Oath of Servitude

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to C. E. Wilson for giving me this book to review.

Teague is struggling since his perfect life was destroyed when he lost his sight, and now he has turned to drinking to smother his distress. Cailin is a Pixi who is being punished for being herself and being different from other Pixies. Her punishment is to pay off her father’s debt to Owen, Teague’s father, by being a companion to Teague and to try and stop him drinking. However, Cailin and Teague are more similar than they think, as they are both lonely people, where no one understands them. With Teague and Cailin grown closer together, will Cailin be able to complete her oath with trouble brewing at home.

Oath of Servitude is a likeable book as it is a quick, light paranormal read. One thing I enjoyed about this book is the mystery surrounding both the families. I also liked how the size difference was portrayed, and how Cailin has to cope with living with humans so much bigger than her.

I like Cailin as she is tough and gutsy while still being vulnerable, I also like how she will not stop being who she is just because she is not accepted by the rest of her people. At the start of the book I did not really like Teague as he was a drunk who was more interested in moping than trying to accept his fate and move on, but as the book progressed and he became less self-involved I grew to like his character more.

Oath of Servitude is an enjoyable book and it will be interesting to see what happens next to Cailin and Teague, and to uncover more of the mysterious secrets of the past. I would recommend this book to fans of Damselfly by Jennie Bates Bozic, or Need by Carrie Jones.

The Hunger Games

*****

5 Stars/5

Katniss lives in District 12, in Panem, ruled over by the Capitol. Each year 2 children from each of the 12 districts, between the ages of 12-18, one male, one female, are chosen to compete in the 74^th Hunger Games, where only one survives. This year, Prim, Katniss’s younger sister is chosen, and Katniss volunteers as Tribute in her place. She is determined to survive at any cost, the only problems being the other 23 tributes who wish to kill her, and Peeta, the other tribute from District 12, who saved her and her family’s lives when she was 11.

The Hunger Games is a brilliant book as it is an intriguing look at the future of how the reality TV we see today, may evolve. The pace of the book keeps you hooked until the very end, with you constantly wondering what the Capitol Game Makers are going to do next.

Katniss is a fascinating character. She has had to be surrogate mother to her sister, as their mother went into deep depression after their father died, and is different to most of District 12. Katniss is willing to break rules to help those she loves by hunting outside of the district, surviving off her wits and ability, and even trading illegally hunted game to the Peace-Keepers.

Haymitch is a well-written character, who shows how winning the Hunger Games can affect a person, and it is not until he sees Katniss’s spirit does he allow himself to get involved. I also liked the character of Cinna. Katniss seemed to respond to him as an older brother, with him giving her advice and looking out for her.

I would recommend Hunger Games to anyone who has watched the film, as the film is a brilliant interpretation of the book.

Damselfly

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Jennie Bates Bozic LLC for giving me this book to review.

In the future, at the Lilliput project in Denmark, 6 inch tall engineered winging girl called Lina believes she is the only one of her kind and her only friends are the people meant to look after and studying her. She is isolated and alone until she meets a boy called Jack online and grows to fall for him even though he does not know her size. Everything changes on her 16^th birthday when she is going to become part of a TV programme to find a husband out of 6 “Toms” created at a sister project. With Jack being threaten to make Lina take part, and Lilliput hiding a dark secret, will Lina get passed her feelings for Jack and get to know the 6 “Toms”.

Damselfly is a good book, with a fast pace and an unusual and enjoyable idea. I was surprised by the twist at the end as I did not see it coming at all. However, I did not understand how making 6 inch people with wings meant to provide a solution to the worldwide crisis.

Lina was nice and a courageous character, but she was a bit self-centred and did not really think of others, however, this is not surprising as everything in her life has revolved around her. I would have liked to get to know Jack better I had no real idea why Lina liked him so much except that he treated her normally. Also I did not really get to know much about the “Toms” as, apart from Row and Blue, they all tended to blur together.

Damselfly is an enjoyable book and I would recommend to fans of The Selection by Kiera Cass or unusual dystopian books.

The Fiery Heart

*****

5 Stars/5

Sydney has gotten over her prejudices against vampires and is now in a relationship with Adrian. However, things are not going smoothly between them knowing that Jill can see their every moment together and having to hide their relationship from everyone, especially Sydney’s little sister Zoe. However, Sydney wants to get closer to Zoe and try to convince her that the Alchemists are not as perfect as they have been brought up to believe. With Sydney trying to keep so many things secret, such as her magic, and Adrian struggling with his Spirit will they be able to keep their relationship a secret while still enjoying their time together.

The Fiery Heart is the brilliant fourth book in the bloodlines series but is a bit different from the other books as it is from the POV of both Sydney and Adrian, however, this adds much more to the story. This book is really romantic, much more than any other book of Mead’s which I have read, but this did mean that there was less mystery and action but there was enough that it did not feel lacking.

We can really see how much Sydney has changed during this series as in the first book she was much more like Zoe, although a bit more open because of the events of Vampire Academy, but now she thinks much more for herself and does not just want to please her father and the Alchemists. However, this book is much more about Adrian and his struggles with Spirit, and I love seeing inside his head as we get to see how much he loves Sydney and how responsible he has become while still being the Adrian we have grown to love. The romance in this book is amazing and I love seeing Sydney and Adrian as a couple and them both knowing how much they need each other, and mean to each other.

The ending, whilst I knew it was coming, is a massive cliff-hanger and I am not sure how I am going to cope until Silver Shadows comes out. I would recommend The Fiery Heart to people who have enjoyed the rest of this series.

Fireblood

*****

5 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Spencer Hill Press for giving me this book to review.

The land has been destroyed and is filled with monsters, and Karm is the only safe place as it is protected by a barrier, and the king has ruled that it should be inspired on the medieval world of Camelot. Zara Dane has been hiding the fact that her father has The Virus, an illness which kills everyone in Karm, when she is chosen by Prince Sebastian to be his bride. Her father is sent away and she is forced to stay in the castle, under the watchful eye of the first knight, Sir Devlan, but all Zara wants to do is run away and find her father before it is too late. As Zara gets to know the people in the castle, she is drawn into the rebellion against the King, but should she trust their plan or the spark of good she sees in Sebastian?

Fireblood is a brilliant book as it is a dystopia but reads and feels like a fantasy which is really unusual. The plot is fast paced and engaging, and has the right mixture of betrayals, romance and action.

All the characters are really complex, but especially Zara as she strong-willed and determined to protect those she cares about, and while her judgement may not always be right, her decisions are made with a good heart. The romance in Fireblood is good as it developed at a steady pace, however, it was a bit predictable as it was obvious which person Zara would fall for, but it was much better than the love triangle it seemed like it was going to be. Sebastian was an interesting character as at some points I hated him, but at others I sympathised and understood him. Devlan is a strong, kind and loyal person, and I would have loved to have some chapters from his perspective to see what he was thinking.  

I loved this book and I hope there is more stories from this world, although the way it ended it does not need another to wrap up any loose ends. I will be reading more books by Wolfe and I would recommend Fireblood to fans of The Selection series, The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy and Throne of Glass.

Elantris

****

4 Stars/5

Elantris, the capital of Arelon, was a beautiful city filled with once ordinary people who, when touched with the mysterious Shaod, turn into powerful beings with magical powers. That is, until 10 years ago, when all those affected by the Shaod, past and future turn into weak and powerless people whose skin turns grey and hair falls out. In the new capital Kae, Princess Sarene of Teod has come to secure an alliance between their two kingdoms through marrying Prince Raoden. Though when she arrives, Sarene finds that she is a widow. However, Raoden is not dead, but has been affected by the Shaod and has been put into Elantris with the rest of the Elantrians. He finds cannot stand idly by and watch them suffer, and so he hopes to find a way to help the Elantrians become human again and discover what happened to the magic. With both Teod and Arelon under threat from the religious empire of Fjordell, Sarene must use all her political skills against Hrathen, a high priest of Fjordell to stop him from converting both countries to be under the control of Fjordell.

Elantris is a really good fantasy book and I wish I had read Sanderson’s books sooner as he has an interesting way of telling stories. This book has an interesting religions and plot twists, however, it was let down by a very slow start and too little magic and too much politics.

Sarene is an OK character as she tries to do what she believes is the best and is willing to help those most in need, but she is annoying as she is too perfect and good at everything which makes her hard to relate to. Raoden has a similar problem as he does not have any real flaws and is too selfless. Hrathen is surprisingly the most interesting character as even though I didn’t want to like him, I could understand him, relate to his lack of belief and see how he thinks what he is doing is right.

I liked this book as there is room for a sequel but it also works well as a standalone book. I would recommend Elantris to people who liked the Mistborn Series.

Wildfire

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Mina Khan for giving me this book to review.

25 year old Lynn Hana Alexander is a dragon shapeshifter who does not trust herself or her dragon side since she was unable to save her grandmother. When her best friend’s life is threaten by dangerous fires happening, Lynn is determined not to fail someone she loves again. She has to find out who the arsonist is as she can sense it is a rogue dragon. She suspects Jack, a volunteer fire fighter and farmer who is disliked in the area because of his ancestors, but can she fight her feelings for him to find out the truth?

Wildfire is a good paranormal romance and mystery book, and I like the way the dragons were in this book and I would like to learn more about them. At the beginning I felt a bit lost as it felt I had missed a prequel, especially about her grandmother and Rob. I also felt like the arsonist was too obvious and I was expecting a bigger twist when it came to them.

Lynn is struggling and vulnerable because of the death of her grandmother and does not trust herself, both human and dragon side, but that does not stop her from being strong and trying stop the arson and the fires. I enjoyed the romance but it did not over power the story and the mystery.

I would recommend Wildfire to fans of paranormal mystery books.