Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard REVIEW

This is a world divided by blood—red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance—Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.

I'm glad I finally picked this book up.

The Red Queen is perfect mix between Dystopian and fantasy. It feels like a post apocalyptic world, with the red villages and factories and places so destroyed that couldn't possibly sustain life and on the other hand you have the palaces and court it reminds me a bit of the hunger games districts.

Mare it's a naive and not so bright girl from a red village who passes her days pickpocketing to provide for her family until she targets the wrong person and her whole world changes suddenly she's trapped in a game she doesn't now the rules of and her life depends on her wining.

The world building is fantastic, without being overly descriptive I could visualize everything from the Stilts to the palace it played like a movie in my mind.

The characters are amazing and perfectly crafted, so much that I got lost for a bit and couldn't detect friend from foe.

There's romance, intrigue, deception, action, magic. You name it this book has it.

Cal and Maven are amazing, the first has the power but the second is all brains. This Brothers couldn't be more different if they tried.

This is a great start of a series I'll be reading on the next few days, I can't wait to see what happens after that ending. It was shocking and brilliant. I just found another author to stalk and I'm so happy about it.

Victoria Aveyard graduated from USC, where she majored in screenwriting. RED QUEEN is her first novel. She splits her time between Massachusetts and Los Angeles. You can visit her online at www.victoriaaveyard.com.

The Glass Queen by Gena Showalter REVIEW

Dare to enter the Forest of Good and Evil, where strength is weakness and weakness is strength. Don’t miss book two of New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s magical, romantic and fascinating fairy-tale series, in which the fairy tales we know and love are prophecies of the future…

Pitied.

Sickly.

Unfit to rule.

Princess Ashleigh Charmaine is known as the Glass Princess, fragile enough to shatter with a whisper of wind. Born with a weak heart, she dreams of being treated like anyone else. Unlike her headstrong sisters, she received no magical ability at birth and lives every day expecting to die. Until an oracle announces that Ashleigh is fated to play the part of Cinderella, wed a handsome royal and save the Kingdom of Sevon from the evil king and queen who once ruled the land.

As war rages, Ashleigh begins to doubt her role in the fairy-tale prophecy. Animals despise her, she can’t carry a merry tune and she has zero social graces. Worse, the king she’s supposed to enchant is the newly crowned sovereign of the winged warriors known as the Avian…and he despises her, too.

When Ashleigh develops a terrifying magical ability to commune with dragons and create fire from air—a power she cannot control—she must work with King Saxon to save their kingdoms and their lives. By the stroke of midnight, she must warm his icy heart…or forever break her own. Will Ashleigh ever become the queen she’s prophesied to be…or will she lose everything she’s come to love? 

A retelling of Cinderella with a twist.

I really loved the Glass Queen, I had a lot of fun trying to figure out who was who.

Ashleigh is an amazing character, she's a good doer with a backbone of steel. She knows what she wants out of life and is not afraid to fight for it and at the same time she's sweet and caring. She's never had someone to love her other than her mother but she doesn't let her circumstances pull her down.

Saxon is a dark night in shinny armor, he's fierce handsome and can easily take down an opponent with just a rage filled look. He hated Asha as soon as he saw her and is willing to do whatever it takes to save his kindom from a tragic ending.

I really enjoyed this book, I had a deeper insight on the characters that confused me and I was finally able to look at the bigger picture.

I loved that I got to see some of my favorite characters from the evil queen and that even though it wasn't their story they played an important part.

I'm hoping the next book is about Dior and Vikander. I really liked her and I'm hoping to see her grow out of her shell and become as fierce as Ashleigh.

The retelling wasn't as straightforward as the fairy tale, every character has the potential to be anyone, so it was fun to figure out each role.

Sax and Asha as a couple are great I really enjoy the enemies to lovers trope and this was very nicely done. And their "babies" are the cutest things. I can't wait for the next book.

The witch and the Oracle are the weirdest characters ever I still don't know if I like them or not but I'm starting to understand them better. They are pretty interesting, I'll give them that LOL.

I'm falling in love with this series and I'm dying for more.

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of multiple "unputdownable" series in paranormal, contemporary, and young adult romance. Learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com

The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter REVIEW

 

WELCOME TO THE FOREST OF GOOD AND EVIL.

A DREAM COME TRUE…AND A LIVING NIGHTMARE.

Far, far away, in the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm and fairy tales are real. Except, fairy tales aren’t based on myths and legends of the past—they are prophecies of the future.

Raised in the mortal realm, Everly Morrow has no idea she’s a real-life fairy-tale princess—until she manifests an ability to commune with mirrors.

Look. See… What will one peek hurt?

Soon, a horrifying truth is revealed. She is fated to be Snow White’s greatest enemy, the Evil Queen.

With powers beyond her imagination or control, Everly returns to the land of her birth. There, she meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed. As the prophecy unfolds, Everly faces one betrayal after another, and giving in to her dark side proves more tempting every day. Can she resist, or will she become the queen—and villain—she was born to be?

The battle between good and evil is on.

A great retelling of Snow White, the Evil Queen gives us a different view of our favorite characters.

First I have to say this is an instalove book, but be mindful that EQ is based on a fairy tale, so insta love it's a most.

The characters are great I really enjoyed Everly's voice. like everyone in real life her choices set the path to her future and like everyone she gets things right and wrong but she tries to do her best in every situation.

I felt sorry for her more times than not, yes she did bad things but it was always prompted by the actions of the other key players in the book. She tried her hardest to be good but betrayal and hurt tend to obscure her decisions.

Roth is the epitome of a fairy tale prince and at the same time he's everything a prince should not be. He's loyal to his core and handsome as sin but he's also judgmental and a hypocrite.

This books is exactly why I always side with the villain, it's why Maleficent and the Evil Queen are one of my fav. Characters ever. They wouldn't be "evil" if the people around them haven't shattered their trust and their hearts. They are the ones to blame, after all how can you be evil when you are fighting for your life and those you hold dear?

EQ is a unobstructed view of human nature, we all have the potential to do great things but we also have the ability to be despicable.

I really enjoyed it, the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I got lost a couple of times, some characters didn't make sense to me, like there was no motivation behind them. Maybe is something that will be addressed in next books. Which I'll be reading for sure.

All in all The Evil Queen is a nice new look on one of my fav. villains and I enjoyed it deeply.

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of multiple "unputdownable" series in paranormal, contemporary, and young adult romance. Learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff REVIEW

Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza--but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion?

Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys--an old flame from Asha's past--reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heros will fall, and hearts will be broken.

From bestselling author duo Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff comes the exciting finale in the trilogy that broke the mold and has been called "stylistically mesmerizing" and "out-of-this-world-awesome."

Absolutely brilliant is what this series is. I loved it. It's easily one of the best series I've read ever.

In Obsidio we get to tag along our favorite ragtag team as they embark in a win all or lose all mission. The fate of thousands rest on the hands of a bunch of teens who have balls of steel. Every second counts and every decision has consequences.

This book gave me everything I was hoping for and then some. I cried, laughed and got so angry I almost tossed it across the room.

I loved how everything was wrapped up. The goodbyes, the encounters. The battles. The growth of the characters. Everything was on point.

I won't spoil it for you but I'll say this, some goodbyes were hard. Some hellos were anticlimactic but every page was magic.

The world building even on the last book was magnificent. The character development all the different interactions on point.

My fav. Character and please don't burn me on the stake for it;was Aidan. Even though everyone hated everything he did, he did it for the greater good. If it wasn't for him no one would have survived. He was the one that saved all the MCs. We wouldn't have this amazing journey if it wasn't for him.

I can see this series becoming a movie or a series and it would be awesome.

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of young adult and middle grade fiction including the Illuminae Files, the Starbound trilogy, the Aurora Cycle and the Other Side of the Sky duology. Her multi-award winning work is slated for publication in over 30 countries, and has been described as "a game-changer" (Shelf Awareness), "stylistically mesmerising" (Publishers Weekly) and "out-of-this-world awesome" (Kirkus). Raised in Australia and occasionally Ireland, Amie has degrees in history, literature, law and conflict resolution, and is currently undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter and rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library.

To learn about her latest releases or be notified about events and signings in your area, you can sign up for her newsletter at www.amiekaufman.com.

Instagram: @amiekaufmanauthor
Facebook: @amiekaufmanauthor
Twitter: @amiekaufman

Jay Kristoff is a #1 international, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction. He is the winner of eight Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, has over half a million books in print and is published in over thirty five countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are. He is 6’7 and has approximately 12,000 days to live.

He does not believe in happy endings.

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff REVIEW

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

I'm obsessed with this series, the format, the characters everything. I'm in love with it.

Hanna and Nik are awesome, they are real. It truly feels like I'm reading reports on actual living people.

The way they think and react to everything that's going on and to the things they have to do to survive rings true. Its human nature at its finest.

I was rendered speechless more times than I can count and I truly thought this time around they weren't gonna make it.

I cried more times than I can count. The train scene "you know what I'm talking about" broke me.

The way the story is told makes it easier to dive into it and difficult for the reader to predict the outcome of any given situation. It's amazing.

All the characters become and integral part of the story every little detail was planned perfectly.

Gemina is truly a work of art. If this where to become a movie it would be right up there with star wars and star trek. Its marvelous.

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of young adult and middle grade fiction including the Illuminae Files, the Starbound trilogy, the Aurora Cycle and the Other Side of the Sky duology. Her multi-award winning work is slated for publication in over 30 countries, and has been described as "a game-changer" (Shelf Awareness), "stylistically mesmerising" (Publishers Weekly) and "out-of-this-world awesome" (Kirkus). Raised in Australia and occasionally Ireland, Amie has degrees in history, literature, law and conflict resolution, and is currently undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter and rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library.

To learn about her latest releases or be notified about events and signings in your area, you can sign up for her newsletter at www.amiekaufman.com.

Instagram: @amiekaufmanauthor

Facebook: @amiekaufmanauthor

Twitter: @amiekaufman

Jay Kristoff is the #1 international, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE
NEVERNIGHT CHRONICLE, THE ILLUMINAE FILES and the forthcoming EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE trilogy. He is the winner of eight Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, has over half a million books in print and is published in over thirty five countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are. He is 6'7 and has approximately 12,000 days to live.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff REVIEW

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra — who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents — including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more — Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

I wasn't expecting to like this book, in fact I was sure I was gonna hate it.

Don't get me wrong I love sci fi and the whole starwars meets star trek had me intrigued.

But I've never read a book that wasn't in prose, so I was doubtful.

This book was a big surprise it managed to intrigued me from the get go. I didn't realized I was so emotional invested until I found myself trying to read every word on the graphics cause I needed to know everyone was ok and where they where.

Illuminae is the most unique book I've read ever, Its genius, the dossier format was sublime.

This book is action packed and fast paced, there's no breathing room other than those 7 minutes of bliss when Ez and Kady interact.

This book has it all, mass murder, a crazy villain, spaceships, a plague, hackers, blood and gore, shocking twists and that ending, I never imagined an ending like that.

I felt every emotion there is, I loved it, hated it, I got angry and quite excited about what was going on and after crying all my feelings out I loved it even more.

There was no putting this book down, I read at work, at night at red lights. I couldn't stay away and I need the next book as desperately as I need my next breath.

Illuminae is a master piece that will be talked about for years and years to come.

This book is truly out of this world pun intended. It's a most read for any scifi fans out there.

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of young adult and middle grade fiction including the Illuminae Files, the Starbound trilogy, the Aurora Cycle and the Other Side of the Sky duology. Her multi-award winning work is slated for publication in over 30 countries, and has been described as "a game-changer" (Shelf Awareness), "stylistically mesmerising" (Publishers Weekly) and "out-of-this-world awesome" (Kirkus). Raised in Australia and occasionally Ireland, Amie has degrees in history, literature, law and conflict resolution, and is currently undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter and rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library.

To learn about her latest releases or be notified about events and signings in your area, you can sign up for her newsletter at www.amiekaufman.com.

Instagram: @amiekaufmanauthor

Facebook: @amiekaufmanauthor

Twitter: @amiekaufman

Jay Kristoff is the #1 international, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE NEVERNIGHT CHRONICLE, THE ILLUMINAE FILES and the forthcoming EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE trilogy. He is the winner of eight Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, has over half a million books in print and is published in over thirty five countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are. He is 6'7 and has approximately 12,000 days to live.

Finale by Stephanie Garber Review

 

A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.

It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.

With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time—only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.

Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…

Now I can officially say that I understand the hype.

This series was amazing. I was in love with the characters from book 1, all of them are unique.

Tella is my favorite, even above Legend. She lives and loves fiercely.

Legend is cool, sexy and magical but it was Tella who sold it for me.

I read all the books back to back so I had no problems with all the pov changes. I was used to all their voices.

Julian and Scarlett are very cute and I liked their relationship. Scarlet isn't my fav. Character but together they are so sweet.

I loved Jacks and I wish we knew what happened to him after everything. I also would have liked some info on the rest of Legend's crew.

The pace was great, it wasn't rushed just the right amount of shock followed by enough info to hint at the things to come.

I've found I enjoy books that can make picture everything, see the sights, smell the roses and this series does just that. I loved that even magic has a smell and you could tell which character was going to appear based on the description of the environment.

Finale was a perfect ending to an amazing series I wish it was longer I wouldn't mind one or two more books.

Stephanie Garber is the #1 New York Times and International bestselling author of Caraval, Legendary, and Finale. When she's not writing, she can often be found on Instagram, where she loves connecting with readers.

http://stephaniegarberauthor.com.

Legendary by Stephanie Garber Review

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister, Scarlett, from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice, but now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever...

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . the games have only just begun.

This book was amazing way better than the first one. Tella is an amazing character, even though on the first installment she came across as childish and reckless, she´s super complex. Her actions are always fuelled by love. Yes she does reckless things but there’s a motivation and a goal she wants to achieve. I love her way more than I did her sister.

Dante is the dark night you didn’t know you needed until falls he upon you with those intense eyes, and cockiness. He´s hot and he knows it and flaunts it like there’s no tomorrow. He´s Dark and sexy but he’s also a mystery, one I wanted to unravel which is the reason I couldn’t out this book down.

This couple is so spicy that I often forgot how young they truly are.

The game this time around its quite different form last time, the stakes are higher than ever, the lines between truth and game aren´t standing anymore and it becomes quite entertaining to theorize on the outcome of the pieces on the board.

This book is full of surprises, some I saw coming a mile away others took me completely off guard. I really enjoyed the pace and the character development and being able to see a little about the last players and how they are doing after the last game. Yes, there’s some Scarlett and Julian on this one.

I can’t say more without spoiling so I’ll leave you with this.

In Legendary no one is who you think, no one tells the truth and the only character that does isn’t the one you think it is. Everything is a clue but none of them work as you think they do

Stephanie Garber is the #1 New York Times and International bestselling author of Caraval, Legendary, and Finale. When she's not writing, she can often be found on Instagram, where she loves connecting with readers.

http://stephaniegarberauthor.com.