Remedial Magic by Melissa Marr REVIEW

Summary:

Ellie loves working in her local library, baking scones, and investigating the mysterious in her spare time. And there is nothing more mysterious and captivating than the intriguingly beautiful, too properly dressed woman suddenly sipping tea in her library. The pull between them in undeniable, and Ellie is not sure that she wants to resist.

Prospero, a powerful witch from the magical land of Crenshaw, is often accused of being . . . ruthless in her goals and ambitions. But she is driven to save her dying homeland, and a prophecy tells her that Ellie is the key. Unbeknownst to Ellie, her powers have not yet awakened. But all of that is about to change.

My Thoughts:

I couldn't put this book down. 

Ellie is a quiet, introverted librarian until a gorgeous woman shows up in her library and captivates her. They share a kiss, and then the woman disappears. Later, while driving, Ellie swerves to avoid a collision but wakes up in Crenshaw, a land for witches, where she is told that she must attend a school for witches. Ellie wants to go home to her aunt, but Prospero being there makes her unsure whether to go or stay.

There are also other characters, like Maggie and Dan, who were also brought to Crenshaw around the same time. Although they aren't main characters, they are very well developed and likable. 

While I'm not usually a fan of romance, this book is definitely an exception. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy with a bit of romance.

My Rating: 5 stars 

Dalek by Robert Shearman REVIEW

Summary:

The Doctor and Rose arrive in an underground vault in Utah in the near future. The vault is filled with alien artifacts. Its billionaire owner, Henry van Statten, even has possession of a living alien creature, a mechanical monster in chains that he has named a Metaltron.

Seeking to help the Metaltron, the Doctor is appalled to find it is in fact a Dalek - one that has survived the horrors of the Time War just as he has. And as the Dalek breaks loose, the Doctor is brought back to the brutality and desperation of his darkest hours spent fighting the creatures of Skaro . . . this time with the Earth as their battlefield.

My Thoughts:

I loved this episode of the show, so I was excited to pick up the novelization of it, hoping to see more characterization of the background characters. I was not disappointed.

This was not just a play-by-play of the script. You learn the background of Henry van Statten, which gives you a small bit of sympathy for who you might call the real evil of the story, but still hate him throughout the book. You learn a bit of the backgrounds of Adam and Goddard, one of the soldiers.

Overall, this was a nice glimpse into some of the characters that you would never see in the episode itself, but it did feel lacking in the pacing. The way the author split the present with the flashbacks was odd and did more to confuse the reader more than anything.

My Rating: 3 stars