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

I was actually really excited about this book but honestly it was one of my biggest let downs of the year so far. Quite honestly I typically DNF books that I am not enjoying, but I did want to see how this book played out so I finished it. It was also really relativity short, 240 pages, so I didn't see the harm on finishing it out. (I also had slight hopes that it would end up getting better, it didn't.)

I feel like this was basically just Edda's day to day activities. Plus, she inherits a whole island and there is virtually no information regarding it. Like, what? I also feel that there was virtually no character development on Edda's end as well as the secondary characters. I found the characters to be super bland and I didn't really care much for them or this quest they were suppose to be on.

Just like the no character development I feel like the world building was also severely lacking. Why are they in a bunker? What made the earth barren? What was the conflict that caused it all? I am still super unclear about everything. It almost makes me want to continue on in this series, but if the next books are anything like the The Thousand Steps then I am gonna pass on it.

I typically save one star ratings for books I DNF, but I couldn't find anything that I liked about this book. The concept had a lot of potential but that was about it. In the end this one wasn't my cup of tea. I do wish I ended up liking it a lot more then I did.

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

Thank you so much to Swoon Reads and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review MIND GAMES!

Rating: 2.5 Stars

I was really excited for Mind Games. This book has my name written all over it and the entire concept was interesting. But sadly I am really disappointed in how this book turned out. The beginning was interesting as Silver built up her world and all the tech, but after that? It was meh.

It takes a lot for me to really dislike a character. I try to see the best in characters, even the villain in a story. But I found nothing redeeming about Arden at all. First off, the whole being able to steal memories thing is cool. But stealing peoples memories unwillingly and then selling them isn't cool. Arden's family owns the school and the labs and her brother is on the verge of launching live changing tech. Arden literally does not need the money in the slightest, so why is she violating peoples memories like that? It ranges from test answers to someone's girlfriend cheating on them. The best part? Arden sees nothing wrong with this and neither do the people who are buying the memories from her. What. The. Hell. I really tried the find redeeming qualities for her, I truly did. By the end of the book I was so over her character but I continued reading because I did want to know about this twist at the end people were talking about.

I feel like Silver could have went in many different directions with this book and didn't. I understand the mystery/thriller aspect. As much as I disliked Arden I did want to see who was stealing memories and why Bash's were completely wiped. There is so much different tech that is talked about and referred to and I made my head hurt. As cool as it was and the potential it has I feel like some things were over described and others completely under described.

Listen, I know every sci-fi book out there isn't going to be my cup of tea and that is okay. Despite my issues I do like Silver's writing style and I will probably check out future books by her. A majority of my problem was her main character, some people are going to love Arden and others are going to hate her. I do encourage other readers to check out this book and make come to their own conclusions and opinions because I know people are going to like this book. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.

My heart hurts right now. That is all I have to say. I’m speechless

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

Thank you so much Rachel for sending me a copy of STEEL HAND, COLD HEART to read and review. All thoughts are my own!

Rachel reached out to us about reviewing her novel Steel Hand, Cold Heart and from the moment I read the synopsis I, (Amber) was hooked and needed to know more. The Odyssey meets The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue in this Viking inspired story of self exploration and the need to prove ones self worth and things that happen when things don't go according to plan.

Carina the Unstoppable is a Daughter of Hel, but she has been an outsider all her life. The Daughters of Hel slaughtered her village, murdered her father and took Carina in as one of their own. But because of that Carina never fit in with her peers. She looks different then them and has to work even harder to herself and her abilities. But on her first raid she fails to kill and slaughter a priestess. Instead she walks about with a rune stone that is about to cause her all sorts of trouble. On the celebration that night Carina thinks her rival wants to make amends but instead sells her off to three strangers who are in search of her, shit begins to get real. Her greatest misfortune may become a way to redeem herself. If she kills her captors and returns with their riches, she can redeem herself and her failure. The only problem? Carina begins to care for her captors and when push comes to shove, will she be able to follow through with plan?

Now that I've summarized Steel Hand, Cold Heart I can move on to my review. But I still need a moment because I am still collecting myself.

Carina is the literal definition of a bad ass character. Sure, sometimes she doesn't make the brightest decisions, but that is part of being human. She is brutal, cut throat and prideful. She also has a bad temper, an attitude problem and serious impulse control problems. Basically Carina is the kind of killer that many authors try to write, but fail at. I loved Carina's character. Her sharp tongue and how we watch her struggle with the thought of meeting someone from her past that had abandoned her and being accepted by The Daughters of Hel. Being part of her clan as part of her initiation The Daughters hands are dipped in steel and fused that become one with their body. I amused me how often Carina threatened to maim or kill people with her claw, in a way she reminded me of Manon from the Throne of Glass series, who is one of my favorite characters ever.

I really enjoyed watching Carina's character arc throughout Steel Hand, Cold Heart. We watch Carina go from being cruel and planning to kill the ragtag crew that kidnapped her to how her feelings and fondness for them changes. Her feelings for Nik develop though she knows they are helpless. It was interesting in a sense to see someone as brutal and cut throat as Carina begin to have a sense of humanity.

The secondary characters were well done and I loved each of them in one way or another. I had a soft spot for Nik, especially more about his past and the torture he has endured as being part of a gang. The brutality of the things done to him broke my heart and all I wanted to do was give him the biggest hug. Flavian is witty and funny and made me laugh out loud a couple of times, he is also bi and the rep was done really well. Mateo is the cutest bean and I want to protect him at all costs. He suffered an illness when he was younger that left him with a crippled leg, another rep that I found well done.

This review is already a mile long and there is so much more I want to talk about but I can't because #spoilers. In short though: pick up this book, it is a quick read that will steal all of your attention the first page and I promise you won't regret it. Rachel is an author I am going to be on the look out for and I hope one day she revisits this world and characters because there are some open ends, but quite honestly? I just can't get enough of these characters.

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

I must admit, the first time I read this book I actually DNFed it about half way through because I just wasn’t that interested in it. I’m also not so familiar was Les Miserables so I ended up DNFing and never looked back. Fast forward to July and I realized that I was approved on Edelweiss as well as NetGalley for the title and now that I didn’t have a never ending pile of soon to be released books to read I decided to dive into this almost 600 page book again. Needless to say, I actually ended up really enjoying it and I am pretty excited about the next book in the series.

I want to talk about the world building first rather then characters because I actually found it quite interesting. The last days (The death of earth) the discovered planet of Laterre promised hope for those who were able to inhabit it. But now having been living on Laterre for five hundred years, society is separate by the extravagant higher class and then the lower class. The higher class lives under a dome where they see the sky and the beauty of the sun where the lower class lives under constant clouds and haven’t seen the sun in years. I found it quite interesting to see how one class was more superior then the other when they were essentially the same at the end of the day. I also really enjoyed the underground library that Aloutte lives in with the sisters, the library contains books that were smuggled from earth and hidden in a secret underground society that has swore their lives to protect them. Sky Without Stars contains in the end three different society classes that were all interesting and unique in thier own way.

Sky Without Stars is split up into three point of views: Chatine, Marcellus and Aloutte.

Chatine: Chatine is a cut throat, street savvy thief he dresses as a boy and goes by the alias of Theo. She is desperate to leave the slums and the planet of Laterre behind and to start over. She continues to steal objects from people in order to pay her passage to the new planet, but when the price becomes inflated and Chatine is running out of time. That is until she is given an interesting offer that will have her crossing paths with Marcellus.

Marcellus: Marcellus is the son of one of the biggest traitors in the history of Laterre. A bombing that his father initiated caused the deaths of hundreds and since then has has been locked away on a prison planet. Marcellus' point of view starts with him learning that his father is dead and he has to go to the morgue to identify his body. Marcellus is an officer of the government and is set to replace his grandfather. He is being groomed to be the perfect General, but Marcellus has one thing that the others don't. His compassion and humanity. When Marcellus and Theo (Chatine) cross paths and the on coming rebellion threatening to destroy the already fragile society. But Chatine has motives of her own.

Aluotte: Things start to get a little trickier when Aluotte comes into the picture. She is part of a sisterhood that protects the books from the old world and chronicles the history of life on Laterre. For 12 years Aluotte has never been above ground, until she spots an injured Marcellus and sneaks out to help him. Soon Aluotte learns things about her father and how he isn't who he says to be and soon Aluotte is on the run for her life. I will admit, she wasn't my favorite character. But she was essential to the plot.

I never expected the twists and turns that Sky Without Stars brings or how intertwined all three characters are. After some of the big revelations at the end of the novel, I am super excited to see where this series is going to go. The only down fall I had with this book was the romance, I felt like it really wasn't needed. I know this is a retelling so it is needed, but it felt weird and not all that natural to me. Plus Sky Without Stars only takes place over a course of a few days.

Overall I do highly recommend Sky Without Stars and I can't wait to see with this duo has in store for their readers and this group of characters.

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

Scavenge the Stars was one of my most anticipated reads for next year so I was super excited when I was approved for a copy on Edelweiss. Also, look at how stunning this cover is. I'm obsessed. Where I had high hopes for Scavenge the Stars it kind of fell flat for me, I was severely underwhelmed and a little dissapointed. This is my first Tara Sim book so I don't have anything to compare it too, but I've heard really good things about her previous works so I was really excited.

My biggest issue with Scavenge the Stars was the world building. The world build building played a huge role in the book and it was just really generic and didn't stand out. I pictured it more as a colonial style harbor town rather then what the actual setting was suppose to be. We are also told names of so many different places with nothing too give us nothing to tell the difference between them. Where are they? What is their culture? What sets them apart? I felt very little connection to the main characters and secondary cast. By the midway point I really wasn't caring much for how this was all going to play out.

Not every book is going to be for me and though this wasn't my cup of tea it is going to be others. I can see that this book is going to be well loved and has already been loved by the many people who have been able to read it so far. Maybe I'll give this one a chance again when book two comes out and see if my opinions have changed. But for now this one just wasn't for me.

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

*Trigger Warnings: Mentions of rape, violence, murder, graphic sex scenes & torture*

Do you ever DNF a book four separate times, give it a fifth chance and it ends up being a five star read? No, just me? Alright, alright. I am already really iffy with over hyped books to begin with, so the hype for Nevernight made me a little nervous. But then Stephanie @ Ohana Reads kept pushing it on me and we pretty much have the same book tastes. Let's fast forward to when I actually read and finished this book and was shrieking at the end. Jay, you have officially killed me.

Mia's family was brutally taken and murdered for crimes against the senate when she was only a young girl, but from the moment her father is hung and her mother is locked away she swears that one day she will get vengeance on the men behind her family's downfall. She has spent the years since being trained by Mercurio to become an assassin, but Mia has reached the point in the training where is is time to find the Red Church and become a Blade of the Lady of Blessed Murder. But on her journey she meets the mysterious Tric, who is also looking for the Red Church himself and for his own vengeance. Mia and the acolyte train vicariously for a spot as a blade, but only four will be granted the status, and soon everyone is out for themselves. But when Mia starts making friends her feelings for Tric become complicated and her powers begin to become stronger the others aren't quite sure that The Red Church is where Mia should be. There is also a traitor among them, but who could it be?

HOLY.

SHIT.

WHATTTT.

I will admit, the first half of this book was rough to get through and reading it was basically getting to go to the dentist, it was a process. From the first page I knew Jay's writing style was going to be unique and liked how the two scenes in the first chapter melded together, but I was also afraid that was how the whole story was going to be. After the first 100 pages though, it was smooth sailing. This book is 448 pages and after I got past the rough patch I finished the remainder in only a few hours. One Mia gets to the Red Church, lessons start and the introduction to the secondary characters begin I couldn't help but fall in love with Mia Corvere and her story.

Do we want to talk about a kick ass, cut throat, sassy main characters with serious anger and attitude problems? That is basically Mia. Plus, she has a habit of punching and stabbing things. I loved the character arc through out the entire novel. From page one we see Mia as this cold young girl (she is only sixteen) her only had vengeance and murder on her mind. But after meeting Tric and finding the Red Church she starts to grow. The people she is being pitted against become her friends and some of her peers become enemies. She struggles with her feelings for Tric and as well as the compassion and humanity she is starting to develop. If this is the growth that Mia has come to have so far, I can't wait to see what the next two novels are going to have in store for her.

Let's talk about Tric for a moment because honestly: He is my new fictional love. Mia and Tric meet in a pub where they are trying to seek passage to the Red Church with no luck, so they decide to team up. At first the duo are weary of each other but eventually they warm up and become friends. As Nevernight goes on and we learn more about Tric and his character, I couldn't help but feel bad. But I don't pity him. He is at the Red Church to become a Blade and get the vengeance that he deserves. ALSO: The sexual/romantic or what ever you want to call it tension between Mia and Him was slow burn as hell and killed me.

THERE IS ONE SCENE IN THIS BOOK THAT GUTTED ME AND MAY HAVE CRIED.

Now, I will forever be flabbergasted by the people who have shelves this book as YA because it is not a YA book at all. Besides the violence, graphic scenes, language and more adult themes, Nevernight contain quite graphic on page sex scenes. Yes, Mia is only sixteen years old, sixteen year olds do have sex though, whether we choose to acknowledged it or not. I thinK the surprise was the explicitness of it. I, for one do not mind on page sex scenes, I am basically trash for smutty scenes in my favorite novels so I was there for this. There is easily 5-10 pages (I read this on my kindle and it didn't give me page numbers) of oral sex alone. Now, I think this was essential to the plot because it pushes their relationship forward. But if you did want to skip this, it isn't going to ruin the rest of the book for you.

This review is already a mile long BUT I have more to talk about.

These plot twists. Jay kept me on my toes the entire time. Every time I was finally getting something straight it changed. Characters, settings, events, world building. It was quite amazing. Jay gave us both Mia's and Tric's backstories through out the entire novel, so it wasn't one big section of learning who they were. It progressed through out the novel in places that it was needed for the reader to understand the importance of what was happening.

Though at first I wasn't the biggest fan of the world building and found it a little confusing the footnotes did help with that. I HIGHLY encourage you not to skip over them. (The kindle version opens them right on top of what you are reading so you just have to click out of them and you are back to the story, which was really convenient.) Some are funny and in there for basic shits and giggles but the others help with the world building and how the society runs, which is a fresh change then how it is usually done in novels.

Overall I ended up loving Nevernight and I can't wait to dive into Godgrave (which is currently sitting in my kindle waiting for me to start it.) I'm not going to recommend this book to YA audience basically on the content a lone, BUT I do understand that some teenagers are more mature in certain aspects. I'd say 17/18 and older would be a good starting audience for this book, but again, read at your own risk!