Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 416 (not enough)
Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads is my rose): When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

My Thoughts: This novel was great. I mean like wanted to reread it right after I finished reading it, which is weird because half the time, I don't even reread novels. 

Even though it was a retelling, and therefore is similar to the original story, it was a fantastically unique story to me. I thought that it was original. Especially the characters. Feyre (whose name is super annoying because I have to think about it to read it) is amazingly strong. I couldn't do 1/4 of what she did, nor would I even pretend to try. There are so many times when I would have given up or lost hope. Sure, she did lose hope a few times, but she always came back swinging harder than ever before. I couldn't have been her. Lucien was the perfect combination of annoying, snappy, and sarcastic. Tamlin was just fascinating. 

The world that was painted for the reader was so beautiful and also terrible that you couldn't help but find it attractive, even when it was scary and you wanted to run away from it. 

There were no instant relationships (yay) and there was a done of action (yay) that was well thought out and carefully laid (double yay). I believed where it was going and how everything happened. I didn't once catch myself wondering when the book would end or what was to come; I was living in the moment, book style. It was great. 

The end (not the actual end) was great. The whole last section had be sitting on the edge of my seat, scheming right along with the characters, trying to understand their motivations and who could be trusted. I swore at this book and argued with the characters and caught my heart beating faster as it went along. 

The vocabulary, the description, the structure were all wonderful and weren't a distraction. They only made me read more quickly since I wasn't stuck tripping over sentence structure or other problems with the writing. I forgot that I was even reading and ended up staying awake until 2am. Clear writing makes me so (so so so so) happy.

My only real (not actually an issue) issue is that this novel doesn't seem to belong in the young adult section. Violence, romance, nasty names, and some horrible thoughts definitely make this novel a new adult. Which is great for me because that section is really growing on me. So much was left for the rest of the series but it also could be read on it's own, I think. 

So: I thought that this was a fanatic retelling of Beauty and the Beast; it helps that I am a huge fan of that story as it is. I want the rest of the series right this moment and might cry because I can't. This novel might be my favourite by Maas. I think you should read it. End of story.

Best novel I've read in a while.

Review: Gates of Thread and Stone

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Lori M. Lee
Format: ebook (Galley; honest review requested)
Pages: 335
Rating: 7 out of 10

Summary (from the gates of Goodreads): In the Labyrinth, we had a saying: keep silent, keep still, keep safe.

In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.

Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power. 

My Thoughts:

Can I just take a moment to talk to you about how beautiful everything about this novel is? I mean, that cover is fantastic (although this is my first time seeing it.) The font, as silly as it sounds to say, was amazing. The chapter opening? Perfect for the story. I pathetically got excited every time I say the threads.

Okay, but actual stuff that we care about. 

There was a perfect amount of description in this novel. I wasn't sure where the novel was going but I didn't really care all that much. I was in the moment with this one. I read it too fast, so it was a brief moment, but still it was a good time. I thought the use of language was good. It was clear that effort was put in to choose the perfect words. I liked that a lot.

It was upsetting to find another novel where this is something special about the main character but I suppose there really is nothing that can be done about that. I find as much as I tire of reading about "special" or "unique" girls, I find normal girls just as boring. This was another book with fun character names, especially when we get to Death and Famine and Conquest. Those, by the way, were a very interesting idea. I wish it was expanded upon a little bit more, but I guess that's what the next novel is for. One special thing about this novel (as small and stupid as it is) is that Avan claims its "not all about gender" sometimes. It plays a lot to the times but I don't care. Deal with it. 

I hate when the main character is manipulated by people. I hate that people manipulate people. Why can't we all just get along? Huh? Why not?

Finally, I thought that the ending was find of crap. I mean, it made sense. Soon enough, I saw it coming (right before but still). Just...like, oh this is hard without spoiling anything...let it go. Move on. 

Final Thoughts: This novel is beautiful with its interesting characters and fantastic description of a world so unlike my own, that I want to follow my uniquely named new found friends to find out what the solution to all of this is going to be. What is going to happen next? How is it going to end? Apparently, you don't find out until the next novel...Guess I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

Review: A Lonely Magic

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Sarah Wynde
Format: eBook (Galley; honest review requested)
Pages: 270 (?)
Rating: 5 out of 10

Summary (With Goodreads, nobody is lonely): Nothing is what it seems in a glittering new fantasy by best-selling author Sarah Wynde

When a gorgeous guy demands Fen choose between getting shot or overdosing on drugs, she plunges into a sea of trouble. Although she’s rescued from her would-be killer by Luke, a teenage boy, and Kaio, his sexy older brother, escape won’t be so easy.

The protection the brothers provide simmers with unnerving undercurrents. They have secrets and Fen has questions. Who are they? How did they find her? What do they want with her? And why was she targeted for murder in the first place?

When Fen and Luke are forced to run for their lives, Luke spirits Fen down into an enchanting underwater city. But every enchantment has its dark edges. Caught in the tides of emotion, romance, and a plot to destroy humanity, Fen must look deep within herself to find the strength and courage she’ll need to stay afloat in this amazing new world.

Submerge yourself in the latest gripping novel from Sarah Wynde, author of the Tassamara series. You won’t want to come up for air before the final enthralling page of A Lonely Magic.

My Thoughts: How about this? I will talk about what I didn't like, then I will share what I did like. This is likely lack paragraph form as my notes are super confusing for this book. Sorry.

Okay, so the beginning was interesting enough but the speech seemed a little bit off. It struck me as too simple and speech is one of my things. It can cause me to hate or to fall in love with a book. I think that dialogue sets the tone. It creates the characters. In this novel, it bothered me a lot because I could see that there was so much more to this book than the bad speech patterns. Suddenly, I found that some of the character (no spoilers!) spoke in a very bizarre way. It is discussed, yes, however, the change in speech seemed too fast. Fen has been interacting with two of the characters for some time before they seem anything more than formal. By the end of the novel, they sound childlike. They devolved. That shouldn't have happened. Solution? The author just needs to listen more closely to the way people speak and not change speech patterns half way through.

I despised the ending. It wasn't an ending. It was another middle...with no ending after it. The novel was short. There was no reason why that one last little bit couldn't have been discussed. Another novel still would have been possible if that's what the publishers were worried about. I mean, there was still the central problem for the...people. It didn't just have to stop. It made me uncomfortable and unhappy and three days later, I'm still mad about it. Why couldn't we have just finished the stupid thing? 

That said, I enjoyed the general storyline. I liked the magic and the characters (at their core). I enjoyed the beauty of the world in which they lived. I thought that Fen was interesting. I thought Luke was brave. I have to be honest thought, I much prefer Kaio. I also liked the names. I'm a sucker for strange names (as long as you can pronounce them, of course.) 

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I liked the novel...but it needed more work. It needed another few rounds of edits. It needed to have the speech double checked. Continuity and all that fun stuff. It needed to be dumbed down in some areas, and worked up in other areas. It just needed more work. Another six months of hard editing and work on this novel and it could have been amazing but, as it was, it was just too lacking and I doubt I will ever reread it because of this. If it wasn't for the fact that Fen couldn't stop thinking about how hot the characters were, I would suggest that this was for a younger group but I can't even claim that. Sorry.

Review: Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 420
Rating: 8 out of 10

**Spoiler Alert: This is part of a series. You can read the review for Throne of Glass here**

Summary (Goodreads was crowned King): From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

My Thoughts: If I was Celaena, I would have totally gone crazy by now. I don't understand how she has managed to hold it all together...at least, she has managed to mostly keep herself together. I'm incredible impressed with her ability to do so. 

This is apparently going to be a very short review because the only thing I really want to talk about is the plot twists and sudden action that this novel is so good at producing. I knew that eventually something bad would have to happen but I never really saw the things coming. It was a good thing. Too often I see what's coming before it happens. In this novel, it was hard to see everyone's motivations before the moment they became important. On top of that, magic is so unpredictable that you could do nothing more than guess when it would cause something to happen. It was exciting.

Conclusion: This series is only getting better. I'm so excited for the next novel. Keep reading, folks!

Review: Throne of Glass

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 404
Rating: 8 out of 10

You can read Kristen's review: HERE

Summary (Goodreads rocks): After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.
My Thoughts: Let's jump right into it then...
The original cover for this book was awful. I would never have picked it off the shelf. It looked far too much like a middle school aged book. I can hardly read high school aged books anymore without changing plot points in my mind. If Kristen had not forced me to read this series, I probably would never have read it. That thought makes me sad. The new cover is about a million times better. Kristen's review (above) features the old cover if you are dying to see it.

I loved Celaena because she was strong but also weak in her own way. She had to fight so hard to survive that she had to be strong. Her moments of weakness damn near ripped my heart out of my chest. I'm glad that the author kept so much about her a mystery because it means that there will be so many interesting things to learn about her in the rest of the series. 

However, love triangle. I hate those things if they aren't done right. I think it's unnecessary that someone always gets hurt. Like for real? Every single girl in the world does not have multiple guys tripping over her. That just isn't how the world works. But I digress... In this case, the love triangle thing we had going wasn't too wretched. I managed to finish the book despite it. We will see what the rest of the series brings.

I like magic. I like assassins. I like mysteries. This novel has all of those things with a bit of love thrown in on the side with a lot of great action. 

To wrap this up, I just want to mention the third person perspective. I don't read a lot of novels using this writing style. I liked it. It allowed the readers to get inside the heads of many characters all at the same time. You got so much more that way. Of course, I have read novels like this in the past but it's not very common especially in young adult novels lately. It was a nice change that helped to set this novel apart from the others that I'd been reading lately.

Conclusion: I wasn't expecting too much from this series but they turned out to be super great. I would recommend this to everybody. Okay, maybe not everybody but most people. Who doesn't want a kick-ass character? Read it.

Review: The Bane Chronicles

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Cassandra Jean
Format: Paperback ARC
**This book was given to us in exchange for an honest review.**
Pages: 528
Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (via Goodreads): Ever wondered about the enigmatic, mysterious warlock Magnus Bane? The only character to appear in every Shadowhunter book, Magnus has a past even more shrouded in mystery than his present. I’ve teamed up with acclaimed YA writers Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan to create the Bane Chronicles, the back (and front) story of Magnus told in ten linked tales.

Look for short stories like Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale; The Rise and Fall of the Hotel Dumort; Saving Raphael Santiago and What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (And Who You’re Not Officially Dating Anyway). Each story will be available as an ebook on a monthly basis starting April 16 with the tale of What Happened In Peru.

Each story will be released monthly online for the next ten months — and then for those who don’t read e-books, the full print collection will be available in bookstores and wherever else books are sold after the Chronicles have been finished. 

My Ponderings: Magnus was my favourite character in the Mortal Instruments series from Cassandra Clare. He was funny and sassy and never said quite what you expected him to say. That was what made him great. There was also an air of mystery about him that was terribly intriguing. I constantly found myself wondering at things he was saying or making reference too. I wanted to know what he'd lived through. I wanted to hear all about his wild adventures. What led him to where he was when we first met him? Apparently it was a great many things. As it well should be since he was so old. He had multiple lifetimes full of experiences to draw on. Each story was unique, fascinating. 

I read this novel so quickly. Kristen and I spent too much time fighting over it. It was well worth the fight. We had both been highly anticipating this novel once we found out that it was coming out. The wait was almost too much until this novel showed up at our doorstep...literally. It was a super easy and interesting read. I got into the story right away. Don't have a lot of time to sit and read? That's fine, this novel is a series of short stories that jump around in time. After all, nobody has the time to read the entire length of Magnus' life, although I'd love to give it a try. I thought that short story form was perfect for this novel. Actually, I can't think of a better way for us to receive this. I wouldn't change that.

The comics were pretty great too. I thought they were funny and beautiful and a perfect way to break up the novel. I usually don't like this kind of thing because I'm 20 years old and 20 year olds probably shouldn't be reading picture books. In this case (which didn't make the novel a picture book but only added a much needed division between stories), I loved it.

Don't like one of the story lines? Don't worry. They're short stories and will be over soon enough. It should be noted that I didn't have this problem and Kristen didn't seem to either.

Miss another favourite character? Maybe they will make an appearance...

Basically: I loved this novel. I would read it again and again in a heart beat. I loved that it was funny and serious and you get to see many sides of Magnus. It was wonderful that you see him help so many people. It also provides wonderful back story for the other series by Cassandra Clare. It's like a bunch of well-written fanfictions that know the characters perfectly. I would recommend buying this novel. Today. Because it came out this morning. Do it. Some history with Cassandra Clare's novel necessary.

Review: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 358
Rating: 7 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads is my back BONE): Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.

Thoughts: When Kristen first got this novel, I don't think she was sure whether or not she would like it. Actually, I'm almost positive that she wasn't sure. She might have even told me so. When I picked up this novel I was a little leery. I wasn't sure if this would be my kind of book. It looked a bit too...magic for me. I actually loved it.

The beginning really does start at the beginning. We are given just enough background so as to understand the characters and their motivation. We know what scares them and why. We know who is close and why they care so much for each other. All of these things turned out to be very important for the rest of the story. How could it not be? I love how the author wrote the beginning and the end, giving a sort of an outside perspective. 

The world the author made in this story was incredible. I loved it. I loved the feel of it. There wasn't just one town that the story was confined to; it was an entire world. The characters could and did travel often. They saw things that were outside of their experience so that the reader learned right beside them. I loved that there was a language even though it was only a few words. It adds another dimension. I love words and languages so that could just be me that enjoyed that. The world the author created was literally magical.

Also, who doesn't wish that they had magic, I mean, really? I wish I did. I'd like to leave out all the other stuff though, you know, the war and crazy deadly bad creatures and all that fun (not) stuff. 

I must admit, however, that this novel would easily disappear into the mix that is YA literature. It's similar to so many other books. There are some unique elements but if you read this kind of YA all the time, this novel might not stand out for you. I was lucky enough to be away from fantasy novels for just long enough to be into this story. Even then, I think that it was more for the characters than for the story line. I fall in love with characters so easily. Plus, I always need to find out how stories end.

Basically: I enjoyed this novel more than I thought I would. I'm definitely going to finish this series with great anticipation. If you are into fantasy, magic kind of stuff and are tired of vampires and werewolves (are those still a thing, I avoided them the whole time and now I feel out of the loop) then I think you'll like this novel.

Review: Clockwork Angel

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Cassandra Clare
Format: Paperback
Pages: 479 (Here's another long series for poor, tired Kelsey to read...)
Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (I have Goodreads to go on my [mobile] device): In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...

Thoughts/Feels: THIS SERIES IS GOING TO DESTROY YOUR HEART AND YOU'RE GOING TO LIKE IT! 

Let's just start this review off by saying that I liked this series way more than I liked the Mortal Instruments series which I did enjoy quite a lot. Clare is an amazing author. I love her wit the most. Characters would literally be dying but they remain true to themselves and to the humor in the novel. The characters always have something funny to say and it helps to defuse the tension in the novel as well as build it. I don't know how she manages to do that. I would read her work forever.

I quickly found myself attached to the characters in this. None had to work to grow on me. It was instant love. It could not be denied. The comic relief helped this a lot I'm sure.

This series made me want to reread the Mortal Instruments series, which is a huge time commitment...We'll see. One of the best parts of this series is that it gives back ground to the characters in Clare's other series. You find out how their ancestors acted and learn more about them through this. It's also cool to see where some of the Shadowhunter tools and traditions came from. You even find out where the cat came from!

I couldn't for the life of my choose which guy I would rather Tessa be with. It hurt me even more. Also, Clare has some serious issues with brothers.

So: You should read these if you enjoyed the world of the Mortal Instruments even the slightest bit. This series is a million times better and hurts a million times more. It's wonderful. Go buy them right now and read them.

Grave Mercy

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Robin LaFevers
Format: Paperback
Pages: 549
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary (Need you always Goodreads): Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart? 

My Thoughts: I found that the opening was a strange combination of both quick and slow. We are thrust into the life of Ismae. We see what she has been put through and how she suffers. The reader is quick to understand where she is coming from. She is also quick to agree to change her life for what she believes is the better. On the other hand, looking back, it didn't seem as quick as I thought. The author may have thought to include more about the political situation of the area since it turned out to be the real story here. Without the politics,  there would be no story. I guess this could be explained by Ismae's lack of knowledge, why should the reader know more than her when it's told from her perspective but I'm not so sure. I think knowing from the beginning would have helped a reader to know where the story is leading.

There were quite a few characters. I'm glad that there was a character index in the the beginning on the novel. I didn't use it but I could have at some points. The author did a good job at making sure that the reader kept up with the who's who. The characters were written in great detail so we knew what they were like. 

I love how they introduce Duval! It's perfect. I also enjoyed Ismae. She wasn't just some character to be messed with. She may be duped at times but she works to catch up and get ahead. She doesn't give up and she has the capacity to grow and learn. She doesn't take what people say at face value. She also learns to look at the bigger picture which characters often forget to do.

I wish the the end was explained in greater detail. Without spoilers, some things happen which are quite like miracles. They aren't bad. I was happy for them but I wasn't sure how Ismae came to the conclusions to fix things up the way she did. I feel like I missed something while I was reading that part. I read it twice but still couldn't figure it out. The solution had been mentioned earlier (this is relating to a specific plot twist near the end, not the whole novel) but it was mentioned in passing and as a metaphor, not a real solution. That confused me a little bit.

This novel, though 549 pages, wasn't long. Font size made it a quick read. I'm happy that this novel didn't have super small print or formatting issues because I've had too much of that lately. This novel was like a break for the eyes. It wasn't a break for the brain though. Outside of keeping track of characters and places (there is a character index and map after the front cover to aid the reader), the reader must keep up with all the politics. It's hard work. That won't stop me from rereading this novel again soon.

This novel really had a little bit of everything. There was death, illness, murder, mystery, politics, strategy, action and fighting, love and romance, friendship, betrayal, conspiracy, magic, and religion. Religion isn't really true to real life but go with it anyway.

Imagining this taking place in my world made it hard for me to relate to a lot of the story. Once I put it outside of my world, ignoring that there actually is a France, England, and Germany, I enjoyed it a lot more. I'm not suggesting imagining it on another world just don't try to fit this into real life like you might with other books. The fantasy and paranormal parts of the novel really stand out and it's hard to reconcile what most people know of the world with what happens in this book. Don't try, you'll enjoy it a lot more, I promise.

To End: Wow, that was long. I loved this book. I plan on rereading it again very soon. I would recommend this to young people that like a little romance but also love strong female characters, action, and can accept the violence and death that takes place throughout this novel. It gets kind of graphic at some points but it wasn't too bad. It's a well rounded novel.

P.S. The "series" is called His Fair Assassin and this is book #1. However, it's not really. The other novel has another main character which makes this novel stand alone if you want it to be. Thank God for that, they are so hard to find these days. Enjoy it!

Rory (The Ghosts of Palladino #1)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Ciye Cho
Format: ebook (This novel was sent to me for an honest review)
Pages: 660 (on my eReader)
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary (with love from Goodreads): Far beyond heaven, earth and hell is a city known as Palladino, a place ruled by ghosts and filled with demons, magic, and all sorts of darkly beautiful things. A city where no one can ever escape.

Eighteen-year-old Rory is a cake decorator who makes stunning confections. But no amount of frosting or miracles can save her when a demon kidnaps her—and carries her to Palladino. Here, Rory ends up in a deadly charm school where young women are forced to become companions for the Ghost Lords. And for her to survive, Rory must become everything that she isn’t: graceful, elegant... and perfect.

But nothing is what it seems in Palladino. Not the magic. Not the ghosts. And definitely not Martin Marius, the bizarre Ghost Lord-slash-inventor who is drawn to Rory. For amid a thousand machines and a hundred cats, Martin holds a secret that could change everything. A secret that could either free Rory... or destroy her.

Thoughts on the matter: A character that's like a real person? No way! You can't find one of those anywhere...or can you? I like Rory. She's sassy and knows what she wants (until a certain part of the story that it but shhhhhhh...no spoilers). Rory has had real hard times and real pain. In fact, thanks to the fact that it apparently doesn't matter where a group of girls is, they are all still jerks to the odd one out, she still suffers a lot when she shouldn't have to. I felt so bad for her and wanted to reach into the story so I could beat some people up for her.

Actually, all the characters really showed and stayed true. Some were sneaky and could hide coming  twists and turns while some you could figure out in a heart beat. Each character was worth their lines, easily. And Martin? What the heck was with that guy? Talk about an enigma. I liked it. Who could forget Cookie? I'd ignore any or my allergies or those of my family for a cat like Cookie.

Sadly, I felt that a lot of time was given to things that may not have been important to the story while not some very important parts seemed to be skimmed over. This bothered me because it meant spending so much time reading over what seems less important but as soon as there is a major conflict, I want more. I wasn't super clear on which part of the story was the most important. This small problem didn't cause me to lose interest or anything, it was just something that I noticed. Okay, okay, it made me kinda sad but at least the writing was clear and didn't require much thought outside of the schemes, plots, and theories that I couldn't stop throwing around in my head.

I was, however, totally distracted from most of the writing style stuff. I'd read novels by this author before (check them out, they are great!) so I knew a bit of what to expect writing wise but I had no idea where the story was going. I was surprised at where it went. The concept for this novel, I thought, was very unique and I love me my unique works. I really didn't know where we would get to by the end of this novel. I didn't see what was coming ahead until it was right there. If I did figure something out before it happened, it wasn't too far ahead of it actually happening. I'm glad it was like that. It kept me focused. 

And we've come to the cover. How gorgeous is that cover? All of the covers for this author match, which I love, and they all look incredible. They are as much of a work of art as the novel itself. I love this cover. Apparently, I'm a sucker for colour it would seem.

Basically: This is an easy and enjoyable read. I've not read another book with the same idea. The characters were perfect for their roles but I did feel that some scenes were a bit lacking. I would definitely consider rereading this novel and I recommend it to anyone who loves paranormal, science-fiction, and magic or doesn't mind not knowing whats coming next.

At least you have the benefit of reading this before decided whether or not to read this novel. I just went for it with no idea of what I was getting myself into. Now I'm just sad that I have to wait for the next one.

See more by this author. Check out Florence.

The Lost Heir

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Andi O'Connor
Format: Paperback - The author sent me this book and requested an honest review
Pages: 392
Rating: 6.5 out of 10 (I'm not sure when we started adding .5's but they stand)

Summary (She's a Goodreads author!): Always a meticulous planner, Darrak Hunter leads a dull life until his dreams become plagued with visions of a peculiar and distant world. Waking up to a brilliant purple sun looming ominously in the sky, Darrak is met by a mysterious violet-eyed sorcerer who whisks him away from the struggling Earth.

Thrown into the clutches of a foreign world where magic is reality and not all is as it seems, Darrak embarks on a journey where he is forced to come to terms with his past and do what he can to shape the future. Accompanied by a talented swordswoman, a prince, and a beautiful young sorceress, he must overcome cunning plots of treachery and betrayal to discover the strength to stand against a destructive black magic and an enemy who is a master at deception.

Thoughts: Sooooooo, I'm having a hard time coming up with a good opening sentence for this review; let's just jump in. I love contractions. I'm a big fan of the vernacular. I like when I am able to connect with how the characters are talking. When they are very proper I have a hard time connecting. Of course, when they are supposed to be that way, it's different. In this case however, Darrak grew up on earth. He should talk like every other college student on earth. He distracted me. Also, the dialogue seemed rather forced at times. The dialogue was mostly in large paragraphs. There was lots of explaining. It was necessary but seemed off. The vocabulary, however, was awesome! I say that as mine is terrible, go figure!

The characters were all unique. I love the unique names and personalities. There were a lot of them though and at times it as hard to remember who was who. The only character that I had a problem with was Mionee. She started out true to who she was but as the story progressed I felt that she gave in to the pressure placed on her. Either that or she changed who she was too quickly. It was like character whiplash.

I think that since this was a series the beginning could have moved slower. Time could have been taken to make it seem more realitic. The extra time could have been used for Darrak to believe. He did believe but it was too quickly to be real. The ending made the book seem more like serial than a series. I feel like the next one is more to be continued than one after another. The books in this series will be very connected to one another. This is definitely not a stand alone novel if you begin to care for the characters like I did. 

I love that this took place somewhere not earth. I also love the magic aspect and the language because that shows real dedication to the story and world. This world is worth the read and it was easy and quick so it isn't real a waste of time. It's a fairly simple story to follow though it may turn out to be long.

In Conclusion: This is a quick and easy read. It was fun and I love great other worlds that I can get lost in. Characters in this story are their own people and are each special. I care about a lot of them now. Yay love for fictional characters!

Keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a love story so don't expect one (though there is some).