Review - Serpentine by Cindy Pon

Serpentine by Cindy Pon
Published: September 2015 by Month9Books 
Source: eARC
Rating: 5 Stars

Serpentine is a sweeping fantasy set in the ancient Kingdom of Xia and inspired by the rich history of Chinese mythology.

Lush with details from Chinese folklore, SERPENTINE tells the coming of age story of Skybright, a young girl who worries about her growing otherness. As she turns sixteen, Skybright notices troubling changes. By day, she is a companion and handmaid to the youngest daughter of a very wealthy family. But nighttime brings with it a darkness that not even daybreak can quell.
 
When her plight can no longer be denied, Skybright learns that despite a dark destiny, she must struggle to retain her sense of self - even as she falls in love for the first time. 

I adored this book. I adore mythology. I adore Chinese mythology even more because I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING. Instead of just summarizing a book without spoilers speckled with my opinions, for this review, I'm going for short and sweet. 

The author captured the essence of the ancient Chinese Kingdom of Xia so gracefully that I truly felt as if I was there. Historical fiction was my first genre love and this book was just begging for me to pick it up. The world building, the details pertaining to mortals, demons, even the immortals... I could imagine everything so clearly in my mind. The bravery of the main character was inspiring. If I went through the changes she did, were faced with the same challenges... I'm not sure I'd measure up. The plot was seamless, as was the author's writing. I devoured this book in hours and you will too. 

Review - Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson

Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson
Published: September 2015 by Month9Books
Source: eARC
Rating: 5 Stars

“Where shall I start?” asked Minotaur.
Ovid made an expansive gesture with both hands. “Where else but the beginning of course.”
Minotaur nodded his huge head. “Yes,” he said. “Yes,” his eyes already glazing over with the weight of thousand year old memories. And then he began.

So begins the story of Asterion, later known as Minotaur, the supposed half bull creature of Greek legend. Recorded by the famous Roman poet, Ovid, Asterion tells of his boyhood in Crete under the cruel hand of his stepfather Minos, his adventures with his friend, Theseus, and his growing love for the beautiful Phaedra. And of course what really happened in the labyrinth. 


This is the true story of the minotaur. Ovid, a scholar who has written a huge volume of myths/legends, travels to the site of the minotaur's labyrinth. His tour guide Asterion, who is known as the minotaur, leads Ovid up the mountain and to the crumbling labyrinth.

Eventually Asterion decides to tell Ovid that he is the infamous minotaur, still alive and living close to the labyrinth. At first Ovid is just humoring Asterion, allowing Asterion to tell his story... this is when the book really starts for me. Asterion weaves the threads that bind story of his life together simply, yet with a heavy heart. The hardships he faced during his childhood... how he was ridiculed and looked down upon because of his appearance, how his father despised him because he was the bastard son of a god. The love of his life and how she was stolen from him. And then the most impressive twist of the story... the minotaur's time in the labyrinth. We all know the story. Asterion tells the true version, which of course is much less gory and extremely compelling. I felt so many emotions during Asterion's life story. But it was Asterion's perseverance that really resonated with me. I don't think I could have kept my own and not turned into the monster everyone thought I was if I was treated as he was.

This was a very thought-provoking read and I absolutely adore mythology, so basically the author wrote this for me. :) So thanks, Phillip.

Review - Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter
Published: March 27th 2012 by HarlequinTeen
Source: NetGalley

Kate Winters has won immortality. 

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it. 

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. 

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future - Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

Goddess Interrupted is the second book is The Goddess Test series. I did read the first book, but unfortunately I didn't review it. The first book was great. It incorporated many aspects of Greek mythology and gave it a more modern edge. The second book however, I was disappointed in. I was so excited when I saw Goddess Interrupted available of NetGalley... I may have even danced a little jig.

The book was very well written and the plot was amazing - just like the first book in the series. What I didn't like is how Kate acted throughout the entire book. Where did her spunky, determined attitude towards her new life go? There were battles and life threatening situations going on and all she could think about is Henry. Why won't Henry kiss me? Does Henry even love me? Henry this, Henry that. It really grated on my nerves. And there were pages and pages of this. Besides Kate insistent whining, I felt like chunks of the story were missing. Or maybe the book just moved to fast. I'm not sure which.

Other than those few things, the book was still enjoyable to me. I would have read it even if I knew I wouldn't have liked it because you have to read the next book in the series, right? And I'm sure I'll read the third book when it is released too. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Review - Half-Blood by Jennifer Armentrout

Half-Blood by Jennifer Armentrout
Published: 2011 by Spencer Hill Press
Source: Around the World Tours

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure-bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1: Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.

Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

There was so much going on with this book... I don't even know where to start. There are pures and half-bloods. In relation to normal human lives, pures are like the celebrites who get everything just for being themselves and half-bloods are even worse off than middle-class. Most half-bloods are forced into a drug-induced slavery working for the pures unless they have a rich pure to back them up and send them to school. The half-blood slaves are literally drugged routinely to keep them calm and complacent.

So Alex is a half-blood that had the opportunity to go to school, but was pulled out by her mother. They both fled the safety of the islands that the pures and half-bloods live on and hid out in various places for three years. Her mother is killed by a daimon, which are basically shadow-like demons who bite pures and half-bloods to drink the ether (life force) that's in their blood. So in comes Aiden, the impeccabbly hot pure blood to save Alex and bring her back to the school.

From there, the story builds on Alex's determination and passion to become a Sentinal and we get to see the relationships she has with those who surround her. I've always been attracted to anything involving mythology and this book was no different. It was literally one of my favorite reads of the year. So basically, you should go buy this.