Ricky Pine's Blog, page 137

Review: The Eternity Key

The Eternity Key by Bree Despain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's a bit of a come-down in quality from its predecessor, actually. But like many a good sequel, the cliffhanger ending is what saves the book in the end. I mean, seriously, the way this book ends is messed-up, even by Greek mythology standards. I'm talking Mark of Athena messed-up, if that gives you any idea.

Book 3...where are you? And why don't we have a title yet, even?


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Just The First Step - The Authentic Artist

As part of A.L. Woodson's recent #WattpadBooksAreRealBooksToo campaign, I've contributed a short article to her Authentic Artist blog. Since Wordpress doesn't allow me to just hit a button and share the article to Blogger, I'll just present you guys with a direct link to that post instead:

https://theauthenticartist.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/just-the-first-step/

Read and enjoy!

Review: The Bureau of Time

The Bureau of Time by Brett Michael Orr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is how you can tell a young male millennial YA writer a la Taran Matharu - he's got a story jam-packed with elements borrowed from just about every other story you can think of, but thrown together in a way that still feels fresh and hyper-awesome.

Brett Michael Orr and his Bureau of Time are no exception.

First and foremost on my list of "Hey, This Sounds Like X!" comparison titles, Bureau of Time edition: Fringe. This book...

Review: Rogue

Rogue by Mark Frost
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a while since the second book came out, but despite the long wait, it was pretty easy to get back into the final entry in this trilogy. Not many people are reading these books, as far as I'm aware, but they're very good for light entertainment. And, while the story often progressed a little too fast and made it incomprehensible at times without at least two re-reads of a page or three at a time, at least Frost doesn't fall into the same...

Review: Untamed

Untamed by A.G. Howard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We've been waiting for this little supplement to the weird and wonderful world of the Splintered Trilogy for a little while, and it's great to see it finally here. Three stories this compilation's got. The first one focuses on Alyssa's mom and her own Wonderland misadventures. The second, I believe, was previously published between the first two books, which might explain why it made me remember how much I used to really dislike Morpheus back i...

Review: The Bone Labyrinth

The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book, like the earlier Sigma adventure The Devil Colony, was sadly a little bit delayed - though not quite as much, being more like 16 months instead of 24. Somewhat embarrassingly, my library was cool enough to order it as far back as June 2015, only for the book to not come out for six months after that. Therefore, it's now officially the book I've had on hold for the longest time ever.

And what a book to deserve that honor....

The Flash: Of Speedsters And Sweethearts

***SPOILER ALERT***

I'm not too big on math. We haven't been on good terms in years. But today, I'll persuade her to help me demonstrate a few things re: last night's episode of The Flash in simple terms.

Barry Allen + Patty Spivot = Batty.

Batty on the CW + Batty in the New 52 = Ricky Ships It. <3

Batty + Sweetness = Happy Shippers Like Ricky.

Batty + Fighting = See Meme Below.

I still don't trust Harry, in any incarnation, because of this, BTW.
So, when The Flash ended last night with...

Review: The Magicians

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a kind of bizarre meta-look at a fantasy world like the kind we all grew up with - Harry Potter, Narnia, etc. - but filtered through the lens of millennials going to college. Yeah, yeah, sure, they're millennial characters, and that means they're automatically all unlikable assbites...or does it? They're just...complicated, is all. Complicated, and often, struggling to find a place for themselves in this world, magical or no...

Starling City Storm: A Sweet Little Splash Moment

I went into the writing of my second Spidey & Speedy fanfic piece, Starling City Storm, thinking it would be a great idea to ship the speedster with the Arrowverse's real Speedy herself, Thea Queen. I even made up my own ship name for it: Speedy + Flash = Splash. Catchy, huh? Well, nobody in the Arrowverse fandom seems to think so...yet. I dare you to read the following words and think they don't belong together, at least not in this alternate universe. :)


“Barry, could you...

Review: ARK-13

ARK-13 by B.B. Gallagher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

B.B. Gallagher's latest book is now freshly completed on Wattpad for your reading pleasure. Not unlike Project Sparta, it's got tons of high-stakes action, although this time Gallagher's trying his hand at a different genre - sci-fi as opposed to spy fiction, and with more adult characters as opposed to Sparta's YA. Especially in its second half, the book has a breakneck, cinematic pace, leading up to a major twist ending - one I admittedly s...