Review: Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Bring Me Their Hearts

Sara Wolf

Publication Date: June 5, 2018

Hardcover, 370 pages, Entangled Teen

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Goodreads

Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.

Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all. Winner takes the loser’s heart.

Literally.

My Review

I've had this book on my to-read shelf for a very long time, and I only just recently decided to pick it up. And overall, I'm very glad I did. This is a fun, quirky YA fantasy story with a cute romance following a character who reminds me a lot of other spunky female characters like Buffy and the '90s Sabrina.

Zera, the protagonist, has a very sarcastic voice, which sometimes was super refreshing, but at other times could get slightly annoying. With that in mind, the narration style could sometimes be a bit much, though once you get used to it, you barely notice the strange phrasings and sentence structures. Zera herself is a Heartless, which is essentially a witch's undead slave. The other central character in the story is Lucien, the crown prince. He's almost the typical brooding hero type, but I feel like there's more to him than meets the eye. Plus, he's very charmed by Zera's quirks, and seems to fall pretty hard for her throughout the book. Also, Lucien's family history is fascinating, and I like how protective he is of his people.

The typical fantasy YA romance trope is kind of flipped on its head in this debut. Instead of the boy being the dangerous person/creature, the girl is the monster. It's unique and creative. A girl monster enslaved to witches sent to enslave a prince to those same witches? I like it. And the other creatures throughout the story are also quite unique. Kudes to the author for not just adding the same werewolves, fairies, or elves to build onto her world.

As for the plot, it was mostly just about Zera capturing the attention of Lucien. His and Zera's relationship wasn't forced, but I think more time between the two of them before the end of this first installment would have made me as a reader feel more connected to their plights. However, I did enjoy what was happening enough to want to pick up the sequel, which I'm currently reading. Oh, and while there is a bad guy in this book, he's rather stereotypical so far, unfortunately.

All in all, Bring Me Their Hearts is a nice addition to the growing list of YA fantasy books out there. I think readers of Sarah J. Maas and Kerri Maniscalco will find this series fun, but not as complex or life-consuming. It's simply a good time.

Review: Everless by Sara Holland

Everless

Sara Holland

(Everless #1)

Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Hardcover, 362 pages, HarperTeen

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Goodreads

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

My Review

Everless is a YA fantasy centered around blood being the ultimate currency and what happens to the poor when the wealthy hoard it. There's also a bit of magic and mystery to the story as well. Honestly, this book reads a lot like a young adult fairytale retelling, even though it isn't one.

The main character of Everless, Jules, is, unfortunately, not super special in terms of personality, though she does have a secret ability. Jules mostly comes across as an average young adult fantasy female protagonist. Despite this, the story was fun to read and quick to fly through.

As for the other characters, there weren't very many that actually stood out. I did enjoy the love interest switch, though I wanted more from both boys in terms of personality, just like Jules. The side characters were soft and charming, and Jules' father and her friends were nice. They simply weren't as involved in the story as they could have been. I think all of these character issues could have been solved with another 100 pages added to the book to really delve into who these fictional people are.

Continuing on the idea that there needed to be more pages was the plot of the book. Sometimes it felt like a fever dream and wasn't explained very well. (More pages would've helped flush things out.) Also, the "ending twist" was predictable, but I did like the cliffhanger. I may or may not pick up book two. It just depends on when/if I get around to buying a copy.

Overall, it's an intriguing world that could have been a lot darker if the author had explained things in depth or slowed things down a lot more to make the story truly devious and fascinating. After all, a world built on blood currency is rather grim.

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

 

Review: From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

From Twinkle, with Love

Sandhya Menon

Publication Date: May 22, 2018

Hardcover, 330 pages, Simon Pulse

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Goodreads

An aspiring teen filmmaker finds her voice and falls in love in this delightful romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi.

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy-a.k.a. Sahil's twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man N begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it's Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she's fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she's got is not the one she's scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

My Review

I find myself in a weird position when it comes to Sandhya Menon’s young adult contemporary books. While I absolutely love her ideas and the family dynamics she creates for her characters, I feel like Menon just misses the mark when it comes to delving into the coolest parts of her story ideas—the character’s projects. In this book, it’s Twinkle’s short film (though I’m not sure how original her project actually was), and in Menon’s previous book, it was Dimple’s coding project. Both didn’t get the amount of page time I desired.

I pushed my disappointment for that aside, however, because I do really enjoy Menon’s main characters. They’re super realistic. I very much empathized with Twinkle and how crappy her friend was treating her. But Twinkle isn’t innocent in it all. She made some bad decisions and got a little full of herself. The side characters, including Twinkle’s friend, were very annoying, unfortunately. I’m not sure if it’s just because I’m not in high school anymore or if they’re really just all bad friends and people. I can’t say. I can say that to me, they seemed annoying and selfish.

I did like the love interest, Sahil. He was cute and a disaster. He did kind of let himself be pushed around a lot, though. The one time he did snap, I questioned if he was really a good guy or not because it was just such a weird thing to get mad about. But again, these are teenagers. Irrational, hormonal, awkward teenagers. Yikes. Twinkle and Sahil are still charming together, and I wish we’d gotten more time with their relationship, as well as for both of their families. The familial aspects of the story didn’t really seem finished, sadly.

So overall, I’m conflicted with this one. I LOVE Menon’s ability to build characters who are unique with unique dreams and goals and families and friends, but I always feel like there’s something missing by the end of the book. They’re all still fun reads, though, and I think I’ll pick up the companion novels eventually. This is huge considering I don’t read YA contemporary very often anymore.

Review: Children of Blood and Bone

Children of Blood and Bone

Tomi Adeyemi

(Legacy of Orïsha #1)

Publication Date: March 6, 2018

Hardcover, 544 pages, Henry Holt

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Goodreads

They killed my mother.

They took our magic.

They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

My Review

So this was my recently-created high school book club reunion’s book club pick for July. I’ve had it on my shelves for about a year or so, and I’ve just been waiting to dig into it once the last book is closer to being released. And I can definitely say that I’m happy we read it. It’s a super fun and inspiring fantasy world.

Zélie, our main character, is rebellious, and she can also be super stubborn. That stubbornness was actually refreshing, especially with how it took her time to trust people versus other main characters in fantasy series who trust waaaay too easily and end up paying for it in the end. However, Zélie did make some strange decisions, like stopping for a party when she had a limited amount of time to complete a task. As for Inan, he’s the brooding prince with secret magic. I should love him. And I do. But I’m also mad at him. But at the same time, I get where he's coming from. He’s definitely got a Prince Zuko possible redemption arc thing going on. It intrigues me.

The third point-of-view we get is Amari, Inan’s sister. She started out as a kind of a meh character, but she actually grew into a fierce protagonist. I’m excited to see how her role expands in future installments, and I’m glad she isn’t just another spoiled, rich princess with no skills. And the final main character, who doesn’t get a POV chapter, is Tzain. He’s the overprotective big brother. He makes me think of a squishy-soft deadly grizzly bear. Cute, fluffy, and friendly, but deadly.

As for the big bad of the book, we have Saran, Inan and Amari’s father. He’s kind of a cross between a stereotypical villain and yet not at the same time. He gets a lot of his characterization from his children’s flashback scenes, which I very much enjoyed and wanted more of. Towards the end of the book, when he’s seen on page, he just wasn’t as intimidating. I think the fear his children had for their father really made him seem monstrous. Through other POVs, he just wasn’t as terrifying.

There’s plenty of action between these four characters and all the chaos of Adeyemi’s world. I was only slightly bored during one scene, which I think was just because I was having issues picturing what exactly was going on. It was a boat, gladiator-type scene that I just couldn’t seem to wrap my head around. And that’s also where I have to admit that the magic could be a tad confusing. Not in the abilities, but the actual scope of the powers and how they could/couldn’t be used. There wasn’t a limit explained (or maybe I just didn’t understand it), as to what each power could do. Honestly, because of the lack of limitations, the battle magic was the least interesting part to me. I preferred when they all fought with regular weapons or were on the run.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this, despite some nitpicking. There’s plenty of action, a ton of magic, and some romance that has me ready for books two and three, though I’m nervous about the sequel, as I’ve heard not-so-great things.

Review: Ravensong by TJ Klune

Ravensong

TJ Klune

(Green Creek #2)

Publication Date: July 31, 2018

Paperback, 400 pages, Dreamspinner Press

Genres: Adult, Paranormal

Goodreads

Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack who left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves.

It should have been enough.

And it was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. In the end, they faced the beast together as a pack… and won.

Now, a year later, Gordo has found himself once again the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them.

But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it’s crawling from within.

Some bonds, no matter how strong, were made to be broken.

My Review

I have to be honest. When I first read that Gordo was the narrator for the second book in the Green Creek series, I wasn’t super excited. I was much more invested in the younger pack members’ lives than Mark and Gordo’s. But boy, did TJ Klune blow those feelings out of the freaking water. I was pleasantly surprised by how much Gordo and Mark grew on me by the end of this book.

I do have to admit that the first 30% of Ravensong is slow. Not because it’s bad, but because a lot of it covers events that took place during Wolfsong, just from Gordo’s POV. I really enjoyed the young Gordo flashbacks, but the other scenes weren’t my favorites. I was very happy when we caught up to current events a third of the way through the book, so the plot could really start rolling.

The pack is just as crazy in the sequel as they were in the first installment. They’re a tight-knit group, and they all seem to have problems staying out of trouble. Especially Mark and Carter. Mark because he’s protective of Gordo, and Carter because he’s… well, he’s Carter. Speaking of Carter, he meets someone in this book. Someone seemingly very important. And I adored their scenes. Carter is such a dork.

Overall, this book was super twisty and unexpected. The ending also shocked me, something I rarely expect to happen in urban fantasy stories. If you’re a werewolf addict like me, this is a fun m/m romance series you need to add to your TBR. You won’t regret it.

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

Review: Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Let’s Talk About Love

Claire Kann

Publication Date: January 23, 2018

Hardcover, 288 pages, Swoon Reads

Genres: YA/NA, Contemporary

Goodreads

Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting--working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual). Alice is done with dating--no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.

But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).

When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood.

My Review

This book has been on my TBR for a while, and I didn’t pick it up because I’ve been on a fantasy/sci-fi roll for the past year or so. It’s truly hard for me to get into YA contemporary nowadays. But the asexual rep in this one had me curious, and since it was Pride Month, I wanted to go for it.

Thankfully, Let’s Talk About Love has college-age characters, so it’s more of a New Adult title than Young Adult, which means a more emotionally stable protagonist and some deeper relationship feelings. I love reading about a female main character who knows who she is inside but is just trying to figure out what she wants to do in the world. In college and even today, I had the same issues. Alice is fun, quirky, down-to-earth, and asexual. However, this story isn’t just about Alice’s sexuality. It’s about her relationship with her friends, parents, counselor, and her uncertainty in picking a major.

At first, Alice’s inner dialogue was a little difficult to sync with. She’s has a unique narration style, but after a few chapters, it gets easier and more fun to follow. She also drops a lot of fun pop culture references, including a Dean Winchester/Supernatural reference. That’s an automatic win in my book.

As for the side characters, that’s where I have a few issues. Feenie and Ryan are Alice’s best friends, and Alice decided to move in with them over the summer. When Alice and Feenie get into a fight over Feenie and Ryan ditching Alice, it’s kind of just let go by both characters. I did not like that. If you invite a friend to go to a party with you, and then you abandon her to hook up somewhere without even telling your friend where you’re going, you’re a jerk. You need to apologize. But Feenie never really did. And Ryan was pretty wishy-washy about the situation too. I just felt like both friends were trying to keep Alice from living her own romantic life and make new friends. Almost in the same manner Alice’s parents were trying to keep her from pursuing a different college major. While Feenie and Ryan had redeemable moments, I just couldn’t get over how $hitty they acted during all that drama. Maybe I could’ve accepted everything if the situation wasn’t glossed over and there’d actually been a true fight/conversation about what had happened. Things were simply resolved too easily. And perhaps that’s just how life works sometimes, but I personally was disappointed in how it all played out.

Now, Takumi, he’s quite the stud muffin. He can cook, he reads stories to small children, he babysits, and he’s just super sweet. I kind of wish he’d had a flaw or two, just to make him more realistic. (Stupid book boys giving readers everywhere unrealistic expectations about real-life men. Lol.) Regardless, he and Alice were both super adorable together.

All in all, this is an important book. Not just because of Alice’s asexuality, but because it deals with a character who doesn’t have her life together towards the end of her college career. It’s important for high school and college readers to see that kind of representation in their books. It’s also important they see characters like Alice take charge of their lives, even when others, including parents, put obstacles in their paths.

Review: Allied by Amy Tintera

Allied

Amy Tintera

(Ruined #3)

Publication Date: May 1, 2018

Hardcover, 405 pages, HarperTeen

Genres: YA, Fantasy

B&N | Book Depository | Amazon | Goodreads

In the final book in the New York Times bestselling Ruined series, the romance of The Selection and the epic stakes of Red Queen come together in a story of revenge, adventure, and unexpected love.

Emelina Flores and her sister, Olivia, were determined to bring peace to the people of Ruina. But as the war for liberation raged on, what triumph and freedom meant to Em and Olivia slowly changed. As Olivia’s violence and thirst for vengeance became her only ambition, Em was left to pick up the pieces.

But it’s not only Em who is upset by Olivia’s increased violence. Other members of the Ruined army are beginning to see the cracks, and soon a small group of them defects from Olivia’s army and joins Em instead. The two sisters are soon pitted against each other in an epic battle for the kingdom and the future, and only one will win.

My Review

The final book in the Ruined trilogy proves to be a satisfying end to a series that had its fair share of ups and downs. Book one was an amazing, fun adventure, while book two, Avenged, struggled to really grasp my interest. Thankfully, Allied stepped up its game and provided an enjoyable ending.

I have to begin this review with the warning that Allied does start off slowly, with frustrating character development. In Ruined, Cas’s naivete was cute and cinnamon roll-ish. Now, he just seems a little ridiculous, or at least, he does during the first half. He just can’t seem to step up his leading game until Em comes along. The same can be said of Em, though as well. She’s wishy-washy for someone who opened the series as a murderer set on revenge. BUT, once the two are in the same room, they actually take charge and rule. It’s not an amazing partnership, but it’s so much better to watch them work together than to watch them struggle while they’re apart.

My favorite characters in this book were actually the side characters. Aren and Galo had a fun bromance that I wish had been explored a little more, and Iria, despite me not remembering her character from Avenged, had the most interesting chapters. Olivia’s on the other hand, were meh, simply because they didn’t really add to her development. If anything, her POV made her seem badly written. She doesn’t inspire a lot of fear when she’s whining.

Like I mentioned, everything gets more fun as you get closer to the end. The characters are all in relatively close proximity to each other, and the pace picks up. There are rescues and betrayals, and swords and battles. It was a great ride that I flipped through fairly quickly after page 200 or so.

Overall, the premise of this series had so much potential. Magical abilities and royal intrigue are always great plot devices. And while Ruined was a fantastic adventure, Tintera almost lost me with Avenged. The world-building was what was holding the series together, and, sadly, the sometimes poorly-written characters slowly chipped away at that world-building. At least Allied gave the series the opportunity to end on a high note, and for that, I’m thankful.

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

Review: Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

Empire of Sand

Tasha Suri

(The Books of Ambha #1)

Publication Date: November 13, 2018

Paperback, 496 pages, Orbit

Genres: Adult, Fantasy

B&N | Book Depository | Amazon | Goodreads

A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri’s captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy.

The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited.

When Mehr’s power comes to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.

Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance…

Empire of Sand is a lush, dazzling fantasy novel perfect for readers of The City of Brass and The Wrath & the Dawn.

My Review

Empire of Sand has been compared to S.A. Chakraborty’s The City of Brass and Renée Ahdieh’s The Wrath & the Dawn, and I think it definitely has elements of both. It’s a lyrical story set in a fantasy world inspired by Mughal India, so it has all the same desert vibes. There’s also a strong heroine who makes impossible decisions for the good of her family and her people.

Mehr, the protagonist of the book, starts out a little arrogant and unrelatable, but she quickly grew on me, especially once the pacing of the story started to pick up around the fifty-page mark. It helps that we’re introduced to Amun around that time too. Mehr and Amun have a unique situation going on that was fascinating to see unravel. Poor Amun. He’s such a misunderstood cinnamon roll, and I adored how Mehr interacted with him and vice versa. I also really loved discovering the magic system through Mehr and Amun’s relationship.

What I didn’t love as much was the bad guy. Yes, the Maha seems very evil, but I felt a little bit jipped when it came to discovering who he was and how he gained so much power. I know that it was implied throughout the book, but there was never a solid explanation given. This, plus the rushed ending made me knock off a star. I still really enjoyed the book even with the flaws, but they still disappointed me a little. Though, I will say the book itself has an easy-to-follow magic system as a whole, which is a big plus in my book.

Overall, it’s hard to talk about this book. It has good world-building, good characters, and a plotline that kept me flipping pages once things really started going. It’s simply a good, digestible fantasy read that Renée Ahdieh, S.A. Chakraborty, Alwyn Hamilton, and Sabaa Tahir fans will probably enjoy. I know I did.

*Note: I received an ARC of this title at BookCon. This in no way affected my opinion/review.