Genre: Adult, Graphic Novel ParaElement: Faeries, Angels, Vampires Order Online: Amazon.com Stalk the Author: Web | Twitter
Review copy provided by blog tour host.
PJ's QUICKIE POV:
Stunning is the first thing that comes to mind when I looked through this book. I was blow away by the visual explosion of the imagery. Often in fantasy art the imaginary will have a cheesy feel about it, all starbursts and unicorns with rainbows is the only way I can describe it. The type of artwork you pick up at the dollar store and see on the wall of 12 year olds or trailer parks (still have nothing wrong with trailers!). But, Corsentino's work I am drooling over. I can't believe he attained such realism with his shots. And I have to be honest, I had a very hard time actually reading the text because my eyes kept being drawn to the artwork. The story was just a little bit of bonus.
Review:
Afterlight, End of the World is the story of the Angels, which is dubbed the Angel Apocalypse. The world is ravaged by war and with the coming of the angels a renaissance period begins, but at the cost of our free will. A few humans revolt and the angels turn against the humans...it was quite a riveting story. Not quite as riviting as the imagery, but still something that held my attention. I would highly recommend this book for fantasy lovers - I want a big pretty book to sit on my coffee table and be able to flip through constantly. It is so very pretty. If you have the chance, check out 'Afterlight, End of the World' and here, love on some images to get your motivated.
Remember to check out Dark Faerie Tale's Site and choose wisely...tweet out your choice #SuperSmack
Who is Ash?
For today's Smackdown, I'm including my review of THE IRON KNIGHT, the fourth book in the series that is from Ash's POV.
Genre: YA Fantasy Series: The Iron Fey Series (Book 4) Paranormal: Faeries Pre-Order for October 25, 2011: Amazon.com Stalk the Author:Web | Twitter | Blog Review copy provided by netgalley.com
PJV QUICKIE POV:
Slow to start...but the end knocked my socks off.And here I sit pondering THE IRON KNIGHT by Julie Kagawa. What can I say? Can I gush {insert gush here} ? Can I rant {insert semi-ranting lunacy here} ? Or should I just lay it out? Lay it out. Decided. For starters this is a great series. If you are not familiar with Julie Kagawa and her faeries STOP NOW and go and read them. They have some small problems, but this is a wonderful series and highly recommended to lovers of young adult and paranormal. THE IRON KNIGHT is the fourth in the series, written as sort of a compendium to the trilogy that features Meghan Chase. THE IRON KNIGHT is from Prince Ash's perspective and is very different from the original trilogy which had its own draw. I loved it. I thought it was well written and Kagawa wrapped it up in the perfect package. I have to say, she has clawed her way up to the top of my list as one of the best young adult authors on this planet. Read the series. Fall in love with Prince Ash…it'll only sting for a few seconds.
REVIEW:
Ash is on a journey. To survive the Iron Lands and keep ahold of his love, Meghan Chase, the Queen, he must become mortal. The fae, at least the normal fae cannot survive in the modern landscape of the Iron Lands. Yet, Meghan cannot leave, she is their Queen, without her the land will plunge into chaos and a leader might arise that will put all of Faerie in jeopardy. Ash must sacrifice his immortality and gain a soul or give up Meghan entirely.
There is talk of a gauntlet of sorts, at the end of the world. No one has ever returned - yet rumors say that this is where you can gain a soul. Determined Ash sets out for the End of the World, to his constant aggravation Puck decides to join him. Along with Grim and a few unexpected companions the group must make their way across lands that are wild and dangerous, to cross a river of dreams and enter a world that hasn't been seen by many who lived to tell the tale. All for love. All for his soul. There is no guarantee that he will survive, there isn't even a guarantee that Meghan will wait for him, but Ash knows it is the right thing to do.
I'll state from the get-go that this is a book that takes a little bit of effort to get into. Ash is on a journey, so much like the great and epic journeys of fantasy literature they do a lot of traveling from place to place, battle to battle. This is not for a lot of people - especially those that are used to a little bit of romance mixed into the plot. The first three novels had journeys but they also had the underlying tension between Meghan, Ash and Puck. Meghan is not on this journey. It is a tough beginning which I've heard a few people mention had them putting aside the book after the first fifty to give it time to steep (myself included). CARRY ON, push forward and do not let it faze you, because once this novel gets rolling there is no stopping it.
Throughout the pages I kept thinking, "how will she {Kagawa} do it?" "how can this possibly end well?". I had my doubts, I really did and one of those Kagawa even delved into. It was my doubt from the beginning when I knew he wanted his mortality. Would an immortal creature be happy as a mortal? It would be like a human suddenly losing their hearing or more subtly their taste or feeling. I feared for the ending of this book and was held in an anxiety induced prison until the final pages…but it was a perfect execution. Kagawa didn't hold anything back as per her usual style and what she put forth in THE IRON KNIGHT was better than I expected.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Not to be read out of order, this book needs the prior books to make sense. Recommended for fans of this series and if you are a paranormal romance, young adult fan I would highly recommend reading book one.
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy Graphic Novel ParaElement: Fae, Spirits Order Online: Amazon.com Stalk the Author: Web | Illustrator: Deviant Review copy provided by publisher.
PJ's QUICKIE POV:
A huge fan of the series, I was excited to be able to review the Storm Born graphic novel, even if it was in PDF format. I really believe a graphic novel is best experienced in print, mainly because layout is usually a major part of the experience. Full page spreads, etc. Yet, even though not my first choice in how to read…the Storm Born Vol 1 & 2 that were sent to me for review were beyond belief, awesome. They stuck with the story line to the letter, the characters were like I would have imagined – well Kiyo was a little hotter than I would have thought. (I always imagined him to be dorky – even though he really wasn’t described that way – my way of emoting on him)
I was...Pleased, pleased, pleased as punch with the illustration of David Hamann and the scripting of Grant Alter and I can’t wait to read more of the Dark Swan graphic novel. I just need to get my grubby hands on a printed set --- not scheduled for release until October.
REVIEW:
The comics follow the story of Eugenie, Dark Swan – to the letter, just like the books. Volume one and two are an introduction to Eugenie and her unusual occupation of freelance Shaman. The story opens with her exorcising a nasty spirit from a tennis shoe that makes a few choice comments before Eugenie manages to get him to the other side. First he knows her name and second, he might have been hitting on her. It’s strange but she talks herself into thinking it’s nothing. Eugenie’s life is not what you would call normal – but things seem stranger than usual around her and she is contemplating taking on a case that the logical side of her says to stay FAR away from. A case where she would have to go body and soul into the Otherworld, something everyone around her says she would be insane to do. To distract herself, Eugenie finds herself in a bar, she needed crowds, people distraction. She finds it in the arms of a half-Japanese vet named Kiyo. It’s instant attraction…but Kiyo is not the innocent, normal vet that he seems and an overnight stay and an encounter with an elemental proves it to both of them. Distractions aren’t always a good thing.
Hamann has some of the images from Vol. 2 up on his deviant art site, take a look at how fab they are...
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Recommended for fans of Urban Fantasy, the fae. This is also a good way to transition into to graphic novels. Like the book and then check out the comic.
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal Element: Werewolves, Witches Series: And The Beast (Book One) Order Online: Amazon.com Stalk the Author: Web | Twitter | Blog Review copy received from author.
SAYURIs QUICKIE POV:
This new novella from writing duo Moira Rogers (Bree & Donna) is a curious fusion of fairytale and shifter paranormal romance. It switches between erotic and heartbreaking at break-neck speed and is over before it’s begun. So much so I was it was just a tad longer. Who am I kidding? I wanted it to be 5 times longer. I felt that we had only just begun to scratch the surface of the characters and while I enjoyed it immensely, there was a feeling of ‘Huh? Is that it?’ at the end. I felt like I had only gotten a nibble at the cookie when I wanted to devour the whole thing. (I’m greedy like that!)
REVIEW:
Sabine is a wild woman, living alone in the woods. Forgotten by everyone almost instantly, due to a spell cast upon her by her lover’s mother, she is alone in the truest sense of the word. Every friend, every enemy, even her family, no longer remember her. Her former lover, Ciar, left to fight in the war and Sabine has come to except that he has forgotten her too and that she will be alone for the rest of her life.
Ciar, High Lord of the Forest, has come home from the war to find his lover, Sabine, gone. Angry and confused as to why she would leave, he goes in search of her. He finds her and discovers his mother and her witch cast a spell upon Sabine. Cair is frustrated that Sabine won’t let him touch her as the spell acts quicker through touch and she is deathly afraid that he will forget her now he is home and within the spell’s reach. All he wants to do is claim her as his mate and go home and live happily ever after. Instead they have to race against the spell and find a way to rid Sabine of it.
I really enjoyed this story. It was short and there was so much in here that it could have been a full length novel with no problem. (I think I mentioned that before, right?? Also it's selling at Samhain for only $1.75 this week so I felt like there was value for money.) That said the authors did a great job of conveying the desperate loneliness of Sabine and when Cair found and remembered her the bittersweet realization that he too would forget was heartbreaking. I shed a wee tear at the end it was so good. I liked the mix of fairytale and shifter myths. They combined to make a new and interesting world to me and, even with the constraints of the format, one I would visit again. Lucky for me as there is a follow –up novella coming in June named Kisri
Recomendations:
Although there are fairytale elements there are also paranormal romance elements and there are some hawt love scenes therefore this is for the adults in the room. Fans of Dana Marie Bell, Vivi Andrews and Jeigh Lynn will enjoy this.
If you've followed my blog for a bit, you might know I have an obsession with Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey Series. Just a tiny one...so I'm excited to feature this series today and offer a giveaway. Today, I proudly stand up and admit that I AM PARAJUNKEE AND I AM A SERIES JUNKEE...
Why am I a junkee for series books, well because authors like Julie Kagawa?
Here is a condensed version of the reviews I wrote for each book.
The Iron King: This is the best YA faerie novel that I have read, hands down. Gripping - check. Tough - check. Scary - check. Emotional - check. Creative - check. The list goes on...Ms. Kagawa you've written yourself quite a fairy tale. Read More.
The Iron Daughter: As impressed as I was with The Iron King, I was dually impressed with book two of Julie Kagawa's Iron Series. Full of adventure, detailed world building, sly wit and charming romance, The Iron Daughter lives up to it's predecessor. I think I went through all the range of emotions on this one... happy, outrage, fear, sadness... my husband probably thought I was bipolar during this particular reading adventure. Read More.
The Iron Queen: There is a reason that a multitude of bloggers are naming Julie Kagawa as a BIR (Best I've Read) Author. Her Iron Fey Series is so good it had me sobbing uncontrollably, an emotional train wreck and my child and husband looking at me like I was a lunatic. That good. I love strong emotional reactions in my books, makes me feel alive and a part of the novel. In every book that I have read in this series I was affected in some way - this latest, The Iron Queen was the strongest yet. You've outdone yourself Ms. Kagawa and I lay at your feet in supplication and in desperate need to read The Iron Knight. Read More.
The winds of war gather in acclaimed author Julie Kagawa's newest novel.
Meghan Chase thought they’d left Faery behind forever, but pressing matters cause the three exiles to be summoned to war.
A new alliance is made, along with a few contracts, of course, and Meghan, half Summer faery princess, half human, is pressed to choose Fey over her mortal beginnings. Will she abandon her human heart for an iron will that will help her survive? For as Meghan Chase can confirm—in real life, unlike books, faery tales don’t necessarily have happy endings.
"I thought it was over...The impossible choices, the sacrifices of those I loved. But a storm is approaching and they will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Back into a conflict so powerful...I'm not sure anyone can survive it." - Meghan Chase in The Iron Queen
Now, it is your chance to read the Iron Queen. Win a copy of the IRON QUEEN & a cool Iron Fey tee, here on the PJV. Just check the details below to see if you qualify and how to get extra entries.
Contest Deets:
One (1) winner will receive a copy of The Iron Queen and an Iron Fey t-shirt!
Deadline Feb. 7tht 11:59 CST
Requirements:
Following is not required but is appreciated! US/CAN - NO PO BOXES Comment to win. Answer the question: Team Ash or Team Puck?
Extra Entries {LEAVE AN EXTRA COMMENT FOR EACH!}
1. Tweet {up to every 24 hours}: Win The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa & Cool Iron Queen Tee from @parajunkee --> http://is.gd/FXk0K5 PLZ RT
2. Spread the word in any way, Post, Facebook..etc. {each way gets you an extra entry}
3. Just Do It, each gets an extra entry: Twitter | Goodread | GFC | Facebook | Email Subscription 4. Like THE IRON FEY on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheIronFey 5. Follow Julie Kagawa on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jkagawa
