Posts Tagged: Fantasy

Monday, March 09, 2015

Review: The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski

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Review: The Winner’s Crime by Marie RutkoskiThe Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
Series: The Winner's Trilogy #2
Published by Macmillan Children's Books on March 3rd 2015
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Source: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
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four-stars

Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and was so excited to read the second one. I had a few issues with it, but I still thought it was pretty great. With the way the last one ended, I was really curious where this one would go. I loved the story progression, but I couldn’t help but feel that at times Kestral was being really dumb. I still really liked her character though. The stake are high in this installment of the series and there is a lot of stuff going on so it was quite an exciting read. Being that this is a sequel, I will try not to give anything away.

Kestral is set to marry the prince. Obviously, she does not want to, but knows that it is in her best interest. Marrying the prince is not the hard part though. It’s having to deal with his father, who is very deceptive and very smart. He will play games and do what he needs to in order to get what he wants, when he wants. He is one scary dude. Kestral is still sneaking and trying to help Herran, but she doesn’t want Arin to know. She cares for him, loves him, but she knows that they cannot be together, and him knowing she is helping is a danger to everyone. At times she could be really dumb and it made me roll my eyes, but most of the time she was cunning and smart.

Arin is trying as hard as he can to not think of Kestral. He even believes that maybe he is making up things in his mind about the way she might feel about him. He has his own issues to deal with, and knows that she will marry the prince. Only he doesn’t know how deep the problems really are. It is only after Kestral uncovers some horrid truths and passes it on to his trusted friend that he finds out how bad things are. Only he doesn’t know that it is Kestral helping. He struggles with his feelings for her and goes back and forth a lot in this. I thought that his character was just as great as in the first book, if not better. Yes, he is stubborn, but he is a good person. He will do what he has to for what is right.

There is a lot of deception going on in this. So many secrets and lies. Then there are the untold truths that linger as well. The tension was through the roof. Not just with Arin and Kestral, but in general. I was always tense wondering if Kestral would get caught. If Arin and her would finally tell each other how they feel about each other. Let me tell you, there is some major chemistry between them and the tension is so thick you can feel it! I also came to like the prince and actually felt really sorry for him. In a place where everyone used everyone else and there are so many things hidden, how can we trust anything? He knew that he was being used, but it’s not like he wants Kestral’s love either. There is so much evil even among family. Mostly with family. I really thought that this was a wonderful sequel, but seriously? That ending?!! Dude! That is kind of torturous and evil. I can’t wait for the final book in this series to find out how everything turns out after such a whirlwind of a sequel!!

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

Review: Monstrous by MarcyKate Connolly

Review: Monstrous by MarcyKate Connolly

Posted by on 02/19/2015 • 8 Comments

This was a book that I was really excited to read. I didn’t like it quite as much as I had hoped, but it was really enjoyable. The characters were wonderful, especially Kymera. It was a bit predictable and long, but it was interesting so it kept me from getting bored with it. Even at its slow pace, the way things all came together was great and it was easy to get lost in.

Kym is a creation intended for the purpose of saving the sick girls from the wizard. She is very naive and only knows what her father has told her. She is happy with her mission and truly has a huge heart. She wants to do what is right and she wants to save everyone. She…

Review: Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Review: Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Posted by on 01/22/2015 • 2 Comments

I am always up for a fairytale retelling, so of course I had to read this book. Especially since it has a dark twist to it. This was a book that was so easy to get into and get lost in. I loved uncovering all the secrets and find out how everything would end up. This is middle grade, but it the writing was very mature. the characters were great, though we don’t get to know many of them very well aside from Sarah and Alan. We learn about the other characters, but don’t really know them on an emotional level. Either way, this was a great book.

Sarah is a young girl, but wise beyond her years. She has moved around a lot and she is a bit…

Review: The Clairvoyance Clock by KM Parr

Posted by on 12/16/2011 • 23 Comments

The Clairvoyance Clock(Alex in Wunderstrande, #1)K.M. ParrRelease date: November 22nd, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

For seventeen-year-old Alexander Rosengrant, the recent war in Wunderstrande was anything but victorious. Angry that he was forced to stay home while his friends risked their lives as soldiers, Alex harbors resentment toward his Uncle Brody, Lancaster’s star general. In the midst of this controversy, the mention of a mad scientist’s strange heirloom soon propels Alex on a risky journey, leading him to question all that Lancaster had been fighting for. Along the way, Alex discovers that not only is his life a tangled mess of lies, but the situation surrounding the war was nothing he could have ever imagined.

*A copy was provided by KM Parr for review purposes* I really thought I wasn’t going…

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Posted by on 10/02/2011 • 20 Comments

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Laini Taylor Published September 27th, 2011 by Little, Brown & Company

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that…

Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Posted by on 09/18/2011 • 2 Comments

Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms, #1)Kristin Cashore First published October 1st, 2008

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven…