Review: Loki's Wolves by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr

Yay, another review!! I think I'm really getting back into a rhythm :)

Today, I chose to review Loki's Wolves by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr because I know some of my blogger friends wanted my opinion before they decided whether or not to pick up this book. So I hope this review helps!

Loki's Wolves by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr
published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

In Viking times, Norse myths predicted the end of the world, an event called Ragnarok, that only the gods can stop. When this apocalypse happens, the gods must battle the monsters--wolves the size of the sun, serpents that span the seabeds, all bent on destroying the world.

The gods died a long time ago.

Matt Thorsen knows every Norse myth, saga, and god as if it was family history--because it is family history. Most people in the modern-day town of Blackwell, South Dakota, in fact, are direct descendants of either Thor or Loki, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke.

However, knowing the legends and completely believing them are two different things. When the rune readers reveal that Ragnarok is coming and kids--led by Matt--will stand in for the gods in the final battle, he can hardly believe it. Matt, Laurie, and Fen's lives will never be the same as they race to put together an unstoppable team to prevent the end of the world.

Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: The Blackwell Pages, Book #1

The Story: This one is a tough one to summarize ^_^; Matt Thorsen is a descendant of Thor and is therefore very familiar with every Norse myths and legends. However, they are the last of his concerns because he's too busy living up to his family standards - his father is the sheriff, his grandfather is the mayor and his two older brothers have set the bar very high as perfect students and athletes. However, when the rune readers reveal that Ragnarok is coming, it turns out that Matt is the one chosen as Thor's champion. Now, he has to follow the path of his ancestor if he wants to prevent the world from ending... His first step is to gather the other champions, starting with Fen... which won't be an easy feat as Fen really dislikes Matt.

 If the Thorsens are the perfect families, the Brekkes are like the other side of the track - the wrong one. The Thorsens believe to be the only ones who have retained the knowledge of their ancestors, but they are in for a surprise. Fen Brekke is a descendant of Loki and has the ability to shapeshift into a wolf. As one who has present with power, Fen has three choices: to join the wulfenkind - a gang made up of Loki's descendants, to pay his dues or to become a lone wolf which means never staying in one place long. Fen really hopes that his cousin Laurie will also develop powers so they can join Laurie's father as lone wolves. For now though, it's time for him to pay his dues and for some reason, the wulfenkind wants an old shield... and Matt Thorsen.

My Opinion: If I remember correctly, I first heard about Loki's Wolves at the RT conference in 2010.  Wow, that is a while ago ^_^; It was during a YA panel and immediately, I put it on my radar. This book is a collaboration between Kelley Armstrong (squee!) and Melissa Marr. Initially, I think the plan was for each author to write one of the protagonists' POV, but I can't remember which ^_^; My best guess would be Thor for Ms Armstrong and Loki for Ms Marr. In any case, the plan must have changed along the way because we ended having a third POV, Laurie, or perhaps they wrote that part together? Anyway, fast forward 3 years and I pre-ordered Loki's Wolves because I'm a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong :) I was excited that Ms Armstrong was having a new series which seemed different from her Women of the Otherworld series... but unfortunately, as it turns out, not refreshing and unique enough to stand out from other YA books with similar concepts, which in the end, was the downfall of Loki's Wolves :(

As a whole, I thought Loki's Wolves was not a bad read. However, when you have a story about kids having powers, being related to Gods, and having to fulfill prophecies that are legends - well you are not going to escape comparison with Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series... and the truth is, Mr. Riordan's series is better. As a result, "not being bad" gets bumped down a few more notches ^_^; In its favor, Loki's Wolves has good writing, good incorporation of the Norse mythology and some good dynamics. But all this is outweighed by so-so storyline and characters ^_^;

Let's start with the good elements. Ms Armstrong and Ms Marr are two very popular YA authors and writing-wise, they did not disappoint in Loki's Wolves. I think they did a good job at meshing their styles and voices as Loki's Wolves flow really well. They also did a good job at integrating the Norse mythology in the story. Let's be frank, Norse mythology is not as popular as Greek or Egyptian ones and my knowledge of it basically comes from the Thor movie ^_^; However, I didn't feel lost while reading Loki's Wolves and I don't feel my lack of knowledge affected my enjoyment of the book :) Also, I enjoyed the different dynamics between the characters. Fen and Laurie are cousins and are very close, a brother-sister's relationship where Fen looks out for Laurie and Laurie trying to show she can stand her own. I thought it was very sweet and seriously, given Fen's background, I was so happy that he had someone he could lean on. Fen and Matt's relationship was also an interesting one in the sense that you have two guys who aren't friends, but have to cooperate with each other and are kind of vying for the leadership position. It'll be interesting to see how this develop and how it will turn out. For now, there is a truce between the two boys... but Thor and Loki's relationship is never far in their mind.

As I mentioned above, for me, the weaknesses of Loki's Wolves were the storyline and the characters because they failed to engage me, to hook me in. A large part of the book was dedicated to the world building which was necessary of course, but the rest of the story was one-dimensional. I felt like the characters were just going through the motion... They were running around with no inkling of what to do and still managed to stumble across the other champions. The storyline was simply too straightforward and lacked subtleties and hints for what is to come. In addition, the book is meant to be for middle graders and I think it was reflected in the action sequences. As for the characters, I thought they were well developed, each of them having an interesting background and his own issues. Matt is the son of the sheriff with two older brothers that excelled at everything so he feels the pressure. He's already the youngest and the smallest, he's not about to be the disappointment as well. Fen on the other hand has a big chip on the shoulder, he's sullen and never backing down from a fight. He's been shuffled from one relative to another and lacked familial stability. And so, when you bring them together, you have the golden boy and the bad boy butting heads. And then, you have Laurie in the middle who doesn't really know what is happening and is discovering the truth along the book. I thought the characters were likable and well developed... but for me, they lacked the charisma to pull me in, to make me root for them unconditionally.

Before I wrap this review, I want to mention the illustrations in Loki's Wolves. I was quite surprised at them because I did not expect them at all. They are a fun addition to the book although I think they do reinforce the the middle grade feeling of the book. They were like the rest of the book, very straightforward and the style of it was pleasant. I have to admit though I much prefer the cover style and I wonder why they had two different artists. I mean, if you knew they were going to be illustrations in the book, why not offer that person to do the cover? Because the cover is the first image you have from the book and is the one that sticks with you and suddenly, you see the illustrations inside and they don't have the same imagery... Oh well, that's just me being picky ^_^;

Overall, as I said, Loki's Wolves was not a bad book... it simply probably wasn't for me. It's clear the target audience was a younger crowd (middle graders) and they might enjoy it a lot more. As an adult, I just feel the story is too straightforward, simple and serious to be fully engaged. In addition, I'm a huge fan of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and so, perhaps I'm biased. At this point, the only reason I'd pick up Odin's Ravens would be that I'm a big fan of Ms Armstrong.

My Grade: C-.

Week-End's Minis XVI: Revived by Cat Patrick

Hey everyone! How are you doing? It was great to have a 3-days week-end last week, but ugh, it derailed my blogging mojo! Not that it takes a lot, I know LOL. At least, the good news is my reading finally picked up! Yay! Now, I need to build up my read books pile a little, so I can offer you a choice for the WEM feature :P In the meantime, well it'll still be up to me :) And this week, my pick is Revived by Cat Patrick :) I know, I know, I've been reviewing a lot of YA lately... but what can I say, I got into a YA kick late April, beginning of May :P Hope you enjoy!

By the way, what are the good books you've read recently? :)


Revived by Cat Patrick

published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette) in May 2012

As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.

A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi/contemporary
Series: None

What do you need to know? First, if you were going to skip this book because of the sci-fi element, don't, because while it is present, it is a very small part of the story. In fact, to be truthful, I felt Revived read more like a contemporary YA :)

Basically, Daisy is one of the 21 patients part of a long-term clinical trial for a drug, Revive, which essentially does what its name indicates. As long as the subject doesn't have cancer or a mortal injury such as a broken neck or something lodged in the head, the drug should be able to bring the person back to life. All the candidates for this clinical trial were in the same bus crash, which occurred about ten years ago, and were all re-located along their families and given new identities. Since Daisy was an orphan, she was placed under the custody of agents in the program.

In the subsequent years, Daisy has died four more times - the latest from an allergic reaction to a bee stung. Each time, she and her guardians were re-located and this time around, they end up in Omaha, Nebraska as the Wests. Daisy is looking forward to this fresh start. She realized that as Daisy Appleby, she had isolated herself, not daring to make friend. As Daisy West, she doesn't intend to make the same mistake... and when she meets Audrey McKean on her first day of school, she doesn't let the opportunity pass. Very quickly, Daisy becomes best friend with Audrey and develops a crush on Audrey's older brother, Matt.

Everything is perfect... but it doesn't last very long. Soon, Daisy notices some strange behaviors from Audrey and it doesn't take long till she learns that Audrey is sick - very sick - and doesn't have long to live. For the first time in her life, Daisy realizes how final death is... At the same time, Daisy is starting to get suspicious about the Revive project when she runs into an acquaintance from her previous life and this acquaintance suddenly disappears... and a new case is introduced into the project.

Why this book? I really enjoyed Ms Patrick's debut novel Forgotten (although I have yet to review it ^_^;;). I like her blend of contemporary/sci-fi YA and that's why I picked up Revived :)

What I liked? In Revived, I still enjoyed Ms Patrick's writing very much. Her style is very enjoyable and easy to read, she has a nice voice and I think she blends contemporary and sci-fi very well :) And because there is some sci-fi element in her books, the story is kept away from the high school drama which seems to have become a requirement for my contemporary YA books LOL.

What I liked best in Revived was the contrast between Daisy who have died 5 times without real consequences and therefore, doesn't see death as threatening, and Audrey who will die. It made Daisy really think about the finality of death and I think she will see it differently.

Aside from that, I liked the characters in this book: Daisy, Audrey, Matt and Daisy's father figure, Mason. I also liked her friendship with another candidate, Megan. I liked the "normalcy" of Daisy's life despite being part of such a project. I also enjoyed Daisy's friendship with Audrey and the romance with Matt was sweet. And the ending worked for me :)

Any issues? I enjoyed the contemporary part of Revived, but I didn't think it was enough to make this book really stands out. Technically, that fell onto the sci-fi part of the book, but it wasn't developed enough to meet the expectations. The concept was actually quite interesting and had a lot of potential, but Ms Patrick failed to exploit it. First of all, it should have been more integrated to the story in my opinion. As it is, I felt the contemporary and sci-fi aspects of the book were very separate. In fact, it felt like Daisy had two separate lives: one involving everything about Revive and the other with Audrey and Matt. I think this stemmed from the fact Daisy knew so much about the project, that she was involved. The way Mason raised her, he was very honest and didn't withhold information. As such, Daisy even had access to the project files! In a sense, that's pretty cool for Daisy. However, I think if Revive and the whole project had been more mysterious, it would have worked better for the readers.

Also, everything seemed to be so easy in this book. The way Daisy opened up to Matt and revealed the secrets about Revive. I know she fell in love with him and I know that Matt is trustworthy, but to see her open up so easily... It was just weird. You'd imagine such a project would be more secretive. Also, how she discovered about the new case and uncovered the truth. All she really did was connect the dots, but those dots were in neon colors. This should have been the thrilling, the exciting part of the book, but it failed because it was so straightforward.

The last thing that bothered me about Revived was the villain's pseudo-obsession with Daisy. Why was she a target? Was it because she died so many times and therefore attracted attention? Was it really because she was an orphan? That part still puzzles me.

My Grade? C. I did enjoy Revived, especially the contemporary part of the book. However, truth be told, Revived wasn't as good as Forgotten and it is mainly due to the sci-fi aspect feeling incomplete :( It's unfortunate because I had high expectations for Revived and really wanted to love this book. Still, I'll be picking up Ms Patrick's next book because I did enjoy her writing and I hope she'll continue this style of YA :)