Book Reviews

Cruel Crown (Red Queen Novella)

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Cruel Crown cover

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Series: Red Queen

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 208

 

Cruel Crown is a novella published between the first and second book in the Red Queen series. It is comprised of two very different stories, that follow two women who were present and active in the Red/Silver world well before the time brought to us in Red Queen. The first story, Queen Song, tells the story of Cal’s mother, and King Tiberias’ first wife, Queen Coriane. This story is told through her journal entries, so we get to see the world through her eyes. It tells of her early struggles, her fears, and the birth of her new prince. The second story, Steel Scars, tells a very different story. It tells of Captain Farley’s life in the resistance, through the time that she comes upon Mare. This story is told from her POV and though coded transmission.

If you are a fan of Red Queen, you will find these two prequel stories very interesting. They take us a bit deeper in to the red/silver world, with a sort of “behind the scenes” look in to these two very different, but very strong, women. I loved being able to get a little bit of a back-story on Captain Farley’s time in the resistance before the original novel started, as she was a bit of a mystery. It was also incredibly interesting to read of Queen Coriane’s life, and her early struggles before she was crowned queen. I enjoyed the platforms in which these two stories were told, as well. It made them seem more real and fresh to me. If you liked Red Qeen, in encourage you to read this novella. You won’t regret it!

Every Exquisite Thing

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Every Exquisite Thing cover

Author: Matthew Quick

Genre: YA Fiction

Publisher: Little Brown

Pages: 272

 

Nanette was a good girl: good student, star athlete, college bound (on athletic scholarships!). She spent lunch everyday with her favorite teacher. That teacher chooses her to be the one to whom he passes his favorite (out of print) book, The Bubblegum Reaper. After binge reading this book, Nanette begins to feel that she is not forging her own path in life, but is, instead, living the life that others have pushed her in to. That feeling becomes stronger once she starts spending time with the book’s author, and is introduced to another huge fan of the book, Alex. She rebels, she falls in love, she finds out that every action that she takes has its own consequences that she must deal with.

I enjoyed this book in a very nostalgic way. It is a story of coming of age, finding yourself, and coming in to your own. It reminded me of being in high school, and immediately after, and trying to figure out exactly who I was supposed to be in the world- not who everyone saw when they looked at me, or who they thought that I should be. I could identify, somewhat, with Nanette. I think that this is a book that should definitely be read by young adults, and would be enjoyed by those a bit outside of the YA market (who still love YA- like myself!), if only to look back and remember.

You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir

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You're Never Weird on the...cover

Author: Felicia Day

Genre: Memoir/Humor

Publisher: Touchstone

Pages: 272

 

For those of you not familiar with Felicia Day, she’s weird, and she embraces it! She may be familiar to you from her acting career (Vi on Buffy, Charlie on Supernatural, Dr. Holly Marten on Eureka, etc), or you may recognize her from her YouTube channel, Geek & Sundry or her web series, The Guild. She has been touted as being the “Queen of the Nerds”, and for good reason.

In this memoir, Felicia takes us through her life, from her childhood in the deep south (where she was home schooled for “hippie reasons”) to college at 16 years old (where she double- majored in math & violin, and graduated as valedictorian) on to Hollywood (where she had quite the time getting a start, with no contacts or agent) to where she is now. She doesn’t gloss over anything at all, which makes the book not only funny, but sweet, sad, shocking, and most of all, honest. If you are in your 30’s, you’ll laugh along the way at her remembrance of the rising of the internet, the games that we played on it, and finding yourself in that age. If you’re not, you’ll laugh anyway, trying to picture what that was like. Her honest story about her life is one of finding who you really are along your way, and embracing exactly who that it, not who people expect you to be. It is a great tale of a young woman succeeding in being exactly who she is, with no apologies. I liked her before, and I love her now! She’ll make you proud to be weird!

Maria & the Angel: Extended

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Maria and the Angel

Author: Jordan K. Rose

Series: Short Seductions

Genre: PNR

Publisher: Jordan K. Rose

Pages: 41

 

This hot little novella had me seriously considering finding and Angel to mate with!

This, like the others, begins at Seductions, the bar filled with Others. Maria, the Werewolf, and Dante, the Angel, are having a great time dancing the night away. That is, until the subject of their mating comes up. Maria has yet to broach the subject with her Alpha, which does not sit well with Dante. They have been together for several lifetimes, and he wants to make their bond official. Maria isn’t sure how this will go over with her Alpha and the pack. Dante threatens to leave her, in a fight that will end with the hottest of endings.

We all know by now that I love were’s. They are probably my all-time favorite paranormal being. Maria is a kick-ass were! I loved her attitude and spunk. That combined with Dante, the Angel (who knew they could be so hot… and hot tempered!), and you have a fantastic story! Jordan did a wonderful job of bringing these two beings together in a way that I, for one, did not see as possible. Now, with the extended version, there is much more to the story of these two who were never supposed to mate, but were somehow destined to from the beginning! Love otherworldly beings with a side of steam? You’ll love it!

This extended version has been released as part of the Roar, Growl, & Kiss Boxed Set, which features tory from many other incredibly talented authors. Here is the Cover and the link for you guys!!

Roar Growl & Kiss Cover

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HNO6B1C#navbar

 

 

Blood Curse (Blood War Cronicles, Book 2)

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Author: Quincy J. Allen

Series: Blood War Chronicles

Genre: Steampunk/Fantasy

Publisher: WordFire Press

Pages: 254

 

So, obviously this starts where Blood Ties left off (if you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for?!). Jake and the gang made it back to San Francisco, where they have a huge battle in Chinatown. Now he is trying to get back to Denver with his package. This is going to be no easy trip, though, as he and the package are still being hunted down. As they are on their way, the airship gets shot down, and they make way to a new (pretty fantastic- well done Mr. Allen, well done!) place. Another battle breaks out- enter Pandora Celtica, a new and incredible character with some fabulous attributes to bring to the table. I can’t tell you more, as it would ruin all of the fun for you!!

I am so excited to be able to finally share this new installment! It was just as, if not more, awesome than the first. The characters that I loved from the first installment were just as amazing, and those strong female characters that I mentioned before were just as strong in this book. The new characters (whom I think that you will absolutely love!) were all as well developed as the returning cast. This book was filled with a ton of great action and wonderful battles, as well as some more sobering moments (Jake’s flashback from the army hospital comes to mind) that only stand to deepen your love for these characters. As with the first, I pretty much read this though in one sitting. The storytelling here is superb! If you love steampunk (or just want to try it for the first time!) and great storytelling, I highly recommend this series!

It’s out now, so pick it up!!

https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Curse-Book-War-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B01GGDLX64/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466606945&sr=1-1&keywords=blood+curse+quincy+allen

Fallen

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Fallen cover

Author: Lauren Kate

Series: Fallen

Genre: Fantasy/YA

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 464

 

Luce has been ordered to attend Sword & Cross boarding school after an incident with the first boy that she kissed. When she arrives, the reform school is worse than she expected it to be. It is full of psychopaths and major screw-ups. When she first sees Daniel Grigori he feels familiar, like she has seen him before. Daniel, however, makes it abundantly clear that he wants nothing to do with her. She is drawn to him, even as the handsome and charming Cam is trying to build a relationship with her. She is determined to find out what Daniel is hiding, and she recruits her new friend, Penn, to help her figure him out. She must know the truth, no matter the cost.

I read this book for the first time a few years ago, and enjoyed it. I got sidetracked, and never went back to the series, so I decided to give it another try. I actually enjoyed it a bit more this time than I did the first time that I read it. The characters are pretty well fleshed out, and the world building is pretty decent. The concept of the storyline is good. It’s not my favorite YA fantasy, but it was an enjoyable read, overall. I’m looking forward to finishing the series, and seeing where the story goes.

 

The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, Book 1)

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The Hidden Oracle cover

Author: Rick Riordan

Series: The Trials of Apollo

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology/YA

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Pages: 385

 

This story begins a little bit after the events in The Blood of Olympus (PJO/HOO series), and Zeus is pissed! He blames the events that occurred in HOO and the Oracles not working on Apollo. As punishment, Zeus sends Apollo to Earth…as a sixteen-year-old mortal boy (with a whack name and acne, much to Apollo’s chagrin). This has happened to Apollo when he angered his father before, so he has a good idea of what is to happen. He will be claimed by a demi-god, and bound to serve them and endure the unknown trials before him, until his father is satisfied that he has repented for his wrongdoing. Unfortunately for him, he is claimed by a demi-god that we haven’t met yet…Meg. As he has many enemies (of all types…monsters, Gods, etc.) he knows he must go to Camp Halfbood where he will be safe and can get some help. That’s where things get really interesting. There is no oracle to give a quest that desperately needs to be give, and campers are disappearing. They must figure out what is going on, before they are all killed.

I cannot tell you how happy I was to see some of the same characters from PJO/HOO in this book! It was like seeing old friends after a long time. The new characters, and characters that we didn’t see very much in the preceding series’, are greatly developed in this first book. Although this is the start to a new series, and can certainly be read alone, I strongly recommend read PJO/HOO first, so that you get the backstory and understand the references being made in this book (also, I just recommend that you read them because they are a lot of fun!) There is a small reference to The Sword of Summer, when Percy says that Annabeth is in Boston for a family emergency, so we know that this is taking place at the same time as that book. Overall, this is another fun read from Uncle Rick! I always enjoy his writing style and humor, and I hope that you do, as well!

An Ember in the Ashes (Book 1)

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An Ember in the Ashes cover

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Series: An Ember in the Ashes

Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 464

 

In a world built in the image of ancient Rome, no one challenges the Martial Empire. The penalty for such is death, most likely after a period of torture. The Scholars have been forced in to poverty and/or slavery after the Empire overtook them. Martial parents look forward to the day when their children have the chance to be accepted in to Blackcliff, the school which trains them to become Masks, the enforcers and assassins.

Laia is a Scholar girl, living with her grandparents after her parents (who were Scholar Resistance leaders) were caught and killed by the Masks. They live a peaceful existence, even though they are in poverty, by caring for the ill and making jam. That is until the Masks show up at their house to arrest her brother for treason. They kill her grandparents, arrest her brother, and burn their house down. With her whole family gone, Laia turns to the Resistance to help her rescue her brother before he is killed. Their price: she must go undercover as a slave to the Martial Empire to get information for them. Once inside, she meets Elias- the most skilled soldier in Blackcliff. Although highly trained and skilled, all Elias wants is to be free. He has no desire to be a Mask for the Empire. After a series of harrowing events, Laia and Elias find that they must depend on each other if they are to survive.

An Ember in the Ashes is a wonderful and engaging high fantasy that will leave the reader hungry to know what happens next. The world building is top notch, and the character development continues to grow throughout the story. Each of the characters, even the secondary ones, are like slowly peeling an onion. Each layer becomes stronger as you find out more about them. As the first in the series (thankfully there are more to come!), this novel will leave the reader hungry to find out what happens next!

Maestra

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Maestra

Author: L.S. Hilton

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Pages: 320

 

Judith, by day, is an assistant at one of London’s top art houses. Judith, by night, is a hostess at a champagne bar…or so it starts out. When Judith’s top champagne bar client offers to take her and her friend to France for a weekend getaway, they both jump at the chance (circumstances have put Judith in need of some money in reserve). That’s where things begin to go sideways in her life. The events in France turn Judith in to a lethal combination of the high class woman that she has taught to be and the rage filled girl that she was. This version of Judith will do whatever she has to do, with whomever she has to do it with, to get what she wants.

I will admit, at the beginning of Maestra I wasn’t sure if I was really going to be in to it. It started off a little bit slow for me. Once all of the events began to unfold, and “anti-heroine Judith” started to emerge, I was sucked in to this story and rooting for the anti-hero. The story is told from Judith’s perspective, so we get a bit of an unreliable narrator in her. It turned in to a really wonderful psychological thriller, which I am a fan of. I will definitely add a warning tag on to this one, though: If you are squeamish about multiple descriptive erotic scenes in your novels, you may not enjoy this one! There are several places where this borders on erotica. While this may not be in my top five novels of the year, it will definitely be close to the top!

The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 1)

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Sword of Summer cover

Author: Rick Riordan

Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology/YA

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Pages: 512

 

Since his mother’s untimely death, two years ago, Magnus Chase has been a homeless kid surviving on the streets of Boston. When his sixteenth birthday comes around, Magnus is tracked down by the uncle that his mother warned was dangerous to him. When his uncle finally catches up with him, he tells Magnus a secret that he can scarcely believe: he is the son of a Norse god. He finds it hard to believe, until he is attacked by a fire giant while trying to call the Sword of Summer and ends up in Valhalla. Now it is time for Magnus to do his part (with a little help from his friends) to prevent Ragnarok, but to do so he must face his greatest fear.

Confession: I adore Rick Riordan! (I am actually re-reading the entire Percy Jackson series this year) His stories are always well written and entertaining. His world building is always spot on and easy to imagine, and the characters are always well developed. This first novel in the Magnus Chase series is no exception! I didn’t get in to it and begin is quickly as I did the PJO-HOO series, but after a few chapters I sped through the rest of it. I fell in love with these characters and their stories, and I loved that Annabeth made a couple of appearances (note the last name, you PJ fans!). I’m hoping that this will allow for a little cross-over now and then! All in all- if you are a Riordan fan, you will love this series, too!