Review: Brazen by Katherine Longshore

Title: Brazen
Author: Katherine Longshore
Series: n/a
Book #: 1
Pages: 528
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 4.13
Published: June 12th, 2014
Excerpt

Mary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she’s married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, she rockets into the Tudor court’s inner circle. Mary and “Fitz” join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court’s strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations. The more Mary gets to know Fitz, the harder she falls for him, but is forbidden from seeing him alone. The rules of court were made to be pushed…but pushing them too far means certain death. Is true love worth dying for?

Taschima's POV:

I am so happy to be alive today. By today I mean in the 21st century where women have a right to vote, a chance at making something out of ourselves, a chance at freedom, a chance at love. Mary never stood a chance, and all she had was luck at her side. At least in this book she did. Katherine Longshore paints us an honest yet hopeful picture of 16th century England. To me it sounds like a horrible place to be at but it does give us a great setting for an enthralling tale.

Mary Howard is only a daughter until she marries a Duke, and not only just a Duke but the bastard son of the King of England. Suddenly she is thrown head on unto the King and Queen's court where secrets, lies, and treachery lie abundant. Mary faces it all at first with the heart and mind of a child. She is not ready to be a wife to a boy she barely knows, nor is she ready to be a Duchess. However Mary is just a pawn in a very elaborate game which only the high and mighty King might ever hope to win. Women are accessories, chips to be bargained away for the right price, you can only hope that fate is on your side.

To be completely honest the beginning of this novel is incredibly slow. But after you stick to it for a little bit... Yeap, it is still slow as hell. But then again if you are into historical fiction with a tint of romance then you would already be used to this. If you are not into these sorts of reads you have been warned. The thing that kept me going on was Mary for the most part, and the writing. Mary is this quiet girl who is very conflicted with the choices that were thrust upon her. She tries to do the right thing and honor the people who deserve it. In the grand scheme of the novel Mary was like a breath of fresh air. Plus the second half of the novel is ridiculously good and scandalous. People start getting killed left and right and Katherine Longshore starts pulling at your heart strings... really the second half of the novel is where it's at!

What makes it difficult as well is that Mary Fitzroy is not a very hyped character in history so she also doesn't have that going for her. But the Mary Fitzroy Katherine Longshore brought to life is a girl worth getting to know, a girl who believed in doing things right and in being herself, no matter how much fiction there is to her character it still brings this historical girl back to life.

Also there are SO many characters! Half of the time I would have to go back and figure out who the hell we were talking about. Half of them don't have much of a personality so they all start to blend together. All the characters that actually matter are very distinctive so the rest are just puppets that keep the plot moving along.

"I don't want to say yes, but I do. I don't want to like the way his hand feels in mine. But I do.
I want to fall in love with him.
But I don't."

The romance was very slow as well. Mary and Fitz married very young so I understand the author's intention of building on their romance and taking it slow but it took them a whole year to actually kiss. It is slow and painful, but when they actually fall in love it is beautiful... and painful. Ritz comes to grow on you but it takes at least 200 pages for this to happen.

So yes, Brazen is slow but after you get into the story and it's characters it will go by rather fast. It is interesting and I like learning about "history" in a fun sort of environment, you know as much as you CAN learn. Something not to be missed is the author's note at the end of the book. The author takes her time and tells you what happens to the characters after her tale (for the most part not good things, but come on it is England in the 1600s).

Brazen is one of my first historical romances. Usually I don't lean towards these kinds of reads but learning about Mary Fitzroy was worth the time you put into it. I think I might actually pick up another historical romance novel, but only if it is written by Katherine Longshore.

Cover + Chapters Revealed: The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Curse #2) by Marie Rutkoski *Warning, Emoticon Galore*

Goodreads

I am SO excited I cannot possibly contain my GLEE! The Winner's Curse is not coming out until March 2015 and the wait has been killing us all!

I think I am still a major fan of the first book's cover, but this one is still very stunning. Becautiful color, and I love her sword and of course the font they used. I like they kept the motif of the model looking up. Eye catching and satisfying.

And while I appreciate a good cover reveal as much as the next girl what makes this extra special is that the author also released THE FIRST 3 CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK!!!!!!!

I swear if the book is not good...

Which is why I keep telling myself, "self..."

To be fair... My expectations are HIGH. Skyrocket blasting into Pluto high. And as god is my witness the minute that I am able to read this book...

I wont care, I wont, I swear.

PS; Slight catch, you might have to sign up for Marie's Newsletter to get the first three chapters, but who cares?!?!

CLICK TO ENTER TO WIN AN ARC COPY OF ALLY CONDIE'S NEXT RELEASE, ATLANTIA!

Review: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

Title: The Last Olympian

Series: Percy Jackson & The Olympians

Book #: Four

Author: Rick Riordan

Pages: 381

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Tags: Mythology, Adventure, Fiction

Recommended to: Harry Potter fans

Rating:

"A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds.

And see the world in endless sleep,

The heroe's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze."

All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows.

While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy’s sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.

Taschima's POV:

Rick Riordan has created a mouth-full, and I enjoyed every last bite of it. Where can I start...

Percy keeps growing up and day by day it's getting close to his 16th B-day, and the day that will change all lives forever. While in the world battles are being fought and wars are being born. It's the last stand agaisnt the Titan Kronos, and it was NOT what I expected... At all. but the thing is, that's what I like about Riordan's books, he always keeps you wondering, don't ask me how he does it, but he can always surprise you.

The content of the book was well balanced. It wasn't all about the war, but at the same time it was. You get to see our heroes evolve, fall, triumph and perish. Every character has it's piece to dance. Annabeth, Grover, Tyson, even Rachel which seemed like a minor character played a big part in the story.

Another thing that I really like about this books is the prophecies, and the guess-what-it-means game. This books are awesome, but they could be so much more. Like it could be more for an advance age if Rick would only wanted it to, but he wanted a YA book and thats what we got, and that is enough with me cause it is still awesome.

At the end you got to be very careful cause friends may be enemies, and enemies may be friends. At the end many will surprise you. The road is tricky, but you will enjoy every single second of it.

But it, read it, love it.

YA Review: The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave #2) by Rick Yancey

Title: The Infinite Sea
Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The 5th Wave
Book #: 2
Pages: 300
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 4.34
Published: September 16th, 2014

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.
Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.
Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

Taschima's POV:

The Infinite Sea was good... up to a point. I feel like this one was so different from it's predecessor. It introduced a lot of things, but it also took away others that I had come to expect and love. The Infinite is nonetheless dark, thrilling, and captivating, well worth the reader's time.

The Infinite Sea is told in four different POVs. FOUR. Let's just say that from the very first page I found myself extremely confused because I had NO idea whose POV I was reading from. Zombie? Cassie? As it turns it was neither. We are introduced to a new POV right off the bat without even the courtesy of a name at the beginning of the chapter. Keep in mind, The 5th Wave was released a while ago and so my memories of the first book were a little murky at first. I didn't remember who this "Ringer" chick was. Soon enough you start getting used to her, but it was a rough awakening.

So I felt a bit cheated because so very little of the story is focused on Cassie and Zombie, and almost all of it is told from Ringer's POV. Ringer is a character that you soon turn to like because she is strong and resilient. But that isn't the point. The point is to not have any expectations when it comes to Infinite Sea because all of those will be blown out of the water. The fourth POV was Poundcake's. By the time his turn to shine comes though you are well acclimated to the story and the characters so it isn't a huge shock and I really enjoyed his story. It was sad and yet relatable. No surprise that abuse might play a part in the reason he is always to silent.

While in the 5th Wave we spent most of our time constantly moving from point A to point B I felt like most of the infinite sea was stationary. The amount of different setting could easily be counted in one hand alone. It spent a lot of time figuring out one question, "why are the aliens making this fight so personal? Why are they killing us in Waves instead of throwing a big ass rock at us?" So there was a lot of rambling about rats (long drawn out metaphor of the rats), rocks, level of risks, etc. After a while it starts to get repetitive, with every other character thinking along the same lines.

One thing in which The Infinite Sea excelled at was plot twists and turns. A lot of the things that happened I didn't expect them to happen, hell I didn't expect it to be told from 4 different POVs! It held a lot of surprises for the reader's. It is equally satisfying and painful. The ending was probably my favorite part of the book, both Ringer's and Cassie's POV endings. They were both unexpected in their own way.

At the end I learned to love Ringer, and I really did appreciate learning about Poundcake's backstory. Overall it was just different than was I was expecting. I really did miss having Cassie as my main POV, and even Zombie. Ringer does make some very questionable decisions at the end of the novel how can she have sex with Alex when he betrayed her so badly?!?! I would kill him. The writing is still phenomenal, even the acknowledgement at the end of the book is worth reading. The Infinite Sea did a great job of setting up for the big finale, and if I was excited to get this title you do not know how EXTREMELY excited I am about getting the next one.

PS; May I just say that I felt Sam was incredibly unfair and a little brat? His sister went through HELL to get to him, to get him to safety, and all he does is yell at her and not even a thank you for rescuing me from the bowels of hell. Little brat.</spoiler>

Teaser Tuesday

And yet again I'm posting something the day it's supposed to be posted. I guess lighting does strike twice *hides under the table*

Since Im reading Lover Avenged (WOOT!) and I already posted a Teaser for that book, I am going to pick a random book from my pile and write.

BTW Lover Avenged is awesome, everybody should read it. Wait a minute *moves around* being under the table is quite difficult.

This is from The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

"What is it my lord?"

"She'll never forgive me for missing the party."

"I think the queen would forgive you anything, my lord."

"Not the queen. The princess."

"Oh. With her you'll have trouble."

The men laughed. With Alyss, King Nolan would indeed have trouble, but it would be a pleasant sort of trouble...

Looking Glass Wars, pg 19.

I want to read this book, have it, but since I have a huge TBR pile haven't gotten to it :S

Well, since you guys are awesome, and I love you, I will give you another sneack peak at Lover Avenged!

"You can't know how sorry I am."

Beth reached up and touched his jaw. "I hear it in your voice."

He took her hand and placed it over his heart. "I'm nothing without you."

"Not true." She stepped out of his hold. "You are the king. No matter who your shellan is, you are everything."

Ahhhh! I love Beth! And in this part of the book she is talking to Wrath-my lover. It's a hugely exciting book, I love it and haven't finished it! I'm on page 167 ^^ and will be in 300 soon enough! The book is huge... I will stop babelling about the greates series ever now.

*get's out from under the table*

Wow, that was different. Next time down the rabbit hole!

Ps; Remember to enter my two contest; First contest for an ARC copy of Eyes Like Stars (ends July 1st) and the second one is for two different books! Ends this friday.

YA Review: Blackbird by Anna Carey

Title: Blackbird
Author: Anna Carey
Series: Blackbird Duology
Book #: 1
Pages: 256
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 3.49
Published: September 16th, 2014

This twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined.

Taschima's POV:

So me and Blackbird were not getting along at all at the beginning. The 2nd Person Point of View was distracting and jarring; it kept knocking me off balance and distracting me. I actually didn't enjoy myself until after page 100, when things finally start to get interesting and instead of running blindly a picture starts to form and connections begin to be made. I almost did not finish this one, but by the end there I was actually glad I stuck along. What at the beginning seemed to me to be a long boring story of a girl running and hiding by the end turned into an exciting tale with a lot left yet to explored. I dare say Blackbird might not be one to miss; I'm already picturing how the second book will turn out.

Self named Sunny is the girl on the run. We don't know much about her, not her background or her physical attributes. Blackbird invites you to picture yourself as the girl in the run; Sunny has no distinct characteristics that might make her stand out, only a bunch of scars and she has dark hair, but that only further allows you to blend into the character and imagine yourself as being her. You are on the run. You don't remember anything about yourself, or why you feel on edge. Who is coming after you? The whole novel is about answering those questions so giving any further details away would cheat you from the answers revealed throughout.

Though that is not to say that the answers in themselves are entirely unprecedented. But what Blackbird has going for it is it's unique writing style (which takes a little bit to get used to) and the sense of urgency throughout. The ending really hooked me though. I really want to know what happens next, and isn't that after all the great hallmark of a good novel? It might have taken Blackbird an unusual amount of time to hook me but hook me it did.

The Hunger Games News: Mockingjay Part 1 TRAILER!!!

Release Date: November 21st, 2014.

And the day is finally here. Well, not the day, but we are coming close! Only two more months and we get to watch Mockingjay Part 1!! The trailer looks amazing, very very exciting. When I was watching it I kept saying "I remember reading that, and that, and that!"

I smell a read-athon coming on! I need to re-read the whole series again, or at least Mockingjay. I wonder how far they will go in this movie... 

Review: Lover Avenged by J.R.Ward

Title: Lover Avenged

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood

Book #: 7th

Author: J.R.Ward

Pages: 527

Publisher: New American Library

Tags: Fiction, Vampires, Romance

Recommended to: Everybody

Rating:

* High sexual content

All Kings Are Blind

The Good Ones See This

And Use More Than Their Eyes To Lead

The brothers are back—the latest installment in J. R. Ward’s sizzling #1New York Times bestselling series.

J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood novels have introduced readers to a “different, creative, dark, violent, and flat-out amazing” (All About Romance)world. Now, as the vampire warriors defend their race against their slayers, one male’s loyalty to the Brotherhood will be tested—and his dangerous mixed blood revealed…

Rehvenge has always kept his distance from the Brotherhood—even though his sister is married to a member, for he harbors a deadly secret that could make him a huge liability in their war against the lessers. As plots within and outside of the Brotherhood threaten to reveal the truth about Rehvenge, he turns to the only source of light in his darkening world, Ehlena, a vampire untouched by the corruption that has its hold on him—and the only thing standing between him and eternal destruction.

Taschima's POV:

So where do I start...

Lets begin with the plot. All books have the same background flow. Male who is powerful and skillful, who wants to do good, but has a dark past. Female of worth who comes along and helps the male, but she also has her flaws, and the male helps her too.

You would think the story would get repetitive right?

Think again.

Every single book has a different story. It never get's repetitive, nor boring. In fact this book has like what? 500-600 pages? I ate them all in no time. The flow of the story is ever moving along. And the twists and turns are out of the mind of a damn genius.

In contrast with Phury's book, this book was a whole lot better, and I think we owe it all to the Reverend. His character had the 3 D's, dark, deadly... damaged. He can kill without mercy, and laugh while doing it. He is the kind of guy that if you see in a bar you would be immediately attracted to, but also fear. Hes the kind of male that would take your soul and sale it to the highest biter.

But in the darkness, there is always light.

He also has his good side. He does horrible things, but they come with a reason. Not always, but most of the time anyways.

Ehlena is the opposite of Rhevenge. She is the care giver, the nurse, the I-would- give-you-my-hand-if-I-only-could kind of girl. But hell she can also handle a gun. And ain't that sweet.

Opposites attract each other, and so not be surprised that these two will meet eventually, but will they end up together? He's a Drug Lord, she's a nurse, what are the odds?

Other than their story we have background story, which are ALWAYS fun. We get to see more of my lover, the blind king, Wrath, and his lovely Shellan Beth. We get to see Thor going to depression and back. JM slowly dying inside.

You see this books may be about vampires, war, romance. But in the core of the book is mostly about human emotions, sacrifice, love, catastrophe, and how to surpass adversity. Only that J.R. Ward makes it more fun by mixing it up with the supernatural, and giving us some of the finest eye candy I could ever find.

YA Review: Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White (SO GOOD!)

Title: Illusions of Fate
Author: Kiersten White
Series: n/a, sadly.
Book #: 1
Pages: 288
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 3.90
Published: September 16th, 2014

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”
Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.
Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.


Taschima's POV:

For some reason I've always liked Kiersten White's writing. I like her spunky characters, her effortless dialogue, and the world building! Illusions of Fate offers something special to the YA Historical/Fantasy genre. It is full of magic, daring, and enchantment. I was hooked from the very first page.

Jessamine is a foreigner in the country of Albion. Having gone there to study (and to escape her mother's attempts at getting young gentlemen to propose to her) Jessamine has to work trice as hard as everybody else in her school because she is first a woman interested in the mathematics and two a foreigner from a small island considered to be full of primitive folk. And so she studies and works in order to take care of herself. One day while heading home she meets Finn, a young Lord who seems to have a little too much interest in her... and pretty much after that her life was never the same. Because you see, Finn has enemies and those enemies have locked on to Jessamine with a fierce force of will. Jessamine soon gets herself into a world unlike her own full of wealth, politics, and glorious magic.

The man pauses, obviously surprised to see how dark of skin and eyes I am in spite of my school uniform. And so I take the opportunity to insult his manhood, his lineage, and his horse in a single, well-crafted turn of phrase I haven't used since my friend Kelen taught it to me when I was fourteen.
He smiles.
I smile back.

To even dream of changing her course of life Jessamine already had to have had a strong backbone, and she does. She takes care of herself and wont let the country of Albion get her down. She was probably the best part of the whole book, her dialogue made me laugh out loud and she is just the kind of character that keeps you glued to the page. All the characters were entrancing in their own way, but Jessamine was my favorite.

"He follows my eyes and curses, then slides his hands beneath my legs and back.
"What are you doing?"
"Picking you up so we can run!"
"Don't be daft, my hand is broken, not my feet!"
"Right, that was stupid. Stupid." He helps me up by my elbow. "This way!"

Lord Finn is a quiet unassuming guy to the rest of the world. He is anything but. Quiet by necessity, Finn tries not to create ties with anybody in order not to put them in danger, but Jessamine is a complication he hadn't seen coming. At first Lord Finn was what you expect from a noble English man back in the day; proper, wanting Jessamine to do as he says without question, and overprotective. But this all works out for the best because you get to see how Jessamine brings him down a peg or two. She is not a wilting flower, she is clever and strong and no man need save her.

Lord Finn, after getting over himself, turns out to be a very sweet guy and just about the perfect counterpart to Jessamine's fire.

Another character that stands out is Jessamine's eventual friend Eleanor.

"They're wrong you know. About you. Your uncle and Lord Downpike. You are smart and brave and terribly important."
[Eleanor] She laughs. "Oh, I know that, silly. Bit it's easier not to let them realize it, because then they'd stop ignoring me, and they'd realize how much mischief I really get up to."

Eleanor is an example of how the women in Illusions of Fate are. Strong, brave, using their supposed "weaknesses" to their advantage... Kiersten White always writes strong female characters. She empowers them in different ways but they always come out as marvelous. Eleanor was such an interesting character; I wouldn't mind reading a novella, or even a full book, from her POV.
It is such a shame that this book is a stand alone! I felt like things could have been prolonged, but better a great stand alone than a drawn out series with little flair I suppose. Nonetheless I cannot wait for Kiersten's next project, and I'll be sure to keep my copy of this book close at hand for future re-reads.

5 Reasons To Go Buy Illusions of Fate (Kiersten White), coming out Sept. 9th, STAT!

So the last two books I've read have been less than phenomenal. It is a sad, sad truth. But I recently picked up Kiersten White's soon to be released Illusions of Fate and I have to say I am enjoying it immensely! Kierten White shines when creating engaging characters, and now she has done it again!

Jessamin is a foreigner from the made up land of Melei who has gone over to the conquering land of Avebury in order to further her education. Well, as much as any lady can in this time.

So yes, historical fantasy. With PLENTY of snark (I love snark, give me more I say!). Jessamin is strong; a force to reckon with. She doesn't let this dreary country (Avebury) she has to live in get her down, and she misses her home country fiercely. I would say she is my favorite part of the whole book. Though I am also loving the magical aspect, and the side characters.

Here are 5 reasons to pre-order Illusions of Fate today:

1. Jessamine won't take any of your shit.

 Reading over the letter to my mother, I am so absorbed in my head with adding the true statements to my written words that I fail to pay attention to the street. I cannot decide which shocks me more--nearly being run over by the horse-drawn cart, or the fluid stream of cursing in my native tongue that is being directed at me.
I look up, cheeks burning, and meet a pair of black eyes that, combined with the familiarity of the language, hit me with a longing for Melei sp deep and painful I can scarcely draw a breath.
The man pauses, obviously surprised to see how dark of skin and eyes I am in spite of my school uniform. And so I take the opportunity to insult his manhood, his lineage, and his horse in a single, well-crafted turn of phrase I haven't used since my friend kelen taught it to me when I was fourteen.
He smiles.
I smile back.

2. Jessamine needs no man to save her...

He follows my eyes and curses, then slides his hands beneath my legs and back.
"What are you doing?"
"Picking you up so we can run!"
"Don't be daft, my hand is broken, not my feet!"
"Right, that was stupid. Stupid." He helps me up by my elbow. "This way!"

3. She is faithful to her friends... Human, animal, or otherwise.

Jessamine: "This bird saved my life."
Finn: "I am saving your life!"
Jessamine: "You were ready to give in! I saved my own life. You are simply keeping me company on this leg of my escape." Sir Bird caws brokenly in support of my statements.

4. Did I mention she has fabulous friends?

Finn: "It is none of your concern, Eleanor. All I need from you is a promise that you will keep this information to yourself."
Eleanor: "Lord Ackerly, if you asked me to deliver you the moon on a platter, I should think my odds of success slightly higher."
Finn: "I can make it worth your while, of course. Or, if you prefer, I can simply make you."
Eleanor: "Now we're dealing in threats! I feel so important. I wish you had done this last week. Aunt Agatha was in town, and I thought I would die from boredom."

 5. It is Freaking Old English Country Charm Mixed with Magic and a Kick Ass Heroine!

Random Stuck Up Lady: "How pretty you are," she says with a cloying smile. "You must feel so at home here in this horrid, muggy heat with all of these wild plants. You look like one yourself!"
The worst part is, she's right. I did feel at home when I walked in, but I know how far I am from it now. Lifting my chin, I return her smile with a pointed one of my own. "Why thank you, I do feel comfortable here, just as you must feel perfectly suited to this city of cold, greay rocks."

[The names in BOLD I added] I am already mourning the ending of this one. I am taking it slow because too soon it will be over. A definite must buy!

PS; If you look up Illusions of Fate via Goodreads it gives you a preview! Have fun reading!

Review: Max by James Patterson

Title: MAX

Series: Maximum Ride

Book #: 5th

Author: James Patterson

Pages: 309

Publisher: Little, Brown

Tags: Action, adventure, fiction

Recommended to: Character lovers

Rating: 

Maximum Ride and other members of the flock have barely recovered from their last Arctic adventure, when they are confronted by the most frightening catastrophe yet. Millions of fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii and someone--or something-- is destroyed hundreds of ship. Unable to discover the cause, the government enlists he flock to help them get to the bottom of the disaster before it is too late.

While Max and her team are exploiting the depths of the ocean, their every move is being carefully tracked by Mr. Chu-- a criminal mastermind with his own plans for the flock. Can they protect themselves from Mr.Chu's army of mercenaries and save the ocean from utter destruction?

Taschima's POV:

We are back with Max and the flock, and this time were going to Hawaii. We are presented to some new evils, as well as old ones. Max is still on her mission to save the world, but is she getting closer to the deed? Or just running in circles?

To me this book did not bring anything new to the table. I think Patterson is trying to get all the juice he can out of this series, and I got to say stop doing it. I think this series should be put to an end before it gets *shudders* any worse.

It's not that the book is bad, I mean its very enjoyable, and utterly hilarious, but I think that he just completely changed the story for us since the fourth book. Is this book better than the fourth? yeah. Am I going to keep reading them? probably, but just because of my love for the characters though.

Speaking of the characters, Max was as good as ever. Her smart-ass remarks, and her sarcastic nature never leave her for a sec, thank god for that. Fang is still as dark, and fascinating as ever, and all the other characters are true to their nature. They keep growing with every book, only reason I keep reading.

Another thing that bother me is the Mary Poppins bag of powers. I swear every time they open their mouths to say something is like, hey dudes I got gills now! Like how is that even possible? The scientist didn't do anything to make them something other than bird freaks, or did I miss something?

Please let the next book be the last, dragging the series is not always good, and I don't think even my love for the characters will make me buy another two books.

HOT Cover Reveal: The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines #6) by Richelle Mead

Goodreads

TA-DA! What do you think? I will be the first to admit I don't like the color, and Sydney's pose looks weird, but I am just so excited that we are one step closer to the release date! Gives me chills. I wonder if Richelle Mead thinks about revisiting the series ever again. If she were to do so I vote that Lissa takes the reins next. She is going through a lot of changes right now and getting to read her side of the story would be fantastic!!

And now if only they would release an excerpt...

YA Review: Feuds by Avery Hastings

Title: Feuds
Author: Avery Hastings
Series: Feuds (???)
Book #: 1
Pages: 272
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 3.35
Published: September 2nd, 2014

In this breathless story of impossible love, perfection comes at a deadly cost.

For Davis Morrow, perfection is a daily reality. Like all Priors, Davis has spent her whole life primed to be smarter, stronger, and more graceful than the lowly Imperfects, or “Imps.” A fiercely ambitious ballerina, Davis is only a few weeks away from qualifying for the Olympiads and finally living up to her mother’s legacy when she meets Cole, a mysterious boy who leaves her with more questions each time he disappears.

Davis has no idea that Cole has his own agenda, or that he’s a rising star in the FEUDS, an underground fighting ring where Priors gamble on Imps. Cole has every reason to hate Davis—her father’s campaign hinges on the total segregation of the Imps and Priors—but despite his best efforts, Cole finds himself as drawn to Davis as she is to him.

Then Narxis, a deadly virus, takes its hold--and Davis’s friends start dying. When the Priors refuse to acknowledge the epidemic, Davis has no one to turn to but Cole. Falling in love was never part of their plan, but their love may be the only thing that can save her world...in Avery Hastings's Feuds.

Taschima's POV:

At the beginning everything was going great for this title. We were introduced to a fairly new developed world and a couple of characters that seemed super interesting. A ballerina and a cage fighter. The beginning of the romance came hard and fast, both characters seemed really into each other and the attraction was instantaneous. If it had just been attraction and curiosity I would have dug their relationship, but when you only meet someone twice and all you basically do is make out, or think about making out, and then you suddenly profess your love for each other? Ugh, that turned me off. They only meet twice and suddenly they are in love. What is worse is that each character is only in love with the idea of each other, not even the real person. If this was a case study on how teenagers sometimes can misinterpret feelings of high attractions for actual romance, or even a connection, then it nailed it. But I don't think it is a case study at all, I think they think this is serious and that is why after the characters declared their ever lasting love for each other my interest in the book dwindled and dwindled until I could barely pick it up to finish it. It is sad, maybe harsh, but it is true. Shame since the novel had such potential for more.

"Davis's father had told her horror stories of what the city had been like back when the Imps were fully integrated. Crime--rapes, shootings, theft--it was through the roof until Kensington started pushing segregation."

And with this lonely paragraph we have to infer that the genetically perfect beings have no crime. I think, I am pretty sure. Who knows, she never outright says so.

"If it weren't for Kensington, the city of Columbus might never have survived and endured all the instability that caused dozens of major cities--Chicago, Los Angeles, portions of New York that still existed after the floods-- to crumble, leaving most of the country uninhabitable. Every aspect of her life--the city she called home--was safer and better."

This is as far as we get about what happened to America. Floods, and I guess crimes by the IMPS, brought down major cities. So segregation is a thing again.

I am going to try to come up with a summary that makes sense. Davis is a PRIOR, which means she was breed from another PRIOR (Prior are genetically perfect beings-- how they are created? Some language lessons in utero plus classical music! We could possibly pull this off now... NOT). Priors dont get sick, Priors are physically perfect, Priors are superior. Then the GENS, or the IMPS as they are called by the superior PRIORS, are the rest of the population. How they are still around who knows, you would think they would have been killed by now or something (what year is this novel set on again?). Anyways, a Prior and an IMP fall in love but it is against the law for them to be together. Add in a little made up disease that is not explained at all, a pinch of corruption, and a dose of teenage hormones and you got yourself a book right? Well, not really...

Davis is an exhausting character. I felt like on paper she was represented to be something, the heroine we are supposed to root for, but all her actions just make her be something else entirely. She cares about the IMPS, but she doesn't. She wants to turn Cole in, but she loves him. She wants to be a serious ballerina, but when a guy rocks her world she forgets her name. As to her family, well I don't think the father has much of a personality. He is whatever Davis needs him to be at that time. He is rich, he is running for mayor, and he is protective. Other than that who is he? What does he like to do on his time off? Who did he use to be before trying to be mayor? Who is he? Davis' little sister and godmother are a bit better described but I don't even know if Davis actually likes her step-mother or not. I know her step-mother is nice, but I don't think they have much of a relationship and I don't know why since Davis' mother "died" during childbirth, or so she thinks? I mean, this is the oldest trick in the book. At one point the father is just never heard from again in the story, nor the rest of the family to be quite honest. Davis is not an inherently bad or self absorbed person, she is just naïve and oblivious. So I didn't hate her, I was just severely confused by her thoughts and then her actions.

"Kissing a Prior was illegal. Even getting close to one could get Cole arrested."

And Cole, oh you misguided child. You only like Davis cause she is hot, admit it. All those thoughts you had about her? Completely made up.  Who is this family you keep trying to get off the place you live in? Is it just your brother? Where is your mother? Why don't we ever meet her, like ever? She is extremely sick and yet you spend NO time with her. What the hell? Also, where does your brother work at? What does he do with his life other than being a rebel? I guess rent needs to be payed, and since I see no mother or father in the picture I am guessing he contributes? Maybe? Does rent need to be paid? What do you eat? Do you ever eat or feel hunger? Do either of you? At one point the novel just becomes all about the romance really and a LOT of details are just either never addressed or forgotten about entirely.

Details make up a world and you can't expect me to connect to the characters lives, to feel for their plight, when I am still confused about their every day lives. At one point the main important "bad guy" of the story disappears and is never heard from again. Or wait, is he supposed to be the main bad guy? I think so, but so little effort is put into his evil plans that really who cares. Also this "disease" that is running rampant through the Prior world, oh yeah part of the plot is that prior's are dropping like flies and only Davis' seems to notice, how can NOBODY notice that dozens of people are disappearing from their every day lives? Makes no sense! How can they really cover so many deaths that are happening at random, to people who aren't supposed to get sick?

Have I mention how irritating the romance is? Davis has no idea WHAT she is feeling. At one point she thinks she is going to turn the IMP guy in because well, he deceived her but then she doesn't because it would ruin her father's career but then a couple of pages later she is all "I LOVE HIM, THIS IS HOW LOVE FEELS LIKE". Yeeeah, right. And Cole at one point thinks t himself all these wonderful things about Davis' personality... which aren't true.

"She had a million different smiles that betrayed all of her complex thoughts, and he felt like every single one was exciting to discover."

How do you even know this Cole? You just met the girl!

"...but he wouldn't have fallen in love with anyone. For that, Davis was entirely responsible. It wasn't just her beauty and the attraction he felt for her. It was her way of looking at the world, her ability to see a different future, to question everything that has been fed to her all her life" 

This is inaccurate. Just a little while back she was ready to turn you in to make herself feel better. SHE IS NOT THIS PERSON, SHE HAS NEVER BEHAVED LIKE THIS PERSON. She is not one to look further than your classification, until she met you they could have hanged all the IMPS and she wouldn't have given a damn. Not that she is a bad person at her core, she is just unaware and uncaring about what is really happening in the world around her. She was too occupied with her small little bubble of a world to care about anything or anyone else. So yeah Cole, you like her cause she is pretty (flawless, if I remember correctly) and you feel the hots for her.

Anyways, not for me. Romance was atrocious and the world building was weak at best. All my best wishes for the sequel, that is something I will not be picking up.