YA fantasy

Review: Warmaidens by Kelly Coon

~ megs14malloy

WarmaidensWarmaidens by Kelly Coon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I’m sorry everyone, but this is going to sting a bit.

Unfortunately, Warmaidens was a disappointment for me.

I enjoyed Gravemaidens quite a bit when I read it last year. In fact, I felt overall it was underrated.

The world of Alu was very interesting. The whole concept of the gravemaidens, the competition that led to their selection and the fact that even though it was essentially a death sentence for the women chosen, the position was revered within their society.

I also loved reading about the relationship between the main character, Kammani, and her younger sister, Nanaea.

They were complete opposites, with Kammani being responsible and serious, while Nanaea was more vain and emotional.

Their relationship had some volatility to it that kept it interesting and there were some beautifully written, emotional scenes involving them learning to love one another even through disagreements.

Those scenes were some of my favorite of the first book.

Since Gravemaidens ended on such an intriguing cliffhanger, I was super stoked to get into this sequel.

Unfortunately, this continuation was lacking all of the things I enjoyed the most about the first book.

Nanaea was unrecognizable in comparison to her character in Gravemaidens. While I understand that her character would have grown based on what she went through in the first book, would there be no shred of her original personality left?

Also, I never felt any real high stakes drama. It was just fairly bland the entire way through and read extremely slowly.

It was so singular in focus, taking forever to get anywhere, and my eyes definitely glazed over on more than one occasion.

The conclusion was in no way exciting, or surprising. At the end there was this odd scene that was like the end of a Saturday Night Live episode.

You know, where the whole cast gathers on stage as the music plays them out, hugging and congratulating one another. It was a choice.

With all of this being said, even though this didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. If you read the first book and enjoyed it, you should absolutely try this one for yourself. Don’t take my word for it!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my thoughts and opinion.

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Review: How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (Folk of the Air #3.5) by Holly Black

~ megs14malloy

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (The Folk of the Air, #3.5)How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

And just like that my faith is restored in this thing we call a world. Thank you, Holly Black. We needed this.

Unsurprisingly, Cardan had me entranced from the start.

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is a collection of beautifully illustrated short-stories, following Cardan’s perspective from when he was just a little boy, all the way through and after, The Queen of Nothing.

I knew going in that this was illustrated, but my goodness, it is absolutely stunning.

As I was reading I would often stop and just soak in the illustrations. It truly brought these stories to life and gave them the magical quality of an old-time fairy tale.

Cardan is such a fun character and reading his life from his perspective provided all new insight into his decisions and motivations. I love him even more now than ever.

For true fans of this series, this is bonus content that should not be missed!

Personally, I will pick up anything Black chooses to write regarding these characters, or Elfhame in general. This book is a wonderful collector’s piece and one I am happy to add to my collection.

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Review: City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare

~ megs14malloy

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3)City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

City of Glass, the third installment in Cassandra Clare’s well-loved, Mortal Instruments series, brought all the addictive teen drama I was hoping for!

Since this is the third book in a series, some mild spoilers may be found within this review. I do not plan to hide them.

You have been warned.

Clary still needs to save her Mom. She thinks the answer lies somewhere within the City of Glass, Alicante, the capital of Idris and the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters.

Unfortunately, it’s against the law to travel there without permission and Clary definitely does not have that. Regardless, she’s not letting a little thing like frightening magical laws come between her and her mother’s potential cure.

The rest of the crew travel to Idris as well, including Simon, although he isn’t received as well as the others.

The bulk of the action in this novel, therefore, takes place in the land of the Shadowhunters, which I absolutely loved.

I feel like I learned so much more about this world, their history and the powers and relationships amongst the various beings that inhabit it.

This is what I had been waiting for. Things are finally beginning to come together and as a whole, make a lot more sense.

The relationship dynamics between all of our main characters continued to be built out as well. I enjoyed watching the evolution of friendships, as well as romantic relationships.

There were some huge reveals; one in particular that entirely changed how I viewed a certain character. I really enjoyed that, although some of the build-up to that reveal still makes me a little uncomfortable.

At the end of the day, that entire storyline certainly brought the angst that kept me turning pages. Luckily for the story, it wasn’t just that though.

There is a lot of compelling content in here. Valentine is an incredibly well-imagined villain. The stakes are high and the action flows along at a nice, steady pace.

I’m so stoked to carry one with my journey through the Shadowhunter Chronicles. If this book is any indication, it’s just going to continue to get better and better.

Up next, Clockwork Angel!!!

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Review: A Universe of Wishes, edited by Dhonielle Clayton

~ megs14malloy

A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books AnthologyA Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology by Dhonielle Clayton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Universe of Wishes is an upcoming YA Fantasy Anthology from We Need Diverse Books, edited by the talented, Dhonielle Clayton.

Featuring fifteen diverse stories from some of the best OwnVoices authors currently writing in the YA genre, this collection has something for everyone.

As I read this collection, I kept track of my rating for each story, as well as a short description. The following are my initial notes:

1. A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really enjoyed this one, surprisingly moving for such a short story. Buzzwords: m/m romance, dark magic, family tragedy, hope, justice, wishes.

2. The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker, ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Bloom of Everhart is ready to choose his consort. A competition ensues. One contestant feels more drawn to another than she does to her stated prize.

3. The Scarlet Woman: A Gemma Doyle Story by Libba Bray, ⭐⭐⭐
New York City, 1897. I feel like I am missing something? Am I supposed to know Gemma Doyle?

4. Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie Mclemore, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Cinderella retelling where a peasant girl sneaks into the kingdom during a ball, hoping for an audience with the King and Queen, to plead for the rights of her two mothers, their relationship and others like them. She meets the trans-Prince and he changes everything.

5. Liberia by Kwame Mbalia, ⭐⭐⭐.5
Following a crew on a futuristic mission. One of the characters is attached to the plants they are cultivating from their long distant homeland. I don’t think I got as much out of this as I should have, but Mbalia’s writing is so strong.

6. A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now I definitely need to read the Shades of Magic trilogy!! I loved this. Following Alucard Emery, his relationship with Ray Marshall, and how he came to Captain the Night Spire.

7. The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roadhouse, ⭐⭐⭐.5
A solo space Captain who has lost everything sets out to steal back artifacts stolen from her people and housed in a museum. She discovers an unlikely and charming ally along the way.

8. Dream and Dare by Nic Stone, ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The story of two misunderstood girls being crushed by traditional gender roles and societal expectations. Remember girls, to always Dare to Dream!

9. Wish by Jenni Balch, ⭐⭐⭐.5
A wish granter from a lamp is surprised when he is summoned to find he is no longer on Earth, but a colony on Venus. The wisher has very special circumstances and he is determined to help her, no matter the cost.

10. The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Every heart tells a story. Futuristic and odd, this story of a young couple secretly questioning love gave me chills!

11. Unmoor by Mark Oshiro, ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
In a world where magic exists, young Felix uses a very different method for ridding himself of heartache. This was powerful.

12. The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An uninhabitable Earth left behind. An abandoned wasteland. A futuristic archeologist finds record of a girl who once lived. Sadly too realistic.

13. The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton, ⭐⭐.5
An architect who redesigns human form begins a relationship with the heir of a King whose body she is redesigning. Enjoyed the commentary on gender and gender fluidity, but other than that, I found this one quite slow.

14. Longer Than the Threads of Time by Zoraida Cordova, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Boy meets girl. Danae and Fabian. A girl from the DR, locked in a tower for decades. A brujo with the power to save her. A delightfully dark Rapunzel retelling.

15. Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A powerful closing story for this collection. Two young men, a world apart, are each held in solitary confinement. One, from Long Beach, California, the other from the Gaza Strip in Palestine. They develop a channel for corresponding and build a deep and binding connection.

This is a really well-rounded collection. Obviously, there were stories that I connected with more than others, but that is always the way with anthologies.

Every person who reads this will have a different experience with these stories, and that’s okay. That’s what it’s all about.

I think all of the contributors to this collection should be proud of their work. I am so happy that this book, and others like it, exist.

I highly recommend this anthology and hope that We Need Diverse Books continues to produce materials like this for a long time to come. For more information on WNDB, click this link:

We Need Diverse Books

Thank you so much to the publisher, Crown Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

It was one of my most anticipated anthologies of the year and it definitely did not disappoint!!

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Review: Rebel Rose (The Queen’s Council #1) by Emma Theriault

~ megs14malloy

Rebel Rose (The Queen's Council, #1)Rebel Rose by Emma Theriault
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Rebel Rose is the first book in the new series by Disney, The Queen’s Council.

Each book will be written by a different author and follow the story of a different Disney heroine.

This first novel follows my favorite Disney heroine, Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. The action picks up a few months after the conclusion of the Disney animated movie.

Belle and Lio have defeated the curse and his kingdom has been restored to its former glory.

The couple have since been married, although Belle refuses to take the title of Princess of Aveyon. One of their first orders of business as a couple is to travel to the beautiful city of Paris, with the hopes of restoring Lio’s relationship with the King of France.

Arriving in the City of Lights, Lio is reunited with his cousin, Bastien. They will be staying with him, which is fortunate for Lio, since as a Duc, Bastien is used to navigating the ins and outs of France’s ruling class.

Lio’s a bit out of his element, having been under the curse for a decade.

The year is 1789 and France finds itself on the brink of revolution. Belle is fascinated as she learns about the potential populous uprising.

She personally feels caught between the two worlds. She lived her early life as a commoner. It was only after being held prisoner at the enchanted castle, and starting a relationship with Lio, that she would ever be allowed to walk among the aristocracy.

She understands the plight and demands of the people and hopes that Lio will listen to her urgings to make their province a better place for all.

Returning to their own castle, Bastien travels along with them, trying to distance himself from the potential violence of the city. Lucky, Belle.

This guy is a creeper, y’all, and Belle can see if from the very beginning. She doesn’t trust him and the two are at each others throats.

What happens next is an odd series of events that leaves Belle and Bastien alone in the castle while Lio travels the province.

Things do not go well.

I really enjoyed this one, guys, and feel like this is a solid start to The Queen’s Council series.

I wasn’t sure going in what the connection of the series would be, but there were some reveals in here that provided insight into that. Let’s just say, I am really looking forward to continuing.

Theriault did a wonderful job of creating this historical world. I also loved how true to the characters she stuck.

I felt like it was a smooth transition from the movie content to this story. Belle, Lio and some other favorites, such as Mrs. Potts, Lumiere and Cogsworth, all behaved as you would expect them too and I appreciated that consistency.

There is quite a bit of serious subject matter within this story and I do felt it read fairly slow. There were some lulls in the action, or even some portions I felt could have been removed.

I love politics in stories though, so for me, it worked. I can definitely see how some people may not be as interested in those aspects however, or feel that the pace is too slow for their personal tastes.

Overall, I think this is a solid story and one that any Beauty and the Beast fan should check out. Particularly, if you are a fan of Belle’s strength, stubbornness and pure heart.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to the next book!

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Review: Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked #1) by Kerri Maniscalco

~ megs14malloy

Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked, #1)Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Emilia and her twin sister, Vittoria, are witches, who live secretly among humans on the island of Sicily. Their family runs a renowned local restaurant, where both girls work.

At eighteen years old, they’ve been raised hearing the lore of their family, and other beings of the underworld; mostly at the knee of their beloved Nonna.

But these stories become all too real after Emilia discovers the body of her murdered sister.

Overcome with grief, Emilia’s saving grace seems to be her need for vengeance. Her overwhelming need to find her sister’s killer keeps her from wallowing in despair for too long.

Pairing herself with a Prince from Hell, Wrath, Emilia begins to follow clues through the shadow-ridden Sicilian streets, as more and more witches fall to the same fate as Vittoria.

In the beginning, I’ll admit, I wasn’t sold.

The first couple of chapters seemed generic. Emilia felt like many YA characters I had read before. I was sceptical.

However, I am so happy to report, I had no reason to be. Once Emilia and Wrath met up, everything began to fall into place and I ended up really enjoying this.

While the format was slightly typical, as far as enemies-to-lovers tropes go, I still thought it was special; and I love that trope.

I thought the evolution of their relationship was perfectly paced and the way they worked together, two thumbs up. Until the bitter end, I was with them, hook, line and sinker.

As the story unfolded, I was so impressed with Emilia’s guts and determination. She’s up against some super scary forces, yet never backs down.

Pushing herself to the limits, her ability to stare straight in the face of danger was admirable. By the end, she’s one of my new favorite heroines.

As far as Wrath goes, we stan. Everything about him, from his snarky attitude, his knowledge of all things dark and hellish, his tattoos, his sexy outfits, I loved it all.

I also feel like we have so much more to learn about him. Fingers crossed this happens moving forward in the series.

The atmosphere is top notch as well and I liked that Maniscalco didn’t shy away from some very dark images and scenes. This last bit of this book was absolutely wild and I cannot wait for the next one to be released!!!

Seriously, is it too early to request a copy!?

Thank you so much to the publisher, Jimmy Patterson, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

I truly appreciate it!

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Review: The Brightest Night (Origin #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

~ megs14malloy

The Brightest Night (Origin, #3)The Brightest Night by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well, this is going to get uncomfortable.

The Brightest Night is the third installment to Jennifer L. Armentrout’s, Origin series.

Since this is the third book, some minor spoilers may lay ahead.

First off, the rating for this book currently is off the charts, so please do not let the fact that I did not enjoy this one, sway you from picking it up if you have been loving the Origin series.

I too, had been loving the series, but this felt like something completely different. I feel like I read the wrong book, and with that cover, who knows!? Maybe I did.

For me, this was incredibly boring. Gone was the witty banter, the high body count, the twists and reveals.

Now that Luc and Evie are together, I found their relationship completely insufferable.

60% of this book was them professing their love, their feelings, their attraction, their obsession. You are a gift, you are the greatest, you are amazing, how can a creature as perfect as you exist, I love you, I can’t live without you, I will die for you, have I mentioned I love you?

30% was talking about other topics, mainly babies, making babies, giving birth to babies, raising babies and, oh yeah, Evie’s powers.

10% was engaging plot.

Unfortunately, I had to push myself the entire way through to complete this. I was so relieved when it was finally over, and with it, my commitment to this series.

Obviously, Armentrout is a widely talented and successful writer, this one was just an absolute miss for me.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Teen, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. As always I appreciate the opportunity.

There’s a Reader for every book, and a book for every Reader, sadly this one just wasn’t for me.

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Review: Queen of Volts (The Shadow Game #3) by Amanda Foody

~ megs14malloy

Queen of Volts (The Shadow Game, #3)Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Welcome to New Reynes, self-proclaimed City of Sin, and one of the most interesting worlds in YA literature.

Queen of Volts is the final installment of The Shadow Game trilogy and therefore, was destined to break my heart.

I dragged out my time reading this. Literally, tried to make it last as long as possible.

Picking up where King of Fools left off, this third book finds Levi and Enne forced to play the most dangerous game yet.

Levi, who is being drawn to the straight life of politics, and Enne, who must figure out how to navigate with her true nature exposed, grapple with their feelings for one another.

Should they play the game as allies or enemies?

I mean, that was my vote.

If you know nothing about this series, I urge you to go read about Ace of Shades. These books are full of intrigue, plotting, scheming, backstabbing and compelling ambitions.

There are street gangs, crime lords, corrupt politicians, gambling dens and magic.

Legends come to life. It’s a dangerous, seedy world and I loved every minute of it. Such a vibe.

I could go on and on about the many things I loved about this series, but honestly, you just need to try it for yourself.

I will say the story truly matured along the way, so perhaps if you picked up Ace of Shades and it was just okay for you, I would urge you to give the second book a shot.

This is one of my favorite YA trilogies of all time. I love the low key MacBeth vibes that I picked up throughout.

It’s just everything. I love it. Amazing job, Amanda Foody. I can’t wait to binge read the series in its entirety someday.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

This was absolutely one of my most anticipated books of the year, so I truly appreciate it!

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Review: Lobizona (Wolves of No World #1) by Romina Garber

~ megs14malloy

Lobizona (Wolves of No World, #1)Lobizona by Romina Garber
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Lobizona was a mixed bag for me, however, it has given me a lot to think about and for that, I am grateful.

Manuela Azul, our protagonist, is an undocumented immigrant, living in Miami with her mother and a surrogate grandmother.

She has learned to be hidden in plain sight because of that, but also for another reason, her odd eyes; eyes like no other.

When her grandmother has an accident that forces Manu to call for help, a series of events begins that will change Manu’s life forever.

Manu’s mother gets arrested by ICE, leaving Manu to fend for herself. On her own for the first time, she sets out to discover the truth about herself and her past.

She knows her father’s name and that he was from a crime family. A family that her mother was on the run from, or at least that is what she has been told, but is that the truth?

Manu ends up stumbling upon an entire magical world that she is a part of. The mystery of her eyes is finally revealed to her. She is the first known Lobizona, a female werewolf.

There are brujas and lobizons galore. A magical school. Magical sports that Manu happens to excel at and that is where the story started to lose me.

The beginning of this was strong for me. The opening scenes were quite intense.

Garber did an incredible job of portraying the stress and fear experienced by undocumented peoples within the United States.

It was visceral reading about the way Manu and her family had to adjust so much about their lives in order to remain safe; really well done.

I appreciate the topics covered within this story. They’re so important and need to be discussed. Things like gender, identity, culture, immigration and sexism.

Garber explored these elements in great detail within the story and those aspects were my favorite parts of the book.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel compelled or attached to the YA Fantasy storyline. It’s funny because it contains some of my favorite tropes, magical school setting and a competition element.

I think honestly, I did myself a disservice by reading this pretty much concurrently with the Akata Witch duology. I knew it too, I could tell by about 50-pages into this one.

They are so similar. We follow teenage female protagonists, who due to a specific physical abnormality stand apart from their peers, discover they are part of a magical world based on the lore and legend of their particular culture, begin training in a magic school setting, but are a little behind their magical peers since they discover their powers at an older age, both excel at a sport that girls aren’t traditionally expected to excel at; the list goes on an on.

For me personally, I love the Akata Witch books so much and in comparison, this one just didn’t shine as bright.

Perhaps that is unfair of me to say, however, I do rate books based upon my experience reading them and while this is a good story, the pacing issues caused it to fall short of the, really good, category for me.

With all of this being said, again, I appreciate the content and important topics that Garber tackles within these pages.

This is a necessary story and I’m extremely glad it exists and is out there in the world for people read. So many people love this story and have written glowing reviews. I agree it is a good book and feel like everyone should give it a shot!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity and will, in fact, read the next book upon its release!

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Review: Straight On Till Morning (Twisted Tales) by Liz Braswell

~ megs14malloy

Straight On Till MorningStraight On Till Morning by Liz Braswell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Meg’s current ratings for the Twisted Tales series:

1. Reflection (Mulan): 4-stars
2. As Old As Time (Beauty & the Beast): 3.5-stars rounded up
3. Straight on Till Morning (Peter Pan): 3.5-stars rounded up
4. Mirror, Mirror (Snow White): 3.5-stars rounded up
5. Unbirthday (Alice in Wonderland): 3.5-stars
6. Conceal, Don’t Feel (Frozen): 3.5-stars
7. A Whole New World (Aladdin): 3-stars
8. Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid): 2-stars

In this twisted version of Peter Pan, we follow Wendy Darling, who though she has written many stories of Peter Pan and his escapades with the Lost Boys, she has never actually met him or been to Neverland.

However, Peter has sat many a night outside of the window to the nursery, listening to Wendy’s stories. On one such night, he accidentally leaves behind his shadow.

Wendy keeps his shadow, tucking it away in a drawer, and when she stumbles upon Captain Hook, she uses it as a bargaining chip to gain passage upon the Jolly Roger on a voyage to Neverland.

Unsurprisingly, Hook has more sinister plans in mind than he lets on to Wendy, however, and now Neverland’s entire existence is in jeopardy.

Upon discovering Hook’s true intentions, Wendy must work with a tiny and surprising ally, Tinkerbell, in order to correct her mistake.

What was she thinking trusting a pirate!?

Overall, I enjoyed this installment. There were some spots that felt a little slow, but mostly it kept me quite entertained.

I really loved the development of Wendy’s character. She is 16-years old here, on the cusp of adulthood, dealing with her parent’s expectations.

She’s not ready to enter womanhood in the way they would like her too. She finds it unnerving.

Her romp through Neverland is her last ditch effort to hold onto the carefree time of her youth.

If fact, that theme arises a lot, with Captain Hook also struggling with his lost boyhood.

In addition to the exploration of the shift your life can take as you grow older, I also enjoyed the evolution of the relationship between Wendy and Tinkerbell.

Tink and Wendy’s relationship, as we know it, was often steeped in jealousy and petty acts of sabotage.

While that is how it begins here as well, we also see the two of them growing to understand and ultimately, even care for one other. I thought that growth was very well executed by Braswell.

For fans of Peter Pan, I think this will be a lovely take on the original. It’s definitely worth at least picking it up and giving it a shot.

As always, I am looking forward to seeing what stories Disney chooses to twist next!!!

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