Mad Musings On: 'The Indigo Spell' By Richelle Mead

THE BLURB:

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.


Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

MAD MUSINGS:

Being a fan of Richelle Mead, and knowing her writing style, I was all set to read The Indigo Spell: the third book in the Bloodlines series.  I had my cup of tea, box of Kleenex, and Prozac prescription ready to go.  Richelle's #3 books are known to be heartwrenchingly traumatic to the extent that you are thinking about things for weeks afterwards.  For example, after reading Shadow Kiss, #3 of the Vampire Academy series (and the series that this sequel series is based on) , I was screaming at the book and was in a funk for at least a week - that's how much I'd come to love the characters.   And same thing with reading Succubus Dreams (#3 of the Georgia Kincade books).  Soooooo good......  

So I was expecting some really drastic wrench to be thrown down at the end of this book too.   Was I right?  Well, I'm happy to report that the prescription was not necessary this time around *WHEW*  but there were moments that had me squirming in my seat - some of it was good, and some of it was because poor Adrian doesn't seem to catch a break! 

Adriannnnnnnnn........ AD-RI-AAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNN  (Ahem-I just had to get that out)

I-LOVED-THIS-BOOK.  Richelle, you have done it again.  I'm so glad you have given us, the fans, a chance to love Adrian - because it was a really hard choice when he was 'the-one-who-got-away' in Vampire Academy.   Now, we don't have to make that choice.  And Sydney, poor little Sydney.  She's going to be unstoppable and I can't wait to see her kick some major Alchemist butt.... 

And thank you for not making us wait another year for The Fiery Heart ( Bloodlines #4) - waiting for the fall will be torturous enough!  Oh well, at least I'll have Gameboard of the Gods (Richelle's new Age of X series) to fall in love with verrrrry soon. :)

I can't gush about this enough....

***** 5+Stars

Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters Release Date Confirmed

Release day is FEBRUARY 14, 2014!!!!!  Sweeeeeeetttttt.  I know what we are doing for Valentine's Day next year :D   Can't wait to see Dimitri and Rose in action, and meet the rest of the cast......

Mad Musings On: Finale By Becca Fitzpatrick

THE BLURB:

Will love conquer all?

Nora and Patch thought their troubles were behind them. Hank is gone and they should be able to put his ugly vendetta to rest. But in Hank's absence, Nora has become the unwitting head of the Nephilim and must finish what Hank began. Which ultimately means destroying the fallen angels - destroying Patch.

Nora will never let that happen, so she and Patch make a plan: lead everyone to believe they have broken up, and work the system from the inside. Nora will convince the Nephilim that they are making a mistake in fighting the fallen angels, and Patch will find out everything he can from the opposing side. They will end this war before it can even begin.

But the best-laid plans often go awry. Nora is put through the paces in her new role and finds herself drawn to an addictive power she never anticipated.

As the battle lines are drawn, Nora and Patch must confront the differences that have always been between them and either choose to ignore them or let them destroy the love they have always fought for.

MAD MUSINGS:

Ok I confess, I'm confused..... I loved the first two books in this series sooo much, I thought Nora was just meh, but Patch was something else.  Book 3, Nora was starting to get better for me.... This one?  My thoughts about Nora was, "Gee this girl would not be a good chess player - she never thinks ahead!  She's too impulsive....' And that was immediately followed by "What on Earth does Patch see in her?"  And what on Earth happened to him in this book, anyways?  He just kind of got pushed to the wayside as we watched his so called Raison d'être go thorough some really obvious stuff!   There was the gratuitous kissy parts, of course.  But, unlike in the other books, he wasn't much of a guardian Angel... 

At least this was a storyline that kept me guessing - there's nothing I hate more that figuring everything out for myself before it's revealed in the book.  Some of the 'surprises' in the book, I felt was too much - especially the storyline involving Vee.  I don't think that was necessary to the story at all... and the epilogue seemed kind of forced.  

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that, YES I liked the book, but I'm sad because it could have been so much more.....

*** stars 

Mad Musings on: A Million Suns AND Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

***Yes - this is a double book review, because I read these two back-to-back, and they seem like one book in my head.......

   

Let me get this out of the way first.... *AHEM*

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHwhat-are-you-doing-to-us????AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

OK-whew that feels better...

The Blurbs: 

A Million Suns: Book two in the heart-stopping Across the Universe trilogy!

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. Everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to act on his vision--no more Phydus, no more lies. But when Elder learns shocking news, he and Amy must race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed, all the while dealing with the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In the New York Times bestseller A Million Suns, Beth Revis deepens the mystery with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

Shades Of Earth: The final book in the  New York Times bestselling trilogy, perfect for fans of Battlestar Galactica and Prometheus!

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

FUELED BY LIES.
RULED BY CHAOS.
ALMOST HOME.

Mad Musings:  Like I mentioned before - Holy-Tension-Inducing, Batman!  Words fail to describe how much I enjoyed these books, except, Beth Revis - you are genius...

My 5* review of Across The Universe

In Book #2, I was on the edge of my seat, and I didn't know where on Earth (heh heh, punny) this story was going.  The murder mystery In Spaaaaaace continues. I was hoping that the title of Book #3 meant that they would eventually find their way to Centari-Earth, but I refused to read the jacket cover so I wouldn't even have a hint of spoilers.  I had a feeling that life aboard Godspeed without the mind altering drugs would turn to chaos, but never did I imagine.... Humanity is humanity, no matter where or when.... And then the twist happened, again!  And it changed the whole story.....

Book #3 starts off seconds from where #2 ends, and we learn that starting a colony on their new planet is not at all what it seems - there are opposing forces working against them. The prices to pay are too high.  I yelled out loud "OMG NO!!!" waaayyy too many times.  I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I mourned.... I could see myself there with the colonists.... I sort of guessed what the ending might be, but I wasn't completely right about that either! (And thank-you for that!) I want to know more!!!  Although I hear that this is the end of the trilogy, Beth Revis has said to me that she is considering a novella of a prequel to Across The Universe, which makes me squeeeeeee, because I kinda want to see how this mission all started. So I look forward to that.  

Speaking of Novellas that Beth Revis wrote, I did read her short e-novella As They Slip Away (ATU #0.5) which takes place on board the Godspeed before Amy wakes up.  I found the background story I learned there to really help me understand the depths of the emotions experienced in the later books.  I recommend reading it after book #1. You can find it here.

*****5 Stars for A Million Suns

*****5 Stars for Shades Of Earth

Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters Cast!!

Ok, I need a little moment for a fan-girly freak out!!  I'm very, VERY excited to see who they've cast for the upcoming movie adaption to Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy.  I have two tiers of favourite books in my head: There's the books-I-adore favs and then there's the BOOKS-I-OBSESS-ON favs.  And Vampire Academy is near the top of that list!  So I was hoping that I would be happy with the casting....

I present, Danila Kozlovskiy as Dimitry , Zoey Deutch as Rose, and Lucy Fry as Lissa

I'm very happy with these picks from the team doing the casting (although, Lucy is not how I pictured Lissa in my head, I'm ok with that)  Just the fact that they've cast a hot Russian actor for our Dimka is enough to give me faith that this is going to be a great movie.  I can't wait for a movie premiere party at my local theater :)

Drop me a word if you are a fan of Vampire Academy too - it's more fun to obsess with other like minded peeps :)  Bring on that love charm scene......