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The Ballad of Nick & Mina #1
The Pen & the Sword
Nick gets a pen and the ability to document the supernatural world - Mina gets a sword and super powers. Nick does not think this is remotely fair.
When the new kid in town - Nick - is partnered up with the strange girl in town - Mina - for a Science project, they learn that there are things that go bump in the night. And that its their job to hunt them down!
When the new kid in town - Nick - is partnered up with the strange girl in town - Mina - for a Science project, they learn that there are things that go bump in the night. And that its their job to hunt them down!
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 28, 2011
2 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Jonathon Wolfer
7 books7 followersI grew up on the shoreline of Connecticut, but I've lived in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. I am also a huge Harley enthusiast. I love telling stories and would love to know what you think of my work or even just about llamas.
Favorite Books
Stranger In a Strange Land, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, The Illustrated Man, Golden Apples of the Sun, Stardust, American Gods, The Graveyard Book, A Wrinkle In Time, The Giver, The House of the Scorpion, Choke, Diary, Pygmy.
Favorite Books
Stranger In a Strange Land, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, The Illustrated Man, Golden Apples of the Sun, Stardust, American Gods, The Graveyard Book, A Wrinkle In Time, The Giver, The House of the Scorpion, Choke, Diary, Pygmy.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 19, 2015
I think all the problems I have with this book can be summed up with one sentence. This book needed an editor. If it had an editor, it needed a more experienced one. I am not going to fault someone for small spelling errors and grammar mistakes -I make them all the time in reviews and blog posts. But there were a lot of grammar issues, especially apostrophe use. Still, what an editor would have done is tighten up the story a bit.
Now to what I enjoyed about this book. It was fun to see a book take place in the eighties. This also allowed the main characters to be without the net, cell phones, or social media. All of those would have complicated the story inn an unnecessary way. The conceit is pretty interesting - a two-person Buffy story. In fact it's almost Buffy and a gender swapped Willow, but that wouldn't do justice to the creativity in display here. After all, Nick has powers in his own right. Once I start thinking of it in those terms, however, the school scenes seem less superfluous.
This book didn't see me in fire the way Wool did, but the world is interesting and I really like Mina's personality. In the real world a teen me would've wanted to befriend her and wish we could get together.
Additionally, the pacing issues I felt were less is an issue once I got to the end. This is clearly meant to tell the entire story over a trilogy. The sequel is not "More adventures with Nick and Mina". It is the climax to a sorry begun here. Not my favorite style, but the pacing is probably ok over three books.
The significance of Mina's name was not lost on me.
Well, on to the sequel.
Now to what I enjoyed about this book. It was fun to see a book take place in the eighties. This also allowed the main characters to be without the net, cell phones, or social media. All of those would have complicated the story inn an unnecessary way. The conceit is pretty interesting - a two-person Buffy story. In fact it's almost Buffy and a gender swapped Willow, but that wouldn't do justice to the creativity in display here. After all, Nick has powers in his own right. Once I start thinking of it in those terms, however, the school scenes seem less superfluous.
This book didn't see me in fire the way Wool did, but the world is interesting and I really like Mina's personality. In the real world a teen me would've wanted to befriend her and wish we could get together.
Additionally, the pacing issues I felt were less is an issue once I got to the end. This is clearly meant to tell the entire story over a trilogy. The sequel is not "More adventures with Nick and Mina". It is the climax to a sorry begun here. Not my favorite style, but the pacing is probably ok over three books.
The significance of Mina's name was not lost on me.
Well, on to the sequel.
November 11, 2013
*I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review as part of a read to review on Goodreads*
When I signed up for this read to review I must confess my expectations were not high, well if anyone else felt the same then throw that out the window cause this book is fun, well written, and very easy to lose yourself in. I loved the flow of this book, I could not put it down, from the very first word I was captivated. The new idea of a pen and a sword be so powerful together and be able to bring two people together so perfectly was fantastic. I still can't really explain how much fun I had reading this book.
There was a little bit of everything in this book witches, werewolves, ghosts of different kinds, and even a cursed werepig. Together all these things bring about an interesting tale that the author wove together beautifully. The thing is I am not that into baseball and I didn't enjoy those parts as much as the rest of the story, but they were there for a great reason and when you read the book you (which you should!!!) you will learn/know why.
I don't want to say to much more cause it's so much better if you go in blind, but I want to say that this great story also had great characters both Human and Supernatural. Nick was cute, smart, and very level headed and I liked him right away, Mina took a little longer to grow on me, but she did. I am really happy I signed up for this read to review and thanks to Jonathon Wolfer for putting his book out there.
When I signed up for this read to review I must confess my expectations were not high, well if anyone else felt the same then throw that out the window cause this book is fun, well written, and very easy to lose yourself in. I loved the flow of this book, I could not put it down, from the very first word I was captivated. The new idea of a pen and a sword be so powerful together and be able to bring two people together so perfectly was fantastic. I still can't really explain how much fun I had reading this book.
There was a little bit of everything in this book witches, werewolves, ghosts of different kinds, and even a cursed werepig. Together all these things bring about an interesting tale that the author wove together beautifully. The thing is I am not that into baseball and I didn't enjoy those parts as much as the rest of the story, but they were there for a great reason and when you read the book you (which you should!!!) you will learn/know why.
I don't want to say to much more cause it's so much better if you go in blind, but I want to say that this great story also had great characters both Human and Supernatural. Nick was cute, smart, and very level headed and I liked him right away, Mina took a little longer to grow on me, but she did. I am really happy I signed up for this read to review and thanks to Jonathon Wolfer for putting his book out there.
February 19, 2014
The Pen and the sword ( The Ballad of Nick & Mina #1) by Jonathon Wolfer
I received this book in exchange for an honest review by the Author and the “Lovers of Paranormal” Group on Goodreads.com
I fantastic read... I was quickly drawn in and became absolutely engrossed in this book until the very end. A successful mix of action, adventure and romance. This book follows the story of Nick ( The keeper of the Pen) an athletic high school student who has just moved from New York into a small town with his Mother and Mina ( The keeper of the Sword ) who is the High School’s Odd ball. The characters are brilliant and very well defined. The writing is rich, descriptive and flows effortlessly. With its unique plot this book has a refreshing twist and is original and creative. A wonderful read that I enjoyed immensely. But I have to warn you that this book does leave you wanting more. If you enjoy books with a Supernatural theme, this will not disappoint as it has a generous helping of Leprechauns, Were-animals, Ghosts, Vampires etc. I will definitely be looking out for more of this talented authors work.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review by the Author and the “Lovers of Paranormal” Group on Goodreads.com
I fantastic read... I was quickly drawn in and became absolutely engrossed in this book until the very end. A successful mix of action, adventure and romance. This book follows the story of Nick ( The keeper of the Pen) an athletic high school student who has just moved from New York into a small town with his Mother and Mina ( The keeper of the Sword ) who is the High School’s Odd ball. The characters are brilliant and very well defined. The writing is rich, descriptive and flows effortlessly. With its unique plot this book has a refreshing twist and is original and creative. A wonderful read that I enjoyed immensely. But I have to warn you that this book does leave you wanting more. If you enjoy books with a Supernatural theme, this will not disappoint as it has a generous helping of Leprechauns, Were-animals, Ghosts, Vampires etc. I will definitely be looking out for more of this talented authors work.
October 14, 2013
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to author Jonathon Wolfer)
"Well, Sherlock said it best - 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'
I loved the beginning with John and Lauren. I was confused a little, had to keep re-reading the paragraph to understand what was going on, but I loved it.
I liked Nick's character, he was kind, caring, and cool. I didn' t realize until the end that this was just the beginning of the series, I can't wait for the next book!! It didn' t have as much fighting as I thought it was going to have, but it was a nice read.
"Well, Sherlock said it best - 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'
I loved the beginning with John and Lauren. I was confused a little, had to keep re-reading the paragraph to understand what was going on, but I loved it.
I liked Nick's character, he was kind, caring, and cool. I didn' t realize until the end that this was just the beginning of the series, I can't wait for the next book!! It didn' t have as much fighting as I thought it was going to have, but it was a nice read.
August 3, 2015
Full disclosure: I've known Mr. Wolfer most of my life and he's kind of an asshole. I'm not quite sure how he managed to put so many words together in an order that tells such a fun and driving story. I don't typically read YA, because I'm a grown man, but this book is filled with enough supernatural shenanigans and dark comedy to keep my twisted mind enthralled.
Definitely suggest reading it even if you don't read YA, it's certainly better than most of the other crap everyone's churning out.
Definitely suggest reading it even if you don't read YA, it's certainly better than most of the other crap everyone's churning out.
June 12, 2012
Nick and Mina, the hero and heroine of The Pen & the Sword, are the quintessential odd couple–he’s a smart jock, she’s a quirky art freak–that is, until they realize that there’s a lot more to each other and their relationship than just the standard high school labels.
Nick is a Stanton, part of a family who has been charged since time immemorial with documenting the supernatural world and all the vampires, leprechauns, invincible nonagenarians, and werepigs–yep, werepigs–that come along with it. As a paranormal scribe, he is assigned a Protector–and, as luck would have it, his protector is none other than his science lab partner, Guillermina “Mina” Medellin. When they are paired up to work on a project tracking the 1986 passage of Halley’s Comet, they get a lot more than they bargained for: Nick is given a pen that he uses to write about the things that no one else sees, spy on others in his town, and find clues etched in stone, while Mina gets a sword and supernatural speed, strength and healing powers. Together, they are the dynamic duo of their small Connecticut town.
When kids in their high school start getting attacked and killed, they start suspecting that there’s a lot more to the story than simply the rabid bears the news are speculating. As they try to solve the mystery surrounding the deaths, they realize they’re the unwilling target of something much bigger, much more evil, and much more ancient than they ever bargained for.
Let me start by saying that this was a fun story to read. The Pen & the Sword is catchy, fast-paced, and contains just enough teenage hormones to make it interesting. However, although I felt that the story as a whole was successful, I did have a few qualms.
I wish the secondary characters–Nick’s mother and grandmother, Mina’s father, and Gertrude (Mina’s superpower “trainer”)–had been developed more thoroughly. There were flashes of brilliance in the character department (Nick’s mother’s dependence on Nick for getting the right word for her crossword puzzles, for example), but they were few and far between. I understand that the stars of the show are Nick and Mina, but I feel that the story as a whole might have benefited from having had a more comprehensive treatment of their families and close friends.
Perhaps this comes from being a girl, but I found the interaction between Nick and the members of his baseball team to be extremely rough and, one more than one occasion, slightly offensive. There was quite a bit of cup smacking, and a few derogatory terms bandied about that made me uncomfortable. Again, though, I have a feeling that this is likely due to my own female-ness; there is precious little cup hitting and smack talk in my world, even when I did play high school sports.
The story, in my estimation, took entirely too long to get the climax–and then, when it did, it was over and done much too quickly. I wish there had been less of a buildup and more of a climactic battle and denouement. I understand that, given that this is the first in a series, the author had to spend time giving us background and setting the stage for the future iterations of his story–that’s not a problem. I do wish more time had been spent on the climax and the final realizations and set-up for future stories; I felt like I had invested enough time in getting there that I deserved a bit more than what was given.
However, despite what I considered to be the story’s shortcomings, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Pen & the Sword is fast-paced, entertaining, and has little snippets of totally tubular 80s lore interspersed throughout (which, as a child of the 80s, I was most excited about). The idea that, in this case, the girl was the powerful one while the boy was more of a bystander appealed to my inner feminist (even if it did cause much consternation to Nick). I also really enjoyed the fact that this book takes place in a much more innocent time–and the author fully exploits that. Supervision is at a minimum, and parental trust is at a maximum. This lends itself well to the shenanigans that Nick and Mina get themselves into. The character development of the main characters is excellent, and their budding love story plays well into the protector-protégé dynamic.
I am excited to see what the second book of the series (slated to come out later this year) has in store. I am hoping for vampire battles, perhaps some zombies thrown in, and a werepig or two (perhaps even a werepenguin). The Pen & the Sword is a great effort by a first-time YA writer; I look forward to more from Jonathon Wolfer.
Nick is a Stanton, part of a family who has been charged since time immemorial with documenting the supernatural world and all the vampires, leprechauns, invincible nonagenarians, and werepigs–yep, werepigs–that come along with it. As a paranormal scribe, he is assigned a Protector–and, as luck would have it, his protector is none other than his science lab partner, Guillermina “Mina” Medellin. When they are paired up to work on a project tracking the 1986 passage of Halley’s Comet, they get a lot more than they bargained for: Nick is given a pen that he uses to write about the things that no one else sees, spy on others in his town, and find clues etched in stone, while Mina gets a sword and supernatural speed, strength and healing powers. Together, they are the dynamic duo of their small Connecticut town.
When kids in their high school start getting attacked and killed, they start suspecting that there’s a lot more to the story than simply the rabid bears the news are speculating. As they try to solve the mystery surrounding the deaths, they realize they’re the unwilling target of something much bigger, much more evil, and much more ancient than they ever bargained for.
Let me start by saying that this was a fun story to read. The Pen & the Sword is catchy, fast-paced, and contains just enough teenage hormones to make it interesting. However, although I felt that the story as a whole was successful, I did have a few qualms.
I wish the secondary characters–Nick’s mother and grandmother, Mina’s father, and Gertrude (Mina’s superpower “trainer”)–had been developed more thoroughly. There were flashes of brilliance in the character department (Nick’s mother’s dependence on Nick for getting the right word for her crossword puzzles, for example), but they were few and far between. I understand that the stars of the show are Nick and Mina, but I feel that the story as a whole might have benefited from having had a more comprehensive treatment of their families and close friends.
Perhaps this comes from being a girl, but I found the interaction between Nick and the members of his baseball team to be extremely rough and, one more than one occasion, slightly offensive. There was quite a bit of cup smacking, and a few derogatory terms bandied about that made me uncomfortable. Again, though, I have a feeling that this is likely due to my own female-ness; there is precious little cup hitting and smack talk in my world, even when I did play high school sports.
The story, in my estimation, took entirely too long to get the climax–and then, when it did, it was over and done much too quickly. I wish there had been less of a buildup and more of a climactic battle and denouement. I understand that, given that this is the first in a series, the author had to spend time giving us background and setting the stage for the future iterations of his story–that’s not a problem. I do wish more time had been spent on the climax and the final realizations and set-up for future stories; I felt like I had invested enough time in getting there that I deserved a bit more than what was given.
However, despite what I considered to be the story’s shortcomings, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Pen & the Sword is fast-paced, entertaining, and has little snippets of totally tubular 80s lore interspersed throughout (which, as a child of the 80s, I was most excited about). The idea that, in this case, the girl was the powerful one while the boy was more of a bystander appealed to my inner feminist (even if it did cause much consternation to Nick). I also really enjoyed the fact that this book takes place in a much more innocent time–and the author fully exploits that. Supervision is at a minimum, and parental trust is at a maximum. This lends itself well to the shenanigans that Nick and Mina get themselves into. The character development of the main characters is excellent, and their budding love story plays well into the protector-protégé dynamic.
I am excited to see what the second book of the series (slated to come out later this year) has in store. I am hoping for vampire battles, perhaps some zombies thrown in, and a werepig or two (perhaps even a werepenguin). The Pen & the Sword is a great effort by a first-time YA writer; I look forward to more from Jonathon Wolfer.
July 4, 2013
*I received a copy of this book from the Author in exchange for an honest review*
I give this book 3.5 stars!
This is the story of a boy called Nick who moves from New York with his mum to her small hometown, here he discovers that the male line in his family have a secret – they can see all things supernatural and he with the use of a special pen is able to record all the supernatural occupancies. On his first day of school he is paired with Mina for a school project, a kid that doesn’t have friends and doesn’t fit in at school. While completing this project Nick discovers that Mina is no ordinary teenager either as she too has special abilities, upon finding the sword she discovers it is her legacy to protect Nick from supernatural creatures who are out to find kill them both. And their adventure to protect the people of the town begins.
I really liked Nick’s character - kind, smart, athletic and caring, but he also has all the raging hormones of a teenager which only adds to the humour I found in the story. I loved to read about his growing friendship with Andrew his baseball buddy. This story has some sincere and touching scenes involving the both of them and I particularly liked the banter and the lively competition between them.
As Nick discovers his Uncles Journals and the Stanton family secret he is paired with Mina for a school assignment and find out she too has a legacy. Nick has the ability to see and record (with a special pen) supernatural occurrences which others don’t witness, Mina finds a sword and discovers she has superpowers and is destined to protect Nick with all things supernatural.
Mina’s character is an art student who doesn’t really fit in at school and doesn’t have friends until she meets Nick, however I struggled to connect with Mina and found myself disliking her. I found her to be cocky with her comments, no fun as she just wanted to train and kill things, pushy when she’s constantly pulling and leading Nick around and became irritating at times, I didn’t feel I really understood what Nick saw in her.
I did however love other characters such as his mum Trudy who is very trusting and slightly vulnerable, Gert, the 90 year old ninja who could kick butt and drove a cool car and I have to mention Hank the ‘were-pig’ (genius) this character made laugh so much I’d have loved the existence of a ‘were-penguin’ and ‘were-hamster’ which Mina mentions she would like as pets.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read, I loved that Jonathon started off the story with an action filled first chapter which grabs the reader’s attention. I feel the story was well written and has a great plot, however I felt that its main focus in revealing the secret, learning their new skills, training and the build-up took so much time that I felt the climax unfortunately left me wanting more. When I reached the end of the book however I realised that this story has just begun and for the first book of several is a great starting point and a fantastic concept for future books, I personally can’t wait to find out which other supernatural characters are going to appear!
I give this book 3.5 stars!
This is the story of a boy called Nick who moves from New York with his mum to her small hometown, here he discovers that the male line in his family have a secret – they can see all things supernatural and he with the use of a special pen is able to record all the supernatural occupancies. On his first day of school he is paired with Mina for a school project, a kid that doesn’t have friends and doesn’t fit in at school. While completing this project Nick discovers that Mina is no ordinary teenager either as she too has special abilities, upon finding the sword she discovers it is her legacy to protect Nick from supernatural creatures who are out to find kill them both. And their adventure to protect the people of the town begins.
I really liked Nick’s character - kind, smart, athletic and caring, but he also has all the raging hormones of a teenager which only adds to the humour I found in the story. I loved to read about his growing friendship with Andrew his baseball buddy. This story has some sincere and touching scenes involving the both of them and I particularly liked the banter and the lively competition between them.
As Nick discovers his Uncles Journals and the Stanton family secret he is paired with Mina for a school assignment and find out she too has a legacy. Nick has the ability to see and record (with a special pen) supernatural occurrences which others don’t witness, Mina finds a sword and discovers she has superpowers and is destined to protect Nick with all things supernatural.
Mina’s character is an art student who doesn’t really fit in at school and doesn’t have friends until she meets Nick, however I struggled to connect with Mina and found myself disliking her. I found her to be cocky with her comments, no fun as she just wanted to train and kill things, pushy when she’s constantly pulling and leading Nick around and became irritating at times, I didn’t feel I really understood what Nick saw in her.
I did however love other characters such as his mum Trudy who is very trusting and slightly vulnerable, Gert, the 90 year old ninja who could kick butt and drove a cool car and I have to mention Hank the ‘were-pig’ (genius) this character made laugh so much I’d have loved the existence of a ‘were-penguin’ and ‘were-hamster’ which Mina mentions she would like as pets.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read, I loved that Jonathon started off the story with an action filled first chapter which grabs the reader’s attention. I feel the story was well written and has a great plot, however I felt that its main focus in revealing the secret, learning their new skills, training and the build-up took so much time that I felt the climax unfortunately left me wanting more. When I reached the end of the book however I realised that this story has just begun and for the first book of several is a great starting point and a fantastic concept for future books, I personally can’t wait to find out which other supernatural characters are going to appear!
July 2, 2013
I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Noooooooo!!! Why?! Why?! Why?!
Ahem...
So, I loved this book. To be frank I thought this book would be meh. And that I'd give it a two star rating. I was pleasantly proved wrong.
This book was amazing. It had mystery, romance and supernatural elements in it. Plus, a kickass girl who fights with a sword.
Nick is new to town. On his first day of school he meets Mina, the weird girl in town and is paired with her to work on a school project. While working on the project-and nearly kissing-they hear screaming. Turns out the screamer is a naked man turning into a Werepig. Yes, Werepig. After an interesting chain of events Nick gets The Pen, which has lots of cool abilities, but of course he thinks the sword is cooler-which it is-and Minarets gets the sword.
Nick is a really interesting character. He's a jock but also really smart and not douchy at all. The author did a great job of making Nick unique and not stereotyping him at all.
Mina, is the weird girl in town. Why you ask? She's stronger, faster and has better senses than humanely possible. She meets and befriends Nick, who doesn't judge her at all and actually likes hanging out with her. She also rides a scooter and experiments with Henna on herself, which is awesome.
What I love the most about her is that she's not afraid of anyone of anything, she's always laid back and never tries to be something she's not. When she gets The Sword she also gets superpowers and to be Nick's protector. Obviously, her job is to keep harm from getting to Nick or The Pen.
Nick and Mina's relationship is cute and realistic. They obviously really like each other, but they're not in love since they only just met and weird stuff is happening. Although I think that weird stuff will just bring them closer together.
The pacing was good, though I wished the build up to the climax was more evenful. And the plotline and prose were captivating I literally couldn't stop reading, I read this in like 3 hours.
The only negative thing I have to say about this book, is that I wished the characters showed more emotion so I can feel that I'm hearing the story from their point of view. That really bugged me, but everything else made up for it a bit.
But that's not what the rant at the beginning of this review was about. If you really want to know.....Read. This. Awesome. Book.
Review on The Booklicker
Noooooooo!!! Why?! Why?! Why?!
Ahem...
So, I loved this book. To be frank I thought this book would be meh. And that I'd give it a two star rating. I was pleasantly proved wrong.
This book was amazing. It had mystery, romance and supernatural elements in it. Plus, a kickass girl who fights with a sword.
Nick is new to town. On his first day of school he meets Mina, the weird girl in town and is paired with her to work on a school project. While working on the project-and nearly kissing-they hear screaming. Turns out the screamer is a naked man turning into a Werepig. Yes, Werepig. After an interesting chain of events Nick gets The Pen, which has lots of cool abilities, but of course he thinks the sword is cooler-which it is-and Minarets gets the sword.
Nick is a really interesting character. He's a jock but also really smart and not douchy at all. The author did a great job of making Nick unique and not stereotyping him at all.
Mina, is the weird girl in town. Why you ask? She's stronger, faster and has better senses than humanely possible. She meets and befriends Nick, who doesn't judge her at all and actually likes hanging out with her. She also rides a scooter and experiments with Henna on herself, which is awesome.
What I love the most about her is that she's not afraid of anyone of anything, she's always laid back and never tries to be something she's not. When she gets The Sword she also gets superpowers and to be Nick's protector. Obviously, her job is to keep harm from getting to Nick or The Pen.
Nick and Mina's relationship is cute and realistic. They obviously really like each other, but they're not in love since they only just met and weird stuff is happening. Although I think that weird stuff will just bring them closer together.
The pacing was good, though I wished the build up to the climax was more evenful. And the plotline and prose were captivating I literally couldn't stop reading, I read this in like 3 hours.
The only negative thing I have to say about this book, is that I wished the characters showed more emotion so I can feel that I'm hearing the story from their point of view. That really bugged me, but everything else made up for it a bit.
But that's not what the rant at the beginning of this review was about. If you really want to know.....Read. This. Awesome. Book.
Review on The Booklicker
October 27, 2013
I received a copy of this book from the Author in exchange for an honest review.
The Pen & the Sword (The Ballad of Nick & Mina 1) is a refreshing read from the same old paranormal teen romances that are popular today. Ironic, suspenseful, and just downright funny at moments I couldn't set the book down, finishing it in less than 24 hours.
Set in 1986 during the passing of Hailey's Comet, the story follows Nick Stanton and Mina Medellin, two fifteen year olds who just learned they have "gifts" in the form of a pen and a sword (hence the title). Nick has the ability to see the supernatural world, Mina is almost invincible and incredibly strong. Together they observe the supernatural world and protect when necessary those they love. A werepig, vampires, ghosts, and zombies-just to name a few-are some of the supernatural creatures that our hero and heroine face.
The author reeled me in from the very beginning with a supernatural battle during the prologue, but the action fell from there and didn't pick back up until near the end. The plot of the story wasn't clear to me til close to the middle of the book. The characters act much older than fifteen years old I know - parents letting them out at all hours of the night, driving by themselves (granted it's a scooter). The year the book is set in is not made clear, I had to research to figure out it was 1986 (the year I was born) based on Hailey's Comet and music mentioned by the author. And then there were so many grammatical errors they were hard to overlook. The book's saving grace came from its main characters. Nick and Mina's sarcastic humor and teasing back and forth is not only funny, but kept my interest in the book.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. Despite its slow plot, the author has developed the groundwork for a wonderful series. There are some very interesting villains (but I can't say because then I would be giving away too much) and a lot of mystery surrounding what the pen and sword are - like where did they come from, who made them, and how did they come to be in Nick's family. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series to see where the author takes Nick and Mina's story.
"Real funny that she gets a cool sword and I get a pen." -Nick
The Pen & the Sword (The Ballad of Nick & Mina 1) is a refreshing read from the same old paranormal teen romances that are popular today. Ironic, suspenseful, and just downright funny at moments I couldn't set the book down, finishing it in less than 24 hours.
Set in 1986 during the passing of Hailey's Comet, the story follows Nick Stanton and Mina Medellin, two fifteen year olds who just learned they have "gifts" in the form of a pen and a sword (hence the title). Nick has the ability to see the supernatural world, Mina is almost invincible and incredibly strong. Together they observe the supernatural world and protect when necessary those they love. A werepig, vampires, ghosts, and zombies-just to name a few-are some of the supernatural creatures that our hero and heroine face.
"The shadows move, the trees whisper and I'm pretty sure a cat defends the church next door from the Devil - or at least one of his minions." -Nick
The author reeled me in from the very beginning with a supernatural battle during the prologue, but the action fell from there and didn't pick back up until near the end. The plot of the story wasn't clear to me til close to the middle of the book. The characters act much older than fifteen years old I know - parents letting them out at all hours of the night, driving by themselves (granted it's a scooter). The year the book is set in is not made clear, I had to research to figure out it was 1986 (the year I was born) based on Hailey's Comet and music mentioned by the author. And then there were so many grammatical errors they were hard to overlook. The book's saving grace came from its main characters. Nick and Mina's sarcastic humor and teasing back and forth is not only funny, but kept my interest in the book.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. Despite its slow plot, the author has developed the groundwork for a wonderful series. There are some very interesting villains (but I can't say because then I would be giving away too much) and a lot of mystery surrounding what the pen and sword are - like where did they come from, who made them, and how did they come to be in Nick's family. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series to see where the author takes Nick and Mina's story.
November 11, 2013
I got a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review
The novel tells the story of how Nick and Mina win the Pen and the Sword and set out on an adventurous path. Nick is new in town and the first person he befriends is outsider Mina. She's much stronger than the average human and she's intelligent and interested in many things. Nick can see ghosts and other creatures that normal people don't see, so it's a perfect fit. But Nick also makes friends with the local baseball team where be becomes a player. One day, Nick and Mina find a sword with a pen embedded in it and learn about their heritage. Nick is destined to chronicle the unnatural world, and Mina has to protect him. There are enemies who have already killed Nicks uncle, and they will stop at nothing to get the Sword and the Pen.
Things I liked:
I liked the cover. Simple but very evocative and fitting.
The banter between Mina and Nick was great. Those two characters came alive and were the reason why I kept reading the book although not much happened. It was clear to me that the author has a great talent creating believable characters. Also, it was quite nice to have a strong heroine who has to protect the boy. The love between the two seemed a bit hurried to me, but then, I'm not a teen any more. Maybe things work out faster these days. ;-)
I enjoyed learning about Mark Twain (coming and going with a comet) and about life in an American high school.
Things I didn't like:
There were way too many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors in the book. I am German, which means I'm not a native speaker and most likely to overlook errors in the language, and even I could spot them. Luckily, with the help of a good editor, this fault is easily remedied (an advantage of eBooks).
The antagonist didn't show up till close to the end, and his impact on the plot was minimal. It wasn't such a big drawback, however, since the dynamic between Mina and Nick propelled the story forward and kept it interesting.
There were several great ideas that weren't fully developed (like the leprechaun's luck).
Final verdict:
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read if a tad unstructured. It makes a good starting point for a series. I recommend finding a good editor to get rid of the errors though. Without them, my rating would have been 4 stars.
The novel tells the story of how Nick and Mina win the Pen and the Sword and set out on an adventurous path. Nick is new in town and the first person he befriends is outsider Mina. She's much stronger than the average human and she's intelligent and interested in many things. Nick can see ghosts and other creatures that normal people don't see, so it's a perfect fit. But Nick also makes friends with the local baseball team where be becomes a player. One day, Nick and Mina find a sword with a pen embedded in it and learn about their heritage. Nick is destined to chronicle the unnatural world, and Mina has to protect him. There are enemies who have already killed Nicks uncle, and they will stop at nothing to get the Sword and the Pen.
Things I liked:
I liked the cover. Simple but very evocative and fitting.
The banter between Mina and Nick was great. Those two characters came alive and were the reason why I kept reading the book although not much happened. It was clear to me that the author has a great talent creating believable characters. Also, it was quite nice to have a strong heroine who has to protect the boy. The love between the two seemed a bit hurried to me, but then, I'm not a teen any more. Maybe things work out faster these days. ;-)
I enjoyed learning about Mark Twain (coming and going with a comet) and about life in an American high school.
Things I didn't like:
There were way too many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors in the book. I am German, which means I'm not a native speaker and most likely to overlook errors in the language, and even I could spot them. Luckily, with the help of a good editor, this fault is easily remedied (an advantage of eBooks).
The antagonist didn't show up till close to the end, and his impact on the plot was minimal. It wasn't such a big drawback, however, since the dynamic between Mina and Nick propelled the story forward and kept it interesting.
There were several great ideas that weren't fully developed (like the leprechaun's luck).
Final verdict:
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read if a tad unstructured. It makes a good starting point for a series. I recommend finding a good editor to get rid of the errors though. Without them, my rating would have been 4 stars.
January 28, 2014
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review, Lovers of Paranormal.
To be honest I was torn between 3 stars and 4 stars for this book. The story itself is what made me go for the four stars. I enjoyed the bit of background of Nick's uncle and his girlfriend. I have to say that I would haver preferred Nick and Mina to be older, possibly the same age as his uncle had been, 18. The story was a little stretched with the comings and goings at all hours for a couple of 15 year olds.
Nick's character was great; well written with lots of good, strong characteristics such as manners and morals and a brilliant sarcastic humour.
The plot line moved along nicely with interesting additions along the way. It was a great move for the heroine to be the one with the sword while the hero gets the pen. I was expecting the quote of the pen being mightier than the sword to come up at some point but it never did :-) I can't say the plot 'gripped' me as it tended to ramble a bit at times (particularly around the sports field) but it kept my attention. The editing left a bit to be desired.
All the characters were believable and consistent and likable.
I look forward to the next book when I think the action should really begin.
To be honest I was torn between 3 stars and 4 stars for this book. The story itself is what made me go for the four stars. I enjoyed the bit of background of Nick's uncle and his girlfriend. I have to say that I would haver preferred Nick and Mina to be older, possibly the same age as his uncle had been, 18. The story was a little stretched with the comings and goings at all hours for a couple of 15 year olds.
Nick's character was great; well written with lots of good, strong characteristics such as manners and morals and a brilliant sarcastic humour.
The plot line moved along nicely with interesting additions along the way. It was a great move for the heroine to be the one with the sword while the hero gets the pen. I was expecting the quote of the pen being mightier than the sword to come up at some point but it never did :-) I can't say the plot 'gripped' me as it tended to ramble a bit at times (particularly around the sports field) but it kept my attention. The editing left a bit to be desired.
All the characters were believable and consistent and likable.
I look forward to the next book when I think the action should really begin.
February 16, 2014
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review, Lovers of Paranormal.
I really enjoyed this book, the characters were easy to follow and build a relationship with, although they did come across as older than 15! I thought the cover was unusual and was the first thing that drew my attention to the book, the title made me want to read it......a good choice.
I liked following Nick while he got to know his new school friends /team mates and I found this made him more personable, will we get to see inside Mina's head in the next book? How does she feel when the adrenaline kicks in and she is protecting Nick?
I'm glad to hear that there is another book as I felt it was just taking off when book 1 ended, I can't wait for the next installment, will we learn what was written in Nick's uncles journals? or will we have to put the pieces together to find the answer? I do like a bit of detective work.
The downside was that there were lots of little errors that the proof reader hadn't picked up but putting that aside, I look forward to the next book!
I really enjoyed this book, the characters were easy to follow and build a relationship with, although they did come across as older than 15! I thought the cover was unusual and was the first thing that drew my attention to the book, the title made me want to read it......a good choice.
I liked following Nick while he got to know his new school friends /team mates and I found this made him more personable, will we get to see inside Mina's head in the next book? How does she feel when the adrenaline kicks in and she is protecting Nick?
I'm glad to hear that there is another book as I felt it was just taking off when book 1 ended, I can't wait for the next installment, will we learn what was written in Nick's uncles journals? or will we have to put the pieces together to find the answer? I do like a bit of detective work.
The downside was that there were lots of little errors that the proof reader hadn't picked up but putting that aside, I look forward to the next book!
October 24, 2013
**** Received this ARC in exchange for an HONEST review ****
Ok, so i really wanted to like it. I am not a fan of high school aged characters in books being i am not near that age and reading them feels awkward to me but i always try them because you never know right? I really liked this girl fighting sticking up for herself part, usually its the guys who fight so it was refreshing to see a female. But it seemed too far fetched for me to grasp. I love paranormal and magic but i just had a hard time staying focused on the book. I would still however recommend this book to teens because it was a good read, it just wasn't for me.
Pros: kick butt female with fighting sword skills.
Cons: too magical/unrealistic (i know its supposed to be unrealistic) not enough development with some characters to get in the 'mood' of them.
Happy Reading:)
Thank you to the author- Jonathon Wolfer for letting me read this!
Ok, so i really wanted to like it. I am not a fan of high school aged characters in books being i am not near that age and reading them feels awkward to me but i always try them because you never know right? I really liked this girl fighting sticking up for herself part, usually its the guys who fight so it was refreshing to see a female. But it seemed too far fetched for me to grasp. I love paranormal and magic but i just had a hard time staying focused on the book. I would still however recommend this book to teens because it was a good read, it just wasn't for me.
Pros: kick butt female with fighting sword skills.
Cons: too magical/unrealistic (i know its supposed to be unrealistic) not enough development with some characters to get in the 'mood' of them.
Happy Reading:)
Thank you to the author- Jonathon Wolfer for letting me read this!
July 23, 2015
I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the Lovers of Paranormal group on Goodreads.
I REALLY want to love this book. The story was interesting, well-paced, had great characters, and I genuinely enjoyed the plot. But, I can only manage to like this book. This author really needs an editor or something. The book was rife with errors, typos, accidentally added/omitted words, awkward dialogue, and unnecessarily detailed descriptions of actions. There were multiple paragraphs that unnecessarily detailed the exact path a character took to walk somewhere. I'm pretty sure at one point it even had step by step instructions on how to make french toast. That being said, I really enjoyed this story, I thought the romance was cute, and I loved reading it. I think anyone that enjoys young adult books or is looking for a more lighthearted paranormal story to get into might want to pick this up.
I REALLY want to love this book. The story was interesting, well-paced, had great characters, and I genuinely enjoyed the plot. But, I can only manage to like this book. This author really needs an editor or something. The book was rife with errors, typos, accidentally added/omitted words, awkward dialogue, and unnecessarily detailed descriptions of actions. There were multiple paragraphs that unnecessarily detailed the exact path a character took to walk somewhere. I'm pretty sure at one point it even had step by step instructions on how to make french toast. That being said, I really enjoyed this story, I thought the romance was cute, and I loved reading it. I think anyone that enjoys young adult books or is looking for a more lighthearted paranormal story to get into might want to pick this up.
May 16, 2014
I received this book in exchange for an honest review (Lovers of Paranormal)
My rating is 3.5
So, Nick who moves from New York with his mum to her small hometown, and the first person he befriends is Mina, a girl that doesn't have friends and doesn't fit in at school. And their adventure to protect the people of the town begins.
The plot was refreshing, and in this story, the girl was the tough one while the boy was more of a bystander.
Nick and Mina's relationship is great and realistic. The pacing was good, although I would like the build up to the climax was more powerful. This was an enjoyable read, I loved the starting of the story with an action filled first chapter which has successfully captured my attention. The scene of John and Lauren was really good.
I liked the cover, and the scooter at bottom right, simple yet fitting.
My rating is 3.5
So, Nick who moves from New York with his mum to her small hometown, and the first person he befriends is Mina, a girl that doesn't have friends and doesn't fit in at school. And their adventure to protect the people of the town begins.
The plot was refreshing, and in this story, the girl was the tough one while the boy was more of a bystander.
Nick and Mina's relationship is great and realistic. The pacing was good, although I would like the build up to the climax was more powerful. This was an enjoyable read, I loved the starting of the story with an action filled first chapter which has successfully captured my attention. The scene of John and Lauren was really good.
I liked the cover, and the scooter at bottom right, simple yet fitting.
January 1, 2014
I really enjoyed this book! It has all kinds of monsters and a cute love story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sci-fi. The only part of the book I had a hard time with was the part where Nick feels a "tug" in his stomach telling him which way to go, it seemed odd, but then again this is a sci-fi story. But the pen that shows a location when touched to the map was very cool! I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
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