Review- Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Scent of Magic
Series: Healer 
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Published: December 18th 2012
Book 2
(Sent by Harlequin Publishers) 
The Review for Touch of Power (Book One of the Healer Series) can be found here.
Avry is a Healer on a mission. Believed to be dead by friends and enemies alike, she must embark on a mission to stop King Tohon's evil deeds and repair the bond between her sister and herself. She and Kerrick must go their separate ways in order to save the Fifteen Realms. Avry intrudes on Queen Estrid's army in with a new name, look and title. She teaches the army forest skills, while at the same time, learns as much as she can about Tohon and his army of the undead. Close bonds are made between Avry and her fellow battle mates, war is brewing and betrayals are revealed, coming alive in the midst of trusted moments. 

I absolutely loved every single moment of this book. There was a new perspective introduced in the book which I thought only provided more depth to the characters and provided a new outlook on events taking place in the book. Avry seems more developed in this book than the first. She seems to be taking more risks, making her own decisions and doesn't back down from a fight easily. She has grown into and excellent character who allows the audience to relate to what she feels and does. The Death and Peace Lily's prove to have excellent use in this novel as it creates a MASSIVELY unexpected event to happen. It was excellently written and I have to commend the author on the many unexpected events, cliffhangers and developments made in this novel. 

The only thing more that I would've liked is to see more of the other types of magic in use rather than just seeing Avry's healing and Kerrick's forest magic. I also would've liked the first 50 or so pages to be a little bit more fast paced or to have a little more action included in them. Apart from that, the novel was a great read with an excellently written plot which the author allows the audience a personal link with each character. This book ended with the BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER EVER!!! All I can say is that the wait for the third book is going to be a hassle. Maria V. Snyder is an extremely talented author with an obvious passion for writing and I believe that this novel is one liked by many.

Overall, I cannot wait until the next book in the series as I am sure it will be just as great as its prequels. This book has a blend of everything you could wish for. Mystery, betrayal, war, magic, paranormal and much much more. I am sure most people loved it and are also eagerly awaiting the next book.

Rating 5/5

Review- Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Title: Poison Princess
Series: The Arcana Chronicles
Author: Kresley Cole
Published: October 1st 2012
Book 1
(Sent by Simon and Schuster Publishers) 
The Review for Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles #2) can be found here

Evangeline, "Evie", Greene is plagued with hallucinations, nightmares and hearing voices. She leads a regular life as any sixteen year old teenage girl would, trying to suppress and ignore her aggravating hallucinations and the irksome voices that penetrate her mind. When an apocalyptic cataclysm demolishes the country, Evie begins to discover that her hallucinations predicted the future. And they continue to do so. She has no choice but to turn to her delinquent classmate; Jackson Deveaux. He and Evie travel across what’s left of the catastrophic land and along the way meet others with unique abilities to answer the call that was laid upon them. Evie discovers a shocking ability that will cause her to either save or destroy the world. 

I pride the author on her eloquent style of writing that remained consistent throughout the novel. It contributed to creating the mystical and enthralling world in which took place events that enticed me to keep reading the next couple of chapters just to see the outcome. Each character seemed to be developing throughout the book which forms a bond between them and the readers. I constantly empathised with many of the characters in this novel as the author weaves a binding tale which continues to be intriguing and spellbinding. It honestly amazed me how the author managed to incorporate small parts of romance between characters even though the world around them is slowly crumbling.

What really drew me to the book was the cover. It surprises me that this one image gives away many of the events that unfold throughout the novel. The raging fires and barren land in the background giveaway the event of the apocalypse. The main image provides us with the information that these are the two protagonists of may have a forming or already formed relationship. The cover is an excellent pick which defines this novel perfectly. The only minor thing that troubled me in this novel was the sudden rages that Jackson had for absolutely no reason at all. 

Overall, the novel Poison Princess was, in my opinion, a great success and I highly recommend it. Kresley Cole, the author, creates an excellent first novel in the Arcana Chronicles and leaves me waiting for a much anticipated sequel. 

Rating 5/5

Review- Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked by Derek Landy

Title: Kingdom of the Wicked
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant
Author: Derek Landy
Published: August 30th 2012
Book 7
(Sent by HarperCollins Publishers)  
In the enthralling world of Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain, magic is a disease. Mortal people across the land are developing unimaginable powers and it is spreading like wildfire. The novel begins when four teenagers develop these mysterious abilities and use it to terminate whatever and whoever is in their path to become "Gods". Unlike normal magical people, these four teenagers have several different abilities which they can call upon and wreak havoc. In addition to this major drawback, another mortal who was infected by transforming into an aggressive Werewolf leads detectives Pleasant and Cain on a hunt for a man named "Argeddion", who is the man that is responsible for this crisis. Detectives Pleasant and Cain are desperately needed to put an end to the madness of this situation. However will they get to Argeddion before the four teenagers destroy the world with their powerful abilities or will Argeddion get to them first?

The first thing I would like to say is that Derek Landy has truly outdone himself with the seventh installment of the Skulduggery Series. His writing style is honestly out of this world and he has the talent to blend several genre's into one completely spellbinding book. It has everything! Fantasy, magic, adventure, humor, a little paranormal and a lot of mystery. This book was eloquently written and I believe that every moment of it kept you wanting to read the next couple of chapters. The cover of the book is just amazing and gives the audience a little hint of a scene in the book. I also love the witty captions on the bottom of the book cover. They are very creative and suit the book. I honestly think this is the best installment of the Skulduggery Series until the 8th and 9th books come out in the future.

This book ended with the largest cliffhanger ever imaginable in the Epilogue! It just left me awestruck and made me want to get my hands on the eighth book straight after, but it wasn't out anytime soon :( I honestly think that the this series is on my top 5 list and I couldn't think of any improvements to be made. I would give this book more than 5/5 if possible. Derek Landy has an amazing talent and passion for writing and I am proud to say that he is now one of my favourite authors ever!!!

Overall, I believe that this book should be read by anyone and everyone of all ages! It is truly a magnificent novel that I recommend to all. I can spot no flaws in this astonishing and enthralling novel and I rate it:

Rating 5/5 Astounding Crests

Review- Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Touch of Power
Series: Healer 
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Published: December 20th 2011
Book 1 
(Sent by Harlequin Publishers) 
In the enthralling yet mystical tale of Avry, Healers were a hated race of people. They were believed to be the cause of the Plague that took the lives of a large part of the population in the world. They were hunted and treated like animals if they weren't already killed upon sight. Avry is a Healer, she has been running for several years, stopping from town to town and forest to forest. In one of the several towns she has visited, Avry offers to babysit a small child who is extremely sick. In the dead of night, Avry healed the child, absorbing the sickness into herself. Avry became weak with sickness and slept through until the remnants of the illness was out of her system. Her healing abilities allowed her to heal faster than any normal person and by morning, she was in perfect health. Instead of being grateful for the health of their daughter, the parents called soldiers upon Avry because they had a suspicion that she had healed their daughter. The soldiers rained upon Avry, capturing her and putting her in a prison cell while she awaited her execution. During the night of her capture, four men came and visited Avry, requesting her help to heal an important friend of theirs and in return, they would save her from her execution. Avry agreed and accompanied them on their journey to save the life of their friend. Throughout the journey, friendships were made, hardships were faced, battles were fought and betrayals were committed. 

I am going to begin by speaking about the characters. The protagonist, Avry, is extraordinarily created with the sheer talent, imagination and creativity of the author. Along with the protagonist, Maria V. Snyder has also created a talented group of characters that each are unique with different qualities. Aside from the characters, a number of exotic plants and animals have been newly introduced to the readers. Death and Peace Lilies play significant roles in parts of this novel as their properties are, on various occasions, used for different purposes. Towards the end of the novel, there are zombies introduced which gives this novel the extra genre of Paranormal and it makes it all the better. Maria V. Snyder has provided us all with another novel that we must add to our To be Read list.

The only minor thing that I didn't like was the fact that the novel was very slow-paced in various moments. Especially when the group was travelling, the plot of the story became repetitive at rare times but then it improved not long after. Despite these minor drawbacks, the novel was a complete success written by a talented author. 

Overall, I give this novel 5/5 outstanding stars as the plot of the novel was unlike any other that I have read and it was one of my favourites. Maria V. Snyder is an extremely talented author who is obviously passionate about her work and puts a lot of effort into producing an excellent novel.

Rating: 5/5

Review- The Flight of the Griffin by C.M Gray

Title: The Flight of the Griffin
Series: The Flight of the Griffin
Author: C.M Gray
Published: April 16th 2012
Book 1 
(Sent by the Author)
In a world of excitement, danger and fantasy, four crew members of a boat called "The Griffin" begin a journey to find the three crystal skulls that intend to save the world. The four crew members are Pardigan; the thief, Tarent; the priest, Quint; the fighter and leader and Loras; the magician. Accompanied by the shapeshifter, Mahra, the crew of The Griffin begin the journey by inheriting gifts from "The Book of Challenges". Each gift is unique to that person and they use their gifts to help them on the thrilling quest. Faced by hardships such as demons and riddles, the crew and Mahra intend to save the world whether or not it means sacrificing themselves.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as it was something very original and unique. I absolutely loved how Gray described each and every scene of the novel in extraordinary detail, especially the parts where they are battling. Each character is described comprehensively and each emotion is displayed upon the hardships and excitement found throughout the quest. In a series of unexpected parts in the novel, the crew are allied with the people chasing after them against one common enemy; Belial, the "King of demons". An exciting yet terrifying battle between Order and Chaos unfolds the mysteries behind the riddles of The Book of Challenges. 

 I also liked how the book shifts perspectives for not only the protagonist, but the antagonist as well. In many other books, only the perspective of the protagonist is shown, therefore not revealing how they feel. This is one of the many qualities that I loved in this book. There are parts of the novel that have a little added humor which I thought was extremely clever and it lead me to liking it even more. I was extremely glad when C.M Gray sent this to me as it was truly an exciting tale filled with mystical creatures, magic, the chance for adventure and everything else you can think of. There are absolutely no flaws in this novel and I am proud to say that it is an enticing read. 

The cover of this novel really shows the adventure encountered throughout the novel. The Griffin (in bird form) that was standing on The Book of Challenges was puzzling to me at first but that was before I was half way through the novel. It was a really clever idea and I won't say anymore until you read this. The scarlet red droplets of blood I'm guessing symbolize the hardships faced throughout the novel and the compass is showing the direction of where this enchanted quest has lead the crew.

Overall, I believe that this book should be in the top five of everyone's TBR pile no matter how old you are, as it truly is a great journey to experience with the crew of The Griffin.

For more information on the novel or if you want to buy it, visit the following:

Amazon(dot)com- http://www.amazon.com/The-Flight-Griffin-ebook/dp/B007TKUD7Y

Amazon uk -http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Flight-Griffin-ebook/dp/B007TKUD7Y

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/151395

Lulu for paperback - http://www.lulu.com/shop/cm-gray/the-flight-of-the-griffin/paperback/product-20223161.html

Twitter - @cgray129

Blog - flightofthegriffin.blogspot.com

Rating: 5/5

Review- The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Title: The Red Pyramid
Series: Kane Chronicle's 
Author: Rick Riordan
Published: May 4th 2010
Book 1 

The Red Pyramid is a novel which also consists of God's like the Percy Jackson Series (another series by Riordan), however, the God's are of Egyptian origins rather than Greek. The novel revolves around siblings Sadie and Carter Kane and begins when their father accidently releases five major God's and Goddesses from their "prisons" when he only intended to release one. Releasing the God's are illegal and punishable by death from the organisation called The House of Life (you'll understand more once you read it). The God's are blamed for plunging the world into chaos at one stage and were imprisoned because they were considered unstable and drunk with their own power. 

Anyway, continuing on, once Sadie and Carter's dad release the God's/Goddesses, they become hosts for them, which means that the God's can use their body. One of the God's, named Set, is the evil one and he took his chance to escape and try to reduce the world to nothingness then rebuild it in the form of his empire. Sadie and Carter learn that they are magicians on the way and that they must use their abilities to stop Set and save the world. It turns out that Sadie is hosting the Goddess Isis and Carter is hosting Horus. Along their quest, they endure many challenging obstacles which all take time, and time is not a luxury that they have.

What I absolutely love about this novel is how unique the magic is expressed throughout the book. Weapons like staffs and wands are used (which you may think is general), however, wax figurines, amulets and a number of other essential items are used to make the plot more interesting and appealing to readers. These items and weapons can be modified to the magicians needs. For e.g. the staffs can transform into animals and attack something or someone or they can just be used to emit the magicians spell. Riordan has great ideas put into this which are mostly new and haven't been used before. 

I also liked Riordan's use of hieroglyphs throughout the story line. The hieroglyphs are also part of the way magic is used and they are also used for writing and so on. I may of also mentioned in another review that in many books the characters are like machines and never run out of energy. In Riordan's book, he expresses how exhausted the characters are feeling once they have used too much magic or if they have over extended themselves physically. 

What I didn't really like in the novel was that the characters weren't described in detail. They were brief descriptions of how the character looked and in times of emotion, one sentence was used to describe the basic feeling. Riordan is more focused to the story line, which is great, but the characters are what makes the story line more interesting and effective on readers. The characters are described extremely well in times of combat when they are using magic, however, in other more important parts, as I said before, the descriptions are quite bland. 

Overall, I gave the book a major “thumbs up” and it had many twists and details that left readers entranced within the world of Sadie and Carter.

Rated: 4/5

Review- The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen

Title: The Dragon of Trelian
Series: Trelian
Author: Michelle Knudsen
Published: April 14th 2009
Book 1
Wow! This is a gripping, wonderful, suspenseful and amazing novel that was expressed superbly in writing! The story revolves and begins when two teenagers, Princess Meglynne (Meg) and Calen, meet at a procession. They take to each other immediately in terms of friendship and Meg decides that she can trust him with her secret even though she just met him. A secret which she has told no one, not even her parents or sisters. One of Meg's sisters, Princess Maerlie, is going to marry the enemy, Prince Ryant of Kragnir. It is an arranged marriage to end a hundred year war, which both the bride and groom are willing to marry because of their affection for each other. 

Calen is a mages apprentice. He studies magic through the logical sense and gets bored of just the books. He wanted to actually use the magic within! Serek who is Calen's teacher, sees Calen's "spark" light up as soon as the apprentice was told Meg's secret. After the spark lit up within him, Serek felt as though Calen was ready to learn how to use magic. Calen found that the logic of magic helped him in the physical casting as well.

What I especially loved about this novel are the constant surprises lurking around the corner. This novel keeps you addicted and makes you relentless to what will happen in the next couple of chapters. I must admit that I was tempted to flick towards the end of the book just to see the outcome. However, I held my ground and waded through it only to find out that it was even more of a compelling read. I also loved how unique the type of magic Knudsen describes is. Not only does it show distinctiveness, but also because it is not just an endless waving of hands, glowing eyes and whatever else that is so cliché, but the characters show weakness and a drainage of energy when they have been casting for too long. 

As the story goes on, Calen and Meg's friendship grows stronger and they help each other out through Calen's magic and Meg's secret. One day, they stumble upon the trusted adviser of the visiting King and Queen of Kragnir, Sen Eva and her son, plotting a murderous act against Princess Maerlie, to break the peace act and plunge the two kingdoms back into war. However, Sen Eva discovers that Calen and Meg overheard her plans and tries to kill them. 

Another twist adding to the never-ending pile, is that Sen Eva is also an unaccounted for mage. Calen shields one of her oncoming attacks but once the spells collided, he and Meg were sent to another part of the world-- far from Trelian. Will they get back in time to warn and save Maerlie? Will they stop the war that might fall upon Trelian? 

Overall, I believe that this novel was excellent and has no obvious or hidden faults. I would recommend this novel to all who like magic and adventure!

Rated: 5/5