Lady Knight

Wow. I've been gone for a while, haven't I? I apologize. I've been having medical issues. Let's pick things back up with a familiar series.

Total shocker, right? What the heck happened? Well, part of it might be due to the fact that I was battling daily migraines at the time I was attempting to read this. But the other part of it, quite honestly, is that the plot of this book just kind of sits there.

Kel is knighted and given her first assignment at a refugee camp, an assignment she isn't happy about. She's been having visions about the mastermind behind the killing machines that have been roaming the country, and she'd much rather be battling them and bringing the man responsible in. Though, the camp itself has it's own issues that she has to navigate.

We begin the book on this premise. Over half way through the book, we are still on this premise. Kel is still at the camp, she is still having visions, she is still wishing there was more she could do. The plot has not moved forward in the slightest. I skimmed the majority of this book, and then finally gave up.

I was faced with the prospect that the plot might not pick up until the final chapters of the book, and that just wasn't worth waiting for. I'd read enough about Kel and her issues at the camp. I was ready to move forward into the "real" struggle and had no indication of when that would happen or if it could even turn my opinion of the book around when it did.

Perhaps it's an unfair rating given the personal struggles I was facing at the time. But I just got to the point where I need to call quits.

The Reckoning

I zoomed through this book so quickly it's a little difficult to gather my thoughts about it. New dangers pop up, people die left and right, Chloe finally takes charge of her powers, the organization goes down ... things get crazy.

All in all, this book came to a very satisfying ending. Some things were left unexplained and others obviously left open for further books. And there is a trilogy after this one, but I don't know if I'll read it. What I really want to know is how life is like on the run for Chloe and the others. I want to see them grow together as a ragtag family. I want to see Chloe and the others learn to further control their powers. And I want to further understand the risk the kids face by having heightened powers. I want to see this series grow beyond the formulaic kids-manipulated-by-bad-organization-and-bring-it down plot. And I'm pretty sure a whole new trilogy of new kids basically going through the same things Chloe and the gang went through is going to give me what I'm looking for.

This book was definitely the best of the three, and yet it follows a similar plot to the others, with the kids in distrust of their surroundings and needing to escape the danger around them. And then, once the kids start to get into their power and the organization falls, the story ends. I feel like there's so much more that can be done with this story, to become something all its own, and yet it falls to the formula ... to start a new series that as far as I can tell follows the exact same formula, the only difference between the cast of characters, new powers, and a new setting. The sad thing is Chloe's story ends just when it seems to be starting.

I'd love to see Armstrong continue Chloe's story and take it new places. Until then, I'll leave this series here.

The Awakening

You'd think with how quickly I'm going through this series, I'd be giving it more than three stars. I have to admit that when I pick the book up, I don't want to put it down. Even so, I don't get that "this is great" thoughts/feelings I get that would warrant a four or five-star review.

Chloe has been captured by the big bad organization. She escapes, meets up with the rest of the gang, and the group of them are on the run, searching for someone to help them while they try to keep each other alive.

Here's what I've realized about this series so far - it's a story about teenagers running from the "big bad organization" that's out to get them. In that, this story is nothing new. It's been written before. And yes, this series has necromancy and werewolves and magic, but it's such a small part of the story. Take those elements away, and this story is nothing special or unique. And while I'm enjoying the series, it doesn't have that spark that makes it jump out at me and claim it as my favorite.

I still recommend pick it up and giving it a try. I enjoy the characters, and I like that the author doesn't skimp over the hard stuff - werewolf transformations, rotting corpses. I'm definitely sticking with this series still the end, and I'll still be quite happy for getting into it. But, as I said, this story has been written before and that keeps it from standing out, at least for me.

The Summoning

This book took a while to get into its stride. First we have a girl running around while being chased by ghosts, so a supernatural thriller kind of feel. Then we find ourselves in a house full of kids with special powers that gave off a kind of x-men vibe. And then we have the dead rising and werewolves ... which I think finally got the book to match up with the feel the blurb had promised.

Chloe is a 15 year old girl, who one day runs screaming down the halls of her high school while being chases by a ghost. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Chloe is placed in a group home for teens with mental illnesses. Through interactions with the doctors and her housemates, Chloe soon discovers things are not as they seem.

This book has a good pace to it. I read it quickly and was continuously turning the pages, unwilling to put the book down. I enjoyed the story, and I'm looking forward to picking up the last two books in the series.

Poison Study

Okay, so I'm throwing out the idea of reviewing series as sets unless I have reason to otherwise. Ha. Next up, we have Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. I've been thinking lately about how a lot of books have pointless prologues or just have poor beginning chapters that don't offer much substance and their books take too long to get to the point. This book, however, is awesome in that we are dumped right into the action.

We meet Yelena as she is about to go to her execution for killing a general's son. The Comander's poison taster (this is a kingdom controlled by the military) has recently died, and as per the Code of Conduct, the position must be offered to those facing execution (I guess since no one but someone already facing their death would be crazy enough to take the job). Yelena accepts, and finds herself in a position where her life is threatened every bit as much as before.

This novel suffers from an identity crisis. Since the characters are in a castle and there's no electricity, I would think the setting is going for middle ages (and the cover helps with that). There's also mention of period appropriate clothing. But there are modern influences that pop up that shouldn't. For one, not even the most prestigious castle would have running hot water. Technology would not be advanced enough for switchblades or trampolines. I'm not sure "disinfectant" would have been a word. "Military district" would not have been shorted to "MD" in conversation or conscious thought. Yelena wouldn't bathe everyday. And even though this is a fantasy kingdom with it's own customs, animals, people, and countries, coffee somehow exists. This book doesn't know if it wants to be medieval, it's own fantasy realm, or modern.

There's some not so well constructed story elements. Yelena is given a poison that she needs a daily antidote to for the rest of her life or she'll die. I might be willing to believe Yelena doesn't realize poisons don't work like that, but you're telling me no one out of the multiple people Yelena goes to for help don't know poisons don't work like that? There's no possible way Valek could have switched out a poisoned bottle of wine with a clean one. He'd have to have the second bottle close by, for one. And since the wine is from a country they don't import with, it'd be impossible. And there's no way a master chief wouldn't have thought of roasting some mystery beans to change their flavor, especially not when Yelena asked if they were coffee beans, which he's been craving for years.

Transitions are severely lacking between paragraphs. For example: In one sentence Yelena is talking with Lisa, then paragraph break and Yelena is with the Camander. Yes, I know Yelena was on her way to the Camander and she caught Lisa on the way there. I can figure that out, but you need to tell me that Yelena moved from Lisa's side and continued on her way so I don't sit there and go "wait-wha?" in the moment. This kind of thing happens throughout the book.

The author needs to give more description in certain instances. At one point Yelena gets out a grappling hook and "climbs through the trees." How? How is this working with the grappling hook? How is she moving from tree to tree? You need to describe it to me. When Yelena and the love interest finally kiss, it's glossed over so quickly, the meaning that's supposed to be attached to it went right over my head. More description was needed here and in other places.

Yes, this novel has issues. It makes me sad to think these are all things a good editor could have caught and worked with the author to correct. When you look at it all written up, the damage would seem pretty major. Yet, I've always said that if a story is good, I can overlook almost any other issues. And this book proves to follow that rule. Despite everything, I got caught up in the story. I couldn't put the book down. And when I finished with it, I immediately wanted the next one.