The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz

After all the hype I have heard for The Cruel Prince and for The Wicked King I expected something a lot different then what I read. Holly Black is an amazing writer, her world of Faerie was intriguing and beautifully written. I loved it. But her characters, they didn't mesh well with me. I was hoping to go into The Cruel Prince and love it that I would be as excited as everyone else for The Wicked King but honestly I am not that eager for the next book. Yes, the cliffhanger has me curious but that is about it.

My favorite character in this book? Oak. Jude's little brother. He is my favorite hands down. Other then him I disliked almost every other character in the book. Jude was alright. I liked her view on certain things and her determination. But at certain points she would do things that made me put The Cruel Prince down and question why I was even reading this book. All the secondary characters could have used more flesh. I would have liked to know a lot more about Locke, Cardan, Madoc, Bomb and Ghost then what were handed. To me they were just there. I am still not entirely sure how Jude and Locke's relationship started to be honest. One moment he was part of Cardan's cruel friend group that tormented Jude and her sister and next he was her "boyfriend."

I don't think you need me to tell you that Cardan is the Cruel Prince in which the book is named after. He is horrible. I've seen readers stick up for him being cruel and abusive towards Jude for that fact of his own up bringing. But after the way he treated Jude through out the book and then a two page kiss is an extremely toxic ship.

Unpopular opinion: I think Cardan is an asshole.

Honestly, if I continue on this review is going to get ranty really quick. In my opinion The Cruel Prince did not live up to all its hype. Holly Black is an amazing writer her style is memorizing and the world she built was amazing. I will not take that away from her. Her characters on the other hand are just not likable. Considering the cliffhanger and how much I was to see Jude get herself out of this mess I will probably read The Wicked King when it is released but I am in no rush.

The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz

The Similars is a perfect way to start off 2019! Set in the near future The Similars is a perfect example of scientific advantages that the human race has made so far and how it could go so wrong. From start to finish The Similars had me captivated with its uniqueness and twists and turns. The Similars is perfect for fans of science fiction and psychological thrill rides. This book messed with my head in the most perfect of ways.

Emma's best friend Oliver had committed suicide during summer break, devastating Emma. Returning to Darkwood Academy, an elite boarding school for brilliant teens is torture for her. This year is different though, not only does Emma have to face the year with out her best friend by her side but it is also the first year that the Headmaster is allowing clones to be admitted as students. In a lab mistake sixteen years ago after the cloning process was created six teens from Darkwood Academy where cloned from their cord blood and now those clones are attending Darkwood. The sixth teen though? Emma's best friend Oliver. Levi, Oliver's clone someone that Emma wants to hate desperately but must work with to figure out the grand scheme behind the Similar's suddenly being allowed at Darkwood, the mystery behind their upbringing and who is not who they claim to be.

I loved the world building in this. Essentially there really isn't much world building considering it doesn't take place too far into the future. Some sci-fi books are pretty heavy on world building that it takes away from the plot. I am glad The Similars didn't fall into that. I really enjoyed reading about the scientific advantages that have been made and the technological advances. It gave The Similars a scary real vibe. Scientist can already clone animals so this book isn't a far reach into the future in the slightest!

I really enjoyed Emma's character. She was really easy to relate to. Her actions towards Levi int he beginning of the novel are understandable as time goes on and we see how she mourns Oliver and that Levi is a constant reminder of what she lost. I was a little standoffish initially about Emma falling for Levi for the fact that he is Oliver's exact DNA code. Though they are different people it is still Oliver if in the end. (If that made any sense at all.) But Emma was able to distinguish the difference between her best friend and the boy she is falling for. The romance also didn't take up the whole plot of The Similars, it was there but I didn't slow or make the plot halt.

In the end I am super excited to see what the sequel of The Similars is going to have install considering how it ended. Hanover's debut was simply amazing and will be a book that I will be pushing on everyone.

DNF @ 26%

The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz


Give the Dark My Love has been on my radar for quite a while now so I was really excited to start it! (it also helped me out of a super inconvenient book slump, so yay!) This is actually my first Beth Revis book and I have heard nothing but amazing things about her writing, so I was even more eager to have this beautiful book in my hands. Though I had a few tiny issues with this book I overall loved the premise and how everything unfolded.

I loved Nedra's character a lot, she aspires for more in life then living in her small village. She wants to be a medical alchemist and help others. Being accepted into Yugen on a scholarship is her chance to make that dream come true. We watch Nedra from the start of the novel learn the magic of alchemy and her natural born talent. With the plague sweeping through her country Nedra is eager to help at the quarantine hospital where her alchemy training and abilities can help the ill. As the plague worsens and Nedra becomes desperate she starts dabbling in Necromancy, an illegal form of alchemy that deals with the dead. But what if the plague has everything to do with Necromancy? I loved how Revis showed us Nedra's decline into the darkness of Necromancy. We see Nedra's desperation to save people and the people she loves. Her desperation that nothing will stop her. She drives herself mad with the need to fix the illness she has no control over.

*Minor spoilers in this paragraph*

I think the scene that has stood out the most to me was when Nedra and her sister Nesta were quarantined with in their home when their parents had gotten ill with the plague and died. I think the rawest scene in this section when in desperation to save Nesta, Nedra had to amputate her sister's arm to stop the spread of the illness, absorbing her sister's pain. My heart shattered, the desperation and the pain both metaphorically and physically that Nedra had endured stuck out to me.

I think my only issue with this book was that at certain moments it felt predictable. I called who the villain was and where the plague originated from pretty early on in the novel. I do love how Revis incorporated these things though.

I LOVED the ending to Give the Dark My Love. In the sense that, Nedra had embraced the darkness and her remnants. There wasn't a point for her to turn back to. Everything that she had grown to love was gone, there was nothing more for her. Her love for Grey wasn't even enough for her to fight the darkness. I would have been quite content if Give the Dark My Love was a stand alone. I thought the ending wrapped up a lot of things pretty well. I am intrigued though to see where Revis is going take Nedra and Grey next.

Is it possible to give this book 10 stars? It was magnificent 😍

The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz

*Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the advanced copy for review!!*

Quite honestly, Valiant is one of the most intriguing and fast paced science fiction books I have read in a long time. Don't get me wrong I have read books that have had me feeling like I was a part of that world but Valiant had a different feel. From page one Valiant takes off and doesn't slow down for a moment. Valiant was a page turner that had me flying through the pages with my heart pounding to find out what was going to happen next.

I liked Sara's character a lot she was smart and insightful. Sara is an average teenage girl that is just trying to survive in the near future and keep her friends and family safe. Valiant was suppose to save the earth but instead it opened the door to the Xua invasion. But out of the millions of people in the world Sara's younger brother Gabe is the key to saving the world. In the first invasion Sara watches as all her friends die and Gabe is killed, but an Xua rebel rescues Sara and shows her the secret of time travel and soon Sara has relived the same horrible invasion over 14 times. This time this is the last time to save the world though and Sara will do everything in how power to keep Gabe and her friends alive. Even the boy she is finding herself falling in love with.

As much as I liked Valiant I do wish there was more world building. There are still a lot of questions about the world currently, where the Valiant was traveling too, where the Xua are exactly from. I also wish the genetic manipulation program that Justin was a part of before his birth was expanded upon, it peaked my interest. The whole book revolves around Sara and Gabe and keeping Gabe safe from the Xua who are hunting him. But you never actually learn why Gabe and Sara are so important to the Xua.

Besides the world building I really enjoyed Valiant. I found Sara to be a relatable character and I was easily able to put myself into her shoes. As I said from the first page to the last Valiant doesn't stop. Each page is action packed and full of twists and turns that will leave you entranced until the very last page. Considering the ending I am really eager to have my questions to answered in the next book. Book 2, where you at?

The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz

Initial post reading thoughts:
Absolutely stunning and mesmerizing 😍

Teaser Review:
I was super lucky to win a giveaway for Song of The Abyss back in November and an eGalley prior and I was going to wait longer to start it because this book does not come out until August. But the cover kept looking at me and I was looking at it and I caved. Release date is still a while off BUT I loved Song of the Abyss to much to not talk about it now. So, please enjoy this teaser review.

○The action starts from page one and doesn't slow down for a moment. Each page furthered the plot and sucked me deeper into the story.

○Lucier created a cast of really likable characters. Obviously I didn't like the villain in the story, but I loved the connections each character had with each other and how in their own little sense were a family.

○It took me all of about two pages to fall in love with Levi, the prince of Lunes. He is super dreamy and moody and amazing.

○Though Song of the Abyss can be read as a stand alone it is a part of the Tower of Wind series and its companion novel Isle of Blood and Stone follows the story of Ulises and Elias who do play a large role in this book as well. It isn't required but I am sure it does clear some of their back story up.

○The last fifty pages over the novel were a complete page turner. The whole villain, what they were doing and the whole cultural part of the story really interested me. It was something really different and refreshing.

○Song of the Abyss was absolutely both stunning and mesmerizing!

Be sure to check back closer to August for my full review of Song of the Abyss, I promise this is one fantasy novel you are not going to want to miss in 2019!