The Last Council (Amulet #4) by Kazu Kibuishi is book number four in the Amulet series. Like the others in this series, I absolutely adored volume.

In this volume, things took quite a dark turn!

While we didn’t see Leon specifically training Emily here, she seems to have a better handle on her power. But not only does she had a better control, she also seems more powerful. I’m really looking forward to where this is going!

We got to meet a few new characters in this book. I’m hoping they will stick with the crew and help support Emily as she takes on the next task.

Per usual, Leon was there with his words of wisdom and I was really happy to see that the characters continued to support Emily, even after her "failure."

Per usual, I just loved the artwork!

Wow, I thought the last volume took a dark turn… this one was even darker. At the beginning of this volume, we learn about Max Griffin’s backstory. Meanwhile, in the current timeline, Em and the Elf prince train together. But things quickly take a turn when Trellis enters the void, forcing Em to go in after him. The two also learn a great deal about the stones and the voices.

In this volume, we see max convince the team to take on the voice. Unfortunately, Max was no match for the power of the voice. Max loses his life as the voice ages him forward until he is nothing but bones.

This may be my favorite book of the series! I loved that we really saw the team come together in this volume. We also met a wonderful new character that I can’t wait to see again! I also enjoyed that as a reader, we got to spend a lot of time with just Navin and his storyline!

In this volume, Em and Trellis continue to learn more about their curse and what role the shadows have been playing. When presented with memories in the void, Em falls to the power of the stone...

This one took a turn that I had been expecting, but dreading. I've got high hopes for the next book and I am certainly very interested to see how things progress from where we left things in this volume!

When I Am Through With You by Stephanie Kuehn is a suspenseful story about a group of high schoolers that take a camping trip that will change them forever.

This is a story that really makes you think both as you are reading, and long after turning the last page.

Stephanie Kuehn is definitely an author that I will be keeping an eye on. I cannot wait to read more of her work!

My thoughts:
Now THIS is how you write an incredible synopsis for a book like this. It gives just the right amount of information without giving too much away, and it certainly draws you in!

And phew... Just a heads up to you all I thought that, while captivating and suspenseful, this was also a bit of a tough read. It touches on a few of my red flags when it comes to reading; cheating, abuse, neglect, and many mentions of suicidal thoughts. But for some reason, in this rare case, all of these things made the story more powerful.

I really enjoyed the overall arc of the story! Though to be totally honest, I wasn't really enjoying this book for the first quarter of it. I thought it was really slow, a bit dull, and I didn't like any of the characters at all. I found that I was feeling a strange mix of dislike and pity for the main character, Ben, very early on. I also didn't care for Rose in the slightest. It seemed that the more I read, the more I disliked those two.

Thankfully, this novel was really story driven, which kept me engaged. And once the crew was on the mountain, I couldn't stop reading because I just had to see what happened next! The way that the author added in an element of suspense was really intriguing! There were definitely twists and turns that I didn't see coming.


My favorite passages:
…Rose had her own kind of darkness - bleak and savage, like a circling wildcat waiting to eat her up.

Our shoulders touched, but I didn’t feel any closer to her than I had when she’d been in a different hemisphere.

In my mind, the past was something we were destined to repeat whether we learned about it or not.


My final thoughts:
While a bit of a difficult read, it's also one I would recommend! If you enjoy story-driven, survival, young adult novels with a dose of suspense, you should definitely check this one out!

DNF.

The way this book was written wasn’t really for me. I didn’t like all the random notes that were thrown into the storyline like the narrator was addressing another character that could be reading the story.

The characters didn’t seem fully developed. For example, how the mother still jumps to making assumptions about her son Seth, and then quickly backtracks. Seth is 18, I could have seen these assumptions being made when he was younger, but I felt that they should have been resolved by now.

I didn't care about any of the characters or the plot as it had developed so far. I kept putting the book down and just didn't want to pick it back up.

If you enjoy unlikable characters, I'd recommend this one :)

Sunbolt is the first book in The Sunbolt Chronicles by Intisar Khanani. I won this book during Armchair Book Expo and I am just kicking myself! I should have started this book as soon as it arrived in my mailbox... It was incredible!

This book was such a refreshing YA fantasy! When I pick up YA reads with elements of magic, I'm always very hesitant. Far too often, we see a very immature character that lacks training, but somehow manages to master their power just in the nick of time. I'm so happy to say that that wasn't the case here!

The main character, Hitomi, is a mature teenager who has power referred to as, "Promise". She hasn't been properly trained but she can use her magic for small things. However, when she works her magic, it totally drains her. As the story moves along, it is clear that she needs special training, but will she be able to find someone that has the ability and willingness to help?

I absolutely loved the magical elements of this story as well as the paranormal characters, which included:
Humans that can shift into animal forms.
Mages- humans with Promise, trained to kill Breathers.
Fangs- similar to vampires, they feed on blood. They can also control their victims with their gaze.
Lycans- individuals that appear half human, half wolf.
Breathers- human-like individuals that feed on souls. They can control others by shaping their thoughts.

The characters were developed perfectly. Of course, there is more I want to eventually learn about a few of the characters, but I thought that the author gave us just enough information about them and their past in order to keep the story moving along. I've got my fingers crossed that we will learn some more backstories in book two.

The writing was lovely! The storyline was perfectly paced and flowed well. The use of description was excellent; I could really imagine many of the settings. The dialogue was realistic. There were a few classic fantasy/paranormal tropes, but they each had a nice refreshing twist to them.

This is a book that I got totally lost in once I started reading it.


My favorite passages: *slight spoilers below*
Our cave is set in a sandy bluff that rises above the stream. The opposite side is wooded, the trees tall and lovely. They are mostly bare now, their branches sweeping the sky in elegant curves. Interspersed among their ranks stand solitary pines, showing tall but heavyset, sheathed in their armor of needles. The moon hands low; dawn brightens the far reaches of the horizon.

I try to shake the thought loose, but it sticks in my mind like a prickly burr, catching on memories that lie just beneath the darkness.

I don’t know who I am. I only have bits and pieces of what I was. How can I grow if I have no past, no roots?

I grin, unaccountably amused. “What hair?”
“That is, in fact, my concern.”
“You haven’t considered the benefits of being bald,” I tell him. I list the advantages, ticking them off on my fingers, “No lice, no worries about how to tie it up, no need to dry it in winter, nothing for anyone to grab you by, and,” I pause, trying to come up with one more reason.
“Nothing to keep your brain warm,” Val supplies.
I laugh.

In the morning, Val is gone.
I know it the moment I wake, an almost physical awareness, as if the air I breathe has lost its moisture, or a color had disappeared overnight so that, on waking, I find a world without amber or topaz, or amethyst.


My final thoughts:
I just loved everything about this book. I cannot wait to start the second book in the series.

If you enjoy wonderfully written stories with awesome characters and elements of the paranormal and magic, you gotta check this one out!

Like the synopsis mentions, the novel begins with a chapter set in 1879. I really enjoyed this quick glimpse into Annelise's life, as dark as it was. When it ended as quickly as it did, I was a bit bummed. However, I was very happy to see that more bits and pieces of the year 1879 were sprinkled throughout the book from time to time.

The way that this book was organized was really interesting. I enjoyed that we focused on the main character, Elise, for the most part but that we jumped to see what other characters were doing as the story called for it to help round out the plot. And as mentioned above, with the bits from 1879, I really liked how each bit directly related to what Elise had just learned from another character, or for the specific events that were occurring at that moment. This method wouldn't have worked if the bits had been totally unrelated to current events; they would have just mucked up the flow of the storyline.

Because I grew up in a small town, I absolutely adored the small town elements. I mean, this passage really nails my hometown community on the head:
"It's just not fair that they should come in here and act like they own the place."

I was immediately drawn to a number of the local characters and couldn't wait to learn more about them. A few sure seemed a bit salty at the beginning!

Speaking of characters, I found all of them in this novel to be really well developed! The first thing I thought about when finishing the book was how my thoughts and feelings for each character had evolved over the course of the story. There were a few that I really liked at the beginning but then grew to either dislike them or be annoyed by them. Others I didn't like when we were first introduced to them, but then they grew on me over time. Of course there were a handful that I simply felt lukewarm about because they just didn't leave much of an impression on me.

The writing was easy to read. Overall I thought it was pretty polished, though I did spot a few areas that could use some editing for consistency and to remove some slight repetition. The pacing was a tad slow for my preference, but it was still a really fun read! Definitely one that you can pick up and get totally lost in!


My favorite passages:
The only memories she had of her real father were behind that door. Would the house hold her memories, the echoes of the past?

It was dark and hot, and the air weighed on them heavy as guilt.

Love is a snowflake, unique to each of us and all the same, all snowflakes.

Luck has nothing to do with it. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. There's nothing more to it.

"I'm a strong believer in hot tea, even on a day like this..."

It was never published, but it didn't have to be. News travels faster than a printing press in a small town.


My final thoughts:
While a bit of a slow burn, I really enjoyed the mystery and all of the little hints and elements of foreshadowing that were woven throughout this story.

I would definitely recommend this one to readers that enjoy books that will keep them thinking long after the last page! I will be re-reading this one again soon!

Inside the Wall by A. Tebbs is a fun and action-filled dystopian YA novel that really packs a punch! If you enjoyed The Hunger Games or The Divergent Series, you will love this one!

Note: This is the first book in the Desert series.

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

The prologue was awesome! It was short, but it really got me interested, even though I didn't really understand what the deal was... Thankfully, the world building came later.

However, after the prologue, the book slowed way down for me for awhile. I just wasn't really interested in a fair chunk of it simply because it revolved around the typical high school scene, complete with ridiculous bullies, teachers that would single out that one student, and drama about teenage crushes... Of course this allowed readers to get to know both the characters and the history of the world they were living in. But because of my lack of interest, it just seemed really slow.

That all being said, once I was hooked, I was totally captivated until the very last page! The storyline hit a point where things took a turn and I couldn't read fast enough! Turns out, the short prologue had actually set the tone for the rest of the book! Unfortunately, that is where I will have to leave that thought in order to prevent spoilers... But trust me, you need to pick this one up on a day off so you can read straight through!

Onto the characters! Right away I really enjoyed the main character, Alysse. It was clear that she was a teen that had a great head on her shoulders. And she worked really hard in both school and with her jobs outside of school. I really enjoyed that she didn't let the fact that her friends were rich affect her. Though the bit about her J system was quite the bummer! Pete was a riot, but a bit rude, so I was very happy to see his storyline move along. Chris was also one that I enjoyed. I'd be interested to see where his storyline goes in the next book, if at all.


Beware, the negatives:
Right from the start, one thing that I have to note as a negative is the use of an online platform to access more content. On one of the title pages it reads: "Exclusive behind-the-scenes are marked by symbols. Join us online to learn more about Alysse and her friends." This has the potential to be really neat! I would just love to actually see it... I went onto the website to search and couldn't figure out where to go. I found one page (here) that asked you to sign up for a newsletter. The page said that once you sign up, that you will be emailed a code. This code is to be entered on the website to access the extra information. Well... I signed up for the email but never received anything. So that was quite the let down. As I was reading, I made sure to put sticky notes in for each symbol I came across. I'll make sure to update this if/when I get access.

My other issue was that I found the timeline and the pacing to be a bit confusing from time to time. I wish there had been clearer indication there.

My final thoughts:
Even though the beginning of this book was a bit slow for me, the second half totally made up for it! I just couldn't put the book down after it took a turn! Gah! I need to know what happens next!

Immediately after finishing this book, I went to the authors website to see if there were more books from the series out yet. I see in the footer of the page that there are two more listed, but the links are not live. I'm assuming this means they're not published yet. Darn! I need to get my hands on them as soon as they are available!

I would highly recommend this book to readers that enjoy YA dystopian stories!

Assassin Marked by Michael C. Sahd is an incredible short story filled to the brim with action, violence, and romance!

Make sure to pick this one up when you have a spare half-hour that you can dedicate solely to reading; you won't be able to put this down!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

The first chapter did a wonderful job setting up the story. In chapter one, we meet two characters, Damian DuFonte, who is an assassin determined to get his revenge, and another, Victoria Maruska, a psychic that captions her own ship.

As the story continues, we switch back and forth between the two main characters perspectives. A couple of the chapters focus solely on one character at a time, but then the rest of the chapters overlap in the timeline. I am usually not a fan of this method, but it was done incredibly well here! Each scene that was overlapped really added to the overall story; I loved seeing the scenes play out from each of their perspectives.

This short story was so well written. I absolutely loved the tone that the author captured. The description was brief, but very powerful! I cannot wait to read more from Michael C. Sahd!


My favorite passages:
My gunship hid somewhere in the surrounding woods. I slipped through the trees like a disembodied shadow in the night. An iron fence surrounded the yard. Metallic pillars held up the disc-shaped mansion that balanced on top of them, and cruiser docks extended beyond the mansion.

Most kitchens rest at night. In this one, a guard stood decorating a sandwich. When he bit into his sandwich, it took revenge, decorating his blazer with mustard and tomato juice.

A small gust of cold, stale air rushed in. My heart dropped with the ramp, sinking low into my stomach, through my feet, and then anchoring me to the floor just like the magnetic locks that held the ramp in place.


My final thoughts:
This book was right up my alley! It had an assassin, a strong woman with interesting powers, and it was set in space! When I picked this one up, I was hooked immediately and could not put it down.

I highly recommend this short story to any sci-fi fan that doesn't mind a bit of violence.