Tower of Dawn

Tower of Dawn is the newest book is Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series.

Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.

His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.

But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.

The Breakdown:
1.  This book takes place at the same time as Empire of Storms,  and is Chaol and Nesryn's story during this time.  I will freely admit that I was feeling a little Chaol hate after Queen of Shadows, but this book made me fall in love with him all over again.  Plus, I loved getting to finally see the Southern Continent and learn about it.

2.  I love that Maas brings back Yrene Towers from The Assassin and the Healer story.  And I simply adored Yrene.  She was strong and smart, and did not take any of Chaol's crap and made him face his demons.  Watching her and Chaol's love story develop was fantastic, from animosity to tentative friendship to love.  Her defense to Chaol to Hasar, one of the princesses of the Southern Continent, was probably my favorite scene of the book.

3.  I am so glad Nesryn got her own story in this book.  I enjoyed her character in Queen of Shadows, and seeing her further developed made me like her even more. Her relationship with Sartaq was fun to watch.  The prince, who seems to have quite the crush on her from the beginning, is definitely a good match for her.

4. Holy Cow, the information that Maas dropped in this book pretty much blew my mind.   I may or may not have dropped my book when I read that part.  Oh, and the last chapter just killed me.  Here is to hoping the year goes by quickly so I can read the next book soon.

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read

Audiobook: In the Afterlight

In the Afterlight is written by Alexandra Bracken and narrator by Amy McFadden is the final book of the The Darkest Minds trilogy.

Ruby can't look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government's attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds. 

They are armed only with a volatile secret: proof of a government conspiracy to cover up the real cause of IAAN, the disease that has killed most of America's children and left Ruby and others like her with powers the government will kill to keep contained. But internal strife may destroy their only chance to free the "rehabilitation camps" housing thousands of other Psi kids.

Meanwhile, reunited with Liam, the boy she would-and did-sacrifice everything for to keep alive, Ruby must face the painful repercussions of having tampered with his memories of her. She turns to Cole, his older brother, to provide the intense training she knows she will need to take down Gray and the government. But Cole has demons of his own, and one fatal mistake may be the spark that sets the world on fire.

The Breakdown:
1.  I have loved listening to this series from beginning to end.  The McFadden is an amazing narrator.  I enjoyed Brackens characters and storyline so much.  I like that her characters have realistic flaws.  The story is engaging and I never felt like it was dragging, which I have found to be a problem in many final books in a series.

2.  I think one of the best things about this book is the progression in Ruby and Liam's relationship.  While there were many times I just wanted to shake them for their secrets.  I like that they slow learn how to be with each other, especially after Ruby had erased Liam's memories of her before.

3.  The feels in this book where probably the most intense of the series.  There were multiple times where I got teary eyed.  Probably none more that when Ruby, Liam, and Chubbs were re-united with Zu.

4.  I want to take a moment to express my loathing of Clancy.  He is such a manipulative prick.  I get that he is angry at what was done to him, which was admittedly horrible, but he hurts others who had nothing to do with it to get what he wants.  I just want to punch him in the face so many times.

5.  I thought the ending was perfect for this series.  It did not solve all the worlds problems, which would have been unrealistic, it was great a showing the steps being taken to correcting the issues.

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read

The Savage Dawn

The Savage Dawn by Melissa Grey is the final book of The Girl at Midnight Series.

The war between light and dark has begun. The sides have been chosen and the battle lines drawn.

After awakening the firebird, Echo is now the only one with the power to face the darkness she unwittingly unleashed upon the world…right into the waiting hands of Tanith, the new Dragon Prince. Tanith has one goal in mind: destroy her enemies, raze their lands, and reign supreme in a new era where the Drakharin are almighty and the Avicen are nothing but a memory.

The war that has been brewing for centuries is finally imminent. But the scales are tipped. Echo might hold the power to face the darkness within the Dragon Prince, but she has far to go to master it. And now she’s plagued by uncertainty. Is she strong enough to stare into the face of evil and not lose herself in its depths?

The war has begun, and there is no looking back. There are only two outcomes possible: triumph or death.

The Breakdown:
1.  I was so excited for the final book of this series.  I wanted to see how Grey dealt with the ideas of light and dark in a battle.  It was definitely interesting to watch how Echo and Tanith made their moves in this book, but I was disappointed with the ending in general.

2.  I found it fascinating and horrifying seeing Tanith's consumption by the kucedra.  While she was never a likable character, and had harshness to her.  The kucedra really makes her lose herself to madness, and become horrifying monster.

3.  I have to say the couple I definitely ship the hardest in this book is Dorian and Jasper.  I love them together, and I definitely squeezed my book in delight when they had their break through relationship moment.  I was happy with how their story concluded.

4. So now back to my disappointment in the story.  I felt that Grey left some pretty big issues unresolved.  My biggest complaint is Helios and Ivy's story.  It just felt like she presents this big issue and never comes back and finishes it. Plus, I was just not a fan of the ending in general.  I was like seriously that is it.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read, despite the ending.

The Brides of Rollrock Island

The Brides of Rollrock Island is by Margo Lanagan.

Rollrock island is a lonely rock of gulls and waves, blunt fishermen and their homely wives. Life is hard for the families who must wring a poor living from the stormy seas. But Rollrock is also a place of magic - the scary, salty-real sort of magic that changes lives forever. Down on the windswept beach, where the seals lie in herds, the outcast sea witch Misskaella casts her spells - and brings forth girls from the sea - girls with long, pale limbs and faces of haunting innocence and loveliness - the most enchantingly lovely girls the fishermen of Rollrock have ever seen.

But magic always has its price. A fisherman may have and hold a sea bride, and tell himself that he is her master. But from his first look into those wide, questioning, liquid eyes, he will be just as transformed as she is. He will be equally ensnared. And in the end the witch will always have her payment.

The Breakdown:
1.  This will probably be one of my shortest reviews ever due to how bored I was with this book.  It felt like it took me forever to read, and I honestly struggled with finishing it, but I am no quitter.   The book is told from the perspective of several different characters and their stories don't exactly make the whole very cohesive.

2. I honestly hated the characters of Misskaella and Dominic.  They booth had some really horrible traits. Misskaella was a very bitter and vindictive woman, and Dominic was just so easily swayed.

3.  I will say that the ending was not terrible, but it took way to long to get there.

To Read or Not to Read:
Skip it

Audiobook: Never Fade

Never Fade is written by Alexandra Bracken and narrated by Amy McFadden, and is the second book of the Darkest Minds Series.

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster. 

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. 

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself.

The Breakdown:
1. I loved this book just as much, if not more that the first one.   Bracken does a great job of growth in the characters, along with the introduction of new characters.  Plus. the story is amazing. The things discovered in this story, and it leaves me wanting so much more.

2. I want to take a minute to really appreciate the narrator, Amy McFadden.  I think she is one the best narrators of any audiobook I have listen to.  She captures Ruby's character so well.  Plus, when she is doing the voice of the other characters, I almost think there are other narrators involved.

3. I loved Ruby even more in this book.  Seeing the changes she gone through since the end of The Darkest Minds.  Watching how she handles the consequences of her decisions and how she really has come into her powers.

4. I just want to say that this book hits me in the feels multiple times.  From Ruby's reunion with Chubbs, to them finding Liam, all the way to the end.  Bracken really knows how to pull at the heartstrings. Oh, and the big revelation at the end, I cannot wait to see what happens with that in the next book. (As I patiently wait for my next Audible credit to arrive.)

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read

Sad Perfect

Sad Perfect is by debut author Stephanie Elliot.

The story of a teen girl's struggle with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and how love helps her on the road to recovery.

Sixteen-year-old Pea looks normal, but she has a secret: she has Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). It is like having a monster inside of her, one that not only dictates what she can eat, but also causes anxiety, depression, and thoughts that she doesn’t want to have. When she falls crazy-mad in love with Ben, she hides her disorder from him, pretending that she’s fine. At first, everything really does feel like it’s getting better with him around, so she stops taking her anxiety and depression medication. And that's when the monster really takes over her life. Just as everything seems lost and hopeless, Pea finds in her family, and in Ben, the support and strength she needs to learn that her eating disorder doesn’t have to control her.

The Breakdown:
1. I rarely say this, but I absolutely hated this book.  First off the entire book is written is second person.  It makes it really had to connect with a character when the author keeps saying you ate an apple or you had a rough day at school.  I am just like it was not me.

2.  I felt that Elliot never adequately explains what Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder is to me.  I wanted to know about it and the psychology to it, which I never got.

3. It was honestly such a struggle to get through this book.  Multiple times I almost DNF'ed it but I am not a quitter.  The writing was bad, the character was boring, and the main point of the character's issues was never explained.

To Read or Not to Read:
Avoid like the plague

Dragon Spawn

Dragon Spawn by Eileen Wilks is the latest book of her World of Lupi series.

Lily learns she was right. Tom Weng—a powerful sorcerer allied with the Old One who keeps trying to take over the world—is still alive. But that's not the worst. Weng is a dragon spawn, the product of a botched hatching given a human form in an attempt to keep him from going mad. A failed attempt.

Meanwhile, Lily’s husband Rule is facing a Challenge to the death. Then there’s the possible reappearance of another sorcerer. But none of that matters when their enemy strikes out of nowhere in the worst way possible. Lily must face a nightmare and return to a place she never wanted to see again. The place where she died…

The Breakdown:
1.  I really enjoy this series. The characters and the story lines are usually so good and keep you guessing.  That being said, this is not my favorite book of the series.  I felt Wilks dropped the ball a little with this book.   One of my favorite things about this series is the relationship between the featured couples, whether is be Lily and Rule, Cinna and Cullen, etc. It just wasn't there in this book.  It felt like Lily and Rule were not connecting as well as they usually do during the stories.

2. I did, however, enjoy the story itself.  I like that Wilks plots out interesting twist and turns to get to the end game.  I liked that Wilks spent a little more time focusing on Toby's point of view, and getting to know him as a character better.  I cannot wait to see what kind of roles he plays in upcoming books.  Plus, I liked finding out that Weng is a dragon spawn, and what exactly that entails.

3.  Be warned, that Wilks ends this one in a cliff hanger, and a little bit of a confusing one at that.  I have so many questions on what exactly happened and where she is going with the story.

To Read or Not to Read:
Overall Read because I think it will be important for the series overall story.