A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

"Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights."

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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas is the second book in the ACOTAR series (that was suppose to be a trilogy but is now slated for seven books!!). Again, like another series reviewed on this blog, I don't know why I came back to this series after not enjoying the first book - call me foolish, because I am. Our lead, Feyre, is such a frustrating character to read because she does not treat the people around her with respect or kindness! She's so mean, for no reason. I'm so sick of the trend in YA where strong female characters = snarky and mean for no reason!

People can be kind and strong! Vulnerable and strong! You do not have to be hurtful to be strong.

This book? Pass. Pass. Pass. Please, pass it. It will do no good to you, in fact, I can't believe it myself, but I disliked it more than the first, and that was the one with the horrendously abusive relationship!

Farah 

The Too-Clever Fox by Leigh Bardugo

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

"In Ravka, just because you avoid one trap, it doesn't mean you'll escape the next. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo’s upcoming novel, Siege and Storm, the second book in the Grisha Trilogy."

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The Too-Clever Fox by Leigh Bardugo is such a wonderful read. It reads like an old folklore told by an elder. It's so whimsical and fantastical. It's very old school init's style, it has a very big learning moral at the end and even some poetry scattered throughout it's few pages.

I wouldn't say this is appropriate for younger children but it is suitable for pre-teens, which I can appreciate. Not for it's morals, although anyone can take away from it, but it's style and how it's told as if by a sweet, elderly narrator.

Farah

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

"When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death—a cryptic message on MacKayla Lane’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed—a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae."

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Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning has got to be one my favorites of the year!

I am astounded, I truly am. I went into this book with little to no expectations, I just needed something to get me out of my reading slump. Boy, was I blown away.

I don't read many books about the fae, so this was a fresh and interesting read for me. Although, I do think the relationship in this, could at times, become unhealthy for Mac (our main). I hope this is discussed in furthers books because I hear this is an eight book series with the ninth of the way! I have so much to delve into and I seriously recommend this for those who enjoy urban fantasy set in a place other than New York City (this one is set in Dublin!).

Farah.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Blurb taken from Goodreads

"In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Timesbestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them..."

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Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare was a foray into an old favorite of mine. Clare was one of my favourite authors growing up, but alas time has pulled me away from her and my love for her. Clockwork Angel did not pull me back. It was a slow pacing book, that had an almost exact same pacing and plot points as Clare's previous work. Even the build up for the romance seems oddly familir, like many other works in the worlds that Clare has created. It's a shame, truly, that such a wonderful author has made herself such a bland receipts for books.

Because of this I would not recommend the book

Farah.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

"A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love."

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The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson was an exhilarating read! I loved the suspense and the Clue like mystery that surrounded the central plot. Lia is a runway bride and princess and her escape entails a whole of adventure and intrigue.

This book had me at the edge of my seat almost all the way through, it was incredibly fun!

I reccommned this to anyone who likes a younger variant of the high fantasy genre, with lots of twist and surprises!

Farah

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Blurb, taken from Goodreads.

"Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself."

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An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir was such a heartbreaking story! It had me cring and balling like a child in some scenes. I absolutely adored it. I was rooting for our protagonists, Lia and Elias, surprisingly from the get go - which is not a usual thing for me. But it happened and alas, I cannot wait for the second book. I hear this is suppose to be a duology? If so, be still my hear, because I can almost guarantee that it will break by the end of whatever journey Lia and Elias take together or separately.

Farah..

The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Blurb, taken from Goodreads.

"With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion.

But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. The fate of the Tearling —and that of Kelsea’s own soul—may rest with Lily and her story, but Kelsea may not have enough time to find out."

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The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen is the second of a young adult fantasy trilogy.

This book gave me whiplash and a head ache. If I thought the first book was confusing, the second out does it predecessor by miles. However, it does redeem itself but not being as dull or boring as its predecessor. Where the first book lagged and took its time, this book went for all the action it could possible throw in. With little explanation.

Also, there was a lack of trigger warnings, so for any readers who do not want to read violent rape, I’m giving you a big head up because no one gave me one. Those violent scenes come to Kelsea, our protagonist, through memories of a woman named Lily who lived in pre-crossing America. Kelsea gets these memories through ways in which I won’t spoil, although they are lacklustre and still, confusing (the word to describe the series so far, if I’m being honest).

I don’t know why I picked up this book after not liking the first (with a passion) but I did anyways (and who am I kidding, I picked it up because even if I don’t like a story I need to see it all the way through – to make sure I don’t like it.)

Like the first, I do not recommend.

Farah, the still grumpy book reviewer. 

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Blurb, taken from Goodreads.

"An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy.

Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom's haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.

Long ago, Kelsea's forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea's nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen's Guard—loyal soldiers who protect the throne—have appeared to escort the princess on a perilous journey to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling.

Though born of royal blood and in possession of the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic, Kelsea has never felt more uncertain of her ability to rule. But the shocking evil she discovers in the heart of her realm will precipitate an act of immense daring, throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil—and unleashing the Red Queen's vengeance. A cabal of enemies with an array of deadly weapons, from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic, plots to destroy her. But Kelsea is growing in strength and stealth, her steely resolve earning her loyal allies, including the Queen's Guard, led by the enigmatic Lazarus, and the intriguing outlaw known simply as "the Fetch."

Kelsea's quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea's journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her." 

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The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen is the first of a young adult fantasy trilogy. It is one of the most confusing, befuddling books I have read of recent. The time the book is set in is, by canon, present time. So why then does everything seem medieval? It reads like a fairy-tale with knights and queens but yet its set in present time? With very little mention of technology? Why does everyone ride horses and not use cars? THIS IS SO CONFUSING.

 Also, the book is a painfully boring. It drags on and on, more traveling for our protagonist and her guards who are to protect her (but can’t, because she gets captured. Not to worry though, her captures are also incompetent!). Also, what is with this trend in YA for young women protagonist to have such low esteem? This isn’t an oft chance occurrence either. This continually happens and it’s not a good look, YA community.

Do better.

 I don’t recommend this book. It’s plain, it’s dull and it doesn’t bring anything new to the table.

Farah, the Grumpy Book Reviewer.