Showing posts with label New Adult. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Adult. Show all posts

Monday, March 9, 2015

Skeletal by Katherine Hayton



Genre: Young Adult, New Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:
Three months before she died Daina Harrow faced a bully at school.
Six weeks before she died Daina Harrow suffered an assault in the park.
One week before she died Daina Harrow stole a secret people had killed to hide.

That was ten years ago. Ten long years.

Now, her bones have been found on a building site. A coroner's inquest has been reopened. A parade of witnesses is about to start.
And Daina's here. Watching every day as her mother cries in the courtroom. Watching every day as her friends, and her enemies, and her killers lie about her on the stand.
Watching, and making sure that no matter what the coroner hears, you know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

My Thoughts:
This was a great book.  Because we watch what is happening and go back to learn more about Daina's past we get the whole story.  It is creepy and sad at the same time knowing Daina is listening to the  people lie. Those who mistreated her, or ignored and neglected her are there telling their story.  Daina wants to make sure the reader knows the truth.  I felt so sad that it took so long to learn what had happened to her.  
I felt sorry for the life she had lived.  I loved the ending and the twists that I had not expected.  I would most definitely read more by this author.  I will probably re-read this again and again.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

The Dharian Affairs by Susan Kaye Quinn

I don't normally review three books in a series all at once. That is because I usually take quite a bit of time to read and review them.  However, I am participating in a reading challenge I created for my students while they are out of school for winter break.  I let them set the minimum number of books I should read. They chose 20 based on my reading ability and the average number of books most of them chose. So with plenty of reading time due to the fact I told my family I was participating in a reading challenge so they would leave me alone, I've had plenty of time to read multiple books each day.   These were read Friday the 26th.

Genre:   Young Adult, New Adult, Adult, Science Fiction, Steampunk
Source: I received copies to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Third Daughter

From Goodreads:
The Third Daughter of the Queen wants her birthday to arrive so she'll be free to marry for love, but rumors of a new flying weapon may force her to accept a barbarian prince's proposal for a peace-brokering marriage. Desperate to marry the charming courtesan she loves, Aniri agrees to the prince's proposal as a subterfuge in order to spy on him, find the weapon, and hopefully avoid both war and an arranged marriage to a man she does not love.

My Thoughts:
The author has done an excellent job of fleshing out her characters and creating a world that is both detailed and intriguing.  I have to say that I’ve not been a big fan of steampunk in the past.  Why did I try this knowing it was a steampunk novel?  I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the other books by this author. This steampunk was different in that we have Indian characters. The third daughter is Aniri, who is unlike her other sisters. Nahali, the first sister, is expected to be queen one day. The second daughter Seledri married a Samirian to form an alliance. Aniri has few responsibilities or expectations as the third daughter.  She has plans to marry Devesh a fencing instructor, who is also of Samirian birth. Things don’t always go as planned.  Prince Malik, called “Ash” of Jungali has trouble in his country.  He needs to form an alliance with Dharia.  There is only one way to do that, marry Aniri.  Her mother approves of this with the understanding that it is a marriage for the sake of  alliance and she is to spy for their country.  No one planned on Aniri falling in love with Ash.


Second Daughter

From Goodreads:
With plans for a second skyship exposed, Third Daughter Aniri fears her sister, Seledri, will be caught in a war between the three Queendoms. Seledri is the Second Daughter of Dharia, which means she had no choice in her arranged marriage to the First Son of Samir—a country with whom they may soon be at war. As Aniri fights to free her sister from a husband and a country she does not love, she questions her own rushed betrothal to Prince Malik, the noble barbarian who controls the skyship—and whether a love pledged in the heat of adventure can survive the looming threat of war.

My Thoughts:
This book begins where the last one ended. In this second book, the eveing before Aniri’s wedding to Ash she learns her sister Seledri is in trouble.  Someone has made an assassination attempt.  Aniri leaves to “rescue” her sister because there are rumors that her sister’s new country is planning war against Dharia.


First Daughter

From Goodreads:
With the war begun, Aniri, Third Daughter of the Queen, has to battle not only a prince with a deadly skyship, but her own sister, the First Daughter, who finally sees her chance to become Queen. With their mother gravely ill and the Second Daughter kidnapped along with Aniri's husband-to-be, Aniri embarks on a desperate mission to save the people she loves from a war that will tear all three countries apart.

My Thoughts:

We have a great conclusion to this wonderful trilogy.  Aniri’s mother is injured so her sister Nahali must take the reigns of the  country until her mother has healed.  This is a complication.  She has always been jealouse of Aniri and therefore sees no reason to rush to rescue Aniri’s love. Ash, Selendri, and her husband Pavan have been kidnapped by none other than Pavan’s brother Nathesh.  Aniri’s sister Nahali readies her country for battle while Aniri takes a more direct approach.  First she must sneak into Samir and try to start a rebellion against Natesh. She gets help from her former lover Davesh who is a Samirian, as well as others we are introduced to.  The author has thrown some unexpected and unforeseen twists and turns into this third novel.  Throughout the entire novel a them of love of country and family was woven.  She has created strong women who do not fit the stereotypical  damsels  in distress.  This definitely has the ability to change my mind on steampunk.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell


Genre: Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, Traditional
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I love fairy tales. I love them eve more when someone has taken a fairy tale and put such a spin on it that it stays with you for days.  “While Beauty Slept” is one of those fairy tales.  This is the Sleeping Beauty story with major changes.  I have to say that out of all of the fairy tales I grew up with, Sleeping Beauty was one of my least favorites, until now.
The main character Elise has lived a hard life up to the age of 14.  It is after someone in the market calls her a name, that her mother tells her the truth about her father that helps her understand why her father treats her the way he does.  Her mother has always expected so much from her because she wants her to go far in life.  Her mother had worked as a seamstress in the castle until something happened.  Elise is determined to work at the castle.  After the death of her mother and several of her brothers from illness she leaves home and heads to her aunt’s house.  There she stays for a couple of weeks being groomed for work in the castle.  This is just the beginning of her new life.  She moves quickly up the ranks becoming the personal maid to the queen.  Don’t think this is one of those feel good Disney type books because it is not.  This one is full of love and love lost, betrayal in all forms. There are the friendships formed and lost, and so much grief.  The emotions throughout this book bring you right into the world.  I could visualize all of it.  It isn’t often that I am that involved in the story.  I was hooked from the moment Elise catches her granddaughter Raimy in her trunk.  With everyone else asleep she pulls her on her lap and says to her, “I will tell you a tale….”

If you are someone who loves fairy tales and fairy tale retellings then I would say this is a must read.  It would definitely be for the older Young Adult reader, New Adult Reader or Adult.  I look forward to reading much more by this author.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Winter Solstice Winter - E.J. Squires

Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 438
Genre: Fantasy, YA/New Adult
Source: I received a review copy in exchange for my honest review

From Goodreads:
It’s not easy being a seventeen-year-old adopted peasant girl in the Viking-inhabited Northlandic Kingdom, especially when you have terrifying mare dreams of an evil Empress named Eiess, and when your friends oust you because they think you are cursed. But Ailia's on the verge of discovering that she hasn't even seen the tip of the iceberg that sleeps below...

On Winter Solstice Ailia visits her favorite place to ponder: a large cliff overlooking her hometown. On her way home, Eiess and an army of Vikings capture her before attacking the Northlandic Kingdom. After usurping the Northlandic Throne, Eiess immediately suspends the seasons on the darkest and coldest day of the year and begins her preparations for the prophesied battle to end all battles.

Princess Lucia, sole heir to the Nothlandic Throne, is taken prisoner by Eiess and is thrown into the castle’s tower. For months, Lucia wastes away, never knowing when this nightmare of beatings, starvation and bitter cold will end. But when she miraculously escapes, she learns that she has a twin sister she must find before Eiess completely destroys the Northlandic Kingdom.

Months later, Ailia wakes up in a glacier cave with no memory of how she ended up there. On her way home, a handsome, yet mysterious young man named Soren rescues her from wolves and a dangerous shape-shifter. Ailia is immediately drawn to Soren, thinking she knows him from somewhere, maybe from her dreams of another life? He reveals he is a Sentinor sent by the gods to defeat Eiess and is waiting to be reunited with his soul mate, Lucia, so they together can defeat the Empress.

As Eiess continues to amass her forces, Ailia, Lucia and Soren are about to discover that their destinies are intertwined behind a veil of dark secrets and lies. If they are to take back the Northlandic Throne, they must work together and form an alliance.

But their mission to overthrow the Empress is stalled when the secrets and lies surface. And when a strong love develops between two, jealousy and duplicity arise between them, causing one of them to betray the others – a betrayal which puts their lives and the lives of humanity in grave danger. 

WINTER SOLSTICE WINTER is a Young Adult/New Adult fantasy romance set in the Viking Era. With Suspense, Norse paranormal elements and a breathtaking soul mate love story, it's a great read for those who enjoy a page-turning story. This is the first book in its series.


My Thoughts:
I was intrigued by the thought of a fresh story line involving Norse mythology and vikings.  I'm game for reading things I haven't read before if the story line seems interesting.  The synopsis I read could not hold a candle to what I actually read.  This is one of those books that once you start it you really don't want anything to interrupt it.
The author has created a world that you get wrapped up in and don't want to leave.  The details she adds, as well as the twists and turns makes this a fast paced read and one you will want to recommend to everyone you know who loves fantasy. We find three lives entwined in an age old tale of good versus evil. But just when you think you know it all, you realize you don't.  I look forward to the second book in the series.  It is definitely a must read.

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