As most of you have figured out by now I dread my email box. Unlike most people, (who get either chain letters or messages from their mothers twice a week,) I get about 30 book submissions a day. For me… email is not fun, it’s work. Today however, I got a little surprise… boy was I excited. So excited actually, that I decided to share the email with all of you. What was it? Well… Patrick from Sea-Lion Books (let’s give a round of applause for Patrick) sent me a 5 page preview of Richelle Mead’s (the author of NYT bestselling series “Vampire Academy“) NEW graphic novel series “Storm Born!” Exciting right? I thought so. Anyways, for all of you happy little graphic geeks out there, (just like me) HAPPY READING!

CLICK IMAGES BELOW FOR FULL PREVIEW

Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, Mead wasn’t completely lost when she wrote “Blood Promise”… just for the first 65% of it.

I was primed for this book, waiting, wanting, hanging onto a cliff that ended with “Shadow Kiss” but unfortunately instead of barreling full steam ahead, we got lost wandering around Siberia for…well…way to freaking long.  I’m not sure what Mead was going for…maybe she was trying to suck us in to some unforeseen emotional roller-coaster, but all she ended up doing was boring me to tears, not moving me to them.

Yes, the book had its good moments, as a matter of fact the last 20% was pretty fantastic, filled with river side love spats (in that, I would rather jump off a bridge than become a Strigoi way) and the audience was thrown 2…no 3, pretty serious twist.  Its just to bad it took me 3 days worth of mental scolding to get myself to focus long enough to get to them.

Will I read the sequel to “Blood Promise”? Yes, or course, I’m a sucker for teen runaways (which lets face it… with Rose it’s pretty much inevitable at this point that she’s never going to actually finish school)  and heartbroken rich kids with green eyes and extensive Trust Funds.  Do I think Mead set herself up for a great next novel? Yes, like I said, she ENDED the book like a champ, but maybe should heed a few words of advice and get the show on the road.

As for the rest of you happy little Dhampires out there, remember… If you ever plan on visiting Russia…pack a lunch.

For a full book description click image

***½~ (3.5/5)

Ok…I don’t actually mean it sucked in that “I should have never picked up this book cause it was so bad” way, more like the “this book was so good it made me cry, which totally sucked” way!

I haven’t been this happy or upset by a book since “New Moon” and yes, I know that I said I hate comparing books but in all honestly this is the only other book that has made me want to chunk it at the wall.  There is such a large twist in the last 10% of this book it will take a hold of even the most stable of emotions in you and twist them into a huge ‘ole knot.

The battle scenes were enthralling! It was like the battle for mankind, well, vampirekind I guess, and the characters were so well written that just for a moment I thought maybe a new author had taken over this series.

Mead brought a whole new element into this book: Ghost! Yes… you heard me. Ghost, like floating, see through, I thought you died in the last book GHOST! They weren’t overdone, which was refreshing, they popped up at very inopportune moments like ghost usually do, and in the end they delivered the finally blow that left my mouth hanging open in awe.

This book had the Dimitri scenes we have all been waiting for, there was an evil secret society, a delusional queen, several moment of mental instability and bout of jealous rage that has been building for a while now.

In short: I LOVED “Shadow Kiss” it made me happy, it made me sad, it made me want to invest in a shack in the middle of the woods.

Happy reading my new psychic network and don’t forget: Just when you think things can’t get worse, well…they always do.

For full book details click image

***** (5/5)

Every once and a while I make smart decisions.  I know…they are few and far between, but luckily this time I listened to my gut and not my head!

If you remember correctly I was pretty confused by “Vampire Academy” (yes… I know… it was so horribly long ago, you may need to go back and do some research.)  I didn’t think it was bad exactly just confusing and drawn out.

Well, as confused as I was by the 1st book, I was equally as impressed by the 2nd.

“Frostbite” was well written.  Mead finally stuck to her guns, and train of thought,  and wrote a fluid book from start to finish. (Thank God.  I really wanted to like this series after all the hype I was hearing.)

In this chapter the characters were forced to look into their inner demons, face the music, see what was right in front of them. The process in which they did this was spectacular.  There was a Strigoi raid, an impromptu Christmas Ski Trip, a mysterious but sexy new Royal, and a drunk Dhampir hot tub scene.

Hasty decisions was the name of the game for this book, and in true heroin form, Rose jump right in head first.  I don’t think however that she had planned on the torture or untimely death of a pretty important character. I know I didn’t see it coming. As a matter of fact, it made me a little sad. (I think my eyes may have even watered)

Regardless, I enjoyed the book and I think it was a great way to get me, almost reluctantly,  sucked into the series.  I can’t wait to see the decisions this group will make when they are face with even more life changing events.  And…a few more hot Dimitri scenes wouldn’t be bad either.

Happy reading my “little Dhampires” and remember…it is a wise decision to sharpen your swords at least once a month…just in case.

For a full book description click image

****~ (4/5)

“Vampire Academy”…yes please!

I’m going to sound very conflicted in this review so you are going to have to bear with me, I promise…I do actually have a point and a solidified opinion.

When I first picked up this book I expected nothing more than a quick, vampire laced read, strangely, that is not what I got at all.

The first 30% or so was overwhelming. NOT due to the plot, but due to the characters. It read as if “Richelle Mead” had a truck load of characters she wanted to introduce, but none of the patience required to sit and write them down properly.

There were vampires (duh), but they were broken down into a weird sort of subculture. (great right…something new, something refreshing!) Not really…there were Dhampirs, Strigoi, Moroi, and Guardians; none of which were explained until halfway through the book. All I knew was, Strigoi = Bad, Moroi = weak protected vamps, and Dhampirs (which at first I though was an editing error) = Mini-Guardians in training.

The book opened with an interesting chase scene which sucked me in, and kept me reading (which I see as a good thing) and my interest was sparked, but then the plot just kind of dropped off. I kept getting all of these “We aren’t going to talk about that..remember we promised” references, but there was never anything to back them up. It went on like this for at least 5 chapters. Witty comebacks, Teen Angst, Weird Looks, and Teacher lectures…but nothing to really congeal the passion of that opening sequence.

But then… when I was just about to give up and opt for TV instead of a book, a light bulb flickered on and we finally got the story. The whole story! We got explanations of characters, we got background, we got random dead animals showing up in backpacks, and we were finally…FINALLY told what the hell all this Strigoi-Moroi-Dhampir crap was all about.

Do I think Mead took to long getting to the point? Yes… dear lord, yes! But at the end of the day the book finally picked up the pace and got me hooked. There were bratty jealous girlfriends, crazy bonded mind jumping, rabid dogs, and a psycho terminally ill vamp uncle with a crazy Russian name, all of which were pretty entertaining in their own right.

I will leave you with one tiny disclaimer though…this book touched on a very delicate mental disability that made me a little uneasy at times, but was written with delicacy and was handled properly in the end. (Well done Mead.)

Overall? The book was a promising start to a series, and at least in book two I wont feel so lost. Happy reading and remember…it is unwise to jump on deviously tampered with wooden benches!

For a full book description click image

***½~ (3.5/5)