Review of Mist by Susan Krinard

Title/Author: Mist (Mist #1) by Susan Krinard
Publisher/Date published: Tor Books, July 16th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Centuries ago, all was lost in the Last Battle when the Norse gods and goddesses went to war. The elves, the giants, and the gods and goddesses themselves were all destroyed, leaving the Valkyrie Mist one of the only survivors.

Or so she thought.

When a snowy winter descends upon modern-day San Francisco in June, Mist’s quiet existence starts to feel all too familiar. In quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets... and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god, Loki, alive and well after all these years.

Loki has big plans for the modern world, and he’s been hanging around Mist for access to a staff that once belonged to the great god Odin. Mist is certain of one thing: Loki must be stopped if there is to be any hope for Earth. But the fight is even bigger than she knows...

Because Loki wasn’t the only god to survive.

Guys, you know me: OBSESSED with mythology and aside from the bits and pieces I know of Norse mythology from watching movies like Thor and recently the TV series Vikings, I hadn't really read a book on Norse mythology before. And I can't believe I waited this long to try it! Because I'm kinda in love with the richness of this culture!

Susan Krinard introduces us to a Valkyrie, Mist, and her life here on Earth, or Midgard. It turns out Ragnarok (a term that I totally recognized from Vikings) didn't actually happen and the gods and goddesses are still alive and GAH, Loki has been posing as Mist's boyfriend for the past six months! After this things just start to spiral out of control for Mist and she discovers that nothing is as it seemed to be for the past couple of centuries.

I liked Mist, she's a strong woman (well obviously, she's a Valkyrie), she cares about the people among who she's been living for centuries now and wants to protect life on earth. I also liked that she doesn't just shrug off her hurt over Loki's betrayal easily. They'd been in a relationship for 6 months, it wouldn't be realistic for her to just get over that.

The character who truly intrigues me is Dainn. He's an elf and has all these secrets and knows so much more than he's telling Mist and he's just so interesting! He's confusing and there's such a sadness in him that I just want to give him a hug and try to make him smile!

You could definitely tell that this is the first book in a series. There's a lot of setting up of the plotline and introductions to the various characters and gods and sometimes things were a bit slowed down because of this. I really hope we'll get to know more about the exact happenings of the Last Battle (that wasn't the Last Battle after all) in the next book!

One thing I didn't like was that Mist was such a natural with her newly discovered powers and just somehow knew how to work it without having much of a training in it. Also: Loki, Dainn AND Mist are all REALLY powerful and they had ample opportunity to really injure/kill each other. So WHYYY doesn't this happen?? I mean, it was a bit weird how they'd hold back in the face of victory all of a sudden.

I did really enjoy reading Mist, Susan Krinard really makes the Norse mythology come to life for me and I'm curious to see where the series will take all the characters!

My rating: 3,5 stars

Made me crave: tortilla chips

15 Day Book Blogging Challenge Day 9!

So I've been totally failing at this challenge and am now just going with the failure and continuing with today's prompt:

Why do you blog about books?

I don't think I'd even be blogging if I wasn't blogging about books. It sort of came natural after Jamie asked on the College Students group on Goodreads who wanted to participate and because I already had lots of opinions, of course I wanted in!! My own blog popped up a bit after and I've been doing this ever since.

I've always been a reader. With the exception of some of my teen years, I've always been reading a lot of books and wanting desperately to talk about them with others. As most of the people I know in real life don't really read as many books as I do (and they're also not reading the same books), I didn't have much opportunity to vent about my latest obsession.

I love that book blogging allows me to show off my love for books and support authors and just geek out over all the things I love in books. Whether they're the boys or the plot or the world or basically ANYTHING, I always know there's someone out there who will nod along.

I can't imagine NOT blogging anymore, it's become such a big part of my life! It's made reading become not such a solitary activity and I LOVE that!

So, why do YOU blog about books? Link me to your post!

Review of Less Than A Gentleman by Kerrelyn Sparks

Title/Author: Less Than A Gentleman (Historical #2) by Kerrelyn Sparks
Publisher/Date published: Avon Impulse, July 2nd 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Between searching for the missing Munro sisters and South Carolina being all but lost to the British, Captain Matthais Thomas has more important things to worry about than finding a bride. But his mother has other ideas. When Matthais finds a beautiful woman in his bed who claims to be his betrothed, he is suspicious of her identity... and determined to discover the truth.

Caroline Munro had few options. The British burned down her home, and now, traveling with her very pregnant sister, Caroline is pretending to be someone she’s not so they can have a safe place to rest. But she didn’t count on a matchmaking matron or her rogue of a son... and certainly never dreamed she would fall in love with a spy.

So confession: I've never read one of Kerrelyn Sparks' books before. I hear her adult urban fantasy/paranormal romance books are really good, but it's not really my genre so I hadn't picked it up before. But this foray into historical romance IS right up my alley!

I love the plotline of Caroline pretending to be the bride Matthais' mother sent for and then being rudely awoken in the night by said fake fiancé because she's sleeping in HIS bed. Because his mother put her there. Seriously, his mother may seem like a sweet little lady, but she's constantly plotting to get these two in a compromising situation and it was AWESOME. I laughed so hard! Though how Matthais continually failed to see her plotting ways is beyond me, he just continued to blunder into Caroline's bedroom, no matter if she'd changed bedrooms.

I liked Caroline's spirit. She's determined to take care of her family and doesn't care if she hurts herself in the process. I could understand her not really wanting to get involved with a soldier, she had a solid reason, but it's slightly unrealistic in the time she was living in to find a man who has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the war. I mean, seriously? I think pretty much EVERY man was drafted into fighting.

I did want to slap Matthais a couple of times because he keeps LYING to Caroline and the moment that she finds out how much he's been lying was pretty devastating. I actually thought she forgave him a little too easily, because for all that she's decided she won't get involved with a military man, she's awfully quick to go 'oh, well, you're not only a military man but also a spy, FINE' and that's aside from forgiving him for lying to her. I think that was my biggest problem, he's been completely dishonest with her and then POOF! all is out and forgiven. Maybe I'm just not a very nice person, but I would have made him grovel some more.

I did really like Kerrelyn Sparks' writing style and it was a pretty quick read for me. The romance was sweet and I laughed at the antics of Matthais' mother, she was fantastic! And I really loved Caroline's family!

My rating: 3 stars

Daisy Update (46)

Hi guys!

So I've been blissfully doing hardly anything useful this week and it was WONDERFUL!

Monday and Tuesday I went to the lake again, it's nice to be able to be outside so much! We have a tiny balcony at the apartment, but it's tiny and it's completely out of the wind so it gets pretty hot in the sunshine and I don't really want to be there when it's full on summer (or what passes for summer) here.
So it's been nice just spending the day lying around on a beach towel and taking a dip in the lake in between. I've been reading and listening to my audiobook and just generally being all kinds of relaxed. Oh, and being chased by some kind of insect that wanted to sting me. I tried to get rid of him in the humane way by jumping into the lake, but the beastie wouldn't listen, so I wacked him eventually.

Wednesday I had dinner with my friends. One of them recently moved to a new apartment and I hadn't seen it yet, it's gorgeous! She now has so much more space than they used to and the neighbourhood they moved into is really beautiful! It was nice to catch up with them, one of them worked at the same hospital I used to, so I saw her every now and then, but the other I hadn't seen in two months!

Thursday I went to the spa with my mom and it was lovely! It was nice and relaxing, just sitting around in the sauna and the hot tub and getting a hot stone massage (BLISS). I love doing this with my mom, we talked about anything and everything :) After we went out to dinner, which was nothing special, but still nice.

Friday I had a barbecue with some of my ex-colleagues. And gosh, I've MISSED THEM SO MUCH! It was wonderful to see them again and just hang out and have a drink and eat delicious food! I came over to the one hosting the barbecue a couple hours early so I could help her prepare the food and it was nice to see her house and meet her boyfriend. I wish starting my residency didn't mean leaving all these people behind in the hospital! We'll just have to arrange to meet more often.

Yesterday was the start of the festivities surrounding the annual four day walking event that's being held in the city I live in. The walking itself starts on Tuesday, but all week long there's a sort of festival around the city and the number of people here basically increases tenfold during this week. We went out with a couple of the boyfriend's friends last night and it was fun, though it would have been even nicer if we'd gone to see some of the performances, I love live music!
I always love this event, but it does mean that people will be crashing our local supermarket, which leaves me staring at empty shelves... Oh well :)

Today is the boyfriend's family annual barbecue, so we'll be heading over to his grandparents' house in a little while. I just finished watching episode 12 of season 3 of Pretty Little Liars and OMG WTF??? SERIOUSLY?? I cannot even. SOMEONE TALK TO ME ABOUT THIS!!

Hope you're all having a great week!

Review of Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Title/Author: Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo
Publisher/Date published: Henry Holt and Co, June 4th 2013
How I got this book: received it as an egalley and bought a shiny finished copy :)
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her – or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

**WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1**

YOU GUYS! THIS BOOK!!! SERIOUSLY!! I know I said I was really excited and that I would drop EVERYTHING once it got here (and I did), but THIS BOOK! It was even better than I'd expected!!!

So just to give you fair warning: this review will be full of gushing ;)

Remember how I LOVED Shadow and Bone?? Well, Siege and Storm might have just topped that. A lot of trilogies suffer from second-book-syndrome, but Siege and Storm never once made me think this! It was even more funny, charming, enticing, just utterly mindbogglingly good than Shadow and Bone was! I loved that opening this book and starting to read it felt like stepping into a room of old friends you haven't seen in a while and having that instant connection happening. I do admit that I was a little fuzzy on some of the details from Shadow and Bone (which made me annoyed with myself for reading it on vacation and not bringing Shadow and Bone with me as well), but Siege and Storm and I worked things out pretty well.

I LOVED meeting the new characters!! I mean, OMG, STURMHOND!!! *SWOON* I was DYING to meet him because EVERYONE kept raving about him and you guys: TOTALLY DESERVED! Sturmhond is awesome. He's witty and mysterious and charming and just GAH CAN I JUST HAVE HIM BE REAL? PLEASE?


Ahem.

He's just so quotable! I wanted to write down everything he said so I could reread the awesome later, but let me just leave you with this one:
"I like having powerful enemies. Makes me feel important."
SEE???

I loved reconnecting with Alina and Mal, though Mal kinda took a fall from the amazing boy he'd been in Shadow and Bone. I mean, sure, I still love him, but he kinda broke my heart a bit as well... I'm a bit confused right now.
Alina is my kinda girl, she's strong, she's not afraid to do the hard things and she may not always make the best decisions, but seriously, I don't think I'd have done better in her place. She is the kind of funny that I only am in my best moments and I love her fiery temper. And I love seeing her come into her own and making a place for herself and not being afraid to take charge. Girl, you rule!

Ok, so all of you guys loving the Darkling, please don't hate on me! I HATE HIM! I do love to hate him, but HATE being the important word in this. Ugh, he is just so EVIL. And his new powers CREEPED ME OUT! Can someone please, PLEASE just kill him?? **SPOILER, LIGHT UP TO READ: Seriously, if you can maim your own MOTHER you deserve a horrible, HORRIBLE, PAINFUL death. Just saying. END OF SPOILER**

Guys, once I opened this book, I basically did nothing but read it all day, because I was just unable to put it down. It was THAT good. It's a good thing I was staying with my parents, because if my mom hadn't brought me food once in a while, I probably would have starved reading it. Let me repeat: it was THAT good. I seriously don't know how I will survive the wait for book 3, because that ending was BRUTAL. Leigh Bardugo really knows how to write a sweeping epic story and I loved every minute of reading it!

My rating: 5+ stars

Made me crave: tomato soup

Many thanks to Kelly @ Belle of the Literati, Judith @ Paper Riot and Daphne @ Winged Reviews for supporting my during my freak out over some of the happenings :)

Review of Linked by Imogen Howson

Title/Author: Linked (Linked #1) by Imogen Howson
Publisher/Date published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, June 11th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she’s been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere.

Finally, she’s promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another girl’s eyes.

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl — Lin — who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed.

Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose — secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world.

Seriously, I think this book was one of my most anticipated reads of Spring 2013 and I'm sad to say that it didn't really live up to my expectations.

The concept is GREAT. It is. It's creepy and fascinating and cruel and just what I come to expect from dystopian society that is well thought out. You can tell that Imogen Howson did a lot of world developing before she started writing this book and it's really interesting. I can't imagine anyone doing that to human beings (I really don't want to spoil anything, but it's awful). But maybe this is why they declared them non-human. It's a great solution when you think about it.

I liked Elissa. She's not immediately on board with the idea of having a twin and though she does the right thing, there are some bumps in the road and her behaviour isn't always the nicest. But I can understand this. I mean, it's pretty normal to not magically be ok when such a bomb is dropped on you and you're expected to just deal with it. That's just not how it works. I like that she's practical and is really trying her best.
Lin was in ways both harder for me to like and easier to like. She has her less than human emotionally moments and her awesome power moments and I think that in the end I liked her better than Elissa.

There are some things that didn't work so well for me, one big thing that put me off was Elissa's parents. They are awful! I mean, seriously?? They're ready to get their daughter into brain surgery even though they KNOW it's not her brain malfunctioning?? I mean, REALLY? That's some bad parenting right there. Along with Elissa's mom calling the cops on her. Her mom is probably the worst of the two, her dad redeems himself a bit, but just a bit. Hateful woman.

Also, the romance arc did nothing for me. Elissa and Cadan were constantly fighting and saying pretty harsh stuff and thinking the worst of each other and not in the Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy way! I couldn't imagine them caring for each other and then BOOM out of nowhere they're saying 'I love you' to each other and I'm like WTF?? I know they have history and all that, but I still call insta-love.

Reading Linked was much more slow going than I had expected. I'd expected a lot of action and excitement and not being able to put the book down and all of that good stuff. And while a lot is happening in a short time, it didn't really feel urgent or desperate or any of those things. I do think that the world Imogen Howson has created was fascinating and I'm interested to see how Elissa and Lin will handle the aftermath of the happenings in Linked, but it's definitely not what I had expected when I picked it up.

My rating: 2,5 stars

Good Books and Good Wine's 15 Day Book Blogging Challenge! Day 1 and 2

So I already failed at this, since I didn't participate yesterday which was day 1, but I'm gonna be catching up!! :)

Day 1: Make 15 Book Related Confessions

1. I own approximately 630 fiction books. 394 of those I have not read yet. Hello, my name is Daisy and I'm a book hoarder.

2. I own several complete series from which I haven't even read the first book yet (this falls into the book hoarder category).

3. If a book has a pretty, shiny cover, I'm 10 times as likely to read it, no matter what it's about.

4. I frequently fail at keeping up with a series once I've started it.

5. If I'm reading, I will ignore you or at least try to. I'm reading, what do you expect?

6. I swoon over good guys a lot more than I do over the bad boy that everyone seems to fall for. Nice guys for the win! And seriously, who wants to date a douche??

7. I can get REALLY mad over cover changes in the middle of a series because WTF I shelved over all this money for the hardcover and now you tell me my books won't match?? #$%(@

8. My Broke and Bookish buddies Kelly and Kimberly obsess with me over the A Song of Ice and Fire series. And shirtless Gendry. It's even the image for our Whatsapp group chat. Because you can never go wrong with shirtless Gendry!

9. I'm always a little scared when I loan someone my books because 1) what if they don't like them? and 2) please don't damage my books!!

10. I pretty much always start craving a certain type of food/drink when I'm reading a book and it's a different thing for each book, but if they mention something a lot, it's usually that.

11. I still feel guilty over buying a new e-reader, and the old one is lying nearby because I can't bear to put it away. It's been my constant companion for a couple of years and now it looks all sad and alone not being used anymore.. This could also be called: I imagine inanimate objects have personalities and feelings.

12. I used to be embarassed about reading romance novels because they're looked down upon by a lot of people, but now I feel confident in my loving them, though I still feel a bit weird reading them when I'm at the boyfriend's parents' house...

13. I tend to shy away from books dealing with abuse, illness and World War II. I know some of these books are beautiful and I'm probably missing out by not reading them, but with all the stuff I encounter at work, I sometimes just want to read a happy book in which I know they'll go on to live happily ever after.

14. I haven't been to a library in FOREVER. The libraries here have a pretty limited collection (or rather: they don't have the books I want to read). This makes me sad, because I'd love to support libraries because as a concept they are awesome.

15. The Hunger Games is the book that got me into reading YA, it's also what made me join Goodreads and discover this whole community of booklovers and ALL THE BOOKS!

Day 2: What's your bedtime reading ritual?

I don't know if there's much of a ritual, but I'll wash my face and brush my teeth and then I settle down with whatever it is I'm reading at the time until my mind relaxes enough to fall asleep. This doesn't really work if I'm reading an edge of my seat scary book though...