The Fourline Trilogy by Pam Brondos

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Thanks to Skyscape and Goodreads for the free copy of Gateway to Fourline by Pam Brondos! Complex characters and a mysterious story line make Gateway to Fourline interesting to read. Natalie is my favorite character because she truly cares about her family and tries to be as independent as possible. She becomes part of a world she knows nothing about as she tries to help her new employers and newly found friends. I especially enjoyed the bastle herder facade when Nat pretended to have fleas! Very funny! Interesting world and characters make Gateway to Fourline the beginning of a promising fantasy trilogy!

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Thanks to NetGalley and Skyscape for the arc of On the Meldon Plain by Pam Brondos! The author sums up events from Gateway to Fourline nicely. Nat still wants to help Estos and she feels guilty that Soris was harmed by a Nala. Nat trains to be a Warrior Sister and she returns to Fourline, after completion of her training, to kill the Nala that harmed Soris. To truly kill a Nala, you must behead it, and Nat only harmed it previously. She is also still learning the depths of her powers. Nat goes on a mission with Annin, Andris, Soris and a few others to find Emilia (Estos’ sister). While on this mission, Nat is determined to find a cure for everyone and anyone who has been harmed by Nala venom. Once the venom enters your body, you began to change and become part Nala or duozi. In Fourline, there is tremendous prejudice towards duozi.

On the Meldon Plain is a bit more serious than Gateway to Fourline, but it still has the same great writing and complex characters as the first book. I thoroughly enjoy the relationships and world building that Pam Brondos has done with her Fourline series.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Skyscape for the arc of The Last Remnant by Pam Brondos! This book finishes the Fourline trilogy perfectly! Nat discovers what causes the Nala venom to take over and change someone into a duozi, but she hasn’t found a cure yet. So, she sends Annin to Fourline to see if Sister Ethet can use Nat’s discovery to come up with a cure. Nat keeps experimenting and finds the cure. She’s anxious to get to Fourline so she can share her findings, but has been told not to go for her own safety. Nat sneaks through the tunnel anyway and inadvertently lets her sister, Cal, slip through the tunnel also. Nat is captured and is injured and given a remnant from the Nalaide (the Nala queen). Nat is rescued and she travels with her friends and sister to a wisdom house where Nat hears about the prediction of a sister who will kill the Nalaide, ending the Nala. The prediction describes the markings on Nat’s arm. Nat continues to fight the Nalaide in her dreams and tries to keep her and her sister safe. The struggle brings stress to everyone involved and closeness between Nat and Cal. This fantasy trilogy contains some romance, battles, suspense and mystery and I highly recommend it!

Black River Falls

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Actual rating: 3.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for the arc of Black River Falls by Jeff Hirsch! A quarantine due to the virus called Lassiter’s has occurred. Lassiter’s is short for Lassiter’s Viral-Induced Retrograde Amnesia. The virus hit on October 16th, when people of all ages lost their memories and couldn’t even remember their families. Narrated by Cardinal Cassidy, Cardinal tells the story as if he’s writing/talking to his brother. Cardinal hasn’t contracted the virus and therefore, hasn’t lost his memory. He meets his mom in town, but she doesn’t seem to recognize him and she is living with a man that is not Cardinal’s father. He rescues a young woman from men pretending to be her husband and friend (a scheme men have thought up to capture women). The secret of the virus’ origins is revealed to Cardinal and he has the choice of revealing it to Dr. Lassiter and helping find the cure or ignoring the information and going on with life as it is right now. Sci-fi and dystopian fans will enjoy this book with the clever world building and character development.

A Shadow Bright and Burning

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Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the arc of A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess! I read an excerpt in Buzz Books YA Fall/Winter 2016 and wanted to read the rest of the book, thankfully, it was available on NetGalley. The fantasy story involves witches, magicians and sorcerers, but they are all different in this world from what we are accustomed to . Magicians are untrustworthy scoundrels, witches start fires and sorcerers control fire. Families and Artifacts harm people and go to battle against humans. Henrietta Howel, Nettie, is a young teacher and is taken by a sorcerer to have her own sorcerer skills revealed. Rook has been Nettie’s friend throughout her life and she doesn’t want to leave him behind. Thinking that living in the Sorcerers’ society will be a better life, Nettie takes Rook along. Trials abound for the both of them as secrets reveal themselves, sometimes unwillingly. This is a story worthy of Harry Potter fans and for readers who enjoyed the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. I encourage fantasy lovers to read this, you will devour it! I like how Jessica Cluess states in her author’s notes that she is an “unapologetic nerd.”! This shows how down to earth she is; I love it!

Saving Hamlet

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Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Group for the arc of Saving Hamlet by Molly Booth. Emma wants a new start for her sophomore year of high school and she starts with a completely different hair style and buying the shoes she has wanted for the past year. Emma loves theater and is the stage manager for her high school drama club production of Hamlet. A trap door is cut out of the stage floor, without permission. The hole gets temporarily covered with cardboard and tape. Emma accidentally falls through the hole when no one else is at the theater. She ends up in Shakespeare’s time, at the Globe theater, where Hamlet is being acted out at that very moment. She meets William Shakespeare and sees firsthand how he wants his plays to be. It is very interesting how different the acting and rehearsing processes are between past and present. Emma travels back and forth between the present time and learns a lot of helpful theater information and is able to help her friends with the modern day play. Saving Hamlet deals with friendship, working relationships, family and all of the issues that come along with it, and gender differences and difficulties, still keeping it a clean read.

I like this book and find it very interesting in many ways.  I might use it in the future, along with Shakespeare, to teach my Library Science students.

Mirage

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Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the arc of Mirage by Tracy Clark! Ryan loves skydiving and she does it often because her parents own a skydive business. Ryan starts seeing another reflection in the mirror along with her own and she sees eyes looking at her in random places. She feels as though someone is watching her. Ryan loves adrenaline so much, it’s almost like a death wish. Something changes and Ryan is not the same, she has to struggle for her identity amid confusion, heartbreak and tragedy. Mirage is a powerful story that I read in one evening because I became so immersed that it was impossible for me to stop. Some adult content described vaguely (for those readers who prefer to know ahead of time). Mirage contains dynamic characters, suspense and thrills and it is a deep and thought provoking story! I would read it again!

The Keepers of Life Series

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Pubishing for the opportunity to read arcs with the newly designed covers of The Keepers of Life Series by Shea Berkley!  I love this series!  The covers are gorgeous and perfect.  I have heard, more often than not, my library patrons saying how they dislike covers with faces because they prefer keeping the characters’ looks alive in their imaginations.  These remade covers will please everyone; they are beautiful yet simple and embrace the world that Dylan and Kera are living in. The Keepers of Life Series by Shea Berkley reminds me of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series and Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven Series with a bit of flirting added.

The Marked Son by Shea Berkley is about a young man, Dylan, who lives with his single mom. He has never known who his father is or any other family members. His mom breaks up with her latest boyfriend and they move into her parents’ home. Dylan finally gets to meet his grandparents! While this is going on, Kera passes through the shimmering wall from her land into the human world and sees Dylan. The two of them have shared dreams and visions for as long as they can both remember. Something is harming the sheep on Dylan’s grandparents’ sheep ranch and Dylan’s family and the ranch workers are trying to solve the mystery, but it just keeps getting more and more strange. The suspense, mystery and the character dynamics make this book hard to put down. The writing flows perfectly and the alternating points of view between Dylan and Kera bring insight into the other realm. At a point in the story, I was wondering how everything could possible work out, but the author’s amazing imagination and creativity persevered!

The Fallen Prince by Shea Berkley begins with Dylan struggling to control his newly found powers, while Kera tries to fit into the human world. The realm seems to be seeping into the human world and Kera is captured and taken back to Teag. Dylan and his friends go to Teag to rescue Kera. The dialogue surrounding Bodog and Wyatt made me chuckle, actually all interactions with Bodog made me chuckle – very fun! “Right now, the only normal one of us seems to be Bodog, and he’s lit himself up like Casper the friendly ghost.” Full of action and adventure and I love the snark in this book, “How’d you get out? ”
“I used magic.”
“I tried and it didn’t work.”
“Me, too.”
“I’m better at it.”
Shea Berkley is a creative author and the dark souls she conjured up are ominously creepy. I love this book!

The Rising King by Shea Berkley jumps into Dylan’s and Kera’s lives where the barrier separating Teag from the human world continues to grow weaker and the townspeople help guard against trespassing creatures. The enemies become more dangerous and difficult to overcome. Dylan’s father, Baun, wants to rule Teag by taking everyone’s powers for himself. Dylan, his friends, the townspeople and Teag’s allies work together to balance the powers and bring peace once again.

I have enjoyed this series and want to read it again and I plan on buying the paperback editions of all three books! Highly recommended for all fantasy readers!

 

Dead of Winter

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The Dead of Winter, by Kresley Cole, left me hanging and in anxious anticipation of the fourth book in The Arcana Chronicles! The book begins with Evie leaving Death (Aric) to save Jack from the torturous twins. She makes more allies and, eventually, Death visits their camp. Together they are able to rescue Jack after some intense action and cooperation. The twins have taken Selena, the Archer, and Evie, Jack and Death work together to try to save her from the sadistic and twisted twins. Evie finally makes a choice between Death and Jack before an attack occurs and the book ends with no publication date specified for the fourth book-AAAHHH!

I absolutely love the variety of languages, the humor, the dynamics of the characters and the amount of complexity of each character – a perfect amount – and the fact that no character in this series is static!

The Last Boy and Girl in the World

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc of The Last Boy and Girl in the World. This story revolves around the analysis of Keeley and her relationship with those around her just as much as it deals with the man-made and natural disasters of her town. This intriguing balance kept my interest because the characters were dealing with more than just their own relationships. They were all trying to decide whether to evacuate or stay in the small town that was becoming more flooded by the day. Keeley learns a lot about herself along the way and she loses friends and gains others. She also matures, even though it is a huge struggle for her. The community emergency brings out the best and worst in the town’s residents and also brings to light people’s true characters. A realistic fiction book that will make readers smile and cringe and will ultimately pull on their heartstrings.

In the Forest

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In the Forest by Art Collins is written for young readers and reminds me a bit of the Tucket Adventures series by Gary Paulsen because of the loyalty between the characters. In the Forest is a short book full of adventure and just the beginning of a series. I felt like the synopsis described the entire book to the point of making it almost unnecessary to read. That discouraged me and made it difficult to read through because there wasn’t really any unknown factor.

The Janitors Series

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The Janitors series by Tyler Whitesides reminds me of the Bailey School Kids Monster series by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones; only a bit more mature. The series is more sophisticated than I thought it would be before I began reading Janitors. Each book in this series is a fun, easy read brimming with adventure and a few twists thrown in. This is a lighthearted series for readers who just want a quick book to get through or a book fun enough to sit down and enjoy!