Follow Friday

It's good to be back and participating in book blogging once again! Can't wait to check out some new blogs and visit some old friends! Thanks to Parajunkee for hosting Follow my book blog Fridays!

Review: Spell Bound by: Kelley Armstrong

Title: Spell Bound
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Random House of Canada
Published: August 2, 2011
Format: EBook ($9.99)
Age Group: Adult
Copy: Purchaced from Kobo

Additional Links: Otherworld Wiki

Synopsis: 

Savannah Levine is in terrible danger, and for once she's powerless to help herself. At the conclusion of Waking the Witch, Savannah swore that she would give up her powers if it would help a young girl. Little did she know that someone would take her up on that promise.

And now, witch-hunting assassins, necromancers, half-demons and rogue witches all seem to be after her. The threat is not just for Savannah; every member of the Otherworld might be at risk. While most of her fellow supernaturals are circling the wagons at a gathering of the council in Miami, Savannah is caught on the road, isolated from those who can protect her and unable to use her vast spell-casting talent, the thing she counts on most. In a story that will change the shape of the Otherworld forever, Spell Bound gathers Elena, Clay, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope and others, who soon learn that the greatest threat to supernaturals just may come from within.

My Review: 


I have been so out of touch with reading for the past year that it has been a struggle as of late to find a book that has captured my attention enough to read it.  Kelley Armstrong has been a favorite author of mine for years and after reading Waking the Witch in August of 2010, I fell in love with the protagonist Savannah Levine. As a character I enjoy her feisty spirit and tenacity, which is balanced by a vulnerability instilled in her due to her chaotic past. I first became intrigued in her character while reading the novel Stolen, featuring Elena Michaels (the only known female werewolf) and my interest only grew while subsequently reading Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic featuring Page Winterbourne (witch) and Lucas Cortez (sorcerer), Savannah's legal guardians.


My favorite element about the Otherworld series is that though each book has a main protagonist many of the other characters are old friends from previous novels. My favorite female leads from this series include Elena 
Michaels and Jamie Vegas (T.V Spiritualist and Necromancer) who both play a role in Spell Bound.


What I enjoyed most about Spell Bound was the suspense of reading the romantic and sexual tension between Savannah and her long time love interest Adam Vasic. Adam has characteristics that most woman look for/long for in a male protagonist including his protective, stubborn, and flirtatious nature.


My only real disappointment in the novel was that I felt it ended to soon and left to much unresolved.  While I assume the reason for the loss of her powers and other elements of the novel will be resolved in a future novel, I felt there was to many loose ends with the only one plot line coming full circle (which I won't write about for fear of spoiling it for you!).


Props to Kelley Armstrong for writing yet another great addition to the Otherworld series.  As always I look forward to the next installment where hopefully all the loose ends from Spell Bound will be resolved! 

My Rating: 3.5/5

Contest!

Oh my beloved blog and bloggy friends how I have missed you! This past year has been the most wonderful and exhausting of my life! Between working two jobs, getting pregnant, and being the mother to a newborn I have hardly read any books never mind doing any book reviews. With that said in the past three months my reading has slowly begun to gain momentum as I get into a routine and in turn I will hopefully get my groove back!

I have been wanting to have a contest to help me get back into the swing of things and then I had an idea....apparently as a mother you would do just about anything for your baby....my baby is in a contest...to win a photshoot and be on the cover of a local free parenting magazing....I am winning...not by much...I need more votes....help?...I give you a free book?...

Ok yes I am shamelessly asking for votes in exchange for any book purchased from the book depository that is under $20.00! But its a win win situation! Just look below at how cute my son is :)

So to win a FREE book $15.00 or under from the Book Depository please vote for my son by clicking here and then clicking "like" on BOTH City Parent and Emmet's photo. Please also comment in this post that you voted so that I can enter you in the random draw. I realize this magazine is irrelevant to most of you so by all means after the contest is over and the winner announced feel free to "unlike" the page. Contest closes on August 19th.

Me pregnant 34 Weeks (Emmet was born early at 36 weeks)

The first time I ever held him

The day he came home

This is him yesterday having fun in his bumbo chair

And this is the photo you will be voting on!

Good luck to all who enter and THANK YOU for your vote!

The Count Down Is On!

I have definitely not been with "the program" for some time, so it came as a surprise when someone asked me if I knew when The City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare was coming out and for the first time in forever I did not know the answer! While you are likely more "with" the program then I am at the moment, for those of you who don't know, the release date is fast approaching and we will be blessed with the fourth installment in the Mortal Instrument series on April 5th, 2011.

It only took reading the first few paragraphs of City of Fallen Angels to be sucked back into the world of Shadowhunters, vamps and werewolves and after searching for a book to capture my attention for some time now I anticipate that this may be the one to have me curled up on the couch for hours while I read it front to back as I did with the previous three novels in the series.

I gather from the first chapter that the narrator of this novel will be Simon and while I fully expect there will be lots of interaction with all the main characters I hope I enjoy the focus being on him as much as I did with it being on Clary.

What I loved so much about the Mortal Instrument series was its appeal to teens and adults alike as well as being a YA novel enjoyed by both men and women. I remember being at my cottage and watching as the novels were passed from myself to my younger cousin, my aunts, and eventually even to my uncle! The appeal of these novels seemed to stem from a fascination with the concept of Shadowhunters while still having a strong foundation in the ever popular themes of vampires and werewolves.

Below I have attached a few "extras" that I found of interest regarding the City of Fallen Angels and the Mortal Instruments series. I look forward to reading the book when its released and (fingers crossed) posting an ecstatic review of the novel the following day!

Web site: The Mortal Instruments
Author Blog: Cassandra Clare 
Click here for the first chapter of City of Fallen Angels




For those of you who have not read the first novel in the series, City of Bones below is the book trailer.

Will it be as good?

I was sad to read the final book in the Vampire Academy series and I knew she had something else in the works but I didn't expect Bloodlines to be released so soon (August 23, 2011). You can read more about the debut novel/spin off here in an EW article. As for the cover....I am not a huge fan. While the up close faces is reminiscent of her previous covers I really dislike the font and flowery vines of the title. At first I was put off by the swirly vines on Sydney's face because it reminded me to much of the covers of The House of Night series however my currently forgetful (baby brained) mind remembered that it is in fact a gold filigree tattoo given to alchemists in the Vampire Academy series (if my memory is recalling correctly). For those of you looking for a little more click here for a blog entry by Richelle Mead detailing more about the novel, for her official web site click here, and for a visual aide in counting down to the release of Boodlines click here.