Review: Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

Series: Seafire #1
Publication Date: August 28th, 2018
Publisher: Razorbill
Genera: YA, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, whose lives have been turned upside down by Aric and his men. The crew has one misson: stay alive, and take down Aric's armed and armored fleet.

But when Caledonia's best friend and second-in-command just barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether or not to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all...or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for?

My Rating 

4/5 stars

My Review

Seafire is empowering and completely captivating. This book was so hard to put down once you start. If you love pirate tales and strong female characters, this is the book for you.

Caledonia's only mission is to make the Bullets and their warlord pay for killing her family and her crew. Now Caledonia is the captain of her own, female run ship, and they will stop at nothing until Aric is dead. But when Caledonia's second in command, Pi, gets taken hostage, a rouge Bullet risks his own life to save Pi. In return for saving one of her crew, Caledonia lets the Bullet stay on their ship until he can be dropped off on shore. What Caledonia wasn't expecting was for the Bullet to tell her that her brother is still alive, and was taken by Aric. Caledonia must decide if the Bullet is trustworthy enough for her to believe his story, and if she's willing to risk her crew and ship in order to get her brother back.

There is nothing better than a strong and sassy female character, with a heart of gold for those she loves. Caledonia is such an amazing character! She is so hardworking and determined. She is constantly thinking of everyone on her ship rather than herself, and cares so deeply about everyone on the ship as if they were her own family. What makes her even better, is that she's constantly fighting an internal battle with her past demons, and feels responsible for any death that occurred under her command. This makes her a truly amazing, realistic and a very relatable character.

Every character on the Mors Navis is so unique. There are characters of different ages, backgrounds and talents. While there is a lot of people on the ship, the story focuses mainly on about 10 of them or so, the rest aren't mentioned too often, which makes it a bit easier on the character to help remember names and who each character is.

The setting of this story was perfect. Even though most of the story takes place on the water and on the Mors Navis or other ships, we still get tons of scenery and description. The amount of detail that went into this book and each description was truly amazing, I felt like I could see and even feel the boat, it was the perfect amount of description to make it feel realistic. You could tell just how much time Natalie Parker spent researching everything, her efforts could be seen and it made the book so much better because of it.

The pace of the story was fantastic. There is action from beginning to end, there is lots of character development and basically everything you could wish for in a pirate novel. While there wasn't any huge curveballs, the book still managed to surprise me here and there, and I was glad that none of my predictions came true for what was going to happen. It was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, I really enjoyed Seafire and I can't wait to read more from this series and this author. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves pirate movies/novels or is just looking for an action packed YA with strong female characters. 

Happy Reading,
Aneta 

Review: Sanctuary by Caryn Lix

Series: Sanctuary #1
Publication Date: July 24, 2018
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genera: YA, Science Fiction
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: Kenzie holds one truth above all: the company is everything.

As a citizen of Omnistellar Concepts, the most powerful corporation in the solar system, Kenzie has trained her entire life for one goal: to become an elite guard on Sanctuary, Omnistellar’s space prison for superpowered teens too dangerous for Earth. As a junior guard, she’s excited to prove herself to her company—and that means sacrificing anything that won’t propel her forward.

But then a routine drill goes sideways and Kenzie is taken hostage by rioting prisoners.

At first, she’s confident her commanding officer—who also happens to be her mother—will stop at nothing to secure her freedom. Yet it soon becomes clear that her mother is more concerned with sticking to Omnistellar protocol than she is with getting Kenzie out safely.

As Kenzie forms her own plan to escape, she doesn’t realize there’s a more sinister threat looming, something ancient and evil that has clawed its way into Sanctuary from the vacuum of space. And Kenzie might have to team up with her captors to survive—all while beginning to suspect there’s a darker side to the Omnistellar she knows.

My Rating

5/5 stars

My Review

Sanctuary was everything I expected and more. It is the perfect space adventure with a splash horror.

Fifty years ago, alien probes arrived on Earth. At first nothing happened, but the next generation started receiving superpowers. Those that used their newfound powers for illegal activities ended up in Sanctuary, an extra secure prison out in space. When a distress signal is sent to Sanctuary, guards go to explore, but before they can figure out what is going on, prisoners from level 5 form an escape, and use Kenzie, a junior guard as a hostage. But when things don't go according to plan, and aliens start taking over the ship, Kenzie must join forces with the prisoners as they fight for survival.

I don't know what it is about space novels, but I've been really enjoying them recently. Although I do have to put Sanctuary as my top choice as of right now. The book truly captivated me, and I honestly could not put the book down. It's been a long time since I've stayed up way past my bedtime because of a book, but Sanctuary was definitely the one.

I absolutely loved all the characters in this novel. Kenzie was a fantastic main character. She's strong and very intelligent right from the beginning, but she does have her flaws, especially as she's dealing with her parents divorce, and being the youngest guard on the station. As her story progresses, Kenzie truly grows into an amazing person, her development throughout the story is absolutely fantastic. There wasn't a single thing I didn't like about Kenzie.
As for the other characters in the story, I was really impressed with how many diverse characters this book had and how many different personalities there were. Some characters I loved right from the beginning, and others ended up growing on me throughout the story. Its very rare when I actually enjoy all the characters in a novel, but I truly don't have a character in Sanctuary that I didn't end up enjoying at the end.

The world-building is one of the main reasons why I gave this book 5 stars. You would think that since the story takes place in a small space station that the settings would get boring, but you are wrong. Not only is Sanctuary very well explained, but we also get tons of backstories from both Kenzie and the other prisoners about how life is back on Earth, and what has happened to the world since the alien probes landed. I felt like I knew everything that was going on in the world, and how different countries on our planet have reacted to these events.

The pace of the story was also fantastic. There was lots of action to keep the reader entertained, but there was also a lot of dialogue and character development where there was the perfect balance between action and getting to know the characters. 

Overall, I highly recommend Sanctuary to all YA fans, especially if you love action and horror stories, with a hint of romance and strong female characters. I cannot wait to find out what happens next, and will definitely be picking up more books from this author.

Happy Reading,
Aneta 

Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Publication Date: April 24th 2018
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating. 

My Rating

4/5 stars

My Review

Sky in the Deep was such a great novel! There is tons of action right from the beginning, a great plot and some fantastic characters. I definitely recommend this book to action and fantasy fans.

Five years ago, Eelyn watched her bother Iri die in a battle against the Riki, so when her brother's image comes to her just as she's about to die and saves her life, Eelyn believes that the gods have favoured her. But when she sees Iri a second time in battle she can't help but follow him. Iri was taken in and healed by the Riki five years ago, and now he is one of them. The only way he could protect Eelyn after she went too far to follow him, was to take her in as a slave. Now trapped in the mountains with the Riki and her traitorous brother, Eelyn must find a way to survive against all odds and make her way back to her people. 

Eelyn was a fantastic main character. She is a strong and powerful woman that has so much life within her. She's not afraid to say what she's thinking and do what she feels is right. I loved her so much in the beginning, but I definitely loved her even more in the end. Eelyn goes through some amazing character development, and is just a please to read from in her point of view.
As for the other main characters, I really liked most of them. Fiske was absolutely fantastic from beginning to end, just seeing him in a scene made me so much more excited to read it. I adore Inge and Halvard, they really gave the book a family aspect, especially Halvard since he felt like a little brother figure, and was just so loveable that you can't help but love him.
The characters I didn't really like were Iri and Runa, Iri just seemed very stuck up and kept constantly doing the wrong thing and just expecting everyone to forgive him and see his side of the story. He never really apologizes and just doesn't seem like the great brother figure that Eelyn remembers him to be. It also didn't feel like he went through any character development and just sort of stayed the same from the beginning to the end of the book. As for Runa, she was talked about a lot in the book, but was never really present in the moment, and when she was, she just never made a lasting impression.

The action starts right at the beginning of the story and continues right to the end. I was really impressed with how much I wanted to read this book, and just not put it down. The world that Adrienne Young created was absolutely fantastic and very creative.

While the action, pacing and world were great, this book did tend to be a little predictable. The predictions I made at the beginning of the book came true in the end, and there really wasn't anything that surprised me about the story.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book if you love action and fantasy novels, and especially if you love strong female characters. If this book wasn't as predictable as it was, I would have definitely given it five stars. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Happy Reading,
Aneta 

Review: Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne

Series: Rosemarked #1
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: A healer who cannot be healed . . .

When Zivah falls prey to the deadly rose plague, she knows it’s only a matter of time before she fully succumbs. Now she’s destined to live her last days in isolation, cut off from her people and unable to practice her art—until a threat to her village creates a need that only she can fill.

A soldier shattered by war . . .

Broken by torture at the hands of the Amparan Empire, Dineas thirsts for revenge against his captors. Now escaped and reunited with his tribe, he’ll do anything to free them from Amparan rule—even if it means undertaking a plan that risks not only his life but his very self.

Thrust together on a high-stakes mission to spy on the capital, the two couldn’t be more different: Zivah, deeply committed to her vow of healing, and Dineas, yearning for vengeance. But as they grow closer, they must find common ground to protect those they love. And amidst the constant fear of discovery, the two grapple with a mutual attraction that could break both of their carefully guarded hearts.

This smart, sweeping fantasy with a political edge and a slow-burning romance will capture fans of The Lumatere Chronicles and An Ember in the Ashes.

My Rating

4/5 stars

My Review

Rosemarked is a beautiful political fantasy novel, with amazing characters, great world building and an incredible plot.

Zivah is a healer, and just as she completes her training she is infected with the Rose Plague. Some people die right away, others are able to fight the plague and go on living their lives, and then there is the Rosemarked. Neither alive nor dead, the Rosemarked continue to live, but they must stay in isolation as they are still highly contagious, until the plague claims their life within a matter of months. Zivah happens to be Rosemarked, and nothing kills her more than not being able to help people, so when an opportunity presents itself where she can go and help other's with the plague she accepts it, only it comes with a cost of bringing Dineas, who's only mission is to take down the Amparan Empire from within.

I instantly fell in love with the whole idea behind this story, its very unique and one that I can't even compare to another series. This book is political, action packed, and has slight hints of magic (if you think of Zivah's healer abilities as magical). The whole idea of the healer helping a soldier forget who he is and bring him into the enemy ranks is extremely creative, and I loved every minute of it.

I absolutely loved Zivah. She's very intelligent and hard working right from the beginning, and as the book goes on we see just how determined she is when she keeps fighting even though the whole world is against her. Usually when people are told they're dying they simply give up, but not Zivah! Whether she's trying to find the cure or save her village, she is always moving forward. She may not be a soldier or a thief, but she is definitely a very strong woman, and someone I would definitely be best friends with in real life. 

The romance between Zivah and Dineas is absolutely perfect. There is no insta-love, and no love triangle. Zivah and Dineas start off on a bad note, and both have impenetrable walls around their hearts. Neither of them was looking for love, but it eventually happens when Dineas loses his memory and is able to forget his painful past. By the end of this book, I was definitely shipping the couple and waiting for moments when they would be together again. 

This book was so close to being perfect, I loved the world, I loved the plaque and I loved the characters. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. While this book didn't have a cliff-hanged ending, it definitely had an ending where it didn't feel like an ending. It didn't feel like the right place to end the book, and when I got to the end I was crying out for more.

Needless to say, I can't wait for the next book to come out. I will definitely be reading it as soon as possible because I need more of Zivah and Dineas.

Happy Reading,
Aneta 

Review: Fireblood by Elly Blake

Series: Frostblood Saga #2
Publication Date: September 12th 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: In this action-packed sequel to Frostblood, the future of Ruby's world and a court ruled by the love of her life depends on the uncovered secrets of her past..

Against all odds, Ruby has defeated the villainous Frost King and melted his throne of ice. But the bloodthirsty Minax that was trapped inside is now haunting her kingdom and everyone she loves. The answers to its demise may lie to the south in Sudesia, the land of the Firebloods, and a country that holds the secrets to Ruby's powers and past....

Despite warnings from her beloved Arcus, Ruby accompanies a roguish Fireblood named Kai to Sudesia, where she must master her control of fire in a series of trials to gain the trust of the suspicious Fireblood queen. Only then can she hope to access the knowledge that could defeat the rampaging Minax--which grows closer every moment. But as sparks fly in her moments alone with Kai, how can Ruby decide whom to trust? The fate of both kingdoms is now in her hands.

My Rating

5/5 stars

My Review

Fireblood was spectacular. I loved it more than the first book.

Even though Ruby defeated the evil king and melted his throne, the Frostbloods still don't trust her. When an attack on Arcus and his followers almost kills him, Ruby takes on the mission to go to Sudesia with a Fireblood prince to make ties between the two countries. The only way she can appeal to the Fire Queen is by becoming a Fireblood Master and completing three trials. While the queen shows no signs of possession by the Minax, her thirst for revenge on the Frostbloods could easily cause the next war.

I was so worried when I started reading this book. The first book had a lot of cliches and it was very predictable, so I was scared that this book would be the same. I was really worried about the second book syndrome (if you don't know what that is, then a quick google search will help), and while the beginning definitely has a second book syndrome feel, the middle and end of the book were not like that at all. 

So in the beginning, we see that Ruby and Arcus are on different sides of the spectrum a bit, she's a "peasant" pretending to be a lady and he is the King. Arcus feels right on the throne while Ruby would rather be somewhere else. Hence the fighting between the two in the beginning of the book. They sort of break up as Ruby leaves for Sudesia, which is already screaming second book syndrome to me.

From the synopsis, you can already guess that there is a love triangle in this book. And while I wasn't too happy with this in the beginning of the book, I have to say that the love triangle is very well written. I don't want to spoil too much, but its not that serious of a love triangle, and the scenes with Kai and Ruby were actually pretty enjoyable.

What I really loved about this book was the world and character building. We get to see Sudesia for one, which was so beautifully described that I actually want to go live there, and we also get to see Ruby on a boat and travelling at sea which was very different but also well written.
Ruby's character building was fantastic as well. We get to see her learn control and finally accept who she really is, it made me love her more as a character.

While the first book was extremely predictable, this book actually caught me by surprise a few times. I definitely wasn't expecting the ending, and while it wasn't a huge shocker, it was a pleasant surprise. Good job to the author for improving her writing, well done.

Overall, I definitely recommend this series to fantasy and adventure fans. If you're a fan of these types of books, you will definitely love this one. And if you were iffy about the first book, I guarantee you will like this one a lot more.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Review: Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Series: The Witchlands #1
Publication Date: January 5th 2016
Publisher: Tor Teen
Genre: YA, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ B&N

Synopsis: In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch. 

My Rating

4/5 stars

My Review

“Those who win wars are those who write history.” 

There are so many things I loved about this book, the world and the plot were amazing, but the thing I loved most about this book was the undying devotion between best friends.

Safiya and Iseult have messed up bad. Now with a Bloodwitch tracking them, Safiya and Iseult have to either hide or go on the run, before he captures Safi for her rare power of being a Truthwitch, or Iseult and her strong powers of Threadwitch. 

Right from the first chapter, you can see the bond that Safi and Iseult share. Their bond reminds me so much of me and best friend, its probably the reason why I can relate to them so much. While Safi and Iseult are complete opposites in some ways, they complement each other so well. They're truly better, stronger and smarter as a pair.

The romance between Safi and Merik in this story is the only aspect I didn't really care for. The main point of this book for me was the adventure and the friendship between the two, I would have been happily content with this book if the romance was erased. I liked it, but it wasn't my reason for reading the book.. if that makes sense..

The world that Susan created is breathtaking. This is probably one of my favourite worlds ever created. Honestly the only thing I can compare this world to, would be a Sarah J. Maas world, so if you love her books, you definitely need to this one.

The action in this story was set at the perfect pace. There was some in the beginning, which made it exciting and not boring at all. Then, there was lots of action in the middle and end of the book, I could not put the book down, thats how crazy the action and plot of the story got. If I had the time, this probably would have been a book I could have read in one sitting.

Overall, this book was absolutely amazing. I can't wait to continue the series with book two. If you haven't yet read this one, I highly recommend it, especially if you love fantasy book and look SJM books.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Review: Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles by J.M. Sullivan

Series: The Wanderland Chronicles #1
Publication Date: May 16th, 2017
Publisher: Pen Name Publishing 
Genre: YA, Retelling, Horror 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: **Readers' Favorite Five Star Review Recipient**

“Always protect your queen.”


Ever since the outbreak of the Plague, life hasn’t been easy, and for seventeen-year-old Alice Carroll, it just got worse. Her sister, Dinah, has contracted the ‘un-deadly’ Momerath Virus and without a cure, will soon be worse than dead. She’ll be momerath.

Alice must leave the safety of the Sector and venture into Momerath Territory to find the antidote - if it exists. Chasing a rumor about a mysterious doctor with the cure, Alice falls down the rabbit hole into Wanderland, where ravenous momerath aren’t the only danger lurking.

My Rating

4/5 stars

My Review

Think Alice in Wonderland mixed with The Walking Dead. This will probably be my favourite retelling of Alice, ever.

Alice and her sister Dinah live in the Sector, a safe place where the Momerath (zombies) can't get in. When the sisters go on a scavenge hunt to a pharmacy and the library, they encounter a Momerath and barely escape. When Dinah falls ill and begins showing the signs of the virus that turns people into Momerath, Alice takes it upon herself to venture out on her own and find a cure for Dinah, before the virus takes her.

Alice was a really good main character. I liked her in the beginning, but I loved her in the end. Alice went from being the afraid little sister thats shy and likes book, to a powerful warrior thats not afraid to kill some zombies and encounter new groups of people if it gets her what she wants. She faced her fears and picked up a machete to kill zombies, somethings she's never done before and was able to fend them off all by herself, I was truly amazed looking back at her character development. 

The plot of this story was really fast and intense. I love how the author didn't bore us with pointless details about the world, and had enough action to keep the reader entertained. From the reader's point of view, it was nice not to go over all the boring little details, but from the scientist's point of view, I would have loved to learn more about what the virus actually does to the body, and how it changes normal people into Momerath. 
Since this was a retelling, all the classic characters are still here, even though they're slightly changed. My favourite, was probably the adaptation of the Red Queen, into a zombie killing warrior that brought her tribe together at the beginning of the outbreak, as well as Matt Hatter being the leading scientist to cause the outbreak, it was all so very creative. 
While I was extremely impressed with the world that Sullivan created, it became a tad predictable at times. I know its very hard to make the story unpredictable when you're writing a retelling, but I would have loved to see more twists and surprises in this book.

The romance... I don't even know if you could call it that. While this book didn't exactly focus on the romance aspect, Alice was introduced to two boys, Nate and Chess. I'm sensing a potential love triangle in the future, but for now, this book remained love-triangle free. I'm definitely excited to see what the author does next with the romance.

Overall, this was a fantastic book. It is definitely something you should pick up if you're going through Walking Dead withdrawal, or if you love Alice in Wonderland, zombies, or really intense action stories. I look forward to seeing more from this author.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Book Tour: Review & Giveaway: Angelbound by Christina Bauer

Angelbound
Christina Bauer
Series: Angelbound Origins #1
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: December 30th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult

Synopsis: *Now an audio book!*
Eighteen-year-old Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She’s not your everyday quasi-demon, half-demon, and half-human, girl. For the past five years, Myla has lived for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory’s arena. When souls want a trial by combat for their right to enter heaven or hell, they go up against her, and she has not lost a battle yet.
But as she starts her senior year at Purgatory High, the arena fights are not enough to keep her spirits up anymore. When the demons start to act weird, even for demons, and the King of the Demons, Armageddon, shows up at Myla’s school, she knows that things are changing and it is not looking good for the quasi-demons. Myla starts to question everything, and does not like the answers she finds. What happened 17 years ago that turned the quasi-demons into slave labor? Why was her mom always so sad? And why won’t anyone tell her who her father is?
Things heat up when Myla meets Lincoln, the High Prince of the Thrax, a super sexy half-human and half-angel demon hunter. But what does a quasi-demon girl to do when she falls for a demon hunter? It’s a good thing that Myla is not afraid of breaking a few rules. With a love worth fighting for, Myla is going to shake up Purgatory.

Goodreads / Amazon / Audible / iTunes

Monster House Books is celebrating the launch of the audiobook version of the best seller Angelbound, both on iTunes & Audible! As a result, every launched book in the series is only $1.99, aka more than 50% off…And that includes Angelbound ACCA, which was only released a few months ago!

—

My Rating

5/5 stars

Audiobook Review

The audiobook was absolutely perfect. Christina Bauer did an amazing job, not only writing this story but also narrating it.

I read this book when it first came out, which was in 2013. Listening to this story again gave me the exact same feels as when I was reading it the first time around. I fell in love all over again with Myla, Lincoln and the rest of the characters. 

The audiobook is narrated by Christina Bauer, who is also the author of the book. I absolutely love it when authors read their own book, I feel like I'm in the author's head of how each character sounds and how they say each line. 

Christina's voice was perfect for this book. She had enthusiasm in her voice, she was able to change her voice slightly for all the characters so you can tell the difference, and she really kept you engaged in the story. 

The one thing I would have changed throughout the audiobook, is the voice Christina was doing for Myla's mother. While it sounded cute, it seemed a bit like an old grandma voice, rather than a middle-aged mom. It made me laugh at first, but eventually I got slightly annoyed by it. Other than that, everything else was perfect. 

Book Review

"His eyes almost glow with intensity. "I like this. Feeling like I have a peer, a partner." He cups my face in his hands. "I like you, Myla." 

Christian Bauer created a fantastic new world, filled with beautiful and dark creatures. With amazing kick-ass characters, Angelbound is a perfect YA novel.

Myla Lewis is a kick-ass type of girl that doesn't take crap from anyone. But who would dare fight her anyways? Myla is a quasi-demon, half demon, half human. She looks just like you and me, with an addition of an awesome tail that's meant for killing. Myla spends her time ditching school and fighting souls in the Purgatory arena. 

But then things start to get crazy! The demons and angels are acting weird, and her land is filled with incoming Thrax (half angel, half human demon hunters). It looks like everyone is preparing for battle, but who's side will Myla chose? Either way, Purgatory will never be the same.

This book is so wonderful. It's filled with action, mystery, and a forbidden romance. Who doesn't love that? 

I absolutely loved Myla as a character, shes beautiful, witty, smart, and she has a license to kill. I absolutely loved reading about her fighting, the author definitely did a good job with making me feel like I was in the book.

The world that she created is also pretty amazing. Angels and Demons are pretty common in books nowadays, same with the half angel half human species. But I've never read a book where the half demon half human species were actually considered good, it was so awesome seeing their demon emotions come out during specific parts of the book. And the whole idea of Ghouls was pretty brilliant as well. I'm impressed.

Definitely recommending this book to all the fans of other Demon/Angel books, and all the fans of kick-ass girl characters. You will definitely love this.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Ink Monster publishing for giving me this amazing opportunity to read this book. And a huge thanks to Christian Bauer for writing this beautiful masterpiece. And thanks to everyone who reads this. You're all awesome!

Happy Reading!

Author Bio:
Christina Bauer knows how to tell stories about kick-ass women. In her best selling Angelbound series, the heroine is a part-demon girl who loves to fight in Purgatory’s Arena and falls in love with a part-angel prince. This young adult best seller has driven more than 500,000 ebook downloads and 9,000 reviews on Goodreads and retailers. It is now available as an audiobook on Audible and iTunes.
Bauer has also told the story of the Women’s March on Washington by leading PR efforts for the Massachusetts Chapter. Her pre-event press release—the only one sent out on a major wire service—resulted in more than 19,000 global impressions and redistribution by over 350 different media entities including the Associated Press.
Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.
Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/CBupdates
Stalk Christina on Social Media – She Loves It!

Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn / Website

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Perfect by Cecelia Ahern

Series: Flawed #2
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genre: YA, Dystopia 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ B&N

Synopsis: Celestine North lives in a society that demands perfection. After she was branded Flawed by a morality court, Celestine's life has completely fractured--all her freedoms gone. 

Since Judge Crevan has declared her the number one threat to the public, she has been a ghost, on the run with Carrick--the only person she can trust. 

But Celestine has a secret--one that could bring the entire Flawed system crumbling to the ground. A secret that has already caused countless people to go missing. 

Judge Crevan is gaining the upper hand, and time is running out for Celestine. With tensions building, Celestine must make a choice: save just herself or to risk her life to save all Flawed people. 

And, most important of all, can she prove that to be human in itself is to be Flawed?

My Rating

4/5 stars

My Review

A perfect ending to a wonderful duology.

Celestine North is the most Flawed person there is, just for standing up for basic human rights, and going against the Guild. Now on the run, Celestine can't trust anyone. With the new knowledge that she holds the power of destroying The Guild, Celestine must learn who she can really trust, and figure out a plan to reverse her branding, and put a stop to discrimination against the flawed people. 

I read the first book in this series (which if you have not read yet, go do that now) in a day. Perfect took me two days to read (even though I would have done it in one, if I had the time). It was full of action, filled with some wonderful character development, and it keeps you wanting more throughout the whole book.

The problem I had with Celestine in the first book, was that everyone (including Celestine) kept saying how smart and intelligent she is, but getting tricked by her classmates made me think otherwise. In this book, I was waiting for Celestine to make a mistake and prove to the reader, once again, that she's not as smart as she thinks she is. Fortunately, that did not happen in this book. I'm not saying that Celestine never messed up, but throughout the whole book she kept making back up plans incase her original plant went wrong. This was such a brilliant work of character development, you can really see Celestine becoming smarter, opening up to a side of her that she's never known before and embracing who she is now. I absolutely loved her as a main character. She was definitely Perfect in this book.

In this book, we see the love triangle come back into full play. With Carrick still madly in love with Celestine, he is desperately searching for her in order to reunite. Celestine is awaiting her reunion with Carrick, but she still thinks about Art (and yes he does come back into the story). While the romance in this book was really good at times, it could also get a tad annoying. It is very obvious who Celestine is going to end up with (at least it was for me), so the constant going back and forth was a bit over played in my opinion.

This book was so close to being the "Perfect" book for me, unfortunately because of two small reasons, I had to give this book 4/5 stars. First of all, the author created such a beautiful world and such an amazing story, it felt a bit rushed to read it all in two books. While I was happy that there was a ton of action to make the book hard to put down, I was also sad to see the series end so soon. I definitely would have enjoyed the series more if it was at least another book longer.
The second reason, is one that people will probably read and skip over without thinking, but it really hit home for me. For those of you who know me, you may know that I am currently doing my bachelor's of science in the department of microbiology. My project area of study, is focusing on antimicrobial resistance, especially when it comes to our vaccines. When Carrick's mother said that her and her husband used to be doctors, and they were branded for speaking out about the dangers of vaccination, my stomach dropped. I'm not sure which is worse, the author not doing her research on a controversial topic like this, or the author assuming it is something normal because so many non-credible sources are speaking out about this. As a scientist, I advise you to always do you research, and when you do, make sure its from credible-sources, not just some random people on the internet, or famous people without Ph.D's on the topic. I know its only a sentence, but it really hurt when I read it.

Overall, I still highly recommend this series to anyone who loves action packed, dystopian books. It is definitely for all the fans of The Hunger Games, and Divergent (minus the last book). I loved this duology so much, I sincerely wish that it would have been longer.

Happy Reading,
Aneta.

Review: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Series: Three Dark Crowns #1
Publication Date: September 20th 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ B&N

Synopsis: When kingdom come, there will be one.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown. 

My Rating

5/5 stars

My Review 

“Three dark queens

Are born in a glen,

Sweet little triplets

Will never be friends

Three dark sisters

All fair to be seen,

Two to devour

And one to be Queen” 

Three sisters must fight to the death. The winner, becomes queen until her own triplets are born. Three Dark Crowns is a story about Katherine the poisoner, Mirabella the elemental, and Arsinoe the naturalist. 

Honestly, I loved this book with all my heart. I was so scared because I read the synopsis, loved the book and bought it online, while it was shipping I read some bad reviews for it and was very scared that I bought this book and it would suck. I'm very happy to say that I'm so glad I bought a copy because the book was everything I love, I cannot wait for the next one to be released.

Usually when there are three main characters, you pick your favourite and kind of skip over the other main character's parts. At least that is what I usually do. For Three Dark Crowns I could not pick my favourite character (well I'm kind of leaning towards Arsinoe atm but they're still really close). Every Queen is so very different, yet they're all loveable in their own way. 
Katherine starts off as the anorexic little weakling, not having her poisoner powers come in yet she is basically tortured every day. Once she meets and falls in love with Pietyr she instantly starts growing as a character. Her character development throughout the book is absolutely amazing, I loved watching her develop into such a strong woman.
Mirabella is the sweetheart. Even though she's the most powerful of the three sisters, she feels great remorse knowing that she has to kill her siblings. Mira is the only one of the three sisters that has memories of their past, back to when they were 6 years old and lived together. While some view her emotion as a weakness, I think it makes her incredibly strong emotionally. Also I believe she is the smartest of the three sisters and I definitely admire her for it.
Arsinoe is the wild one. She is outdoorsy and doesn't give af about her looks. Arsinoe is extremely likeable, she just has that aura around her that makes everyone like her. While she has no powers yet, she keeps working towards them on her own and never ceases to try. I loved her work ethic and her realism in this book. She knows she is weak, but she never stops trying to get better.

The romance in this book was very fascinating. It was basically the only part of the book that really managed to surprise me (especially in the end). Having said that, there were parts of the book that I kind of predicted, and then told myself "nah that's not gonna happen" and then it happened. So I wasn't too shocked, I thought the author kind of made the twists obvious. I have a feeling what will happen in the books to come, so I hope the author can throw in some curve balls.

The world building was really great as well. We get to see the three town the queens are staying in, as well as a few places here and there. The author was very descriptive and did a fantastic job creating a new world.

Overall, I loved this book from beginning to end and I absolutely cannot wait for the next one. I highly recommend it to other people who love fantasy. Take my word for it, just because a book has a few bad reviews doesn't mean you won't love it.

Happy Reading,
Aneta