Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

  Wow, Wow, WOW!!! Sooo much better! 
                           (third installment after Crown of Midnight)




I was agonizing over the first two books. It would be so good one second then so angsty, dramatic, and cheesy. This one started out with a little angst with Celaena being in a new country with no allies, but it progressively got better.

Celaena takes on the name she was born with, Aelin, and with this change she morphs into womanhood, becoming more comfortable with herself, her powers, heritage, and her role as Queen. She aims for change, and keeps a promise made to her dead friend in her heart. But it was moving to see her make personal progress with the troubles of her life and past. Not to mention, we get to meet Rowan.

Aelin's strict, battle harden, elven teacher. Yum. Team Rowan, please!
Besides the delicious side dish we are introduced to, we get to follow a new character line of blood thirsty witches. I found their story to be a tad distracting when I was more enamored with Aelin's, but I suppose it will lead to something important...eventually.

It does give hints as to what Dorian's father is up to, (nothing good, obviously). There is also some personal progression with Dorian and Chaol. We're left with a giant, frustrating cliffhanger, alas but I was quite thrilled with where Maas is taking her tale!

Lauren - 5 stars

My review for Queen of Shadows! 

A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab

Magical and exciting! Another winner from Victoria Schwab.

Imagine if you had magic: the ability to travel from one parallel universe to the next. Pretty awesome, right? 

Welcome to Kell's everyday life.
At first a slow start, I found myself soon wrapped up in Kell's plight. His troubles begin with his irresistible urge to collect items from the other Londons that he visits. Tricked into smuggling over an extremely dangerous magical item, Kell must rise to the face the consequences or risk losing his London, as well as the others.

Schwab gave great details and emotional connections in this book that helped bring the different worlds to life. I could almost feel the dustiness of Grey London, the chill of White London, and the glow of the Red London. It was fascinating to know that each was connected, but became unconnected when Black London became corrupted and devoured by it's magic. Each character was unique, strong, and brave in their own way, but Schwab built powerful connections. I simply loved Kell and Lilah. Lilah is so headstrong and spunky, it's hard not to like her! I was easily ensnared, with the strength and connection of them, and there were plenty of things left open to amp up excitement for the next book.

Lauren - 4 stars  

Shit is going down!! Feb 2016! 

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

This is our very first review as Two Sister's, Two Cents! Thank you for reading and for your patience! We'll be editing the other reviews as we go along. ;)

Fun, fast paced, and interesting!

  

 It's a well written book that is similar to Hex Hall, or Harry Potter meets Vampire Academy, with the main scenery being based on a school for mythical creatures. Destiny, or preferably Dusty, is our main heroine in a story filled with awkward chest feedings, typical attractive and annoying female rivals, unpopularity, strange occurrences, and duh, duh, DUHHHH....murder.

It isn't easy being a creature who feeds on people's dreams, and Dusty really struggles in life as her Nightmare kind are ostracized as evil and manipulative. It becomes especially complicated when it is discovered that when paired up, she and Eli (human turned dream buddy) can see prophetic dreams. This ends up being handy when it comes to solving the mystery and discovering 'whodunnit' rests upon her and Eli's shoulders. 

We must applaud Arnett for bringing together high school and high stakes into a highly entertaining read. Arnett's concept on Nightmares was unique and interesting, and there were some fun twists thrown in as well! We may have waited the whole book for some romantic progression between certain someones, but sometimes good things are worth waiting for. (Although waiting is annoying. P.S. We forgive you.)   

 Dominique - 4 stars            

 Lauren - 3.5 stars

Follow our review for The Nightmare Dilemma!

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

5 stars

(sequel to The Darkest Minds)

Such an amazing sequel, I want to kick myself for putting it off for so long!

We pick up where we left off in the previous book but some time has passed. Ruby is now an official member of the Children's League, and has become much more comfortable with her powers compared to how out of control she was before.

She works for the League doing a variety of tasks, mostly unpleasant. Whether its missions to help attain goods for the League, or questioning prisoners aggressively, Ruby does what she needs to do though Liam and friends are a constant on her mind.

We get to meet a few new people, mostly people from Ruby's team. We have the sweet and loveable Jude though he can be annoying, to the rather bitchy but stunning beauty, Vida. We also get to meet Liam's older brother but with his arrival comes bad news: Liam is unknowingly carrying information that is important to his brother, and possibly vital to the League, which puts Ruby in a situation since she sacrificed everything to protect him. 

Things become especially complicated when Ruby finds that there are untrustworthy members of the League that have no problem killing children or any one who gets in their way of their higher goals. The story once again takes on an on the run theme, as Ruby seeks the information Liam carries in order to protect him while keeping out of the reach of the dangerous clutches of the rogue League members. 

Readers unite with old friends, meet new enemies, and encounter old ones as well. The ending of the book leaves off in a triumphant and dangerous cliffhanger that was absolutely brilliant. The third book, In the Afterlight, should be released this year!

Heaven's Queen by Rachel Bach

5 stars

(trilogy for Honor's Knight)

What an ending.

It was honestly a whammy of a finisher, and with this final book the Paradox trilogy has earned it's way to keeper on my bookshelf.

The action and spunk continues as Devi seeks justice for the daughters, a cure for herself, and aims to solve the dilemma and mystery of the phantoms.  She is on the run from nearly everyone, but this time she is not so alone. This book was more pleasing in the romantic aspect, and even has an eye-watering moment. 

The action follows up not too far after and we even get a bit of a drama bomb near the beginning of the book. 

The most intense battle and flee scene in my opinion was near the end involving nearly all important and hard-core characters! I dare not reveal a single moment so I don't ruin it but the fight even involves the phantoms, and Maat so look forward to that!

Rachel Bach has written an awesome trilogy full of passion, action, and girl power. (Hell yeah!) So what's not to love?

Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach

5 stars

(sequel to Fortune's Pawn)

Applause for Rachel Bach for such an action packed series! The sequel was made to not disappoint as we continue where we left off but with more questions and more drama!

Now that Devi is missing her memories, she finds herself frequently confused. If not by why her memory is suddenly blank, then her unexplained disgust for Rupert the cook, what happened for her to have such a huge gap in her mind and why she is seeing little glowing creatures.

Besides our heroine's internal struggle, there is the constant threat of the Fool's trouble attracting reputation that keeps her on her toes and in constant motion and along the way Devi begins to discover new information about the enemy. The more she learns the more the Fool and it's crew grow in suspicion and appear to be more than they seem...

I feel readers only scratched the surface with Fortune's Pawn, we gain more information about the mysterious phantoms, what is up with the Captain's quiet and unusual daughter, and just what is going on underneath the surface of the Fool? Be ready because you will be blown away. I can only fall on my knees in silent thanks that Rachel Bach is a kind author who released the third book a month later.

(Review for Heaven's Queen)

The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

5 stars

Love the matching theme cover, I must say!

(sequel to The Archived)

No sequel trauma here! What a knockout!!

Back with our independent heroine Mac, we start off with a new beginning, a new territory: school. Mackenzie is trying to cope with the trauma she experienced in the previous book with Owen, while attempting to take control of her life. Easier said than done in her case.

She finds it of course difficult since she suffers from morbid night terrors involving Owen that start to bleed into her waking life making her wonder if she's slowly going insane. What's especially difficult is that she can't show weaknesses right now since her job as a Keeper has been put on the line. 

To add to the mystery and chaos of it all people are disappearing and their only connection is to Mackenzie. 

Dun, dun, dunnn!

The Unbound round house kicked me in the face with awesomeness. We get more character development, more action, more mystery, and more layers of the "Archive" onion peeled away to reveal that there is more to this library of the dead than we could have ever hoped for...

For fellow Mac and Wes fans, I'm pleased to announce that they grow much closer in this book! (Finally!) 

Once again, I'm left dying for the next in the series, because everything was raw and intense. You feel Mac's pain, anxiety, and terror throughout the book and the ending leaves such promise for the third.

Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

4 stars

(quartet to Silent on the Moor)

Oh, what a tug on the heartstrings this one was...

We join Julia, Brisbane, Portia, and Plum as they head down to India to see Portia's lover Jane, who had left her in the last book in order to have children.

She is pregnant and suspects that her late husband was murdered. It is here that we get to meet some distant cousins of Julia and their unique tea plantation. 

More secrets are revealed about a lot of characters, including Brisbane, as we delve into the mystery and meet unique characters, get to read about the India traditions, hunt for a man killing tiger, and a murderer.

As usual there is plenty of drama regarding inheritance of the tea plantation, affairs, and more. Julia and Brisbane are both adorable and frustrating as they work somewhat together in their relationship. We also get to see Jane and Portia make amends and reunite with some of Julia's cousin's from the second installment, Silent in the Sanctuary.

Things get really dark in this one, lots of action, and as always, a few twists as well! With the way this one ended I cannot wait to see Julia and Brisbane work together in the field for the next mystery to come!

Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

2.5 stars

(trilogy to Silent in the Sanctuary)

To be honest, I pretty much skimmed this one. Once I saw that Julia and Brisbane were going to continue their cat and mouse game I was having none of it.

I should also mention that I was entirely turned off when I found out that there was a "keeping it in the family" theme going on with some of the secondary characters. You think I'm kidding but I'm quite serious when I say there was some unashamed brother and sister action going on.

Gross.

On the plus side, we do get to see Julia and Brisbane's relationship finally blossom, the ending section was so gratifying, and we also learn more about Brisbane's history and origins. The mystery was fair despite the blatant incest and happy endings were to be had for most characters. 

Hurrah and on to the next!

(My review of Dark Road to Darjeeling)
 

Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn

4 stars

(sequel to Silent in the Grave)

I have to say such an improvement from the first.

It takes awhile for the mystery to get into gear, but honestly, you're too busy catching up with the social aspect of the story that waiting isn't all that bad. 

After touring Italy, Lady Julia Grey is returning home for Christmas with her two artistic brothers, Plum and Lysander. Along for the ride is Lysander's new wife Violante, and their friend Alessandro who carries a candle for our eccentric heroine.

Upon returning home she meets Brisbane who is among their Christmas party guests with a woman.  

Let the sparks fly.

When the murder happens things really get riled up in an interesting way! Brisbane and Julia get to work on hounding down the killer and suspicions begin to rise and secrets begin to surface. Secrets that people would kill to keep hidden. 

This book was definitely better because all the drama that ensues is seriously fascinating! Drama with Julia's brothers, Brisbane, Alessandro, and so much more!

  Not to mention Julia's father's house is really intriguing with all of it's secret passageway's and past history.

We really get to see a change in Julia and Brisbane's relationship (Thank God!) not to mention there were some serious twists I did not see coming that came around to give me a shock. I honestly can't wait for moor! *wink*

(My review for Silent on the Moor)

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

3 stars


There is the good and there is the bad.

This book really could be worse. If you are not one for Victorian, old age settings, and reading about a woman struggling in the woes of discovering herself and dealing with the loss of her late husband then exit stage left.

If you have patience for a heroine who is a little slow but you can see has promise, then it's time to meet Lady Julia Gray. Recent widow for about a chapter before a convenient time skip, she is approached by Nicholas Brisbane.

 He is a detective and is absolutely delectable.

 He shows up at her doorstep claiming that her husband was receiving threatening notes before his death and that Sir Edward Gray's passing may not have been as innocent as it seemed. At first she rudely turns him away, but a year later she discovers evidence that she cannot ignore, and must ask Brisbane for his help.

I must say it's pretty obvious who the culprit is, though I certainly didn't guess all the secrets Edward and the criminal had hidden away. At times I would really grow frustrated with Julia and how dimwitted she seemed at times or how she could be so easily sidetracked. Her family The Marches, highly interested me as they are known for their eccentricity and wild ways, and I saw growing promise as Julia began to cross lines, rebel, and live up to her wild March origins.

Despite Julia's lackings, she does have a kind heart as seen in her unusual household: she has taken in her younger brother for he and their father quarrel, an outcast gypsy for her laundress, an ex-prostitute for her personal maid, and much more.

 Brisbane was an absolute delight to read about as well, for he is a mystery within himself with his unusual origins, his knack for a mystery, his "gift" or "talent" as you will see, his unique acquaintances, and just his all out brutal frankness. I did mention he was delicious, yes?

His chemistry with Julia is at first rocky, but slowly progressed into, if I had to describe it, grudging interest. Nothing has come to fruit quite yet, but I have my hopes high and fingers crossed!


My review for Silent in the Sanctuary.

Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach

5 stars

I loved it to the point of raving, and I hated it to the point of throwing it across the room. 

Which just means it was that good.

You've got Devi Morris, spunky, kickass mercenary, who is talented and impressive and will do anything to avoid the future prospect of being stuck in a desk job. Put her on a ship that is known for attracting deadly trouble and you've got yourself an action packed 330 pages.

I honestly did not know what to expect when I started this one but it was really interesting! On this journey, you'll discover unusual creatures, zombie aliens, deadly secrets, and unique and powerful human beings.
  
Devi alone is a clever and dryly humorous heroine who owns some seriously tricked out, high quality armor that she loves so tenderly, that we too develop feelings for the hunk of metal. Have I mentioned how attached she is to her weapons?

Life on the ship is made interesting even during the tamer parts of the story, due to the motley crew the captain has rigged up. Who would have thought the navigator would be a bird, or the doctor a race of alien that usually eats humans? 
Each character is well described and unique in their own way. You tend to grow attached to them all, really. There is plenty of action for the thrill seekers and even some romance which was tastefully written and not a plot sucker.

Alas, it was the romance that left me throwing the book down in frustration and anger in the end, but I am still eager for our upcoming sequel. You can follow my review for that here.
 

There isn't a moment to be bored with this one, and everyone loves a little space travel with a kickass heroine!

Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

3 stars

Loved the cover, its really eye catching and entrancing.

A fun action packed book that leaves you longing for the next change...

I've got to say I've been on a badass heroine streak and love it. With this story I was not disappointed with our heroine Kali; an average teenager every other day. But when she isn't simply human, she is a bloodthirsty hunter, seeking to sink her knives into supernatural baddies!

Her life takes an even bigger turn for the interesting when she sees the mark of the Chupacabra on a popular girl at school and has decided to save her no matter the cost.

Though Kali isn't exactly social, she warms up to most of the characters we're introduced to, and its quite a variety. Through Kali's eyes, the world of the usual bump-in-the-night creature genre is given a unique twist. Especially so when readers learn of a company with evil intention involving Kali, humans, creatures, and a certain somebody else.

It's what makes this book so fun, since things aren't what they seem! I really appreciated that while our popular girl did fit the usual bill of teenage snot, once Kali got past the facde there was someone truly lovable underneath. I did feel a little confused after some mysteries were revealed for example what exactly Kali was before things began to change was left...cloudy. Also a certain character death left me with a big angry question mark above my head. I felt the death was random and highly unnecessary, plus the ending felt slightly vague. 

These were my only complaints since the book was otherwise so good, I could not put it down. Great for a light, action read!

World After by Susan Ee

5 stars

(sequel to Angelfall)

AHHHHHHH!!!

 So. Damn. Good.

I must calm myself. Well, this was one hell of a sequel, readers!

We pick up from we left off with Penryn and circus family trying to adapt to the new events in their life. Penryn longs to find Raffe, but she is struggling to cope with a lot of new life events like the unusual behavior of her mutated sister, as well as trying to blend in. Alas, everyone knows that someone as badass and wild like Penryn cannot simply blend in, but at least the twins as Penryn make a fun trio!


I can't help but think that the twins remind me of a non-magical set of Weasley twins; up to no good, conniving, weird but funny, and really clever.

At some point of the book Paige runs away and Penryn is determined to find her sister in fear that somebody will harm her. Thus beginning the adventure once again as along the way we find out more about Raffe, the angels, and what the hell is up with the nephilim/scorpion creatures. We also get to learn more about Raffe's super special awesome arch-angel sword!

The book was heartfelt and warming; despite the struggle of Penryn and Paige. Sisterly bonds stand above all else. There were also some other heartfelt scenes that I can't wait for you guys to find! The sequel is just as horrible and scarring at some parts as the first book. The ending was seriously awesome, and left quite a cliffhanger for the third book! 

Angelfall by Susan Ee

5 stars

Occasionally in life, there is that book. 

That book you go into not really sure what to expect and then you read it and it isn't what you expect at all, and yet you're not really disappointed...this is that book. Except along with a lack of disappointment, I also was accompanied with the emotions of shocked numbness, eagerness, and horror.

Step 1: Readers, you know those fluffy images of sweet angels full of guidance and good advice? Take that image, crumple it up, and... 

THROW IT OUT THE EFFIN' WINDOW.

There you go...

 because Angelfall doesn't have those types of angels! HAH. No, no. According to this storyline, we are under the impression that angels lead to the fall of humanity. That's right, they led to this dystopian setting.

Step 2: Don't eat while reading this book....just trust me, okay?

This book is not for the weak of heart...or stomach, and if you tend to have horrible nightmares induced by anything you watch or read, I probably wouldn't recommend this book to you, either. I'll give you a little taste of whats under the cover.

To me, the most horrifying were the children that were cannibalistic little monsters and the nephilim. Who knew such a disgusting thing could be created by the joining of angels and humans?

 Nephilim are seriously romanticized in other books compared to these things...

Now that you've braced yourself, enjoy the crazy! With a heroine like Penryn, who originates from a family circus of crazy (mother is batshit crazy, father abandoned them, sister is paralyzed), and still manages to kick some serious ass in order to survive and save her sister, you just can't dislike her. Not to mention, she's daring enough to bargain with an angel, Raffe, for his help and assistance. That's ballsy. 

Hang onto your seats, cuz you're in for quite a wild ride...

My review for the sequel, World After.

Vicious by Victoria Schwab

4 stars

 I love the details in this cover. Amazing art!

Victoria Schwab has fast become one of my favorite authors. 

From the Near Witch, to The Archived, and now Vicious, I have to say that she writes engaging stories that absolutely thrill.

With her newest adult fantasy novel, Vicious, we are introduced to a new creative world. She gave a whole new spin to the idea of superheroes or ExtraOrdinaries (EO's). I loved how in this book, technically nobody is the good guy.

Both Eli and Victor have their dark sides, both have killed people in the pursuit for something bigger and greater.

The story swings between past and present and pulls together as we collect the little pieces of the puzzle to Victor and Eli's tale. A few chapters help us get to know the side characters like Mitch, Sydney, and Serena, in more depth.

Victor and Eli become involved in the study of Eo's and how they come into existence or whether or not they actually exist. After discovering how people attain their unique gifts, which is very fascinating and creative, they decide to take it a step further and experiment on each other to in order to attain results.

It's here that things start to get ugly and our characters begin to change. The boys split ways; Eli begins his killing spree and Victor his life in jail. Then the story amps up when Victor escapes from said prison, and picks up a stray on his pursuit on Eli who is trapped in his God mode.

The story dragged just a little at some parts, but I was otherwise highly entertained. (Out of all the characters I found Sydney to be my favorite!)

The ending was brilliant, and left it open in a way that was satisfying in my opinion. To others, possibly not so much, but this a book that's meant to be given a chance!

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

3 stars

The cover is so cool, too!

I found Coldest Girl in Coldtown to be good, 

 but somewhat disappointing. I went in expecting the thrill of Holly Black's previous work and found it slighly lacking.

Our heroine, Tana, is a young girl of the age oh, I'd say 18? Her life has a complicated past, but her life manages to still be drastically changed when she wakes up the next morning. The story starts off really exciting and thrilling. Holly Black's interpretation of vampires is dark and fascinating. Instead of your usual vampire, her vampires are more sinister, unpredictable, and way more dangerous. They are truly monsters.

The vampire's sharp sharp canines are the source of the spreading disease which is shared when a vampire bites a human. The human is then infected and has one of two options;

to sweat the disease out for 88 days and remain human, or drink human blood and begin the process of turning.

"Coldtowns" have been erected for vampires to be secluded from humans and live on their undead past times but this is where humans and the dead alike flock to gather together. This is where our group heads.

Tana makes a great heroine, I liked how she wasn't this jealous, simpering, swoony character. She had feelings, and she had mistakes in her past which could have made her more vulnerable, more human. Instead all Tana did was kick some serious ass.

Sometimes the world building felt a little weak, but I guess my main source of disappointment was because I had been expecting some exciting plot twist for the entire book, something that would blow my mind. Sadly, it never happened. Due to this, the plot felt rather...lame. 

Their whole goal was to go to Coldtown to get her infected ex-boyfriend there, and then once they were there it was just one thing after another keeping Tana from returning home. Not to mention at some point it just felt like Tana was asking to be infected.

To sum up my frustrations, I felt like the ending left a huge "then what?" Will Tana go home? What happens after?

Now don't get me wrong, Coldest Girl in Coldtown is not a horrible book, but it wasn't mindblowing either. It's a simple pleasure kind of book which in my opinion, doesn't make it Holly Black's best work. Especially compared to her roller coaster ride of a trilogy, The Curse Workers.

 I hope she writes another book soon, because I will be reading it!