Book Review - Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Kindle)

Why did I read this book?

A year or two ago this book was pretty popular in the young adult book talk, and the cover was a pretty easy one to remember. When it came up as a daily deal for Kindle on Amazon, I grabbed it.

What is it about?

This is a fantasy story that takes place in a world that is threatened by a place called the shadow fold. This world trains very talented gifted fighters and magicians called Grisha, at a young age they are brought to the lavish palace to learn how they can serve the King. However, one slipped through their fingers when kids go through the normal testing. Alina’s powers are discovered when her life is threatened trying to cross the fold and the Grisha take her into their special training forcing her to leave her best friend. The story follows her adventure of learning her powers and realizing that being the one to save them all isn’t all it’s cracked up to be (like every other fantasy story!).

Why you should read it!

Although this book has very similar themes to most fantasy books (the chosen one isn’t happy being the chosen one), the setting is a bit different which made it enjoyable. Yes, its young adult and while reading it next to other books it is obvious the writing isn’t great. But it captured my attention and held it through the whole book. This is the start of a series, but with how quickly I read this one, I will probably read the next ones as well!

Audio Book Review - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

How did I come into possession of this book?

This was another audio book from the library.  I had heard of this book so I pulled out the audio book to take a look and saw that it was read by Jim Dale, the amazing voice behind all the Harry Potter audio books.  I couldn’t pass it up!

First Line:

“The circus arrives without warning.”  (Morgenstern 3)

What is it about?

In an awesome setting of an ever moving and changing circus, two magicians are involved in a lifelong duel that neither of them agreed to.

What did I think?

This book was great!  And the audio version might’ve made it better.  Jim Dale is phenomenal, as always, his voice is just so magical (ha ha).  The story is quite interesting as well, I love both the main characters and all they have to go through to discover what is really going on with their lives.  I didn’t know what to expect with this book, but I found it to be right up my alley, reality with a touch of fantasy.

Who would I recommend it to?

Everyone.  Even if you don’t like the whole magic thing, this book is so well written it’s worth the read.  I don’t really know what else to say, I loved it and I think you will too!

Check out other reviews on this book from fellow bloggers:
Storybook Love Affair
Belle's Bookshelf
A Kindle in Hong Kong

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

Book Review - Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

How did I come into possession of this book?

I bought this at a local used book store, The Thrifty Bookworm.  RoB had bought a book there earlier in the week and they gave him a coupon celebrating an anniversary (I think), so I took that and went by to see what sort of books I could find.  This book store is primarily a romance book store but they do have some small sections for other genres, and since I don’t really read a lot of romance I made a bee-line for the non romance sections.

First Lines:

“I never used to keep track of the phases of the moon.”  (Butcher 1)

What is it about?

This is technically the second book in the Dresden Files series, but it seems like it’s one of those series you don’t really need to read in order, but I did.  Harry Dresden is called in for help when Chicago police suspect a werewolf is killing people.  They hope that he can explain what happened and that it’s all a misunderstanding, but with all the weird things that tend to happen and all the weird creatures that show up when Dresden is around it ends up being much more involved than just a werewolf.

What did I think?

This was the second book I read of his, and the second in the series.  These books are great, a typical thriller with a fantasy twist on it.  My only complaint is I wish he would give us a better background on each character, for example tell us what happened in the end of the previous book.  I would like to follow all the characters through this series but since most people will just pick up one or two of these somewhere in the middle of the series I guess it’s not really necessary.  I felt like there were a few more plot lines in this one than the previous book, which was good, but if he keeps adding more every book it will definitely be too much for me.  I also get really frustrated with Dresden at times, he makes stupid decisions and I feel like yelling at him, but I guess that’s probably a sign of good writing from the author.

Who would I recommend it to?

Anyone who is a fan of thrillers and/or sci-fi, fantasy.  The nice thing about these is they are quick, not an epic, and they still have just enough of a fantasy element to keep things interesting.  I don’t know of many other series or even books that fall into this category so I like mixing in his books to my reading pile every now and then.  They are also fantastic airplane/traveling reads!