This was a really great read. I favor Spike
341224
This was a really great read. I favor Spike, so when Angel is featured, it has to be a really good plot to keep me interested. Sam Finn's character was fun, especially when she seemed to be falling in love with Angel! We found the villains early on, but what the heck they were up to was not revealed until nearly the end.
3136841
This was really good, there was a good amount of drama. I was happy it was handled well. I really enjoyed the progression of Brandon and Spencer's relationship. I am really liking forward to the next book.
4558097
This was a fantastic romp through a well-known story.  I love that Ella was a strong female lead encouraged in her swordsmanship as well as her mother's ambitions that she have training in being ladylike.  She had a strong mother role model and her father wasn't just an afterthought, but a great man who was involved in his childrens' upbringing.  The setting was fantastic--somewhere around the middle of development of the countries in Europe.  It was just vague enough that my imagination could be as wild as it wanted to be.

I couldn't help but imagine the movie "A Knight's Tale" as a backdrop when I read about the tournaments that Ella was involved in.  Sparing with swords, jousting, the melee.  I was glad I had a point of reference to draw from.

I also really appreciate the development of a friendship between Ella and Prince Henry that grows into a relationship of mutual interest, rather than the "10 minutes ago" love story that is common in fairy tales.  It's more realistic to watch two people fall for each other slowly, than think love at first sight would end in a health marriage.

My only complaint is the storyteller.  Fairy Godmother is slightly annoying in her narrative.  She is a necessary character, but not a necessary narrator.  This would've been just as good a story told in 3rd person omni.

Overall, a great little read.
4065989
Highly entertaining. The ghost story was genuinely scary, but it was the characters who made this. Both leads were wonderful and believable, flawed but capable of growth. I especially appreciated Jo and Lizzie, in part because female characters are so often the weak point in M/M, and these were actual agents with fully drawn personalities, who were clearly valued in their own right and not just as support or sidekicks for the main couple.

This is also a story in which all the main characters are people who would have been (and still often are) marginalized by conventional "respectable" society to a greater or lesser degree because of race, gender, sexuality, and class. Hawk did an amazing job depicting the different ways the characters both receive and at times succumb to bigotry, mostly casual and unintentional but sometimes vicious and violent, and the sacrifices and compromises they make--or refuse to make--trying to carve out a life for themselves. I found Hawk's handling of these issues to be remarkably graceful and believable; there is a danger of turning characters suffering from marginalization into Moral Illustrations of Bad Things, which is its own kind of oppression, so I really admired how thoroughly each character was taken on his or her own terms.

Bottom line: this is a great read that offers both thrilling ghostly hijinks AND an unusually inclusive and diverse cast of well-drawn characters--in other words, a home run.
4231299
I'm an avid reader who checks out new authors regularly in an effort to find those who write the kinds of stories I want to read. This is one such author. Of the two books I have read this one is my favorite: a strong female, a slightly misguided but really good guy who come together to make each other better, more resilient and giving that ride-or-die, got ur back kinda feel. Loved me some R&R.
1034123
True to Dan Walsh style. This was a really good read.
927627
This was an excellent, long read. I'd seen this in the local Coles a couple of times, but never picked it up because I'd already had a full basket, then I saw Kat from Katytastic pull it out and talk about wanting to read it. I listened to the first little bit of one of her videos where she explained that she almost gave up on it because there was a lot of world building before schooling began. I stopped the video before the spoilers, but when I started reading, I didn't have that problem. I loved all the little bits leading up to getting Darrow integrated in with the Golds. Then it got even better with the whole Capture the Flag portion of the games. Very heavy on the emotions. People died that I didn't want to die. My heart strings were getting pulled left right and centre. There were a lot of harsh and complex topics, and nothing was glossed over. Darrow is a teenager, but this book won't be found in the Teen category. All the same, I still felt like I was reading Teen, just a Teen book that's not afraid to hit as hard as it can.

I've already got the second book, and I can't wait to read it :3 5 Stars all the way. This is going on my keeper shelf (when I get a bookshelf)
598059
What a great read,I really enjoyed the sexual tension between Daisy and Brandon it made for a really hot read. I also feel in love with Brandon's Mom she was amazing. Even though the pretend engagement was a crazy scenario I completely understand why Daisy would go along with it. The only thing I did not enjoy was how the ending kind of speed up and it ended so quickly,compared to the built up.
163407
I have been following the Russos for a while now on YouTube, and had always wondered how they ended up living this nomad lifestyle. Joe Russos narrative took me through that story in a really entertaining way.  He clearly narrates the pain and fear of all the difficult decisions that we all anticipate we would have, but also how he and Kaits determination to live a better life allowed them to overcome those obstacles and change their lives in a way few of us have the courage to do. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to enjoy Joes writing as much as I did. He has a natural story telling talent that was a very pleasant surprise that had me turning pages faster than I have in a long time. A great story and a great read!
1377362
I love Cable and Deadpool. Before I read this I was pretty unfamliar with both characters. But now these two guys are two of my favorite characters. The stories are great and how these two come together is a really cool story.

The book itself is nice. It's huge, which is to be expected. Really good quality. I read this thing in one sitting. Just couldn't put it down.
3392262
It's early 1940, and Europe is poised on the brink of World War II. But all Spike is concerned with is obtaining a magical necklace known as Freyja's Strand for Dru, to celebrate the eightieth anniversary of her rebirth as a vampire. They travel to Norway, to the lair of a demon who supposedly has the necklace. He agrees that he will give it to Spike and Dru if the two kill all the young woman currently in training to become the Slayer, as well as the current slayer herself, Sophie Carstensen, a sixteen-year-old Danish girl who has fled with her watcher, Yanna, to London, now that the Nazis have occupied her homeland. While Spike and Dru hunt down and begin to kill the potential Slayers one by one, Sophie and Yanna are dispatched by the Council of Watchers to the battlegrounds of France to kill the vampires who have gone there to feast on the dead and dying soldiers. When the Council learns of Spike and Dru's activities, they send the pair to follow them and keep them from further killing, and gather the remaining girls in the Council's London stronghold as the Blitz rages around them. I especially loved this new addition to the Buffy series because even though Buffy herself was not in it all, it combined two of my favorites, history and horror. It's a great read for Buffy fans if you don't mind the fact that she doesn't appear at all. And of course, Spike and Dru fans will especially like it. Kudos to Christopher Golden for the great job he did on this book.
4600249
This book was recommended to me by a friend and I am so glad. Otherwise, I might have missed this cool story that weaves superpowers through the fringes of circus life in a surprisingly believable way. I found myself rooting for Lucy and her new found "family".  Well written and full of great characters who have lots of potential for much more great stories in the future.
1648703
I really enjoyed UNDER THE LIGHTSmaybe even more than I liked BEHIND THE SCENES.

Josh is terrible but I LOVED his POV chapters. He had me laughing out loud almost every page. He's definitely not for everyone, though.

I really liked the f/f romance, the emphasis placed on consent, and the bisexual love interestall things that are super important, but you don't see very often.

I definitely recommend.
3524617
My five star review for A Lament for the Lost
Written by Nicole Thorn
This novel is my second full length story by writer Nicole Thorn and this story really touched upon all my feelings. The main character named Willow thought she was a homeschooled average teenage girl. Well that wasn't the case because there wasn't anything average about such a multifaceted complex character such as willow.  This story covered many genres and I would categorize the focus of the genre as a Mash Up. Young Adult, urban dystopian, paranormal young adult and horror all in one riveting story. This tale was filled with detailed character depth, well written witty dialogue and a flowing story that kept my focus from the first chapter until the end. I read this story in three sittings and I loved every minute I spent reading. Plenty of inner dialogue and self-introspection not just for Willow but also for Fitz the bad guy? Good guy? That every reader will find themselves loving and hating dozens of times while reading.  The cast of characters that supported willow were just as detailed and interesting as the willow and Fitz. What got to me was the palatable sense of fear and dread of what could and often would happen to the cast of characters while they were on the run. I loved willows character but the character that nearly eclipsed her was Fitz and the occasional well placed interludes that the writer injected into the tale leading to a well-balanced and attention grabbing story. This story is a thrill ride and I recommend all fans of young adult/ paranormal fiction to give this story a read.
331228
This is a great example of sword and sorcery fantasy and I love the revival of The Companions of the Hall.  Also, as someone that plays Dungeons and Dragons, I really appreciated that this thrilling adventure ended with several hooks that I can't wait to get into.
2877822
I loooooved this graphic novel. Spike is one of my favorite characters from Buffy and it's nice to see him without Angel or Buffy in the picture. I waited forever for this volume to come out and it was well worth the wait. I can't wait for volume 2.
3153939
This was a great book. I really enjoyed it.  It was an interesting take on a local legend. I loved the main character Lily. I thought the author did a fantastic job making her very relatable.  The story flowed easily and I got engrossed pretty quickly.  Talon was well written and I enjoyed his conflicted emotions. It was funny at times and give me creepy chills at times. It is great work and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.