**QWERTY**

The Faerie Guardian by Rachel Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamour follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.
The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out alive.
[This novel was originally published in four separate parts: Guardian, Labyrinth, Traitor and Masquerade. It includes bonus scenes at the end that were not published in the individual parts.] Purchase The Faerie Guardian: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords

Brace yourself (I'm saying that a lot lately maybe because it's almost winter), this is my first ever blog tour in which I will post my review of the book! I know I haven't been a good tour host before. Somehow, the books always ended up getting less than 3-stars or I have no time to review them. :(

Anyway, here's my review for magical The Faerie Guardian;

Review
Another faerie book. Just what I need because I know I haven't read enough of good faerie books. :P

Firstly, can I just quickly comment on the blurb. "That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamour follows her into the fae realm.". A cute human boy? Well...on normal days, I would just forget about the book straight away if I came across the words 'a cute human boy'. I don't know...it sounds...shallow?

Anyway, to be honest it was really hard not to compare The Faerie Guardian to The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. Quoting my dear GR friend, Rebecca, indeed it could be The Iron Fey in reverse. Haha. But fret not, only the initial plot outline is similar to The Iron King and all the details are sufficiently different.

The first part of the book was really amazing in my perspective. I even thought that Violet is a better heroine than Meghan. I can connect with her in so many ways, her ambitious, over-achiever personality. In short, she is tough inside and out, practical, determined but she also has the right amount of badassery. If I were to pick my dream cast for Violet, I'd pick Lindsey Stirling. I know she's not an actress but I think she can capture that agility and liveliness in Violet. Plus, she has the right size. :P

The incredible violist, Lindsey Stirling

Nate was introduced as this charming guy next door. Violet was assigned to kill a reptiscilla who I don't know...trying to kill Nate perhaps. But somehow, Nate can see Violet even with her glamour on and to make matter worse, he accidentally followed Violet to the fey realm. I think Nate handled himself really well in the fey realm. He reacted just the way I would imagine a high school guy would react. :) I particularly like this quote from him;

"Squeeze as hard as you need to,' he says. "But just you know, if there's any blood involved I'll probably pass out."

*Squeals* Come on! How often do you find guys that honest?'

***Spoilers ahead***

But towards the end of Part 1, I think the relationship between Violet and Nate grew too fast, it was borderline insta-love. They survived the attack from a power hungry faerie, Zell, and voila, they make out in Nate's backyard (or was it front yard?) Moreover, just in a matter of minutes, Violet changed her mind from wanting to give Nate the potion to refusing to give him the potion AND agreeing to the idea of finding Nate's mom. All in one night. And this is Violet we're talking about here, Violet who once thought getting the top spot in her training as her mission in life.

In Part Two, Violet went on a quest to find Nate's mother. Unbelievably, she went to the extent of breaking more rules for Nate. Although there were still actions offered in Part Two, I liked it less than Part One. First, because of the reason I mentioned earlier, I still couldn't believe Violet would do such things. Second, the plot went very linear and one-dimensional. But I adore the history of the halflings. I think this is the redeeming quality of Part 2. :)

The momentum was plunging down even more with the start of Part 3. It's kind of expected as the book was indeed originally written as four separate novellas. I regain my fangirlsm at Violet a bit when she gave the goblin other option apart from death. The plot continues to plateau as Violet is back for the training. I may interject here that I like the spontaneity in the writing. For example, this line here;

"The fish bowl is an enormous orb that shimmers in the far corner of the training Center. It had another name once, but it's been called the Fish Bowl for so long that not even the mentors remember the original name."

I bet most of the authors would pick a fancy name for the Fish Bowl and mention that the name originated from a historical event or a legendary person etc. :P

The rest of Part 3 quickly picks up afterwards. More actions, more adventure, and most importantly, a big twist. Like, really, really big. You have to read it twice, thrice, fice (okay, that didn't work) just to make sure you read it correctly.

Part 4 makes up almost the second half of the book and this is where the story turns unexpectedly. It's really hard to describe it without giving anything away. Safe to say that from this point on, you wouldn't even remember that this book reminds you of The Iron King at the beginning. But for me, the characterizations weren't perfect. Ryn acted like a fairy version of Daemon Black from the Lux series. I find his reason to be mean to Violet as very immature and unreasonable and his character didn't improve significantly even after he gets to know Violet better in this part of the book.

The climax was...well, too planned, I guess? Violet and Ryn broke into Zell's underground prison and somehow Zell gladly told almost everything about the prison's secrets, the metal around the door is to prevent magic from outside...all the people in there have special abilities etc. Besides, the end was very loosely wrapped. There are still too many questions that were left unanswered, it kind of made this read a little less rewarding for me. The bonus chapters? Hmm...they weren't contributing much to the story either. Yea, we learn more about Ryn and Nate but as I said before, these chapters didn't really add much to the existing plotline.

***Spoilers finished***

My favourite character is none other than Filigree. Not a single line was spoken by him but his dynamic personality easily won me over (keep in mind that I said 'dynamic :P)

To sum it up, if I read The Faerie Guardian a year ago, I wouldn't hesitate to give it five brilliant stars but as I've read many other fresh, imaginative YA reads this year, The Faerie Guardian falls a little short in making a lasting impression on me because it simply is not unique enough. But of course, it has all the ingredients to be a fun, quick, enjoyable read for all YA fans out there especially for those who like fairies. :) A solid four stars from me!

I received the ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Character Spotlight:

Ladies, hold your breath because I was chosen to spotlight NATE!


Name: Nate
Age: 17
Family: Father and step-mother. No siblings.
Likes: Xbox, movies, running, computer games, hanging out with friends.
Dislikes: spinach (does anyone actually really like that stuff?), guys at the gym who stare at themselves in the mirror, conflict.
Current life status: High school senior
Current purpose in life: Uh ... graduate high school?
Plans for the future: Off to college to study Chemistry (I’m smarter than I look, okay!)
Special skills: Does dragging myself out of beg at 5 a.m. every morning to go running count? It should.
Anything else you’d like to add: I’m not the most popular guy in school, but I’m not the least popular either. I take my studies seriously, but I also like to think I’m a pretty laid back kinda person. Oh, and freaky stuff like magic? Well, it’s cool in computer games, but there’s no way it’s actually real, right?

Excerpt:

Yup! I tend to be a little overexpressive. Heee

Full Tour Schedule:
Mon 5 Nov
Loves 2 Read ~ Review & Giveaway
Refracted Light ~ Interview with Vi & Ryn 
Walking on Bookshelves ~ Review & Excerpt 

Tues 6 Nov
The Book Hookup ~ Spotlight on Violet
Simply Sensational Book Fanatics ~ Review

Wed 7 Nov
**Qwerty** ~ Spotlight on Nate
erica and christy ~ Meet The Author (Virtually)

Thurs 8 Nov
Cherie Reads ~ Review
Read Review Smile ~ Review, Interview, Giveaway
Camille Picott ~ Review

Fri 9 Nov
Worlds Away Book Blog ~ Spotlight on Ryn
Better Read Than Dead ~ Review & Spotlight on Tora

Rachel Morgan was born in South Africa and spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. After completing a degree in genetics, she decided science wasn’t for her—after all, they didn’t approve of made-up facts. These days she spends much of her time immersed in fantasy land once more, writing fiction for young adults. The Creepy Hollow Series Amazon|Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Book Trailer Rachel's LinksBlog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+

Demons, faeries, and mermaids.Claws, teeth, and nightmares.
They have been beaten and bruised, set on fire, and nearly drowned, but manage to always find their way home.  Over their last Winter Holiday break before college, Shayna, Jodi, and Steven try again to put aside the magic in their lives for a little mundane fun. But Shayna's mother is having dreams of fire and death. A mysterious stranger by the name of Liam has just arrived in town. And Shayna's attempts to manage her new angelic powers are set back by Steven's insistence that the trio intervene in a riot outside of a concert, with disastrous consequences.
In her attempt to stop the riot, a man sees Shayna use her magical abilities – a man driven mad by watching his brother die at the hands of a black witch. He stalks Shayna, plotting to destroy her and her friends. With her mother’s warnings echoing in her mind, Shayna is now in the fight of her life against an unlikely foe: a human man.

Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago Shauna started work on her Elemental Series and released the first installment, Earth, on May 1, 2011. When not reading and writing, Shauna enjoys cooking and playing hostess whenever she can.
  Shauna Granger| Facebook| Twitter

Amazon             Barnes & Noble             Kobo

Amazon         Barnes & Noble         Kobo

Amazon             Barnes & Noble              Kobo

Winter's Passage by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl...until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck--Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon--who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.
Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter--a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat....
An eBook exclusive story from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series.

Sorry my Blogger kingdom. I had been missing for quite some times now. Uni is driving me nuts and not getting a constant dose of reading is equally maddening.

So...Winter's Passage. It's not bad. I mean, how could it be bad when it was written by Julie Kagawa.

But meh! I liked Meghan less in this novella and I was told that I would like her even less in The Iron Daughter. Honestly, that Big Bad Wolf has more personalities than she does. I cringed everytime Ash stressed the need for him to protect Meghan.

And Meghan needs to stop depending on him. Fast.

"My prince wouldn't let anything happen to me."

"I'm not afraid," I told him, which was a lie. I was terrified of Mab and the Unseelie Court that waited at the end of this journey. But if Ash was there, I would be all right.



"You are infuriatingly stubborn," Ash muttered, raking a hand through his hair. "I don't know how I'm going to protect you when you have no concept of self-preservation."

Why, thank you Ash!

Remind me again, did Meghan and Ash profess their love in The Iron King? Because the kisses were awkward.

But Ash is still as swoon-worthy as I remembered and Grim is as charming as ever. I actually missed Puck to be honest.

View all my reviews

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams, Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…
One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.
Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.
Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

This one is like one massive parody of all-things paranormal. I might like it if I was fourteen. The plot is very similar to Hex Hall, at least up until the point where I decided that this just doesn't worth my time.

Annoying, self-conscious, whiny heroine who thinks she's funny.

Her life had toilet-bound stamped all over it.

Suddenly, Kylie started feeling people turn and look at her. Or were they looking at all of them?

Stupid, spineless best friend.

The she recalled how Sara had given in to Brad's "needs"-Brad who was the love of Sarah's life-yet, within two weeks of giving in, the love of Sara's life had dumped her. What was so special about that?
Since then, Sara had dated four other guys, and she'd slept with two of them.

To Sara, fitting in was...everything. If blue eye shadow was rave, you can bet Sara would have blue eye shadow before the week was out.

I didn't read far enough to know how the love interest, Derek and Lucas are like.

Just found out there'll be five books in this series.

May God have mercy for all those trees sacrificed in the making of the remaining books.

View all my reviews

Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wilde Island is not at peace. The kingdom mourns the dead Pendragon king and awaits the return of his heir; the uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is strained; and the regent is funding a bloodthirsty witch hunt, hoping to rid the island of half-fey maidens.
Tess, daughter of a blacksmith, has visions of the future, but she still doesn't expect to be accused of witchcraft, forced to flee with her two best friends, or offered shelter by the handsome and enigmatic Garth Huntsman, a warden for Dragonswood. But Garth is the younger prince in disguise and Tess soon learns that her true father was fey, making them the center of an exciting, romantic adventure, and an ancient prophecy that will bring about peace between all three races - dragon, human, and fairy.

Well, this review had to be short otherwise I run a risk of not finishing my assignment (Boo meeee!!!)

I wish I'd take shorter time to finish this book because it is truly a very charming book. It is that kind of story I would tell my nieces and nephews (as I'm still riding solo ::forever alone::) as bedtime stories. I never thought I'd long for this but yeah, I wish there was more romance because the love story was very sweet, I felt like I want to push Garth and Tess towards each other and yell "What are you waiting for? Just get married already!!"

The story was quite predictable as well but I didn't mind it that much because the writing is very smooth. The prologue was written ridiculously well but that didn't hold true for the rest of the book, probably because the author had to conform to the lighter tone as the story progresses.

But I must say, as much as I admire Tess for her bravery and loyalty, she's not the ass-kicking heroine our Young Adult market is currently flooded with (it's refreshing, believe me). But the story was told in a very traditional way, found in countless other Fantasy books. So, I think it is a good read but it will not be too memorable.



View all my reviews

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I am someone who prefer to write a review straight away after I finished the book.

Instead, I went to bookdepository.com and ordered The Iron Fey Boxed Set.

Isn't the packaging adorable? *puppy eyes*

I tend to avoid any series which consist of more than three books. Most of the time, I heard that the overall plot could be easily condensed into fewer books and the authors were just keen to have more money out of you. I was also skeptical with books based on fey myth because I thought they were like the bubbliest, shiniest, radiating-with-good-energy creatures out there, and I thought nah...probably for kids but not for me.

This book proved that I should never generalize.

If you've read it, you'll notice that this book was born from years of imagination. Not something that an author tried to come up with when realizing the burst of Young Adult market in the past few years.

The choice of words and the fluidity of the plot was impeccable. It reminded me of The Lords of the Rings, Narnia, Alice in Wonderland but unique enough to stand in its own league. I didn't like Meghan as much as I wanted to but I guess, there are more pages reserved for Meghan to be the ass-kicking heroine whom I longed for in later books.

Fear not, the romance was not done excessively in this particular book (thank God!). Ash was the classic Mr Darcy, so I instinctively drawn to be in his team. But Puck was a strong male lead as well, unfortunately I think he'll be staying in the friend-zone for the rest of the series.

View all my reviews