Hey guys~! It's a Monday and because I'm currently sitting in an emergency room waiting room without any of my books, I have a few good hours ahead of me of time to waste. And spare time on a Monday can only mean one thing: Monday Mini reviews! [Insert confetti shower]
The Law of the Lycan series by Nicky Charles
The Law of the Lycan series in its entirety is currently available on the Barnes and Noble store available for the Nook as well as Smashmouth. Those of you with Kindles might also find it on the Amazon store, but without access to a working one any longer, I can't be certain. It's also, I might note, a completely free series that so far consists of three pretty interesting books.
Each of the three books tells the story of a different couple, although all three couples have been heavily connected in between books. In the first book, The Mating, Elise is the daughter of the Alpha of her pack and comes home one day to find herself chosen to be mated to the Alpha of another pack, Kane, to solidify an alliance. In the second book, The Keeping, Melody is a reporter trying to find the story of an artist that her employer is very interested in, a secretive man named Ryne. The third book, The Finding, is about Cassie, a returning character from the second book, but being as I haven't finished it, I can't be sure about any of the other details.
Although I'm sure that each of Charles' books could easily deserve a review of their own, and I may decide to write one for them in the future, my intent when I was reading this series was to escape from the numerous amounts of essays and reviews I have on my To Do List, so I didn't originally intend to review them at all. But the fact that the books are free -and- enjoyable means that I simply couldn't resist.
Charles' characters that I've seen so far have been very interesting, as have the plots. My favorite book so far is actually what I've read so far of the third, but I don't think I have a favorite character. The reason I don't is because, although I'd say that this series is spectacular for being a free story, I wouldn't be half as enamored of the series if I'd had to pay for it. There are some characterization issues, some sections of the books where the writing is a little iffy, and parts of the book were frustrating because of how utterly unbelievable some of the character reactions were. An example of something that bothered me was the romance of the first book: it just happened. They met, they mated, and there is suddenly love and adoration despite the fact that they barely know each other.
But keeping in mind that these books ARE free, they're really good for what they are. Free books in the nook and amazon stores, from my experience, have always tended to be trash writing, porn, or excerpts that aren't free books at all. To find a book that is actually decent is always a nice surprise. So if you can handle a few small flaws, definitely look into downloading your own free copy of The Mating to get started on the series. It's worth it.
The Legend of Korra as of 4/30/12 (Episodes 1-4)
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Or, translated from happyfangirl:
Korra is the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. It takes place after Aang's death with the new Avatar, a girl from the sourthern water tribe named Korra. Korra is a headstrong girl who has already mastered the physical aspects of every element except for airbending, but has yet to understand the spiritual side. She's passed on to Aang's son, the only current airbending master, in the hopes that she will learn the spiritual side of bending while learning airbending. In order for her to train with him, however, she has to move to Republic City, the capital city. There she deals with the Equalists, an anti-bending group, joins a pro-bending team, and struggles to learn airbending.
Honesty, I freaking love this series. Everything about it so far has been spectacular. It has humor that is true to the original series, the characters are great, and a lot of interesting topics are being covered. I love the fact that the main antagonist is a group of nonbenders against bending, and I love that this series looks like it will be going more into what it's like to be a nonbender in a world where benders are glamorized and rule. A lot of other random questions also seem like they'll be answered, such as the question of what happens when two different kinds of benders have kids.
Since Korra is only on its fourth episode so far, there isn't a lot I can say besides I love it. I love it so much, and I am beyond excited for the rest of the series.
And if you haven't heard about Korra because you've been hiding under a rock somewhere, or you just haven't decided to watch it yet because you're afraid it will ruin the original, let me be one of the many to tell you that you have to start watching it now!
Sherlock
So I only heard about Sherlock pretty recently. The reason I'm not going to give it a full review is because, chances are, you've already heard about it and I was just really slow on the uptake. But having seen the first season and loved it, I have to say -something- about it!
Sherlock is a BBC series based on the original Holmes novels. It's a new take on Holmes and Watson in modern day London. This Sherlock Holmes is a sociopathic genius who, as one of the character's puts it, simply 'gets off' on solving mysteries. John Watson is a Afghanistan Vet who moves in with Holmes in order to be able to afford a flat in London, and who gets roped into helping Holmes out with whatever he needs. He runs a blog that he uses to write up his adventures with Sherlock.
Every episode of Sherlock is about the length of a movie: 1.5 hours. Each season has only three episodes, but every episode is so long and full that it's okay. I've only seen the first season so far because the second season isn't out in the US yet, but I'm already in love with the series.
Sherlock's character is so screwed up and unique that I fell in love with him from the start. If the people gushing about Cumberbatch on Tumblr are anything to go by, I'm far from the only one. Watson is also a very interesting and amusing character, but Sherlock is obviously the star of the series.
There isn't much about Sherlock I can say that others haven't said already, but if you -haven't- seen this show, then I'd definitely recommend you try the first episode. It's available on Netflix if you're a subscriber, and I'm pretty sure it would be easy to find elsewhere if you aren't. It's entirely worth watching.
Breaker by Shire.Conspire and Primeval by Xaphrin both on FF.Net
I rarely bother to review fanfiction, but these fics are exceptions. My shipping love when it comes to Teen Titans is Raven and Beast Boy, but I haven't found a decent fanfiction for them in...well, ever, until now. Everything I find is always horribly written, has a ship I dislike, or is so short that it's barely worth reading.
Breaker and Primeval are both fanfictions that run about the same general subject, except that they're kind of polar opposites of each other. In Breaker, one of Raven's emotions comes to the forefront after Beast Boy's actions feed it until it's strong enough to fight Raven for control. This emotion is summed up with the name Depravity, and it is everything that Raven pretends doesn't exist: her animalistic self, all of her violence and hatred, her lust, her cruelty, all in one package. It begins to fight Raven for control and slowly take her over at times, until Raven turns to Beast Boy to try and keep Depravity under control.
In Primeval, the opposite happens when the Beast begins to wrestle control away from Beast Boy to try and seek a mate. Because of Beast Boy's affection for Raven, she is chosen. The Beast is for Beast Boy what Depravity in Breaker is for Raven: the animalistic side that wants nothing to do with humanity.
Both of the fics have joined my list of favorites, but I do have to warn anyone reading and interested that they're both graphic, sexually and otherwise. If that isn't something you want to read, avoid these fics like the plague. But if you're a BBRae fan who doesn't mind, then I'd definitely recommend these fics for you. They're the only good fics I've found so far for this ship.
That sums up my short list of Monday Minireviews this time. Remember to check back later this week for a chance to win a signed bookmark from Rachel Caine!
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