book series

Review: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

~ megs14malloy

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Continuing to build the world, upping the stakes, introducing new characters, Meyer sure knows how to write a sequel!

Scarlet Benoit’s Grandmother is missing and she’s the only one who seems to care.

As she begins to investigate the mysterious disappearance, she meets a stranger, Wolf, a street fighter, who may have some important information.

They are drawn to one another and a tenuous bond begins to form.

The more she digs, the more Scarlet discovers that there is quite a bit about her Grandma she didn’t know.

It turns out, Grandma was keeping a lot of secrets. Dangerous secrets that could sway the fate of the universe.

Cinder, our dynamic cyborg mechanic, is in prison, trying to escape. With her usual tenacity, she will stop at nothing to regain her freedom, gaining alliances along the way.

Cinder and Scarlet’s worlds come together as Meyer takes this story to the next level. I had so much fun reading this.

I wasn’t sure we would get to see Cinder in this one, so I was quite pleased with how Meyer weaved everything together.

I cannot wait to continue on with this series and hope to do so very soon!

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Review: The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black

~ megs14malloy

The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is done.

In this, the final installment of The Folk of the Air trilogy, we find Jude back in the mortal world, trying to recover from the events of The Wicked King.

Her heart is hurt, but as our girl Jude is apt to do, she is still focused on getting back what she has lost.

Unexpectedly, her annoying sister, Taryn arrives, pleading for Jude’s help. She has done something terrible and sees Jude as her only path to salvation.

How convenient for her.

This help comes in the form of Jude sneaking back into the Faerie Court under the guise of being Taryn. What could possibly go wrong?

Once there, Jude finds Elfhame on the brink of war with the political class and society in general running amok.

Can Jude save her sister and her power before everything is ruined?

I’m sad, man. Yes, everything was wrapped up, but this felt so quick. I needed more time with my babies!

Why you play me like this, Holly Black?

I’ll be honest, I feel like I didn’t retain much of this story. Completely not the book’s fault, I was just so anxious to know how it was going to turn out, I flew through it.

I definitely plan to reread this entire series at some point, to really soak it in. With this being said, I do wish this had been a little longer.

I came away feeling a lot of the story felt very surface level and I wish it would have gone deeper. This could be me just being hurt that it has come to an end however.

Either way, a great series overall. So glad that I read it and looking forward to reading more by Holly Black!

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The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin

~ megs14malloy

The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #2)The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WHAT THE HECK DID I JUST READ!?!?

First of all, how am I complete trash for this series at this point in my life? It is beyond me.

I have no explanation. I can’t explain it, but I am currently obsessed with this.

I feel like this second installment gave me more questions than answers, but who the f* cares! I have one more book in this trilogy and I plan to devour it. Soon.

Sure, if you contemplate the storyline for too long, it’s definitely problematic, but for some reason, it this case, I couldn’t care less.

My plan is to read the final book this month. Then, sadly, I will have to find a new backlist trilogy to obsess over.

Anyone else who wants to join me on the tragically delayed hype train, you’re welcome.

Mara and Noah are LIFE.

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Review: The Princess and the Fangirl (Once Upon a Con #2) by Ashley Poston

~ megs14malloy

The Princess and the Fangirl (Once Upon a Con, #2)The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jessica Stone planned to use the Starfield reboot as a stepping stone to greatness. Unfortunately, she doesn’t feel it’s working out that way.

Afraid of being typecast, she wants to distance herself from it as much as she can, but with the sequel in the works and the fate of her character up in the air, that is becoming a challenge.

Attending the same Con that her costar, Darien, met the love of his life, Elle Wittimer, at the previous year, she begins to feel overwhelmed by the pressure of it all.

Imogen Lovelace is a fangirl attending the Con as well. A fangirl who looks surprisingly like Jessica Stone. When people end up confusing one for the other, a brilliant life swap takes place.

Imogen is hoping to save her favorite character, Princess Amara, from being wiped out of the Starfield universe forever. Certainly, Jessica, who played Amara on screen would agree?

We follow the two girls as they swap lives and learn the valuable lesson of, the grass is not always greener on the other side of that damn fence.

I was so happy to return to ExcelsiCon and the whole fan vibe surrounding it. For me, this one wasn’t quite as enjoyable as Geekerella.

I legit swooned over that for a week!

While I did still like this a lot, Ashley Poston’s writing is just so fun, I think it suffered a bit because I don’t really know the story of The Prince and the Pauper.

Obviously, this is not the book’s fault, it is mine.

One of the things I loved so much about Geekerella was all the little details connected to the original Cinderella story. To me, these were like finding little Easter eggs throughout. I loved it!

I still had a lot of fun with this book, don’t get me wrong, just not as much.

I am really looking forward to Book 3, a Beauty and the Beast retelling! Heck, I know that story like I wrote it myself.

To the stars, Ashley Poston!

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Review: Golden Son (Red Rising #2) by Pierce Brown

~ megs14malloy

Golden Son (Red Rising Trilogy, #2)Golden Son by Pierce Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am wrecked.

Picking up approximately 2-years after Red Rising left off, we continue to follow our intrepid hero, Darrow au Anadromedus, The Reaper, as he forges secret warfare against the heartless rulers of society.

Full of the same action-packed, pulse-pounding battle scenes as the first book, this one adds on to the level of political intrigue and plotting.

It left my head spinning. In a good way!

My favorite part of this continues to be the world-building. Brown has created a dark, dystopian world with all of the brutality of ancient Rome but in space. As we all know, everything is better…

Additionally, the characters are compelling and well-fleshed out. Darrow is particularly riveting. I love his evolution as a character and have truly felt for him as he grapples with impossible decisions that ultimately end up haunting him.

It’s hard to lead a revolution. Particularly when you have to keep it hidden. A proverbial snake in the grass, who can he trust with his secrets?

His pain and joy are visceral. I felt every moment. Relationships are continuing to develop and as always, there is a healthy dose of back-stabbing and betrayals mixed in for good measure.

I am really looking forward to moving on with this story. My plan is to continue with the audiobooks. The narrator is Darrow to me. They couldn’t have selected a better choice! So well done.

If you haven’t picked up this genre-bending series yet, I cannot recommend it highly enough!

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Review: Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

~ megs14malloy

Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)Gemina by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As the BeiTech assault continues, we follow two all-new characters aboard the Jump Station Heimdall.

For those of you familiar with this series, you may recall that the Heimdall is the destination that one of our protagonists from Illuminae, Kady Grant, on the Hypatia, was ultimately hoping to reach with news of the Kerenza attack.

If you haven’t yet read Illuminae, number one, what are you waiting for? Number two, you can read my review here to see how much I loved it: Meg’s Illuminae Review

One thing you may be wondering at this point, is why did I only give this 4-stars, when I gave Illuminae ONE MILLION STARS?

Format. It’s all about the format.

Due to receiving a lot of comments that I should try the audiobooks for this series, in conjunction with the hard copies, I decided to do just that.

I was going on vacation, including a long road trip, so downloaded the audiobook and packed my hard copy. The thought was I could listen in the car and while at our destination, I could read my hardcover.

However, I had zero time to read on vacation…

…so, I ended up listening to the entirety of the book on audio.

Now don’t get me wrong, the production was flipping fantastic. Absolutely phenomenal full cast with sound effects, etc., but I am such a visual person, I missed the unique formatting and illustrations within the hard copy.

Additionally, I became quite attached to Kady, Ezra and AIDAN in the first book and was sad not to be following them directly in this story as well.

I did eventually come to really enjoy Nik, the Heimdall’s resident bad boy with a heart of gold and Hanna, its spoiled princess with an edge, but Kady will always be my number one.

There is no doubt that this book is action-packed and a great continuation of the BeiTech assault. I am really looking forward to the final book in the trilogy, Obsidio, but I will definitely be reading my hard copy version to conclude the series.

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Review: Murder, She Wrote: A Time for Murder by Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land

~ megs14malloy

A Time for Murder (Murder She Wrote #50)A Time for Murder by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

When a young woman seeks Jessica out to question her about the first murder case she ever solved, under the guise of being for her high school newspaper, plenty of memories are drawn to the surface from that time 25-years previously.

Jessica was a young woman herself then, working at a high school in Abbott, Maine, living with her loving husband, Frank, and their nephew, Grady. The Principal at her school ended up being murder and Jessica helped to nab the culprit, or did she?

Once that same inquiring young lady ends up dead, Jessica discovers she wasn’t who she was purporting to be. She wasn’t a high school student at all.

It turns out she may be related to that same Principal who was murdered all those years ago. But why was she choosing now to ask about the case? And are the two cases related?

The plot thickens…

Racing to the conclusion, we follow both past and present timelines, as the cases converge into a wild finish.

It was such a joy to be back with one of my idols, Jessica Fletcher, for this, the 50th installment to the beloved Murder, She Wrote mystery series. As many fans of the series know, the long time author for this series, Donald Bain, sadly passed away in 2017.

The series has since been taken over by Jon Land, a veteran Thriller writer. This is the third book published since he has taken the reins and my first that I have read since the transition.

With this being said, I can definitely tell a difference in tone since the change and although it is different, I do not dislike it. I will continue to read the series as long as they are being published.

If you are looking for a fun, quick and cozy mystery series with no shortage of volumes to pick up, I highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, for providing me with a copy to read and review! It really was such a pleasure. Keep them coming!

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Review: Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1) by Sylvain Neuvel

~ megs14malloy

Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1)Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A truly delightful reading experience. All the SCIFI stars!

When Rose Franklin is 11-years old, she falls into a hole while out riding her new bike. When she is found and rescued, it is discovered that she is laying atop a giant metal hand. Less than 8-hours later, the U.S. Military takes over the scene.

Years later, when Rose is working for the University of Chicago, the opportunity presents itself for her to study that very same hand, along with 4-enormous panels with writing from an unknown language on them. Could the writing perhaps solve the mystery of where the hand came from? Of what it truly is?

Armed with a large grant from the NSA, Rose sets to work. Soon there is a world-wide search for the missing pieces of this ginormous robot.

With action, mystery, political intrigue and entertaining science, this heart-pounding novel kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end, and oh, what an end it was!!! I am so happy that my Sci-Fi September lead me to some new favorites, this one definitely being up there.

I cannot wait to move on with the Themis Files and highly recommend this series to any science fiction fan, particularly those who enjoy a mixed media format!

Bottom line:

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Review: The Fire Keeper (The Storm Runner #2) by J.C. Cervantes

~ megs14malloy

The Fire Keeper (The Storm Runner #2)The Fire Keeper by J.C. Cervantes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Prophecy of Fire was only the beginning.

After the tumultuous events of the first book, The Storm Runner, our young protagonist, Zane Obispo, is living a fairly cushy life on a private island with his closest companions. All should be good from here on out but unfortunately, as life often goes, it’s not.

He discovers that the book he recently wrote, detailing his time with the Mayan Gods, has endangered other Godborns. They are being kidnapped at an alarming rate and being spirited away to the Gods don’t even know where!

Making matters worse, his own father, Hurakan, the Mayan God of wind, storm and fire, is set to be executed for reasons I won’t go into here.

Zane sets out to save them all. A quest is no fun alone however, so he brings along his hellhound, Rosie, a new friend, fellow Godborn, Ren, and an old enemy. As to be expected severe hijinks ensue.

As with the first book, The Fire Keeper keeps up the action-packed adventure we have come to expect from Zane and the crew. I love this group. They are caring, loyal, funny and fearless.

Zane’s Uncle Hondo is one of my favorite characters. I just find his energy so charming but Zane himself is the true hero. He is just the sweetest boy and I am enjoying watching him grow. He has been put through so much but always faces what is in front of him with optimism and spunk!

This is a really great Middle Grade series. I am going to be impatiently waiting for the third book to release in the Fall of 2020. It sounds like we are going to have some sort of training for the Godborns, which y’all know, is one of my all time favorite tropes.

Bring it on!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Book Group and Rick Riordan Presents, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. As always, I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to more from J.C. Cervantes!

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Review: Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

~ megs14malloy

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So, this book is basically my life now.
Scolding myself for waiting so darn long to pick it up!

This was also my first Marissa Meyer book and I was completely impressed with her fantastic storytelling. The cyberpunk feel of this was exactly what I needed to fully immerse myself in the world.

*Caution: Mild spoilers ahead.

Cinder is a mechanic in the city of New Beijing. She’s also a cyborg, a fact she hides from the whole world, minus her family. Her adoptive family.

She doesn’t recall any of her life prior to the operation that resulted in her cyborg status but has never questioned it too much. What is the point of trying to remember?

When a plague sweeps down on her city, her beloved stepsister Peony becomes infected. She was visiting a market with Cinder at the time the plague broke and Cinder’s wicked Stepmother blames her.

In the most heinous of acts, she donates Cinder to be used for scientific research finding a cure for the disease. Apparently, cyborgs are nothing but property. Add in the fact that no one seems to survive the research process, it is clear her Stepmother never wants to see her again.

Cinder feels alone and betrayed but in a way, she too blames herself for Peony’s illness. Once experimentation begins however, it is revealed that Cinder is immune. Something in her body’s chemistry destroys the plague immediately. How could that be?

Prince Kai shows interest in Cinder from the time he drops his android off at her shop to be repaired. He asks her to the ball but of course she cannot accept. The cutest crush ever ensues and once the Prince’s father, the Emperor, dies, another victim of the plague, they are pushed even further together.

Our villain descends from the moon, the ‘planet’ Luna. She is an extraordinary enemy with a ton of power and equal amounts of ambition. She discovers something about Cinder before Cinder even knows herself and will stop at nothing to take her down.

I adored this. I loved all the delicious scifi elements that paid perfect homage to the original tale. You could definitely tell that this was the story of Cinderella, just bumped far into the future.

I thought the pace was great, I enjoyed Cinder as a character and also loved her relationship with Dr. Erland and Peony. Oh, and of course, her android, who was hilariously sweet. I cannot wait to continue on with this series. Scarlet is calling to me!

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