Book Review | Six of Crows | Leigh Bardugo

Jan 4

I received this book for free from BookExpo in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Six of Crows | Leigh BardugoSix of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows #1
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on September 29, 2015
Genres: Fantasy YA, Thieves, Young Adult
Pages: 465
Format: ARC
Also by this author: Shadow and Bone
Source: BookExpo
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
five-stars

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz’s crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , ,

Book Review | The Heart of Betrayal | Mary E. Pearson

Sep 28

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | The Heart of Betrayal | Mary E. PearsonThe Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson
Series: The Remnant Chronicles #2
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on July 7, 2015
Genres: Fantasy YA, Young Adult
Pages: 470
Format: ARC
Also in this series: The Beauty of Darkness
Also by this author: The Beauty of Darkness
Source: the publisher
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
five-stars

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save Lia’s life, her erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar’s interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.

Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: There’s Rafe, who lied to Lia but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be savages. Now that she lives among them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country… and her own destiny.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , ,

Book Review | I’ll Meet You There | Heather Demetrios

Mar 5

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | I’ll Meet You There | Heather DemetriosI'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on February 3, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary YA, Disabilities, Military, Relationships, Romance
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
Source: the publisher
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
five-stars

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book Review + Giveaway: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Jun 20

Book cover for Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Siege and Storm
Author: Leigh Bardugo (web | twitter)
Series: The Grisha Trilogy #2
Genre: Fantasy YA
Amazon | Goodreads
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Source: Borrowed an ARC from Tara

Summary: Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.
The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

 

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Filed Under: Giveaway, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , ,

Book Review | Shadow and Bone | Leigh Bardugo

Jul 5

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Shadow and Bone | Leigh BardugoShadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha Trilogy #1
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on June 5, 2012
Genres: Fantasy YA, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Also by this author: Six of Crows
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
five-stars

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , , , ,