Sunday 14 October 2012

Some DNF Books

There have been books I picked up and didn't finish.
(The so called DNF (Did Not Finish) books)
Here's three of them and my thoughts on them.


Raven's Shadow (Raven Set #1)
by Patricia Briggs


What is it about:
Seraph is a Raven mage who left behind her responsibilities for the love of the ex-soldier Tier. But when Tier disappears, Seraph must use her magic?and fulfill her ancestors? oath to protect humanity from destruction.

What did I think of it:
I read this book only for 25% and then put it down.

The story isn't bad, but it's a bit slow and stilted. The lead character Seraph didn't really interest me and neither did any of the others. They didn't feel very real to me. I wasn't invested in either the characters or the story.

A shame because I love most anything else Briggs has written.



Embrace (The Violet Eden Chapters #1)
by Jessica Shirvington


What is it about:
Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.

Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her.

A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden…


What did I think of it:
Sometimes I read other people's reviews about a book and feel like I've read a totally different book than they did.

Embrace is such a book.

I really tried reading it, because most reviews I read were lyrical about the battle between good and evil.

I made it close to the middle of the book and all it was about to me was a girl being thorn between a nice, but dull guy and a typical bad boy. Yup, the ever returning love triangle.

OK: she supposedly was the offspring of angels, but that trope wasn't really used very well in my opinion. Maybe it changed and got really good after the point where I put the book down, but I didn't have the patience and fortitude to stomach anymore of the teen angsty love drama to find out.



Alchemystic (The Spellmason Chronicles #1)
by Anton Strout


What is it about:
Alexandra Belarus is a struggling artist living in New York City, even though her family is rich in real estate, including a towering Gothic Gramercy Park building built by her great-great-grandfather. But the truth of her bloodline is revealed when she is attacked on the street and saved by an inhumanly powerful winged figure. A figure who knows the Belarus name…

Lexi’s great-great-grandfather was a Spellmason—an artisan who could work magic on stone. But in his day, dark forces conspired against him and his, so he left a spell of protection on his family. Now that Lexi is in danger, the spell has awoken her ancestor’s most trusted and fearsome creation: a gargoyle named Stanis.

Lexi and Stanis are equally surprised to find themselves bound to each other. But as they learn to work together, they realize that only united can they save the city they both love…


What did I think of it:
This book is based on a short story Strout wrote in Spells of the City. I picked this book up because I really liked that short story and wanted more.

Yeah...

The gargoyle Stanis is really cool and I kind of liked the story idea, but I seriously disliked Lexi and her friends.

They were bratty and annoying and in Lexi's case even obnoxious at times. I put this book down around page 118 when I realised I really wanted to punch Lexi and her friends.

Although I will confess I'm curious about what happens to Stanis, I really don't feel like reading more about Lexi.



Why should you read these books:
All three of these books do have their moments and my dislikes might not be yours.

9 comments:

B.E. Sanderson said...

I picked up Alchemystic because I like Anton's other books, but I didn't really know that much about this new story. (I like to go into stories fresh.) Then I read the back cover which made me kinda meh about reading it. Now I'm not feeling so bad about shuffling this farther down in my TBR pile. I'll still read it, but after some of the other books I already have.

Mel said...

I didn't mind Raven's Shadow but it take a long time to get going with a lot of set up for Seraph. The second book is more action packed but you need to finish this one first. Sorry it didn't work for you... :-(

M.A.D. said...

While I haven't read any of these three mentioned, I'm sad you didn't care much for Embrace - maybe it's just been hyped to death, who knows? I've got Embrace on my want-to-read list, but at least now I won't have my expectations set unrealistically high lol ;)

Aurian said...

I was intrigued by the gargoyle bit, but not enough yet. I do want to read all Patricia Briggs books someday. So far I have read only one of her old books. They are so different from the Mercy books, it is hard to get into.

miki said...

i Admid i didn't enjoyed raven shadow a lot either but i finished it however since i didn't get as much pkeasure i hoped with it i don't dare to try book 2 immediately ( though after one of those comment seems to said it's better so i will see)

i really love Patricia briggs so it true it was a bit perturbing to see the change^^. I really love " the hob bargain" you could try this one^^

Sullivan McPig said...

Thanks for your comments everyone.
@miki: I read The Hob's Bargain and love it.

Melliane said...

Oh I was curious about Embrace too. I haven't tried the first one as the synopsis didn't attract me and I don't know what to think about the last one. thanks for the info!

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

Thanks for sharing on these. I've been curious about Alchemystic and want to get it. Know what to watch for now. :) Thank you.

Anton Strout said...

No, Piggie, NOOOOOO! :P