The author told scripture stories and stories from her life in an amazing fashion--from a first person perspective, making the book emotionally gripping while imparting wisdom.

This novel didn't have the punch that the first novel did, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. We start with a very foolish princess, and then Galinor enters the scene to save the day. I am pleased he has a chance at love, despite his disgrace in the last novel. More familiar characters surface, making this a fun read. I recommend reading the first novel so the reader can fully appreciate Irving and other favorites.

My fave part is when Anwen befriends Pika. Oh, and one part made me squeal. It was something Galinor said. I loved it.

But near the end of the novel, Galinor does something so stupid, it's unforgivable. I was so heartbroken. Perhaps Galinor will never learn. He kind of redeemed himself at the end.

But I love this world that has been crafted across the novels. Complete with dragons through gargoyles and fairies. Many realms are traversed as well, with varying scenery and their own intrigue.

This novel would be an excellent read for preteens and up. Absolutely clean.

Charming and Humorous Tale

This is a cute tale of adventure simply written, with dragons, magic, bald sheep, and old ruined castles. The main characters are fierce in personality and determination, yet flawed. I quite adored Tomkin and his naïveté, but my fave character was Wink, the Kobold. The best scene was the kitchen scene and the hijinks. I'm not sure what age the characters were supposed to be, but they were old enough to marry. They seemed whiny at times, but when I think about it, they behaved exactly as two teenagers would who are shouldered with too much responsibility.

Reader Rated for ages 10

Such a spiritually powerful book!

This is an intriguing look at rock star life for members of a band and their significant others.

Megan’s not used to the rock star life. As she’s drawn into her husband Ian’s world, the glamour of stage life is overwhelming. Her best friend Rhonda has surprises of her own. What did Megan expect when Rhonda was dating the lead guitar player for the band Buxton Peak?

This novel is gripping from the start. Just when the story seems to settle into normalcy for the two couples of whom the novella is about, turmoil surfaces once again. Will the band be able to pull back together?

The magic of this story is rooted in the faith of the characters. Megan and Ian share the same faith. Kai and Rhonda don’t believe in God, but Ian has enough faith for all of them. The most touching part of the story, and the part that had me tearing up, was when Ian used his priesthood power and bestowed a blessing on Rhonda. The real power of such a sacred moment is expressed in this fictional story with beautiful finesse.

It’s hard to classify this story into a particular genre. It has romance, but it doesn’t follow the traditional romantic plotline because the guy already has the girl. The story is a combination of rock star romance, Christian romance, and college romance. And while the story is a tearjerker for some, it is definitely an inspirational story.

Recommended for those who like a clean story, tension, and just a sweet ending.

Reader Rated for ages 15 for mild substance use; also show more contains passionate kissing and sexual innuendo. show less

I liked how the series ended. I was completely satisfied. But it took too long for me to get there. Maggie Stiefvator's writing style is beautiful, but not my kind of read.

I don't like long descriptions of things, too much back history, and moaning in someone's head. We really got to know the character's but more than I cared or needed to know. I started skimming for just the action, dialogue, and important scenes and then I enjoyed the book. What do they say, don't write the parts that readers don't want to read. But that's the thing, most readers probably would want to read Stiefvator's writing style, just not me. So discount my three stars if you love language and the written word is a work of art for you. I just like action and pull and drive. This book did have them but spaced at intervals too far apart for me. And still I wonder how Stiefvater gets in the character's heads like she does. if only I could write like her, but again, that's not me.

The concept of her wolves and how they shift and the sciencey aspect was awesome. I greatly appreciated and loved Cole and how he came in. And Isabel might have been my favorite. I didn't care so much for Sam and Grace in this one. Their relationship felt too temporary, always worrying. And poor Sam. Just poor Sam. That's all I can really say. And Beck. He had an appropriate conclusion. Fitting.

One note. Excellent descriptions aside, I felt that her grammar kind of lacked. I really got tired of It was, it was, it was. There show more was. There is. She would tack on dialogue tags mid paragraph when the reader clearly knew who was speaking. Sometimes I felt she did it for emphasis and sometimes it got old.

Clean read. show less

This was an enchanting read. The author really wove a beautiful work, taking aspects of real folklore. The main character is realistic and indecisive in her thoughts. She feels as if she belongs nowhere. She can't trust others because her whole life she's been harassed and belittled. But she has an inner fight. The magic brings a real element of curiosity. I wanted to learn more the whole story. I couldn't wait to see it's secrets unfold.
The book is just so amazing. A real tale told by a master storyteller.
Brilliant. I was completely sucked in.
Clean read. Would even be safe to read aloud as a family. Fairy-tale lovers would enjoy this book.

I read this novel under another name: Fatal Alien Attraction: Can love exist in an untamed Earth? (Rebirth of the Prophesy Book 2) The author must have updated it with a new cover.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The idea is interesting; earth has been overrun by this winged, blue alien race who enslave the humans. The aliens are a bit odd, and their society has tight rules, but that doesn't stop some of the aliens from being human lovers. Which makes you wonder, when the halfies are born. So the aliens can procreate with the humans, which leaves you to believe there is more than meets the eye.

The novel starts out with a human being captured. He has weird dreams, but that impact and importance of the dreams isn't really developed. There's a prophecy about someone who will save the humans too.

We see the novel through two alien perspectives as well as the human's. Lila and her brother Morthane, and Lend. We see a bit of Morthane in the beginning, but don't come back to him until halfway through. And the POV’s an abrupt change, almost like two stories smooshed together. I would have liked to see more of Morthane’s developing persona throughout the novel.

I had an issue with the suits giving the humans' powers like the aliens’. It's as if the technology just appeared, with no explanation.

The beginning intrigued me as I read about how different aliens felt about humans as slaves. I liked getting a glimpse at the inner turmoil of characters. All the show more characters seemed to question their beliefs as new feelings emerged over the characters that came into their lives.

The writing was halting and abrupt. Many things aren't described. A human girl is burned, but the extent is not mentioned, only that she might not survive. Because of the lacking description throughout the novel, the reader is emotionally distant from the story.

One glaring repeated grammatical error, among others. No commas before participial phrases, which drove me nuts.

Reader Rated for ages 14 for mild violence and mild sensuality. The aliens liked to look at their naked slaves, a lot, but it was never in a sexual way, it was always to check for injuries, which happened regularly because when the aliens became angry, they burned their humans.

I recommend reading the Look Inside to see if this novel will grab your interest, because the parts where the story is lacking can be overlooked for an enjoyable read. show less

This was something different. I gave it a try because a friend lent it to me. I must have missed the humor. It didn't grab me and didn't make me laugh. I must be a scrooge.

I've never read a novel like this--divided into episodes. I just recently heard about them and wondered how they could be any good. My opinion, and this being my first one, each episode just doesn't have time to develop the story line and characters. It really did remind of a sitcom. I think maybe, I am also just so tired of spy shows.

The character's were cute. The writing style cute. Cutesy people might like this book.

The writing and grammar where fine. The story clean. Recommended to light-hearted people that laugh easily.

Beautifully and Hauntingly Deep

This is truly a remarkable version of Rumpelstiltskin. The characters are so deep and intricately woven into the story. The magic and truth behind all the words felt so raw and realistic. Definitely a story that digs with wonder into the soul of the reader.

At first the author's descriptions and details felt heavy until I really saw and unraveled the complexity of the story's feel. Then the words took on a life of their own and brought life to this classic tale.

Read Rated for ages 14 for embracing the raw realities of life with candor and delicacy.

This is just one of those novels that makes me so sad; I will never be able to write as well as Shannon Hale, because this book was AWESOME!
So incredibly awesome.
I love it!
The depth of Miri is so amazing. This author has gotten to know the ins and outs of her character. We truly see into Miri's soul. She is such a deep individual. Makes me feel shallow. But Miri enjoys all the beauty of the world. She sees it in layers. One of my most favorite things in this series is how the author can describe a scene or the character's mood with one simple, beautifully crafted sentence, and then she moves on with the story.
So deeply beautiful.
I love the quarry-speech. It's the magical element of the novel and we learn a few more things about it this time. Just magical. So simple in all this. This folktale felt as if, in another time, it could have actually happened.
I'm a believer.
Well done.
This is a clean read. A read-aloud family read.
And there are few moments of sweet romance, but nothing that would make it PG-13.

I learned several tips for improving my grammar. After being an author for three years, I'm still brushing up on all things grammatical. Sometimes it makes my head spin. Grammar Girl made refreshing my brain fun. The only drawback was that I wish there was less ad lib. But despite the ad lib, reading her how-to book like a novel allowed me to study her style and observe how she incorporates what she teaches.

I figured out why this book and the last one bothered me. The protagonist had no growth. Things happened to her, but through it all, she stayed the same. The same victim. The same quick to anger temper. The same sense of I'm helpless. Honestly, I think the book might have served better to have been written by Jev's POV. He's the one who had to change and make sacrifices.
The book seemed to have no point. I know, it was about the war between the Nephilim and the fallen angels, but we never even really get to that.
Oh, and the end. Sigh. Just seemed to convenient. That resolution/turn of events/twist . . . I just didn't buy that. Nope, not sold.
Clean read. Not even very many steamy scenes. That was a let down.

I don't want to stop reading, the novel is so good. I was a little worried when the novel opens with a spoiled sounding princess and a naive prince, but get past the first two chapters and the story dives into adventure, intrigue, and a plot so deeply woven that I am screaming. Just screaming. Pippa is a feisty princess, but despite her flaws, her heart is amazing. I love how, as the story grows, everyone is fighting for what is right, despite the odds stacked against Pippa. I love all the princes, and the ladies. Every character has me cheering for them in this crazy tournament, but I am solely team Archer. Wow. Just wow. Absolutely a clean read for adults on down to preteens.

Finally the authors did not rehash all the old novels! You could just pick it up like it was a continuation of the last novel, which is how I feel series should be.

The story moved along with new points of views. We were in Zoey's head, Stevie Rae's, Aphrodite's, Rephaim's, Stark's, and even Heath's.

Interesting things happen from new imprints, to major injuries, and a few death's.
Zoey's dreams about Kalona are intriguing.

Zoey is once again confused about everything. She finds no answers. Although I would have liked this book to end in a better spot, the ending still life me satisfied.

Contains spell casting, fallen angels, goddesses, high priestesses, vampyres, Imprinting. The only thing the novel is missing are dragons...Could due with a few werewolves.

Pretty much the whole reason the author wrote this series is for blood-sucking scenes where the humans imprint to the vampyres and it becomes some sexual as well as psychic bond. And this time they threw in the warrior connection. That was new.

I must admit I like Stark. He is my favorite character.

Same old potty mouth stuff in the last novels. I would never let my teenager read this series. (Honestly, I still don't know why I am reading it.) And yes, I did rate it four stars because the writing was much improved as well as the movement of the plot. If you like CW shows, you will like this novel.

This book is all witchy. More performing rituals and calling the elements and goddess stuff. Not much vampirey stuff.

Has a strong teenage feel with the language and school atmosphere.

There seems to be something wrong going on at the school which carries into the next novel, but the author doesn't really do much developing of that plot.

Not really a whole lot happens. I read this book in one sitting, so it's a quick read. I mean there was a certain intriguing factor to it. Possibly because we are in this world where everyone knows about vampires and if it is in your DNA you start turning.

some foul language.

Why, oh why, does the author feel the need to rehash everything from the prior novels spanned over the first 70 pages. Nothing happened in the first third of the book. And to make it really annoying, I realized that the entire 70 pages were a flashback! No and NO!

The only reason I kept reading, because true to her other novels, the authors really pick up the pace. Once I hit the second third mark I could stop rolling my eyes, but that was only after Heath made a reappearance. I mean, good grief! And that subplot was entirely predictable.

The only thing that made this novel worthwhile was how the story line with Stark and Kalona played out. And I actually love how the new elements in the poem came into play and drew a variety of faiths together. Vampyre, nuns, Cherokees, and goddess crap. It was very interesting, the outcome, and fostered a sense of unity.

Has foul language and intimate blood drinking.

I wanted to like this book so badly. The first one in the series was so hot. But what happened?

Nora suddenly hates Patch and the whole novel is her moaning about how he's with another girl. Totally. The plot is like so non existent. Fitzpatrick draws out the mystery of Scott and her dead father far too long. Needs more story and less moaning. And just another classic case where characters never communicate with each other. Why? So many problems in life would be solved if characters just talked to each other.

Nora is explosive and sneaky and criminal. I want more of the fallen angel part, more of the action. Not the characters going to a beach party every night, and Nora getting upset because she sees Patch with someone else. Well, she is in high school. What did I expect? If I thought it was going to be along the level of the Twilight series or the Divergent series, (this novel bares a strong resemblance to the stupid fights Tris and Four always got in in Insurgent.) I was wrong.

Still a great concept. Clean read, Clean writing. I guess I go for the magical and this didn't bring it for me.

The books do keep getting better. That's because things finally happen. Mystical things. This whole novel covered the space of like two days, so a lot of it is Zoey moaning about stuff going on. Some serious stuff happens, and I feel like each novel is a single episode of a CW show. Totally. But hey, Zoey is optimistic that everything that's screwed up will be made right.

Even though I don't like calling to the elements and the whole priestess thing, I have to admit that I have a greater appreciation for my God. The way Zoey calls to her goddess on a regular basis, and how she has such great faith is an inspiring thing. Teaching kids about faith is cool. And this books deals with the prejudices between the "people of faith" and the vampyres. Allowing others to practice their beliefs is a good thing.

Their were a few moments that I thought were pretty cool. Nothing that made me gasp like the last novel. I really like Zoey's Grandmother and her Cherokee heritage and her spiritual powers.

The thing that I was left with in this book. Evil is real. So real, and we have to protect ourselves. (I already believed this, but the novel paints it in a realistic, fictional light.)

Oh, the best part was the Othello scene. When you get there, (about halfway through), you'll know what I mean.

I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of Mrs. Lee's book.

She really knows her history and weaves her knowledge of the WWII era beautifully into her writing. I enjoyed the smooth flow of her words, along with WWII lingo, and found myself drawn into Lonnie and Alex's world.

Lonnie is quite a character. She is curious about many things in life and has great ambitions. Along comes Alex, whose temperament I found endearing, in a predicament where he has to completely rely on the kindness of others. This is not easy for him! Lonnie just doesn't know what to make of this stranger in her simple town either.

I must say, I was blushing and gushing over the sweet moments in this novel. It was difficult to put the book down. And both the main characters have sides that will surprise you. A few moments had me gasping and worrying.

A clean read.

A must for curling up near the fire this winter.

This was a quick, enjoyable read. So far I've been able to read the first three books in three days. Talk about binge reading.

So far, and it seems to be the same thing in each of the first three books, one main climax happens. All the small details that the author builds up ends with one BAM! And its a good BAM. So there's not a lot of intricate plot details. As the Twins would say, easy-peasy. That's one of the reasons I like this book. It's not brain taxing.

I even liked how poor Zoey had like a list of a dozen problems. The author makes it easy for you and spells it out as Zoey thinks about them. Zoey lists all her issues, goes through the pros and cons. Oh, and the poor thing, at the end, Zoey still has her hands full, and the next book is set up with lots of future drama that needs to be settled.

One thing that is a big turn off for me in this series is all the spell casting. For some reason, I have a really hard time reading about teenagers casting spells and calling on a different god. It makes me feel like teenagers could get the wrong idea. I mean, i have read other books that have had High Priestesses, and it just feels wrong. But I know its fantasy, but will impressionable youth start making circles and chanting and calling on the elements? Yeesh.

And on that note. I know teenagers cuss. But could the author just tone it back a bit. And the reference of Hags of hell, ho, and other name calling got old. So I would not recommend this to my teenagers. Good grief.

I show more did have a moment when I was like, geez, not again, can't believe that happened again. And another moment when I was like, oh my gosh, NO!

The whole bit about Professor Lorien Blake. Let me just say, it spiced things up. And I knew how that would turn out. And there was a slight surprise at the end with him.

I also don't think we really know yet just how corrupt Neferet really is.

My favorite parts all had to do with Erik. Oh, and an awesome thing happens to him, and a sucky thing. Good stuff. I hope we see more of him in the following books and I hope it is all good.

Foul language. Sexual intimacy. Blood drinking. (Not a clean read) show less

Every single word of this book was carefully calculated. The writing is freakin' beautiful--lyrical. A work of art.

To me, this is exactly like Twilight, but with wolves instead of vampires. Same into the head depth, same two worlds that are separated by beyond-this-world beings.

There are several underlying story lines that eventually make it together. The romantic interest was cute, best way to describe it. Lots of sitting around and moaning over each other. Sigh. I think that is where the novel lacked for me. It took way too long to arrive at the final destination and their just was not enough draw to make me say I loved this book. Just like. It was a good book. I liked it.

The ending picked up. There was one moment where I gasped and paused, in shock. Reread and paused in shock again. Over and over.

The concept of the wolves, and how temperature affects them was clever. I think the writer is brilliant. Definitely knows how to craft a novel.

I think my favorite thing about this novel is their heightened sense of smell and how Grace and Sam are always smelling each other and the way the scent of each other makes them crazy for the other. Yeah, that was yummy.

Clean read.

I really wanted to rate a fellow author at least three stars, but I just have no earthly idea what I read. I pushed through to the end, cause it was a novella and a quick read, so I could give it a fair chance. Don't know the motivations of any of the characters. No setting or place is established until 53% into the novel. It's just floating people saying things. I guess with a novella there is not enough time for some of the development needed in a novel, but... I just can't say anything else.
There was a tense moment at the end. It was the climax. But all the other events that went on in the Quad made no sense. A hint of the special abilities of the characters had me intrigued, but there just wasn't any development in that area.
Could have had great potential.

I finally read this book! Great idea. Great story. Could have done without about 200 of the pages. Over 600 pages of a book--too much.

Ian was my favorite character. Wanda really got on my nerves with how she was so selfless. Melanie was a whiner. Jared, a punk jerk that I wanted to punch in the face. I pretty much read the book for Ian's happy ending. That's all I wanted. I didn't need so much of Wanda and Mel's back and forth. I got so tired of the inner dialog and Wanda's self-righteous behavior, even though I get that is who she is because of her species. But the whole thoughts could have been streamlined and made for a more condensed book. Meyer really got into the head of the main protag, which is the alien, and all her moral dilemmas and how her species is so non violent. Interesting POV.

At the end of the novel I just felt scrubbed out and raw. So raw. Maybe that's because of the way my eyes were dried out from reading for so long. But I felt empty. No giant gasp or oh my gosh moment. In a way, the story was predictable.

Loved all the juicy parts. Being in a love triangle with Jared and Ian lent to a lot of kissing on Wanda's part. I almost wanted to see Mel take over more and have more control over her body. Oh well.

Good enough story. Makes my brain spin.

Clean read. Safe for any audience.

I don't even care that this is a screen play. But most of it was repeated scenes from the original novels and redone plot. Harry felt weak and moaned about, Ginny was a nag, Hermione was her usual self, and Ron was a bumbling idiot. But hey, Malfoy was awesome. I liked his change. Nice to see some old characters again, even if bringing them into the story felt contrived and forced. I honestly wondered where the novel was going when, after a quarter of the way in, it was still so humdrum. I must have missed a few details on the way, because a few things didn't make sense. Okay story. Anti-climatic.

This is an adorable story. Sweet. I devoured the story in one sitting. A few moments had me laughing, hysterically. A basic love story. Simple writing, which makes the story move fast.

Clean read.

It's just not the same if it's not from Tally's POV. And just as with Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, the book starts out slow and then picks up speed.

In the first three novels, the main mode of transportation and majority of the time was spent flying on hoverboards. In this novel, especially the first third, Aya spends time getting into this click to ride the Mag-lev trains. Aya is seriously obsessed with kicking a big time story, kind of like a reporter, so much so that she goes, or rather is forced, undercover. The slant that I could appreciate was that their economic system was based on merits and how famous you are. Which, in Aya's teenage mind, she would do anything to kick that big story in order to fit in and raise her "face rank."

I honestly think the author is just all about the stunts. Kicking tricks like a littlie. The real plot doesn't really unfold until the last third of the novel. The middle third just barely touches the beginning of the plot.

I liked Aya, and Ren, and Hiro. I liked that this book was in a different culture. I always liked how the author references our time, the time of the "Rusties" and makes it seem like we were so barbaric. Kind of funny.

I'm glad they brought Tally back in and gave us a bit of closure on a few things. But it would have been so much better in her POV.

Clean read.

This novel was riveting. I was blown-away. I was horrified by the ending of the prior novel and wondering exactly how Tally would climb out of this mess. I actually was surprised with how she embraced everything. Shay pissed me off, but she had her merits. Zane's role was to tug at Tally's heart strings and rewire her brain. David stepped back into the novel in a way that most pleased me. I was not disappointed.

The whole thing has just left me speechless. I have the same scrubbed out feeling that I get when I read a really life-changing novel. So Specials has its shock factor--its wow. Way, and I mean, way better than the first novels. We don't have all the annoying pretty speech.

Just a few things, because of the cutting, I would not recommend this to children under 16.

And the manifesto at the end was just stupid. Not the best new course for Tally. Lame. Totally brain-disappointing.

What had me screaming was just how out of control Tally's life really was, and all through the whole thing, she fought for control. That's what made this novel awesome. Tally changed and persevered through every trial.

And Dr Cable still was always one step ahead.

Brilliant.

I read this in the A Dance of Dragons bundle. Excellent. I bought all the rest in the series I loved them so much. See my review of the bundle for more gushing.

This is a tricky review to write. I mean, the book was beautiful. A work of art. Again, the author has a way with words. It's a masterpiece.

But not my kind of novel. It just moved too slowly for me. The author does a fantastic job at digging into the head and emotions of the four main characters. Their growth and development is amazing. I felt like I went on a long, painful journey. But I am still in awe with how she got into the characters heads and crafted their story lines. In the end though, I still only went, Meh, it's okay.

Even when I read the first novel and without even reading the blurbs for the second, I knew what would happen to Grace. I kind of wish that I didn't read the second back cover, so I wouldn't know. But the author ruins it for you in the prolong and tells you what is going to happen to Grace. SO DON'T READ THE PROLONG!

The reasons for what happens to Grace in the end though was totally not what I would have thought. And I am pleased about that. In fact, it sets up and has me quite intrigued for the next novel. I love a bit of mystery.

So this novel is for the deep reader, the one that really likes to get into the head of a character with not a lot of action, but rather internal character anguish.