Review of Novice by Taran Matharu

Title/Author: Novice (Summoner #1) by Taran Matharu
Publisher/Date published: Feiwel & Friends, May 5th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.

As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs.

So there are a lot of elements that reminded me of different book series/tv series/games in Novice, and I think it will get mixed reactions because of that. It didn't bother me in the slightest and just made me have 'awwww' moments!

Like a lot of fantasy heroes, Fletcher starts out as a normal peasant boy, who doesn't really know where exactly he came from, and then he discovers he's actually a magically gifted person. He's been taken in as an infant by a blacksmith, who has raised him as his own and is basically a truly good person. Then he gets his hands on a mage's book and actually summons a demon, which is the CUTEST EVER. I mean, SERIOUSLY. If you've met Ignatius, you will be squeeing over him along with me. He's basically a combination of Pascal (from Tangled) and Mushu (from Mulan, mostly because of firebreathing options) and I WANT ONE OK? He's awesome. You could just read this for Ignatius alone, but the rest of the book was so much fun as well!

I liked Fletcher, I liked that he's openminded about dwarves and elves and is trying to build bridges and turns out to be a true friend to those close to him. I also like that he's got courage. I mean, he dives headfirst into some potentially dangerous situations because he's trying to save someone and when you encounter stuff like this you really don't have a lot of time to consider your options. I also liked that while he's a quick learner when it comes to training as a mage, but not everything comes naturally to him.

I totally loved the worldbuilding! I mean, all the different types of demons and what they and the mages can do and the whole political system is just YES! And also, there's a magical boarding school, which is one of my favourite things to read about if done well. And in The Novice, it is done well.

So there are recognizable themes from Lord of the Rings, with the whole Elves and Dwarves and Orcs thing, but well, it doesn't bother me, cause I kinda consider LOTR a classic when it comes to the genre and we don't blame authors for having similar themes to Jane Austen's in romance novels either. Also, there's the 'gotta catch 'em all' feeling of Pokémon, with even a demon who's called Vulpid and sounds EXACTLY like Vulpix, which I had a LOL moment over with one of my friends who was also reading it. And there's how the connection to the demons reminded me a bit of His Dark Materials. And also, Harry Potter for obvious reasons.

But seriously, none of that mattered to me, or rather, it did in a GOOD way, because I LOVE all these elements and I felt that there was enough originality for me to totally love Novice. I loved Taran Matharu's writing and breezed through this book! It felt like a breath of fresh air, it was just so much fun to read! This is one series that I'm very excited to continue!
Also: can we just focus on the awesomeness that is the cover for a bit? SO PRETTY!

So basically, I'm saying that if you're like me and love yourself some fantasy novel with magical boarding school and ADORABLE creatures, you should definitely pick this up. Like, now.

My rating: 5 stars

Review of The Girl At Midnight by Melissa Grey

Title/Author: The Girl At Midnight (The Girl At Midnight #1) by Melissa Grey
Publisher/Date published: Delacorte Press, April 28th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants... and how to take it.

But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

So there have been some mixed opinions about this one in the blogosphere and I'll just tell you up front that I fall in the category of people who actually really liked it. But I also have to admit that I haven't read Daughter of Smoke and Bone yet *hides*, the book everyone is comparing it to and saying that DOSAB was better. I have no comparison, but I did very much enjoy The Girl At Midnight!

I really liked Echo, I mean, she has the snark that makes me smile, makes Lord of the Rings references and is generally a bookworm and a very talented thief. I'm pretty much in. And she has a soft spot for pretty boys, which I can understand as she's a 17-year-old girl and most 17-year-old girls like pretty boys (except for the ones who like pretty girls, but you get my point). I mean, sure, she's a bit distracted at times by said pretty boys, but I can't in all honesty say that I wouldn't be. Also: lots of awesome problemsolving and kicking ass.

You may have heard about the love triangle. That wasn't my favourite thing either. I mean, right from the start we know that Echo has a boyfriend, Rowan, and I thought they had a solid basis for a romance, having been friends since they were 7. And they genuinely seem to care about each other, so I was actually a bit surprised when Echo started having feelings for the next pretty face that came along, Caius. I mean, Caius is awesome, don't get me wrong, but I felt the whole way it was set up was pretty unfair to Rowan, who doesn't get much screen-time and also doesn't really get a "I'm sorry, it's not you, it's me" speech before Echo starts something with Caius.

I did very much enjoy everything else about The Girl at Midnight though. I loved Melissa Grey's storytelling and the Avicen and the Drakhari and the whole thing around the Firebird! And OMG, how much did I love Dorian and Jasper and YES I SHIP IT OK? Jasper has a whole lot of funny of his own and a lot of heart underneath the snark. I also really liked the friendship between Ivy and Echo, which seemed a true friendship and not just there so there'd be the obligated female friendship thing.

I constantly found myself wanting to pick up The Girl at Midnight while I was doing other things and wanting to know what would happen next and that to me is the sign of a good book :) Can't wait for the sequel!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Review of Starborn by Lucy Hounsom

Title/Author: Starborn (The Worldmaker Trilogy #1) by Lucy Hounsom
Publisher/Date published: Tor UK, April 23rd 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Death and destruction will bar her way...

Kyndra's fate holds betrayal and salvation, but the journey starts in her small village. On the day she comes of age, she accidentally disrupts an ancient ceremony, ending centuries of tradition. So when an unnatural storm targets her superstitious community, Kyndra is blamed. She fears for her life until two strangers save her, by wielding powers not seen for an age - powers fuelled by the sun and the moon.

Together, they flee to the hidden citadel of Naris. And here, Kyndra experiences disturbing visions of the past, showing war and one man's terrifying response. She'll learn more in the city's subterranean chambers, amongst fanatics and rebels. But first Kyndra will be brutally tested in a bid to unlock her own magic.

If she survives the ordeal, she'll discover a force greater than she could ever have imagined. But could it create as well as destroy? And can she control it, to right an ancient wrong?

I was so hoping I'd love this, cause it sounded awesome, I mean, I'm all for characters going on a journey and learning about school and hidden powers and just yes, ok? I have a soft spot for this type of story. But sadly, it didn't fully work for me.

Starborn is a pretty big book, it was over 400 pages on my e-reader. And they were in teeny-tiny script cause my e-reader can't handle pdf for some reason (SO ANNOYING), so I really needed this to be interesting, cause there was a big investment as to squinty eyes and time. And it was really interesting at first, I mean, Kyndra basically destroys a relic of her hometown by accident and almost gets killed by an angry mob after that. So she flees and there is all this secrecy from the two people who rescued her from said angry mob about their powers and I kinda wanted to shake them and have them tell her what the heck was going on because UGH, you're taking her to a place where she's going to get all these answers, why not fill her in on the way and not blindside her? But yeah, I was intrigued, because this Starborn is a whole different class of Wielder and I think everyone will be able to guess that's what Kyndra is, so I don't think that counts as a spoiler. I mean, it's pretty much staring you in the face.

By the time we got the Naris, the secret Wielder city, things started going South for me. I mean, up until that time I was doing ok with Kyndra, we were bonding a bit and then she goes and does something that was so incredibly WTF-ish, I can't even. I mean, she's assaulted by three students (ok, one mostly watched, but still, you're just as guilty in my opinion), even sexually assaulted and then the next minute she's best friends with them? I mean, WTF? SERIOUSLY??? How are you going to trust these people who were mean and vicious and all of a sudden I'm supposed to believe they're actually really good people? I mean, WHAT?? Are you out of your mind? Report it and move on to people who won't attack you. There was not even so much as a real apology.
And then she's crushing on this dude that makes me go ewww, why you so annoying? I mean, he's obviously sketchy, I don't care if he's pretty, there's a reason the two good people in your life, who rescued you, don't like him. Grow a brain or something.

I did think that the magic system was pretty interesting, with there being two types of Wielders who aren't all powerful, cause their powers are controlled by either the sun or the moon and so the different parts of the day are their strengths and weaknesses. That was pretty cool. And I would have loved seeing Kyndra develop her power gradually and learn through trial and error. Instead we went from zero to ALL OF THE POWER and knowing how to control it in about 2 seconds. Yeah, I'm not digging that. And I know that there's a reason for that, but it's not one that I particularly enjoy and feels like it's a bit too convenient. I mean, wow, previous Starborns couldn't do it and she can when she's just gotten into her powers? Just. No.

Something that I did like were Kyndra's two rescuers. They were SUCH interesting characters and the relationship between them was just YES! SHIPPING IT! There's all this history and longing and just I'm in. When one or both of them were present I was very much enjoying reading Starborn, preferably with an absent Kyndra, but I'll take what I can get.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm disappointed by this book. It could have been so much better than it was and there were just too many things that annoyed me.

My rating: 2 stars

Review of The Lie by C.L. Taylor

Title/Author: The Lie by C.L. Taylor
Publisher/Date published: HarperCollins, April 23rd 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Best friends are there for each other through thick and thin. You trust them with your life. At least that’s what Emma, Daisy, Leanne and Al think. But all that changes when they embark on a trip of a lifetime together. When they return home, only two of them are left alive and the group has been torn apart by lies and deception.

Many years later, when the dust has settled and life has moved on, one girl receives a threatening letter. Someone knows the truth about what happened on that holiday and will stop at nothing to expose it...

OMG, this book was SCARY! AND CRAZY! SO much crazy! I cannot even.

I'm fascinated by cults/sects/whatever you want to call them that basically is a group of people who do their own thing and some of them do batcrap crazy things. Not all obviously, but those are the ones you hear about on the news or that make the best stories. Obviously. I mean, there's all this taboo about them and well, I just always wonder where this view of the world that they had went wrong. I mean, they probably started out wanting to do good and live a better life, right? But hearing about how things go wrong in such a group always gives me the creeps and also makes me curious. This book was sorta like watching a trainwreck happen, you know you shouldn't be this fascinated by it, but you can't look away.

Anyway. Our main character Emma was ok, she's flawed and probably because of this, I could relate to her. I could see how she got into this mess and how when you're in the middle of something like this, you can't immediately see what you should do about it. Everything was spinning out of control for her fast and I don't know how I would have handled that. I mean, you think you're going on the holiday of a lifetime with your friends and then you end up in the middle of something that ends with the death of two of said friends? Wow. That is more than you should have to handle.

I could also relate to her friend situation: in their group of four, Emma is only really friends with Daisy and Al, and she and Leanne tolerate each other for the sake of the other two, but aren't really friends. In the end, I'm not sure any of them were really friends, except for Emma and Al. It pains me to say that Daisy isn't a very nice person. She's petty and jealous and has pulled stuff that a true friend wouldn't in my opinion. And Leanne is just a crazy bitch. I'm sorry, I can't make it any prettier than it is, I truly despised her, and it got worse the further I got into the novel.

But OMG, this situation they end up in and the people! It changes all of the four girls and they really aren't all that safe there. I was reading it and going:

But more like EVERYBODY BE CRAZY!

So The Lie switches back and forth between present time, which is 5 years after the events on holiday and the actual happenings on said holiday and I liked it, but at the same time I wished someone would just hurry up and tell me what happened because the suspense!! Which means it's actually pretty well done by the author because holy wow, it was a 400 page novel with teeny tiny script on my e-reader and I still REALLY wanted to keep reading it.

If you're looking for a read that is scary and crazy and which will keep you enticed for the whole of it, The Lie is definitely for you.

My rating: 4 stars

Review of Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby

Title/Author: Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, April 21st 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.

Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas — a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it — especially since he has no idea how they're connected — but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost... and all that remains at stake.

So I'm not really someone who reads books dealing with grief. They scare me. Also, I deal with illness and loss a lot in my line of work, so I tend to avoid it outside of it. But this is Jessi Kirby and I cannot stop raving about Golden, so I desperately needed to read this!

And I thought it was beautiful. Obviously most of us will be able to see the romance coming from MILES away, even from reading the summary, but it is kinda beautiful in that it happens slowly and they first tentatively become friends and then it moves onto something more and I could definitely root for them and while it may be a huge cliché that she falls for the guy who received her boyfriend's heart and all, it was very nicely done and I didn't find myself rolling my eyes at it, which I kinda expected I'd maybe do a little. I didn't totally swoon, but I could get behind this quiet little lovestory. I also could fully understand Colton's anger towards the end, I mean, holy wow, I would have been VERY upset as well.

I really liked both Quinn and Colton and I loved seeing how she's slowly trying to allow herself to be open to the possibility of something new after the devastating loss of her boyfriend. And how she tried to keep her distance from Colton, but couldn't really and the beauty that is her relationship with her family! I loved her sister and her grandmother, they were amazing!
As for her searching for the recipient of Trent's heart, I can sorta understand it, but invading someone's privacy like that is just a big no-no. I mean, wow, that's some serious cyberstalking.
I also liked that Colton wasn't ready to immediately tell Quinn everything, because he doesn't know that she knows, and tries to keep his illness hidden. It seems so much more real teen boy than being totally upfront about his medical history.

One thing I missed from the book was a bit more about Trent and his and Quinn's relationship. I mean, he was SO important to her, I kinda wanted to learn a bit more about him. We only get the tiniest snippest and that was just not very satisfying to me. I get that the book isn't really about him, it deals with the aftermath of losing someone you love and how you cope with that, but I would have liked to know a little more about this boy who was such a big part of Quinn's life.

Things We Know By Heart is probably not a book for everyone, but I thought it was a beautiful story about loss and trying to find closure and allowing yourself to start something new. And I totally love Jessi Kirby's writing, so this was very much a winner for me.

My rating: 4,5 stars

Mini-Reviews (8): Tease, All Lined Up, The Falconer

So ever since June of 2014 I've been failing at writing reviews for the books I read. I know. And because it's been AGES since I read these, I'm just gonna do mini-reviews of them, so as to clear my need-review shelf.

Title/Author: Tease (The Ivy Chronicles #2) by Sophie Jordan
Publisher/Date published: William Morrow, May 27th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

So I have to admit that I wasn't all that impressed with Tease, whereas I usually shout my love of all things Sophie Jordan and romance for everyone to hear. She is le awesome normally. And while Tease wasn't bad, it wasn't really all there for me either.

Both Emerson and Shaw are ok, they're ok together and there are some swoons, but mainly I was not really in the falling in love moments with them. Emerson has kept up this facade with guys for FOREVER and now Shaw comes along, knows her for all of two seconds and then sees right through it? I mean, really? But I liked that he called her out on her shit and wanted the real her.

My rating: 3 stars

Title/Author: All Lined Up (Rusk University #1) by Cora Carmack
Publisher/Date published: William Morrow, May 13th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

So this romance has a whole lot of overprotective daddy and while I appreciate dads who care about their daughters, it seemed a bit overly trying to keep his little girl just that: little. Obviously she's all grown and in college and might just need her father, but to support her and not to be overbearing.

But aside from this, I thought that Dallas and Carson actually handled it pretty well, I respect that he's not looking to give up his place on the team for just any girl. I like a man with ambition. And I could definitely understand Dallas' hesitance to start something with another guy on the team, because she's been used to butter up to her father the coach one too many times.
Also, aside from his overprotectiveness, I did like Dallas' father, he's floundering a bit, not knowing how to talk to Dallas and together they're figuring out how to be a family, which was lovely to see.
Carson and Dallas were good together, as with Tease, I didn't really fall in love along with them, but they seemed good together and I liked it.

My rating: 3 stars

Title/Author: The Falconer (The Falconer #1) by Elizabeth May
Publisher/Date published: Chronicle Books, May 4th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

This was actually one of our book club reads and it was SO GOOD! I think this is one of the only books that we unanimously enjoyed. With some people having stronger feelings about it than others. But that's ok.

I LOVED Aileana! OMG, she's awesome! I mean, she goes out every night and fights faeries and she's an inventor. Seriously, how much more of an ass-kicking main character do you want? And she has a very good reason for it: vengeance for her mother who was killed by a faery. Now remember that faeries are not cute and cuddly, but mostly vicious and murderous and all of those nice things.

And aside for Aileana there are even more characters to love: Derrick, who is ADORABLE, Aileana's friends and KIARAN!! KIARAN. I SO ship it. I mean, he trains her in the ways of killing faeries and they have this amazing banter and just YES GIVE ME MORE! I was unsure about him at first, but he grew on me and then OMG THE ENDING!! I just cannot, it was fantastic and horrible and THE WAIT IS KILLING ME.

So. Yeah. I have pretty strong feelings about this one and would love nothing better than to dive right back into this world and FINALLY KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT BECAUSE THE ENDING!!!!
Also: YAY finally a fae book that I didn't dislike!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Review of The Devilish Mr. Danvers by Vivienne Lorret

Title/Author: The Devilish Mr. Danvers (The Rakes of Fallow Hall #2) by Vivienne Lorret
Publisher/Date published: Avon Impulse, April 21st 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: For the first time in her life, Hedley Sinclair holds the keys to her own future. She's inherited the crumbling Greyson Park, but the disrepair does nothing to dissuade her. No one will ever lock her up again or attempt to take away what's hers. No one except Rafe Danvers — the charming, fiendish man from Fallow Hall. He's determined to claim Greyson Park, but if Hedley isn't careful, he'll claim her heart as well.

Rafe has every intention of ridding Greyson Park of the conniving Sinclairs once and for all. The last thing he expects is to find the beguiling Hedley — the younger sister of his former fiancée — standing in his way. With drastic measures called for, he plans to marry her off in order to regain control of the estate. The only trouble is, he can't seem to stop seducing her. Even worse, he can't help falling in love with her.

So I really like Vivienne Lorret's writing. Her historical romances always manage to entertain me, so I was excited to start The Devilish Mr. Danvers! Because the 'rakes of Fallow Hall' are very interesting and I'd already met Mr. Danvers in the first book in the series.

Hedley is a likeable main character. She's determined to make it on her own, and she doesn't really seem to know when she should just admit defeat and go ask for help. I mean, freezing your ass off in a house that you got to on foot all on your own and then basically not accepting when your neighbour wants to help you build a fire or gather firewood or any such thing seems a little too stubborn to me. She sometimes toed the line of too-stupid-to-live territory, but she just managed to stay on the right side of things. I did like that she's not afraid to get her hands dirty while she's trying to make her home actually inhabitable. Also, her willingness to try and get over a fear that has deep roots is admirable, and I could totally understand why she would be terrified in those situations, that's a majorly traumatising event!

I REALLY hated her family though. They were nasty and hateful and just did not seem to care for Hedley one bit. I mean, seriously? They hid her away in the attic and are trying to steal her inheritance and when that doesn't work, they just start destroying it?? I mean, SERIOUSLY??? How can you do that to someone who is family? I was very much less than impressed with them, they were just bad people.

I liked Rafe, with his misguided attempts to set Hedley up with one of the other rakes. I mean, obviously he's attracted to her from the start and then he's trying to deny his feelings and there was some wonderful angst about this and Hedley being hurt because he said some less than thoughtful things and yeah. I liked it. I thought they were good together, though if I'd been Hedley, I'd probably would have at least made him apologize for saying some of the things he did. I mean, she forgives him a little too easily in my opinion. But I could definitely work with their romance.

I actually read The Devilish Mr. Danvers in only a couple of hours. Vivienne Lorret's writing always keeps me interested to find out how the couple will get to their happily ever after and what obstacles will get in the way first. And this one was no different. While I wasn't really blown away by it, I did like it and it was a nice fluffy read.

My rating: 3 stars