(Image from Barnes & Noble)

(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for I Don't Want to Kill You, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from the first two books in the trilogy.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with the John Cleever series by Dan Wells.  The books are all well-written, compelling and thought-provoking, to be sure, but they're also gory, violent and disturbing.  So, while I find them entertaining, I also find them a little hard to stomach.  The middle book (Mr. Monster) made me feel physically ill, so I was a tad reluctant to pick up I Don't Want to Kill You, the last book in the trilogy.  If it hadn't been nominated for this year's Whitney Awards, I probably would have put off reading it a bit longer, which would have been a shame because it's not nearly as unsettling as its predecessors.  Or maybe it's just me—it's entirely possible that prolonged exposure to the twisted mind of Dan Wells has deadened my frailer sensibilities.  

At any rate, I Don't Want to Kill You begins a couple of months after Mr. Monster ends.  John Wayne Cleever, a 16-year-old sociopath, is waiting patiently for the arrival of a demon named Nobody.  The monster is coming, John knows that; it's just a matter of when she'll show up.  Whenever she makes her arrival, he'll be ready.  He might study serial killers, he might dream of murder, but John's tired of watching people he knows die. It's time for him to take control, to destroy the demon who may already be darkening the streets of his hometown, masquerading as a normal, everyday resident of Clayton, North Dakota.  

John's unusual psychological makeup makes him the perfect demon hunter, but he can't let his darker impulses control him if he wants to have any kind of normal life.  And he does, he really does.  To triumph over Mr. Monster, the devil that lurks inside him, John must focus on the hunt for Nobody.  In order to save the people of Clayton, he has to take a careful, probing look at each and every one of them.  All of them, as he soon discovers, are hiding something, but which one of them conceals a demon?  It will take all of John's wit, all of his strength, all of his talent to find and eliminate Nobody before she takes over the town and everyone in it.  

Like the first two books in the trilogy, I Don't Want to Kill You explores the idea of people choosing their own destinies, in spite of all the things that might be working against them.  This intriguing premise is what elevates the novels above other horror stories.  In addition, John is a character who probably shouldn't be sympathetic, but is, simply because he's trying so hard to overcome his baser instincts.  He's a fascinating hero, one for whom I always find myself rooting, even when he's having homicidal thoughts toward his mother (shudder).  So, while the John Cleever books make me distinctly uncomfortable, I still think they're sort of brilliant.  Just in a gross, disturbing kind of way.      

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs); violence/gore; and sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Deseret Book)

Heaven, as it turns out, isn't all harps and clouds.  Still, Jonathan Stewart much prefers it to that cess pool known as Earth.  He did his time as a mortal; he's not about to go back.  He's made it abundantly clear to the yahoos at HR that he has no interest, whatsoever, in becoming a guardian angel.  Jonathan's stunned, then, when he's assigned to watch over Celeste Knight, who's about to embark on her own Earth journey.  All post-mortal spirits are required to do one guardianship, so Jonathan has little choice in the matter.  At least he was wise enough to request a spirit who's marked for an early death—while Jonathan's return to Earth will be torture in the extreme, at least it will be short.

What Jonathan doesn't realize is that spirits like Celeste can choose when to die.  And Celeste isn't about to give up too early.  Frustrated by her stubbornness, Jonathan nonetheless decides to do his job as he does everything else—perfectly.  It's not easy, though, to keep a young Celeste away from all the dangers Earth life has to offer.  Not only does he have to steer her away from erratic drivers, rogue lightning bolts, rusty swingsets  and the like, but he also has to battle the Sheydim (Satan's angels) who want to enslave Celeste (and every other mortal) to their master.  It's no picnic, but, along the way, Jonathan discovers (to his utter surprise) that he cares for his kind-hearted charge, feels responsible for her eternal salvation.  In fact, he realizes that he'll do anything, move Heaven and Earth if he has to (and he does), to make sure she returns to her Maker unscathed.

It's difficult to describe the plot of No Angel, Theresa Sneed's first published novel, because the fact is, it's confusing.  Not to mention just ... odd.  Plus, the story's got some serious plot holes, very clumsy editing and one supremely unlikable main character, all of which made the book difficult for me to read.  I know it's supposed to be an uplifting, inspiring read and I guess it is, or would be, if the writing were better.  As is, the whole presentation just drove me crazy.  The horrible truth:  I raced through No Angel because I couldn't wait to toss it aside and move on to something else. 

(Readalikes:  Reminded me a little of Emerald City by Alicia K. Leppert and a tiny bit of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis)   

Grade:  D

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG for some mature subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I bought No Angel at Deseret Book with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

trilogy, in some ways, I liked The Alloy of Law even better. It's got everything I admired about the earlier novels, just with a more lighthearted tone, an intriguing mystery, even a little steampunk goodness. It's the Mistborn world made funnier, sexier and, if possible, even cooler. I know, right? Pure awesomeness.

rs reach for the skies, their jaw-dropping height inspiring hope, awe and the promise of more advances to come. Magic may seem out of place in this new world, but Allomancy is still very much alive in Scadrial. Powers are not necessarily flaunted by their owners, especially those living within the city of Elendel, and yet they are used for various and sundry purposes.

Lord Waxillium "Wax" Ladrian, a rare Twinborn (meaning he wields both Allomantic and Feruchemical powers) prefers to use his skills in a less subtle way. The 42-year-old has spent the last 20 years out in the Roughs, wielding his special talents against all manner of ruffians. Maybe order can never be brought to the wilds, but he can at least make sure justice is served as often as possible. Keeping such uncouth company has made Wax unfit for the society life he left behind in the city, but when a family tragedy strikes, he finds himself reentering the glamorous world of the wealthy. He's not too thrilled about his new responsibilities—including the pressure to find a wife—but Wax is resigned. He's head of Ladrian House now and must act accordingly.

But, when a string of train robberies becomes increasingly dangerous, Wax knows someone has to intervene. It shouldn't be him, of course, but he might just go crazy if it isn't. With the help of a dashing old friend and an alluring new one, Wax sets out to solve the mystery. In doing so, he must evaluate the mistakes of his past, the purpose of his present and the goals of his future. There's not a lot of time for musing, though, not with a dastardly villain plotting his demise. It's a time for action, a time for Wax to decide who he is, what he wants and how to save his friends from peril. If he can't figure out the truth in time to stop what's happening, the entire land could be in grave danger.

I can't do justice to the book's plot, so you're just going to have to trust me when I say The Alloy of Law is worth the read. Even if you're not into sci fi/fantasy-ish novels, you're going to dig this one. It is sci fi, but it's also got a lot of crossover appeal since it has a Victorian feel, dystopian elements, a steampunk vibe and just, I don't know, lots of crazy-good stuff. Sanderson knows how to tell a balanced story, creating appealing characters, fascinating worlds and scenes that combine action with mystery with humor with romance with ... everything. Bottom line: Love Sanderson, love this book. Raving fan girl out.

(Readalikes: The Mistborn trilogy [The Final Empire; The Well of Ascension; The Hero of Ages] by Brandon Sanderson)