Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

Title:Ink Exchange

Author:Melissa Marr

Rating:

Who Should Read It?ADULTS who like paranormal teen fiction and don't mind the occasional annoying character

What I Have to Say:This is rated as a young adult book, but really - I'm just not so sure about that. I mean, it's about Leslie, a girl who is raped and drugged by her brother and then CONTINUES LIVING WITH HIM!!!! As if it's just the most normal thing in the world. Sure, she doesn't like her brother, and she tries to avoid him, but still, what is up with that?!? As opposed to actually getting out of the bad situation and retaking control of her life for real, she dreams of getting (and eventually does get) a tattoo. As if this will solve all of her problems in the world. That is NOT a good example for any book to be setting for easily influenced adolescents.
It also made Leslie, for me, a rather unlikable character. That, combined with the fact that Aislinn (the main character of the first book, Wicked Lovely) was whiny and controlling and that pretty much all of the other characters were excruciatingly underdeveloped, made this a fairly annoying book for me to read.
I should also mention that there was also a love triangle involved, and unfortunately Marr spent far too much time focusing on this and not enough time focusing on the intricacies and complexities of the wicked plot she had created.
That said, this was a good, dark book about very dark, sad, treacherous things. And Melissa Marr takes those dark, sad, treacherous things and tries to get the reader to understand them and feel sympathetic towards them, and there, she succeeds. The world of dark faerie that she creates is mystical and magical and terrifying. Her descriptions are beautiful enough that I can't help but wonder if these invisible faeries are flitting around my world.
I liked it enough that I'll be picking up the third book in the series.

Summary (from School Library Journal):Leslie lives with a father who has given up on life, a drug-abusing brother who allowed his dealer to rape Leslie in lieu of payment, and a burning desire to banish pain and fear from her life. Unable to confide in her best friend, Aislinn, she devotes herself to working to pay the family bills and to get the tattoo she believes will help her reclaim her body. What she doesn't know is that the art she has selected will bind her to Irial, the king of the Dark Court of Fairy. He removes her emotions like fear, panic, or anger, and uses them to nourish the fairies of his court. What Irial doesn't expect is his growing love for Leslie and her desire to make her own choices. In Leslie, Marr has created a damaged, wounded character who still comes across as being incredibly strong. Irial needs to care for his court, knowing them too weak to win a war, but his feelings for Leslie make him unwilling to do what needs to be done.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy: Ptolemy's Gate

Title:the Baritmaeus Trilogy: Ptolemy's Gate

Author:Jonathan Stroud

Rating:

Who Should Read It?Anyone into fantasy, only after having read and enjoyed (which of course you will) the first two.

What I Have to Say:Jonathan Stroud totally did it. After starting to get (VERY) minimaly bored with the second part of this trilogy, I was worried that Stroud wasn't going to be able to pull of the boom of an ending that the first book deserved and made the reader expect. But he did, and this is an AWESOME book! It is laugh out loud hilarious, it sometimes makes you step back and say whoa, and I think there was even a point where I cried (not for long, though, because Bartimaeus's snarky comments were just too funny for sadness). Kitty and Nathaniel became the characters I thought that they should have been in the second book. It was great to see both of them grow up and watching their relationships develop. Bartimaeus was back and even whittier than he was in book number 1.
It was also exciting to get to learn more not only about Bartimaeus, but also about Ptolemy, about whom we had heard little snippets in the previous two books, and his relationship with Bartimaeus. It's awesome the way that, over the course of the book, the reader really comes to understand Bartimaeus and how he developed his personality.
While being an incredible page turning fantasy, Ptolemy's Gate also broaches head on class issues, acceptance of those that are different, pride, and war.
This book is sheer awesomeness, a total success, and possibly and probably even the best of the trilogy.

Summary(direct from Amazon):Three years have passed since the magician Nathaniel helped prevent a cataclysmic attack on London. Now an established member of the British Government, he faces unprecedented problems: foreign wars are going badly; Britain’s enemies are mounting attacks close to London; and rebellion is fomenting among the commoners. Increasingly imperious and distracted, Nathaniel is treating Bartimaeus worse than ever. The longsuffering djinni is growing weak and vulnerable from too much time in this world and is nearing the end of his patience.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel’s longtime rival Kitty has been stealthily completing her research on magic, demons, and Bartimaeus’s past. She has a daring plan that she hopes will break the endless cycle of conflict between djinn and humans. But will anyone listen to what she has to say?

In this glorious conclusion to the Bartimaeus trilogy, the destinies of Bartimaeus, Nathaniel, and Kitty converge once more. Together the threesome faces treacherous magicians, a complex conspiracy, and a rebellious faction of demons. To survive, they must test the limits of this world and question the deepest parts of themselves. And most difficult of all–they will have to learn to trust one another.

Reviews by Author

B

Beah, Ishmael - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

C

Cabot, Meg - Being Nikki
Carter, Ally - I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Clarke, Arthur C. - The City and the Stars
Collins, Suzanne - the Hunger Games
Collins, Suzanne - Cathing Fire

D

Diaz, Junot - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
G
Gilman, Laura Ann- Flesh and Fire

J

Jaffe, Michelle - Bad Kitty

K

Kinsella, Sophie - Twenties Girl

L

Larsson, Stieg - the Girl Who Played with Fire

M

Marr, Melissa - Ink Exchange
Milton, Giles - Samurai Williams
Musso, Guillaume - Will You Be There?

N

Novik, Naomi - His Majesty's Dragon

P

Patterson, James - Sundays at Tiffany's
Pratt, T. A. - Blood Engine

R

Rennison, Louise - Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging

S

Stroud, Jonathan - The Bartimaeus Trilogy 2: the Golem's Eye
Stroud, Jonathan - The Bartimaeus Trilogy 3: Ptolemy's Gate

T

Tsukiyama, Gail - Dreaming Water
Tucker, Lisa -Once Upon A Day

W

Winston, Lolly - Good Good Grief
Wrede, Patricia C. - The Seven Towers

Z

Zamyatin, Yevgeny - We

Interviews

B

Peter Bognanni, Author of House of Tomorrow

Ellen Bryson, author of the Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno
T

Susan Tepper, author of Deer and Other Stories

W

Bill Walker, author of A Note from an Old Acquaintance

I'm Back!

Well, you can probably tell that I have been on vacation from the lack of posts in, oh, say, the last MONTH. I have had incredibly limited internet access and have really had no possibility whatsoever to update either of my blogs.
That does not mean, though, that I have not been reading! I've read lots of really good books that I'm super excited to post about! :-)
I had a great time on vacation, though, and I'll soon be posting words, pictures, etc. . . in Vegan in the Land of Frog Legs and Cheese. Annoyingly, while I was in Slovakia, my kindle died, and, being the idiot that I am, I hadn't brought my charger with me. I seriously don't know what I was thinking. Luckily, the bf had an extra book with him, so I wasn't left without reading material. I seriously don't know what I would have done otherwise, in a small city in a country where English (or French) books were next to impossible (if not just plain ole impossible) to come by.
Anyhow, check back soon, because I'm back and France and settled now, and book updates should be coming soon!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Review Policy

My Review Policy for Authors and Publishers

Are you an author, publisher, or publicist looking for someone to review a book? Or looking to give away a book? Please contact me at zedster.tbb@gmail.com!

Are you an author doing a blog tour or just wanting a little face time in a book blog? I would love to host you! Contact me at zedster.tbb@gmail.com!

I will accept any kind of book for review with the exception of non-paranormal romance and non-vegan cookbooks. (vegan cookbooks and paranormal romance are accepted!)(I have very eclectic book tastes and, I hope, a very eclectic audience of readers).

I am far pickier about the non-fiction books I accept for review than about the fiction books I accept for review.

I will accept ARCs or books that have already been released. I am also happy to feature the author in my blog alongside the review.

I will review e-books, but only when I am travelling, and only if I can put them on my kindle. I prefer bound books!

I have a 5 star review policy. Books can receive half stars. I have also been known to give a book 1 star (though it is rare).

I will post honestly what I think about the book. However, even if I do not like it, I will always find something positive to say about it.

If I can find absolutely nothing positive to say about the book, then I will not review it unless the author or publisher asks me to explicitly. (Or unless I bought it myself)

I will always post the review by a given deadline. Books up to review are my top priority.

If you have any questions or are an author or publisher, don't hesitate to contact me for any reason: zedster.tbb@gmail.com.
YAY!