Going Down in Flames

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ebook of Going Down in Flames by Chris Cannon! Going Down in Flames is the first book in a trilogy about dragons. Bryn discovers that she is a dragon on her sixteenth birthday and, if that’s not enough, she is told by her parents that she will be shunned by other dragons because they cross-bred. Bryn’s father is a Red Dragon and her mother is a Blue Dragon. This makes Bryn a mix. Cross marriages are forbidden, so when her parents fell in love with each other, they ran away from dragon society because they felt as though they had no other choice. Bryn is forced by the Directorate (the governing organization of Dragon society) to attend dragon school and is placed in the Green Dragon dorms in exchange for letting them “study’ her scientifically. Bryn’s life is threatened more than once, conspiracies fly and new acquaintances are made and friendships are built. Going Down in Flames is a fun beginning to a series with a lot of potential!

Endless Knight

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I am loving the Arcana Chronicles series! The second book, Endless Knight, begins right where Poison Princess left off – when Evie transformed into the Empress to save her life through self-defense and Jackson saw her with all of her powers. Jackson states that he doesn’t want to be with the Arcana; he says they aren’t right. Evie, Selena, Finn and Matthew continue to meet more Arcana and make truces with some. Jack and Evie work through their differences and overcome their problems. Death kidnaps Evie and stunts her powers. The more she gets to know death, the more she understands him and cares for him. Then Matthew tells Evie that Jack has been captured by twin Arcana who enjoy torturing their victims, so now Evie must choose between Jack or Death. Wow! I love this book and I am excited to continue reading with the third book, Dead of Winter. Great characters, interesting surroundings, lots of action and adventure, dynamic relationships and romance make this a fun series to read!

The Last Boy and Girl in the World

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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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.

The Crown

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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The Crown by Kiera Cass is actually better than I expected it to be. The end to the popular Selection series, The Crown contains resolution and hope for a better future for the kingdom. Eadlyn learns who she can and cannot trust and discovers some family secrets along the way. Some predictability, but a fun book nevertheless.

Poison Princess

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Poison Princess by Kresley Cole is the start of an amazing series. This book contains many genres, such as dystopian, supernatural, romance, adventure, mythology and fantasy. Poison Princess immediately intrigued me with the feeling of doom in the first chapter. I was pulled into the story because it is interesting in so many ways; the Louisiana culture and language and the fantastical and mythological pull around Evie. I love the Cajun vocabulary lessons and culture and I think I felt at home with it because I lived in Louisiana during an impressionable age while growing up. I lived in several areas of Louisiana between the ages of nine and twelve. The Cajun references made me smile and sometimes cringe because they were spot on.

The author changes the point of view from Evie to the kidnapper for the prologue and one other chapter. This strategic writing gives readers insight into the enemy’s world. Clever, Kresley Cole! There is a bit of swearing and sexual innuendo that I will warn students about, but I absolutely love this book with its dynamic characters and I plan on reading it again and finishing the Arcana Chronicles series as soon as possible.

Gena/Finn

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Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the arc of Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz! This story is set up in snippets of text, dialogue from letters, online conversations and journal format, which made it difficult to get into. I think that was because I received the arc on a download for my laptop. I think the actual physical book would be easier to become involved in. I struggled with reading it because of the text inconsistency breaking my concentration also. Once I got passed these issues, I found a good story underneath it all. My favorite character is Charlie; I think he’s wonderful. The book is about a complicated relationship that began online and becomes something more and my rating is actually 3.5 stars.

Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend

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Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn begins with Gemma and the explanation of how she came to be Teddy’s girlfriend, then his ex-girlfriend. To overcome her sadness over the breakup, Gemma gets a hair makeover, courtesy of her friend Sophie, and goes to stay with her father in the Hamptons. Gemma goes through a case of mistaken identity because of her hair change and the fact that she hasn’t seen some of these people in five years. She tries to tell them that she is Gemma, but they insist on calling her Sophie since she has her friend Sophie’s name written on her cup. The more I read, the more I enjoyed the story and characters and understood the struggle that Gemma was going through because of her guilt from causing the sabotage of her father’s relationship with another woman while her parents were separated and the frustration and concern of wanting to make things better. This book is thoroughly enjoyable with no swearing, clean romance and a bit of humor. The story doesn’t have complete resolution and will continue in the sequel, Revenge, Ice Cream and Other Things Best Served Cold.

The Star-Touched Queen

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Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the arc of The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi! The book begans with an Arabian feel and the main character, Maya, has been shunned her whole life because of her horoscope readings. The Raja (Maya’s father and father of many other daughters) has given her the choice of who she will marry. Of course, there is a catch. Maya learns who she can and cannot trust in a complicated twist of reality and the underworld, “Otherworld”.

The Star-Touched Queen is so much more than I thought it would be when I read the synopsis. The story is vast and covers many dimensions of the world’s mythology and time. Beautifully written! I recommend this book to anyone who loves mythology and fantasy, with a touch of romance.

 

 

Treasure Darkly

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Treasure, Darkly by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek is steampunk mixed with a bit of the supernatural. Clark lives with his mother in a brothel. She has a job as a Tarnished Silver. Clark drinks poison, which inadvertently gives him strange powers that can take a life or give a life. Because of this power, Clark’s mother is killed while the army is actually hunting for him. Fast forward two years when Clark meets his “half siblings” and a whole new life is opened up for him. Clark is still running from the army, but his strange powers give him very helpful abilities. This book is charming and interesting and I fell in love with the characters Clark and Amethyst. This is a fun read with more books in the series!

The Glittering Court

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Razorbill for the sneak peek of The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead! What a great start to a new series! This sneak peek of an interesting world and dynamic characters feels like a more mature Princess Academy (Shannon Hale) and is similar to The Selection by Kiera Cass because of the competition and etiquette training. The sneak peek ends at an intense part and I definitely want to finish the book! Adelaide will soon be forced into an unwanted marriage. To avoid this, she takes the place of her house servant in attending The Glittering Court; a place that trains young women to be sold to the highest bidder. These young women are taught etiquette and dancing and given an education to prepare them for marriage to a man who is well off. Along the way, Adelaide learns some mysterious things about Cedric, the young man who set up the contract with her house servant.

The sneak peek was quite a chunk of the book, enough that I grew to care about the characters and now I am anticipating the release so I can read the rest!

I have now finished the entirety of The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead and I have to say that I have never read any of her other books to compare. The first part of the book is the etiquette and other lessons the young ladies participate in as members of the Glittering Court. Eventually they are all supposed to be sold to a well-to-do suitor. Along the way, Adelaide falls in love with Cedric and they leave their pampered lives for a chance to strike it rich as gold prospectors. This is such a huge change of lifestyle and I was not expecting the turn of events from fluffy dresses to sun-baked skin to fighting for their lives. Interesting story, but not what I expected for half of the book. I still think it is a good read though!