Reverie, by Ryan La Sala ~ 5 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, LGBT, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: January 1st, 2020

384 Pages

Synopsis: Inception meets The Magicians, except with better wigs and a maniacal drag queen sorceress attempting to unravel the reality of Connecticut (yes, the state) and replace it with something…well something better than Connecticut. 

Ryan La Sala’s debut fantasy is a #OwnVoices story following Kane Montgomery, a gay teenager piecing his life back together after an attack robs him of his memories. As Kane searches for who he was, he uncovers a war for the creative rights to reality itself, each battle played out in an imagined world turned real: a reverie.

Reveries are worlds born from a person’s private fantasies, and once they manifest they can only be unraveled by bringing their conflicts to resolution. Reveries have rules and plots, magic and monsters, and one wrong step could twist the entire thing into a lethal, labyrinthine nightmare. Unraveling them is dangerous work but it’s what Kane and The Others do.

Or did, until one of The Others purged Kane of his memories. But now Kane is back, and solving the mystery of his betrayal is the only way to unite his team and defeat reality’s latest threat: Poesy, a sorceress bent on harvesting the reveries for their pure, imaginative power. 

But what use might a drag queen sorceress have with a menagerie of stolen reveries? And should Kane, a boy with no love for a team that betrayed him, fight to stop her, or defect to aid her?

Reverie is about the seduction of escaping inwards, about the worlds we hide within ourselves, and the danger of dreams that come true.

Oh. My. Goodness! I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve read some pretty amazing books during my lifetime, but Reverie is one that I don’t think I’ll EVER forget!

I knew as soon as the synopsis mentioned a maniacal drag queen sorceress, that this book was going to be different than anything else I’d read before and I wasn’t disappointed. The world building is unsurprisingly phenomenal, but underneath all the glitter and glam is the unflinching exploration of how the world views and treats those who aren’t heterosexual. 

At the center is Kane, who was outed at a young age. As a result, he’s encased himself in a tough exterior shell, but inside he’s a marshmallow who’ll do anything for his friends or anyone else who needs help, as long as they respect him. The members of Kane’s team, The Others are equally intriguing and all have their own roles in regards to the reveries. There’s plenty of teen angst, but this never takes away from the story. And last but certainly not least, there’s Poesy, the dynamic villainous sorceress, who more than lives up to the expectations set by the premise and perfectly rounds out this diverse cast of characters.

The fun and entertaining storyline itself is complex yet easy to follow, and I finished it in two sittings. I actually found myself purposely slowing down because I didn’t want to come to the end. 

In essence, Reverie is a magically flamboyant tale that brilliantly mixes the fantastical with reality. It’s a book that I highly recommend to teens and adults who are looking for something extraordinary and unforgettable. While this is listed as a planned standalone, the ending and its epilogue have me hoping for a sequel!

 

 

 

 

 

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Midnight Beauties (Grim Lovelies #2), by Meghan Shepherd ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Romance, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 13th, 2019

448 Pages

Synopsis: The witches, beasties, goblins, and Royals return in this spellbinding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Meghan Shepherd’s Grim Lovelies duology.

Ever since she discovered her affinity for magic, seventeen-year-old Anouk has been desperate to become a witch. It’s the only way to save her friends who, like Anouk, are beasties: animals enchanted into humans. But unlike Anouk, the other beasties didn’t make it out of the battle at Montelimar in one piece.

With her friends now trapped in their animal forms, Anouk is forced into a sinister deal involving a political marriage with her sworn enemy, a wicked plot to overthrow London’s fiercest coven of witches, and a deadly trial by fire to become a witch. The price for power has always been steep in the world of the Haute. Now it will cost Anouk everything. Wicked and delightful, this spellbinding sequel to a Grim Lovelies is perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and The Hazel Wood.

Grim Lovelies introduced Megan Sheperd’s latest foray into the whimsical yet creepy, and I quite enjoyed it. While I don’t think Midnight Beauties is quite as good, I still had fun reading it.

The best part of this duology is the world building which is utterly fantastic. Paris is one of my favorite places even though I’ve never visited, so to have that as the setting and then throw one of the most original magic systems I’ve come across in there, made me an instant fan. One Sheperd’s biggest strengths is her ability to bring her worlds to life and suck her readers into them, and once again that’s exactly what she does here. However, one of the issues I have with this conclusion is that she adds a lot more rules to the magic and at times it’s a bit too much and interrupts the flow of the story.

I like Anouk even more in Beauties then I did in the previous book, as I think her character development grows exponentially. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the other characters. Ones who I grew to like in Grim Lovelies, fade into the background, and there are too many new ones introduced that I felt didn’t contribute to the story. 

I have to be honest and say I struggled with the rating. I kept going back and forth between 3.5 – 4.0 stars (even while writing this review), before finally settling on the higher mark. Despite my issues, the world building is phenomenal and Sheperd’s writing so beautifully evocative, that for me, I can forgive the few problems I encountered. I wish she had decided to make this a trilogy instead though, because I think that might have solved just about everything, including the somewhat rushed ending. Overall, I do think Midnight Beauties is a satisfying finish to the Grim Lovelies duology and I think it will please her legions of fans. 

 

 

 

 

The Lantern’s Ember, by Colleen Houck ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Paranormal, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: Available Now 

416 Pages

Synopsis: Welcome to a world where nightmarish creatures reign supreme.

Five hundred years ago, Jack made a deal with the devil. It’s difficult for him to remember much about his mortal days. So, he focuses on fulfilling his sentence as a Lantern—one of the watchmen who guard the portals to the Otherworld, a realm crawling with every nightmarish creature imaginable. Jack has spent centuries jumping from town to town, ensuring that nary a mortal—or not-so-mortal—soul slips past him. That is, until he meets beautiful Ember O’Dare.

Seventeen, stubborn, and a natural-born witch, Ember feels a strong pull to the Otherworld. Undeterred by Jack’s warnings, she crosses into the forbidden plane with the help of a mysterious and debonair vampire—and the chase through a dazzling, dangerous world is on. Jack must do everything in his power to get Ember back where she belongs before the earthly and unearthly worlds descend into chaos.

I was so excited to read this retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, especially as it’s written by Colleen Houck who wrote the imaginative Tiger’s Curse series. I’m sorry to say that while it wasn’t a complete wash, I was left disappointed.

This is set sometime after the Salem witch trials, but you don’t really get a sense of where Ember lives. Most of the story focuses on the “otherworld” which is much more developed in terms of technology. It’s a little steampunkish which thrilled me to no end, and as usual the author does a beautiful job with world building. What did let me down though, was the lack of thrills and chills. I was expecting so much more spookiness given the story this was based on.

My main issue however was with the characters. First, there’s a love square, and you guys know how much I love those. (Yes that was sarcasm.) And, this was one of those rare stories where I actually liked the secondary characters more than the main one. I didn’t have strong feelings about Ember and Jack either way. They were just sort of  “meh” for me. I loved the others though, especially Deila who’s a kickass pirate captain with a metal tooth. She’s all kinds of awesome and deserves her own story.

And finally, the way The Lantern’s Ember is written, it feels more middle-schoolish even with the annoying romantic entanglements. Ultimately this latest book by Houck just didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m still a fan of the author though so hopefully this is a one off.

 

 

 

The Raging Ones (The Raging Ones #1), by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, LGBTQ, Romance, Science Fiction, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: In a freezing world, where everyone knows the day they will die, three teens break all the odds.

Franny Bluecastle, a tough city teen, dreams of dying in opulence, to see wealth she’s never known. Like the entire world, she believes it’s impossible to dodge a deathday.

Until the day she does. 

Court Icecastle knows wealth. He also knows pain. Spending five years in Vorkter Prison, a fortress of ice and suffering, he dreams of life beyond the people that haunt him and the world that imprisoned him.

Mykal Kickfall fights for those he loves. The rugged Hinterlander shares a frustrating yet unbreakable connection with Court—which only grows more lawless and chaotic as their senses and emotions connect with Franny.

With the threat of people learning they’ve dodged their deathdays, they must flee their planet to survive. But to do so, all three will have to hide their shared bond as they vie for a highly sought after spot in the newest mission to space. Against thousands of people far smarter, who’ll live longer, and never fear death the way that they do.

 I’ve read a few books centered around the deathday premise and I’m always interested in how an author is going to deal with the topic of people knowing when they’re going to die. I liked the way The Raging Ones inserted this into the story, but there were some other things that prevented this from being a perfect read for me.

The biggest issue I had was with the three main characters: Franny, Mykal, and Court. The chapters alternate between their povs, and I was frustrated, because I liked them, but their voices sounded much too similar. I also thought they could have been developed more, but the authors spend so much detailing on the world building, that there’s no time for anything else. That said, there’s no love triangle and I really enjoyed the relationship between the three and LOVED the bond shared by Mykal and Court.

Which brings me to my other issue. This first book is basically a huge info dump. On the one hand, I found it interesting, original, and creative. On the other, I felt like there was a ton of information being thrown at me, and between this and all the twists thrown in, it was too much at times. The ending is a huge cliffhanger which is fine, but there were a couple of things I wished had been answered that weren’t. For example, by the end of the book it was still a mystery to me how people’s deathdays are decided.

Despite my issues with The Raging Ones, I do think this series has loads of potential and I will definitely be picking up the sequel next year.

 

 

Grace and Fury, by Tracy Banghart ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Social Issues, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Children for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 31st, 2018

320 Pages

Synopsis: In a world where woman have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.

Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace—someone to stand by the heir to the throne a a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir’s eye, it’s Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.

Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to free her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.

Before I begin my review of Grace and Fury, I want to warn readers that there are some triggers that may make some uncomfortable. These include: Hints of past rape, implied attempted rape and sexual assaults, graphic violence, and animal abuse. Given the serious nature of the story none of these are written gratuitously, but they’re still there.

I loved the two dominant themes in this book, the bonds of sisterhood and women fighting back against oppression. The story is told from the alternating viewpoints of Serina and Nomi, and while I definitely had a favorite (I’m not telling you which one), I was invested in both. I have to be honest though and say that the two of them make some god awful decisions that not only impact them, but others as well. They didn’t really make sense to me and ultimately took away from the story. There is also a love triangle which I found annoying, and I thought the romance as a whole was overblown. The world building though is phenomenal and I was sucked in from the first page. It’s a fast read and the cliffhanger ending left me with plenty of questions so I’m looking forward to the next book.

Overall, while it definitely has some issues that will hopefully be worked out in the sequel, I think Grace and Fury is a promising beginning to this new untitled series. Because of the aforementioned themes, I’d recommend this to readers age 16 and up.

 

Night Fall (Secret Histories #12), by Simon R. Green ~ 5 ++++++++++ Stars!

Tags

Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Humor, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller

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

Release Date: Available Now 

464 Pages

Synopsis: From the New York bestselling author of Moonbreaker comes the epic final Secret Histories adventure, where the Droods will take on the most unexpected of enemies: the inhabitants of the Nightside.

The Droods are all about control, making people do what they’re told for the greater good. The Nightside is all about choice: good and bad and everything in between. The Droods want to make the world behave. The Nightside wants to party. They were never going to get along. 

For centuries, ancient Pacts have kept the Droods out of the Nightside, but now the Droods see the Nightside as a threat to the whole world. They march into the long night, in their armour, to put it under their control. All too soon, the two sides are at war. It’s Eddie Drood and Molly Metcalf against John Taylor and Shotgun Suzie. The Drood Sarjeant-at-Arms and their Armourer against Dead Boy and Razor Eddie. More groups join in: the London Knights, the Ghost Finders, the Spawn of Frankenstein, Shadows Fall, and the Soulhunters. Science and magic are running wild, there’s blood running in the gutters, and the bodies are piling up.

Is anyone going to get out of this alive?

I have such mixed feelings about Night Fall. On the one hand (as you can probably tell by my rating), I absolutely LOVED it! On the other hand, this concludes not only the Secret Histories series, but also Simon Green’s Nightside and Ghost Finders series. So if you’re a fan of the author as I am, this is like the literary equivalent of Armageddon!

*Sniff.* Okay. I shall endeavor to pull myself together. As with the other Secret Histories books I’ve reviewed I need to warn interested parties that you need to read these books in order. If you don’t you’ll wind up helplessly confused. Eddie Drood is like a science fiction/fantasy/comic book version of James Bond. His alias is actually “Shaman Bond” and the previous titles are all clever plays on Ian Fleming’s books, ie:  The Man With the Golden Torc; Daemons Are Forever; The Spy Who Haunted Me… Well, you get the idea. While Eddie physically appears so ordinary as to melt into a crowd, you do not want to get on his bad side, especially when he’s accompanied by his former archenemy, now lover, the wild witch Molly Metcalf. Together they make a most formidable team which is a good thing as in this epic finale they face off against their Nightside counterparts, John Taylor (former private investigator, now the “Overseer” of the Nightside known as Walker) and his frightening wife, Shotgun Suzie (also known as Suzie Shooter and “Oh Christ, it’s her! Run!”) 

Without revealing any spoilers, let me just say that this is a non-stop thrill ride from beginning to end. Well known characters from all three series make welcome appearances and enjoyable new ones are introduced as well. The battles between the Droods and the citizens of the Nightside are bloody and epic, and leave many fan favorites dead. Underlying the story is the theme of how war can so quickly spiral out of control and leave a multitude of casualties of good people on both sides in its wake. By the end of the book loose ends from all three series are neatly tied up, which will leave fans shell-shocked but satisfied.

While I’m upset that two of my favorite series have come to an end, Night Fall is a spectacular finale. In my humble opinion, Simon Green is one of the most brilliant science fiction/fantasy authors out there, and if you’re a fan of these genres but haven’t tried any of his books you’re missing out. I don’t know what’s next for this gifted writer, but I do know I’ll be one of the first in line waiting for it. For now, please excuse me while I grieve.

 

 

Smoke and Iron (The Great Library #4), by Rachel Caine ~ 5 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thrillers, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: Available Now

448 Pages

Synopsis: The opening moves of a deadly game have begun. Jess Brightwell has put himself in direct peril, with only his wits and skill to aid him in a game of cat and mouth with the Archivist Magister of the Great Library. With the world catching fire, and words printed on paper the spark that lights rebellion, it falls to smugglers, thieves, and scholars to save a library thousands of years in the making…if they can stay alive long enough to outwit their enemies.

Smoke and Iron is the latest in a thrilling YA series that just keeps getting better and better with each installment! I know I’ve said this repeatedly, but in my humble opinion, the prolific Rachel Caine is a brilliant author, whether she’s writing for teens or adults. I’ve read everything she’s written over the years and have never been disappointed.

This picks up immediately where Ash and Quill left off. Our group of heroes are split up and each is facing more danger than ever before. As usual the story is told from multiple POVs which not only gives the reader a wonderful sense of the characters, but also adds to the fabulous world building. 

In terms of action and pacing, I think this might be my favorite book in the series. It adds further complexity to both the characters and the story yet is tightly written. There’s plenty of blood, gore and heartbreak though, so be warned!

Smoke and Iron has left me feverishly anticipating the conclusion to The Great Library series. Sadly it will most likely be a year before fans see the as yet untitled book. On the plus side this gives readers who haven’t started the series ample time to catch up. Even if you don’t normally read YA, if you like fantasy, science fiction, thrilling adventure, and you’re a bibliophile, I guarantee you’ll LOVE these books!

The Life And Death Parade, by Eliza Wass ~ 1.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Horror, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

256 Pages

Synopsis: One year ago, Kitty’s boyfriend Nikki Bramley visited a psychic who told him he had no future. Now, he’s dead. With the Bramley family grieving in separate corners of their house, Kitty sets out to find the psychic who read Nikki his fate. Instead she finds Roan, an enigmatic boy posing as a medium who belongs to the Life and Death Parade—a group of supposed charlatans that explore, and exploit, the thin veil between this world and the next. A group  whose members include the psychic…and Kitty’s late mother. Desperate to learn more about the group and their connection to Nikki, Kitty convinces Roan to return to the Bramley house with her and secures a position for him within the household. Roan quickly ingratiates himself with the Bramleys, and soon enough it seems like everyone is ready to move on. Kitty, however, increasingly suspects Roan knows more about Nikki than he’s letting on. And when they finally locate the Life and Death Parade, and the psychic who made that fateful prophecy to Nikki, Kitty uncovers a secret about Roan that changes everything. From rising star Eliza Wass comes a sophisticated, mesmerizing meditation on the depths of grief and the magic of faith. After all, it only works if you believe it.

As you can tell by my rating, The Life and Death Parade just wasn’t for me. I enjoyed the author’s previous book The Cresswell Plot and I was so excited about this when I first read the premise, but instead, it took me almost two weeks to push myself through it and at 256 pages, that’s not good.

The characters are all very one-dimensional and try as I might I was unsuccessful in connecting with any of them. Kitty and Nikki’s romance didn’t come across as believable and her love/hate relationship with Roan was annoying. While I liked the setting, the plot was sort of all over the place, leaving me confused much of the time. Adding to my confusion was that the dialogue just melded together, so half the time I didn’t even know which character was speaking. There were a couple of twists near the end that piqued my interest, but by then it was too little too late.

What I found so frustrating is that I think the concept of The Life and Death Parade had loads of potential. As is often the case with a book I wind up disillusioned with, I can’t help but wonder where the editor was. Although this was a disappointment for me, there are several glowing reviews on Goodreads, so as always, I encourage you to check them out if the premise intrigues you.

Furyborn (Empirium #1), By Claire Legrand ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: May 22nd, 2018

512 Pages

Synopsis: When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental action. The only people who should perform this extraordinary power are a pair of  prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed…unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now she believes herself to be untouchable—-until her mother vanished without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them will determine the fate of their world—-and each other.

Hi everyone. This is going to be a mini-review as I’m still not feeling peachy, but as Furyborn is a hugely hyped book coming out tomorrow, I wanted to be able to give all you YA fantasy lovers out there, at least a quick snapshot of what I thought.

So, I love Claire Legrand and have been breathlessly awaiting this new book. There was a lot I loved about it, namely the characters. I LOVED both Rielle and Eliana, who are both strong female characters, yet at the same time extremely flawed. I thought the alternating chapters between them worked fine and didn’t slow down the pace one iota which can happen at times. I was completely enthralled with both their stories, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be Eliana who seemed more developed as she went through a much more redemptive journey.

What made me give this only 3.5 stars was the world building, which having read the author’s previous books, really shocked me. For those of you familiar with Legrand’s writing style, this has all the originality and creativity she is known for. What’s lacking is detail. This world is complicated and from the beginning I felt as though I was thrown into the deep end of the pool and left floundering for much of the book. While there are some aspects explained throughout the course of the story, at the end I was still confused about some things.

Despite my frustrations with the world building, I still enjoyed Furyborn and I’m hoping more will be explained in the next book. I would recommend this for older teens and adults as there are some sexual scenes that are little more graphic than what you typically find in a YA novel. 

The Diminished (Untitled Duology #1), by Kaitlyn Sage Patterson ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, LGBT, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: Available Now

384 Pages

Synopsis: In the Alskad Empire, nearly all are born with a twin, two halves to form one whole…yet some face the world alone.

The singleborn.

A rare few are singleborn in each generation, and therefore given the right to rule by the gods and goddesses. Bo Trousillion is one of those few, born into the royal line and destined to rule. Though he has been chosen to succeed his great-aunt, Queen Runa, as the leader of the Alskad Empire, Bo has never felt equal to the grand future before him.

The diminished.

When one twin dies, the other usually follows, unable to face the world without their other half. Those who survive are considered diminished, doomed to succumb to the violent grief that inevitably destroys everyone whose twin has died. Such is the fate of Vi Abernathy, whose twin sister died in infancy. Raised by the anchorites of the temple after her family cast her off, Vi has spent her whole life scheming for a way to escape and live out what’s left of her life in peace.

As their sixteenth birthday approaches, Bo and Vi face very different futures—-one a life of luxury as the heir to the throne, the other years of backbreaking work as a temple servant. But a long-held secret and the fate of the empire are destined to bring them together in a way they never could have imagined.

The Diminished is a fabulous beginning to an as of yet, untitled duology. The chapters alternate between the two main characters, both who I found equally fascinating. I loved the way Bo being gay was depicted so matter of factly. There is no bigotry in this world regarding sexual identity. It’s an accepted part of society. Neither is there any racism. Unfortunately there is bigotry toward the “diminished”, those who have lost a twin. So, not only do they go through the heartbreak of losing their other half, but then they’re treated with abject cruelty. This is most detailed in Vi’s chapters and it can be tough reading at times. While it seems as though Bo and Vi have nothing in common, as the story continues their lives converge in the most interesting ways. 

The world building is rich in detail and I loved how the Alskad Empire shares societal issues that mirror those found in the real world. Between that and the characters, I was completely enthralled throughout the entire story. I’m looking forward to seeing where the next book takes things. I highly recommend The Diminished for older teens and adults who are looking for a fantasy that’s unique and exciting.