Bitter Blood

***

3 Stars/5

It has been a few months since the Draug have been eradicated and everything on the surface seems to be getting back to normal in Morganville. However, with their enemies gone, the vampires are not willing to compromise and are back to hunting and holding humans in contempt. This is causing the humans to take up arms and defend their rights against vampires or anyone who has been allied to them. This causes a problem for the Glass House as Claire has always been connected to both sides and Michael and Eve are married causing hate on both sides. To make matters worse a TV ghost hunting show has decided to film in Morganville which could mean the fighting between the humans and vampires could end up on the national news.

Bitter Blood is the 13^th book in the Morganville but it is also one of my least favourite. Not much happens during the first two thirds and then everything is rushed through the last third.

I did not like the group in this book they seemed very selfish and self-involved in this book compared to the others in this series.

SPOILER

One example is that the group caused Miranda to try to kill herself and they thought she did die and they only grieved for an evening and then did not think about it or feel guilty at all

SPOILER END

Even though this was not my favourite Morganville novel I did still enjoy it, but was just a bit disappointed as I know that Caine can do better. I will definitely be reading the next book but I just hope it is more like the other books. I would recommend this to people who have read the other Morganville books.

Slumber

*****

5 Stars/5

Rogan’s childhood is cut short when a man called Stovia kills her family and takes her and others who have magical talents to secure Princezna Haydyn power after her father’s death. Now having growing up together Haydyn and Rogan have become as close sisters but when Haydyn starts dying, only Rogan’s powers can find the flower that will save her. However, the man who is meant to look after her is Wolfe, the son of the man who ruined her life, can she trust him or will she fall for the man who she should hate.

Slumber is a unique retelling of sleeping beauty because it is told from the point of view of her best friend. This book is a great mix of romance and fantasy with nonstop action.

Rogan is a really likable character who has not had an easy life but has come out stronger for it and I could empathise with her and understand her decisions. I also like Haydyn who is sweet and does not really believe in herself. However my favourite character is Wolfe as he has a clear sense of right and wrong and is the perfect fantasy hero.

Young has also put a lot of detail into the secondary characters especially L who is brave yet sweet at the same time. Also the world building is interesting with the different types of magic especially Haydyn’s Dyvatzi power which I have not heard of similar before.

I love Slumber and cannot wait to read L’s story in Sneak Thievery when it comes out. I would recommend Slumber to people who like fantasy romance and fairytales. 

Scent of Magic

*****

5 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin (UK) Limited for giving me this book to review.

                                      

Everyone apart from Kerrick thinks that Avry has died from the plague that killed millions of people; however she was saved by the peace lilies. Now Avry and Kerrick have to separate as Avry is going to use her “death” to reconcile with her sister, help the army against King Tohon’s walking dead and discover the secrets of the death lilies and peace lilies. Whilst she is doing this Kerrick is returning to Alga to help his country against Tohon’s army and the invading northern tribes.

Scent of Magic is the second book in the Healers series and while a bit different from Touch of Power it is just as good. There are just as many twists in this book as there are in most of Snyder’s books and the pacing is action packed but not too full on.

Avry is selfless and kind and is a strong heroine who is able to fight for what she believes in despite the odds. We learn much more about Kerrick in this book as half the book is told from his point of view and his personality has not changed from Touch of Power with his protectiveness and love of outdoors.

There are new characters in this book and while they are good, they are not as interesting as the characters we meet again from the first book. If I have one problem with the book is that with Avry and Kerrick separated, the group dynamic which was brilliant in the first book, is disrupted in this one.

The ending is very action packed and exciting which will leave you longing to read Taste of Death. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Maria V Snyder books, especially Touch of Power. 

Pantomime

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot for giving me this book to review.

In Ellada, R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic wishes to create the wonder of the mysterious civilization which disappeared leaving only the glowing blue Penglass. Micah Grey is a runaway who wishes to join the circus as an aerialist and he wants to be accepted by the rest of the people in the circus. Gene Laurus is nobleman’s daughter who much prefers climbing trees and playing with her brother’s friends than going to dances and shopping for dresses. But both Micah and Gene have a secret which means they feel they don’t belong anywhere.

Laura Lam has written a very unique book, with a twist that I did not see coming. However the blurb does not describe Pantomime as it really is and they could describe more without giving much away. The pacing of the book is slow and while I was bored at some points during the book it held my attention enough.

The story Lam has written is very descriptive and you can easily imagine you are actually there in the circus. Where this this story falls story for me is the characters as I felt I could not connect with any of them. Also I could have done with more fantasy as there were little bits but mostly it was hinted at.

However, I am looking forward to the next book to see what happens next and to understand more about the magic in Ellada. I would recommend this to people who like unique YA fantasy.

Seeking Crystal

****

4 Stars/5

Crystal has always been the failure in her family with no Savant power and disappointing grades, especially compared to her sister who has just found her Soulfinder Trace Benedict, but when disaster hits both Crystal and Xav, the annoying Benedict, have to join together to save their loved ones and maybe discover how they feel about each other. While Seeking Crystal is just as good as the others the romance in this book is not as captivating as the others however it makes up for it with the story as it is more fascinating. I would recommend this to people who like Finding Sky and Stealing Phoenix. 

Stealing Phoenix

****

4 Stars/5

Phoenix belongs to a gang of Savant thieves called The Community where you cannot leave, however, when she steals from Yves she discovers that they are each other’s Soulfinder, but can she learn to trust someone or will Yves have to betray his entire family to be with Phoenix. Stealing Phoenix is just as good as Finding Sky with a girl with a hard upbringing and a guy who will do anything for her. If I have one complaint is that the romance was a bit too quick as they did not know each other that long. I would recommend this to people who like YA paranormal romance. 

Finding Sky

****

4 Stars/5

Sky is the new British girl in high school in America, but like every other girl there, she is drawn to Zed Benedict, however, he seems to be acting strangely towards her. She is a Savant, a type of people with powers, but can she put her past behind her and grab her Savant future. Finding Sky is full of action, romance and has a great story, Sky is a really likable person and Zed is the perfect bad boy. I would recommend this to people who like the Drake Chronicles and the Nightworld series.

The Mad Scientist's Daughter

**

2 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot for giving me this book to review.

When Cat gets a tutor she first thinks that Finn is a ghost as he acts strange and does not eat. However, Finn is a robot, and as Cat grows up she struggles to accept that Finn is not sentient and feels nothing towards her.

The Mad Scientist’s Daughter is a romance book with a sci fi twist, however, it just is not my type of book as I prefer sci fi with a romance twist (I know it sounds the same but it isn’t). I liked the book at the start with Cat as a child, as I thought it was interesting to explore about the world she lived in but as she got older I just found myself bored and the pacing slowed as it jumped through the years.

As the plot jumped forward in time a lot I felt I did not know adult Cat a lot so could not connect with her. Also I did not understand her attraction to Finn as he did not change and I could not see a spark between them. However I would have liked to get to know Finn more in this book as see how life is like for him, but I felt we did not understand him enough.

Why I have put it 2 stars instead of 1 is that the Mad Scientist’s Daughter is not my usually type of book, and therefore might be brilliant for those who like kind of genre. I would recommend this to people who like the Time Travellers Wife film (and probably book as well but I have not read it so I can’t say).

Broken

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot for giving me this book to review.

Emma is destroyed after her boyfriend dies, and the only way she feels better is visiting the local graveyard which was hers and Daniel’s favourite hang out. But when Alex Franks moves to her school, she is instantly drawn to him and something is familiar about him. But as she grows closer to him Emma finds that something is seriously wrong with the Franks family.

Broken is a modern retelling of Frankenstein set in an American high school. One problem with this book is that if you read the blurb you find out about three quarters of the story.

I liked Emma a lot as reminded me a bit of Bella in the beginning of New Moon but with backbone, because while it is perfectly natural for Emma to be grieving for her boyfriend, she still lives a semi normal life. Also she is not afraid to stand up for herself, and when she finds out stuff in this book, she acts like most people would. I also liked Alex as he is a tortured soul who is as confused about everything as Emma is.

I feel that the story lets the book down as for almost all the story it is just teen angst and high school drama, however, thankfully it picks up about two thirds of the way through and you wanted to find out want happened next. The best thing about Broken is how chilling it is, I won’t tell you how as it might spoil some of the story, but Rought does a brilliant job creeping you out.

I would recommend this to people who like YA paranormal romance like Twilight or Dearly Departed by Lia Habel. 

Snow Whyte and the Queen of Mayhem

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Cedar Fort for giving me this book to review.

All Kat has ever known is working on her uncle’s orchard with Jeremy, but when her uncle’s behaviour changes and Jeremy has left to sort things out in his life, she runs away to live with seven dwarfs. However, what she does not realise is that she is the Princess of Mayhem and a man who is stuck in a mirror by her evil mother Queen Radiance, has been watching her all her life.

This is a wonderful retelling of Snow White which I did not want to put down. The characters are interesting and believable and Lemon is really good at descriptions as I could really imagine all the places in this book.

The one thing that makes Snow Whyte different from other retellings is that it is told from the point of view of the Mirror. The Mirror, who is actually a man called Jasper, can watch people in his prison but can’t help them, and fights and deceives the evil queen whenever he can to help Kat and all of Mayhem. If I have one problem with this book it is that with Jasper narrating it is harder to connect to the characters as we cannot see what they are thinking and have to rely on Jasper’s interpretation to be correct.

Snow Whyte is brilliantly written and has more than one twist which left me shocked, but also with hindsight I wondered how I missed them. This is a charming book which I would recommend to most people but especially to people who like YA fairy-tale stories such as Ella Enchanted or Beauty by Robin McKinley.

Hidden

*****

5 Stars/5

In Vanish, Jacinda was bound to Cassian even though she loves Will and was going to run away from the pride with Will; however it ends in disaster with Miram, Cassian’s sister, captured by the Enkros. Now Jacinda, Will, Cassian and Tamra are on a mission to rescue her, however, it is dangerous as Jacinda has to go undercover and is held prisoner by the Enkros and has to rely on the others.

This series is one of my guilty pleasures as I love the characters and story even though it’s a bit more teenage than I like. As this book is the shortest book in the series the pacing of the book is good and action-packed with just enough room to breathe.

All of the characters grow in personality in this book and we meet new people as well. Even though I am not on team Cassian I feel liked him in Hidden as he has really changed since Firelight. I loved the romance in this book as it is less about the love triangle, as Jacinda has already who she wants to be with, and more about her and her love interest getting use to each other.

Jordan is a brilliant writer as in one instance she describes and names one person and I was expecting him to be important but she took the story in a total different direction.  This book has a good story and some twists although a bit predictable and wraps up most of the questions raised in this book but not all.

I would recommend Hidden to people who like young adult book with dragons in. 

Vanish

*****

5 Stars/5

To save Will, the boy she loves, from dying, Jacinda has betrayed her kind’s most guarded secret, the ability to be able to change into a human. Now, travelling back to her pride she will never see him again and may have to face life with Cassian and give up on Will. When she returns she is treated as a traitor and in a twist Tamra get all the attention.

I love this book as it is different from most YA paranormal books. The pacing is much slower in this novel than the last, especially the middle. However, it was interesting to see how the pride worked and to see how characters acted away from humans.

Jacinda personality grew during this book and it nice to see her able to be who she is with her people, however it did get annoying her moping about Will. The other characters in this book were ok and nicely rounded especially Cassian and Tamra. One thing I did not like about this book is the love triangle, I like them when you don’t know who the character will choose, but in this book it is obvious so I don’t really care about it.

However in the second half of the book it gets really action-packed and makes up for the slightly dull first half. Vanish has a cliff-hanger ending so make sure you have Hidden nearby when you finish. I would recommend this to people who like Twilight or L J Smith books. 

Firelight

*****

5 Stars/5

Jacinda is the only fire breathing Draki in her pride, which means she has little freedom, apart from flying. But when she is almost caught by hunters and one of them lets her go, Jacinda, her mother, and her sister flee to the human world to stop the pride from punishing her because it is against the rules of the pride to fly during the day. But when there she meets the hunter who saved her, she feels an attraction to him which could be deadly for her.

The Firelight series is one of my guilty pleasures because, even though the story is well written, this is a very predictable and light book and has insta-love. The pace is good and there is just enough action and suspense.

Jacinda is a nice character who tends to believe the best in people and who gets annoyed at people telling her who she should be. Will is also a good character who is perfect boyfriend material, as he is brave, loyal and protective. However, my favourite character is Jacinda’s sister Tamra as even though she is a bit selfish I felt I could relate to her the most.

As I said earlier this is not my favourite romance as it is too quick, therefore did not seem realistic, however it did appeal to the inner teen in me. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA paranormal books with a twist.