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, and George R.R. Martin (just to name a few) are some of the epic fantasy authors who do this very well.

 

The problem with The Magic of Recluce is that it dips too much into the significance of economics and the magic system.  While I do enjoy a little bit of the “whys and wherefores” of a world to be sprinkled into the narrative, I don’t enjoy an entire book dedicated to the subject.  You learn alongside the main character, Lerris, as he discovers why it is Recluce does not allow anyone who questions their ways too closely to remain, why the elders are secretive about just about everything, and the differences between Chaos and Order (magic).

 

Over time, Lerris grows as a person (which is good, because he’s not a particularly likeable fellow to start out with), so I can see why this might be considered a “coming of age” novel.  However, at over 400 pages in the trade paperback version, I believe the same story could have been told in half the word count and it would not have suffered from the trimming. 

 

My only other complaint was that the entire narrative felt distant.  It was described beautifully, but I never felt any sense of urgency for Lerris or anyone else, and I never felt emotionally engaged with any of the characters, except maybe for the girl he had to leave behind in Fenard.  I kept waiting for the action to start—and realized this was a problem that would be prevalent throughout the entire story once I hit the halfway point and was still feeling a bit like I was waiting for something important to happen.

 

Oddly enough, you could consider Lerris to have been on an epic journey.  His travels took him very far from his home, he learned quite a lot about the land, its peoples, and himself, and he defeated an evil Chaos wizard.

 

And yet… it was all so distant.

 

The emphasis on the details was all on the insignificant things that really didn’t need to be delved into so thoroughly.  Did we really need those passages out of the book for masters of Order?  Why did the author go into such detail about the debates held in the classrooms before Lerris and the other dangergelders left Recluce without actually teaching the reader anything, and even go into detail about what Lerris ate and fed his mountain pony over most of his trip across Gandar, yet was so skimpy on the details when it finally came to the wizard battles you could hardly tell what had happened?  I admit to being somewhat disgruntled about this as a reader.  If even a fraction of the attention given to the details of the world building had been given to the action scenes, this would have been a far more entertaining read.

 

As terrible as this review may make it sound, it is not a bad book. If you like ponderous epic fantasy, you may enjoy this story.  As it was, it reminded Book Dragon a little too much of the over-politicking in the later Wheel of Time books.  I will not be going out of my way to pick up any of the other books in the series, but might read them if I should come across them elsewhere (such as the library, or the $0.50 bargain bin at a used book store).

Tori's Review: Bloodlands by Christine Cody

Paperback: 336 pages
Price: $7.99
ISBN: 978-0441020621
Released: July 26, 2011
Publisher: Penguin 
Author's Website: Christine Cody 
Buy it: Amazon
Obtained: Publisher 
Genre: Urban Fantasy / Dystopian
Series: Bloodlands 
Book Order:
1. Bloodlands
2. Blood Rules
3. In Blood We Trust

The New Badlands—a desolate area in the West forged by the terrible events that altered the entire country, where a few frightened citizens retreated underground to shelter from the brutal weather... and from a society gone deadly dangerous.

Then the vampire arrived—and they started calling it the Bloodlands.

Not because Gabriel, the so-called monster running from his true self, was searching for his lover’s murderer. Nor because Mariah, the woman who reluctantly took him in, was willing to do anything to survive in the changed world.

No, the Badlands officially became the Bloodlands the moment a gun-for-hire who’d decided to slay every monster left in the country came after Gabriel...

My Rating:

My Opinion:
I was waffling between rating this book a 2.5 or a 3, primarily because I wasn't too thrilled about the treatment of one of the characters at the end of the book. Now, whether that treatment is deserved is for another discussion, which is why I bumped it up half a star.

BLOODLANDS has both its good and bad moments. The good, and what instantly drew me in, was the attraction between Gabriel and Mariah. Those two had some sizzling scenes early on--particularly the one where Mariah is administering some self loving--and the passion between them had me excited about this book. In that regard, this duo effortlessly outshines a lot of other hero/heroines. 

There was an interesting twist by the end that I only semi-suspected about halfway to 3/4ths of the way in. Reflecting on prior scenes, a lot more makes sense after this big reveal, and I give kudos to the author for keeping me in the dark for so long. It was exciting not knowing what would happen next, and for the mystery aspect alone, BLOODLANDS is definitely a refreshing read. No love triangles, and certainly no pnrs where it's love at first sight in this book, folks.

Alas, the not-so-good in this novel seemed to stick with me more than the good, and is what ultimately has made me wary of future books in this series (coupled with a few less-than-stellar reviews by bloggers I trust). Instead of being a novel where there is at least some movement, we are generally restricted to Mariah's quaint home. After a while, it does get wearisome realizing that almost every single scene occurs here, and I wished that we could have at least heard about some descriptions of the outside surroundings in more detail. This is such a unique world that I feel it's almost like a crime not to focus on the worldbuilding more.

Interesting secondary characters don't get much attention for a good chunk of the book. While this is unfortunate, it is also a blessing since my interest in Gabriel/Mariah began to lessen as the novel continued, so the secondary characters were like a saving grace that kept me reading.

Mariah is... well, I want to say that she's infuriating, because she is, but there's just something about her character that rubbed off on me the wrong way. She is easily forgettable, and I think her fears are what made me tired of her. While Gabriel was easier to relate with, Mariah was not because readers are essentially told what happened to her in the past, instead of being shown. That, in my eyes, is the biggest downfall of this book because, while her situation sucks, I couldn't really make myself care. Had the author shown us the events from Mariah's past, like we're shown with Gabriel's past, I think I would have felt for our heroine a lot more.

BLOODLANDS has both its strengths and weaknesses, so I really can't recommend whether to read or avoid this novel due to my ambivalence even a month after reading it. The premise is interesting, and I admit that I was excited to read this series prior to reading any reviews about it. If you tend to have similar tastes in books, then I think that this is one of those novels that you'll have to read without knowing much about it.