Fairest

****

4 Stars/5

Levana has always been unloved and is thought of as the ugly one in the family, hiding behind her glamour. She has always been in love with guard Evret and, even though he is married, she is sure he feels the same way too. Levana’s sister Channary is queen but does not care about Luna or the running of her kingdom, Levana is determined to step up but as her hunger for power grows will she destroy everything she cares about.

Fairest is a really enjoyable prequel story to the Lunar Chronicles, about the villain, Queen Levana’s past. I like how we got to see more of Luna and how we got to learn more about the Luna/Earth back-plot.

Levana is not a good person and while I can’t sympathise with her, I can understand how she ended up like she did as her life lacked affection and having to hide her face in a world that judges on beauty. Levana reminded me a lot of the character The Phantom of the Opera as she is crazy and hides who she is behind a mask. I feel very sorry for Evret as all he was doing was being nice and he ended up being used in a horrible way. It was nice to see baby Cinder and to learn more about Winter and Jacin.

You don’t have to read this book to enjoy the rest of the series but it does add to it. I would recommend Fairest to fans of the Lunar Chronicles. 

Dragons are People, too

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for giving me this book to review.

Most people think that Kitty Lung is an average teenage girl, not a government operative, charged with protecting the president’s son, Jacob, and certainly not a were-dragon. When an operative under Kitty’s command breaks rule number one, don’t change into dragon form in public, the lives of all dragons change. With the government incarcerating dragons and a new enemy having kidnaped Jacob, only Kitty and her best friend Bulisani and the only dragons free. With time running out, is Kitty able to fix everything before she is caught too?

Dragons are People, too is an enjoyable YA paranormal novel about were-dragons, which has action and romance, and is very fast paced. This book has good world building and interesting different types of dragons.

Kitty is smart, tough and has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, but also has a temper and a lot of teenage angst. However, I did get a bit annoyed at her as she was too perfect, as she was super intelligent, fit and good looking. However, I liked Sani as he was protective, stealthy and thoughtful. I am also glad that there was not a love triangle in this book, as I thought Jacob, the charming president’s son would be a love interest.

Dragons are People, too was an entertaining read and I would recommend it to fans of YA paranormal books about dragons. 

The Sun Palace

**

2 Stars/5

Thanks to Brighid O’Sullivan for giving me this book to review.

In 6^th century Ireland, Christianity and Paganism co-exist and Brigit is a young woman training as the Druid’s apprentice, but her limited experience is causing her problems as the Druid’s health is failing she has to try and take his place. With storms destroying the land and crops and Brigit unable to appease the gods, she decides to leave and to travel to the Sun Palace to meet her father for the first time. With secrets about her mother’s disappearance, Brigit’s future is uncertain.

The Sun Palace is a historical fiction novel which I tried to get into but couldn’t. There was nothing wrong with it, it was just not my cup of tea. However, it is very obvious from this book that the author has done her research about 6^th century Ireland.

Brigit is a sweet girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders and she is desperate to find out more about where she came from. There are lot of secondary characters in this book and, apart from her best friend Geileis, they were hard to distinguish from each other.

The Sun Palace is not a bad book, just not for me. 

End of Days

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me this book to review.

After escaping from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run wanting to find a doctor to help both Raffe and Penryn’s sister Paige. As they look for answers, Raffe’s past could be the key to stopping the violence. With the war getting more deadly, unlikely alliances will be formed and with people looking to Penryn, will she be able to put humankind above Raffe?

End of Days is a very good last book in this series, it is dark and gritty like the other books. It has action, suspense and danger and more romance than the previous books, but the middle part of the book was confusing.

Penryn was a very strong heroine who is protective and a reluctant hero. I like that in this book we get to see more of Raffe and learn more about his past, and also that there is a great chemistry between the two of them. Like the last book, I felt very sorry for Penryn’s sister Paige, because, even though she has been made stronger, she has become scarred both on the inside and out but she still wants to be good.

However, the ending was too neat and it felt quite unrealistic. That being said I am looking forward to seeing what Susan Ee writes next. I would recommend End of Days to people who enjoyed the rest of the Penryn and the End of Days series. 

The Girl at Midnight

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for giving me this book to review.

Echo is a runaway pickpocket, who is far from normal, her adoptive family are Avicen, a race of people with feathers and magic. When the centuries old war between the Avicen and the Drakharin hits too close to home, Echo decides it is time to act. Legend is that the way to end the conflict is for someone to find the Firebird, an entity with enormous powers. In the search for the Firebird, Echo will have to work with someone she would have never imagined.

The Girl at Midnight is an enjoyable and fun paranormal novel, with interesting creatures, action, adventure and romance. However, it was predictable and it is very similar to two books I have read. The first book is Daughter of Smoke and Bone as the story was very similar and the second book is Aquila by T L Searle as they both have half bird/human and half dragon/human at war with each other.

Echo is feisty, competent and loyal, and is a very likeable character. There are lots of characters in this book and my favourite is Ivy as she was so nice and kind and Jasper who is a flirt. However, I was not a fan of the love triangle in this book, as I hardly ever like them.

While this book had it faults I still want to read the next book and see what happens next. I would recommend The Girl at Midnight to fans of YA paranormal novels. 

Summer Queen

*****

5 Stars/5

Book Description 

Nelay never wanted to be queen.

Poised to become the most powerful priestess in Idara, Nelay doesn’t have time to become a pretty bauble for the king. She’s too busy saving her people from the invading army sweeping across her kingdom.

But in defeat after defeat, Nelay begins to realize a bigger power is at play than that wielded by mere mortals. Only she can stand between the cinders of her once-great nation and the vengeance of a goddess.

Review

Thanks to Amber Argyle for giving me this book to review.

Summer Queen is the brilliant sequel to Winter Queen as there was action, adventure, romance and magic. There was never a dull moment in the book and I did not want to put it down, but I also never got overwhelmed with too much info either. While you don’t need to read Winter Queen to enjoy this book, I would recommend it as it is adds to the story, I would also recommend reading the prequel short story to this Of Fire and Ash as it gives a good insight into Nelay and her past.

I really loved Nelay’s character as she was brave, determined and willing do anything for those she cares about, even if they don’t deserve it. I also liked that she was intelligent and was never timid, while her character grew in this book she always knew she was capable. I also really liked Rycus as he was protective and balanced Nelay really well, plus I do have a soft spot for storytellers. Another character I liked was Nelay’s best friend Jezzel but I did wish she was in this book more than she was.

This is an amazing book and I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the Fairy Queens series, Daughter of Winter. I would recommend Summer Queen to fans of the First Book Winter Queen and the Fairy Queens series, plus Ambers other books, to all fans of YA fantasy novels.

Until the end of the month the prequel novella Of Fire and Ash is free. Click on the links for Kindle and ePub

The first book in the series Winter Queen is on sale at 99c from the 10th - 17th April at Amazon USA and 99p at Amazon UK

Witch Song is free at both Amazon USA and Amazon UK

Unworthy

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Joanne Armstrong for giving me this book to review.

Two centuries after a devastating disease wipes out most of the population, an island nation has endured by isolating themselves and living under strict military rules of survival of the fittest. Arcadia has been marked as unworthy as a baby because of her weak immune system, but she has tried in her own small way to fight the unfair system. When a mysterious solider arrives at her home, she embarks on a journey in which she discovers the truth not just about her society but also herself.

Unworthy is a really enjoyable dystopia which was fast paced and action-packed. It has an interesting plot and it was unique as it was set in New Zealand instead of the usual America.

Dia is a tough and competent character who I like as she thinks for herself. Alex is strong and conflicted as he is a soldier who follows orders but has a past which has scarred him. I like that there was no insta-love but still potential for romance in the next book.

The end was a bit predictable but I am still looking forward to the next book, Pureborn. I would recommend Unworthy to fans of YA dystopian novels.

Elude

*

1 Star/5

Aster is determined to be free after years of servitude but there are many obstacles standing in her way. With Aster upset at Chase and Ahren, she wants to stand up for what she wants and learn to protect herself. When their plans don’t go as expected, her life and freedom are in even more danger, will Aster be able to truly escape?

I got really annoyed at Elude and had to stop reading at 77%. It wasn’t the writing it was the characters and the way the story was going.

I really did not like Aster in this book.

SPOILER

This is because she says she loves Chase, sleeps with him but then ignores him, flirts with and eventually fools around with Jastin, another guy. If a man did this we readers would hate them but because she is a girl and going through a rough time we are meant to pity her. The reason she ignores him is that she believes he doesn’t trust her because he thinks he can protect her more than she can, but of course he can protect her better as she has only be training for a month and he has been for years.

When she decided that she couldn’t be with someone who loved someone else (hypocrite) she goes back to Chase and he was angry at how she acted, everyone thought he was acting unreasonable. I hope he leaves her (but I doubt he will) and she gets what she deserves.

SPOILER END (sorry rant over)

Reave had so much potential but I could not get into Elude as it really annoyed and infuriated me.

Reave

***

3 Stars/5

After her father disappeared when she was a child, Aster has spent 10 years as a servant in the leader’s house of the city of New Bethal. Even as a child Aster knew that the city is a corrupt place full of assassins, called Reapers, but everything she has known changed when a new young leader takes charge. She is ordered to look after an assassin staying in the house. As Aster gets to learn more about the Reapers, and herself, she realises that she may not know the whole truth about her life.

I enjoyed Reave, it has a bit of action, fantasy, romance and assassins who actually kill people. This book is very descriptive but I did get confused at some points in the book. Also the cover is a bit deceiving as the book takes place almost entirely inside.

Aster is a sweet, naïve girl and during the book develops an inner strength and grew as a character. Chase was protective, caring and a good love interest for Aster but I did find the romance lacking. Ahren was smart and secretive and I was surprised by Camden as I was expecting him to play a different, more complex role.

The ending was a bit anti-climactic but I did not see the twist at the end coming and I am looking forward to reading the next book Elude. I would recommend Reave to fans of YA fantasy novels.

Misty Falls

***

3 Stars/5

Misty’s Savant gift means that she can never tell a lie, which leads to her always getting into trouble. When going to South Africa to help Uriel Benedict find his Soul Finder, Misty meets the charming Alex, and is determined that she should keep her distance. However, the Savant world is in danger as a serial killer who is targeting young Savants and no one is safe.

Misty Falls is a good sequel which has action, suspense and a quick pace. However, it is a bit predictable and the romance was nowhere near as good as the previous books.

Misty was a nice character who has always felt a bit of a misfit, and easy to relate to but she is similar to other YA heroines. I just could not like Alex much as, especially in the beginning he was very smug, rude to Misty and I just did not trust him. It did not get better as the book went on as Misty obviously cared him more than he did and it seemed that he did not think about her feelings.

This book is not as good as the first 3 Benedict books but still enjoyable, and I hope Stirling writes a book about Victor as I think it would be really good. I would recommend Misty Falls to fans of the first 3 books.