Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

I am a big fan of Jim Butchers' Dresden Files series, and of high fantasy. I just had to try this series.

In the realm of Alera, where people bond with the furies-elementals of earth, air, fire, water, and metal, fifteen-year-old Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. But when his homeland erupts in chaos-when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies-Tavi's simple courage will turn the tides of war.

One of the first things that I think Butcher does well is his characters. They come flying off the page. The first character you meet is Amara. She is a Cursor, a messenger/spy for the king. She is independent, clever, and couragious. She was my favorite character from this series and not because she can fly.
Tavi is the main character that the story revolves around. He is fifteen and very smart. He doesn't have a bond with any fury, but what he lacks in furycrafting he makes up for in intelligence.
You get to meet a lot of charcters in this story, and even though there are a lot, they don't get mixed up or confusing. The storyline easily flows to encompass everyone.
The plot of the story was interesting. I liked the idea of having people connect with a natural elemental being. The world building was nice. I could clearly picture the Steadhold, mountains, and the various other places we get to go.

All in all I thought it was well written and look forward to traveling back to Alera and spending more time with these characters.

Here is a link to the author's webpage
www.jim-butcher.com/books/alera/

Fallen by Lauren Kate

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

I am just gonna come right out and say it. I was disappointed by this book, and it makes me sad. I was really looking forward to reading this. It is not often that I find a book that is hard for me to finish but I found myself struggling to read it. I wanted to stop halfway through but trudged on hoping it would get better. And finally it did with about fifty pages left.

I feel as if the book never really explained anything. I still don't believe in the relationship between Luce and Daniel. You never get a clear picture that these two are suppose to be together, you are just told they are and are supposed to believe it. Sorry, but I need proof.

I am just confused after reading this, I guess it is a good thing there will be another. Hopefully the next one will take the time to explain itself better and not be full of fluff that doesn't matter.

In my opinion, don't buy this book, get it from the library.