Tag Archives: YA novels

Quick Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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a darker shade of magic I knew from the description of this book it would be one I would love.  I don’t know why I waited so long to pick it up.  Kell is an Antari, or a person who has special magic that allows him to go between different worlds.  He travels from Red London to Grey London to White London and back.  He is the official ambassador between the different Monarchs of the different but he also has a side business of fencing items  between back and forth which is strictly forbidden after what happened to Black London.  Black London was overrun by magic that it devoured itself.  Red London shut it’s doors to the other London’s leaving White London to deal with Black London and Grey London without magic at all.  Delilah (Lila) Bard is a thief in Grey London, stealing to get by.  She has big dreams of being a pirate and leaving London behind.  When one of Kell’s transactions goes bad he is forced to team up with Lila to save all the Londons.  It’s a fun read that is full of twists and turns and has some great characters.  Kell seemingly has nothing to be upset about being he is treated like a prince and is like family to the Royal family of Red London but he knows he is just one of their possessions.  He may live with them and treated as a soon but he wouldn’t be if he wasn’t useful to them.  Lila is a orphan who only has herself to rely on. Together they make one of a hell of team.  Lila is one smart cookie. On more than one occasion it’s her wits and fast thinking that gets them out of trouble.  Kell is not so bad himself.  When he figures out what is going on, he knows whatever he has to do and it means sacrificing himself to save others.  I can’t wait to read what happens next for Kell and Lila.

My Top 10 Books of 2017

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top 10 books

According to GoodReads.com I read 20,948 pages from 57 books. So you can imagine how hard it was to narrow down to only 10 for the best books I’ve read this year.  There were so many good ones!  I think I ultimately went with these 10 was because while I may have liked some of the other books more or given other’s better reviews or more stars, these 10 books stuck with me longer after finishing reading them.  I would like to think that our Diverse Lives, Diverse Stacks: Diverse Narrators reading challenge is working for me because half of the books were written by Women of Color and they contain protagonists from very diverse backgrounds.  That’s exciting to me but enough of this, let’s get on to the list.

  1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas– This book was as heartbreaking as it was realistic.  Starr is caught between two worlds but doesn’t really how different they are or how truly different she acts to accommodate both parts of her life until her friend is killed by a police officer during a routine traffic stop and she is the only witness.  This really should be a must read in all schools for generations to come and I’m excited that it will also be a movie coming out next year.
  2. Pyromantic by Lish McBride– It’s funny, it’s sarcastic, it’s action packed but mostly it is just plain fun.  I really hope that Lish returns to these characters because there is just so much weirdness she can do with them.
  3. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor-This is such a lush story with great imagery and original concept.  There really isn’t another novel out there right now.  The ending was such a surprise that I have no idea what to expect in the sequel.
  4. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon-Just like The Hate U Give, this is another heartbreaking but all too realistic look at today’s youth.  To strangers, meet and share a life changing day as Natasha fights to stop her family from being deported and Daniel fights the expectations of being a child of immigrants.
  5. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin-How do you describe this book?  It  has so much going on and it’s not certain how they all interweave but you know they must somehow.  It’s truly a powerful book it’s no wonder it’s won so many awards.
  6. Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray-The third book in The Diviners series takes place in the 1920’s but with it’s themes of race, gender equality and science it’s more relevant than you would think.  Evie, Sam, Memphis, Jericho, Theta, Ling Henry and Isiah have to overcome the coming darkness but also the social limits society places on those in the minority.
  7. All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater-People come from far and wide to seek miracles from the Saints of Bicho Raro but even saints themselves need miracles and sometimes those miracles can’t be achieved on their own, sometimes they need a little help from others. That’s the lesson from this one, it’s great to self sufficient but don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
  8. The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan-A great ending to a great trilogy and the power of how diversity makes us stronger.
  9. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake-It’s dark and mysterious but also cool to read of world where women rule and men play supportive roles.  That women are just as complicated and conflicted and are able to be both and still show strength and vulnerability.  Here we get three young women who all of those things and more.
  10. WarCross by Marie Lu-This was fun and exciting thrill of a book.  Full of mystery and kind of a spy novel in a way.  Emika a down on her luck, hacker/bounty hunter gets a chance to play in the biggest game ever in hopes of finding another hacker trying to sabotage the game.  It’s full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing.

So these are my favorite books of 2017.  What are yours?

Series We Said Goodbye To in 2017

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goodbye 2017

It was a great year for books and some of my favorite series ended this year.  I’m looking back at some of the series I loved that gave us their last chapters in 2017.

  1. Prisoner’s of Peace Duology by Erin Bow -This was an unexpected ending as I didn’t know it was even in the works before I bought it.  The Swan Riders, the follow up to the Scorpio Rules was quite a ride. Greta forged her own path to save her people but not everyone was ready to let her go.
  2. Firebug Duology by Lish McBride – Lish McBride has left it open for a return to this series but for now Pyromantic is the last book of the Duology.  I do hope we get more adventures with Ava, Lock and Ezra because these books have been nothing but delightful
  3.  To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Series by Jenny Han – I thought this series was over before and while I enjoyed it I’m not sure if Forever and Always, Lara Jean was truly necessary because I felt Lara Jean ended up in the same place she was before.  I will make allowance that her decided to go to school out of state was a big growth for her.
  4. Reawakened Trilogy by Colleen Houck – This one I’m glad ended because I’m not sure I would kept up with it for another book.  I just never really connected with the characters I did with her last series, The Tiger’s Saga.  I am very happy that she will be going to back to her Tiger’s in 2018.
  5. Chronicles of Nick Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon – Technically, Nick Gautier’s story will continue in a new series but the narrative that is Chronicles of Nick is at an end.  I can’t tell you how much I love Nick and I’m not ready to let him go.
  6. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Trilogy by Rick Riordan – This was a groundbreaking series in a lot of ways.  Positive representation of Muslims, Queer, Trans and those with disabilities is so important and to have all of them represented in the main cast of characters is amazing.  Thank you Rick!

Review: Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

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geniune fraud ** Spoilers **

So I was all in this novel until the ending. I feel like it left things too wide open and was a bit rushed.  The story is told in reverse chronological order as we piece together what happened with Jule and Imogen.  Jule is a strong smart girl with the big ambitions and the ability to blend in anywhere.  Imogen is a runaway heiress with the need to live life to the fullest.  They form a close friendship but like things that burn to bright they tend to fade out too quickly too.  When we meet Jule, she is clearly hiding out in Mexico from something or someone from Mexico, we go to London, San Francisco, Puerto Rico, Martha’s Vineyard to New York.  As the story unfolds, one can not help but be impressed with how Jule was able to insinuate herself in this world of wealth and privilege with such ease.  They don’t even question her story and just assume that she is exactly who she is until late in the game and even then, they never accuse her of being an outright fraud but something a little less genuine.  She is able to pull off the greatest con with very little resistance. Jule is able to convince Imogen that she was childhood friends thanks to their connection as orphans.  Jule reinvents herself with a superhero background that makes her more heroic then she actually is.  Imogen is spoiled and see herself as a free spirit looking to live her life to the fullest.  Renting a house in Martha’s Vineyard and sharing it with her boyfriend and friends.  She is the kind of person that makes you feel like you are special, until she loses interest and moves on to the next person.  She and Jule have an instant connection that borders on obsessive and can only end in one way.  It becomes pretty clear what happened between Imogen and Jule that it doesn’t seem all that shocking when it finally happens.  To me again it was the ease of how Jule is able to get in her good graces in the first place.  When the novel finally circles back to where we began the story that’s where things get confusing.  Again real big spoilers after the cut. Continue reading →

Quick Review: The Speaker by Traci Chee

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speaker I didn’t find The Speaker to be as good as The Reader but it was no less enjoyable.  Sefia and Archer have escaped the Guard and back on the run.  They soon run into more impressors and just like what Sefia did for Archer, they rescue the kidnapped boys.  Soon they embark on a campaign to track down the other impressors and free their kidnapped boys using their fighting skills and Sefia’s book.  Things start out well but it becomes apparent that the violence starts to take over and everyone starts to wonder if Archer is the one the Guard has been looking for.  Also Sefia is dealing with the knowledge of the involvement of her parents with the Guard and the red war.  Just like in the The Reader, we get side story that is related.  In the first book it was the apprentice librarian and assassin that ended up being Sefia’s parents in their youth.  This one is the apprentice politician who is tasked with murdering his king so the next phase of the red war can commence. Unlike the subplot that was evident from the beginning as important, this seemed to be more of a distraction from the narrative.  I’m still not sure why it took so much real estate in this book except it started to mirror Sefia and Archer’s story of trying to change their destiny for the people they love.  I guess only time will tell how it will play out in upcoming books.  I just wished we got to spend more time with Captain Reed and crew then this other story line. I still loved this book.  It wasn’t as good as the original but it was damn entertaining and I’m even more invested in Sefia and Archer’s story.

Quick Review: The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin

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becoming noah shaw This is the first book in the Shaw Confessions Trilogy, a companion trilogy to the Mara Dyer Trilogy.  I would recommend going back to read the original trilogy before starting this one and if you haven’t read the Mara Dyer Trilogy then read it first because this book will not make sense if not.  I did not re-read the last series and I found myself hitting up google looking for synopsis to remind myself what happened.  The Retribution of Mara Dyer came out in 2014 and so much has happened in the last three years it’s easy to forget who Stella is and what happened between her and Mara.  What I remember about the original series was how kind of creepy it was.  Is Mara really seeing hallucination or can she really kill people with her mind?  The first book was a mind trip.  This was a little bit more straight forward mystery.  It’s a few months after the ending of the last book and other carriers or gifted teens like Noah, Mara, Jaime and Stella are disappearing and then committing suicide. The problem is that they don’t want to and what do these disappearances and suicides have to do with Noah, Mara and what has done to them?  Well we don’t get a lot of answers but then again we do still have two more books to go.  What we do get is more incite into Noah.  The complicated but loyal boyfriend Noah. He is a kid who has every privilege in the world but doesn’t see the point in living until he meets Mara.  What happens when he doesn’t have that anymore?  Also the question used to be is Mara crazy? Now it’s is Mara a psychotic killer?  I’m really going to have to back and read the first trilogy again.