Review - Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: June 11, 2013
ISBN:978-0374388294
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 3/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. This is a hard book to review for me. There were some parts of the book I really enjoyed and other parts that I found to be boring and confusing. This book was an inconsistent read. Some parts were rambling and boring, while other portions were very intriguing and engaging. I almost stopped reading it multiple times and am still uncertain as to whether I enjoyed it or not.

The story is set in an alternate New Zealand in the late 1950’s. It follows the story of Canny. Canny is a teenager whose mathematical genius defines her, however she has a lot of trouble getting along with others. When her brother and his fiance decide to travel to a small town for the summer, Canny is sent along to accompany them. While Canny’s brother tries to dig up historical accounts of a tragic mining accident that happened many years ago, Canny explores the Valley. Things are strange in the Valley, for example there is a house that no one but Canny can see. In the valley Canny meets the Zarene family who practice a strange sort of magic. When Canny finds that she too can perform the magic, she is drawn into a story of dark secrets and determined to unravel the mystery of this strange house.

As I said this is a tough book for me to review. Some chapters I found boring and confusing and some were incredibly engaging. At points in the book the dialogue and language between characters is very awkward. There were a number of points in the book I had to reread a passage a few times before I could figure out what the author was trying to say. Some of the dialogue is so awkward that I ended up thinking maybe Know did it that way on purpose; but it was awkward in an inconsistent way (not with just one character, but sporadically throughout the book). It was almost like parts of the book were written by different people.

Canny is an interesting character but hard to engage with. She is a genius of sorts, and has a lot of trouble interacting with others. She breaks even the most basic things (locations, colors, poems) into a mathematical way of thinking. This results in her being lonely and curious, but her lack of emotional engagement with the world makes her hard to like. When she does show emotion it comes off as distant and stiff.

The most interesting character in the book is the young man Canny meets in the strange house, Ghislain. He has a mysterious past and is an intriguing character. Throughout the book his interactions with Canny come off as a bit dreamlike, awkward, and disjointed. Still I was intrigued by his mystery and why he was trapped in that house.

Canny and Ghislain have a romance of sorts, but that also came off as a bit awkward for me. They didn’t have much chemistry together and the “romance” comes off as a bit creepy at times.

I did enjoy how this world in the Valley was both part of and removed from our world. I enjoyed the magic system of runes. I also enjoyed the somewhat peaceful and dreamline quality to the writing. The book wraps up fairly well too.

Overall this was a mixed read for me. I enjoyed the magic and Canny’s genius. I enjoyed the mystery behind Zarene Valley and behind the character of Ghislain. I also enjoyed the interesting asides into mining and the mining disasters. However the writing was awkward and alternated between engaging, confusing, and boring. It was just very inconsistent. The conversations between characters felt forced and awkward. The romance between Canny and Ghislain is sudden and a bit creepy. The pacing of the story is also a bit off; parts are incredibly engaging and parts are wandering and boring.

Honestly I can’t really recommend this as a good fantasy read. If you really have your heart set on reading this I would recommend reading the first chapter of the book...it’s one of the most awkward parts of the book...if you can get through that and enjoy it then you will probably enjoy the rest of the book. If that chapter bothers you, then the rest of the book will most likely bother you as well.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: August 7, 2001
ISBN: 978-0064410342
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars


I have had this book to read forever and was so excited to finally get around to reading it. I watched the movie a long time ago and enjoyed it, but wanted more depth to that interesting story. This was a well done fantasy book, that had an old time fairy tale feel to it. My main complaint that the ending was a bit rushed. There are two sequels to this book: Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator has an English accent which fits this fairy tale type of story perfectly and did a wonderful job with the character voices.

Sophie is the eldest of three children in a hat-makers shop. As such, she feels that she is destine to lead a boring and uneventful life. Things change when she runs afoul of the Witch of the Waste while selling the Witch a hat. The Witch turns Sophie into an old woman. Sophie leave the hat shop and journeys to Howl’s Castle in hope that he can break the spell on her and return her to her youthful self.

This was a well done children's book with a fairy tale feel to it. The world is a typical olden time fantasy world with Kings and magic and castles. I loved the idea of Howl’s floating castle and the Wicked Witch of the west. This is a magical story full of lessons on life, love, and happiness.

The characters did leave a bit to be desired for me though. Sophie’s personality matches that of a cranky old woman perfectly, even before she is a cranky old woman. I think that is part of the irony in her being turned into a cranky old woman. I didn’t really enjoy her all that much. The huge decision she makes to go Howl’s castle she blames on being in shock from the transformation and to be honest she doesn’t do much but be incredibly stubborn for large portions of the book. She also is very caustic and rude to Howl throughout the whole book. She never lets him get a word in edgewise and never lets him actually explain anything. She continually calls Howl a “slitherer-outer”, which seems hypocritical to me since Sophie is constantly trying the slither out of her own live and out of making any decisions.

I like Howl’s character better but he was still hard to engage with. Howl is a first rate womanizer and (Sophie is right, he is a slitherer-outer) tries to get out of having any responsibilities at all. He pretends to be mysterious and hard-hearted but it is extremely apparent that he is not any of those things. He was a very stereotypical bachelor type character (he has a messy house, eat poorly, and is always after women).

The best character of the bunch is Calcifier, the fire demon that lives in Howl’s fireplace. He is much more fascinating than either Sophie or Howl, and I would have liked to read more about him.

Sophie’s sisters are also delightful characters. They are full of mischief and add more life to the story than Sophie ever does. I especially enjoyed Sophie’s sister’s magic teacher, she was a funny and engaging character.

Behind all of the Sophie/Howl disagreements there is a larger part to the plot. The King wants Howl to rescue his brother from the Witch of the Waste, of course HOwl is doing his best not to get involved. This part of the story was largely in the background. To be honest this portion of the story isn’t really dealt with until very late in the book. The way it wraps up is creative and interesting, but also very rushed and a bit confusing. This would have been better if Jones had taken a bit more time to explain and wrap up the mystery behind the Witch of the Waste and the King’s brother.

So to be honest, while I enjoyed this cute little fairy tale story, it didn’t awe me or blow me away. The characters left something to be desired, the pacing was slow in the beginning and rushed at the ending, also things get a bit confusing at the end and could have used some better explanation.

In addition to the above there are some mysteries around the “other world” Howl goes to that are never well explained. The “romance” between Howl and Sophie (if you can even call it that) felt forced, awkward, and rushed as well.

Overall this was a decent fairy tale like story. I enjoyed the world and Howl’s magical castle and the whimsical tone to the story. I also enjoyed Calcifer the fire demon and his sharp wit. I thought Howl and Sophie were probably the least interesting characters in the book. I also thought the pacing was off and that there were a lot of things left unanswered. After writing this review I guess I felt a bit let down by this book, my expectations were really high though....so that’s kind of my own fault. I most likely will not be reading the sequels to this book. There are just too many other wonderful middle grade fantasy stories out there to read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Novella Review - The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass, 0.4) by Sarah J. Maas (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 298 KB
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: July 20, 2012
ASIN: B008HRMAPG
Stand Alone or Series: 0.4 novella in the Throne of Glass series
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the fourth novella that takes place before the first Thorne of Glass novel. I really enjoyed it alot. It gives excellent insight as to how Celaena finally found her way to the Salt pits.

Celaena and Sam are finally free and living on their own. They want to escape the city they grew up in once and for all and set up their trade as assassins in a different city. In order to finance this they decided to take on one last Assassination job. This is the job to finally get them their freedom and of course it goes all wrong.

Celaena has developed from a very vain character to one that actually cares for others. Here we see both aspects of her personality, the one that loves fine things and the one that cares about her friends. It was interesting to compare who she was at the start of these novells to who she is now, and then compare that to who she becomes in the Throne of Glass. She is a strong and yet flawed character, that is easy to engage with and love.

We see a lot more of Sam in this book as well. His devotion to Celaena is solid and wonderful, yet he has his own flaws. He is also stubborn and proud.

This novella follows Sam and Celaena as they plot their final job together. So there is lots of strategy and some action. There are a couple excellent fight scenes too.

As you can imagine from where things start in the Throne of Glass series, thing go horribly wrong and Celaena ends up in the salt mines.

This was an excellent continuation of these novellas that tell us about Celaena's life before when went to the salt mines. It was well written, engaging, and easy to read.

Overall I enjoyed this novella a lot. I love these characters, especially Celaena who is courageous and loyal, yet flawed. I love the setting and the writing as well; these books/novellas are so wonderfully written and easy to read. This whole series is strongly recommended to those who love fantasy novels, they are really well done.

Review - If I Should Die (Revenants, Book 3) by Amy Plum (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062004031
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Revenants Trilogy
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the final book in the Revenants Trilogy. It was did an excellent job of wrapping up things nicely. I love how we are finally seeing Kate step up and take action.

The book starts exactly where the last book left off (at that horrible cliffhanger!). Kate is determined to find a way to save Vincent even though his fate seems sealed. Meanwhile Violette is gathering more and more numa in Paris in preparation for a final war with the good Revenants.

The majority of the story is spent with Kate and company trying to find a way to save Vincent’s soul somehow. This was actually really interesting and I enjoyed the crazy magic Bran performed and how everything worked out.

However this led to the whole epic battle between the good and bad Revenants being incredibly rushed, I mean seriously the main portion of the battle happens in 20 pages or something like that. So, that was a bit disappointing. There was a lot that happened in the last little bit of the book and it happened so fast that I was like...woah...seriously rushed here.

Kate is an excellent character. She continues to give off a “girl-next-door” type of vibe but she has also become more confident and seems to have found her purpose. Her relationship with Vincent is still a bit too lovey dovey for me. People who are huge fans of Kate/Vincent scenes might be a bit disappointed because they don’t get a ton of page space together...there is just too much else going on.

The main storyline was resolved well. It is pretty darn predictable, but there are a couple small twists and turns I didn’t see coming. I was hoping for some big surprises but there really weren’t any. That being said it was still a very engaging story. There was more mystery solving in this book as Kate and crew tried to hunt down a way to help Vincent and less action.

Although the main storyline was resolved there were a number of side characters with unresolved issues. The main one of these is Jules. He disappears for large portions of the story and seems to have things going on that we never get to hear about. I predict a offshoot of this series featuring Jules sometime in the future.

Overall this was a great conclusion to the series. It was entertaining and well written. I enjoyed the mystery behind trying to save Vincent and enjoyed the strong and capable girl Kate has become. I can’t say much else without spoilers, so I won’t. The story was a bit predictable though and the ending did feel pretty rushed. Still, overall I thought this was a creative series and I enjoyed it so I will definitely read more of Amy Plum’s works in the future. This is recommended to fans of YA paranormal books.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Early Review - Tides by Betsy Cornwell (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 304 pages
Publisher: Clarion Books
Release Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0547927725
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 3/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. I am always interested in selkie mythology and was curious and interested in reading this book. It was a decent book but not spectacular. There is a lot of interesting selkie mythology in here but I didn’t find the characters to be all that engaging.

Noah and Lo are a brother and sister who go to live with their grandmother in her island home for the summer. Noah is working on a marine biologist internship there and Lo hopes to escape to a place where she can draw in peace. Once there they notice something strange about their grandmother’s friend. Things get even weirder when Noah finds out the beautiful girl he is drawn to is a selkie.

I really enjoyed the selkie mythology throughout the story. This was the best part of the story for me. Selkie mythology from various parts of the world is discussed and it was really interesting.

The book also explores some social issues but not in much depth. For example Noah’s grandmother and her female friend are lifetime partners, so there is some brief discussion on how hard to was to be a lesbian back in the day. Noah’s adopted sister Lo suffers from bulimia, so there is discussion about how Lo is fighting this horrible disease. None of the issues are explored in great depth, Lo’s bulimia does play a large role in the story though.

I had a lot of trouble engaging with the characters though. The point of view bounces from Noah, to Lo, to Mara (the young selkie), to Mara’s mom, to Noah’s professor, etc. The story ends up being fractured by all of the points of view and I feel like as soon as you start to engage with a character then suddenly you are reading from someone else’s POV.

I thought the story was a bit predictable and boring as well. Mara is searching for one of the lost Younglings and Noah is working with a marine biologist. Right from the beginning you can tell what is going on and what will happen. There were no twists and turns, the story was very simple and linear.

The writing was easy to read and the story wrapped up nicely. There were some very beautiful descriptions throughout the book as well. The setting is beautiful and has a very dreamy summer feel to it.

Overall this book was okay; it didn’t offend me in anyway but it didn’t really grab my attention either. It was just something to read and then set aside. While I enjoyed the selkie mythology, I found the story predictable, and the characters difficult to engage with. I would definitely recommend reading The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan if you are interested in selkie folklore, this book was an excellent YA read that I absolutely loved. While I probably won’t be reading any more of Cornwell’s books I can tentatively recommend this if you are really into reading about selkies; it’s an okay...if not inspiring story.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Debut Author Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Book 1) by Rick Riordan (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 576 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1423113461
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Heroes of Olympus series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series by Riordan. There are five books planned for this series, the series is a spin-off from the Percy Jackson series and takes place after the last Percy Jackson book. I enjoyed the book, it was well done. If you enjoyed the Percy Jackson series I think you would enjoy this book as well. You don’t have to read the Percy Jackson series to understand what is going on in this book, however that series does provide a lot of excellent background for this new series.

I listened to this on audiobook and really enjoyed it. The narrator did an excellent job with the different character voices and with conveying the characters’ emotions. This book uses a different narrator than the Percy Jackson series which was a good idea for starting a new series like this. I would definitely recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.

The book is told from three points of view. Jason, Piper, and Leo all go to the Wilderness School for troubled children. Jason, however, has no memory of how he got there or who he is. Piper is the daughter of a famous actor and has a secret of her own. Leo can build things, pretty much out of nothing. All three of them end up at Camp Half-Blood and are sent on quest to help the Gods face a new and dangerous enemy.

This book was a solid addition to the extended Percy Jackson world. This book features a different set of characters. It's a bit formulaic, but I liked the Percy Jackson books so I am okay with more of the samish type of story done in a different sort of way.

All of the characters are very engaging, easy to relate to and interesting. They all have a lot of depth to them and have secrets and mysteries they need to unravel. As in the Percy Jackson books, all three of them need to figure out who their godly parent is.

They go on a quest to free Hera from capture and along the way find out they are facing an enemy even more dangerous than the Titans. I won’t say a lot more than that about the plot. As with previous books by Riordan there are lots of excellent action scenes and encounters with crazy and creepy mythological creatures. There is a lot of humor throughout as well which makes these books a fun read.

I pretty much liked all of the characters equally. It was nice to have part of the story from a girl’s (Piper’s) perspective. This should make the book a bit easier for young girls to relate to as well. I enjoyed the characters’ interesting powers too.

As I said above the layout of the book is very similar to other books Riordan has written; the characters get a quest, fight an evil monster, travel, fight another evil monster, travel to beat a tight timeline and then confront a very big bad monster. I enjoy the action and the mythological creatures, so I happen to enjoy the story even if it is similar in structure to previous ones.

I love how this books builds on the Percy Jackson series some. We do hear about the characters from the Percy Jackson series and they are in the story some. They don’t play a major part in the story, but they are there in the background and occasionally the foreground influencing events and helping out our new characters.

Overall this was a very enjoyable and entertaining read. I loved the expansion on the world we were introduced to in the Percy Jackson series. I enjoyed the new characters a lot and found them interesting and easy to engage with. I love the new plot and the new big bad enemy that these heroes have to face. I also enjoyed the mythological fights and creatures that we run into throughout the story. I definitely recommend this to fans of middle grade fantasy. I also recommend to anyone who enjoyed the Percy Jackson series. I can’t wait to read The Son of Neptune now!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Early Graphic Novel Review - The Bramble by Lee Nordling and Bruce Zick (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade/Childrens’
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 32 pages
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
Release Date: September 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0761358565
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for review
Rating: 3.5/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. Thanks to Carolrhoda Books and Netgalley for giving me the chance to review this book. When I saw this graphic novel about a boy finding monsters in a dark forest I was hooked and dying to read it. It ended up being an okay read, a little confusing at parts and the drawings were more sketches and seemed a bit incomplete.

A young boy is being teased and bullied by some older boys when he can’t catch them during a game of tag, then he falls into the Bramble. The Bramble is a mysterious world full of friendly monsters and an evil dark wave that threatens them. When he helps the monsters defeat this evil dark wave they celebrate with him. Soon he has to journey home, there he uses what he learned in the Bramble to deal with the bully he was having trouble with and to make new friends of the human type.

The illustrations are cute but have an unfinished feel to them. They are done mostly in muted browns and blues, which match the tone of the story well. Still the sketchy feel they had to them bothered me a bit, like maybe the illustrations weren’t quite all they could be.

There are very very few words in this book, it’s mostly told through pictures. Giving the sketchiness of the illustrations and the complete dependence of the story on these illustrations, you end up with a story that is kind of confusing at times. I had to go back and re-look multiples times to try and figure out what was going on in the story.

Still once I figured the story out it is a cute one. Basically the boy befriends the monsters and then uses his own strengths back in his own world to make new friends with the kids that were mean to him before. It’s a good story about friendship, using your strengths, and forgiveness. So there’s a good message here if you can follow the story.

Really this book comes across as a bit of a Where the Wild Things Are but for the middle grade age set.

Overall an okay book. I love the theme and the idea here and really enjoyed the positive story. I was disappointed in the unfinished feel the illustrations had and a bit disappointed at how hard the story was to follow. This was a bit like a Where the Wild Things are but for the middle grade crowd...and with poorer illustration. I would recommend taking a quick look at the illustration of the book before buying just to see if it appeals to you.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge

Early Review - Siege and Storm (The Grisha Trilogy, Book 2) by Leigh Bardugo (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Release Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0805094602
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Grisha trilogy
Source: From Publisher for Review
Rating: 5/5 stars


I got a copy of this book from the publisher for review. It was a wonderful continuation of this story, I think it was even better than the first book in this series. The third book in this trilogy, Ruin and Rising, is scheduled for a 2014 release date. You definitely need to read the first book, Shadow and Bone, to know what is going on in this one.

Alina and Mal have fled across the True Sea in hopes of escaping the tragedy that ended the last book, and of course in hopes of escaping the Darkling. With Alina trying to hide her ability as the Sun Summoner she is growing weaker and weaker. When the Darkling emerges from the Fold with a new and terrifying power Alina begins to despair. That is until a mysterious and charismatic privateer steps up to help Alina and Mal. Alina decides to try to return to Ravka to save the city she loves, but as she grows in power she is drawn further and further away from Mal and more and more towards the darkness.

This was a spectacular read. I loved the creative world-building in the first book of this series, this book grows that world and expands it. We get to journey to new regions of ice and snow, and sail dangerous seas, not me mention venturing into the darkness of the Fold again. This is a wonderful world and I love reading about it.

I thought that the characters grew a lot in this book as well. I wasn’t a huge fan of Alina in the first book, she was a bit too passive for me. In this book she finds her strength and her will to do what is right. She works to master her power and seeks out more power. Alina does all of this in an effort to help, but as she finds she likes the power she struggles to maintain her identity. Alina was wonderfully complex and had to deal with some tough decisions in this book.

Mal is in the story quite a bit as well. He is supportive of Allina, but also a bit overbearing at times. He just doesn’t want her to change and is starting to fear the power that she is becoming. As with Alina, he is a complex character who is struggling with his love for Alina and what he feels is the right thing to do.

The Darkling is in this story a lot less than in the first book. He is there looming over everyone and creating fear. He’s gained some interesting powers and I continue to find him fascinating. Still he is more in the background in this story.

The character that really steps up and shares the spotlight with Alina in this book is Sturmhond, the privateer. He is incredibly charismatic, witty, and intelligent. He also has a bevy of secrets that will blow you away. He was a wonderful addition to the story.

The plot is well paced and engaging. I had a lot of trouble putting this book down. The writing is absolutely beautiful and flows well. The story is intense, but there is some humor throughout as well. Seriously you have magic, sea battles, epic darkness versus light fighting scenes...it was just wonderful.

Overall this was just an absolutely wonderfully done fantasy read. This book is highly recommended to fans of fantasy, and not just YA fans but fans of all ages. This is a magnificent world with complex and engaging characters. The storyline is epic and takes a completely new twist on the epic battle between light and dark. The pacing is wonderful and the book is impossible to put down. I want to read Ruin and Rising now!!! This is a highly recommended and absolutely stunning fantasy read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - Summerkin (Winterling, Book 2) by Sarah Prineas (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size:272 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0061921063
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Winterling series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This book is the second in the Winterling series. The series will continue in Moonkind which is scheduled for a Jan 2014 release date. I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one, it was a wonderful middle grade fantasy involving fey. I would definitely recommend reading Winterling before reading this book.

In the last book Fer defeated the evil Mor making her the Lady of the Summerlands. Now Fer is back in the human lands and longs to return to the Summerlands. When she returns her people don’t know what to make of her and her unique way of doing things. This includes the High Ones who request that Fer journey to their lands to compete in a contest that will prove whether or not she is the true Lady of Summerlands.

This is a magical story full of adventure and intrigue with enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and entertained. It’s appropriate for all ages as well, although one of Fer’s competitors is very cruel to those around him.

I love Fer as a character. She has times when she is uncertain of her actions but always decides to stay true to what she thinks is right. Everyone is telling her she is ruling the Summerland in the wrong way, but she sticks with what she believes to be right. I also loved her kindness and her loyalty to those she considered friends.

Rook plays a large part in the story as well. As a pouka his loyalty to Fer is constantly called into question. He himself struggles with the call to be true to his family of poukas and his yearning to help out Fer as a friend.

A good portion of the novel is spent with Fer in competition with some other competitors. They were all interesting characters and these scenes were action-packed and engaging. Going on along with this storyline there is the mystery of a missing crown.

My favorite part of this book is the world. The descriptions are incredibly well done and create excellent imagery for the reader. There are new creative and magical things around every corner so you never know what to expect.

The book is well written and a fairly easy read. The plot isn’t incredibly complex (it’s written for young readers) but it is complex enough to keep an adult interested and engaged.

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot. I love the magical world and the wonderful creative descriptions throughout. Fer is an excellent example of a growing girl who is trying to do what she believes in, even if doing what everyone else thinks is right would be the easier path. This is an absolutely wonderfully creative and engaging fantasy, I highly recommend it to all ages of readers who love fantasy. I can’t wait to read Moonkind when it releases.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge

Review -Asunder (Newsoul, Book 2) by Jodi Meadows (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: January 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062060785
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Newsoul series
Source: Gift
Rating: 4/5 stars


This is the second book in the Newsoul series. The third book in this trilogy is not titled yet, but is expected to release in early 2014. I really enjoy the creative world this story is set in. The idea behind Ana being a Newsoul is also very creative.

Ana is still struggling with what it means to be a newsoul and she is determined to uncover the secrets she first found out about in the first book, Incarnate. Her and Sam leave on a journey to do some research to uncover these secrets. Then they get a notice that one of their friends is going to give birth, strangely when the baby is born it is also a newsoul. With more lives dependant on the Newsouls’ acceptance into Heart’s society Ana struggles harder than ever to unravel the mystery of the Newsouls. But things are getting tougher for Ana, the sylphs are responding differently to her and more and more of Heart’s population is turning against Ana in a very violent way.

This continues to be a fascinating series. Ana is the first new soul born into a society that is thousands of years old. No one knows why Ana was born and the soul she replaced was sent on. Feelings are bitter towards Ana, many see her as a waste of space since she doesn’t come to their society backed by thousands of years of knowledge. Many have told her she can’t love because her soul is too young.

Ana is a stubborn and caring character. I love how she stands up for herself and her friends. She is smart and determined to unravel the secrets that make the center of Heart’s existence.

Sam is a wonderful lead male. At times his love for Ana was a bit too all encompassing, but he is respectful and supportive of her. It is interesting how thoroughly he supports the addition of these Newsouls into the current society.

The whole idea behind this story is very interesting and very clever. It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before. The implications of a society where the people are reborn for thousands of years (the same people over and over again) is intriguing. The idea of someone new being thrust into this type of society continues to be fascinating.

The world itself is an interesting one. There are dragons and sylphs and other magical creatures. We learn a lot more about the sylphs and how they came to be in this book. The characters all live in the center of an active caldera, so that makes for very interesting terrain. You have hot springs and geysers, things like that.

The story was well done and had a number of twists and turns throughout that keep the reader guessing. A lot is revealed about the formation and history of Heart in this book. The book is well written, flows well, is paced well, and is easy to read.

Overall I really enjoyed the continuation of this series. I didn’t love it quite as much as the first book, mainly because this idea and world aren’t completely new and novel to me anymore. Still I think it is a very creative premise for a story and I love this world. I really enjoy Ana’s character and watching her unravel all of these crazy mysteries. I would recommend this series to those who love YA paranormal books but also enjoy fantasy. This book has a YA paranormal feel to it but is also very much a pure fantasy type story.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge