Thursday, January 30, 2014

Fan Art and Its Awesomeness

I love fan art. I run across it all the time while on tumblr. There are some talented people out there who can just capture certain scenes and emotions. I follow a lot of fandom blogs on tumblr. Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Sherlock, etc. I've seen some pretty genius fan art. I've also seen a lot of terrible fan art.

I decided while I'm working on my review for Onyx (Book Two in the Lux series) that I would share some of my favorite works. There are some that I have used for reviews and others that I just can stare at. I'm also including some fanart from tv shows and movies because I think they're brilliant.

Enjoy!

Hazel and Augustus



Rose: Will I ever see you again?
Doctor: You can't.
Frozen

Rose and Eleven

Rue from The Hunger Games

Harry and Ginny

Katniss Everdeen

Races from Chronicles of Elantra

Farewell, Ponds by Saimain on deviantART

Harry and Ginny unwittingly find themselves
in muggle London a bit too close to Halloween
"If there is a life after this one,
let me meet you in it, James Carstairs"
- Will Herondale, Clockwork Princess

Sorcerer's Stone
Chamber of Secrets
Prisoner of Azkaban
Goblet of Fire
Order of the Phoenix
Half Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows

"I don’t want anything else in the world." - Clary, City of Glass
by Alice X. Zhang

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout - 4.5 stars


Obsidian (#1) by Jennifer Armentrout
4.5 stars

I really liked this book. I've never really read any books about aliens before. They've just never sounded interesting to me. Obsidian was very interesting and this take on aliens is great. It's original and not something I was expecting.

The story is told through Katy's point of view. She and her mother just moved to the small town in West Virginia. The town only has one light and their house doesn't even get mail. They actually have to go to the post office to pick up their mail. It's a very small town. Katy and her mother moved from Florida three year's after Katy's father died from cancer. Her mother needed a fresh start. She is a nurse and works crazy hours.

I like Katy. She loves books and the way she talks about them and obsesses about them reminds me of myself. I think it's great when authors include book lovers in their characters. Katy also enjoys gardening. Both of these hobbies help her escape the world and just sink into another one. While I don't enjoy gardening, the enjoyment of reading something I can connect to.

We meet Daemon in chapter one and he's just one huge asshole. Later we find out the exact reason for
his jerkiness. Katy actually says this to his face which makes me smile. There are a lot of internal comments made by Katy that I sometimes find annoying. There are moments when they are unnecessary. Anyways, Daemon is this super hot guy that Katy can't stand because he's so rude to her. At times he will be nice and then he will turn into a jerk again. This hot and cold behavior makes him extremely unlikable.

Daemon's sister is Dee and I really like her. She instantly befriends Katy despite Daemon's repeated attempts to keep them away from each other. Dee is this super hyper and seemingly very happy girl that is excited to finally have a close friend.

This is my favorite cover
Since this book is about aliens and the fact that there are obvious hints that there is something not normal about Dee and Daemon, we do eventually find out that Dee and Daemon, along with three other students and some teachers are said aliens. They're known as Luxen and they are refugees on Earth. They are beings made of light and they have certain powers. Their home planet, Lux, was destroyed by the Arum, the Luxen's enemies. The Arum are creatures of shadows and kill the Luxen and absorb their essence. The Arum can't find the Luxen easily but the Arum can find them if a human has the trace on them. Guess who gets a trace? Of course it's Katy.

I liked this book a lot. I was debating between 4.5 and 5 stars but I kept it at 4.5 because of the minor annoyances I found throughout the book. Despite this, I really really like this book and it's one I would highly recommend, even to those who do not like reading about aliens.

Monday, January 6, 2014

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews - 5 stars

by Doris (disanthus.com)
Book 1 in the Innkeeper Chronicles
Isn't the cover beautiful? Ilona and Gordon hired Doris and she did all kinds of artwork for the story and they all turned out really well. I love it. 

Clean Sweep (#1) by Ilona Andrews
5 stars

This was originally a free serial offered by Ilona and Gordon on their blog. We would get parts as the story was written. It is not something that I've ever come across before but it was really cool. My only annoyance with it was I couldn't continue reading until the end. It was never enough and I just wanted them to put the whole thing up to satisfy my need to know what happened next.

This is more of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy book rather than Urban Fantasy. It's a completely knew concept and captivated my attention from the beginning. Dina, the protagonist, is an Innkeeper. (I love her name too. It's so unique and just cool.) There are different Inns all over the place. Dina's parents were also Innkeepers but they disappeared one day without a trace. The lot where the Inn had been was vacant and no one has seen them since. After much wandering and searching, Dina comes across the Gertrude Hunt Inn. It's old and it had been vacant for so long that it was almost dying. Dina uses her magic and the Inn's magic and brings it back to life.

I find Dina's magic so interesting. She has this really cool broom that can take whatever shape she wants it to be. She can control the grounds of the Inn and the house itself. She's connected to it and the idea of the relationship between the Inn and Dina is so original.

We have interesting characters besides Dina. Sean is a werewolf who doesn't know his races' history. Werewolves are aliens and not from this world. He's not just any werewolf though. He's a special one which is always ten times more interesting. There is a definite connection between Dina and him. He is a typical Alpha male but I like him.

There is also a vampire element in this story. This particular breed of vampire is amazingly original. They're religious and crazy and I don't know where they came up with the idea. Arland is the main vampire we come across but there are a few others. The politics and the customs of vampires in this universe are crazy. They also have a different metabolism which makes for an extremely funny scene but I won't spoil it. Arland is really cool and definitely took an interest in Dina.

Finally we have Her Grace Caldenia ka ret Magren. She is an alien with two hearts. She paid for a lifetime stay at the Inn and cannot leave the grounds. Apparently she did some pretty crazy things and arrived with a herd of bounty hunters on her tail. She is a small character but she makes me laugh. It's just the things she says. The way she casually talks about eating humans is just so funny.

This is a short story, only 175 pages in the Nook format. There is some rule about word count but it was still good, despite it's length. I really enjoyed it and have reread it. Ilona Andrews even added a reference to the Guild Hunter series at the end of the book which made me smile. Innkeeper 2 will be coming out soon. I can't wait to start reading it again and finding out what happens next in Dina's life.