The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one. 

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will. 

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do. (from Goodreads)

This book was amazing. It was a historical fiction/fantasy, which you don't see a lot of in YA, and it was one that was well done. Really well done. It's the kind of well done that makes me give the whole paranormal contingent the stink eye. 

All YA paranormal writers of today should read this book and take a lesson from it. And I'm being serious. Because she got the one thing that so many writers today forget. As Gail Carson Levine put it, 'it takes a mean author to write a good book.'  And Rae Carson understands that. She has enough confidence in her MC and in her plot to make bad things happen. Laugh at me all you want for ranting about this, but it's true. The Hunger Games wouldn't be so popular if all that happened was Katniss sitting around, watching Prim die in the arena and hunting with Gale in the woods. I'll say it again: bad things make a good plot. That aside, there were so many other great aspects of this book.

Elisa herself was probably my favorite part of this book. First off, kudos to Carson for going a non-cliche route - she has dark skin in a kingdom of mostly fair-skinned people, and she's fat. Not your usual I'm-going-to-say-I'm-not-pretty-even-though-I-am-just-to-make-me-seem-humble main character. It's clear here that Carson has enough confidence in herself and her writing to get away from cliches and all that. It's also clear that I'm going to read her future books.

The whole Godstone mythology was pretty interesting, and even though it dragged down the plot at times, I liked it. The only thing that bothered me a little bit was the fact that Elisa wondered how her enemies could worship the same god she did, as though they were too unclean and savage for that. Most religions, at least the ones of today, want more people to worship with them, not the other way around.

The secondary characters were just as developed as Elisa herself, but very few fell into stereotypes. There were characters that turned around and surprised me, characters that grabbed my heart instantly, and characters that made me ache for them to turn around and undo their mistakes. There was such a diverse cast of characters, and I think that's what sets this book apart from its counterparts.

Will I be reading The Crown of Embers? OH HELL YEAH. 

Waiting on Wednesday (5)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My WoW this week is...

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny. 

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy. (from Goodreads)

I just finished The Girl of Fire and Thorns, which is a great book. Epic. And this blurb looks tantalizing and the cover is beautiful, so...why does September have to be so far away?

The Gathering Storm

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart? (From Goodreads)

This book was really, really good. There were so many different aspects that I loved about it, and I'm definitely going to read the second book in the trilogy. 

First off, the setting. RUSSIA. I think this was the first book I've read that's set in Russia. And what was even better was the fact that the setting actually had something to do with the plot; Bridges weaved in stories about the tsar. So there were the balls and parties and stuff, but there were also the creepy parts in the woods and stuff. And I liked the fact that Russia's need for alliances with different countries like Montenegro also played a role in the plot. This book nailed the setting.

There was surprisingly little romance. But that was okay, because the romance that it did have also related to the plot. It also shaped Katerina and helped her change for the better, which is what any good romance does. Even though she had to do horrible things, it was all in the name of something good. And even though the blurb suggests a love triangle, it wasn't really one. Yes, there was the whole two-guys-one-girl thing going on, but she never really tried to decide between the two. 

Katerina was a kickass girl who wasn't afraid of taking matters into her own hands. The plot was her actually doing things, not her sitting around watching other people do things for her. She was a little naive at parts, but not so naive (like Emily from Elizabeth Miles' Fury) that she made me want to strangle her. All in all, one of my favorite MC's that I've read about in a while. And her power was appropriately creepy, too. My only complaint is that it would have been nice to read about it a bit more - where it came from, what it felt like as she was using it, that sort of thing. But hopefully that will be explained in book two.

Most YA books tend to leave out characters as the book progresses, most often the parents. But in The Gathering Storm, the parents weren't forgotten. In fact, they actually played a large role in this book, and especially because Katerina did several things in the name of protecting them and her brother. 

My only real problem with this book was that it got a tad confusing at times, especially with the different types of supernatural creatures and the people. Lots of people and creatures were introduced in a short time, and many of the names sounded similar. At some points, it was hard keeping track of who was who and what was what. But other than that, this book was awesome. 

This book was great. It had everything a YA paranormal should have, and it had more. A definite recommend to everyone. 

 

Wings of the Wicked

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.

Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.

Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.

Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay. (from Goodreads)

This book was actually far better than I was expecting. Sure, it was a bit long and the plot dragged a bit at some points, but it's lack of cliches in some parts made up for this. And once the plot actually started, it didn't stop.

For the first thing, in this book compared to the first, Ellie is way less whiny and Mary Sue-ish. Sure, she has her moments, but as the book goes on, she becomes more and more like a real person, not some cardboard stereotype. She grieves when she needs to, tries to balance her paranormal and regular lives, and doesn't let all this stuff about being Heaven's warrior get to her head. In other words, she was a narrator whose head I didn't mind being inside. She was also still as kickass as in the first book, maybe even more so in this one, and it was nice to see a narrator that didn't sit back and let everyone else do all the work. 

I also liked the fact that Ellie and Will's relationship went beyond chaste kissing. In fact, nothing about their relationship really annoyed me (except for, of course, the fact that he's about a thousand years older than she is). He got a bit possessive at times, but backed off quickly. If you ignore the age difference, it could seem like a relationship that normal teenagers today have. 

Kate was a pretty cardboard character, but the fact that Ellie didn't totally forget about her in favor of Will was really nice. So many 'best friends' are lost after page 20 when the main character meets her 'soulmate/love/significant other/whatever'. 

So, the love triangle. I suppose it is one, according to today's standards, but for once, Ellie actually picked the guy that she's known longer over the guy she's just met. Even though I don't really like either love interest, it was still gratifying to see that. 

In fact, there was only one real problem I had - the ending. It's not the fact that the ending was a cliffhanger, or the fact that it was sad. It was the fact that, even though there's supposed to be a sense of urgency in it, I didn't really feel any of it. 

Except for the ending, I actually enjoyed this book, much more than I originally thought I would. 

Waiting on Wednesday (4)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My fourth WoW is...

Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb

Meg Lytton has always known of her dark and powerful gift. Raised a student of the old magick by her Aunt Jane, casting the circle to see visions of the future and concocting spells from herbs and bones has always been as natural to Meg as breathing. But there has never been a more dangerous time to practise the craft, for it is 1554, and the sentence for any woman branded a witch is hanging, or burning at the stake.

Sent to the ruined, isolated palace of Woodstock to serve the disgraced Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and half-sister of Queen Mary, Meg discovers her skills are of interest to the outcast princess, who is desperate to know if she will ever claim the throne. But Meg's existence becomes more dangerous every day, with the constant threat of exposure by the ruthless witchfinder Marcus Dent, and the arrival of a young Spanish priest, Alejandro de Castillo, to whom Meg is irresistibly drawn - despite their very different attitudes to her secret.

Thrilling and fast-paced, this is the first unputdownable story in a bewitching new series.

This book looks epic. Pretty cover, magic, pre-Elizabethan England, Princess Elizabeth herself, the list goes it. It looks epic, and I can't wait until July. 

Lovetorn

When Shalini’s father gets a new job in L.A., she is torn away from her life in India and the boy to whom she’s been betrothed since she was three. L.A. is so different, and Shalini dresses and talks all wrong. She isn’t sure she’ll survive high school in America without her fiancé, Vikram, and now she has to cope with her mom’s homesickness and depression. A new friend, chill and confident Renuka, helps Shalini find her way and get up the courage to join the Food4Life club at school. But she gets more than just a friend when she meets Toby—she gets a major crush. Shalini thinks she loves Vikram, but he never made her feel like this.

In Lovetorn, Shalini discovers that your heart ultimately makes its own choices, even when it seems as if your destiny has already been chosen.

Author Kavita Daswani has always been fascinated by child marriages and betrothals, and this story of a traditional girl from India, who is exposed to so many more freedoms and experiences after being dropped in a completely alien culture, is a fresh and contemporary look at the subject. (from Goodreads)

I was really, really looking forward to this book. And it didn't disappoint. 

In some ways, this book was like a lot of other general fiction/romances: new school, mean girls, little sister that makes friends easily, culture shock, etc., but there were also a lot of things not seen very much: her mother's depression, the Food4Life club, and most of all, Vikram's attitude. 

Most books that I've read that have a love triangle like this made the character that Vikram represented an asshole, or someone that never played a huge part. But in Lovetorn, even though he was in India and Shalini in L.A., he was constantly on her thoughts. And from his emails and his talking on the phone, he seemed to really care about her.

Shalini wasn't a cardboard cutout character. She was her own person with flaws and everything, not just an empty shell of a person for the reader to slip into. 

In fact, there was only one slight problem I had with the book - the climax and the resolution were too quick, too rushed. I felt that there could have been more conflict and more of an ending if everything had been drawn out and explained a bit more. 

Except for the ending, I loved this book. 

The Merchant's Daughter

An unthinkable danger. An unexpected choice. 

Annabel, once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is trapped in indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf, a recluse who is rumored to be both terrifying and beastly. Her circumstances are made even worse by the proximity of Lord Ranulf's bailiff---a revolting man who has made unwelcome advances on Annabel in the past. Believing that life in a nunnery is the best way to escape the escalation of the bailiff's vile behavior and to preserve the faith that sustains her, Annabel is surprised to discover a sense of security and joy in her encounters with Lord Ranulf. As Annabel struggles to confront her feelings, she is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger. Ranulf's future, and possibly his heart, may rest in her hands, and Annabel must decide whether to follow the plans she has cherished or the calling God has placed on her heart. (from Goodreads)

I really don't think that I'm the person for Dickerson's writing. This is the second book of hers that I've read, and although it was better than the first, there were still too many character flaws, plot holes, and such. 

Annabel was a Mary Sue in ever sense the word. Not a page went by when someone didn't remark how beautiful she was, she knew how to read (Latin included), her family members were so mean to her, and she had at least three men lusting after her. Maybe even more. This almost felt like a retelling of both 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Cinderella,' because in the original Beauty myth, Belle was an only child with no mother but had a very close relationship with her father. And her brothers felt like the evil stepsisters and her mother like the evil stepmother. She had everything: kindness, beauty, smarts, perfection, perseverance, etc. Everything but flaws, that is. 

I couldn't decide if this was supposed to be set in medieval England or in a fairy tale setting. It seemed to be medieval England, but there were some inaccuracies that led me to believe otherwise. Take Annabel's ability to read, and in Latin, too. It's highly, highly, 99.9% unlikely that any girl, even a rich merchant's daughter, would know how to read. And it's also highly unlikely that a lord like Ranulf would get close to a servant like he does with Annabel. 

I also found it odd that Annabel compared Gilbert to Tom. They were nothing alike, and even though Annabel didn't want to marry Gilbert, I would have liked it more if she had said something other than that he made her feel 'sickening.'

The way the book ended was just too perfect, and what Annabel does is just too easy to be believable.

The last thing about this book was that I found the slamming of the Catholic church to be ridiculous. I'm not at all religious, but this bothered me for two reasons. 1) It basically said that all Catholics were female-hating old guys who could barely read the Bible, which isn't at all true. 2) What other sect of Christianity would they practice? Henry the Eighth didn't break with the Catholic Church until the sixteenth century, and Catholicism was the main English religion up until then. 

One star for the attempt at a historical retelling, and another for Stephen, who was a funny character.