Review: Hubris by P. A. Wilson

Hubris (A Charity Deacon Investigation) By P.A. Wilson ★★★★★


I love mysteries, thrillers, suspense; give me anything with a dead body and I'm happy.  In Hubris we get a body within the very first chapter.

Charity Deacon is a private investigator slash freelance journalist, who, after witnessing a mid-day murder disguised as a car crash and later accepting a missing persons case, finds herself plunged into the dangerous underworld of Vancouver.  Where prostitution, human trafficking, and the rule of Chinese gangsters is just a normal day.

Told from Charity's point of view Hubris is a fast paced page turner, we meet Charity, her best friend Lu, her friend-with-benefits Jake, and her client Val very quickly.  Quick actually does a good job of describing Hubris, but that could just be because I had a hard time putting it down.

After agreeing to take Val's case, Charity's life grows a lot more dangerous, and the reader moves a bit closer to the edge of their seat.

I really enjoyed the set up and development of the characters in Hubris and of course, the story itself.  Ms. Wilson uses an informal language and tone in both the narration and dialog which results in a plot and characters that are completely believable.  Charity isn't a badass or a magic user, on the contrary, she's kind of clumsy and she talks to herself, frequently.  In other words, completely normal.  It is this normalcy of the characters, and the situations they find themselves that really makes this book such a page turner.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good paranormal story, the unexplainable, in-human monster stalking the streets is deliciously terrifying, but the human monsters are always far more scary.

Nearly impossible to put down, I would recommend Hubris to anyone who enjoys the detective novels or the suspense genre.  I for one, am glad I had the opportunity to read it, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next  (mis)adventure Charity gets herself into.

There only negative thing I have to say about this book is that in my copy of Hubris there were a few mis-spellings, and some typographical errors which made for a bit of difficulty, especially in one paragraph where it seemed a few words had been left out entirely.  But as no publication is perfect, these flaws are fairly minor, and I still rate Hubris as a five star story.

If you are looking for a fun story, a realistic heroine, and you're alright with staying up til 3 in the morning to finish a book, than you owe it to yourself to give this one a spin.

DISCLOSURE: I received Hubris as a gift from Ms. Wilson after I'd expressed interest in reading it, and she had expressed interest in my reviews. This in no way effected my review, and the above is my honest opinion of the book.

Book Review: Particle Horizon by Selso Xisto

  Particle Horizon by Selso Xisto ★★★★★


Let me start out by saying right off the bat that I don’t read a lot of Sci-fi, and when I do it usually takes the form of a novella or short story.
At over 300 pages, 49 chapters and a surprising amount of characters Selso Xisto’s debut novel Particle Horizon, is neither of those things.  What it is is an intricately detailed, and epic space opera.

What I dislike most about sci-fi is not at all present in Particle Horizon, so many sci-fi books seem to assume you have a degree in physics or rocket science, they go into great detail about molecular fusion, particle acceleration, string theory, rocket propulsion etc that the layperson reader begins to wonder if they might be reading a text book.

There is almost none of this in Particle Horizon, there is a bit of it of course, I mean it takes place in a distant future on a planet that is a hollowed out asteroid, there are going to be a few scientific terms, and some of them you may not be familiar with.  However when it comes to the descriptions of the machines, processes and theories of this world, they are very much written for the reader with only a limited amount scientific understanding.

I found the book a bit difficult to get into at first, though it has a very quick pace, it is a very meaty book, not one to be devoured in one or even two sittings, I found that I had to read it slowly, in little bites, allowing myself to absorb and digest it as I read.  

The characters are incredibly developed, even minor characters are given a three dimensional aspect that makes you interested in them as actual characters rather than scenery or filler.

Particle Horizon takes place in an unnamed time frame on an asteroid planet called AngelHaven, we are quickly thrown into the action of an invasion of religious zealots known as the Legion of the LightBringer infiltrate and begin a systematic and bloody purge on the people of AngelHaven.

We meet a number of characters in the first few chapters, in fact the first 10 chapters or so are devoted mainly to character introduction and set up, thankfully there is story progression through out, you won’t find a five page description of a room, or a long winded set up to a short scene, and even as we are learning about each new character there is plenty of action going on and around that description.

We find out a few chapters in that there are two sharply divided factions in this Universe, there is the UFW (United Free Worlds) who have denounced the existence of all deities, and there is the Legion of the LightBringer.  The Legion is viewed by most as a dangerous cult, born from the religious exiles on the desert planet of New Jerusalem the Legion has been systematically attacking UFW communities in the attempt to eradicate those who would eradicate God.

The action starts in the very first chapter with the Legion’s invasion, setting the tone for the rest of the book.  We first meet a cast of body gliders who are staging a dangerous counter attack against the Legion, and a bloody battle ensues.

Meanwhile in a tower high above the killing taking place on the ground, we meet AngelHaven’s greatest mind and his ‘daughter’ a cybernetic woman, known as Una.  Una was created to facilitate and help with unraveling the code behind something called  “the particle horizon” and has recently completed the final string of that research. Unbeknownst to her, this final string completes the research, and allows her father access to a power that could make him a god and destroy the Universe.

Unbeknownst to all is that Humanity has reached its evolutionary apex, and will soon be judged accordingly.

I very much enjoyed this book, the subject matter was similar to other sci-fi books in a lot of ways, but the voice and telling is fresh and original. It kept me guessing and surprised me on a number of occasions.

I recommend this book to all lovers of sci-fi, if you want a story that sucks you in and holds you tight, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with Particle Horizon.

Review: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t often read Young Adult novels, in fact, I think that prior to Starcrossed, the last YA series I read was Harry Potter and that was easily 3 years ago. Its not that I think they are juvenile or below me, I just am rarely inclined to read about kids, and really that seems to be the only difference between the Young Adult genre and the “Adult” genre, the characters are teens, the situations may not be as explicit as they would be in a book geared towards adults and there is usually a school involved somewhere.

That’s my only excuse, I like to be able to relate to characters, and sadly it's often hard to relate to teens when you’re in your 30s.

That being said, I absolutely loved Starcrossed and cannot wait for Dreamless (the second book in the series). You may be wondering how I ended up reading it in the first place, especially considering the previous statement that I normally don’t read or relate to YA.

I’m not going to lie, it was a complete accident.

Since getting a Kindle Fire a few months ago, I’ve been reading more variety due to amazon’s free ebooks, one of these free books was what I thought to be a book of short stories, but it turned out to be a book of excerpts, great way to get someone hooked on your book, and I was hooked. I think I was left gaping when the excerpt ended, and had to immediately get the book so I could find out what happened next with Helen and Lucas.

When I first picked up the story I nearly skipped over it once I realized it was about a 16 year old who was stressing the first day of school, really, it was so beyond my normal realm of reading that I rolled my eyes and scoffed a bit, actually I think it was more of a snort than a scoff, but I digress.

I kept reading, mostly because I still thought I was reading a short story but I had also begun to grow slightly interested in what was going on. By the time the excerpt ended (six chapters in) I was hooked.

Josephine Angelini, the author of “Starcrossed” takes elements of Greek mythology, and the Trojan war and creates a vivid tale of the Scions (descendants) of the Greek gods, one that takes us from the days when the gods meddled in the affairs of man all the way to the modern day, where we meet the youngest generation of Scions.

Helen Hamilton, our heroine, has lived her whole life on the island of Nantucket, though she has always known she was different, she never thought it was due to anything more than her freakish height and strength, both of which she tries her best to either downplay or outright hide.

We meet Helen, in the days before the beginning of her junior year it should be a normal year but already the island is abuzz with the news that a wealthy family named Delos, has purchased one of the largest homes on the island, according to Helen’s best friend the kids in the family are all amazingly gorgeous, Helen however experiences a visceral reaction to the family's name and can’t shake the feeling that there is something wrong about them.

Soon after, Helen begins to have nightmares, and visions of wailing old women weeping blood, appear whenever Helen comes in contact with a member of the Delos family, visions and an intense rage toward the whole family, but it is Lucas Delos that seems to bring out the worst of Helen’s sudden and inexplicable bloodlust.

A series of strange and violent encounters culminates in a mad flight through the woods and Helen learns more about herself, her family and the Deloses then she ever could have expected.

“Starcrossed” is a fresh approach to the tale of doomed love, an urban fantasy Romeo and Juliet with a mythology twist, with elements of suspense and intrigue and well developed characters you forget you are reading a story geared towards teens and find yourself enveloped in the tale.

I literally couldn’t put it down, I never expected such an intriguing story nor did I expect characters that even if I didn’t exactly relate to them, I was very much interested in finding out what happened to them.

Published in 2010 as the first in of a trilogy, “Starcrossed” is a must read if you enjoy YA books, and even if you normally don’t enjoy them you owe it to yourself to give the first few chapters a read, click the cover to go to Amazon where you can read the first few chapters and for a limited time, you can get “Starcrossed”, an excerpt from the sequel “Dreamless”, along with an exclusive personal essay from Josephine, for the great promo price of $0.99.

“Dreamless”, the second book in the trilogy is due out the 29th of May, and I can't wait, you can pre order it from amazon and find out more about the whole series at Josephine Angelini’s website, and don’t forget to enter to win an ARC of “Dreamless” while you’re there!

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



"Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. It takes place directly after the end of the first book, after Katniss and Peeta both win the 74th Hunger Games.

A quick summary: Katniss and Peeta have returned to District 12 where they are moved into a neighborhood called Victor's Village - it's where all of the winners of the past Hunger Games live. So far, only Haymitch lived there as the other victor had died.

Since the end of the games, Peeta isn't really speaking to Katniss after realizing that she had purely acted out a plan devised by Haymitch where she pretended to be in love with Peeta while they were in the arena together and promptly kissed Gale, who she does have feelings for, upon returning home. Unfortunately for them, all of Panem still sees her and Peeta as star-crossed lovers so no matter how awkward things are, they have to continue acting out the parts (even though it's much easier on Peeta as he already truly loves Katniss) by accordance of President Snow.

The victors are required to go on a Victory Tour, which takes them through the other districts where they are introduced to the inhabitants there. Their first stop is District 11 which was Rue's district. Something interesting happens here - Peeta donates some of his winnings to Rue's and Thresh's families and an old man whistles out the song that Katniss had sung to Rue upon her death, prompting the rest of the district to salute Katniss with three fingers she used in the arena. He's shot dead by Peacekeepers while Katniss and Peeta are rushed to safety.

They move through the other districts, forbidden from giving other speeches. Peeta proposes to Katniss and an elaborate wedding is planned. During all of this, the fears of the Capitol are confirmed as District 8 has an uprising. Security is increased in the districts, including 12 where Gale is brutally and publicly whipped for hunting until Katniss saves him. That's when Katniss meets two runaways from District 8 who tell her about District 13, a district that is no longer acknowledged by the Capitol as it was "destroyed" long before.

So let's stop there for a moment - and I apologize for that not being so quick but I've never been good at being quick. The first part of this book, whereas it was enjoyable, irked me. Katniss irked me. The girl that I had fallen in love with in book one started to annoy me during this book. I was mad at how she treated Peeta, how she lied to him. And in a way, I felt like she was lying to herself as well as sometimes it appeared as if she really did have feelings for Peeta. Whereas they may have not been feelings of love, she felt something for him. Yet she never actually told him this.

It also bothered me how she would run off with Gale and kiss him then tell Peeta they had to pretend they were in love, knowing that Peeta was in love with her and each move she was making was hurting him. I also don't think Katniss was really thinking before acting in this book. She was always an awkward sort but it came out in full force in this book.

Moving on, the Capitol announces that it's time for the 75th Hunger Games, which is called a Quarter Quell. It's hard to believe that it's already been an entire year. Now the Quarter Quell is treated a bit differently from other Hunger Games - there's a usually a catch. This year is no different as it's announced that there will be no reaping - the tributes will be past winners of the Hunger Games.

So it's easy enough to say that District 12 is somewhat screwed over there. They have three victors - Haymitch, Peeta and...Katniss. So Katniss is chosen the tribute by default. Peeta goes in with her after a drawing between him and Haymitch. It's the 74th Hunger Games all over again.

The  next part of the book covers them going back into training, meeting the other tributes and being placed back into the arena.

I instantly liked Finnick even though he was a bit of a playboy. He seemed like he had a good personality and would be fun to hang around with. Mags was impressive as well being 80 years old and still in the Hunger Games. Wiress and Beetee made me laugh as they came off as that eccentric couple that people would shake their heads at yet chuckle about. And then there was Johanna - Johanna was that girl you loved to hate. I could tell something was up with her from the minute she came into play.

But that's enough of that - I enjoyed the 75th Hunger Games as the setting they put them in was interesting the way it played out. I think that it took a bit more planning and thought over the Cornucopia setting and with the myriad of characters placed into the arena, it was fitting.

It was definitely more fast-paced than the first one, Katniss being removed from the arena along with others when something goes wrong upon discovering a force field around the arena. This causes the games to be halted as Katniss is removed along with a few others. They are transported to the "fictional" District 13 where she discovers that District 12 is no more.

All in all, this was a good continuation of the first book. You get to see how Katniss evolves, you love her, you hate her, you feel sorry for Peeta, you start to see Gale's personality come out and you experience the uprising begin. I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars as it wasn't perfect but it was still a great read. I highly suggest continuing the trilogy so that you will see the completion of Katniss Everdeen's story.

Book News: Attention Muggles!

If you're like me, you absolutely adore Harry Potter. In fact, I'm still waiting for my letter to Hogwarts to arrive. Sure, I'm a little over the age limit to get sorted and whatnot, but this southern belle still has hope that one day she'll be riding the Hogwarts Express.

For those who own a Kindle, exciting news was announced on Amazon. On June 19, 2012 all seven Harry Potter books (in five languages, no less) are being added to the Kindle Owner's Lending Library.Yes, you Muggles heard that right - if you have access to this really awesome library, you can now borrow the books for free thanks to Amazon purchasing the licenses from Pottermore.

The Kindle Owner's Lending Library has over 145,000 titles for you to borrow, including recent bestsellers. It's one of the many great features of an Amazon Prime Membership, something that I have thoroughly enjoyed having. So check it out and travel back to Hogwarts with us in June!

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






Now let me start this off by saying that I can  be a very stubborn sort of person. I was pretty much damned and determined to not read this book. The summary of the book just didn't appeal to me - and needless to say, seeing it posted all over my Tumblr on a daily basis might have played a small part in my defiance. I wasn't going to read it! No one could make me! I didn't care if one of my best friends kept telling me that it was good - wasn't having it!

But per the norm, I finally gave in. I blame my coworker as she came to work raving about how wonderful it was. What made her different from my best friend you ask? Well, it's simple - my coworker does not read very often. Especially not a whole book in a matter of a day. She even said that her husband buying her a Kindle Fire was a bit pointless as she didn't read that much.

That sealed the deal. And boy, am I glad it did.

Now I will admit, this book starts off slow. Like "I'm about to bang my head against the nearest wall if something doesn't pick up soon" slow. And I almost put it down a few times as I can't handle a storyline that drags. But that just wasn't me - I rarely just stop reading a book all together no matter how bad it gets. Come on, I made it through the Twilight series - I can make it through anything.

So a little on the book: "The Hunger Games" takes place in a post-apocalyptic world name Panem, which used to be America. Panem is divided into The Capitol, which houses what you would call the government and the richest, most flamboyant people I've ever had the pleasure of reading about, and 12 districts. Each district has their own specialty - there's one for machinery, one for agriculture, one for mining etc. We, of course, start off in District 12.

The heroine of the story is Katniss Everdeen. Yeah, I know - what a name. But it grows on you after a while. I have a feeling 2012's top baby names will include Katniss now. But I digress. Katniss lives in District 12 with her mother and sister Primrose (or Prim for short). Her father was killed in a mining accident along with the father of her best friend Gale (who is indeed male).

I'll admit I liked Katniss right away. I could tell she was a strong girl. She didn't let the dreariness of District 12's poverty get to her. She was self-sufficient, having taken on the responsibility of providing food for her family. She was resourceful, sneaking into the forest to hunt illegally and never getting caught. She was loyal, working alongside Gale to feed both of their families. Katniss, in my opinion, was a true heroine even before the Hunger Games occurred.

Now every year, the Capitol held what was called the reaping - creepy, right? The names of the children who are between the ages of 12 and 18 are put into a drawing only once unless they request more chances. Two names are drawn from each district, a male and a female. These children are known as the "tributes" who will represent their district in the annual Hunger Games. So in total, there are 24 tributes participating in this bloodbath.

I don't want to give away the entire book so I'll just take it from here.

Part One of the book almost drove me mad. It dragged it's butt across the carpet of the library. I was so aggravated after a few chapters due to the rambling nature of the storyline. I didn't understand why it was necessary to detail out every little dish of food they ate - we get it, you lived in poverty and didn't have a lot of food. But any more of this and I'll be thinking that it was called The Hunger Games for a completely different reason. And the really bad part? The food they described sounded horribly gross.

Moving on, though - I'm rather glad I didn't put this book down (or throw it at the wall, tempting as that may have been) because once I got to Part Two, which is the actual 74th Annual Hunger Games, I couldn't put it down.

I will say that if you are a person who can't read gory details, this may not be the book for you as the deaths some of the tributes succumbed to were a bit gruesome if, like me, you have an overactive imagination and visualized them. But all in all, it was well-written. It kept me captivated for the rest of the book. And I can proudly say that despite my slow start, I finished the book within 24 hours.

Katniss Everdeen stole my heart - even with her flaws - when she gave Rue (the female tribute from District 11 and Kat's ally) her final send off. And her final move in the Hunger Games was what really got me. I saw it as a selfless act. Sadly, those in the book around her did not. But that's another review.

All I can say is that if you read this book, have the second one close at hand as you will be dying to continue the story once you close the book. Thankfully I was able to purchase and download the book from Amazon.com instantly to continue my journey alongside Katniss and Peeta.

My rating? 4 stars. It would have been 5 had that first part not almost killed me.

...and I still haven't admitted to my coworker that she was right. Let's just keep it our little secret for now.

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