Navigating Solutions and Darkness

Title:  Dawn of Wonder Author:  Jonathan Renshaw Year of Publication:  2015 Series:  The Wakening Series #:  1 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  4.35 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 Synopsis:  Aedan’s carefree life at the Badgerfield farm is rudely disrupted when Lekrau pirates attack, and kidnap his best friend Kalry. Rumours about his involvement in the attack force his family to leave their home and journey to the mighty city of Castath. Once there, he catches the eye of the great general Osric, and joins a group of students training to be Marshals of the kingdom. All the while, mysterious happenings unfold inside and outside the city, and Aedan nurses his desire for revenge against the Lekrau. Good writing shows. It is unhurried, and care is given to the placing of every word. It is difficult to attain that balance between humour and gravity, but Renshaw manages it by quietly slipping it into even the most mundane of sentences, making the reading ...

Written January 13, 2016, posted on Feminist Quill Title: The Indigo Spell Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2013 Series: Bloodlines #: 3 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.43 Goodreads Rating (Mine): 4 Spoiler Warning Plot Description:  Having kissed Adrian once, Sydney is now struggling with the realization that she might perhaps return his feelings, even as she continues to follow up on leads that hint towards corruption within her organization, the Alchemists. She also finds herself in danger thanks to a mysterious serial killer witch who is tracking down young magic users and draining them of life and power. The Indigo Spell  begins on a hilarious note: This wasn't the first time I'd been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission. It was, however, the first time I'd been subjected to such a personal line of questioning. "Are you a virgin?" "Huh?" I rubbed my sleepy eyes, just in case this was all some sort of bizarre dream t...

Crossposted from  Feminist Quill , written January 8, 2016. Title: The Golden Lily Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2012 Series: Bloodlines ( Series sequel to the  Vampire Academy series) #: 2 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.37 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  3.5 Spoilers... and all that. Plot Description:  In the course of her new assignment protecting Jill Mastrano at Palm Springs, Sydney Sage gains new insight into the working of her organization - the Alchemists, about rogue vampire hunters who call themselves grandiose and cultish names, and even goes on a couple dates. Oh, and there's like, fighting and stuff at the end. Anyway, the progress of Sydney and Adrian's relationship in  Golden Lily  is wonderful to watch. They start looking out for each other, thinking about each other's mood, doing little things to cheer the other person up. They went from strangers to friends in  Bloodlines,  and  Golden L...

Crossposted from Feminist Quill , originally written on September 13, 2015 Title:  Rogue Author:  Rachel Vincent Year of Publication:  2008 Series: Shifters #:   2 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  4.10 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  3 I'm so glad to be able to get back to reviewing, but I'm less excited that I'm going to be reviewing the rest of the Shifters series by Rachel Vincent. As I stated in my review of  Stray,  the first book in this series, I'm very conflicted about  Shifters.  And as far as the general plot goes, my thoughts on  Rogue haven't changed much from my thoughts on  Stray.  So in this review, I'll focus on the differences, and will try and avoid spoilers as much as possible. Spoilers for  Stray may, however, be unavoidable at times. Mild Spoiler Warning Plot Description: Following the events of  Stray , Faythe has taken up working for her father as an enforcer - the first fema...

Originally written, August 17, 2015. Crossposted from here . Title:  Stray Author:  Rachel Vincent Year of Publication:  2007 Series: Shifters #:   1 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  3.81 Goodreads Rating (Mine): 2 I find this cover disturbing rather than alluring. If you have a strong female protagonist, the least you can do is show her face. SPOILERS Plot Description: Faythe Sanders is a female werecat and a rebel. Her happy go lucky days at college come to an end when it becomes known that there's a rogue werecat out there kidnapping tabbies - female werecats. Faythe's family bring her home to keep her safe, but she ends up running into the kidnappers anyway, leaving it up to her to save herself and her cousin. Despite my Goodreads rating of 2/5, this will not be a Negative Review. There will, however, be a lot of ranting. Brace yourselves, please. Stray  had me extremely conflicted. I think it had something to do with the combination of...