Review: The Raven Boys

Title:  The Raven Boys 
Series:  The Raven Cycle #1
Author:  Maggie Stiefvater 
Genre:  Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance 
Publisher:  Scholastic Press 
Publication Date:  September 18, 2012
Source:  Gifted.  Thank you!

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.
His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

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Okay, so I've been avoiding this book for years.  Years.  And I know that might sound silly but I really haven't had great experiences with Maggie Stiefvater's other books.  None of them really captured me.  But I've heard so many good things about this series and the last book just recently released . . . I decided it was about time I gave it a shot.  Guys, I'm so happy I did.  This book had the thing.  You know, the thing that just captures you.  I started reading and absolutely couldn't stop. 

Let me just say, Stiefvater's writing style is so.  Freaking.  Awesome.  It was what really drew me in.  The way to describes things, the imagery and diction she uses made it so easy to sink into the world and story.  She made normal, ordinary objects and situations feel magical.  I mean, just read this! 

“There were three boys in the doorway, backlit by the evening sun as Neeve had been so many weeks ago. Three sets of shoulders: one square, one built, one wiry."

I absolutely love those words.  Something about the way this is worded pleases me so much.  It created such a beautiful and magical tone throughout the entire novel.

Also, the relationship between Blue and the boys in this novel made me so happy.  The dynamic between them all and each other individually was so honest.  I could see me and my friends having similar conversations and interactions.  The honesty of it all was what made it amazing.  I just want more and more and more of them all together.

The overall plot was also, quite literally, magical.  The quest that Gansey is on and welcomes the others on is great and so interesting.  I loved the research that went into it and the history behind it all.  Not to mention the wonderful pace it set for the story.  

I'm so, so, so excited to jump into the rest of the series.  I have a feeling I'll have to read the books as quickly as possible, otherwise I'll go insane wondering what happens.  I can't be too mad at myself for waiting so long to read this book - it just means I won't have to wait for the rest of the series to release!

“She recognized the strange happiness that came from loving something without knowing why you did, that strange happiness that was sometimes so big that it felt like sadness.” 

    Five teapots

Review: Lady Midnight

Title:  Lady Midnight
Series:  The Dark Artifices #1
Author:  Cassandra Clare
Genre:  Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal
Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry
Publication Date:  March 8, 2016
Source:  Bought

The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.
It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.
Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…
Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?
Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series.

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If you've been following this blog for a bit of time, you'll know I adore Cassandra Clare's first series, The Mortal Instruments, and her second series, The Infernal Devices, even more.  But going into this new series, I have to admit, I was really nervous.  I've heard a lot of controversy surrounding this book but I can honestly say that I genuinely enjoyed it.  After having read and reread all of her old works, it was amazing being able to jump into the same world but with a brand new cast of characters dealing with new conflicts.  

     

One aspect I particularly enjoyed was the character, Julian.  I was a bit slow to warm up to him and even know, I'm slightly wary of what he's going to do and how he'll react to things but I admired the fact that Cassie Clare went in a different direction for this dude.  With Jace and Will, the leading men in her other series, there were remarkable similarities in the way the acted and talked.  Julian is completely different.  He has a much older and more responsible air than the other two guys, while also holding on to a bit of vulnerability.  Even still, he's funny and unpredictable and sort of dangerous, which I love.  I'm excited to see where Julian is taken as a character.  

Emma, our MC, was a total badass.  I loved how tough and strong she was, though her impulsivity made me have like, three heart attacks while reading.  She was completely able to take care of herself, especially in a fight.  But she also was able to show her vulnerability, especially with Julian.  Them together was just . . . so sparky for lack of better word.  I loved the whole forbidden romance this and learning more about the parabatai bond through the eyes of these two was so interesting.  Fun fact: I had no idea that when one parabatai died, so did the other.  I thought the surviving parabatai only felt an immense amount of emotional pain.  From what we experienced in this book, it made it seem more like a physical reaction.  

ALSO.  This villain . . . I love them so much.  The conflicts we deal with in this book are in such a gray area and there's a lot of different perspectives to view them from which make it all the better and more intense.  I'm so, so, SO looking forward to seeing how the main conflict progresses in the next few books.  It's shaping up to be so epic.  

Side note, I loved the chapter titles in this book.  I don't want to give anything away (though I wouldn't really count it as a spoiler, but better safe than sorry) but they were all excerpts from my favorite poem.  I screamed for so many minutes when I realized it. 

I'm incredibly pleased with the way this book turned out.  There's so much I want to talk about in it but I don't want to drag this review on forever.  Either way, I would definitely recommend picking this book up, especially if you've read and enjoyed any of Cassandra Clare's other books.  This is a great addition to an already wonderful world.  

“That's not the spirit of the law, Emma. Remember? The Law is hard, but it is the Law."
"I thought it was 'the Law is annoying, but it is also flexible.”

Five Teapots 

Review: Firstlife

Title:  Firstlife
Series:  Everlife #1
Author:  Gena Showalter 
Genre:  Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Publication Date:  February 23, 2016
Source:  An ARC of this book given to me in exchange for an honest review by the publisher via Netgalley.  Thank you!

ONE CHOICE.
TWO REALMS.
NO SECOND CHANCE.
Tenley “Ten” Lockwood is an average seventeen-year-old girl…who has spent the past thirteen months locked inside the Prynne Asylum. The reason? Not her obsession with numbers, but her refusal to let her parents choose where she’ll live—after she dies.
There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to accept: Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death.
In the Everlife, two realms are in power: Troika and Myriad, longtime enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug-of-war between the two realms who will do anything to win the right to her soul. Who can she trust? And what if the realm she’s drawn to isn’t home to the boy she’s falling for? She just has to stay alive long enough to make a decision… 

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This is a book that I was so, so excited for!  The premise sounded so awesome and I loved the idea of the second life.  However, actually diving into this book was a bit of a disappointment.  While the premise was still really interesting, the execution and characters brought the book down for me.  I couldn't get passed the love triangle, Ten's indecision, and the choppy writing style.

Ten couldn't make a decision to save her life...literally.  She was so incredibly indecisive and it drove me crazy the whole time.  And because she was suffering from special snowflake syndrome and in high demand in both realms she had to decide between, this indecision was even more prominent.  I understand it's such a big decision but she's had eighteen years to think about and weigh her options.  Why, after all that time, did she not have even the slightest idea of what she wanted to do?  Even under horrendous circumstances like torture, she stayed very stubbornly undecided.  Which, okay, in a way can be admirable.  Like, she's sticking to her guns no matter what, but I was honestly just super annoyed.

To add on to Ten's already decisively indecisive nature, there was a weird maybe kinda sorta love triangle thrown in.  Of course, the two boys were from the two realms she was meant to choose between - one being the bad boy, the other Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes.  And, to makes things even harder, they both were gorgeous and had different foreign accents.  But it was still a weird dynamic because one was kinda more brotherly than the other but it still felt love triangley?  I don't know, it was just uncomfortable and made me cringe sometimes.  While one of the guys was obviously more who Ten was leaning toward, it still felt a lot like a triangle.  I also really hated how both guys kept randomly disappearing and reappearing. 

The writing style also made this a bit harder to read.  It was very choppy and there were sections of email or messages of some sort between different characters that were incredibly confusing and hard to keep track of.  Ten used very short and choppy sentences that sometimes made it harder to follow and understand what was happening.  Also, some of the fight scenes described just seemed so unlikely or unrealistic.  Like, I get that this is a fiction novel and everything but there has to be some sort of reality to it and certain fight scenes were from completely unbelievable.  

My final problem with this book was the lack of explanation.  We never got a why or how to a lot of the information and happenings.  Why were the two realms at ward?  Why did Ten find it impossible to make a decision?  How do the powers that the people in the realms have work?  Like, I needed more structure and rules within the world.  I had no idea how the whole thing worked. 

Either way, this book was a disappointment.  I was really excited for the premise but the problems I ran into overshadowed that excitement, unfortunately.  I feel like had I been a bit younger, I'd have enjoyed this a lot more.  As it was, I just couldn't get over the lack of explanation, indecision, and the love triangle.  

Two Teapots 

Angel Dreams Tour

New Release from Jody A. Kessler - Blog Tour & Giveaway! Both novels in this award-winning series will be on sale for only .99 cents for a limited time. 

 Supernatural boundaries will be crossed as Angel of Death, Nathaniel Evans, risks his eternal soul to save the one he loves, the paranormally gifted and nature-loving, Juliana Crowson. While working with a new client, Nathaniel finds out that pissing off a demon-wielding warlock in order to help a suicidal teen with misplaced sexual tendencies may be the last thing he ever does as an angel. Unable to stand aside, Juliana’s involvement in Nathaniel’s new case quickly develops into a misadventure with gun-toting bikers, table dancing, and a shamanic exorcism performed by her temperamental Native American friend, Chris Abeyta. Can Nathaniel and Juliana’s love endure blood-letting rituals in the forest while helping a terrified teen find the will to live, or will fate and the rules of the afterlife tear them eternally apart? 

   

Available in Paperback & Ebook on Amazon

Read an Excerpt from the Novel 

 Huge tears fall from her gorgeous eyes. She lets me see the first of them and then she looks down, hiding beneath her lashes. “Did you see me…were you at the bar?” she asks. The tears continue to fall down her face like a solemn rain, drenching us both with sorrow. I shake my head, not sure what she’s talking about. “No. I wasn’t at any bar. I came back here, to your house, like I said I would. You were sleeping. I couldn’t understand what was wrong.” She turns farther away from me, staring down at the floor. Her hand moves to brush away some of the tears. With my answer, I sense a mix of relief with something else. My not being at the bar seems important to her so I continue. “I found out about the succubus after.” I pause, seeking the correct words to explain to her. “Few earthly things cross over with a person’s soul when they pass. But I had to know about you, Jules. I passed into another level of the afterlife and you were still with me. As long as the soul is willing to know the truth, then the answer is always there. That’s how I found out. After death, the answers come like the ease of breathing air when you’re alive.” My arms ache to reach out to her. But I have nothing physical to offer her anymore. “I dreamed you were here Nathaniel...

   

  About the Author
 When Jody isn’t navigating the terrain of her imagination and writing it down, she can be found exploring the wilderness of Colorado with her family, or in the kitchen baking cookies & brownies - and then trying not to eat them all. She’s passionate about continuing to learn and reads anything and everything that catches her interest. Jody is a full time mom, a Reiki Master, and has taught Hatha yoga for over a decade. Jody’s debut novel, Death Lies Between Us, is the winner of RomCon’s Readers’ Crown award for best Paranormal Romance in 2014. She is currently working on a historical time travel series set in Montana in the 1860’s. The first book in the series, The Night Medicine, will be published in March 2015. Jody A. Kessler invites you to visit with her at: www.JodyAKessler.com, or on Facebook & Twitter 

For a chance to win a $10 amazon gift card or a signed paperback of the Death Lies Between Us (An Angel Falls, #1) please enter the rafflecopter! a Rafflecopter giveaway 

To see a complete list of tour stops, please click here: http://jodyakessler.com/newsevents/