REVIEW: Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston - Paige

Rating: 

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian

Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, gore)

Pages: 467

Author Website

Amazon Link

Disclaimer: None! I got this book in my Blu’s Bookish Bag!

Synopsis: 

Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him.

Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them.

When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive.

What they find in a lost corner of the universe will change all their lives—and unearth dangerous secrets. But when a darkness from Ana’s past returns, she must face an impossible choice: does she protect a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves?

I’ve heard a rumor in St. Petersburg that this book was a journey to the past, a retelling of Anatasia in space. I couldn’t contain my excitement and read this as soon as I received it! Once upon a December, or in the dark of the night since this is set in space, a young girl and a robot were found floating in space and they floated their way into my heart throughout this story. But the crew they found themselves with are into the whole Firefly thing so they learn to do it too. Anyways, as a retelling, I was really surprised how accurate it stayed to the cartoon and legend of Anatasia. It even had a whole “Paris holds the key to your heart” element to the story. But at the beginning of the story, you can definitely tell this is a unique story that can hold its own. The book did very well with the character development and the plot. The book never felt stale and the pacing keeps the book moving at a well-timed speed. The book is in multiple POV, but that let the characters have their own exemplary development.

However, the book did have a couple of downfalls. A prologue would have been great in this book and the nightmare of this book was all the spelling errors found in simple words. The book will kidnap and reunion you with its fast-paced scene and character changes and the part where the Ana is reminiscing with Grandma isn’t what I expected, but the finale is what makes this book wonderful and it’s worth a read.

Verdict: If you didn’t realize what I did there then make sure to read very slowly, maybe with a song or two playing in the background.

REVIEW: Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian - Paige

Rating: 

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, sexual harassment, mentions of rape, espionage, treason, and unexpected twists)

Pages: 432

Author Website

Amazon Link

*I received this book courtesy of NetGalley and Delacorte Books! Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: 

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess–a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.

For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She’s endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn’t always won on the battlefield.

For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

So going into this book I thought it would be your common damsel in distress book with a love triangle and the romance would overwhelm me to a point of turning off my Kindle. But holy cow was I wrong, well not about the love triangle but that’s for later in this review. This book was an unexpected favorite of mine. The characters were so well developed that even those who appeared “on-screen” for a short period of time had an impact on me. Theo’s struggles and triumphs felt amazingly real to me that I became one with her. I cried when she cried. I fist pumped when she succeeded. I became heavily invested in all of these characters and I think any book that can make me feel this way is very special. I also have to praise the book on its world building. The world building was fantastically done and already we were heavily introduced to a handful of different continents in the first book. I could accurately picture the story and follow along with the actions as the story went on. Lastly, I want to praise the book on its plot and pacing. While this book is not very action-packed, it’s very intriguing and I love the slow build up and political side to this treasonous story.

While I loved the book, I do have to warn that this book is very violent and horrifying. The main character is tortured again and again and at times it makes the book very hard to read. But I think that’s what makes this book special. It’s not afraid  to “go there” and write down what would be the majority of people’s fears: seeing your mother’s throat slit, being made to stab someone you love in the back, gaining a friend to have them stab you in the back, being forced to go through torture again and again through the hands of people who killed everything you love… It’s horrific at times, but it’s completely real about the pain the main goes through.

Verdict: A book that keeps you on your toes and isn’t afraid to yank the rug out from underneath your feet. A must read for 2018.

REVIEW: The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton - Erin

The Price Guide to the Occult

by Leslye Walton

Hardcover, 288 pages

Expected publication: March 13th 2018 by Candlewick

ISBN: 9780763691103

Net Galley ARC

About:

The Blackburn women are cursed. Ever since the extraordinary witch Rona Blackburn landed on Anathema Island centuries ago and was shunned by the eight "original" settlers, Blackburn witches have been doomed to carry out a brief whirlwind affair with a descendant of the Original Eight. The vengeful curse, however, had unintended side effects: it diluted the Blackburns' supernatural powers. That's perfectly all right with seventeen-year-old Nor Blackburn. All she wants is a quiet, unremarkable life—her powers are blissfully unexceptional, her love life pretty much nonexistent. Nor hopes the curse has played itself out through enough generations that she'll finally be spared the drama. But when a mysterious book comes out promising to cast any spell for the right price, Nor senses a dark storm headed straight for Anathema—and straight for her. 

In her second novel, Leslye Walton spins a dark, mesmerizing tale of a girl stumbling along the path toward self-acceptance and first love, even as the Price Guide's malevolent author—Nor's own mother—looms and threatens to strangle any hope for happiness. (Goodreads)

Rating: 

Not what I was expecting. I picked this book to read because of it’s witch story line and I was not disappointed.  I loved that it took place on an island in the Pacific Northwest, which gave it a unique and beautiful background. The story line with the witches and a curse on them was interesting, but it wasn’t quite explained. There seemed to be some holes in that plot line. The characters themselves were fun and heroic, and the villains were a bit mysterious mixed with pure evil. The end of the book is where it really loses a star for me. I’m not sure if the author was trying to set it up for a sequel or what, but the end just leaves parts of the story hanging. They’re not quite cliffhangers…. It’s just unfinished. This book will interest Teens who are into the witch/supernatural genre or who are looking for a thriller. Expect them to ask you if there’s going to be a sequel though!

*To see more of Erin's reviews please click her signature to go to her blog

Author Spotlight: Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier + Interview

Makiia is the author of historical fiction and historical fantasy for young adults. She grew up on the Pacific Island of Guam (not too far from the equator), and has degrees in journalism and library science from the University of Oregon and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Her debut novel, A Death-Struck Year, was called a "powerful and disturbing reading experience" by Publishers Weekly. It was a finalist for Germany's top book prize for children, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, as well as Japan's Sakura Medal, and was named an ABC Best Books for Children Selection by the American Booksellers Association.

Her second novel, Isle of Blood and Stone, will be available in Spring 2018.

Title: Isle of Blood and Stone

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Author: Makiia Lucier

Publisher: HMH

Publication: April 10th 2018

Cover Rating: 3/5

Reading format: Provided ARC

Goodreads | Amazon

After loving Makiia Lucier's A Death-Struck Year, I knew I would have to read any future books by her. And how fortunate for me, and what a wonderful surprise, when I picked up an ARC of this book at Yallfest and realized it was by the same insta-fave author who had me falling for Edmund in A Death-Struck Year. (It was clearly fate.) She has such an easy way with words, creating a world and characters rife with life I want more of. Just like in her debut novel, Isle of Blood and Stone immediately entranced me and refused to let loose my attention--seriously, I had sat down with the intent to read for forty-five minutes when I first opened it and....whoops, two and a half hours passed.

This story is about Elias, a young talented cartographer and explorer whose life, as well as the lives of his close friends Ulises and Mercedes (who are cousins), are constantly defined by one tragic moment that happened long ago: Ulises' older brothers, the two elder princes of their nation, and Elias' father, a famous and much praised cartographer and explorer, were kidnapped from an outing--everyone else who came perished, and no one knows what happened to the stolen boys and man. This brought forth so many massive changes to their world: it spurred a war with another nation that ends in that nation's total destruction and a prejudice against its people; Ulises, an infant at the time of the tragic incident, goes from third in line of ascendancy to the direct heir to the crown, his entire life course changed to one of staunch duty to his nation; Mercedes, of mixed heritage that includes the conquered nation blamed for the kidnapping, deals with daily prejudice in a land that is her home but her skin causes discrimination despite her connection to King Ulises; and Elias, our protagonist, lives in the shadow of his father's greatness and deals with reminders from others of a man he never knew. And, most importantly lest I forget my brain, the mystery that persists from that devastating outing long ago, a mystery that isn't as clear-cut as it is made out to be. 

I don't normally do this, but I want to start with what I didn't like. My reasoning for switching it up? There is hardly anything I didn't like. I'm not joking. My only complaint is that there are a few questions left unanswered regarding backstory of secondary characters, but seeing as this is a duology, the next book from young Reyna's perspective, I am forgiving of these few unanswered questions. Not to mention, this book so thoroughly tickled my fantasy fancy that those unanswered question hardly register. A little unsolved mystery never killed anybody! (Channeling my Gatsby twist a la the DiCaprio version's soundtrack. :) )

What most impressed me was the brilliant simplicity of the mystery and the factors that led to the disappearance of Ulises' brothers and Elias' father. For years it is assumed their tragic disappearance was a kidnapping executed by a neighboring kingdom. Everything known by the public points that direction, but things aren't adding up. Thus ensues one o the most interesting YA fantasy mysteries I've ever read, because Elias, Ulises, and Mercedes being to unravel the years' long mystery after realizing it was a story wrought with many holes. Going off on a related tangent, the mystery's reveal reminded me of the one in Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas, but Lucier's is much more effective and makes you realized just how twisted the true antagonist is in Isle of Blood and Stone. This won't make sense until you have read the book, but it is cleverly titled and I find it brilliant after the fact. That isn't a spoiler, I swear it.

Another aspect of this book I cannot emphasize enough is the positive step-family relationships. In real life and fiction, too often the step-family is treated as a negative, a point of contention or evil, a trope. In Isle of Blood and Stone, there is a bit of tension created by Elias' stepfather, but not of the predictable trope variety. Oh no, I cannot reveal specifics, but I want you to know it is an understandable tension, but it doesn't lead to dislike or hate. Though not related by blood, Elias and his step-father care deeply for each other, choosing to be a family and embrace their father/son roles. This positive representation of a normally negative trope warmed my heart. It wasn't even something I realized was lacking from books (in general) until I read this book.

I also found the budding romance between Elias and Mercedes a joy to witness. From the beginning, you see its bud, but to watch it fully bloom over the course of a couple hundred pages, and in such a natural, non-overpowering manner...I swooned a lot at the slow burn. They are relationship goals.

All around, without a doubt, a 5 out of 5 bitchin' stars from me. 

1) Where did the inspiration for Isle of Blood and Stone come from?

As a kid growing up on Guam, I was obsessed with the Indiana Jones movies. I wore out our VHS copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I waited in line, in the sweltering, tropical heat, on opening days for The Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade. The snakes were awesome and so were the catacombs full of rats. But what I really loved was how Indy solved puzzles, turning the clues over in his mind, and using his knowledge of art, history, and myth. Isle of Blood and Stone was inspired by my love of adventure stories with smart, funny, brave heroes. It is the kind of story I grew up loving, the kind I would wait hours outside a movie theater to see.

2) Did you always want to be an author?

I didn’t. I went to graduate school because I wanted to be a librarian. Specifically, I wanted to be Nancy Pearl. I think she’s awesome. But after two years of studying literature for children and young adults, ideas started running through my brain in a never ending loop. A pretty girl driving a Ford. An angry exchange with a soldier. Mt. Hood in the background. A flu epidemic. Finally, to quiet the voices in my head, I drove to Office Depot. I picked up some pencils, bought a few notebooks, and thought, How hard can it be? I still laugh when I think about it. That’s when I wrote my first book, A Death-Struck Year.

3) If you had to pitch your book to someone in a bookstore, and they didn't know you were

the author, what would you say?

Hmm. I would describe it as Indiana Jones meets The Princess Bride. Maybe I would say something about it being an adventure, a story about a young man, a royal mapmaker named Elias, who tries to solve a mystery surrounding the disappearance of two boy princes.

4) How many books do you personally own?

I read this question, and then I walked around the house looking at all the books in all the rooms. I couldn’t even begin to tell you. I have plenty. Never enough, though!

5) Who are some of your favorite YA authors?

Juliet Marillier, Jennifer Donnelly, Julie Berry, Marcus Sedgwick, Kristin Cashore, and Rick Yancey.

REVIEW: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - Valeria

Rate:

5/5

Goodreads Description:

Danger and betrayal, love and loss, secrets and enchantment are woven together in the breathtaking finale to the #1 New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices Trilogy, prequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.  

Review:

WE HAVE REACHED ANOTHER END OF ANOTHER SERIES

AND OMG

Be prepared for a lot of GIFs on this post because only they can properly express my emotions

there are just things words can't say

I seriously don't even know where to begin!

Throughout the book I was so frustrated with Tessa for the whole loving Will but being with Jem or being with Will and loving Jem like... PICK

But then I was like, that's exactly what it's like!

Shit went down during this book , however, when it got down to it, it all just happened so fast! I had to reread to make sure it all truly was over xD

Then we got to the after!

Oh okay wait!

So I knew the ending of these characters, I had spoiled it for myself but yet when I got to reading the part about Jem, I was still like

Okay back to the AFTER

I CANT EVEN!

WILL!

WIIIIILLLL
WIIIIILLLLLLLLLLL

I cried! I mean, im sure this is the second book in my life in which I have cried, maybe third

The first one was The Fault in out Stars, I THINK I cried in Marley: A dog like no other, and then of course this one.

I was also having a rough day that day but even if I wasn't, I'm sure I still would've cried xD

but seriously

At the end, I could only feel for Tessa, like.... I can't imagine, I had to keep telling myself that these where fictional characters

People had warned me that this book would break my heart, I didn't believe it, I seriously didn't. I see why people love shadowhunters now, it is because of this world that Cassandra Clare is magical in my eyes, and even though I hate needles and therefor tattoos, I know that one day I will get a rune tattoo, maybe the parabatai with my husband or best friend, I don't know but mark my words, I will

Recommend it?

If you want your heart to shatter into a million pieces

Author Spotlight: In Her Skin by Kim Savage + Interview

KIM SAVAGE is the author of three critically acclaimed young adult novels, After the Woods, Beautiful Broken Girls (named by Kirkus as one of the 10 Best YA of 2017), and In Her Skin (releasing April 17, 2018), all with Farrar, Straus, Giroux/Macmillan. Her novels have been published in Spain, Brazil, and Turkey, and have been optioned for TV. Kim presents at conferences and book festivals nationwide; has been featured on NPR, Herald Radio, and on local cable stations; and she reads from her novels at bookstores across the country. A former reporter with a Master degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, Kim's stories are based in and around Boston. She lives with her family near Boston, not far from the real Middlesex Fells Reservation of After the Woods. Kim and her husband have three children, each of whom beg to appear in her books. They shouldn't.  

You can follow Kim on Insta (kimsavagewrites) and Twitter (khsavage), and visit her at kimsavage.me. 

Title: In Her Skin

Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Author: Kim Savage

Publisher: FSG

Publication: April 17th 2018

Cover Rating: 2/5

Reading format: Provided ARC

Goodreads | Amazon

In Her Skin by Kim Savage is a fast-paced, mysterious story about a female con artist named Jo who decides that she is going to pretend to be a missing girl that miraculously returns. This might sound like a great plan, especially when you kind of look like the missing girl. But what happens when that missing girl is more than just missing? What happens when someone knows exactly what happened but doesn't tell anyone. What happens when that person is someone you end up living with?

Jo Chastain is homeless. She has been living in tent-city in Boston and is just tired of it. In order to escape the elements, she goes to a public library all the time. One day, she sees a girl and decides she wants to take over her identity for a while. After stealing her ID, Jo looks her up online to gather as much information about the girl as possible. That is when she sees that this girl has been involved in a missing person case. Her best friend went missing when they were nine and was never seen again. Jo looks up the girl who went missing and realizes that she looks a lot like this girl. So her plans change and she decides to pretend to be this missing girl that magically returns home. Oh, and did we mention that Vivi's family is rich? 

Everything is going great in Jo's plan. A little too great. Vivi is the girl Jo is pretending to be and Vivi's parents died in a freak plane crash and they said if Vivi ever came back then her guardians should be the Lovecrafts. The parents of the girl Jo was originally going to take the identity of when she saw her at the library. The Lovecrafts were best friends with Vivi's parents. So, they take Vivi in and try to get her life to go back to as normal as possible. But something seems a little off. 

Temple is the daughter of the Lovecrafts. Her and Vivi were best friends before her disappearance. But for some reason, Mr. and Mrs. Lovecraft don't want Temple and Vivi around each other. Wouldn't you want your kid to be happy and around her best friend after she comes back from being kidnapped for nearly a decade? What does Temple and the Lovecraft know that Jo doesn't? Maybe pretending to be a missing rich girl was a mistake. A Mistake that could cost Jo her life ang cause Vivi to go missing again.

In the end, this book was so much fun. I read a book like this back in 2016, The Stranger Game by Cylin Busby, and I really loved it so when I read the synopsis for In Her Skin and realized that it sounded a lot like that book, I decided to contact the author because I had to read this book NOW. I love mystery/crime books and this one definitely made a good addition to my shelves. If you like Young Adult mystery books then I highly suggest checking this book out for yourself. 

Overall, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.

1) Did you always want to be an author?

If you count figuring it out around age six, yes! I used to write books on lined paper with construction paper covers and stapled spines. They mostly concerned my dog, Gretchen, getting into scrapes (cyclones, drowning, ferris wheel mishaps). I have to say, the climaxes were always exciting, but the character arcs were a little…anemic.

2) Where did the inspiration for In Her Skin come from?

In Her Skin is inspired by the life of a real-life con artist named Frédéric Bourdin who impersonated a missing boy. Bourdin looked nothing like the boy, and told a wild tale of having been kidnapped and held for years. The parents accepted him as their missing son until the FBI proved Bourdin was a con artist. I wondered why any parents would choose to believe a con, and In Her Skin sprung from that question.

3) Do you think the Young Adult book genre is important for young readers? If so, why?

I’m wary of labels, to be honest. To the end that most YA is complex and sophisticated, and has been since the days of The Outsiders and A Separate Peace, to name some examples, yes, it's a good thing that young readers read YA.

4) Who are your favorite authors?

Pamela Ahrens (The Virgins), Laura Lippman, Yoko Agawa (Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales), Jeffrey Eugenides. Donna Tartt is my all-time favorite, with Clare Messud is in the running for second. I admire Karen Russell immensely.

5) Are you currently working on any new books?

I am! Two, in fact. One is a thriller where two girls plan the perfect revenge. The second is a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s Richard III, who really is the greatest villain ever written. I’m loving both. I hope readers do, too!

                             Goodreads | Amazon                                    Goodreads | Amazon

REVIEW: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab - Paige

Rating: 

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, trigger warnings for those who have been victims of mass shootings. Please protect yourself before reading if you are triggered.)

Pages: 464

Author Website

Amazon Link

Synopsis: 

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives. In This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab creates a gritty, seething metropolis, one worthy of being compared to Gotham and to the four versions of London in her critically acclaimed fantasy for adults, A Darker Shade of Magic. Her heroes will face monsters intent on destroying them from every side—including the monsters within.

I will admit that I love Romeo and Juliet. It’s always been my weak spot and I enjoy reading spin-offs of the story. One of my favorites is now This Savage Song. While not directly a Romeo and Juliet retelling, you can tell there are many borrowed references. The book, however, is nothing short of unique and wonderful in its own right. The character development is marvelous and the world building is as well. The plot kept me intrigued throughout the book and the pacing was marvelous for the book. And the best thing about this book is how the monsters are incorporated and created and how music is incorporated as well.

However, I just wish that this book had gone more into the other cities and countries around Verity, but it looks like book 2 will do that so I’m excited! Definitely a must-read for me!

Verdict: I just want to talk more about this book, but it’s something you should experience blind. Go into it. Don’t read any more reviews. Experience it, feel it, and enjoy.

*Click on the signature to go to Paige's blog!