The Jewel (Lone City #1) by Amy Ewing

Although an interesting concept, The Jewel is frightfully dull in execution. The descriptions of wasting time and clothing options are almost criminally tedious. The element of magic seems to be unconnected to anything else in the story, other than to indicate who will be able to bear children for the moneyed members of society. There is also the problem of insta-love. Sometimes it works- this time it feels like a forced issue to break up the tedium. Add into the mix characters that are flat and uninteresting, and it's not surprising that I have no desire to read anything after the first in this series.

The Jewel (Lone City #1) by Amy Ewing: 1 out of 5 stars.  Available at booksellers and libraries now.

The Eternity Key (Into the Dark #2) by Bree Despain

Bree Despain has yet to write a story that I don't like.  I didn't even read the first book in this series, but I didn't feel as if I couldn't read this one without it.  The characters are great, the plotline twists excellent ways, and I'm really looking forward to the next installment.  Despain is a talented writer who can fully immerse you in the drama of her stories and need to know what happens next.

The Eternity Key (Into the Dark #2) by Bree Despain: 4 out of 5 stars.  Available May 12, 2015 at booksellers and libraries.

Curse Breaker: Guild Assassin by Berley Kerr

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I intensely disliked this book. I didn't finish it for numerous reasons, the foremost being my extreme irritation with Wendy as the narrator and protagonist. While the first chapter of the book is full of action, the majority is rife with boring details leading her up to the action that takes place in that first chapter. I couldn't relate to Wendy at all. She didn't seem to have any narrative emotion and came across as more of a neutral recording of events, even though some pretty traumatic things happened to her throughout the story.

The writing leaves a lot to be desired. There is so much description that I often forgot what was happening around whatever scenery was being discussed. The cover leads one to believe that this will be an steampunk story, but I was surprised to find out that it takes place on several different planets and involves quantum physics in addition to magic.

Overall the premise of this book was good, with an intriguing backdrop. Unfortunately, the narrator and the writing put me off of the story and leave me with no desire to find out what happens at the end of Guild Assassin, let alone what waits in the next installment.

Curse Breaker: Guild Assassin by Berley Kerr: 1 out of 5 stars.        

Accession (Sarath Web #1) by Terah Edun

This was a confusing book for me.  There wasn't enough detail of the world in which I found myself immersed- a world of witch queens, magic, giant morphing toads, and drunken vampire-unicorn hybrids.  There was entirely too much information on dancing trolls under bridges and the sibling rivalry between perfect Rose and inadequate Katherine.  There were also a lot of mixed metaphors and a weak plot.

I think Accession has the potential to kick off a good series, but it might have been  better condensed.  Part One of a story, rather than the whole book.  It definitely needed more editing, and the writing style was so messy it was painful at times.  I will most likely read the second in the Sarath Web series, but if I am as disappointed in it as I was in Accession, I will give it up for good. 

Accession (Sarath Web #1) by Terah Edun: 2 out of 5 stars.

Midnight Dawn by Jocelyn Adams

This is an action-packed fantasy novel that combines great writing with excellent characters.  Adams presents a world for Addison and company that seems plausible enough to scare you into wondering what would happen if it were true.  Even though I didn't read the first one, I didn't feel like I had missed too much.  All my questions were eventually answered, and the ending was neatly done.  Not everything was perfect, but everyone's fate was included before the final page. 

Midnight Dawn by Jocelyn Adams: 4 out of 5 stars.

Firebug by Lish McBride

Lish McBride has given readers an amazing protagonist and an excellent cast of characters revolving around her. Ava is fantastically sarcastic, delivering snarky comments to others in the books while directing hilarious thoughts and references to the readers. I laughed out loud several times in the course of this book, and not just because of Ava. 

 Ezra and Lock are her perfect foils, alternately baiting and looking out for her.  They work well as a team, supporting and antagonizing each other.  Readers will find themselves cheering them on with Ava, and wanting to smack them an instant later.  If that's not indicative of best friends, I don't know what is. 

 The rest of this motely crew is also great.  Whether friend or foe, human or otherwise, each person McBride presents to readers impacts the story line.  Although there is clearly going to be another book to go along with Firebug, there aren't many loose ends left flapping in the wind.  Inevitably there are questions, but none that will drive anyone crazy until the next volume. 

I, for one, am greatly looking forward to the next Firebug novel.  McBride is wickedly funny and Ava and company showcase her craftsmanship flawlessly. 

Firebug by Lish McBride: 5 out of 5 stars.

A Lonely Magic by Sarah Wynde

Wynde has built a world in which those in power struggle against each other, and the natural progression of their lives.  Fen is a sarcastic heroine who does her best to keep up with rapid changes (including an attempt on her own life, being transported into an underwater world, and having a tattoo that speaks to her) and doesn't like to rely too much on anyone but herself. 

A Lonely Magic is a little slow to get off the ground, after its intense opening.  It's worth going through, though, to get to all the chaos and mystery that follow.  Here you will find a diverse cast made up of humans and nonhumans, those grounded in magic and reality, and where no one might be exactly whom they seem. 

The cliffhanger ending guarantees at least one sequel, and I'll be waiting for it. 

A Lonely Magic by Sarah Wynde: 4 out of 5 stars.

Scintillate by Tracy Clark

The description of this book, to me, sounded like an Anne Bishop-style YA fantasy involving a girl who can see auras, and has a remarkable one herself.  Unfortunately, the story doesn't hold up, the characters are weak, and the dialogue is so sugary-sweet that I felt a little nauseated.

What drove me absolutely crazy, though, was the occasional phonetic spelling of Finn's accent- most of which were instances of strong cursing.  If some was going to be included that way, all of it should have been.

 I felt a little cheated after reading the entire story. There's not enough explanation of this special power, or the history behind it, for the length of this book. I don't think it needed to be strung out into a trilogy.

Isaura by Ruth Silver

In the third installment of the Aberrant trilogy, Olivia finds herself trying to save Joshua, fending off advances from Henry, and keeping herself from being killed by Isaura.  This could have been so much better in so many ways. 

The writing was truly terrible.  The punctuation errors alone had me confused as to the emotional state of every situation.  The entire narration is awkward- not just the conversation. There are so many "plot twists" that they become tedious- time travel, reproduction experiments, telepathic communication, portals, blah, blah, blah.  Because of these, there are also so many holes in the story that one just gives up hope of anything making sense at all.

 Olivia comes across as a whiny narcissist who wants everyone to listen to her because she's the only woman left who can naturally conceive a child. At every confrontation I expected her to stamp her foot and shout "Because that's the way I want it!"  I was so annoyed with her by the end of the book that I almost didn't even care if she had resolved her internal issues with being able to have a child versus wanting to have a child.

Isaura, the evil villain of the tale, was ludicrous.  This ties directly in to the holes in the story.  I still have no idea what her actual motive was.  She hates Olivia.  Okay, but why?  And what is the purpose to everything?  There isn't one, as far as I could tell.

The ending was also overwhelmingly saccharine. Yes, I like a good, solid ending.  I even like endings that others might not find "happy."   Everyone was so happily wrapped up that I wanted to gag. 
I was disappointed in the conclusion of this trilogy.  It started out so well, and went downhill from there, ending with this pile of poorly put together words.

Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick

Becky had promise from the first page. She's aware of her own physical shortcomings and she doesn't make any excuses for them.  She is the way she is, and everyone can accept that or keep their opinions to themselves.  When she's offered the chance to be the most beautiful woman in the world, she takes it.  Who wouldn't? My opinion of her didn't last. 

 There were a few problems with this story as a whole, though.  The conversation is stilted quite frequently.  There's also something...off about the entire narration. Maybe because it's written by a man voicing a teenage girl, maybe it's because Becky has a tendency to describe everything to epic proportions.  Becky was okay as a narrator, but I didn't connect with her fully.  She never upheld her promise of being that sarcastic, funny girl who wryly observes the world and subtly changes it to suit her own needs.

The biggest issues with this book are Tom Kelly and his dresses.  He promises to make Becky the most beautiful woman in the world using "magic" but this magic is never explained.  Sure, I was able to glean some of how it works along the way, but I never fully understood what was happening.
 Then there is Tom himself, with the biggest plot twist of all.  This could have been an amazing addition, bringing readers back again and again.  I won't say what it is, in case you want to read the book, but the reveal was pretty huge and then the whole thing just fizzled.  Not everything needs a scientific explanation, but there is no evidentiary support at all.  There's just nothing. 

The entire story came across as shallow and mean.  I think it was supposed to be a cutting social commentary, but Becky never seemed to learn anything from her time as the most beautiful woman in the world other than how to provide better service to the rich.  She had dreams of providing for those who were physically impaired, and for those who didn't have the means to make better lives for themselves.  When her looks returned to normal, though, she seemed to have forgotten her ambitions entirely.  To me, this just says that the only way we can use our assets to help those in need is if we're beautiful enough to make a public spectacle of it all. 

I think with a little bit of effort this could be the scathing commentary it was supposed to be.  As it is, though, Gorgeous doesn't add up to a good read. 

Wicked Sense by Fabio Bueno

I was expecting much more from this book.  There was very little that wasn't almost absurd  when it came to the magical elements, and I'm not even remotely making a comparison to actual magical practices. The romantic story line was saccharine at best.  I wasn't very attached to either Skye or Drake, not to mention the background characters.  It wasn't even hard to peg who the Singularity was, from the first time she was mentioned.  I found this to be a cute, not too engaging or absorbing story. I might read the next one just because I invested the time to read this one, but we'll see.