Wednesday 27 April 2016

Lady Renegades

Lady Renegades (Rebel Belle, #3)

Lady Renegades is the final book of Rachel Hawkins's Rebel Belle series.

Just as Harper Price starts coming to terms with her role as David Stark's battle-ready Paladin, protector, and girlfriend- her world goes crazy all over again.

Overwhelmed by his Oracle powers, David flees Pine Grove and starts turning teenage girls into Paladins- and these young ladies seem to think Harper is the enemy David needs protecting from.  Ordinarily, Harper would be able to fight off any Paladin who comes her way, but her powers have been dwindling since David left town... which means her life is on the line yet again.

The Breakdown:
1. I had been really enjoying this series, but I felt this book was not quite up to par with the first two books in the series.  For me, at least, it was that Harper and David spent almost the entire book separated.  My love of the first two books was, in big part, due to their relationship. They have the quirky competitive, yet complimentary, relationship.  I really missed that in this book.

2.  It was intriguing to see Harper a little out of her element in this book.  She is usually the planner, the one running the show.  In this book, it is more of Blythe running the show, and Harper grudgingly following along.

3. I did love getting more Harper and Bee time in this book.  They are amazing friends, who always have each others back.

4. I also liked seeing more of Blythe and learning more of her back story.  Plus, getting to learn the story of David's parents was awesome.  And overall, I thought the ending worked out perfectly.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read, at least to finish out the series.

Thursday 21 April 2016

The Iron Warrior

The Iron Warrior (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #3)

The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa is the final book in The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten.

The Iron Prince- my nephew- betrayed us all.

He killed me.

Then, I woke up.

Waking after a month on the brink of death, Ethan Chase is stunned to learn that the Veil that conceals the fey from human sight was temporarily torn away.  Although humankind's glimpse of the world of Faery lasted just a brief moment, the human world has been cast into chaos, and the emotion and glamour produced by fear and wonder has renewed the tremendous power of the Forgotten Queen.  Now, she is at the forefront of an uprising against the courts of Summer and Winter- a reckoning that will have cataclysmic effects on the Nevernever.

Leading the Lady's Forgotten Army is Keirran himslef: Ethan's nephew, and the traitor son of the Iron Queen, Meghan Chase.  To stop Keirran, Ethan must disobey his sister once again as he and his girlfriend, Kenzie, search for answer long forgotten.  In the face of unprecedented evil and unfathomable power, Ethan's enemies must become his allies, and the world of the fey will be changed forevermore.

The Breakdown:
1. It was a little bittersweet finishing this book, and coming to the end of Kagawa's Iron Fey series. This book does answer how Ethan survived Keirran's literal backstabbing at the end of The Iron Traitor.  It also explains well what made Keirran lose his mind.   And finally it reveals who the Forgotten Queen really is what her motives are.

2.  Real talk, my favorite character of this series is probably Kenzie.  She is smart, resourceful, and prepared for anything. She keeps Ethan from making mistakes with the Fey in dealings, and she does not let her own health issues stop her from living her life.

3.  Ethan and Kenzie definitely have interesting traveling companions along their adventure this time with the Thin Man, Grimelkin, and Wolf.  The race to save Nevernever and Keirran from himself it an exciting one, and was hard to put down.  While Kagawa solved all the questions and issues presented in this series, I cannot help but feel that she left open the potential for more stories with Ethan, Kenzie and possibly Keirran.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Tuesday 19 April 2016

Trust Me, I'm Trouble

Trust Me, I'm Trouble (Trust Me, #2)

Trust Me, I'm Trouble by Mary Elizabeth Summer is the second book in her Trust Me series.

Staying out of trouble isn't possible for Julep Dupree.  She has managed not to get kicked out of her private school, even though everyone knows she's responsible for taking down a human-trafficking mob boss- and getting St. Agatha's golden-boy Tyler killed in the process.  Running cons holds her guilty conscience at bay, but unfortunately, someone wants Julep to pay for her mistakes... with her life.

Against her better judgement, Julep takes a shady case that requires her to infiltrate a secretive organization that her long-gone mother and the enigmatic blue fairy may be connected to.  Her best friend, Sam, isn't around to stop her, and Dani, her one true confidante, happens to be a nineteen-year- old mob enforcer whose moral compass is a as questionable as Julep's.  But there's not much tome to about right and wrong- or to save your falling heart- when there's a contract on your head.

Murders, heists, secrets, and lies, hit men and hidden identities... If Julep doesn't watch her back, it's her funeral. No lie.

The Breakdown:
1. For me, this book was a bit of a sophomore slump.  I did not find it as interesting as the first book, Trust Me, I'm Lying.  I think that Summer just had a bit too much going on with what is the deal with Julep's new job, the contact hit against her, the mystery of her mother, and even the bank robbery thrown in the mix. I wish that Summer had streamlined this a bit more.

2.  I am the first admit that there definitely needs to be more LGBT characters in YA fiction.  That being said, the feelings between Julep and Dani felt a bit forced.  They just did not feel like a couple I could get on board with.

3.  All that being said, the book was a decent read with plenty of mystery and action to keep me engaged with the story from beginning to end.  I loved the new information that Summer reveals about Julep's mother and her family.  Plus, I was a fan of the interactions between Julep and her foster parents, especially Angela.  Oh, and Summer does leave it with quite the ending.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Thursday 14 April 2016

Cruel Crown

Cruel Crown (Red Queen, #0.1-#0.2)

Cruel Crown consist of two novellas, Queen Song and Steel Scars, set in Victoria Aveyard's world of the Red Queen.

Queen Song

Queen Coriane, first wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary- how else can she ensure that no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead of her in royal life.

Steel Scars

Diana Farely was raised to be strong, but being tasked with planting the seeds of rebellion in Norta is a tougher job than expected.  As she travels the land recruiting black market traders, smugglers, and extremists for her first attempt at an attack on the capital, she stumbles upon a connection that may prove to be the key to the entire operation- Mare Barrow.

The Breakdown:
1. I am going to break it down by story, starting with Queen Song.  I really liked this story.  I enjoyed getting to know Coriane, Cal's mother and Julian's sister.  Even in such a short story, Aveyard really brought her character through beautifully.  It was interesting to see that she is where Cal got his love of tinkering with things from.  I also like the glimpses of Cal's grandparents, and what their life was like.  Also interesting seeing her first meeting with both Elara and the Crown Prince, and learning just how cruel and conniving Elara was before she was ever queen.  Even though, I knew how it would end, I got me right in the feels.

2. Steel Scars gives an interesting look at Farely and how she came to start the Red Guard movement in Norta, and how she met Shade.  I liked seeing her reactions to events and her command style.  It was easy to see why she inspired loyalty in her troops.  She is smart and has an excellent strategic mind. Plus, this book also gives glimpses of what Lakeland is like and how similar it is to Norta, and the real reasons behind their war.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Sunday 10 April 2016

The Girl from Everywhere

The Girl from Everywhere (The Girl from Everywhere, #1)

The Girl From Everywhere is by debut author Heidi Helig and is the first of the series of the same name.

Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father's ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination. 

As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to anytime, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa.  Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day.

Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to hist lost love, Nix's mother.  Even thought getting it- and going there- could erase Nix's very existence.

For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.

She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.

Or she could disappear.

The Breakdown:
1. Time travel, Hawaii, and mythical creatures come to life, all these things come together to make Helig's wonderful adventure in this book. I loved the rules that Helig has created for time travel, and how exactly the time travel occurs. I also like the mystery of the potential paradox, if Nix's mother is saved, what happens to her life.

2. I loved Nix's character.  She is smart and resourceful, and loves to learn more.  I find it interesting how she handles the situation her father makes.  On one hand she wants to help him and make him happy.  On the other is the fear that if he gets want he wants that she will never have this life if she exist at all.

3. Nix's potential love interests make for good foils of each other.  First Kashmir, who is thief raised on the streets of a mythical area of the Arabian peninsula.  He is Nix's best friend, but there is definitely some strong chemistry there.  He seems more in tune with it than she is. Then there is Blake Hart, who is the son of an American living in Hawaii.  He is very Victorian, after all it is 1888 to him.

4. I love how well Helig is able to blend real history with myths and legends. Treason, secrets, heist and ghost warrior all make for a very exciting read.  I cannot wait to see where she takes the series.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Wednesday 6 April 2016

The Serpent King

The Serpent King

The Serpent King is by debut author Jeff Zentner.

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life- at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattle snakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father's extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

He and his fellow outcast friends must try to make it thought their senior yer of high school without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self.  Graduation will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out their rural Tennessee town.  And Travis is content where he is thanks to his obsession with an epic book series and the fangirl turning his reality into real life fantasy.

Their diverging paths could mean the end of their friendship.  But not before Dill confronts his dark legacy to attempt to find a way into the light of a future worth living.

The Breakdown:
1. I got this book in my March Owl Crate, which if you are a lover of YA lit like I am, you should totally look into it.  I probably would not have picked up this book on my own, which is sad, because I would have never have known how awesome it is.  This book deals with the very real situation of moving on to a different stage in life, in this case from high school to college/adulthood. And this book will definitely punch you right in the feels, but it is worth it.

2. I love that the are very different, both in personalities and home situations, but still have formed this amazing friendship. They are definitely the kind of friends that can always count on each other. Their friendship is what proves you don't need a lot of friends, but the right ones make life much brighter.

3.  Dill is the main focus of the book, but Lydia and Travis both get their own chapters.  Zentner does a great job of make the different chapters for the different characters reflect their unique personalities and voices. Dill's chapters have a darker undertone that really reflect his life situation, and his struggle with depression.  Lydia's are definitely more quirky and hopeful.  And Travis's chapter are more of an neutral with reality, but happy with his book-verse.  I want to say so much more, but I don't want to give away any spoilers.

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read

Saturday 2 April 2016

The Suffering

The Suffering (The Girl from the Well, #2)

Rin Chupeco's The Suffering is the follow-up book to her The Girl from the Well.

Seventeen-year- old Tark knows what it is to be powerless.  But Okiku changes that.  A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she's groomed Tark to destroy the wicked.  But when darkness pulls them deep into Aokigahara, known as Japan's suicide forest, Okiku's justice becomes blurred, and Tark is the one who will pay the price...

The Breakdown:
1. This book is a great example on how the second book can surpass the first book.  In this book, I feel that Chupeco does a much better job in her character development and the development of the relationship between the characters. She is able to do that and still hold on the horror and suspense that made the first book good.

2. Chupeco starts this book out with an intensely scary scene, with Tark exercising a ghost and Okiku coming to his aid.  She keeps this up throughout the book.  From Tark and Okiku stalking murderers to the trip the Aokigahara, which has to be once of the most intensely chilly settings of any book I have read.

3. I find the dynamic between Tark and Okiku interesting.  The way they have booth come to rely on each other.  They even have fights like friends have.  It does not matter that they are a living boy and dead girl, each is intensely protective of the other.

4. I am fascinated by the village that Chupeco develops in Aokigahara. What happened there and why kept me turning the pages, despite the frightening things that happened. I also love how Chupeco delves into Japanese culture on spirits and demons.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read- especially if you are fan of Japanese Horror films