Book Review: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

The famous Greek god of the sun, archery, music and (bad) poetry, Apollo, has gotten into some trouble with his father, Zeus. Apollo has been outcasted as a sixteen-year-old mortal boy and will have to face many trials to become the god he once was. The Oracle of Delphi has been inactive, unable to produce prophecies, so Apollo sets off to Camp Half-Blood to hopefully find some help from the demigods there to restore the Oracle's power. 

3.5/5 stars

It's been a while since I posted a review, so here's my incredibly late review of The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan.

I was highly anticipating the release of this book, just like so many other people. I had pretty high hopes, after all, we were promised more of the seven and Camp Half-Blood. However, I was let down by this book. Don't get me wrong, it definitely wasn't a bad book, but it fell short for me. I found I wasn't flying through it like some of Rick's other books, and I just didn't love the new characters. 

Spoilers ahead.

Let's talk about the negatives of this book first. As a mentioned above, I wasn't a huge fan of the new characters. I didn't hate Apollo, but he wasn't my favourite of Rick's protagonists. He was just mediocre for me. Then there was Meg. Honestly, she was a bit annoying, and not in a good way. The new side characters, Apollo's children, didn't stand out for me either. I just wish we got to see more of the old characters, like Nico and Will. Also, we only got to see two of the seven, Percy and Leo. We didn't even get to see Annabeth (but I guess she was in Boston with Magnus), and we only got minimal updates with the remaining seven, which I found disappointing. 

One of the pros for me is that it looks like Leo is going to be playing a larger part in this series, which is great because he was one of my favourites of the seven. 

Also, Solangelo became canon! Although, I'm slightly disappointed that we didn't get to see more of them. I also appreciated that Apollo was openly bisexual, and Rick treated it like it was a completely normal thing (which it is). It's really great that his books are getting more and more diverse.

The fact that Nero was basically made into a god because people remembered him opened up a whole new can of worms in this universe. Does that mean anyone with a Wikipedia page can become a god? 

On the topic of Nero, do you think Meg will stay loyal you him? I think that she will realize that she was being abused and will have a character arc throughout the series, eventually coming over to the good side. Hopefully she will also become less annoying.

Overall, The Hidden Oracle was a slight disappointment, but still enjoyable.

Book Review: Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Wolf by Wolf is an alternate history set in the year 1956 where the Axis powers won World War II. To commemorate their victory, a motorcycle race across Europe and Asia is held with the prize being a private audience with Hitler. Yael, having previously lived in a death camp, has the ability to shape shift (due to the experimenting in the death camp), and her goal is to enter the race as last year's victor, win and kill Hitler.

Rate: 5/5 stars

This book was FANTASTIC! If you didn't know, I love the WWII era, so that on top of a SUPER interesting premise, a shape shifting assassin, deeper running themes, interesting characters and relationships, plus a cross-continental motorcycle race made this book one of my favourites. This book also switched between two timelines seamlessly, and it was wonderful. Wolf by Wolf is an extremely underrated book, and I encourage you to read it!

Spoilers ahead.  

So as I mentioned before, Ryan Graudin did a fabulous job of switching back and forth between timelines. I loved seeing Yael's background in the labour camp and how she got to where she was currently in the story. But I have to say that I loved the race just a bit more. I just love the whole feel of it! The action, the scheming, the plotting, the secrets and the characters just made that part of the story amazing.

I really loved the interactions between Luka and Yael as we knew that there was something between Luka and Adele. It created this really interesting dynamic between Yael, as she tried to pretend to be Adele and did not know everything about her and Luka while simultaneously trying to not have any feelings for anyone in the race (especially not a German who she is supposed to hate after what she went through). While on the other hand Luka was in love/falling in love with someone pretending to be the girl he knew for last race. The theme that there are so many different sides to people emerged, and I was happy to have deeper meanings wrapped up in the story. I also liked how Yael was constantly fighting her demons, creating another deeper theme within the story.

The constant action in this book kept me at the edge of my seat and was another one of the reasons why I whipped through this book. The constant plotting and sabotaging was great! Some of my favourite action-y parts where when the racers had to escape from the Soviets they encountered, the sabotaging of Katsuo and his death, along with the part at the very end where Adele finally managed to kill "Hitler" who turned out to be another shape shifter. And speaking of the other shape shifter, that opens up a whole other can of worms for the next book. I can't wait to see what happens in Blood for Blood!

Overall this book was freaking AMAZING! I loved the characters, relationships, plot, action and the overall feel of this book! I NEED the sequel now!

Book Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

This synopsis contains spoilers for the previous books in the series.

In the fourth installation of the Throne of Glass series, Celaena Sardothien, who has now embraced her title of Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen, returns to the kingdom of Adarlan to deal with her past and fight for her country.

Overall this book was really great (even though it took me a while to read). It has become my second favourite book in the series next to the first novel. Characters changed, new ones were introduced, ships sank and battles were fought. I would recommend reading The Assassin's Blade before you read this because it has connections to the novella woven in, and it gives the story more depth.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Spoilers ahead.

Some of my favourite parts of this book were the epic battle scenes, specifically the one between Manon and Aelin. I was glad that we the two characters met, and I thought the fight between them was amazing and well written. I also enjoyed the final battle at the castle with the King of Adarlan, Dorian and Aelin. Magic was freed (finally), Dorian became himself again (mostly) and the King died. But as it turns out, he might have just been a chess piece in a bigger plan, Erawan might just be Perrington. I also loved how Aelin and Dorian's magic worked together seamlessly. 

Manon's chapters also got more interesting. She's starting to become more "human", and tensions seem to be rising between and her grandmother. The scene where she fled Morath while Kaltain burnt it to the ground. I think it will be interesting to see where her character will go in the next books.

Another one of my favourite parts of the book was when Aelin was planning to kill Arobynn. The dinner, Aelin playing up Celaena's character, the part where I thought she was under Arobynn's control, the extreme scheming, everything about that part of the book was just great.

Finally, can we just talk about the characters and their relationships? Aelin's character certainly changed quite a bit, maybe to the extent of it being a bit unrealistic. She and Chaol have both changed so much that I think we've come to the conclusion that that ship has sunk. A relationship between Aelin and Rowan seems to be building though, which I'm fine with this, but I don't love them. After reading about her and Sam in The Assassin's Blade, I just don't think that Aelin and Rowan's relationship is as great. The one relationship that I absolutely loved though was Aelin and Lysandra's! I love that we got an amazing friendship between two female characters, something that I think we need to see more in the YA genre.

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

In the land of Mytica, three countries rule, Auranos, Limeros and Paelsia, but not for long if things continue to head downhill...

Four individuals are pulled into the brewing war of the three countries. They must deal with political 

maneuvering and the consequences of war on top of their own personal issues.

Pampered Princess Cleo of Auranos is trying to cope with the murder she witnessed before her own eyes. And when her sister falls sick, she sets out on a quest to find a magical legend as a last resort.

Jonas, a rebel from Paelsia, is angry and wants vengeance for his brothers death. He finds himself a leader of a rebellion for his oppressed country.  

Magnus, the heir of Limeros, is the King of Blood's son. But he doesn't want to end up like his father when he is to become king. Meanwhile, his sister, Lucia, begins to discover the secrets of her heritage.

Rate: 3.5/5 stars

I thought that I was really going to enjoy reading this book. I'd heard great things about this series, and the concept sounded like something I would enjoy quite a bit. But it turns out, I didn't like as much as I thought I would. At first I gave this book a four star rating, but when I began to think about it more, I realized that not a lot happened, and I didn't like it as much as I thought. Overall, the book was just okay. I think I'll continue with the series, but it's not on the top of my list.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

For the most part, the characters in this book didn't amaze me. Although I did think that Magnus was decent, but maybe that's because I like morally grey characters. The rest-- Cleo, Jonas and Lucia-- didn't do too much for me. They just didn't seem as fleshed out as some other characters I've read.

I wished that the magic system was explored a bit more. We got to see some of the things that Lucia could do, but that was only until the second half of the book, and even then we barely saw any of it. I think that elementia could be a pretty cool magic system if we got to see more of it.

Another thing that I wished we got to see more of was the action. During the war scenes, we barely got to see any of the actual fighting. It was kind of skimmed over by the author. Action is one of my favourite things in a book, so I was disappointed that there wasn't too much of it in this book.

I thought that the war in this book took too long to develop. I was kind of let down by the overall plot. Interesting things did happen though, Cleo went out to search for an ancient watcher, Lucia discovered her magic, alliances were made, as well as betrayals. But it was just the way it was executed that made me like it less.

Also the fact that Cleo and Theon fell in "love"quite quickly bothered me. They only really realized it right as Theon was dying. I didn't care much about his death anyways. 

The book overall wasn't horrible, I just didn't love it like some people. 

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

In the prequel to Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series, we learn more about notorious assassin, Celaena Sardothien's, dirty past. The Assassin's Blade consists of five intertwining short stories, all featuring the world's finest assassin. 

Celaena works for Arobynn Hamel, who gave her a place at the Assassin's Guild many years before. Since then she has become his protégé, and the worlds best assassin. In these novellas we follow Celaena as she travels far and wide on assignments for Arobynn, along with what happened leading up to her capture and enslavement in Endovier. 

Rate: 4.5/5 stars 

I decided to pick this up since Queen of Shadows (book four of six) is coming out this fall, and I wanted to read it before then. Also, I heard that some characters in this book will be showing up in Queen of Shadows, so I though it would be a good idea to read this before it comes out. I really enjoyed these short-story-prequels, and that's saying something, because I'm not a huge fan of short stories. I thought each novella was great (although The Assassin and the Healer was lacking a bit for me)! I loved how they each had their own storyline, but were all part of one big story. As per usual, there was lots of action, and great writing! I highly suggest that you pick this book up if you are a fan of the series. And if you haven't started reading this series yet, get on it!

SPOILERS AHEAD.

First off, let's talk a bit about the first novella, The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. We got to see a bit of Celaena's softer side in this novella. We saw that she does actually have a heart, and isn't just a cold, hard killing machine. I thought that it was great that she freed the slaves, even when it was against her orders, and I thought that it was great that Sam joined in. I really love when Celaena does things like that for the good.

The Assassin and the Healer was lacking for me as I mentioned above. It was still good, but I enjoyed the others far more. I didn't care too much for Yrene, and it was a bit boring compared to the other stories.

Next was The Assassin and the Dessert. I liked how we got to see that there was more than one place for assassins, and it was interesting to see the stark difference between the two keeps. I was not expecting that betrayal from Ansel. But it just made the story just that more interesting. I did like their friendship while it lasted though. I think that it was good for Celaena to have a friend of the same gender. And you could tell that she definitely still cared for Ansel at the end.

Fourth was The Assassin and the Underworld. This one was quite good, my second favourite actually. We began to see just how treacherous Arobynn could be. I loved the storyline of this one, it had lots of action (which you may have noticed is what I love in a book)! The scene where Celaena was trapped in the sewer was probably my favourite. I was really glad Sam showed up to save her (and they finally became a thing! I was waiting for that the whole book!). But the worst part was when Celaena realized that the person she was hired was actually working for the rebellion and not against it. And just think, this was only the beginning of Arobynn's horribleness.

The fifth and final novella was The Assassin and the Empire, my personal favourite. The action, the romance, the betrayal, it was all great (and horribly sad). Sam's death, although we knew it was coming, was just horrendous. I felt so bad for Celaena. And then she finds out that his death and her capture was all a plan set up by Arobynn, making it even worse. But this novella was still so amazing. I just loved it because of all the tragedy, that's what made it so good. 

Overall these novellas were great! I can't wait for Queen of Shadows to come out in the fall! 

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Joel wishes he was a Rithmatist. He wishes that he could create elaborate defences, bring his chalk drawings to life and defend the American Isles from the deadly chalk creature know as wild chalkings. But sadly Joel is the only student at his school that isn't from a wealthy family or a Rithmatist. 

But things begin to change when students begin to disappear from Joel's school, leaving blood at the crime scene. He befriends a Rithmatist, Melody, and the two are assigned to help the professor that is investigating the crime scenes. And they begin to discover things that could change the world of Rithmatics forever.

Rate: 4.5

I have yet to read something by Brandon Sanderson that I didn't like. This was a pretty great book in my opinion. The world building was great as always. The magic system was elaborate, interesting and well put together. Plus I loved the characters, especially Melody. I also enjoyed the steampunk/gearpunk aspect to the book. I thought the illustrations of the chalkings and defences at the end of each chapter really helped the readers understand the magic system better. This book was super unique and it left many directions for the rest of the story to go.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Like I mentioned above, I love the characters in this book, especially Melody! I loved her spunk and overall personality. Plus, her friendship with Joel was great! Melody was the dramatic one, whereas Joel was the more thoughtful type, plus  were the two odd ones out, and it made for a great friendship. I loved how at the end, they teamed up at the tournament and won. That was a great scene to read. 

I really loved the magic system in this book, it was just so great! The chalkings and the defences were so cool. It was quite mathimatical, and sometimes complicated, and I know some people may not have liked it as much because of this, but I thought that was what made it so great. I really love complex magic systems, story lines, ect. Iv've come to the conclusion that Brandon Sanderson is a genius.

The end was a tad complicated, and I don't have the book with me (it's currently floating over the ocean) to look back on, so please excuse the vagueness (if there is any).

I loved the ending. The mystery, the Rithmatics, ect. The fact that Inspector Harding was being possessed by a forgotten was quite interesting. That changed things quite dramatically. And the same goes for Professor Nalizar, but we never found out exactly what he was. 

Then there were the newly discovered Rithmatic lines. That also changed things quite a bit. There could be many more out there that haven't been discovered yet. 

These two things combined leave the story line wide open. Many things could happen in the next book. You never know. But I'm excited to find out!

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire.***

The giant snake of Chaos, Apophis, still threatens to take over the world despite Carter and Sadie Kane's efforts. They, along with the help of a now deceased magician, managed to buy the world some more time, but that time is quickly running out. If they want to live, the siblings must do the impossible, defeat Apophis himself. And the only way to do that is to find an ancient spell, and use the serpent's shadow against him.

Rate: 4.5 stars

This was my favourite book of the trilogy. I really loved the final battle and the way things ended. I just love Rick's books, his writing, his characters, his stories. It's all just so great! Everything was wrapped up nicely, and overall this was a great conclusion to an awesome, action-packed series!

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Did anyone else catch that Camp Half-Blood reference? We got to see Drew and Lacy, which was pretty cool! I love authors who do that sort of thing!

Anyways, let's get on with the review. I'm pretty much just going to be talking about the ending because that was the best part. First off, the final battle against Apophis was pretty epic. Action is always the best. That's one of the reasons why I don't like contemporaries. I think that all of Rick's action scenes are written pretty well. Although I enjoyed reading the last battle, I was expecting a tad bit more. I thought that defeating Apophis would be a bit more tricky.

Besides the end scene, I also liked the scene in "A Friendly Game of Hide and Seek (with Bonus Points for Painful Death!)" (I also love the chapter titles, they're hilarious!), where Walt and Sadie played a "friendly" game of hide and seek with Neith. Also, the Jelly Baby Conspiracy thing was hilarious.

Speaking of Walt and that chapter, let's talk about what happened to him in the end. So may recall that a deadly curse runs in his family, and he was dying. So naturally he hosted Anubis (well maybe that's not exactly natural). I actually suspect that Walt and Anubis would join forces. I have conflicted feelings on this topic.On the one hand, I'm glad Walt is alive and well, but on the other, isn't it a bit odd that he's basically two people in one (buy one get one free!)? I preferred Anubis and Sadie together over Walt and Sadie. Don't get me wrong, I liked Walt, but I just liked Anubis and Sadie together better. And the two-for-one-deal that is Walt (is that what we're going to call him?), wasn't exactly the same, and it was like dating two people at once. Weird right?

On the topic of hosting gods, I'd like the mention Ra/Zia. For the short time that they were one, that was a bit odd. Also, Ra is back, but he's not taking the throne? That was surprising. Instead he decided to give his place to a fifteen-year-old magician/Horus. Good for Carter and all but will he be able to take that responsibility? I also really loved that little scene at the end with Carter and Zia.

Moving on. I was glad that at the end we got Bes back. He was able to save Carter and Sadie (again), which, you know, is always handy. Plus it was great to have his character back in the story.

Overall, I was quite happy with the ending. There we no cliffhangers in the series surprisingly enough (I mean have you Heroes of Olympus?!?). And everything was wrapped up quite nicely. It was a great book to end the series. 

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for The Red Pyramid.***

After defeating the Egyptian god of evil, Set, Carter and Sadie Kane have learned that he was the least of their problems. The giant snake of Chaos, Apophis, is starting to rise, and he is way more powerful than Set. 

Carter and Sadie must stop Apophis before he swallows the sun and plunges the Earth into darkness and destruction. And if they don't stop Apophis, the world will end. So Carter and Sadie must reawaken the sun god Ra if they want to survive. The must go on a dangerous mission to find the book of Ra which they will use to awaken the sun god. Will Carter and Sadie be able to awaken Ra and defeat Apophis?

Rate: 4 stars

I liked this instalment of The Kane Chronicles just as much as the first book! I still love the brother/sister dynamic of Sadie and Carter. We still got all that action, mythology and that uniquely funny writing style. A love triangle began, which I actually didn't mind. Overall this was great sequel.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

I liked the new addition of Bes in this book. He was a great god to have around, and he saved Carter and Sadie many times. He was very helpful when he showed up in the scene where Sadie was visiting in London for her birthday, and Nekhbet and Babi possessed her grandparents. It was too bad when they were gambling their souls for time and he gave up his soul for Carter and Sadie though.

Along with Bes we got to see some of the kids that Carter and Sadie were able to recruit like Walt and Jaz. I thought Walt was a great addition to the story. His presence certainly caused more drama within the story, that with his curse and the love triangle. Although I liked Walt and felt bad about his curse, I still liked Sadie and Anubis together better. I just love their banter! 

We also got the real Zia this time around. I felt a bit bad for Carter since he had to rebuild everything in between them. I really like Zia though, she is a strong female character.

In this instalment we got to see more of the Duat and magic. The Duat was a tad confusing for me, so I was glad we got more insight. I thought the whole adventure the Kanes went on in the Duat was more eye opening, interesting and action packed. I really loved all the scenes in the Duat.

The end was especially great! The awakening of Ra (who was ridiculous and sad), and the one fight against Apophis with Menshikov and Desjardins. It was great that Carter and Sadie teamed up with Dejardins, even thought they didn't like each other, to defeat Menshikov and Apophis, however not permanently. Desjardins died a heroic death, and in the end was on the right side. Kind of like Snape in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (I'm assuming everybody has read it or seen the movie by now).

Honestly I'm surprised that Rick hasn't ended any of the books in cliffhangers yet. But the book was still great!

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

When Carter and Sadie Kane are brought along to a museum with their Egyptologist dad, they don't think anything of it. But of course they're dead wrong. They discover that their father has a secret plan, and it just so happens to go incredibly wrong. An explosion destroys an ancient Egyptian artifact, the Rosetta Stone, and releases the Egyptian god of chaos, Set.

Set encases Carter and Sadie's dad in a golden coffin, and if they want to free him they must embark on a quest that could cost them their lives. Along the way they discover that they have connections to the old empire of Egypt, and powers that they must learn to use. While Carter and Sadie are on the dangerous quest to save their father, they also learn that there is more at stake than just their father's life... 

Rate: 4 stars

Yet another Rick Riordan book. What a surprise! Anyways, I enjoyed this book as well! Although I didn't like it quite as much as Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. That may be because I enjoyed the Greek mythology better. The Red Pyramid had the same fun adventures, awesome writing style, amazing characters and mythology. So I would definitely recommend you pick this book up if you are a fan of Rick's other work!

SPOILERS AHEAD.

I really liked the characters in this book! All of the characters that Rick creates are really fleshed out, and are written very well. I loved the brother-sister relationship that Carter and Sadie had. They were great characters on their own, but they were even greater together. I loved reading their banter! And since this book was a recording of their adventures, I liked how we got comments like "[No, Sadie. It's not an old person's soda! Be quiet!]" Those were great!

I love the fact that with Rick Riordan's books you get to learn in a fun way. I got to know more about Egyptian mythology while reading about an epic quest. He does it in such a way so that you don't get a huge info dump, and it's actually entertaining. Plus you don't need to know anything about Egyptian mythology when you start reading, because the characters don't know too much either. I think Rick's books would be a good read for when you are learning about mythology in school. I think they would really help people get into it and help them remember it better, all the while having fun while reading.

The plot and set up of the was similar to Rick's other books. We had the discovery of the powers, an epic quest (with lots of action of course), and then a final battle at the end. And this really works for his books. 

The powers that Carter and Sadie had were pretty cool. Although I did like the different powers that the characters in PJO and HoO had better. They were more varied and ultimately, I think they were more powerful. Maybe I should just stop comparing the series though. Anyways, the whole magician thing was still pretty awesome. Plus they had the extra help of Horus and Isis. I'm glad that they decided not to host the two gods at the end of the book. As cool as hosting a god is, and as powerful as it made them, I wanted to see what the two could do on their own.

The ending was of course the best part. The final battles are always the best! It was kind of sad to find out Zia was really a shabti. I wish it was really her that went on the adventure! Anyways, the ending set up well for the next book with the Carter and Sadie making a deal with Set (I can't believe he was using Amos as a host!), and they discovered that Set was the least of their problems. Apophis was really the bigger problem.

Overall this was another great book! I just finished The Throne of Fire so I should have a book review for that up soon!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

The real world is a dump. And that's why Wade Watts spends all of his free time in OASIS, an online world where anything is possible. 

When the billionaire creator of OASIS died, he left behind his fortune to be found by any OASIS player who could solve the puzzles he has set up within the game. Wade has dedicated the last four years of his life studying eighties pop culture––the decade that the creator of OASIS was obsessed with––in hopes of finding the fortune hidden within the game.

When Wade manages to find the first clue in the hunt to find the prize, he realizes just how far some people are willing to go to find the prize, and that he'll have to win to survive.

Rate: 4 stars

Calling all nerds and geeks, this book is for you! Ready Player One revolves around video games, a contest to win a fortune, and '80s pop culture, and is the ultimate book for anyone who loves those things. Even though I don't really like video games, and I'm not too into '80s pop culture, I still enjoyed this book. I really liked the whole concept of the contest, and there was a fair amount of action to top it off. Overall it was a great read, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I loved video games or '80s pop culture.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

I really enjoyed everything about the contest.  I liked how there were keys that had to be found, and portals opened with that key in which Wade had to complete a challenge. All the different clues and challenges made for an entertaining read.

The characters weren't too bad either, although they weren't the best I had ever read. I liked how they all struggled with things offline though. Wade was fat (at least in the beginning), Art3mis a reddish birthmark across her face, and Aech turned out to be a black lesbian woman, not a white man. She struggled with being treated differently, and I found that her mother was right in thinking that she should make her avatar on OASIS a white man. It's ridiculous that people are treated differently based on their gender, sexuality, and the way they look, and I was glad that Ernest Cline threw these things into the book, even if they weren't really relevant.

Another thing that I liked was the fact the Wade had to deal with IOI inside the OASIS and outside. His life was threatened inside and outside the game. They we just such an nasty bunch of people. Although, I think a company would be willing to kill people of billions of dollars, especially if they had a lot of power and could cover it up.

The ending was one of my favourite parts. Wade got to meet Aech, Art3mis and Shoto in the real world. And there was huge battle and then the race to the finish. Lots of action. I thought the story wrapped up pretty nicely and I wasn't left with too many questions. I think it's best as a standalone.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Lia is the First Daughter of the House of Morrighan. Which means that she must marry someone she has never met for political reasons. Sick and tired of all the traditions the Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in, Lia runs away with her best friend on her wedding day. She flees to a small town avoiding bounty hunters sent by her father. She strives to begin a new life where she can finally be herself.

But when two strangers arrive in town, things get a little more interesting. Little does Lia know that these two strangers that keep popping up in her life are an assassin sent to kill her and the prince she was supposed to marry. 

Rate: 3.5 stars

Despite the incredibly cheesy title, this was a decent book. Even though this book is considered fantasy, there was an air or mystery to it. We didn't know which of the men was the assassin or the prince, and it kept me guessing. However, I had heard some pretty good things about this book, and I was honestly a bit let down. I did still like it, but I didn't love it. The characters were okay and there wasn't as much action as I had anticipated. Plus there was a love triangle, and quite frankly, I'm getting quite sick of those.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Like I mentioned above, the characters were only okay. They didn't really do anything for me. Lia was your typical headstrong heroin. And I wasn't super fond of Kaden and Rafe either. Kaden delayed his job over and over a girl he barely knew, which I found fairly unrealistic. It was said that he had killed many people before, so what was so different about Lia? What was the point of Rafe coming down to find Lia? Was he going to bring her back to the castle, because I don't think she would have agreed to that at first.

Along with the mystery of which guy was which there was also other minor things building up which I assume will play into the next books. There was some important information that Lia stole before fleeing. Then there was this power that she had. This power of "knowing". Plus there was this whole thing with the Vendans becoming stronger and stronger.

The plot was a bit slow for my taste. Although it did pick up towards the end with Lia trying to go back home to fulfill her duties, but ultimitely being captured by the Vendans. Now that Lia has been captured by the Vendans, and Jaxon/Rafe has showed up, it will be interesting to see what the next book will be like.

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Best friends Sloane and Emily had planned their summer to be the best one yet. But then all of a sudden Sloane just disappears. 

After checking her house and her phone many, many times for Sloane, Emily finds a to-do list that Sloane left behind. On that list there are thirteen different tasks that Sloane planned for Emily. Except Emily would never do any of the things on the list without Sloane. Especially "Kiss a Stranger" and "Go Skinny-Dipping". But maybe Emily could try if completing these tasks could somehow lead Emily to Sloane...

Rate: 4 stars

This book is perfect if you are looking for a light, fun, summery read. The tasks that Emily had to complete made for a fun and entertaining read, and the characters weren't bad either. If you are looking for a contemporary to read this summer, I would definitely recommend this one. However, I don't think I enjoyed this as much as most people did. There was one aspect of the book that rubbed me the wrong way, which I will get into in the spoilery part of this review. But over all I enjoyed reading this book.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

So I liked the majority of the characters in this book. Emily was a good main character and she developed as the book went on. She started out as a super shy character that needed a friend with her in all social situations. She then became more independent and less shy. I also liked her friendship with Frank, Collins and Dawn, it developed very nicely. I liked their characters as well. But the one character that bothered me was Sloane.

She was portrayed as this super amazing best friend, but I didn't really see her that way. When we got the flash backs of her and Emily, it always seemed that she was making Emily into someone else. She seemed to have made a lot of changes to her wardrobe and appearance. Then we got the flash back before the "Penelope" scene. I really didn't like how she was making Emily do things she wasn't comfortable with. And then she spent a ton of time with her boyfriend, and ended up ditching Emily many times. Trust me, I know that is not a fun experience. End at the end I still didn't like her that much.

Moving on from the characters, let's talk about the actual plot. I enjoyed all the different tasks that Emily had to go through. I though they were very fun to read. Some of my favourites were "Share Some Secrets", "Dance Until Dawn" and "Go Skinny Dipping". I also liked the scene where Fran and Emily drove down to find Sloane.

The ending was good. Everything was wrapped up and seemed as good as can be. Sloane and Emily met up and everything was explained. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Sloane, I liked the scene between Emily and her. I thought her story was interesting and I have to admit I kind of felt bad for her.

Overall this was a solid contemporary.

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for The Winner's Curse.***

Being engaged to the Crown Prince is a dream for many girls. But for Kestrel, who's heart belongs to someone else, it's a nightmare. 

In order to prevent another war between Valoria and Herran, and to make sure the one she loves is safe, Kestrel agreed to the marriage. Now she is destined to live a life of lies with the Prince. But Kestrel can't just sit back and let the rebellion live on without her. She begins to play a risky game and feeds plans and secrets to spies in the castle. 

In a world of lies and false allegiances, Kestrel is bound to be found out. She'll learn what it costs to love. Will she be able to continue to play the dangerous game when her life, and many others, are on the line? 

Rate: 4 stars

I enjoyed this book almost as much as the first and it was really great overall. It still had the same intelligent characters, the beautiful prose, and the amazing political aspect. I was still in love with the world and the cultures as we learned more about them. Much like the last book, this one left me wanting the next one as soon as possible. I'm very excited for The Winner's Kiss!

SPOILERS AHEAD.

We got a few new characters in this instalment of The Winner's Trilogy. There was the emperor who was extremely cunning and actually realized what Kestrel was up to. We also had Verex, the prince, and he didn't actually turn out to be too bad. He was actually pretty nice towards Kestrel in the end. I was beginning to like their friendship. It seems like a lot of fantasy books that I read these days have a horrible king/emperor and a son that disagrees with what is going on. I'm beginning to wonder if Verex will fight along side Kestrel and Arin in the end.

While Kestrel began to build a relationship with Verex, she also lost relationships. Her relationship with Jess fell apart fairly quickly. Jess had changed after the event at the ball, she became more bitter and less naïve. Although I understand why she changed and why she was mad, I was still on Kestrel's side of things. And then we had Kestrel's relationship with Ronan crumble as well. After his proposal in the last book, he became bitter and reckless which ultimately lead to his death. You could see that Kestrel felt very guilty about this and carried the burden of his death.

While Kestrel was playing a dangerous game of secrets and lies, Arin was dealing with political things. He ended up in Dacra looking for help, which I was glad that he got in the end. We were introduced to Dacra's people and culture. I liked that these books have different cultures woven into them. We were also introduced to the queen and Roshar. I liked Roshar and Arin's friendship, they were fun to read together.

The ending was probably my favourite part though. Kestrel was found out and she will be sent to a work camp in the tundra. Her relationship with her father fell apart as well. He was too loyal to stand up for his daughter and to see that what Valoria was doing was wrong. I'm interested to see how this will all play out in the next book. And what will Arin do when he finds out about what happened to Kestrel?

Overall, The Winner's Crime was a great sequel and I can't wait for the next book!

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Kestrel is a high ranking general's daughter and lives a luxurious life in the land of Valoria's conquered enemies. She doesn't know what it's like to suffer, to lose a home, friends and family. But Arin does. 

While at the market, Kestrel stumbles upon a slave auction and on a whim buys a slave. The slave, Arin, turns out to be different from the others, more defiant, more intelligent. And Kestrel can't help but fall for his spirit and intelligence (finally someone that will give her a run for her money playing Bite and Sting). But as the story advances, things between Kestrel and Arin get more and more complicated. The first instalment of The Winner's Trilogy, The Winner's Curse, is full of lies, rumours, duels, rebellion, strategy and so much more.

Rate: 4.5 stars

I throughly enjoyed this book. The characters were intelligent and well developed. The story itself was very intriguing, and left me wanting the next instalment. The world was interesting and well put together. And the writing was just beautiful. Here are a few examples:

"Jess had wandered off to look at the wares. Kestrel saw her weaving like a flower-drunk bee through the stall, her pale blond hair almost white in the summer sun."

"Everyone thronged around the pit was looking at her: the general's daughter, a high society bird who flitted from one respectable house to the next."

"Kestrel held the child, her eyes trained on but not really seeing his fine white hair, stirring in the faint wind like dandelion fluff."

If that's not enough for you, read the book! Seriously, pick it up! If you are sick of your typical stubborn, not super bright female leads in the YA genre, this is the book for you. Or if you are just looking for a good, enthralling read, pick it up.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Like I said above the characters were intelligent. And I was so glad about this. I was so tired of unintelligent main characters making idiotic decisions. And boy was I (gladly) surprised when I read this. Not only was Kestrel intelligent, but so was Arin, and I thought that they challenged each other with their intelligence. I thought they complemented each other nicely. Also, Kestrel wasn't a natural born fighter, which was interesting to see (in a good way), because in other novels like this one, the main character is usually good at fighting. Luckily Kestrel's strategic mind made up for her of lack fighting sills, and was able to actually get her out of some tough situations. Oh, and I was also glad that she turned down the option of joining the military because she knew that she could make strategic moves that could ruin people's lives.

Now the world that Kestrel and Arin lived in was interesting. I thought the world building was done well. It was sprinkled into the story and we learned more about the history and customs of Valoria and Herran as the novel progressed. And I actually found myself interested in the customs of the countries and the world that they lived in.

I enjoyed that this book, even though it was described as a romance, it wasn't all about the romance. It was much more than your run-of-the-mill contemporary or romance. We had rebellion, action and dirty secrets. Initially I was not expecting Arin to be involved in the rebellion. Or for him to be undercover to attain information. But as the story progressed, you could see that Arin started to care more about the lives he was effecting with the rebellion (not that the rebellion was necessarily a bad thing).

Speaking of the rebellion, I really did not like, or trust for that matter, Cheat. He just rubbed me the wrong way, and was doing all the wrong things with the rebellion. Sure he had the city under under his control, but that was with the help of Arin. Plus he treated Kestrel horribly. I was glad when Arin finally figured out that he wanted to get rid of Kestrel, and killed him when he found him in Kestrel's room.

At the end of the book, it was hard to tell which side Kestrel was on. She fled the city that the rebels took to warn the emperor, but she made a deal with him to marry his son to stop another war. She still cares for Arin, but seems to be playing for the other side, but Arin doesn't know that. It just keeps getting more and more complicated between these two. It seems like Kestrel doesn't want to betray her country, but she has begun to see what they have done to the Herrani (Arin). So she seems pretty conflicted. 

Anyways, I'm so excited for the next book in this trilogy, and can't wait to see where it goes!

Run by Gabby Tye

Everything, except humans, has gone extinct. All the plants and all the animals. This is thanks to scientists  who got a little carried away, so to speak, with work in the genetic field. No more food is being grown or harvested. Canned food is the only thing left, and even that will run out eventually.

Zee, our fifteen-year-old main character, wakes up in Singapore with no memory. Not knowing anything about herself or the world she lives in, Zee joins a group of kids like her trying to survive. At first they only had to worry about where they could find the next source of food and water, but they have now discovered that adults have changed. Let's just say regular food doesn't satisfy their hunger. So on top of searching for food and water, Zee and the other survivors must fight off these "Eaters". But who long will they be able to survive in this apocalyptic world?

Rate: 3 stars

First off all, I think it is awesome that somebody around my age was able to get a book published! Congrats! Anyways, let's get to the book itself. Overall the book was okay. The concept was interesting, and it was cool that the book took place in Singapore, so I knew roughly where things were. But I found the book rushed and the writing wasn't the greatest. It was also a super quick read (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), I finished it in a single day (that day also being a school day). Oh, and it was yet another book that I read with a cliff-hanger for an ending.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

The whole concept of the work in genetics going wrong seemed fairly realistic. In Run our main character had everything about her physical appearance chosen before she was born. That was what seemed really realistic to me, since things like this are already happening. Like if you have a disease that runs in the family, you are now able to correct that (Even though it is pretty interesting and I could go on talking about this subject for a while, I won't since this a book review, not a report on the genetic field).

Anyways, Camp Zero was a topic that was brought up in the book, but wasn't exactly relevant. It was apparently a camp that had resources and only the important adults of society were allowed in. Maybe this will come into play in the next book, that was what I was thinking anyways. 

Now the adults that Zee encountered were cannibals. I was thought that maybe the "Eaters" had a contagious disease that made them like the taste of flesh, and I wondered why nobody thought of that, and why they didn't try to stay to far away from them. But thats's just my theory. The book didn't explain why they were so zombie-ish, but again, hopefully it will be explained in the next books. Although I don't know if I'll actually continue the series, as it is not very high on the list of books I want to read. 

Now that I think about it, a lot of things were not explained in this book. Like how Zee had the power to predict the future/read minds, why she lost her memory, why she was so good at fighting with a staff (and how a staff or something similar was always around when she needed to fight), and why did she get her memory back at the end of the book. 

Speaking of the end of the book I didn't think it was a particularly smart idea for them to lure an Eater into a trap to study it. I mean a ton of things could have gone wrong there. I also found they didn't make the smartest decisions during the book. Zee and Jae left the group in the middle of the night after an Eater attack to go talk to some guy who caused them trouble in the past. Great idea guys.

Okay, so back to the end of the book. The group of kids that Zee was with before the loss of her memory just happened to show up. Then she just happened to get her memory back. And BOOM cliff-hanger. I also sense a love triangle coming on, because we don't have enough of those in YA.

Oh, and I almost forgot to talk about the characters themselves. Zee and Jae we okay, but the rest were poorly developed. I didn't really get a good grasp of the majority of characters, they were poorly written.

Overall this was book was "meh". I'm not really invested in this series, so I don't know if I'll continue.

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for Steelheart.***

Firefight picks up not too long after Steelheart, a high Epic, was killed at David's hand. Now Newcago is free from Steelheart's wrath. But David isn't completely satisfied. He still has questions about Epics and their powers that have yet to be answered. Plus he is determined to find another Epic, Firefight, who he is certain is different form other Epics.

So when David gets the chance to go to Babylon (a city that was once part of New York), where he might be able to get his answers, and where Firefight is rumoured to be, he's all for it. David and two other Reckoners, Prof and Tia, head off to Babylon in search of the High Epic that rules there. But David's eyes are still peeled for Firefight, and any answers to his questions, even though he's there on the Reckoners' terms, not his own.

Rate: 4 stars

In the second instalment of The Reckoners trilogy, we are introduced to new Reckoners, a new setting and new Epics. The new characters were great, although I would have liked to see more of Cody and Abraham. We also got just as much action as we did in Steelheart. Overall it was a strong second book. And like the last book, it left me wanting the next book. But this time it was due to a cliffhanger-y ending.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

As I said above, I liked the new characters that were introduced in this book. We had mysterious Epics like Regalia, Obliteration, Calamity and Dawnslight. They added an intriguing factor to the book since David and the Reckoners were trying to figure out how their powers work, their weakness, and what they were going to do next. It was interesting to find out that the weaknesses of the Epics had something to do with their fears and their pasts. And I wonder how Epics actually became Epics. I know it has something to do with Calamity (I was surprised to find out that Calamity was actually an Epic), but how did Calamity cause superpowers? Hopefully this will be cleared up in the next book.

The other new characters we were introduced to, the Reckoners in Babylon, were not quite as mysterious, but still a great addition to the story. There was Val, who we didn't get to see too much of, and Exel, who was unique, to say the least, as well as Mizzy, my personal favourite new character due to her spunk.

I thought the story really picked up when Megan was thrown into the story for good. She's probably my favourite character, and I was really missing her in the beginning of the story when she was absent (plus I was happy when the ship finally sailed). I really wish that Prof would have brought her back on the team, she gave an insight on Epics that Prof couldn't manage to do. We really got to know more about what the powers the Epics have do to them. Prof always shut away when he used his, and never explained what they were like.

Now speaking of Prof, his powers kind of took over in the end. I thought he might have been more forgiving and understanding when he found out that David and Megan were in touch. I thought he had a better control over them. But I guess not, as he ended up killing Val and Exel. I wasn't super sad about their deaths though, they weren't a super big part of the story, and I never got attached to them.

Anyways, I did enjoy this book and can't wait for the next one, Calamity, when it is released in the spring of 2016. Hopefully all the questions I had about the Epics will be answered. And hopefully we get just as much action as Steelheart and Firefight.

The One by Kiera Cass

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for The Selection and The Elite.***

In the third instalment of The Selection Series, America Singer still finds herself at the castle competing for the crown and Prince Maxon. America is a contender in the Selection, but does she really want a future at the castle? And will she ever have her happily ever after?

Rate: 3.5 stars

This book was just like The Elite, just more of America procrastinating and making bad decisions. The One was also unrealistic, and events happened that didn't even advance the plot. And the Selection finally came to a close. But for some strange reason, I whipped through the book, and still enjoyed it.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

America was a very frustrating character at times, and at one point I had to close the book and try and deal with how she was acting and the decisions she made. She was not a very smart character, and was often very emotional. And at one point, she was acting even worse than Celeste. Plus she couldn't make up her mind, and barely kept to her decisions for more than five minutes. 

That aside, let's talk about the rebels. We had the Northerners, who wanted to change Illéa for the good, and then we had the Southerners who were just bad. Throughout the book we found out that random characters like Kriss, Gavril and America's dad were Northerner rebels, which did absolutely nothing to advance the plot. 

Then we had the death of America's dad, which was unfortunate, but I still wasn't terribly sad. I liked the relationship between America and her dad, and I think the death just emphasized their relationship. However, I don't think his death was necessary, because it was already evident that they had a good relationship.

Now, I found the change of Celeste's character completely unrealistic. One day she was the nastiest girl in the Selection, and the next day she was everybody's BFF. In reality, she would not have changed that quickly, it would have been over a longer period of time. And I think the girls still would have held a grudge after all the horrible things Celeste did.

I also found the ending incredibly unrealistic. Maxon completely flipped out when he found out about America and Aspen, even though America and Maxon were all for getting engaged the night before. I found that completely out of character. Then when Maxon got shot, he suddenly realized that he couldn't live without America. Also, how convenient was it that the King,  the Queen, and Anne died, plus the Southerners were over powered by the Northerners. That is not how the real world works, all of your problems do not suddenly disappear.

Anyways, the conclusion was decent. We went from the day of the rebel attack to the wedding day, so we skipped over the aftermath of the battle and the grief, which made for a happy ending. But did anyone else find it weird that Aspen walked America down the aisle?

Overall, the book was oddly enjoyable, despite all the faults. What were your thoughts on this book? Did you enjoy it? Leave your thoughts in the comments down below. Hope you enjoyed the review!

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for Throne of Glass and Crown of  Midnight.***

When Celaena Sardothien is sent off to Wendlyn, the King of Adarlan expects her to kill off the royal family. But Celaena has other plans, plans the king wouldn't be happy about. Maeve, the immortal Fae Queen, has agreed to give Celaena answers about the Wyrdkeys and help take down the king, but for a price. When Celaena deals with the darkness of her past and guilt, she doesn't know if she'll be able to take fulfil her deed to the queen, let alone take her place at the throne of Terrasen.

Rate: 4.5 stars

Wow. This series just keeps building and building. Even though I didn't like this book quite as much as the last two (don't get me wrong, I still really liked it), it did a lot of building for the next three books. I'm so excited to see how everything plays out. In this book, we are introduced to new characters and we got to see the world through their eyes. It'll be interesting to see how they will play into the next books.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Okay, I've decided that I'm going to do this review in three parts. One for Celaena and her adventures in Wendlyn, one for Dorian, Choal, Adeion and Sorscha back at the castle and one for Manon and the other witches.

Part One

Let's start with Celaena. She was brought to Mistward by Rowan. Even though he was harsh at first, Rowan turned out to be a good friend for Celaena. He'd had his fare share of hardships as well and was able to relate to Celaena's misery and guilt. And that whole carranam thing is pretty interesting, I thought Celaena and Rowan would end up as carranam.

In this instalment, we got to see that Celaena wasn't better than everyone at everything. She had to learn to control her magic, and she struggled for once. The Fae seem to have really cool powers, Celaena can control fire (it seems that they can control some sort of element), they have heightened senses, they can switch in between their Fae form and an animal form, the list goes on and on. But once Celaena learned to control her magic, she became even more deadly than before.

Celaena really developed as a character, in the first book, she only did things for herself and those who she thought she owed something too. In this book, she finally decided to come back as Aelin, the Queen of Terrasen. Imagine the king's reaction to finding out that the assassin he hired is the Queen of Terrasen.

We got see a bit more of Celaena's past in this book as well. I liked the scene from her memories were she met young Dorian and offered to be his friend. But the rest was horrible. We saw that the king manipulated her powers when he visited Terrasen when Celaena was young. Then we saw the night of her parents death, she climbed into their bed without knowing they were already dead. After we got to look into the memory of the night Celaena escaped her own assassination and was found by Arobynn. Then she figured out that the necklace that was given to her by her parents was a Wyrdkey and that Arobynn most likely has it.

Now, the ending was the best part. We had the battle with the Valg at Mistward, which was pretty awesome. We learned that the Valg we being put into bodies of demi-Fae (that was pretty cruel). Then Celaena made Maeve release Rowan (that ring she gave her must have been important, otherwise, I don't think she would have let Rowan go). She really was horrible, wasn't she? Then we learned of Celaena's plan to return to Adarlan to find her old master, Arobynn so she could get her necklace/Wyrdkey back. Then she will gather the rest of her court and build an army to fight.

Part Two

The next part of this review is dedicated to Dorian, Chaol, Adeion, Sorscha and everybody else at the castle.

We were introduced to some new characters; Aedion, the General of the North and cousin of Aelin  and some of his friends; and Sorscha, a healer at the castle. Immediately we were lead to believe that Aedion was a traitorous jerk. But we later discovered that he was not in fact working for the king, but for Terrasen. He turned out to be fiercely loyal to Aelin. I can't wait for the two childhood friends to meet again.

As soon as Sorscha met Dorian in this book, I knew they would end up seeing each other. She did turn out to be a nice person and was kind and brave enough to help Dorian learn to control his magic. What I was not expecting though, was her death at the end of the book.

In this book Dorian, Aedion and Chaol figured out how the King of Adarlan banned magic. He built three towers made of this special stone (Wyrdstone, maybe?), and a spell was sent out from each tower freezing magic in between the towers. I thought that was a really cool concept. I hope that in the next book, a tower is nocked down so magic can return. That would give both sides advantages in the war though. But hopefully it would give Celaena's side more power.

Again, the ending was the best. Aedion, Chaol, Dorian and Sorscha were called down to see the king. He figured out what was going on. He killed Sorscha (I wasn't too, too sad about that, we only just got to know her), and almost Chaol. Dorian saved Chaol with his magic, thank goodness. But now Dorian has one of those Wyrdstone collars on him, allowing the king to control him. I really hope that that will be fixed in the next book. Thankfully Chaol was able to get away though.

Part Three

Manon and the witches were a nice addition to the story. We got a look into what the king was planning for the war. And the gathering and training of the witches and wyverns was only part of it. The witches were really vicious and competitive. They were always trying to outdo the other clans, even if it meant death. They were raised as killers.

Now, I wasn't surprised when Abraxos was able to take over Titus and I wasn't surprised when Manon chose him. I liked how we had an underdog story woven in. The witches weren't supposed to have a heart, but I could see that Abraxos started to make Manon care. I mean she stood up for him after all. Then she tried to save one of the other witches, from another clan, we she began to fall. That doesn't look heartless to me. 

Manon can't be that bad. Will she realize that what the king is doing is wrong? Will she fight for the king, or will she switch sides? And how will their lost kingdom play in?

It was also mentioned that the men that were there to instruct the witches and wyverns tasted funny. I wonder why. How will that play out?

Like I said in my review of Crown of Midnight, this series is going to be huge. This book was just a building block compared to the whole story. I can't wait to see what will happen next!