I felt rather good about Bella and Edward after the trilogy and started to read this fourth installment with high hopes. From the start I was just astounded by how much the style had changed, and not for the better. Did someone else write this book? While reading I felt like watching a train wreck, but just couldn't make myself stop, wishing it wasn't happening. The characters lost their hold on me, I no longer knew who they were. Some of my Twilight fan friends will crucify me for saying this but.. In my honest opinion, the story should have ended with Eclipse. Meyer could have tied up the lose ends right there. Going this far was unnecessary and left me feeling rather sad that the sometimes rocky journey I took with the characters had to end this way, me hoping I'll never hear from them again.

I hoped the writing would have gotten better in this second part. It hadn't. Luckily, the story did improve although my fondness of Bella went down the drain. I could relate to her, but still felt like shaking and slapping her back to reality.. But I guess that black&white tunnel vision is what makes the teenage romance so unconditionally and irrecoverably wonderful. In this rehash of Shakespeare's most tragic love story, I seriously rooted for Paris.. How about that Jake Black fanclub??

It's easy to understand why Twilight Saga has created such a buzz and sold millions of copies. On the other hand, it baffles me how Meyer got away with such horrible writing. I'm not a native English speaker but still some of the parts were just absolutely horrendous. Maybe I'm too old but I didn't quite fall head over heels for Edward. His smoldering eyes left me totally cold, on the other hand I did like Bella's character. In the end, the story is what counts. Drawing from the old classics, Twilight is hardly an original, but it had enough appeal to make finish it in a day and buy the next part.

Every once in a while you read a book you want to recommend to all of your friends. This one was one of them for me. I have two words for you. Read it. You can get it for free (and legally) online just by Googling it. I did just so, but now after finishing it I'm going to go to a book store and buy a copy of it to keep in my shelf. It is a young adult novel but offers some serious food for thought for older audience too. It's placed in a a present/near future environment but the theme is timeless.

The cover text for Acacia: The War with Mein promised the regular fare, royals in distress, nation in peril, assassins and magic. Durham writes beautifully without being too ornate. He has written historical novels and Acacia feels like one too. The author builds up a complex and deep world with believable background. Description is this novels strength but also the weakness. The story flows through the landscapes and events and there are real gems, stunning pieces of narrative. But while there's plenty of that, dialog is scarce, leaving some characters rather flat. The story turned out to be more than the cover lead me to expect, well constructed and skillfully written fantasy novel, promising an interesting sequel.

It is a small wonder to begin with that I even picked up this book after the previous one (Shadow of a Dark Queen) had been such a disappointment. The start wasn't promising either, in fact, it was pretty terrible.. So, it was another miracle that I actually got past the first two chapters. As a whole, I would compare this novel to a runner, who after a slow and clumsy start accelerates to rather nice speed, clearing some difficult hurdles with impressive skill just to fall flat on his face before the finish line. Surprisingly the middle was this novel's best section. Even while keeping in mind that this book is a part of a series, I think the transitions from the previous story to the next one were handled poorly. The beginning and the ending were, sadly, very bad writing. Another thing that irked me was the repetition of expressions. If I had played a drinking game whenever someone 'exchanged glances' or 'an ample bosom' sailed in view, I'd be having serious problems with my liver right now. A slight improvement compared to the first installement, recommended for readers who are already fans of Midkemia.

This is a beautiful coffee table book for all fans of Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. In the beginning there's a collection of portraits of House Targaryen. I found this part especially interesting, because although the series is about time after these rulers, there is often references to them. Rest of the book is divided by location and contains scenic pictures and character portraits. What I really like that the artwork is from bunch of different artists, not just one person's interpretation, some of them well known, some enthusiastic fans. The downside is that the quality varies, and some of the pictures are little more than just black and white sketches. A big portion of the pictures can also be found online, so if you've done some surfing you've probably seen many of them.

It took some time after finishing the previous part, Deadhouse gates, before I was ready to tackle Memories of Ice. Reading these novels easily becomes a full time job since they are getting pretty thick and at least for me, hard to put down. I liked the two first books and this third one topped them with ease. With Erikson you learn to expect the unexpected and still be surprised. This story has more layers than ten average series combined. Still extremely violent, sometimes laugh out out funny and thought-provoking throughout. But be avare, with its staggering body count and extreme adult content it's still not for everyone. I also think that the writing has improved, with more fluent style and easier structure to follow. My head was still spinning because of the scope and pace of the story but at this point I've grown so attached to the characters I'd follow them to Hood's gates. And beyond.

I loved the first two books of this series and naturally had high expectations for the final one. Abercrombie is brilliant, Last Argument of Kings was as good as I hoped but in a different way than I anticipated.. The tone of the story stays the same, dark and grim and regardless of the fact that it happens in a fantasy world, it has realism in it that made me feel the sword cuts, smell the burning bodies and hear the death cries. Only thing that bothered me slightly was the ending that left too much open. I liked the fact that the door was left ajar for new stories but with some things I would have liked to see less ambiguous endings. (This is the point about which I've seen the most negative opinions) Abercrombie threw traditional fantasy cliches out of the window and made The First Law trilogy a great reading experience.

Abercrombie redeems the promise set by the first part of the First Law trilogy and delivers a rocking sequel that ranks very high on my personal list. (It won't stand alone so before grabbing it from the bookstore, check out The Blade Itself.) It's fast, funny, dark and refreshingly original. The interesting characters evolved even more, the plot twists left my socks spinning and the cruel..ish humor made me first laugh out loud, then blush in embarrassement and then chuckle once more. But as much as I loved it, I must say the younger audience and more sensitive souls might be better off skipping it. The story left me biting my nails, waiting for the day the third book would drop in my mail box and thinking seriously about starting a Glokta fan club.

Arrow's Fall brings the trilogy to its not-so-unpredictable end. The only change to the two previous books is the tone that dives (a bit too abrubtly) towards much more dark and violent events. The style has improved a bit since the first book but the overall disappointment is sealed with the unoriginal conclusion. I'm not sure to who I would recommend this trilogy. The story limps and style is too naive for older readers but some of the themes limits the younger audience. The only reason why these books received whole two starts from me is that I actually managed to finish reading them, the single one is reserved for totally unreadable material.

Arrow's Flight continues Talia's story which started in Arrows of the Queen. This book is probably the most solid of the three, thus a slight improvement compared to the previous part. Still, if you're not a adolescent female with a My Little Pony collection, this probably is not for you. There's some sexual (not very descriptive) content and even a gay (GASP!!) characters, but the story stays securely on a level that wont challenge more mature readers.

In Arrows of the Queen, first book of a trilogy, Mercedes Lackey introduces the world of Valdemar. I read all the three novels in a row, and in my opinion, they could have been squeezed between one pair of covers, omitting some flash backs the two sequels had. The writing is more suitable for YA level, but some "grown up" themes probably forced these novels into the adult fantasy shelves. The story is way too one dimensional Cinderella tale for my taste. At times it felt that the author had written a bunch of separate scenes and slapped them together forgetting the necessary glue in between to knit together a solid story. It was too predictable and naive to be truly enjoyable.

Prior to reading this book I searched for other reviews and noticed that people either loved or hated it. I ended up with rather mixed feelings after finishing the novel. Donaldson brings The Land alive with beautiful, metaphoric descriptions. That is the strength of his work. Personally, I didn't find the anti-hero protagonist Thomas Covenant as repulsive as many other people have, on the other hand I couldn't spare much sympathy for him either, but while bitter, angry and arrogant, he feels so very human. The beginning is strong and despite the very dark mood, I wanted to follow Thomas through his struggles. Unfortunately in the middle the story loses a lot of momentum. Towards the end it gets more wind in it's sails and the action packed finale satisfied me. Lord Foul's bane is not an easy book. I surely missed a lot that was hidden behind the poetics and metaphors and overall darkness was at times exhausting. I was reminded of Tolkien's stories although Donaldson's style couldn't be more different. I'd recommend this for everyone who is mature enough to read adult fantasy, just because it's so different from most novels that I've read. Hate it or love it, but have a taste of something unusual.

The book started with an action scene, grabbed me along and didn't let go till I had finished the last page, wanting to get my hands on the next part immediately. The Blade Itself is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time. Although it probably would lose the contests of fine style and epic scope to some other great books, I think it's undeniable that Abercrombie is a great storyteller. Although the characters are almost cartoonish caricatures and humor blossoms even in the most grim scenes, under all the lightness runs a darker undercurrent, a hint of what the future might bring to the heroes and heroines of the story.

[this review is based on the audio book version, read by Bernadette Dunne. Blackstone Audio Inc.] Legacy continues exactly where the first part, Beguilement ended and is not really a stand alone novel so I would recommend reading (or listening) the first part before taking up this one. I listened both parts while doing household work, jogging, working etc. and didn't have any problems following the story. The language is clear, crisp and flowing, plot well paced and not too twisting for a relaxing read. I would label these novels as romantic fantasy. Most of the time the reader/listener follows conflicts between people and they ways of life instead of battles against fantastic monsters. Enjoyable, if not extraordinary.

The story flows, mostly smoothly, seen through several different eyes. At times I felt overwhelmed by the flood of information about the world's background and descriptions of the peoples, places, cultures and social structures etc.. All that reminded me of Steven Erikson. The glossary in the end of the book sure came handy.. Bakker's characters are fleshy and realistically flawed although they might have inhuman abilities. He has a gift of language but goes over the top sometimes and comes across a bit pretentious. This was really a problem in the first part of the book but after the rough start it got a lot better. First I wasn't a huge fan of those quotes in the beginning of each chapter, but when I got used to the authors style and dry sense of humor, I actually went back and re-read them several times. The novel is the first part of Prince of Nothing trilogy, almost like an overlong prologue. I might sound critical, but really, it was a great reading experience and built up a lot of expectations for the next two installments.

[this review is based on the audio book version, read by Bernadette Dunne. Blackstone Audio Inc.] This book could be easily placed on the romance shelf instead of fantasy. Anyway, it's a pleasant story. Easy to read (or listen to), perfect for little light read between heavy epics. This was my first experience of Bujold's writings and I 'll be checking out her other novels too.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel. I like both Pratchett and Gaiman very much, but their styles are so different that I was tiny bit biased despite of all praising reviews.. But the mix turned out to be extremely funny and piercingly clever, making a joke of heaven and hell (and pretty much everything in between.) It sounds more like Pratchett but I can see how Gaiman added some depth and darkness into this blend. I wouldn't recommend this for religious fanatics or (too) serious Neil fans. Ineffably good! ;)

The Lies of Locke Lamora is entertainment in a same sense as big Hollywood blockbusters. You go see one without expecting a larger-than-life classic movie experience. That's the way this novel should be read, without too much seriousness. It's hip, it's fun and has has more "fucks" than a mafia flick. Witty heroes and maniac villains, goofy sidekicks and dumb extras, this one has it all. Recommended, especially for those who are looking for something else than epic war dramas.

Great novel, but didn't quite earn the fifth star from me. Reading it took unusually long, the complex world (and especially it's vastly explained history) takes some concentration to comprehend. Erikson creates poetic descriptions even of the most gorey scenes which almost makes you forget you're not reading about pretty things. He also kicks it up a notch in the humor and romance departments, giving some needed relief in the midst of non-stopping battles, guts and severed body parts. Highly recommended, although I personally need some "lighter" read for a change before picking up the next entry of this series.

I had read several reviews of this novel saying that it's a little bit hard to get into at first BUT definitely worth reading. I have to agree. Struggling through the first chapters took a while. Not that the plot wasn't interesting but Erikson's style was new to me and that combined with the overwhelming pace, amount of characters and the whole new and detailed world took some time to get used to. Soon I was reading through the night and walking the book in other hand during the day. If the rest of the novels in this series (which went straight to the top of my reading list) are the same quality, I will suffer from serious sleep deprivation in the near future..

I actually read this book (or more like half of it) in Finnish a long time ago and decided to give the Discworld another try in the original language. Although this fist novel of the series is relatively short book, it's not a fast read, at least if you want to catch all the jokes. And there's plenty. I never thought Death could be so funny. I would have given this maybe 3,5 stars if it was possible, but ended up choosing 4. I will bankrupt myself purchasing the rest of the series.

After reading the previous book from Feist (King's Buccaneer, part II of Krondor's Sons) and not liking it at all, I had serious doubts about this one. For a reader who has followed Feist through his previous series, this one offers little that is new. Although it is clear that this is not exactly a stand alone novel, the biggest problem was that I just didn't grow fond enough of the characters to care about what happens to them in the sequels. Feist tells bluntly what happens and why, not leaving much room for surprises. The narrating style makes me suspect that the author thinks his audience is a bit dense.. Shadow of a Dark Queen is not a terrible book (but not terribly good either) and kept me entertained enough to read all 500 pages of it.

The Name of the Wind is Patrick Rothfuss's debut novel which took (according to his own words) fourteen years to complete. It won the Quill Award 2007 in the category for SciFi/Fantasy/Horror. The author succeeds in telling an incredibly detailed story without being longwinded and creating a new, fresh and surprising world with different kind of magic . I love the style and the novel can handle re-reading (which I will definitely do). The Name of the Wind restored my passion and interest in fantasy genre after I abandoned it for few years. This novel could be recommended even for people who normally wouldn't pick up a fantasy book.

It's true that A Feast for Crows misses a tiny bit it's other half, The Dance with Dragons, which haven't yet been published.. But there's nothing wrong with this first part, Martin is The Master. The story is great, the characters get even more interesting. My only critique is that the wait between the books of Song of Ice and Fire is waaaay too long.

This was maybe the 10th book from Feist that I've read. Generally I like his stories but this one was a real disappointment. The story itself has a lot of potential, starts nicely but slows down and becomes repetitive. I didn't care about the cardboard characters and practically forced myself to finish the book hoping that it would surprise me and get better. It didn't.