Fiction Archives - Page 14 of 32 - Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps

The Land of Yesterday

By Brookelorren on June 8, 2019June 7, 20192 Comments

I recently read The Land of Yesterday by K.A. Reynolds. Isn’t that a gorgeous cover? It’s an adorable middle grade book that deals with the feelings one experiences when dealing with loss.

When Cecelia’s brother Celadon dies, she’s left feeling guilty. In order to get her brother back, she attempts to travel back to the Land of Yesterday — a place full of magic and dangers. To top it all off, her mother has also left for the Land of Yesterday, plus the house has gone crazy and is imprisoning her father. Will Cecelia be able to fix everything? Or will she also end up trapped in Yesterday?

On the surface, this book seems like a scary adventure full of magic, but there is a deeper meaning to this book. There are several beautiful quotes in here, such as this quote about recovering from grief:

When we’re ready, we can finally move beyond Yesterday and return to living in Today
p. 235

Or how death is permanent:

If someone died in Today, they couldn’t return to the land of the living.
p. 244

The book is full of clever names, like the town they live in: Hungrig (it means hungry in German). The book seems to capture the world through a kid’s eyes and seems to have humor that a kid would enjoy. For example, some characters that haven’t experienced loss speak gibberish in the land of Today.

Although this book isn’t on my list of favorites, I thought it was cute and had a lot of beautiful quotes. My boy (who is 12) also read it. He didn’t gush over it like he does with Lauren Magaziner’s books, but he didn’t have anything negative to say about it. I think some of the clever names went over his head.

I would recommend this story especially to kids that are dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Favorite of May (Fangirling on Friday)

By Brookelorren on June 7, 2019June 6, 2019Leave a Comment

It’s Friday again, and time for another edition of Fangirling on Friday (hosted by Books in the Skye). Since it’s a new month, we’re going to talk about our favorite books from last month. This month I picked two books!

The first book I picked for May was Rebel by Beverly Jenkins! I was so very happy to be picked to read an ARC for this book (although it’s out now!). I found this book after reading glowing reviews by Bookish Pisces, and I’m glad I did. There’s history, romance, and some really great characters in this book!

In October, another book named Rebel that I expect to love is coming out (the fourth book in the Legend tetralogy by Marie Lu) so I’m guessing there will be two books that I love with that title coming out this year. In my blog notes, I’ve had to be careful to designate which Rebel book I’m talking about!

I tend to read a lot of fantasy, and many of the best of the month posts I’ve written are dominated by that genre, but not this month! The other book that earned favorite-of-the-month status for May was Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett. I kept thinking about this book, even when I had to go to my job.

I’ve been trying to read some of the books I purchased on sale a while back, and this was one of the books one the list. Even though a lot of them are on my summer reading list, I’m not doing a very good job of it. There were a lot of books on sale Sunday, so… even though I read one, I bought six more. But I’m never at a loss for books to read?

Jenn Bennett has a new book coming out later this year, The Lady Rogue, and I was fortunate enough to be approved for an ARC of that book, so I’m looking forward to reading it soon.

So those were my favorite books from May! Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox and Soul of the Sword were also outstanding, but I had to narrow it down somehow. Next week, we’re going to talk about bookish best friends.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market

By Brookelorren on June 6, 2019June 6, 20192 Comments

Cassandra Clare’s Ghosts of the Shadow Market came out on Tuesday, and I was so excited to read it! While I know a lot of the novellas came out earlier, I didn’t buy them and decided to wait until this week to read them. I loved this book, and am now excited to try to find time to reread some of these books!

This book assumes you are familiar with The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices. My review may contain spoilers for these books.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market contains ten short stories (some of which are novella length). Jem/Brother Zechariah is a constant presence in these. They should probably be read in order (at least for the first read-through). There is a common thread running through these stories: Jem is looking for the Lost Heir. The stories take place between 1901 (with the children of The Infernal Devices characters) and 2013 (which occurs after The Dark Artifices).

What I Loved

The Characters. Because this book takes place over a long period of time, there are a ton of characters in this book. Some you’ll be familiar with, but there are others that will appear in The Last Hours trilogy. I never realized that Lily (the head of the New York vampires) was so smitten with James Carstairs! It was fun to see little Jace and the little Lightwoods years before The Mortal Instruments, along with the other characters.

The Worldbuilding. This is one of the things that I love about Cassandra Clare’s books. The world and lore is so intertwined and full.

The Historical Background. I’m a student of history, so I’m familiar with The Great Depression, World War II, etc. The book was well-researched, and I even learned something. When London was bombed, the shops tried to stay open. Some of them that had been bombed were still open, hanging out signs saying they were “more open than usual.” I thought that was funny (I checked, and they actually did have these signs out).

The Humor. I laughed out loud in several places in this book. “Isabelle is the love of my life, but her seven-layer dip is like the nine circles of Hell,” Lily’s constant nicknames for Jem, and several other places in the book were quite funny.

The Story. In Ghosts of the Shadow Market, you get to find out things that happened after Queen of Air and Darkness, and how Alec and Magnus ended up adopting Rafael. While it won’t be necessary to read this book to enjoy The Last Hours or The Wicked Powers, this book enriches the Shadowhunter universe.

What Could Be Better

Because The Last Hours won’t be released until next March, it took me a while to figure out who was whose kid (and don’t quiz me even now, I’m still a little fuzzy on these). I still enjoyed the stories that took place in 1901, but I think I will like them better once I’m more familiar with these characters and who is who.

One of the stories takes place in 1989 and one of the characters refers to Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. The song came out in 1983 and was mostly popular in that year and 1984. I really couldn’t imagine someone referring to the song in 1989 unless they were hopelessly behind the times. Which perhaps the character is.

Conclusion

If you enjoyed The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices, I recommend this book. If you haven’t read all twelve of those books yet, I recommend you read those first. Ghosts of the Shadow Market adds to the Shadowhunter world and advances the story. It’s made me more excited for Chain of Gold, which is coming out next March!

Fantasy Books (Top Ten Tuesday)

By Brookelorren on June 4, 2019June 3, 201948 Comments

Hello! Time for another Top Ten Tuesday topic (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl)! Today we’re talking about books from our favorite genre. I like all sorts of books, but I tend to read a lot of fantasy books, so we’re going to go with that (although dystopian might be making a comeback soon, so there’s that). This week, I’m picking five fantasy books (or series) that I love, and five that I’m looking forward to reading.

An Ember in the Ashes Quartet – Sabaa Tahir

I’m looking forward to reading the final book in this series next year, but for now, this series belongs up here. I read these three (long) books in three days. They were difficult to put down! I originally got the first two books from the library, but then I had to own the set (even though they don’t match, because one’s Kindle, one’s paperback, and one’s hardback).

Shadowhunter’s Books – Cassandra Clare

I love these books! I guess this would belong in the upcoming release books too, because we have Chain of Gold to look forward to next March, but these definitely belong on this list. I’m also getting Ghosts of the Shadow Market today, which I’m excited for. They’re shipping via UPS (which typically arrives later at my house than the post office) so I guess I’ll be reading something else until it arrives.

The Young Elites Trilogy – Marie Lu

Of course this one had to make my list. I adore Magiano and Adelina! Even though Adelina is evil. I really need to finish the fanfic I started writing telling this series from Magiano’s POV (which will continue on and will have a happier ending). This is my first week as a full-time writer/homeschooler, so I should have more time to work on it now!

Flame in the Mist Duology – Renée Ahdieh

I was originally going to put the Grisha Verse books in here, but then I realized “didn’t I talk about all these books last week?” so I decided to throw in something new instead. This might be the first fantasy book I read based in a medieval Japan like place, and I loved it! I couldn’t stop thinking about it while I was at work.

I wasn’t sure about reading Ms. Ahdieh’s new book about vampires, but I got the chance to read the beginning of The Beautiful the other day, and it was really good, so I’ll probably read that one too.

The Cruel Prince Trilogy – Holly Black

This book had me hooked from the first page! I love Holly Black’s writing. I can’t wait until The Queen of Nothing comes out later this year! Yes, I know Jude and Cardan don’t really have the model relationship, but they’re not exactly model citizens themselves. I couldn’t put down the first two books in this series and think I finished them the day they came out.

New Books I’m Looking Forward To!

I’m really looking forward to Wicked Fox by Kat Cho! I got to read the first part of the book through Bookish First, and I won an ARC through them! I haven’t received it yet, but I’m going to my mailbox with expectation every day (although I have some other books I need to read first). I actually won three books (two through them, one through Goodreads) so this isn’t the only bookmail I’m anxiously awaiting.

October 1st is going to be a huge release day for me, because not only is Rebel coming out that day, but so is The End and Other Beginnings (Veronica Roth) and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo! The cover features Matthew the famous Book Snake (who also appears on the cover of Queen of Nothing, another book I’m getting)!

Speaking of The End and Other Beginnings, here it is! It is a collection of short stories, including two stories from the Carve the Mark universe and “Inertia”, a story I adored from Summer Days and Summer Nights! I don’t own that book so I’ll be happy to read that story again.

Oh, and I just read in Entertainment Weekly while writing this article that “Inertia” is going to be turned into a movie! If you read this blog a lot, you know I don’t watch a lot of movies, but I definitely want to go see this one!

I really liked Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett (my review will be up in a couple of weeks) and when I found out that she’s coming out with a fantasy novel where a girl has to hunt down Vlad the Impaler’s cursed ring, I thought “sign me up!” Netgalley was nice enough to approve me to read The Lady Rogue, although it’s in protected PDF format and I’m having trouble downloading it, but I’m sure I’ll get that figured out before it comes out in September.

I’m excited for The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White to come out this November! Camelot is such an interesting legend (I happened to get Once and Future on sale on Sunday) and this sounds like a great book. I’ve still only read one short story by Kiersten White (despite owning more than one of her books) but I hope to remedy that soon.

So there’s ten books from the fantasy genre – 5 I love, and 5 I’m looking forward to reading! What books are you looking forward to reading? I can’t wait to see what you all came up with today.

The Evil Queen

By Brookelorren on June 3, 2019June 3, 20194 Comments

We all know the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Disney cartoon came out over 80 years ago and, to be honest, the story feels dated. The Evil Queen is a Snow White retelling that gives the story an interesting twist.

Everly is a girl who grew up in a typical high school in America. Only she’s not normal. Everybody seems to hate her for some unnatural reason. She doesn’t know why. She’s only had one boyfriend (over the summer) but he broke up with her before school started again because he was embarrassed for people to think they were together. She’s very cynical towards life.

Her mother always told her fairy tales, like most mothers do, but she doesn’t think anything of it until she starts seeing a girl other than herself in her mirror. The girl is kind to animals, helps the villagers… the calls the girl Angel.

One day, Everly’s world is turned upside down when she realizes that the girl in the mirror is an actual girl living in a land called Enchantia, she is a sorcerian, and she has to leave her current world for the fairy tale one. She falls for a boy who hates sorcerians (although he doesn’t know she is one). Events outside of her control force her to do things that make her think that she’s the Evil Queen in the Snow White story. While everybody seems to be against her, her sister seems to be in trouble and she’s helpless to save her.

Things aren’t exactly as they seem, but you’ll have to read the story to find out what happens.

What I Liked

This story is unlike other fantasy books I’ve read. In most fantasy books, the characters talk differently. Everly, who came straight from your local high school, talks like a teenager. Sometimes the locals in Enchantia don’t really understand her, since she’s using contemporary slang.

The Enchantian characters in this book also don’t seem like your typical Disney characters straight from the 1930s. Prince Charming and Everly exchange sexual innuendos, and two of the female characters are romantically involved. It’s nice how the story breathes a spark of new life into an old classic story.

This story also conveyed the message that we are who we choose to be, not who we are fated to be. I can’t say much more without giving away the plot, but not all the characters seem to fit into their given roles.

What I Didn’t Like

I didn’t care for the prologue, but I don’t like most prologues. Everly had her problems at time, but that’s typical of teenagers.

Overall

Overall, I thought The Evil Queen was an interesting take on the Snow White fairy tale. If you’re looking for a story about a damsel in the forest washing clothes for some elderly dwarfs, this isn’t it. What it is is a story about a girl from today, who gets thrust into a fairy tale world, thinking she’s expected to be one character, but discovering that she can make her own choices and isn’t necessarily stuck to one particular role. I enjoyed it, and will probably read the second book in the series when it comes out.

Aladdin Book Tag

By Brookelorren on June 2, 2019June 2, 20196 Comments

I’m going to see Aladdin tonight with the family, so I thought, what better time to do the Aladdin book tag?! I found this tag over at A Great Read, but it was actually started by Amber at Du Livre.

The creator of this tag would like you to link to the original post (Du Livre, listed above).

There are so many good fantasy books out there, but I think that one fantasy book that ended up not getting enough appreciation was Veronica Roth’s Carve the Mark. I don’t really blame readers for not wanting to give this book a chance… after all, the ending of Allegiant didn’t exactly give me the warm fuzzies and drove me into fanfiction. Then, the tagline for The Fates Divide is He’d die for her. She’d kill for him. I don’t blame people for not wanting to read it.

But… this is not an Allegiant part two. I actually liked the ending! I’m also looking forward to The End and Other Beginnings, which comes out on October 1st.

No offense to Mr. Haffner (I’m assuming this is is face) but the cover to Defying Hitler leaves a lot to be desired. Fortunately, I heard about this book from a podcast, not by browsing the shelves. This book is about a guy who was a teenagers in the years leading up to Hitler taking over Germany. It’s really interesting because the people around him started off normal, but then they started getting sucked into the Nazi propaganda. Towards the end of the book, it even tells of his time in a forced Nazi boot camp.

Definitely more interesting than the cover implies.

This tag has some difficult questions! So many characters in books I’ve read either turn evil, simply develop as characters, or come to a bad end as a part of their redemption. I had to go with Jesper from Six of Crows for this question. He made a lot of stupid mistakes and almost loses his father’s farm, but he ends up examining himself, figuring out how to turn his life around, and he does just that. Plus, he doesn’t die as a part of redeeming himself!

So I think I have to give this one to Day from Legend. He grows up poor, last sees his dad on his eighth birthday, spends his tenth birthday in the morgue, spends the next five years living on the streets, then is almost murdered by the government! Oh, and then he nearly dies, gets amnesia and loses the love of his life. Still, he manages to maintain his humanity and become a hero in the process.

I really hope he gets a happy-ish ending in Rebel.

I might have a good time hanging out with Cath from Fangirl. We both like to write, and we’ve both written fanfiction. Plus, we both really don’t like hanging out with strangers. So there’s that too.

Besides, there’s safety in numbers, even for those of us who’d rather spend our time sticking needles underneath our fingernails than going to a party full of strangers. We could both find the cafeteria together, and then we wouldn’t have to eat energy bars to keep ourselves from starving to death.

So that is the Aladdin book tag! If you want to do this tag too, please do! Don’t forget to tag Du Livre if you do, and I’d be happy to see what you have for this tag too!

Soul of the Sword

By Brookelorren on June 1, 2019June 1, 20192 Comments

I was recently given the opportunity to read Soul of the Sword, the second book in Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox trilogy (thank you, Netgalley). I loved this book, just like I did the first book in the series, and I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion when it comes out.

Since this is the second book in a trilogy, there are spoilers for Shadow of the Fox in this review. I wrote a review for the first book if you’re interested.

Kage Tatsumi is now possessed by the demon Haikamono, who is still trying to find the scroll for his own reasons. He now knows that Yumeko is half-kitsune, but for now, they part ways. Both of them are still trying to get to the Steel Feather Temple.

Soul of the Sword still has the great Japanese-inspired setting and rich mythology that Shadow of the Fox had, but the characters and the world develop more fully in this sequel. We learn more about the corruption that has seeped into the universe, as well as more of the history.

Yumeko develops into a stronger character in this book. Although she keeps her sweet spirit, she continues to develop as a person, taking her destiny into her own hands and fighting for her friends. She needs this strength of character (as well as the kitsune magic she is getting better at wielding) when she faces enemies towards the end of the book.

Suki, one of the minor characters in the first book, takes a more important role in Soul of the Sword. I was wondering why she was in the first book; in the second book, her role becomes clearer. I still think that she will have a part to play in the final book of this trilogy.

Yumeko and Tatsumi continue to develop feelings for each other in this book, but will they ever have a happy end together? At the end of this book, I don’t even know if they’ll end up together. There is another couple in this book, but I won’t give it away here. I did see it coming long before they actually became something of an item.

The book doesn’t exactly end in a cliffhanger, but Yumeko and Tatsumi’s job is not done. There is a twist at the end that I didn’t expect. I definitely want to read the next book to find out how this story concludes.

Shadow of the Fox

By Brookelorren on May 29, 2019May 30, 20193 Comments

There are some authors that I consistently see, week after week, and always think “I have to read something by that author” whenever I see their name mentioned. Julie Kagawa was one of those authors. So when Netgalley offered the Soul of the Sword ARC, I had to apply for it. Then I realized it was the second book in the Shadow of the Fox trilogy. Luckily for me, I just happened to have seen the book on sale earlier this month and I picked it up (sadly, it’s not on sale as I write this). I loved this book and am enjoying the second book in the series at the moment.

Yumeko is half-kitsune (kitsune are magical fox-creatures in Japanese folklore). She grew up in a temple, and is quite naïve to how the world works. Still, she has a pure heart. Suddenly, her life is thrust into chaos, when the temple is attacked and she is tasked with guarding a scroll. Should she fail, the world could descend into darkness. At the same time, she runs into Kage Tatsumi, a boy who has been tasked with finding the scroll. They end up traveling together to try to find the Steel Feather Temple. If Tatsumi finds out that Yumeko is kitsune or has the scroll, it could be curtains for her.

What I Loved

This was a really cute adventure story. Yumeko is such a sweet, innocent character who always seems to see the best in people. As she travels with Tatsumi, they are attacked by someone who wants to stop them from getting the scroll. Still, her kind, optimistic nature attracts other characters that join her, vowing to protect her (despite the fact that Tatsumi would rather be traveling by himself in the first place). Tatsumi and Yumeko start to develop feelings for each other in this book, but don’t expect any kisses any time soon.

The setting to Shadow of the Fox is gorgeous. It is full of Japanese mythological creatures, and I kept highlighting words for me to add to my book journal later on. The world itself has a vibrant history of its own. Since I’m reading the second book at the moment, I’m seeing more of the world, and I absolutely adore it.

There are also complex villains and relationships in this book. In the very beginning, we are introduced to Suki, a young maid who is killed by her mistress. How does this all fit in? You actually don’t really begin to see much of how she fits into the whole story in this book, but there is more in Soul of the Sword. Who is attacking Yumeko and Tatsumi? I’m just beginning to see the bigger picture in the second book, but there’s a lot here.

Conclusion

Should you read Shadow of the Fox? Yes, if you enjoy Japanese inspired fantasy and fun, sweet characters. I’m definitely a fan of the series, plan to read the third book at some point after it becomes available, and am likely to read more Julie Kagawa books in the future.

Crooked Kingdom

By Brookelorren on May 27, 2019May 27, 2019Leave a Comment

After finishing Six of Crows, I immediately wanted to read Leigh Bardugo’s sequel, Crooked Kingdom. The first book of the duology ended in a cliffhanger and I didn’t want to go for too long without finding out the ending. Fortunately, I already had a copy. I was not disappointed in how this duology turned out, and I definitely plan on reading the next Grisha Verse book, King of Scars, in the future (I’ve already pre-ordered her first adult book, Ninth House, which comes out October 1st).

Because Crooked Kingdom is the second book in a duology, expect spoilers in this review.

Inej has been taken and all the plans that Kaz and his crew had to become wealthy beyond imagination… went up in smoke. Not only does Kaz want to get Inej back… he also wants to find a way to enact revenge upon Jan Van Eck. Maybe he’ll be able to find a way to get wealthy in the process.

What Makes This Book Amazing

I thought this book was great and I can’t really think of anything I didn’t like about it (okay, I wasn’t a fan of the prologue). However, there are a lot of things I can say that I loved.

Setting: the setting in this universe = author goals. I just love how this universe has a rich setting. Every location in this world has a unique culture, climate, foods, and history. Ms. Bardugo brings it to life in a magnificent way.

Characters: over the course of Crooked Kingdom, we’re able to learn more about these characters and what makes them tick. They all have demons that come from events in their pasts, and we get to learn more about them. We learn more about their families. This was as well done as the setting.

Incorporation of the previous Grisha Verse books: even though this book is set in a different part of the world, I love how the previous Grisha Verse books were incorporated into this one. Crooked Kingdom even incorporates some of the old characters; as readers, we have inside knowledge that the characters initially don’t have.

The plot and ending: I love how these characters solve the problems at hand and bounce back from their setbacks. I also love how the characters (mostly) get their happily ever after. Now I want to read more from them!

Conclusion

I highly recommend this book, and I’m pretty sure that I’ll be reading most of Leigh Bardugo’s books in the future. I do recommend reading this book after reading the original Grisha Verse books and Six of Crows. You’ll definitely get more out of this series if you read them in this order. If you start with Six of Crows, it’ll still be good, but the worldbuilding will be more awesome if you start with the original books.

Six of Crows

By Brookelorren on May 25, 2019May 17, 20192 Comments

Last year, after I started really getting into this book blog, it seemed like everybody was talking about the Six of Crows duology. I was even in the bookstore and almost got it. But I waited until I read the Grisha Verse Trilogy first. It was worth the wait, because both series are amazing, but they both are part of the same world. I listened to this on audiobook.

Ketterdam is a dangerous place to be. There are slavers that will capture Grisha (and other people) around here. Money is their god and the wealthy have all the power. It’s into this world that we are introduced to Kaz Brekker and his group of gangster friends.

A new drug has been discovered: jurda parem. This drug can make grisha do amazing things, but it is highly addictive and will shorten the grisha’s lifespan. Kaz has been given the opportunity to earn an incredible amount of money if he can just do the impossible: capture it’s creator, Bul Yul-Bayur, from the impenetrable Ice Court. It’s a dangerous job, but if anybody is going to do it, Kaz and his crew can.

What I Loved

Worldbuilding: I loved everything about this book, but one of the things I loved about this book was the amazing worldbuilding. It’s obvious that many of the cultures in this world were inspired by real cultures, but as the characters travel though the world, you can sense that all these little details were well thought out. The characters have favorite foods, the lands have different climates, and even the different people groups have different senses of morality. I also love how this world builds on the Grisha Verse universe. There is the occasional mention of the Ravkan civil war (from the original trilogy) or even Sankta Alina.

The characters in Six of Crows are amazing and well thought out as well. They each have their own histories and motivations, but we don’t get to learn about it right away. Their pasts bring demons into their present, which causes them to act the way they do.

I kept wanting to read more of this book. The plot was fast-paced, and not everything went exactly according to plan (which happens in so much of life). I kept wanting to root for these characters, and the cliffhanger at the end made me want to read the next book (which I did).

Conclusion

You definitely want to read Six of Crows if you like fantasy books with great worldbuilding and amazing characters. While you can read this book without reading the Grisha Verse books too, I recommend that you do, because it just adds depth and meaning to this story. I highly recommend you add this to your TBR.