Time is currency, and the rich are winning: Everless by Sara Holland

Title: Everless (Everless #1)

Author: Sara Holland

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 362

Format: eBook

Other: Amazon, GoodReads

Grade:   C(3/5)

Description (from GoodReads):

In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

Quick Review

• A strong yet vulnerable female protagonist
• A terrifying world where blood is money
• Cheesy villain who needs some serious work

Detailed Review

Jules lives in a world where time is money, literally. In Sempera, your years are taken from your blood and boiled down into a coin you can use for payment. For the rich, this is wonderful. They can live for decade after decade. But the poor, it’s a curse that leaves you with a short life expectancy. So when Jules learns her father has little time left, she returns to the estate that she and her father once ran from in a desperate hope to save his life. But little does she know that going back to Everless is dangerous, especially for her.

The entire concept of Jules’ world is both terrifying and intriguing. The idea of paying off your debts with a coin boiled from blood? Naturally, with this form of currency comes a lot of corruption. And readers can see that when they see the differences between the life Jules and her father lead, and the lives of the wealthy. Quite honestly, I would have liked to see more development here because the idea alone creates the potential for some seriously messed up stuff.

Instead of focusing on the politics of this world, Holland focuses on the magic used to create this currency. This makes sense–it has to be a central part of the plot. It’s also different from what I’ve seen before. I also enjoyed that it stemmed from SEmpera’s mythology. Those elements added a depth to Everless that I rather enjoyed.

But I suppose, more than anything, I enjoyed Jules. I liked that she was strong and angry and brave, but she was also incredibly vulnerable. I liked that she is someone who is obviously going to come into her own strength throughout the course of the series. I liked that she was flawed and naive because it means that she has so much room to grow.

Despite this, I found some of the decisions she made a little unbelievable. I’m not going to go into detail because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but she does jump into dangerous situations that didn’t really make sense. She makes really stupid decisions that felt a little…off.

In addition, the villain felt like a comic book character. You know, cheesy, a crappy motive, evil for the sake of being evil. I like a more complex villain, and the one in Everless didn’t feel complex, despite that character’s history. Hopefully, there’s more development there in the future.

In the end, this was the flaw that kept me from loving Everless. But even though Everless isn’t a new favorite, it is the first young adult fantasy novel I’ve enjoyed in a while, and honestly, that was refreshing enough.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr: A Fantasy Romance For Teens

Title: Wicked Lovely (#1)

Author: Melissa Marr

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Pages: 328

Format: eBook

Other: Amazon, GoodReads

Grade:   D+(2.5/5)

Description (from GoodReads):

Rule #3: Don’t stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty – especially if they learn of her Sight – and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don’t speak to invisible faeries.
Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don’t ever attract their attention.
But it’s too late. Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost — regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr’s stunning twenty-first-century faery tale.

Quick Review

• Interesting idea with some layers of darkness tossed in
• A too-perfect main character
• Cheesy AF romance

Detailed Review

Aislinn is a mortal cursed with a unique gift: she can see faeries. But these faeries aren’t little winged humanoids who live in flowers. These are the fae: dangerous, cruel, frightening. So when the Summer King decides he wants her to be his queen, Aislinn’s world suddenly becomes more dangerous to both her and her loved ones.

Wicked Lovely is a book that thirteen-year-old me would have loved. It has a little bit of magic and a lot of romance. But twenty-something-year-old-me wasn’t so impressed. Instead, I saw a book that caters to the fancies of a young teen girl, an audience I’m no longer apart of.

In terms of writing, Wicked Lovely wasn’t bad, but nothing stuck out either. I read it quickly, not noticing anything particularly beautiful or profound, but not noticing anything horribly cheesy. Granted, there were moments. Some of the dialogue was a little…off, but I suppose that has to do with the fact that one of the main characters is a faerie king who is a little out of touch with the modern world.

And the story was interesting. I liked the darker elements with Donia. I liked the idea of the weird bargain between Keenan, his mother, and the whole Summer Queen thing. And I also like that the ending wasn’t typical (albeit it was still very predictable).

But I found so many things to be off-putting.

The romance was completely cheesy, and I found it to be completely unrealistic. I don’t buy into young men giving up their “player” lifestyle for the sake of a girl he isn’t even dating. The cuddling in front of random people wasn’t cute; it was weird and uncomfortable, like when you see kids making out in the hallway of your high school.  Sure, they think they’re sweet, but no one else does. And finally. I don’t buy that someone would put themselves in dangerous situations or be so trusting of someone they barely entered a relationship with.

And then there’s Aislinn. She’s beautiful, smart, and powerful. She’s also entirely too perfect and has little, if any, flaws. And more importantly, certain characters don’t seem to question her sanity when she claims to see things that no one else can see. Really? REALLY?!

Ultimately, everything wrapped up too nicely. All the knots were tied, and it didn’t feel like there were any true loose ends. It was too much of a happily ever after, and I guess this makes me a little weird, but I hate perfectly happy endings. Things don’t wrap up nicely in real life, and I hate when they do in fiction. It just feels…forced.

In the end, Wicked Lovely isn’t a book I would recommend to the adult who loves young adult literature. There were traces of potential there, but that potential was never reached.

What Should You Read? 90’s Throwback Edition

Who doesn’t like a little nostalgia? These are some books that totally remind me of my childhood, so I guess it’s really more 90’s/early 00’s. Anyway, have you read any of them?

Let me know what book you get in the comments below! Have you read it? Want to read it?

Want more? Here are some of my other “What Should You Read?” Charts:

 //What Should You Read? Classic Lit // What Should You Read? Romance// What Should You Read? YA Fantasy// What Should You Read? YA Contemporary//What Should You Read? Fantasy//

The Books (Descriptions from GoodReads/Amazon):

Animorphs: The Invasion by Katherine Applegate: GoodReads, Amazon

Sometimes weird things happen to people. Ask Jake. He may tell you about the night he and his friends saw the strange light in the sky. He may even tell you about what happened when they realized the “light” was only a plane — from another planet. Here’s where Jake’s story gets a little weird. It’s where they’re told that the human race is under attack — and given the chance to fight back.

Now Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco have the power to morph into any animal they choose. And they must use that power to outsmart an evil that is greater than anything the world has ever seen…

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket: GoodReads, Amazon

Dear Reader,

I’m sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Everworld by K.A. Applegate: GoodReads, Amazon

There is a place that shouldn’t exist. But does. And there are creatures that shouldn’t exist. But do. Welcome to a land where all of your dreams and nightmares are very real—and often deadly. Welcome to Everworld.

David’s life was pretty normal. School. Friends. Girlfriend. Actually, Senna was probably the oddest aspect of his life. She was beautiful. Smart. But there was something very different about her. Something strange.

And on the day it began, everything happened so quickly. One moment, Senna was with him. The next, she was swallowed up by the earth, her screams echoing from far, far away. David couldn’t just let her go. Neither could the others. His friends—and hers. So, they followed. And found themselves in a world they could have never imagined.

Now they have to find Senna and get home without losing their lives. Or their minds. Or both…

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney: GoodReads, Amazon

The face on the milk carton looks like an ordinary little girl: hair in tight pigtails, a dress with a narrow white collar, a three-year-old who was kidnapped more than twelve years ago from a shopping mall in New Jersey.

As fifteen-year-old Janie Johnson stares at the milk carton, she feels overcome with shock. She knows that little girl is she. But how could it be true?

Janie can’t believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, until she begins to piece together clues that don’t make sense. Why are there no pictures of Janie before she was four? Her parents have always said they didn’t have a camera. Now that explanation sounds feeble. Something is terribly wrong, and Janie is afraid to find out what happened more than twelve years ago.

In this gripping page-turner, the reader will unravel — as Janie does — the twisted events that changed the lives of two families forever.

The Giver by M.T. Anderson: GoodReads, Amazon

Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind this fragile community.

Holes by Louis Sachar: GoodReads, Amazon

Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption. Ages 10+

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten- pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys “build character” by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

Howl’s Moving Castle by  Diana Wynne Jones: GoodReads, Amazon

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

So You Want to Be a Wizard? by Diane Duane: GoodReads, Amazon

Nita Callahan is at the end of her rope because of the bullies who’ve been hounding her at school… until she discovers a mysterious library book that promises her the chance to become a wizard. But she has no idea of the difference that taking the Wizard’s Oath is going to make in her life. Shortly, in company with fellow beginner-wizard Kit Rodriguez, Nita’s catapulted into what will be the adventure of a lifetime — if she and Kit can both live through it. For every wizard’s career starts with an Ordeal in which he or she must challenge the one power in the universe that hates wizardry more than anything else: the Lone Power that invented death and turned it loose in the worlds. Plunged into a dark and deadly alternate New York full of the Lone One’s creatures, Kit and Nita must venture into the very heart of darkness to find the stolen, legendary Book of Night with Moon. Only with the dangerous power of the wizardly Book do they have a chance to save not just their own lives, but their world…

Witch Child by Celia Rees: GoodReads, Amazon

The spellbinding diary of a teenage girl who escapes persecution as a witch–only to face new intolerance in a Puritan settlement.

Enter the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary’s startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared?

The Skylark’s Song by J.M. Frey, A Space-Age Forbidden Romance

Title: The Skylark’s Song

Author: J.M. Frey

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Pages: 277

Format: eBook

Other: Amazon, GoodReads

Grade:  F (1/5)

Description (from the publisher):

A Saskwyan flight mechanic with uncanny luck, seventeen-year-old Robin Arianhod grew up in the shadow of a decade-long war. But the skies are stalked by the Coyote—a ruthless Klonn pilot who picks off crippled airships and retreating soldiers. And as the only person to have survived an aerial dance with Saskwya’s greatest scourge, Robin has earned his attention.

As a pilot, Robin is good. But the Coyote is better. When he shoots her down and takes her prisoner, Robin finds herself locked into a new kind of dance. The possibility of genuine affection from a man who should be her enemy has left her with a choice: accept the Coyote’s offer of freedom and romance in exchange for repairing a strange rocket pack that could spell Saskwya’s defeat, but become a traitor to her country. Or betray her own heart and escape. If she takes the rocket pack and flees, she could end the war from the inside.

All she has to do is fly.

Quick Review

• Cheesy writing and painful dialogue
• Cardboard cut-out characters
• World building? What world building?

Detailed Review

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. 

Sometimes, I judge a book’s quality by how quickly I read it. Usually, this is a good thing: it means I was absorbed in the story, that it was a page turner. The Skylark’s Song was an exception to this rule. I read it quickly not because I was absorbed in the story but rather because I wanted to get it over with. And quite honestly, had I not requested this book on Netgalley, I wouldn’t have finished it.

I requested The Skylark’s Song because it sounded interesting. Robin is just a flight mechanic, but somehow she earns the attention of the notorious fighter pilot called the Coyote. When he takes her as his captive, she finds herself faced with a difficult choice: follow her heart and stay with him, or escape to return to her country.

Unfortunately instead of being a fun read, it was a painful one.

The writing was hard to get through. I found myself skipping over paragraphs because I thought it was just too cheesy.  I’m not even sure what made it cheesy. Sure, I have a lot of pet peeves. “Wry smile” (ugh), “golden skin” (what does that even mean?), characters constantly “scowling”.  And the dialogue was just gross.  The Coyote said. “my dear” ALL the friggin’ time, and the mean kids pretty much called Robin a worthless Sealie, which felt more like over-the-top bullying than real prejudice.

But I can sometimes forgive bad writing (see my obsession with A Court of Thorns and Roses…Sorry, Sarah). I can forgive it when essentially everything else is good. Unfortunately, that was not the case with The Skylark’s Song.

The characters did not feel real. Robin was stubborn and strong, but really these were just the character traits the author assigned her. She had no personality. And the Coyote was just another Bad Boy who was insta-in-love with Robin. Really, it’s hard to write about characterization when there isn’t much there.

There was also a poorly executed attempt at world building. I understood there was a war, but I never really understood why. Was it just because flying around and shooting people is “cool”? ‘Cause that’s the vibe I got. I also didn’t understand what being a Sealie meant. I get that it’s a religion , but like what does that entail? And then there’s the whole prejudice against the Sealie. I didn’t understand why it existed. Of course, racism/prejudice doesn’t ever have a good why, but there has to be something to it, right? Fear? Misunderstanding? Stereotypes? You’ve gotta give me something.

And the actual story? Well, I mean I guess it was there.

Ultimately, this isn’t a book I would recommend. Sure, there might be a few readers out there for it, but I’m not one of them. If you want something cheesy (and I get it–sometimes I do too), this might fill that need. Other than that….No thanks.

What Should You Read? Speculative Fiction

Let me know what book you get in the comments below! Have you read it? Want to read it?

Want more? Here are some of my other “What Should You Read?” Charts:

 //What Should You Read? Classic Lit // What Should You Read? Romance// What Should You Read? YA Fantasy// What Should You Read? YA Contemporary//What Should You Read? Fantasy

The Books (Descriptions from GoodReads/Amazon):

1984 by George Orwell: GoodReads, Amazon

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

Winston Smith toes the Party line, rewriting history to satisfy the demands of the Ministry of Truth. With each lie he writes, Winston grows to hate the Party that seeks power for its own sake and persecutes those who dare to commit thoughtcrimes. But as he starts to think for himself, Winston can’t escape the fact that Big Brother is always watching…

A startling and haunting vision of the world, 1984 is so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the influence of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions—a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson: GoodReads, Amazon

Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn’t remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers?

This fascinating novel represents a stunning new direction for acclaimed author Mary Pearson. Set in a near future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics and the nature of humanity. Mary Pearson’s vividly drawn characters and masterful writing soar to a new level of sophistication.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: GoodReads, Amazon

Brave New World is a dystopian novel written in 1931 by English author Aldous Huxley, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State of genetically modified citizens and an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that are combined to make a utopian society that goes challenged only by a single outsider.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: GoodReads, Amazon

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.

When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.

Feed by M.T. Anderson: GoodReads, Amazon

Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains.

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon – a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. Following in the footsteps of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr., M. T. Anderson has created a not-so-brave new world — and a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now.

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy: GoodReads, Amazon

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother-or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer: GoodReads, Amazon

Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all–hope–in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: GoodReads, Amazon

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

The Stand by Stephen King: GoodReads, Amazon

A patient escapes from a biological testing facility, unknowingly carrying a deadly weapon: a mutated strain of super-flu that will wipe out 99 percent of the world’s population within a few weeks. Those who remain are scared, bewildered, and in need of a leader. Two emerge—Mother Abagail, the benevolent 108-year-old woman who urges them to build a peaceful community in Boulder, Colorado; and Randall Flagg, the nefarious “Dark Man,” who delights in chaos and violence. As the dark man and the peaceful woman gather power, the survivors will have to choose between them—and ultimately decide the fate of all humanity.

Uglies by Scott Westerfield: GoodReads, Amazon

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. In just a few weeks she’ll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she’ll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.

But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world– and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally’s choice will change her world forever…

Unwind by Neal Shusterman: GoodReads, Amazon

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child “unwound,” whereby all of the child’s organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn’t technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state, is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

Daughter of Light and Shadows by Anna McKerrow, a Steamy Fantasy Romance

Title: Daughter of Light and Shadows

Author: Anna McKerrow

Genre: Fantasy, romance

Pages: 384

Format: eBook

Other: Amazon, GoodReads

Grade:  D (2/5)

Description (from the publisher):

Faye Morgan – beautiful, independent and lonely – runs her family’s small shop of magical curiosities like her mother and grandmother before her. She longs for an escape, unaware of the dark power that flows through her veins…
When Faye casts a spell into the sea one cold morning, her call brings her to the attention of the wild and impulsive faerie king Finn Beatha. Finn pulls Faye into an intoxicating new world, both magical and treacherous… and as bewitching as Finn himself, who seems to command every part of her when he’s near.
As Faye’s passion for Finn grows, so does her fear that she might be there for some darker reason… and that she could be trapped in Faerie forever. Is there something in Faye’s past connecting her to this place, to Finn? And dare she find out more when every moment draws her further away from her old world?

Quick Review

• Super beautiful MC who doesn’t think she’s that great but all the men fawn over her.
• Hot dudes who have no personality.
• Is there a plot? I’m not sure.

Detailed Review

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. 

Faye comes from a family of witches, but she doesn’t know how powerful she really is. After she casts a love spell, she meets two handsome men: Rav, her new neighbor, and Finn, a passionate and powerful Faerie King. But when Finn pulls her into his world, she isn’t sure if she should love it or fear it. 

When I requested this book, I  thought I knew what I was getting into. I expected a smutty fantasy romance, something like The Sookie Stackhouse series or Darkfever.  I wasn’t expecting quality writing, just something fun to read. Unfortunately, Daughter of Light and Shadows still managed to disappoint.

There were moments when Daughter of Light and Shadow was entertaining. It certainly wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read. Honestly, I like romance, and I liked the idea of Faye being pulled into this faerie world. And I also loved that she wasn’t a normal human girl–she’s a witch. It was a fascinating idea.

But none of the characters were really interesting. Instead, they felt like stock characters. There’s Faye who’s too much of a Mary Sue. You know the type: she’s beautiful but doesn’t know it, she’s strong and brave, and she’s smart too. Men fawn over her. And sure, she’s selfish at times, but that’s only because she’s under some faerie spell. Essentially, she has no real flaws.

The love interests aren’t much better. They’re both super hot and super into Faye, despite not really knowing her. They didn’t have much personality outside of their interest in Faye.

There’s also not much depth, in either the world building or the magic system. The magic system was a little too 90’s witch for me. You know, Book of Shadows, cheesy spells, and tarot cards. The world was a little too basic. There’s Faye’s magic shop, the beach, Rav’s house, and Faerie. But honestly, I couldn’t tell you much about anything.

Ultimately, it would seem like the plot would be this novel’s saving grace, but even that was poorly executed. It felt really scattered, and there were too many loose ends. While this is the first book of a series, there should have been more answers to some of the things Faye discovers. Things just wrapped up too easily and other plot lines were forgotten.  It’s unfortunate because more focus on some of the other plots would have been way more interesting, but in the end it was confusing and anti-climatic.

Honestly, I’ll forget about this book in a week, maybe even less than that.

What Should You Read? Fantasy

Let me know what book you get in the comments below! Have you read it? Want to read it?

Want more? Here are some of my other “What Should You Read?” Charts:

 //What Should You Read? Classic Lit // What Should You Read? Romance// What Should You Read? YA Fantasy// What Should You Read? YA Contemporary//

The Books (Descriptions from GoodReads):

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby: GoodReads, Amazon

Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?

Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go.

As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap—their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures—acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, magic and mystery, regret and forgiveness—a story about how the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber: GoodReads, Amazon

Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning: GoodReads, Amazon

When MacKayla’s sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death, a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed – a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae.

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho…while at the same time, the ruthless V’lane – an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women – closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book – because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control both worlds in their hands.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova: GoodReads, Amazon

To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history….Late one night, exploring her father’s library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to “My dear and unfortunate successor,” and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of, a labyrinth where the secrets of her father’s past and her mother’s mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself–to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive. What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler’s dark reign and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.

I Am Mordred by Nancy Springer: GoodReads, Amazon

From his very incarnation, Mordred has been a pawn in Camelot’s history. Foretold by Merlin that he will grow up to kill his father, the beloved King Arthur, young Mordred struggles with his fate, loathing the great king who tried to kill him as a baby, yet journeying to Camelot where he learns to serve and idolize the legendary leader. Torn between feelings of love and hate, Mordred yearns to make peace with Arthur, who still refuses to acknowledge him. But Mordred is determined to have peace at any price–even if it costs him his soul.

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson: GoodReads, Amazon

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison. Kelsier “snapped” and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld’s elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel’s plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she’s a half-Skaa orphan, but she’s lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails?

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss: GoodReads, Amazon

Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: GoodReads, Amazon

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder: GoodReads, Amazon

Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear…

Uprooted by Naomi Novik: GoodReads, Amazon

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

Review: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Title: Out of the Easy

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Genre: Young adult, historical

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Other: Amazon, GoodReads

Grade:  B (4/5)

Description (from cover):It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. 

Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test. 

With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny.

Quick Review

• Realistic and flawed main character
• Engaging and emotional plot
• Cringy 50’s dialogue

Detailed Review

Growing up as a prostitute’s daughter isn’t easy, and all Josie Moraine wants to do is leave that title behind. She has one dream: get out of the French Quarter and go to college. But just as things start to work out, a man winds up dead and Josie finds herself at the center of the investigation.

Josie Moraine is different from many young adult protagonists, but she felt like a real teenager. She isn’t a “kick-butt heroine”, and she isn’t always strong.  Sometimes she’s fragile, and sometimes she’s desperate. And she’s definitely flawed. At times, I felt frustrated with her. She’s ashamed of who she is, and at times, she’s ashamed of the people who love her. She’s selfish and doesn’t think about how she might be hurting others, and she makes stupid decisions.

Initially, I struggled to relate to Josie. I thought she was annoying. But as the book progressed, I realized that she was more “real” than other characters I’ve encountered. It was this realness that made her endearing.

The book was also engaging. Even though I had a good idea of who “done it”, the twists at the end were still surprising. After all, this isn’t really about the murder. This is about growing up and learning to deal with hardship. So in this case, figuring out the mystery early on doesn’t make the book predictable. It just makes sense.

Even though I enjoyed this book, I struggled with the writing. I felt like the dialogue was a little inauthentic because it seemed like Sepetys was trying too hard to make you feel like this took place in the 50’s. This mostly popped up with Jesse, a boy around Josie’s age. He felt like he was ripped out of a 1950’s movie, more like a cliche than a real person.

Despite this, Out of the Easy was still an enjoyable read. At times, it was fun. At times, it was emotional. Despite its cliches, it was anything but mediocre.

Review: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

 

Title: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Author: C.S. Lewis

Genre: Children’s, fantasy, classic

Pages: 206

Format: Paperback

Other: Amazon, GoodReads

Grade:  A (5/5)

Description (from cover):They open a door and enter a world

NARNIA…the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy…the place where the adventure begins. Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor’s mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund and then Peter and Susan discover the Magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. In the blink of an eye, their lives are changed forever.

Quick Review

• Fulfills childhood dreams of fantasy worlds full of magic and adventure
• Charming narrator that isn’t condescending
• Vivid and imaginative writing

Detailed Review

While staying with a mysterious professor, the four Pevensie find a magical world beyond a wardrobe. Narnia is full of talking animals and magical creatures who are stuck under the rule of the evil White Witch. There, the children must rescue an old friend and a brother, and save Narnia from the witch’s clutches. 

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is everything my childhood needed. Of course, like many, I was familiar with the wardrobe that whisked you away to a land cursed to winter. After all, I had watched the movie as a child. But as most readers will tell you, the book is truly better than the movie.

The book fulfilled that childhood desire for a magical adventure in another world. Narnia is so vivid and so imaginative that it becomes a place you wish you could go. In all honesty, I felt like a kid again, dreaming of far off places and fantastic adventures. It’s something I wish I would have read when I was younger because I know I would have loved it.

Part of the charm of the novel is the narration. It was fun and personable. It had the sing-song fairy tale feel to it that’s fitting for a children’s novel. But it also wasn’t condescending or overt in its teachings. The teachings were there, but they weren’t overpowering.

The lessons weren’t overpowering because the world was so vivid. I could imagine everything. When the children were cold, I felt cold. When they were seeing something for the first time, I was seeing something for the first time. The writing might be meant for a child, but it certainly wasn’t lacking in complexity.

Overall, I think the Chronicles of Narnia is one of those series we should all read. It’s culturally significant, an example of endearing children’s literature, and completely entertaining.

 

What Should You Read? Romance

Let me know what book you get in the comments below! Have you read it? Want to read it?

The Books (Descriptions from GoodReads):

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas: GoodReads, Amazon

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning: GoodReads, Amazon

When MacKayla’s sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death, a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed – a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae.

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho…while at the same time, the ruthless V’lane – an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women – closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book – because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control both worlds in their hands.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: GoodReads, Amazon

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick: GoodReads, Amazon

A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey’s plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen – and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: GoodReads, Amazon

Fiery love, shocking twists of fate, and tragic mysteries put a lonely governess in jeopardy in JANE EYRE

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.

But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?

Losing It by Cora Carmack: GoodReads, Amazon

Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, Bliss Edwards decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible – a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren’t embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She’d left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover: GoodReads, Amazon

Sydney is living in an idyllic bubble—she’s a dedicated student with a steady job on the side. She lives with her best friend, has a great boyfriend, and the music coming from the balcony opposite hers is fast becoming the soundtrack to her life. But when Sydney finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, the bubble bursts. The mysterious and attractive man behind the music, Ridge, gives Sydney hope that she can move on and they begin to write songs together. But moving on is harder than she expects, Sydney can only hope….

Maybe someday…

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles: GoodReads, Amazon

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created ‘perfect’ life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she’s worked so hard for: her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect.

Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: GoodReads, Amazon

Pride and Prejudice–Austen’s own ‘darling child’–tells the story of fiercely independent Elizabeth Bennett, one of five sisters who must marry rich, as she confounds the arrogant, wealthy Mr. Darcy. What ensues is one of the most delightful and engrossingly readable courtships known to literature, written by a precocious Austen when she was just twenty-one years old.

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: GoodReads, Amazon

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik: GoodReads, Amazon

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.