Review: The Start of Me and You, by Emery Lord

Title: The Start of Me and You

Author: Emery Lord

Publication Date: March 31, 2015

Genre: Contemporary

[Blog Tour] Review & Giveaway: Dead To Me, by Mary McCoy

Title: Dead To Me
Author: Mary McCoy
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: March 3rd 2015

LA Confidential for the YA audience. This alluring noir YA mystery with a Golden Age Hollywood backdrop will keep you guessing until the last page.

"Don't believe anything they say."

Those were the last words that Annie spoke to Alice before turning her back on their family and vanishing without a trace. Alice spent four years waiting and wondering when the impossibly glamorous sister she idolized would return to her--and what their Hollywood-insider parents had done to drive her away.

Review & Giveaway: The Ruby Airship, by Sharon Gosling

Title: The Ruby Airship
Author: Sharon Gosling
Publication Date: February 2, 2015
Genre: Historical fiction/Steampunk

In this action-packed sequel to The Diamond Thief, trapeze-artist Remy has left the circus and her life as a jewel thief behind, but doubts that young detective Thaddeus Rec will ever truly trust her. Torn between her new life and her old, her mind is made up when Yannick, a fellow circus-performer from Remy's past, arrives in London. Remy decides it's time to go with him to France, and rejoin her best friend Claudette and the circus. But Thaddeus is sure that Yannick is up to no good. He's determined to track them down and win Remy back, even if he has to embark on a perilous journey by airship to do so.

4 Stars

Thank you Switch Press for this review copy!

With just as much action, adventure, and romance as the first book, The Ruby Airship is sure to please fans of the first installment. If you're not aware, I absolutely loved The Diamond Thief, and the mere fact that this was able to live up to my expectations is an indicator of this book's superb-ness.

Favorite Interior Book Designs

Many thanks and chocolate for Amelia from YA Bookologists for suggesting this topic! The blog has been dry lately and I've been sucked of my creative juices for the past week or so, and you saved it from dying! <3 you Amelia.

Going through the books on my non-existent bookshelf (it's actually a Leaning Tower of Books, but I'll save that for another day) I gathered books which I thought contained really pretty illustrations, title pages, chapter headings, etc. and took bad quality pictures while failing to keep my arm steady. Never said I was a photographer.

(A Very Ranty) Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson

Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1)
Author: Rae Carson
Publication Date: September 20, 2011
Genre: Fantasy

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do. -Goodreads

1 Star

I have put off this review long enough. It should be telling enough that to this day I preserve a place in my heart that severely abhors this book; it has left that much of an impact on my anger me.

Review: There Will Be Lies, by Nick Lake

Title: There Will Be Lies
Author: Nick Lake
Publication Date: January 6, 2015
Genre: Thriller

In four hours, Shelby Jane Cooper will be struck by a car.

Shortly after, she and her mother will leave the hospital and set out on a winding journey toward the Grand Canyon.

All Shelby knows is that they’re running from dangers only her mother understands. And the further they travel, the more Shelby questions everything about her past—and her current reality. Forced to take advantage of the kindness of unsuspecting travelers, Shelby grapples with what’s real, what isn't, and who she can trust . . . if anybody.

Award-winning author Nick Lake proves his skills as a master storyteller in this heart-pounding new novel. This emotionally charged thrill ride leads to a shocking ending that will have readers flipping back to the beginning. -Goodreads

3.5 Stars

Thank you Bloomsbury for sending me this copy for review!

For a majority of the There Will Be Lies, I was absolutely clueless. It was more of this engaged cluelessness, this burning curiosity to understand what exactly is happening.

Throwback Thursday #1: NYC & The 50's

Throwback Thursday is an original feature I do in which I highlight some of my favorite historical fiction books from a specific time period. The first book featured is Strings Attached by Judy Blundell, which takes place in the 1950s in New York City! 

Title: Strings Attached
Author: Judy Blundell
Publication Date: March 1, 2011
Genre: Historical fiction

From National Book Award winner Judy Blundell, the tale of a sixteen-year-old girl caught in a mix of love, mystery, Broadway glamour, and Mob retribution in 1950 New York.

When Kit Corrigan arrives in New York City, she doesn't have much. She's fled from her family in Providence, Rhode Island, and she's broken off her tempestuous relationship with a boy named Billy, who's enlisted in the army.

Review: The Opal Crown, by Jenny Lundquist

Title: The Opal Crown (The Opal Mask #2)
Author: Jenny Lundquist
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Genre: Fantasy

Action, romance, sibling rivalry and court intrigue combine for a page-turning read in this sequel to The Princess in the Opal Mask, which VOYA called “engaging and action-packed.”

In the year since she was betrothed to the crown prince of Kyrenica, no one has suspected that the Masked Princess has been a decoy. That Elara, the secret twin sister, has been pretending to be Princess Wilha all along. The royal family has kept Elara’s identity hidden from the world, and for the girls, swapping lives has not been easy. Galandra is quickly declining, and the sisters continue to be a pawn in the Guardian’s ever-changing endgames.

But the stakes rise when Elara and Wilha’s younger brother, Andrei, takes the Galandrian throne after their father's death, and he reveals the girls' deception to Kyrenica’s royal family. Viewed as traitors, Elara and Wilha realize they are now fighting for their lives—and for their country. However, with only one crown and one throne to overthrow, Elara and Wilha must decide who will become queen. Or rather, the next savior for their people. -Goodreads

3.5 Stars

This sequel to the exciting The Princess in the Opal Mask and conclusion to the duology did not disappoint, nor cease to keep my interest. Albeit a bit immature and watered down in terms of the political aspect, The Opal Crown was cute and fluffy and huggable after an influx of darker books.

DNF Review: Exquisite Captive, by Heather Demetrios

Title: Exquisite Captive (Dark Caravan Cycle #1)
Author: Heather Demetrios
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Genre: Fantasy

Forced to obey her master.
Compelled to help her enemy.
Determined to free herself.

Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Stuffed into a bottle and sold by a slave trader, she’s now in hiding on the dark caravan, the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters’ every command. She’d give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle.

Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution and Nalia’s sworn enemy. He promises to free Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother—all for an unbearably high price. Battling a dark past and harboring a terrible secret, Nalia soon realizes her freedom may come at a price too terrible to pay: but how far is she willing to go for it?

Inspired by Arabian Nights, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE brings to life a deliciously seductive world where a wish can be a curse and shadows are sometimes safer than the light. -Goodreads

2 Stars

Thank you Balzer+Bray for sending me this copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh, Lord. I hate to admit this, but I was relieved to call it quits after resentfully trudging through 162 pages of dryness. There were quite a bit of problems I had with this book--mostly personal issues as opposed to technical--and they all hindered my enjoyment of the novel tremendously. I was very much anticipating this book, and the issues I had with it coupled with the immense amount of hype it had been receiving resulted in a very disappointed girl.

Series Review: Cracked & Crushed, by Eliza Crewe

Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

Click on the cover to be directed to their book pages!

And check out my stop on the Crushed blog tour.

Overall series rating: 4.5 stars!

My dear Soul Eaters series, you have succeeded in trapping my soul and heart in your firm clutches. I didn't think I'd be this invested in your books, though. I'm not really into horror, and although the books aren't shelved as thus, you still give off that creepyish-horror vibe that has never appealed to me as a reader. 

Everything about you appealed to me. Your writing was hilarious and authentic. Your action had me gripping my Nook in anticipation. Your down-to-earth-ness had me applauding because I have never read a fantasy book that is this honest. (How can a fantasy book be "honest?" I don't know; you'll just have to read it for yourself.)

Review: Madame Tussaud's Apprentice, by Kathleen Benner Duble

Title: Madame Tussaud's Apprentice
Author: Kathleen Benner Duble
Publication Date: August 1, 2014
Genre: Historical Fiction

In 1789, with the starving French people on the brink of revolution, orphaned Celie Rosseau, an amazing artist and a very clever thief, runs wild with her protector, Algernon, trying to join the idealistic freedom fighters of Paris. But when she is caught stealing from none other than the king's brother and the lady from the waxworks, Celie must use her drawing talent to buy her own freedom or die for her crimes. Forced to work for Madame Tussaud inside the opulent walls that surround Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Celie is shocked to find that the very people she imagined to be monsters actually treat her with kindness. But the thunder of revolution still rolls outside the gates, and Celie is torn between the cause of the poor and the safety of the rich. When the moment of truth arrives, will she turn on Madame Tussaud or betray the boy she loves? From the hidden garrets of the starving poor to the jeweled halls of Versailles, "Madame Tussaud's Apprentice" is a sweeping story of danger, intrigue, and young love, set against one of the most dramatic moments in history. -Goodreads

3 Stars

At first, I absolutely adored this book. After further contemplation and after the initial buzz settled, my love wasn't quite as strong.

Madame Tussaud’s Apprentice can easily be summarized as thus: it is a story of a girl unwillingly caught up in the midst of one of the most contentious periods in history--The French Revolution. She is torn between joining the revolutionaries and staying impassive, a choice which will ultimately determine her fate in this war.

Review: Cress, by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has. -Goodreads

5 Stars

It should come as no surprise that despite finishing this about eight months ago, I still get hit by a train wreck of feelings and gush whenever I so much as glance at the cover. In short: I LOVED THIS.

And why shouldn't I? I went in with high expectations and finished with my expectations fulfilled and more.

THORNE.

AND CINDER.

AND EMPORER FREAKING KAI. (I SHIP KAI AND CINDER SO HARD.)

As for Thorne, I ship him with myself. *grins*

Review: Brazen, by Katherine Longshore

Title: Brazen
Author: Katherine Longshore
Publication Date: June 12, 2014
Genre: Historical fiction

Mary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she’s married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, she rockets into the Tudor court’s inner circle. Mary and “Fitz” join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court’s strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations.  The rules of court were made to be pushed…but pushing them too far means certain death. Is true love worth dying for? -Goodreads

“If you only do as others say, be who they want you to be, you will lose yourself. And that will be the greatest loss of all.”

Due to my extreme book hangover, I've dedicated the past couple of days to befriending Google and stalking Mary and Henry Fitzroy and, naturally, proceeding to be a complete history nerd.

I have to admit: Fitz doesn't look that bad. He’d be pretty good-looking as a girl:

ANYWAY. No, I don’t spend my time judging historical figures based on their portraits. Who do you take me as? *chuckles nervously*

Six Degrees of Seperation {Book Version}

In case you didn't know, I am a huge fan of the indie band, The Script.

And in celebration of their upcoming album release, I'm dedicating an entire post to them! And singing the lyrics! And relating everything to books!

I've been a fan of them for a while, and one of my all-time-favorite songs from them is Six Degrees of Separation, which is one of their more popular songs.

It's intended to be a break-up song, but as I was listening to it for the upteenth time the other day, it hit me how much it resembles that heartbreak every reader feels at the end of a particularly heart-crushing book.  

So I'm going to break the lyrics down, (mostly the chorus) and explain how it relates to the PAIN EVERY READER ENDURES. Do feel free to sing along! ;)

And because I know you're tempted:

Review: Heir of Fire, by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: September 2, 2014
Genre: High fantasy

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love? -Goodreads

3 Stars

Thank you Bloomsbury for sending me this copy, which did not affect my review in any way!

Slight spoilers for Throne of Glass.

Oh, hey, there. Were you reading this review to decide whether or not you should read Heir of Fire? Well, let me warn you from here: I myself am horribly conflicted and this uncertainty will reflect throughout the entire review. If you enjoy reading a review with a teen girl sputtering on and on, then you are welcome to be entertained at my expense.

Based on complicated thought processes and hours of analyzing (not really) I've come to the conclusion that Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas will receive my normally default rating of 3 stars. We shall begin.

(I hope you read the above paragraphs in a facetious tone because I certainly did.)

Summerfall, by Claire Legrand Teaser Blast + Giveaway

Hey guys! Today, I'm showcasing a prequel novella--which publishes today--to a book I think EVERYONE should read (ehem Winterspell). 

Rinka is a faery, passionate and powerful, determined to maintain the tenuous peace between faeries and humans.

Mini-Reviews: Of Beast and Beauty & What Happened to Goodbye

Title: Of Beast and Beauty
Author: Stacey Jay
Publication Date: July 23, 2013
Genre: Fantasy

In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.
As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love. -Goodreads

4 Stars

Oh, how refreshing it is to read a YA fantasy novel that is not part of a series.

How invigorating it is to read of a fairytale that stays faithful to the original while deviating from the standard to create a world that is incomparable in characters and prose.

Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters, by Laini Taylor

Title: Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3)
Author: Laini Taylor
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Genre: Fantasy

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter? -Goodreads

3.5 Stars

Ughhhhhhhhhhhh. You do not know how much I hate myself right now, how much it physically hurts to give this book any less than five stars. I AM DYING INSIDE. *hyperventilates*

Blog Tour: 3 Reasons to Read The Fire Wish + Giveaway!

Title: The Fire Wish (The Jinni Wars #1)
Author: Amber Lough
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 stars

A jinni. A princess. And the wish that changes everything. . . .

Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad—which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form—as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered—enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love. -Goodreads

I just finished The Fire Wish a couple weeks ago, and OH MY GOD YOU GUYS HAVE TO READ THIS. There are Jinnis, princesses, princes, magic, palaces - basically, if you love fantasy, this book will satisfy you and go above and beyond your expectations. Yes, there are flaws, but most of them I was able to ignore.

Here are 3 Reasons to Read The Fire Wish!

1. Because it's far more authentic than the watered down Disney version (ahem, Aladdin) 

Puns, Whales, & Tattoos: Review of Salt & Storm

Title: Salt & Storm
Author: Kendall Kulper
Publication Date: September 23, 2014
Genre: YA Paranormal

A sweeping historical romance about a witch who foresees her own murder--and the one boy who can help change her future.

Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants only to take her rightful place as the witch of Prince Island, making the charms that keep the island's whalers safe at sea, but her mother has forced her into a magic-free world of proper manners and respectability. When Avery dreams she's to be murdered, she knows time is running out to unlock her magic and save herself.

Avery finds an unexpected ally in a tattooed harpoon boy named Tane--a sailor with magic of his own, who moves Avery in ways she never expected. Becoming a witch might stop her murder and save her island from ruin, but Avery discovers her magic requires a sacrifice she never prepared for. -Goodreads

3 Stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for this copy, which did not affect my review in any way.

Salt & Storm was weird as hell. Whether that's a good or bad thing is completely debatable.

There are those books that no matter how many battles, how many risks they take, how much danger they're in, the reader knows that in the end, the characters will end up all right. Sure, there is always that near-death moment where the author tries to convince us that the protagonist is about to die and we should be gripping the book for fear of this, but if you've read a variety of YA books you can easily see through this ploy.