Review: The Dysasters by Kristin Cast and P.C Cast

The Dysasters by P.C. Cast
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I'm a bit behind on posting this review as this was released on Tuesday (February 26, 2019).  Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with a physical ARC to review.

I really enjoyed this. It is a fast paced YA fantasy/sci-fi. It has elements of seris like X-men, Captain Planet, and Smallville (all things I like), and puts them in a book. I received an ARC which had comic-esque drawings in it to go with the storyline and they were a really cool addition to the reading experience.

I will say the dramatic dialogue between Tate and Foster got old after awhile. Foster was pretty disrespectful most of the time and most of the time for no good reason. It made her pretty unlikable. I think the characters could have been a little more well developed versus relying on them bickering all the time. This book is heavy on the dialogue. Once you get past the angsty teenage stuff, the book itself is pretty good. I really liked Bastien and Charlotte, I'm looking forward to getting to know them more as the series progresses. I'm interested to see how each of the elemental pairs interact with their evil elemental counterparts. We come to learn that an evil genius scientist has genetically modified 4 older children to be able to control the elements, but their modifications weren't stable. To stabilize and cure his original "children" he created 4 elemental pairs. Tate and Foster are the first of the pairs and they can control Air, they also must find and protect the other 3 pairs from the evil doctor and his progeny. I'm really looking forward to meeting the next 2 pairs of elementals and seeing how each of the 4 pairs masters their element and if and how they defeat the Core Four and evil Dr. Rick.

This book has a little bit of everything, action, romance, superpowers, morally gray characters, and a diverse cast. It is definitely targeted for the YA audience but as a YA reader myself I didn't mind. There is definitely profanity, but the romance isn't overwhelming. I am anxiously awaiting the next installment.



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Review: The Queen's Resistance by Rebecca Ross

The Queen's Resistance by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.  This releases March 5, 2019.

I'll be honest, I've had the ARC of this for quite some time, but I put off reading it. One because the release date wasn't until March of 2019 and two because I've been let down by so many other YA follow-on's. Let me tell you I should not have put this off for so long. I really enjoyed The Queen's Rising and this one did not disappoint. I read it in about 2 days once I settled in. I pretty much couldn't put it down.

This picks up immediately after The Queen's Rising ends, with Brienna now a Mistress of Knowledge and a daughter of MacQuinn by adoption. She is comfortable with the first role and not as comfortable in the second as the people of MacQuinn know who her biological father was and he wasn't exactly kind to the MacQuinn house under the prior king. Brienna gets some good advice that if she is true and stays the course, the people will come to love her. This is harder work that it seems, but Brienna is strong and willing to take on the challenge and help her people heal. She also acts as friend and advisor to Isolde, who is to become the new Queen.

The other perspective we follow in the book is Cartier also known as Aodhan, who is a Master of Knowledge, Brienna's former teacher, a long lost Lord of Maevana, and Brienna's love interest. Aodhan/Cartier must put his own castle back together as he is the Lord of Morgane and help his people come together after the tyranny and wounds they have suffered. He must also help the Queen build alliances and figure out which houses are loyal to her and which are trying to overthrow her. In the midst of putting his house together and making political alliances, Cartier finds a boy squatting in his castle. He immediately takes the boy in and nurses him back to health and finds work for him while never knowing his true identity. We eventually learn the boy's true identity as well as much of the family history between Cartier and the Lannon family.

I really loved that we get a ton of back story in this book. We get a history lesson of what happened to Aodhan/Cartier's family on the day the Lannon's overthrew the Morgane, MacQuinn, and Kavanagh houses to take the throne. There is a ton of political intrigue and a lot of twists and turns I didn't expect. There is a huge focus on family in this book both blood relation and the family you choose. I really liked that. I was so engaged in reading, that I didn't want to put the book down. I was intimidated by the size of the book as it is quoted at nearly 500 pages but I tore through it it just a few sittings.

I will say I wanted a little more of the magic system. It takes a backseat to the plot. I do like that the romance element between Cartier and Brienna was there but it was very slow burn and also takes a back seat. They know they care for each other and want to be together and that's it. There is no drama or sappy bits. I also love the Macquinn tradition with the ribbon in the tapestry. You'll understand when you read the book. That was a nice touch. Overall, I loved this. The writing was excellent as was the pacing. This was a great follow up.

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Top 5 Wednesday: Love Interests You Would Have Broken Up With

February 20th: Love Interests You Would Have Broken Up With

This was a tough one.  As I've stated probably more times that I needed to, I don't read a ton of romance.  I read plenty of books with romance in them, but normally the couples are OK.  I had to think really hard on these ones.  I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones that came to mind as I was scrolling my Read list on GoodReads.

• Gideon from the Precious Stone Trilogy
• I'm still not entirely sure why Gwen thought he was so dreamy. He wasn't very nice to her throughout, and she wasn't entirely convinced she liked him half the time. Their romance was so dramatic that I didn't even care if they ended up together.  I had been Gwen I would have moved on to someone better who actually was nice to me all the time and didn't play games.
• Jeno and Hector from Vampire Addiction
• There was too much insta-love in this for my taste.  Both of them immediately liked Gertie because she was new to town and she liked them back because she was so desperate for attention and they talked to her.  Neither one of them is honest with her until they have to be.  Jeno uses her and Hector I just don't think we get to know him enough to really decide. I didn't like either of them though.  
• Joe from Lies
• Joe isn't a bad guy, in fact he's a super nice guy.  He just makes alot of boneheaded decisions making him look like he wasn't very smart and kind of weak and incapable.  I need a responsible, smart, capable partner who can take care of himself and my kids.  While Joe is a great dad and a good partner, he just comes off as having a lack of common sense. I just didn't find him appealing based on his actions in the book.  I don't think he deserved what his wife did to him at all, but he could have thought through some of the things he did better.
• Martin from the Elements of Chemistry Series
• Katy does break up with him in this series and they do end up getting back together.  I don't think I ever would have gone with him in the first place though.  He's overbearing and controlling and stubborn which is part of the reason they break up.  After the 2nd book you think they would never get back together but he really does come around.  He's a bit pushy and domineering for my taste.
• Christian Grey from the Fifty Shades Series
• Yeah I've read the first 3 books, and they were whatever but Christian just isn't my type of guy.  I don't have an inner goddess doing backflips over all the weird stuff he's into.  I would have run away when he mentioned a contract and a NDA.  Legal documents do not make a relationship.

Review: Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had never heard of this series before, but I saw the movie trailer and I knew I had to read the book. I enjoy YA, sci-fi, steampunk, and dystopia and this is a good mix of all of those. The plot is unique and the pacing was really good.

This is set in a futuristic dystopian setting where towns and cities are mobile and the only way for them to survive and grow is to cannibalize other smaller towns for parts and fuel. You heard me mobile cities. The main town that we follow in Mortal Engines is London and it is on tracks. I had a clear picture of London, Big Ben and all moving around on giant tank tracks kind of like a bulldozer with a big garage at the bottom with big metal saws and cranes for tearing apart its prey. The people of the city are broken up into a kind of caste system where they each have jobs to keep the city running. The higher class live on the top tiers of the city while the lower class live and work in the bowels of the city.

As with most YA sci-fi/fantasy there is a rebel faction and a political villain. There are actually a couple of villains here. I really loved the characters and the two different perspectives of Tom the apprentice historian who has thought that London was a great place and those running London were great moral characters who were doing the best for their people. As Tom is in the wrong place at the wrong time and comes to learn that all is not what it seems, he is pulled into a rebellion against London and determined to do the right thing for London and those London is after. Then there is Katherine, daughter of the head historian, who has been raised as a somewhat naive lady of London. She isn't privy to some of the dastardly deeds her father has committed in her past, but as she comes to learn the truth she is willing to right those wrongs.

I switched back and forth between the ebook and the audio and recommend both equally.

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Review: Hold On by Samantha Young

Hold On by Samantha Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this. This follows Autumn, younger sister of record exec Killian from Play On. If you haven't read As Dust Dances, I think you should because it is awesome, but you can still read this as a standalone. Samantha gives you enough context to work with that you won't feel like you are missing anything, and if nothing else you'll want to go back and read it when you are done with Hold On. If you've read As Dust Dances you know that Autumn is amazing. She is a great friend, and very sweet. She sees the best in people and wears her heart on her sleeve. Unfortunately, Autumn has been unlucky in love and while she has the means to live a fairly comfortable life, she wants to find a career that makes her happy. This is how she finds herself on a ski retreat with friends of hers in Montana. Her goal is to relax, connect with her friends, and find her purpose in life.

Autumn has the grace of a ballerina, but when it comes to ice and snow she is as clumsy as it gets. Determined to ski on her own, Autumn tries skiing out without an instructor. This leads her into a collision with the smouldering Grayson King. Grayson is a ski instructor/successful business owner who is immediately drawn to Autumn. Autumn focused on finding her purpose in life, not for a fling or to find a man. She is jaded by her past relationship failures and feeling vulnerable. Grayson is persistent and convinces her to give him a shot. They are instantly drawn to each other and when Autumn tells Grayson he supports her career ideas and helps her try a few of them on for size.

Samantha Young knows how to write a sexy, steamy scene and you get plenty of them here. She also writes good banter between characters and there are some great lines between these two. Unlike some of her other novels, there is no strife and struggle to be resolved between the characters, this is light hearted and sweet. When I was done reading it, I let out a big "Awww!" I loved that we got to see Killian and Skylar again. Killian is a great big brother, and while he is super over-protective, we see a glimpse bit of his softer side.

I really loved this, this is part of the Big Sky crossover series which I have not read. I've read a few of the 1001 Dark Night's books, and I'll definitely be checking out the other Kristen Proby and other authors' in the Big Sky series. It is a great way to get to know other authors.

I was provided an advanced copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Queen of Air and Darkness

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare
Narrated by James Marsters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this, but I didn't love it. It was far too long for starters and there were way too many plot lines going on, some of which never get resolved in the series which really bugs me. This is the final book in a series, but we don't get resolution on alot of things, so I was left wanting at the end of all of it. I understand there are more books coming, but when a series ends, I want it to end and stand on its own. This kind of ends on a cliffhanger, which I don't like only to find out that we might find out more in a different series. I think the upcoming books are going to be great, and I'm looking forward to them, I just didn't like how this ended. The things that get resolved were just too convenient and easy. There weren't repercussions to some of the questionable actions that were taken. They kind of just got swept under the rug because worse things happened. I feel like this could have been broken up into 4 or 5 books like The Mortal Instruments to clean up the the characters and the plot lines so we could have gotten a more comprehensive series to set us up for the next ones.

There are alot of character arcs that seem to have significance, but not in this series. It is all a set up for the next series and I didn't appreciate that. If they had been introduced earlier or played a bigger role maybe I could get onboard, but it just feels like a bit of a marketing plot to sell more books later. I like Cassandra Clare's writing and I enjoy the Shadowhunter realm so I'm going to read her books, but I don't need some random set up to pull me in to some spinoff later. As for the main characters, I loved some of them and just wasn't invested in others. I think that comes from having so many characters and so many plots to follow. I didn't feel that way with the original series.

I will say there are some creative things in this book that you don't expect. I really do enjoy twists and turns in books, but some of them just didn't seem to make sense.

As far as a book summary goes...Julian and Emma are still trying to figure out how to deal with their feelings for each other and avoid the parabatai curse. I'm with many other reviewers on this that this was resolved much to conveniently. This was a major plotline of the series and I wasn't happy with how it played out in the end. I was never really invested in their romance from the beginning so all of their drama was just overkill for me. The Clave is back to its old ways of shunning Downworlders and that charge is being led by the new Inquisitor and his lackeys. Some of the fight was political and some was physical. We see some of the strategic moves made on the page, while others are mentioned and handled in the background. I think some of the resolutions were well played out, while others are still to be determined and I think we'll see them resolved in the future. That takes me back to the beginning of this review where I feel like much of this story still has yet to be told. I still feel invested in the story and the characters to find out what happens next.



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Blog Tour: Motion by Penny Reid

Motion by Penny Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an advanced copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. 

I loved this. It is fast paced, funny, and while it ends on a cliffhanger I don't feel like it was incomplete. I can't get the next book fast enough. I love that we get to see some old favorite characters from the Knitting in the City series. I'm also not mad about the cliffhanger because I knew it was coming and because this is a serial series and that comes with the territory.

If you've read Neanderthal Seeks Human, the main character reminds me alot of Janie. Mona is brilliant and a bit socially awkward. Her parents are famous, and her upbringing wasn't exactly conventional. Mona loves science and physics, and she likes things in her life to be predictable or controlled. She doesn't like surprises. Her twin, Lisa is the exact opposite. Lisa is an unpredictable, socialite who is always causing some sort of trouble. When Lisa gets into some real trouble, Mona has to step in and help her sister out. Mona agrees to be Lisa until Lisa can get home.

Enter Abram, Mona's polar opposite. Abram has agreed to babysit Lisa until an adult can supervise her actions and keep her out of trouble. He is a friend of Lisa and Mona's brother. He is a musician, he's carefree, and kind of lacks direction; all the things Mona is not. He sparks emotions in Mona that she isn't interested in but can't deny, especially because Abram doesn't know her true identity. They have such amazing chemistry and their banter was excellent. I love that while they are frustrated with each other, Abram is patient with her and willing to wait and doesn't push. Mona (acting as Lisa) begins to open up

Can we also talk about how amazing it is the Penny actually discusses some tough topics in this book? Aside from the great romance and characters, she tackles the issue of consent both from the male perspective and the female perspective. This is so often glossed over in books and in conversation in general. I'm hoping we get into more of this in the next 2 installments because it is important.

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Space 

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Time

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Meet Penny Reid: 

Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best Selling Author of the Winston Brothers, Knitting in the City, Rugby, and Hypothesis series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she just writes books. She’s also a full time mom to three diminutive adults, wife, daughter, knitter, crocheter, sewer, general crafter, and thought ninja.

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