Tori's Review: Alchemystic by Anton Strout

Released: September 25, 2012
Paperback: 304 pages
Price: $7.99
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Publisher
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Spellmason Chronicles 
Buy: Amazon

Add this book to your Goodreads shelf

AN OLD FRIEND OF THE FAMILY…
Alexandra Belarus is a struggling artist living in New York City, even though her family is rich in real estate, including a towering Gothic Gramercy Park building built by her great-great-grandfather. But the truth of her bloodline is revealed when she is attacked on the street and saved by an inhumanly powerful winged figure. A figure who knows the Belarus name…

Lexi’s great-great-grandfather was a Spellmason—an artisan who could work magic on stone. But in his day, dark forces conspired against him and his, so he left a spell of protection on his family. Now that Lexi is in danger, the spell has awoken her ancestor’s most trusted and fearsome creation: a gargoyle named Stanis.

Lexi and Stanis are equally surprised to find themselves bound to each other. But as they learn to work together, they realize that only united can they save the city they both love…

My Rating: DNF

My Opinion:
Alchemystic has an incredibly interesting premise, but I was not a fan of the writing style--which is ultimately why I could not continue reading this piece. I had no issue with the plot, but I also did not read enough of the book to be a good judge of said plot.

The heroine and her gargoyle sounded like the same exact character. In fact, I had a slight problem adjusting to the transitions between characters/chapters because of that. Their voices were also dull for me, which I hate to admit since I really wanted to like this book.

Another problem I had with the writing was that it felt somewhat chunky; the paragraphs were long and somewhat tedious to read, which I think contributed with my lack of enjoyment regarding the character voices.

I'm sure many others will enjoy this writing style, and they will enjoy the characters. Unfortunately, it simply did not work for me this time around. I would suggest reading a sample of ALCHEMYSTIC before purchasing it to see if the writing is your cup of tea, first.


Series Order:
1. Alchemystic

Tori's Review: A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer

Released: May 29, 2012
Paperback: 384 pages
Price: $7.99
Publisher: Avon
Source: Amazon Vine 
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Vamp City
Buy: Amazon


Add this book to your Goodreads shelf

Vampires live only for lust and pleasure in the eternal twilight of Vamp City. But the city’s magic is dying. The only person who can restore it? A beautiful woman from the mortal world...one who knows nothing of the power she wields.

Quinn Lennox is searching for a missing friend when she stumbles into a dark otherworld that only she can see—and finds herself at the mercy of Arturo Mazza, a dangerously handsome vampire whose wicked kiss will save her, enslave her, bewitch her, and betray her.

What Arturo can’t do is forget about her—any more than Quinn can control her own feelings for him. Neither one can let desire get in the way of their mission—his to save his people, hers to save herself.

But there is no escape from desire in a city built for seduction, where passion flows hot and blood-red. Welcome to Vamp City...

My Rating: DNF

My Opinion:
DNF: read the first 50+ pages and could not get into this story. I'm just going to list what didn't work for me:

• not a very interesting start in my eyes. I don't make a huge deal about the first sentence of a story (though I do appreciate it when an author writes something funny or interesting), but the first sentence in this book was just so boring and monotonous, and really set the stage for how the remainder of the chapter was like.
  
• not a very interesting heroine. I still can't remember her name.
   
• too much telling, not enough showing. You're told about the "love" the siblings share, told about the dedication, but you're never shown it. The brother and sister have each other's backs? Well, how heartwarming... But if you can't PROVE it, then why should I care?
   
• not a lot of action, and when things do finally pick up, I honestly did not care. By the time our "hero" appears, I was bored out of my mind and couldn't take the book seriously.
   
• the heroine doesn't have a lot of spunk. The part where the "hero" snaps that he is her master, and then she turns around and calls him master so easily... Ugh I don't know, it just rubbed off on me the wrong way and my amusement dissipated. Mind you, she was giving him an attitude not moments before him snapping at her, so I don't know why she would suddenly give in without a fight.

After my initial disappointment with the pacing of the story and my lack of interest, I tried to continue reading... I really did, but the only way I was able to do so was by NOT taking what I was reading "seriously." I do enjoy books that I never intend to review, and I have read plenty of books that I thought was a joke, but this one just had one thing after another that simply did not work for me.

There are, however, plenty of other reviewers who have read this story and who seemed to enjoy it. If you're looking for a review gushing about this title, then I suggest you look for those. As for me, I can't recommend this book if you have similar tastes to my own.


Series Order:
1. A Blood Seduction

Tori's Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Hardcover: 400 pages
Price: $17.99
ISBN: 978-0385740227
Released: January 10, 2012
Publisher: Random House 
Author's Website: Robin Bridges 
Buy it: Amazon
Obtained: Netgalley 
Genre: Young Adult  
Series: Katerina Alexandrovna 
Book Order:
1. The Gathering Storm 

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

My Rating: DNF

My Opinion:
I hate it when I look forward to a book, only to find that it was nothing like what I expected... and in a bad way. THE GATHERING STORM has an interesting premise, however, it disappointed me with its lackluster execution.

Let it be known that a few reviewers have stated on Goodreads that the second half of the novel is where things start to pick up, whereas the first half is dedicated to the numerous balls and social gatherings Katerina attends. Perhaps this is what ultimately contributed to my disappointment, since there is some info-dumping and an overwhelming amount of names that essentially bogged the story's pace down for me. Even with a lack of action, what truly made me give up was the following:

Way too much telling--to the point where I wonder how an agent or editor would be okay with it. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against telling in a story, but after one reads so many blog posts and hears so much emphasis on "show, don't tell," only to publish books that do the exact opposite, it makes me wonder why they bother to preach it in the first place.

Coupled with the telling was a lot of glossing over of important details that would have otherwise made me connect with Katerina on a more intimate level. As it was, I felt incredibly detached from her narrative and wished that at any moment, something would click and I would get into the story.

It seemed like the start of this book was more focused on giving Russian history lessons instead of telling Katerina's story. And for some reason, I got really annoyed during the doctor debates between our protagonist and her family.

Finally, what was equally as jarring as all the information in such a short time was the seemingly random inclusion of paranormal creatures. First you get somewhat overwhelmed with technical terms/Russian customs, but then all of a sudden, there's talk of vampires and faeries. Even now, I still don't understand why they're being included, and I felt this was handled very poorly. I wish the history and the paranormal aspects melded together a bit more smoothly, but it didn't (for me).

I seem to be in the minority, so please do not take my review as the be all, end all when it comes to making your decision on whether or not to read/purchase this title. And remember: I did not read the entire book--this review reflects the pages that I did read. If it sounds interesting, read a sample chapter and then decide for yourself whether THE GATHERING STORM is something you will enjoy.