Ricky Pine's Blog, page 110

Review: My Sister Rosa

My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My first attempt at reading a Justine Larbalestier book, Razorhurst, didn't really impress me...but My Sister Rosa is truly something else.

Much of the story centers on Che, who fulfills a fish-out-of-water protagonist role as an Aussie freshly moved to New York. Right away, he starts trying to make friends (though he continues to text his old friends back home in Sydney), and soon finds himself part of a very diverse social circ...

Review: Heartless

Heartless by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If this is well and truly a standalone book, that's a crying shame.

In Heartless, Marissa Meyer does another retelling, something completely different from the sci-fi future of The Lunar Chronicles - a lovely little origin story for the Queen of Hearts, with additional influence from Poe's Raven for good measure. It's a dark, twisted tale of love and heartbreak and a king who just doesn't understand when his feelings are unrequited, because...

Review: The Sound of Seas

The Sound of Seas by Gillian Anderson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm sorry to report that while the first two books in Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin's trilogy managed to deliver surprisingly good adventures, the finale caps things off in a slipshod, disjointed fashion. It splits its story too many ways to count, doesn't focus enough on the main plot with Anderson's obvious Author Avatar Caitlin O'Hara (I hear she narrates the audiobooks too, of course), and overall feels like it's throwing u...

Review: Wax

Wax by Gina Damico
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gina Damico is a go-to source of kooky YA horror-comedy fun, and her latest, Wax, is no exception.

While the book does suffer from a long and muddled beginning (particularly in terms of protagonist Poppy's backstory, which feels a little more convoluted than it should be), Damico gamely delivers on atmosphere to keep the reader interested. Naturally, said atmosphere is poisoned by the stench of overly scented candles, this book being set in a small...

Review: Rebel Spring

Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another Falling Kingdoms book for the list. Like its predecessor, Rebel Spring is loaded for bear with high-fantasy magic and court politics and the occasional ultraviolence - some of which stem from rebel activity. I only wish there was more of that rebel activity - in the first book, I thought the biggest flaw was not enough focus on Jonas, and that problem continues for me in Book 2. Though there's more of Jonas and his perspective, i...

Review: Changes

Changes by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As the title implies, nothing is really the same again after this book. By far, Changes is Harry Dresden's most personal, most harrowing tale yet, and the story does not stop throwing out twist after twist after deadly twist, until the very last page.

And whoa. That ending. That, I still have a hard time seeing coming, even after reading this book a second time around. Seriously, I almost couldn't believe Butcher would actually go there.

Well, on...

Review: Vengeance Bound

Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, after speed-reading and loving Promise of Shadows, I really had to go back and take a stab at Justina Ireland's debut novel right away. This one didn't lend itself so well to a speed-read, but that's okay, because it was just the opposite of straightforward enough that speed-reading would not have helped me at all.

It's a pretty cool concept Ireland's got going on in this one - the main character being, as other reviews before mi...

Review: Promise of Shadows

Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"No chance for fate, it's unnatural selection
I WANT THE TRUTH!"
-Muse

I was gonna write some words on my own book today, but then I cracked open Promise of Shadows. Safe to say, my plans went out the window.

This is my first time reading a Justina Ireland book, and just like how I started off a few months back with the works of Elliot Wake, I decided to go with Ireland's second book first. Another plan that's gone out the window - t...

Review: Shadows of Stars

Shadows of Stars by Kimberly Vale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Why are we here? Because we're here.
Roll the bones, roll the bones.
Why does it happen? Because it happens.
Roll the bones..."
-Rush

My latest SwoonReads discovery (it's also available on Wattpad, friends!), Shadows of Stars is a pretty epic unofficially-published entry in the YA fantasy world, effortlessly combining high fantasy, urban fantasy, and dystopian into a thrilling, whirlwind adventure. Sure, it often plays out like a game of...

Review: Memorial Day

Memorial Day by Vince Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another Mitch Rapp story, but again, it starts to feel like the series is suffering from "more of the same" syndrome. I mean, God only knows al-Qaeda isn't the only enemy out there, and yet it seems like that's all Rapp ever does in life, targeting Middle Eastern terrorists. At least this book has some pretty high stakes, and highlights the moral quandary Rapp finds himself stuck in re: torture. He wants to be efficient in getting answers,...