Review Julie Kagawa's novella The Winter Passage

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl..until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck--Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon--who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter--a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat....

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Thank god for character development, even thought this was a novella at least Meghan has grown a little. However not by much. She really needs to learn to talk with emotional intelligence. I know she's a teenage girl but we're not all raging hormones with no common sense.  I really hope that as the story progress that Meghan starts putting herself and those she loves in unnecessary danger because of her stupidly overly emotional decisions.  3.5/5 diamonds

Review of Julie Kagawa's Iron King (book one of The Iron Fey series)

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

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This book has a really good story and the world building and characters are all well done except the main character Meghan, who is so naive and stupid sometimes you kind of wonder if she grew up in a bubble. There were so many times that I just couldn't believe the kind of decisions she was making and why she went to great pains to accomplish what she needed to do in the most painful way. Well according to Goodreads it suppose to get better. Here's hoping for Character development 3.5/5 diamonds

Review of Thief's Eyes by Janni Lee Sinmer

After her mother mysteriously disappears, sixteen-year-old Haley convinces her father to take her to Iceland, where her mother was last seen. There, amidst the ancient fissures and crevices of that volcanic island, Haley meets gorgeous Ari, a boy with a dangerous side who appoints himself her protector.

When Haley picks up a silver coin that entangles her in a spell cast by her ancestor Hallgerd, she discovers that Hallgerd's spell and her mother's disappearance are connected to a chain of events that could unleash terrifying powers and consume the world. Haley must find a way to contain the growing fires of the spell—and her growing attraction to Ari.

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 This is excellent book from an excellent writer. This story uses it's inspiration from Icelandic myths and legends to create a beautiful story. Haley our heroine is another strong female character whose got a good head on her shoulder and need to teach Julie Kagawa's main heroine some comment sense. Any way this is a really fun and quick read from any author who is not given enough praise for her writing and her skill to write smart, intelligent, teenage  female characters. 5/5 diamonds

Review of Ann Brashares' My Name is Memory

Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. For all the times that he and Sophia have been connected throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart.

But just when Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally awakens to the secret of their shared past, the mysterious force that has always separated them reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.

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Wow what a book I really love all the stories Daniel had about his past lives and Lucy is also a great character, whose reaction to things is typical for someone in her situation. The world building when it came to seeing the kind of realities Daniel faced in his passed lives is spell binding. The book leaves a lot of  questions unanswered which makes you think that Ann Brashares planes on writing a second book.  4/5 diamonds in the hopes that she comes out with a second book. 

Review of Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Sixteen-year-old Delilah is finally united with Oliver—a prince literally taken from the pages of a fairy tale. There are, however, complications now that Oliver has been able to enter the real world. To exist in Delilah’s world, Oliver must take the place of a regular boy. Enter Edgar, who agrees to take Oliver’s role in Delilah’s favorite book. In this multilayered universe, the line between what is on the page and what is possible is blurred, but all must be resolved for the characters to live happily ever after. Includes twelve full-color illustrations, and black-and-white decorations throughout.

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The companion novel to Between the Lines, is a really sweet and heartwarming book. Even though it's a companion novel and can be read as a standalone I strongly recommend reading Between the Lines first before this book. In Between the Lines I really fell for the main characters so when I pick up Off the Page and got stuck a couple of times because Delilah started to annoy me I was able to push through. Overall this was a enjoyable read and worth checking out 4/5 diamonds

Review of Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

An enchanting tale of courage and sacrifice for young readers and adults by the wildly popular George R.R. Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the series that inspired HBO's Emmy Award-winning GAME OF THRONES.

Lavish illustrations by acclaimed artist Luis Royo enrich this captivating and heartwarming story of a young girl and her dragon.

In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire the ice dragon was a creature of legend and fear, for no man had ever tamed one. When it flew overhead, it left in its wake desolate cold and frozen land. But Adara was not afraid. For Adara was a winter child, born during the worst freeze that anyone, even the Old Ones, could remember.

Adara could not remember the first time she had seen the ice dragon. It seemed that it had always been in her life, glimpsed from afar as she played in the frigid snow long after the other children had fled the cold. In her fourth year she touched it, and in her fifth year she rode upon its broad, chilled back for the first time. Then, in her seventh year, on a calm summer day, fiery dragons from the North swooped down upon the peaceful farm that was Adara's home.

And only a winter child-and the ice dragon who loved her-could save her world from utter destruction. 

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This is a beautiful little story, it's a short story and could be finished in one sitting. The illustration in this book are also absolutely stunning. It's also a way to get a glimpse into the Song of Ice and Fire without having to commit to the massively long books and tv series. Both I'm sure are absolutely excellent, however personally I think I'm going to wait for George R.R. Martin to finish the series and then buy a box set. I give this book 4.5/5 diamonds

 

Review of Sandy Meredith's A Death in Custody

Blood on the Streets as a Town Explodes' boomed the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald one winter's morning in 1987. Heavily armed police had been dispatched to quell a 'race riot' in a northern New South Wales town after yet another young Aboriginal man had died in police custody. Intent on learning the real story behind the headlines, Lou Williams, aspiring investigative journalist, goes north. Each character she meets -- country and western singers, community elders, militants and mechanics -- give her a fragment of the truth. In 'a death in custody' these fragments combine into a mosaic stained with entrenched and deadly racism.


This story is a fictional account of events that ignited anger, suspicion and outrage across Australia, and that led to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody which investigated the deaths of 99 Aboriginals in police custody in the 1980s. Little has changed since then.

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Where do I start, this book has a really important message in it about racism and the unfair treatment of Aboriginals. A problem not unique to Australia. My problem with this book is Lou the main character. I really couldn't relate to this girl, who seemed to be this bipolar, chain smoking alcoholic. Lou's point of view made it really hard to get through this book. I can't tell you how many times I face palmed because this girl was such an idiot. Through the voices of the other characters the author dumps a lot of important facts surrounding Aboriginals in the 80s.  However since I found it not to be focused the message got lost and for me this book read more like an essay than a work of fiction. I would recommend this book for those who are interested in knowing about Aboriginal situation in Australia in the 80s. 3/5 diamonds

Review of Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer's Between the Lines

Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.
And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.

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Wow what a great premise and something all us book nerds have always dreamed about. I'm sure that all of you reading this right now have at least one book on your shelves where you wished that you could speak to one of the characters inside. This book is fun, heartwarming and funny and is a must read before picking up Beyond the Page, which has gotten a lot of buzz in the BookTube community. Picking this book before Beyond the Page you get a better understanding of the main characters and I find that it helped me to get through some bits of Beyond the Page, I'll write more on that when I write my review on Beyond the Page. I give this book 4.5/5 diamonds

August Wrap up

This month I was able to read a total of 5 books. This month for some reason I read a variety of different genres. I started the month with the companion novel to Between the Lines. I really liked this book but not as much as I liked Between the Lines, as will be explaining all my thoughts for this book and all the other books in my wrap up via book review on this blog really soon. Stay tune every Thursdays for a new blog post. 

 

The next book I read was another Janni Lee Simner novel. I like this book like I liked her Faery bones series. This is a stand alone that takes it influences from Icelandic myths.

  

 The next book I pick up was Ann Brashares book My name is Memory. Wow all the feels gets from this book. Wow that's all I can say for now. 

The next two books I decided to pick up since I was feeling like reading about faeries or fey as they are referred to in Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey saga. Good book however the number of times I just wanted to smack the main female character for her plain stupidity was legendary.

Review of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family . . . 

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This is a great coming of age book and a baby whose family is brutally killed. A very fast paced book, quick read. Even though the main character goes through amazing character growth, this growth is not extended to the secondary characters. It leaves you wanting to know more especially about Nobody's guardian and his first family. 

Once you get to the end, you realize the trick that has been played on you. Well I don't know if it's a trick or merely a realization in regards to cause and effect. I know my words a little confusing you'll just have to take my word for it this is a really good book. It's a story that will make you think especially at the end. 

4.5/5 diamonds 

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

"You've long set your heart against it, Axl, I know. But it's time now to think on it anew. There's a journey we must go on, and no more delay..."

The Buried Giant begins as a couple set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen in years.

Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel in nearly a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge, and war. 

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This is a very interesting book at first you would think that it's a fantasy novel but you would be wrong. The fantasy elements in this novel are the beliefs of the people of the time, who believe the simplest thing to be the work of demons and spirits and if someone from today were to look at the same item they would be able to explain it simply and scientifically. This book is on the same lines as the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and is about a couple on a journey and the many things they discover about the world and about themselves 5/5 diamonds

Review of Janni Lee Simner's Faerie After

After a devastating war between humanity and Faerie, Liza’s world was forever changed. Plants and trees became aggressive, seeking to root in living flesh and bone, and newborn children were discovered to have magic powers. Liza was one of these children, and with her abilities she brought her mother back from the ruined Faerie realm and restored the seasons to her own.

Now there are signs of a new sickness in the forest. Piles of ash are found where living creatures once stood. Liza investigates and discovers the Faerie realm has continued to deteriorate, slowly turning to dust, and that its fate is inexorably linked to that of the human realm. To find a solution, Liza must risk crossing over, putting herself and all she cares about at risk. Will Liza be forced to sacrifice her life and the lives of her friends in order to save both worlds?

Here is the exciting conclusion to the Bones of Faerie trilogy, for fans of dark fantasy and dystopian adventure entranced by Janni Lee Simner’s unique vision of a magic-infused postapocalyptic world.

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The last book in the Bones of Faeries Trilogy and what an ending. The events and choices that Liza has to face without spoiling it for those who haven't read it yet are just wonderful. Just like the other two books the characters in this trilogy have to face tough choices and don't know if they're making the right choices. This is an excellent series without the insta love and the love triangles. Liza is a strong female character that makes tough choices and get things done. If you haven't read this book you should definitely go and pick it up   5/5 diamonds  

Review of Janni Lee Simner's Faerie winter

Liza is a summoner. She can draw life to herself, even from beyond the grave. And because magic works both ways, she can drive life away. Months ago, she used her powers to banish her dangerous father and to rescue her mother, lost in dreams, from the ruined land of Faerie.

Born in the wake of the war between humanity and Faerie, Liza lived in a world where green things never slept, where trees sought to root in living flesh and bone. But now the forests have fallen silent. Even the evergreens' branches are bare. Winter crops won't grow, and the threat of starvation looms. And deep in the forest a dark, malevolent will is at work. To face it, Liza will have to find within herself something more powerful than magic alone.

Here at last is the sequel to Bones of Faerie, for all those fans of dark fantasy and dystopian adventure who thrilled to Janni Lee Simner's unique vision of a postapocalyptic world infused with magic.

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In Janni Simner's second book without giving any spoilers this is really fast paced book the character's face a lot of difficult choices and the consequences of those choices are harsh. Just like in the first book there's no real clear good against evil. Just a bunch of people trying to do what they think is the right thing for themselves and their people I gave this book 5/5 diamonds 

July Wrap up

My July Wrap Up

This month I was able to read 7 books which is pretty good given my present schedule the books I read are the Faeries Bones Trilogy which include Faerie Bones, Faerie Winter and Faerie After by Janni Lee Simner a really great dystopian/fantasy series with none of the insta love or love triangles that you get in most ya books. My review for the first book in the series is up on my blog the rest will be up soon. 

    

Next I read The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro a great book about a journey taken by an elderly couple my review for this will also be up soon. 

 

Next I read the Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman another great coming of age book of a boy being raised by a graveyard.

 

 Right after that I read Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha Van Leer. 

 

 Lastly I read The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin a beautifully illustrated book 

                                        


 My review of all these books will be up shortly.

Review of Janni Lee Simner's Bones of Faeries

The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza's world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see--into the past, into the future--and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza's quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds. 
Janni Lee Simner's first novel for young adults is a dark fairy-tale twist on apocalyptic fiction--as familiar as a nightmare, yet altogether unique.

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Wow this is a great book this book is a mix of fantasy and dystopian and it mixes it really well. There's no love story between the two main characters even though they are interested in each other. The story doesn't focus on it and neither does the main female character because she has a job to do. The other thing I loved in this story is that all the characters are gray meaning there are no distinct good and bad characters. They all make dicitions based on there on experience and knowledge and there dissionions have consequences. I highly recommend this book  5/5 diamonds

Review of Keigo Higashino's Malice: A Mystery

悪意

Acclaimed bestselling novelist Kunihiko Hidaka is found brutally murdered in his home on the night before he’s planning to leave Japan and relocate to Vancouver. His body is found in his office, a locked room, within his locked house, by his wife and his best friend, both of whom have rock solid alibis. Or so it seems.

At the crime scene, Police Detective Kyochiro Kaga recognizes Hidaka’s best friend, Osamu Nonoguchi. Years ago when they were both teachers, they were colleagues at the same public school. Kaga went on to join the police force while Nonoguchi eventually left to become a full-time writer, though with not nearly the success of his friend Hidaka.
As Kaga investigates, he eventually uncovers evidence that indicates that the two writers’ relationship was very different that they claimed, that they were anything but best friends.  But the question before Kaga isn't necessarily who, or how, but why. In a brilliantly realized tale of cat and mouse, the detective and the killer battle over the truth of the past and how events that led to the murder really unfolded. And if Kaga isn't able to uncover and prove why the murder was committed, then the truth may never come out. 

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This is the only book in Higashino's Kyoichiro Kaga series available in English. It's book 4 in the series. Even though it's the fourth book in the series you do get a back story for the main character Kyoichiro Kaga. This story is entirely character driven and from the start like in his Detectitive Galileo series you find out who the killer is. The best part of the book is finding out why he did it. My main problem in this book is that it spent too much time explaining, there were parts that I just had to skim over because it when into (in my opinion) over explanation mode. Besides that it was a decent read I gave it.  3/5 diamonds

Review of Keigo Higashino's The Salvation of Saints

聖女の救済 (Seijo no Kyusai)

Yoshitaka, who was about to leave his marriage and his wife, is poisoned by arsenic-laced coffee and dies. His wife, Ayane, is the logical suspect—except that she was hundreds of miles away when he was murdered. The lead detective, Tokyo Police Detective Kusanagi, is immediately smitten with her and refuses to believe that she could have had anything to do with the crime. His assistant, Kaoru Utsumi, however, is convinced Ayane is guilty. While Utsumi’s instincts tell her one thing, the facts of the case are another matter. So she does what her boss has done for years when stymied—she calls upon Professor Manabu Yukawa.

But even the brilliant mind of Dr. Yukawa has trouble with this one, and he must somehow find a way to solve an impossible murder and capture a very real, very deadly murderer.
Salvation for a Saint is Keigo Higashino at his mind-bending best, pitting emotion against fact in a beautifully plotted crime novel filled with twists and reverses that will astonish and surprise even the most attentive and jaded of readers. 

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The Salvation of Saints is book 5 in the Detective Galileo series. This is a really engaging book. Like his other books you already know from the first chapter who committed the crime. It's how they went about committing it and then covering it up that is the most interesting part. In this book the Detective Galileo is less present and less annoying then in the Devotion of Suspect X, which for me makes it a better read. I definitely recommend this book, if you’re going to read just one of Higashino's books in the Detective Galileo series that are available in English this is the book to read.  4/5 diamonds 

Review of Keigo Higashino's The Devotion of Suspect X

(容疑者Xの献身, Yōgisha Ekkusu no Kenshin)

Yasuko Hanaoka is a divorced, single mother who thought she had finally escaped her abusive ex-husband Togashi. When he shows up one day to extort money from her, threatening both her and her teenaged daughter Misato, the situation quickly escalates into violence and Togashi ends up dead on her apartment floor. Overhearing the commotion, Yasuko’s next door neighbor, middle-aged high school mathematics teacher Ishigami, offers his help, disposing not only of the body but plotting the cover-up step-by-step.

When the body turns up and is identified, Detective Kusanagi draws the case and Yasuko comes under suspicion. Kusanagi is unable to find any obvious holes in Yasuko’s manufactured alibi and yet is still sure that there’s something wrong. Kusanagi brings in Dr. Manabu Yukawa, a physicist and college friend who frequently consults with the police. Yukawa, known to the police by the nickname Professor Galileo, went to college with Ishigami. After meeting up with him again, Yukawa is convinced that Ishigami had something to do with the murder. What ensues is a high level battle of wits, as Ishigami tries to protect Yasuko by outmaneuvering and outthinking Yukawa, who faces his most clever and determined opponent yet. 


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This is my first Keigo Higashino novel and my introduction into the Detective Galileo series. Now I think I need to warn people who can't read Japanese for this novel is not the first in the series it's the third so you don't get a back story. There no explanation on how or why detective Galileo (who isn't even a detective but a physicist)  is involved and to be honest I wish for a huge part of the book that he wasn't involved at all.  I find that the whole story would have been just fine without that character. Any way I really do love the different approach that Higashino takes in his novels, he tells his readers from the start who committed the crime. The real mystery is how they've (the criminals) covered their tracks and how the police try to uncover the truth.  3.5/5

Japan June Wrap up

Hey Everyone,

This month I participated in Japan June which was started by Sabrina +unmanagedmischief Mercedes' +MercysBookishMusings and Colleen +LittleGhostCreations  on Youtube their channels are below if you want to get more details

Mercedes' video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyF8D6mVXpM
Colleen's video  https://ww.youtube.com/watch?v=RVyiwC2pk

The books I read this month were all by Keigo Higashino since he is the only Japanese author on my TBR shelf at the current moment.

The books I read were

    

In the next couple of weeks I'll be posting my reviews for all of these books

Cheers

Review on Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train

Three women, three men, connected through marriage or infidelity. Each is to blame for something. But only one is a killer in this nail-biting, stealthy psychological thriller about human frailty and obsession. 
Just what goes on in the houses you pass by every day? 
     Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and evening, rattling over the same junctions, flashing past the same townhouses.The train stops at the same signal every day, and she sees the same couple, breakfasting on their roof terrace. Jason and Jess, as she calls them, seem so happy. Then one day Rachel sees someone new in their garden. Soon after, Rachel sees the woman she calls Jess on the news. Jess has disappeared. 
     Through the ensuing police investigation, Rachel is drawn deeper into the lives of the couple she learns are really Megan and Scott Hipwell. As she befriends Scott, Rachel pieces together what really happened the day Megan disappeared. But when Megan's body is found, Rachel finds herself the chief suspect in the case. Plunged into a world of betrayals, secrets and deceptions, Rachel must confront the facts about her own past and her own failed marriage. 
     A sinister and twisting story that will keep you guessing at every turn,The Girl on the Train is a high-speed chase for the truth.

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The Girl on the train is page turning thriller where the narrative of the different points of view is unreliable. I really love Rachel's voice in this book as it's her character that pulls you along. She's a very real character with real problems and who doesn't always do the right or smart thing. This book is completely character driven, however it does give you great description of the world that Rachel lives in. I really recommend this book for those who love mystery where the narrator is not trust worthy. 

Review on The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Though the Greek and Roman crew members of the "Argo II" have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen-all of them, and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood-the blood of Olympus-in order to wake. The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps. The Athena Parthenos will go west; the "Argo II" will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

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I've finished reading the Blood of Olympus. In true Riordan style the action just doesn't stop a great adventure that from start to finish. In the final book of the Heros of Olympus series, the story is told by multitude of view points and is character driven. I really enjoyed the story and how it concluded even. You really got to know some of the side characters a lot better since this book really didn't focus on Percy. I really love all the travelling around all the characters had to do to save the world. 5/5 diamonds