Title: Prophecy
Author: Ellen Oh
Series: The Dragon King Chronicles
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: January 2, 2013
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 out of 5) Continue reading
Category Archives: Something a Little Different
Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta
Title: Froi of the Exiles
Author: Melina Marchetta
Series: Lumatere Chronicles
Publisher: Candlewick
Published: March 13, 2012
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5) Continue reading
Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta
Title: Froi of the Exiles
Author: Melina Marchetta
Series: Lumatere Chronicles
Publisher: Candlewick
Published: March 13, 2012
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5) Continue reading
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
Title: Finnikin of the Rock
Author: Melina Marchetta
Series: Lumatere Chronicles
Publisher: Candlewick
Published: September 29, 2008
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5)
Review: The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
Title: The Orphan Queen
Author: Jodi Meadows
Series: Orphan Queen Duology
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Published: March 10, 2015
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5 out of 5)
Book Review: A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd
Title: A Cold Legacy
Author: Megan Shepherd
Series: Madman’s Daughter trilogy
Rating: ★★★★
I didn’t realize how much I liked dark retellings until this series. The Madman’s Daughter was not a book I would have usually picked up. And then I loved it and had to read Her Dark Curiosity. And then I was even more in love and couldn’t wait to read A Cold Legacy.
Juliet is engaged to Montgomery. She’s finally admitted that while she cares for Edward and the Beast, she truly loves Montgomery. She’s also a little horrified by the actions she took at the end of Her Dark Curiosity. She’s afraid she’s turning into a madwoman, taking after her father. She doesn’t want to go down that road, but she feels a pull towards it anyway.
Juliet, Montgomery, Edward, and Lucy travel to Ballentyne to escape from police after the events of Her Dark Curiosity. There, they find a new mix of people and questions. Juliet discovers a secret that would push her beyond her father’s legacy and she must decide what her road will be.
I don’t want to say too much about the plot, as I think everything is best discovered as you read, but I will say I could not put the story down. I read page after page, and didn’t even want to stop to sleep. The Scottish moors location provides the perfect backdrop for the dark tale. I only really had one issue with the book, and it happens at the end of the story. I felt like a storyline was left just a little too open and unresolved.
I am happy Juliet decided to be with Montgomery. Even if she can’t see it, when she chooses Montgomery, she also choses the kind of scientist she wants to be. Edward and the Beast represent the mad desire she wants to run from so badly, and Montgomery represents the other curious, but respectful side. I think, in making her choice between the two, she unknowing decides the type of scientist she will be. She might question herself and keep secrets, but I just think she doesn’t really understand herself until the very end.
My only issue with the book is how much emphasis is put on which parent she will take after. It was a little frustrating to read, over and over, how Juliet didn’t want to end up like her father, but she also didn’t want to end up like her mother. It seemed like Juliet, as well as her friends, never really voiced the opinion that Juliet is Juliet; she doesn’t have to end up like either of her parents. Just because she was their daughter does not mean those are the only two paths she has.
A Cold Legacy was an almost perfect end to a wonderful series. I would still recommend it, though. It’s definitely not a book series for everyone, as it’s dark and a little gruesome at times, but it still is completely fantastic. If you’re up for a little darkness, the entire Madman’s Daughter series is perfect.
If you’d like to read A Cold Legacy, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
Book Review: Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd
Title: Her Dark Curiosity
Author: Megan Shepherd
Series: The Madman’s Daughter trilogy
Rating: ★★★★
I really enjoyed The Madman’s Daughter and was anxious to read Her Dark Curiosity. I became even more anxious when I read it was inspired by The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
There are certainly issues with this novel. Juliet definitely made some stupid decisions. There’s a love triangle and some people just aren’t fans. But those issues never took me out of the novel. Shepherd explains them, or they play such a big part of the story that they make complete sense.
Take Juliet, for example, and some of her more unintelligent decisions. She feels compassion for the Beast and Edward. She trusts him when she probably shouldn’t. She keeps secrets when she shouldn’t. But each time she does one of these things, it makes sense. She herself isn’t completely human, so she understands Edward and the Beast in a way. She questions whether she can truly be at peace with what she is if she treat someone else created is a negative way. She knows and recognizes how mad her father had gotten, and she knows how far she fell after he was cast out. She fears that admitting she has the same curiosity means she will end up like her father, and telling people those secrets scares her.
I get it. I understand why Juliet sometimes comes off as making bad choices. She makes stupid decisions, but I can understand the reasoning behind them.
As for the love triangle, I never really felt like it was done to make people love one person and hate the other. The two interests mirror Juliet’s feelings about herself. There’s Edward and the Beast on one side, playing to Juliet’s fear of her father and her own madness. On the other side is Montgomery, showing Juliet that science doesn’t have to mean madness. I thought it was really well done.
Her Dark Curiosity continues the amazing journey The Madman’s Daughter started. It makes you think about what makes people good and evil. It’s fantastic in its descriptions and story. Like its predecessor, it’s dark, but wonderfully so. I am loving this series.
If you’d like to read Her Dark Curiosity, you can purchase it here:
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Book Review: Willowgrove by Kathleen Peacock
Title: Willowgrove
Author: Kathleen Peacock
Series: Hemlock trilogy
Rating: ★★★★
I have really enjoyed reading the Hemlock series, and Willowgrove is no exception. After escaping Thornhill, Mac and her friends know there’s a target on their backs. They learned secrets they weren’t supposed to know and got away from the camp. But they’re left with more questions, and Willowgrove sets out to answer them.
Mac has been seeing her best friend Amy’s ghost in her dreams. Mac knows she’s missing something in the larger picture, something that might help her werewolf friends. But any knowledge hovers at the edge of her mind, and disappears when she tries to focus on it too hard. When she does finally uncover the secret, she’s shocked and knows she and her friends will have to do something big to change the perception of werewolves.
I like Mac. I do. She’s sweet with Kyle, and it’s clear she loves him. She loves him enough to want him to stay with her, but understands why he feels the pull to leave and join a pack. She cares deeply for all her friends, knowing that a virus is not who they are. Mac understands the fear werewolves instill in people, but she knows the affected are so much more than a virus. She wants to change how the world views those affected.
I love the relationships in this book. It’s clear that the little group is there for each other and is going to fight to keep it that way. There are a lot of twists and turns in this book, and I like that through it all, Mac has a few friends to travel the road with.
Everything about this novel is well rounded, from the characters to the plot line. I certainly didn’t expect the book to end up where it did, but everything made complete sense. As each little piece of the puzzle was revealed, it was amazing to see how quickly everything else started to fall into place.
Peacock created a fantastic world where werewolves and humans exist, and not once did the series ever feel like it was out of place in this world. Mac and her life are so wonderfully written that Lupine syndrome feels like it could easily be a true syndrome. I applaud Peacock for taking what could have ended up as a cheesy love story and turning it into the action packed, drama filled, romance story it is.
If you’d like to read Willowgrove, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Edelweiss and Katherine Tegen Books for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
Book Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
Title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle
Rating: ★★★★★
I’ll be honest. I went into this book thinking it couldn’t live up to the last two books. Not because I don’t think Stiefvater can’t write well, but because I couldn’t see how the story could possibly get any deeper than it already was. The last two books were so good that I didn’t think there was much room left to develop the story. And I was completely wrong. Thankfully.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue starts right where The Dream Thieves left off. Blue’s mother has gone missing and everyone is about to start school again. Gansey is devoted to finding Glendower. Adam has promised himself to Cabeswater and is feeling the weight of his promise. Rowan is trying to bring his dream world and the real world together. Blue is experiencing what true friendship is as she falls even more for Gansey.
Each of these characters has a piece of my heart. They each have their struggles, but they are really showing how true and strong their friendship is. They are there for each other, not out of obligation, but because that is what friends do. The little moments between Blue and Gansey are slowly cracking my heart. Each time they have a moment alone, the emotions are right there, nearly punching me in the gut.
I don’t want to talk about the plot of the story too much, since I think this novel is best experienced without and preconceptions. I will say that new characters are introduced, new complications arise concerning Glendower, and the world of the Raven Boys becomes even more clouded and wonderful.
I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. It had a little of everything I wanted. Characters are continuing to develop, as are their relationships with one another. There never feels like there’s a slowing of the pace and I was anxious with every page turn. I’m in love with this series and can’t wait to see how everything finally comes to an end.
If you’d like to read Blue Lily, Lily Blue, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
Book Review: Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little
Title: Forbidden
Author: Kimberley Griffiths Little
Series: Forbidden series
Rating: ★★★
Forbidden is different from any other book I’ve read before, in that it takes place in ancient Mesopotamia and revolves around the life of a tribal girl. It’s historical fiction, but not my usual type of historical fiction. I thought the idea behind it was incredibly interesting and could create the backdrop to a beautiful novel.
Jayden is about to go through the betrothal ceremony that will bind her to Horeb, the son of the tribal leader. Jayden cared for Horeb at one time, but he has changed and she no longer feels the same affection for him. She fears for what her life will become once they are married. When she comes upon a wounded stranger named Kadesh, she starts to question her feelings about the tribe and where her place truly is. Horeb is her betrothed, but Kadesh warms her heart.
I liked Jayden. I didn’t really feel connected to her until later in the novel, but it’s clear that she loves her family and always wants to do what is best for them. She understands that to make life better for her family, it is a part of herself that will be sacrificed. She had come to terms with that until Kadesh came along. She also knows that to be a woman in to be in danger, and she takes steps to ready herself for whatever comes her way.
The plotline was interesting and engaged me enough that I wanted to keep reading. The focus on dancing is interesting, although I tended to glance over those pieces after a while. I liked the emotions Little wrote about during the dances, but the details of the dances didn’t work for me. The only other issue I had with the book was with the pacing of the story. A few times it felt like time was dragging on. I’d start to skim until I read about something new happening.
Forbidden wasn’t as great as I’d hoped it would be, but it was still a good book. The ending made my breath catch and I’m definitely going to read the next book.
If you’d like to read Forbidden, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
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