Crown of Embers

First, I have to apologize for my "radio silence," so to speak! Unfortunately, my husband succumbed to the plague this week and of course, if he gets sick, I automatically end up being sick, too (funny how that's not always reciprocal...). So... I spent almost three days laying in bed, unmotivated to do anything but watch about 10 episodes of Warehouse 13 and several Law and Order: SVU reruns... On the plus side, I did catch back up on my Game of Thrones episodes finally, but I did NOT feel up to blogging and I have so many good books that I read on vacation that I can't wait to share with you!!! 

So... vacation read #1:

The Crown of Embers
by Rae Carson
Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, book two

She does not know what awaits her at the enemy's gate.

Elisa is a hero. She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country's ruler should be secure. But it isn't.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from both foreign realms and within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears once and for all, Elisa must follow the trail of long-forgotten--and forbidden--clues from the deep, undiscovered catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her goes a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man who--despite everything--she is falling in love with.

If she's lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost. (description from Amazon.com)

FINALLY. I finally got the chance to read this one! I pre-ordered it on my Nook because I loved the first book, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, so much (see my GOLD STAR review here) that I just knew I *HAD* to read the rest of the trilogy...as soon as they came out , oh, I mean whenever I could finally take a vacation and sneak the second one in... I'm just proud the third book hadn't quite come out yet, LOL. 

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the second book as much as the first. *Some mild spoilers ahead* 

Elisa is no longer just a second born princess, but has been named ruler of her own kingdom.  While her loyal followers embrace and celebrate her, her own council conspire to either replace her...or if that proves impossible, to at least be able to manipulate her.  Still the epically smart heroine, Elisa realizes this and works to twist their own manipulations around to suit her, as well.  Sassy! I love it.  

One of my all-time favorite themes, and one not used often enough IMHO, comes to the forefront in this book.  The best friend love!!! My heart sang.  Even as Elisa is being forced to consider suitors for a marriage for which she is not emotionally ready, she comes to realize that she already has grown into strong feelings for someone very close... Watching their relationship play out was mesmerizing, and the way that the book leaves things for the trilogy's end... I need book three ASAP!!! 

A great second chapter in Elisa's story. 

Full disclosure: Book purchased for my Nook

Will Sparrow's Road

Will Sparrow's Road

by Karen Cushman

 

In his thirteenth year, Will Sparrow, liar and thief, becomes a runaway. On the road, he encounters a series of con artists—a pickpocket, a tooth puller, a pig trainer, a conjurer—and learns that others are more adept than he at lying and thieving. Then he reluctantly joins a traveling troupe of "oddities," including a dwarf and a cat-faced girl, holding himself apart from the "monsters" and resolving to be on guard against further deceptions. At last Will is forced to understand that appearances are misleading and that he has been his own worst deceiver. (description from Amazon.com)

 

While I enjoyed the setting of this book - the Elizabethan English market circuit - I found myself having a hard time really becoming invested in it.  I'm not sure if it just read too young for me or if it was because I found Will to be too naive to believe...or what. I loved seeing the sort-of birth of freak shows and how the market folk treated one another and what life was like on the road.  I also eventually enjoyed seeing Will figure life out and come to a happy ending, but until then I felt sort of ambivalent about the whole thing.

 

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ

Island of Silence

Island of Silence

by Lisa McMann

The Unwanteds, book two



Following the life-altering events at the conclusion of The Unwanteds, the stark world of Quill and the magical haven of Artimé are now home to whoever wants to live there, whether they are Wanteds, Unwanteds, or Necessaries.

In Artimé, Alex Stowe and his friends continue to hone their artistic magical spells while welcoming newcomers, wondering how long this peace between Quill and Artimé will last. Alex is stunned when Mr. Today comes to him with a very special request—one Alex questions his readiness for, until circumstances offer a dramatic answer.

And back in Quill, Aaron Stowe, Alex’s twin, faces a very different path. Devastated by his loss of status after Justine’s defeat and seething with rage toward Alex, Aaron is stealthily planning his revenge and return to power. (Description from Amazon.com)

 

This is a series that I will tell you I unabashedly enjoy. It has a very similar feel to Harry Potter, but takes a very unique spin on the arts. I envy Lisa McMann's imagination when I read about the artistically inspired spells the kids use in Artime.

As in Harry Potter, this second book has taken the series to a slightly darker place. While Artime is still a thriving, beautiful, and creative place, the political repurcussions of opening Artime to everyone are felt throughout the land. While the Artimeans are busy battling the Quillians, they also discover that something sinister may be occuring outside of their land, as well. In fact, even as Alex is trying to wrap his brain around being groomed to lead Artime one day and also deal with his evil twin's sinister plotting (which gave me shivers, btw...kid's got real power issues!), several of Alex's friends go missing and Alex finds himself in charge much earlier than expected.

The only fault I found with this book was that it left off with huge plot cliffhangers!! While a few questions were answered, many more were raised, and I'm going to have a hard time waiting for book three to find out what's really going on at the Island of Silence!!

 

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ

Crunch

Crunch

by Leslie Connor

Dewey Marriss is stuck in the middle of a crunch.

He never guessed that the gas pumps would run dry the same week he promised to manage the family's bicycle-repair business. Suddenly everyone needs a bike. And nobody wants to wait.

Meanwhile, the crunch has stranded Dewey's parents far up north with an empty fuel tank and no way home. It's up to Dewey and his older sister, Lil, to look after their younger siblings and run the bike shop all on their own.

Each day Dewey and his siblings feel their parents' absence more and more. The Marriss Bike Barn is busier than ever. And just when he is starting to feel crunched himself, Dewey discovers that bike parts are missing from the shop. He's sure he knows who's responsible—or does he? Will exposing the thief only make more trouble for Dewey and his siblings? (description from Amazon.com)



I liked this book. It was good...*but* I kind of wish that I had read it before Waiting for Normal. While I liked the characters in this book and I thought the family dynamics were interesting, it just didn't spark for me.  I still have a warm, gooey place that melts in my heart when I think of Waiting for Normal. 

I had a hard time getting into this book. It was a little slow starting.  Once I got into the whole bike shop thing and realized that there was a thief in the mix and the kids don't know what to do, I found myself getting invested, but it took awhile.  I also could not for the life of me figure out when this book was supposed to be set.  It was really vague in that respect. 

Enjoyable, but perhaps not really memorable.

The Fear

The Fear

by Charlie Higson

The Enemy, book three

The sickness struck everyone sixteen and over. Mothers and fathers, older brothers, sisters, and best friends. No one escaped its touch. And now children across London are being hunted by ferocious grown-ups who are hungry, bloodthirsty, and not giving up.

DogNut and the rest of his crew, in search of the friends they lost during the fire, set off on a deadly mission from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace and beyond, as the sickos lie in wait. But who are their friends and who is the enemy in this changed world? (description from Amazon.com)

Sigh. I hated this book. I hate saying that, but it was all I could do to get through the almost five hundred pages. Normally, I LOVE zombie books, but this series just seems gross. It was well written, the storyline was good, but Higson does not at all shy away from a. killing characters off all over the place and b. vividly describing the affects of the disease on adults.  Also, I couldn't stand the chapters that were from the perspective of the now cannibalistic adults. 

So. If you like horror and dark, vivid descriptions of violence and death, I would suggest you check out this series. If you like zombie books, though, for the interactions between the surviving humans...you may want to skip this one.  Half the main characters don't officially make it and a lot of the story is focused on the the horrible zombie attacks...

Full disclosure: Copy received to review for VOYA

Mini Reviews: The Haunted Edition

Texas Gothic

by Rosemary Clement-Moore

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Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face. (description from Amazon.com)

A fun read. Amy is snarky-type hilarious. I loved the romance in this one, too!

*2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge title*

Arise

by Tara Hudson

sequel to Hereafter

A stranded spirit, and a love story that crosses the divide between the living and the dead…In this hauntingly lovely sequel to HEREAFTER, Amelia – still trapped somewhere between life and death – continues to fight for her relationship with her mortal love, Joshua.Looking for answers, they visit some of Joshua’s relatives in New Orleans. But even in a city so famously steeped in the supernatural, Amelia just ends up with more questions… and becomes increasingly convinced that she and Joshua can never have a future together.Then Amelia meets other spirits in-between and begins to seriously consider joining them. Caught between two worlds, Amelia must choose carefully, before the evil spirits of the nether world can choose for her. (description from Amazon.com)

I loved this sequel. Dark, romantic, haunting...and set in the ultimate haunted location, New Orleans! This one will make you go, "Say, what?!" I *need* book three, ASAP!!

Publication date: June 5, 2012

Full disclosure: ARC received to review for VOYA

Ghostopolis

by Doug TenNapel

Imagine Garth Hale's surprise when he's accidentally zapped to the spirit world by Frank Gallows, a washed-out ghost wrangler. Suddenly Garth finds he has powers the ghosts don't have, and he's stuck in a world run by the evil ruler of Ghostopolis, who would use Garth's newfound abilities to rule the ghostly kingdom. When Garth meets Cecil, his grandfather's ghost, the two search for a way to get Garth back home, and nearly lose hope until Frank Gallows shows up to fix his mistake. (description from Amazon.com)

I was surprised how much I actually liked this graphic novel. It's easy to read, the drawings are creepy, but very clear, and the storyline was cool. 

Tween Tuesday - The Goose Girl

The Goose Girl
by Shannon Hale
Books of Bayern, book one

On her way to marry a prince she has never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers.

*sigh* When I finished this beautifully written tale, all I could do was sigh...and then immediately plan when I could read book two, Enna Burning. Shannon Hale is a Master when it comes to fairytale based storytelling. Her books are phenomenal and The Goose Girl is the best I've read yet.

Hale took a little known Grimm tale and fleshed it out in a heartwarming and compelling way. Princess Anidori, Ani, who later becomes Isi, is a girl that immediately pulled on my heartstrings. She doesn't want the spotlight of being Crown Princess, yet when her birthright is denied her, she learns who she truly is, and finds that that is a much stronger person than she'd ever thought.

Her relationships with the people around her are real, fully imagined, and totally believable. The fact that others can see her goodness and true royalty when even she can't, brought tears to my eyes in a few places. The bad guys are truly bad and the good Prince is well worth loving.

*sigh* I LOVED IT. I can't say much more....

Knightley Academy

Knightley Academy
by Violet Haberdasher

All Henry knows is life as an orphaned servant boy at the Midsummer School, bullied by the privileged sons of aristocracy. But all that changes when Henry is the first commoner to pass the entrance exam for the prestigious Knightley Academy, where he will be trained as a modern-day knight alongside the cleverest and bravest fourteen-year-olds in the country.

Henry and his roomates, two other students from decidedly un-Knightley backgrounds, are not exactly greeted with open arms by their classmates. In fact, it soon becomes apparent that someone is going to great lengths to sabotage the trio's chances at becoming knights. But Henry soon learns that there is more at stake here than his future at Knightley, and only he can sound the alarm. Is anyone going to believe a former servant on the brink of expulsion? (description taken from Amazon.com)

I devoured this book...and then I sighed with happiness. It is very reminiscent of Harry Potter. To clarify, it is not one of the carbon copy wizard books that came out just after the whole wizarding explosion in MG/YA. What it has is the feeling that Rowling was able to evoke in her readers.

Yes, there is an orphan, some downtrodden, looked poorly upon friends, a slight romantic tension, and the struggle to fight for what's right...manners, valiance, fighting oppression, tyranny, and discrimination.

What makes this book special is that you are drawn into a new world with fantastic, well drawn characters. Henry, Frankie, and even his school nemesis, Valmont are mutli-faceted characters that grow and support each other right in front of the reader's eyes. The narrator's voice is also really funny, sarcastic, and similar to Lemony Snicket.

Another thing I loved was the blend of modern and medieval. This is what I would refer to as steampunk without the sci-fi feel. This book is set in "modern" times, yet there are still knights in society. They are detectives, police officers, and more, but they are KNIGHTS. Awesome!

If you've been missing something since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out, ending an era, you need to try this new series!!

Shadow of the Moon

Shadow of the Moon
by Rachel Hawthorne
The Dark Guardians, book 4

I can feel every shifter's emotions except Daniel's - the only one whose heart I long to know.

Hayden was born a werewolf, a Dark Guardian. But her ability to sense the feelings of fellow werewolves has made her life unbearable. She runs away, only to be tracked by charming, mysterious Daniel, a newcomer to the pack and the one Shifter immune to her powers. As she reluctantly follows him home, Hayden feels herself falling dangerously in love...

But even as her feelings for Daniel deepen, Hayden begins to wonder if he is who he claims to be. Where did he come from and why has no one ever seen him transform? When they stumble upon the body of a Shifter still in wolf form, her worries grow. Someone is killing her kind. Is her handsome tracker really a hunter? And is Hayden now his prey?

I love this series. I really, really do...they are short, sweet, and even though somewhat predictable, they are fantastic to fall into!

So far, honestly, this is my favorite of the series. I really loved the first, Moonlight, but this newest book has not only the wonderful Dark Guardian werewolves, but other shifters, secrets, and one steamy romance!!

If you haven't read this series yet, you should run out right now and grab book 1. Seriously!