Monthly Archives: May 2019

Book Review: The Last 8 by Laura Pohl

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Book: The Last 8 by Laura Pohl

Published March 2019 by Sourcebooks Fire|357 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: The Last 8 #1

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

A high-stakes survival story about eight teenagers who outlive an alien attack—perfect for fans of The 5th Wave

Clover Martinez has always been a survivor, which is the only reason she isn’t among the dead when aliens invade and destroy Earth as she knows it.

When Clover hears an inexplicable radio message, she’s shocked to learn there are other survivors—and that they’re all at the former Area 51. When she arrives, she’s greeted by a band of misfits who call themselves The Last Teenagers on Earth.

Only they aren’t the ragtag group of heroes Clover was expecting. The group seems more interested in hiding than fighting back, and Clover starts to wonder if she was better off alone. But then she finds a hidden spaceship, and she doesn’t know what to believe…or who to trust.

I liked The Last 8!  It’s an interesting read, but I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to.

Don’t get me wrong, you can’t go wrong with an alien invasion causing death and destruction on a worldwide scale.  At the same time, though, aliens invading earth seem a little bit…dated.  I hate saying that, I really do.  I liked Clover, and the world but something about the book seemed old, even though it’s a pretty new release.

I really liked Clover and we see her struggle a lot throughout the book.  I loved that there was a content warning at the beginning of the book, and that Pohl had a list of resources at the end of the book.  I thought how Clover acted throughout the book was really realistic, and understandable considering everything that happened to her during the book.  Especially at the beginning.

It’s an interesting group, and I loved that there are survivors of an alien invasion at Area 51.  Why does this not come up more?  There’s a lot going on with this group, and while I wasn’t surprised at why they survived, I am curious to see where things go.

I thought the book wrapped up really well, and I was surprised to see that it’s going to be a duology.  I think there’s more story to tell, especially with how things ended, but I’m also hesitant to read the next book.  I’m a little worried that it will feel added on, especially since I only have a vague idea where things are headed.  It’s definitely a book that can go either way- there’s enough closure that it works well as a stand-alone but there’s enough there that the story can continue on.

3 stars.  I liked The Last 8, and I especially liked Clover but I also didn’t love it.  I feel like this story is one I’ve read before.

What I’ve Been Reading: The Book Club Edition #2

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I’ve been meaning to do this post for a while, but I never seem to get around to it!  For some reason, I don’t tend to review the books I read for my club but I did want to share what we’ve been reading lately!

January’s pick was The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke.  I liked it but I wanted more of the world…which is all I can remember about the book.  I really wish I had more to say about it, but I don’t.  Obviously, not a lot stood out months later.  You can find out more about The Boneless Mercies here.

February: We read The Disasters by M.K. England, which is a really fun sci-fi.  This group reminded of the group of teens we see in Six Of Crows…but in space.  I’m not comparing the two at all but for some reason, I did think of Six Of Crows.  It actually reminded me a lot of The Breakfast Club.  I wouldn’t say Breakfast Club in space, but if there’s a movie or book with a random group of kids, you’ll probably think of that.  You can find The Disasters on goodreads.

March: Geekerella by Ashley Poston!  I think I was one of the few who hadn’t read it, so I was excited.  It definitely falls into the realm of YA contemporary about fandom.  Is it just me, or is that something that’s kinda sorta been a thing for a while?  It was fun and cute, and I loved the nods to Cinderella.  I’m not at all a Comic Con person, but I definitely appreciated the fandom references.  It was also cool because she had a signing in San Diego, and I got both Geekerella and The Princess And The Fangirl signed.  You can find out more about Geekerella here.

April: Sherwood by Megan Spooner.  I was really excited about Sherwood because I really liked Hunted when I read it a couple of years ago.  I really liked this one too, though I could have done without the romance.  I can’t wait to see what other stories she ends up re-telling, assuming she does more.  I’ve enjoyed her stand-alones but I’ve have a hard time getting through her books that she’s co-written.  You can find Sherwood on Goodreads here.

And the last one for today is May’s book, which is The Last Voyage Of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie.  I finished this book pretty recently, so I could go into a lot more detail for it.  I just don’t have the energy for a longer review.  I liked it, but I couldn’t picture the world really well.  I felt like I had to do a lot of the imagining myself because there was so little detail for the world building.  It went pretty fast, which was nice, and it felt dystopic but also in the past.  It also felt a little steampunk to me as well.  The ending was a little random and I wish we had more of that story.

That’s all for today, but I’ll definitely be back with more book talk!

Book Review: Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

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Book: Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

Published February 2019 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books For Young Readers|432 pages

Where I Got It: I own the hardcover

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy

Seventeen-year-old Keralie Corrington may seem harmless, but she’s, in fact, one of Quadara’s most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin, on the other hand, is an honest, upstanding citizen of Quadara’s most enlightened region, Eonia. He runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him, putting his life in danger. When Varin attempts to retrieve the package, he and Keralie both find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that leaves all four of Quadara’s queens dead.

With no other choices and on the run from Keralie’s former employer, the two decide to join forces, endeavoring to discover who has killed the queens and save their own lives in the process. When their reluctant partnership blooms into a tenuous romance, they must overcome their own dark secrets in hopes of a future together that seemed impossible just days before. But first they have to stay alive and untangle the secrets behind the nation’s four dead queens.

An enthralling fast-paced murder mystery where competing agendas collide with deadly consequences, Four Dead Queens heralds the arrival of an exciting new YA talent. 

When I first started reading Four Dead Queens, I wasn’t sure about it, but I ended up really liking it!

Initially, the perspectives and timelines were a little weird.  Most of the queens seemed to be a lot older than Keralie, and that was a little weird to me.  Granted, their ages were never outright stated, except for one queen, Stessa.  Margeurite’s age was never given but it seemed like she was the oldest, and the other two, Iris and Corra, fell somewhere in between.  Some of them had pretty decent length chapters, and while it gave perspective to what was going on, it still felt a little odd to me.

The timeline made sense towards the end of the book, once the mystery of everything started unraveling.  For most of the book, it seemed like Keralie was trying to figure out what happened to them.  The timeline definitely surprised me, and there were some things I had completely guessed wrong.  Once things got going, and I got further into the book, I started liking it more.

It was an adventure, and I really, honestly felt like I was with Keralie the entire time.  I liked her, though I would have loved more of her backstory.  You get bits and pieces and references, but not much is said outright.  Even though the story focuses on her unraveling this plot, she seemed like a blank slate.  It does make it easy to see yourself as Keralie, but I also couldn’t tell you a whole lot about her.  A couple of moments would have had more weight to it had we had more of her backstory, in my opinion.

The world was interesting, and we get such a great idea of how the four queens came to be, and what each quadrant represents and believes in.  I still had trouble keeping all of them straight at the end of the book, but it did help that that there was something at the beginning of the book that had something about each quadrant.  I also liked the queenly laws at the beginning of the book, and we see those at the beginning of each chapter narrated by one of the queens.

I’m glad this book isn’t part of a series, because it worked really well as a stand-alone!  I think Scholte could tell a lot more stories set in this world, focusing on other characters, but this particular story is pretty complete.  I’d also LOVE to see this as a movie.  I pictured everything perfectly, and she really did write it in a way that made it so easy to see how everything would play.

4 stars.  I really liked Four Dead Queens, but I didn’t love it.  The timelines and perspectives took some time getting used to, but once I did, it was fun to see how things unraveled.

Audio Book Review: Mirage by Somaiya Daud, Narrated by Rasha Zamamiri

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Book: Mirage by Somaiya Daud, Narrated by Rasha Zamamiri

Published August 2018 by Macmillian Audio|Length: 8 hours, 58 minutes

Where I Got It: I own the audio book

Series: Mirage #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.

I liked Mirage!  Originally, I wasn’t sure about it, because I had a hard time getting past the first couple of chapters.  I ended up giving the audio book a try, and I’m glad I did, because I don’t think I would have made it very far otherwise.

Even with switching to the audio book, I had a hard time getting through the first few chapters.  Once I got past it, I was fine, but initially, I didn’t care about what was going on, and it didn’t really get my attention.  It took a while to get into Mirage, but once I did, I ended up liking it.

It’s your typical brutal empire takes over a planet meets being a body double for the hated princess story.  It’s a story I’m pretty familiar with, especially since the brutal empire and the rebellious people they’re ruling over seems to be pretty popular right now in both sci-fi and fantasy.  I think, if I hadn’t read other books like it, I would liked it a lot more.  I still liked it, of course, but I just wanted to like it more.

I liked Amani, though it took me most of the book to remember her name.  I completely forgot that she was her own person for a good portion of the book and she didn’t really stand out as her own person.  I wish I could say a lot more about her, but I’m having a hard time with that.  Amani and Maram felt like the same person, which was the point, but I wish there had been more to distinguish Amani as a person with her identity.

The narration pretty much saved this book for me.  Zamaimri did a great job at narrating Amani, and what she was going through.  She was great to listen to, and while I thought Amani didn’t particularly stand out as someone with her own personality, Zamamiri did add to her character.  There’s something about her Amani’s voice that worked a lot more for me, and I think it’s because I did feel like Amani was telling me her story.

3 stars.  I didn’t love Mirage, but I still liked it!  I’ll probably pick up the sequel, just to see what happens but I’m not in any rush to read it.

Book Review: A Good Kind Of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee

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Book: A Good Kind Of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee

Published March 2019 by Balzer + Bray|368 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary

From debut author Lisa Moore Ramée comes this funny and big-hearted debut middle grade novel about friendship, family, and standing up for what’s right, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give and the novels of Renée Watson and Jason Reynolds.

Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she’d also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.)

But in junior high, it’s like all the rules have changed. Now she’s suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she’s not black enough. Wait, what?

Shay’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shay doesn’t think that’s for her. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum.

Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn’t face her fear, she’ll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that’s trouble, for real.

I really liked A Good Kind Of Trouble!  There’s a lot of heart in this book, and if you like The Hate U Give or All-American Boys, you’d really like this one.

I really liked Shay, and how scared she was to do the wrong thing but also scared to do the right thing.  It was interesting to me that her hands felt really itchy, whenever she had to face her fears, and I wish it were explored a little more.  It wasn’t, of course.  I don’t know if it’s because it’s middle grade, and there just wasn’t the time to explore it more.  But there were so many other things going on that I didn’t mind it wasn’t explored in depth.

I liked seeing Shay navigate middle school and changing friendships and being a part of the track team.  There are a lot of changes in her life, and she really does open up to new things and new people.  I loved how her parents encouraged her to use her voice instead of ignoring it, even when it would have been easier for them to do the opposite of what they did.  She has a great family, and I wished we saw more of them.

I really came around to Bernard, and he ended up being a great character.  He wasn’t what I thought at all, and I’m glad Shay gave him a chance, and saw he wasn’t as bad as she thought he was.

I wasn’t a big fan of her friend Julia, but I am glad that they worked things out.  Julia did want to fit in, and I can see how she got caught up in that.  I really liked Isabella as well, and she’s so sweet and thoughtful.  All three girls really seem to balance each other out.

A Good Kind Of Trouble is a great middle grade book!  It has some of the issues we see on the news and in YA, so it’s great to have a middle grade book that’s about social justice and standing up for what you believe in.  It’s worth reading!

4 stars.  I really liked A Good Kind Of Trouble, and it’s perfect for fans of Angie Thomas and Jason Reynolds.

Book Review: Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

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Book: Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

Published March 2019 by HMH Books For Young Readers|373 pages

Where I Got It: I own the hardcover

Series: Bloodleaf #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her. But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life?

I loved Bloodleaf!  I loved the world and the characters, and it’s really great YA fantasy!

Aurelia was a great character.  She worked so hard to hide her magic, and I loved the reason why she was able to do it.  She’s in a world that executes people like her, and I was glad she was able to leave.  She’s quirky, but she has a really good heart.  She changed a lot over the course of the book, and she went through a lot.  Things weren’t easy, but I liked her determination to get through it.

I also liked Zan, and while we don’t get enough of him, in my opinion, I still really liked what we saw.  I don’t have as much to say about him as I do Aurelia, but I really like him.  And I really like them together.  I didn’t mind the romance at all, and it felt really natural.

I loved the world and the stories.  The magic was interesting, and I wish we saw more of it, and more of what it could do.  Since Aurelia was still trying to gain control, we learned a lot but I also feel like there’s more to it.  I feel like we’ve barely touched what the magic in her world can do.

I loved the ending, and it had me sobbing.  It really made me wish we saw more of Aurelia’s mom.  It felt a little random, and it was definitely out of the blue, but that didn’t stop me from crying.  I think it would have had a lot more to it had we known her mom a little better.

One thing I’m wondering is what other stories are left to tell in this world.  It’s the first book in the series, and I’m wondering how this story is going to continue because everything was wrapped up really well.  I don’t usually say this with fantasy, especially with YA fantasy, but it would have worked really well as a stand-alone.  The story is so contained that I’m honestly not sure where we’re headed after this.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved this book, and I’m definitely going to read the next book.  I just wish I had more of an idea of where it was headed.

5 stars.  I loved Bloodleaf and thought the world and mythology was really unique.

Around The Internet #13

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Hello and happy Friday!  Here’s this month’s edition of some interesting stuff I’ve come across on the internet.

I’ll leave it there, and have a great Friday everyone!

Book Review: Game Of Stars by Sayantani DasGupta

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Book: Game Of Stars by Sayantani DasGupta

Published February 2019 by Scholastic Press|384 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Kiranmala And The Kingdom Beyond #2

Genre: Middle Grade Re-Telling/Fantasy

When the Demon Queen shows up in her bedroom, smelling of acid and surrounded by evil-looking bees, twelve-year-old Kiranmala is uninterested. After all, it’s been four months since she last heard from her friends in the Kingdom Beyond, the alternate dimension where she was born as an Indian princess. But after a call to action over an interdimensional television station and a visit with some all-seeing birds, Kiran decides that she has to once again return to her homeland, where society is fraying, a reality show is taking over, and her friends are in danger.

However, things are a lot less clear than the last time she was in the Kingdom Beyond. Kiran must once again battle witches, solve riddles, and avoid her evil Serpent King father – all while figuring out who are her true friends, and what it really means to be a demon.

Games Of Stars is a really cool book!  I really liked the first one, and knew I had to pick up this one.

It didn’t feel like a middle book at all, and I loved seeing Kiran save her friends and deal with her Serpent King father and a reality t.v. show.  There’s a lot of fun adventures in this book, and I’m glad that continued from the first book.  She really wants to do the right thing, and she’s really determined.  Kiran is a great character, and I can’t wait to see what adventures are in store for her in the next book.

I really liked the world and what we see in this book really adds to the world we were introduced to in the first book.  We see more creatures and myths, and I loved the author’s note at the end where DasGupta talks about her inspiration for the book.

Things are not black and white, and we definitely see Kiran learn that in this book.  While she trusts a few rakkosh, she’s not trusting of all them, but we see that change over the course of the book.  I don’t blame Kiran at all for how she reacts to some of the things in the book, but we see a lot of growth and change in her.  She really does give everyone a chance by the end of the book, and that was nice to see, because sometimes, it seems like books don’t always do that.

It’s action-packed and a fast read, and it went by so fast.  But I didn’t mind at all, because I had such a great time reading it.

4 stars.  I really liked the world and the characters, and it really added to the series.  It’s fun and full of adventure.

Book Review: Sweet Black Waves by Kristina Perez

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Book: Sweet Black Waves by Kristina Perez

Published June 2018 by Imprint|384 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: Sweet Black Waves #1

Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Re-Telling

Not you without me, not me without you.

Two proud kingdoms stand on opposite shores, with only a bloody history between them.

As best friend and lady-in-waiting to the princess, Branwen is guided by two principles: devotion to her homeland and hatred for the raiders who killed her parents. When she unknowingly saves the life of her enemy, he awakens her ancient healing magic and opens her heart. Branwen begins to dream of peace, but the princess she serves is not so easily convinced. Fighting for what’s right, even as her powers grow, will set Branwen against her best friend and the only man she’s ever loved.

Inspired by the legend of Tristan and Eseult, this is the story of the legend’s true heroine. For fans of Graceling and The Mists of Avalon, this is the first book of a lush fantasy trilogy about warring countries, family secrets, and forbidden romance.

I ended up really liking Sweet Black Waves.  I wasn’t sure about it at first, but the more I read, the more I liked it.

I’m only vaguely familiar with the story of Tristan and Eseult, and that’s only because of the movie that came ages ago.  I think I was expecting to see things from Eseult’s perspective, and not Branwen’s.  I still liked seeing things from Branwen’s POV, and it did make for a really interesting re-telling.

Knowing how the movie ended- which I know isn’t a great comparison, but the only one I have- I wasn’t sure how things were going to go.  I was surprised by the ending and the fact that there are going to more books.  We haven’t gotten the full Tristan and Eseult story, of course, and I don’t know how much Perez can drag this story out.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m planning on continuing the series, and I really want to know how it all ends.  I’m just a little hesitant, that’s all.

It didn’t go as in-depth as I would have wanted, and it does have quite a bit of drama in it.  Which is fine, but it didn’t really go too much into the Tristan and Eseult story.  I suppose we’ll see that in the other books.  I hope so anyway.  The book does set things up, and it did a pretty good job of that.  With how the book ended, it really made me wish the next book were out to see what happens next.  Branwen is definitely out for blood.

It’s also really well-researched, and I liked the author’s note at the end of the book.  She talks a lot about the choices she made regarding language and the source material.  You don’t need to be familiar with the story to like the book, but I did like that a lot of research went into the book.  It really showed, and I felt like I was really immersed in Branwen’s world.

I loved the magic in the book, and it felt very real.  It blended into Branwen’s life and world so well, and it made so much sense.  It was easy to understand, and it added something to the book.

4 stars.  Even though I didn’t love Sweet Black Waves, I still really liked it!

Book Review: The Fever King by Victoria Lee

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Book Review: The Fever King by Victoria Lee

Published March 2019 by Skyscape|375 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Feverwake #1

Genre: YA Sci Fi/Dystopia

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

The Fever King is an interesting one!  I’m really glad I read it, and I ended up really liking it!

The setting was really interesting.  It’s a futuristic America that’s been torn apart by a magical virus, and there’s elements of fantasy and sci-fi.  It seems like there’s a lot to explore in Noam’s world, especially since America isn’t the America we know.  At least in terms of geography.  In terms of refuges and immigrants, the world Noam lives in is all too familiar, and very, very real.

I really liked Noam, and he’s such a different character than Dara.  To a certain extent, he’s more trusting of others than Dara.  That surprised me, considering how Noam grew up, but I also don’t blame him.  I feel like I might have done the same thing if I were him.  I do get his decision to stay behind, though.  I mean, no one would ever suspect him, and he definitely seems like the sort of guy who is underestimated.  I can’t wait to read the next book to see how things turn out for him.

I’m not sure how I feel about Dara.  I did feel for him, and it sounds like things weren’t easy for him.  I do get why he acted the way he did, and I did like him a little more by the end of the book than I did when we first met him.

I don’t have anything else to say about The Fever King.  The world is pretty interesting, and I’d love to see more of it.  I really liked how magic was used in this book and I feel like there’s more to it than what we see.  Especially with how everything came about.  I’d love more backstory on that, but I don’t have a lot of hope we’ll see it.  Either way, I hope we get at least a little more with the magic.

4 stars.  I really liked The Fever King, but I didn’t love it.