Dina

I am torn. I loved the ideas but was disappointed at how unexplored the author left some of them. My biggest problem is that the “big revelation” can be guessed extremely easily and very early on. This takes a lot of wind out of the plot's sails. However, I did enjoy myself a lot reading this fast-paced, fresh take on the Cinderella story and will be back for the second volume in the Lunar Chronicles.
Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/marissa-meyer-cinder/

Full review at: sff book review

Sadly, this book was, again, only meh. While the style is as fun and whimsical as ever, Gail Carriger doesn't really give us anything new. Literally everything we see here - except for Prudence, maybe - has been there in the previous books. And while I enjoy falling into her novels and enjoying her silliness, it's just not enough for me.

Full review over at the SFF Book Review

What an adventure.
I have stayed away from this book for many years, because its subject matter - a boy in a lifeboat with a tiger, thinking about religion - really put me off. I'm glad I'm so susceptible to visual media, because the trailer for the upcoming movie made me want to read the book anyways. And I am so glad I did.

That whole faith-level put aside, this is a beautiful story with a strong protagonist and so many moments that made me “feel all the things” as John Green fans will call it. I still don't believe in god, but I do believe in the power of storytelling and of the written word.
This is a story about the amazing capacity of humans to survive the worst possible trauma and struggles. And to turn it into a beautiful tale.

Recommended without reservations to anyone. I can't wait for the movie.

Another YA book with a good idea that didn't live up to its potential. Sadly, I found this to be poorly written, peopled with bland characters and (and I haven't used that word to describe a book since I was a kid) boring. Full review here: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/a-c-gaughen-scarlet/

Full review at SFF Book Review.

This came highly recommended from all corners of the internet.
As superb as the writing and the story were, I seem to be the only person who didn't feel the friendship between Maddie and “Verity” as strongly. This would have been a perfect book if there had been more time to establish the strong bond between the protagonists.

Having the bad out of the way, let me tell you why you should absolutely read it anyway. It is a wonderful story about a female pilot during World War II and a female spy. They are best friends and show us the war through their eyes. It is suspenseful, it is tragic (as war stories tend to be), and it has moments of sheer brilliance.

It wasn't perfect, but still an excellent read.

8/10

Read my full review at SFF Book Revie.

I expected to love this. Steampunk Seattle with zombies! And it started out well enough. That first chapter had me right from the start. I loved its quirkiness and the flow of the prose - and then the actual story started.

As we follow 16-year-old Zeke into the Blighted and walled city of Seattle to find out about his father's past, we stumble from one boring action scene to an even more boring meeting with people who have no personality. Since Zeke's mother Briar is following him into the city to save his ass, we get to do the whole thing all over again from her perspective - confronting other zombies and telling other people why she's here.

I have never read a book this hyped that turned out to be written in such clunky prose. There are phrases in this book that make me wonder why nobody told the author to learn her craft first? The dialogue is just painful. There are a ton of... completely useless... pauses in every other sentence, there are logical mistakes, there is almost no steampunk element and there certainly isn't any Seattle or Civil War atmosphere.

In short, the only redeeming quality of this book was that introductory chapter for me. It leaves me with hope that maybe with the next instalment, somebody edited the shit out of Cherie Priest and produced something nice and readable.

P.S: I'm really sorry about this because I got a review copy from the publisher (first ever) and I really expected to absolutely love this book to bits.

Full review at sff book review.

By far one of the scariest and most important books I have ever read. Thinking about it still chills me to the bone. Not only does it offer a great and thrilling story, vivid characters, and fantastic writing, but it is also as relevant today as it must have been for Orwell when he wrote it in 1948. This is not a happy read, it will not make you feel good, it will not leave you much hope, but it will make you think and question our society. And that may just be the most important thing.

Full review at SFF Book Review

I'm not a great reader of romance novels. But I do like historical fiction, especially if it's interspliced with some fantasy. And since it's incredibly hard to find bad reviews of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, I thought I'd give it a try. And I loved this book. I never made it through volume 2 but I could reread Cross Stitch immediately.

I own the UK paperback with the incredibly cheesy cover shown above. But I came to love this by now tattered thick paperback so much. While Claire isn't what I'd call a contemporary characters, she still comes from a time far more advanced than mid-18th century Scotland. Her knowledge in medicine doesn't just help her out in some dangerous situations, it was also very interesting to read and – while no expert in the field at all – it felt like Diana Gabaldon has done her research well. Claire was easy to love and identify with and maybe that is why this book is so dear to so many people. Because while you read it, you are Claire, and like her, you are torn between the desire to go back to your time and your wonderful husband, and this exciting new world of adventure and passion for Jamie Fraser.

Knowing nothing much about Scotland, I dove into this novel and was blown away by the imagery of the Scottish highlands, the political tension, and the day-to-day life one used to lead. The author has managed to bring the setting to life on the pages and suck you into a time you really shouldn't want to live in but kind of do... I must admit the political aspects of the book were less intersting to me (probably because of my ignorance on the subject) but I could still fear for Claire and Jamie whenever there was a fight or the threat of danger. They don't always get out unscathed and it's wonderful to see their characters develop and changed by events like getting married, severely injured, or kidnapped. Yes, there is a lot of action in this book.

My biggest surprise was probably how much I cared for the romance. It is not so much the thought of “Will the good guy get the girl?” because – and that's not a spoiler – that happens fairly quickly. It is watching these two people grow and develop a true relationship. Anybody who has ever been in a romantic relationship can relate to certain scenes, be they in the bedroom or little every day fights. To me, it felt believable and tore my heart out several times.

The only thing that bothered me in this entire, chunky novel was probably one fantasy element that I could have done without. I won't say which one for fear of spoiling but when it happened, I had to hold back chuckles, it was so ridiculous – and unnecessary! I wish I could say I have devoured the entire series but I didn't. I started on the second book right after finishing this one but it lacked the quick pace and easy-to-follow story arc of its predecessor. Nonetheless, I can recommend this wholeheartedly to anybody who's ready to fall in love with Scotland and a certain redhead highlander.

As someone who came to the book only having heard the musical CD (yeah, i actually still bought that one on CD), I was positively surprised at the adult tone that Maguire has. This is not a children's book and it has little in common with the colorfull, cute version of Oz we know from our childhood movie/literature classics.
I preferred this dark, political version of the land and I enjoyed every page of gritty, sinister intrigue as well as the sexual undertones. If you've only seen the musical: Prepare for something very different, less comic but no less enjoyable.
Fully review here: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/gregory-maguire-wicked/

I didn't think I'd end up loving this as much. The beginning was a bit slow and I thought - although I adore Maggie Stiefvater's writing - that this story just wasn't for me. But then I read on and suddenly, I found myself totally taken with the island of Thisby and its inhabitants, both human and equine (and feline... Puffin grew on me).

And that ending was too much for my heart. I want to go back and re-read the book right now, it was so good!

Full review at SFF Book Review.

Meh. This book was pretty “meh” throughout with a few awesome ideas mixed in that were left sadly unexplored. I'll come back for a second part if there ever is one but this one was great ideas spread out too thinly over too many pages. Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/terry-pratchett-and-stephen-baxter-the-long-earth/

Wow! A heartbreaking work that could have been twice as long, if I had a say in it. Sure, the style may not be for everyone but if you enjoy Robin Hobb, you'll probably like this as well. The idea is unique, the characters engaging and the ending gets to a whole new level. I am stunned and in love and can't wait to get my hands on more Guy Gavriel Kay!
Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/guy-gavriel-kay-tigana/

A surprisingly adorable tale, grounded in reality but mixed with magic throughout. Hazel is a relatable characater and I found it refreshing that she knows all the fairy tale tropes and behaves like a smart girl when stumbling around the magic forest. Personally, I liked the first half better - where the only magic is within her head - but the whole book was well written and beautifully illustrated!
Full review here: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/anne-ursu-breadcrumbs/

Full review at SFF Book Review

This was an excellent read.

I'm still stunned by the inventiveness, the abundance of ideas and the thrill of the plot. I normally post short impressions on goodreads and a full review on my blog, but I'm afraid I can't just talk about this book “a little”. Either it's all the way gushing about how awesome the monsters are and hot terrifying the threat to New Crobuzon and how surprising each plot twist, or it's just a simple: Read this! It is brilliant.

9/10

Full review, as always, at SFF Book Review.

I love Flavia de Luce. This was my least favorite of her adventures so far, but mostly due to the fact that I had a hard time connecting the clues and figuring out what the hell this was all about. I loved following Flavia throughout her investigation as she meets new characters and finds out new truths about the inhabitants of her hometown.

The overlying theme from the first books was missing here and that's why the book lost a lot of charm for me. However, with a heroine such as Flavia, it is hard to produce a bad book. This is still a 6,5/10 points for me.