Book Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Date of Publication: Jan. 13 2015
Source: bought, hardcover, 324 pages, YA
Get your own copy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Book Synopsis:

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.
Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.
At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.
Until one day, he does…
As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

My Thoughts:

I love Holly Black!!!!!

I mean how can you not love her?? She takes these simple concepts, like fairy tales, that we have all read growing up and she flips them upside down to create something all new.
And scary.
I always feel so free and sophisticated reading her books; which I know doesn't make sense.  But her books just gives me these awesome feelings when I get immersed in her world building.
The Darkest Part of the Forest is simply beautiful!  I find myself slipping into my childhood memories wandering around in the woods behind my parents' house.  I remember pretending to  battle evil forces while riding my pretend white stallion as I rescued everyone that needed it.
Relating so strongly to the premise of this story, I found myself trying to savor each and every part of the story.  But being that I love the story so much I actually ended up reading through it within two days.

Holly Black does this amazing job of developing characters that can be so complex; so intriguing you wish they were real.  I adore Hazel and Ben; I think Jack is Prince Charming in a nutshell; and the Horned Boy is eerily seductive and mysterious.
She has this immense imagination and comes up with such creative creatures that it is hard not to wish there really was a Fairfield where magic happens all the time.  Black makes magic seem like it really can come true; even if it contains more of a darker side to it.

Besides doing a fantastic job of creating characters, Black has this incredible talent to paint a world that seems so real as if you could just reach out and touch it.  Her storytelling skills is unparalleled.  Through her imaginative storytelling she is able to make the words on the pages come to life and adds a more intimate dimension to the story.

The Darkest Part of the Forest channels some of our basic imaginations concerning fairy tales but then it delivers something else entirely.  It gives us the allure of the magic; but it also forces us to see the darkness the power can bring as well.  I love this book and I honestly wanted to read more and more with these characters.  I really hope that Ms. Black will take us back to Fairfield one more time in the future.
It is definitely a magical experience.

Connect with the author:

Goodreads | Twitter | Website | 

Book Review: The Demon Stone by Christopher Datta

Today I'm excited to bring you a Guest Post and Kind Fire Giveaway from Chris Datta.  His first Novel Touched with Fire was a number one best-seller in the Historical Fiction category, and this supernatural thriller lives up to the high expectations readers have for this talented author.

The Demon Stone by Christoper Datta

The Demon Stone is a powerful supernatural thriller that leads you from the killing fields of Africa to the quiet Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. In braided narratives, Datta spins a terrifying story about the spiritual forces—both real and supernatural—that incite the basest, bloodiest and most frightening of human behaviors.

"Reading Chris Datta is like riding a rollercoaster. It’s a fast ride filled with twists and turns. His Demon Stone is scary fun. Stephen King, watch your back!"

-Richard Rashke, author of The Killing of Karen Silkwood

Review of The Demon Stone

Title: The Demon Stone

Author: Christopher Datta

Publisher: Dystel & Goderich Literary Management

Date of Publication: May 4 2014

Source: received from author & Novel Publicity for review in exchange for my honest opinion

Book Summary:

The Demon Stone is a powerful supernatural thriller that leads you from the killing fields of Africa to the quiet Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. In braided narratives, Datta spins a terrifying story about the spiritual forces—both real and supernatural—that incite the basest, bloodiest and most frightening of human behaviors.
When Kevin volunteered to travel to a war-ravaged country in Africa to help out his childhood buddy, Bill, now a physician with Doctors Without Borders, he knew he might face danger. But he could not have envisioned the brief, nightmare encounter that would rob him of his friend, his principles, and quite possibly his sanity. When he returns to his family in the United States, he carries with him not only survivors’ guilt, but, according to a grizzled old juju man in the service of a warlord, a powerful demon.
Liz cannot understand why, precisely, she agreed to go camping with her old college friend Kevin and his sullen teenage daughter, but it was clear that in the wake of his sudden divorce and a horrific family tragedy, Kevin needed someone to lean on. The canoeing trip in the Boundary Waters was supposed to be an escape, an opportunity to bring back the old Kevin. But once in the forests, Kevin’s behavior grows increasingly off-kilter, and Liz feels a growing sense of unease, one that ripens into fear. As the trio glide further into the wilderness, it becomes clear that someone, or something, is stalking them

My Thoughts: 

This story just jumps right in with the horror factor and grabs you in the first few pages!  You find yourself asking yourself "Why is this happening?" before you even understand what is truly happening.  

The Demon Stone had some huge symbolism connected with it concerning the evil that is haunting our main characters.  It makes us question the things we see in the world now as compared to what is happening in the story line too.  Was the stone truly evil or was it the people in possession of it that was the monsters?  These are some intriguing questions that makes you think throughout the story as you delve deeper into the darkness.  

The characters are interesting enough, although, a few did irritate me personally.  Kevin, our main character, was infuriating because he seemed to flip flop a lot on so many things.  I thought him running to Africa to see a friend that he seemed to harbor mixed emotions for and leaving his family behind was crazy but he obviously craved something more in his life as well.    Then there was Bill.  I understand he was helping people and that is wonderful but he had this attitude that just got on my nerves.  He seemed so judgmental.  

Liz was likable enough and the one I seemed to connect with the most.  I also dislike camping and would not have been out in the middle of nowhere for my friend who was seriously creeping me out.  But hey, she was the most caring of all the characters, it seemed.  

The settings flip back and forth between the past and present.  Every other chapter explains the situations that happen in Africa, causing Kevin to come in contact with the demon stone.  Then, the opposite chapters are what is happening while they are camping in the woods.  These two places seem to be the perfect settings for terror to take true form.  Africa is a dangerous world, mixed with folklore and military evils; and the woods can have their own eeriness too.  

I would have liked a few more personal chapters with Morgan, Kevin's ex wife.  I enjoyed the dive into her darkness that we see but it would have been even more terrifying if we could have stayed with her as she goes through the different stages of releasing her darkness through the stone.  I also pitied her immensely, though I don't condone how she handled things in the end.  

What an interesting and scary conversation between Liz and Abgado!!!  That was a very enjoyable part of the story and I am super glad that it was in it.  

We had a very centralized theme throughout the story.  It seemed to be the question, Where does evil truly come from?  that kept running through my brain as I read The Demon Stone.  The stone was a symbol for what we as a society blame the darkness and wickedness that we see in our lives.  

Overall, The Demon Stone was a disturbingly riveting thriller that had moments of extreme terror but also moments of deep reflection.  I may not have enjoyed  all of the characters but I was invested in the plot enough that I found it hard to put down.  If you love horror but also love a novel that forces you to think about where the terror is originating from, then I encourage you to give The Demon Stone a try.  

But be warned: you might find a little darkness inside yourself.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Debut author CHRISTOPHER DATTA is no stranger to civil conflict or the still-extant scourge of slavery. Most recently the acting ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan where he helped end a war in April of 2012, he has spent a distinguished career moving from one strife-torn country to another, including Lebanon, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. A lifelong student of the American Civil War, his research for Touched with Fire is exacting and based in part on a true story.

Book Review: Darkness Rising: {Legends of Marithia Book #2} by Peter Koevari

Title: Darkness Rising
Series: Legends of Marithia
Author: Peter Koevari
Publisher: self
Date of Publication: November 15, 2011
Source: ebook, 260 pages (received copy from author for my honest opinion of it)
Get Your Own: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Synopsis:In the aftermath of the Battle of the Elven Woods, the two legends of Marithian prophecy are both dangerously close to the dark grip of death as Marithia suffers under the powers of the Blood Red Moon.
Vartan, prophesised to save Marithia, lays spellbound under the protection of the mythical dragons. The vampire sorceress Kassina, prophesised to bring about their Armageddon has been moved to the underworld by the demon lord himself, Shindar.
A seed of the gods has grown and their greatest gift to Marithians, Anakari, makes her fated journey to discover her purpose.

A former shining jewel of Marithian peace, castle Greenhaven, remains in ruins after its defeat under Kassina's forces and the elves rebuild their war torn city of Veldrenn.
Talonsphere must be found before Marithia merges with the Underworld and Shindar brings about the world's end

My Thoughts:
Please visit my review of the first book in the series here.

Peter Koevari does a fantastic job of world building in this novel.  We learned about Marithia in the first book, and yet I find that I am still being immersed in another side of it in this second installment.  This story has it all : noble dragons, loyal elves, fragile humans, and fierce vampires.  Yes!  I just said vampires!  That is what initially brought me to this series-the concept of having a high fantasy with all your classic characters but then vampires were added to the mix.  It definitely gives fantasy a new twist.
I really liked this idea but I noticed I had a hard time getting into the second novel.  There were parts that seemed to drag on and on without really getting to the point.  This was in the beginning but towards the middle and definitely the end, I found myself going, "Oh my goodness, didn't see that coming!"
Vartan is a strong male lead who is noble and always thinking of his country, his people, and his freedom.  It is filling watching Vartan make the choices he makes and the way he puts himself in the path of danger to save one person.  It was also crushing to see his reaction to Tusdar.
Speaking of Tusdar...wow!  He has been crucial to the story; much more than I thought he would.  I really liked him in the first book and so it is nice to see him still around in the second book.  I can't really talk about him that much because I don't want to give anything away, but he is in love just as much as Vartan is with his love.
In fact, we get to see the concept of love from both sides: good and evil.  It is a nice touch to a story that likes to blur the lines between good and evil.  I feel like there is a lot of the gray area in this story.
We also meet some new characters in the story and we finally get a small but explosive peek into what the gods really are doing.
I still find myself confused by the whole concept of the Talonsphere.  I understand what it will do, who needs to activate it (and who doesn't), and the reason it was made; but I guess I am just anxious for it to be brought to the front.
Nevertheless, there are so many surprising twists in the story you will literally be shaking your head, never seeing it coming.  
Darkness Rising is a high fantasy story that takes many different elements into consideration to take us on an  imaginative journey through a land that is on the brink of falling apart without its hero finding his true potential.
I give it four hearts.

Connect with Peter Koevari a few ways:
Goodreads | website | Facebook

Book Review: Chasm by Christina Garner {Book 2 in The Gateway Trilogy}

Title: Chasm
Series: The Gateway Trilogy
Author: Christina Garner
Publisher/Date of Publication: Self/August 21,2012
Format: Kindle
Source: received from author for honest opinion of it.
Get your copy: Amazon 

Two months have passed since Ember Lyons nearly died killing the powerful Root Demon threatening the Los Angeles Gateway.  Physically healed, images of the day still haunt her and she can no longer access the power she once wielded.  She can't talk about with anyone at The Institute-not even her handsome demon-hunting boyfriend, Taren.Besides there are bigger things to worry about: Gateways around the world are weakening, Keeper's Marks are fading, escaped lesser demons are populating Los Angeles, and it looks like the Root Demon wasn't alone.When the Institute sends Ember and a team to Europe, she hopes to find answers and security on the journey, but another attempt on her life reminds her she's never really safe.  Then she's thrust together with the mysterious Alexander.  Ember can't be sure if this charismatic man is her most formidable enemy or greatest ally.  Either way, she needs him, because he's the only one who can bring her to the...Chasm.

-Goodreads Summary

My Feelings:

I really enjoy Ms. Garner's exciting young adult fantasy/paranormal trilogy, The Gateway.  If you would like to check out my review of the first book, Gateway, click here. 

In this second book, we see that Ember actually has a little more confidence in herself and is a vital part to the Institute in Los Angeles , even if the Elders don't like it.  

I like the fact that our main heroine, Ember, has a lot more going on.  She isn't the broken fragile girl we meet in the first book, but more sure of herself.  This is not to say she still doesn't fear the demons; hell, I don't blame her for still being afraid of something that can take over her mind and freewill like it did.  Ember has grown a lot but we can still glimpse that scared little girl too.  To me, this makes her more realistic and a lot more likable character.

Speaking of characters, I love all the supporting ones in this story, good and bad.  The antagonists are true evil and yet...you can't help but enjoy their view on the world.  We have a lot of different types of demons that are explained in this story and it always brings to mind, Supernatural.  (I know, I know...I tend to compare books to T.V. shows.  Don't judge me.) 

Alexander is a mystery, even though I found myself questioning his motives the entire time.  He is a charismatic man and you can see potential through his eyes.  

Taren is a great YA boyfriend.  He is your typical strong, loyal, protective and gorgeous male lead.  I think he is good for Ember, especially being the one that found her in the first book.  

Ms. Garner does know how to write a steamy sexy scene for YA eyes, just enough "ummph" to make you sweat, yet it doesn't cross the line into no man's land.

The main plot is basically the same as in the first book and at first I thought this would get a little boring but instead Ms. Garner inserted different twists into the book that made it even more exciting.  I did feel like some minor plot lines were left unsettled, especially having to do with the marks fading.  

I was at times, wanting to scream at Ember to think; actually think about what was happening!  But even through this, I still felt this strong connection with Ember and I like her as our female lead.  

But my most favorite character in this book?  Kat! This girl totally rocks! She is funny, smart, sexy, a kick ass Guardian, and yes...she is snarky!(My coveted word for those I truly treasure)

Oh and of course there is a cliffhanger that will have you pulling your hair out by the roots but I completely understand why it had to happen...but still.   

There is a lot of grammatical errors in this story though.  I usually try to look past these but there was a few times I got a little distracted by these mistakes.  Thankfully, though, the plot is strong enough to keep my interest in this story.  

I can't wait till book three when we get to meet Cole, in person, and I have a feeling he will play a major part (and perhaps love interest for one of Ember's shy friends?) in the finality of the Gateways.  I just hope he and Taren will get along...

Update: I did find out from the author that the copy I received was more of ARC copy but the final copy that is available for purchase and download is free of these errors.  Awesome! 

Favorite Quote:

"Impossible," she said.   "Not that I blame him-- that was way too close of a call you had the other day.  Especially now," she said.

"Why, especially now?"  I asked, concern breaking through my sleepiness. 

"Well, because now I know you're such a good kisser," she said with a grin.  "No wonder he doesn't want to lose you."

"Goodnight, Kat," I said, simultaneously flipping her off and smiling into my pillow.

Review: Legends of Marithia Book 1 by Peter Koevari

Title: Legends of Marithia: Book 1 Prophecies Awakening
*The Extended and Uncut Second Edition*
Author:Peter Koevari
Series:Legends of Marithia
Publisher: Createaspace (self)
Date of Publication:May 23, 2012
Format: ebook, 210 pages
Source: I received a copy from the author for my honest review
Get your copy at: 

Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Summary:
When her sorceress mother and vampire king father are brutally murdered, Kassina makes a pact with Shindar, the Demon of Darkness. In exchange for her soul, Kassina obtains power to become the most feared sorceress in all the lands, and vows to exact her revenge on the people for the deaths of her parents. Granted eternal life, Kassina and her evil are never far away. 
For many years, the humans and elves of the mystical world of Marithia have lived in an age of peace. But that peace is shattered when King Arman is slain by his own son, a pawn of the vampire sorceress Kassina. Arman’s murder sparks the most brutal and bloody war ever seen between the Forces of Darkness and the peaceful Marithians. 
In the midst of the conflict, Vartan, a young knight wrongfully outcast from King Arman’s court, reluctantly discovers he is the subject of a prophecy involving the fabled weapon, Talonsphere. In alliance with the legendary dragons, he finds himself with the opportunity to rid the world of Kassina and her dark armies forever, and finally return Marithia to an era of peace.

My Feelings:
This is one of those stories where I found myself knowing the antagonist was evil and horrible but...I felt for the losses she occurred before she became the evil sorceress and destroyer.
Yes. I pitied Kassina.  And yes I also know of the terrible things that she does.  But hey remember there is gray areas.
Legends of Marithia is a high fantasy with elves, dragons, knights, and then...wait for it....vampires.  I know right?!!
Mr. Koevari takes two genres, horror and fantasy, and combines them to create this awesome novel!
I have to admit the Prologue was one of my favorite parts of the story because it shows us the how and why everything started. So we get that peek into why Kassina decided to be the most powerful and evil vampire of all time.  Basically one action by some dumb idiotic fake king (I guess I was affected a little) set this war in motion.
There is a little bit of romance in this, just a little bit. That isn't really the important part in this story, though it is the binding emotion in the background,  love for your family, for you people, and love for chosen one.  I think loyalty is the emotion that I found to be the strong suit for many of these characters.
You have to give props to some of these people that gave their lives for those faiths that they believe in, including the royal family.
The plot was complex and had many different strands that connected everything together but still left questions unanswered.
The characters are pretty interesting to me.  Most of the time, elves are the ones I automatically find myself drawn to, but not in this story.  In this fantasy, I fell in love with the Dragons.  They are such noble, proud and smart creatures and they do not disappoint in this story.
Vartan, one of our protagonists, is a true knight in every sense of the word.  He grows as a character and I really liked the fact that he plays such a huge part in the story.
There are many other characters that are important and I am sure you will find one to fall in love with too.
All in all, this is a great mix of epic fantasy with horror sprinkled throughout that could satisfy fans of both genres.
I gave Legends of Marithia: Prophecies Awakening four hearts!

Review: Dragon Child (Warriors For Light, Book 2)

This is my review of Dragon Child by LJ DeLeon.  This is book 2 in the series, Warriors For Light.
The heroine, Moira, is sister of Padrig and we get to learn more about her in this book.  And I know everyone enjoyed the role, Steve, our wereleopard, played in the first book; and now he gets to share the storyline with Moira in this book.