Christmas Wednesdays: 12 Days of Dash and Lily

12 Days of Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Released: October 18th, 2016

Read: November 2016

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Format: ARC, 215 pages

Series: Dash & Lily #2

Description from Goodreads: Dash and Lily have had a tough year since readers first watched the couple fall in love. Lily’s beloved grandfather suffered a heart attack, and his difficult road to recovery has taken a major toll on her typically sunny disposition.
  With only twelve days left until Christmas—Lily’s favorite time of the year—Dash, Lily’s brother Langston, and their closest friends take Manhattan by storm to help Lily recapture the holiday magic of New York City in December.

Review: This book was more depressing than I thought it would be, especially considering how sweet and simple the first book was. Although it did have some funny parts, it was mostly sadness and coming to terms with change.
   I am glad that Dash finally ditched his fedora, but it worried me a little that there was a noticeable change in times between the last book and this one. For instance Trump was mentioned more than once, which is way too many times for a YA novel of any kind.
   Also, out of the two, Lily definitely changed the most between books and during this one. She went from cute teenage shut-in to over serious young-adult, but still makes mistakes and risks that don't particularly fit this new stage of her life. The end brings back most of her cheerfulness but she's still different, which is good. Because she can't remain the same forever, but it also seems like too drastic of a change in one short year. I mean, she's barely seventeen.
   Altogether, a weird and slightly disappointing sequel, but a realistic disappointment... if that makes sense.

Quotable Quotes:
- "What an idiot Santa is for flying around alone. Because who would want to travel the world without another person's heartbeat beside him?"
- "The minute she left the apartment, I missed having her there. But as with all loves, I supposed, the consolation was in the fact that she'd be back."

Rating: 6/10

Read if You Liked: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, adventures, romance, i'm not sure

Optimistically yours, Ola <3

Book Review: I Am Princess X

I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest
(with art by Kali Ciesemier)

Released: May 26th, 2015

Read: August 2016

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Format: Hardcover, 232 pages

Series: n/a

Description from GoodReads: Once upon a time, two best friends created a princess together. Libby drew the pictures, May wrote the tales, and their heroine, Princess X, slayed all the dragons and scaled all the mountains their imaginations could conjure.
   Once upon a few years later, Libby was in the car with her mom, driving across the Ballard Bridge on a rainy night. When the car went over the side, Libby passed away, and Princess X died with her.
   Once upon a now: May is sixteen and lonely, wandering the streets of Seattle, when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window.
   Princess X?
   When May looks around, she sees the Princess everywhere: Stickers. Patches. Graffiti. There's an entire underground culture, focused around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's story and Princess X online. And that means that only one person could have started this phenomenon - her best friend, Libby, who lives.

Review: This book was so good! Oh man I could talk about this book for ages! I mean, a book told partially through comics? A YA novel without romance? Girl power off the charts? This book has it all!
   It's pretty short, but honestly it could've been pulled out a little longer. I wouldn't have minded another hundred pages or so. The clues to unraveling the mystery were very well written and it kept me interested until the very end.
   May, while being pretty generic, is still a nice character. She can handle herself, and is constantly helpful and faithful to Libby throughout the book. Not to mention, she has relatable issues like forgetting to charge her laptop in crucial moments, and over-analysing things.
   Libby, who we only really see in the last few chapters is wonderfully clever, and seems to be a nice match for May.
   Oh and I forgot to mention, the art is amazing.

Quotable Quotes:
"Which meant he had about eight weeks to pull something amazing out of his butt. His butt was not being terribly helpful."
"I’d eat some pizza, if anybody decided to order one. You know. Hypothetically."
"She was a decent storyteller, but a crap liar, for all the sense that made."

Rating: 11/10

Read if You Liked: the Mysterious Benedict Society, Pretty Little Liars, Wildwood

Optimistically yours, Ola <3

Book Review: Vango

Vango: Between Sky and Earth by Timothée de Fombelle

Released: October 14, 2014

Read: July 2016

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Format: Hardcover, 432 pages

Series: Vango #1

Description from Goodreads:  A breathless adventure from international award winner Timothée de Fombelle charts a desperate search for identity across the vast expanses of Europe.
   In a world between wars, a young man on the cusp of taking priestly vows is suddenly made a fugitive. Fleeing the accusations of police who blame him for a murder, as well as more sinister forces with darker intentions, Vango attempts to trace the secrets of his shrouded past and prove his innocence before all is lost. As he crisscrosses the continent via train, boat, and even the Graf Zeppelin airship, his adventures take him from Parisian rooftops to Mediterranean islands to Scottish forests. A mysterious, unforgettable, and romantic protagonist, Vango tells a thrilling story sure to captivate lovers of daring escapades and subversive heroes.

Review: This book is a piece of art, and that only partially includes the cover. The characters are beautifully intertwined, and the way new clues are introduced make you discovered them.
  Vango is a paranoid almost-priest being chased by multiple people and countries. When have you ever heard a plot summary like that? Throughout the novel, the hunt is told from many, many interesting perspectives, and across many, many different countries. Oh boy, don't get me started on the well-crafted romance. A better love story than Romeo and Juliet (which honestly, is pretty easy to do). Vango and Ethel are madly in love but haven't seen each other since the summer they spent on the Graf Zeppelin. Ah, it's amazing.
   I was hooked from the very first, very confusing chapter, but the end left me wanting more from this novel. Not in an incomplete storytelling way, but in a "There better be a second book!!" way.
   The only issue with this book is that it's a bit slow sometimes. If you want non-stop, adrenaline high action from every scene, this is not your book. It's more of a slow thriller, and it's worth it, but it isn't high speed.

Quotable Quotes:
-"'I'm claustrophobic.''Nice to meet you! I'm paranoid.'"
-"'The shot has gone under my rib, Boulard my boy, so it must have been the shortest one who fired.' Even his final sigh was a police investigation."
-"Perhaps it was because of his wife that Pippo the farmer dreamt of becoming a sailor. There are certain people on this earth who make you want to sail very far away, and above all for a very long time."

Rating: 10/10

Read if You Liked: the 1930s in Europe, art, Paris, there are no books that I've read like this, the Leviathan (?)

Optimistically yours,
Ola

Book Review: The Raven King

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Released: April 26, 2016

Read: April 2016

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Format: Hardcover, 439 pages

Series: The Raven Cycle #4

Description from GoodReads: Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted.
   For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey… and is certain she is destined to kill him.
   Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.

Review: I normally dislike books that get dark and ruined until the last half of the book, but this one did it so well that I loved it. Almost everyone gets their stories wrapped up nicely enough to make me happy, but loosely enough to keep it realistic and open.
   It was also treated as not only an ending, but as just another book in the series, although things were getting progressively worse (not like bad-worse, but like plot-thickening-worse). New characters were introduced, old characters were built upon, the story continued.
   The ending was so good, I just can't get over it! Oh man I don't want to spoil anything, but it wasn't as welsh-kingy as I expected! Problems weren't solved with a flick of a wrist or a snap of a finger, it was real! It was personal and touching, more than I thought it would be. I felt like I was intruding on something deep and dark that I wasn't supposed to see. Whoo boy am I going on a rant.
   All in all, I adored this series, and this, the final book was just as good.

Quotable Quotes:
"His feelings for Adam were an oil spill; he'd let them overflow and now there wasn't a damn place in the ocean that wouldn't catch fire if he dropped a match."

"What a strange constellation they all were."

"It wasn't that Henry was less of himself in English. He was less of himself out loud. His native language was thought."

"Richard Gansey III had forgotten how many times he had been told he was destined for greatness."

Rating: 10/10

Read if You Liked: the deeper aspects of Harry Potter, teenagers finding themselves, (screaming)

Optimistically yours, Ola <3
(now off to read the other novel titled the Raven King)

Book Review: The Crown



The Crown by Kiera Cass

Released: May 3rd, 2016

Read: May 2016

Publisher: HarperTeen

Format: Paperback, 279 pages

Series: #5 of the Selection

Description from GoodReads: When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.

Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.


Review:
   I read the Selection series a few months before the One was released. I waited religiously for it's release. Then waited again for the Heir and now again for the Crown. Oh boy, was it worth the wait!
   This was a beautiful conclusion to a wonderful tale that I will miss dearly. But it was sort of weird watching America "grow up" and then watching her daughter "grow up". The fact that America was a little more distant in this series and book in particular was sad, because I really wanted to get to know grown-up America. It did really give us a different perspective into Maxon, though, which was nice.
   The boys, now that all the grossness was eliminated in the last book, are all nice people, and the reasons that they're let go in this book are valid (and at some points a little sad, or sweet). I'm a little disappointed with who Eadlyn ended up with, as he was not the one I liked best. But she did end up with someone who complimented her.


Quotable Quotes:

"Maybe it's not the first kisses that are supposed to be special. Maybe it's the last ones."

"Some see a weed; some see a flower. Perspective."
"Your impression of everyone is probably wrong in some way."


Rating: 9.5/10


Read if You Liked: the Glittering Court, Entwined, good relationship building, gal pals


Optimistically yours, Ola

Book Review: The Sun Trail

The Sun Trail by Erin Hunter


Released: April 10th, 2014
Read: February 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Paperback, 368 pages
Series: Warriors: Dawn of the Clans (#1)

Source: Purchased

Description from GoodReads: Before Rusty left his kittypet home...

   Before Bluestar ruled ThunderClan...
   Before Crookedstar made his fateful promise...
   The warrior Clans were born.
   Find out how it all came to be in this brand-new arc that reveals the origins of the four Clans. Featuring a new cast of characters, a richly developed world, and a never-before-seen look at the history of the warrior cats, this prologue arc is perfect for existing fans and for those new to the Warriors world. With over thirteen million copies sold and each new title hitting the New York Times bestseller list, the Warriors series is a true phenomenon that will continue to take readers by storm.

Review: First things first, these are not children's novels. They're much too gory and heart-breaking to be. Even if they were, they are amazing.

   The new set of characters in this book is so refreshing. After 4 arcs worth of the same 40 characters (an estimation, but yes, that is a lot), it was so nice to get to know new cats, with new issues and different relationships.

   One thing that never changes, or, always changes, are sibling relationships. They always fail. Someone dies, or leaves, or betrays the other. Grey Wing and Clear Sky are no different (spoiler? not really, though), and although Grey Wing gives up so many things for his brothers happiness, he gets nothing in return. It was a sad story that almost seems familiar. Hopefully in the end, Grey Wing gets his own happiness, and doesn't die a martyr, like other siblings have.

   It was also really weird to see the original forest from the point of view of newcomers. When we were introduced to it in the original series, it was already well worn and working, whereas here it's untouched and intimidating. 

   I liked the storyline and issues that the characters face, and the deaths were sad, as the ones who died were probably more memorable than the ones who survived.

Quotable Quotes:

“I love you too much for that. For my sake, go.”

“Dreams? What’s the point of that?”

Rating: 7/10

Read if You Liked: Narnia, Lord of the Rings, cats, adventures, failing sibling relationships

Optimistically yours, Ola <3

Book Review: Signs Point to Yes

Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall

Released: October 20th, 2015
Read: January 2016
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Format: Paperback, 228 pages
Series: n/a

Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads: If only Jane’s Magic 8 Ball could tell her how to get through the summer. With her “perfect” sister, Margo, home for her “perfect” internship, Jane is not going to be able to spend the summer writing fan fiction, as she had planned. And her emergency babysitting job requires Jane to spend the whole summer in awkward proximity to her new crush, Teo, a nerdy-hot lifeguard with problems of his own. With his best friend out of town, Teo finds himself without anyone to confide in…except Jane. Will Jane and Teo be able to salvage each other’s summer? Even the Magic 8 Ball doesn’t have an answer…but signs point to yes.

Review: This adorable book is just as cute on the inside as the amazing cover. Its got a wonderfully complicated, but-if-they-just-told-each-other romance, with other small plots that sort of get solved.
   Margo, who unsurprisingly, is not "perfect", barely gets her issues resolved. Teo's issues sort of get swept under the rug after he realizes he's in love with Jane (spoiler alert?). Not even the romance gets completely solved.
   If you just read it as a sweet and simple love story, and not over-analyze the plot holes, it's a lovely book! Jane is a typical teenage girl, with an annoyingly perfect older sister, and a crush. A great summer romance.

Rating: 7/10

Read if You Liked: Say You Will, The Fault in Our Stars, easy reads, cute romances

Optimistically yours, Ola <3

Book Review: The Last Place On Earth

The Last Place On Earth by Carol Snow

Released: February 23, 2016

Read: February 2016

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 

Format: ARC, 298 pages

Series: Stand-alone
Source: own

Description on Goodreads:
    Henry Hawking is sixteen years old, brilliant, funny, and sly--and now he's missing. But no one seems worried except his best friend, Daisy Cruz, who knows that Henry's security-obsessed parents would never leave town without taking proper precautions. And Henry would never go away without saying good-bye.
    Daisy considers all the obvious explanations for Henry's disappearance (federal witness protection program, alien abduction) before breaking into Henry's house. In his room, she finds a note that pleads, SAVE ME.
    Desperate to find Henry, Daisy follows his trail deep into the California wilderness. What she finds there makes her wonder if she ever knew Henry at all . . . and if the world as she knows it will ever be the same.

Review: 
    When I picked up The Last Place On Earth at McNally Robinson, I had never heard about it before and that shocked me. Until I realized it was a contemporary novel. Contemporary novels are not my favourite, I prefer thrillers and fantasy, but this one had more of an apocalyptic feel to it. 
    Even with the mysterious twist, the book had dull characters, a semi-dull plot and a definitely dull ending. The style of writing was quite boring and sounded almost robotic when I read it in my head.
    A few scenes did stand out from the murkiness though. Like when Daisy found out what was actually going on and when she plays Truth or Dare. These were quite interesting because I couldn't figure out what was going to happen next; they weren't predictable. Also the second scene involved Kyle, the bad boy surviver with a soft spot for his family. He was charming, kind (only to those he liked) and kind of peculiar. But he had a good heart and knew what he wanted out of life.
    I didn't enjoy this read that much, but that doesn't mean others shouldn't try it.
    

Favourite Quotes: 

• "In front of us, the ocean breathed in and out, maintaining the rhythm it had established long before humanity even existed. The ocean would always be here, even when we were not."
• "Wow, in just a couple of weeks, I had gone from being an interloper to the weakest link. That was what I called progress."
• "Family first, family second, family third."

Rating: 4/10

Recommended if you like: mysteries, friendship, small romances,  weird twists on contemporary novels

Keep flipping pages,
Lauren

Book Review: Legacy of Kings

Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman

Released: August 18th, 2015

Read: January, 2016

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Format: Hardcover, 428 pages
Series: Book #1 in Blood of Gods and Royals

Description from GoodReads: Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.
   Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to a newcomer…
   Katerina must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But she doesn’t account for her first love…
   Jacob will go to unthinkable lengths to win Katerina, even if it means having to compete for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince.
   And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet betrothed, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Review: Do you ever read books that entwine characters so perfectly well at just the right point in the plot line? This is one of those books. Although, at the beginning it won't look this way, so stick with it.
   An issue I had with Katerina, was that at times, her motives seemed mixed, or that she didn't seem to be going for her goals. For about a quarter of the book, both her and Jacob were barely mentioned, taking a back seat to Alexander, Hephaestion, and Cyn (who plays a more important role than Jacob and still isn't mentioned in the description).
  This isn't so much a problem, but some parts of the book can get kind of dark, or creepy. Not I-can't-sleep-at-night-creepy, but people-will-think-I'm-creepy-if-they-see-me-reading-this-creepy. Without any real spoilers, there's snakes and sacrifices.

Quotable Quotes:
"Weakness, he has learned, isn't in the arm or the leg or the back. Weakness is in the mind."
"Because sometimes it doesn’t help to chase after the thing you want. No. Sometimes you have to wait, however long it takes, until what you want most comes to you."

Rating: 8/10 

Read if You Liked: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Game of Thrones, Phillipa Gregory books

Optimistically yours, Ola <3

Doppelgänger Duels: Divergent vs the Hunger games

Hey, everyone!
   I'm sure every major book nerd out there has noticed that some books are a lot alike. Well, we have too. So we decided to dedicate a segment to book twins, or doppelgängers. Anyways, there are some more famous duplicates, and then there are the ones that are rarely noticed. We're going to try listing from both categories as much as we can. First things, first. Our first post is going to be an obvious one:

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH NOVELS. 

Divergent vs. the Hunger Games

   Both set in dystopian worlds, Divergent and the Hunger Games have the same plot. The main female character has been used, or attempted to be killed, and must now overthrow her government to make their land safe again and to finally end their battling. In Divergent, Tris must take down Jeanine Matthews with the rebellion, while in the Hunger games Katniss has to kill President Snow, with her rebellion.
   Starting to sound like the same book? No? I haven't even started ranting about the factions/districts yet. Really, there's not much that can be said. They're the same thing, as easy as that. One of the only differences is that there are five factions while there are thirteen districts. Also, the factions and districts represent different things. The factions represent personality traits: Intelligence, Bravery,
Honesty,  Selflessness and Kindness. The Districts represent specific industries like electronics, fishing, electrical power, lumber, transportation, agriculture and mining.
   Another similarity is their personality and the fact that Tris and Katniss both make sacrifices for their family. In Divergent (the series in general), Tris consistently does whatever she thinks is right (even if it hurts Tobias) in order to help her friends and her family. She risks her life whenever needed, and is kinda reckless about it.
Katniss is partly the same way. She strategizes the best way to help her people and her family, then acts on it, even if her life is in the balance.
    And then there are the differences...
   Katniss Everdeen volunteers for the Hunger Games after her sister is picked. She must outwit and outlive all the other contestants in order to return to her family and get back to the life she was living. Tris Prior chooses to leave her family behind and find her true self. She is also tested, through the Initiation, but she does this for herself and not for her family.
  Then there's the economical point of view. The people living in futuristic Chicago get to choose their role in society: either to be a teacher or work for the police force. They get to pick what they want to do and who they want to be. Meanwhile in Panem, the civilians are forced to do the job allotted to their district: work in a field or a mine. This is an enormous difference! Where would you rather live: in the semi-free Chicago or in the communist Panem?

So that's that! Stay updated for the next Doppelgänger Duel!!

-Lauren

Book Review: Blackhearts

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

Release date: February 9, 2016

Read: December, 2015

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: ARC, 384 pages

Description from GoodReads: Blackbeard the pirate was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until he met the one girl who would change everything.
   Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.
   Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?
   From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.

Review: This book was not the swash-buckling tale I had expected, and I am perfectly happy it wasn't. Instead it had a "Downton Abbey"-esque feel to it, with the whole upper class vs. lower class struggles.
   Oddly enough, the beginning was slow in a good way, because it didn't introduce characters so quickly that we forgot about them, like other books do. Instead it took its time and made sure we cared just the right amount about everyone. The plot sped up and unraveled at the right pace throughout the book and became high-paced at the end, which astounds me. How do you manage that tempo?
   One of my favourite things was Anne's character development. At first she was snarky and cold, but after falling in love with the handsome Edward, she grew more attuned to her emotions and was willing to let him in. Their entire love story was amazing, especially how flustered Anne could get by realizing they were alone at times.
   The bad guys were believable, the plot was amazing, and I cannot wait for the release! I sincerely hope it gets the attention it deserves.

Quotable Quotes:

"You've just spent a year at sea, encountering untold dangers, and you find me interesting? I've never been anywhere. I've never seen anything."

Rating: 8/10

Read if you liked: A Madman's Daughter, This Dark Endeavour, romance, Downton Abbey

Optimistically yours, Ola

Book Review: The Dark Days Club

The Dark Days Club by Allison Goodman

Released: January 26th, 2016
Read: January 2016
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Format: Paperback ARC, 496 Pages

Description from Goodreads:
London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

Review:
Where do I begin? Being a historical fiction and fantasy fan, this book grabbed my right from the start. I love Lady Helen herself. She is a strong woman in a time when being unladylike was frowned upon. Although there is a slow start to the main plot point (just under a hundred pages in) it's well worth it. The way Goodman writes about how Helen gets/realizes her powers is interesting- not at all cheesy. You end up urging her to realize her full potential, rather than roll your eyes. But my favorite character was Lord Carlston. He's dark, handsome and the epitome of every fictional love interest. In the synopsis, it says something along the lines "... his bad reputation." Boy does he ever have one! This makes the tension between the two of them even better! My one critique was that some of the lines sounded sort of fake- like the line didn't fit with the character. It was odd, but this book has the perfect blend of the supernatural with historical fiction that it was still a great read!

Favorite Quotes:
"You have far more courage than you think you do." - The Dark Days Club by Allison Goodman

Rating: 8.5/10

Recommended for people who like: paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, historical fiction, romance

Happy Reading,
Mari

Book Review: Cruel Beauty

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Released: January 28th, 2014
Read: December 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages

Description from GoodReads: Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
   With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
   But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her.
   As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

Review: I've always loved the sort of mystical Arthurian time period of books like Grave Mercy or Fairest, and Cruel Beauty just clicks with it.

   The story is well-paced and keeps you interested by twisting the story a little further and further (not unlike the staircase on the cover) until it unravels at the end. Which was a little confusing. Actually scratch that, it was very confusing. Maybe the next book will clear things up a bit.

   Familial relationships in this book are seen as very important, including the awfully taut ones that Nyx has with her father, sister, aunt, and even her dead mother. Even though she hates them throughout the book, she still feels a sort of obligation and love to them, which doesn't seem to be requited. 

   Altogether, it's a pretty great book!

Quotable Quotes:

"Where you go, I shall go; Where you die, I shall die, and there will I be buried."

"He is a monster, and maybe I am a monster for pitying him."

"From nothing into nothing how swiftly we return."

"... Lose myself in the embrace of the one person who had ever seen my heart and claimed to love me after."

Rating: 9/10

Read if You Liked: Grave Mercy, Ella Enchanted, Beauty and the Beast, Graceling

Optimistically yours, Ola

Book Review: The Impostor Queen

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine

Release Date:January 5. 2016

Read: November 2015

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Format: Paperback ARC, 336

Description from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.
Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

Review:

I was really excited for this book. I love high-fantasy, and after reading the synopsis, I got really pumped. The world building was amazing. Fine payed incredible attention to the details of this new world. You could picture the world in your mind as you read. I also really
loved the concept of the Valtia, and the magic she wields. The whole magic idea that surrounds the world they live in is perfectly thought out. What I had problems with was the main character. Elli's problems don't come across as heroic and tragic, but slightly whiny. While her story arc is an interesting one, she herself really isn't. Luckily it got better after the halfway point, because that's when the plot itself got really good! Another part that was interesting was the intrigue surrounding the Elders- and what they REALLY do in the Temple (very creepy). It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire book long. Although it had a slow start to it, it was an interesting read, and I'll watch for the sequel.

Favorite Quotes:
"Our lives aren't ours, darling," she murmured. "We are only the caretakers of this magic. We don't use it to protect ourselves - we use it only to protect the Kupari. They call us queens, but what we really are is servants." The Impostor Queen

Rating: 3.75/5 Stars

Recommended for people who enjoy: fantasy, romance, adventure stories, magic

Happy Reading,

Mari

Book Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

  Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

                   by Becky Albertalli

Release Date: April 17th, 2015
Read: November 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Format: Hardcover, 303 pages

Description from GoodReads: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
   With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Review: This was the sweetest school drama-esque book I've read since Say You Will! I could literally write an essay about it, but don't worry, I won't. 

   The suspense is surprisingly thick around who Blue is until the last couple chapter, and it was definitely worth the wait. The book basically laughs at you when you try to guess while gently pushing you in the opposite direction. 

   Another thing I really liked about this book is how important the friendships are compared to the romantic relationships. A big part of the story is characters realizing what they did wrong and getting forgiveness. Altogether, amazing.

Quotable Quotes:

"White shouldn't be the default anymore than straight should be the default. There shouldn't even be a default."

"Ah. So, what you're trying to say is that we're really creepy."

"He talked about the ocean between people. And how the whole point of everything is to a shore worth swimming to."

Rating: 4.5/5

Read if You Liked: Will Grayson Will Grayson, Say You Will, Sarah Dessen, Carry On

Optimistically yours, Ola <3

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Taken from Amazon.com

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Release Date: December 2. 2010
Read: November 2015
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Format: Paperback, 372 pages

Description from Goodreads:
Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend. 
But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Review: 
This book is just so cute! From the very first chapter I couldn't get enough. The way Perkins writes is so light and breezy it's a treat to read. Anna is portrayed realistically, as any student would be if they moved to Paris. She is a great protagonist, and the year she spends in Paris is great to follow. A great bonus is that her love interest is the guy that everyone wishes was in their lives. He's so romantic and swoon-worthy! I just wish that Anna would have "discovered" more of Paris, and that she would've seen more of the city. I felt like it was an opportunity wasted, that Perkins had a chance to write an epic "city tour" and didn't take it. However that is really my one complaint. This was simply a solid read through and through. I can't wait until I can get my hands on the next one, and I'm intrigued at how Perkins binds all three books together!

Favorite Quotes: “I mean, really. Who sends their kid to boarding school? It's so Hogwarts. Only mine doesn't have cute boy wizards or magic candy or flying lessons.” 
― Stephanie Perkins, Anna and the French Kiss

“I wish for the thing that is best for me.” 

― Stephanie Perkins, Anna and the French Kiss

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Recommended for people who enjoy: Sarah Dessen, romance, YA fiction, travel, funny heroines

Happy Reading,
Mari

Book Review: The Dream Thieves

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: September 17th, 2013
Read: Oct/Nov 2015
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardcover, 439 pages

Descriptions from GoodReads: Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.
   One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.
And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things.
   Ronan is one of the raven boys—a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface—changing everything in its wake.

Review: Oh boy, oh boy did I love this book. This is the second book in the Raven Cycle series (which was also amazing), and it was just as surprisingly gritty and realistic as the first one. I'm glad the author decided to focus more on Ronan in this book, because I felt like his backstory was held together pretty loosely in The Raven Boys.

   One of my favourite things about this series is the intricate relationship between all of the raven boys. 

Quotable Quotes:

"In that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them."

"And Ronan was everything that was left: molten eyes and a smile made for war."

"Dying's a boring side effect."- Joseph Kavinsky

Rating: 4.5/5

Read if you liked: the House of Anubis, the Diviners, Shiver, history, bromances (winks)

Optimistically yours, Ola <3

Book Review: All The Bright Places

Taken from Goodreads

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Release Date: January 6th 2015
Read: November 2015
Publisher: Knopf Publishers
Format: Hardcover, 388 pages


Description from Goodreads:
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

Review: 
I had heard a lot about this book in the blog-verse, so when I saw it in my school library I had to check it out. It started a little cliche, and felt slow to begin with, with development (which had to happen). I had to second guess myself on whether or not to continue reading. I'm glad I did. Once I got past page 50, it found itself.  The writing style (while slow to start) is great, and easy to follow. It felt as if Niven knew exactly what to say. Suicide and depression are hard topics to add to a romantic YA novel, but it works. Somehow this gives depth to both characters. Just thinking about Finch and how he struggles to keep his head above the water brings tears to my eyes. Violet and Finch are a beautifully broken couple, but they discover that together they make each other better. One of the hardest things to read is how Violet tries to help Finch, but somehow she can't reach him. Niven approaches these passages with poise, and it's beautifully written. I'm sure from the review so far, that it's clear that I finished this book crying- which I did. When I reached the ending I hated it, but the more I thought of it, the more I realized why it ended the way it did. But you decide your thoughts on the ending yourself. However, this is one of my favorite reads of 2015 (so far!).

Favorite Quotes:
 “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” 
“You have been in every way all that anyone could be.… If anybody could have saved me it would have been you.” 
“I learned that there is good in this world, if you look hard enough for it. I learned that not everyone is disappointing, including me, and that a 1,257 bump in the ground can feel higher than a bell tower if you’re standing next to the right person.”
-Jennifer Niven, All the Bright Places
(Sorry for so many, I just loved them all)

Rating: 5/5 Stars (very rare!)

Recommended for people who enjoy: YA lit, John Green, romance, sad books, bittersweet endings

Happy Reading,
Mari

Book Review: Rules For 50/50 Chances

Taken from Goodreads

Rules for 50/50 Chances by Kate McGovern

Release Date: November 2015
Read: October 2015 (I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this novel)
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Format: Paperback ARC, 342 pages

Description from Goodreads
A heartrending but ultimately uplifting debut novel about learning to accept life's uncertainties; a perfect fit for the current trend in contemporary realistic novels that confront issues about life, death, and love.
Seventeen-year-old Rose Levenson has a decision to make: Does she want to know how she’s going to die? Because when Rose turns eighteen, she can take the test that will tell her if she carries the genetic mutation for Huntington’s disease, the degenerative condition that is slowly killing her mother. With a fifty-fifty shot at inheriting her family’s genetic curse, Rose is skeptical about pursuing anything that presumes she’ll live to be a healthy adult—including going to ballet school and the possibility of falling in love. But when she meets a boy from a similarly flawed genetic pool, and gets an audition for a dance scholarship in California, Rose begins to question her carefully-laid rules.

Review: 
This book was a great number of things. At times it's light and at others it hits a little deeper. Rose (our main character) has tough decision to make - whether or not to find out if she will get her mothers Huntington's disease. It's a touchy and hard subject, but McGovern approaches it with a gentle touch, really showing all the sides to this disease. She tries and shows the good in it, and through Rose we see that the illness is not all there is to life. With Rose we see her flourish during the bad times, whether being with Caleb (her potential boyfriend) or dancing ballet. It's hard for Rose to see her mother deteriorating, but for such a (at times) sad subject, McGovern really shines a light on it. 

Favorite Quotes: "... the music starts, and then I give in to it, and nothing else matters. And then I'm soaring." -Page 262

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Recommended for people who enjoy: Sarah Dessen, romance, YA, fiction, contemporary literature

Happy Reading,
Mari

Book Review: Graceling

Taken from Goodreads

Graceling by Kristen Cashore

Release Date: October 1. 2008.
Read: Fall. 2012
Publisher: Harcourt

Format: Paperback, 471 pages

Description from Goodreads:
Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight - she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po's friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away... 

Review: I was told to read this because of my love for high fantasy. I was a little skeptical, but I decided to read it anyway. What I got was a mixed bag. The idea that some people have "Graces" (where they have a special power) is very interesting and unique. But I sorta had a small problem with Katsa (the main character). She seemed a little whiny at times, and it made me hard to feel sympathetic for her. But the story line made up for it. It was exciting, and took many twists and turns. Her counterpart Po is a great gentleman, willing to protect Katsa and his niece Bitterblue at all costs. It's a great adventure story line, but personally I like the sequel/prequel Fire better.

Favorite Quotes: “When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?” 
― Kristin Cashore, Graceling

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Recommended for people who like: YA, fantasy, fiction, romance, adventure

Happy Reading,
Mari