Review: Cast in Firelight by Dana Swift

Cast in Firelight

Dana Swift

(Wickery #1)

Publication Date: January 19, 2021

Hardcover, 448 pages, Delacorte Press

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Goodreads

The first book in an epic, heart-pounding fantasy duology about two royal heirs betrothed to be married, but whose loyalties are torn, and a ruthless enemy who threatens their world, perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Hafsah Faizal, and Renée Ahdieh.

Adraa is the royal heir of Belwar, a talented witch on the cusp of taking her royal ceremony test, and a girl who just wants to prove her worth to her people.

Jatin is the royal heir to Naupure, a competitive wizard who's mastered all nine colors of magic, and a boy anxious to return home for the first time since he was a child.

Together, their arranged marriage will unite two of Wickery's most powerful kingdoms. But after years of rivalry from afar, Adraa and Jatin only agree on one thing: their reunion will be anything but sweet.

Only, destiny has other plans and with the criminal underbelly of Belwar suddenly making a move for control, their paths cross...and neither realizes who the other is, adopting separate secret identities instead.

Between dodging deathly spells and keeping their true selves hidden, the pair must learn to put their trust in the other if either is to uncover the real threat. Now Wickery's fate is in the hands of rivals..? Fiancées..? Partners..? Whatever they are, it's complicated and bound for greatness or destruction.

My Review

Arranged marriages, unique fantasy magic, and an enemies-to-lovers romance? Yes, please! Cast in Firelight is perfect for YA fans who want more fictional lands and sassy characters in their lives.

Cast in Firelight actually reminds me a lot of the Dark Caravan Cycle by Heather Demetrios and the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. There’s a lot of color magic based on the four elements or similar concepts. Like the Dark Caravan books, this one has an atmospheric setting with a world full of those unique magic users. Although, I do have to say that the magic system is pretty loose in terms of what limitations people have. It’s not a major complaint, as Swift does a good job of moving the plot along in a way that has me focusing on the coming events versus how high someone’s power level is. It’s very similar to Avatar in that way.

The main characters and narrators of the book are Adraa and Jatin, and both are magic users. The two are childhood nemeses put in an arranged marriage by their parents. A recipe for a tension-filled romance. Adraa, the heroine, starts the story as a somewhat mediocre character. In fact the beginning had me believing all of the characters were super naïve and that this book would read as more of a younger, early teens YA. You start believing Adraa’s like every other YA fantasy heroine because of the narrative tone, but that’s because as a reader you don’t know all her secrets yet. And boy, those secrets really drive the storyline somewhere I didn’t expect. Adraa is a full-fledged bada$$.

As for Jatin, he seemed like that arrogant prince set up in every other YA novel as well, but he really just wants to be loved. Aww… The dynamic between these two characters through the entire middle of the book was so fun and simultaneously frustrating. I very much enjoyed all the angst, and I wish it could have gone on longer and not been resolved so easily. Though both characters had good heads on their shoulders and didn’t blow things out of proportion when major secrets were revealed. Good for them.

The side characters were also interesting. However, I was hoping there would be more page-time for them. There were glimpses of other characters’ relationships with Adraa and Jatin, but it would have been nice to get a little more interaction, especially with the two guards, Riya and Kalyan.

Tying into the side characters, is the ending of the story. There’s isn’t really a cliffhanger to this first duology installment, which I feel was a bit of a mistake—the final pages could have been stronger if it had cut off more abruptly. Yet even so, there are some important conversations between family members that did give the story a bit of a boost. It also made me happy to see living parents who love their kids. We don’t get a lot of that in YA fantasy these days.

All in all, Cast in Firelight is a super fun time. It has a fascinating magic system with two complex characters who I very much want to see succeed. I’m definitely looking forward to book two!

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

 

November Wrap-Up & December TBR

November has been an interesting month. It started out busy, but now things have slowed down quite a bit. I’ve been reading more this month than I did in October, and I’ve finished some big books that have been taking up too much time. This means December is free for impulse reading. Yay!

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in November 

A Game of Thrones: 4 stars
The Bridge Kingdom: 4 stars
The Traitor Queen: 4 stars
The Blood Spell: 3 stars
Kingdom of the Wicked: 4 stars (my review)
The Name of the Wind: 3 stars
Let the Wind Rise: 3 stars

I read seven books this month. All of them except one were physical books. The ebook was The Name of the Wind, my book club’s autumn pick. It was a doozy to get through. I think it took me almost an entire month. A Game of Thrones was also one that took me a long time, but that was out of choice. I’m reading one A Song of Ice and Fire book per year. Hopefully, that will give Martin enough time to finish writing the sixth and seventh books (lol), so I can get a decent ending to the series.

Other than those chunkers, the other reads were kind of just books I picked up on a whim. Though, Let the Wind Rise is a last-book-in-series that I want to read before the end of 2020. Oh, and two books were books I’d owned physical copies of prior to 2020: A Game of Thrones and Let the Wind Rise. Also, I’m still very behind on book reviews. None of them are for publishers, so I’m okay with being behind yet again.

Books Bought/Received in November

I didn’t buy any books in the month of November that didn’t come in one of my subscription boxes. Well, I take that back. I didn’t spend any money on books in November. I actually got two ebooks for free: Realm of Knights by Jennifer Anne Davis and The Maiden Ship by Michelle Ryckman. Realm of Knights was free on Kindle, and I ended up getting a $5 spending credit from Amazon that I used on The Maiden Ship.

Other than those two, my Baecrate order of The Bridge Kingdom duology came in, and my October FairyLoot and November Owlcrate boxes arrived. I’m not sure if I’m keeping the November Owlcrate book, Among the Beast and Briars. It’s pretty, but the box and book itself just sound so mediocre. The October FairyLoot was Kingdom of the Wicked, which I’ve already read and enjoyed. The copy is beautiful too. Oh, I did buy some book fanart this month. A lot of From Blood and Ash art, a Daenerys art piece, and one piece of Throne of Glass art. I’ll share them sometime in a separate post.

Currently Obsessed With

There wasn’t anything major to obsess over in the month of November. The biggest thing was the series finale of Supernatural, which I thought was okay. Some people are super p*ssed about it, but I liked most of it. There were simply some nitpicks that the production and writing teams should’ve fixed, in my opinion. I’m just glad Jensen Ackles can now move on to The Boys. I’m super excited to see his superhero suit.
 

My mom and I also finished watching Buffy and Angel. Since this was the first time she watched both shows, she got to see the ending for the first time as well. She wasn’t super satisfied with either of them. I understand that for Angel, but I thought Buffy had a good ending. And finally, The Office is coming off Netflix at the end of December, so I’m re-watching the show for maybe the last time in a long while. 

Currently Reading/December TBR

I only have one book that I need to read this month, Cast in Firelight (not pictured), since it’s a review copy. And, since I have the 2020 goal to read as many endings to series as possible, I’d like to finish United by Melissa Landers. Other than those two, I have A Warm Heart in Winter, A Court of Mist and Fury, and Lady Midnight on my list. ACOMAF and LM are ones I’ve started already, but I just can’t seem to get through, even though I really want to. ACOMAF because, while I don’t like the main couple, I think I’ll really like the side characters and the spinoffs. For LM, I just want to see if I can get back into the Shadowhunter world, especially since I enjoy Magnus and Alec.

***

Okay, well, that’s the month of November, plus some December sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for this month? If so, share in the comments!

Review: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Kingdom of the Wicked

Kerri Maniscalco

(Kingdom of the Wicked #1)

Publication Date: October 27, 2020

Hardcover, 448 pages, JIMMY Presents

Genres: YA, Paranormal/Fantasy

Goodreads

Two sisters.

One brutal murder.

A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…

And an intoxicating romance.

Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost-even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked-princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…

My Review

Unlike a lot of people, I didn’t really know a whole lot about this book (or that it even existed) until October’s FairyLoot theme was announced. And actually, I’m glad it wasn’t a book that was on my radar. Surprises for book bloggers are hard to come by in these days of Bookstagram, Booktube, and Goodreads.

All that being said, I did very much enjoy this one. Kingdom of the Wicked reminded me of a cross between Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Dark Elements trilogy and Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series. Two series I enjoy very much.

Like most paranormal romance books, there are two main characters in this one. The heroine is Emilia, a witch who just lost her secret-keeping twin sister, and the love interest is Wrath, a prince of the underworld. Emilia is a decent character, she kind of just ran around making bad decisions 90% of the novel. However, she accomplished what she set out to do. It just seemed like every time she stepped out of her house, she’d run into demon creature goon #99 and discover a clue to her revenge plot. It was almost a little too easy and quick sometimes. Now Wrath, he was cool. Not the best demon prince I’ve ever read about (that title goes to Roth), but sexy, nonetheless.

So the characters are fun, but not super unique. The author did manage to create an awesome world, though. Using the seven deadly sins as demon princes is super similar to Lords of the Underworld, but there’s a different vibe, since these are witch-based demon princes and not demons from Pandora’s Box. Unfortunately, I am still kind of confused about what the time period in Italy was when this book takes place, since there are no cell phones yet the clothes for Wrath reminded me of an early-1900s gentleman. Maybe it was mentioned and I just missed it. Not sure. Oh, and why was there a map of a certain demonland at the beginning if the characters never actually visit it..?

As for the ending, the book concludes on a pretty big, annoying cliffhanger. Gah! I hate it when authors cut the book off when things just get really good. But I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel. Oh, and a random quirk I noticed was Emilia’s parents, who just let their daughter run around talking with demons. Very odd.

All of my nitpicks aside, Kingdom of the Wicked is a fast-paced, addicting read. If you love any kind of paranormal romance, this is for you. In fact, I wish it had been New Adult versus YA. I think it really could’ve been better with a higher page count and some darker scenes.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

The End of the Year Book Tag

The hell that is 2020 is almost over! Hurrah! Now, while 2020 was bad for almost every faucet of my life, one good thing that came out of it was my reading amount. Being stuck at home all the time really helped me get out of my 2019/early-2020 reading slump.

We still have a month and a half of the year left, so I thought I’d do the End of the Year Book Tag. I’m not sure who this tag was created by, but I found the questions on Green Tea & Paperbacks blog. Anywho, let’s get this party started!

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Yes. I started Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare in September. I was about 100 pages in, but I wasn’t feeling it at the time. I had a minor reading slump in September and October that I’m blaming on Jennifer L. Armentrout’s A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire. That book was sooooo good, and nothing else I had on my shelves could compare. I put down a lot of books that I know I’ll probably like, simply because I wasn’t in the mood for them right then. I doubt I finish Lady Midnight before 2021, but I might try to get over halfway.

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

Not really. I’m not a seasonal reader, for the most part. I do have Let the Wind Rise by Shannon Messenger on my 2020 TBR, and I need to get to it soon. It has elemental magic in it, does that count as seasonal? I’m also going to try (again) to read A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas before 2021. I haven’t read it, so I can’t be sure, but it seems like it gives off autumnal/winter-y vibes. I know that in January of next year I want to read Winterspell by Claire Legrand for a snowy transition book, but that’s not 2020.

Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

Yes and kind of are my answers. Master of One by Daida Jones is one I really want to read. Unfortunately, my copy is coming in a subscription box, two months after the original release date. Also, the fourth book in the Ember in the Ashes series comes out in December, but I’m waiting on Penguin Teen to release a boxset, so I can have matching hardback covers. Also also, I almost forgot that A Warm Heart in Winter by J.R. Ward is coming out December 1. I’m nervous about it, though, as I did not like The Chosen.

What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

The big one is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It’s my book club’s autumn pick, and we’re all struggling to get through. I’m almost halfway right now, but it’s a doozy. The other two are United by Melissa Landers and Let the Wind Rise. I had a 2020 reading goal to read some last books in series that I own. These two are the only books left on that list. Oh, and I need to read Cast in Firelight, since it’s a review copy.

Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?

Hmm… Maybe Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco? I’ve heard good things, even though I knew nothing about it prior to it being featured in the October FairyLoot box.

Have you already started making reading plans for 2021?

Yes. I know I want to finish the Daevabad trilogy, including a re-read of The City of Brass. The City of Brass was one of my favorite reads of the year, but I held off finishing the trilogy because my FairyLoot copies didn’t get here until October-ish and I got super busy with work. I wanted to take my time and really enjoy my experience reading the series, so I’m hoping to get to them immediately in 2021. My other reading plans are less concrete, but I do want to start and complete some series I own all the copies of, like Caraval. I also need to read A Clash of Kings, but that will take the entire year since I only read a few chapters of the ASoIaF books at a time.

***

Alright, there you have it. My End of the Year Book Tag answers. What would your answers to these questions be? Let me know in the comments below!

September and October Wrap-Up & November TBR

So I haven’t been on the blog for the entirety of October. Sorry about that.

There are three major reasons I’ve been M.I.A. One is that I was in a giant reading slump in late September/early October. It was super difficult to read anything, and what I did read was mostly lighter contemporaries. The second reason is how difficult Blogger has made it to write posts. The new interface is driving me insane. I know simple coding, but to have to code almost every single thing when I’ve been using post templates for so long is frustrating. It makes posts that took 30 minutes to write take double or triple that time. I hate it so much. And, my third excuse is just how busy and overwhelming my life has been lately. Work got crazy and life was icky, but, thankfully, things will be slowing down for a while.

Okay, so that’s my long-winded explanation for being gone. However, I probably won’t be posting super often this month either. I’m focusing on getting back into reading books, not writing reviews and stuff. I’m hoping once I get back into reading, the blogging love will return to me. I do plan on writing wrap-ups for each month, though. I just like looking back at them at the end of the year.

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read in September and October, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in September & October

 

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire: 4.5 stars (my review)

Witchling: 3 stars (re-read)

Children of Virtue and Vengeance: 3 stars

Bear, Otter, and the Kid: 3 stars

Unnatural: 3 stars

Kick at the Darkness: 4 stars

Boyfriend Material: 4.5 stars

Conventionally Yours: 3 stars

Brothersong: 4 stars

Bonds of Brass: 3.5 stars

In September, I read seven books. The three ebooks I read were Bear, Otter, and the Kid; Unnatural; and Kick at the Darkness. Four were physical copies: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, Witchling, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, and Boyfriend Material. Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn was a re-read, and I’d like to re-read/finish reading the entire Otherworld Sisters series in the next year or so. It’s a long series, so this may take some time. It’s not the best series, but it is fun and unique. As for Children of Virtue and Vengeance, it was the September book club read. Boyfriend Material and the ebooks I read were pretty much just desperate attempts to get me out of a reading slump by consuming light and breezy contemporary/paranormal romance books. And finally, the first book I read for the month of September, and the cause of all of my reading slump pain was AKOFAF by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This book was so amazing that everything just felt blah in comparison. So rude.

In October, I only read three books. Two were physical copies: Brothersong by TJ Klune and Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert. I also read Bonds of Brass, an ebook I purchased for cheap on Kindle back in the spring.

I’ve only written a review for one of these reads. I have notes ready to write up reviews for the other books, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to them. Also, none of the books I read these two months were pre-2020 purchases. Yikes.

Books Bought/Received in September & October

 

Unfortunately, I made a lot of impulse purchases/downloads in a desperate attempt to get out of my reading slump. I won’t be sharing every Kindle Unlimited book I downloaded, but I will share the ones I read. Those include Unnatural by Alessandra Hazard and Bear, Otter, and the Kid by TJ Klune. These were both downloaded in September.

In total, I purchased six books in September. Three were ebooks: Kick at the Darkness by Keira Andrews, The Black Witch by Laurie Forest, and A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire. The Black Witch was cheap on Kindle, so I bought it. AKOFAF I bought as an ebook because my print book wasn’t going to arrive quickly enough for my taste. As for the three print books, I purchased Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert. Also, my copies of AKOFAF and Midnight Sun arrived from Amazon, so I was charged in September versus when I ordered them in August. Oh, I also got the September FairyLoot which I sold because the cover of the book was ugly and the items were meh. Additionally, I traded a book for an ARC of Wicked as You Wish.

In October, I purchased one ebook: The Name of the Wind. I also purchased five books that have arrived this month: Legendborn, Brothersong, Spoiler Alert, White Trash Warlock, and Black Sun. Legendborn was the October Owlcrate book. Brothersong was an Amazon order, and Spoiler Alert and White Trash Warlock were from Semicolon online. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (not pictured) I purchased at B&N on Halloween. My first time being in a bookstore since this all started. In total, I purchased six books that arrived in October, seven if you count my October FairyLoot that I’ve purchased and just hasn’t arrived yet.

As for new arrivals, my FairyLoot special edition order of the Daevabad series came in, finally. My Owlcrate pre-order special edition of A Deadly Education also came in. I’m kind of disappointed with how this one turned out. Plus, I’ve heard some not-so-great things. I think I’ll stop buying special editions of books if there aren’t photos of the product available beforehand.

Currently Obsessed With

I’m not super obsessed with anything right now. In the month of September, I was very much into Twilight. I was reading all kinds of fanfic, and I just couldn’t find adequate paranormal romance books to slate my thirst. I ended up putting down a lot of books during that time. (I won’t say DNF, simply because I plan on trying them again when I’m not in a slump.)

I did end up watching Schitt’s Creek, however. It was fun. Patrick and David are very cute together, and the Rose family as a whole is entertaining. I’ve been reading a bit of fanfic for it, but there’s not a lot of longer fics out there for this series. Besides Schitt’s Creek, I’m still re-watching Buffy and Angel with my mom—her for the first time. We’re on season seven of Buffy and season four of Angel. Oh, and I finished season two of The Boys, and Supernatural season 15 is almost complete. Supernatural has terrible writing right now, but I’m still dedicated to watching every Thursday. I just hope the last episode is decent. Jared and Jensen deserve that, at the very least.

Currently Reading/November TBR

I’m not really giving myself a TBR this month. I’m wary of forcing myself to read anything after being in another reading slump. Thankfully, this one didn’t last a full year like 2019’s did, but I don’t want to risk spiraling again. I will say that I’m currently reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss for my book club’s fall 2020 pick. I’m only 10% in now, so I’ve got a long way to go. I’m also almost finished with A Game of Thrones. Woot! Woot! Only 7% left. Other than those two, I’ve been hoping to re-read The City of Brass and then read The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold, as well as Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade and White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton.

*** 

Okay, well, that’s the months of September and October, plus some November sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for this month? If so, share in the comments!

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Cast in Firelight by Dana Swift

 "Can’t-Wait Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Wishful Endings, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

Cast in Firelight

Dana Swift

(Wickery #1)

Publication Date: January 19, 2021

Hardcover, 448 pages, HarperTeen

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Goodreads

The first book in an epic, heart-pounding fantasy duology about two royal heirs betrothed to be married, but whose loyalties are torn, and a ruthless enemy who threatens their world, perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Hafsah Faizal, and Renée Ahdieh.

Adraa is the royal heir of Belwar, a talented witch on the cusp of taking her royal ceremony test, and a girl who just wants to prove her worth to her people.

Jatin is the royal heir to Naupure, a competitive wizard who's mastered all nine colors of magic, and a boy anxious to return home for the first time since he was a child.

Together, their arranged marriage will unite two of Wickery's most powerful kingdoms. But after years of rivalry from afar, Adraa and Jatin only agree on one thing: their reunion will be anything but sweet.

Only, destiny has other plans and with the criminal underbelly of Belwar suddenly making a move for control, their paths cross...and neither realizes who the other is, adopting separate secret identities instead.

Between dodging deathly spells and keeping their true selves hidden, the pair must learn to put their trust in the other if either is to uncover the real threat. Now Wickery's fate is in the hands of rivals..? Fiancées..? Partners..? Whatever they are, it's complicated and bound for greatness or destruction.

My Thoughts

Such a pretty cover. I’m a little wary of the new trend of illustrated book covers, but this one is lovely. I have a feeling Cast in Firelight will be in a lot of book subscription boxes in November. (Update: New January 2021 release date due to COVID-related printing issues, so it may not be in any boxes this year.) I’m ready for it, though. So ready. I just hope they don’t change the color scheme of the art. I have a NetGalley review copy of this one, so at least I don't have to wait to read it. :)

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Review: Crave by Tracy Wolff

Crave

Tracy Wolff

(Crave #1)

Publication Date: April 7, 2020

Hardcover, 592 pages, Entangled Teen

Genres: YA, Paranormal

Goodreads

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

My Review

I bought this book solely because I’ve been obsessed with Twilight lately, and this cover is 100% Twilight. Right? Right. While Crave does have similar vibes to Twilight, it’s not quite the same. Which is good, because no one likes to read the same book written by different authors, but I was looking forward to that type of narrative, so I have mixed feelings.

Let’s start with the characters. Grace is very naïve, and it feels like she didn’t ask important questions about the different supernatural species and what their species means for her current situation. Jax, our vampire love interest, has an intriguing history given his princely position. This element was actually super interesting, and it wasn’t explored very much except in snippets of backstory. I hope we get more in the sequels. Jax is definitely similar to Edward Cullen. He’s got the angst thing down.

Something I very much didn’t like about this book were the pop culture references both of the characters make. They took me so out of the story, especially the Twilight one. Why was that necessary? Don’t break the fifth wall if you’re a paranormal romance writer. It’s weird. Also, Jax and Grace have cheesy dialogue and text messaging scenes that are supposed to come across as romantic but really just sound pathetic. I wasn’t impressed by them.

Now, for what I did like. I liked the dichotomy of watching everyone in the school react to Jax and Grace’s relationship, more than I actually liked Jax and Grace’s relationship, unfortunately. Their romance is very shallow, but the side characters and how they feel about Jax and Grace truly make the book. Oh, and the chapter titles were super fun! I loved them. That’s how you can safely break the fifth wall without it being disruptive to the story.

One thing I do have to mention is that there seemed to be an editing error towards the end that really had me scratching my head, as it throws the story out of whack. This is kind of spoilery, but not really. So Grace says she’s Jax’s “mate” in her head before anyone else even mentions the term. This really bothered me. Also, the bad guy is predictable. Even the motivation behind the plan was predictable. The dynamic between some of the bad guys was cool, though. I wish that had been explored more.

I know I’m bashing this book a lot, but it did manage to entertain me, and it was super easy to read, despite being almost 600 pages. I like paranormal romance and supernatural creatures. I had just hoped for more character and plot development, and I think this could have been amazing if some things were changed versus how average it sits as is.

All in all, Crave is a fun YA paranormal book. I would have liked it more if I’d read it in the early Twilight years, but it’s still entertaining, and I might pick up the sequel. However, I’m tired of werewolves being the bad guys or the weak ones compared to the vampires. It’s annoying. Werewolves are sooo much cooler.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Review: Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer

Life and Death

Stephenie Meyer

(Twilight #1.75)

Publication Date: November 1, 2016

Paperback, 400 pages, Little, Brown Books

Genres: YA, Paranormal

Goodreads

For the first time in a stand-alone paperback comes Stephenie Meyer's Life and Death, a compelling reimagining of the iconic love story that will surprise and enthrall readers.

There are two sides to every story....

You know Bella and Edward, now get to know Beau and Edythe.

When Beaufort Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edythe Cullen, his life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With her porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edythe is both irresistible and enigmatic.

What Beau doesn't realize is the closer he gets to her, the more he is putting himself and those around him at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back....

My Review 

I have been super into Twilight lately. I guess it’s because Midnight Sun was just released, and I’m feeling nostalgic for my simple high school days, especially with everything going on in the world. It’s been easy to dive back into this fascinating world. Oh, and this review basically assumes you’ve read Twilight. If you haven’t, well, that’s odd. Read it.

Honestly, the idea of flipping the typical paranormal romance trope on its head by having the mysterious vampire/werewolf/warlock be female versus male is so appealing to me. I’m tired of reading about possessive males. I want some possessive females goshdarnit. Stephenie Meyer kind of gave me that, though I really wanted more from the concept of male Bella and a female Edward. My favorite scenes were actually the ones that were different from the original Twilight, like Beau having to ride on Edythe’s back and feeling like a gorilla since he’s so much taller than her. More scenes breaking down conceptions of masculinity in relationships would’ve really been fun to explore. (Thankfully fanfiction has kind of done this, so I’ve been slating that thirst through those means.)

Personally, I think the only sexes that should’ve been changed in this story are the three main characters: Edward/Edythe, Bella/Beau, and Jacob/Julie. While I enjoyed some of the cool new names (Royal was my favorite name in the book), sometimes the sex changes for the non-important or side characters were just confusing. Like, why did the school nurse’s sex need changed? Or the bad vampires? Or the teachers? It just seemed like wasted effort on Meyer’s part when she could’ve focused more on those masculinity conceptions instead.

This book has inspired many ideas from me, and I’m super glad Meyer wrote it, but truly, it’s just a copy/paste of the first 90% of Twilight with very minor differences. I wish there’d been more changes in voice from Bella to Beau. Also, the ending was uber rushed. I very much liked that it was different from the original, but HOLY COW was it crazy fast. Another 25 pages to flush everything out wouldn’t have killed Meyer to write.

All in all, I enjoyed this one for personal reasons, but I can understand why some would find it a money grab. To me, it was fun, and I would love to get a sequel. I know it’ll never happen, but it would be cool. I guess I’ll just have to settle for the two unofficially announced books Meyer has mentioned writing in the Twilight-verse. I’m crossing my fingers for a Rosalie/Emmett book or a Leah spinoff. Let me know what you’d like to see in a new Twilight book!

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.