Blog Tour Book Review: The Lantern's Ember + GIVEAWAY!

Release Date: September 11, 2018
Author: Colleen Houck
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Length: 416 pages
Source: eGalley for Review

Welcome to a world where nightmarish creatures reign supreme.

Five hundred years ago, Jack made a deal with the devil. It’s difficult for him to remember much about his mortal days. So, he focuses on fulfilling his sentence as a Lantern—one of the watchmen who guard the portals to the Otherworld, a realm crawling with every nightmarish creature imaginable. Jack has spent centuries jumping from town to town, ensuring that nary a mortal—or not-so-mortal—soul slips past him. That is, until he meets beautiful Ember O’Dare.

Seventeen, stubborn, and a natural-born witch, Ember feels a strong pull to the Otherworld. Undeterred by Jack’s warnings, she crosses into the forbidden plane with the help of a mysterious and debonair vampire—and the chase through a dazzling, dangerous world is on. Jack must do everything in his power to get Ember back where she belongs before both the earthly and unearthly worlds descend into chaos.

    

Review:

Protagonist: While this story is told from multiple points of view, after a while in this story it's plain to see that Ember O'Dare is the main protagonist of this story and since most of the other POVs are love interests I thought it made sense to only talk about her in this section. When we first properly meet Ember she's already quite a capable witch, I really appreciated that while she has character flaws such as being incredibly stubborn even in the face of mortal danger, she's still able to take a lot of agency in her own story and can hold her own against the threats that come up. While I think that things come too easily to her and she seems to have luck on her side more than once, she's still an interesting and compelling protagonist.

Romance: This is probably the biggest weakness of the entire story. At the start of this tale there's a lot of time spent establishing a connection between Jack and Ember, and during this time, while some of the things Jack does poke at the border between acceptable and sketchy, there is a really great chemistry there, then the love triangle is introduced. I'm calling it a love triangle since even though there's a third gentleman with romantic feelings for Ember it's made abundantly clear that those feelings are unrequited. So the thing is, I have no innate hate for love triangles, in fact, I love when love triangle tropes are subverted, but unfortunately not only is this love triangle very paint by numbers, but I just don't think love triangles can truly work in standalones and this book did nothing to dissuade me of that opinion. While Ember has some amount of chemistry with each of her suitors, they all just felt so stereotypical to me, Jack's the "Brooding Protector," Dev, yes his name is really Dev, is the "Bad Boy," and poor Finney is the "Best Friend" and they played those roles to a tee. Not only that but 90% they're either focused on or competing over Ember instead of focusing on the problems around them, though somehow they always seem to rally when an action scene starts.

World Building: The beginning of this tale is wonderful, there's a really autumnal Halloween vibe and the entire setting is extremely atmospheric. I thought that this story was going to take place in the modern day, but it seems like this story takes place not long after the Salem Witch Trials. The town Ember lives in is very quaint and I enjoyed the time we spend there, but most of the book takes place in another realm and that has a bit of a classic horror meets steampunk vibe to it. I have to admit at first it was very weird, especially since I was so comfortable in Ember's village, but as we spend more time in the Otherworld, the more I liked what I saw, while the story can go a bit slow at first, since the author spends a good amount of time setting up a wide variety of plotlines, the story does begin to pick up and the story really grew on me. While I do feel like things can resolve a bit too conveniently at times, the story, when not focusing on the romantic drama, was really interesting. I loved seeing more of this world and all the little Easter Eggs relating to classic horror, penny dreadfuls, and Halloween lore. I'm a huge sucker for folklore and I was so excited to see how this rendition of the Jack O' Lantern tale was done and was surprised and delighted to see a lot of other Halloween classic goodness in this story. I love the design for Jack in this story, but even though the author paints a pretty clear picture with her words, I could never stop imagining him as a scarecrow with a pumpkin head.

Predictability: One of the most interesting things about this story is how easy it was to pick up on all the information that will be important later, and yet even though I knew certain topics were going to come up again, every time they did it happened kind of out of the blue. It was really weird, it was almost as if the author set up these things and then never really continued foreshadowing before the big reveal. It wasn't bad necessarily, except for a few twists that felt more convenient than anything, all the other twists just felt randomly timed and while I do wish there was a tad more foreshadowing and that more time would be spent setting things up, but I still did enjoy the shock whenever an out of the blue twist would show up.

Ending: The final climax of this story was different than I expected, I was expecting more action and instead, the final climax is a lot more character driven which I really enjoyed. As for how everything wraps up, well this is a standalone and thanks to an epilogue every little plot thread is wrapped up rather neatly and while I enjoyed this world and would like to see more of it another time if the author decides to never visit this world again I wouldn't feel heartbroken.

Rating:

This was a really tough choice, but even though I hate the majority of the romance in this book, the main storyline and world are fascinating and while I'm not a fan of certain character(s) there are a lot of great side characters in this tale, and the magic system and how it mixes with the world is really cool.

About the Author:

New York Times Bestselling author Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she’s not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.

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Giveaway:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE LANTERN'S EMBER, US Only.

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Book Review: Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy (Villains #4)

Release Date: October 3, 2017
Author: Serena Valentino
Publisher: Disney Press
Length: 309 pages
Source: Library Audio Book

The tale is told as if it's happening once upon a dream: the lovely maiden meets her handsome prince in the woods. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the maiden finds out that she is a princess-a princess who has been cursed by a dark fairy to prick her finger on a spindle and fall into an eternal sleep. Though her three good fairies try to protect her, the princess succumbs to the curse. But the power of good endures, as her true love defeats the fire-breathing dragon and awakens the princess with true love's first kiss. The two live happily ever after.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of the dark fairy, Maleficent? Why does she curse the innocent princess? What led to her becoming so filled with malice, anger, and hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives. Here is one account, pulled down from the many passed down through the ages. It is a tale of love and betrayal, of magic and reveries. It is a tale of the Mistress of All Evil.

    

Review:

Characters: Ahhhh, that's much better. With the previous installment, Poor Unfortunate Soul, I felt like the Villain the book focused on, Ursula, got sidelined by the original characters of this series, whereas in this book Maleficent very much takes center stage in this book. There's a great deal of focus on Maleficent's past, her interactions with the other fairies, and what led her to eventually curse Aurora to die. Like with the other villains this author writes about, it wasn't hard to be sympathetic to her and feel sad for what she went through. As the novel progresses her story unfolds bit by bit, which I really enjoyed, but Maleficent isn't the only character focus this story had. Like the previous installment, and since this is in many ways a direct sequel to the last, we learn more about Nanny's past as well, where she comes from and her role in Maleficent's story, though I do have to say I wish I understood the whole "One of Legends" nonsense, it feels as if I'm supposed to understand "who" Nanny is, but it's never really confirmed. That may come later, or she may be a completely original character with no ties to Disney movies or fairy tales, but with a title as grand as she has, it feels like you're supposed to know who she is. Lastly, for our main characters, we have Circe, the little sister of the three Odd Sister witches. After being freed from Ursula's imprisonment she hopes to wake her sisters who've fallen under a sleeping spell. Along the way, she teams up with a rather unlikely ally, someone you'll have met before if you've read all the previous installments, and they discover some rather startling secrets about Circe, the sisters, and even Maleficent herself. Of course, Princess Tulip and Prince Popinjay also make appearances, but they felt like minor characters compared to everyone else. They're there, they do things, they aren't annoying, and that's pretty much all I can say for them.

World Building: I almost breathed a sigh of relief while reading this book because after a rather rocky road with the first three installments, all of which are enjoyable but flawed, I finally felt like this series is really coming into its own. Much like with the previous installment, this book is more about the original characters of this series and how they fit into the more "behind the scenes" aspect of the story and their role in the life of the installment's villain. With this series getting as large as it is, I loved seeing the author really having fun with this Disney world and bring in characters that I wasn't expecting to have a larger role in this story as well as Maleficent's life. This story takes a rather large look at the roles of the fairies, since that's what Maleficent is, and their life. I loved getting an expanded look into the world of the fairies and how they work, their schooling, and their own personal aspirations.

Predictability: Given that the previous installments of this series felt rocky, to say the least, I really went into this book with zero expectations. I had no theories as to why Maleficent did the things she does in the movie, and I was more along for the ride than trying to ferret out this book's secrets. Still, even if I was trying to figure out all of the little twists and turns in this book, I highly doubt I'd succeed. There were a few twists that were quite obvious, but they were also rather small twists, the big things, the game-changing things, I didn't see coming a mile away. Eventually, I just rolled with each blow and enjoyed the ride.

Ending: Because there is a continuous plot through these books now, instead of feeling more like companion novels, when, after a final climax that felt familiar (of course) yet had a depth and sadness I wasn't prepared for, the story shifts back to one of the original characters and ends on, well I guess it's a cliffhanger, but it didn't feel like one. The book just sort of ends abruptly, which, considering I was listening to an audio book, felt extremely abrupt and I wish there was something to sort of plateau the ending a little bit more or I wish there was a more startling cliffhanger to agonize over.

Rating:

Between the original characters, their personal storylines, Disney characters popping up all over the place, and a villain backstory that wasn't, "I'm evil because a man I love(d) wronged me or died unnecessarily, " I both loved this installment and am truly excited to see where the story goes from here. Even if I had a couple problems with how this particular installment ended, I love this series more than ever and am so happy that it has found its groove... speaking of which an Yzma book would be amazing!

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 Angel Trap (Dark World: The Angel Trials #3)

Release Date: July 31, 2018
Author: Michelle Madow
Publisher: Dreamscape Publishing
Length: 195 pages
Source: Review Copy from Author

Be careful who you trust, or you might walk into a trap.

After putting her neck on the line to save Noah and Sage’s lives, Raven is on the brink of death. The only thing that might save her? Vampire blood.

The problem is, no one’s supposed to know that vampire blood can heal humans. Anyone who finds out will be silenced. Which means Sage and Noah need to take Raven to a vampire they can trust. But shifters don’t normally trust vampires, so they only know one vampire who fits that category.

Thomas Bettencourt is a vampire prince who rules an elite coven in Chicago. And thanks to his secret history with Sage, he might be willing to save Raven’s life. But only if they agree to his conditions.

Now they have two choices—accept Thomas’s demands, or let Raven die. And after imprinting on Raven, Noah will do anything to ensure she survives.

Even if that means making a deal with a vampire.

Get ready for more romance, adventure, and twists in The Angel Trap, the shocking third installment in The Angel Trials series!

  

Review:

Protagonists: YES!!!! I can finally call this section "Protagonists" again! Seriously though, as much as I love Raven and enjoyed seeing from her POV, her total domination of the books so far did bug me considering that The Vampire Wish series always felt more balanced when it came to other characters' POVs. Anyway, in this installment, a lot of the story is devoted to Sage, and I loved every minute of it. Sage has always been a character that I liked, but I never felt we knew all that well. We know she's a bit rebellious, okay a lot rebellious, and that she comes from the Montgomery pack, but in this story, we learn more about her past and her relationship with a certain vampire named Thomas. I loved getting to know more of Sage's backstory and the hardships she's had to endure in her life. We do finally get a few more chapters from my personal favorite character, Noah, and for those who haven't read The Vampire Wish series, we learn more about who he is and his backstory as well as what Raven may have been doing during the time her memory was most likely erased and replaced. The character development in this book, heck, this series, is fantastic, it's subtle and nothing feels like it's coming out of the blue or that it's out of character.

Romance: I've said before that the romance in this series is probably my favorite part, and that still remains true in this installment, and it's not just because there's twice the romance. While Raven and Noah are still dealing with their seemingly impossible imprint, an imprint that Raven doesn't even know about at the start of this book, Sage has some romantic drama of her own. See she has a romantic past with Thomas, it didn't end well. I wasn't sure if I would like a romance between Thomas and Sage, mainly because I didn't know much about Thomas before this book, and I have to say, even though there's one thing about him, okay maybe a couple of things, that seems sketchy about him, I actually grew to like him as a character and I really like his connection with Sage and learning more about their past together. Of course, there's more Raven/Noah romance and I lapped it up like a parched dog. I don't know why, but I really love the connection between Raven and Noah, probably because she calls him on all his crap and really, what's not to love there?

World Building: So, I've been pretty critical of the plot progression in this series, but that was before two revelations. One, that each installment in this series feels more like an episode of a series, or mini-series to be more precise (this revelation I came to on my own after reading the second installment), and two, that there will be anywhere from seven to nine installments in this series. Because of these revelations, I tempered my expectations going into this installment, and I have to say, not only was I not left disappointed, but I was actually surprised at how much plot progression there actually was in this installment. Like I've mentioned before, a lot of this installment focuses on the past, Sage's past with Thomas, Raven's missing time in "Europe," and even Noah's past. In fact, while we do get to see more of this world, and learn more of its secrets, this installment feels very character focused.

Predictability: Going into this book, as I've said before, my expectations were tempered and I thought I had a good grasp on how this would unfold, and until a certain point I was right. See, after the story moves beyond where I thought it would, I was completely caught off guard and the story just sort of went in a direction I wasn't planning on. I have to say, I love where the author is taking this story and I love how even though I knew something was going to happen, I wasn't prepared for the surprises that awaited in this book.

Ending: So, like I said, until a certain point I knew what would happen and then all hell broke loose. The final climax of this book pretty much makes up everything after where I thought the story would go. The final climax honestly just blew me away, it's not a big action scene, but I was sort of in shock from the twists and turns that were happening, the places that this story is going were shocking the heck out of me, and the tension built up never dissipated, even when the story reached the cliffhanger I'm sure many people know was coming. I mean, this might have been the most crippling cliffhanger I've read from this author yet.

Rating:

I wasn't sure I was going to give this book 5 stars until I wrote the review, because even though the author's writing isn't perfect, she tends to over explain things in the exposition a lot, the story was everything I was hoping for and more and now I'm kicking myself for reading this installment so soon, because even if she writes these books rather quickly, it's going to feel like agony waiting to see what's coming next.

Book Review: Night of the Soul Stealer (The Last Apprentice #3)

Release Date: August 28, 2007
Author: Joseph Delaney
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Length: 489 pages
Source: Purchased Book

It's going to be a long, hard, cruel winter. And there couldn't be a worse place to spend it than up on Anglezarke.

Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who captures witches and drives away ghosts. As the weather gets colder and the nights draw in, the Spook receives an unexpected visitor. Tom doesn't know who the stranger is or what he wants, but the Spook suddenly decides it's time to travel to his winter house, Anglezarke. Tom has heard it will be a bleak, forbidding place, and that menacing creatures are starting to stir somewhere on the moors nearby.

Can anything prepare Tom for what he finds there? What if the rumors about the evil beast called the Golgoth are true? And how much danger will Tom be in if the secrets the Spook has been trying to hide from the world are revealed?

    

Review:

Protagonist: As the first year of Tom's apprenticeship is coming to an end, he and the Spook head to the Spook's Winter House. There more about the Spook's past comes to light as Tom meets a former apprentice of the Spook, a man with dark ambitions. Again, this story shows that while Tom is the main character, he's still the apprentice and, for the moment, his character's purpose is in many ways to give us a look into Mr. Gregory's past. That isn't to say that Tom doesn't have his fair share of troubles as his loyalties are tested and his skills as a Spook in training are put to a great test. Again, Tom doesn't have too much of a lesson to learn or bit of character to adjust, he's still learning what it means to be a Spook, and that sometimes the job can be very hard indeed.

World Building: Once again we're treated to a look into the past of John Gregory as we travel to his winter home in Anglezarke. This book does a good job to flesh out the Spook's backstory quite a bit more as we learn just how he's been dealing with the witch he fell in love with, as well as what happened to the woman who was engaged to his brother but ran away with him. Again, our main story feels very "Monster of the Week," although this week's "monster" is so much more. I love seeing this series get set up, and set up it gets as the Dark grows more powerful. Tom's family once again comes into play in the main story and I honestly forgot how much Tom's family (more than just his Mam) featured in the first few books. Now, this is the final book before stuff really hits the fan, and it's near the end of the first year of Tom's apprenticeship, there's a lot still yet to be discovered.

Foreshadowing: Once again it wasn't all that easy to see foreshadowing for this particular installment, it's been quite a few years since I read this book, and while I know the gist of what happens in this book, I was still taken by surprise from time to time. In fact, I've almost noticed a pattern in these books, a certain element to the story structure that I found very interesting. As for the larger series foreshadowing, while there isn't as much in here as the previous installment, I still saw small bits and pieces that point to future events in this series, things that won't happen for a while yet.

Ending: As this story reached its final climax things were getting very tense, but I do have to say that while I understand that these books are for a younger audience, it's hard for things to be too tense when Tom, our first-person protagonist, is the only one we care about in danger and there are a great deal more books in this series. Don't get me wrong, I really like the end of this book and the final climax was really interesting, but in the end, fell a bit flat. The cooldown period really shows that this series is getting darker and there are more adventures to be had ahead.

Rating:

Once again I'm surprised to be giving an early book in this series five stars. I honestly thought I'd give them less, as I love the later installments a whole lot more, as that's where the main plot will be in full swing, and yet, for an early book in a Middle-Grade series, this story is very compelling and while it doesn't go into as many complex topics as a YA or Adult book would, it does go into some rather complicated moral places and I can't wait to continue my journey in this series.

Book Review: The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding (The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding #1)

Release Date: September 5, 2017
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 272 pages
Source: eGalley from NetGalley

"I would say it's a pleasure to meet thee, Prosperity Oceanus Redding, but truly, I only anticipate the delights of destroying thy happiness."

Prosper is the only unexceptional Redding in his old and storied family history — that is, until he discovers the demon living inside him. Turns out Prosper's great-great-great-great-great-something grandfather made — and then broke — a contract with a malefactor, a demon who exchanges fortune for eternal servitude. And, weirdly enough, four-thousand-year-old Alastor isn't exactly the forgiving type. 

The fiend has reawakened with one purpose — to destroy the family whose success he ensured and who then betrayed him. With only days to break the curse and banish Alastor back to the demon realm, Prosper is playing unwilling host to the fiend, who delights in tormenting him with nasty insults and constant attempts trick him into a contract. Yeah, Prosper will take his future without a side of eternal servitude, thanks.

Little does Prosper know, the malefactor's control over his body grows stronger with each passing night, and there's a lot Alastor isn't telling his dim-witted (but admittedly strong-willed) human host. 

From #1 New York Times best-selling author Alexandra Bracken comes a tale of betrayal and revenge, of old hurts passed down from generation to generation. Can you ever fully right a wrong, ever truly escape your history? Or will Prosper and Alastor be doomed to repeat it?

    

Review:

Protagonist(s): Prosper is the black sheep of the Redding family. For some reason, he doesn't seem to have the same luck and "charming" personality that the rest of his family does. His extended family treats him poorly, there's even a scene where Prosper goes over his cousins' names and after each one gives an example of how that particular cousin has been cruel to him, let's just say that there probably wasn't two sides to those stories. I wasn't even two full chapters into this book when I started tearing up with how sad Prosper's loneliness and isolation is. He literally has zero friends at the beginning of this book. However, that's all before Prosper learns that a demon, properly called a fiend, even more specifically a malefactor, is inside his body, waiting to get to full power and escape on Prosper's 13th birthday. There were so many times throughout this story that I wanted to hug Prosper and tell him he's worth something, which probably would have been weird for a nearly twenty-four-year-old man to do to a nearly thirteen-year-old boy he's not related to, but still, I empathize with Prosper so much and his journey and development over the course of this book is fantastic! Everything felt very natural and realistic, you know, minus the magical shenanigans. Alastor was also such a great bit of comic relief! His insults were astounding and I really liked him as a character, and since he's sort of part of Prosper I feel like I can talk a bit about him here. Alastor definitely has flaws, but his development is just as phenomenal, if not more, than Prosper's own.

World Building: This world is phenomenal. We learn so much about how the various worlds inside this universe work and how malefactors come into play and work within it. There's an interesting demonic (fiendish?) hierarchy within this story that serves as a bit of a subplot, or Alastor's plot, that begins to come more and more into play. The way the magic system works in this world is so captivating. I love how the author seems to be setting up a much larger story within this one. I know that's rather typical for series, but the way it's done here is particularly ambitious and exciting. There are elements brought in toward the end that I can't wait to see more of, things that sound grand and imperious. The whole tone of this story is perfect for the Fall season. Every moment I read this tale I wanted a nice hot cup of cider, maybe some candy corn until I realized it's 100° F and practically the middle of summer. It's a great Halloween read, while it's not scary there is definitely some nice spine chilling moments and moments of spectacular tension that make it perfect for an October read, plus the character Toad practically screams Halloween!

Predictability: I went into this book knowing what it's about, but I have to give the people over at Disney-Hyperion a round of applause for explaining the story without giving too much away. I mean, there were so many times in this story that I didn't know what would happen next. The author does a great job at leaving the breadcrumbs of foreshadowing throughout this novel. Sometimes I was able to pick the little things up and put the puzzle together, but other times I was completely floored only to look back and see all the signs I'd missed. There's one particularly, well actually two particularly, game changing twists towards the end, one that I had sort of guessed, but wasn't completely sure on, and another that I was sure of but still somehow rocked me to my core when proven right.

Ending: The ending of this story is magnificent! As things start to escalate things become more and more clear, which all leads into this amazing scene full of revelations and twists and I physically couldn't stop reading the story. Everything rises into this amazing crescendo that seems to set up the wider story of this world, and just when I'm waiting for the cooldown period to start, the book is over. This ending is amazing, I loved every second of it, but I need the next book. I've felt a need this strong before and I'm afraid I'll wake up tomorrow with the biggest book hangover I've ever known and you know what, it'd be worth it.

Rating:

I loved this book, no scratch that I LOVE THIS BOOK! Everything just sucked me in and didn't let go. I can't wait to see what happens next and I can't wait for more of this world, and the series over arching plot to be uncovered as our hero(es) make their next move.

Book Review: The Hands of Time (Elementals #5)

Release Date: November 25, 2016
Author: Michelle Madow
Publisher: Dreamscape Publishing
Length: 190 pages
Source: Review Copy from the Author

Time is running out. War will be waged. Sacrifices will be made.

Months ago, Nicole Cassidy’s life was turned upside-down when she discovered that she was a witch descended from the Greek gods. She and the four other witches gifted with elemental powers fought all over the world—and in another dimension—to battle the supporters of the Titans and fight for the people they love.

Now the Elementals must stop Typhon—the most dangerous monster in the world—from rising, and seal the portal to the dangerous prison world of Kerberos. But they won’t be able to do that without facing their hardest decision yet… a sacrifice so great that it may be one they’re not willing to make.

Get ready for the stunning, action-packed conclusion to the bestselling Elementals series, with twists and turns that you’ll never see coming!

  

Review:

Protagonist: Nicole Cassidy has just braved the prison world of Kerberos to save the boy she loves from the megalomaniacal demigod, Ethan, only to find him dead and her and the only other Elementals' only chance at stopping the Titan Typhon from rising, the Head of Medusa, destroyed. Now she's given the chance to go back in time and write her wrongs. After traveling back in time with fellow Elemental, Danielle, they save Blake in a matter of minutes, but that doesn't mean their work isn't over. There are still many things to do, and sacrifices to make before the Earth can be safe. I'm not quite sure what to say about the development of Nichole, or really any of the main characters in this story. They aren't perfect, far from it actually, but that's something that makes them very human and realistic characters. There is some development that they all go through in this book, there are tough and heartbreaking decisions that have to be made that really show off how far these characters have come since the first book in this series.

Romance: I almost feel like I need to cut this part out. Romance isn't one of the main themes of this book. The love, both platonic and romantic, that these characters have for one another does drive the story, and there is a sizable section of the book that is completely driven by one character's romantic love for another character, but other than these two characters working through whatever issues are currently plaguing them and growing stronger as a couple there isn't really any progression or super exciting instances of romance in this book. Don't get me wrong, despite not being super excited about this couple at the beginning of the series, I have really started to root for them and wish them the best, but once a couple reaches a certain point in stories there isn't all that much to get excited about.

World Building: I think this section is where I had the most trouble with this story. At the beginning of this book, there was so much still left to do, and given how short this story was I wasn't sure how the author was going to fit so much in such a small space. While I enjoyed the new elements of the world that this installment introduced, because of the limited space it felt like things were not only going by too fast but that things were going just a bit too easily. That's not to say that there weren't consequences for certain actions, but rather that in the long run there was a feeling of convenience to certain things, that lasted for about half the book, then things sort of flipped. If things were easy in the first half of this story, then in the second half they were far more arduous. I'm not going to reveal what happens obviously, but there is such a contrast with two halves of this book that I'm not sure how I feel, it's uneven and yet it is technically balanced out pretty well.

Predictability: Going into this book I had a few ideas about how I thought this story was going to conclude, that being said I was totally caught off guard by how everything went down. Not only was I, at least before starting this story, unable to see how certain things would go about but given how quickly the second half escalates my vision for how I thought this series would end was just completely off the mark. I don't want to spoil anything which always makes this section the hardest to write, but I'll say this, Madow provides just enough foreshadowing so that you won't see a twist coming, but when it happens you'll understand the steps that led up to it.

Ending: The ending of a book is important, but the ending of a series is the most important. In my experience, how a series ends can affect how I feel about the entire series. That being said I was pleasantly surprised by how this series ended. As you all may know I'm not a huge fan of idyllic ending where there's no real fall out or consequence from the entire series and everyone gets to live happily ever after like it never happened, or that things were even better than before it happened. This book doesn't have an idealistic ending like that. Again, I'm not going to spoil how this story ends, but I'll say that there is an epilogue that is told from a character other than Nicole, and even when I finished the book there were still a few questions I had. I'm not sure if the author will ever write a companion or spin-off series that will answer, quite literally, the one question I have about how this story ends, but if she did you should know that I'm sure it would be amazing.

Rating:

I have to say this was a great ending to a vastly entertaining series. Other than the sort of uneven pacing and stark contrast in the two halves of this book, I loved it and am excited to see what this author will put out next!

Book Review: Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas #1)

Release Date: September 6, 2016
Author: Zoraida Córdova
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Length: 336 pages
Source: eGalley from NetGalley

Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.

I fall to my knees. Shattered glass, melted candles and the outline of scorched feathers are all that surround me. Every single person who was in my house – my entire family — is gone.

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can’t trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange markings on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland…

Beautiful Creatures meets Daughter of Smoke and Bone with an infusion of Latin American tradition in this highly original fantasy adventure.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Alex fears her magic. She fears what her magic might mold her into becoming. When her Deathday party arrives, the day she receives a special blessing from her ancestors, she decides to eliminate her magic instead, but instead of losing her magic, her entire family is pulled into Los Lagos, a mysterious land in between, and it's up to Alex and a dark and possibly dangerous brujo named Nova to rescue them. Alex is a very strong character, but she's ruled by her fear. She fears her magic and what it might lead to, but as she journey's through Los Lagos and it's many terrifying and wondrous attractions she needs to learn to accept herself and flip her perspective on her powers and start looking at them as a gift instead of a curse. I felt that Alex's character development and progression was executed very realistically, and combining that with such a dynamic and passionate character it makes for one heck of a journey.

Romance: This is probably going to be the hardest portion of this review to write. I honestly wasn't a huge fan of the romance in this book. The good news is that romance doesn't play a particularly large role in the story, the bad news is that even though it doesn't represent a large portion of the story, I just wish it was developed better. There is a love triangle in this book, now I'm not opposed to love triangles in general, it's all about how they play out, but this one just felt all over the place. At first, it's made pretty clear who one of the love interests is, that would be Nova, but the second love interest isn't even hinted at being a romantic candidate, let alone confirmed as one until nearly three-quarters of the way through the book and without any prior romantic tension or chemistry I just couldn't really care, and then the love triangle just sort of sorts itself out without any real deliberation which just doesn't really work for me. I wish I could have cared more for this romance but for something that's not even a large part of the story it really started to bug me.

World Building: My absolute favorite part about this story is the world building. After the story is done there's an Author's Notes section that goes into detail about some of the things that are actually part of latinx culture and folklore and what is of the author's own creation, and I have to say I'm in awe of just how much of the lore in this tale was created by the author because it just seems to fit in so well with everything else. One of the things I enjoyed the most were the parallels to other famous mythologies such as Greek, Egyptian, and Norse. There were many parts that seemed nearly plucked out of, specifically Greek, mythology and adapted to fit in with the story and this culture. The adventure that Alex and Nova embark on in this story is so richly described, it has all the classic hallmarks of an otherworldly adventure without coming off cliche.  The world of Los Lagos comes alive and it's not hard at all to nearly see what's around these characters at any given point. I'd best equate it to wonderland or the Grecian underworld, there are many sections to it that form a whole and rarely any section is safe for outsiders.

Predictability: Another small problem with this story is how things are foreshadowed. Sometimes the author does a slam dunk job foreshadowing a big event or twist in this story, it either shocks me like it should or I called it yet was still extremely pumped about it. Then there were times that things were so constantly brought up and foreshadowed that it lost all enjoyment when the time finally came for things to happen. Worst of all though there were times when there was very little or no foreshadowing for events and twists that desperately need the reader to feel a build up for or be clued into before they're blindsided and can't recover to truly enjoy what happened. Now I'm happy to say that most of the time the story went off without a hitch and the author definitely caught me off guard in a good way a few times in this story, but some of the subpar foreshadowed moments really took me out of the story, sometimes literally, after one twist I stopped reading for a while until I could get my head on straight.

Ending: I'm trying to articulate my pure wonder and awe at how this story ended, specifically the final climax of the story and the epilogue but I can't quite figure out how to explain how epic everything was. The final climax was not only action packed but really brought the themes of this story and Alex's journey both internally and externally to the forefront as she faced down the thing that stole her family. Then there was the epilogue. Now going into this I had assumed that this series would be more a series of standalone companion novels and while I may be partially right that didn't stop the author from writing in one hell of a cliffhanger. I honestly wasn't expecting what happens to happen and if I wasn't already excited about the next book in this series I would be now!

Rating:

There is so much I love about this story, from the main character to the wondrously strange world she traverses to the mythos and tales told in this novel, there's so much to enjoy. I can't wait for the next book in this series and I'm excited to see where these characters go next.

Cover Reveal: The Hands of Time (Elementals #5)

So I've been trying to figure out what to say before this awesome cover reveal that I haven't said before. If you haven't yet read the Elementals series yet, you really should. While the first book does set up this world really well, the romance is a bit rushed. However, in the second book, there is not only some fantastic world building you'd expect from this series, but some of the things that were hard for me to love were made much more palatable. By the third book I was hooked, well technically I think I was hooked long before that, but the third book was definitely the best of the bunch so far and really showed off how far this author was willing to go. The fourth book, which comes out in just a week, Builds up the suspense even more and while I wasn't wild about the near ease in which the ending went, I am extremely pumped to see what will happen in this final installment of the series. Now without further ado, I give you the cover for Elementals 5: The Hands of Time.

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SYNOPSIS:

Time is running out. War will be waged. Sacrifices will be made.

Months ago, Nicole Cassidy’s life was turned upside-down when she discovered that she was a witch descended from the Greek gods. She and the four other witches gifted with elemental powers fought all over the world—and in another dimension—to battle the supporters of the Titans and fight for the people they love.

Now the Elementals must stop Typhon—the most dangerous monster in the world—from rising, and seal the portal to the dangerous prison world of Kerberos. But they won’t be able to do that without facing their hardest decision yet… a sacrifice so great that it may be one they’re not willing to make.

Get ready for the stunning, action-packed conclusion to the bestselling Elementals series, with twists and turns that you’ll never see coming!

The Portal to Kerberos comes out on September 20, 2016

Pre-Order Now!

The adventure began in the first book in the series, Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows. To grab a copy of the first book for free, visit www.michellemadow.com or the bottom of this blog post. 

The Elementals series is available on Kindle Unlimited, so subscribers can read it for free!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michelle Madow writes fast-paced YA (young adult) fiction that will leave you turning the pages wanting more!

She grew up in Baltimore, and now lives in Boca Raton, Florida, where she writes books for young adults. Some of her favorite things are: reading, pizza, traveling, shopping, time travel, Broadway musicals, and spending time with friends and family. Michelle went on a cross-country road trip from Florida to California and back to promote her books and to encourage high school students to embrace reading and writing. Someday, she hopes to travel the world for a year on a cruise ship.

Want all three parts of the Transcend Time Saga—Michelle’s first YA romance series—for FREE? Click here to learn about the series and claim your books

To get instant updates about Michelle’s new books, follow her on Amazon!

Author Links:

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Nicole Cassidy is a witch descended from the Greek gods… but she doesn’t know it until she moves to a new town and discovers a dangerous world of magic and monsters that she never knew existed.

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