Review: Sirensong by Jenna Black

Sirensong by Jenna Black

My rating: 3.7 of 5 stars
 

I still really liked this book, but I don't think it was as strong as the others. I absolutely loved the traveling and the the conflict that arose, but I am not sure that this was a suitable ending for the series. It's a situation where I feel like there could have been a forth book that tied things together better, even if it was just for the sake of the overall plot development of the series. It is slightly different for this series though because, not that the books aren't connected, but there isn't a major conflict that needs to be resolved throughout all three books. You definitely still need to read them in order, but it seems like each book has it's own separate issue.

[
CHARACTERS:
Dana: Despite her moments of extreme stupidity, I loved Dana. Some of my favorite moments from the series were when she challenged the fae and their archaic views or just was outright sassy as hell to them. It was spot-on fantastic. I still think that she shouldn't necessarily be with Ethan. He still isn't my favorite, but oddly enough, I don't have any ships for her either. I think this is the one time where not only do I think she could be on her own ('cause tbh, lots of YA heroines don't need somebody), but that she doesn't have any legitamite options at the moment. Sorry shippers, I can't agree with any of them for this series. :/ Oh well.
Erlking: This book was like a wake-up call when it came to the Erlking. I still stick by my standing that he isn't a horrible person. But I'm pretty sure he sees Dana as nothing more than interesting. So that's not a ship. I can't hate him though, he just doesn't seem that bad still.
Ethan: By the end of the series, I didn't mistrust Ethan as much as I originally did. I still don't completely trust him, and I still don't think he and Dana should be together, but I also don't think he means ill anymore and he's starting to try. It could also just be something that got lost in translation in the development of his character and his relationship with Dana. I still don't ship them though.
Keane: We lost Keane moments! Of all the characters in this book, I feel like we lost a lot of potential development for Keane's characters. Which sucked too because he is a really cool character, and he obviously developed somehow, because he ends up with Kimber. But we didn't really get to see that development, and I wish we had, because it would have rounded out the story so much more.
Side note of appreciation for Dana's dad. Of all YA parents, he's probably one of the best that I've read of, and I find that particularly strange because he's fae. Good for him though, because he was supportive, but not pushy, and he never tried to make Dana feel belittled or unheard.
WORLD
We got to go to Faerie in this book!! I really liked this part of the series too. It was like a combination of Alice in Wonderland and Outlander. I thought it was amazing and the descriptions of some of the creatures were incredible. We didn't just get a description of the physical world, but also of the creatures that lived there. We also had a description of the castle, and I looked up the picture of what it was supposedly based off of, and it's pretty cool. I think I will love the world that Jenna Black has created for quite some time to come. I'll say it again in this post: I would love to visit Avalon!! In general, but especially if there were actual fae :).
WRITING: One of the things that I really appreciated about this series is that Jenna Black's writing stayed consistent. All three books had the same awesome sense of humor running through them and they all kept the same light, fun, easy-going reading style. The one thing that confuses the HELL out of me though is why the third book is called SIRENsong. Yes she sings, but I don't think the word "siren" was ever used in any of the books. I might have just missed it I guess...?
(hide spoiler)]
I binge-read all three of the books in this series, Glimmerglass, Shadowspell, and Sirensong, within a week. I think this might be the best way to do it for these books. Read them one after the other. They were so much fun to read! I don't think I can emphasize that enough- they. were. FUN. Sit back, relax, and get lost in the books.

Thanks for reading!

View all my reviews

Sirensong by Jenna Black Review WITH SPOILERS

Sirensong by Jenna Black

Review WITH SPOILERS

3.7 out of 5 Stars

I still really liked this book, but I don't think it was as strong as the others. I absolutely loved the traveling and the the conflict that arose, but I am not sure that this was a suitable ending for the series. It's a situation where I feel like there could have been a forth book that tied things together better, even if it was just for the sake of the overall plot development of the series. It is slightly different for this series though because, not that the books aren't connected, but there isn't a major conflict that needs to be resolved throughout all three books. You definitely still need to read them in order, but it seems like each book has it's own separate issue.

SPOILERS AHEAD

CHARACTERS:

Dana: Despite her moments of extreme stupidity, I loved Dana. Some of my favorite moments from the series were when she challenged the fae and their archaic views or just was outright sassy as hell to them. It was spot-on fantastic. I still think that she shouldn't necessarily be with Ethan. He still isn't my favorite, but oddly enough, I don't have any ships for her either. I think this is the one time where not only do I think she could be on her own ('cause tbh, lots of YA heroines don't need somebody), but that she doesn't have any legitamite options at the moment. Sorry shippers, I can't agree with any of them for this series. :/ Oh well.

Erlking: This book was like a wake-up call when it came to the Erlking. I still stick by my standing that he isn't a horrible person. But I'm pretty sure he sees Dana as nothing more than interesting. So that's not a ship. I can't hate him though, he just doesn't seem that bad still.

Ethan: By the end of the series, I didn't mistrust Ethan as much as I originally did. I still don't completely trust him, and I still don't think he and Dana should be together, but I also don't think he means ill anymore and he's starting to try. It could also just be something that got lost in translation in the development of his character and his relationship with Dana. I still don't ship them though.

Keane: We lost Keane moments! Of all the characters in this book, I feel like we lost a lot of potential development for Keane's characters. Which sucked too because he is a really cool character, and he obviously developed somehow, because he ends up with Kimber. But we didn't really get to see that development, and I wish we had, because it would have rounded out the story so much more.

Side note of appreciation for Dana's dad. Of all YA parents, he's probably one of the best that I've read of, and I find that particularly strange because he's fae. Good for him though, because he was supportive, but not pushy, and he never tried to make Dana feel belittled or unheard.

WORLD:

We got to go to Faerie in this book!! I really liked this part of the series too. It was like a combination of Alice in Wonderland and Outlander. I thought it was amazing and the descriptions of some of the creatures were incredible. We didn't just get a description of the physical world, but also of the creatures that lived there. We also had a description of the castle, and I looked up the picture of what it was supposedly based off of, and it's pretty cool. I think I will love the world that Jenna Black has created for quite some time to come. I'll say it again in this post: I would love to visit Avalon!! In general, but especially if there were actual fae :).

WRITING:

One of the things that I really appreciated about this series is that Jenna Black's writing stayed consistent. All three books had the same awesome sense of humor running through them and they all kept the same light, fun, easy-going reading style. The one thing that confuses the HELL out of me though is why the third book is called SIRENsong. Yes she sings, but I don't think the word "siren" was ever used in any of the books. I might have just missed it I guess...?
  

I binge-read all three of the books in this series, Glimmerglass, Shadowspell, and Sirensong, within a week. I think this might be the best way to do it for these books. Read them one after the other. They were so much fun to read! I don't think I can emphasize that enough- they. were. FUN. Sit back, relax, and get lost in the books. And the beautiful covers of course- can't forget those.

Thanks for reading!

Shadowspell by Jenna Black REVIEW

Shadowspell by Jenna Black

Review WITH SPOILERS
4.8 out of 5 Stars

 

 

This book was great. It didn't have the sophomore slump, it kept moving, and we got to meet new characters.... all in all, it was such a nice read. Jenna Black wrote such a fun and entertaining story in Shadowspell, and I can't wait to pick up the last book in the series! There were a few times that I wished the fae were a little darker and we got to see more of them, but there was a character that helped fix this situation... ;) I really enjoyed this book. Again, just like Glimmerglass, this wasn't a difficult read, but it was fun. And everyone needs fun books. :) (view spoiler)

SPOILERS AHEAD

CHARACTERS:

Dana: I still love this girl. She will literally not take crap from anyone and is not afraid to say it or show it. There were a few moments that were astronomically stupid, but I probably would have made the same astronomically stupid mistake, so I can't really blame her for that. The one thing that I wish was different about her character is her attachment to Ethan. Don't get me wrong, I love dedication between two people in a relationship. But they weren't together at the time that the Erlking came, and Ethan was an ass before that, so it just didn't make sense to me why she would be doing all of these things out of her feelings for Ethan. And I know that she would have done it anyway, no matter who it was, but she didn't even entertain the idea of her NOT being with Ethan, and give instead, Keane, a chance. It just seemed like a sudden and overly strong attachment.

Arawn: I loved this guy. He was actually amazing and was the dark tricky fae character that was missing in book one. Plus, I love how he acts in general. Yes, he's super manipulative, but that's what fae are, and there is a certain art form to the way that he is manipulative. But aside from all of that, he also seems to care whenever he can. He may say that he doesn't, but really, I think that he tries to avoid causing people pain and suffering with no reason. If it benefits him, then he'll do it. But he isn't a sadist dong it for no reason. I JUST REMEMBERED! That part where he just casually says that he'll make a deal with her, but she needs to sleep with him??? I was not expecting that. I was expecting something like marriage, a child, a geis, anything really. But NOT THAT. He said that, and my first thought was actually, "How the f*** does he know that?". My second thought was, "wtf?!?" That moment was probably the craziest moment of the book and I also thought it was the funniest, just because it came out of nowhere and was said with perfection on the Erlking's part, because he just didn't seem to think anything of it, and Dana was also, like me, like wtf?? It was great.

Keane:
We see so much more of Keane in this book and I really loved it. I didn't realize that he was going to be an actual main (ish) character based off of book 1. But the more we saw of him in book 2, the more I liked his character. It did seem rather sudden though when Dana confronts him about his feelings and he did have some for her?? Where the hell did that come from?!?! There wasn't really a build up to that moment, and it did bother me a little bit. But, Keane as a character was amazing. I loved when he was in the story and we got to see him interact with everyone.

Kimber:
Kimber's character is more developed now, which I appreciate. She's is still a little disorienting in her personality and seems to jump from super girly and fluffy to cold bitch. It isn't as bad in this book though. I think the shock of the complete sudden shift from book 1 is gone and it is almost more natural to her character in book 2 to behave that way.

WORLD:

I still really love the world that Jenna Black has created. There's the faerie world, the human world, and there's Avalon. I WANT TO VISIT THIS PLACE!!! It just seems so interesting and, not going to lie, a part of me would love for fae to be real so that I can meet them. Plus, with the Erlking, we get some more background on the fae world and how their politics work. SUPER interesting.
This series is going really well so far, so if you are looking for a fun, fast series to read, pick up these books! The first one is Glimmerglass and it was just as fun as this one.
Thanks for reading!

Review: Shadowspell by Jenna Black

Shadowspell by Jenna Black

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was great. It didn't have the sophomore slump, it kept moving, and we got to meet new characters.... all in all, it was such a nice read. Jenna Black wrote such a fun and entertaining story in Shadowspell, and I can't wait to pick up the last book in the series! There were a few times that I wished the fae were a little darker and we got to see more of them, but there was a character that helped fix this situation... ;) I really enjoyed this book. Again, just like Glimmerglass, this wasn't a difficult read, but it was fun. And everyone needs fun books with beautiful covers on them! :)CTERS: Dana: I still love this girl. She will literally not take crap from anyone and is not afraid to say it or show it. There were a few moments that were astronomically stupid, but I probably would have made the same astronomically stupid mistake, so I can't really blame her for that. The one thing that I wish was different about her character is her attachment to Ethan. Don't get me wrong, I love dedication between two people in a relationship. But they weren't together at the time that the Erlking came, and Ethan was an ass before that, so it just didn't make sense to me why she would be doing all of these things out of her feelings for Ethan. And I know that she would have done it anyway, no matter who it was, but she didn't even entertain the idea of her NOT being with Ethan, and give instead, Keane, a chance. It just seemed like a sudden and overly strong attachment.
Arawn: I loved this guy. He was actually amazing and was the dark tricky fae character that was missing in book one. Plus, I love how he acts in general. Yes, he's super manipulative, but that's what fae are, and there is a certain art form to the way that he is manipulative. But aside from all of that, he also seems to care whenever he can. He may say that he doesn't, but really, I think that he tries to avoid causing people pain and suffering with no reason. If it benefits him, then he'll do it. But he isn't a sadist dong it for no reason. I JUST REMEMBERED! That part where he just casually says that he'll make a deal with her, but she needs to sleep with him??? I was not expecting that. I was expecting something like marriage, a child, a geis, anything really. But NOT THAT. He said that, and my first thought was actually, "How the f*** does he know that?". My second thought was, "wtf?!?" That moment was probably the craziest moment of the book and I also thought it was the funniest, just because it came out of nowhere and was said with perfection on the Erlking's part, because he just didn't seem to think anything of it, and Dana was also, like me, like wtf?? It was
We see so much more of Keane in this book and I really loved it. I didn't realize that he was going to be an actual main (ish) character based off of book 1. But the more we saw of him in book 2, the more I liked his character. It did seem rather sudden though when Dana confronts him about his feelings and he did have some for her?? Where the hell did that come from?!?! There wasn't really a build up to that moment, and it did bother me a little bit. But, Keane as a character was amazing. I loved when he was in the story and we got to see him interact with everyone.
Kimber:
Kimber's character is more developed now, which I appreciate. She's is still a little disorienting in her personality and seems to jump from super girly and fluffy to cold bitch. It isn't as bad in this book though. I think the shock of the complete sudden shift from book 1 is gone and it is almost more natural to her character in book 2 to behave that way.
WORLD:
I still really love the world that Jenna Black has created. There's the faerie world, the human world, and there's Avalon. I want to visit this place. It just seems so interesting and, not going to lie, a part of me would love for fae to be real so that I can meet them. Plus, with the Erlking, we get some more background on the fae world and how their politics work. SUPER interesting.
(hide spoiler)]This series is going really well so far, so if you are looking for a fun, fast series to read, pick up these books! The first one is Glimmerglass and it was just as fun as this one.
Thanks for reading!

View all my reviews

Halloween Recommendations!

Books Perfect for Halloween

There are only a few more days until Halloween, which means it is the perfect time for last minute spooky and/or dark atmospheric books. Here are a few if you are still looking for a Halloween read! The stars next to the title indicate the ones that are on the scary-er side. :)




GHOSTS:
Wait Til Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn***
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender***

PARANORMAL:
Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

CREEPY:
Immortal by Gillian Shields
Mara Dyer Series by Michelle Hodkin***
Sublime by Christina Lauren***

VAMPIRES:
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (of course...)
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest***

ANGELS:
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Sweet Evil Trilogy by Wendy Higgins
Fallen by Lauren Kate

FEY:
Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa
Tithe by Holly Black***
Ever Shade by Alexia Purdy

DARK:
Mister Monday by Garth Nix
Bound by Kira Saito***
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Thanks for Reading and Happy Halloween!!

Nikki x Cole (Everneath Series): A Ship in My Fleet

A Ship in My Fleet

Nikki x Cole

From: Everneath Series by Brodi Ashton

***I am not sure what/if I will be spoiling in this post. Assume the entire post has spoilers.***

So this post may not be as detailed as the other ships I have in my fleet. I read these books years ago, so the details on the things are slightly fuzzy. But I asked for a hard copy of the series for Christmas and my mind has gone back into Everneath mode!! 'Tis truly a fantastic thing. I highly recommend this series to everyone, not just for the ship. ;)

When I Started Shipping:
I pretty much started shipping these guys as soon as they had both been introduced. I believe Cole isn't introduced until later, but right from is description, I was on his side. It's killing me that I can't remember how they meet in the first book.... I can remember how they met in their stories and what happened.... but how did they meet in book 1....? Probably a concert. Yeah? Either way, as soon as the descriptions were finished, I thought they would be great together.

Nikki x Cole:
Is there a ship name for them that I do not know of? I would really love a good ship name for them... Nole? Possible...

This next paragraph is going to be super opinionated, but so it this blog. What on Earth was wrong with Nikki??? Why the hell did they not end up together??!??!! When I reread this, I am going to re-do this post with much more detail (like how I usually do these posts). I will explain this rant in more detail as well, because I did not appreciate her ending up with the other guy! I don't even totally remember his name- John? Jake? Jack? I think I was Jack. It definitely started with a J though. But she chooses him! Over Cole!!! AHHHHARARRGHH!!!! FRUSTRATION!!!!

I have almost come to terms with the fact that this ship has sunk. It has actually been on the bottom of the ocean for awhile now, but it doesn't make me want it any less. It is still a part of my fleet, and will remain a part of my fleet, even though it is no longer able to function. I will reread, and I will repost this one too. :)

Thanks for reading!!

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black Review

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

Review NO SPOILERS

4.45 out of 5 Stars

I really enjoyed this book. It is one of those books were they are purely entertaining and you can fly through it in a day. Glimmerglass is a book that you can fall into and escape from reality. There are faeries, English people, magic, and so many fun things thrown together into one book. I also feel like the characters had very real responses. At least, the main character did. Often, the heroine or protagonist of a story is very brave or bold or witty- and that's great! But it's also nice to have a character that would react to certain situations in a more mundane manner every now and then.
[
CHARACTERS:
Dana: This is the character that I'm talking about when I say that they had "real responses". She is thrown into this world that she knew of, but hadn't really experienced for herself, and on top of that, MORE crap gets thrown at her and she is expected to adjust at the snap of her fingers. Appropriately, I think, she just gets tired and paranoid of having to wake up and not know what is going to get tossed at her for the day. Props to her. Finds out dad's in jail. Held captive. Attacked in a cave. Sees two worlds on top of each other. Queens want to kill her. More shit. Etc. And yes, she does take it all in (rolls with the punches, etc.), but she also doesn't take crap from any bad explanations either. She's awesome!
Ethan: I do not know what to make of him yet.... Don't get me wrong- he's definitely a top contender as far as ships are concerned. But I still haven't yet figured out if he has good intentions or not. Granted, I may be slightly jaded as I write this as I am currently reading the second book, but still... he doesn't have too much going for him in this book. He uses that creepy as spell on her while their making out, and he's known to be a player that is super ambitious. His only redeeming qualities are that he jumped into the moat after her and seemed sincerely sorry for his other actions. Normally, I'd be ok with that. But he's not human.... so I'm not as trustful with only those things to go off of.....
Kimber: I do like her character. But I think she could have been developed better. I totally understand acting one way in front of someone and another way when they're gone, but still; her character seemed to jump from one personality to another a little too quickly.
Keane: First, I have to confess I have absolutely no clue how to pronounce this guy's name. Second, I have to confess I probably would not have given him attention in this review if I had not already started the second book. BUT, looking back into the first book, I can appreciate the introduction that he has here. Just don't forget him as you start to pick up the second book....
There are lots of other characters, and they are all super well rounded too. :)
WORLD:
AVALON IS A REAL PLACE!!!! Holy moly, I looked it up- Avalon is an actual island-thingy. Can I please visit?? Can the rest of the world in this book be real too?? Please??!??? In all seriousness though, I thought it was extremely interesting that in this series there is this island, that is known by the rest of the world too, that is a cross-over area where both faeries and humans coexist. There was a whole separate political system that Jenna Black created that seemed to make sense, PLUS she also expanded a little on the governments of the Fae world. She did a really good job not just using what was already there on the island in real life (like the mountain), but also throwing in the details of underground tunnels and how these two species interacted and were able to live together.
WRITING
As far as writing goes, I want to say there was nothing truly spectacular about the language that Jenna uses, but it wasn't like it was terrible either. It just, was. Which I think can be a really good thing at times. If the writing gets too complicated or hard to follow, then it can take away from the story. At the end of the day, that is what a book does- tell a story. Sometimes it's nice to have other things in there to make it prettier or something, but other times it's nice to just have the story. And I will also say that there were some funny lines too.
(hide spoiler)]
I love fae books. This one reminded me of why I love them- it was slightly political, slightly adventurous, slightly romantic, and fully great and fun to read. Especially if you just need a book that you will fly through because it's entertaining, this book would be great. It is also probably a good book to pick up if you are currently in a book hangover. ;)

Thanks for reading!