I’m super excited for this book because Leo makes an appearance!!!! Yeah!!
What I’m Reading Now: The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan
1
Happy Mother’s Day!!
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you out there!
When you notice a mistake a month after you posted it.
ugh. I’ll do better, I promise.
What I’m Reading Now: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Yeah Super excited for this one.
Quick Review: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
To say this book was delightful would be an understatement. Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows blends the perfect mixture of fantasy and fiction with history. History will tell you that Lady Jane Grey was the Queen of England for nine days before Queen Mary took the throne and beheaded her. Well, not in this book. Lady Jane Grey was the cousin to King Edward, the son of King Henry VIII. She was named the successor to King Edward because Mary was too Catholic and Elizabeth was a wild card. Edward’s advisors were afraid that either one of his sisters would take England back to the Catholic church and away for the recently established Church in England. Well, in this account the fight is over religion but over magic. King Henry was an Edians, or a person who can turn into animals. Before his rule, those who had this ability were hunted down and burned at the stack by the Verities or those who couldn’t change into animals. Mary is very much in the Verities, who blamed Edians for the death of her mother. Jane at first just a pawn in game of thrones but she soon turns the tables on those who try to control her. This book is very funny, charming and just plain clever. I often find myself laughing while riding on the train to the annoyance of my fellow riders. And it’s a real hoot when you find out what animal Jane turns into. You will not find a more clever book with horse puns anywhere. So do yourself a favor and go read it.
Series You Should Check Out: Unearthly Series by Cynthia Hand
I can’t believe that I haven’t written about this series yet. It’s one of my favorite series to go back and read. In particular, it’s my go-to series when I’ve finished one book but the book I want to read next is coming in a couple of days. (Like for instance, I’ve finished My Lady Jane but A Court of Wings and Ruin, The Dark Prophecy and Always and Forever, Lara Jean comes out of Tuesday) I usually don’t want to start a new book that I might not finish before they come out so Unearthly or one if it’s sequels, Hallowed or Boundless because I’ve read them so many times, I can skip over parts or not feel bad if I don’t finish. It’s a romance, it’s a comedy. It has some action! and it has one of the most swoon worthy love interest of any teen novel. Unearthly is about Clara, a half human half angel, who moves with her family to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to fulfill her purpose. All Angelbloods, as they are known, are put on this earth to carry out some divine purpose. For Clara it starts when she starts having visions about meeting a boy her age in the woods during a forest fire and wouldn’t you know that guy is super dreamy too. Christian is the guy in high school that every girl has a crush on and every boy wants to be. However, he’s the guy that makes me swoon. That title guys to the other love interest. Tucker Avery. Tucker Avery is a cowboy. He wears cowboy boots and hat. He rides in rodeos and is very outdoorsy. He would be the perfect boyfriend. They relationship starts off in the stereotypical bickering back and forth before they realize how much they love each other. Aww.
I would say the real theme of the series is fate and destiny and how much control do we have over our future. Clara is not your normal teenager. She has Angel blood in her and because of that is she expected to carry out her purpose. At first she is all about it. If it means getting to know Christian, the hot boy is school, she is all for it but what does divine really want from her. Is she only supposed to save Christian from the forest fire? Are they supposed to be a couple? Is God trying to set her up on a date? She discovers that finding out her purpose in life is not that easy and only gets more complicated when a.) she starts to fall in love with Tucker and b.) she finds out that she has more in common with Christian then she thought. How much about her future does she get the decide and how much of it has already been planned for her. She is impulsively drawn to Christian but is that because she is supposed to because of her purpose or does she really have feelings for him and him for her? And if she is supposed to be with Christian then why does she fall in love with Tucker. (because he’s perfect! but I digress)
All the while she’s trying to find out why she was put on this earth and fighting evil Angels, she still has to dodge of the landmines of attending high school. Taking test, finding new friends and keeping them. Going to Prom. It’s not easy but an Angelblood in high school. Clara is able to navigate all of these things thanks to other awesome character, Angela, another Angelblood. Together help each other to figure out each other purposes and the other mysteries of being half angel. Their friendship is one of those great but sadly rare in fiction, solid friendships between two girls. They truly love and support each other throughout the everything. Yes, they have their disagreements but when it matters, they are there for each other. They push each other to be better. Challenge each other to learn and know more about who they are and what they are supposed to. There really should be more relationships like this featured in YA novels. Too often female friendships get pushed aside once the heroine starts a relationship. But then again, Angela is not someone who would ever let a boy become between her and her best friend. So yes, go read this series. It’s the perfect weekend getaway book. Just don’t let the cheesy covers scare you away.
May Flowers Bring New Books
The month of May has a lot of great new books coming out and of course I’m already behind in my to-read list. Sigh. Anyway, here’s a list a few books that I’m definitely going to try to get to in May. Let’s see how I’ll do.
May 2:
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan
May 16:
Seeker by Veronica Rossi
May 23:
Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
May 30:
Dark Breaks the Dawn by Sara B. Larson
Rick Riordan Presents
Last year Rick Riordan announced that he was starting a new imprint to highlight diverse authors and diverse stories. His mythology based stories have made him famous. So far he has tackled Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Norse mythology but he often gets asked about exploring other culture’s mythologies as well. Being a while male, he has wisely said that he was not the right person the write about Mayan or Indian mythology however it did spark him to start his own imprint so marginalized authors can write about their own cultures. It was just announced the first three titles under Rick’s new imprint. Yoon Ha Lee, Roshani Chokshi and Jennifer Cervantes will author the first books. Yoon Ha Lee’s book Dragon Pearl will take on stories from Korean Mythology. Roshani Chokshi’s series, Aru Shah and the End of Time, is based off of Indian Mythology and Jennifer Cervantes’s book Storm Runner will have inspiration from Mayan Mythology. All three sound interesting and will be published in 2018. Adding all three to my to-read list.
EDIT: Rick went to his Tumblr page to give more details on his Imprint, his role and involvement with the books and more information on the authors and more indepth synopsis of Dragon Pearl, Aru Shar and the End of Time, and Storm Runner. I highly recommend checking out if nothing else for a tiny glimpse into the publishing world.
Quick Review: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
This book is surprisingly dark despite having a protagonist that is such a pure soul. I shouldn’t have been surprised since Laini Taylor’s previous series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone wasn’t filled sunshine and rainbows either but the when the backstory of Weep is revealed and you see the toll it has on the city is palpable. I’m not sure where to begin with this book. I feel that anything I say will not do it justice and I also don’t want give anything away either. Lazlo Strange is an orphan and a dreamer. He was raised by Monks and then reared by Librarians. He is fascinated by stories and in particularly the story of the lost city of Weep. A city that had so many treasures but 200 years ago was lost to the world and forgotten. Even it’s name has been lost. It’s now just a myth and a story to everyone but Lazlo. It’s his dream to find it. So he takes every opportunity to find out more about the city. He scours the library books for any scrap of information about Weep. One day out of nowhere, warriors from Weep lead by the Godslayer, show up in his town and he is appeals to them to take him with them. They need help and even though he doesn’t know how he can help he knows he just has to go. In Weep, Sarai is a Godspawn who lives in the Citadel above Weep without the City knowing. Fifteen years ago, the Godslayer and the people of Weep killed the Gods and Goddesses that had enslaved them, not knowing that five children still lived. Each of her siblings have special powers but only Sarai, the Muse of Nightmares, can truly see the City. Every night she releases her moths and visits the people of Weep’s dreams. Sarai may have skin the color blue and see people’s dreams but she is still a teenage girl. She is still has the same hopes and dreams as others her age but she also lives in fear of the people down below. She knows what they did to the other Gods and Goddesses and what they did to the other children who were not saved. She fears that if they ever found out about her and her siblings, that they too will kill them too. Things really start to pick up when Lazlo, warriors and the other foreigners come to Weeo. We see the true hurt and pain of both the people of Weep and the Godspawn. They both are justified in their anger and hurt. They both have reasons to fear the other. When it comes to fear, rational thought is not always easy as any of us can attest too. Lazlo is different though. He is truly a dreamer. He helps people because he sees they need help. He sees possibilities is things that most of us would overlook. He is Strange. When Sarai first visits his dreams she is taken in at how vivid it is but also that he can see her. She is not just a spectator or a manipulator, she is a participant in her dreams. An invited guest. They soon grow a connection and of course fall in love even though they had never actually met. Despite the uplifting and positive protagonists that lead this story the darkness is always seething around the corner of every page. You really can’t get around the sins of both the people of Weep and the Gods themselves and that’s the genius of the story. The beauty of it. It’s like an old Grimm’s fairy tale that underneath the glow and polish there is an undercurrent of darkness. A modern day fairy tale where the true villains are already dead but there are no one is truly innocent. Except for maybe Lazlo but even he will probably not stay innocent for long.
Quick Review: Legion by Julie Kagawa
**I was granted a digital ARC of this book and read it a month ago. Thank you Harlequin Teen for the advance**
Four books in and we finally learn what makes Ember so darn special and it’s creepy. I won’t spoil it but let’s just say I look forward to seeing the leader of Talon being taken down. She’s a real piece of work. I also think she’s another argument as to why immortality or really Really long life spans are not a good idea. It makes people do some really crazy insane things. Anyways, fans of this series will be happy with this installment. It picks up right where the cliffhanger ending of Soldier ended. The stakes are higher now that the truth of the Order of St. George and Talon have been exposed. The Order is complete disarray but Talon has a secret that we as readers know about but the characters don’t. So while, it was a good idea at the time to expose the leader of the Order, it also played right into Talon’s hands. Talon has become the real big bad of the series. The Order, while not at all innocent, has been played just as much as everyone else. Their own prejudices and inability or willingness to try to think differently was their ultimate undoing. As for our heroes. They all do some growing up. Constant near death experiences will do that to you. The biggest lesson they have learned is if they are going to defeat Talon, they are going to have to work together and reach out to new allies, even if that means reaching out to old enemies too. I believe there is only one more book left which is good because the ending really seems to have set up a potentially epic final battle between our heroes and Talon. It’s been a fun ride. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.
2 Women, So Many Books 