Tag Archives: Young Adult

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Review: The Deepest Night by Shana Abé

Title: The Deepest Night
Author: Shana Abé
Series: The Sweetest Dark series
Rating: ★★★★

The Sweetest Dark snuck up on me with its uniqueness and how well written it was. The Deepest Night didn’t quite live up to the first novel, but it was still wonderful.

Jesse is gone, he has died and is now a star, watching over Lora. Lora is reaching the end of her first year at the Iverson School and she isn’t sure where she will be going for the summer. Armand is falling in love with her, but after the pain of losing Jesse, she is shut off from those kinds of emotions. Armand changes his home from a large, empty estate into a hospital for the war wounded, volunteering Lora as a nurse to keep her close by for the summer. After being told it is her mission to rescue a captured drákon, she and Armand set out, following the stars’ voices for guidance.

In The Sweetest Dark, the romance between Jesse and Lora is intense and encompassing. It’s Lora’s first taste of love and it leaves an impression in her heart, one that can never be fully repaired. Lora spends parts of The Deepest Night feeling that hole, feeling the loss of Jesse. But she also starts to feel more confused towards Armand, not understanding how she can have that hole and have these feelings towards another.

Armand, for all his cockiness, is amazing in this novel. His confidence and devotion to Lora are apparent from page one. Abé didn’t make him feel wholly threatened by the memory of Jesse, but used it to make him work harder for Lora’s affections. He knows he is the second love, but he makes sure he isn’t second rate. I loved the little moments between them, like when he tries to teach Lora to swim. Those small moments brought a smile to my face.

The plot of this novel once again has to do with the war. Armand hears messages from the stars, telling him that he and Lora must venture into enemy territory and rescue a drákon prisoner of war. They must fly over several countries in order to find him and try not to get gravely injured along the way. They encounter a number of obstacles, but between the two of them, they find a way to keep going. The journey strengthens their relationship and shows Lora what her true feelings are.

The Deepest Night is a fantastic sequel, even if it didn’t quite live up to the magic of the first novel. It is still a page-turner and will keep you reading until late at night. There’s drama, action, and romance all wrapped up in beautiful words.

If The Deepest Night sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Batnam publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles series
Rating: ★★★★

I was extremely surprised when I liked Cinder. A cyborg retelling of Cinderella didn’t sound like my thing. But when I loved it, I figured I had found a series that would be worth sticking through to the end. As a sequel, Scarlet is surprisingly unique. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it could be a stand-alone novel, but it doesn’t rely on Cinder more than it needs to. It has its own story that slowly weaves itself with that of Cinder’s.

Scarlet lives on a farm with her grandmother. They are the only two people there, so when her grandmother vanishes, Scarlet is worried. There are too many signs that her grandmother did not go willingly and Scarlet is determined to find her. That’s when Wolf enters her plan. As her only possible link to her grandmother, she must rely on him to reach her grandmother in time.

Scarlet and Wolf aren’t my favorite relationship. Yet, anyway. There’s something that just feels a little forced and not quite right. I believe in the attraction they feel for each other, but that’s about it. I’m really hoping Meyer expands on this relationship as much as possible in the upcoming novels.

We can’t forget about Cinder, though. She’s been captured and put in prison, held until the Lunar queen is ready to get rid of her. Cinder doesn’t wait around for that moment and breaks out. She has questions and she is going to find the people that have the answers.

Scarlet sets a fast pace, but it’s easy to follow along. The jumping perspectives didn’t bother me at all, even though I know some people don’t enjoy that. It works for this book. Aside from Scarlet and Wolf’s relationship, there wasn’t much that I didn’t completely love about this novel. I’m looking forward to reading what comes next.

If Scarlet sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Elegy by Tara Hudson

Title: Elegy
Author: Tara Hudson
Series: Hereafter series
Rating: ★★★★★

This is one of the most bittersweet novels I’ve read in a while. I knew what was coming, but that didn’t stop tears from welling up in my eyes. I stayed awake until 3am to finish reading this book. I couldn’t put it down.

On one side stand the evil forces that will not stop until they have Amelia under their control. They give her an ultimatum…she must give herself over to them, or they will kill someone she cares about every week until she gives in. On the other side, the forces of good offer her the chance to join them and save souls. The one thing both sides have in common is Amelia won’t be able to see Joshua again.

The relationship between Amelia and Joshua was heart-achingly beautiful. The love between them is so obvious, it’s practically a visible tie between them. Their love makes them stronger as individuals. They don’t try to stop each other from making the choices they need to make. Their relationship is what good, healthy, amazing relationships should be.
The secondary characters play a huge role in this novel. They are there for support and make Amelia stronger, more ready to face her personal demons. She trusts them to be there for her when she needs them most and they are there. Amelia gives back as well, being a friend to Jillian and creating friendships that will leave a lasting impression.

I could see how the novel would end from early on. Hudson doesn’t take the easy way out, that’s for sure. I spent most of the novel getting ready for the end, savoring each word on the page, not wanting to miss anything. Without giving away too much, the ending is not that of a fairy tale, but it’s what the series deserved.

Elegy is a touching, bittersweet, heartbreaking, make-your-heart-soar book that ends the Hereafter series in the way it deserved. It brought tears to my eyes, but the good kind. To put it simply, Elegy is beautiful.

If Elegy sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Rise by Anna Carey

Title: Rise
Author: Anna Carey
Series: Eve series
Rating: ★★★★

Eve and Once set up a world that was going to crumble before things could change. Rise is that crumbling.

Eve is married to Charles, unhappy and anxious. She is silently working for the rebels from within the castle. The death of Caleb strengthened her resolve and she’s not going to let anything stand in her way.

I didn’t mind Charles. He wasn’t a villain, but he wasn’t a grand hero either. He played his part well and it was obvious that he cared for her in some capacity. I wish Eve had given him the chance to be friends that they deserved.

Eve takes action in this novel. She’s one the move and has to make decisions quickly, thinking through the outcomes as far as she can, but still not knowing entirely if she’s right. There are some deaths in this novel and each one hit hard. Eve’s ability to keep moving even though everything around her seems to be stopping is something I admire.

The supporting characters play an important role in this book. Characters that hadn’t been involved much become key players and without them, Eve would have failed at some of things she needed to do. Without getting into spoilers, there are a few scenes that would have ended the book if Eve did not have support. I’m glad Carey made it a team effort at times. One individual cannot do everything alone, but with help and support, anything is possible.

Rise is the third series finale I’ve read in a row. Like Requiem the ending is left open, but it works. There’s enough of an ending that I feel closure. I don’t know where the characters will end up, but Rise still felt wonderful. I’m glad the Eve series ended the way it did.

If Eve sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Goddess by Josephine Angelini

Title: Goddess
Author: Josephine Angelini
Series: Starcrossed series
Rating: ★★★★★

I held off from reading anything about Goddess before reading the book itself. I loved Starcrossed and Dreamless so much that I didn’t want to have anything spoiled for Goddess, whether it was plot points or swayed feelings. I knew absolutely nothing going into reading this final book.

I loved it. It was the perfect way to end this series. Everything isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough. People are happy, but the future is still unknown. That is how an ending to a series like this should be.

Helen has gone through a lot for her family and friends. She’s faced down evils and traveled into Hades. She’s spent two books learning about herself and the world of gods and now it’s time to put all her knowledge to use. She has to be ready mentally and physically, and I liked that about the book. It doesn’t focus on needing to be the strongest or the smartest, but finding the best balance between the two. Helen has to figure out which battles to fight and which to outsmart.

Lucas and Orion. Angelini made me love them both. I felt just as torn as Helen when it comes to these two men. There is nothing that sets one far above the other, but I knew through all three books which way I wanted Helen to go. I think what made me happiest, though, was Angelini didn’t leave it up to fate. She didn’t make it seem as though Helen had to end up with one because the fates made it so. Helen listened to what her heart and mind was saying and made her choice that way, not letting fate decide for her.

The entire Starcrossed series has been amazing to read. Angelini created a fantastic world revolving around the Greek gods and goddesses that felt as though it fit in perfectly to the real world. I’ve fallen in love with these characters and am sad to see the end of their story, but I look forward to rereading in the future and falling in love all over again.

If Goddess sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Title: Requiem
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium
Rating: ★★★

So for months, I had been hearing about the lackluster ending Requiem had. I prepared myself for disappointment and was ready to face this questionable ending. I kept reading, waiting for that moment to hit me, where everything I had heard and read came true. And it never came. Requiem is not my favorite series ending book, but it definitely wasn’t what I had been expecting.

Lena has made it through so much to be free. She wants the freedom to choose who she loves. Even though she knows that it’s wrong to take people’s ability to love away, there are moments in Requiem where she questions her life choices. She feels what love is doing to her and even though she welcomes it, there are times she thinks about what it would have been like to never worry about love. I’m glad Oliver made Lena question herself. Even though Lena knows what she’s fighting for is right, those moments when she looks at the other side make her more human. Those moments make her strength and resolve stronger.

Lena has Alex and Julian with her as she travels with her group of rebels. Lena feels something for both of them, but it doesn’t feel like a love triangle. It’s not overdone or drawn out. Alex has his merits, as does Julian. They each have their moments of strength, when I was rooting for each of them to get the girl. They each had their moments of weakness as well, when I just wanted to shake some sense into them.

As for the ending, I’ve already said I don’t mind if there are loose ends left over, as long as everything major has been handled. As long as I feel that sense of closure, I can find peace with an ending. I had been expecting a much more abrupt, out of the blue, full of loose ends ending. Yes, things are left up in the air, but I don’t think it was nearly as bad as I had been led to believe. There are still questions and everything isn’t tied up in a pretty little bow, but it was easy to see where things were headed. I don’t need to see everything else that happened. Oliver wrote enough of the ending to have it feel like closure while still leaving it a little bit open. My mind can wander and fill in the gaps without stepping on any other parts of the story.

I’m sure there are a lot of people who won’t be satisfied with how Requiem ends and I can understand that. But for me, enough was tied up that I can feel piece with the ending. I’m not going to say it was my favorite series, or my favorite ending, but it was good enough. I feel content without knowing the rest of their story. It’s a testament to Oliver’s writing that even though she has left the ending open, I don’t need more. The entire Delirium series was a fascinating look into the future where love is a disease and those who are lucky enough to find love have something to fight for.

If Requiem sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Live Through This by Mindi Scott

Title: Live Through This
Author: Mindi Scott
Rating: ★★★

I don’t mind when all the loose ties aren’t wrapped up at the end of a novel. Not everything can be explained or taken care of. I do need the big loose ends to have some sort of conclusion though. I was enjoying Live Through This right up until the very end.

Coley has what looks to be the perfect life. Her family is a bit loud, and they get on each other’s nerves sometimes, but they look happy. She’s on the dance team and is great at it. She’s got the perfect friends-to-more relationship that people envy.

What people don’t see is how messed up her home life is, how her best friend no longer speaks to her, her dance team is filled with tension, and she has no idea how to try and take control as her life spins out from under her.

Coley and Reece started as friends, and as they start a more romantic relationship, the other strings of her life start to unwind. She doesn’t know how to keep Reece and deal with what’s wrong in her life.

The pace of the novel is quite fast, but it works. Scott starts the novel right away and doesn’t make you guess what’s going to happen. She dealt with an extremely tough subject delicately, but she didn’t gloss over things. She laid it all out there and that’s why the ending felt off to me.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, but the ending felt too abrupt and left a few too many things in the air for my taste. I don’t mind using my own imagination to come up with how the story continues, but there was too much left unanswered for me with this ending. Just a little bit more, covering the conversation she was about to have, would have felt like a better fitting ending.

Live Through This is a mature novel that handles the topic of sexual abuse as best as a book can. I didn’t feel as connected with the characters as I would have liked, and the ending didn’t feel like quite enough, but it is still a good book.

If Live Through This sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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IndieBound

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Review: One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker

Title: One Tiny Lie
Author: K.A. Tucker
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths series
Rating: ★★★★★

I read One Tiny Lie while in the hospital and hooked up to a heart monitor. Normally, reading in the hospital is one of the most peaceful, uninterrupted times I get to read. However, when the five electrodes monitoring my heart’s activity send constant updates to my nurse as I read (making her come check on me frequently), my time is not so uninterrupted. Each time my nurse stuck her head in the room and asked for the reason my heart was racing, I shyly held up my book and just said “good part.”

One Tiny Lie is not an extremely long book. So it says something that my nurse was making near constant stops by. The entirety of this book was so good, it literally had my heart acting up.

Livie is the normal one of the two Cleary sisters. She hasn’t had a mental breakdown, she’s done well in school, and she’s stayed focused on her dreams and ambitions. She’s starting at Princeton, looking ahead to being pre-med and saving children. Everything she does is to live up to the promise she made to her father. “Make me proud.” She’s never deviated from the path she knows he’d be proud of.

Once she’s in college, though, she starts actually living life. She has fun with her roommate, goes to parties, and starts getting interested in boys. There’s Conner, the guy she know her dad would be proud of. And then there’s Ashton, they guy who frustrates her and pushes her buttons a little too much.

Not only are their guy troubles, but college isn’t what she expected. She’s not acing every test. Volunteering at the children’s hospital has her unsure if she could really be a pediatric oncologist. And she’s no longer sure if she’s still keeping her promise to her father.

Something that I really connected with was Livie struggling with college. The first time I tried college, I fell apart. Not for the same reasons as Livie, but I started questioning myself and my life path. I had been so sure for years of what I wanted to do, but circumstances had me questioning that. In my desire to not let my parents down, I tried as hard as I could to make it work. I understood Livie as her future started to fall apart in front of her. I know the feelings she was having. I know how much it hurts to feel as though you are failing to live up to the promises you make your parents.

Ten Tiny Breaths moved me because of how much Kacey had to go through in order to find herself. She didn’t have a starting point and had to build herself up. One Tiny Lie had an even bigger impact on me because it wasn’t only about finding who you are. It’s about coming to realize that what you think you are doesn’t have to be the truth, but not knowing where to go. That confusion in losing yourself after years of thinking you know what you’re doing is such an important thing to talk about. Just because you don’t live up to the original idea doesn’t mean you aren’t living up to yourself.

One Tiny Lie is a fantastic book that is a definite must read.

If One Tiny Lie sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Audible
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Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Dance of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Title: Dance of the Red Death
Author: Bethany Griffin
Series: Masque of the Red Death
Rating: ★★★★

I’ve been waiting a while for Dance of the Red Death, so when I was given an early copy, I was ecstatic to start reading. The dark tones of Masque of the Red Death were different that the other books I had read before and I found I really enjoyed it. Dance of the Red Death has those same dark tones, but sprinkled in with a little bit of hope.

Dance of the Red Death picks up right at the end of Masque of the Red Death. They are on the airship, trying to escape the city as it falls into chaos. April has been infected with the contagion, Araby’s got a horrible shoulder wound, and the tension between the conflicting parties is thick enough to feel choking. Araby has agreed to be with Elliot in order to give him a better appearance, but things are getting confusing between them. On top of that, Araby isn’t sure what her feelings toward Will are and she doesn’t know what to do about their relationship.

Araby is a strong character. She doesn’t let things stand in her way and finds creative ways to get around obstacles. She’s not self-sacrificing in the superficial way a lot of heroines in today’s Young Adult books are. She thinks her choices through and figures out which option is best for her and everyone involved. She knows how to be a part of a team and that sometimes strength is in numbers.

Elliot and Will are two very differing boys. Will takes a bit of a quiet, more backseat role for part of this book, and I think that works well for his and Araby’s relationship. He knows and understands that Araby doesn’t quite trust him anymore after what he did, and he knows that beyond apologizing, the only thing the can do is prove to her through actions that he is there for her. Elliot is the leader, he wants to take control of the city and fix it. At times, it was hard to know if he really cared for Araby or if he only liked the contentedness she brought with her. I enjoyed how this love triangle played out. This is how they should be done; each boy with his own merits, but not openly competing like children.

The actual story was fantastic as well. The contagion is spreading, but so is the new disease called the Red Death. Araby and company know they must do something to try and heal the city, and they know that means getting rid of Prince Prospero and cleaning the city’s water. Prospero won’t go down without a fight, and without any idea of if the water filtration system is even real, Araby and company are fighting against the odds.

Dance of the Red Death is a stunning conclusion to Griffin’s reworking of Edgar Allen Poe’s Masque of the Red Death that left me feeling happy and hopeful. It is a bit of a darker toned book, but don’t let that stop you from reading the series. It’s imaginative and fantastic and well worth a read.

If you think Dance of the Red Death is your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

Thank you to Edelweiss and Greenwillow Books for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: If I Should Die by Amy Plum

Title: If I Should Die
Author: Amy Plum
Series: Revenants series
Rating: ★★★★★

I have loved this series from the beginning. There was something so perfectly romantic about it that had me falling in love hard from the very first pages.

It’s not the most beautifully written novel, nor is the world the most inventive. But there is something about Kate and Vincent that doesn’t need the pretty words in order to weave a romantic and amazing tale. Plum made me fall in love just by writing a fantastic love story.

Vincent has just been lost; his body burned, but his soul still on Earth. Kate fears all is lost, that once again, she has lost someone she loves more than anyone else in the world. Her parents’ death brought her Vincent, but she can’t see what will come for her now.

I don’t want to give too many spoilers because this is a book you don’t want to have spoiled. You want to read every page and want to know what is coming next. Experiencing the highs and lows of this novel was just an added bonus to the wonderful journey I went on.

The other revenants play a major role in this novel. There are twists that I didn’t see coming that made my gut twist and my heart clench up. I didn’t want to stop reading. I needed to know what was coming next and how the story would end.

If I Should Die is one of my favorite endings to a series. I’m sad to see it ending, but while I wish I could keep reading about Kate and Vincent, it ended the story perfectly. Loose ends were tied up, my heart is happy, and I’m still in love.

The Revenants series is a must read for anyone who wants to be swept up in a timeless romance set in one of the most romantic cities in the world. Be prepared to fall in love from the beginning and only have that love grow as the series concludes.

If If I Should Die sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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