Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

This is the second book in the Kane Chronicles. I hadn't planned on reading it so soon after reading the first one (I am now trying to switch up genres when I read so I don't get in a rut. Besides, with school starting in two weeks, I'll be reading plenty of YA books during our school's daily SSR time - yes, I get paid to read a book of my choice for 20 minutes a day! It's a bit of heaven I must say.) But, it was on the shelf, and nothing else looked good at the time.

My review is pretty similar to The Red Pyramid. As with the Percy Jackson series, more about Sadie and Carter's past and family history gets revealed. Their ultimate goal/mission is also made clearer, but I'm also guessing that the full plan has  not been disclosed to us yet. There's also a few twists and turns woven into the plot that you didn't necessarily see coming, which is part of the reason Riordan's books are compelling; he makes sure to keep you on your toes.

I'm glad I read this, and I'll be picking up the third one when it comes out next spring.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

PSA: I'm quite a bit behind in these posts, so expect several in the next few days so I can try to get caught up.

I absolutely loved Niffenegger's first book, The Time-Traveler's Wife. I rarely cry at books, but I absolutely bawled at the end of that one. It was just so beautiful and a great love story. However, I am typically let down by an author's second novel after their first one is so acclaimed. I have to admit that I was a little hesitant going into this book because of this (I also think I remember someone telling me they didn't like it.)

This, however, was another great woven story in my mind - at least for the first two thirds of the book. The story centers around two sisters (twins) whose aunt (their mother's twin) dies and leaves them her flat in London and requires them to live there for a year (and that their parents cannot step foot into the flat). Throughout the entire story, there are hints of something horrible that has happened to separate the aunt and mother before the twins were born. During this time, we're also introduced to the aunt's lover (Robert), the other tenant in the building, Martin who has a severe case of OCD, and the aunt's (Elspeth) ghost, who plays a major role in the story.

I have to admit that the twins, Julie and Valentina, creeped me out a bit. I found it odd that women in their early 20s still dressed exactly alike - but we're allowed to see that that is more of Julie's doing than Valentina's.

Then you hit the last third of the book and there are some twists I didn't really expect. They're a little creepy and disturbing. These twists made me like the book a little less.

It is still wonderfully written despite the creepiness and oddness. Just be forewarned before you start it!

Too Many Cooks ...

You know the saying "too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the broth"? That's exactly what happens with Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (this is the 11th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series).

I started reading these before the True Blood craze, but I've kept reading them because they're a nice popcorn/potato chip read. They're quick, and they don't require much brain power. The first few or so in the series were decent for the formulaic novel. But, after a while, it became too much. By too much, I mean that there were way too many plot points. The books are all relatively short, so there shouldn't be more than two plot points. However, it's gotten to the point where there are about five different storylines going on - some don't even start until the middle of the book. Because they are short books, these stories don't get flushed out or developed. This results in me not caring about some of the stories, questioning why they're included in the book, or just not paying attention to them. I just wish she'd go back to the old style and simplify the stories. There's no need to smash all of that into such a small amount of pages. It's a series, for crying out loud. If you want to include that storyline, wait until another book and fully flush it out!

That being said, I'll still continue reading these books. They still serve their purpose of being an easy read - but I have to admit when I have a hard time of remembering exactly what happened in the book, maybe it's time to find a new series.

Taltos by Anne Rice

First off, please ignore any formatting weirdness. Thanks to some crappy Mediacom service, our Internet is down so this is a phone post making it easier to be short and sweet.

This is the third book in the Witching Hour series, and it was probably my least favorite. It seems like Rice has one crapper in her series and this one may be it. I will admit I read this one quickly because I didn't like it as much.

This book gives the history of the Taltos race while intertwining it with the story of Mona's pregnancy, which ultimately carries on the Taltos race.

By about halfway through, I didn't care anymore what was going to happen. It does bring closure to the series but I was rather meh about it.

Lasher by Anne Rice

This is a re-read. I read the entire Mayfair witches series in high school when I may have been overly obsessed with Anne Rice (what can I say, she went well with my late 90s grunge, alterna-girl, angry at the world persona).  However, now that I've been rereading it, I'm getting a lot that I didn't get earlier in life. Thank you life experiences and background knowledge.

The thing that really helped was having gone to New Orleans. The traditions, the landscape, the knowledge of the town's geography has made the book make even more sense. This series is much more attached to the town than the Vampire Chronicles ever were. It may be the reason I like this series a little more now.

I will admit the rest of it deals with some odd topics: incest and pedophilia, to name a few. But, it's still an amazing story. Rice has always done a great job in creating her own lore when it comes to supernatural creatures. She takes what we know and turns it on its head without being too disruptive to our "natural" beliefs.

So, even though some of the subjects are touchy, I'd still recommend this series (this is the 2nd one; start with The Witching Hour.)