Siege and Storm Review

Title: Siege and Storm
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: June 4th 2013
Source: ARC for Review
Rating: 4.5

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Review:

Siege and Storm takes place not long after the events of Shadow and Bone with Alina and Mal on the run from the Darkling. Right from the very first page I got swept away again into the story the Leigh Bardugo has created in the Grisha trilogy. In 2012 Shadow and Bone was in my top ten books, and I'm sure that Siege and Storm will be in my list for 2013 it was just that good.

I already had the dilemma a picking a guy I liked better, Mal or The Darkling. Siege and Storm brings in a third  guy I couldn't help falling for, Strumhond. Thanks god I'm not Alina because I couldn't possibly pick just one. I think this may be the only series where I can't narrow down who I like, their just all great for different reasons.

As for the story; it was an epic, thrilling, heart pounding, and well written sequel that is perfect in every way. The intricate well thought of world of the Grisha is absolutely amazing and unlike anything I have ever scene. The Russian twist to the series also adds to my interest towards the book.

The only minor issue that I had with the book was with the main character, Alina. She seems to have taken to her power too well, which is good but she acts like she's superior then everyone and is the only hope for Ravka against The Darkling. Even though she is all these things I feel she shouldn't act all high and mighty I would prefer to read from her perspective much more.

All together Siege and Storm was a fantastic sequel to Shadow and Bone that was well written and had a great story with high stakes. If you enjoyed Shadow and Bone I have no doubt that you will end up falling for this one as well. Get ready for an unbearable wait for the final book, Siege and Storm is left on a bit of a cliffhanger that well definitely make you eager for more.

 

School Spirits

Title: School Spirits
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Release Date: May 14th 2013
Publisher: Hyperion
Source: ARC for review
Rating: 4

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Review:

 

 After being a huge fan of the witty writing style of Rachel Hawkins in the Hex Hall trilogy I was ecstatic to hear there would be a spinoff series and I had high hopes for it. Lucky School Spirits lived up to my expectations. I ended up really enjoying the first in the new spinoff series and can't wait to get my hands on the next book.

As always when I start a Rachel Hawkins book I get so engrossed in it I don't want to do anything else but read it. I really enjoyed Izzy as a main character although I missed Sophie's humour Izzy was enjoyable in a different way. 

As I was reading I couldn't help but compare School Spirits to Supernatural. The whole coming from a family of monster hunters, moving from town to town and making no personal connections with anyone reminded me of the show in a good way. I think it's safe to say that if you're a fan of Supernatural, School Spirits with appeal to you.

Going through Archer withdrawal I couldn't fall in love with Izzy's love interest as much as I wanted to. I do like him and think he's unique but it's going to take a bit longer for me to love him with Archer still in mind. The best part of this book I think is that you don't have to have read Hex Hall to enjoy it, sure it would help with the world building and mentions of various characters but its not mandatory.

Even though I didn't love School Spirits as much as the Hex Hall Trilogy it was still an absolutely fantastic book, with a plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Filled with angst, romance and ghosts School Spirits is a must read.

Of Triton Review

Title: Of Triton (Of Poseidon #2)
Author: Anna Banks
Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: May 28th 2013
Source: ARC for Review
Rating: 3.5

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

Review:

 

Of Triton pick up right where Of Poseidon left off, confronting Emma's mom about her secret. The first few opening chapters a quite climatic and gets you sucked back into the story. As always Anna Banks writes a well written book jammed packed with humour that I sure will be a laugh or at least a smile to your face.

I loved the romance that Galen and Emma had in Of Poseidon and even though they may be apart for a large potion of the book, I loved the romance in this instalment even more. There's more commitment from them that will melt your heart. I can't wait to see what the next step in their relationship will be.

As much as I wanted to absolutely love this novel as much as I did the first I just couldn't. To me Of Triton seemed like a filler book; something small to give us because there needed to be a book released in 2013 but with no real progression in the plot. The book physically is very small and not a whole lot goes of, there is some pretty dramatic scenes that do make up for it though.

Even though Of Triton wasn't as good as Of Poseidon I still love this series and highly recommend it to anyone. I really look forward to reading more in this unique mermaid series.

When We Wake Review

Title: When We Wake
Author: Karen Healey
Publisher: Little Brown
Release Date: March 5th 2013
Source: ARC for Review
Rating: 3

Sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027--she's happiest when playing the guitar, she's falling in love for the first time, and she's joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world: environmental collapse, social discrimination, and political injustice.

But on what should have been the best day of Tegan's life, she dies--and wakes up a hundred years in the future, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened.

Tegan is the first government guinea pig to be cryonically frozen and successfully revived, which makes her an instant celebrity--even though all she wants to do is try to rebuild some semblance of a normal life. But the future isn't all she hoped it would be, and when appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: Does she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better future?

Award-winning author Karen Healey has created a haunting, cautionary tale of an inspiring protagonist living in a not-so-distant future that could easily be our own.

Review:

Going into When We Wake I was very intrigued based on the concept of the book which is 16 year old girl named Teagan dying and waking up 100 years into the future. Right from the get go I picked up on what some of the major themes of the book would be; environmental issues and religion. The environment issues I found to be interesting, the religion... not so much.

The thing that I enjoyed the most about When We Wake is the not so hard to believe futuristic setting. The setting that Karen Healey created seems like a very plausible one that is plagued by issues caused by mans carelessness for our environment.

Fans of The Beatles will surely appreiciate this book as the chapters are named after their songs and their are countless mentions of them throughout the book, COUNTLESS. Maybe a bit too much for those (like me) who don't care for them that much.

I found myself really enjoying the characters, Teagan was an excellent voice to read the story from. The side characters were also very well written and long with the book itself. My only major complaint about the book is that I found there not to be a plot to the story until after 100 pages, which is almost half of the book. Once the plot did come into play is was full of fun things like conspiracies that will appeal to many.

Overall I did enjoy When We Wake, but it was not my all time favourite read. I do look forward to seeing where the story leads in the next book though.

February Release Giveaway

I've be absent from the blogging world for quite some time now, so I thought what better way to get back into things than a giveaway for all my lovely followers to enter.

This giveaway will be for any February release, some new releases listed below, will run for the entire month of Februaury, with be international, and two winners will be picked at the end of the month. Goodluck! :)

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If this giveaway goes well I may do one every month! :)

Asunder Review

Title: Asunder (New Soul #2)
Name: Jodi Meadow
Publisher: Katherine Teagan
Source: ARC for Review
Rating: 4

DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.

SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.

Review:

 

After thoroughly enjoying the fantastic world Jodi Meadow created in Incarnate, Asunder was a sequel I couldn't wait to get my hands on. With the super  adorable relationship between Sam and Ana and the new revelations and questions that arose in Asunder, the book certainly does not disappoint.

I absolutely love the world of The New Soul trilogy, it's creative, magical, and unique. The journey that Ana and Sam undergo is just all the more awesome because of the genius world Jodi has created. The tension between the Old Souls and their negative feeling towards New Souls like Ana causes some very dramatic moments that readers will be fascinated with. The writing is also extremely well done, it's very descriptive and beautifully done.

The only thing that I can say against Asunder is that I would love to see some of the mythical creature mentioned throughout the book like trolls and unicorns. Dragons were apart of Incarnate, and were awesome, but seeing more of them and others would be amazing.

With the introduction of new characters,  a well written continuation of Incarnate with the sweetest of all romances, and with an ending that will have you egerly awaiting the final book in the series, Asunder is a sequel you won't want to miss. It's a case where you should jugde a book by it's cover, and this book has a gorgeous cover.

Team Human Review

Title: Team HumanAuthors: Justine Larbiester & Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Library
Rating: 3

Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity!

On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.

Review:

 

Having heard great reviews on Team Human and hearing that it was quite humorous I had high expectations when starting the book. While I did enjoy the book I didn't absolutely fall in love with it, it was just an okay read for me.

 

All the raving about how funny Team Human was is what ultimately made me want to pick it up. After reading I don't know why others found this book to be funny, I didn't laugh at all while reading unfortunately and I tend to laugh at things that aren't all that funny.

 

I did quite enjoy how the authors poked funny of the typical insta-vampire love, and wanting to be with each other for eternity. All though while picking on it, it actually had to happen falling in with the cliche vampire love.

 

I really enjoyed Mel as a main character. She was easy going and very easy to like and genuinely cares about her friends. She has a investigating side to her which led to my favourite aspect of the book, the mystery that Mel was trying to solve. Throughout the book you keep guessing what happened and who the bad guy is.

 

The other best thing about Team Human is Kit. Kit is a character who was raised by vampires, and doesn't completely understand how humans live. Things do get a little humorous with him around. It also doesn't hurt that he's a hottie and Mel's love interest.

 

Team Human isn't a fantastic read, but it is a short and sweet one that pokes funny of the classic YA vampire stories. Definitely pick it up if you're looking for a quick, fun and enjoyable read.