The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Faery prince Ash--the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court--finally gets to tell his story: how he escaped the Winter Court with his life intact and the promise he made to the Iron Queen.

I finished this one a day or two ago and I've been sitting on it, trying to decide how I feel about it. The beginning lagged a bit for me, then it really picked up until about the last 100 or so pages. Three letters I can use to sum those pages up? W.T.F?! I felt like I had invested so much time into the characters and I felt the meetings were SO rushed and underwhelming. It was like "Oh, you're here! Let's forget about everything and hug! The end."

As I said, the writing in the middle was amazing and kept me wanting more but I felt very unsatisfied with the ending and that made the rating go so low. I wanted to know more about their meeting and have a little more emotion from Ash and Meghan in both the dream sequence and real life. The humor between Puck, Grimalkin and The Wolf is what kept me reading, as their wit and sarcasm made the book for me.

Even with that, I still felt very empty and impartial to the book and that saddens me!

***

In My Mailbox! (February 4, 2012)

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren!

I didn't get too many books this week, namely because I got my molars taken out and didn't feel like reading much! I'm planning on making a trek to the library tomorrow so maybe I'll have to edit this post later! =P Enjoy!

Links go to GoodReads!

Pretty Little Secrets - Sara Shepard

Iron Knight, The - Julie Kagawa (eee!)

What did you get this week? Happy reading! =)

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

When the owner of a candy shop molds magical treats that instill confidence, bravery, and passion, eighteen-year-old Gretchen's haunted childhood memories of her twin sister's abduction by a witch-like monster begin to fade until girls start vanishing at the annual chocolate festival.

Can I mention (again) how much I love Jackson Pearce? I knew I'd enjoy this book and when I started reading it I became hooked! It started off right away into the mystery of Gretchen, Ansel, and their sister and doesn't stop until the last page.

The writing was awesome as usual, her style is very easy and before you know it you've read fifty pages! The characters were vulnerable yet independent, and there was something very whimsical about the town and the novel overall.

Gretchen and Samuel's relationship was good, though I feel like the interaction could've used some work. I wanted to know more about them. I'm hoping there will be a sequel to this one! I can't WAIT for Fathomless which is a retelling of The Little Mermaid! Yes please!!

****

Spellbound - Cara Lynn Shultz

When prep school newcomer Emma Conner meets the rich, charming Brendan Salinger, she is instantly attracted to him, but strange visions of her past lives begin warning her to stay away or face a cursed prophecy that she will die.

I've been super excited to read this one and when I began to read it, I was into it. After about one hundred pages I started to lose interest and then I just wanted to stop. I have to admiit that I sort of glazed over the pages and spoiled myself on GR.

Emma was too much a martyr in this book and I didn't find her inspiring or influential. She got herself in messes that were way over her head and wanted other people (Brendan) to get her out of it. She lived in NYC with an aunt that spoiled the crud out of her. Brendan was okay; didn't love him but didn't hate him either. Anthony - total douche. The end. Kristin, the same rich bitch you get in all novels.

I thought the plot was okay but the ending was too cliche for me and the ending too clean. I wish they had gone through something more than what they did - just to have a little more action. Maybe the second will be better but unfortunately I won't be holding my breath!

**

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

*Forgive me if this review is everywhere. I got my molars out yesterday and am hopped up on pain medication =P*

Seventeen-year-old Karou, a lovely, enigmatic art student in a Prague boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous, frightening monsters--the chimaerae who form the only family she has ever known.

I knew I was going to enjoy this book because it was getting so much hype. I don't think anyone was wrong! I loved Karou as a character, she is very curious and inquisitive as well as tremendously talented! I loved hearing her voice and found her very relate able.The side characters for me were anything but sides. They made the story for me. The idea that the devil's daughter fell for an angel is ingenious. I also really enjoyed the back and forth POV between Akiva and Karou.

The writing was wonderful, though I did find some parts a little slow. I'm looking forward to the next book though! I'm sure it's going to be great, as the ending to this one was explosive.

BTT (Skipping)

 Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by BTT.

I saw this article the other day that asked, “Are you ashamed of skipping parts of books?” Which, naturally, made me want to ask all of YOU.
Do you skip ahead in a book? Do you feel badly about it when you do?

I don't feel bad about skipping at all. Sometimes I feel as though skipping saved me from disliking a really good book. For the most part, there has to be some lulls in a novel, and sadly most aren't full of action the whole way through. Just because I do skip some parts of a book doesn't mean I won't enjoy it less, I'm still scoping it out and finding out if it's something I want to continue reading. =)

Ruthless by Sara Shepard

Yay! Sara Shepard is back!

After finishing Twisted and being very disappointed in it, I wasn't sure about where the direction the PLL series would go. I thought it should've stopped with Wanted and that would be that. I was scared of Shepard adding on more books for the TV show. After Ruthless however, I'm pleased!

I felt like the author took a little detour in Twisted and she didn't know exactly where she wanted to go with the story and in Ruthless it was much more thought out and directed. The plot was purposeful and to the point, and there wasn't too much run around thrown in. The twists in the book were juicy and delightful, and A is just as conniving as ever! I'd definitely recommend this book if you're a PLL fan!

****