Blog Tour Book Review: Sparked + GIVEAWAY!

Release Date: October 3, 2017
Authors: Helena Echlin & Malena Watrous
Publisher: Geek and Sundry
Length: 310 pages
Source: Review Copy for Tour

Fifteen-year-old Laurel Goodwin wakes up to find her older sister Ivy missing from their Airstream trailer in the Oregon redwoods. A recurring nightmare convinces her that Ivy was abducted, but no one takes her dream seriously, including her mom. Laurel, a loner, has to learn to ask for help, and Jasper Blake, a mysterious new kid who shares her love of old books, quickly becomes her ally. Together they find their quiet town holds a deep secret and is the epicenter of a dark prophecy.

Laurel soon learns that her worst enemies, mean girls Peyton Andersen and Mei Rosen, are developing powers that she needs to find and save Ivy. With time running out, Laurel realizes that power doesn't always take the form that you expect. And once she learns to look beyond her snap judgments, she develops an unexpected gift of her own.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Laurel wakes up to find her sister Ivy is missing, trying to rationalize it to herself she keeps a pretty level head for most of the day, but with her sister not back by that night, a suspicious note left that explains her sister's absence with a vague explanation and a dream where Ivy is being held in a dark and grim cellar or basement, Laurel suspects her sister has been kidnapped but no one seems to believe her. The only people that might have a chance to help her are the new bay in school that shares her love of older books and the two girls that have made her life hell since elementary school. I liked Laurel a lot as a character, I did feel she fell into the whole self-deprecating protagonist role a bit much sometimes, but overall I really did like her character development. I liked seeing her really begin to come into her own and take control of her life. There was something so indulgent about watching someone figure things out and mature in a week.

Romance: As for the romance I wasn't a huge fan. The romance between Laurel and Jasper felt very cliche and by the numbers. It felt like your typical paranormal romance and there wasn't really anything to set it apart. Honestly, there isn't all that much romance in this book, and ironically I think that's where it suffers. There wasn't enough time to build the romance between these two characters, and while it's understandable why the authors chose not to, it was kind of sad that the chemistry between these two characters, which there wasn't all that much of, never really got to achieve its full potential.

World Building: Going into this book I was expecting a YA paranormal thriller. A girl gets possibly kidnapped and her sister needs to find out what happened to her. However, this story wasn't nearly as dark as I expected it to be, which is fine, but this isn't really a thriller by any means, it reads far more like a standard paranormal book with a bit of a mystery aspect. I really like the paranormal elements to this tale and how the powers of each individual character work. Even though this is told from the first person POV of Laurel we do get a few chapters told from the third person POV of other characters such as Peyton and Mei and we learn more about how they get their powers and how they work which is really interesting. This book takes place in Oregon, which is a reason I decided to give it a try and I really like the woodsy feel this story has, granted I live in a big city in Oregon, but there's so much greenery that it's nearly impossible to not understand what things must look like in this town. The world really came alive as I read the book and everything was very easy to grasp.

Predictability: When it comes to the twists in this book it's pretty easy to see what they are from a fair distance. The thing is that the foreshadowing is just way too obvious. I felt like things should have been a bit more subtle so that the twists could really pack a punch, but every time it felt like the twist was given away far too soon by something that could have been completely avoided. That being said there are a few good twists in this book, but nothing that made it stand out.

Ending: So... is this a standalone or part of a series. On the whole, it feels like a standalone. The final climax felt very final and was quite an interesting showdown. The cooldown period was also really well done answering a few lingering questions and leaving pretty much nothing left to hold onto, but suddenly out of nowhere comes a cliffhanger like ending and I have no idea where things would go from here. I'm not against a sequel, but I wish I knew whether this was an artistic choice the authors made for a standalone, or if there really is a sequel coming.

Rating:

The characters and world building really saved this book for me. I really enjoyed the story, even if it could be a tad predictable at times, and am interested to see what these authors write next because other than one thing, this story seems perfectly wrapped up.

About the Authors:

Hello! We are both novelists, but if you've ever tried to write anything, you know that writing can be a lonely, angst-filled business. So one night over a cocktail or two, we came up with a solution: write our next book together. Malena already had an idea: a girl's sister is kidnapped and she has to rely on mean girls with superpowers to get her sister back. We couldn't resist seeing where that story would take us – a wild ride that includes a loner girl who wants to be a writer and a gorgeous boy who can shoot fire from his eyes but also loves to talk about books. And an ancient Zoroastrian prophecy. And pie shakes. (OK, so maybe we got a little carried away.)

We've both published solo novels (check them out here and here) and had no idea how co-writing would work out, but we pounded out the first draft in a white-hot frenzy of inspiration we called "the Vortex." One of us would write a scene and send it to the other with a note: "My apartment is a pigsty and I haven't eaten all day. #inthevortex." We wrote the book we wanted to read as teenagers: a supernatural thriller with healthy doses of horror and humor. Oh, and of course there's romance. You have to wait a long time for the only kiss in the book, but isn't that the case with all the best kisses in books?

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Giveaway!

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3 winners will receive a finished copy of SPARKED, US Only.

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Book Review: RoseBlood

Release Date: January 10, 2017
Author: A.G. Howard
Publisher: Amulet Books
Length: 432 pages
Source: Gifted ARC

In this modern day spin on Leroux’s gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent, and a horrifying mistake she’s trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her, Rune’s mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year, located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera.

At RoseBlood, Rune secretly befriends the masked Thorn—an elusive violinist who not only guides her musical transformation through dreams that seem more real than reality itself, but somehow knows who she is behind her own masks. As the two discover an otherworldly connection and a soul-deep romance blossoms, Thorn’s dark agenda comes to light and he’s forced to make a deadly choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or face the wrath of the phantom who has haunted the opera house for a century, and is the only father he’s ever known.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Rune Germain is possessed by music. As a child, she loved to sing with her father as he played the violin, but since his death, the music has drained her after every performance. Her mother wants her to cultivate her talent, but Rune just wants to be free of the compulsion to sing nearly every female sung aria she hears. When her mother sends her to RoseBlood, a French arts conservatory, Rune is afraid to get close to the people, but there's someone watching Rune, someone who can help her overcome her possession and master the music, but this person has a dark past and a connection to the infamous Phantom, who has his own plans for Rune. On the whole, I really liked Rune. She's a mostly flawed and broken character who has the best of intentions. Over the course of the story we see her come out of her shell and grow both in her talent, and also in her self-confidence and social skills. One of the things I really enjoyed about Rune's character development was how she discovers parts of herself alongside the reader helping to really bond her and the reader together.

Romance: This, the romance, is the only real downside of this story for me. The things that truly sucks, though, is that I really like both Rune and her love interest, Thorn, and in fact, even though it took me a while, I really like them together. The part of this romance that I absolutely despise, is the circumstances that lead to their romances, particularly the tropes associated with it that I either hate, have become bored with, or I felt weren't utilized correctly. There's a lot of telling when it comes to the romance and while there is some showing it's few and far between. I felt like the author was hinging everything on a soul mate storyline for the two, and so there was a lot of reiteration that they are soulmates and they have this incredible unbreakable bond without every really backing that up with seen evidence. Like I said, I did get around to rooting for this couple and whenever the narration would go on and on about how destined the two lovers are I'd start to skim, but still the romance could have been handled a lot better.

World Building: I've never read or seen The Phantom of the Opera. I know it's iconic and, going into this retelling/spin-off/continuation, I had a basic idea of the premise, but because of how much this story is steeped in the lore and real-world inspirations for the tale, I decided to look up the plots for both the book and the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical online, and I'm so happy I did that. While I could see myself enjoying the story regardless of if I'd looked up the plot of the source material or not, I feel I have a deeper understanding than I would have if I hadn't. This story incorporated so many fantastic elements from the original story while weaving a new paralleled tale. I greatly enjoyed the author's spin and expansion of the story and how she incorporated outside elements (I feel I have to be vague to avoid spoilers) to deepen the world building and story even more.

Predictability: I have a love/hate relationship with the amount of foreshadowing in this book. On the one hand, I love it because it shrouds many elements of the story and the characters in a layer of mystery and never really supplies substantial clues as to what's going on so when those reveals come they hit you with a full force. On the other hand, I hate it because I felt like I wasn't teased enough and with me already not enjoying the romance as much as I wanted to there were a couple of times when I contemplated taking a long break from the book, possibly never coming back to it. (Not because I'd DNF it, but more because I'd get caught up in another story and eventually forget about it.)

Ending: I always hate saying that the ending is my favorite part because I feel as though I'm saying I'm happy the book's over, however, that's most definitely not the case here. Most of the really juicy mysteries of this story aren't revealed until the ending, before the final climax, and this ending really delivered a lot of shocking moments. As we got closer and closer to the final climax things just kept getting more intense. The final climax itself wasn't exactly what I expected, but it was still enthralling all the same. As for how the story ended, without giving away spoilers, I'm happy with how it ended. There is a trope in the final chapter I'm not a huge fan of, but I'm willing to overlook it since I did enjoy the rest of the epilogue-esque ending that ties up pretty much every loose end.

Rating:

Even with how much I DESPISED the romance for a good long portion of this story, by the end, I was debating whether or not to give this book either four or four and a half stars. I decided to go with four since my lack of interest and loathing of the romance did significantly affect my enjoyment of this story, however as for the plot itself, leaving out my feelings on the romance, I'd give this book five stars all the way!

Book Review: Crown of Cinders (Imdalind #7)

Release Date: November 25, 2016
Author: Rebecca Ethington
Publisher: Imdalind Press
Length: 366 pages
Source: Review Copy from the Author

The Internationally Best-Selling Imdalind Series comes to a close in this long awaited heart-pounding conclusion.

For centuries the war that has raged within magic has ripped the world apart. Fought between Skȓítek and Trpaslík; killing father and son, and destroying a fragile balance between mortal and magic.

For centuries everyone has been awaiting the Silnỳ, searching for the girl who was prophesized. The girl with power strong enough to defeat the evil that plagued the world, and bring the war to an end.

For centuries, everyone was wrong.

The Silnỳ was not what they had been told, the promises of future distorted by a sight that was tarnished. The evil was not what they had expected, not what they had been fighting against. Instead, it was hidden amongst them; plotting, waiting for their time to strike.

And it did. With fire and blade the hidden evil took its place upon a throne of blood. The evil has shown itself and now only one person can save them all.

But with Sights that are no longer infallible and armies that are abandoning their king – it is no longer clear who that person is, or even if they have the courage to stand up to the evil and face their end.

  

Review:

Characters: This series that began with only Joclyn as its narrator has grown and ballooned into this fantastic multi-narrated epic. I'm trying to find a way to fully articulate how phenomenal each point of view is. This author doesn't hold back and gives her readers an inside look into all the key players of this series. Even if there's a character that doesn't get a POV chapter, you still get a fantastic and comprehensive look into their personality and character from multiple other points of view. I really don't want to go into specific storylines, since I'm afraid if I start talking I'll accidently spoil something, but what I will say is that when I first picked up this series I did not see it ending up here, these characters have grown and changed so much since when they first were introduced and certain characters have had their true colors finally revealed and thrown my entire view of this story out of whack. Now it's finally come to a close and I can still say that this author still delivers some of the most layered and complicated characters I've ever read.

Romance: So honestly while there is still a good amount of romance in this book, some of which is actually integral to the overall plot, I was still conflicted on whether or not I should even include this section. Joclyn and Ilyan are a great couple, but once couples reach a certain point, at least to me, they start to get boring. I still love the way these two characters offset and compliment each other, but when there aren't exciting and bold new developments to go through it's hard to still be invested. Ryland's romance does play a rather large role in the story and where he ends up, I don't want to say too much because of spoilers, but it's an interesting storyline, to say the least. Of course, there's still the issue of Thom's coma and Wyn doing anything she can to find a way to break it, but I feel if I talk any more about that it's going into a spoilery place too. Let's just say that there is romance in this book, the tried and true stuff is still as strong as it was before and the new or renewed stuff is actually pretty compelling and I was very satisfied by it.

World-Building: You would think that after six books of intense world building and twists that almost redefine what this world is that this author would just sit back and play with her world instead of introducing new stuff. That being said, I'm happy she keeps building this world. Now, the revelations in this world aren't quite as exciting as some of the things we learned in Dawn of Ash, but they're just as twisted and maybe even more awesome. In addition to new revelations in this world, we also get to see more of it. This series namesake is the birthplace of all its magic. The wells of Imdalind, and while I believe we've seen part of Imdalind before, there's something that we never got to see, something that is, let's just say, jaw-dropping.

Predictability: This is an author that does not play by the rules. I've said this before in my reviews of previous installments in this series, but most series follow a basic formula. It's something that gives the reader a bit of insurance that everything will turn out okay, and usually, by the final book, you have a good idea of where all the characters will end up. Rebecca doesn't follow formulas like that, and because of that you never truly know what's going to happen. That sort of anarchic writing leads to some fantastic, if not utterly heart crushing twists that you'll never see coming. Sometimes it means that really fantastic and unimaginable things can happen. There is still some element of foreshadowing so you aren't making your way through completely blind, but there were a few times when I needed to take a break because of certain things that happened (it took me nearly a month to finish this book.)

Ending: The ending to this book what indescribable. The "final battle" was not what I expected at all, mostly because it wasn't one battle. Without spoiling too much, and hopefully nothing important, I will say that each major character had a trial or demon that they had to face and seeing that happen over the last chapters of this book was incredible. There was a great amount of action, world-shattering revelations, and heart melting moments. Then came the final chapter, which is an epilogue of sorts. My main problem with this is that between the final two chapters there seems to be a disconnect, and granted I read the ending on the ARC that the author provided me so maybe something changed in the final draft, but I felt like I was missing a chunk. There was a lot that had to be inferred and while some of it was easy some of it just felt more confusing. Then there was the thing at the end that while I'm sure I have some basic understanding of what happened, some more concrete confirmation would have been nice.

Rating:

As series finales go, this one did not disappoint. Other than a disconnected epilogue, which by itself was mostly marvelous, I have no complaints about this finale. This author made bold and exciting moves in this final installment and when I was reading I was incredibly engrossed in the story.

Book Review: Crewel (Crewel World #1)

Release Date: October 16, 2012
Author: Gennifer Albin
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Length: 367 pages
Source: NetGalley Review Copy

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.
That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because tonight, they’ll come for her.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Adelice has spent nearly her entire life trying to pretend that she doesn't see the weave holding Arras together. Her parents made her practice to be bumbling and awkward so that no one would get suspicious and then when it was finally time to be tested she slips, and now she'll be taken away to train as a Spinster one of the women that hold Arras together and make it run smoothly. Overall I really enjoyed Adelice, she takes responsibility for what she does and her growth over the book is remarkably well done. This is a very tough independent main character who will make mistakes but will always have the best interests of everyone at heart.

Romance: If I had to say there was one downfall to this book it would be the romance. Seriously it was all over the place and there were too many stacking tropes, like the forbidden romance trope, since as a Spinster Adelice cannot have romantic relationships, the love triangle (maybe square) trope, the "one guy that likes me is probably evil trope," and there's a couple more that I won't get into because of spoilers, but it wasn't that there wasn't great romance writing in here it's just that with so many things all over the place, it was too complicated to really invest in.

World Building: I do have to say that this has one of the most interesting dystopian world buildings I've ever read. In this world, everything is held together by a tapestry or weave that is spun by women with a talent for seeing and working the weave. When I first got into this book it reminded me so wonderfully of the Fates in Greek mythology who spin, weave and cut your thread of life, only on a grander scale. In addition to this possible inspiration, there's a wonderfully corrupt government hell bent on controlling and manipulating everything in Arras. As Adelice delves deeper into the lives of Spinsters and the government of Arras the more we learn about what's really going on, and it's good too!

Predictability: I have been trying to write this section for a while now, and cannot think of how to properly articulate my feelings for this specific aspect of this book. While this story does have parts that aren't the most shocking this story does have some of the best twists I've read, or at least in terms of their shock value. While some twists were as enjoyable as they were shocking there were some twists that while they did surprise me I kind of wish the big revelation wasn't true, more for what it would mean to the story than whether or not it helped our main heroine.

Ending: Talk about your big endings. I thought for sure, especially with the title of the next book, that I thought I knew how this book was going to end. I mean everything leading up to it practically screamed where it was going, but then, at the height of the final climax something changed, the entire story changed and instead of going to the predictable place I thought, it goes somewhere even bolder and more unpredictable. I have to say, while I may not get to book two soon, it's not because this book didn't leave me wanting so much more!

Rating:

So I really enjoyed this story, it was exciting, compelling, and other than a romance that I couldn't really find a way to throw myself into, I kept wanting to come back for more. P.S. Please forgive the subpar review, it's my first one in two weeks and I may even be a bit sleep deprived right now.

Book Review: Nevermore (Nevermore #1)

Release Date: August 31, 2010
Author: Kelly Creagh
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Length: 543 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Isobel is part of a higher social circle than most of her school. She has her own crew of friends and a boyfriend on the football team. She's nearly the complete opposite of goth boy Varen Nethers, but after they're assigned to collaborate on a school project they find they might have more in common than they thought. Soon Isobel actually wants to spend more time with Varen, and, after she starts having some freaky dreams, he might be the only person who can help her make sense of what's going on. On the whole, I actually really like Isobel as the main protagonist. She's a very realistic character and sure she has flaws and does things that annoy me as a reader, but as the story goes on she becomes a stranger character without losing what makes her so realistic and relatable. Her development and growth throughout this monster of a book feels natural and never feels too rushed or like it's being drawn out too much.

Romance: Going into this book I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the romance. I've seen "opposites attract" love stories before and there's usually something disingenuous about them or they feel rushed, but I actually really enjoyed this romance. There isn't a love triangle in this book but we do have to suffer through Isobel's huge tool of a boyfriend Brad for a while before the romance between Varen and Isobel starts. The main romance is a fairly slow burning one and yet it also feels very realistic. I was actually really surprised at how soon in the story I found myself rooting for this couple and while there were a couple of times when the romance gets a bit too cliched, it was always something I could easily shrug off.

World Building: If I had to talk about one thing about this book that bothered me, it would probably have to be how this book is so large and yet it takes so long to get to the exciting paranormal stuff and to get any sort of straight answer as to what's going on and why. Don't get me wrong I found the first eighty or so percent of this book oddly compelling, before a lot of the exciting paranormal stuff started, I liked the connections with Poe's writing, how there were samples of the writing straight in the text of the book, and the contemporary style romance and drama stuff was compelling as well, but for so long I just wanted some sort of straight answer as to what's going on in this world, what the paranormal stuff is and what it means, we do finally get some straight answers towards the end, but even the straight answers didn't satisfy me enough, or maybe just the answer itself wasn't all that satisfying.

Predictability: Looking back on this book I have to say that a lot of it is really predictable. Not in a bad way necessarily, but there is a lot that I was able to guess. I wasn't able to fully guess what was going on in the story obviously, but there were a lot of cliche contemporary drama moments, some even exaggerated from the cliche to explosive results. Now I will say that there are things, other than the large answers, that I wasn't able to predict, but there wasn't all that much.

Ending: One of the things that was fairly easy for me to predict was how this story was going to end, or well certain parts of how this story was going to end. Before that, though, the last hurrah of this book that leads up to the final climax was pretty epic. It really brings to life some of the Poe stories referenced in this book and makes for a terribly frightening stage for the final climax. The final climax itself was both enlightening and pretty awesome. It wasn't some battle or fight, but nevertheless, I was fully enthralled as the final climax came to a blazing end. The cooldown period was a lot longer than I anticipated and almost felt like it bled into the second installment almost. There's definitely some foreshadowing for what's going to happen next.

Rating:

So I debated with this rating a lot, before writing this review I thought I was going to give this book 3.5 stars, the world building stuff really bugged me and for a while I thought that's what it would get, but in actuality, now that "the cat's out of the bag" so to speak I'm anticipating a very interesting couple of sequels. However, it does still bug me that it took so long in this beast of a book to find out what's going on, especially when there were so many points where I thought, yes here it is I'm going to finally figure this thing out, only to be sorely disappointed.

Book Review: Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3)

Release Date: August 23, 2016
Author: William Ritter
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Length: 352 pages
Source: Review Copy from the Publisher

Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, has enlisted the investigative services of her fellow residents to solve a decade-old murder—her own. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, Detective R. F. Jackaby, dive into the cold case, starting with a search for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the night she died. But when a new, gruesome murder closely mirrors the events of ten years prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all, and her killer may be far more dangerous than they suspected.

Fantasy and folklore mix with mad science as Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads her across the cold cobblestones of nineteenth-century New England, down to the mythical underworld, and deep into her colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most deadly foe she has ever faced.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Abigail Rook has assisted her employer, R. F. Jackaby, on two cases now and when they returned home from their most recent escapade involving a dragon, they find their friend and the ghostly resident of their home, Jenny Cavanaugh, has a new case for them, to solve her murder. Now, as new evidence appears that connects to Jenny's murder, Jackaby and Abigail must uncover new clues and discover not only who killed their friend, but what compelled this person to commit such a violent and gruesome act. Can I just say that I love all of these characters? I mean seriously, I know that Abigail is our narrator and primary character, but even so, it's just as easy to see who all of the major players are underneath and to see their development as this story goes on. None of these characters are perfect, but it's their flaws, no matter how big or small, that make them such realistic and three-dimensional characters

World-Building: Before I get too far into the world building I wanted to address the lack of a romance section. There is romance in this book, Charlie once again makes an appearance and there's a bit of romance between him and Abigail, and since a lot of this book delves into Jenny's past there's a bit of romance that involves her to, but there's not enough of it for me to feel as though it merits its own section. The main hook of this story is the fact that we finally learn more about Jenny and how she ended up dying. This mystery has been teased in previous installments, but I was overjoyed when in the previous book we see it ending with Jenny finally wanting to know what happened to her. as I said before we learn a lot more about Jenny and her life leading up to her death, but interestingly enough we also learn a lot about Jackaby's past and what led up to him becoming the Seer that he is. this book expands this world in immeasurable ways, there's something sinister going on in New Fiddleham and Jenny's murder and the other cases are just pieces of a much larger plot.

Predictability: With this being a mystery novel the predictability or lack thereof is very important. Luckily, this author knows what he's doing. I cannot begin to articulate how amazing this book is. There are so many wonderful twists and even when you think you know everything, even if you think you've uncovered what's going on before it's been uncovered in the story, there's always something else that puts a wrinkle in your perfectly logical prediction. Not that there aren't moments in this book that are extremely predictable, but it always feels like it's meant to be that way, it seems like the author purposely foreshadowed something a bit too easily just so that there could be a twist inside his twist.

Ending: If I didn't know going into this book that this was the penultimate installment in this series, by the time this book ends I would have figured it out. There are actually quite a few climactic moments towards the end of this book and they are unbelievably epic. These moments are when a lot of these characters shine their brightest. After all the dust settles, like with previous installments in this series, we get a taste of what's to come next. I don't want to give anything away, but the taste of what's coming up does feel very final, and like I said this is the second to last installment in this series. This book ends with on of these worst cliffhangers I've ever read (in a good way.) At this point, I want the next installment in this series probably more that I want to breathe.

Rating:

This is by far my favorite installment in this series yet. I've been trying to articulate just how and why this is my favorite and I can't, it's so complex and how everything ties together in this book leading to a very explosive cliffhanger just made this book my current favorite of the year so far!

Book Review: Atlantia

Release Date: October 28, 2014
Author: Ally Condie
Publisher: Dutton Children's
Length: 298 pages
Source: Library Book

Can you hear Atlantia breathing?

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

    

Review:

Protagonist: For as long as Rio can remember she's wanted to go see the world Above. Trapped in an underwater city, she only gets the choice to go Above once and until recently she's planned on taking that chance. However, after making the decision to stay with her sister Bay, Bay chooses to go above, abandoning Rio to the world of Atlantia. What's worse is that Rio has a terrible power she's kept hidden her whole life, a power that should have been reported to the proper authorities as soon as possible, but now it's too late. Rio has nothing left to lose and do whatever it will take to defy Atlantian law and make her way Above to be with her sister and find out why Bay betrayed her. I really like Rio, she's a strong character who will do whatever it takes to see her family reunited and discover the truth. Her siren's voice power is something she's had to hide her whole life, to do that she's had to adjust her voice to be flat and emotionless, because of this she's seen as an outsider. Over the course of this book she grows to accept who she is, her purpose, and the secrets her family has kept from her.

Romance: There isn't too much of a romance in this book. At least not compared to other YA books. The romance in this book grows slowly over time. There's a small bit of romantic tension there from the beginning, but for a while it was more about a growing friendship between Rio and her love interest than romance. I have to say, it's a breath of fresh air every time I read a book where the main character isn't constantly trying to figure out their feelings about their love interest when more pressing matters are present. That's exactly how this book went. Rio wasn't agonizing over her feelings for her love interest, or whether she actually had any. Instead she focused on her objective of escape and the romance just came about naturally. Beyond the two actually admitting their romantic feelings, things seemed to unfold naturally and I really rooted for this couple with my whole being.

World Building: For the longest time I had assumed this book was about merfolk. The cover and title made it seem so much like a merfolk story, and when I started it I was surprised to find that not only are the characters human, but that this reads more like a dystopian rather than a fantasy or paranormal tale. There is a paranormal element to it with the existence of Sirens or rather those referred to as Sirens. We don't get much of an explanation as to where and how the Sirens came to be, other than the religious belief of the Atlantians. For the most part I found the world-building not only really sound and relatively free of plot holes, but interesting as well. I found myself engrossed in this world and the secret histories that Atlantia held. If I had to have one criticism it would be that sometimes the motivations of certain individuals didn't really make that much sense.

Predictability: Looking back over the events of this book, I've found that I wasn't surprised by much. Don't get me wrong, this book has some crazy twists that I did not see coming. It's more that the smaller things, the twists that mattered but not as much, were easy to see. Somehow, getting those smaller twists right, made not getting the larger ones that much more awesome and interesting. Normally it's the other way around for me. Where I'd easily pick up on the larger, more impactful twists, and then the smaller things would catch me by surprise. Atlantia has a lot of secrets and it was so much fun uncovering each and every one.

Ending: This book is a standalone, and yet towards the end I could see this being a series, more specifically a trilogy. It's not as though things were left up in a the air, or that things were tied up too quickly and too easily, but more that I could see various ways the story could be drawn out. That being said, I really enjoyed the way this story ends. The final climax isn't a physical showdown, but more of an intellectual fight for survival. Pretty much everything in this story is wrapped up, and why I say pretty much is that while all the important things are wrapped up nice and neat, there's a little door left open. I don't know if this author plans on revisiting this world, and I'm not asking her to, I'm just saying that from where I'm standing I can see how it wouldn't be too hard to write a companion story.

Rating:

I really enjoyed this book, it's a fun and interesting standalone take on the dystopian genre, and while there are a few things that bothered me a bit, it's still pretty awesome!

Book Review: Mystic City (Mystic City #1)

Release Date: October 9, 2012
Author: Theo Lawrence
Publisher: Delacourte Books for Young Readers
Length: 397 pages
Source: eGalley via NetGalley

For fans of Matched, The Hunger Games, X-Men, and Blade Runner comes a tale of a magical city divided, a political rebellion ignited, and a love that was meant to last forever. Book One of the Mystic City Novels.

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud - and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths.

But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place.

Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection - and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city - including herself.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Aria Rose daughter of one of the most influential families in Manhattan can't remember parts of her life. More specifically moments from the past few months. She's told about her relationship with the son of her family's biggest rivals, and about her impending wedding. At first Aria is naive, as most protagonists in a dystopian novel are, but in this case she's even more so, there's a spark of a rebel in her, something that's easy to see how squashed it is within her. As the story goes on and her eyes begin to open up to the world around her even more, she becomes a stronger character, someone who could incite change, who could lead her city, but the question is what kind of change is she willing to incite.

Romance: At first I expected there to be a love triangle in this book, and in some vague way I guess there is, however it's abundantly clear early on in this story that there is really only one romantic interest in this book. The relationship between Aria and her love interest was written pretty well, there was some great chemistry between them and the sweet and romantic moments they shared were just the right balance between sweet and grounded.

World-Building: Going into this book I expected it to be a fantasy since there is mention of the magic wielding Mystics, however this world is a mix between a dystopian future where global warming has decimated cities we know and love, and a paranormal series where magical beings have been integrated into our world and in this case our history. The story itself actual deals with some not so subtly veiled contemporary issues such as racism and classism. All of which I felt were handled very well, they weren't ever really shoehorned into the story, they were a part of it, it never felt too preachy and did a lot to add depth to this book.

Predictability: This author is not very good at leading up to a twist, or actually he can be, but I only saw evidence of it once or twice in this book. A lot of the main twists, or at least what I'm assuming were the main twists, were extremely predictable. I mean, almost everything I saw coming from a mile away. Like I said there were a few things that I couldn't but they were rather small, no matter the implications to the story, and while I enjoyed being caught off guard in those moments, they were nothing compared to the annoyance I felt at knowing some key pieces of information practically from the beginning. I kid you not, the prologue in this book did the overall story no favors it practically screamed the truth to the reader in just one page.

Ending: As this book drew to a close there was a lot on the line. I felt how high the stakes truly were, and then there was the final climax. Oh boy did it deliver. I just can't get over how crazy epic it was. There was a lot left in the air going into the epilogue, this is not an idealistic ending, it's not something where bad things seem to happen but there are no real repercussions. There's a lot of collateral damage and the story is deeply impacted because of it. I enjoyed the epilogue, it really helped tie this book, though not the story, up and bring it to a good close. The very end has one of those hybrid almost plateaued endings where depending on how you look at it it's either a cliffhanger or it's a traditional plateaued ending.

Rating:

So I really enjoyed this story, though I''m a bit worried as the third book in the series has yet to get a cover or release date, but hopefully the story isn't dead and by the time I get around to book 2 we'll know more information on what I expect is the last book in this series.

Book Review: The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4)

Release Date: April 26, 2016
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Length: 438 pages
Source: Library Audio Book

Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted.

For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey…and is certain she is destined to kill him.

Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.

    

Review:

Characters: *Sigh* These characters. I can't even begin to describe my love for the characters of this series, the characters who drive this story. If you go back and read my review of The Raven Boys you'll see that I didn't always like or love these characters. Some sure, but not all of them. Ironically the characters I liked the least, Adam and Ronan, became my favorite characters by the time this series is over. The characters in this book are so well fleshed out, they are so multi-layered, and they are so unique from one another, yet fit together so perfectly. As I think how these characters develop in this book, I can't quite pinpoint on how, they do develop, it's plain to see, but it's hard to describe in what ways. Everything is so subtle that by the time you notice something happens, you don't exactly know what happened.

Romance: So, surprisingly there isn't all that much emphasis on the romance in this book. Granted the rest of the books in this series don't quite put an emphasis on romance, regardless of the fact that one of the central themes is that if Blue kisses her true love he will die. Anyway, there is quite a bit of Blue/Gansey romance, though it's little things, things that more cement their feelings for one another and show them off rather than developing them. Then there's Adam/Ronan. I don't want to give anything away so I'm going to try and be as helpfully vague as possible. There isn't all that much romance between Ronan and Adam, don't get me wrong it's there and it's done really well. What I love about their romance is that it isn't idealistic. That doesn't mean they can't or don't get together, more that when certain feelings come to light, it's not instantly all okay and sunshine and rainbows. There are real feelings involved, some romantic feelings, and some feeling of confusion that need to be sorted out before things can proceed.

World-Building: Normally when I get to the final installment in a series I marvel at how the author could possibly fit more crucial world-building into this final installment. However, with this series, it doesn't shock me in the slightest. Each installment in this series has served a purpose to the overall story. There's a definitive reason for each book being there, and while I'm sure everyone knows the main reason we have this book, other than it's the final installment, there are to no one's surprise crucial world-building elements that tie everything together. We learn about the past, who did what so that our characters landed where they did, we learn about the present and the dangers that our characters face, we even learn about the future and the actions taken that shape this story in immeasurable ways.

Predictability: We all know the big thing here. It's been teased since the first book, and Maggie Stiefvater hasn't exactly been coy with the information. It's not a spoiler to say that Gansey dies in this book. That's not the twist, that's not a shocker, in fact I know many of my friends are terrified to begin this book because of that fact. However, we don't know why he dies, how he dies. We don't know if he stays dead or comes back to life. If he comes back, how? If he stays dead, how does that impact our surviving characters? These are the things that can make for a great twist. For the most part I didn't quite know what was going to happen in this book, I could see Stiefvater going either way, either a happy ever after ending or a tear your heart out ending. That's not even to mention the twists that had nothing to do with Gansey's death. There's a lot in this book to look out for, you should be terrified, but you should also be excited.

Ending: My God, this ending. This ending ruined me. This series isn't known to be fast paced. In fact this series is probably the slowest paced one I've ever read, It doesn't grip it's readers and pull them along on a high adrenaline ride, it slowly lures you in and before you can even tell you're trapped with no escape. However, the last seven or eight chapters of this book grabbed me and never let go as it soared through the sky. There's a lot that goes down in the end of this book and I'm not going to give anything away, but saying it ruined me pretty much covers it. Then there's an epilogue and while most things are wrapped up. I can't help but feel that this is not the end. In a way that easily mirrors the mind f*** of a cliffhanger ending of the first book, there's a kind of, sort of, not really cliffhanger ending that's not 100% clear what's really happening. All I know is I want... something more.

Rating:

This book DESTROYED me. There is so much to love, so much to hate, and so much to crave about this book, and really this series in general. If you're anxious to read this book, I totally get it and I'd be lying if I said you shouldn't be, but read it anyway, power through it. Hopefully you'll thank me if you do.