Review: Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Series: Empress of All Seasons #1
Publication Date: November 6th 2018
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: In a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems.

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete—all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. 

Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari’s fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yōkai outcast.

Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA fantasy.

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

Empress of All Seasons is a beautiful tale of Japanese heritage. I was extremely excited for this story and while I loved most of it, it definitely had a few setbacks.

Mari is an Animal Wife, a yokai that transforms into a horrible monster and can trick men easily. Animal Wives are known for their beauty, but all Mari has heard her entire life is that she is plain. Knowing her fate, Mari chose to train to become an empress, but in order to do so she must first pass a competition where fierce female warriors are sent into four rooms where they have to battle against the elements of Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring to prove that they are the equal match for the prince and deserve the honour of being Empress. The problem is that the emperor despises all yokai and demands all yokai in the palace to be enslaved by collars that cause immense pain and drain their powers. Mari must hide her true nature while winning the trust of the prince, and becoming the empress of all seasons. 

I'm not going to lie, I was a bit dissapointed in the direction this story went. In the first 3/4 of the book, I fell in love with Mari and the world that the author created. The story is very unique and quite interesting. Not only do you get a strong female character but also a very creative fantasy world. The writing, and the characters were perfect. At first I thought I was going to hate the competition part of the story, as I believed that it would be another tale where women have to fight against other women, but one of the rules were that the contestants couldn't harm one another, and we actually get to see Mari make friends and work with other contestants to get ahead. I was so incredibly impressed by this story I thought this was going to be a 5 star read for sure.

In the last quarter of the book, the story took a huge turn. It went from being a beautiful tale to a cliche story that made you roll your eyes because you knew exactly what was going to happen next. The ending felt incredibly rushed. There were parts of the story where we skipped a day or two in the timeline because the characters were "setting up." It felt like an essay you would write during an exam where you write an amazing first half and then once the teacher yells that time is almost up you write whatever comes to mind and don't really plan anything anymore. The last quarter was an absolute mess, that didn't fit the style of the beauty of the beginning. It really turned the book off for me.

I will definitely continue to read this series because I do love Mari and the world that the author created, but I sure hope that the author takes her time and slows things down to go back to the beautiful story as was in the first part of the novel.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Review: The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara

Publication Date: June 19, 2018
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: A clever, romantic novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack—and fell in love with Anne Bonny.

There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mum, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where no girl can be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s livelihood—and her safety—depends on her ability to disguise her gender.

At least, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and in the midst of the gang of cutthroats, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate.

The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain, earning herself the chance to join the account and become a pirate alongside Calico Jack and Anne Bonny.

For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life.

Breathlessly romantic and brilliantly subversive, The Unbinding of Mary Reade is sure to sweep readers off their feet and make their hearts soar. 

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

The Unbinding of Mary Reade is the perfect YA novel for all history fans.

After Mary's brother dies, her mother tries to pass her off as her deceased brother in order to get some money from Mary's grandmother. But when a maid in her grandmother's manor discovers her secret, Mary decides that she would rather prefer a life at sea. When a pirate ship attacks, Mary spots a woman among the other pirates, Anne doesn't have to hide the fact that she's a woman, unlike Mary. Intrigued, Mary decides to shoot her captain and join the life or piracy.

This novel is definitely focused on the history accuracy of the true story of Mary Reade with a little fictional twist, as well as the budding romance in Mary's life. The only thing thats missing is adventure. If you're like me and you need some good action, then this might not be the book for you.

Mary is a great main character. She is a very complex main character and its absolutely wonderful to watch her grow into herself and go throughout her life with her. I really loved the fact that she is based on a real character, it made her that much more interesting to read about.

Overall, I loved the storyline, I loved the history aspect and I loved Mary's character. The only thing I wish was different was increasing the amount of action just to keep the speed of the story going.

Review: Your One & Only by Adrienne Finlay

Publication Date: January 9th 2018
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Pages: 320
Genre: YA, Science Fiction
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD ~ B&N ~ iBooks

Synopsis: Jack is a walking fossil. The only human among a sea of clones. It’s been hundreds of years since humanity died off in the slow plague, leaving the clones behind to carry on human existence. Over time they’ve perfected their genes, moving further away from the imperfections of humanity. But if they really are perfect, why did they create Jack?

While Jack longs for acceptance, Althea-310 struggles with the feeling that she’s different from her sisters. Her fascination with Jack doesn’t help. As Althea and Jack’s connection grows stronger, so does the threat to their lives. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love? 

My Rating

4/5 stars

My Review

For 300 years, the Homo factus species have survived in a post apocalyptic world dominated by the Snow Plague. There is a new generation of Homo factus every 10 years, using 9 different sets of DNA to make 10 copies of each sibling. Althea-310 is different than her 9 sisters, by carrying a small scar on her hand. No one wants to be different, especially when your other sisters are perfect, but when she meets Jack, the only human in the compound brought back to life through genetics, to fix their slowly eradicating DNA, Althea can't help but sympathize and want to be friends with Jack. But when Jack is exiled from the community due to his imperfections, and all the town's crimes are blamed on him, Althea goes against her sisters and her community to try to prove his innocence, but is trusting a human really worth it?

Your One & Only was definitely an interesting read. The world that Adrianne Finlay created was so creative, but also a possible reality to humans one day, which was really relatable.

The main characters in this story are Althea-310 and Jack, as the book is read in both of their points of view. Although I really liked both characters, there wasn't anything about them that really made me love them. I couldn't really relate to them, and while they were interesting in their own way, I grew a tad bored of reading in their points of view.

The world-building in this story was phenomenal. Not only did I love the world that Adrienne created, but I also loved how she explained it. We got the area of the location (Costa Rica), which is fantastic on its own, but then the way that Adrienne explained the climate and the scenery, you could picture it so clearly. It honestly made me want to take a trip to Costa Rica myself. The other wonderful thing was that we got a lot of the history and background knowledge on how this city came to be, who built the buildings and why the town functions in the way they do. It was really well explained!

The plot of the story was a little bit slow at first, there were lots of introductions to different characters and how the town and the people in it function on a day to day basis. I want to say that around 35-40% is when the book finally picks up, and theres enough action to keep you entertained and not put the book down.

Overall, I loved the idea of this story and how it turned out. If I liked the characters in this book I could have definitely enjoyed it a lot more. I still highly recommend this book to all fans of post-apocalyptic books as well as dystopian novels, and any YA reader with a scientific background that wants an easy and light read.

About Adrianne: 
I received my PhD in literature and creative writing from Binghamton University. Originally from Ithaca, New York, I now live in Cedar Falls, Iowa with my husband, the poet J. D. Schraffenberger, and our two young daughters. I'm an associate professor of English at Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa and the Program Director of Creative Writing. I teach creative writing, composition, and literature classes. One of the really fun classes I teach is Adolescent Lit, where we read some of my favorite authors: Lois Lowry, S.E. Hinton, Robert Cormier, Laurie Halse Anderson, Walter Dean Myers. I change this list up a lot by adding new releases and various titles just to keep things interesting. Because I don't have enough to do (ha ha), I also make soap, lotion, and lip balm with my partner Rachel under the name Semisweet Soaps. We sell our products locally, raising money for Type 1 diabetes research.

Editor: Lily Kessinger, HMH
Represented by: Adam Schear, Defiore & Co.

Website ~  Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads

Giveaway

International 

3 winners will receive a finished copy of YOUR ONE AND ONLY, US Only. 

Ends on February 13th at Midnight EST!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule: 
Week One:
1/29/2018- YA Books Central- Interview
1/30/2018- Angelic Book Reviews- Review
1/31/2018- A Dream Within A Dream- Excerpt
2/1/2018- LILbooKlovers- Review
2/2/2018- Savings in Seconds- Review


Week Two:
2/5/2018- Books and Ladders- Guest Post
2/6/2018- Read. Eat. Love.- Review
2/7/2018- BookHounds YA- Interview
2/8/2018- Here's to Happy Endings- Review
2/9/2018- A Gingerly Review- Review

Review: Infinity by Jus Accardo

Series: The Infinity Division #1
Publication Date: November 1st 2016
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Romance 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: There are three things Kori knows for sure about her life:

One: Her army general dad is insanely overprotective.

Two: The guy he sent to watch her, Cade, is way too good-looking.

Three: Everything she knew was a lie.

Now there are three things Kori never knew about her life:

One: There’s a device that allows her to jump dimensions.

Two: Cade’s got a lethal secret.

Three: Someone wants her dead.

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

“Real love, she always said, knew no bounds." 

I usually don't like stories about alternate dimensions, just a personal preference I have. But I must say, this is the best story about dimension travelling that I've read so far. 

All Kori want's to do, is work on her mural. When she is escorted home by the police in the early morning, her father puts her on house arrest. When he has to travel away for work, he sends in two soldiers to watch over Kori. Only these aren't regular soldiers, they are Kori's friends from an alternate Earth, trying to save her life.

I liked Kori as a main character, but I didn't necessarily love her. I loved that she was very strong, she knew how to take care of herself and she was incredibly smart. Comparing her to the other Koris she is told about in the story, I'm glad we got to read from this one's point of view, I'm not sure if I would have finished this book if it was in the other's view. There were a lot of times that Kori couldn't understand the other character's emotions and what they were trying to tell her, even though it was clearly in her face. Other than that, she was a wonderful character.

I wasn't a huge fan of Cade (the love interest), he was okay but he just seemed really immature and jumpy to me. Definitely not my type of guy. On the other hand, Nathan was just my type. He was strong, smart, knew when to talk and when to keep his mouth shut. I loved everything about him, honestly probably more than Kori herself. 

The storyline was alright. It was definitely interesting and I did want to continue reading, but I could also see some people getting bored and giving up. I feel like you have to be really into the "parallel universe" type of books to be able to get through this one fast. 

What I didn't like about this book, was how predictable it was. Unfortunately there were no characters that surprised you throughout the book, and basically what you think will happen, happens. No surprises and nothing crazy.

This story definitely had potential, but it just wasn't a complete winner for me. I still really liked it, and will definitely continue the series if I can. 

Happy Reading,
Aneta 

Review: Ever the Brave by Erin Summerill

Series: Clash of Kingdoms #2
Publication Date: December 5th 2017
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: Ever the Divided. Ever the Feared. Ever the Brave.
After saving King Aodren with her newfound Channeler powers, Britta only wants to live a peaceful life in her childhood home. Unfortunately, saving the King has created a tether between them she cannot sever, no matter how much she'd like to, and now he's insisting on making her a noble lady. And there are those who want to use Britta’s power for evil designs. If Britta cannot find a way to harness her new magical ability, her life—as well as her country—may be lost.

The stakes are higher than ever in the sequel to Ever the Hunted, as Britta struggles to protect her kingdom and her heart.

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

Britta believed that all of her work was done when she freed King Aodren from the other Channeller. That is, until the new Channeller reveals herself to Britta as her own mother, who escaped after saving Britta's life when she was little. Britta, Aodren and Cohen must stop Britta's mother before she murders any more channellers, and becomes powerful enough to kill the King and take over the land.

Honestly, I found myself enjoying book one a lot more than this. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the plot and I do love Britta as the main character, but there were so many things about this books that I didn't like or would have loved to change.

Britta really grew on me in book one, and I have to say that she gets even better in this book. She is so strong and just a badass. She kind of had the mentality that "I don't care if its wrong or not proper, I'm doing this because I want to and it feels right." She was an absolute delight once again.

I had a lot of problems with the romance in this book once again. Unlike Britta, Cohen didn't go through any character development. He stayed the exact same overprotective and somewhat sexist guy. In this book he admits to being overprotective and jealous at times, yet he doesn't do anything about it, he's not willing to change, and what frustrates me the most is that Britta is perfectly fine wth this.

I really did like Aodren. Not only is he the king but he's also insanely kind and such a good guy. In the beginning he sort of tries to buy Britta's love with expensive gifts, which of course she denies and doesn't even use, but its the through that counts right? Later on he really shows his character when he ends up saving Brittan and just showing how brave he is and how much he would do for her. I enjoyed his character development so much, and I really think that he would have been better for Britta.

The plot of the story was interesting, and it definitely kept me engaged. Although I found it to be very predictable. The part about her mother being the bad guy, who Britta ends up with, and the ending was all so clear right from the beginning of the book. There weren't any surprises, so it made me a tad bored.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and Britta will definitely go down as one of my favourite female characters. I just wish that the romance was better and the book wasn't so predictable. I still highly recommend this duology to all fantasy and YA lovers.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Review: Piglettes by Clementine Beauvais

Publication Date: August 8th 2017
Publisher: Pushkins Children's Books
Genre: YA, Contemporary 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: Awarded the Gold, Silver and Bronze trotters after a vote by their classmates on Facebook, Mireille, Astrid and Hakima are officially the three ugliest girls in their school, but does that mean they're going to sit around crying about it?

Well... yes, a bit, but not for long! Climbing aboard their bikes, the trio set off on a summer roadtrip to Paris, their goal: a garden party with the French president. As news of their trip spreads they become stars of social media and television. With the eyes of the nation upon them the girls find fame, friendship and happiness, and still have time to consume an enormous amount of food along the way.

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

Piglettes is an adorable and inspiring novel. I would love to share this one with my younger self.

Mireille is angry that she got bronze on the schools yearly Ugly list. For the past two years she's won gold, and this year someone took away her #1 spot and now she's in third. Marielle knows how to deal with being called names, and she doesn't let that affect her. But when she confronts the first and second place winners, she realizes that they are not as easy going as her. The three girls band together, and against all odds they plan a bike trip to Paris, proving everyone who said they couldn't do it wrong, the three girls embark on their trip, each for a different reason.

I am a huge supporter of books written in other languages being translated to English. We definitely need more of that, and I was stoked to be able to review this book. I instantly fell in love with the characters, the story and the message this book was sending. It has such beautiful writing, but its done in a way where the reader can laugh along with the main characters.

I love that this book had diversity in it, and dealt with some really important issues, such as bullying, family problems, and wounded soldiers. This book was meant for early highschoolers and the 15 years of age group, but some of the things the author talked about were very mature and I am so glad she did it in a gentle way where its easy for people to understand. 

While I really did love the message of the story and the characters. There were parts of the story that seemed to drag on quite a bit, and there wasn't a lot of action or excitement, the book is mainly focused on character development of all three girls and their chaperone.

I definitely recommend giving this book a read, it will make you laugh and your heart swell with joy. Best of luck to the author, I hope to see more books like this in the future.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Review: Fix Me by Lisa M. Cronkhite

Publication Date: November 28th 2017
Publisher: Flux 
Genre: YA, Contemporary 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: Penelope Wryter's life has been a mess ever since her sister committed suicide a year ago. Now Pen's hooked on Fix, an illegal drug that makes her feel, think, and see differently. The hallucinations are intense, but there's one vision that keeps Pen coming back for more--Nate. He's the only person who cares about her. Too bad he's just a side effect of the drug. Pen knows she's going nowhere fast. She's desperate to change. But when she tries to say goodbye to Nate, he professes his love for her making her more confused than ever. Then, when a girl from school goes missing during a bad Fix trip, Pen realizes she may be in a lot more danger than she ever imagined. Unless Pen straightens up and faces reality quick, she might be the next missing girl on the list. 

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

Pen knows she needs to quit, but the thought of Nate keeps her hooked on Fix, a drug that causes hallucinations. As her trips get worse, and more girls from school go missing after taking Fix, Pen tries her hardest to stop taking the drug, until Nate is in trouble, and as the only girl that can see him, its up to Pen to try to save him.

This book was really interesting and has so much potential, but it just didn't come together like I wanted to. There was a mystery aspect with the death of other girls, and there was obviously lots of parts about drug use, and hallucinations. 

The main character and supporting characters were all interesting and well developed. Pen was a very complex character, and watching her character development was absolutely fantastic. She was really great.

This book was extremely short, I read the whole thing in a few hours. There was very little world-building, and the mystery aspect could have been more developed and better.

Overall, this book was so creative and had a lovely message and concept, but there were lots of little details that could have been fixed up and made the book so much better.

Review: All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

Publication Date: October 10th 
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: Here is a thing everyone wants: 
A miracle.

Here is a thing everyone fears:
What it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

Maggie Stiefvater has been called “a master storyteller” by USA Today and “wildly imaginative” by Entertainment Weekly. Now, with All the Crooked Saints, she gives us the extraordinary story of an extraordinary family, a masterful tale of love, fear, darkness, and redemption.

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

All the Crooked Saints is a beautiful story about a family of saints and the miracles they help perform. While I really loved the idea of this story, it had a very slow beginning and a few annoying characters that made the book less enjoyable.

If you need a miracle, come to Bicho Raro, a Colorado town that takes in any pilgrim that needs help. The twist is that once the saint performs the miracle, your darkness comes to life and you must perform the second miracle yourself. The saints are not allowed to interfere or help the pilgrims with the second miracle, otherwise their own darkness manifests, and its always worse than those of any pilgrim. When Daniel Soria helps a pilgrim named Marisita, he must leave town to ensure that no other Soria will try to help him. His two cousins, Beatriz and Joaquin try to use their illegal radio station to try to reach out to their cousin and find him before its too late.

Let me start off by saying, the beginning of this book was really slow and painful. We get to know the main characters, the rest of the family, and a lot of pilgrims. There are so many characters in this small town that it was really hard to remember who everyone was in the beginning. There was absolutely no action or anything very engaging, so it was basically half of a book of just descriptions and a bit of dialogue. Finally about half way in, once Daniel leaves the town the action picks up and we finally get into the real plot of the story. At this point I actually started to enjoy the book a lot, and started to like the characters a lot more. So if you end up picking up a copy of this book and don't like it in the beginning, just keep reading because it definitely gets better.

There was a few characters I loved from the very beginning, such as Beatriz, Daniel, Pete, and a few of the pilgrims. Then there were the creepy/weird pilgrims such as the priest guy (don't remember his name) the snake twins, and Marisita. There were also Sorias that I didn't like, which were Joaquin and Beatriz's sister and her husband. 
Beatriz is a strong and independent woman right from the beginning. She's really intelligent, and hard working (when it comes to doing things she likes) and she always knows the right thing to say. Although she seems perfect right from the start, she does go through huge character development, as she is able to eventually open up to people and show her emotions.
I thought I was going to love Joaquin from the beginning, but unfortunately the only time we see him in the book is when he is Diablo Diablo on the radio, it is very rare to see him outside of that setting, he just kind of disappears whenever daylight is out. I honestly would have loved to see more from him, especially some character development and more time in the story. 
While I loved Daniel's story, I absolutely hated his love interest Marisita. I wasn't a huge fan of her character in the beginning of the story, and I hoped that my feeling for her would change as the story went on, but unfortunately it didn't. I didn't really understand her miracle, especially her second miracle because it didn't feel like she did enough to overcome her darkness. I didn't feel like she had any character development either, she just stayed the same person throughout the whole book. 

While I loved the idea of Saints and miracles from this story, I think it could have been a lot better if there were some better characters or more character development, and the beginning wasn't so description filled and boring. If you love Maggie's writing then I'm sure you will like this one, so definitely try it out! 

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Review: Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

Publication Date: October 3rd 2017
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genre: YA, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: Love grows such strange things.

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.

The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.

My Rating

2/5 stars

My Review

Wild Beauty was a really beautiful book, but unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations.

The youngest generation of the Nomeolvides girls are all in love with the same woman. The problem with the Nomeolvides is that when a girl falls in love, the boys always disappear. When the girls give an offering to the land for the safety of girl they love, the land returns a mysterious boy. Fel can't remember anything, not even his name or the reason why he was in the ground in the first place. Estrella believes that he is the lover of one of her ancestors, so when Estrella starts falling in love with Fel, not only does she have to worry about his disappearance, but the wrath of her family.

This book started off very strong. It was really interesting in the beginning, mostly because it was so unique. A bunch of cousins living together under one roof, with three generations of Nomeolvides girls. I loved how the glbt community was introduced into this book, it had a very strong and mature description of everything, it was absolutely fantastic.

At a certain point in the book, a character named Reid comes in. The beginning of the book was really strong until Reid shows up, after this the book starts to slow down and it becomes so boring I had to force myself to keep reading. The middle of the book does not have a lot of action, it mainly focuses on the family, and their power over creating flowers out of nothing. While I like the idea behind this book and the magic powers in it, actually reading about it was kind of boring. 

The other reason I couldn't really get into this book, was because I just wasn't able to connect to any of the characters. Right from the beginning were introduced to the whole family, and its a lot to take in all at once. I found myself forgetting the names of most characters in this story, except for the main two characters and three others. I think this book really needed a family chart, just to see who is related to whom and how.

Overall, this book had a very strong beginning and end, but a terribly boring middle. The magic aspect of this book was interesting, but eventually got a bit boring. The romance and the two main characters were fairly good, but there were just too many characters to keep track of everyone and actually get attached to them. I would still recommend this book to people who like light action stories involving magic and romance.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Review: You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

Publication Date: September 12th 2017
Publisher: Farrar, Strous and Giroux
Genre: YA, Contemporary 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: This elegant novel captures the immigrant experience for one Indian-American family with humor and heart. Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse.

From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity.

Here is a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

You Bring the Distant Near is a wonderful and heartwarming novel about what it truly feels like to be an Immigrant in another country.

There are three options for an Indian girl, either study hard and become a doctor, study hard and become an engineer, or get married off. This rule isn't a problem for Sonia, she has outstanding grades, the issue is that she has fallen in love with an African-American man. Tara doesn't have the grades to become an engineer or doctor, and time is running out for her before her parents arrange a marriage for her. Her true passion is acting, preforming on stage is the only thing Tara wants to do.

The story and the lesson this book teaches is absolutely amazing. Not a lot of people can see this side of immigration, the wanting to stay true to your home land while trying to blend in to the culture of the place you live in. This book shows you the three separate generations and how they dealt with this, and every single one of their stories was absolutely beautiful and truthful. I loved reading about this part and I wish more people would read this book just to understand what it feels like to be an Immigrant.

The reason why my rating is so low, is because that I found this book to be a tad boring and very slow paced. This book mostly focuses on the relationships and how the family deals with problems. There is barely any action, and the book stays at the same pace for the whole book. There is no rising action or plot twists or anything of that kind, just relationships. While I loved reading about the family it self, I would have liked it more if there was at least a bit of action to make the story go by faster.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the characters that were in it. All immigrants can relate to this, and if you're not an immigrant I still highly recommend this book, it's a wonderful way for people to see into the lives of immigrants without being one.

Happy Reading,
Aneta 

Review: The Hawkweed Prophecy by Irina Brignull

Series: Hawkweed Prophecy #1
Publication Date: June 16th 2016
Publisher: Weinstein Books
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis:  Poppy Hooper and Ember Hawkweed couldn't lead more different lives. Poppy is a troubled teen: moving from school to school, causing chaos wherever she goes, never making friends or lasting connections. Ember is a young witch, struggling to find a place within her coven and prove her worth. Both are outsiders: feeling like they don't belong and seeking escape.

Poppy and Ember soon become friends, and secretly share knowledge of their two worlds. Little do they know that destiny has brought them together: an ancient prophecy, and a life-changing betrayal. Growing closer, they begin to understand why they've never belonged and the reason they are now forever connected to each other.

Switched at birth by the scheming witch Raven Hawkweed, Poppy and Ember must come to terms with their true identities and fight for their own place in the world. Enter Leo, a homeless boy with a painful past who – befriending them both – tests their love and loyalty. Can Poppy and Ember's friendship survive? And can it withstand the dark forces that are gathering?

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

Switched at birth, Poppy and Ember end up meeting in person and becoming friends. They both feel like outcasts from the society they have been placed in. Poppy feels like the troubled child, unable to control her magical power among her classmates and home life. Ember has no magical ability while living in a coven of witches. The two friends learn that they can understand each other, and help one another in a way that their society can't. That is, until a boy comes between them.

The Hawkweed Prophecy was really good in some aspects, but also kind of dull and boring at other parts. 

Poppy and Ember are both really interesting main characters, and while I liked them, I didn't necessarily love them. I personally couldn't relate to them as I typically do with characters I love, which is one of the downsides in this book for me. Poppy is extremely strong and smart, although she can be very naive at times and doesn't necessarily do the right thing. Ember is such a sweetheart, she's really caring and kind but she's not the brightest. I'm hoping that the future books have a lot more character development.

There wasn't a lot of action at the beginning of the story, and while it was somewhat entertaining learning about the two girls, I would have loved to see more action to keep the reader entertained and more engaged in the story. The action definitely picked up after the half way point, and at this point I finished the book in one sitting. It's a fairly short and easy read.

Overall, I really did like this book, but unfortunately I just couldn't bring myself to love the characters and be fully engaged in the story. I'm hoping the next book has more character development and more exciting plot, maybe with a few twists.

Happy Reading,
Aneta 

Review: The Wood by Chelsea Bobulski

Series: ???
Publication Date: August 1st 2017
Publisher: Fewer & Friends
Genre: YA, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis:  After her father goes missing in the woods that they protect, Winter tries to seek the truth in what happened, why the wood is changing, and what it all has to do with the arrival of a mysterious stranger in this thrilling YA debut.

When Winter’s dad goes missing during his nightly patrol of the wood, it falls to her to patrol the time portals and protect the travelers who slip through them. Winter can't help but think there's more to her dad's disappearance than she's being told.

She soon finds a young man traveling in the wood named Henry who knows more than he should. He believes if they can work together to find his missing parents, they could discover the truth about Winter’s dad.

The wood is poisoned, changing into something sinister—torturing travelers lost in it. Winter must put her trust in Henry in order to find the truth and those they’ve lost.

Bobulski’s eerie debut is filled with friendship, family, and the responsibilities we choose and those we do not.

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

The Wood is a very creative story about woods that contain time travelling portals and the guardians that guard the wood and the travellers that enter it.

After Winter's Dad suddenly disappears and the council blames it on him losing his mind in the Wood, Winter takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance. When a mysterious traveller keeps appearing in Winter's part of the Wood, Winter knows that something is wrong, no one should be able to access the Wood so easily. When Henry reveals the reason why he's seeking passage through the Wood, he and Winter decide to work together to solve the mystery of the Wood and the occurring disappearances. 

Honestly, I've never been a fan of time travelling stories. Like never. I don't know what it is about them, but I just don't enjoy them as much as other fantasies. You'd think I would stop reading them, but for some reason I keep trying to find a time travelling book I like.

Although this book contained very minimal time travelling, as in only one character time travelled and we didn't change settings... I still found myself not liking this book very much.

Winter was a good main character. She wasn't great, but she also didn't make me mad, she was just average. Winter's main problem in the story was trying to balance school and work at the same time as dealing with the death of her father. She's skipping classes, ignoring her best friend and intentionally not looking for a romance because her job in the wood comes first, and with that comes the thoughts of her father and her believing that he might not be dead. I really connected with Winter in this part of the story, and I really liked her up to this point. Once Winter meets Henry things start to change a little.

I like Winter, and I like Henry. They're both good characters, but I don't see them being more than friends. The whole romance between them that was added seemed really forced, and I didn't not enjoy it at all. I feel like the story would have been so much better if the two had remained friends. 

The world building in this story was truly fantastic. I loved the idea of the Wood, the history of the guardians and how they protect it and all the creatures in the Wood. It was all so creative. This was one of the most important aspects of why I liked this book. The other would have to be the family element. This book was very family related, with Winter dealing with her father's death and trying to stay close to her mother. I absolutely loved every scene with Winter and either/both of her parents.

The ending of this book was really intriguing. While there was no plot twists (maybe there was one, but I was expecting it from the beginning) the ending was still fairly emotional and very engaging, I definitely couldn't put the book down around the last third of the book. But while the ending was good, I was left with a lot of questions that were never answered, which kind of left me in the "Wait that's it?" state of mind, where I'm constantly questioning things.

Overall, this wasn't my favourite book, but I still enjoyed it. If you like time travelling stories then check this one out for sure.

Happy Reading,
Aneta