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! 

 

 

 

Now I Rise (The Conqueror’s Saga #2) by Kiersten White ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Family Relationships, Historical Fiction, LGBT Relationships, Ottoman Empire, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: Available Now

496 Pages

Synopsis: Lada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she’s always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lads is out to punish anyone who crosses her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn’t getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart. There’s no time to wonder if he still thinks about her, even loves her. She left him before he could leave her.

What Lada needs is her younger brother Radu’s subtlety and skill. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople–and it’s no diplomatic mission. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned the unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. Radu longs for his sister’s fierce confidence–but for the first time in his life, he rejects her unexpected plea for help. Torn between loyalties to faith, the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, he knows he owes Lada nothing. If she dies, he could never forgive himself–but if he fails in Constantinople, will Mehmed ever forgive him?

As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won…and souls will be lost.

Now I Rise picks up directly where the previous book, And I Darken, left off. Lada (the female version of Vlad the Impaler), is set on fulfilling her destiny to become Prince of Wallachia, leaving her younger brother, Radu, behind with Mehmed. The two siblings are separated during the entire book and this not only effects their relationship, but it further shapes them into the leaders they will become. In the first book, you saw how Lada’s brutal childhood at the hands of her father, made her a fierce, determined and courageous potential leader. In this book, all those traits are still visible, but her ruthlessness ultimately takes an even darker turn, resulting in her committing some truly horrific atrocities. You can see she’s not completely heartless by some of the relationships she has with those who are loyal to her. But by the end, she cares nothing about sacrificing innocents if she believes it’s in the greater good. Even some of those who have remained steadfast in their support, begin to question her. Lada is so fixated on her goal that she doesn’t realize she’s turning into someone far worse than her father. Seeing her transform is cringe-worthy at times, yet utterly mesmerizing. Meanwhile, Radu, who was always the lightness to Lada’s darkness, is facing a crisis of conscience. Still suffering from his unrequited love for Mehmed, he becomes a spy for him to aid in the conquest of Constantinople. The longer he’s there, the more conflicted he becomes over whether he’s doing the right thing. His anguish is heartbreaking, and the things he does changes him in many ways by the conclusion. I didn’t really care for Mehmed in the first book, and nothing in this one has changed my mind. Actually, I dislike him even more. He’s a manipulative, power-hungry ruler who has no problem using or betraying the people who care for him, as both Lada and Radu learn. He may be charming and charismatIc, but he continues to leave me unimpressed. There are quite a few secondary characters that stand out as much as the three main characters, and add interesting layers to the already complex story. Now I Rise is even better than it’s predecessor in terms of world-building, character development, and action. Kiersten White has my deepest admiration for her ability to bring history to life. She may veer away from total accuracy at times, but that doesn’t take anything away from the story. While this is technically a YA trilogy, due to the complexity and brutality of the story, I would suggest this for older teens and adults. You also definitely need to read these books in order because otherwise you’ll find yourself completely lost. The ending of this sequel leaves no doubt that Lada, Radu, and Mehmed are on a collision course, which has me eagerly anticipating the final book, which frustratingly won’t come out until next year. In the meantime, if you’re an adult who usually doesn’t read YA, but you like historical fiction, I cannot recommend these books highly enough! 

 

 

 

Cursing Fate (The Fated #2) ~ By Brenda Drake – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Bullying, Coming of Age Stories, LGBT Relationships, Paranormal Fiction, Romance, Suicide, Suspense, YA Fiction

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

220 Pages

Release Date: November 22nd, 2016

Synopsis: There’s something strange about the Layne sisters, and Wade Diaz wants nothing to do with them. Especially the one who ripped his heart out and set it on fire before tossing it in the garbage several months ago. Iris. He can’t even think her name without unconsciously rubbing the spot in his chest where she left a gaping hole. But now her sisters are claiming some evil spirit is after his soul, and Iris is the only one who can save him. Well, at least his heart would stop hurting, right? Didn’t sound so bad.

Iris Layne has always been the sweet sister. She’s kind to everyone, including her best friend Wade… Until she makes a horrible mistake and breaks his heart. All she wants is to go back to before ‘the dumping’. Of course, Wade would rather see her in hell first. But then Iris touches her sister’s tarot cards and unleashes an evil curse intent on playing a deadly game where no one Iris loves is safe, especially Wade.

How do you convince someone they need your help when you’re the one who hurt them the most?

After reading Touching Fate, I was curious as to where this series was headed next. I was hoping that Cursing Fate would continue to build upon the intriguing mythology of the first book, and I’m happy to say it exceeded my expectations. Unlike her older sister Aster, Iris isn’t a fate changer, but after finding Aster’s tarot cards, she unwittingly unleashes the cursed spirit who has brought such tragedy to the Van Buren family for decades. My main complaint with the first book was that the characters, especially the secondary ones weren’t developed enough. Although the sequel is even shorter in length, somehow the author completely makes up for this and I enjoyed it even more. In the first book, Iris was mostly an indistinct figure, but what I did see of her I didn’t really like. She came across as being flighty and shallow. Here she came across much more sympathetically and I was surprised at how much I liked her. She’s entirely aware of her flaws and she’s determined to correct them. She admires her twin Violet and aspires to be more like her. The romance between her and Wade is sweet and believable and is the heart of the story. While the main theme concerns the curse, Drake also explores bullying, suicide, and LGBTQ relationships in a thoughtful manner. Overall, Cursing Fate was a quick and fun read and its left me looking forward to reading more about the Layne family. I think this series will have wide appeal with teen girls.

Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas # 1) ~ By Zoraida Cordova – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Family Relationships, Fantasy, LGBT Relationships, YA Fiction

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

336 Pages

Synopsis: Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives. 

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her with Nova, a brujo boy she can’t trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland.

First, how creepily gorgeous is that cover? I’m going to admit that this is why I gravitated toward this in the first place. I also thought Labyrinth Lost had one of the most interesting premises I’ve seen this year. Brujas and Brujos. A whole hidden world of magic and menace. A fifteen-year-old girl, just coming into her powers, which may make her one of the most powerful witches, ever. And because of some tragic events related to magic which took place in her childhood, she wants nothing more than to reject her legacy and be just a normal teen. The story begins promisingly enough, touching upon Alex’s traumatic childhood, and following the event that lead up to her Deathday, where she’ll accept her powers and the responsibilities that come with them. All this completely captivated me right up until the Deathday ceremony goes horribly wrong, and Alex and the rest of her family literally descend down the “rabbit hole” into a world, Los Lagos, that’s part Alice in Wonderland, part Dante’s Inferno, and a little of Pan’s Labyrinth. While I appreciated the gorgeously descriptive world-building, I started losing my connection to the characters and for some reason, never got it back. As I was reading I kept waiting for something to happen that would shock and amaze me, but it never did. I think that this was in large part to the characters and their actions themselves. While I appreciated the cast’s diversity, no one really stood out for me, including Alex. As most of you know I read a lot of books in this genre, and Alex just wasn’t distinguishable from the multitude of heroines I’ve read about in other YA books. As far as the villain in this story, The Devourer, there wasn’t enough development to her character to make her sufficiently scary enough for me. There’s some romance to the story between Alex and her girlfriend Rishi, but to be honest I thought their relationship came off a little stilted and not believable. It was almost as if Rishi was simply created solely for the purpose of having a LGBT romance as part of the story. I know this sounds like I hated this book, but I didn’t. I think this may be a case of “it’s me, not you.” The world-building is breathtaking and I appreciate the author’s diversity in regards to the Latina flair and Alex’s bisexuality. I think this is one of those novels that if the premise intrigues you like it did me, than I encourage you to try it. 

The Ghost Of Buxton Manor ~ By Jonathan L. Ferrara – 5.0 Stars

Tags

Ghost Story, JM Barrie, LGBT Relationships, Love Story, Mystery, Peter Pan, YA Fiction

Thank you Jonathan for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 12th, 2016

400 Pages

Synopsis: There is not a single thing I remember about my life. I died nearly a hundred years ago, yet I haven’t the slightest idea to why I died at the young age of seventeen. ALWAYS I’m trapped within Buxton Manor, without any means of traveling beyond my quarters. I spend my time reading and writing. By the way, literature is my only connection to the physical world,must why that is another puzzle I can’t seem to solve. It’s rather lonely here, stuck IN such a grand manor, but I do enjoy rare visitors: Bloody Mary, the Weeping Bride, the Headless Horseboy, and of course, the jolly old ghost, my therapist of the Deceased. They’ve all tried to help me, aiding me in uncovering my unfinished business, but so far they’ve proven ineffective. All that is about to change. A new family is moving in to OUR family estate; the first family in over a a century, including a boy my own age (or at least the age I was at the time of my death). I don’t know what it is about him that I find so fascinating. It seems as though he might have seen me, or at least, dreamt about me, because you see, he’s drawn me. He’s an artist, rather good actually, and he has drawn me since he was a little boy. Aaron, this boy who I thought was a perfect stranger, he helps me remember…NEVERLAND.

The Ghost Of Buxton Manor is one of those books that is going to be difficult to review without letting slip any spoilers, but I’m going to do my best because I honestly think it’s an absolutely lovely and inspirational story that you just have to experience for yourself. I will tell you that it’s based on an unsolved mystery connected to the author JM Barrie, and the Davies family who served as the inspiration for Peter Pan. What makes it especially moving is that it’s also reflective of Jonathan and his husband Aaron’s (who designed the cover as well as the simple yet elegant thumbprint hearts at the beginning of each chapter) own relationship and it makes this an intensely personal story. Rupert, the narrator, is an incredibly sweet character. Despite having spent the last century being completely isolated, he’s funny and self-deprecating. He’s not a ghost who wallows in self-pity or turns angry and bitter at his circumstances. Even as he begins to discover the circumstances surrounding his untimely death, he still views the world and its inhabitants with optimism and an innocence which is lovely to behold. Aaron, his soulmate, is the perfect partner for the lonely Rupert. They just bring out the best in each other. The dialogue between them is at times funny, as well as heart-wrenching, but it’s never boring. The other characters are wonderfully written, particularly Aaron’s parents, and Rupert’s ghostly friends. They all play important roles in this story, but they never take away from what this book is truly about, Rupert and Aaron and their amazing journey. The settings are beautifully detailed, both in the present day as well as the past. The mystery is slowly and methodically laid out, and when the true villain is finally unmasked, I can honestly say I was completely shocked. The ending is one of the best I’ve ever read, and not for the first time while reading the book, I found myself tearing up. If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that I read many, many, books including some I’ve thought quite outstanding. Every once in a while though, one comes along that is a true treasure, and stays in your mind long after you’ve finished reading. The Ghost Of Buxton Manor is a perfect example of this. It’s a beautiful mix of historical fiction, mystery, ghost story, and most importantly, heart-breaking love story, and it’s obvious that Jonathan poured his heart and soul into it. It’s an inspiring story for older teens as well as adults, and I honestly cannot recommend it enough! I hope the synopsis and this review intrigues you enough that you’re left with an overwhelming need to try this. If you are interested, I think Jonathan may still be looking for early reviewers, so please go over and take a look at:

https://husbandandhusband.net

In summation, The Ghost Of Buxton Manor is a wonderful gift to give yourself or someone you love. As for me, it’s a book I know I’ll re-read many times in the future.

And I Darken ~ By Kiersten White – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Alternate History, Dracul Family, Historical Fiction, Islam, LGBT Relationships, Ottoman Empire, Wallachia, YA Fiction

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 28th, 2016

Synopsis: NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL.

And Lada Dragwyla likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend–and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against–and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

And I Darken has been a much-hyped book since last year, and has been compared to George R.R.Martin’s Game of Thrones. While I didn’t find much in the way of similarities between the two books, I wound up really enjoying this. The story is told in the third person and alternates between Lada and Radu who are both fascinating and memorable characters. Lada gives new meaning to the term anti hero. The first part of the story focuses on her and Radu as young children. Even at the young age of five, it’s obvious that Lada is very different from most girls. To be perfectly honest she’s scary as hell. She’s basically a feral child who is violent even toward her year-younger brother Radu who isn’t as adept at defending himself. Growing up, their personalities pretty much stay the same, with Lada maintaining her ferocity and Radu being weak. When they’re thirteen and twelve they’re traded by their power hungry father to the Ottoman Empire and this is when things really start getting interesting. Held as political prisoners and completely on their own, Lada and Radu’s relationship becomes closer, although Lada can still be fairly brutal in her treatment of him. She believes he’ll be better off toughening up, in a certain way she’s right. As they both reach their late teens, Lada’s temper and violent nature become a little more controlled, and Radu becomes quite adept at traversing the political undercurrents of the Sultan’s court. They’ve also become close friends with Mehmed, the Sultan’s youngest son and an interesting love triangle develops. Lada does everything she can to deny her feelings for Mehmed, who represents everything she hates about her predicament, while Radu struggles with his embracing of Islam, and his growing feelings for Mehmed. He’s torn between his love and loyalty for his sister, and his yearning for what may be an unattainable relationship. I actually found Radu to be the most interesting and sympathetic character out of the three. I don’t know very much about the time period and the Ottoman Empire, but it seems as though the author definitely has done her research. And the idea to have the historical figure the world has come to know as Vlad Tepes, or Dracula, be female is sheer genius! I do think there’s some parts of the story that are a bit slow and at almost 500 pages, it could have been edited a bit more. But I still finished this in three days, mainly because I became so emotionally invested in Lada, Radu and Mehmed. While the ending isn’t a cliffhanger per se, it’s obvious that a second book is in the works, and I’m definitely looking forward to it. And I Darken has made me want to do more research on both the time period and the characters, and for me, right there, makes the book a success. I highly recommend this to older teens and adults who like historical fiction with a bit of a twist.

 

The May Queen Murders ~ By Sarah Jude – 3.0 Stars

Tags

Horror, LGBT Relationships, Mystery, Southern Gothic, YA Fiction

Thank you NetGalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for providing an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 3rd, 2016

Synopsis: Stay on the roads. Don’t enter the woods. Never go out at night.

Those are the rules in Rowan’s Glen, a remote farming community in the Missouri Ozarks where Ivy Templeton’s family has lived for centuries. It’s an old-fashioned way of life, full of superstition and traditions, and sixteen-year-old Ivy loves it. The other kids at school may think the Glen kids are weird, but Ivy doesn’t care–she has her cousin Heather as her best friend. The two girls share everything with each other–or so Ivy thinks. When Heather goes missing after a May Day celebration, Ivy discovers that both her best friend and her beloved hometown are as full of secrets as the woods that surround them.

Based on the synopsis I was really excited about reading The May Queen Murders. I thought it was going to be a modern day southern gothic. While it definitely had that flavor, there were a few flaws that kept this from being a perfect read for me. The first concerns the relationship between Ivy and her cousin Heather which is at the heart of this story. Ivy is a sweet girl whose love for her cousin borders on adoration. While it’s obvious that Heather returns that love, she tends to take Ivy for granted. Before her disappearance Heather is yearning to leave Rowan’s Glen, but she takes her feelings out on Ivy and it’s difficult to feel any sympathy for her. I liked Ivy but I found myself wishing she was a little more assertive with her cousin. Once Heather goes missing though, Ivy is determined to discover what happened, even if it puts her life in jeopardy. Frankly, I wasn’t able to completely buy into this abrupt change in personality even keeping in mind her devotion to Heather. Ivy has always let superstition rule her actions, yet suddenly she’s ignoring all these “signs” that previously would have sent her fleeing in the other direction. There was also the question of whether she had visions or not. This was brought up with some dreams she had, but it was never fully explored. And finally, although Ivy was likable, there’s nothing really that stands out about her. I feel the same about her family and love interest. There’s nothing really that makes any of them memorable. What I did like about this novel was the setting. I thought Sarah Jude did a wonderful job creating and describing life in the Missouri Ozarks. She even manages to make it diverse by having Ivy’s mother be Mexican, and including a LGBT relationship. The mystery was also interesting and it kept me guessing throughout the book. The only issue I had with it was that there were way too many reveals in the end. There were no less than three murderous villains, which to me just wasn’t believable in this tiny community.

Overall, The May Queen Murders wasn’t a bad read. While I thought the characters were bland, I think many teens would overlook this flaw and focus on the mystery. Because of some extremely graphic passages which even made me a little queasy, and a couple of sexual scenes, I wouldn’t recommend this to young teens. Otherwise it’s a creepy tale that many YA horror fans will enjoy.

The Secrets of Lizzie Borden ~ By Brandy Purdy- 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Dysfunctional Families, Historical Fiction, LGBT Relationships, Murder Mystery

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for providing me with an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: January 26th, 2015

Synopsis: Lizzie Borden should be one of the most fortunate young women in Fall River, Massachusetts. Her wealthy father could easily afford to provide his daughters with fashionable clothes, travel, and a rich, cultured life. Instead, haunted by the ghost of childhood poverty, he forces Lizzie and her sister, Emma, to live frugally, denying them the simplest modern conveniences. Suitors and socializing are discouraged, as her father views all gentlemen callers as fortune hunters. Lonely and deeply unhappy, Lizzie stifles her frustration, dreaming of the freedom that will come with her eventual inheritance. But soon, even that chance of future independence seems about to be ripped away. And on a stifling August day in 1892, Lizzie’s long-simmering anger finally explodes.

I don’t know why, but no matter how many books I read about the infamous Lizzie Borden, I can’t quite get Christina Ricci’s portrayal out of my head, despite the fact that Lizzie really looked like this:

This was especially true with Brandy Purdy’s fictional portrait of her because in addition to delving into the events that led up to that fateful day as well as the aftermath, The Secrets of Lizzie Borden is also dripping in sensuality and eroticism, as Lizzie enters relationship after relationship, desperately looking for love, only to have all of them end in disaster. 

The book also brings up the question of nature vs nurture. Would Lizzie have turned out the way she had if her mother hadn’t died and Andrew Borden wasn’t a cold, disengaged father who at the very least, psychologically abused his daughters. Naturally the fact that he was rich, yet forced his family to live like paupers didn’t help. Most surprising to me in this novel were the author’s portrayals of the girls stepmother Abby, and Lizzie’s sister Emma. I’ve read a few books about the Borden family over the years and Abby always came across as being selfishly uncaring towards her two stepdaughters. In this book Abby becomes part of the Borden household when Lizzie is five and Emma fifteen. She does her best to reach out to both girls but is instantly and repeatedly rebuffed by Emma. The love- starved little Lizzie bonds with Abby who encourages her to embrace herself, but under Emma’s never-ending pressure, Lizzie eventually rebuffs Abby’s maternal overtures. Emma has always seemed to me to be a kind of austere woman, with deep religious beliefs. Here she’s portrayed as being judgemental and cruel, oftentimes physically abusing Lizzie when they were young. 

I’m not going to go into everything that leads up to the murders of Andrew and Abigail Borden, but let me just say that depicted as they are it is no wonder why Lizzie snapped that fateful day. It’s a perfect storm which basically leads to Lizzie having a psychotic break. After the subsequent trial and acquittal, Lizzie thinks she now has the two things she’s always wanted, money and independence. Yet despite this she dies alone and friendless.

What makes The Secrets of Lizzie Borden so different from other books I’ve read is that it’s told entirely from her viewpoint which makes it so much more personal. I felt as though I was reading her diary at times. The story is mesmerizing and insightful, and the characters are so compelling, I had a difficult time tearing myself away to deal with real life. I highly recommend this to anyone who has a fascination with the Borden family and the infamous murders, and even those who may not be familiar with the story. It’s a raw, gut-wrenching look at a woman who should have had everything, yet is ultimately torn apart by her inner demons.