Review – FEYLAND by Anthea Sharp

Expected publication: December 16th 2011

ISBN 9781466408715

Source: eARC provided by author for an honest review

Goodreads “Feyland is the most immersive computer game ever designed, and fifteen-year-old Jennet Carter is the first to play the prototype. But she doesn’t suspect the virtual world is close enough to touch — or that she’ll be battling for her life against the Dark Queen of the faeries.

Tam Linn is the perfect hero — in-game. Too bad the rest of his life is seriously flawed. The last thing he needs is rich-girl Jennet prying into his secrets, insisting he’s the only one who can help her.

Together, Jennet and Tam enter the Dark Realm of Feyland, only to discover that the entire human world is in danger. Pushed to the limit of their abilities, they must defeat the Dark Queen… before it’s too late.”

In FEYLAND, we are dropped into the drama from the very beginning. It’s like… ‘Here’s the problem, let’s go’. It felt a bit abrupt. I had no time to get to know Jenet, the main character until much later in the story, so I had a hard time connecting. I’m not a gamer, but it was interesting to learn some tech-lingo and seeing what it would be like to play. So even though the story structure was a little different for me, I was definitely fascinated by the realm of Feyland.

Jennet had lost to the Dark Queen and was desperate for Tam’s help by the time she found out he was a gamer. It seemed she only talked to Tam because she wanted/needed something from him. We find out a little about her past, but it wasn’t really enough for me to like her. I really felt more of a connection with Tam. He had a really rough life and had to take on a lot of responsibility that he shouldn’t have had to. Tam’s mother was absent most of the time, and his kid brother (affectionately referred to as ‘the Bug”) had a blood disorder that made him hard to handle. But Tam took care of his family.

The romance was predictable, but at least there was NO LOVE TRIANGLE! I’m still a sucker for the whole ‘girl falls for the guy from the wrong side of the tracks’ angle. Jenet’s wealth was definitely an obstacle for Tam to deal with, but in the end, it didn’t matter at all. Going in-game with Jennet and Tam really sucked me in! The visual description was great, and I’d love to really SEE it. Tam and Jennet had to complete tasks to be taken to the inner courts of Feyland to join in a final, epic battle with the Dark Queen.

I had no idea there was any legend about Tam Lin until I looked at a review that mentioned it. I did a little research, and I really liked how Sharp integrated that into her story. It was very modern, and I think that it will do very well in the YA genre, as it has both the pull of the fey and gaming world. With my only ‘complaint’ being that I didn’t connect with the characters much, I think you should definitely check this one out if it sounds interesting to you. 

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Bringing back this meme to help out with cover reveals for two of my favorite authors…

HELL TRANSPORTER by Cyndi Tefft

"Aiden MacRae has been given a new life after being stuck transporting souls to heaven for the last three hundred years. He doesn't know the culture, the times or the slang, but there is one thing he does know: he didn't come forward alone. 


The master of hell has other plans for the Scottish Highlander and has a transporter of his own to get the deed done. Will Lindsey be able to save him or get caught in the crossfire?"

Isn't it awesome?! I cannot tell you how PUMPED I am for this book! Even if I hadn't read the first book and been in love, the blurb on this cover would have hooked me for sure! 

Review – OBSIDIAN (LUX, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Kindle Edition

Published November 29th 2011 by Entangled Publishing

Series: Lux #1

Goodreads

“Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens. The hot alien living next door marks me. You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

OBSIDIAN is another knock-your-socks-off book from Jennifer L. Armentrout. I seriously don’t know how she does it. Her stories are intense and thrilling, yet in completely different ways. She continues to blow me away with her ability to write such incredible books, and so quickly! You may be like me and think ‘An alien book? Seriously?”, but I am telling you to read this and let Jennifer change that mindset.

I absolutely LOVED the premise. Katy is a book blogger who had just moved to West Virginia with her mom. Since I am also a book blogger that lives in good ol’ WV, I had an immediate connection. It was so cool to have a main character obsessed with books, blog design and even participating in some of the same bookish memes I do. Not to mention the fact that Katy was a total B.A.! She was a sweet chick who had a breaking point, and her neighbor, Daemon, pushed her to it on a daily basis. Many times over, in fact. She let him get away with it for several reasons. One, his twin sister Dee was Katy’s best friend. Dee was desperate for a friend, so despite Daemon’s rude objections, the girls grew to be really close. Two, when Daemon was nice to Katy, it was really sweet. His mood swings were forceful enough to give anyone whiplash. Three, Daemon was HOT. I mean, smokin’. He had the whole irritating bad boy feel going, very reminiscent of one Damon Salvatore, and I am certainly not complaining about that!

Throughout the story, Katy comes up against a lot of opposition when it comes to being friends with Dee. FIrst with Daemon, then with some of their friends. She even starts noticing that the other townsfolk look at them strangely when they’re out and about, but she has no idea why. I felt really bad for her when all this was going on. I probably wouldn’t have held it together as well as Katy did. There were times when I wanted to reach into the book a deck Daemon a good one for being such a jerk to Katy! While I don’t think there’s ever a good enough excuse for someone to act like that, it does make sense as Armentrout teases and reveals more of the twins’ history.

When Daemon would let that arrogant mask fall down…. WOW! That made me love him so much. 

The danger in OBSIDIAN is so incredibly intense! I take that back. EVERYTHING in OBSIDIAN is incredibly intense! The friendships, romance, threat to their survival are all are perfectly done and hold their own throughout the story. This is one of those books where I am DYING to read again and see if there were things I missed the first time. This book is hot!