Reading progress update: I've read 1 out of 702 pages.

AT LAST IT IS MINE!!!!!

 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1801595/reading-progress-update-i-ve-read-1-out-of-702-pages

Review: Everless

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley.

 

This is one of the most original fantasies I have come across in a while. While I can’t say I was that invested in any of the characters, I found the actual story itself and the world building totally captivating and the combination of the two made it book impossible to put down. In this fantasy time is a commodity that can be bought and sold.

 

The world building was               quite complicated, or at least for me, the combination of magic and science and the whole buying and selling time. The setting was a small, town on the edge of a huge estate where the wealthiest family in the district ruled over everything.

 

The heroine Jules used to live at the estate where her father was a revered blacksmith, but a secret caused them to flee in the middle of the night and now they are barely eeking out a living in a tiny cottage on the edge of the forest. Her father is in debt and sick. So Jules hatches a plan to sell her own time and repay his debts

 

Yet she finds herself presented with an opportunity for employment at the estate, Everless, where she once lived. Seizing the moment, Jules makes herself a plan to save her father. She worms her way into employment at Everless.

 

Jules is one of the brighter YA heroines, she’s smart and thinks things through. She plans and doesn’t seem to act recklessly when things don’t go according to plan. She was a little bit two dimensional but likeable enough. Back at Everless while in a different capacity than she was previously, she’s of course flooded with memories of her time back then, and the mystery of why she and her father fled in the first place. And she has to deal with the two sons of the Lord of Everless. One of whom was a great friend and played with her when they were children, who has grown up to be devastatingly handsome and quite the ladies man. He’s engaged to the Queen’s daughter. And his brother – who was a mean bully.

 

The plot gets quite twisty, there’s a legend on how time came to be used as a commodity, a vicious queen who everyone’s terrified of visiting Everless, Jules discovers she has time letting abilities that are beyond normal, a hidden vault where Jules believes she will get some of the answers she seeks, there are plenty of secrets – including a mystery to solve about Jules’s deceased mother, and some things her father neglected to tell her. And people who turn out to be nothing like you thought they were.

 

I read this quite some time ago so I can’t remember all the details. Just that it was a really good one, quite different and I liked it. I’ve already pre ordered the next one.

 

Thank you Netgalley and Hatchette Children’s Group for the review copy.

 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1801309/review-everless

Review: The Smoke Thieves

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley.

 

I was really looking forward to this one. Included in the Netgalley approval email was a really interesting note from the author about the characters and the inspiration for the novel. Admittedly I never got around to reading the kindle version I got from Netgalley and I bought the finished hardcover from Barnes and Nobel and read that one. For a 500 page book I read it in just under a week.

 

And found it really disappointing.

 

About five different storylines with lots of different characters, lots of different POVs.  It’s fairly obvious at some point while all these people seem so different and random that at some point all their storylines are going to cross in one way or another. I was waiting for something to happen that caught my interest. The different storylines are interesting enough, the problem I had was it all felt so…bland. The characters were kind of flat and boring.

 

Princess Catherine is the only daughter of a cold and uncaring king only interested in furthering his own reach and power. Catherine is set to head off to another kingdom for an arranged marriage with a prince she’s never met. A union which is supposed to strengthen ties and trade between the two kingdoms. Her cruel violent brother and a selection of armed guards will be escorting her. Only problem is…Catherine is in love with one of her guards, Ambrose. Too bad that in this reader’s opinion it’s one of the worst cases of YA intsa-love I’ve seen in a while. They’ve barely spoken, yet they’re completely dippy for each other.

 

Catherine is actually one of the most interesting characters, she knows she’s a political pawn and she’s quite strong willed and intelligent, she’s determined to turn the situation around in a way that advantages her, makes her appealing to the people of the new country she’s going to, learning their ways, their culture. She doesn’t just want to be a pretty figurehead with no say in anything. Especially since in her own country women seem to rarely be of any importance. One thing I found really interesting was that the women in Catherine’s country have developed a way to talking to each other, a sort of sign language that allows them to communicate without the men knowing what they’re doing or saying to each other. Catherine’s story starts at an execution for a woman accused of the highest treason. She tries to send Catherine a warning message of some sort. The first hint that there’s something going on behind the scenes.

 

Tying into Ambrose’s story, the guard who is dippy over Catherine. He has his own family secrets and when he starts getting involved in Catherine’s, things go badly for him.

 

Another storyline involves a thirteen year old girl, Tash, who is part of a team that hunts demons and sells their smoke for profit. Forbidden of course, but highly lucrative. Tash’s biggest dream at the start of the novel is getting a new pair of really nice suede boots. Another storyline is Edyon, son a tradeswoman, a cocky teen and a thief, with a big secret of his own he doesn’t even know when his storyline starts. Along with March, a servant from a war ravaged country, who’s Prince is the brother of Catherine’s father. March gets himself involved in a revenge plot.

 

There’s nothing wrong with the writing, the world building is solid, the political plot quite intricate, and what this reader really wanted to know is how all these people come together. Some storylines were more interesting than others. A mix of good guys and detestable bad guys, hidden agendas, secrets, twisty invasions, illegitimate children of royals, forbidden magic, forbidden love…

Yet there was something missing from this one for me. I can’t say it was a bad book because on reflection it wasn’t really bad at all. I’ve been on a big fantasy kick lately and read some fantastic books, while a lot of them have overdone tropes and storylines as this one did, this particular novel just wasn’t as good as some of the other fantasy books I’ve read this year.

 

I wasn’t really interested in following up on this one, but after thinking about it…yeah, I do want to know what’s going to happen after that cliff hanger of an ending.

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK Children’s for approving my request to view the title.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1797720/review-the-smoke-thieves

Review - Ash Princess

Review:

Review: Ash Princess

 

I received a copy from Netgalley. 

 

This one was a granted wish!! One of my greatly anticipated reads of this year as well. It's not a new concept - surviving princess of a conquered kingdom discovers the means and power to aid a revolution to take back her throne. The way the plot was handled was extremely good. Again not particularly unique, but well written with interesting characters and a narrative that made the story captivating. 

 

Theodosia is the surviving princess kept as a hostage to a cruel Kaiser and his invading court, a reminder to her people now enslaved of the power the Kaiser. Nicknamed the Ash Princess (her mother was a Queen of Fire magic, killed in the invasion) and renamed Thora, she now lives a hard life in the Kaiser's court. While she still lives in the palace she's as much as a slave as any of the remainder of her people. She's punished brutally at the Kaiser's slightest whim and supposed to sit there dolefully and accept everything thrown at her without complaint. She's supposed to be thankful she's there at all. 

 

She's sneered at and ridiculed by the court people. She has guards and a maid who watch her every move and report on her daily. It's a walking nightmare. The magic that was once sacred to Theodosia's people is now almost like an accessory to the people now living in her world. Theodosia's only friend Crescentia is the daughter of the Theyn, the head of the Kaiser's army and punisher.  Crescentia is an airhead, a spoiled court daughter. She's sweet but dim. She's kind to Theo and one of the few people who treat her like a real person. Yet there has to be some resentment there on Theo's behalf - it's just not really something that Cress wants to deal with. (Or at least that's my interpretation). 

 

The Kaiser's heir Prinz Soren has come back to the kingdom and the buzz is that he's ready to settle down and choose a wife, all of which Theo has no interest in. It appears that The o has pretty much given up at this point but there's something deep inside her, a righteous anger simmering beneath the surface. Mourning the family she's lost, of the people who died in the invasion, the pain she suffers daily, and the helpless that she can't seem to do anything about her position. 

 

Until one night when she comes across an old friend, now an escaped slave from the mines pretending to be a palace worker makes her an offer. Help her escape. Theo is given some harsh truths about what is left of her mother's people. They want a queen to rise and take back what is rightfully theirs. And Theo is that queen. 

 

There is a revolution brewing, there are still people loyal to Theo who believe she can be the queen her people need. It's an awful lot of pressure. Theo has to decide what wants. The punishments she is suffering are getting worse and there's also a threat of marrying her off hanging around as well. The revolution needs someone on the inside. 

 

So plots form. One involving the handsome, eligible Prinz Soren, round the same age as Theo. Ditzy Cress is swooning over the prince convinced her position as the Theyn's daughter makes her the most eligible match. Yet it's not Cress of course, who has caught Soren's attention. 

 

And there of course, the inevitable fantasy romance. Theo's emotions are in overdrive, Soren is nothing like his monstrous father - if Soren were king would things be different? The plot continues to twist and turn. The end was pretty damn good, cliffhanger (of course) and I really want to see where this one was going. 

 

It's quiet violent in parts, particularly Theo's punishments. The character building is intense, every character grows throughout the novel, a shock twist at the end changes the boundaries between Crescentia and Theo which could be an interesting plot for the follow up novel to take on. And the twist at the end for Theo and Soren made me grin.

 

I loved Theodosia and how she grew over the novel, she's my favourite type of fantasy heroine. She makes tremendous sacrifice for herself to start to right the wrongs that were done. Her strength and development is brilliant. And this is only the beginning of her journey. 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for approving my request to view the title. 

 

 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1790949/review-ash-princess

Reading progress update: I've read 109 out of 454 pages.

Third read of this wonderful book. This time I'm listening to it in audio and it may be one I've the best audio books I've ever heard. It's really atmospheric and the narration is amazing. The Southern accents are awesome.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1789476/reading-progress-update-i-ve-read-109-out-of-454-pages

More Fall Bingo Stuff

Purple Cover - Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Dual Pov - The Towering Sky by Katharine McGee

Set In Another Country - Wildcard by Marie Lu (Japan)

Fall Release - A Room Away From The Wolves by Nova Ren Suma

Space it Stars - Light Years by Kass Morgan 

Fire in Title or on Cover - The Arsonist by Stephanie Oaks (fire on Cover)

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1789475/more-fall-bingo-stuff

More Fall Bingo Updates

Middle Grade - The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken

One Word Title - Shatter by Aprilynne Pike

Gold Copper or Bronze Cover - The Merciless 2 by Danielle Vega

History with a Twist - In The Shadows of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Myth or Legend - The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwall 

Killers - Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z Brite

Set in a School - Blythewood by Carol Goodman

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1787763/more-fall-bingo-updates