Tag: Young Adult (Page 52 of 159)

BOOK REVIEW – To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

January 23, 2018 / Arielle / 3 Comments

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

Review:

“You should pay less mind to fairy tales, Elian, or that’s all you’ll become.”

When he leaves, I think about if that would be awful, or beautiful. Could it really be such a bad thing, to become a story whispered to children in the dead of night? A song they sing to one another while they play.

I’ve gotten extremely lucky with my ARCs so far this year! While the writing in this one wasn’t exactly my cup of tea at first (I felt like there was a lot more telling than showing until later on in the book) that changed quickly. By the end of the book I was flying through the pages because I couldn’t get enough of the adventure or characters.

“That’s the thing about risks,” Kye says. “It’s impossible to know which ones are worth it until it’s too late.”

Coincidentally, even though I was named after the Little Mermaid, I have never bothered to read any of the books about mermaids that have been published in the world of YA. The ones that I have seen, seem to be a little too cheesy or have contemporary aspects that don’t appeal to me in any way. This book though, was about blood-thirsty sirens and pirates and was pure fantasy–just the way I like them.

Everything is muted and Lira swoops her blade down on mine once more, I let it all fall away. My mission, my kingdom. The world. They exist somewhere other than in this moment, and now there is only this. Me, my ship, and a girl with oceans in her eyes.

Without giving too much away there were vicious sirens who rip the hearts from princes, a curse that leaves one siren in particular with two legs (doesn’t that always seem to happen), a dashing prince who moonlights as a pirate, and an adventure to a faraway kingdom to change the world as said siren-turned-girl and prince know it. I very highly recommend to anyone who is a fan of nautical adventures and can appreciate a good enemies to lovers story thrown into the mix as well. I loved that while there was centuries worth of animosity between the sirens and mankind, Lira was able to break free of the preconceived notions that her horrible mother had pounded into her basically her whole life and rise above them. She learned to respect Elian’s crew and care for all of them and as a result…well you’ll see!

As far as I know this is a standalone and that’s okay. I usually love long YA fantasy series (other than waiting for the books to actually come out) but everything was wrapped up very nicely at the end of this one and you know without having to actually read about them that Elian and Lira will have plenty of adventures at sea for a very long time.

Become the queen we need you to be.

*ARC kindly provided by Feiwel & Friends via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review* ♥

BOOK REVIEW – Furyborn by Claire Legrand

January 20, 2018 / Arielle / 11 Comments

Furyborn (The Empirium Trilogy #1)
by Claire Legrand
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

Review:

Welcome to my first review of the blog–the second and best book I’ve read so far this year! You’ll find that my reviews usually feature a lot of fangirling, capital letters, and all of my favorite quotes. I try to be as coherent as possible but when you find a book that you’re really passionate about, that can be hard sometimes. So without further ado, here it is, hope you enjoy!

OMGGGGGGGGG. This book. So far my 2018 read list, though only five books deep, has thoroughly impressed me. BUT THIS ONE ESPECIALLY!!!!!!!!!! As I mentioned above, you know that I generally like to add my favorite quotes from the book. Sometimes I find that even in a book with AMAZING writing, I will become so caught up in the story that I get to the end only to realize that I have highlighted nothing. That was the case here and it bummed me out super hard…guess I’ll just have to re-read it again soon to come up with some.

The basis for this story is a prophecy that has been told about a coming Blood Queen and Sun Queen. We learn right away in a crazy prologue that one of the main characters, Rielle, is the Blood Queen while her daughter will be the Sun Queen. You don’t see this super often in books but starting the book off knowing what Rielle’s fate was going to be along with still having 100 different questions about how things went to crap so fast had me on the edge of my seat for the entire book. So yes, like I said, we find out right away what role each has/will play and we also see the young princess being taken away to a safe place by a young boy named Simon while Rielle dies in her attempt to buy them enough time to escape *end scene*.

The rest of the book is told from the perspectives of Rielle, pre-Blood Queen and of her daughter Eliana, future Fire Queen (who we find out actually was thrown into the future a few hundred years during her jump with Simon as a baby). After an ambush on the prince, Rielle exposes the immense power that she and her father have tried to keep hidden the first half of her life and is then required to go through a series of trials to prove she is in control and could fit the role of Sun Queen as the prophecy has predicted (see I told you it’s interesting knowing ahead of time that that WON’T be how things play out…). Hundreds of years after the fact we follow her daughter, Eliana, who is basically a hired assassin for the Empire and knows nothing of her royal heritage. She may or may not eventually join up with some rebels and she may or may not end up finding a certain time traveling man again.

I don’t want to spoil anything else, just know that the book is chock-full of adventure, gruesome death, a dash of romance in both times, AND A LOT OF MAGIC AND SUSPENSE. I personally enjoyed reading about Eliana’s journey more because I was interested to see why the world ended up becoming how it was between her mother’s death and the present. I also wasn’t a huge fan of just how powerful Rielle was and the attitude that ensued because of that power. Though I was a HUGE fan of the forbidden romance between Rielle and a certain prince. Yum. I need to know how he dies though (not a spoiler, in the prologue). There also a great cast of supporting characters, LOVED Remy and Lu and basically everyone else that was introduced. Hated the villain with a passion, though I’ve seen some people liken him the Darkling—he seemed way slimier than that to me, *shrugs*.

The only warning I will give is that there is no major blow up at the end of this book so don’t be expecting one—which I was fine with. As I said, the entire book was so fast paced and intense, I was glad that the ending more or less was a gradual set up for more bat-shit craziness to ensue in the next book. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

*ARC kindly provided by SOURCEBOOKS Fire via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review* ♥

BLOG TOUR + BOOK REVIEW: Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3) by Morgan Rhodes

January 18, 2018 / Chelsea / 4 Comments

In preparation for the impending final release of the Falling Kingdoms series *eek*, we are singing our praises for the third installment, Gathering Darkness! I must admit that this is the book that really made this wonderful series unforgettable to me. Magnus and Cleo start to turn a corner and *stuff* really begins to hit the fan! We are so honored to be involved in this tour and cannot WAIT for more people to fall in love with this addicting and unputdownable series. We are hoping for nothing but the best....but waiting this last month might just be the end of us as we await everyone's fate! Below is a 5 star review and all you need to know about anyone and anything from these stories (though, who needs to learn about anything other than Magnus? Hmmm...I may be biased). Enjoy!

BLOG TOUR + BOOK REVIEW: Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3) by Morgan Rhodes

BLOG TOUR + BOOK REVIEW: Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3) by Morgan Rhodes

Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3)
by Morgan Rhodes
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In GATHERING DARKNESS, book three of the New York Times bestselling Falling Kingdoms series, the stakes have never been higher as three teams push forward on a race to find the Kindred, the four elemental crystals possessing ancient all-powerful magic, first:

Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces. Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica. All Gaius needs now are the Kindred - the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner. But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, storied magic...

• THE KRAESHIANS join the hunt. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate their way to the Kindred, proving to be more ruthless than perhaps even the King of Blood himself.

• THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo and vengeful Jonas lead them, slaying with sweetness, skill, and a secret that can control Lucia's overpowering magic - all so they can use the Kindred to win back their fallen kingdoms.

• THE WATCHERS follow Melenia out of the Sanctuary. They ally in the flesh with King Gaius, who vows to use Lucia's powers to unveil the Kindred.

The only certainty in the dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica... but fate can be fickle when magic is involved.

Cleo’s cheeks flamed. “I hate you.”

“Good. You should never forget your place in this palace. You continue to live only because my father doesn’t yet want you dead. You have no power here. And, most especially, you have no power over me.”

It’s always extremely hard to talk about each book in a long series in a review, because you begin to spoil and become repetitive….but for Magnus?? I’d try just about anything. This series, while easily dismissed by those who aren’t truly enraptured by one of the characters, has a way of really getting under your skin. It’s not so much the scenarios, though those are of some note as well, but about the characters and the deep-rooted connections you make with them.

In all honesty, had I not connected immediately with Magnus, this series would have been discarded like many before. I am very busy, and I really only get to read around when I go to bed-about 10 PM, and then it’s right back to the 8-5 grind and I have to wait all over again. So, when I begin a book, series, whatever, I make sure it’s worth my time and that it touches my heart, one way or another. Some books touch me because of just their content (this is probably tribute to a couple years ago, more so than now) and some reach me on a far deeper level than I could possibly imagine….and that is because of the characters.

Magnus glanced at Cleo. She held her arms across the bodice of her rose-colored gown, which was far fancier than anything typically worn on a walk through a thick forest on a hot day. She regarded him with a silent, sour expression-not a new look for her by any means.
“And why are you here?” he asked her.
“I want to help,” she replied.
“Oh, yes. So helpful.”

I never realized, until recently, how much my favorite books really center on the characters and their development. It’s far more important to me now to have character-driven stories rather than all action and no character arcs. Sure, my absolute favorites are those that perfectly balance both story and people, but, lately, more often than not it’s all about if the characters reach me and touch my soul.

Some sought revenge against their mortal enemies with the edge of a sword. Her plan for vengeance began with the edge of a smile.

And I’m not saying that action doesn’t pull me in….but it’s definitely not my only drive anymore….and you can tell solely on my reviews that my preferences have changed. So, my point? This series, while action heavy and full of blood, destruction, mayhem, and peril, didn’t grip me for that reason. No, this series gripped me on a far more addicting level, and that honor solely belongs to my dear Magnus….and even Cleo.

As the series has progressed, these two characters have obviously grown, interacted, and became the obsession of many a fangirl-me included-and now, here in book three, we are really getting deeper into their minds, and with that, my obsession is reaching an all-time high. And, frankly, the stories have became far more interesting.

“I think that you hate your father. You hate him almost as much as I do.”
It took him a moment to realize he’d stopped breathing. “And what difference would it make if you’re right?” he finally managed.
“All the difference in the world.”

And, let’s face it, our ship is finally sailing…or is it??? The other best part about this series? I, for once, literally have no clue what’s going to happen and the sexual tension is DRIVING. ME. CRAZY. The twists and turns and admissions and deaths and ridiculous decisions…I swear, even halfway through book four, my head is still spinning. Stop it, Morgan Rhodes! Just…..STOP IT. Make it happen. Fetch TOTALLY needs to happen…PLEASE??

UGH.

So yeah, this isn’t a great review, but it’s not like anyone can read it if they haven’t read the series if I go all spoilery, so I chose to just…blabber. I miss blabbering. Blabbering about boys and books really does make me happy. So. Yeah. Take what you will from this nonsense…I’m off to work…and then tonight I’m hoping to FINALLY get what I want. I’m totally trusting Brittney, here. She threw me a trust bone, damn it. So I guess I’m supposed to sit here and wait and…trust. You know, until this alleged bone gets here. Ugh.

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

Cleo’s cheeks flamed. “I hate you.”
“Good. You should never forget your place in this palace. You continue to live only because my father doesn’t yet want you dead. You have no power here. And, most especially, you have no power over me.”

MY HEART.

About the Author:

Morgan Rhodes is the New York Times bestselling author of the Falling Kingdoms series and the Falling Kingdoms spin-off series, the Books of Spirits and Thieves. Under another pen name, she’s an award winning author of more than two dozen novels. Morgan lives in Southern Ontario, where she’s currently hard at work on the next Falling Kingdoms book.

Follow the tour here!

WEEK ONE (Book One: Falling Kingdoms and Two Book: Rebel Spring)

January 8 – Adventures of a Book Junkie

January 9 – The Book Nut

January 10 – Quirky and Peculiar

January 11 – I Fangirl About Books

January 12 – Lovely Loveday

WEEK TWO (Book 3: Gathering Darkness)

January 15 – Glimpses of my Books

January 16 – Book Briefs

January 17 – In Wonderland

January 18 – Star-Crossed Book Blog

WEEK THREE (Book 4: Frozen Tides)

January 22 – Ex Libris

January 23 – Ensconced in Lit

January 24 – Step Into a Book World

January 25 – Ria Reads –

WEEK FOUR (Crystal Storm)

January 29 – My Friends are Fiction

January 30 – Adventures through Wonderland

January 31 – A Thousand Books to Read

February 1 – A Page with a View

February 2 – Never Too Many To Read

Many thanks to Penguin Young Readers for including us! <3

BOOK REVIEW – The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger

January 5, 2018 / Jen / 4 Comments

The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Stand up.

When Lark is stolen from Earth to be a slave on the planet Tavdora, she’s determined to find her way back home to her family, no matter the cost. Placed in the household of a notorious slave trader, Lark quickly learns her best assets are her eyes and ears. And if she’s brave enough, her voice.

Be heard.

Kalen is the Tavdorian son of a slave trader and in line to inherit his father’s business. But his growing feelings for Lark, the new house slave who dares to speak of freedom, compel him to reveal his new plan for the slave ships returning to Earth—escape. Together, they just might spark a change that flares across the universe.

Fight back.

Review:

The beginning of The Vanishing Spark of Dust was magnificent. It contained a heroine who I knew would come out of her shell, an alien who was forbidden but oh so addicting and a world that was beyond fascinating yet terrifying at the same time. I was completely glued to the pages and thought that I had found my next favorite book. But at 10% into the book, everything changed for me. There were two triggers that adversely affected me. And they made me take a huge step back emotionally, and unfortunately I wasn’t able to connect to the characters again. I tried again and again to feel what I did for Lark, our heroine, and Kalen, our alien, yet it never happened.

My eyes start to burn. My chest heaves. And I break. Shatter. Fall to my knees. And I don’t know if these are teardrops or water dripping down my face, but I don’t care because I’m broken. So broken.

So two of my triggers are cruelty or death to animals and children. And this sadly had both of those. In the first instance, we don’t get to know what happens to the dog that follows Lark around. Something happened during Lark’s kidnapping, and I was left reeling. There’s no closure or answers to what happened to her little dog. I thought that possibly down the road we would find out, but by that last page we are still just as clueless. And while that really bothered me, the next thing that happened upset me even more. In the second instance, a child gets killed point-blank. And it’s not just some random child, but one that I became attached to. It was extremely hard to read, and it was difficult each time Lark rehashed or thought about what happened. I truly wish those scenes didn’t affect me so strongly, or that I didn’t have these triggers, but unfortunately it is what it is.

Kalen said never to mention freedom again, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight for it. And I will. I’ll fight for it—I’ll risk my life for it. Because a life as a slave isn’t life at all.

So after those two events, which were pretty close to one another, I struggled big time. I couldn’t find my way back to connecting to Lark or Kalen who has serious book boyfriend potential. Sigh. I read till the very end because I thought that something would grab me and pull me back in. But all I could feel was indifference. So while this book didn’t work out for me, some of my book friends may truly enjoy this story. And just know that while the book ended at a great stopping place, the door was definitely left open for a future book. So here’s hoping that if you give this book a shot, you’ll end up enjoying this story much more than I did.

*ARC kindly provided by Entangled Teen via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

BOOK REVIEW – Resisting the Rebel by Lisa Brown Roberts

December 29, 2017 / Jen / 8 Comments

Resisting the Rebel by Lisa Brown Roberts
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Spirit committee leader Mandy Pennington is secretly in love with her best friend, Gus, but when he hooks up with her archenemy at a party, she decides to win him over once and for all. She just doesn’t know how. But who better to help than hot loner Caleb Torrs?

Caleb’s got his own problems, but when he sees Mandy pining over Gus at a party, he thinks she’s finally smoked the spirit stick and lost her mind. Maybe he has, too, because he just asked Mandy to be his fake girlfriend. She’ll get her loser friend’s attention, and he’ll get his stalker ex off his back. It’s a win-win.

But soon one fake date blends into the next and before he knows it, he actually wants to kiss Mandy. For real. Too bad their plan is working, and Gus is finally noticing the one girl Caleb just might be falling for…

Review:

Resisting the Rebel was the cutest book ever! I just can’t get over how adorable this fake boyfriend story was! I constantly found myself smiling while sighing and laughing out loud. And when you add in banter and angst that was perfectly done, well I couldn’t help but go back and re-read a ton of my favorite scenes! I am completely obsessed with this heartfelt story and it’s definitely one of my favorite books from this year!

“Y-you’re such a—” He was still holding her hand, though he’d loosened his grip.
“Jackass. I know. But let me pretend to be your jackass boyfriend and we’ll both get what we want.”
Everything in her screamed no, but when she finally opened her mouth, the word that fell out was “Okay.”

But here’s the thing, I wasn’t so sure in the beginning that I was going to connect with Mandy Pennington. Her thoughts and words seemed all over the place and her endless supply of energy had me pausing and looking at her sideways. She was a lot to take in. But by the second chapter I was laughing so hard I had tears pouring down my face and I absolutely loved everything about her. And just a heads up, we do learn about her diagnosis that explains why she is the way she is. Mandy was this sparkly, thoughtful, caring, sweet girl who had the hugest heart ever. But she had a problem that she couldn’t figure out how to solve. She desperately wanted her friend Gus to want her back. And thanks to Caleb, it looked like her problem would be solved.

Mandy snatched the cup from his hand. “Apparently they don’t teach manners in hell.”
He licked a few drops of chocolate from his lips, keeping his dangerous eyes on hers. “Oh, they do. Just not the kind you’d approve of.” His lips curved into a wicked grin that sent her body temp into the stratosphere. “They teach us demons all kinds of bad things.” He leaned in close, lowering his voice. “Very bad things, babe.”

While Caleb Torrs spent his time by himself and his classmates were intimidated by him, he convinced Mandy to become his fake girlfriend after a run in at a party. It was a win win for the both of them since he’d get rid of his stalker ex and it’d push Gus to make a move on Mandy. Or so that was their plan. But what happens when a friendship starts to form between them that has a very strong undercurrent of lust? Or what happens when touches start to feel real and you want more? How can you tell what’s fake and what’s not? It all played out sooooooo good and the best part was that we got to alternate between Mandy and Caleb, so we got to know every single one of their thoughts.

“Practice makes perfect, Disco.” He closed his eyes and brushed his lips across hers, barely making contact, but it was enough to light him up inside. He wanted more. A lot more. Fake, real, whatever the hell this was, he wanted more.

And I’m so grateful for that because I loved being in Caleb’s head. You see, Caleb was everything I want in a book boyfriend. He was dark, broody, mysterious, and had a tragic history. But my favorite thing about Caleb was when he took control of a situation or acted as Mandy’s fake boyfriend. Every single one of those moments he was insanely seductive and incredibly sigh worthy. It was amazing how hot he could make some of the scenes, even though not much physically was truly happening. You have to see what I’m talking about because he completely melted me into a puddle and I was absolutely obsessed with Caleb.

“I know about life sucking, Caleb,” she muttered. “Trust me, I know. But I choose to believe…I have to believe there’s a reason for everything.”
The desperation in her voice hit him like a punch. He hoped like hell he hadn’t hurt her. He reached out his hand tentatively, resting it on her knee. After a moment, she rested her hand on top of his.

And while their story alone would have been more than enough, we got to witness some beautiful friendships and family dynamics that pulled at my heart. Some of the friendships already existed, like Mandy with J.T. And Cammie, and others we got to watch form like Caleb and J.T. I absolutely loved Caleb and J.T.’s bromance. Especially their Red Ranger and Blue Ranger verbal spars! I was laughing, cheering and their moments together always left me feeling all warm and cozy inside. Ohhh I also loved Mandy’s Grandma. That woman made me laugh so hard I couldn’t catch my breath. This story was filled with so many fabulous characters that I want everyone to meet!

“Mandy,” he whispered against her cheek, his mouth almost to her lips. Let’s stop pretending. The words were almost there, just hovering in the back of his throat, waiting to escape.
“Caleb,” she whispered back, just as he was about to finally taste her lips for real. “I want…”
You, he willed her to say. Say you want me, not that tool Gus masquerading as a dork.

Resisting the Rebel was exactly what I needed and I’m so thankful for this story! So if you’re looking for an adorable book that will make you laugh, smile and leave you in the best mood ever, then definitely pick up Resisting the Rebel! I can’t recommend it enough!

PS The song titles at the beginning of the chapters were so cute, and they fitted each chapter perfectly.

PPS Slade and Trina were in this book?!?!?! Oh my gosh, I love them! They were in Playing the Player and if you haven’t read that book, I definitely recommend it too!