YA fantasy

Review: Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon

~ megs14malloy

Gravemaidens (Gravemaidens, #1)Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars

In the walled-city of Alu, traditionally three maidens get chosen when the ruler dies to accompany him into the underworld. Essentially a death sentence, being chosen is nonetheless viewed as a great honor. When our story begins, the ruler is currently on the brink of death.

Kammani’s father is a great healer, although disgraced after a former royal patient’s death, he gets summoned to the kingdom to attend to the ruler. Unfortunately, he mysteriously disappears, never getting to tend the sick man.

Kammani has been training under her father’s tutelage for many years. She dreams of one day being the best healer in all the land.

When her sister gets chosen to be one of the ruler’s maidens, and her father cannot be found, Kammani takes it upon herself to get into the kingdom and prevent the ruler’s death. If she doesn’t, she could lose her sister as well; the only family she has left.

Once in the kingdom, Kammani feels like something sinister is going on. After a botched attempt on her life, she knows she must be close to the truth.

I truly enjoyed this world. I felt it was rich and well built. If I had to sum in up, I would say, in my head I was picturing Astapor, ‘the red city’, from Game of Thrones. A world sharply divided between haves and have-nots. It was brutal and dangerous with a healthy dose of palace intrigue.

I really loved these characters and how the story unfolded. There is a lot of beautiful writing in here on grief and sacrifice. The love of family is a strong theme throughout and some of the dialogue between Kammani and her slightly pouty younger sister, Nanaea, had me in tears.

I did get frustrated with Kammani now and again over some of her choices but overall, I understood her motivations and felt attached to her character. I think we left it at a perfect spot for the continuation and I look forward to the battle that I know will be taking place. It’s bound to be epic!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press and Random House Children’s, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. This is such an impressive debut with a lush, dangerous world, one I cannot wait to return to!

Well done, Kelly Coon. Well done!

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Review: The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

~ megs14malloy

The Guinevere Deception (Camelot Rising, #1)The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a magic within her, a power, that even she doesn’t know the limits of.

In its opening pages, we find young Princess Guinevere arriving in Camelot for the first time. Sent there to marry King Arthur, all she knows of him are what the legends tell. For he is a great man, the greatest, the one to pull the sword from the stone.

While it is true, he is a great King, one who strives to make the kingdom a better place, there are those outside the kingdom who threaten his reign.

Unbeknownst to anyone but themselves, Guinevere hasn’t actually been sent from a royal family in the South to marry Arthur, she has been sent there to protect him.

You see, there is more to Guinevere than meets the eye, much more than a fragile Princess desiring a life of luxury. She holds secrets so dark they are even unclear to herself.

It has been a long time since I have consumed any media revolving around the Arthurian legend. I had a wonderful time reading this and thought it was splendidly done. I felt very connected to Guinevere’s character and enjoyed following her on her journey of self-discovery.

I think if you have any interest in the story of Arthur and Guinevere, you should definitely give this book a shot. I think it was a nice twist to hear the story from her perspective, which is much darker and more convoluted, in this case, than I anticipated. In fact, it was intense at times trying to piece it all together.

She is confused about a lot of things, her past, which she doesn’t remember, her purpose and her heart. I think she experienced a lot of growth over the course of the book and although not all of her choices were the best, I think she was doing the best she could.

The supporting cast of characters were also fantastic. I love Arthur and am hoping for a deeper connection between them for the second book. This left off in an incredible spot and I know the next book is going to take the story up a whole other notch!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press and Random House Children’s, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. This was a highly anticipated book for me and it did not disappoint. I look forward to continuing with this series!

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Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

~ megs14malloy

Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King, #1)Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Sent on a mission to retrieve a part of a map leading to the mysterious Isla de Canta, where a secret treasure trove is said to be, Alosa, a 17-year old Pirate Captain, goes and purposefully gets herself kidnapped by her enemies.

Odd tactic, true, but her thought is, once aboard the enemy ship, The Nightfarer, she will have ample opportunity to search for said map.

Her enemies, too busy patting themselves on the back for capturing the Pirate King’s daughter, won’t even notice when she goes slinking about.

Using her numerous abilities, Alosa does do a pretty good job with her search. Her biggest challenge, handsome and smart, First Mate, Riden. He’s a bit of a distraction.

This is definitely a cute story. I really enjoyed Alosa’s character. She was confident and stubborn, not to mention a real badass. There’s something about a Lady Pirate that I can definitely get behind. The setting was fun and Riden was a swoony worthy love interest to be sure.

However, this being said, it took me a LONG time to get through this. It wasn’t really drawing me in. I didn’t find anything compelling about it.

Perhaps if I had read it when it was first released, I could have joined the hype and been more jazzed for it. Overall, for me, it was a good story but there was nothing really groundbreaking about it.

I will probably continue on with the duology, mostly because I want to visit the home of the sirens. I think a young Meg would have enjoyed this a bit more.

Alas, if you are looking for a fun pirate adventure with a bit of romance, it is definitely worth picking this one up.

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Review: Dark Shores (Dark Shores #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

~ megs14malloy

Dark Shores (Dark Shores, #1)Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a world divided in two, East and West, where neither side knows the true existence of the other, one people, the Maarin, control the in-between.

The Maarin are a seafaring people who recover lost and stolen goods and trade along the coasts. They are the only people living who not only know the existence of both East and West, they are also the only people who know how to navigate the savage seas between the two.

Living under the mandate of, East must never meet West, all this goes astray when young Teriana, heir to the Maarin people, exposes deeply held secrets to her dear friend, a part of the Celendor Empire, Lydia.

Now higher-ups in the Celendor Empire have conquest on their mind and they will do whatever it takes to discover the route of the Dark Shores. Taking Maarin and her crew prisoner, she is now forced to show them the way or risk all of her people’s lives.

Strong armed by Marcus, Commander of the 37th, a legionnaire for the Celendor Empire, she does the only thing she can do; she shows them the way. Not all is smooth sailing on their voyage however and Teriana and Marcus end up forging an unlikely alliance in order to make it through.

I thought this was such an interesting story. You can definitely feel the ancient Roman inspiration for the Celendor Empire and I love the mystery of the Dark Shores themselves. The relationship between Teriana and Marcus is good, although a little instalovey, not too bad.

In addition to a bit of romance, there is quite a bit of political intrigue in here which I am always down for. There’s nothing better than good ole-fashioned blackmail for political gain to keep a plot progressing!

I had a lot of fun reading this and definitely plan to pick up the next book. This one left off in a great spot with a horrible villain still on the loose. I’m not sure how long this series will end up being but I am seriously hoping for at least three.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Teen, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I had so much fun reading this and really would like to hear more people chatting it up. If you like ocean-related content, Roman-inspired worlds, unlikely alliances, political backstabbing and meddling gods, pick this one up!!!

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Review: The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black

~ megs14malloy

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2)The Wicked King by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Caution: This review contains spoilers for The Cruel Prince. Go further at your own risk. I mean it. Seriously.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

With her brother Oak safely out of Elfhame, Jude is five months into her puppeteering of Cardan’s reign as High King. The dislike between the two of them is just as high as ever but y’all know there is an unhealthy dose of sexual tension as well. Jude has terrible taste in men.

Speaking of terrible, her sister, Taryn, is poised to marry Locke in just three weeks time and ends up trying to make-up with Jude prior to that event. She claims she wants her there and that she has missed her. Blah, blah, blah. A mild reconciliation ensues.

Side Not: Almost instantaneous gag reflex reading any sections with Taryn in them. Just me?

Anyway, moving on. Cardan continues to be a lot to handle. Considering his daily hedonistic lifestyle, it comes as no surprise when someone tries to assassinate him. Jude then hears on good word that Orlagh, Queen of the Undersea wants Cardan to marry her daughter, Nicasia. If he won’t, she plans to take down all of Faerie.

In a wild turn of events, Jude gets held hostage by Orlagh. That’s a whole thing. Can I just say, the Undersea is pretty much my favorite setting ever. How dark and ominous was that!?! Balekin is involved; the Court of Shadows, they are all here and up to their evilest of no-good deeds.

I am obsessed with these books because there is so much plotting, so much scheming. You never know who is going to try to stab you in the back next. I enjoy how ruthless those circumstances have made Jude.

Ultimately, she is just a regular girl put in an extraordinary world and through pure power of will has transformed herself into an absolute force to be reckoned with.

Per usual, Holly Black’s writing is so engaging. I was flipping these pages so fast trying to get to the end. What an ending it was! Talk about a cliffhanger. I am SO GLAD that the release for The Queen of Nothing has gotten pushed up to Fall 2019, otherwise…torture!?

I love this series with my whole heart. Jude is my Queen. I cannot wait to see how this is wrapped up, although truthfully, I would be happy if it never ended. Slytherin book recommendation all day long. Read it, love it, fangirl about it. That is all.

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Review: Roar by Cora Carmack

~ megs14malloy

Roar (Stormheart, #1)Roar by Cora Carmack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

This book to me:

Wow, okay. No one warned me how highly addictive this story was!

I picked Roar up as the July book for The Page Turners Book Club over on Facebook hosted by Chelsea Palmer. When the book was announced, I thought, hey, why not? That’s been sitting on my shelf for over two years…

I expected it to be just okay, maybe 3-stars. I’m not sure why I thought that. Maybe because I just have not heard a lot of people ever really talking about it.

I was not expecting the super creative, compellingly readable YA Fantasy that I got. The magic system is incredible and the characters were well written and so much fun!

This story follows, Aurora, who is a Princess of Pavan and from a Stormling family. These Stormlings have powers that can help protect from and conquer storms. Unfortunately for Aurora, her powers never manifested, a fact she needs to keep secret from the rest of world.

In order to keep the secret and save the crown, her mother arranges for her to marry a Stormling Prince from another kingdom. Upon meeting her betrothed, Aurora is underwhelmed at best.

She doesn’t trust him and wants to figure out how to dissolve the marriage arrangement. When she learns from a loyal servant, that her Prince will be visiting a black market one night, Aurora decides to follow him. Once there she loses sight of him and ends up meeting a group of Storm Hunters.

Intrigued by their abilities, she decides to run away with them in the hopes of learning how to conjure her own magic. With the right magic, she can fight to get her kingdom back under her control without some unwanted marriage.

The group of Storm Hunters is comprised of a number of great characters who I loved reading about. When a ragtag group of individuals comes together and travels, trains and fights together, I just can’t get enough of it. It’s actually one of my favorite tropes and this set-up did not disappoint.

There was so much to love about this book and if the gifs are not enough of an indication for you, I did get strong Dany transforming into Khaleesi vibes from Rora. There is so much left with this story to discover. We have so many unanswered leads. That Epilogue!!!

I cannot imagine having read this two years ago and then having to wait forever and a day for the release of the next book. Rage, if you aren’t aware, is releasing at the end of August 2019. I am definitely preordering it because I need answers!

I am so happy that I finally picked this up. I was very impressed with the magic system, the world building, the characters, all of it. The one thing that I wasn’t super crazy about was the beginning of the romance. It was a bit too instalovey but it did end up growing on me.

If you have had this sitting on your shelves for two years as well, I highly recommend picking it up before the second book is released. This is so binge worthy. Now all I want for my life is to become a storm hunter. Is that too much to ask?

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Review: Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) by Julie Kagawa

~ megs14malloy

Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox, #2)Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s so good.
This story is soooooooo good!

That’s a lot of ooooooo’s but seriously…

I am absolute trash for this series.
Bring on Book 3!!!

I read Shadow of the Fox at the beginning of the year and it quickly stood out as a new favorite. I was drawn into the Empire of Iwagoto and now I never want to leave!

This second book continues directly after the final events of the first book. We find Yumeko and her crew on the road to the Steel Feather temple in the hopes of protecting the last pieces of the Dragon Scroll. Y’all know a quest is one of my all-time favorite tropes.

The team of characters setting forth on this mission together makes this story for me. Their personalities play off one another so well. It seriously makes me want to be a part of the group. I don’t care how outright scary and dangerous it gets!

While I wasn’t quite as smitten with this installment as I was with the first book, it is still definitely worth all five stars in my eyes. As second books go, this one upped the stakes of the quest and left off in an exceptionally intriguing part of the story.

I’m not really quite sure how I will hold off until March 2020 for Book 3. I need more Yumeko, Okame, Tatsumi and friends NOW!

It’s almost unfair of Kagawa to do this to us. How dare you write such perfection?!

I would love to shout from the rooftops how much I love this series but that could get embarrassing. For now, I will be content with recommending the heck out of it to all my YA Fantasy-reading friends.

Also, legit anime come to life. The atmosphere and tone of this is so dynamic, it leaps off the page and into your minds-eye so clearly. It’s honestly tremendous.

I want to thank the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. It was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it certainly did not disappoint. If you are sleeping on this series, wake up, pick it up and join me in a fangirling!

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Review: Everless by Sara Holland

~ megs14malloy

Everless (Everless, #1)Everless by Sara Holland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a world where the old adage, time is money, is more than just a saying, Jules Ember is watching her dear Father slowly waste away.

His remaining time is quickly being drained for things as simple as rent and sustenance. He won’t allow Jules to help but she refuses to stand idly by while his time slips through their fingers.

When an opportunity presents itself for Jules to make a lot of time relatively quickly, she jumps on it, even though it means returning to the kingdom they were forced to flee 10-years earlier.

The Gerling boy, Roan, is due to marry the Queen’s adopted daughter, so obviously they will need all hands on deck for a royal wedding.

Jules gets selected to be a part of the preparation crew and once inside the kingdom all sorts of memories begin to flood back to her. Jules once played with Roan in these very halls and upon seeing him again, a spark rekindles.

The past becomes clear as more and more pieces are revealed and Jules discovers her life is not at all what she thought. Buried secrets come to light that shake her to her core. Soon, Jules finds herself in a fight for her life and the sanctity of the kingdom, gaining unexpected allies along the way.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a pleasant surprise for me as I had heard some not great reviews.

Yes, I have watched the movie In Time with Justin Timberlake. No, it did not affect my enjoyment of this book in anyway whatsoever.

I feel like the concept of time as currency is not something that was first dreamed up with that movie. I feel like that concept, with the wealthy being at a startling advantage over the poor, is something that has been explored in various forms in the science-fiction genre for a while. I could be wrong though.

In all seriousness, I did enjoy this a lot. I thought it was fun to read and the writing kept me engaged throughout. I very much enjoyed the legends of the Alchemist and Sorceress at the heart of the story. Who else would love a prequel based on those legends?

I do have the second book, Evermore, gracing my bookshelves at home and plan to pick it up soon. I am interested to see where this story goes from here!

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Review: King of Fools (Shadow Game #2) by Amanda Foody

~ megs14malloy

King of Fools (The Shadow Game, #2)King of Fools by Amanda Foody
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amanda Foody.

Amanda Foody.
I will never be the same again.

Respect.

Picking up directly after the final events of Ace of Shades, this book, the second in the Shadow Game Trilogy, is so full of action and political intrigue it left my head spinning!

We see the return of our favorite characters from the first book, Enne, Levi, Lola and Jac, and get to meet some great new characters as well.

Welcome, Tock, my sweet little bomber. ((who I picture as Michelle Rodriguez…you’re welcome.))

New deals, alliances and deceptions are made, with the final scenes shaking New Reynes to its foundation.

I was really impressed with the maturation of Foody’s writing for this one. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the first book but ultimately ended up having some issues with the magic system and world building. All of those slight criticisms are completely absent with this book.

The plotting in this is seamless, the world lush and bold; the magic system didn’t feel as prevalent in this one and I never felt confused by what was there. I look at this as a fairly evident improvement over the first novel and I hope other people feel the same way.

In addition to the growth I feel I have witnessed for the author, the growth in these characters was tremendous as well. Enne and Levi both have strong character arcs, Enne most of all. The strategies and ambitions they both show, man, so good.

If you are a Slytherin like me, this series is not to be missed. Also, if you were just okay with the first book, I really hope you continue on. I do not see how this second book could disappoint!

Now, the question of how the heck am I going to survive until the third book is released!?

Thank you so much to the publisher, Harlequin TEEN/Inkyard Press, for providing me with an early copy of this to read and review. You know I will be knocking on your door as soon as I know there are review copies of Book 3!

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Review: Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

~ megs14malloy

Shadow of the Fox (Shadow of the Fox, #1)Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE YEAR!!!

This book stole my heart.
My whole freaking heart!

I went into this knowing one thing: Japanese-inspired fantasy. Nothing else.
I was hooked from the very first chapter.
The tone of the writing, the lush world…

Anime brought to the page in the best way imaginable.

In the land of Iwagoto, the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, has the power to bring forth the Kami Dragon. The dragon is capable of granting the summoner a single wish. If they are pure of heart, theoretically, all goes well, if they are not, all hell breaks loose.

This has happened before and in order to protect the land, the scroll was divided and the separate parts hidden away to prevent such disastrous consequences from happening again. People are always in search of the parts, however, as combining them whole could grant the summoner unrivaled power.

Yumeko, has been raised in the Silent Winds Temple where one piece of the scroll has been hidden. When the Temple is attacked by demons, Yumeko is forced to flee, with the scroll. She promises the monks she will transport it to another hidden temple where she will receive further directions.

Trained her whole life to hide her Yokai nature, Yumeko, half kitsune/half human is a master of illusion and mischief. She is also the most sweet and sticky baby cinnamon roll I have ever read in my whole life and I just love her to the moon.

On the run, Yumeko meets up with Kage Tatsumi, a samurai of the mysterious Shadow Clan. Tatsumi has been sent out in search of the scroll. He finds Yumeko close by the now destroyed temple and promises to get her to her destination safely. Of course, he has no idea, she carries on her what he seeks.

They meet up with another character along the way, Okami, a ronin, basically a traveling samurai without a master. He begins to travel with them and quickly became my favorite character. A source of almost constant humor, I just cannot imagine this story without him.

One of my most loved tropes in literature is a quest. I heart a quest all day long. A ragtag group of characters trying to get from Point A to Point B, overcoming obstacles along the way, nothing keeps me turning pages faster.

This was a great set-up for a fantastic quest. The stakes, the secrets, the magic, the world, I fell head-over-heels for it all. And don’t even get me started on the hella SLOW-BURNING romance!

I am actually happy I didn’t read this right when it released because I would have been in agony waiting for the next book. Now I only have to wait two months…
Wait a minute, two months!!?!!?

That still feels like an extraordinarily long time.
Maybe I will have time to read this one again…

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