Book: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Book Info: Published by Dial; 563 pages; hardcover; borrowed from the libraryl check it out at: Goodreads~Amazon~Barnes and Noble

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Goodreads.com Summary: Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

I really liked Bitterblue!  In fact, Bitterblue is my favorite in the series.

I loved seeing Bitterblue try to break the spell that her father had over Monsea, and how little she knew about her kingdom and then go on to learning more about it.  I liked the connections to the other 2 books in the series; I also liked the new characters that were introduced.

I liked seeing bits and pieces of Leck’s reign, and his hold on people.  He is crazy evil, but I think Bitterblue will lead her kingdom well, and help them get past his reign of terror.

I think Bitterblue is an interesting character, and I understand her confusion about what’s going on and her need to figure it out.  She does have a sense of duty to her people and learns who she can and cannot trust.

It was a bit long for me, but it also wasn’t a surprise, given the length of both Graceling and Fire.  It also jumped around a little, and things felt very jumbled/mixed up.  I get Bitterblue doesn’t know what’s going on, and so we learn and see things as she does, but at the same time, I think it could have been a little more clear.

Overall, I think it gets a 4 out of 5.  I enjoyed it, and I liked the artwork throughout the book.  But I also think it could have used some work.  It’s still a good addition to the series.

Book: 1776 by David McCullough

Book Info: Published by Simon and Schuster; 400 pages; hardcover; borrowed from the library; Check it out at Goodreads or Amazon

Genre: Non-fiction; American History- The American Revolution

Goodreads.com Summary: In this stirring book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence–when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.

Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, noaccounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.

Here also is the Revolution as experienced by American Loyalists, Hessian mercenaries, politicians, preachers, traitors, spies, men and women of all kinds caught in the paths of war

At the center of the drama, with Washington, are two young American patriots, who, at first, knew no more of war than what they had read in books–Nathanael Greene, a Quaker who was made general at thirty-three, and Henry Knox, a twenty-five-year-old bookseller who had the preposterous idea of hauling the guns of Fort Ticonderoga overland to Boston in the dead of winter.

But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost–Washington, who had never before led an army in battle.

The book begins in London on October 26, 1775, when His Majesty King George III went before Parliament to declare America in rebellion and to affirm his resolve to crush it. From there the story moves to the Siege of Boston and its astonishing outcome, then to New York, where British ships and British troops appear in numbers never imagined and the newly proclaimed Continental Army confronts the enemy for the first time. David McCullough’s vivid rendering for the Battle of Brooklyn and the daring American escape that followed is a part of the book few readers will ever forget.

As the crucial weeks pass, defeat follows defeat, and in the long retreat across New Jersey, all hope seems gone, until Washington launches the “brilliant stroke” that will change history.

The darkest hours of that tumultuous year were as dark as any Americans have known. Especially in our own tumultuous time, 1776 is powerful testimony to how much is owed to a rare few in that brave founding epoch, and what a miracle it was that things turned out as they did.

Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough’s 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history.

I finally finished it!  It felt like it took me forever to finish it, but maybe that’s just because it’s been sitting in my room for 6 weeks.

Here’s what I liked: there’s a lot of detail, and McCullough has a knack for making the small details readable.  He seems to be really good at making sure that he’s impartial, and he also seems to be good at researching things.  I learned a lot from it.  I didn’t know that the Hessians fought in the American Revolution (on the British side), and I didn’t know that things were based in New York.  I really liked that it focused on 1776, which is a pretty important year in American history.

What I Didn’t Like: As detailed, well-researched, and readable his books are, I just can’t get into his books.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the way he writes, but there’s something so…boring and dry about it too.  It’s somehow manages to be boring and readable, all at the same time.

My rating would be a 3 out of 5.  I liked it, but I’m not sure if his books are my cup of tea.

Book: Grave Mercy by Robin LeFevers

Book Info: Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 528 pages; purchased for my Nook

Goodreads.com Summary: Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Book: Luminous by Dawn Metcalf

Book Info: Published by Penguin Group; 304 pages; purchased for my Nook

Goodreads.com Summary: As reality slips and time stands still, Consuela finds herself thrust into the world of the Flow. Removed from all she loves into this shifting world overlapping our own, Consuela quickly discovers she has the power to step out of her earthly skin and cloak herself in new ones-skins made from the world around her, crafted from water, fire, air. She is joined by other teens with extraordinary abilities, bound together to safeguard a world they can affect, but where they no longer belong.

When murder threatens to undo the Flow, the Watcher charges Consuela and elusive, attractive V to stop the killer. But the psychopath who threatens her new world may also hold the only key to Consuela’s way home.

This is such a strange book, and I get why reviews seem to be so divided.

There is something very lyrical and beautiful about Metcalf’s writing.  And I can honestly say that I haven’t seen anything like this novel before.  I finished it a few days ago, and I can’t get it out of my head.  It makes you think about your place in the world, and the consequences that our actions have.

But the Flow and the people who live there seemed very distant.  I felt like they were just there, and the Flow seemed like a very confusing place.  It could have been described better, I think.  I didn’t really get a good sense of who anyone was or where she wanted it to go.  As unique as it is, I felt like Metcalf could have done more with it, because I felt like I was on the outside, looking in.

But I still enjoyed it, and thought that it was very creative.  I give it a 3 out of 5.

Book: Endure by Carrie Jones

Book Info: Published by Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books; 272 pages; purchased for my Nook

Goodreads Summary: It’s all-out war (and no-holds-barred romance) in the climactic conclusion to Carrie Jones’s bestselling series. Zara is at the center of an impending apocalypse. True, she’s successfully rescued Nick from Valhalla, but it simply isn’t enough. Evil pixies are ravaging Bedford, and they need much more than one great warrior; they need an army. Zara isn’t sure what her role is anymore. She’s not just fighting for her friends; she’s also a pixie queen. And to align her team of pixies with the humans she loves will be one of her greatest battles yet. Especially since she can’t even reconcile her growing feelings for her pixie king . . . Unexpected turns, surprising revelations, and one utterly satisfying romantic finale make Endure a thrilling end to this series of bestsellers.

The end of the Need series by Carrie Jones has arrived with Endure.  I think this is my favorite book in the series, and what could be more interesting than an apocalypse involving pixies?

I wasn’t sure about Astley, but in this book, I really liked him.  I honestly had no clue who Zara would end up with, but I’m glad it’s Astley.  They do go well together, and I was surprised but not surprised, all at the same time.

I thought everything was wrapped up nicely, and it didn’t feel rushed at all.  It was great to see how much the characters changed from Need to Endure, especially Zara.  She went from reciting phobias, to leading an army, and really found out what she could do.

What’s interesting about this series, especially in comparison to a lot of other series I’ve read, is that you get recaps throughout the book about what’s happened before.  I like the lists Zara has throughout the book about what we know and don’t know.  I also love that we learn more about Norse mythology in the book, and I definitely want to learn more about it.

I think the only thing I didn’t like was Nick.  I thought he was a jerk, and it’s sad, because I did start out really liking him.

Overall, it gets a 4 out of 5.  It was a really good ending, and there’s a lot of action in it.

Book: The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir

Book Info: Published by Ballantine Books; 473 pages; hardcover; from the library

Goodreads Summary: Following the tremendous success of her first novel, Innocent Traitor, which recounted the riveting tale of the doomed Lady Jane Grey, acclaimed historian and New York Times bestselling author Alison Weir turns her masterly storytelling skills to the early life of young Elizabeth Tudor, who would grow up to become England’s most intriguing and powerful queen.

Even at age two, Elizabeth is keenly aware that people in the court of her father, King Henry VIII, have stopped referring to her as “Lady Princess” and now call her “the Lady Elizabeth.” Before she is three, she learns of the tragic fate that has befallen her mother, the enigmatic and seductive Anne Boleyn, and that she herself has been declared illegitimate, an injustice that will haunt her. 

What comes next is a succession of stepmothers, bringing with them glimpses of love, fleeting security, tempestuous conflict, and tragedy. The death of her father puts the teenage Elizabeth in greater peril, leaving her at the mercy of ambitious and unscrupulous men. Like her mother two decades earlier she is imprisoned in the Tower of London–and fears she will also meet her mother’s grisly end. Power-driven politics, private scandal and public gossip, a disputed succession, and the grievous example of her sister, “Bloody” Queen Mary, all cement Elizabeth’s resolve in matters of statecraft and love, and set the stage for her transformation into the iconic Virgin Queen. 

Alison Weir uses her deft talents as historian and novelist to exquisitely and suspensefully play out the conflicts between family, politics, religion, and conscience that came to define an age. Sweeping in scope, The Lady Elizabeth is a fascinating portrayal of a woman far ahead of her time–an orphaned girl haunted by the shadow of the axe, an independent spirit who must use her cunning and wits for her very survival, and a future queen whose dangerous and dramatic path to the throne shapes her future greatness.

I really liked this book.  I’m a big fan of Alison Weir, and I thought it would be nice to read it after reading Innocent Traitor.

It felt a lot more historical accurate than some of the other historical fiction books out there.  This is most likely due to the fact that she’s well-known for her books on Tudor history, and while I’m not going to nit-pick about how historically accurate a book is (or isn’t), it was nice knowing that Weir’s book would be well-researched.  It’s definitely full of details that made everything come to life.

It was an enjoyable read, and nice to read about Elizabeth’s life from a young age, until she becomes queen.  You really get her innermost thoughts and her struggles with the different people and events going on around her.  I liked seeing her relationship with Mary, and how much Mary struggled with how to deal with Elizabeth.

I give it a 4 out of 5.  I really liked reading it, and there were times I almost forgot I was reading fiction.

Book: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Book Info: Published by HarperTeen; 314 pages; read on my Nook

Goodreads Summary: One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Here’s the thing.  I really liked Insurgent.  It was action-packed and Roth did a pretty good job of moving things along.

But.

There are still some things that are slightly confusing.  Like, how are they not at civil war?  With the way Divergent ended, you’d think they’d all be fighting amongst themselves.  But instead everyone is refusing to fight.  Seriously?  All of a sudden, no one wants to fight?  What on earth is that?

I’m still not sure what why being Divergent is so special.  It seemed like it was this rare thing in Divergent, but then we find out that there are a lot of Divergent amongst the factionless population.  And then we find out that Tris is rare among the Divergent because she leans towards 3 factions, instead of the standard 2 factions.  The factionless seemed like such a small population in Divergent, and all of a sudden, they’re a lot bigger?

I sense a lot of inconsistency.  She built up this entire world in Divergent, and pretty much ignored the “rules” of that world.  The ending was infuriating, because she wrote this really interesting world, only to have it be an experiment?  I thought that was really lame, and the “it was all a dream” ending is not acceptable.  It’s just not.  Seriously, what the point of creating this world, only to ignore and have it be an experiment?

I’ll still read the next book, because I really want to see how Roth explains the cliffhanger at the end.  I’m hoping Tris and Four work themselves out, because I just didn’t like Four in this book.  Tris was reckless and completely unlike the girl we met in Divergent, but I can understand her change in behavior.  I get that Four was abused, and it was horrible for him, but it got really tired by the end of the book.

That being said, I still really enjoyed, especially if I look over the inconsistencies.  Roth writes action scenes very well, and it was nice to see where the other factions are headquartered and what the people in each faction are like.

I give it a 4 out of 5.  I really liked it but there were some annoying inconsistencies.