Retro Reviews - Bloody Jack - L. A. Meyer

I first read this book when I was still in middle school, and I loved it. I loved everything about it. A few years later, I had the most amazing realization that this book was only the first in a series that I've followed since. The newest book in the series came out last fall, and I'm rereading the series again so I can continue on. That being said, I couldn't resist not throwing a plug out for one of my favorite series, or at least the first book.

Bloody Jack is the story of a young girl in London who is orphaned and thrown onto the street after her parents and sister die of disease. She survives on the streets in a gang, begging and stealing and sometimes reading signs for those who never learned, until the day that her gang leader is killed and she decides its time to try and move on. She dressed like a boy, Mary Faber, known now as Jacky, manages to get herself posted as a ship boy on the HMS Dolphin, at which point her taste for sailing and adventure blossoms.

I love this series, I really do. I love gender bending stories of all kinds, but Bloody Jack holds a special place in my heart because I love the main character so much. Jacky is a headstrong, stubborn, and practical girl that you can't help but fall in love with, particularly in later books, but in this one too. She's just this great character to read about, always doing something interesting and handling things in a practical way. And what's even greater about these books is that Jacky isn't some super special snowflake character who never has anything bad happen to her: she's stubborn and, frankly, badass in a lot of cases, but she's also very human and real. She's awesome, but she's still this very human little girl.

There's so much that I could say about this series that I'm resisting, because I don't want to ruin the first book for you, but I will say that this series is one of my absolute favorites. If you -haven't- read Bloody Jack before, you NEED to pick up a copy, even if it's just at your local library, to give it a shot. This series just gets better and better the farther in you go, so if you have read Bloody Jack, and liked it, make sure you pick up the sequel, Curse of the Blue Tattoo. Actually, BUY ALL THE THINGS, because this series is just amazing!

So if you're a fan of spunky and strong female characters who are still reliably human, give Bloody Jack a shot. If you like gender bending books, and especially if you are a fan of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, you need to try Bloody Jack. And if you're just looking for a good series to read, well, this book is definitely one you should pick up.

And if you like Bloody Jack, the series is currently nine books long, with a tenth on the way this year! So pick up your copy soon, so you can get started. You won't regret it.

Moonstone Series (Unbidden Magic Series?) by Marilee Brothers

So let me start out by saying that despite reading this series, and attempting to research into this question, I have approximately no clue what the official name of this series is. When I got the series from NetGalley, it was being offered as the Moonstone Series. Trying to search that term, however, gets me other people's reviews of that name, and that's about it. The Unbidden Magic series is what this is listed as on Goodreads, and I think on the author's site, but I have to assume that if Netgalley is offering it to me as the Moonstone series, that's probably what I should consider it.

The first book in the series, Moonstone, sets up the story of Allie, a young girl who, after an accident at home, suddenly finds herself with an interesting range of powers that she has absolutely no idea how to control. One day she's just doing her best to slide by, taking care of a mother who suffers from fibromyalgia (self-described), the next she finds herself able to control a giant rampaging bull and being gifted a magical moonstone pendant by an elderly friend, the town witch.. Nobody ever said life was predictable.

Allie's powers come with a catch, however: there are people who are willing to do anything to get their hands on the moonstone, and they quickly prove that they're more than willing to hurt whoever gets in their way. Throw in a hippie guardian angel, some daddy issues, a touch of fairy and demon magic, and a few studdy boyfriend options, and you have the Moonstone series to date.

It's hard for me to figure out how I felt about this series as a whole, because it has such an interesting blend of good and bad elements. It's far from a perfect series, and there are a LOT of things that annoy me about it, but a lot of the same things that annoy me also make me happy in other ways.

Take Allie's mother, Faye, as an example. The woman is incredibly selfish, and, if we're being honest, is nothing more than a drain on society. She lives with her daughter in a trailer on the land of a family member, doesn't work, hooks up with a sleezy lawyer, and claims to have fibromyalgia in order to claim disability from the state. She's an incredibly self-centered woman, and there are several times in the story that Allie is almost taken away from her. I honestly hate her character, and the fact that Allie doesn't think there's anything wrong with this, just accepts it and continues with her life, bothers the hell out of me. It seems like Allie should know better, should hate her for the way she's treated, but she doesn't. And while I hate that, there's also a part of me that knows that this portrayal isn't exactly a false one, for a young girl. And although I like to think of my main characters as older, sometimes, Allie really is just a teenage girl; the fact that she loves her terrible mother is like this great, unmentioned depth to the story. Like, if Brothers had made a bigger deal out of this, elaborated on it more, Allie and her mother would have been so much more real.


Another aspect of the story that was both amazing and terrible was Allie's love life. First off, in about every book, Allie finds a new guy that wants to hook up with her. And that's a little weird and excessive, but alright. I kind of love the fact that Allie isn't one of those typical heroines who date one guy in a book and suddenly they're in so much love and they're devoted to each other and they're perfect and they're going to get married and have babies becausethey'resoperfectforeachotherandamaizngandaljhdflkajsdlf. Like, maybe that happens when you do finally find that one guy, but how often does that happen when you're a teenager? Not just a teenager, how often does that happen as a teenager, with the very first guy they fall in love with and date? Not that damn often.


Much like Tamora Pierce, whom I love for this same reason, among others, Brothers' main character doesn't fall in love with a guy in one book, and become the super couple where the rest of the series always has their relationship problems traipsing all over and hijacking the plot. Allie meets and hooks up with different guys and doesn't just automatically settle down, and I love that about her. 


On the other hand, if I had to pick one thing I absolutely hate about the modern YA book fads, it would be the stupid love triangles that every single book seems to have, and it seems that this series isn't an exception. But I will give Brothers mad props for not letting those love triangles take over the book completely, turning an otherwise good plot into nothing more than a teenage girl's relationship problems. 


Overall, I'd say that I had a few problems with this series, most notably the way that the plot just tended to conveniently fall together--for instance, a plot revolving around a prophecy that nobody even bothers to question, just believes in the first time they hear it--but I also feel that it's pretty good. It's not a perfect series, but that's okay. It's a really nice series to read if you're just looking for something small and simple to read in your free time, and I'm sure that younger readers who enjoy it even more than I did.


I would recommend this book to typical fantasy fans who enjoy simplistic YA books, and I think I'd recommend this book to fans of the new YA fairy fad, like fans of The Faerie Path books by Allan Frewin Jones. 


Like always, if you think you might be interested in this series, the first four books are published and released, and can be found at your typical bookstores. If you can't find the first book there, then it can also be found on Amazon!

And as a final plug, if you're interested in winning a signed Last Breath bookmark fom Rachel Caine's tours, the giveaway won't be ending until June 10th. 

Teenage Bibliophile's First Giveaway!

Hey guys!
As promised, I'm hosting my very first giveaway this month! As I've already mentioned, I'm afraid this giveaway isn't for anything as big and shiny as an ARC. This is a test run of sorts, I guess you could say! If it's successful, Zenita and I are in the planning periods for a June BEA giveaway. But that's all you're getting from me on that topic until later! ;)

So for my first giveaway, I'm giving away a signed bookmark from Rachel Caine's Last Breath, the 11th book in the Morganville Vampire's series! It's nothing too big, but if you missed seeing Caine on tour, it's a nice little memento that you missed and that I'm happy to share.

How do you win, you ask? Well, you enter my raffle, of course. You can enter up to three times. For your first entry, all you have to do is comment on this post and tell me who your favorite Morganville Vampire character is and why. Nothing too big, just something short and fun! For your second entry, all you have to do is tweet a link to this giveaway, and include the link to your tweet in your comment. Finally, for the third entry, all you have to do is follow this blog and make a note that you follow it in your comment.

And because this is my first giveaway, and I'd like to give kudos to the followers I already have, I'll give a free fourth entry to any of the 13 original followers I have as I'm typing this. I have your names written down, so just mention that you were one of the people who already followed me, and I'll give you an extra entry. Thanks for being with me for so long!

So to sum up, this is a giveaway for a shiny signed bookmark from Rachel Caine's Last Breath tour, and you can enter by tweeting, following, and commenting with your favorite character.

Good luck guys! I'll close the giveaway on May 31st, so make sure you get your entries in before then!

Monday Minireviews 4/30/12

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!

Random Notes and Goodies!

Hey guys! As you probably know, I've been really busy with school, so I'll apologize for the millionth time for being so slow to post these last two months! But I figured I should give you a heads up!

Book Expo America is quickly approaching, and Zenita Dee and I will definitely be finding our way there this year too, haha. I'll be going at least one day, possibly two, but I have to miss June 7th because I'll be at Bucknell University participating in this really awesome summer program that I'm lucky as hell to have gotten into. I'll try to write up a recap of Book Expo sometime right after, so that I don't forget amidst the chaos of school again.

Starting this May, I'm also going to start doing giveaways~
Most of my giveaway goodies will probably come from Book Expo after I've reviewed them, since my bookshelf is already doubled up, but I'm going to see what I can do for other stuff, too.
The first giveaway will start on May 1st. It's nothing superawesomeamazing, because this is my first giveaway and it's a test more than anything else, haha. The official announcement will tell you how to enter, but I can tell you now that the prize is a signed bookmark from Rachel Caine's Last Breath release. If you're interested, be sure to check back.

Finally, I'd just like to thank those of you who are returning visitors. It's really nice to actually see that I'm not reviewing to an empty room!

Thanks guys! Check back in the next few weeks for the contest, and I'll see you soon with a review for The Moonstone Series by Marilee Brothers!