Book Review: Worlds Collide (The Land of Stories #6)

Release Date: July 11, 2017
Author: Chris Colfer
Publisher: Little, Brown Book for Young Readers
Length: 480 pages
Source: Purchased Book/Audible Audiobook

The epic conclusion to Chris Colfer's #1 New York Times bestselling series The Land of Stories!

In the highly anticipated conclusion to the Land of Stories series, Conner and Alex must brave the impossible. All of the Land of Stories fairy tale characters--heroes and villains--are no longer confined within their world!

With mayhem brewing in the Big Apple, Conner and Alex will have to win their biggest battle yet. Can the twins restore order between the human and fairy tale world?

Breathtaking action mixed with laugh out loud moments and lots of heart will make this a gripping conclusion for many fans!

    

Review:

Protagonists: After Alex's disappearance Connor has been out of his mind with worry about where she might be, meanwhile Morina has begun her plan to invade the Otherworld with the witches from the Land of Stories and the Literary Army. When the worlds begin to collide, hopefully, Connor and his friends can save Alex, and their world, before it's too late. What can I really say, I love these characters, I've loved following their journey through this series and while their character development was a bit heavy-handed and could have been more subtle, I still enjoyed our characters journeys through this finale, and their actions felt very authentic to their characters.

Romance: As this is the final book in this series and there has been a touch of romance since the third installment, there is still a touch of romance in this book as well. Alex has had a couple flirtations and while she does have more important things to do than worry over her love life in this book, and I love that the author never pushed the romance too much, especially in times of crisis, except one but it completely fit and was a spectacular moment, but it was neither Alex nor Connor's moment. Anyway there is a level of conclusion to her romantic drama, and of course, there's Connor who, while there's technically only one girl he's had feelings for this entire series, does find some good closure on that relationship as well, though the prologue kind of spoils things, we'll get to the prologue later.

World Building: In this book worlds truly do collide as the Land of Stories is set to collide with the Otherworld. One of the things I really commend this story on is showing a true battle and following various groups of heroes as they take on the threat to New York City. While the battle does feel a bit formulaic, it was still a lot of fun to experience. We do get to see more characters from the past as well, although one of my biggest frustrations is that there are aspects of this book that have way too much of a recap feel to them. This story is also very message heavy, while I'm not opposed to stories having specific messages, I especially understand having them in fairy tale-inspired stories, the messages here are far too heavy handed. I mean, instead of following someone's journey where they learn from their mistakes and it's left at that, this story makes sure that you understand just what it is that those characters learn, though that may be just an unfortunate side effect of the writing. I'm not saying the writing is bad, in fact, there are some spectacular moments in this story that I loved but the writing can be a bit rough and direct at times and lack a certain finesse.

Predictability: Looking over this story I can't say there was much, if anything I was able to predict, there were a few small things I was spoiled on, but they were a tad predictable, to begin with, but everything else, well while I can't say I saw it coming, nothing wasn't a huge surprise. There were a few moments that almost caught me by surprise but even if I was able to predict something shortly before it happened, it didn't change how some of those twists affected me.

Ending: Sigh, the end of this book... See the final climaxes of this story are amazing, like I said before there's a really fantastic battle and things are intense and awesome, and then there's the final threat. I like the way it was dealt with and it really speaks to the themes of this series and it fit very well, there's even a great scene just before the end with the twins in a specific office... Things begin to settle down, we get some great closure on some of our favorite heroes and the stories ends very well, then there's the epilogue. Many of you may know that I love epilogues, but both the prologue and epilogue felt unnecessary in this book. The prologue just felt out of place and while I understand the purpose the author had for it, it really didn't need to be there, much like the epilogue which brings a sort of full circle ending to the story and while it's possible this may not be the last series in this world, and while I wouldn't turn my nose up at that, I still don't like how open-ended this book is for the final book in a series.

Rating:

While I still really enjoyed this final installment in one of my favorite series, between how open-ended the story is, especially for a conclusion, and how heavy-handed the messages are in this story, I did feel a little disappointed in this finale.

Book Review: Hunted

Release Date: March 14, 2017
Author: Meagan Spooner
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 384 pages
Source: Purchased Book/Library Audiobook

Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

    

Review:

Protagonist: When Yeva's father loses his fortune in a venture ransacked by bandits, they and Yeva's sisters have to move to their father's old hunting cabin at the edge of the woods. Yeva feels happier there than in the city and hopes to go hunting with her father, but he urges her not to follow him. When he doesn't come back from one trip, Yeva follows him into the woods and discovers the horrors of the woods, including a monster who has trapped her. On the whole, I like Yeva, she's a headstrong and capable protagonist, she knows how to take care of herself and hunt, and she doesn't back down when challenged. Still, I do wish that I cared about her more, I mean, like I said I like her, but there was something holding me back from truly connecting with her as a character and I wish I knew what that was but unfortunately I don't, still as I've repeated already she's a great character, I just couldn't connect for some reason.

Romance: The romance in this book is a slow burning one, at least for Yeva, the Prince trapped in the Beast softens to Yeva rather quickly. Much like with the protagonist, there isn't anything about the romance that I don't like, it's slow burning and I can tell that the two characters truly grow to care and love each other and that love feels earned, but unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the romance very well. It may be because I couldn't connect with Yeva, but I wanted to love this romance, and in some aspects I do, but emotionally I could never get invested in the romance, try as I might.

World Building: This is one place this book truly shines. As many of you may know, my favorite fairy tale, and thus my favorite retelling fodder, is Beauty and the Beast, and I've never seen one set in Russia or based on Russian folklore before and I really enjoyed how this author wove those folktale elements into this story. I think this story takes place in a version of our world, though I'm not quite sure as I don't think it was said where this story takes place, only some mentions of real places every now and then. Still, the valley of enchantments that the Beast is cursed to, feels lush and beautiful full of creatures of all sorts, some I'd never heard of before. While the retelling itself had some unique qualities to it, unfortunately, it read as a very simple Beauty and the Beast retelling and while I loved the Russian folklore elements to the story, I wish there was something more unique about the retelling itself.

Predictability: As this is a retelling, pretty much everything in this story is predictable, save a few things but they are small and I mostly didn't predict them due to not remembering certain parts of the story from before. I mean, every major twist in this story was completely obvious, I really wish that the author had kept some secrets to herself because the foreshadowing in this tale is very obvious.

Ending: So, the end of this tale really serves to drive home the "lesson" of this story. It tries so hard to drive that lesson home that there are aspects to this tale that sort of crumble just to serve this supposed lesson. Don't get me wrong, I like the lesson and it does fit with this story, but I felt the message was very heavy-handed at the end of this tale. There is an epilogue to this tale that while appreciated, isn't really needed, and that's coming from me who loves epilogues.

Rating:

While I did enjoy this tale, I, unfortunately, couldn't connect with the characters and story as much as I wanted to and while I love Beauty and the Beast retellings, this one was, unfortunately, despite the interesting Russian folklore elements, rather basic in its story structure.

Book Review: Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch (Villains #3)

Release Date: July 26, 2016
Author: Serena Valentino
Publisher: Disney Press
Length: 196 pages
Source: Library Audio Book

The tale of the sea king's daughter Ariel is a beloved one of losing-and then finding-one's own voice. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the mergirl wants more than her world can offer, and her father demands that she live within the confines of his domain. Her rebelliousness costs the little mermaid her voice and nearly her soul. But the power of good prevails, and Ariel emerges proud and unchanged.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of Ariel's nemesis, Ursula, the sea witch? What led to her becoming so twisted, scorned, and filled with hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives. Here is one account of what might have shaped the sea witch into a detestable and poor unfortunate soul.

    

Review:

Characters: So, obviously this section was supposed to be labeled, "Protagonist" and focus on Ursula and her story arc and character development over the course of the book, however, Ursula isn't really the sole focus of this story, in fact, there are quite a few different perspectives to this story. First of course is Ursula, the Sea Witch sister of King Triton who holds dominion over the Unclaimed Waters. As with other installments in this series, there is an effort made to make Ursula more sympathetic and it did work on me a bit, but that sympathy mostly comes from how harshly she was treated in the past and because this author made a seemingly noble character from the movie into a pretty hands down evil character. We also spend some time with the Odd Sisters, three sister witches who are searching for their missing little sister and come to Ursula for help. Their search for Circe and their love for her do affect them, and while I already find them interesting and mysterious characters, I did find myself enjoying them even more in this installment. Finally, we see from a couple characters I never expected to see again, Princess Tulip and her Nanny from The Beast Within, I mean, I knew Tulip had a small history with Ursula, but I wasn't expecting that she and Nanny would have much, if any role in this story, and yet, here we are. I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed their aspects of the story, particularly Nanny's.

World Building: This has been the hardest section to write because well, there isn't a whole lot of world building that relates directly to Ursula's story. There's so little of this story that's told from Ursula's POV, I mean even the flashbacks we get don't feel as detailed as the ones we see in Fairest of All and The Beast Within, or at least they don't feel as detailed, it's been a while since I read them. There isn't all that much built off of the Little Mermaid movie, other than some adjustments to certain characters and some pretty drive-by exposition relating to Ursula's time in Atlantica and the horrors and prejudices she experienced both on land and in Atlantica. The majority of the world building is spent on the original characters of this series and sort of building out this vast Disney inspired landscapes of kingdoms, which I have to admit it's pretty cool to see Disney's Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Sleeping Beauty all referenced in the same story and really only connected through the Odd Sisters.

Predictability: Because this story didn't quite go the way I expected, I can't quite say that it's unpredictable. I mean, sure the Disney story being retold, that's more or less predictable, but nearly everything else in this story was practically impossible for me to predict. There are some really good twists in this story and there are a couple that I can't believe I didn't see coming, but I didn't and of course, there were some that completely blew me away.

Ending: I wasn't really sure what to expect when I got to the ending of this book, besides some reflection of the end of the Disney movie, I figured the final climax of the story would be nearly the same, if not completely the same as the Disney movie, which it is, but with some fun little twists. The ending though, I wasn't expecting it to feel less like a standalone and more like a traditional series. Even though the story of The Tale of the Sea Witch is done, the ending of this story makes it very clear that more is coming and while the ending doesn't quite feel like a cliffhanger, I'm still eager to read the next installment!

Rating:

This book was so very hard to review, not only because it's so short, but because there are a few different perspectives that divide up this already short book. Still the story itself is fantastic, but the elements that I came to this book for, such as Ursula's past and her side of the whole Little Mermaid debacle, well that's where, ironically, the story felt weakest, I wish we would have seen her past in more detail, and I wish we would have seen her opposition's not take such a severe 180°. Still, I really enjoyed the rest and cannot wait to read Mistress of All Evil.

Book Review: The Traitor Prince (Ravenspire #3)

Release Date: February 13, 2018
Author: C.J. Redwine
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Length: 416 pages
Source: Edelweiss eARC

Javan Najafai, the crown prince of Akram, has spent the last ten years at school, far away from his kingdom. He’s been eagerly awaiting his return home to his ailing father, but his journey there goes dangerously wrong. A mysterious imposter has taken his place—and no one will believe Javan is the true prince.

After barely escaping the imposter’s hitmen, Javan is thrown in the most dangerous prison in his kingdom—Maqbara. The only way to gain an audience with the king and reveal the truth is to fight his way out in the prison’s yearly tournament, which pits inmates against a coterie of the deadliest creatures in the world.

The one person who can help him is Sajda, a strong and secretive girl who has been enslaved by Maqbara’s warden since she was a child. Working with Sajda might be the only way Javan can escape alive—but she’s hiding something.

Together, Javan and Sajda will have to outwit the dangerous warden, outfight the hundreds of deadly creatures, and outlast the murderous prisoners intent on killing Javan before he can win—in order to fight for their freedom, and take down the imposter once and for all.

    

Review:

Protagonists: Javan has spent the last ten years of his life doing everything he can to be the best student at the Milisatria and fulfill his mother's dying wish that he be the best student so he can be the best King for Akram. That is until an imposter takes his place and he finds himself in Maqbara, a terrible prison where he is forced to fight in a deadly tournament to win an audience with his father and hopefully put all this treachery to rest. There he meets Sajda, the warden's slave girl hiding a broken past and a dangerous secret. As these characters try and face their own adversities, they learn to lean on each other and find themselves forming an unlikely friendship that just might lead to more. I love these characters, Javan is very honorable, almost to a fault, and strives to be the best in his classes, but there's more to learn about the world than math, history, and mythology, and Javan's predicament shows him just how corrupt his kingdom can be. Sadja is wounded and broken by her years as a slave but hasn't given up hope to somehow escape and taste freedom. I love how each of these characters grew both together and independently to figure out who they really are and what they truly want out of life.

Romance: It's really hard to talk too much about this romance without spoiling small parts of how things unfold but I'm going to do my best. There is a fair bit of romance in this story, the bond between Javan and Sajda is amazing and I loved how the author told their story. The romance doesn't affect too much of the plot until much later on in the story, and I really enjoyed a lighter romance in this book. There wasn't a lot of drama and I really felt a draw to the relationship between these characters. There's a part of the book that talks about how well Javan fits with Sajda's broken edges and it came off 100% authentic. These characters go so well together and I couldn't stop rooting for them while I was reading, not even for a second.

World-Building: While the romance might not have a lot of drama, the rest of the story certainly does. There are a great number of villains in this story, not just Rahim, the Traitor Prince himself, though Rahim is the true villain. I love how the author really amped up the villainy in this book because it really heightens the stakes and there are a good number of times where I could see no way out for our heroes and my stress levels went through the roof in the best way possible. The previous two books in this series had strong ties to the fairy tales that inspired them, and well, unfortunately, I'm not well versed in the fairy tale this story was inspired by, and because there wasn't that nostalgic tie to a childhood tale, this story didn't feel as steeped in fairy tales as the other stories did, but honestly, at the end of the day I didn't care. I just loved getting to see more of this expansive world and I was surprised at just how much more of this world we got to see. Because the arena matches also include monsters we get to see so many more creatures that roam this world and it was so fun to see more of this world's ecosystem and while we didn't get a large selection of creatures from all over, it was still an exciting every time a new round in the arena started. Finally, yes there are connections to the other books in this series, mainly The Wish Granter, and it was fantastic to see how everything in this story connects to the rest of the world.

Predictability: Even though it was fairly easy to pick up on the foreshadowing in this book, that never really affected how I experienced this story. I was never bummed if I figured out a twist early on in its development and there were quite a few times when I was genuinely shocked at a large twist to this tale. There are actually a lot of great surprises in this story that completely caught me off guard and added to the excitement of this story. I wish I had more to say here but that pretty much sums it up. The book isn't completely unpredictable, but I didn't mind and there were still a number of exciting surprises to keep me going.

Ending: The final climax of this book is EPIC, I may have used those same words to describe the endings to other books in the past, but this one stands high above all others. Throughout this entire book, I wasn't quite sure how everything was going to be resolved because in all honesty, this one of the most dastardly villains yet, and with no magic to boot! However, with how everything went down in the final climax, I'm still shaken and I loved every minute of it. There isn't too much time at the end for a nice cooldown period, but it didn't need to be, in fact, I liked how things sort of quickly wound down toward the end and how the story ended with a fantastic epilogue!

Rating:

This was no surprise to me. Even though I was a little unsure about this book because I wasn't as well versed with the inspiration for this story as I was with the previous two, this might be tied with the second book as my favorite of the series so far. It's full of action, romance, and some dark and twisted political intrigue! I loved it so much, but I'm sort of cursing myself because I need the next book right away, and now I have to wait a while!

Book Review: Quests for Glory (The School for Good and Evil #4)

Release Date: September 19, 2017
Author: Soman Chainani
Publisher: HarperCollins
Length: 496 pages
Source: Purchased Book

With every end comes a new beginning in the fourth installment of Soman Chainani’s New York Times bestselling School for Good and Evil series, Quests for Glory. Join Sophie, Agatha, Tedros, and the other students as they begin a new era in the Endless Woods—The Camelot Years—where Evers and Nevers alike must move beyond the bounds of school and into the biggest, boldest adventures of their lives.

The students at the School for Good and Evil thought they had found their final Ever After when they vanquished the malevolent School Master. Now, on their required fourth-year quests, the students face obstacles both dangerous and unpredictable, and the stakes are high: success brings eternal adoration, and failure means obscurity forever.

For their quests, Agatha and Tedros are trying to return Camelot to its former splendor as queen and king. For her quest, Dean Sophie seeks to mold Evil in her own image. But soon they all feel themselves growing more isolated and alone. When their classmates’ quests plunge into chaos, however, someone must lead the charge to save them...

    

Review:

Protagonists: After defeating the wicked School Master, our heroes went on to what was supposed to be their last Ever After, a happy one this time, for all involved, but when one story closes another begins. While Agatha and Sophie do feature heavily in this story, as well as everyone's favorite Coven of witches, this is very much Tedros's story. As Tedros becomes King of Camelot, the head that wears the crown is heavy indeed as Camelot is far from its Golden Age and is practically in shambles. Being king isn't quite what Tedros expected and when a new evil surfaces and seems to be gunning for Tedros and his friends, things become even more complicated. I love these characters so much, even Sophie most of the time, and this book doesn't exactly treat them too kindly. However, I sort of wouldn't want it any other way, these characters have to go through challenges and trials otherwise their (presumed) victory at the end of the series wouldn't feel earned and neither would their character development. The first trilogy really only dealt with certain flaws that these characters have, usually one or two per person, but people don't usually only have one or two flaws and so more character development is necessary for this new trilogy, Tedros's impulsiveness and over protectiveness, Agatha's need to control things, and Sophie's hubris and jealousy, okay Sophie's flaws aren't that new, but they weren't really resolved in the last trilogy either.

Romance: Much like the previous books in this series there isn't a TON of romance in this book, at least not compared to most YA books, but the for the amount there is, it sure makes an impact. With the annoying and aggravating love triangle finally, once and for all, behind them Agatha and Tedros are engaged and planning their wedding, however, royal duties and a new evil sort of stall that for the time being. Agatha and Tedros's romance has really only existed in times of war and when they're at peace, there can be some bumps in the road. I will say never once in this story did I doubt their love or even entertain the notion that by the end of this series they won't be together, but there are still some rough patches that they have to overcome, both personally and together, and while it's hard to watch them not be happy 100% of the time, I'm sure that by the end of this series they'll be all the stronger for it.

World Building: Even though this was my MOST anticipated book for the year, I was a bit apprehensive toward it. In this age of reboots, revivals, and spin-offs, it's hard to know if a new or continued series in the same universe is what the author wants, what the publisher wants, what the readers want, or a combination of all three. I've read some series continuations that just feel like the author is dragging out the series for no good reason, luckily this isn't the case with this story. I wouldn't call it a continuation exactly, the original trilogy can stand by itself very easily, and this new trilogy has a very different vibe to the first one. It's darker and it goes places that the first trilogy didn't, that being said, while it feels more like a YA fantasy series, I do think it's still appropriate for the same age range as the first series, things are just more serious than they were before. We get to see more of the world, our characters have even greater responsibilities, and the villain they face is more cunning and manipulative than they've faced before.

Predictability: I didn't know that much about this book going in, I didn't know who the new evil was, what it was after, I didn't even know what to expect in regards to the heroes that we saw seemingly having their Happily Ever Afters at the end of the previous book, because of that this book was pretty jarring. Unlike some people that I had seen that was excited about this book, I held no illusions that this would be a fluff book full of sunshine and rainbows, and yet I was still shocked at how dark this book got and how bleak it seemed at times. While most of this book was fairly unpredictable, there was one twist that I had theories about and being the ever inquisitive person I am, I sort of read the ending to see if I was right, I was FYI, and since that moment, every bit of foreshadowing felt like another log added to the fire and while I can't comment on how predictable this twist is, I will warn you against reading ahead. NO GOOD COMES FROM READING AHEAD!

Ending: I'm not talking about the ending to this book. I can't, everytime I try to I ruin the ending, or at the very least I can see someone seeing through my vague words to the truth within. I'm just going to say this, the ending is intense, things happen, and I can't wait for book 5.

Rating:

This was my most anticipated book of the year, and it did not disappoint. Sure, it broke me, it chewed me up and spit me out and left me desperate for the next installment, but I can see why the author guided the story in the way that he did, on the one hand, I respect him for taking this story in such a bold direction, and on the other hand I'm cursing his name with every fiber of my being... no joke.

Book Review: Freddie's Shadow Cards (Disney Descendants: School of Secrets #2)

Release Date: October 25, 2016
Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: Disney Press
Length: 192 pages
Source: Library Book

The School of Secrets series of chapter books continues the story of Mal and her friends, plus new Villain kids and Auradon kids introduced in the popular Wicked World short form videos. Enjoy these all-new tales of mystery, magic and adventure from the world of the hit movie Descendants!

Freddie is the daughter of the infamous witch doctor, Dr. Facilier.

She's got voodoo in her blood, a deck of Shadow Cards in her hands, and a song in her villain-kid heart.When Freddie's dreams of joining the acapella group at Auradon Prep fall apart, she uses her Shadow Cards to get her way...But dark magic always comes with a price.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Coming off the end of CJ's Treasure Chase, Freddie wants to make a name for herself in Auradon as a jazz singer, and the best way to do that is apparently to join an acapella group? Yeah, I understand the experience would be good for her and help get her name out there, but it felt a bit of a stretch. Anyway, after a less than stellar auditions experience, Freddie would do just about anything to get her shot on the acapella team. Enter her shadow cards. These are cards her father gave her on her tenth birthday that she's just recently rediscovered. Could this be just what she needs? Freddie's adventures with her shadow cards lead her on a voyage of self-discovery that will show her where she belongs. I really liked Freddie's character development in this story. She isn't as evil and villainous as CJ was at the start of her adventure, but she's a long way from a hero and her journey in this story really helps to liven things up because this story doesn't leave Auradon Prep for very long.

World Building: Honestly, the world building in this story wasn't the best. Don't get me wrong, I did really enjoy all of the facets of this world that we did get to see. However, I had thought/hoped this series would entail adventuring across the United States of Auradon and seeing the various kingdom states that make up the land. This story is, however, far more character driven. Freddie is, of course, the main driving force, but she does have some burgeoning friendships. These friendships were a fun treat to see develop over the course of the book. Most of the time with this world characters seem to either be friends or not, and the road to a real friendship is either skipped over or fast tracked as to not get in the way of the plot. However, in this story, Freddie's unlikely friendships are a fantastic subplot that helps drive the main story along at a fun and dare I say addicting pace. We do get to see the world outside Auradon Prep, and even get to do some old fashioned adventuring, however, it doesn't last all that long and while these characters do meet a new AK along the way, the need for that character wasn't all that strong, to begin with and the out of place character sort of detracted from the story just a small bit.

Predictability: Honestly, I have to say this story was fairly unpredictable. However, that's mostly because this wasn't the story I expected and while I could see some small vague story points coming, the specifics really caught me off guard. I really did enjoy all of the little surprises this story had in store. There's a theme of magic coming with a price in this story and how that plays out was really the most surprising part of the story to me, and how that entire thing is resolved, while not exactly surprising, was a great element to the story and I was awed by how much I enjoyed that bit of resolution.

Ending: As for the ending, I was hoping this story would end in a way that wasn't too idealistic since I've seen that can be a trope for books aimed at a younger audience. The ending starts out very well, as the resolution isn't something that would be achieved easily, and there is some real work that needs to be put into things to even hope for a happy ending. That being said though, even though there's some effort needed to get to where Freddie is in the end, things still felt a bit too easily resolved and things ended just a bit too idealistically.

Rating:

While I did enjoy this short adventure, it wasn't as exciting as the previous one, and even though Freddie's character development was extremely compelling, things just turned out a bit too idealistically. That being said I'm still looking forward to reading more in this hard to piece together canon.

Book Review: CJ's Treasure Chase (Disney Descendants: School of Secrets #1)

Release Date: August 30, 2016
Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: Disney Press
Length: 192 pages
Source: Library Book

CJ is the daughter of Captain James Hook. She's fierce. She's swashbuckling. And she has big dreams. . . like finding the treasure she's known about since she was a little girl stranded on the Isle of the Lost. When CJ sneaks out of Auradon Prep with her best friend, Freddie, they go on a wild chase to find it.

The School of Secrets series of chapter books continues the story of Mal and her friends, plus new Villain kids and Auradon kids introduced in the popular Wicked World short form videos. Enjoy these all-new tales of mystery, magic and adventure from the world of the hit movie Descendants!

    

Review:

Protagonist: CJ Hook as found a way off the Isle of the Lost, she stows away on a spell cast by the genie Jordan and is hiding out in her best friend Freddie's dorm room. She doesn't plan on going to Auradon Prep, however, no, CJ has much more adventurous plans in mind. Ever since she was young CJ has dreamed of following a map she found in her the hold of her father's ship, a map that just may be magical, but until now she didn't have any access to magic. It was really interesting to read from a real VK's perspective in this series. I mean, in the novels written by Melissa De La Cruz, we see from the original Auradon VK's perspectives, but they're either not in Auradon yet, like with the first installment, or they had been reformed though still struggled with their dark sides a little. However, CJ is a roguish riot, sneaking around Auradon Prep as to not be discovered and sent back to the Isle, or threatening to kidnap people and force them to do what she wants on her treasure chase. She does have a good bit of character development in this story, though not exactly in the way I was assuming when I cracked this book open.

World Building: So if you read my review of Rise of the Isle of the Lost by Melissa De La Cruz, I mentioned how I was getting tired of constantly going back to the Isle without really getting to see the rest of Auradon, however, this story has very little Isle, but a good chunk of Auradon to explore. There's quite a bit of backtracking in this story as the author wrote in little callouts to the Descendants movie as well as the Wicked World shorts, but seeing it from a different perspective kept those moments from getting boring. However, once this story gets caught up with the end of the first season of the Wicked World shorts, things really spring into high gear and it sees our protagonist race across Auradon in hopes of laying her hands on this amazing treasure she's dreamed about since she was little. It was a lot of fun getting to see more of this world and while I had braced myself for this feeling like it was written for a Middle-Grade audience like the De La Cruz sometimes do, or even written for a younger audience than that, it never happened. I liked how reading this short adventure felt like it was written for fans of the series, no matter what age they might be.

Predictability: So, while I never felt talked down to in the writing and the world building of this story, the plot of the story was rather predictable. Well, sort of. See, this isn't a long story and so the author only has so many pages to get from point A to point B and so there's not a lot of time to set up big twists and turns. So the adventure, while very enjoyable was a tad predictable. That being said though, there were still a few times where, given CJ's wild card personality, I wasn't quite sure where the story would take me.

Ending: I don't know what to say about this ending. I mean it's a very short story, very quick to fly through in one sitting and while the final climax of the story was really fun and we got to see a lot of CJ's character development come to light, as she faced her final hurdle toward the treasure, there wasn't as big of an ending to this story as there is in something like the other novels, or even the movie. However, there is a pretty great cooldown period where we learn of CJ's fate going forward and a bit of a tease at what's to come next in the School of Secrets series. I was pretty surprised where things ended up and while I'm sad that CJ's not going to be the main protagonist for the whole series I'm excited to read more stories in this world.

Rating:

Like I said in my review, I was bracing myself and dragging my heels to read this story since I expected it to either be geared toward an MG or younger audience or for it to be unbelievably cheesy. It wasn't though, there's a little bit of cheesy-ness in the story but overall it was a fun and exciting adventure and I'm kind of stoked to read the other School of Secrets books and have more adventures in this world.

Book Review: Rise of the Isle of the Lost (Descendants #3)

Release Date: May 23, 2017
Author: Melissa De La Cruz
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 304 pages
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

Ride with the tide!

Deep beneath the waves, King Triton’s powerful trident has passed through the magical barrier that surrounds the Isle of the Lost—keeping villains in and magic out. And when Mal’s longtime rival Uma, daughter of Ursula, gets wind of this, she can’t believe her luck. The tide has dragged in something good for a change, and Uma is determined to get her wicked hands on it. But first, she needs a pirate crew.

A storm is brewing back in Auradon, and when Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay hear that the trident has been washed away, they realize they’ll have to find it before anyone from the Isle does. Luckily, they seem to have a talent for locating missing magical objects.

As Uma readies for the high seas alongside Harry, son of Captain Hook, Gil, son of Gaston, and the toughest rogues on the Isle of the Lost, the reformed villains of Auradon devise their own master plan. And with King Ben away on royal business, they won’t have to play by all the rules. Using bad for good can’t be totally evil, right?

The thrilling, perilous race to the trident puts old friends—and current enemies—against each other with the future of Auradon on the line. Both teams might like to make waves, but only one will come out on top of this one.

    

Review:

Protagonists: After their latest adventures on the Isle of the Lost, Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay would just like to go back to normal, or whatever passes for normal with them, at another semester of Auradon Prep, but after a Seaside festival celebrating Auradon's anniversary, King Triton's trident goes missing on the Isle of the Lost and it's up to the VKs to retrieve it. Meanwhile, on the Isle, Uma, daughter of Ursula, is loathing Mal and her squandered chance at taking over Auradon with evil, until she hears about a magical artifact hidden beneath the waves somewhere inside the Isle's barrier. This could be her ticket to freedom, but first, she needs a crew, enter the skilled sailor Harry Hook, son of Captain Hook, and the brawny Gil, son of Gaston, who follow their captain, Uma, in hopes of raining terror around Auradon. What I really liked about this story is that we not only see from our friendly VKs' perspectives, but also from the perspectives of Uma, Harry, and Gil. Unlike the first installment in this novel series, Uma and her gang don't seem to have much of a good side to them, which honestly made me feel a bit better since I was worried that the second movie would with Uma and her gang as reformed VKs, which just feels a bit too idealistic and kind of like lazy writing, and while reforming Uma and co. could still happen as Descendants 2 hasn't premiered yet and I haven't seen it, the way the author writes the characters I just don't see it happening. As for our Auradon VKs, they each have their own subplots that flesh out their characters a bit, and it seems, at least in Mal's case, that it's preparing these characters for their roles in the second movie.

Romance: I debated with myself for hours trying to figure out if I should write a romance section for this review. There isn't all that much romance in the story, mainly since it's a Middle-Grade story, but the little bit that's in here does seem important both to the story and to set things up for the next movie. In this story Mal's starting to doubt her place in Auradon, she likes being good, and she cares deeply for Ben, but the responsibilities of being the King's girlfriend are starting to wear her down. There are some really sweet moments between her and Ben that really show why they are a couple to root for. Carlos also starts to develop a romance of his own, but things are left in a place that makes it seem like it'll be something developed further in the upcoming movie, but while it was just a taste of this romance, albeit a very obvious taste, it's definitely something I'm excited to see developed further. Finally, there's really only one scene with Evie and Doug but it's a testament to why they work so well together and was just an all-around heartwarming scene.

World Building: Going into this story I was a bit apprehensive since it seems like these Descendants stories always seem to go back to the Isle instead of spreading out around Auradon. I mean in the previous installment we did get to see Camelot, and in this one, we learn a bit more about Agrabah and the Imperial Kingdom, but everything always seems to lead back to the Isle. don't get me wrong, it makes sense, that's where all the villains are and so when you need a villain that's where you'll go, but it just feels like this world has so much untapped potential to keep going back to the Isle. That being said, I am a bit of a hypocrite since I did enjoy following Uma's adventures on the Isle, and through those chapters, the continuity of this world did get a bit clearer, though until I see the second movie I'm still not sure how canon these novels and the Wicked World shorts are. I was kind of bummed though, since the previous novel installment ended with a cliffhanger I was expecting that plot to either be tied into this story more or for it to be given some sort of pause and then start up again in the next novel, but it was all kind of wrapped up in this story before it really even got started.

Predictability: I went into this book with pretty big expectations as to how the story would go. I mean the previous two novel installments had a very similar story structure. Ben's story would revolve around his title as king and how he can strive to be a good and just king, while the VKs, Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos would travel to, or as is the case with the first installment already be on, the Isle of the Lost and face trials that are relevant to who they are or who they want to be. However, not too far into this story I realized that this novel took a bit of a different approach. While there were definitely aspects that I called before I ever started this book, things didn't quite unfold the way I expected and honestly, I was surprised at some of the dramatic turns this story took.

Ending: Since this is a novel intended to set up the next movie as the story begins to wind down it becomes pretty obvious where things are going, especially if you've seen the trailer for Descendants 2 (embedded below.) The final climax of the story definitely didn't go down the way I was expecting but it was surely an exciting scene to read. The two stories told in this novel come to an incredible head and things turned out both how I expected, but with a bit of a twist, I didn't. The cooldown period seemed to be where most of the actual set up of the movie takes place, but what I really liked was that all of these things had reasons why they happened and those reasons had a special place in the plot of the story and how they got there was a natural progression over the course of this book.

Rating:

I was actually surprised that I'm giving this book 5 stars. Not that I didn't go into it expecting to enjoy it, but I think my expectations were managed just right that I was able to really immerse myself into this story, even though the whole modern day meets next generation of Disney characters thing still kind of rubs me the wrong way. In the end, this book really surprised me and I can't wait to see the next Descendants movie.

Graphic Novel Review: Wires and Nerve (Volume 1)

Release Date: January 31, 2017
Author: Marissa Meyer
Illustrator: Douglas Holgate
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Length: 240 pages
Source: Library Book

In her first graphic novel, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestseller Marissa Meyer follows Iko, the beloved android from the Lunar Chronicles, on a dangerous and romantic new adventure -- with a little help from Cinder and the Lunar team.

In her first graphic novel, bestselling author Marissa Meyer extends the world of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) gold. When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers' leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the bestselling series.

    

Review:

Protagonist: IKO! Okay, so I would have picked this graphic novel up with the premise of it being a continuation of the Lunar Chronicles alone, but the fact that Iko, a fan favorite and utterly amazing character, is the main protagonist of this story really drove home the selling point, and it does not disappoint. As we know from the main Lunar Chronicles titles, Iko is the adorkable, overly excitable, and fashion forward sidekick of Cinder, but in this story, we get to see a more serious side of her. Seeing the prejudices that Iko, and all androids for that matter, go through is heartbreaking. Iko isn't taken seriously and is treated as a second class citizen simply because she's an android, but at the same time it's not hard to see how these prejudices came into existence. Iko is one of a kind, or at least seems to be, and while we know she has true and real feelings, most people that come across her wouldn't. That still doesn't help the sting I felt whenever someone treated her like a simple machine or overlooked her as one of the "Heroes that Saved Earth." While this story doesn't go too in depth with Iko's struggles it's something that's sort of always there in the background and even bleeds into the romance of this story.

Romance: Since this graphic novel goes by so fast there isn't all that much of a romance to explore, but there are definitely some seeds planted for a romance between Iko and the ever annoying royal guard Kinney. This is a romance that evolves from a place of annoyance on both sides. Kinney believes that Iko has no real feelings due to the fact that she's an android, and because of those outspoken prejudices Iko doesn't like him that much either. Like I said there isn't all that much interaction between Iko and Kinney, but there is a very poignant scene between the two towards the end, and a promise of more interactions in the next (and final?) installment.

World Building: While this is Iko's story as she takes down the rogue lunar wolf soldiers on Earth, there are elements of this graphic novel that act as an extended epilogue of Winter. There were actually quite a few things in Winter, especially toward the end of the book, that I felt didn't get the closure they needed. This story definitely begins that closure for most, if not all, of those things. Like I've said ad nauesam, this story seems very short due to the fact that it's a graphic novel, however, we do get to see the entire crew of the Rampion on this journey, some more than others, and learn about what they've been up to since the end of the main series. There are some great moments that highlight some of these characters' struggles after the takedown of Levana, such as Kai struggling with the public believing that his feelings for Cinder are real, and Thorne's issues with his parents. These struggles aren't fleshed out all that much but it's a nice touch to each of the characters. As for the story of wolf hunting Iko, it's one that's but fun and yet still retains a serious edge to it. While some of the wolves Iko hunts down are doing so mainly on instinct there are some that are far smarter, though still make you want to punch them in the face on how dense they can be, and pose a larger threat to everyone's favorite android.

Predictability: I've been trying to figure out if I should even do a predictability segment given how short this story is, but at the same time there were definitely moments that I was able to predict and others that caught me completely off guard. I would say that in terms of twists, this doesn't have nearly as much as a traditional novel, but there were things that made me gasp and nearly led me into a tirade. There were also key moments in this story that were easy to predict, yet I never felt like they weren't intentionally done that way. Overall, while the lack of content in this story made for a story with far fewer twists than standard size novels, it does have a few surprises in store.

Ending: As is the theme with this review it seems, the story is so short, at least in terms of content and story, that I feel talking too much about the ending would do more harm than good. I will say though that I need more of this story. I'm kind of sad that Meyer has stated that it will only be a duology. Honestly, even if the main story is complete after the next installment, I could almost read these characters forever. If Meyer were to decide to expand this series and come up with new adventures for Iko as well as featuring cameo appearances from the Rampion crew I would devour every single volume.

Illustrations: So, this is my first formal graphic novel review so I figured I should talk about the art in the book, and perhaps how it impacts the story, however, I'm not sure how effective it will be since I'm not sure I can properly articulate my feelings but I'll give it a try anyway. So right off the bat, it's obvious that the illustrations in here aren't super detailed full-color illustrations, but they are very visually appealing. In fact, while I was hoping for something more detailed when this project was first revealed, as I made my way further and further into the story I really enjoyed the cartoony look to the panels. The action in the story was very well represented with fantastic panels featuring our characters kicking ass, or sometimes attempting to. The illustrations add a different level of depth to the story that you wouldn't be able to find in a traditional novel and it lends itself very well to the story that Meyer is telling. Overall, I really did like the whimsical cartoon-esque illustrations, they went very well to the story, the world, and these characters.

Rating:

I loved this book so much that it hurt when it was over and I realized I'll have to wait at least an entire year for the next installment. Iko is a fantastic main character and I can't wait to see what's in store for the conclusion of this duology. P.S. I'm so happy Meyer decided to take the route of continuing the series in a graphic novel format instead of putting out graphic novel adaptations.