Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink

Summary from Borders.com - The ultimate battle between sisters is nearing, and its outcome could have catastrophic consequences. As 16-year-old Lia Milthorpe searches for a way to end the prophecy, her twin sister Alice hones the skills she'll need to defeat Lia.

Rhia’s Review -  Getting to meet Michelle at DBF last year really enhanced my experience reading her books, but I didn’t think that would have been possible. She is such a wonderful person! And her books are equally wonderful! I really enjoyed this sequel to Prophecy of the Sisters, and the only thing I can say I had a problem isn’t even a problem. It’s Dimitri Markov, Lia’s new love interest. While he really added some spice to the story, James was so my type that I felt a little sorry for him. Though he really isn’t present for most of the book, I still consider this a love triangle, maybe even a love square, and though I’m not usually a fan, I can’t wait to see how it will turn out!

The Recommendation – I would recommend the Prophecy of the Sisters series for any fans of historical fiction, especially Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle Trilogy. If you haven’t check out this series yet, you definitely should! And fans of the first book won’t be disappointed in this follow-up!

The Other Books – Circle of Fire, the thrilling (I’m sure it will be) conclusion to the trilogy will be out later this year, I think, and I can’t wait! Definitely at the top of my buy list!

The Vitals* – You can pick up Guardian of the Gate in hardcover for $17.99, and I don’t know any details on a paperback yet. I’m sure you can get an e-book from the store of your choice, but I don’t know the pricing for that.

The Links – Michelle Zink's Official Website, Prophecy of the Sisters Series Website

*=All prices are from Borders.com and are subject to change without notice, and without this page reflecting those changes.

I know, I know! I’m sorry!

Yeah, I’m really behind. But when life gets crazy, things get neglected. I haven’t been reading quite as much, but I’m catching up, so I should be finishing some more books soon.

I do have plenty of books that I haven’t reviewed yet, but I have an idea that will make things easier for me.

I am pleased to announce the beginning of Mini-Reviews! When I don’t have a lot of time on my hands, but a book is in need of reviewing, I will post a mini-review. This will consist of: Summary; What I like most about this book; What I liked least about this book; The Recommendation; The Other Books; The Vitals; The Links.

If I have a profound amount to say on a book, or if I am reviewing a book for an author or publisher, I will post a full review.

I’ll also try to get on a schedule so that I can schedule posts to appear during the week. I’ll try to make that work.

I have a lot of work to do on the computer tomorrow, so I should be able to squeeze in at least one or two minis and schedule them.

Here’s a taste of what I want to review soon.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Mini)

Archenemy (Mini)

The Iron King (Mini)

The Haunted (Full)

Guardian of the Gate (Full)

Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey

Summary (from borders.com) -

Sadima lives in a world where magic has been banned. Centuries later, with magic restored, Hahp is a virtual prisoner in an academy run by the wizards who control it. Sadima and Hahp's worlds are separated by generations, but their lives are connected in surprising and powerful ways.

Rhia’s Review – I had never heard of Skin Hunger and the A Resurrection of Magic series until this year’s Decatur Book Festival. I realize now what a shame that was! After meeting Kathleen at one of the panels there, I really liked the sound of her book, and daddy was nice enough to buy me lots of books there, including this one! It’s definitely a great discovery!

The story switches back and forth between Sadima’s third person POV, and Hahp’s first person POV 200 years later. This is usually hard to pull off, but I think Duey’s done a great job, as I felt a strong connection to both the main characters. At first, it’s hard to tell how the two storylines relate, but as I read on, I found that the most fun in reading the book came from spotting the things connecting Hahp’s and Sadima’s lives. Duey also leaves enough mystery so that one character’s story isn’t ruined by reading the other.

The chapters in this book were a little short, which is something that I appreciate anyway, but it worked for this book because you never got bored by one storyline while you were waiting to see what happened in the other. Since the chapters were so short, I would save this one for last, after reading on my stack of books. “I’m awake enough to read a bit more… I’ll read a few quick chapters of Skin Hunger and then get to bed.” And about an hour later, I was still reading!

I am very glad that I found Kathleen’s books, and she’s such a nice person that I’m happy to support her in buying more of her books!

 

The Recommendation -  Fans of high fantasy with darker tones should NOT miss this one! I doubt fans of fantasy of any kind will be disappointed by this book.

The Other Books – Sacred Scars, the sequel to Skin Hunger is already out in hardback, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy! Very high on my buy list!

The Vitals* – Skin Hunger is available in paperback for about $9.99. Go get a copy. Really.

The Links - Kathleen Duey's Official Website

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

 

Summary from borders.com -

Recently orphaned, 16-year-old Lia Milthorpe discovers she and her twin sister Alice are part of an ancient prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other. To escape from a dark fate, Lia must end the prophecy before her sister does.

Rhia’s Review – I loved this book! It was already high up on my list of books to read, but once I realized it was historical (I didn’t know for a while) I knew I HAD to have it. After I heard about the re-jacket of the paperback and the sequel, I knew I wanted the original cover more. One day while browsing at Borders, there it was, in all it’s glory – the only copy in sight of the original cover art hardback! I snatched it up. Glad I did.

But I digress! You came here for a review, not the story of how I came to buy it! I really enjoyed reading this book! I love the characters, getting to know them all and watching them discover their place in the prophecy. I loved the storyline, as well. In a market that’s dominated by vampires, werewolves, fairies and the like, it’s nice to have a just a good ol’ fantasy to read. And since I really like Lia and James as people, I enjoyed all the romantic bits as well. All of the elements of this book tied together very well to make this a great read not to be missed!

The Recommendation -  Any fan of fantasy and/or YA will definitely enjoy this book! I also recommend it for fans of Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy.

The Other Books – Guardian of the Gate came out this August. I’ve already got my copy and am somewhere in the middle. The way things are going, I’ll definitely be picking up a copy of the third book when it comes out!

The Vitals* – Prophecy of the Sisters is available in paperback for $8.99, and I think you can still find the hardcover with original art floating around for about $17.99 online. (I know borders.com has it.)

The Links - Michelle Zink's Official Website Prophecy of the Sisters Official Website

*=All prices are from Borders.com and are subject to change without notice, and without this page reflecting those changes.

Decatur Book Festival – Mini Wrap up

 

Just got home from the Decatur Book Festival! Here’s a quick little wrap up of how things went!

Saturday:

I got to meet Carole Marsh! I bought a one of her new books and she signed it for me! I met Jessica Verday(She regocnized my name from facebook!), Cinda Williams Chima, Kethleen Duey, Saundra mitchell (At the ‘Method in the Magic’ panel) and Carrie ryan and Alyxandra Harvey (At ‘Vampires vs. Zombies’ panel)! While I really only went to see Jessica and Carrie, I thought the others were so cool, and I got better insight into their books, so daddy bought me copies of one book for each author, and I got them all signed! I also got a little swag from most of them! They’re all very nice, and I’m so glad I got to meet them.

Sunday:

I saw Cassandra Clare’s presentation, got to ask a question, picked up my copy of Clockwork Angel, and got ALL OF MY BOOKS by her signed, along with a poster, and I picked up some bookmarks and a teaser from her story in ‘Zombies vs. Unicorns’. And i got a picture with her!

Then I went to panel called ‘Sibling rivalry of the Best and Worst Kind’ to see Jackson Pearce, Michelle Zink, and robin Benway. It was a fun panel! Jessic Verday was there, she sat right in front of me, and she recognized me from yesterday! (Squee!)

then I met Michelle Zink and got my books signed! She knew me from the internet and it was AWESOME! She gave me big hugs and I got some bookmarks, and an exclusive soundtrack for her books! (I got the last one on the table!)

So I had a very exciting weekend! It was just too awesome! Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get around to uploading all my photos and video, and post a more thorough wrap up! Right now, I’m off to read, but I bet you could have guessed that!

Decatur Book Festival

Here, in Georgia, the greatest literary event is the Decatur Book Festival, which happens to be taking place this weekend!

This is first year I’m going (I only just heard of it late last year) and I can’t wait!

If all goes well, I’ll get to meet Cassandra Clare, Michelle Zink, and if I get to go on Saturday as well as Sunday, Jessica Verday and Carrie Ryan!

I’ll post a wrap up after this weekend, and hopefully I’ll finally get those reviews up before then!

Plans

Here are my plans for this blog over the weekend. I just hope to get this stuff typed up and organized; posts will be published whenever my laptop gets back into internet range.

Review Archenemy by Frank Beddor

Review The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Review Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

I have a contest in the works – stay tuned!

Also, I’ve been having a hard time picking which book to finish next, so I’m letting you guys decide! At the left of the blog is poll asking which book you guys want me to review next. This poll ends on the 14th, so vote fast! Whichever book wins the poll will be new top priority read, and I’ll get the review of it up as soon as possible. I’ll the poll going, so you can guys will always be able to help me pick which book to read!

 

Hope you all have a good weekend!