Review: Half Wild (The Half Bad Trilogy, #2) by Sally Green

20814989Half Wild by Sally Green

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: March 24th 2015
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Point of View: 1st Person & Masculine
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Witches, War-Setting, LGBT, Romance, Action

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BLURB:

“You will have a powerful Gift, but it’s how you use it that will show you to be good or bad.”

In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, seventeen-year-old Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most powerful and violent witch. Nathan is hunted from all sides: nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted. Now, Nathan has come into his own unique magical Gift, and he’s on the run–but the Hunters are close behind, and they will stop at nothing until they have captured Nathan and destroyed his father. Continue reading

Review: The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Trilogy, #3) by Marie Rutkoski

20443235The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: March 29th 2016
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, War Setting, Romance, Fantasy
Book One Review: The Winner’s Curse
Book Two Review: The Winner’s Crime

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BLURB:

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win? Continue reading

Captive Prince Video Review

Dear readers,

Captive Prince is one of my favorite series. So, obviously, I HAD to make a video with me endlessly talking about it. *wink*

Hope you enjoy!

Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Google+ | Goodreads

Review: The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

ForbiddenWish_BOM.inddThe Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: February 23rd 2016
Publisher: Razorbill
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Revenge, Royalty, War Setting, Magic, Fairy Tale Retelling

BLURB:

She is the most powerful Jinni of all. He is a boy from the streets. Their love will shake the world…

When Aladdin discovers Zahra’s jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn’t seen in hundreds of years—a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra’s very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes.

But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of Aladdin from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury. Continue reading

Review: Ruined (Untitled, #1) by Amy Tintera

26074185Ruined by Amy Tintera

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: May 3rd 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Revenge, Royalty, War Setting, Magic

BLURB:

Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war. She lacks the powers of her fellow Ruined. Worst of all, she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders and watched helplessly as her sister, Olivia, was kidnapped.

But because Em has nothing, she has nothing to lose. Driven by a blind desire for revenge, Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family.

In a brilliant, elaborate plan of deception and murder, Em marries Prince Casimir, next in line to take Lera’s throne. If anyone in Lera discovers Em is not Casimir’s true betrothed, Em will be executed on the spot. But it’s the only way to salvage Em’s kingdom and what is left of her family.

Em is determined to succeed, but the closer she gets to the prince, the more she questions her mission. Em’s rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake. Continue reading

Review: Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan (Writer), Fiona Staples (Artist)

Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: October 23rd 2012
Publisher: Image Comics
Point of View: /
Recommended Age: 16+
Genres & Themes: Adult, Comic, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action, War

BLURB:

From New York Times bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) and critically acclaimed artist Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, North 40), Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old world. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults.

Collects Saga issues #1-6. Continue reading

Review: The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight, #1) by Melissa Grey

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publication Date: April 28th 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, War Setting, LGBT

BLURB:

For readers of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones and Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone, The Girl at Midnight is the story of a modern girl caught in an ancient war.

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she’s ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she’s fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it’s time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it’s how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.

But some jobs aren’t as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire. Continue reading

Review: The Book of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #1) by Amy Engel

The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: November 11th 2014
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Point of View: 1st person & Female
Genres & Themes: YA, Dystopia, Romance, Family, Secrecy, War-setting, Plotting.

BLURB:

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.

This year, it is my turn.

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.

Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him… Continue reading

Review: The Winner’s Crime (The Winner’s Trilogy, #2) by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publication Date: March 3rd 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ)
Genres & Themes: YA, High Fantasy, Romance, War-setting, Conspiracy, Secrets, Betrayal, Family.

BLURB:

Book two of the dazzling Winner’s Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them. Continue reading

Review of Fire by Kristin Cashore

MISS MISS MISS.
Fire by Kristin Cashore

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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DNFed at 50%

WHY DID I EVEN TAKE THE TIME TO ”DESIGN” THAT PICTURE?

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It does not deserve it.

Yes, 2 stars (one star for ”I didn’t like it” and another star because it was truly well-written.)

First of all, you shall know that I really really enjoyed the first book in this series, Graceling. I adored it actually. I thought I was discovering another great author knowing how to write great fantasy/adventure books.

Kristin Cashore got on my nerves.

She played with them.
She played with me.
She played with my emotions.

Ok, first of all, we have a dark and intense prologue of 16 pages. The number of pages is not important but sure is a lot more than usual books I read. So, in that prologue, we meet two characters, one of them being a boy who really got my attention. Leck (not called like that at that moment.) Anyway, so Leck is able to control minds as Fire. I thought ”oh my my, what a great love story that’ll make. They’ll meet and fall in love with each other because probably they won’t be able to control each others minds and they’ll be relieved.”

Like hell.

I don’t even know if they finally met. (Ok, I do because I read some last pages but, while I was reading, I did not know.) I did not know that he was the one who (view spoiler). All I know is that I wanted Fire and Leck to meet and fall in love. Because duh, doesn’t Leck redeeming himelf, because of Fire, seem exciting? For me, it did. But, that’s not what happened.

Oh la la, I just have so much anger in me right now. Must say that it sure doesn’t happen often because of a book. At least, it’ll be a memorable one for a special reason. *Sigh.*

I didn’t have a direct problem with Fire. She was nice enough, for a fantasy/adventure book MC. I liked when she got all angry and on defense but she mostly was calm and one-dimensional, as many other characters. I didn’t know that much about her. I knew things only when the narrator told us memories of her and her father (which is a badass!) Shame shame shame because she could’ve been such an interesting character.

Damn.

Fire and Archer have a ”relation” at the beginning of the story of what I understand. But, seriously, I have no idea what kind of relation it was. It was much of:


”Would you marry me, Fire, if I slept in no one’s bed but yours?”
He knew the answer to that, but it didn’t hurt to remind him. ”No, and I should find my bed quite cramped.”

Oooook.

Also, in this book, there was a war setting. I hate war settings. I don’t like when a book gets that serious. The only books I tolerated (and REALLY enjoyed) with war settings were Captive Prince: Volume One and Captive Prince: Volume Two and probably Captive Prince: Volume Three, but it hasn’t been realeased yet so I haven’t read it. I must admit that I’m a bit scared I won’t love Days of Blood & Starlight because of that.

The writing was splendid (due the 2rd star as I said.) I wansn’t expecting and I didn’t get less. The pacing was SLOW. So SLOW. Not much was actually hapenning up to where I got (and DNFed.) That’s kind of why I DNFed this book (along with the fact that Fire and Leck weren’t already a couple as I was hoping for.) The author created a good world building with many descriptions. In one page, there was usually 1 small (very small) dialogue and the rest were descriptions. A lot of them. Most were boring.

I bet this book would’ve been so much better and I may’ve liked it more if it was directed to adults. More interesting, exciting and yes, some sex scenes would’ve been welcomed as in my opinion.

Technically, I wouldn’t recommend this companion novel. I didn’t like it and I wouldn’t probably read Bitterblue. Maybe I’ll finish this book if I ever feel like to but that could also never happen and I won’t be sad. Yes, technically I wouldn’t recommend this book but, since I saw that I’m in the minority here, why would you not read it because of what I said about it? Maybe what I was expecting isn’t what you want in a fantasy/adventure book. So, go ahead, see for yourself. Maybe you’re going to really like it. 🙂

That’s it. I could say more, but I feel calmer now.

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THIS IS SUCH A MISS, unfortunately. The writing makes me give this book 2 stars but I definitely think 1 in my head.

View all my reviews on Goodreads.