Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser. Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George. Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons. Summary via Goodreads I've been a huge fan of Julie Kagawa's books since The Iron King (highy recommend that book if you like the Fey btw, it's fantastic) and Talon did not disappoint. Published in 2014 by Harlequin Teen, Talon is a great novel about romance, rules, and dragons (plus dragon killers). The characters are lovable (but a little predictable) and the story flows along very nicely. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has previously read a Julie Kagawa book, or for those of you looking for a good read that involves dragons. This book does dwell a little more on the romance aspect than the dragon aspect, but overall it's still a very good book and I'm eager to read the second book.
A little more discussion below the cut, so if you've finished the book then continue reading! -Talia
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We reviewed the The Winner's Curse which has the sequel The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski which we also reviewed!
The Winner's Curse summary from Goodreads: As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. Alise has her own channel for acting! https://www.youtube.com/user/lilylixi This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins. Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth. But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves. From Ann Brashares, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The Here and Now is thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking—and a must-read novel of the year. Summary from Amazon I was able to make it through middle school by reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants so of course I was more than excited to read this book, but it truthfully is a disappointment to read. I'd give it 2.5 stars out of 5 because kudos for the idea, thumbs down for the execution.
The writing was very disjointed and would jump from one thing to another without finishing developing the first idea. Brashares spent a lot of time developing the future world from which Prenna came and not the present world where the story was taking place. If the novel wasn't discussing what the future is like and explaining what the plot was rather than showing, it was discussing what Prenna and Ethan were planning to do and then the two would not actually do it. Consequently, readers were not able to connect with the characters at all. This could also be due to the fact that Prenna and Ethan were flat as a piece of paper. Though they're lovable, all we see them do is solve the problem, try in vain to not fall in love, and play cards. The plot is very urgent within itself. The two have to save somebody from being murdered so the future wouldn't be so drastic. Instead of doing so, Prenna and Ethan, frolick in the ocean and play cards. Now this would've been a great time to develop their character, but it didn't happen. In their down time (of which they seemed to have a lot), Ethan would teach Prenna how to play card games since this was something she didn't learn in her training to be an early 21st century girl. I think Brashares was trying to make card games a motif and symbolic of the plot, connecting how some were tricky, others were based on luck/chance, and one needed skills to play cards, but it never connected. At the end of the novel, the reader is just left thinking, "well, that's a waste of their time." The plot and setting itself is very intricate and detail-oriented, and this would have been SUCH a terrific novel if it had just been executed better. "I live in the in between. Between what if and what is. It’s how I manage. It’s the only way I know. Everyone has their way. This is mine." When high school cell phone disruption forces a classroom ban, the words on a Post-it note spark a sticky romance between two unlikely friends. Transfer student Talia Vanderbilt has one goal at her new school: to blend in with the walls. Lagan Desai, basketball captain and mathlete, would do just about anything to befriend the new girl. One Post-it note at a time, Lagan persuades Talia to peel back her heart, slowly revealing her treasure chest of pain—an absent mother, a bedridden brother, and an abusive father. In a world where hurt is inevitable, the two teens search for a safe place to weather the storms of life. Together. Amazon Summary ALL THE FEELS for this one. ALL OF THEM. This book really hits it out of the park; it's one of the only book with flashbacks that I actually enjoyed. Most of the time, those drive me out of my mind but the backstory in this book was quite enjoyable, and not distracting but rather revealing of the plot. The romance in this book is PERFECT: slow and ALMOST so slow you want to scream but then beauty returns to the world! And it's so unlikely and random that you feel like it's real life. It's a great new twist on realistic fiction that I loved! Can't wait to read Seeing through Stones, because we find out more about Talia's brother, Jesse. Read on for spoilers! -Mallory :Each night at precisely 4:33 am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can "remember" are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture. Luke Henry is not someone you'd easily forget, yet try as she might, London can't find him in her memories of things to come. When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it's time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future. Amazon Summary Okay, so I reviewed another of Cat Patrick's books, Just Like Fate, the other day and figured that this is now the only one I haven't yet read I might as well read it. I was NOT DISAPPOINTED again, because obviously Cat Patrick is amazing and my favorite author. She knows how to weave suspense into a story. I think London is awesome, and quite quick-witted. Luke and she are probably some of my favorite of Cat Patrick's couples, after Sean and Lizzie in The Originals. I honestly think that Cat Patrick's debut novel is one of her best because it's really bold. And I love how, in the back, it gives you the source of inspiration. I think that the romance in this story is very well written because even though it's evidently essential to the plot it is still not THE ONLY THING IN THE BOOK like it has been in other, similar books I've read. Overall, this book is a 9/10 for me! Read on for spoilers! -Mallory 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. Summary from Goodreads Didn't read the The Winner's Curse, the first book? Check out our video review of it here!
The first one of this series was amazing so thankfully this one was not disappointing. It brought in elements that weren't seen before in the first novel. The Winner's Curse had mainly taken place in the Valorian controlled Herranian territory up until we get a glimpse of the capital at the end when Kestrel speaks with the emperor and then returns to the Herranian peninsula. But in the Winner's Crime, Marie Rutkoski takes us all over her world as the characters travel. Kestrel herself mainly stays in the capital of Valoria with the emperor and the prince while Arin travels the realm visiting the "savage" eastern kingdom of Dacra, returns to Herran, and of course spends time in the capital with Kestrel. Some people think that the romance between the two was really heavy in the first book, so they'll be happy to hear that the romance in the sequel is much lighter. For the romantics out there, the struggles in Kestrel and Arin's relationship ARE REAL AND THEY HURT. We get to see the dynamics of their relationship change, for better or worse, and it's still realistic. Kestrel's not throwing away everything she has to be with Arin nor is he shirking his duties to steal away in a corner with her. They're still both trying to figure out where their loyalties lie and if their choices are going to harm more people than necessary. To be truthful, this book felt more like a filler book to me. The first one had its giant plot twist that made it a true story but this sequel was more of a development in the story than a crucial plot twist (not until the very end, that is). Rutkoski takes the time in the Winner's Crime to develop Arin and Kestrel's relationship and characters and build the plot and world around them by introducing new characters (killing them most of the time), building subplots and situations, and making readers and characters question themselves. For a sequel, The Winner's Crime was a thrilling read and leaves the reader waiting anxiously for the third one. Continue reading if you want to know more about this! Forgetting was only the beginning. When seventeen-year-old Sia wakes up on a park bench, she has no idea who or where she is. Yet after a week of being homeless, she’s reunited with her family. At school, she’s powerful and popular. At home, she’s wealthy beyond her dreams. But she quickly realizes her perfect life is a lie. Her family is falling apart and her friends are snobby, cruel and plastic. Worse still, she discovers she was the cruelest one. Mortified by her past, she embarks on a journey of redemption and falls for Kyle, the “geek” she once tormented. Yet all the time she wonders if, when her memories return, she’ll become the bully she was before…and if she’ll lose Kyle. Summary via Amazon I bought this book for a whopping ninety-nine cents, and so I didn't have...high expectations, to tell you the truth. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the characters, although lacking in exceptional depth, were very relatable and believable as the people they were chosen to represent. The romance plot in this book was very nice, but felt like an afterthought. The description stresses the romance's importance to the plot while it's not the most important element in reality, but overall it still serves its purpose. At times it seems a little unreasonably fake, like it's SO HARD to incorporate romance for this author that he just kind of... placed it there. It wasn't at all woven into the story like good romances are, but hey, it's not a romance book, right? Click Read More to see some spoilers and my opinions on some of the plot points! -Mallory Caroline is at a crossroads. Her grandmother is sick and, like the rest of her family, Caroline’s been at Gram’s bedside since her stroke. With the pressure building, all Caroline wants to do is escape—both her family and the reality of Gram’s failing health. So when Caroline’s best friend offers to take her to a party one fateful Friday night, she must choose: stay by Gram’s side, or go to the party for a few hours? The consequences of this one decision will split Caroline’s fate into two separate paths—and she is about to live them both. Friendships are tested and family drama hits an all-new high as Caroline attempts to rebuild old relationships and even make a few new ones. If she stays, her longtime crush, Joel, might finally notice her, but if she goes, Chris, the charming college boy, might prove to be everything she’s ever wanted. Though there are two distinct ways for her fate to unfold, there is only one happy ending… Summary via Amazon I want to say is that I love this author. Cat Patrick is amaze! I love The Originals and Revived and all her other novels, so when I saw this and I saw her name on it I instantly had really high hopes. I wasn't disappointed. This book is told from the two different perspectives of "GO" and "STAY" and was incredibly well written. I will say, however, that I had to frequently remind myself which perspective I was reading. Still, very enjoyable. I most certainly recommend this to you if you are a science fiction nerd who wants to read realistic fiction; this is the perfectly low-key mix of the two. Caroline is very decisive and all-or-nothing, and overall a great character, with lots of believable depth. If I had one note, I think that if you're looking for something solid and formal and, well, normal, you're probably out of look. But I'm not complaining! This book is a great combo of romance, social drama, and parallel universes. I believe this book to be just a really nice twist on the classic high school drama story, something along the lines of college boys and blah.... but not with Cat Patrick and especially not with Suzanne Young; they put a whole new spin on it, and seamless transitions provide a great basis for romance, friendships, and family drama to unravel. Overall, as the two stories come together near the end, I was left pretty much 100% breathless and stayed up hours after I normally go to sleep just to finish! One thing--if you're all about the ending, you're out of luck. We are left forever wondering which path she actually chose. But it's all up to imagination, right? Thanks for reading! -Mallory Goodreads Summary: Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident? Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time. I received the sneak peek of this book (the first 3 or 4 chapters) from NetGalley since it hasn't come out yet so I decided to share my review of it. I'll be doing a full review of the book once it does come out so this review will be spoiler free. I absolutely love Sarah Dessen so this was exciting for me to read. Dessen always has a serious issue going on in her stories that always makes them seem less shallow than it would have been without it but is still able to have a thorough plot about romance and not overwhelm the reader with real modern issues and this one is no different. The main's brother is jailed for drunk driving and injuring someone and we see the family slowly falling apart just within the first couple chapters, Dessen gets right to the point without writing unnecessary fluff. One can already tell the main character is relatable just like many of Dessen's characters and I appreciate she has continued putting her girls in high school so high schoolers can connect with them. Sydney (the main) has always been outshone by her older's brother's achievements up until those achievements changed to him being a juvenile delinquent. She's accepted her fate as being the "invisible" (I believe that will be a motif throughout the novel) though cherishes the moments she is given attention by her parents. Though up until the point I read to, she (obviously) didn't have much character development yet so she seems a bit like a Mary Sue archetype at the moment but a touch less of the "I'm lonely and beautiful" since she does have some close friends and is outshone by her brother's looks. Dessen's fans know that she likes to put special Easter eggs from her other books into her latest novel so her fans won't be disappointed by any lack of them since there is a healthy abundance of them within just the first few chapters. I'm really excited to learn the significance of the title, what do you think it means? |
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