Tag: young adult fantasy

Book Review: Raybearer (Raybearer #1) by Jordan Ifueko

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Author: Jordan Ifueko
Publisher: Amulet Books
Release Date: August 18th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nothing is more important than loyalty. But what if you’ve sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy?

Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself? 

INSTANT HIT.

WOW.

This was so good!! And highly recommend on audio too. I felt that brought Raybearer to life.

I’m always hesitant over a timeline that starts off with a younger child then moves on to teenager/adulthood. I loove the way this was written. I never felt stuck too long in one area, but got all of the information needed to get a great sense of the world being built and the magic system being established.

Found family is a hidden gem trope for me. I start to feel all the things for every member of the group. This was fantastic. I love that Tarisai found her home. She found her friends and family. Those who would love and protect her just like she would them. It was beautiful. Every side character I met stole my heart and I am captivated by them all.

Her relationship with Sanjeet was adorable. Brooding and with the right amount of angst and longing. It played so well into the storyline, but didn’t over shadow the plot. I always love a good romance woven in and I see it here.

The political action was astounding and kept me on my toes. It wasn’t bogged down with too many council meetings and babble that didn’t go anywhere. Every scene had a point and meant something to the story. Many things are incredibly unique to this fantasy and it was refreshing to take it all in. This one is worth the hype y’all and there’s no way to cover the abundant aspects I enjoyed.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses; closed door scenes
  • Violence: small battles, physical altercations, attempted exocutions
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, child sacrifice (not depicted, but spoken of as it pertains heavily to the plot), domestice abuse, gaslighting

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Book Review: Keeper of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities #1) by Shannon Messenger

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Middle Grade Fantasy
Length: 496 pages
Author: Shannon Messenger
Publisher: Aladdin
Release Date: October 2nd, 2012
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.

Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.

Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.”
There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.

In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

A NEW MG FAV.

This book reminded me of why I enjoy reading middle-grade books. I absolutely adored it and can’t wait to continue this series.

I love Sophie! She’s a great character with a mix of the obvious naivety that comes with being 12/13, but also the resilience that comes from being put in difficult situations. Not to mention finding out so much information about herself in a matter of months. I hope this character grow continues throughout.

The side characters were added gems too. I thought they were fun, cute, and I can see the budding friendships solidifying. I love a fantastic friend group and want more of this casts antics.

I struggled with the kids at school trope (like I do in all cases), but this didn’t detract too much from how much I appreciated the story. They might have been at school a lot but I thought the development of the story was well laid out. I have plenty of questions and am curious where all the strings will start tying together.

Overall audience notes:

  • Middle grade fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Violence: physical altercations, kidnapping (by drugging them to sleep), fires, magic

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: July 2021

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May have hit a new personal best for the month, 38 books y’all! I did read a lot of graphic novels mixed in with my big fantasy books. But I really love changing the pace between reads. Keeps slumps at bay.

Favorites this month: The Traitor Queen, How to Walk Away, Always Only You, The Poppy War, Otherwise Engaged, Well Matched, The Gravity of Us, Six Crimson Cranes, Falling for Your Enemy, Jade War, The Second Blind Son

Least Favorites: Redemptor, A Lady in Attendance, Gods & Monsters

  • [ARC] Redemptor (Raybearer #2) by Jordan Ifueko
  • Come Back to Me (Waters of Time #1) by Jody Hedlund
  • [Reread] The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • [ARC] Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn
  • How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
  • Always Only You (Bergman Brothers #2) by Chloe Liese
  • The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels #1) by India Holton
  • [Graphic Novel] Sheets (Sheets #1) by Brenna Thummler
  • The Mostly Real McCoy (Apple Valley Love Stories #1) by Julie Christianson
  • [Graphic Novel] Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
  • [Graphic Novel] Barely Functional Adult: It’ll All Make Sense Eventually by Meichi Ng
  • The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) by R.F. Kuang
  • Otherwise Engaged by Joanna Barker
  • Caught Bread Handed (A Bakeshop Mystery #4) by Ellie Alexander
  • Roomies by Christina Lauren
  • Reckless Memories (Wrecked #1) by Catherine Cowles
  • A Lady in Attendance by Rachel Fordham
  • The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus #3) by Rick Riordan
  • The Extinction Trials: Rebel (The Extinction Trials #3) by S.M. Wilson
  • [ARC] Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray
  • [ARC] Well Matched (Well Met #3) by Jen DeLuca
  • [Novella] Pursuing Miss Hall by Karen Thornell
  • On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga #1) by Andrew Peterson
  • The Gravity of Us (Elements #4) by Brittainy C. Cherry
  • Carving for Miss Coventry (Sons of Somerset #1) by Deborah M. Hathaway
  • Counting Down With You by Tashie Bhuiyan
  • [Non-fiction] Princes at War by Deborah Cadbury
  • Six Crimson Cranes (Six Crimson Cranes #1) by Elizabeth Lim
  • Falling for Your Enemy (Love Cliches #6) by Emma St. Clair
  • Ever After Always (Bergman Brothers #3) by Chloe Liese
  • Jade War (The Green Bone Saga #2) by Fonda Lee
  • [Graphic Novel] Heartstopper, Vol. 3 by Alice Oseman
  • The Second Blind Son by Amy Harmon
  • [Novella] The Twelve Holidates (Love Cliches #4) by Emma St. Clair
  • The Tea Dragon Festival (Tea Dragon #2) by Kay O’Neill
  • Gods & Monsters (Serpent & Dove #3) by Shelby Mahurin
  • [Graphic Novel] Fence, Vol. 1 by C.S. Pacat
  • [Graphic Novel] Fence, Vol. 2 by C.S. Pacat

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Book Review: A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Sabaa Tahir

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 528 pages
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: December 1st, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Prepare for the jaw-dropping finale of Sabaa Tahir’s beloved New York Times bestselling An Ember in the Ashes fantasy series, and discover: Who will survive the storm?

Picking up just a few months after A Reaper at the Gates left off…

The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory–or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life–and love–he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save–or destroy–all that he knows.

STUNNING FINALE.

It’s time.

It’s time you read this series.

It is beautiful, raw, strikes so many chords and is nothing short of a magnificent story.

I love these characters and how real everything feels to me because of how the writing conveys their tale. The highs and lows and everything in between drag out all of the emotions and made me sit there and hug this book afterwards. This isn’t a happy-go-lucky story. A lot of bad things do happen, but I love the infused sense of hope that something is better out on the horizon. That we’ll get there.

You’ll never find yourself bored or dragging through any of these points-of-view. The high stakes action bouncing off of angsty moments had me gripping pages to know where things were going. I feel like even the side characters got some great spotlight and I was hooked on them by the ending too. While yes, totally hate how some things went down (without a doubt had me in tears), it all still somehow worked out in the end. That’s what I love. The loss of who/this/that didn’t overshadow where everything was leading.

This entire series took me on a such a journey and I have a hard time putting into words what the closing of this final chapter meant. An Ember in the Ashes will definitely go down as one of my favorite young adult fantasy series. The amount of dedication and work that clearly went into this jaw-dropping. I’m a fan for life and can’t wait to see what Tahir writes next.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult fantasy
  • Language: little light
  • Romance: kisses/make-outs; some little detailed fade out scenes (still felt appropriate for YA genre)
  • Violence: depictions of war, gory and bloody murders and battle scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of multiple loved ones

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