Book Review: Waterfall (Teardrop #2) by Lauren Kate

Waterfall by Lauren Kate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. However I don't feel as though it was as good as the first one.

If you read Teardrop and enjoyed it, you should read this just to know how things turned out. Waterfall picks up where Teardrop left off, but I think that the potential for an awesome story line that is just as good as the first got left behind somewhere. Don't get me wrong, this is still a really good book and totally worth reading; but where I read Teardrop in a day, I read Waterfall in a week.

The description of the setting and characters was great, as it normally is in Lauren Kate's writing. You can get a clear image in your mind as to how the world looks and how the characters interact in it. We got introduced to some new characters in this book. Solon - the lost Seedbearer : He was a fairly interesting character, and nothing like what I expected. we also met his assistants Filiz and The Poet, but they are only secondary/tertiary characters and don't have a huge role to play. The Gossipwitches were interesting and were written in a way that they had an air of mystery about them. I think that these were all well written and they had some really good dialogue, that added another layer to their personalities and characters.

On the other hand, by the end of the first book I cared about what happen to the characters, and therefore had a reason to want to pick up this book; I wanted to see how they were going to fix things. I didn't feel like there was anything in this book to draw you back in to caring about the characters, especially if it had been a while since you read Teardrop and didn't re-read it before starting Waterfall. Also I feel like there are things that are said or happen in the book that answer some questions but raise others, and these don't appear to be explained.

The ending felt rather rushed. I don't feel like you end up know if Eureka succeeded or not with saving everyone, and making things right. Eureka suddenly became a very different kind of person in the last quarter of the book. She went from someone that cares about her family and friends to someone that seemed really detached from the people that are there to help and support her. We never know what happen to Ander, cat and the twins either.

Despite what now seems to be a long list of negatives, I would still recommend this book.

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Book Review: Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So I've given this book three stars. If two stars = it was okay, and three = I liked it, then two and a half stars is probably a more accurate. The book was better than just Okay, and I didn't dislike it, I'm just not sure that I liked it either.

I liked the concept and idea of this book. Zombies as the new terrorist bio-weapon and a secret task force hastily set up to deal with the problem before it can happen; sounds great right? In my opinion it sounds like a great story-line with a lot going for it. I feel that this book really hit the mark in some places and missed it in others. I feel as though the writing style is some what inconsistent (for lack of a better word). Let me elaborate:

From chapter to chapter the character perspective changes. Now ordinarily, I would be fine with that. However it wasn't just the perspective that changed; all the chapters from Joe's perspective were written in first person where as all the other chapters from the perspectives of the other characters are written in third person. Maybe I'm just being fussy, but I think, by all means change the character perspective, but either use first person or third person; I don't feel like it flows well chopping and changing between the two.

I found that by the end of the book, I didn't feel like I cared about the characters. It was obvious who the good guys and the bad guys were, but I never felt like I was rooting for either team. I also don't feel that I ever really got a good idea of what the characters were like. As in, I don't really know what their personalities are like and I can't really picture them in my head either. Although I thought that it was clear that some of the characters were suppose to have a more light hearted, sarcastic side, I feel as though it seemed a bit forced. In the case of Mr. Church we should have learnt a little bit more about him as we went through the book in my opinion, and I don't feel that I knew him any better by the end of the book than I did at the start (yes I am fully aware that he was suppose to be mysterious secretive, but this would have been a great use of changing the character perspective in different chapters; the reader could know more about that the other characters did) .

On the other hand, the descriptions of the settings and situations is really well done and you can create a clear image in your head of what things look like and what is happening. It's also written in a way that makes it really fast moving, with lots of action. Still, with this being said, I don't feel inclined to pick up book two any time soon. Perhaps it's more of a guy book, with all the detailed talk of guns and military stuff, and is just a little too far outside of my area of interests.

If you like books that have a lot of action, terrorist plots, secret task forces, and plenty of military talk this may be more of your kind of book than it is mine.

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Book Review: How To Run With A Naked Werewolf (Naked Werewolf #3) by Molly Harper

How to Run with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So this third installment of the series was slightly different from the previous two, with it not being set in Grundy or the Valley. This story is told from the perspective of Dr. Anna Moder, physician to the werewolves back in the Valley.

I really enjoyed this book. Changing the setting ever so slightly and shifting the focus to a minor character's perspective allowed the series to keep up with expectations, and stay interesting. Dr. Moder isn't who she says she is and her past is chasing after her, causing her to go on the run, where she happens to encounter Cooper's cousin Caleb, the semi-legal werewolf bounty hunter who was briefly mentioned in The Art Of Seducing A Naked Werewolf. There is a great chemistry between the characters, and the level of humour is continued in this book, through the narrative and conversation, with them both keeping secrets about who they are and still wanting to be honest with each other. All this leads to them having funny debates about trivial things.

I highly recommend not just this book but the whole series. Molly Harper has a fantastic writing style that draws you in, and makes her books something that you just can't put down. Well written with the romance and supernatural sides well balanced, great characters, and a brilliant sense of humour. So worth reading.

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I'm back! And I'm Still Alive...Sort Of...

I'm back! Not that I really went anywhere, just had a really bad case of the Flu. Bad enough that I started planning my funeral (FYI, I want a funeral pyre, on a Viking boat, pushed out onto a lake/sea at sunset. For two reasons: 1) It'll be the last chance for me to be a complete pain in the backside for everybody involved. 2) It'll be very cinematic, so someone better film it; seriously I'm giving you a chance to make your big break as a film maker here.) So I basically spent bank holiday Monday playing catch up to all the things that I should have done last week.

I did use this time to have a good old think, a dangerous occupation I know, and to plan out a way for me to open the new Tomb Buddies store sooner rather than later. This is one of those times where being such a perfectionist isn't a good thing. I am quickly coming to the conclusion that, for me to wait until I'm totally finished with the drawing/designing part of things before I open shop, means that you will be waiting for a very long time. As in you may do nothing but wait. This is one of those projects that, even if you gave me till the Sun implodes, I still wouldn't be finished. I don't want you to have to wait that long; hell, I don't want to wait that long! Therefore I have devised a plan that means I can open the store and share all the great stuff that I have been working away on for what seems like an eternity, while I still continue to work on the project at the same time and that way everyone is happy. I already have a few products uploaded to the store, which is quite exciting. Store is looking awesome as well. Follow on Twitter (@TombBuddies) or Instagram (@tombbuddies) (or find the relevant buttons over on the right :P) This is were pretty much all the Tomb Buddies related updates are appearing.

Everything in the Tomb Buddies store will be made in America. This means all items will be made ethically; sweat shop free, and workers are payed a fair wage and work in a safe environment. The only downside to this is that things cost a little bit more, but to be quite honest, I think that it's worth paying the slightly higher price.

In other news:

• World Goth Day is on May 22nd and +Dead With Tequila will be having a sale. so keep an eye out for more details about that. 
• May 27th is WWF's Wear It Wild event you can sign up here. If yo have nothing to wear why not pick up Dead With Tequila's "Live The Wild Life" shirt here. For every shirt purchased we will donate £2 to the WWF. 
  

Also you may or may not have noticed the addition of the "Book Reviews" tab at the top of the page. It does what it says on the tin; basically I've created a page where I will be adding links to all my book review related posts so that they are in order and in one place. I only push reviews from Goodreads to my blog when they are lengthy enough to be worth while reading. The short ones are only on Goodreads. I'm trying to get better at writing longer reviews for books, but sometimes words don't cover, and can't explain how awesome a book is, which is when you end up with the " Oh My God THIS BOOK IS AMAZING" review.

Anyways, I'm going to stop waffling on and get back to sorting things out so that I can open Tomb Buddies!

A usual, questions comments leave below, find me on twitter, or send a flying monkey, unicorn, or even a carrier pigeon with your message. 

 

Book Review: How To Flirt With A Naked Werewolf (Naked Werewolf #1) and The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf (Naked Werewolf #2) by Molly Harper

How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really didn't know what to expect from this book; I had a feeling that it would be really bad or really good. I absolutely loved this book! It was gripping right from the start, with likeable characters and a great story line.

A worthwhile read!!

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The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this second installment in this series.

I love how the romance side and the werewolf side balance each other out; you never feel like either bit is being overdone and the comedy moments really bring it all together, and give it a lighthearted feel. The characters are really well written and you get a clear sense of all the different personalities. Molly Harper writes in a way that really makes you care about the characters and the story. This makes it one of those books that you just can't put down, no matter how late it is!

I highly recommend this series. Full of humour and great characters.

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