YA fantasy

Review: Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) by Rebecca Ross

~ megs14malloy

Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Divine Rivals is set in a world where long-sleeping Gods are now at war. Iris Winnow’s brother has been pulled into the fight, leaving for the frontline. His absence from their household has left a huge hole, one Iris isn’t sure her mother will ever crawl out of.

Iris misses him so much, but she tries to continue on the best she can. She’s currently fighting to secure a promotion at her work at the Oath Gazette, which would secure her a columnist position.

Her biggest competition, or should we say rival, for the position is her annoying and handsomely-roguish coworker, Roman Kitt. The sparks are flying around the workroom anytime they’re in each other’s orbit.

For reasons I will not go into here, outside of work, a magical connection involving typewritten letters, begins between Iris and Roman. One that starts to stir unexpected feelings within them, and they don’t know who they’re having this connection with. At least not initially…

As the pair are pushed out of their comfort zones and more towards the war zone, magical typewriters in tow, will they be able to withstand all the new challenges they must face? And will their bond grow stronger, or shatter like the world as they know it threatens to do?

I really enjoyed this and am so glad I finally picked it up. This is my 1st-novel by Rebecca Ross, and I’m super excited to pick up more. I love how real life the world she created feels, yet it had just the right amount of fantastical elements for my tastes.

I also loved the journey that our MCs went on in their relationship. They are both extremely likable and loved the dynamic and chemistry between them.

I will admit that the history behind the Gods and all the rest of that aspect of the story have completely left my brain. I did read this in September, and am just getting around to writing my review now, so you’ll have to forgive me for that.

But what I do remember well is how much I liked Iris and Roman. I’m looking forward to the next book, because I need to know where the story goes from here. They’ve left me wanting more.

I’m sure all the Gods stuff will come back to me…

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Review: The House of Quiet by Kiersten White

~ megs14malloy

The House of Quiet is a YA Dystopian-Fantasy novel that follows Birdie, as she tries to rescue her sister from the infamous House of Quiet.

The House is a place where children can go after Procedures they’ve entailed have triggered powers that leave them unable to live in regular society. Think Miss Peregrine’s, or Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, but in this story the children feel more like indentured hostages.

Birdie blackmails her way into admission at the house under the guise that she’s a housemaid. She figures once she’s there, she can easily locate her sister, Magpie, and they’ll be able to escape somehow; hopefully.

Unfortunately, once she’s at the house, Birdie sees no signs of Magpie having been there. Instead what she finds is a house steeped in mysteries, that functions nothing like she thought it would.

Though she hoped to keep her head down and focus solely on her mission, Birdie can’t help but be drawn into the lives of the other residents and staff. It’s after she forges some surprising new relationships, that Birdie begins to unravel the truth of the House of Quiet.

This was good, but I wouldn’t say it will be a very memorable story for me. It felt in the same wheelhouse as The Hunger Games, or [book:The Good Luck Girls|36381842], and it has some interesting concepts, but at the end of the day, it felt sort of forgettable.

I am left wanting more exploration of the world, though, which isn’t a bad thing. I’m wondering if this will be developed into a series, or maybe a duology?

I read this one with a friend, and I feel like we both had the same feelings as far as the world-building. We had a lot of questions. I wish it would be explored further, it just felt very opaque.

It has some popular dystopian-features, the way the society is divided, and the stark landscape and rather bleak life prospects of the characters. It is tagged as Gothic, and I get that, but to me this felt much more Dystopian, even bordering a little on Steampunk. That’s more the vibe in my experience.

I did get pulled in pretty quickly. I found it all quite puzzling, and initially I did enjoy trying to figure it all out, but I felt like the author could have answered more.

There’s a lot of different aspects to follow here, including an underground resistance, which I enjoy, I just didn’t feel like I learned enough about the one in this story to care.

As mentioned above, after finishing, I walked away feeling like it wasn’t that memorable and wondering what the point was. It feels unfinished. I had a hard time deciding how to rate it, so ultimately ended up giving it a 3-star. It’s good, but not great.

However, with all of this being said, if there was a sequel, I would pick it up, because I have a lot of questions I still want answers for. We’ll see if that happens.

Thank you to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’ve read so many books from White, and always appreciate her creative concepts and willingness to take risks with her writing.

I’ll definitely be picking up whatever she writes next!

Review: Where the Library Hides (Secrets of the Nile #2) by Isabel Ibañez

~ megs14malloy

Where the Library Hides (Secrets of the Nile, #2)Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Where the Library Hides is the 2nd-book in the Secrets of the Nile series by Isabel Ibañez. I really enjoyed the 1st-book, What the River Knows, when I read it a couple of years ago and had been looking forward to returning to these characters.

If you aren’t aware, these books follow Inez Olivera, who travels from her native-Argentina to Egypt, in the 1st-book, to try to decipher what happened to her parents, who had both disappeared while exploring there.

After all the events of the 1st-book, this sequel picks up with Inez trying to sort out her life, which has been turned upside-down by her Egyptian excursion.

This follows her relationship with her beau, as it grows, changes and goes through various iterations. Sadly, the drama and upheaval isn’t quite over for Inez yet.

This was an entertaining story. I’m glad I continued on with Inez’s story, even though I didn’t find this quite as captivating as I did What the River Knows. I feel like there was something a bit more magical and unknown about that 1st-story, that kept me slightly more engaged.

Additionally, I didn’t feel the Egyptian setting was as much a focus in this one, and I loved that aspect of the 1st-book, so missed that feel. This is full of action and drama though, so I was still pretty invested, it just felt different in tone.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I made time for it, and highly recommend the audiobook for the fabulous dual narration. It did succeed in bringing these characters to life.

Inez is a sympathetic character, and you can’t help but feel for her and all she goes through over the course of these 2-books. All she wants is a family to be a part of, and to be loved, and her bio-family, spoiler alert, is absolute trash.

I did enjoy going on this journey with her, and although this mentions this is the conclusion, I could totally see there being a 3rd-book. I still feel like we have more to mature through with Inez.

I would actually really love to see her story continue. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the 1st-book, I would just caution that it does feel a little different. Nevertheless, it’s still a fun adventure and absolutely worth picking up.

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Review: Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

~ megs14malloy

Descendant of the CraneDescendant of the Crane by Joan He
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Descendant of the Crane was Book #20 in my long-running TBR-Haul Project. I hauled this one in April 2019, and for some reason, just never got around to picking it up.

Since her initial haul, she’s survived many, many unhauls. Mainly, because of the beautiful cover, but also because I was still intrigued by the synopsis.

Happily, I was drawn into this story very quickly. We meet Princess Hesina of Yan. At the start of the story, we discover that her beloved father has passed away suddenly.

His death leaves their kingdom without a ruler, although it is assumed that Hesina will be next to lead. She’s always been happy to shirk responsibilities related to the crown, but now it looks like she has no choice. She’s gotta step up.

The situation is more complicated than it would initially seem though, as Hesina believes that her father was actually murdered. The official story is that he died of natural causes, but she’s not buying it.

Thus, she secretly vows to expose her father’s killer and bring them to justice. The kingdom deserves the truth.

Together with a few trusted confidants, she sets out to do just that. In order to kick off her investigation, she seeks out the aid of a soothsayer, an illicit act, as magic has been banned in their kingdom for centuries.

Using the sooth’s information, Hesina locates a brillant prisoner, Akira, who may be the key to helping her score the outcome she craves.

With the future of the kingdom at stake, will Hesina be able to achieve the justice she seeks for her dead father, or will the risks out-weigh the rewards?

As mentioned above, I found this story very easy to get into. I loved meeting Hesina and finding out about her kingdom and what was happening there through her perspective.

The prisoner, Akira, she ends up connecting with due to the soothsayer’s input, was my other favorite character. He was shrouded in mystery and I had fun trying to figure him out.

This story revolves around a lot of politics and court intrigue. That type of story generally works for me and I did enjoy it here as well.

Hesina has siblings, a Mom, and some half-siblings that play big roles in the narrative. I constantly felt like Hesina had to be watching over her shoulders. It was very hard to tell who was friend and who was foe.

I always had this sinking feeling that someone was going to betray her. I felt like that aspect helped to keep me fully-engaged with everything that was going on.

Hesina goes on a real roller coaster ride in this. She ends up exposing some secrets that once let out, can never be undone. It changes everything and I felt for her that she had to even go on this journey in the first place.

It would have been easy for her to just accept her father’s death and take over, but she didn’t take the easy road. I respect her for that.

Overall, I felt like this was a well-told story, however, when I reached the end, I still had questions.

Honestly, I’m not even sure I understood the Epilogue. I wanted more. I wish there was a sequel. I feel like there’s still so much left to explore.

I think maybe Joan He had intended for there to be more, but it was never written. Maybe someday it will happen. If it does, I would definitely be interested in reading it.

Nevertheless, this was a strong read, with great characters and a beautifully-intriguing world. Another great example of why you should never neglect your backlist!

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Review: Carving Shadows into Gold (Forging Silver into Stars #2) by Brigid Kemmerer

~ megs14malloy

Carving Shadows into Gold (Forging Silver into Stars #2)Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Carving Shadows into Gold is the 2nd-book in Brigid Kemmerer’s Forging Silver into Stars series. If you’re unaware, this is a companion to Kemmerer’s popular Cursebreakers series, which began with A Curse So Dark and Lonely.

This immersive YA-Fantasy world started off as a loose reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, but oh baby, has it come a long way since then!

I really enjoyed my time with the entire Cursebreakers trilogy, but I gotta say, I feel like these books in the Forging Silver into Stars series feel much more substantial and mature.

Personally, I feel like it’s Kemmerer’s writing. It just keeps getting stronger and stronger. Every time I pick up a book by her, I’m instantly reminded what an insane talent she is.

For example, picking this up, I was concerned I wouldn’t remember enough from the 1st-book, because it had been months and months since I had read it. I shouldn’t have worried. I was immediately invested and it felt as if I had never left. I remembered everything.

As with the 1st-book, we are following Jax, Tycho and Callyn. In this one however, the three are sort of thrust into different parts of the kingdom, all set on different paths. Though apart, their connections to one another feel as strong as ever.

As dangerous events begin to strike the kingdom with increasing frequency, our cast is forced to make difficult choices fighting for their lives and the ones they love.

The debate over the use of magic gets put to the ultimate test as war looms forever closer.

I have been anxiously awaiting this continuation and it was everything I wanted it to be. I’m so pleased with everything that unfolded over the course of this 2nd-book.

I love this world and these three main characters. I’m truly attached to them and was surprised how easily I found myself completely re-immersed in this story. I feel like I’m a part of this world when I’m reading it.

I already cannot wait for whatever Kemmerer has in store for us next. It feels like everything is coming to a head. I’m scared and excited and all the other emotions.

While you can certainly read this series on its own, I would recommend reading Cursebreakers prior to picking this up. This is written in such a way that you wouldn’t feel lost without that background, but it definitely adds to the experience if you have read that trilogy.

Thank you to the publisher, Bloomsbury YA, for providing me with a copy to read and review. You know where to find me when the third book drops!!!

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Review: The Wishless Ones (Dark Ascension Series #3) by Hafsah Faizal

~ megs14malloy

The Dark Ascension Series: The Wishless OnesThe Dark Ascension Series: The Wishless Ones by Hafsah Faizal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Wishless Ones is the 3rd-offering in Disney’s Dark Ascension Series. If you are unfamiliar with this series, they can be read in any order, as they are each an independent story following a different cast of characters.

Much like the Twisted Tales series, this follows characters we all know and love. It just shines a light on different aspects of their lives that we may not know about.

As the title of this series alludes to, these are Villain Origin stories; a concept I absolutely adore.

This story in particular follows one of the greatest villains of all time, Jafar, Grand Vizier of Agrabah. This man would do anything for power, but I was definitely curious as to what pushed him to such extremes.

This starts when Jafar is around 10-years old. We’re also introduced to his little brother, Rohan, and his parents.

We then progress to a time when the boys are in their late teens. It was really interesting seeing Jafar in this family context. As a brother, he was protective and loving, but it’s true as the boys aged, they did grow apart due to miscommunications and misunderstandings.

Nevertheless, they were still very much a bonded pair, so when a fire takes everything from them, Jafar is forced to bring his brother along with him as he journeys to the House of Wisdom in the faraway kingdom of Maghriz.

Jafar has always dreamed of studying alchemy, and there’s no better place to do it than the House of Wisdom. When he discovers he’s been accepted, he’s elated. Although it didn’t go as smoothly as he would have wished, regardless he makes the long journey to his new life with Rohan in tow.

Maghriz holds more danger and intrigue than they could have banked on though. The Sultana ends up roping them into a grand deception and the rest spirals from there.

As far as this type of Disney series goes, I think this was a very well-crafted story. There’s no doubt that Hafsah Faizal is a talented writer and I definitely appreciated the quality of storytelling she brought to the page.

Honestly, I think I was expecting something a bit more drastic to be the cause of Jafar going full-blown villain. This seemed a little tame in regards to the cause. I mean, I get why he was angry, but such an extreme shift in his personality? I’m not quite sure I was sold on that.

My other minor grudge with this story would be Jafar’s little brother, Rohan.

I was here for Jafar, but we do get a 50/50-narrative split between Jafar and Rohan. Even though he is only 2-years younger than Jafar, his behavior would lead you to believe he was 10-years younger.

He was a whiner and started to get on my last nerve. IMO, he was holding Jafar back from the start and I don’t blame Jafar for going as far off the edge as he did, putting up with that guy all the time.

With this being said, everything else was entertaining and well-constructed. I feel like Faizal nailed the setting and I absolutely love that she chose to include Iago in such a prominent manner.

The relationship between Jafar and Iago was definitely one of my favorite aspects of this story. I could just picture the both of them, and loved it. That was really fun. Iago is so funny, and through this, I felt like I got to understand him as a character even more.

I also enjoyed the palace intrigue and the entire plot involving the Sultana. I wasn’t sure what to expect in that regard and I did enjoy the direction it took.

I’ve dappled in a lot of these different Disney series over the years and I’ve got to say, the quality of this one is quite high. I think for fans of Villain Origin stories, fans of Aladdin, or specifically fans of Jafar, this is a must. I would recommend it as excellent supplemental material.

If you aren’t any of those Readers listed above, you could probably skip this one, as I feel it is most suited to true fans of the above-listed things.

Thank you to the publisher, Disney Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m glad I picked this up. It was a good fit for my Winter mood!

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Review: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

~ megs14malloy

We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya, #1)We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

💙💛💜💙💛💜💙💛💜💙💛💜💙

We Hunt the Flame, like many novels before her, has been living, unopened, on my shelves since 2019. Recently, I decided to pick this up for a Buddy Read and I’m so glad that I finally made time for it.

I really enjoyed the complexity of this story, but admittedly, did get confused some trying to keep track of all the characters, and their motivations, but overall, a solid read.

I loved the setting, the quest of finding a powerful lost artifact, and getting to know our two main characters: Zafira, the Hunter, and Nasir, the Prince of Death.

This is an adventure story first-and-foremost, featuring a quest for both of our mains. We alternate back and forth between their two perspectives; a great way to build out the world in a way that felt natural.

The chapters were short as well, which made this move along quickly. I was surprised how fast I made it through, as one of the things that kept me from picking it up for so long was that I found it intimidating due to its size.

Sometimes larger fantasy books can be a daunting task to undertake, but I never felt that once I started this. While I wouldn’t say I understood all the nuance to the story, I still have a fun time with it.

The aspect of this story I connected with the least was actually the romance. I thought it was going to be one thing, then it didn’t seem to be headed in that direction, then we were there and I was like, what just happened?

It’s fine though. I’m never picking up this genre strictly for the romance. I’m much more invested in the quest, the dark magic, the relationship groups, but good romance can be a bonus when done well.

I also never really felt like I truly understood the magic system, but I did get the gist enough to at least recognize what was happening.

With all of this being said, Hafsah Faizal did her thing with this. It’s quite a detailed story, and she’s definitely intrigued me enough to pick up the sequel, which I hope to do soon.

I have a feeling the magic system will continue to develop throughout the 2nd-book, and I’m interested to see what the conclusion will be for these characters!

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Review: Into the Crooked Place (Into the Crooked Place #1) by Alexandra Christo

~ megs14malloy

Into the Crooked Place (Into the Crooked Place, #1)Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

💙💜🖤💙💜🖤💙💜🖤💙💜🖤💙

This was so good! I love this type of gritty fantasy world.

I recently unhauled over 70-books, and during the course of that massive undertaking there were quite a few books and series that I needed to decide if I was still interested in.

The Into the Crooked Place duology was one of them. The overall rating isn’t great, but the synopsis still intrigued me. After I got rid of the books that didn’t make the cut, I decided to just pick this one up. I’m so glad I did!

This is a YA Fantasy story, published in 2019, that sweeps the Reader away to Crejie, a gritty, urban landscape where vice runs rampant.

The characters we follow are all part of the seedy underbelly of this society. There’s a bit of a mafioso-feeling to it. They peddle in dark magic, versus the commodities they would commonly deal with in our world.

We follow four mains: Wesley, a powerful underboss, Tavia, his lead busker, Karam, his muscle, and Saxony, a girl filled to the brim with magic.

There’s a new dark magic unleashed on the streets, think of it as a dangerously high-powered drug, that is corrupting souls to do another’s bidding. It’s wild.

The four team up together to try to stop this plot before it gets out of hand, but this means they’ll need to overthrow the powers that be. This would result in Wesley coming to power, but is that really what would be best for everyone?

This book reminded me so much of Amanda Foody’s Shadow Game trilogy, which I loved. At the time I read Foody’s books, I had never read a Fantasy world quite like that.

Into the Crooked Place is the first YA Fantasy I’ve read since that rivals that sort of magical gangster feel. I’m not sure why this is a setting I enjoy so much, but I ate it up.

I loved learning about this cast of characters. Their relationships were nuanced and I enjoyed their various backstories and motivations. Watching them come together to fight for a common cause was gripping.

There is so much action in this too. A ton of fights and drama. I never felt a lull. It was go, go, go. Towards the end, OMG, I was flying through this so fast and I cannot believe how this ended. I never could have predicted it.

I do see how this wouldn’t necessarily work for everyone, but I think if you’re like me and enjoy stories with this type of vice-filled setting, you could enjoy it as much as me.

The characters were very easy to get attached too and root for. I will be picking up the sequel very soon, because I am so not ready to leave this crew behind.

I need to know what happens.

I’m so glad that this book survived that unhaul and I’m even happier that I finally made the time for it. This one really surprised me!

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Review: Blood Heir (Blood Heir Trilogy #1) by Amelie Wen Zhao

~ megs14malloy

Blood Heir (Blood Heir Trilogy #1)Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first time I laid eyes on a copy of Blood Heir, many moons ago, my first reaction was, I kind of want the girl on this cover to kidnap me and hold me hostage…

Instead, I bought the book and it remained hostage on my shelves since 2019, which seems like cruel and unusual punishment for this poor book.

Recently, I’ve had some flops for reads and I needed a change of pace. I decided it was finally time to give this beauty a go, and I’m so happy I did. This could turn into a full-series binge for me.

In this story we meet Ana and Ramson. Ana, full name Anastacya Mikhailov, is the crown princess of the Cyrilian Empire. She’s also an Affinite, individuals who have the ability to control the world around them. Ana’s special ability is that she’s able to control people’s blood.

Her ability has always been kept a secret, but after her father is murdered, she’s the main suspect. She needs to find her father’s actual killer in order to clear her name, and more importantly, save her life.

The world is grossly corrupt though, and Ana’s gonna need some help. She cannot succeed navigating her way outside the kingdom walls on her own.

That’s where Ramson comes in, a cunning crime lord with an agenda of his own. He may have met his match in Ana, and we all know where that leads…

This was such a nice change of pace for me. I haven’t read a Fantasy story in a while and I found this one very easy to engage with. I loved learning about the main characters and the way they came together, having an important mission, was a delightful set-up.

Every time I would put this down, to go to work, or you know, do other adult life things, I was always excited to come back to it. That’s a sign of a great book.

It was adorbs watching Ana and Ramson catching feelings. Him especially, because he was such a tough guy and I think his attachment to Ana came as a real surprise to him.

I liked Ana’s ambivalence to it a bit as well. She wasn’t swooning over this guy. She did have a job and she needed to get it done, but you could tell, even if she couldn’t right away, that the attachment was going in both directions.

I wouldn’t call it a Romance story though, so don’t get scared away if that’s not for you. I’m not crazy about a lot of romance in my Fantasy either. This is def more about the magic system and politics. At least it felt that way to me.

Speaking of, the magic is so interesting. The idea of the Affinites and all the various powers they wielded, it was a cool concept. I thought the author executed it well. It was easy to understand and opened up a lot of potential powers.

The politics and world are really built out in the second half, when we end up learning a lot more about Ana and her family. There were some jaw-dropping developments.

I would say this succeeded in creating a solid foundation as the 1st-book. There’s still a lot of room to grow, particularly in the world/politics, so I’m super excited to start the 2nd-book, Red Tigress and follow along with all that.

Overall, I felt this was really strong. My favorite element was the magic system, but I can’t deny how attached I’ve become to both Ana and Ramson.

This book has proven again why it’s so important to never ignore your backlist. There’s a lot of books lurking on the shelves that are real winners. Don’t neglect them. Have a peek. You may just find one like I did!

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Review: Thunderhead (Arc of the Scythe #2) by Neal Shusterman

~ megs14malloy

Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe, #2)Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The World:

I hate reading sequels.
Ew, the dreaded second book syndrome strikes again.
Can it ever live up to the magic of the first book?

Neal Shusterman upon writing Thunderhead:

Honestly, and I mean this, Thunderhead is one of the most delightful sequels to ever sequel. There is absolutely no dreaded second book syndrome here.

I feel like I am the last person in the world to read this, but just in case I’m not, Thunderhead is the second book in Neal Shusterman’s Arc of the Scythe series.

This YA series is set in a future where natural death has been eradicated. While natural death may be a thing of the past, population control is still necessary. Thus, we have the Scythes, whose job it is to glean people, aka. end their lives.

These books start by following some Scythe apprentices and then we sort of escalate from there. I was concerned this would lose some of the initial intrigue. Sometimes that happens with series, all of the magic lies in the world-building in the first book and then it will sort of dissipate.

Luckily, Shusterman was far from done building out this world. We’re introduced to new things in this book, including characters that really added to the overall story.

I also loved the trajectory for our two mains from the first book, Rowan and Citra. Rowan’s arc, in particular, really evolves in this one, heading in a different direction than what I would have originally anticipated for him.

There’s also a vein of this story that starts investigating the intentions of the founding Scythes. That avenue helped to build out the lore of the world. It brought in history and really got my brain cranking about how vast this scope actually is. It’s truly impressive.

Shusterman has a plan for everything with this one: past, present and future. There’s also so much commentary here, it’s overflowing with religious symbology and if you are searching for those types of connections, it certainly offers up a lot of food for thought.

Additionally, for a longer book, the pace of this never lets up. It builds and builds until one of the most shocking conclusions that I have ever read. It’s perfection.

My jaw was on the floor. I never in a million years could have predicted the end. It was one of those finales that made me so glad that I waited until all the books were released before I started it. I never could have waited.

I did start The Toll immediately upon finishing this and am so glad. If you haven’t made time for this series yet, you absolutely should. I recommend it to all Readers. It’s so unique and engaging. It’s definitely worth a go!

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