Tag Archives: series

Book Title:
Ever the Hunted
Book Author:
Erin Summerill
Book Series:
Clash of Kingdoms, #1
Publishing Date:
December 27th, 2016
Publisher:
HMH Books for Young Readers
Date Read:
Dece,ber 26th, 2016
Source:
ARC from publisher - Thank you!

Synopsis

Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.

However, it’s not so simple.

The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.

My Review

Lately, it seems like every time I pick up a super hyped up fantasy novel, I find myself either being bored, not relating to the characters at all, or thinking that the plot is just a rehashing of another dozen … Continue reading

2 stars
4 Comments
Book Title:
Iceling
Book Author:
Sasha Stephenson
Book Series:
Icelings, #1
Publishing Date:
December 13th, 2016
Publisher:
Razorbill
Date Read:
December 9th, 2016
Source:
ARC from publisher - Thank you!

Synopsis

Lorna’s adopted sister, Callie, is part of a mysterious group of non-lingual teens, Icelings, born on a remote Arctic island, who may not be entirely human. Now Callie wants to go home.

Seventeen-year-old Lorna loves her adoptive sister, Callie. But Callie can’t say “I love you” back. In fact, Callie can’t say anything at all.

Because Callie is an Iceling—one of hundreds of teens who were discovered sixteen years ago on a remote Arctic island, all of them lacking the ability to speak or understand any known human language.

Mysterious and panicked events lead to the two sisters embarking on a journey to the north, and now Lorna starts to see that there’s a lot more to Callie’s origin story than she’d been led to believe. Little does she know what’s in store, and that she’s about to uncover the terrifying secret about who—and what—Callie really is.

My Review

This book has been on my radar since I first heard about it months ago.  It seemed like it was going to be the perfect blend of science fiction, family relationships, and a whole bunch of twists that were sure … Continue reading

4 stars
4 Comments
Book Title:
Fate of Flames
Book Author:
Sarah Raughley
Book Series:
Effigies, #1
Publishing Date:
November 22nd, 2-16
Publisher:
Simon Pulse
Date Read:
December 6th, 2016
Source:
I received a copy from the publisher - Thank you!

Synopsis

Years ago, everything changed. Phantoms, massive beasts of nightmare, began terrorizing the world. At the same time four girls, the Effigies, appeared, each with the unique power to control a classical element. Since then, they have protected the world from the Phantoms. At the death of one Effigy, another is chosen, pulled from her normal life into the never-ending battle.

When Maia unexpectedly becomes the next Fire Effigy, she resists her new calling. A quiet girl with few friends and almost no family, she was much happier to admire the Effigies from afar. Never did she imagine having to master her ability to control fire, to protect innocent citizens from the Phantoms, or to try bringing together the other three Effigies.

But with the arrival of the mysterious Saul—a man who seems to be able to control the Phantoms using the same cosmic power previously only granted to four girls at a time—Maia and the other Effigies must learn to work together in a world where their celebrity is more important than their heroism.

But the secrets Saul has, and the power he possesses, might be more than even they can handle…

My Review

While I love fantasy novels (they are definitely among my favorite genres), for some reason it seems to take me a bit longer to read them than it does other genres, such as contemporary.  While this isn’t always the case … Continue reading

3.5 stars
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4 Comments
Book Title:
Ivory and Bone
Book Author:
Julie Eshbaugh
Book Series:
Ivory and Bone, #1
Publishing Date:
June 7th, 2016
Publisher:
HarperTeen
Date Read:
June 8th, 2016
Source:
eARC from publisher via Edelweiss

Synopsis

The only life seventeen-year-old Kol knows is hunting at the foot of the Great Ice with his brothers. But food is becoming scarce, and without another clan to align with, Kol, his family, and their entire group are facing an uncertain future.

Traveling from the south, Mya and her family arrive at Kol’s camp with a trail of hurt and loss behind them, and hope for a new beginning. When Kol meets Mya, her strength, independence, and beauty instantly captivate him, igniting a desire for much more than survival.

Then on a hunt, Kol makes a grave mistake that jeopardizes the relationship that he and Mya have only just started to build. Mya was guarded to begin with—and for good reason—but no apology or gesture is enough for her to forgive him. Soon after, another clan arrives on their shores. And when Mya spots Lo, a daughter of this new clan, her anger intensifies, adding to the already simmering tension between families. After befriending Lo, Kol learns of a dark history between Lo and Mya that is rooted in a tangle of their pasts.

When violence erupts, Kol is forced to choose between fighting alongside Mya or trusting Lo’s claims. And when things quickly turn deadly, it becomes clear that this was a war that one of them had been planning all along.

My Review

Ivory and Bone opens with our main character, Kol, telling Mya a beautiful story about when they first met, and the events that had led them to where they are now (in a cave, outside in cold, trying to stay … Continue reading

2.5 stars
8 Comments
Book Title:
The Scorch Trials
Book Author:
James Dashner
Book Series:
The Maze Runner, #2
Publishing Date:
October 12th, 2010
Publisher:
Delacorte Press
Date Read:
July 27th, 2016
Source:
I received a copy from the publisher

Synopsis

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.

Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn't done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.

There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.

The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch--the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.

There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers' destruction--and they're determined to survive.

My Review

I don’t know how I feel about this book.  I’m completely torn between liking it and being so bored I kind of just wanted to skip to the last few chapters just so I could stop falling asleep and dropping … Continue reading

3 stars
4 Comments
Book Title:
Ruined
Book Author:
Amy Tintera
Book Series:
Ruined, #1
Publishing Date:
May 3rd, 2016
Publisher:
HarperTeen
Date Read:
May 2nd, 2016
Source:
eARC from publisher via Edelweiss

Synopsis

Amy Tintera’s new YA fantasy trilogy blends the romance of Kiera Cass’s Selection series and the epic stakes of Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen in a story of revenge, adventure, and unexpected love.

Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war; her parents were killed and her sister was kidnapped. Even though Em is only a useless Ruined—completely lacking any magic—she is determined to get revenge.

Her plan is simple: She will infiltrate the enemy’s kingdom, posing as the crown prince’s betrothed. She will lead an ambush. She will kill the king and everything he holds dear, including his son.

The closer Em gets to the prince, though, the more she questions her mission. Her rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake.

My Review

This is another one of those books that have been compared to other books (The Selection and Red Queen) that I haven’t yet read, so I kind of went into this without expecting anything.  I don’t know if that’s the … Continue reading

4 stars
4 Comments
Book Title:
Queen of Hearts
Book Author:
Colleen Oakes
Book Series:
Queen of Hearts Saga, #1
Publishing Date:
May 3rd, 2016
Publisher:
HarperTeen
Date Read:
April 21st, 2016
Source:
eARC from publisher via Edelweiss

Synopsis

The first novel in Colleen Oakes’s epic, imaginative series tells the origin of one of the most infamous villains—the Queen of Hearts.

Dinah is the princess who will one day reign over Wonderland. She has not yet seen the dark depths of her kingdom; she longs only for her father’s approval and a future with the boy she loves. But when a betrayal breaks her heart and threatens her throne, she is launched into Wonderland’s dangerous political game. Dinah must stay one step ahead of her cunning enemies or she’ll lose not just the crown but her head.

Evil is brewing in Wonderland and maybe, most frighteningly, in Dinah herself.

Colleen Oakes’s vivid reimagining of Wonderland proves heroes can become villains and fairy tales can become nightmares. Readers will delight in this fresh take on an infamous villain.

My Review

“‘War is bloody and brutal, a thing that can rip through the very heart of men.  War can make a man question everything he believes in, every truth that he holds dear.  Wonderland has never seen war, so allow me … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
Unforgivable
Book Author:
Amy Reed
Book Series:
Invincible, #2
Publishing Date:
May 3rd, 2016
Publisher:
Katherine Tegen Books
Date Read:
April 26th, 2016
Source:
eARC from publisher via Edelweiss

Synopsis

In this raw, gut-wrenching, and beautifully written sequel to Invincible, Marcus continues Evie’s story of their intense romance, a la Gayle Forman’s Where She Went, after saving her life only to find his life—and their relationship—falling to pieces.

Marcus knows pain. The kind that swallows you like a black hole. His brother committed suicide, his mother left him, and his dad mostly ignores him. Relief only seems to come from drugs, alcohol, and secret acts of self-destruction.

Until he met Evie. Together, they lived in the moment. They fell in love—hard—creating their own beautiful world. But they each had their own secrets, their own pain, hovering like a thick fog, suffocating them in a world too small to share.

Unforgivable takes off where Invincible left us—with Evie drowning in San Francisco Bay. Marcus finds her just in time, but her survival is not the happy ending he was hoping for. Forbidden from seeing Evie by her parents and unable to reach her, Marcus learns of a pain that might break him completely.

Marcus spirals into an even deeper darkness and is forced by new events to face the demons of his past. The pain of losing Evie becomes tangled with the loss of his mother and brother, and he must finally face the ghosts he has been trying so desperately to outrun or risk losing Evie forever.

My Review

I recently read and reviewed the first book in this powerful duology, Invincible, and since I had fallen completely in love with that book, I knew I absolutely just had to read this one. If you’re interested in reading my … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
Invincible
Book Author:
Amy Reed
Book Series:
Invincible, #1
Publishing Date:
April 28th, 2015
Publisher:
Katherine Tegen Books
Date Read:
April 16th, 2016
Source:
I received a copy from the publisher

Synopsis

The Fault in Our Stars meets Go Ask Alice in this dramatic romance about a teenage girl who survives a terminal cancer diagnosis, only to get trapped in the deadly spiral of addiction. Fans of Gayle Forman and Sara Zarr will be swept away by this gritty romance, the first in a duology.

Evie is living on borrowed time. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer several months ago and told that by now she’d be dead. Evie is grateful for every extra day she gets, but she knows that soon this disease will kill her. Until, miraculously, she may have a second chance to live.

All Evie had wanted was her life back, but now that she has it, she feels like there’s no place for her in it—at least, not for the girl she is now. Her friends and her parents still see her as Cancer Girl, and her boyfriend’s constant, doting attention is suddenly nothing short of suffocating.

Then Evie meets Marcus. She knows that he’s trouble, but she can’t help falling for him. Being near him makes her feel truly, fully alive. It’s better than a drug. His kiss makes her feel invincible—but she may be at the beginning of the biggest free fall of her life.

My Review

I’d heard about this book a while back, but for some reason I never picked it up, and then to be completely honest, I had forgotten all about it until I heard about the release of the second book in … Continue reading

5 stars
5 Comments
Book Tour
Book Title:
Lady Renegades
Book Author:
Rachel Hawkins
Book Series:
Rebel Belle, #3
Publishing Date:
April 5th, 2016
Publisher:
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Date Read:
April 19th, 2016
Source:
ARC from publisher

Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author of Hex Hall comes the sparkling finale in the beloved Rebel Belle series.

Just as Harper Price starts coming to terms with her role as David Stark's battle-ready Paladin, protector, and girlfriend — her world goes crazy all over again.

Overwhelmed by his Oracle powers, David flees Pine Grove and starts turning teenaged girls into Paladins — and these young ladies seem to think that Harper is the enemy David needs protecting from. Ordinarily, Harper would be able to fight off any Paladin who comes her way, but her powers have been dwindling since David left town, which means her life is on the line yet again.

Now, it’s a desperate race for Harper to find and rescue David before she backslides from superhero to your garden-variety type-A belle.

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins brings the fun once again in the finale of this pitch-perfect romantic paranormal comedy series.

My Review

After first falling in love with Rebel Belle and continuing being a fan of this fantastic series through Miss Mayhem, I was so excited to dive into the final book in the Rebel Belle trilogy – Lady Renegades.  Lady Renegades … Continue reading

4.5 stars
12 Comments