Review: The Hunted

Hunted | Meagan Spooner

Published by: Harper Teen, March 14th 2017

Genre: Fantasy, Retellings, Fairy Tales, Magic

Pages: 352

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss

Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them. 

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. 

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

A perfect, delicate blend of Russian folklore, Beauty+The Beast, and an altogether new kind of magic.

I can't rave about this book enough. The setting is vast and detailed and so well built from the very beginning. The relationships between Yeva and her family, winding through the whole book, works so well with the dangerous, seductive, heartfelt story of Beast and Yeva. I just love everything - the magic, the tragedy, the heartbreak lying just under the surface, the huntress Beauty, the tormented Beast, the slow-burn liking to slow-burn love. This book is pure magic. I want to read it all over again.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★★

ARC Review: Queen of Hearts

Queen of Hearts Saga: Queen of Hearts | Colleen Oakes

Published by: Harper Teen, May 3rd 2016

Genre: YA, High Fantasy, Retellings

Pages: 320

Format: Ebook

Source: Harper Teen, via Edelweiss

As Princess of Wonderland Palace and the future Queen of Hearts, Dinah’s days are an endless monotony of tea, tarts, and a stream of vicious humiliations at the hands of her father, the King of Hearts. The only highlight of her days is visiting Wardley, her childhood best friend, the future Knave of Hearts — and the love of her life.

When an enchanting stranger arrives at the Palace, Dinah watches as everything she’s ever wanted threatens to crumble. As her coronation date approaches, a series of suspicious and bloody events suggests that something sinister stirs in the whimsical halls of Wonderland. It’s up to Dinah to unravel the mysteries that lurk both inside and under the Palace before she loses her own head to a clever and faceless foe.

Part epic fantasy, part twisted fairy tale, this dazzling saga will have readers shivering as Dinahs furious nature sweeps Wonderland up in the maelstrom of her wrath.

Familiar characters such as Cheshire, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter make their appearance, enchanting readers with this new, dark take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 

This is probably the best Wonderland novel I've ever read. That being said ... I still didn't love it all that much.

The first half of the book was interesting because of the worldbuiling and the concept, because it was all shiny and new. But once that had worn off I was ... bored for lack of a nicer word. I started skim reading. That's not to say this book doesn't have good stuff, because it does - the writing is very good, the story is seriously imaginative, and the plot doesn't rely on the source material AT ALL. It was interesting to see a Queen of Hearts origin story, but ... she wasn't the villain I'd expected. Truth be told, she was a whiny teenager. Sure there were parts of malice but not enough to make me really interested in Dinah's character. The romance, too, felt a little dull to me but maybe that's because I was apathetic about the rest of the book. And the ending felt dragged out, to the point I just wanted it to be over.

Despite it having very little in common, this weirdly reminded me of Red Queen in parts. Not the story or characters, more the feel of the book. So if you loved that, you'll probably like this.

Good writing, and nothing really wrong with it, but I doubt I'll remember it.

Characters ★★☆☆☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

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ARC Review: A Study In Charlotte

Charlotte Holmes: A Study In Charlotte | Brittany Cavallaro

Published by: Katherine Tegen Books, March 1st 2016

Genre: YA, Mystery, Retellings

Pages: 336

Format: Ebook

Source: Katherine Tegen

The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

A Study in Charlotte is the first in a trilogy. 

I've decided to rate this 5 star, and go with my heart-rating, not my brain-rating. Because I loved this book. It immersed me fully in the nostalgic experience of reading the original stories for the first time.

Charlotte and James are great characters, without being carbon copies of Sherlock and John. Charlotte is the most like her ancestor, but that similarity is very well explained - stoicism, her knowledge, and her skill set have been bred into her since birth. She's trained to be that way. But over the course of the book we do see her break away from what she's supposed to be in order to be friends with James, and we also see her buckle under pressure, which was nicely realistic and made me really feel for her. I loved the relationship between the two, and while a big part of my is dying for romance, I also really hope they'll be best friends forever. Other great relationships in this book include friendships (and betrayal!) and father-son stuff which was an unexpected surprise.

What this book does fairly well is realistically portray a victim dealing with rape, particularly sex she was too high to consent to. It isn't presented as Charlotte's fault AT ANY POINT, which I really appreciated.

As for the story, it's a great multi-faceted mystery. There's a villain that stands out a mile, but this book tricks you into thinking it's too obvious. Also, she's just a puppet so it's kinda-her-kinda-not-her at the same time. I will say the archetypes (of Holmes, Watson, and Moriarty) feel a bit forced at points. I'm tired of the every-Moriarty-is-a-bad-guy thing, but I'm hoping we'll meet another Moriarty in the second book and that'll all be resolved.

Well written, well researched, and full of love for the originals. It was pretty emotional to see my own passion for the Sherlock Holmes stories mirrored in this book, and I loved it.

Characters ★★★★☆
Setting/world ★★★★☆
Writing ★★★★☆

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ARC Review: Tell The Wind And Fire

Tell The Wind And Fire | Sarah Rees Brennan

Published by: Clarion Books, April 5th 2016

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retellings

Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: Clarion, via Netgalley

In a city divided between opulent luxury in the Light and fierce privations in the Dark, a determined young woman survives by guarding her secrets. 

Lucie Manette was born in the Dark half of the city, but careful manipulations won her a home in the Light, celebrity status, and a rich, loving boyfriend. Now she just wants to keep her head down, but her boyfriend has a dark secret of his own—one involving an apparent stranger who is destitute and despised. Lucie alone knows the young men’s deadly connection, and even as the knowledge leads her to make a grave mistake, she can trust no one with the truth.

Blood and secrets alike spill out when revolution erupts. With both halves of the city burning, and mercy nowhere to be found, can Lucie save either boy—or herself?

Celebrated author Sarah Rees Brennan weaves a magical tale of romance and revolution, love and loss.

This book should come with a huge flashing warning: IT WILL BREAK YOUR HEART.

But come on, it's a Sarah Rees Brennan book. We already knew that.

Tell The Wind and Fire is equal parts emotionally devastating, enthralling, and hilarious. Although  the parts I found funny (Lucie being pushed over the bridge, anyone?) maybe weren't meant to be...

I wasn't fussed on Lucie until I totally was, and I was cheering her on and totally invested, and I have no idea when she snuck up on me. Carwyn was my favourite, as he was always destined to be. He's my sarcastic piece of shit and I love him so much. I am incensed and righteously furious on his behalf. He deserved so, so much better and I want a hundred gratuitous fanfics of his miraculous recovery. (I will avenge him.) I have no opinion on Stryker #2.

The world is glittering and really damn interesting. I love the divide between the light and dark, and how morality is super grey or unconventional - light guys aren't good, dark guys aren't bad. The rebellion plot was something I was even genuinely interested in (and I am RARELY interested in rebel plots) and I just thoroughly enjoyed the story. I'm going to pretend it ended differently though. My only complaint is there's a whole chapter of info dumping at the beginning and it interrupted my reading experience.

Emotional, character driven, and wholly new and inventive. I will never forget this book. (I will never be whole again.)

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

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ARC Review: The Steep & Thorny Way

The Steep and Thorny Way | Cat Winters

Published by: Amulet Books, March 8th 2016

Genre: YA, Historical, Retellings, Paranormal

Pages: 352

Format: Ebook

Source: Amulet Books, via Netgalley

A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.

Not at all what I expected, but every bit as good as I knew it'd be.

For some reason I expected this to be heavier on the paranormal. It definitely has a very important ghost, but I thought there'd be more of that. Turns out it's mostly historical, which isn't bad at all because it's very well written and researched.

This is another one of those books that you don't enjoy reading because of the subject matter (racism, homophobia, KKK) but that's important to have read (especially as a white person - although I am on the lookout for a YA #ownvoices historical in the same era so I can read an authentic POV!!) So I didn't like it and I didn't enjoy it but I'm glad I read it.

The Steep & Thorny Way is emotional, compelling, and powerful. The characters are realistic and read as real people, the setting is tangible, and the story is horrific. You should read it.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★★

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ARC Review: Rebel of The Sands

Rebel of The Sands: Rebel of The Sands | Alwyn Hamilton

Published by: Faber&Faber, February 4th 2016

Genre: YA, High Fantasy, Retellings, Magic, Djinn

Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: Faber&Faber, via Netgalley

"Tell me that and we'll go. Right now. Save ourselves and leave this place to burn. Tell me that's how you want your story to go and we'll write it straight across the sand."

Dustwalk is Amani's home. The desert sand is in her bones. But she wants to escape. More than a want. A need. 

Then a foreigner with no name turns up to save her life, and with him the chance to run. But to where? The desert plains are full of danger. Sand and blood are swirling, and the Sultan's enemies are on the rise.

This book makes me !!!!!!!!! out loud.

I knew from 5% that I would love the characters, and I fell SO HARD for them. Jin is swoony and everything I love. Amani is badass and out for her own survival and I identified with her massively. I love that she could shoot a gun but also had softer, feminine aspects that didn't undermine her strength (and she didn't have to be masculine to be strong.) 

I always love a good girl-pretends-to-be-male-to-survive-the-matriarchy story so that was right up my street, and the rest of the plot was perfect (minus the rebels because I'm never 100% into rebellion plots.) Amani made some decisions I totally wouldn't have, which was a bit jarring when I was so into the book I felt like I was her, but I understood why she'd make them.

The romance is too much, it's just everything. I will ship them forever.

Here's a list of other things I loved:

Steam trains
Kinda cowboys
Shootouts
Djinn horses
Sand magic
Siblings!!
Super hot kisses
POC main cast
Unique world
Actually present (and spoken about) sexism
Feminism!

My only gripe is the world. First off, I ADORE it and it's so, so memorable and stands out from many other worlds. But instead of being middle eastern, it's more an american western, cowboy type world, which is ... not great. It takes something middle eastern and westernizes it. BUT that being said the world is what really makes it thoroughly unique compared to book such as The Wrath & The Dawn, The Fire Wish, A Thousand Nights. So good points and bad points.

To sum: READ THE DAMN BOOK.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★★

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Spinning Starlight (ARC Review)

Spinning Starlight | R. C. Lewis

Published by: Disney Hyperion, October 6th 2015

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Retellings, Fairy Tales

Pages: 336

Format: Ebook

Source: Disney Hyperion, via Netgalley

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it’s hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it’s just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi’s vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home—a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers’ survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for survival in this companion to Stitching Snow. 

Ehh, I didn't mind this but I wouldn't rush out to buy it. It's SO SLOW in the beginning, the MC does a whole lot of nothing, and the plot felt pretty flat despite the high, personal stakes - in the beginning. When it gets to around halfway, and the MC leaves behind the bland love interest, she really comes into her own. The story gets exciting, there's actual danger, and it's fairly interesting.

I actually understood the alien transport thing in this book. It was similar to Polaris's alive alien transport thing, but handled in a way that made sense, or connected with me. AKA I wasn't completely lost and weirded out like in Polaris. The aliens in this book are imaginative and different to each other in both appearance and cultures. I liked the sister saving all her brothers story, but I did feel she could have dealt with it better, i.e actually tried to tell someone what was happening. I get it was a bad situation but there were ways. Also to say this was in the same world as Stitching Snow it did NOT feel like it. Worlds felt totally different, and I didn't like this as much.

An alright story overall. I kinda understood the end, kinda didn't, and kinda liked the characters, kinda didn't, but it wasn't the worst book I've read.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

3 ish stars

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Beauty and The Beast (Faerie Tale Collection) (Review)

Faerie Tale Collection: Beauty and The Beast | Jenni James

Published: June 4th 2012

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retellings, Shifters

Pages: 142

Format: Ebook

Source: Free on Amazon

A prince by day and a wolf by night—

Prince Alexander has been turned into a werewolf and has one year to find someone to love the beast and break the spell, or he will be a wolf forever. He has nearly given up achieving the impossible, knowing no girl would ever fall in love with such a monster.

Just when he is about to abdicate the throne to his cousin, he meets Cecelia Hammerstein-Smythe, while a wolf, and begins to hope for the first time in months. Can he balance both worlds as a human and beast, gaining the love and trust of a girl who has every reason to despise him?

Cecelia detests the prince. She only knows Alexander as the arrogant monarch—the tyrant who has made her life miserable—though perhaps he's changed right before her eyes. He's not as full of himself as he once was. The prince is gentle now... but then again, so is the beast.

I only really got this because it was free and counted towards my fairy tale challenge but I'm pretty glad I picked it up! 

Beauty and The Beast is a cute, traditional take on the fairy tale. Alexander is a prince forced to turn into a beast each night, while Cecealia is a typical village girl with a huge heart. I liked how Jenni James made the beastly aspect of the prince not his wolf form but his crappy personality as a human. He really wasn't that nice a guy, but by being trapped in beastly form he changed as a human. I liked that. I also liked the drama of Cecealia loving the beast but not the prince. I wasn't entirely sold on either character, but I did enjoy their romance and rooted for them towards the end.

Not a particularly outstanding or unique retelling, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. No world-building though!

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★☆☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

This book counts towards my Fairy Tale Challenge!

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Stitching Snow (Review)

Stitching Snow | R. C. Lewis

Published by: Disney Hyperion, October 14th 2014

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Retelling

Pages: 338

Format: Hardback

Source: Purchased

Princess Snow is missing.

Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.

Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.

When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival. 

This book has triggers for rape and abuse.

I was pretty excited for this book, but for some reason I assumed it was fantasy at first. I probably automatically saw fairy tales and thought fantasy. I'm dumb. This is a true science fiction novel, with robots and spaceships and alien planets. And computer engineering!! It's super fun.

Stitching Snow is drawing a buttload of comparisons to Cinder but I felt a much stronger connection to Cress in Essie, the main character of this novel. I understand Essie and Cinder are both running from their pasts, a crown, and murderous family members but they're nothing alike. However, if you love the ladies of the Lunar Chronicles, you'll love Essie. She's like a blend of all three of them (Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress I mean.)

Now enough talking about another series. Stitching Snow is a funny, fast, yet often dark story. I love how it's humourous in many parts but doesn't hesitate to go into the darkness of humanity. Essie is at once serious and lighthearted, brave and reluctant. She doesn't want to face her past and return home but she's strong and courageous enough to do the right thing. I loved that about her. I loved Dane too, but not as much as I thought I would. I never fell for him, though I am rather fond of him. That's pretty much the only reason this isn't a five star review - I felt for the characters but I didn't fall for them, and my consuming love of a book always hinges on that.

Here's some other things I loved about this book: the unique planets, how effortlessly the settings were built without overwhelming the story, how even minor characters had personality, how high impact the action scenes were.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all fans of spaceships and brave ladies.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world building ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★☆

This book counts towards my Fairy Tale Challenge!

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