Saturday, May 31, 2014
Review: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Dorothy Must Die
Author: Danielle Paige
Release: April 1st 2014
Genre: Fantasy, Retelling, YA
#1 in the Dorothy Must Die trilogy
Sequels: The Wicked Will Rise (#2), Yellow Brick War (#3)
Plot:
I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?
Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling.
What happened?
Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Review: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
City of Heavenly Fire
Author: Cassandra Clare
Release: May 27th 2014
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Supernatural, YA
#6 in the Mortal Instruments series
Series: City of Bones (#1), City of Ashes (#2), City of Glass (#3), City of Fallen Angels (#4), City of Lost Souls (#5)
Plot:
ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID.
I am coming.
Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance?
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Review: Ruins by Dan Wells
Ruins
Author: Dan Wells
Release: March 11th 2014
Genre: Dystopia, Post-Apocalypse, Science Fiction, YA
#3 in the Partials Sequence
Plot:
Kira, Samm, and Marcus fight to prevent a final war between Partials and humans in the gripping final installment in the Partials Sequence, a series that combines the thrilling action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Blade Runner and The Stand.
There is no avoiding it—the war to decide the fate of both humans and Partials is at hand. Both sides hold in their possession a weapon that could destroy the other, and Kira Walker has precious little time to prevent that from happening. She has one chance to save both species and the world with them, but it will only come at great personal cost.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Review: Fragments by Dan Wells
Fragments
Author: Dan Wells
Release: February 26th 2013
Genre: Dystopia, Post-Apocalypse, Science Fiction, YA
#2 in the Partials Sequence
Plot:
Author Dan Wells is back with the sequel to the sci-fi blockbuster Partials, which Pittacus Lore called a "thrilling sci-fi adrenaline rush, with one of the most compelling and frightening visions of Earth's future I've seen yet."
After discovering the cure for RM, Kira Walker sets off on a terrifying journey into the ruins of postapocalyptic America and the darkest desires of her heart in order to uncover the means—and a reason—for humanity's survival.
Dan Wells extends his richly imagined, gritty world and introduces new memorable characters in this second installment in the Partials Sequence.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Review: Partials by Dan Wells
Partials
Author: Dan Wells
Release: February 28th 2012
Genre: Dystopia, Post-Apocalypse, Science Fiction, YA
#1 in the Partials Sequence
Plot:
Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. But sixteen-year-old Kira is determined to find a solution. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that that the survival of both humans and Partials rests in her attempts to answer questions about the war's origin that she never knew to ask.
Playing on our curiosity of and fascination with the complete collapse of civilization, Partials is, at its heart, a story of survival, one that explores the individual narratives and complex relationships of those left behind, both humans and Partials alike—and of the way in which the concept of what is right and wrong in this world is greatly dependent on one's own point of view.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Review: Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan
Untold
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Release: August 29th 2013
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Magic, YA
#2 in the Lynburn Legacy trilogy
Plot:
It's time to choose sides....
On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.
But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?
A darkly humorous take on Gothic romance, Sarah Rees Brennan's Lynburn Legacy weaves together the tale of a heroine desperate to protect those she loves, two boys hoping to be saved, and the magical forces that will shape their destiny.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Review: Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes
Rebel Spring
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Release: December 3rd 2013
Genre: Fantasy, Magic, YA
#2 in the Falling Kingdoms series
Series: Falling Kingdoms (#1), Gathering Darkness (#3), Frozen Tides (#4), Crystal Storm (#5), Untitled (#6)
Plot:
Love, power, and magic collide with war in the second book of the Falling Kingdoms series
Auranos has fallen and the three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now united as one country called Mytica. But still, magic beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world...
When the evil King Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of events that will forever change the face of this land, forcing Cleo the dethroned princess, Magnus the reluctant heir, Lucia the haunted sorceress, and Jonas the desperate rebel to take steps they never could have imagined.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Review: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
Falling Kingdoms
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Release: December 11th 2012
Genre: Fantasy, Magic, YA
#1 in the Falling Kingdoms series
Sequels: Rebel Spring (#2), Gathering Darkness (#3), Frozen Tides (#4), Crystal Storm (#5), Untitled (#6)
Plot:
It's the eve of war ... Choose your side.
In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects' lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:
PRINCESS: Raised in pampered luxury, Cleo must now embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of magic long thought extinct.
REBEL: Jonas, enraged at injustice, lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished. To his shock, he finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.
SORCERESS: Lucia, adopted at birth into a royal family, discovers the truth about her past — and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.
HEIR: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, firstborn son Magnus begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword.
The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Review: After the End by Amy Plum
After the End
Author: Amy Plum
Release: May 6th 2014
Genre: Dystopia, Urban Fantasy, YA
#1 in the After the End series
Sequels: Until The Beginning (#2)
Plot:
She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.
World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.
At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.
When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Review: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
Forbidden
Author: Tabitha Suzuma
Release: February 15th 2007
Genre: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, YA
Plot:
She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.
Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Review: The Lovely and The Lost by Page Morgan
The Lovely and The Lost
Author: Page Morgan
Release: May 13th 2014
Genre: Historical, Supernatural, Gargoyles, YA
#2 in the Dispossessed trilogy
Series: The Beautiful and The Cursed (#1), The Wondrous and The Wicked (#3)
Plot:
Ingrid and Gabby survived the Underneath. They saved their brother, Grayson, from a future of dark servitude and exposed a plot to undermine the Alliance. But danger still lurks in the streets of Paris, and the Dispossessed, perched on the city's bridges and rooftops, might not be able to save their human wards this time.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Release: March 19th 2009
Genre: Contemporary, Eating Disorder, Depression, YA
Plot:
“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.
Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.
In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Review: The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz
The Ring and the Crown
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Release: April 1st 2014
Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Magic, YA
#1 in the Ring and Crown duology
Sequel: The Queen and the Courtesan (#2)
Plot:
Princess Marie-Victoria, heir to the Lily Throne, and Aelwyn Myrddn, bastard daughter of the Mage of England, grew up together. But who will rule, and who will serve?
Quiet and gentle, Marie has never lived up to the ambitions of her mother, Queen Eleanor the Second, Supreme Ruler of the Franco-British Empire. With the help of her Head Merlin, Emrys, Eleanor has maintained her stranglehold on the world's only source of magic. She rules the most powerful empire the world has ever seen.
But even with the aid of Emrys' magic, Eleanor's extended lifespan is nearing its end. The princess must marry and produce an heir or the Empire will be vulnerable to its greatest enemy, Prussia. The two kingdoms must unite to end the war, and the only solution is a match between Marie and Prince Leopold VII, heir to the Prussian throne. But Marie has always loved Gill, her childhood friend and soldier of the Queen's Guard.
Together, Marie and Aelwyn, a powerful magician in her own right, come up with a plan. Aelwyn will take on Marie's face, allowing the princess to escape with Gill and live the quiet life she's always wanted. And Aelwyn will get what she's always dreamed of--the chance to rule. But the court intrigue and hunger for power in Lenoran England run deeper than anyone could imagine. In the end, there is only rule that matters in Eleanor's court: trust no one.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Review: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Steelheart
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Release: September 24th 2013
Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy, Paranormal, YA
#1 in the Reckoners trilogy
Plot:
There are no heroes.
Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.
But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.
Nobody fights the Epics... nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.
And David wants in. He wants Steelheart—the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning—and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.
He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.
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