Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

Monday, March 9, 2015

Review: THE WINNER'S CRIME by Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Winner's Crime
Author: Marie Rutkoski (@marierutkoski)
Published: March 3rd, 2015
Series: The Winner's Trilogy #2
Genre: YA fantasy
POV: 3rd person, dual
Pages: 416
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux BYR
Format: Print ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf
Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

Separated by one fateful decision in The Winner's Curse, Kestrel and Arin find themselves on different sides. Kestrel is playing a dangerous game of words, actions, and politics, trying to keep the Emperor pleased while secretly doing anything she can to help the people of Herran. Arin, meanwhile, is thrust into an unwanted position of power, and he'll have to go to great lengths to earn a true freedom for Herran. Family, honor, love, and sacrifice, The Winner's Crime is an outstanding sequel. 

Secrets, lies, deceit, and danger linger in every corner of Kestrel and Arin's lives. Rutkoski builds the emotions of the story, starting with a simple, slow flow until everything comes crashing down with intensity. She makes you care for these characters, and every page will leave you with the desire to keep reading on. Well-paced, and thoroughly captivating, Rutkoski raises the stakes with The Winner's Crimeand refuses to give her characters (and readers) a moment to rest. Exciting, shocking, and simply incredible, this trilogy needs to be on your to-read list. 

Highlights: Rutkoski develops the world of this trilogy further, revealing fascinatingly unique locations and expanding on myth and history of each one. But even better, Kestrel and Arin begin to take more action - whether or it's daring risks or playing a dangerous game of politics, every move matters. Side characters are equally fascinating, especially the conniving (and frightening) Emperor. Family and relationships still play a strong role in the story. And, as always, Rutkoski's writing is stunning and evocative, bringing each character, location, and emotion to life in the most vivid way possible. 

Lowlights: I miss the romance. There are a couple moments between Arin and Kestrel, but these two are unable to be together in this story. I hated the lack of communication between them, because it was frustrating to read. AND THAT ENDING. It's going to be a long wait for the final book. 

Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf. Loved, 4+ out of 5. A compelling and emotional sequel, The Winner's Crime will leave you heartbroken, shocked, and so very eager for the final installment.


Monday, February 23, 2015

Highlights / Lowlights: SNOW LIKE ASHES by Sara Raasch


Title: Snow Like Ashes
Author: Sara Raasch (@seesarawrite)
Published: October 2014
Series: Snow Like Ashes #1
Genre: YA Fantasy
POV: 1st person, present tense
Pages: 432
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Format: electronic ARC
Source: Edelweiss / HarperCollins
Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. The Winterians' only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been searching for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild their kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, Winter’s future king—she would do anything to help Winter rise to power again. So when scouts discover the location of half of the ancient locket that can restore their magic, Meira decides to go after it herself—only to find herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics, and to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

Highlight: Secrets. MORE SECRETS. ALL THE SECRETS. Granted, I did guess one big one, but I was still intrigued from start to finish.

Highlight: Characters. Meira is stubborn, smart, determined, and my kind of narrator. And, the side characters are wonderful as well. From the good guys to the bad guys, Raasch makes everyone feel realistic and distinct.

Lowlight: Initially, confusing. Maybe it was just me, but reading the first chapter felt like I was stumbling around in the dark with a faulty flashlight and I had no idea what was happening or where everyone was. I think a map would have helped (which my ARC did not have, but I believe the final version does). I simply found it difficult to get into the beginning and to navigate the world, but once I went back and pushed forward, everything fell into place.

Highlight: World. Once I started to understand the layout and the differences in the various kingdoms, this world became quite fascinating. Raasch creates a lush world with magic, and such scenic kingdoms that I felt like I could see the ones that were described vividly. I cannot wait to explore the rest of this world.

Highlight: Adventure. Snow Like Ashes begins with adventure, and Raasch only continues to push Meira further out into her world. The search for part of the locket and goal of restoring the Kingdom of Winter drives Meira and her fellow Winterians throughout the entire story, but there are plenty of obstacles in their path.

Highlight: Fight scenes. I love a good fight scene, and Snow Like Ashes doesn't disappoint. Meira is confident in her abilities, especially with a chakram. This is a girl who does not wait around for the male characters to save her - she takes action, she argues, and she fights for everything she believes in.

Lowlight: Love triangle. I cannot wait until this stops being a thing in YA lit.

Highlight: Light + adorable romance. HOWEVER, Raasch writes it well. While there are two boys in Meira's life, one is a longtime crush with (unfortunately) little chance and the other is a an adorable, budding romance that has its own complications. Fortunately, this story kept the romance simple, sweet, and sometimes amusing. 

Highlight: Politics. It kind of reminds me a bit of Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns, where there is some focus on politics and doing whatever is necessary to create peace between kingdoms. But, of course, things do not go completely as planned. Every deal and betrayal kept me hooked, and there are a few surprises.


Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf: Loved, 4+ out of 5. Once I pushed through the first few chapters, I was hooked. Snow Like Ashes is an action-packed adventure through a vivid world full of magic, secrets, and lies. Love, loss, betrayal, secrets, rebellions, friendship, evil rulers....this book has everything I love in a story, and I'm excited to have a new YA fantasy series & world to explore. 

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher for review consideration. 
This is no way affected my opinion of the novel. 

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Rising Shadow by Jacquelyn Wheeler Review

Age: Young Adult
Copy Provided by: Author
Summary:
Ashlyn Woods has just transferred to one of the most beautiful campuses on the west coast, where she can't wait to start her life over as a normal college student. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she discovers she is a Soterian: a person who develops amazing powers when the balance of good and evil shifts too far in evil's favor.

Soon she and the other Soterians are studying martial arts and learning to use their powers to prevent California from being plunged into chaos. But they quickly discover that they're up against a much more dangerous enemy than they anticipated.

And when Ashlyn meets Kai, a devastatingly gorgeous guitar player, she realizes she must sacrifice more than she ever imagined.
Review: When I first started Rising Shadow, I was extremely hesitant because I was unable to find really any reviews on the novel. So, I just jumped right on in with nothing to go off of.
The novel starts out with a bit of college life, and I found myself connecting with the characters. Rebecca proceeded to become my favorite of the group. I disliked how some characters were introduced, just to be barely mentioned later on (the non-Soterians), but perhaps they will play more roles in the future.

Everything became more interesting when Ashlyn and the other Soterians discover their abilities, and begin to train. 

The villains of this story don't have any special powers or anything. A lot of the evil things that are happening all revolve around politics, robberies, and crime sprees. It's all interconnected, and the Soterians struggle to learn more about their powers, and who is behind all of this chaos. All of the things that were happening kept me intrigued, especially since I had no clue who was behind it all until the end (which was quite an interesting twist).

The action and the mystery of this story really made it an easy to continue page after page. The missions were intriguing, realistic, and I found myself invested in the story.

Highlights: I loved all of the Soterian's powers. Wheeler's descriptions of everything kept me engaged. I also loved the little twists in the plot, because they kept my interest going. 

Lowlights: In the beginning of the story, Ashlyn meets your stereotypical mean girl, and proceeds to do a pretty childish action. I found myself put off by this action, because really, this isn't middle school, and I would expect our heroine to at least act her age.

I really disliked how quickly "Love" came into action with Kai and Ashlyn. They really are complete strangers, and then they're in love? Sorry, but that doesn't work for me. They both even admit how weird it is, but I still think the whole love thing should have waited until the next book.

As a whole, I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the intrigue of the Soterians and their abilities. Definitely a fun book to read that has a different take on superpowers. Check out Jacquelyn's website to see if you'd be interested!

Rating:   





 


Lea