Book Review: The Revolution of Ivy

ivy

Ivy Westfall is beyond the fence and she is alone. Abandoned by her family and separated from Bishop Lattimer, Ivy must find a way to survive on her own in a land filled with countless dangers, both human and natural. She has traded a more civilized type of cruelty–forced marriages and murder plots–for the bare-knuckled brutality required to survive outside Westfall’s borders.

But there is hope beyond the fence, as well. And when Bishop reappears in Ivy’s life, she must decide if returning to Westfall to take a final stand for what she believes is right is worth losing everything she’s fought for.


Pros
– Ivy and Bishop, Ivy’s journey, satisfying ending

Cons – Spoiler Person’s actions, Ivy’s Family, Plot convenience overload at times

It’s hard (for me) to begin a review for THE REVOLUTION OF IVY without first warning for massive spoilers for the first book, THE BOOK OF IVY (which, so we’re clear, the second book’s title makes way more sense than the first book’s title if we go by content. It’s not like Ivy is writing a book…). Really the synopsis for this book is a giant spoiler, but just in case you missed it or don’t remember the details that led to it, here’s your warning.

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Book Review: The Book of Ivy

ivy

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.

This year, it is my turn.

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.

Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…”


Pros
– Bishop, Ivy sticks to her (sometimes misguided but ultimately well intentioned) values and the romance develops genuinely

Cons – Ivy’s family, Ivy’s Family, IVY’S FAMILY

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Harper Winter 2016 Tour: Seven Black Diamonds

HarperTeen-Winter-2016-Tour

Sooo…I got a treat for everyone today.  Hannah (of Irish Banana Tours and Irish Banana Reviews) put together a tour to end the year and start the holiday season wishlist buying) off correctly!  Today I have the pleasure of giving you a chance to not only win 40+ books from the HarperTeen, but also a glimpse into Melissa’s Marr’s newest SEVEN BLACK DIAMONDS.

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Book Review: Through Fire & Sea

through fire and sea

Mirror mirror, hear my call…

In the Fire world, seventeen-year-old Leah is the illegitimate daughter of one of the realm’s most powerful lords. She’s hot-blooded—able to communicate with the tempestuous volcano gods that either bless a civilization or destroy it. But then Leah discovers she’s a Caller, gifted with the unique—and dangerous—ability to “call” her Otherselves in mirror worlds. And her father will do anything to use her powers for his own purposes.

In the Water world, Holly nearly drowns when she sees—and interacts with—Leah, a mirror image of herself. She’s rescued by Ryan, a boy from school with a secret he’d die to protect. Little do they know, his Otherself is the son of a powerful volcano god at war in the Fire world…and he’s about to fall.

As Leah and Holly’s lives intersect, the Fire and Water worlds descend into darkness. The only way to protect the mirror worlds is to break every rule they’ve ever known. If they don’t, the evil seeping through the mirrors will destroy everything—and everyone—they love…


Pros
– Gideon & Leah, the Mirror Worlds concept, Quetrah

Cons – Holly & Ryan (sort of), disjointed feeling between the first Part & second Part, Quetrah

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YA Review: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Review Time

10194157
The Grisha #1  368 Pages  Young Adult
TasCH’s Rating: 4 stars
Published: June 5th 2012

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

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I’ve had Shadow and Bone on my peripheral vision for, um, about 3 years but never really got around to reading it. This or that title always got in the way (also the screaming fan girls kept me at bay because I didn’t want to be disappointed in such a “hot” title). The only reason I picked it up was because I purchased Six of Crows, not knowing that it was connected to this series. Oops! My bad! I was so enthralled with the world building, characters, and setting of Six of Crows that I decided to stop reading it and start on Shadow and Bone because I didn’t want to miss those sweet cameos authors like to throw at you every so often when they write a brand new series that hails from their older one.

Shadow and Bone is really good, just not Six of Crows good. Which is completely understandable given that Shadow and Bone was Leigh Bardugo’s debut title. Even then I still liked this glitzy world of the Grisha’s Leigh has created, with their “small science” (which is pretty much like having low key powers) and high school court life. I fear like we have yet to see the real underbelly of the Grisha world, and I cannot wait for it. Continue reading “YA Review: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo”

Book Review: A Thousand Nights

a thousand nightsLo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.


Pros
– Lo-Melkhiin, the thoughtful writing, the focus on what it means to measure up

Cons – Felt abrupt at times with transitions, while we get a feel for the main character (Lady-Bless) we get very little feel for everyone else, book confuses at times

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Exo Facto FALL TV: Scream Queens, The Muppets, Mindy Project, & Fresh off the Boat!

**WARNING** This is a post discussing TV episodes Exo Facto (after the fact) and therefore spoilers abound. Not for the faint of heart, or those who haven’t caught up.**

Finally the time has come. Put your Netflix relationship on pause (It IS complicated), because the awkward kid in class has come back from the summer break and he is ripped and grew 6 inches since last spring. The hot guy’s name? Hulu.

This is the only time where my Hulu subscription actually pays off, it is the sole reason I keep it around (let’s be honest the library of content sucks ass… however it is a decent way to catch up on almost all TV Shows without having to pay for stupid cable). I am so not advertising the use of Hulu, I am a Netflix girl all the way (Binge Watching SHOULD be an Olympic sport and I should get paid to do it on the professional level) but Pumpking Spice Latte is back, and right behind it came the Fall season of TV.

I watched some good first episodes, some “eh” first episodes, and some REALLY good first episodes so far, so let us dish:   Continue reading “Exo Facto FALL TV: Scream Queens, The Muppets, Mindy Project, & Fresh off the Boat!”

YA Review: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

Review Time

Crimson Bound
Stand Alone  448 PAGES  YOUNG ADULT
TASCH’S RATING: 5 stars
PUBLISHED: May 5TH, 2015

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

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“I am Rachelle Brinon. I didn’t listen to my aunt when she told me to stay on the path and save my own life. Damned if I’ll listen to the Forest now.”

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Book Review Redux: Wicked as They Come

wicked as they come

When nurse Tish Everett forced open the pesky but lovely locket she found at an estate sale, she had no idea she was answering the call of Criminy Stain, from the far off land of Sang. He’d cast a spell for her, but when she’s transported right to him, she’s not so sure she’s ready to be under the spell of another man. (It didn’t go so well last time with controlling, abusive, domineering Jeff.) If only Criminy wasn’t so deliciously rakish….

Half the inhabitants of Sang are Pinkies—human—and the other half are Bludmen, who in Tish’s world would be called vampires. But they don’t mess with any of the bat/coffin/no sunlight nonsense. They’re rather like you and me, just more fabulous, long living, and mostly indestructible. (They’re also very good kissers.) But when the evil Mayor of Manchester (formerly Bludchester) redoubles his efforts to rid Sang of the Bludmen once and for all, stealing Tish’s locket in hopes of traveling back to her world himself for reinforcements, Criminy and Tish must battle ghosts, sea monsters, wayward submarines, a secret cabal, and thundering Bludmares to get the locket back and allow Tish to return home…but has she found love with Criminy? Could she stay in Sang forever?


Pros
– Criminy, World of Sang, bludbunnies (not even joking there)

Cons – On re-read the story feels more disjointed, Tish comes across irritating til about the halfway point, CASPER

(please note: a version of this review appeared originally on Poisoned Rationality. I’ve since updated and tweaked it after a recent re-read.  Additions are noted in italics)

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Book Review: The Lost Girl

the lost girlNew student Lizzy Palmer is the talk of Shadyside High. Michael and his girlfriend Pepper befriend her, but the closer they get to her, the stranger she seems… and the more attractive she is to Michael. He invites her to join him on a snowmobile race that ends in a tragic accident. Soon, Michael’s friends start being murdered, and Pepper becomes convinced that Lizzy is behind the killings. But to her total shock, she and Michael are drawn into a tragic story of an unthinkable betrayal committed over 60 years ago.


Pros
– Stine delivers on the terrifying factor (if you don’t walk away with at least two new fears of how to die I’ll be shocked), its not just a dude in a mask, my fear of horses is completely vindicated

Cons – convoluted plot, annoying characters, useless adults…honestly this is a Fear Street novel so these aren’t really cons as much as typical attributes of the books you tolerate because you’re not reading these for fine literature

Continue reading “Book Review: The Lost Girl”