Happily, by Chauncey Rogers ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Fairytales, Humor, Juvenile Fiction

Thank you to Chauncey Rogers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 3rd, 2018

314 Pages

Synopsis: 

If the shoe fits, wear it.

If it doesn’t, make it.

Laure is a street urchin just trying to get away. Where the rest of the world sees an enchanting love story, Laure sees royal incompetence and an opportunity to exploit it. She’ll have wealth and a way out of a life she detests., if she can only manage to hoodwink the royal family and live to tell the tale.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, you know you’re reading something special when you’re doing everything you can to put off getting to the end of a book. Happily is one of these treasures. 

Back in January, I read Chauncey’s thriller/horror novel, Cleaving Souls, which kept me up reading until the wee hours of the morning. Happily did the same thing only for entirely different reasons. This isn’t quite a fairytale retelling, as Cinderella doesn’t even make an appearance until the end of the story. To give you an idea of how different this book is, here’s how it opens:

Before I start, however, we need to get a few things straight. First, I don’t like questions. They get people off track, they almost always would have been answered if the person had just kept listening, and they’re usually stupid. Yes, stupid. Whoever says otherwise is an idiot. Second, I’ve been told to tell you my story. Not my life story, so forget about learning about my childhood. Just the story of the glass slipper and my engagement to the prince—-the whole story. I don’t want to do this twice; let’s get it right the first time, shall we? There are only a few hours until the wedding ceremony, so sit down, get comfortable, and let’s get this over with—-that way you can leave, which will be great for both of us. Because the third, final, and perhaps most important thing for you to understand is this: I don’t like you.Try not to take it too personally—-I don’t like most people. Really, you’re probably in good company. You’re probably in pretty bad company, too, since there are a lot of idiots, creeps, and perverts who I don’t like either. There’s a group of people that I particularly dislike, however, and my story starts with them.

And that sassy, sarcastic voice belongs to Laure, the snarky, stubborn, cranky heroine of this book. As the story begins, she’s a street urchin who thinks of no one except for herself. But as the story develops it’s obvious that behind her self-absorbed exterior lies so much more. When she meets up with the adorably sweet Luc, he brings out the best in her and before you reach the halfway point, it’s obvious these two are soulmates.

As always, I’m not going to give away any spoilers, but let’s just say the story has a lovely romance, rollicking adventure, plenty of humor, fantastic world-building, and one of the most imaginative plots I’ve come across in a very long time. The only reason why I’m giving this less than a perfect 5 stars is because I thought everything came together a little too quickly at the end. But this is a very minor complaint.

In the end, I cannot recommend Happily highly enough for children and adults. Chauncey has taken an often retold story, and given it a unique and refreshing spin, filled with teachable moments. If you’re a fan of fairytales like: Ella Enchanted, Ever After (with Drew Barrymore), The Princess Bride, and Aladdin, you need to read this ASAP! It’s a beautiful escape from real world woes, and I guarantee you’ll be utterly captivated. And if you read this review Chauncey, I’m putting in my request for a sequel now. PLEASE! Oh, and I’d like to thank Chauncey’s young daughter for requesting that her dad write a story for her. Because of her wish, we are all beneficiaries of this fanciful tale.

 

Moonbreaker (Secret Histories #11) by, Simon Green ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller

Thanks to NetGalley and Ace for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: My name is Eddie Drood, aka Shaman Bond, the very secret agent. And I am a dead man walking.

I’ve been poisoned by Dr. DOA. There is no cure, no treatment, no chance of a last-minute miracle. So all that is left to me and my love, Molly Metcalf, is to track down my killer and stop him before he can murder anyone else.

So whether that means fighting a secret army on another world; or searching for a forgotten weapon in the Museum of Unattached Oddities; or facing off against Grendel Rex, the Unforgiven God, in the hidden heart of the Moon, for the terrible secret that is Moonbreaker…I will do whatever it takes, while I still can. Because the game isn’t over till I say it’s over–and I still have one last card to play.

Moonbreaker is another fantastic entry in the long-running Secret Histories series. If you don’t remember my reviews on previous books, this series is a magical and science fiction play on James Bond. As always I caution you that if you haven’t read the previous books you need to start at the beginning, or as what’s happened to Eddie on occasion, you may become hopelessly lost on another world or in another dimension.

Whenever a series goes on this long, there’s a danger of monotony setting in due to a lack of fresh ideas. But this isn’t the case here. Simon Green is an author who continually amazes me with his seemingly boundless imagination. The Secret Histories books are constantly fun, roller-coaster thrill rides filled with plenty of humor, snark, and sass amidst all the bloody mayhem. Each book begins with a new danger that undoubtedly will not only wipe out Eddie and the intimidating and scary Drood family, but quite possibly the world, yet Eddie, with the able assistance of his enemy turned true love, wild witch Molly Metcalf, always manages to save the day. You would think this would get old but it doesn’t. This is due to the way Green effortlessly creates new creatures, villains, magics, and science. And the powerful Drood family who has been around for millennia, has no shortage of enemies, even Eddie, who’s the moral one of the family. 

Picking up where the previous book, Dr. DOA left off, Eddie is slowly dying from a seemingly incurable poison that not even his powerful family can decipher. Even his soulmate the magic of his soulmate Molly comes up short. For the first time, it seems like this could be curtains for Eddie, who up until now, has seemed to have more lives than a cat. I was actually nervous going into this because honestly, this time I just didn’t see anyway out for him. But, in the end, and yes this is a spoiler, he perseveres. Just like all his other perilous adventures, it’s not quick or tidy, but he lives on to fight another day, although not before making my own heart stop a few times. 

I honestly cannot convey how much I LOVE this series and Moonbreaker once again proves why. If  you’re new to this series and you love exciting science fiction and fantasy mixed with tongue-in-cheek humor, you simply have to try these books. Do it for me! Please! I 100% guarantee you will not regret it. I’m both looking forward to and dreading the finale of the series, Night Fall, which is due out on 6/12/18. It looks to join with Green’s other popular series, the Nightside, so this should be the mother of all endings. I’m prepared to have a box of tissues handy because I know I’m going to have a downright impossible time letting go of Eddie, Molly, and even the those insufferable, yet likable quirky Droods.

 

 

 

 

#Prettyboy Must Die, by Kimberly Reid ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 13th, 2018

288 Pages

Synopsis: A CIA prodigy’s cover is blown when he accidentally becomes an internet sensation in #Prettyboy Must Die, inspired by the #Alexfromtarget story.

When Peter Smith’s classmate snaps a picture of him during a late night run at the track, Peter thinks he might be in trouble. When she posts that photo—-along with the caption “See the Pretty Boy Run,”—-Peter knows he’s in trouble. But when hostile drop through the ceiling of his 6th period Chem Class, Peter’s pretty sure his trouble just became a national emergency. 

Because he’s not really Peter Smith. He’s Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. After a massive screw-up on his first mission, he’s on a pity assignment, a dozen hit lists and now, social media, apparently. As #Prettyboy, of all freaking things.

His cover’s blown, his school’s under siege, and if he screws up now, #Prettyboy will become #Deadboy faster than you can say, ‘fifteen minutes of fame.’ Trapped in a high school with rabid killers and rabid fans, he’ll need all his training and then some to save his job, his school, and, oh yeah, his life.

I have to confess I requested #Prettyboy Must Die because of the cover and the title. I also figured that since it was under 300 pages, if I hated it, it would be a quick read at least. But much to my surprise I actually enjoyed this. Don’t get me wrong, the plot is completely crazy and unrealistic, but it’s fun and quirky, and has some sly humor that had me laughing out loud more than once. Making Peter/Jake was a welcome and inspired choice and I also loved his best friend Bunker and the kick-ass Katie. While I don’t think this was as substantive as say, The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, it’s an entertaining bit of fluff that I think teens will enjoy. 

The Tombs, by Deborah Schaumberg ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Historical Fantasy, Mystery, New York City, Suspense

Thanks to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now 

448 Pages

Synopsis: New York, 1882. A dark forbidding city, and no place for a girl with unexplainable powers.

Sixteen-year-old Avery Kohl pines for the life she had before her mother was taken. She fears the mysterious men in crow masks who locked her mother in the Tombs asylum for being able to see what others couldn’t. Avery denies the signs in herself, focusing instead on her shifts at the ironworks factory and keeping her inventor father out of trouble. Other than secondhand tales of adventure from her best friend, Khan, an ex-slave, and caring for her falcon Seraphine, Avery spends her days struggling to survive.

Like her mother’s, Abery’s powers refuse to be contained. When she causes a bizarre explosion at the factory, she has no choice but to run from her lies, straight into the darkest corners of the city. Avery must embrace her abilities and learn to wield their power—-or join her mother in the cavernous horrors of the Tombs. And the Tombs has secrets of its own: strange experiments are being performed on “patients”…and no one knows why.

I hope you all don’t mind, but this is going to be a shorter than usual review. I’m still battling health stuff, but I wanted to share how much I loved The Tombs. First, how gorgeous is that cover? C’mon. Aren’t your hands reaching for it just looking at it? I’m also thrilled to say that the story is just about as wonderful as the cover. It’s a perfect blend of history and fantasy, and Deborah Schaumberg does a fantastic job at bring gritty 1882 New York City to vividly to life. Almost everything works here, from the well-rounded, relatable characters to the marvelous world-building. The only reason why I’m not giving this a perfect 5 Stars is because toward the middle of the book the pace seemed to slow down a bit for a few chapters. Overall though, The Tombs is an absolutely stellar historical fantasy that I unhesitatingly recommend to fans of this genre. There’d better be a sequel in the works because that ending definitely left me wanting more!

 

Honor Among Thieves (The Honors #1), by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Friendship, Mystery, Science Fiction, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to Edelweiss and Katherine Tegen Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

309 Pages

Synopsis: Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead of moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell. 

Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathans—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.

Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

As soon as I saw two of my favorite authors were teaming up to write a YA science fiction series my eyes lit up and with Honor Among Thieves, the first book The Honors series, I was not disappointed.

Zara is the type of savy, tough as nails heroine both authors are known for. She’s not perfect by any means. She tends to act first and ask questions later, which doesn’t always work out for her or anyone with her. A survivor of an abusive father, she’s mistrustful and has a chip on her shoulder a mile wide. But, she loves her mother and younger sister intensely and once she does make friends she’s insanely loyal and will instantly put herself in harm’s way to help them. I did find myself wishing that a little more had been shared about her childhood, the intense migraines she suffered, and the surgery using Leviathan biotech that cured her. Especially as that surgery seems to be a part of the bond she and Nadim almost instantly develop.

And speaking of Nadim, I never thought I’d love a sentient ship as a character, but I did. I had to keep reminding myself that he was an alien ship, not an actual human. He’s written so realistically that I had no problem buying into Zara’s and his developing relationship. Being the intelligent, headstrong seventeen-year-old that she is, Zara needs someone who can match her in spirit, yet help resolve some of her trust issues and while he’s initially a bit bemused by her, Nadim certainly winds up fitting the bill. I’m really excited to see where Caine and Aguirre take their relationship in subsequent books. 

The other human accompanying Zara and Nadim is Beatrice, who I initially thought was going to be a weak character, but she pleasantly surprised me. I loved the way her friendship with both Zara and Nadim evolved, and she perfectly rounds out this team.

There’s also plenty of diversity in this story which I loved. Zara is black and Beatriz is from Brazil. There’s also another strong female, Chao-Xang, who is a side character here but I have a feeling that she might be playing a bigger role in the next book. 

I have to admit that the first few chapters were the weakest part of the book. I felt like a lot was thrown at me in a relatively short amount of time, but once Zara and Bea are on their way with Nadim it’s just about sheer perfection. I was enchanted with the Leviathans and the way they communicate with each other and listen to the “singing” of stars. It’s beautifully described and in someways reminded me of humpback whales. No matter how much I tried I could not tell when one author’s writing stopped and the other’s began. The chapters flowed smoothly and seamlessly together and if I didn’t know any better I would have thought there was only one author. While there’s not a lot of action except for the first few chapters and the last third of the book, I didn’t mind this at all. I was so invested in the characters as they  learned about each other, that their story and the mystery of what was really happening with the Leviathans and their Honors, kept me turning the pages and I read this in one sitting. The only other issue I had was with the ending which was exciting but a little abrupt. I still had some questions that hadn’t been addressed so when I reached the last page it left me hanging a bit. I have no doubt though that they’ll be answered in bk. 2.

Overall, Honor Among Thieves is an outstanding beginning to this new space epic and I cannot wait to read more. I do have one word of caution though. There’s a scene where Nadim is being physically assaulted by one of his “Elders”, and I actually had a hard time reading it. It’s graphic and I think it could be a trigger for certain readers who have been victims of abuse. That said, this is another book that will be going on my favorites of 2018 list and I highly recommend it to science fiction lovers. 

 

Mask of Shadows, by Linsey Miller ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Fantasy, Gender Identity, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home.

When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen’s personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge.

But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.

I have to begin by commenting on this gorgeous cover. The artwork is definitely eye-catching, and if I were rating just that, it would definitely be 5 stars. But, as I have to take other things into consideration like character and plot development, and world-building, to be honest, I ran into some issues with Linsey Miller’s debut novel.

Sal is the first gender fluid character in YA fiction and I have to say “Bravo!” I can only imagine the time that was spent crafting their character, and for the most part, it really paid off. They’re feisty, determined and very resourceful and I was instantly emotionally connected to them. Sal has a tragic backstory which plays a big role in shaping who they’ve become and it makes them very sympathetic, but the way in which it was revealed was a bit too much info-dumping. What I loved the most about Sal was the matter of fact way their gender fluidity was portrayed. This isn’t a book about bigotry, and everyone accepted Sal for who they were. When dressed as a male they’re referred to as “he”, when wearing female clothes, they’re a “she”. No big deal. It just is.

There are several secondary characters who add interesting components to the story, and the romance between Sal and Elise is lovely and avoids all the cliches like love triangles and instal-love. But the standout for me is Maud, Sal’s attendant for the assassin audition. I loved her backstory and her support and loyalty for Sal. She’s just a wonderful character that I fell in love with.

The world-building is okay, but I thought it could have been developed far more. There wasn’t enough detail about the world or the setting and it left me a little frustrated.  I also thought the assassins audition went on far too long and really slowed down the pace of the story.

Mask of Shadows has some brilliant moments, but doesn’t quite live up to its highly original and creative premise. However, this is the first book in an as yet untitled series or trilogy, and I have a feeling that Linsey Miller could turn this into something truly spectacular. Because of this I still recommend this to fans of YA fantasy, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this series develops.

 

 

 

Duels & Deceptions, By Cindy Anstey – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Historical Romance, Mystery, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Swoon reads for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

368 Pages

Synopsis: Miss Lydia Whitfield, heiress to the family fortune, has her future entirely planned out. She will run the family estate until she marries the man of her late father’s choosing, and then she will spend the rest of her days as a devoted wife. Confident in those arrangements, Lydia has tasked her young law clerk, Mr. Robert Newton, to begin drawing up the marriage contracts. Everything is going to plan.

Until Lydia–and Robert along with her–is kidnapped. Someone is after her fortune and won’t hesitate to destroy her reputation to get it. With Robert’s help, Lydia strives to keep her family’s good name intact and expose whoever is behind the devious plot. But as their investigation delves deeper and their affections for each other grow, Lydia starts to wonder whether her carefully planned future is in fact what she truly wants.

Duels & Deceptions is a fun and frothy Regency-era read with a heroine who Jane Austen would have liked!

Lydia Whitfield is my favorite kind of character. She’s highly intelligent, courageous, has a dry sense of humor, and is a little snarky. The romance between her and Robert, starts a bit awkwardly, but by the end they were utterly endearing. The banter between them is funny and sharp, and I enjoyed seeing them match wits. They’re vividly brought to life by Anstey giving them both third person POVs.

The first part of the book is fast-paced and filled with humor. Then around the halfway point things seemed to slow down somewhat. It wasn’t boring by any means. It just didn’t seem to have as much action. Things picked back up though in the latter part of the story and the ending was picture perfect. 

I found the world-building to be well executed, and it’s obvious that Cindy Anstey did her research into 1800s societal norms, dress, and language. I’m a little fussy when it comes to anachronisms in any of the historical fiction books I read, but I really didn’t stumble across any here.

While the figure behind Lydia’s and Robert’s kidnapping isn’t difficult to figure out, the couple’s investigation is still enjoyable to follow.

There’s not a lot of straight historical fiction for YAs that doesn’t involve fantasy or paranormal elements, particularly Regency era stories, so I’m quite happy that Duels & Deceptions proved to be so enjoyable. The tone of the book is so lighthearted and fun, I think I had a smile on my face almost the entire time I was reading it. I highly recommend this for YA and adult fans of historical romance. I’m looking forward to reading more books by Cindy Anstey.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (The Athena Club Bk. 1) by, Theodora Goss ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Adventure, Classic Horror Retellings, Mysteries, Suspense, Victorian Historical Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

416 Pages

Synopsis: Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein. 

When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past returns. Now it is up to the monsters to triumph over the monstrous. 

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter is an absolute delight from start to finish for so many reasons. It’s clever, creative, and original, with funny and memorable characters that fans of classic horror will love.

This motley group of young women, or as they call themselves, “monsters”, each take turns contributing to the story that Catherine Moreau is writing, which relates how they meet and the adventure they embark upon. It took me a couple of chapters to get used to the writing, because each character kept interrupting Cat, especially young Diana Hyde who is hysterically incorrigible. While I wound up loving these asides, at the beginning they were a bit distracting. 

The plot itself is so imaginative and Theodora Goss has my deepest admiration for coming up with the idea to bring together the “daughters” of some of classic horror’s most infamous villains to solve a mystery. And not only that, but she gives them all fully developed personalities and backstories without taking away from the central plot. There are even nods to Sherlock Holmes & Watson, and Dracula.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter is truly a monster mash-up of epic proportions, and I cannot recommend it highly enough, particularly to fans of classic horror. I just read that the sequel will be coming out in the summer of 2018, and I can’t wait for the further adventures of the Athena Club!

 

 

 

 

 

Ash and Quill (The Great Library #3), by Rachel Caine – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Alternate History, Fantasy, LGBT Relationships, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available Now

368 Pages

Synopsis: Hoarding all the knowledge in the world, the Great Library jealously guards its secrets. But now a group of rebels poses a dangerous threat to its tyranny…

Jess Brightwell and his band of exiles have fled London, only to find themselves imprisoned in Philadelphia, a city led by those who would rather burn books than submit. But Jess and his friends have a bargaining chip: the knowledge to build a machine that will break the Library’s rule.

Their time is running out. To survive, they’ll have to choose to live or die as one, to take the fight to their enemies–and to save the very soul of the Great Library…

The third installment in the Great Library series, Ash And Quill picks up immediately where Paper And Fire left off. To quickly sum up the mythology of the series: The Great Library of Alexandria exists in this alternate reality. Sadly, this isn’t a good thing. You see, they insist they’re there “to contain the knowledge of the world in the name of the greater good.” What this really means is no one outside of The Library is allowed to possess actual print books. If they want to read they’re given “blanks”, into which stories can be temporarily downloaded. There are all sorts of other rules and restrictions, but the biggest and most serious offense is possession of a real book. It’s not only a serious crime, it’s one that may cost you your life.

This is shaping up to be one of my favorite YA series, which isn’t a huge surprise as I’m a huge fan of Rachel Caine’s previous books. While I found the last book a little slower paced, here the action began on the very first page and never stopped. And what I really liked was that everything that unfolds in this book is obviously setting things up for the last two. 

What truly stands out though are the characters. In the previous two books there were times where I felt somewhat disconnected from Jess and his friends. Here, they literally spring to life. The dynamic between them is wonderful and they each contribute something vitally important to their mission. Although romance understandably takes a backseat in this eventful story, what is there is lovely, whether it’s between Jess and Morgan; Wolfe and Santi; or Dario and Khalila. And best of all, there is no angst and no annoying love triangles!’

The world-building continues to be spectacular and with Jess and his fellow rebels spending a majority of the story with book “Burners” in Philadelphia, you get to see what The Great Library has done in a different light. The ending is a heart-rending cliffhanger and I can’t believe we have to wait an entire year for the next book! I swear this series is going to kill me before it comes to a close! 

Ash And Quill is definitely my favorite of this series thus far. Full of magic, adventure, friendship, and of course–BOOKS!–this is a series not only for teens, but adult book lovers as well, and I really can’t recommend it highly enough! 

 

 

 

True North (True Born Trilogy), by L.E. Sterling – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

400 Pages

Synopsis: Abandoned by her family in Plague-ridden Dominion City, eighteen-year-old Lucy Fox has no choice but to rely on the kindness of the True Borns, a renegade group of genetically enhanced humans, to save her twin sister, Marot. But Nolan Storm, their mysterious leader, has his own agenda. When Storm backtracks on his promise to rescue Margot, Lucy takes her fate into her own hands and sets off for Russia with her True Born bodyguard and maybe-something-more, the lethal yet beautiful Jared Price. In Russia, there’s been whispered rumors of a Plague Cure.

While Lucy fights her magnetic attraction to Jared, anxious that his loyalty to Storm will hurt her chances of finding her sister, they quickly discover that not all is as it appears…and discovering the secrets contained in the Fox sisters’ blood before they wind up dead is just the beginning.

As they say in Dominion, sometimes it’s not you…it’s your DNA.

I’ve been looking forward to True North since I finished its predecessor, True Born, and although I think it suffers a slight case of the dreaded “sequelitis”, there were still parts I enjoyed. I think my biggest problem was that there just didn’t seem to be as much action in this as there was with the first. After the exciting conclusion in True Born, I assumed that in addiction to more action-packed fight scenes, we’d also get a better picture of Russia and how it differs from Dominion. I was also expecting more information regarding the different societal factions, as well as more revelations about the Fox sisters. While there are some more answers given about Lucy and Margot, they don’t come until near the end, and there is nothing new imparted about the Preachers or the True Borns, which left me a bit frustrated. My last complaint is in regards to Lucy and Jared’s romantic relationship, or rather the lack of one. Jared drove me absolutely up the wall with his hot and cold attitude toward her, and even when he finally explained himself, I just didn’t buy it. He reminded me too much of Edward Cullen in Twilight, (which is a whole other topic for another day). But, there were also some positive aspects to balance the negatives. Lucy, who I really liked in the previous book, continued to grow and find herself here. She was more self-confident and willing to rely on her own instincts even if it meant going against what others were telling her. I have a feeling that she’s truly going to be a force to be reckoned with. There was also a new character named Alistair who I thought was intriguing and likable, and I hope there’s much more about him in the next book. Nolan Storm, the enigmatic leader of the True Borns, came across even more interesting here, and left me wondering what his true motivations are toward Lucy and Margot. Thankfully the action did pick up a little in the second half and the ending was a satisfying set-up for the third book. While True North was a little disappointing, I’m still hopeful that the next book will regain all the excitement that True Born was filled with. 

About the Author:

L.E. Sterling had an early obsession with sci-fi, fantasy and romance to which she remained faithful even through an M.A in Creative Writing and a PhD in English Literature–where she completed a thesis on magical representation. She is the author of two previous novels, the cult hit YA novel The Originals (under pen name L.E. Vollick), dubbed “the Catcher in the Rye of a new generation” by one reviewer, and the urban fantasy Pluto’s Gate. Originally hailing from Parry Sound, Ontario, L.E. spent most of her summers roaming across Canada in a van with her father, a hippie musician, her brothers and an occasional stray mutt–inspiring her writing career. She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.