DragonQuest by Donita K Paul

Kale has been called by Paladin to come and serve as one of His dragon keepers in The Hall. There she tries to begin training as a warrior, but after a summons from Wizard Fenworth, she goes to become an apprentice wizard and to help Fenworth train a meech dragon named Redigor. Bordan, a warrior she does not like, comes along with her, as well as Dar and several other new characters.

The plot eventually turns into a quest to find a meech dragon the evil wizard Risto stole and brainwashed. I'm not sure whether the Dragon Keeper series needed another quest or not.

The longer the book drags on, the more characters Paul invents. By the end of the book, there are so many characters, the reader is confused as to who is who. The cast of characters in DragonSpell was better because Paul could give each character the personal attention they needed to become complex. In DragonQuest, the characters are half-heartedly developed because there are too many to give proper attention to each one. Kale, Dar, and Fenworth aren't near as interesting as they were in DragonSpell.

There is really no point to this book whatsoever. Where the quest of DragonSpell was unique, this one is mediocre. It seems like the same thing happens in every chapter-the characters encounter a new location and fix a problem there. Kale is visited by her so called "mother" nearly everyday during which the two of them carry on nearly the same conversation about how Kale puts too much affection on her "pets". The book is quite repetitive, to say the least.

The best thing about the book is the explanation behind the power of the wizards. Paul makes it so that they are not simply magical people. There is a detailed process by which the wizards use their powers. This elevates the setting of the Dragon Keeper series to an even higher level than it already was because it shows that Donita actually thinks through what she writes. She writes fantasy with purpose. She makes her world of Amara seem as real as our world with her descriptiveness. This aspect of the book keeps it from being rated lower.

I know that the third book is this series follows Bardon instead of Kale, and I'm glad. Having a dragon hatch all the time was getting silly. Plus, Bardon's character has the potential to be interesting.

I see great things in Donita K Paul's future.

3 stars

Storm Gathering by Rene Gutteridge

When Mick Kline wakes up on the floor of a woman's apartment he barely knows with no remembrance with what happened the previous night, he is immediately accused of her murder. No one believes him when he says he didn't kill her. Everyone just wants someone to blame, and he's the most convenient target.

Evidence continues to mount against him and implicate him with her murder, so Mick finds himself literally on a run for his life. With no one on his side, he must find the evidence he needs in order to prove himself innocent.

The whole idea behind this plot is pretty lame to start with. Mick Kline is the ultimate downtrodden character who no one likes. No one believes his story. Poor, poor, Mick. Mick is portrayed as a victim the entire time. The sickening part is, evidence is actually found in the end in his favor. Not that I didn't see it coming, though.

There are many stereotypical circumstances throughout the plot like a crooked detective who strives for evidence against Mick, a woman who used to love Mick but now loves his brother, and a typical enemy character who has the same kinds of thoughts that most other murderer characters do. There aren't any good characters, of course. They are all either perfect or evil. As with most "suspense", there are no ambiguous characters.

The problem with books marketed as suspense is that they aren't really suspenseful. The reader knows all along that the good guys are going to win out. That's not suspense. Suspense is truly not knowing what's going on or what's going to happen at the end. That's why suspense has become a mediocre genre.

At the end of the book, there are several unrealistic convenient connections that help the heroes solve the mystery and that help Mick get off clean. This makes the situation even worse because if Rene Gutteridge had actually come up with a good reason for why Mick was innocent, that would have been one thing. But since she resorted to cheesy pieces of Literary Trash like convenient connections, this makes the book even worse.

There is one original thing at the end that saves the book from being completely absurd but that is it.

I think Rene Gutteridge needs to stick to more non-"suspenseful" plots like Ghost Writer and Snitch in order for her to be an original author.

1.5 stars

Last Breath by Brandilyn Collins and Amberly Collins

With his dying breath, Rayne O'Connor's bus driver uttered four words that would change Shaley O'Connor's life forever. Your father sent me. Shaley can only imagine what this means. But she has no time to think about this because directly after this incident, her mother, the famous Rayne O'Connor, gets hit by a passing car when she pushed into the street by a zealous tabloid journalist. During her hospital stay, Rayne tells Shaley more about her father and why they separated in the first place.

Rayne's injury really serves no purpose except the make the book longer and more dramatic. Wasted page space also makes the book seem longer than it really is. Last Breath really has none of the substance or depth that suspense, especially young adult, desperately needs. It's an empty book that, once again, only tries to set up the third book in this trilogy.

Nothing made any sense to me in the end. There are several plot holes that I can only hope will be explained in the third book. Last Breath is just another below average work produced by an author who's better than this.

Rayne's past, though it could have been interesting, is really very empty and void. Brandilyn could have really expanded on the issue and made this book longer than the first. This could have also led to deeper development of characters or delving into complex issues but it mostly does not.

The characters still haven't developed any personality or imperfection. Like the whole series, they are also empty shells preforming robotic tasks. They show some hints at genuine emotion and personalities but they are in need of more work. The young adult market needs help in all of these areas and I thought that Collins might do something for it but I was disappointed.

Don't waste too much money on Last Breath either. It's one of those books that gets pushed to the back of your bookshelf and forgotten about after a few weeks. Forgetability is one of the worst qualities for any work and is more than anything what is plaguing this series.

1 star

Always Watching by Brandilyn Collins and Amberly Collins

Shaley O'Connor is the only child of a rock star, Rayne O'Connor. She is always travelling around with her mother on music tours. Because of her mother's extreme popularity, they are always the target for tabloids and paparazzi. This becomes even more so when one of Shaley's best friends, her mother's makeup artist, is killed mysteriously one night backstage during a concert. No one knows what to make of it or why anyone would do such a thing.

To say that Shaley delves deeper into the mystery would be huge overstatement. Always Watching is so short, there is hardly any time for anything worthwhile to get accomplished. It's one of the shortest books I've ever read. Although this seems to be expected for this genre I feel that a little more content or complexity would have made it feel more professional.

Because of its length, there is no time for the characters to develop. I don't even know who these people are. Always Watching is like a snapshot of something more to come. The entire book is spent setting up the next one. This is another common tactic that I am not particularly fond of.

I wish that this mystery had been furthered explored and better set up here. As it is Always Watching does not really make me desperate to read the rest. Maybe the future books will make it come together but don't waste your time on this one alone.

1.5 stars

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We will post the top ten reviews on our blog in January.

Tiger Lillie by Lisa Samson

Lillie has always been the wedding coordinator-never the bride.

Normally that cover blurb would turn me off from a book but Lisa Samson was never normal.

No man can replace Teddy, Lillie's boyfriend throughout high school. She currently works with Extreme Weddings and the Odd Occasion, a wedding coordinating service for those who want an original wedding. Their first big break appears when Lillie accidentally meets the brother of a famous performing artist. The artist is getting married soon, and he chooses Extremely Odd to coordinate the wedding. Lillie immerses herself in the work and tries to stop thinking about Teddy.

Tacy, Lillie's sister, also lives an interesting life. At eighteen, she married a twenty-five year old man who she had known for several years. He seemed charming and gentlemanly at first, but the longer she was married to him, the more she regretted her immature decision.

Despite what every other review I read about Tiger Lillie said, this book is fully based on Tacy's strange life. The title has nothing to do with what the plot is really about. The back description doesn't do Tacy's story justice. Lillie, though her ramblings fill up more than half the book, really only plays a small part in the plot.

As usual, Lisa Samson has crafted realistic, imperfect characters to fill her plot. This has always been Samson's specialty that has made her books Elite. Even though some of her plots are average, the characters make it Elite. This is the case with Tiger Lillie as well.

Lillie has an interesting view on life. The reader has to wonder whether her view of the plot is jaded by her enthusiastic nature or not. But this keeps the reader guessing and makes the book realistic.

The book is also told from the first person perspective of Tacy. She definitely has a more melancholy view of life than Lillie does. This also keeps the plot fresh and realistic.

But there are many other assets to Tiger Lillie besides the characters. The idea behind the plot-planning original weddings-is fresh and original. One can always count on Samson to come up with an original plot idea.

There are two romantic subplots-one for Tacy and one for Lillie. Tacy's in the the central focus of the book, while Lillie's is more extracurricular. Her's is an original romance because it isn't stereotypical. Typical phrases are not used in the dialogue. Their actions are not typical. This keeps the book fresh as well.

I've always said that the majority of the rating is based on the end of the plot. The end can make it or break it for any book. In the case of Tiger Lillie, the end is original because not everything is fixed. One major thing in particular is left imperfect. This is the finishing touch on the book's five star rating.

5 stars

The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klaven

Charlie West wakes up in a dark room strapped to a chair. He has no idea where he is. He has no idea how far from home he is. He has no idea what has happened in the past few hours. The last thing he can remember is a normal day at high school. He can remember his name and the names of his family. He can remember his friends' names. He can remember many things about high school. But he has no idea what has gone on in the past few hours.

On the surface, this book looks like a typical young adult thriller. Amnesia, high school, a torture room-these are the types of things that fill these types of books. But this is not your typical book. After a while, Charlie realizes that he is in a bigger plan than he realized at first. The reader gets this same impression as well. The longer the book goes on, the more complicated the plot becomes.

This book has to do with terrorists-another dangerous subject. Many authors have tried and failed this genre. I usually say this is a closed genre. But Andrew Klaven has changed my mind. He has opened up a whole new perspective of the terror genre.

Believe it or not, Charlie is an imperfect character. Perfect characters are the worst thing authors write in the young adult genre. But Charlie is a real person. He makes mistakes, he learns from them. It's just that simple.

The setting of this book is also realistic. No, Charlie doesn't spend the whole book strapped to a chair, like another reviewer said he did. He enters several other settings that are all realistic according to the circumstances.

This book is continued, and for once, I think it does need to be continued. This series has huge potential if Klaven will use it right. This series could be entirely Elite. It all depends on what Klaven does in the second book.

The one drawback to this book is an unnecessary showdown at the end of the book. While the characters involved do not use typical dialogue, showdowns are really worn out as long as authors make them all end the same.

All in all, Andrew Klaven uses the element of surprise to make this book interesting.

4 stars

All I'll Ever Need by Harry Kraus

Claire McCall and John Cerrelli desperately want to get married. They want their wedding to be perfect. They want to stop dancing around the issue and actually get married. They've already tried for two books, and now they're at it again for a third. But things keep getting in their way, such as Claire's attempted rapist escaping from jail, Claire being sued by a patient for inducing euthanasia without permission, Claire's Huntington-diseased father wanting to die, and John being stalked by a delusional woman in his workplace. All these things come to a head as it seems like everything wants to keep them from getting married.

I liked the first two books in this series for their realism in the medical field and in life. But a third book full of more tragedies for Claire and John is just too much. All good things must come to an end. Harry could have easily ended the series with For the Rest of My Life.

First of all, the characters have lost their personalities and imperfection. Where John was a good original male lead in the previous book, he is typical and perfect in this book. Claire has become more of a victim than an imperfect character who makes bad choices. The rapist and John's female stalker are both typical characters as well. I can only think of one good character this time.

Too many bad things are fixed in the end. This is where Harry Kraus thrived in the first two books: imperfection in the end. But with this third book, he has pleased the public with last page-perfection. There were plenty of opportunities for imperfection, but Harry didn't take any of them. Imperfection has always been his specialty, so without it, he isn't very interesting. I liked one part at the end-the part that involved the only imperfect character.

Harry just went too far with the Claire McCall series. He just had to write that third book. He had everything going just fine at the end of For the Rest of My Life. Everything was great. The Claire McCall series was an Elite series. But All I'll Ever Need was ruined by its typical nature. I know Harry can do better than this.

2 stars

When Heaven Weeps by Ted Dekker

Jan Jovic was forced by Karadzic, his former comrade in battle, to mistreat a handful of villagers one day following the end of World War II. Now he has traveled to America with Ivena, an old woman whose daughter he killed. They both now know the Lord and have written the story down in a book form and have made a business out of it. Jan Jovic continues to gain popularity in the media world and achieves success. He proposes marriage to his book agent and she accepts. Life is good.

Then Helen enters his life. He found her as a tramp living on the streets, running away from her abusive boyfriend. He took her in and slowly love began to blossom. But this love destroyed his suitable engagement and makes him a target for her old boyfriend. Helen feels unworthy of his love and goes back to her boyfriend. But Jan will not give up on her.

When Heaven Weeps

is a parable of sorts. Jan represents Jesus and Helen represents the world. This aspect of the book is fine; it's the lack of good characters and the unrealistic end that ruin the book.

The characters are either perfect or evil; there is no in between. I have said before that I don't like such contrasts, and I still do not. Dekker should have at least made his characters imperfect.

There are multiple showdowns between Jan and Glenn, Helen's boyfriend. They all end realistically except for the last one. The final showdown is very sensational, filled with bursts of light, distant music, and typical dialogue. It ends very unrealistically when several characters escape death in order to make the reader happy. The final showdown also betrays the parable and makes it another typical suspense plot.

As with Heaven's Wager, I liked the idea behind the plot, but did not like the end. I only wish Dekker would have lived up to his full potential in the end.

2 stars

The Great Divide by T Davis Bunn

Marcus Glenwood is a lawyer who recently suffered a family tragedy. As a result, he reigned from he prestigious law firm he worked for and went to live in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to live in a house he inherited from his grandfather. There he opens up his own law firm from his house.

Austin and Alma Hall come to him, asking him to represent them as they sue New Horizons, a successful sports gear company, for allegedly kidnapping their daughter in China. Their daughter had been investigating their labor practices as a civil rights activist. As a result, the head of the Chinese factory kidnapped her and began to make her work for them. The Halls know this because of a ransom video the factory head sent them. Apparently they want $100,000 for her release.

Marcus agrees to take on their impossible case and together they fight against a Fortune 500 company who has never lost a case.

I can't tell how sick I am of these types of plots. I can't even fit all the problems with this book in one review. I can't even tell you how surprised I am that people actually like this nonsense. But I will try.

First of all, Marcus Glenwood is portrayed as a victim throughout the entire book. Apparently his past isn't his fault at all. He's a victim of circumstance. Nobody likes him. Everybody hates him. No one is fair to him. Poor, poor, rich Marcus Glenwood. He is also a T Davis Bunn specialty-a non-character. He's not even a perfect character. Judging by his dialogue, I can't even feel like he's a real person. He acts like a robot the entire book. He doesn't have any thoughts or any kind of unique statements.

Second of all, none of the other characters are any good either. They are all either perfect, evil, or robotic. The reader doesn't even feel like the people are real.

Third of all, Rocky Mount is a small town full of, you guessed it, hicks. I am so tired of authors filling small towns with hicks! But these aren't your typical hicks. No, these are far worse. Their dialogue makes me wonder whether they even earned an education. Besides that, small towns full of hicks is a piece of Literary Trash.

Fourth of all, there are three really stupid villains. Two of them are the lawyers opposing Marcus and the other is the owner of the Chinese factory. The lawyers act like clowns in court. They definitely don't act professional. Impromptu outbursts in the middle of court, obnoxious behavior toward other characters, and typical dialogue litter these ridiculous villains. These are some of the worst I've ever read.

Fifth of all, the court case might as well be a kangaroo trial. Nothing about it is realistic. Since when does a Fortune 500 company nab an American college student and make her work in their factory? And why do they need a ransom of $100,000? Why did the parents sue the company over a kidnapping? Why couldn't they just go to the authorities? In the end, nothing else matters but the tiny thread of evidence Marcus finds directly before closing arguments. These types of cases are unrealistic and ridiculous.

The whole book is just a sham. I could go on and on about all the problems, but I don't have time. There are only two good things I can say about the book: there is no romantic subplot, which is a surprise for T, and there is one original thing at the end of the book. Otherwise, The Great Divide is a cesspool of Literary Trash.

1.5 stars