Stormy Night Reads

I wasn't planning on getting this book, but I had heard so many good things from other bloggers who had received ARC's for review, so I had to see for myself if it was as good as everyone was making it seem, even though I wasn't sure if it was for my by the description, but decided I'll give it a shot. And then it became one of those reads that you keep telling yourself, "Just one more chapter," but then one more became two, then three, then five, To say the least, my beauty sleep may have suffered a bit, but it was well worth the loss.

So to elaborate a little more on the story... Kestrel, the main character of the Winner's Curse, is the daughter of the general who helped lead the Valorian army in conquering over the Herrani and their land. Her family, thus is a pretty big thing and powerful. One day while in town with Kestrel's friend Jess, they pass a slave auction, where Kestrel bids on a Herrani slave named Arin, who can allegedly sing very well and Kestrel who herself loves music, which is rare among the Valorian, takes a chance on the slave, who also has some blacksmithing skills which could be helpful to her father. Unfortunately, Kestrel may have spent too much to purchase Arin, making Kestrel a victim of the Winner's Curse. The Winner's Curse is essentially where you win an auction by bidding more than anyone else would value the object. It is interesting that author Marie Rutkoski was able to write an amazing book based on that one concept. Anyways continuing on...Kestrel loves music and is an amazing strategist but, her father keeps pushing for her to become a soldier or to marry. At the same time, Arin is a pain in Kestrel's side. He is her responsibility, the intriguing puzzle that she knows she should stay away from but, can't help but find more.

Kestrel is an amazing character. She has an amazing tactical mind, especially for a teenage girl. Kestrel also may have been brought up in a big house with dresses and servants and be an amazing pianist, so she has her girly side, but she also has been trained on how to fight (partially due to her father), but still adds to her strength, and her self-sacrificing personality. She doesn't just have the strength for combat, but she also has an inner strength. Kestrel is able to control her feelings of her heart. She is the kind of character you want to continue reading about.

The romance, to me, was the center point of this story, with the revolution occurring all around them. First it starts off slow, Kestrel and Arin take a long time to realize that they are meant for each other. In the beginning they seem to have this love/hate relationship. They would sort of push/pull at each other and would make each other question things. Then they do fall and it is against all the rules of society, a slave and a master, Herrani and Valorian, they aren't supposed to be together. Then  the revolution happens and there is loss and sadness and sacrifice. In the case of Revolution, I was torn. Slavery is horrible, so yes I was rooting for the Herrani to gain their freedom, but at the same time, I liked Ronan, Jess, Kestrel's father and of course Kestrel, who are all on the other side of the Slavery scene, the enriched side. However, the tactics of the revolution were planned pretty nicely.

This book was a welcome, not one of my usual reads, but it absorbed me none the less. I never found it dull, or slow. I believe this book will be one of the favorites for 2014 and I cannot wait for the sequel, the Winner's Crime.

*May Contain Spoilers*

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue – Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is – she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are – and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves…or it might destroy her.

To start this review off, let me say I didn’t plan on reading this series. I had heard good things and knew the hype was growing, but I’m not that huge on dystopian novels per say. So, I some how inherited a copy of Divergent and with the film releasing, I decided to give it a whirl. And what a great whirl it was too.

Beatrice Prior was born into Abnegation, the selfless faction, and has spent the last sixteen years trying to uphold the ideals of the faction for her family. Wearing drab grey clothes, no games, or pets, and only allowed to look in a mirror once a year, but Beatrice knows that she doesn’t belong and finally the day of her aptitude test arrives and she hopes it will tell her where she does belong. However, the results turn out to be inconclusive. As it turns out, she doesn’t test into a single faction because she shows dominant traits that are found in Erudite (knowledge), Abnegation (selfless), and Dauntless (brave), thus making her part of a rare subset known as Divergent. When her time to choose her faction comes, she chooses Dauntless, where she learns what she is truly made of and what it means to be Divergent.

Divergent ended up taking me by surprise. I liked the idea of the factions and breaking down of society to just five traits, despite the implausibility of this in real life. It would be extremely difficult to conform society like that, into specific categories because of all the different dreams, personalities and feels people have, but Veronica Roth took the main categories you would think of and created a great story, and an even greater heroine.

I felt that Tris helped make this book. She is trying to find herself, surprising herself, she learns who she is and kicks some butt along the way. But Tris is a great example to show that, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and do what you want, to be what you want to be instead of falling in line and doing only what people expect or want you to do. Tris also isn’t your classic book character, she gets beat up, she’s selfish, she’s manipulative, blunt and vengeful, which allowed me to connect to her more because she felt so human, and not so ‘perfect’. I loved the tension between herself and her fellow initiates, the discrimination she feels for being an abnegation – born, and how tough she grows to be.

Also with that, I liked how Roth was able to sink the nails in and kill off people, even ones that readers may have liked. Some authors can’t kill off their characters, especially secondary or main characters, so I give Roth props for that, especially for a debut novel. The pacing of the book and high adrenaline nature of this book surprised me and turned out to be a great read!

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justine and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are fathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

I, like many others, love Mead’s YA series Vampire Academy and Bloodlines. So when I heard about her new series, The Age of X, I couldn’t wait to read it, and luckily I didn’t have to.

Now I have not read any of Mead’s adult fiction before but this series thus far is a bit different from her young reader works – it still contains Mead’s trademark humor, morally questionable and attractive characters, but there is a lack of supernaturals compared to all of her other series. Don’t get me wrong, despite this fact and the average review, I am still intrigued by the plot, characters and mythological tie – that I believe this series still holds potential and will definitely be delving into the pages of the next installment of this series.

In this first book of the Age of X series, you’ll find probably Mead’s most ambitious book yet, with its intense world, it was very well thought out and detailed. But as wonderful as the world was, Gameboard of the Gods was a bit complicated, and a little bit drawn out, but the plot was also original and interesting. I struggled a little  bit in the middle, but I never wanted to stop reading. The mystery of the story, and the questions it arose kept me captivated. Then the last 50 pages or so made the whole story worthwhile, and made me want to know what happens to Justin and Mae.

Speaking of these two characters, they are interesting in their own ways. Justin is a bit of a smartass,l but the kind that you can’t help but like. While Mae is a kickass Praetorian soldier, (has an implant that makes them near super human), but she is really emotionally cut off because of their personalities and past personal experiences, these two have a love/hate relationship, but sadly to me it felt a bit lacking especially compared to those found in Mead’s other books. This could possibly change in the books to come though.

I did highly enjoy the parts of the book that involved the Gods and/or their powers. It made me want to know what they are up to, and why they chose Justin and Mae (especially the ending). So despite this books flaws, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next installment to find out what the Gods have in store for Justin and Mae next!

 

At the School for Good and Evil, failing your fairy tale is not an option.

Welcome to the School for Good and Evil, where best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

In a village called Gavadill, two children are kidnapped every four years, no matter how the village prepares and protects - they're always taken.

Sometimes two boys, or two girls, or sometimes one of each, but one thing never changes. One child is always good and beautiful and the other is evil and homely. They're taken away to be the heroes, royals or wicked villains of fairy tales like Snow White and her evil stepmother or Hansel and Gretel and the cannibalistic witch. They were all once top students trained at the School for Good and Evil.

"In the forest Primeval
A School for Good and Evil
Two towers like twin heads
Once for the pure
One for the wicked
Try to escape you'll always fail
The only way out
Is through a Fairy Tale."

With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat seems a natural fit for a villain in the School for Evil.

They two girls soon find their fortunes reversed - Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchman Training. While Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.

But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are...

When I first read about the School for Good and Evil, I had a feeling it would be my kind of book and couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. I've always loved fairytales, and add in some magic with some adventure and fantasy and you have the makings of a classic.

This book did not disappoint, it had my imagination running - picturing the settings and the characters. Oh and the characters! They made you want to keep turning the pages. They were quirky fun and full of spunk.

"I don't know why people think princesses are pretty." Hester said picking a wart on her toe." Their noses are small. Like little buttons you want to pop off."

Sophie and Agatha both had so much emotion, it was easy to be a part of them and feel their struggles and how they developed and changed throughout the story. The secondary characters were also really fascinating and were able to hold their own.

The only con I had about this story, was that I kinda-sorta wished that some more the classroom settings in the book were described a little bit more. I found them interesting and intriguing. I mean a classroom made of ice? and another of sweets? That's awesome! I also have a love for books that have a school setting, so my con is more the selfish reader in me wanting more, a tiny detail that is far from a deal breaker for this book.

Nevertheless, I completely enjoyed this book and fell in love with the characters. I  cannot wait to find out what happens to Agatha and Sophie in the next book!