Waiting On Wednesday: Fury of the Seventh Son

For this week's Waiting on Wednesday, we're sticking with the theme of The Last Apprentice series. Today, we're all about the thirteenth and final book in the series: Fury of the Seventh Son.

Tom Ward has had a hard life as the Spook's last apprentice. He's had to fight things out of the dark that he never expected, including the Fiend himself. And now only Tom can rid the world of the Fiend forever. The thirteenth novel in the Last Apprentice series looks to be a great and amazing conclusion to one of the best middle grade and young adult series that I've ever read.

I love the blurb that's been released with the cover of the book:

He's the seventh son of a seventh son.

He's the only one who can stop the greatest evil.

Tom Ward, the Spook's last apprentice, has everything he needs to vanquish the Fiend, once and for all: the three blades recovered from the dark, the gifts from his witch mother, and the skills he's learned from Master Gregory. And Alice, the one he loves most, is willing to sacrifice herself to fulfill the spell.

Or is she?

Racing against time, all of Tom's old allies--and old enemies--return. They will clash in a final battle more epic than any he has fought before. And a danger Tom never dreamed of will be revealed. 

Who will survive? Are you brave enough to find out?

I just love that! And I absolutely can't wait to find out exactly how everything finishes up in this great series. Joseph Delaney is an amazing writer, and he is great at making things scary, gross, and addictive all at once.

Fury of the Seventh Son is set for release from HarperCollins on April 15.

Short Hiatus

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted a review or Waiting on Wednesday as the schedule shows. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take a short hiatus (I'll be back to posting regularly on the 7th) because I've just gotten a new job. I've been spending all of my time preparing for it.

I will post an updated schedule of events on the 7th.

Book Review: Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons

Publication Date: June 18, 2013

Series: Cahill Witch Chronicles #2

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Acquired From: Public Library

SYNOPSIS

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers--if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura, and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England. 

-From Goodreads

 REVIEW

The Cahill Witch Chronicles may be one of my favorite sets of novels since The Lord of the Rings. Jessica Spotswood is a master of evoking strong emotion from her readers when it comes to her characters. I've tweeted many times about how much I long to rip Maura's pretty red hair out of her annoying little head. And that, I think, is one of the greatest things I can say about this series. I feel strongly about it, and that feeling is what keeps me coming back for more. That's why I gave Star Cursed a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

There's a great set up for the second novel in the series, and it does well to tie the story back to the first novel. It isn't so "stand alone" that you easily forget what happened in the first book. And I absolutely adore this. Spotswood pulls back previous scenes from the first novel so that you remember them and brings them into play in the new story. She definitely doesn't let you forget the troubles that her characters have been through.

The characters themselves are strong and believable, with their own strengths and flaws that make it easy to think of them as real people. The only bad thing about this novel is that Maura might be too evil, and that's a good thing! 

Star Cursed will definitely be added to my shelf of favorite books that will be read over and over.  

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday: Seventh Son

Because I've reviewed a lot of The Last Apprentice/Wardstone Chronicles novels lately, and with the end of the series coming up this year, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the upcoming film adaptation Seventh Son for this week's Waiting on Wednesday.

The film, originally set to be released (as the poster to the left shows) in January of this year, stars Jeff Bridges (True Grit) as the Spook Master Gregory, Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian) as the apprentice Tom Ward, and Julianne Moore (Magnolia) as the evil witch Mother Malkin. Other notable cast members include Djimon Hounsou, Alicia Vikander, and Jason Scott Lee.

An 18th century adventure story centered on young Thomas, who is apprenticed to the local Spook to learn how to fight evil spirits. His first great challenge comes when the powerful Mother Malkin escapes her confinement while the Spook is away.

Currently set for release in early 2015, Seventh Son tells the story set out in the first novel of The Last Apprentice series. It is being released by Legendary Pictures, the production company responsible for such blockbusters as Wrath of the Titans, Clash of the Titans, 300, and Sucker Punch. Known for gritty, dark fantasy, it seemed to be a good fit for Legendary Pictures to take on the project of turning Joseph Delaney's horror novels into a feature film.

When I first heard about the fact that the novels were being turned into a film, I was pretty excited. Add to that the fact that Jeff Bridges and Ben Barnes had signed on to the project, and I was ready for the film to come out. But when the trailer came out, I wasn't entirely sure if it was going to work. I wondered if anyone on the film production staff even read the first novel. Still, on the grounds of a pure action adventure film, it looks like a good movie.

Seventh Son will hit theaters on February 6, 2015.

Book Review: The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: May 28, 2013

Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #3

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Acquired From: Public Library

SYNOPSIS

In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken. 

When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons--or forfeit her friends' lives.

With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, the young duke's sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him... and for Griffin.

Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel's desolate alleyways to Mayfair's elegant mansions, He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine.  

To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation--an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance of triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has...

REVIEW

It's very rare for me, but there was absolutely nothing I could find in this novel that bothered me. I absolutely loved every moment of The Girl with the Iron Touch, which makes it easy for me to give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars. 

The story itself was wonderfully fast paced with lots of mystery and one great twist after another. The novel is rich with problems for the characters to face and overcome, and it connects strongly to the other novels in the series. The twists seem random and disconnected at first, but as the story goes on, the pieces fall into place that puts together a solid picture that allows you to see a diabolical mastermind at work. 

One of my favorite things about The Steampunk Chronicles is the relationship that exists between Finley and Jack Dandy. It's something that is wonderfully entertaining and very real. While Finley is truly in love with Griffin, it's clear that she enjoys the attention from Dandy. It always makes me love the story even more when there isn't so much melodrama around love triangles, but the fact that the characters openly admit that they love one of them and just likes the attention from the other. 

Overall, The Girl with the Iron Touch is lovely and entertaining. It's a novel that I'll definitely be adding to my collection to read again later.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday: Kalona's Fall

It's back to books for this week's Waiting on Wednesday, and we're looking at the next installment of the House of Night novellas. Today we're talking about Kalona's Fall.

Since his appearance in early books of the House of Night saga, Kalona has been a character that I've always wanted to know more about. Now it seems I'm getting my wish as P.C. and Kristin Cast have given us a behind the wings look at the Tulsa House of Night's most mysterious creatures.

The early release synopsis from Barnes & Noble reads like this:

In Kalona's Fall, the shadows in Kalona's past will finally come to light... We will learn about the winged immortal's secret history and discover how he went from being the Goddess's Warrior and Guardian to her enemy and betrayer. Did Darkness taint Kalona as it did Neferet, or has the powerful immortal always preferred power over honor, and control over faith? This novella will be crucial to fans' understanding of Kalona, before his role in the explosive final installment of the House of Night, Redeemed, coming in October 2014. 

Such an enigmatic character definitely deserves his own story. And I'm glad to see that the final installment of the House of Night novellas is about perhaps the most interesting character in the entire series. It's going to be the most interesting and the best novella, on par with Neferet's Curse.

Kalona's Fall will be available July 29, 2014 from St. Martin's Press.

You can bet I'll be reading this one over and over.

Book Review: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: February 4th, 2014

Series: Shatter Me Trilogy

Genre: YA dystopia and science fiction

Acquired From: Public Library

SYNOPSIS

With Omega Point, destroyed, Juliette doesn't know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won't keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world... but that's not all he wants with her.

The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, and was praised by Publishers Weekly as "a gripping read from an author who's not afraid to take risks." Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and satisfying end.

REVIEW

I can easily and unreservedly give Ignite Me a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. There were a thousand things about this novel that I absolutely loved, and only one thing that I wish had been included. 

Mafi has a unique way of writing and using language, and it makes the story come so alive with emotion and action. The story is beautiful, organic, and fast paced. When the characters are confused, you're confused with them. Mafi makes it easy for you to become a part of those characters and the feelings that they have. It was beautiful and lovely. 

There was also a lot of character growth and new developments in this novel. The characters really came into themselves, and we saw the true colors of a lot of them. This made the novel seem so much more real and there's very little suspension of belief that occurs because of it. The story is incredibly organic and strong with a fantastic writing style and strong theatrics.

There was only one thing that would have made the novel better, and that would have been a recap at the beginning of the novel. It's one thing that bothers me when there are long gaps between release dates for books that sometimes I forget what happened in the last one. A general recap at the beginning of the novels would be good.