New,Borrowed,Used

rating: 3.5

also posted: http://newborrowedused.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-lover-at-last.html

My Thoughts: I'll start with Quinn and Blay since they were the main focus of this book. I've always liked these two and was glad that Ward finally just went forward and made them a couple. I liked watching Quinn come to the realization that he has been hiding behind his slut ways to hide what he really is/feels. I didn't have a problem with Blay not telling Quinn that he and Saxton were no longer together. With all the guy has been through you cannot blame him for not wanting to be hurt again. I was happy right until the end. While everything that happened at the bar was great, it just went too fast. We went from Quinn coming to terms, to Blay admitting he was single to super couple all in a few paragraphs. I just wanted it to take a little longer. Overall though, I was happy with the way their relationship ended up (cheesy final line or not).
Now onto the side stories. Layla: This was a big part of Q/Bs story as well. I didn't really care for her before this book and nothing really changed. I don't hate her just feel indifferent. Unlike others I was not impressed with her scenes at the clinic. Everyone seems to want to put human characteristics into this and it doesn't fit into this world. While the brotherhood is used to the Chosen being around and treating them as they would treat any other female in the race, the rest of the race is not going to react the same. While I don't like Havers, he acted exactly as you would expect someone of his station to act towards a Chosen. I don't know how they handled the changes with the Chosen in regards to the rest of the race but whenever there are big changes it's going to take time for everyone to get on the same page.
Xcor/B.O.B: I'm still not feeling these guys. I didn't need the feeding scene and basically skimmed it. So far the only thing I really know about these characters are fighting/sex. I need more before I start to even care. I did think the car scene with Layla and Xcor moved them into an interesting direction that will have far reaching ramifications.
Assail: Again. I don't really have a vested interest in him or Sola. Right now he is just a drug dealer who will work with anyone included those that wiped out half a large chunk of his race. If he is the main focus of a book at this point I would skip it.
Trez: I liked the shadows. I've always been interested in these brothers and love finding out more about them. It'll be interesting to see how the arranged marriage and him wanting Selena works itself out.
Overall, I was happy with the majority of this book. While I could have done with less of the side stories and more of the main couple it all worked out in the end.

originally posted: http://newborrowedused.blogspot.com/2013/03/book-review-etiquette-espionage.html

My Thoughts: We start with Sophronia trying to spy on company to find out what her mother is up to. This leads to all sorts of problems and ends up being a perfect example as to why she is being recruited for finishing school.
Sophronia is a great lead without being overdone. She's not perfect and doesn't always thinks first causing problems not only for herself but others as well. This makes her more likable and believable, she is not your typical "I'm perfect" lead (that's Monique). The other characters (some you'll recognize if you've read Carriger's adult series) add diversity and interest. Dimity and her brother Pill were my favorites after Sophronia.
Overall, this was a good start to a new series. I had some problems with the "mystery" surrounding the prototype. I didn't really feel like there were a lot of answers. We knew who had it but were never really told why they were doing it (was it just the money or was there more to it). It just felt slightly unfinished in that respect. Some of this may be cleared up when the next book comes out in November (2013).

rating: 3.5

originally posted: http://newborrowedused.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-review-mark-of-athena.html

My Thoughts: This book is told from four different POVs, Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and Piper. I don't mind getting the story from all sides, especially when the group seemed to split up a lot so you were only getting one to two POVs from each story line. That said, I didn't really care for Piper. It seemed to slow the story down whenever it came to her chapters. This stems more from not caring about her and Jason's relationship than anything. It seemed to come across as whining more often than not. It did not bring the book down and I'm sure others will not have a problem with it, it just did not work for me.
Even though I like the mix of the different myths (Greek vs Roman) character wise Percy and Annabeth are still my favorites., with Leo moving way up on the list. Annabeth's quest to find something that the Roman's stole from her mother was the highlight for me. Following her as she had to take on all of this by herself when she has spent most of her life in a group being taken care of was a great show of character growth. We also got to see this with Percy and Jason realizing that they did not always have to be the leaders and things turned out better when they worked together.
Overall this was another great story from Rick Riordan that ended with just as many questions as it did answers. Looking forward to the next book to see how Percy and Annabeth get out of the trouble they found themselves in at the end of the book.

rating: 3.5

rating: 3.5

rating: 3.5

rating: 3.5

rating: 3.5

originally posted on NewBorrowedUsed: http://newborrowedused.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-review-changes.html

My Thoughts: I'll start by saying, I waited to read this until book 13 was out. All the review from when this came out were talking about the cliffhanger ending and I did not want to have to wait. I'll be reading Side Jobs this month and then Ghost Story next month. A much better wait time.
This is one of my favorite series. When I started reading I looked at DH and said "I forgot how much I enjoy reading these books". I don't think I can give it a bigger endorsement than that, but I'll try.
The action begins pretty much from the start. We find out that Dresden's daughter (which he did not know about) has been kidnapped, which brings Susan and her little minion back into the picture. I've always been a Murphy fan so I did not care for Susan much. I didn't hate her as a character she just was not my favorite.
Harry seems to get on board with this pretty quick (which was necessary) and starts looking for help. Arianna, deranged princess, of the Red Court is also in town under the guise of a truce with the White Council. She also has her fingers in other pies, including the IA of the police dept. which limits what help is coming from that corner.
Overall there were a lot of revelations and monumental decisions made throughout this book. It lived up to its title. From Harry's choice to get more power to Susan's ultimate choice to end the threat to her daughter, it cannot help but impact the series going forward.
The cliffhanger...I was so worried about it going in that by the time it happened my only thought was "Harry can get out of this". Of course it won't be that easy and it is another change to the norm but I'm very interested to see how Mr Butcher continues on.

rating: 3.5

originally posted: http://newborrowedused.blogspot.com/2013/01/book-review-how-beauty-met-beast.html


My Thoughts: This wasn't a bad story, it just did not feel like the first book in a series. While reading this I continually felt like I was reading a prequel to a well established series. One where I should know more about the characters and world than I did going into this.
I still enjoyed the story. I liked Hauk and the Underworld. I can definitely see myself reading more about the goings on in this world. I just wish the first book was longer and gave us more of the world and characters so I felt like I HAD to read the next book rather than just being curious.

originally posted on my blog: http://newborrowedused.blogspot.com/2012/12/book-review-lure-of-shapinsay.html

My Thoughts: While I read a lot of Fantasy/ shifter stories, this is my first with selkies as the main characters. They've been background characters (way back) so I knew a little about the legend but not much.
Kait instantly grabbed me. I loved when the story was from her POV, especially at the beginning. Her interactions with the villagers and relationship with her brother really showed her as a strong capable female. As the story moved on and she became obsessed with Eamon this seemed to wain and I was less enthused. It didn't take away from the story but the needy aspect seemed to far out of character.
Eamon was another interesting character. What we find out about selkies explains a lot of his characteristics that might seem odd at first glance.
The author was able to make this a very romantic, magical story between these characters even with possibility that Kait was under the selkie lure. I enjoyed the progression of the relationship and where it ultimately ended up.
I do wish that when we were reading Eamon's POV we would have gotten more interactions with other selkies. That is the only thing that seemed to be missing. I also loved Tipper and her story and would love to read more about her and see fully how she became what she was in this story (we get a lot but I love side characters and just wanted more).
Overall this was a great read and will appeal to many people. Whether you're a fan of romance, shifters, or are just looking for something outside the norm this book meets those needs.

rating: 3.5-4 (can't decide how I feel about some things)

rating: 3.5