Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Easily the best book this year!!

How does one describe a book so magical and captivating that you will stay up until 6am to read it?

 (Guilty as charged.)

Uprooted was sexy, intriguing, honest, and just all out well written and constructed.
Like a drink of cold water when one is thirsty for something more, I was enraptured and satisfied by this book.

What will you get when you buy said book? 

A delicious cover, an adventure, unique world building, complex and wonderful characters, and best of all an unforgettable experience.

Nieshka is a wild, headstrong, nature loving girl who is whisked away into a world of magic. Counter that with the Dragon: an uptight, magician who adores beauty and perfection, and prepare yourself to be amused as they pair up to counter an evil, living forest that contains terrible horrors within.

 Novik doesn't keep the book PG by any means, which helps make the book feel more real. She composes her literature to unfold naturally with smooth progression, making it easy to fall into pace and become one with Nieshka's world. I dare not reveal more and ruin any surprises for you, but I must insist if you are a lover of reading, give this one a try. I do not think you will regret it.

Lauren - 5 stars

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

 Once again, I've devoured this series...

(sequel to The Dream Thieves)

As usual, Stiefvater leaves me craving more with each book. I feel like this series is like a crime, and I only get clues piece by piece and its so deliciously frustrating!

 We pick up where our group left off; with a lot of drama. Blue's mother is missing, Blue and Adam's relationship has been injured, while Blue and Gansey's relationship becomes more desirable and forbidden. Noah's ghost status is still unstable and unpredictable, and Adam and Ronan's relationship is still left in question as they both struggle to understand their new found abilities.

Whew. Take a second to absorb all that.

We get to meet some new characters in this book, which really changes the game play this time around. Readers also get to discover more about the Raven King, but also more about another mysterious entity similar to the Raven King but much more ominous and evil who should remain unawakened. To add to the already building tension of this series, Stiefvater leaves this book with a cliffhanger that will leave you feeling robbed. 

Lauren - 5 stars

 

I am absolutely craving the next book! Bring on The Raven King! 

Trial By Fire by Josephine Angelini

Alternate universes and witches? 

Sign me up!

I found Trial by Fire to be interesting and intriguing with it's tale of alternate universes with a twist of magic. As we all know, our heroine Lily ends up in a different universe where there is another version of her, who is powerful and supposedly cruel. This part of the book is where the story gets interesting. At first though, as much as I hate to say it, Lily is completely and 100% a pathetic Mary Jane. Sick and weakly, and hung up romantically on an obviously douche-y best friend, when Lily finally left her universe I could only hope that she would get it together and woman up!

It took a little time, and some 'woe is me' moments, but I was happy to see Lily start to come into her own, and become open to her unique powers. There were a couple typical things that I felt could've been more refined, for example Lily discovers that she can speak to her sister in this new universe through her mind. Guess what they call it? Mind-speak. Surely there could be a better name for it?
 

Despite this though this new world is fascinating, with it's magical willstones that define their owners and become such a part of them, that it's painful and/or intimate to touch another's stone. Other unique points were that their ideals were different from ours as in nudity does not faze them, and their world has monsters that are disgusting, terrifying, and carnivorous.

There are sisterly bonds of love, dark secrets, possible universes linking together, an ominous and ongoing war, and of course a sexy love interest, Rowan. Who could ask for more? The ending left me feeling slightly confused, nervous, and yet still somewhat excited. I can only hope that Angelini will introduce more of this magical world and an even stronger more independent heroine in her sequel!

Lauren - 4 stars

Coming this September! 

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! 

Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

3.5 stars

Haunting, gothic, and wildly imaginative!

What is Clementine's story?

 I was certainly dying to find out! This was such a fun magic themed story, with great mystery behind it. 

 Clementine's tragic tale begins with her being forced to sleep with magic for ten years in a basement closet until she was finally discovered and rescued by one of our main characters, Fisher. But why and by whom is left unknown and Clementine is seeking to find some answers.

As we uncover the old town Clementine grew up in, things get weirder and weirder. My interest really began to peak when "bad things" started happening. Bad things being slimy green catfish with rows of monstrous needle-like teeth, ominous storms, demon dogs, the magical Hollow forest acting up; all signs of what they called The Reckoning. Problem is nobody knows why The Reckoning is coming or why it even happened ten years ago, either. 

One of my issues with the book was that after finishing it and running my opinions and thoughts through my head, I realized something rather shocking; I could not remember Clementine or Fisher's names. Clementine, although strong willed, sweet, and having a rather bizarre introduction, was slightly bland. Fisher too, suffered a similar fate as there was nothing defining about him except his unique craft. This problem is more than likely due to the wide cast of main characters to share with readers, but it doesn't make the book terrible just not as amazing as it could have been. I also found myself wishing I could have known a little more about the fiends. Information like their origins, and how they came to existence.

Yovanoff's story is engaging and fascinating and the small town really comes to life with its unique descriptions, and mysterious, as well as old, history. There were some fun characters as well and a happy ending. Fiendish was truly fun and mysterious and I will look forward to more from Yovanoff in the future.

Half Bad by Sally Green

4.5 stars

Loving the blood effect on this cover as well as this debut novel.

I stumbled upon this gem while looking for another book at the store. Honestly, I was not entirely sure what to expect, but what I didn't expect was such an amazing and heart wrenching story!

Nathan's tale is one of sadness from the day he was born, for he is a half white and half black witch. What makes this so unfortunate is that Nathan's black blood is of the darkest and most dangerous origins. Despite being constantly viewed with disdain and treated with hatred by nearly everyone he meets, Nathan is strong, clever, and optimistic in his own unique way.

Sally Green does an amazing job with her story telling for it ensnares you and compels you to finish this book as quickly as possible. Along with a rocky and deliciously forbidden romance, readers also get to experience living in a cage, tales of torture, and an underground system for witches on the run or in need of an illegal favor that comes with a price.

There are a couple pages told from a first POV but I found it to be unique and different almost like you're being woven into the story. The idea of good/bad and black/white is strongly put into question.  I also found Nathan's view on life and his interactions with family and the people he meets to be beautiful as well as a touch cynical. My only dislike was my concern with his instant turn to brutality in certain occasions.

The ending was satisfying and left off with a mild cliffhanger but I see promise in it's sequel, Half Wild.

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.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

5 stars

Look at that cover!! It's freakin' fantastic!

AHmazing!! I am so happy this book 
lived up to my expectations!

If you don't read this book you will be missing out. In my perspective, this book was a whole new view on the dead. This isn't about ghosts, and it isn't about a troubled teenager. It's about life, death, and something more. 

That's right, there's more!

So you have the three main "worlds" in this book. 

You have the Outers, everyday life for us normal beings. 

The Narrows, in my head I pictured a sort of go between for these different worlds for it has many doors and one narrow hallway like description with fog and darkness. 

Then you have the Archived, a library of dead people called Histories. 

Histories can awaken and they slip, where they start to lose themselves and their eyes become all black, it sounds pretty creepy. Mac's job is to find these histories and return them to the Archives. Sounds mundane, except that when they slip they can become violent and Histories don't bleed and are strong which ups the danger and excitement of this story!

What makes this book such a winner is the fact that its creatively imagined, the story is kept interesting because the apartment that Mac lives in has a dark back story of it's own which keeps the background intriguin. You also have a mysterious conflict and I loved the characters, and just when you think you know everything, there is much more to it than you thought you knew!

Just blew your mind there.
 All the excitement, mystery and action is why I can't wait for the second book, plus I want Wesley and Mac together. No lie.
The only complaint I have are that I pretty much figured out the villain right away. <spoiler>It had to be who I had priginally suspected, because the character was too...vague. We only knew that he/she was a sad character who had a somewhat mysterious past. 
I found Mac to be a strong heroine, defiant, and funny. I also thought the grief in this story was appropriate, not too whiny or clingy, but a family trying to recover from a harsh loss. The climax was awesome and blew my mind, especially when some of the clues were pieces together to reveal the "final form," as I'd like to put it.

The characters are wonderful and well developed as well. I simply adored Roland. Wes is pretty funny but I love Roland hands down. Just had to put that in there, that this book earns its fifth possibly secret sixth star for Roland. He is such an awesome character, I mean any character who wears Red Converse is just amazing automatically! I'm happy to find that Victoria Schwab has made another winner.

My review to the sequel, The Unbound.

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!

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.

Always A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

4 stars

This cover is way better than the first.

(sequel to Once A Witch)

A serious improvement compared to the second!

All my pet peeves from the first book were pretty much eliminated from the second. For starters it felt way more action packed than the first. We pick up where we left off with Tamsin and family deciding how they plan to face off with the future troubles ahead involving Alistair and the old Knight family. 

Alistair has escaped to the Victorian-era to warn his family of their impending troubles, and there's nothing for Tamsin to do except follow and try to save her family as well. 

It was way more action packed

  because Tamsin disguises herself as a lady's maid in the enemy's home where things are a dark whirlpool of trouble. If there isn't the threatening, domineering La Spider, there is Liam the dangerous, experimenting son who has a flirtatious facade. Jessica is the only normal one of the family, and you can't help but grow attached to and pity her situation, though she is strong in her own way.

The Greene family predecessors were quite talented as well. Isobel was by far my most favorite, though Thom was definitely second. Although we didn't get to know the entirety of the Greene family you still got the feeling that they were well rounded, and altogether fairly decent people.
With the feeling of Tamsin against the world, I found myself quickly reading through the book to reach the anticipated conclusion.

Throughout the book Tamsin is reminded that she will have to make a life-changing decision which really makes the book even better in the end since it was amazing though a little sad. I was happy with the realistic view of it though like the first book.

Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

3.5 stars

While this book was unique in sorts, it was also a bit cliched.

Meet protagonist Tamsin, a young witch from a long generation of witches. Promised to be a great witch at birth, and then to everyone's disappointment, wasn't.

Tamsin does not feel like she fits in with her family, she is under minded by other family members, and so when she is mistaken for her sister and gets approached by a stranger asking for her help locating a missing item, a part of her cannot resist. Tamsin gets herself tied into a a huge mess as she struggles with being an average human being, and yet coming from un-average origins.

I found the idea of each witch and wizard having unique powers such as freezing people, reading minds, siren like abilities, throwing fire ect. to be a fun and unique idea for a plot based on witchcraft. I also liked the twist of the rivalry between the two magic families for the antagonist.

What I found to be a little teenage angsty was the fact that she pined instantly for her love interest, and thus began silly girly spouting here and there. Otherwise I didn't mind their romance all that much just slightly cliched.

But then there was the sister rivalry...
This was the absolute worst aspect of the book. Tamsin went on and on about how perfect her sister Rowena was, and how the world revolved around her older sister who acts like a spoiled primadonna. (Which honestly didn't help her case.)

Rowena was just an absolute snot for no reason whatsoever, except maybe jealously, to make matters worse. You would think training to be the next head of family would install some maturity and nurturing in her especially regarding her sister. Not to mention everything Rowena did was perfect and was noted in the book i.e. Rowena's hair always being a perfect chignon, or white would usually look bad on people with pale skin tones but on Rowena it only made her glow and did I mention she looked absolutely majestic?
Long story short, it got old.

The ending was very intense, and left a great opening for the sequel, Always A Witch. I felt it was a good ending since it wasn't happiness and rainbows for everybody, but rather a big life changing decision which felt realistic.

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!

The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman

4 stars

Not what I expected, but still really good! 

I'll admit it took me awhile to finally just let the darkness just become a norm for me to get into the horror themed story of Waking Dark. All in all, it's pretty intense, guys.

Welcome to Oleander. 

I do not like this town. This town to me, screams, "Run, and never look back!"  Every character is as extreme as they possibly could be in most of the time, a bad way. As in it's creepy. 

It's bad enough that this town was built upon the ruins of the previous Oleander town, where a fire started and by the next day not a single person had survived.

But that's just the history. We are thrown into a story told  by multiple perspectives, but it's smooth flowing since it's not broken up by each chapter, and names are used often. We read about five different murders scenes right from the beginning. Each horrible, gory, and unexplained. Each leaving one scarred and horrified witness in it's wake. Each killer has killed themselves along with their victim(s) except one. 

One who doesn't remember even committing the deed or why she did it.

A lot of people die in this book, even important main characters which makes this book seriously intense. The town felt so creepy, domesticated, and old fashioned to me from the start. It had almost a Stepford Wives feel to it. It only got worse from there. 

Each main character has a twisted and sympathy cuing story and lifestyle, and it's harsh because it's the truth in some aspects. 

What really attracted me to this story, was not only that while I was cringing while reading, smacking my forehead, thinking, "Could shit get any worse?" (And it always did.) I still couldn't put my kindle down, it was addicting! You want to know what's up with this messed up town, and you know there's a reason behind it. It takes almost the entire book for the source to be revealed, but while we wait, we get to experience the town's descent into madness and violence.

It's a dark and thrilling ride.