Fire by Kristin Cashore

Titel: Fire
Author: Kristin Cashore
Publisher: Gollancz
First published: 2009
Pages: 461 (Paperback version)
Series: Companion Novel to Graceling and Bitterblue
Star rating: *****


It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she has the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City. The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there’s more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren’t afraid of becoming the monster her father was.


Fire, fire, fire... Where to start? 

I really enjoyed this novel, it took me rather long to read which is rather odd, since it was really a wonderful story that Cashore told. I don't think I liked it better then Graceling, they are equal. 

The main characters in this one were all so awesome! I loved Fire, she had so much spirit and personality. Her powers are really cool as well, I liked the idea of monsters. Fire had a lot of depth and you kept on discovering new sides of her, that were all so interesting.

I really just adored Brigan, he was just fantastic. First he seemed rather cruel, but as the novel wore on you learned so much more about him, and his reasons etc. His and Fires relationship was also so wonderful, and probably one of the reasons I never really liked Archer. Lots of the other characters were really great as well.

I really love the court and royal business and there is lots of it in this one. You got to see a country at war with itself, and a king struggling to keep the Kingdom together, the spies network, switching loyalties at court and so on. 

The plot in this novel was really cool but the pacing was sometimes a little weird a bit as in Graceling, but otherwise it worked just fine and wasn't confusing or anything

This was a great companion novel to Graceling even though I missed Katsa and Po... I definitely think you should read Graceling first since Fire can give away a few spoilers for Graceling.

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Titel: Switched
Author: Amanda Hocking
Publisher: Tor
First published: 2010
Pages: 328 pages
Series: Trylle Trilogy
Star rating: *****


What if your entire world was built on a lie?

Wendy Everly knew she was different the day her mother tried to kill her and accused her of having been switched at birth. Although certain she’s not the monster her mother claims she is – she does feel that she doesn’t quite fit in...

She’s bored and frustrated by her small town life – and then there’s the secret that she can’t tell anyone. Her mysterious ability – she can influence people’s decisions, without knowing how, or why...

When the intense and darkly handsome newcomer Finn suddenly turns up at her bedroom window one night – her world is turned upside down. He holds the key to her past, the answers to her strange powers and is the doorway to a place she never imagined could exist. Förening, the home of the Trylle.

Finally everything makes sense. Among the Trylle, Wendy is not just different, but special. But what marks her out as chosen for greatness in this world also places her in grave danger. With everything around her changing, Finn is the only person she can trust. But dark forces are conspiring – not only to separate them, but to see the downfall everything that Wendy cares about.

The fate of Förening rests in Wendy’s hands, and the decisions she and Finn make could change all their lives forever...

The premise of this book didn't sound overly original, but it was about trolls! Most books are about Vampires, faeries, Witches, Wizards, werewolves and that kind of stuff. But this is the first I have encountered that featured trolls outside of a fantasy realm.

The trolls in this book are not really troll like. When someone says troll to me I think of those ugly dump creatures from Lord of the Rings. That is not the case with Amanda Hocking. When someone says troll to her it is a person who looks rather human and with humanintelligence, short tempered, hate shoes, prefer organic food, crazy hair and sometimes some weird superpowers. This is when I go WHAT? You call that a troll? That just sounds like human with some special interests and superpowers, not a troll.

Aside from the fact that the trolls are rather weird, the world of Förening is really awesome. So if we could just swap those excuses for some trolls with real trolls or superheroes it would be awesome! We can keep the trackers and the mänskligs.

The characters in this book were alright, they weren't the best characters ever, but they weren't irritating either... At least most of the time they weren't.

Wendy was a fine character I didn't love her or anything, but she made some good and bad choices, was lucky and unlucky, sometimes i wanted to just slap her in the face, but other times I was cheering her along.

Finn -The love interest if hadn't figured that out from the synopsis was an okay character but he was rather withdrawn and one moment he is one way and a few pages later he is a whole other person. It's like he keeps on changing personality to fit the story and that is rather irritating

Asides from those two I liked most of the other characters. I really likes Rhys, he was always so happy compared to all the others and i liked Rhiannon as well.

I have one more thing that is bugging me about this book; The ending. It felt so rushed and everything beforehand had been described in great detail and then the last part wrapped up so quickly and then it was just done...

So overall I liked this book, but is not my favourite book ever, since I had some issues with it but enjoyed the book in general.

Pegasus and the Flame by Kate O'Hearn

Titel: Pegasus and the Flame
Author: Kate O 'hearn
Publisher: Hodder childen's books 
First published: 2011
Pages: 344
Series: Pegasus
Star rating: *****


When Pegasus crashes onto a Manhattan roof during a terrible storm, Emily’s life changes forever. Suddenly allied with a winged horse she’d always thought was mythical, Emily is thrust into the center of a fierce battle between the Roman gods and a terrifying race of multiarmed stone warriors called the Nirads. Emily must team up with a thief named Paelen, the goddess Diana, and a boy named Joel in order to return Pegasus to Olympus and rescue the gods from a certain death.

Along the way, Emily and her companions will fight monsters, run from a government agency that is prepared to dissect Pegasus, and even fly above the Manhattan skyline—all as part of a quest to save Olympus before time runs out.


Hmm, in between 3 and 4 stars I think...Whatever I'll just give it 4 stars, Since I have no idea how to give half stars..
This book tells the story of Emily who is thrown into a world full of Roman myths and all of that. Since I love greek and Roman mythology and stuff like that, this sounded like a book I would enjoy, and I definitely did. It was just so full of Action and I really liked that.

The gods were written about more humanlike then I am used to from my beloved Percy Jackson series. They are just so different, and sometimes different is a good thing and sometimes not. In this book it was mostly a bad one. Maybe it's just because I am used to the way they are presented in Percy Jackson, and not really liking the change. That is probably very likely. 

The other myths I found really cool though especially Pegasus. Which is a good thing since Pegasus is kind of important in this book, and probably the next ones as well. 

This book was really fast paced, and sometimes it was too fast paced. In the beginning where Emily meets Pegasus she starts of totally not believing and then 5 minuts later she is running down in her apartment to get a WINGED HORSE food, and actually believing that it's a winged horse! For real? You believe in the myths like that? The horse didn't even explain a thing, or anything like that Pegasus just stood there, and Emily believed in the myths..

All together I think this is a very enjoyable novel, very fast paced light adventure. It has myths and that is basically what makes me like this book. It is also rather clear that it is written for children, and is a good fun adventure read if you have just read some really heavy book.