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Review: Now and For Never by Lesley Livingston

February 28, 2015May 26, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Never #3

Past and present collide on the high seas when Clare and Allie hurtle back in time once more in a perilous attempt to retrieve Marcus Donatus—Allie’s blast-from-the-past crush—and put an end, once and for all, to the Time Monkey Shenanigans. But when Clare and Allie unexpectedly find themselves temporal stowaways on a Roman warship full of looted Celtic gold, sailing straight for the heart of a magic-fuelled maelstrom, there’s not much they can do but hang on for the ride—and hope Milo can tap into the Druid lore trapped in his genius brain to help bring them home, before it’s too late. The only thing that’s going to save Clarinet Reid and Allie McAllister now is if they join forces with old enemies, new loves … and unexpected friends.

2.5 Drink Me Potions

It’s been a long time since I’ve last read the other two books in the series. However, I feel that Lesley Livingston did a great job of kind of recapping the important parts of what had happened earlier. I wasn’t left feeling lost for long, and for that, I greatly appreciate it.

I really tried to enjoy the concluding installment to the Time Travelling Monkey Shenanigans Gang. But I found myself a little disappointed. Now, I’m a fan of Livingston’s, even have a personally autographed book from her, but her other series are more….serious. The mythology was more compelling and suspenseful in the way the plot slowly unwinded.

Clare and Allie are both very unique protagonists. You won’t find another personality quite like theirs. Allie is all fireball attitude, wears only black, references nerdy things like Star Wars and Star Trek ALL the time, and is quite good with the tech stuff. Meanwhile, Clare is the more serious of the two and not so great with the nerd lingo, but she dives head into crazy time travelling adventures to save people (and trying not to change the course of history).

This series is all fun and definitely more lighthearted out of Livingston’s collection of stories. I guess I just wasn’t in the mood for that kind of the story so it was harder to enjoy the crazy hairball plans the two came up with to save Marcus from the past (where Every Never After left off).

What I can say that was positive is that Livingston did an amazing job trying to wrap up the loose ends after all the time travelling the two girls did in the previous 2 novels. No one wants to change history so….there goes the girls again for their last adventure to the past to make sure their reality doesn’t change after all their meddling. It was a little confusing at times as to what artifact had to be found where and when exactly so that, say, Clare could find it two millennia later.

I’d say that Now and for Never concludes the series well. It just wasn’t the kind of book I was looking for so that may have skewed with my rating. It’s definitely ideal for younger readers, possibly in their earlier teens. The lighthearted banter and nerdy lingo were great additions to the comical atmosphere.

Overall Recommendation:
Now and for Never concludes the Time Travelling Monkey Shenanigans that have been going on in the previous two novels of the series. Although I didn’t rate it too high, I still think it was a good way to wrap up the adventures that Clare and Ally had experienced back in the past, with appearances of both the Druids from Clare’s story and the Romans of Allie’s.

With the usual fun and lighthearted atmosphere, this book is perfect for those who enjoy some history (and meddling with it through time travel!), magic and nerdy references thrown in there. I recommend it for a light and funny read, so if you’re in one of those moods, this would be more enjoyable.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

February 26, 2015May 26, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. Having missed her flight, she’s stuck at JFK airport and late to her father”s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

4.5 Drink Me Potions

What if you missed your flight by 4 minutes?
What if you hadn’t been able to find a seat in the next flight out?
What if your seat didn’t happen to be next to a charming British guy you met earlier in the airport?This is the kind of story that is charming and romantic in the way it set up its premise. Fate and chance brought two strangers together by tiny threads of connection. If any of the above things hadn’t happened, Hadley and Oliver would’ve never met. That is the kind of story I am completely a sucker for. And this time around, Jennifer E. Smith didn’t disappoint me.

The chemistry between Hadley and Oliver was amazingly believable. Sometimes I find it hard to believe in the connection between the people who are supposedly “attracted” to each other. I just can’t feel it. This wasn’t the case here. Yes, the story takes place over the course of 24 hours but it wasn’t completely like they fell in love immediately. There was this cute teasing and banter they had throughout the flight that really softened me up to both of them. They even teased each other about how they “became a couple” when an old lady sitting next to them mistakenly assumed they knew each other prior to arriving at the airport.

“So,” the woman asks, “how did you two meet?”
“Believe it or not,” Oliver says, “it was in an airport…I was being quite gallant, actually, and offered to help with [Hadley’s] suitcase. And then we started talking, and one thing led to another….”
Hadley grins. “And he’s been carrying my suitcase ever since.”

Oliver particularly helped, being the funny and adorable guy that he is. Their conversations or Hadley’s memories of them later in the story were my favourite part.

“Which was your favourite? Of all the places you’ve been?”
Oliver seemed to consider this for a moment before the telltale dimple appeared on his face. “Connecticut. What about you?”
“Alaska, probably. Or Hawaii…I’ve been to all but one [state], actually.”
“So which one have you missed?”
“North Dakota.”
“So if you could go anywhere else in the world, where would it be?”
Hadley thought about this for a moment. “Maybe Australia. Or Paris. How about you?”
Oliver had looked at her as if it were obvious, the faintest hint of a grin at the corners of his mouth. “North Dakota,” he’d said.

See how easy it is to love them together? That being said, this book isn’t all centred around their romance. In fact, a lot of it dealt in Hadley’s anger at her father for leaving her mother so out of the blue for another woman he met while away for a semester in Oxford. Smith did a very good job of making me feel as broken as Hadley did over what her father did, and the new life he was about to finalize for himself. Half way around the world, leaving the life he did have with her back in America.

I liked that by the end, she was able to deal with the mess of things that had been tossed her way. Love is an illogical thing , quoteth both of Hadley’s parents. Even when things end, there may be good out of it all.

All in all, it was very romantic and heartfelt. Both about learning to love your family no matter what may happen or the distance between them, and taking chances before there is no time left for them. I wished the book hadn’t ended so fast, yet at the same time, the way it concluded left an air of magic and uncertainty to it. In fact, the uncertainty of the future made it all the better because it leaves room for us to imagine how things would play out past this 24 hour mark. An absolutely great story, and definitely worth the 4.5 stars!

Overall Recommendation:
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is as unique as its name, and definitely lives up to its implications. With two sweet characters that are both troubled with family issues, Hadley and Oliver makes it believable when it comes to sparking a connection so deep that they’d be willing to find each other in the heart of London again after one amazing transatlantic flight together. Filled with witty banter and the heartache of letting go of anger, there is no other book I’d rather recommend in this genre.

Review: The Faerie Queen by Kiki Hamilton

February 19, 2015May 26, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Faerie Ring #4

The Winter King has ordered Tiki’s death and hunts her in both the Otherworld and London. War looms ever closer and the mysterious Four Treasures of Faerie seem to offer the Seelie Court their only hope of stopping Donegal from claiming all of Faerie. The ever-enigmatic Larkin issues a threat regarding Clara that forces Tiki to choose between a child and a kingdom….

A ruthless opponent, a powerful treasure, an unforgettable decision…

4 Drink Me Potions

Oh boy, what a conclusion!

If you have read any of my other comments of the previous books in the Faerie Ring series, I have always mentioned that Kiki Hamilton is a master storyteller. She weaves in so many layers, particularly in the plotline (even the tiniest event of a previous book could have a significant meaning later), but also in her characters!

First, I have to say, Larkin is the most amazing and complex character I have read yet. She always seemed like a villain, or at least an antagonistic force when it comes to Tiki. Yet it’s been so hard to decipher what her ulterior motives are or what other random information she’s been hiding from everyone else. One moment, she seems to be acting like a guiding counsel for Tiki as she learns more about the world of the fey, and the next moment, she’s the most arrogant woman ever and seemingly aiming to claim the throne for herself. Which side should we believe? And that’s the beauty of it. She has that many layers to her.

Then comes the complexity of the plot. Thrown into the end of the The Seven Year King, she goes and says what? Clara’s her child. But wait! Other crazy relations are also revealed at Dain and Rieker’s heritage (yet again). And here I thought that it was crazy enough that Rieker even had family left. There’s more?

With this being the final book in the series, somehow, Hamilton was able to weave everything together and tie all loose ends into one happy conclusion. Yes, a happy ending, folks. Of course, some of the epic things that went down were kind of predictable, but it was still great to see how the new plot twists fit into it all.

Amidst all these crazy revelations, there’s a war to be prepped for and a treasure hunt for the last of the Four Treasures of the faeries. It seems only Tiki can find it and unite the courts of Faerie as that is her destiny. I think the ending fit well with what her character would do. She really has grown over the course of this book and possibly the previous one. Hard to imagine that the series spans only about 1.5 years or so in their lives.

Anyway, cutting this review short ’cause I could gush on and on about it some more. The Faerie Queen is an example of how an epic conclusion to a fantasy story should end. With action, suspense and tying in the crazy plotlines, Hamilton more than delivers all these elements and more. And if you’re a lover of any ancient locations (particularly those that we can actually visit) associated with the fey, London and parts of Scotland are mentioned throughout the novel. It makes me want to go there now…

Overall Recommendation:
The Faerie Queen was the epic conclusion to an ultimately heart-stopping historical fantasy series. Further plot twists (who knew there could possibly be more room for those?) all tie in nicely together for an unpredictable, yet happy, ending for Tiki and her friends. It’s like a fairy tale but with more action and character development! And who wouldn’t like a fairy tale, hmm? I recommend this series, and particularly this book, to anyone who loves adventure, fantasy, factual history and romance. It won’t disappoint, trust me. This book deserves all the praise it can get.