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This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria

Description: Orphaned and forced to serve her country’s ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don’t matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army. In her search for her brother, Karis does the seemingly impossible—she awakens a hidden automaton. Intelligent, with a conscience of his own, Alix has no idea why he was made. Or why his father—their nation’s greatest traitor—once tried to destroy the automatons. Suddenly, the Scriptorium isn’t just trying to control Karis; it’s hunting her. Together with Alix, Karis must find her brother…and the secret that’s held her country in its power for centuries. Buy From:

Rating: (4/5)

Review:

This debut novel by Emily Victoria was a great light read. The characters in the book were mostly well defined and the world building in the book was superb. There were a few twists in the story that I wasn’t expecting and they made the story more fun. I did feel that the final battle was over very quickly and it felt rushed. The build up was nice & long and then suddenly the battle is won and it is all over. It kind of felt like the author thought that the book was long enough and wanted to end it. However, that being said it didn’t spoil the book for me so that is good. It would be interesting to read regular book (instead of a Young Adult) based in this universe as I feel it has a lot of scope for those kind of stories.

I will be keeping an eye on her for her next book release.

The Dark Prophecy (Trials of Apollo 02) by Rick Riordan

Description: Zeus has punished his son Apollo–god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more–by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered sixteen-year-old mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo/Lester do anything about them without his powers? After experiencing a series of dangerous–and frankly, humiliating–trials at Camp Half-Blood, Lester must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he’s gaining in new friendships–with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series. Come along for what promises to be a harrowing, hilarious, and haiku-filled ride. . . . Buy From:

Rating:

Review:

In the second entry to the trials of Apollo series we rejoin the Apollo/Lester, Leo & Calypso who are on the way to Indiana to find the second Oracle. During the quest they need to depend on each other more often and we learn more about Apollo’s past history with some of the major characters in the books and how that is causing the current mess they all are in. Apollo grows up a bit through the course of the novel and even though he is still self-centered and narcissistic to the core its good to see him start showing empathy towards the other characters. Plus his commentary on House-hold chores is hilarious along with the usual pop-culture references.

The book also briefly references other Pantheon’s so it will be interesting to see if that is expanded in the future books and if we have a crossover or not. Since this is a YA Fantasy the fight scenes are detailed enough to be fun but not so that it’s too gory. However there are a few scenes that younger readers might find a bit frightening. So parents would need to keep that in mind.

The book nicely sets up the next entry into the series and I am really looking forward to reading it.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book for any Fantasy book lovers.

The Hidden Oracle (Trials of Apollo 01) by Rick Riordan

Description: He was once an immortal God. Now, he’s a teenage boy called Lester. Apollo has angered his father Zeus for the last time. So, how do you punish an immortal? By making him human. Obviously. Cast down from Olympus, he’s weak, disorientated and stuck in New York City as a teenage boy. It’s the first time he’s been without his powers, and he has to survive in the modern world. Which isn’t an easy feat for a four-thousand-year old deity, especially one with as many enemies as he has. Apollo needs help, and he can only think of one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood. Buy From:

Rating: (4/5)

Review:

After finishing the previous books I was in mood for something light and happened to see the latest book in the Trials of Apollo in my feed. That made me realize that I had only read the first two books in the series and the 5th book had come out. So I started a re-read of the first two books while I wait for the remaining three to arrive.

The first book in the Trials of Apollo series has Rick’s trademark humor and it was a welcome break after the past few books I had been reading. The book is very light reading with a light-hearted view of the world. The lead character Apollo or Lester as he is now known after he was transformed into a mortal by Zeus is very narcissistic and only thinks about himself, however due to the way it’s written the character doesn’t cross the line into obnoxious which would have been quite easy to do. I loved how he keeps referencing popular culture and taking credit for major achievements like the songs Beatles wrote etc. Over the course of the book Apollo starts to realize that he was way too self centered and how unfairly the demi-gods were treated by the Gods.

Some of the Demi-gods from the Percy Jackson books & the Heroes of Olympus do make a brief appearance but some of them will have bigger roles to play in the future books in the series.

Over all this is a good fun book and a great beginning to a new series in the Percy Jackson universe.

Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help by Douglas Anthony Cooper

Description: No one except Milrose Munce knows that ghosts of former students live in his school. Not only is Milrose aware of these ghouls – he’s on a first-name basis with all of them. Of course, some are more likeable than others: the third floor is the home to nearly all of his good friends. Most of them – like Imploded Ig, Deeply Damaged Dave, and Toasted Theresa – were the victims of science experiments gone wrong though they do manage to maintain a sense of humour about their demise. Then there are the ghost athletes who lurk in the basement – a pretty disagreeable group, the majority of them having died after a particularly clumsy manoeuvre on the school’s sports field. After Milrose is given yet another detention for offering his teacher an answer that was just a bit too clever, his life takes an unexpected turn. He is sent to a hidden den in the school’s basement to receive Professional Help. Here, he and the quick-witted Arabella, a fellow captive, are put under round-the-clock supervision of the maniacal Massimo Natica. Fortunately for Milrose and Arabella, once they join forces with their ghostly friends, Massimo Natica doesn’t stand a chance. In the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl, the dark comedy and imaginative brilliance of Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help will appeal to adults as much as it will to younger readers. Buy From:

Rating:

Review:Inspite of having a weird name this book is one of the funniest books that I have read in a long time.

The main character in the book is a boy with a higher than normal intelligence who also happens to be able to see and talk to ghosts. Now as expected the staff of the school where he meets most of the ghosts in his acquaintance are not happy about seeing him talk to empty space or laugh at jokes that only he can hear so they send him to “Professional Help” where they try to cure him of his problem along with another student who also shares his ability to talk to Ghosts.

He along with the Ghosts of the students who haunt the school mount a campaign to rescue them from the “Help” and it includes a lot of explosions, bad poetry and sarcastic wit.

The characters were very well written and the dialog between the characters was quite funny.

Final Recommendation: A great read

Early to Death, Early to Rise (Madison Avery series Book 02) by Kim Harrison

Description: Seventeen, dead, and in charge of heaven’s dark angels – all itching to kill someone. Madison Avery’s dreams of ever fitting in at her new school died when she did. Especially since she was able to maintain the illusion of a body, deal with a pesky guardian angel, and oh yeah, bring the reaper who killed her to his untimely end. Not exactly in-crowd material. It’s amazing that her crush, Josh, doesn’t think she’s totally nuts. Now Madison has learned that she’s the dark timekeeper, in charge of angels who follow the murky guidelines of fate. Never one to abide by the rules, she decides it’s time for a major change to the system. With the help of some unlikely allies, Madison forms a rogue group of reapers who definitely don’t adhere to the rules of the heavens. But as she grapples with the terrifying new skills that come with being a timekeeper, Madison realizes she may not be prepared for what lies ahead – unless she gets some seriously divine intervention. Buy From:

Rating:

Review:This is the second book in the new YA series by Kim Harrison and is quite a fun read. The characters are well developed and even though the plot is quite simple and not very elaborate it is a good read.

I guess one of the reasons that the book doesn’t have a very heavy plot is that its written for young adults and if a book had too many twists and turns then it would loose its target audience.

Another point in the books favor was that you didn’t have to have read the previous book in the series to enjoy this one. Not saying that the book is a complete stand-alone and that it doesn’t enhance a reader’s enjoyment in the story if they know the backstory but still even if you haven’t read the first book you will still enjoy this one also.

Final recommendation: A good read.

The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles Book 01) by Rick Riordan

Description: Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them–Set–has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe–a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs. Buy From:

Rating:

Review:In this first book of a new series Rick proves that he is a great author and that you don’t have to load your books with sex or violence to make it good.

The book is narrated to us by Carter and Sadie Kane who take turns to tell us the events in the story. The two are the typical brother and sister and the way they tell their story reflects that, with all the silly comments and fooling around the characters are quite real and well developed.

The plot is also quite interesting and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out. This was the first book that actually explained well how the Egyptian Gods were interrelated without bringing Incest into it. I like this take better than the standard one.

This is a problem I face with the really good books; I run out of things to write. i.e. I can’t think of items to talk about that don’t also include spoilers.

Final Recommendation: A must read.

Kiss of Death (Morganville Vampires Book 08) by Rachel Caine

Description: A new chapter in the New York Times bestselling Morganville Vampires saga. Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big- time producer who wants to cut a demo and play some gigs-which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he’s been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Michael’s all-too-human friends. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a road trip from hell… Buy From:

Rating:

Review:In this latest installment of the Morganville vampire series the war in Morganville has finally ended and things have calmed down a lot.

Now Michael has been approached by a big time producer to record a CD in Dallas, Texas and he along with his friends are to take a road trip from Morganville to Dallas. Unfortunately for them the trip didn’t turn out quite as planned and instead of having a fun enjoyable trip it was business as usual with death, destruction and mayhem.

The plot of the story was a bit weaker than the other books in the series but wasn’t too bad, the fast pace of the book made it easy to ignore the small issues in the plot. Some of the unresolved issues from the previous books were resolved in this book.

I think the author should stop writing more books in the series unless she can think of a completely new angle and plot for the future books ’cause this is a good book to end the series on a high note.

Final Recommendation: A decent read