Review: Blood On Snow

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Blood on Snow #1 by Jo Nesbø

Borrowed from the library 
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Description

From the internationally acclaimed author of the Harry Hole novels—a fast, tight, darkly lyrical stand-alone novel that has at its center the perfectly sympathetic antihero: an Oslo contract killer who draws us into an unexpected meditation on death and love. This is the story of Olav: an extremely talented “fixer” for one of Oslo’s most powerful crime bosses. But Olav is also an unusually complicated fixer. He has a capacity for love that is as far-reaching as is his gift for murder. He is our straightforward, calm-in-the-face-of-crisis narrator with a storyteller’s hypnotic knack for fantasy. He has an “innate talent for subordination” but running through his veins is a “virus” born of the power over life and death. And while his latest job puts him at the pinnacle of his trade, it may be mutating into his greatest mistake.

My thoughts: 

Blood On Snow is a fast paced book that keeps you reading until the end. Never a dull moment.
If you were dyslexic, you would get two different stories for the price of one. That's an inside joke, and you need to read this story. The narrator Olav likes to read stories such as Les Miserable, but he writes slower than growing stalactites. I loved Olav! Even though he is a 'fixer' which means he kills people for money, I think he wanted to change his life and get away from Daniel Hoffman, his boss. His feelings for Maria Myriel was a huge surprise as well. I guess I was only seeing Corina and him. I think Blood On Snow is an amazing story and I like Jo Nesbo's writing style >.<

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Review: Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun (Blood On Snow #2) by Jo Nesbø

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Ulf and Lea were both losers. It took a heck of a lot of running and hiding for Ulf to get free from his life of crime. He pretty much fails at everything. Only he gets away with a ton of money. He fails at taking his life. By the time I'd read the entire book, I hated Ulf and Lea. Lea spent TEN fucking years with a man who beat her! Knut was the only sane person in this story. He was Lea's son. But still, witnessing your mother get pummeled inches away from death can't be that healthy. I also don't think her father was any better for forcing her to marry a monster. This was a crime novel, and an epic fails for me.

I did not like the narrator Kim Gordon either. I listened to the free unabridged production on youtube
I picked Midnight Sun up from the library

Knut squinted at me. 'Does losing make you better, Ulf?'
I nodded slowly. I saw that Lea was paying attention too. 'You get better ' I squashed a midge that had landed on my arm - 'at losing.'
'Better at losing? Is there any point in being good at that?'
'Life is mostly about trying things you can't do,' I said. 'You end up losing more often than you win. Even Futabayama kept on losing before he started to win. And it's important to be good at something you're going to do more often, isn't it?'
'I suppose so.' He thought about it. 'But what does being good at losing mean?'
I met Leas gaze over the boy's shoulder. 'Daring to lose again,' I said.

- Page 125

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Review: The Invasion of the Tearling

The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What happened to Kelsea's red crown? Or maybe it belongs to the Red Queen? That is one question left unanswered in The Invasion of The Tearling. Last we heard, Tyler the priest had it in his bag. I hope he doesn't die before he gets it to Queen Kelsea. I like his character. The Queen of the Tearling is accosted to clean up her Kingdom from the underground trades and slavery. Mace is charged with the task.
_______________________________________________________

The Invasion of the Tearling begins with some background on a character named Hall who later becomes the General in Kelsea's army. Hall's brother gets captured and taken to Mortmesne in the Lottery aka Slave trade, but Hall fails to rescue him.

Ewan, the jailor, is a simple-minded "idiot" but very sweet and guards the prison cells in the Tearling. He does a great job and gets promoted to a Queen's Guard.

Queen Kelsea is a very fair and just Queen but is underestimated because of her age and because nobody knows the power she holds with her sapphire necklaces except for two mysterious beings: Felch and Rowland Finn and perhaps William Tear, but we don't get an in-depth character view of them.

In the Invasion of the Tearling Kelsea begins seeing visions and is taken back in time three centuries ago to America before William Tear and Lily, cross over to New London, where Kelsea now lives. I didn't mind the background story of Lily and her husband Gregg Mayhew, although I hate men like Gregg. What a prick! Lily is a victim of spouse abuse, and it gets pretty violent guys. I wanted Lily to leave or at least have a plan of escaping that monster. UGH! I don't know why women make excuses for people who do that. Fortunately, she was saved by Jonathan, her bodyguard, from a violent domestic situation but ends up badly hurt regardless. Lily's story is an excellent portrayal of domestic abuse, and that is all that I got from that other than I don't give a fuck about the details of this modern day world. William Tear sounds like an interesting character, though, which we will probably find out more about in conclusion to the series.

My thoughts about why Kelsea and Lily's life are crossed probably is because Kelsea had a temper and rape was a weapon of war in the Mort, and perhaps Kelsea needed to learn from the past to change her present and future if she wanted to reign as Queen, let alone control her powers. Lily was born in 2058 and the government was operating under martial law. In fact, I think it was the norm then. I hope that isn't something we have to look forward too. Gosh.

"The Emergency Powers Act! A lesson in creative naming! Honest legislation would have simply called itself martial law and been done with it. Remember this, too, Kelsea: the day you declare martial law is the day you've lost the game of government. You may as well simply take off your crown and sneak away into the night"

-pg.57 Carlin

"If we could be better people," she would say, "if we could care about each other as much as we do about ourselves, think about it, Lily! Think what the world would be!"

- pg.175 Maddy to her sister Lily

Looking back, I wish it wasn't such a clusterfuck of secrets and a relative who's who game, because, in the end, I don't even know who Evelyn Raleigh was to Kelsea :/
I'm sorry. (view spoiler)[Evelyn Raleigh is the Queen of Mortmesne (hide spoiler)]

The Queen of Mort is dangerous for Kelsea because she wants Kelsea's sapphire necklaces besides wanting to kill her but so does the Holy Father, her uncle, and Arlen Thorne.

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Waiting On | Wednesday

Click on the image of the book to Add To Your Goodreads Shelf

Release Date: March 20th, 2017

Release Date: February 14th, 2017

Coming Spring 2017!

February 2nd, 2017

UPDATE on my current read: Poison Princess

The Arcana Chronicles 1: Poison Princess 

She could save the world—or destroy it. 

Sixteen-year-old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life—until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, killing everyone she loves, Evie realizes her hallucinations were visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can’t do either alone. 

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally trust Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him? 

Who can Evie trust? 

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophecy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side . . . In Poison Princess, New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole introduces a dark and intriguing world, full of unspeakable danger and irresistible romance. 

I do not like Poison Princess so far guys. I'm at 60% on my Kindle and listening to the audio. I don't like thinking the characters on Tarot Cards are real. Elma Galvin and Keith Nobbs are both excellent narrators, though. I don't like reading about apocalyptic survival. It is brutal. I also dislike classrooms, school hallways, and high school drama. The story is also a little nucking futs regarding Evie's visions or whatever the hell they are. The only thing that is making me continue is Jack Deveaux. So ya. Do I dare hope it gets better?
UPDATE: I finished and gave it three stars in the end. I liked it when Evangeline finally accepts her powers. It made it all the more glorious when she earns her first badge by making her first kill. To think she has to kill 21 more players. If it is as exhausting as this was? I don't know if I can continue. I just hope it doesn't take a whole book just to kill off one player. Couillon! I look forward to reading Endless Knight, and I might have to buy all the books!
Evangeline Greene is the Poison Princess aka Empress. Her powers are to lure people to come and touch her only there is a price to pay. She has claws like needles that are poisonous and vines that can wrap around you strangling and snapping you in half. It's cool but so are the other Arcana. Selene is an Archer, Matthew can see things before they happen, Finn is the magician, and Jack hasn't been established as a player in this book, only that he is Evie's heartthrob. The romance between these two is a giant roller coaster ride, not to mention his Ducati is very sexy.
The moments I liked best were when Jack had found Evie a safe place from Baggers/zombies, unexpecting to find clean clothes, food, electricity, beer in an ice box and a swimming pool with salt water in it just waiting for them. The mansion belonged to Selene. She wasn't a threat to them, just to Evie maybe because of her looks.

credits

The Sunday Post- Library Listens

Caffeinated Book Reviewer

...Last week on The Sunday Post 

This Week In Reviews

• Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton. I didn't write as comprehensive a review as I probably should have but I really liked it.
• Tarnished Knights by Bec McMaster
• Hot Guy by H.M. Ward

Currently Listening to Poison Princess from The Calgary Public Library

I have not read The Arcana Chronicles series until now because I never liked YA, but I loved The Immortals After Dark series. Since The Dark Calling is a new installment in the Arcana Chronicles and is set to be published this year, I don't want to miss out.

I also purchased Poison Princess on Kindle for only $5.99, because I can't follow a story just by listening to it otherwise, I get too distracted. By reading along it helps me to not get lost in the details but I am excited to dive into it.

Poison Princess, Book 1 by Kresley Cole

22 Arcana cards. 22 young assassins. May the best hand live. Introducing The Arcana Chronicles from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole. She could save the world--or destroy it. Sixteen-year-old Evangeline "Evie" Greene leads a charmed life until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future--and they're still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux. But she can't do either alone. With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can't totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him? ...

I plan on listening to The Invasion of the Tearling from the Overdrive Library next...

The Invasion of the Tearling, Book 2 by Erika Johansen

In this riveting sequel to the national bestseller The Queen of the Tearling, the evil kingdom of Mortmesne invades the Tearling, with dire consequences for Kelsea and her realm. With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion. But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. The fate of the Tearling —and that of Kelsea's own soul—may rest with Lily and her story, but Kelsea may not have enough time to find out.

What I got in the mail from The Book Depository

I am a little disappointed with the order of these two books arriving first. Really? It does me no good if I don't have the first installments that I ordered now does it?! 
My bookshelf arrived, but I need help putting it together. I am so impatient, and I want it done NOW! 

What else is new in your book world?

Free copy of Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper

Ellie Jordan's job is to identify and remove unwanted ghosts. Part detective, part paranormal exterminator, Ellie operates out of Savannah, Georgia, the most haunted city in the United States. When a family contacts her to deal with a disturbing presence in the crumbling old mansion they've purchased, Ellie first believes it to be a typical, by-the-book specter, a residual haunting by a restless spirit. Instead, she finds herself confronting an older and more powerful evil that dwells within the walls of the house, stalking the living. Ellie must quickly unravel the secret history behind the haunting in order to remove the ghost. She is aided by her new assistant Stacey, a recent film school graduate with a gift for capturing images and video of ghosts, and Jacob, a reluctant young psychic. Together, they will try to evict the dangerous spirits of the dead, whose threats to the family grow more terrifying every night.

To see Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper 8 Book Series go here

 About the Author

J. L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on the English Renaissance and the Romantic period. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He enjoys remixing elements of paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, horror, and science fiction into new kinds of stories. To hear about future books by J.L. Bryan, sign up for his new release newsletter: http://eepurl.com/mizJH
Website: www.jlbryanbooks.com
Twitter: @jlbryanbooks