Tag: Young Adult (Page 32 of 159)

BOOK REVIEW: Bring Me Their Hearts (Bring Me Their Hearts #1) by Sara Wolf

March 28, 2019 / Chelsea / 2 Comments

Bring Me Their Hearts (Bring Me Their Hearts #1)
by Sara Wolf
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.

Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.

Winner takes the loser’s heart.

Literally.

I want nothing more than to stay in this moment, my hand in his. But that’s an impossibility. A weakness. I am a monster, and he’s a human. I want his heart, and I want his other heart. His affection, his blood. I want it all.
But if I take one, I can’t have the other.

Ahhh what a conundrum. This book was just…silly. I’m sorry, but a story that obviously was in capable hands of being well-written (it was, but it wasn’t) was so repetitive and confused in it’s tone that I couldn’t fall head over heels for it-even though it contained everything I love in a fantasy.

Was this a fantasy, though? I guess it was…It just felt more paranormal to me, and I am NOT a fan of paranormal-at least, not anymore. There’s just something so tacky, to me, about it. But, I don’t want to start off on the negative-let’s talk about what worked here. For one, Prince Lucien. He was, in full truth, the reason I pushed (And I do mean, pushed) through to the end and didn’t DNF. And I, like, never DNF a book.

He just had some of the most tortuous moments, the most endearing personality, even though I think he fell too quick and too easily, in my opinion. I mean, he starts off so guarded and then begins flirting with her awfully easy. But that’s neither here nor there, because he was literally the shining light of this identity crisis of a book. I’ll admit that I was drawn in by the perilous edge to it all, but it fell short in tone and what it was trying to be.

Right here, right now, even if it hurts—I can pretend to be perfect, human, free. Whole.

One minute they are all bantering and laughing and joking with JLA type conversations, then the next, someone is dead or being killed. It’s just so effing weird. And I know this happens in real life but-like-what? She and he would be dancing, then there’s a stampede, a little girl is being trampled, and her eye being torn from its socket. Again-what?

They can belittle me, they can mock me, they can tear me apart. But they can’t kill me. Only my own mistakes can do that.
Only I can do that.

One minute the prince doesn’t trust her-yet his bodyguard sure seems to like her???-and then he meets her in the streets and they are buddy buddy because of a hidden secret. But, again, I implore-how could a crown prince, after years of these types of marriage hand-offs, be so easily fooled by a pretty face, someone trying to kill him?

It was so easy a week ago. But now he has a face. Now he has a story. Now he stands here, looking at me as if I’m the greatest mystery in the world, his eyes both sad and hungry—starving for something he’s never known the name of.
Challenge. An equal. A friend. He’s starving for it all.
Starving for me.

And yes, I’ll admit it, the end was pretty good-but also it made me laugh. And it made me mad, the things she said to him, even though it was legit and I normally love it. It made me flinch and, frankly, hate her a little, in that moment. I just-he was my favorite person in this story and for him to be hurt in any way-it stings and it really rubbed me the wrong way- even though, again, I eat that up normally.

I suppose the biggest problem with this story, for me, stems from her monster. I think it literally killed this book. She’ll be falling for the prince (duh) and then it’s like KILL HIM RIP HIS FLESH FROM HIS BONES and it just does. Not. Fit. It’s on every other page. And how many times does she have to reiterate:

But I am a heartless, and this is my job.
But soon, he will be dead by my hand
He doesn’t know it’s his last night
I am a monster
He doesn’t understand the monster lurking beneath

And so on and so forth and what have you. Legit-You hear this All. The. Time. And it makes me so sad because subtlety would have made this so beyond epic I wouldn’t be able to stand it. If she had reiterated less. If the Prince wouldn’t have fallen so easy (though, it wasn’t insta-love in any fashion). If her monster would have (I’m sorry, I swore not to cuss anymore in reviews but) STFU. Do you understand how chilling it could have been if the monster appeared every once in a while, just creepily lurking under the surface, us all knowing it’s laying in wait? And if she would have-maybe-mentioned twice that she had a job to do instead of every other page? This book would have truly been excellent-well, aside from the identity crisis. But, honestly, getting rid of the monster inside her would have cleaned up the silliness a bit.

I don’t know. I really don’t. The villain was actually great-very evil, indeed. Though, I’ll say this, too (view spoiler)???? I’m sorry-LOTS of people would do this and it’s silly that that struck a chord in him-It’s called having a heart, buddy. Oh. Wait. Lmao. Whatever. Pun not intended but it’s well-received, I think.

I am no flower to be ravaged at your whim, angry wolf—I am your hunter, bow cocked and ready. I am a Heartless, one of the creatures your people fled from in terror thirty years ago.
I let the smallest, hungriest smirk of mine loose on him.
If you were smart, you’d start running, too.

Every other character was so overly dramatized that it became unbelievable and comical. I liked the guard, and he was good intended comic relief, but too trusting in my opinion. Prince Lucien was the best character overall, but I feel like he deserved to be a part of literally any other book in the world because this one was kind of a stinker, our main character annoyed the crap out of me ( I really liked her sometimes, but joke joke joke joke joke and they started to become reminiscent of my all time least favorite- Oh holy alien babies), and the girl that helps them? My LORD she is so overly dramatic I wanted to punch her every time she entered the book.

So, all in all this wasn’t a win for me. I had just gotten surgery and I felt tired ALL THE TIME, especially when I picked this up. Which could be a side effect but…how in the world did I finish Outlander all bright-eyed and bushy tailed? Seems fishy, to me. And it just had so much potential…wasted. And yet..I gave it a 3. Welp…2 would really suffice BUT… that end was JUST good enough to rope me in (DAMN YOU, PERIL I AM A SLAVE TO THEE) besides that twist that was predictable and eyeroll worthy and Prince Lucien deserves my support. Ha-whadya guna do??

***************

My God why? Just…no. This was…cringeworthy, at best.

BUT. I will read the next-I mean…Prince Lucien.

RTC.

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BOOK REVIEW: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

March 21, 2019 / Cassie / 6 Comments

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

Thank you to Netgalley, Delacorte and Erin A. Craig for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly can’t believe this book doesn’t come out until August, because all I want to do is shove it in people’s hands and make them feel all the same magical feelings I felt when reading this phenomenal novel.

It honestly had everything I love in a book: Castles. Royalty. Strong family ties. Unique but not overly complicated world. Strong female lead. Swoon-worthy romance. Creepy atmosphere. Supernatural entities. Heart stopping peril. A book cover to die for.

Once there were twelve of us: the Thaumas Dozen. Now we stood in a small line, my seven sisters and I, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a ring of truth to the grim speculations.

From the very opening scene, which was a funeral for one of the Thaumas Dozen sisters, I was immediately taken into this world, where (originally) twelve sisters, their father and their stepmother live in Highmoor, a grand castle near the ocean and rule over the land, but always in touch with the sea.

Unfortunately for Annaleigh, after her mother passes some years ago, her older sisters keep dying in mysterious and unfortunate ways until she is suddenly the second in line to take over the throne after her father’s passing. While several of the deaths could be attributed to accidents or suicide, Annaleigh is certain her most recent sister’s passing has something more sinister beneath it and is determined to figure out what is happening to her family. It is on one of her sleuthing missions does she meet the wonderful Cassius, who Annaleigh comes to befriend and trust.

I couldn’t help but smile, remembering their confrontation at the ball. “You sound jealous!”
“Hardly. And do you know why?” I shook my head. “Because I’m the one whispering in the corner with the prettiest girl in the room.”

Even with a blossoming romance to contend with, Annaleigh is determined to figure out what is causing members of her family to die. And here is where it starts to get creepy: one Annaleigh’s younger sisters starts drawing incredibly disturbing images she shouldn’t know anything about, Annaleigh experiences vivid dreams/moments that she can’t figure out if they are real or not, and all manner of spooky things are occurring around the house. Plus, more death.

I shook my head, as if warding off a buzzing mosquito.
None of this is real, it persisted. No one else sees it because it’s not really here to see. You’ve gone mad, my girl.
No. that wasn’t it. That wasn’t possible.
I wasn’t mad.
There had to be another explanation.
Does there?

The story continues to climb and build until everything comes crashing together at the end. And let me tell you, what an ending it was. Some things I had kind of guessed relatively close, while others I didn’t see coming at all. So many different plot points were so expertly tied up that I felt exhausted when I finally finished the last page. So much happens at the end and I just want to talk about it. I have so many feelings! I need to reread it, honestly, because I’m sure I missed things as I raced to see who made it out alive.

I loved Annaleigh’s dedication to her family, even when it meant putting others’ feelings ahead of hers, but at the end of the day, she had the ultimate say in what what would make her happy. Her relationship with her sisters was complicated, but full of love, and the same can be said of her relationship with her father. I adored Cassius and the wonderful aspects of Annaleigh he highlighted. His arc was super interesting and only added to the awesome world building of the story.

I’m honestly surprised this is the author’s first published novel, as it was so well done. I truly do not have enough good words to say about it and am already looking forward to reading it again, probably closer to the fall when the atmosphere will perfectly lend itself.

In case it wasn’t clear, I adored this book and almost all that it entailed. I will say, there are two scenes that involve an animal (a turtle). They aren’t the worst I’ve ever read, but they are disturbing, albeit short. As this is a major trigger for me, I feel it’s only fair to give others notice as well. So just be warned, but it’s easy to skip. I hope you all enjoy this book as much as I did!

“All my years of imagining you,” he murmured, leaving a trail of kisses across my face, “and you are so much more than I ever could have dreamed of…”

This book will be released on August 6, 2019.

BOOK REVIEW: Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer

March 20, 2019 / Chelsea / 4 Comments

Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father’s failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care.

Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year. And when her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping it from her parents might be more than she can handle.

When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a calculus project, they’re both reluctant to let anyone through the walls they’ve built. But when Maegan learns of Rob’s plan to fix the damage caused by his father, it could ruin more than their fragile new friendship...

This captivating, heartfelt novel asks the question: Is it okay to do something wrong for the right reasons?

**ARC sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

I won’t lie to you guys-I begged for this book. It wasn’t classy. It wasn’t dignified. And it was honestly a bit pathetic-but IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT. This book? It’s gold. I loved every minute of it.

I was sitting in Tennessee, on vacation, and legitimately had zero time to read. My daughter has always been a peculiar sleeper, and the circumstances of our vacation led to my husband and I’s sanity to be tested. She’s turning two this month-don’t make me cry-and really only began sleeping in her own crib every night in October. It was a miracle-I never have questioned it, and I refuse to look back. But, that being said, we have finally gotten used to sleeping alone again, and it’s glorious, to be honest. What’s not glorious? Sharing a bed with your now used-to-her-own-bed toddler.

To say we got no sleep? Yeah. VASTLY downplayed. SO, seeing as I got a beautiful physical ARC (I took three physical ARCs, don’t know WHAT I was thinking) I was SOL when it came to speed reading at night as I’ve come accustomed to again. But, luckily, my saint of a husband offered to help her nap every day, and I got to read for two hours or so every day off and on, pending my family’s interruptions (there were aplenty)(and let’s be clear-he only offered this because it was MY family and who doesn’t need a break from in-laws lol he’s no saint. I lie).

That being said-I picked this book up and DEVOURED IT in less than three days. Quite a feat, if you ask me, what with all the interruptions and no time to read! But that’s the power of a Kemmerer book-you know you’re in for a morally gray and addicting ride.

I fell so hard for Rob, because how can you not fall for one of this woman’s main leading men? She creates the most tortured and lonely souls I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, and I love what she did with his character. I literally had to question every motive, every move, every play-yet never wholly disagreed with what he did. That’s a true author-to make you wonder whether something is right or wrong, yet never telling you if it is or isn’t. In all honesty, he was wrong. Every time. But then you would hear his reasoning, see it through his eyes. Live it like he did-and I found myself saying [almost every time] I’d have done that. But that’s the ambiguity of it-It’s for you to decide, and she didn’t make it easy. Each character in this story has a difficult decision to face every day, and I loved reading about these confused and lost souls.

Rob’s father screwed everyone in town over that invested with him, making Rob seem guilty by association since he interned there. Either way, he’s now a social pariah when he used to be the most popular guy in school (it sounds familiar, but it’s done oh so well!). And his home life? It’s terribly sad and without a doubt broke my heart every time he was home or talked/thought about it. Then we have Maegan. ‘Typical overachiever’ and now an outcast besides her best friend. Caught in a scandal and compromising other students in the process, she is deemed lowest of the low, just after one simple mistake when, before, she was simply dubbed a goody-two shoes.

One mistake can change your whole life, the way you’re viewed, and can influence each new decision you have to make, and we get to see what the aftermath is like for both someone who made a one-time mistake that marred their chances of getting into ANY college when they were a shoe-in before, and someone who didn’t do anything wrong, nor know anything about it, yet pays the steady cost of betrayal every day, both at school and, more devastatingly, in his own home.

I always love the star-crossed lover books where a popular guy is paired with an unpopular girl, or vice versa, on a project, so this was right up my alley. Except, here, we have two totally different social groups coming together…but they’re both now outcasts, and I loved the twist on that trope I love so much. And, even more than that, I love that Kemmerer could explore trust among two ‘wrongdoers’, along with betrayal, friendship, attraction-and standing up for what you believe to be right. I loved it. It’s all so convoluted and twisty and turny in the sense that Maegan doesn’t know what to think about Rob, whether he was involved or not, and where his morality is questioned as he finds himself turning into a modern day Robin Hood.

The family relationships and friendships were handled well, in my opinion, and I even thought it was well rounded out…I’m never tough on these situations, though. So long as there is a conflict, characters fighting-both together and separately-to figure out a solution, a resolution to said conflict, and a general mending and moving forward of severed relationships in result to the conflict, I’m happy. And I don’t need the dwelling on it, either, which is where people get mad. They want to hear more, see more, expect more…but it’s YA and relationships are messy-especially with family-people are just too harsh. But to each their own.

There was even a HUGE trigger issue in this book, for me, and it was handled as well and as authentically as I think it could be-that being said, I was satisfied. (view spoiler), thus, a trigger. Literally my only complaint but not really complaint? I wanted a LITTLE more in the epilogue. More HFN than HEA, but I loved it all the same.

So, once again Kemmerer proves why I love her so dearly and makes me a loyal slave and follower. Don’t even question when this comes out if I’ll have it on my shelf-it’s already preordered. And you should do so, too.

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BOOK REVIEW: We Told Six Lies by Victoria Scott

March 15, 2019 / Cassie / 6 Comments

We Told Six Lies by Victoria Scott
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Remember how many lies we told, Molly? It’s enough to make my head spin. You were wild when I met you, and I was mad for you. But then something happened. And now you’re gone.

But don’t worry. I’ll find you. I just need to sift through the story of us to get to where you might be. I’ve got places to look, and a list of names.

The police have a list of names, too. See now? There’s another lie. There is only one person they’re really looking at, Molly.

And that’s yours truly.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Scott and Entangled Publishing for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

Did you know it, then, that I already belonged to you? Because I did, you beautiful, wicked girl.

“We Told Six Lies” is a captivating and well written YA thriller from Victoria Scott. However, there were a few things that held the story back from being great.

As with many thrillers, this book is told from varying perspectives and time jumps. The main players in this book are Cobain and Molly. Yes, you read that right, Cobain is a character’s first name. This book has a number of questionable first name choices, but I digress.

Molly is new to the high school and area, but quickly finds friends and becomes interested in shy and socially awkward Cobain. Cobain’s chapters often reminded me of Joe from Caroline Kepner’s YOU books, as he was truly smitten with Molly, even to his own detriment. Thus, when Molly goes missing, it’s not a surprise the police are most interested in Cobain, who also has a well-known anger management problem.

“Follow me,” you said, and I recognized that you were about to do something you shouldn’t. It was your favorite pastime, and you knew I’d do it beside you without question.

Cobain was an OK main character. He has a lot of issues, both with himself and with his family. I truly did feel badly for him many times, but I never quite loved him. On the other hand, I really liked Molly, even as flawed as she is. We unfortunately only get Molly’s perspective in present day and not in the flashbacks, as opposed to how we get Cobain’s. Molly has a lot of layers and is smart and determined. She also uses people to get what she wants, just like her father taught her.

Molly wanted freedom. But he wanted Molly. And love always triumphed in the end.

Without giving away much more of the plot, I was slightly surprised at the “twist.” I think part of it becomes fairly clear as the story goes on, but not all of it is easy to guess. The last couple chapters are wild and thrilling, but then it fairly abruptly ends. I would have liked to see more of the aftermath and a hint at the future, as opposed to ending it where it did. Also, it was never clear what exactly those specific six lies were referenced in the title. It’s not a big deal, but it was just weird to have the book titled something that wasn’t explicitly explained within the book.

So many lies. More than any of us can count. And with every lie, we had a chance to make things right. How could we have been so stupid?

BOOK REVIEW: Windwitch (The Witchlands #2) by Susan Dennard

March 11, 2019 / Arielle / 4 Comments

Windwitch (The Witchlands #2)
by Susan Dennard
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Sometimes our enemies are also our only allies…

After an explosion destroys his ship, the world believes Prince Merik, Windwitch, is dead. Scarred yet alive, Merik is determined to prove his sister’s treachery. Upon reaching the royal capital, crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets, fighting for the weak—which leads to whispers of a disfigured demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed.

When the Bloodwitch Aeduan discovers a bounty on Iseult, he makes sure to be the first to find her—yet in a surprise twist, Iseult offers him a deal. She will return money stolen from him, if he locates Safi. Now they must work together to cross the Witchlands, while constantly wondering, who will betray whom first?

After a surprise attack and shipwreck, Safi and the Empress of Marstok barely escape with their lives. Alone in a land of pirates, every moment balances on a knife’s edge—especially when the pirates’ next move could unleash war upon the Witchlands.

Review:

“The holiest always have the farthest to fall.”

Want to hear something funny? At about 45% of the way through this I was convinced that this was just going to be a four star. I literally texted Chelsea that. It seemed to just be one of those typical middle books that really just had a lot of travelling going on. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just not completely an EPIC thing….Ahhhhahahaha. Boy was I SO VERY WRONG. The entire last half made me eat my words.

She was broken. She was useless. She was the pointless half of a friendship. The one who would live forever in shadows, no matter what she did. No matter whom she fought.

While each book has featured everyone, each one is more focused around a specific character. Obviously this one is about Merik. At the beginning of the book the Jana is attacked and burned by seafire. Many die and all but one of Merik’s sailors believe he is dead. Basically, he is. He was very severely burned and if hadn’t of been for Cam, I’m not sure what would have happened.

Honestly Merik’s story was pretty frustrating to read about in this book. After what’s happened with Kullen, with his ship, his burns, Vivia….just everything, really…Merik is pissed. He’s pissed at himself, pissed at the world—just a lot different from the Merik I knew and loved from the first book. And I got it, really I did. But that didn’t make reading about it any easier. I absolutely LOVE the quote that I’m putting below this because it marked a point where he basically started to get his head out of his ass about everything. Realizing Vivia was. Not. The. Enemy. Realizing Cam wanted to identify as a boy (like good lord took him way too long to get that through his thick skull, haha). Realizing that sometimes, you just have to save that one, instead of saving many. THAT PART WAS SO EPIC, TOO, AHHHH.

For weeks he had wanted that evidence, so he could prove once and for all that her approach to leadership was wrong—and Merik’s approach was right.
That was the truth of it right there, wasn’t it? He’d seen what he’d wanted to see, even though, in the deepest furrows of his mind, he’d known Vivia was not the enemy. He had simply needed someone to blame for his own failings.

Speaking of Viva, I was SOOOOO pleasantly surprised with her character. She’s made out to be HORRIBLE in the first book and even for most of this one it’s easy to see how much of a stubborn ass she is. When she finally dropped that façade for the self that she truly was—she shone. So brightly. I can only hope the siblings can mend more together, later.

And there it was—that was who she was. Split right down the middle, she bore her father’s strength, her father’s drive. She carried her mother’s compassion, her mother’s love for Nubrevna.
As that certainty settled over Vivia’s heart, she knew exactly what she had to do. It was time to be the person she should have been all along.

Other things that I loved in this book:
-Iseult journeying with Aeduan
-Aeudan interacting with Owl
-Vaness
-Every single thing about Safi (but I’m praying she finds out Merik is still alive ASAP)
-Learning more about Hell Bards
-The impending doom of the upcoming war?????? Can only lead to epic-ness
-A lot of other things, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers

ALSO, can I just say how AMAZING Dennard’s writing is? There were SEVERAL parts towards the end where I got literal goosebumps reading about certain things happening or certain things being said. I am so happy I still have two more that I have instant access too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Initiate, complete.