I’m not really sure where I want to start this review and I will do what I can to not give anything away. Overall Mafi did a great job with this series and although there were some things I didn’t love in book three, there were some things I did and to be perfectly honest, not everyone will be happy with this book. I mean, there was a definite love triangle here and you know either the Adam or Warner supporters – whoever Juliette doesn’t end up with – will definitely be upset.

Spoiler

First, characters - Kenji is still one of my favorite characters of this series. He isn’t afraid to call people out on their crap and that includes Juliette. I had 3 highlights in this book and 2 of them were quotes from Kenji.

”Back to work. And this time, focus. You’re not an ape. Don’t just throw your shit everywhere.”

I do feel like Juliette actually figured out who she is in this book which I liked. She finally realized what she is capable of and what that means. She’s no longer the girl who was sitting in a cell wondering whether she would live or die. Her voice absolutely evolved and although I missed a little bit of her “crazy” I thought her growth fit where the story needed to go. It also impacts who she ends up with and based on that, it made sense.

I started to love Warner (Yes, I admit it…) when I read his novella. Don’t get me wrong – I still loved Adam but again, I started to appreciate him and realize he really does have feelings for Juliette. The way Mafi makes him so vulnerable in Ignite Me made me like him even more.

Adam – I don’t have words. I felt like his character is the one that took the biggest hit in this book and I don’t see why it had to be this way. I really wish that this wasn’t the way Mafi had him go and to be perfectly honest, this is the one thing I despised in this book. This Adam was not the Adam from book one or two and it just didn’t make sense. Yes, he was angry about things but in my heart I don’t think he would have ever acted the way that he did. I am happy he started to come around toward the end but again, this was the most disappointing piece to this book for me.

I do think the end felt rushed. The face-off with Anderson never really went anywhere and the majority of the story focused on the relationships between Juliette, Adam, and Warner. There was a small section that addressed the additional training but I wanted more story around the take down of The Reestablishment.

Overall this is still one of my favorite dystopian series and I would give the whole thing a 4-4.5 rating. I love the story and the character evolution (for some) and despite my feelings about certain things in this book, I thought the whole series was well done. I have said it before and will say it again; I don’t envy authors who have to wrap up a series. It is tough to make everyone happy and when you have a love triangle, you are immediately destined to make some of your fans angry. For me, it wasn’t so much who Juliette ended up with as the path some of the characters took.

3.5 stars.

A Triple Knot by Emma Campion was an interesting read about a Plantagenet that I haven’t had the opportunity to read a lot about – Joan of Kent.

The story is based in the 14th century when Edward III is king and Joan of Kent is his cousin. As Edward works to claim the crown of France, Joan becomes a pawn for Edward to make a strategic move and gain support where he needs it. Ned, who is Edward and Phillipa’s first born son, believes himself in love with Joan as well and this has created another reason the queen would like to marry Joan off. As he and his wife, queen Phillipa, work to make a strategic match for Joan, things start to get complicated.

Joan was an interesting character and I really did enjoy learning more about her background and what her role was during this time period. For a girl her age, she seemed very mature and I had to keep reminding myself that although she was only 12 years old, this was a different time and it wasn’t out of the ordinary that, as a royal, she wouldn’t have been betrothed or married at that age – don’t get me wrong, it was still unsettling.

As the story progresses, we learn more about her clandestine marriage to Thomas Holland and ultimately their life together. I was rooting for these two all the way and while they appeared to have a good life together, I also felt they were robbed of a number of years and then ultimately he was away at battle quite a bit. Never mind how things ended for Thomas.

Ned was a challenge. As a first born son of the king, he was next in line for the throne and because of that; his parents didn’t want him attached to Joan. He was clearly not used to taking no for an answer and when he didn’t get his way, he wasn’t afraid to do whatever he felt he needed to in order to get what he wanted. This is what makes me question Thomas’ end and how that all went down. Eventually he does get what he wants…Joan as his wife (even though they were first cousins).

Overall I enjoyed this story a lot. There were a lot of characters and as was the norm of the time, they all had the same names which made it difficult to remember who was whom. Despite that, this was a great peek into the life of someone in English history that I haven’t had the opportunity to read a lot about. If you enjoy reading historical fiction, definitely check this one out.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for the review copy.

Review to come.

I really liked this one - 4.5 stars. I will do my best to review without giving out any spoilers. Take my word for it...go read this.

Pivot Point was a refreshing take on the paranormal. It follows the main character, Addie, through making a critical decision in her life. See, Addie has just found out her parents are getting a divorce and they have told her it is entirely up to her who she decides to live with. Oh - a very important part of the story....Addie and her parents live in the Compound which is a society made up of people with advanced capabilities. In Addies case, she is Divergent which means when she is faced with a choice, she can Search and determine which path to take based on what she sees.

This is where the book gets more interesting. Addie decides to do a search on her life based on the decision to live with her mom or her dad. At first I was worried about how the alternating chapters would flow but really liked how West tied the two stories together with some pieces that were linked to both.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Addie has the perfect mix of smarts, book nerd qualities and sarcastic wit. When you pair that with Trevor, it gets even better. I loved seeing the friendship develop between Addie and Trevor. It enhanced the story because don't get me wrong...while there is a romantic aspect, there is a definite story here.

Duke was interesting....I never really knew what to think but man, was he a charmer. Based on the conclusion of the book, it makes sense and I honestly had no idea that was where that story line was going so kudos to West on getting it all to tie together as she did.

Laila was great too - she filled the role of best friend perfectly and I loved the dialogue between her and Addie.

I am absolutely looking forward to the next book in this series and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a great story, a bit of mystery and some swoony boys.

Whoa...hello revenge! Review to come.

2.5 stars.

Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff was a book I came across by accident. Falkoff takes a sensitive topic (suicide) and links a story of a best friend trying to figure out what really happened via a playlist left by his friend for him to listen to.

I thought Sam was an interesting character. He was very protective of Hayden throughout their friendship and although he and Hayden didn’t see eye to eye on everything, they had a solid friendship. They connected around videogames and music and the night they end up at a party, something happens that prompts an argument. When Sam comes to apologize the next day, he is the one to find Hayden’s body and the playlist.

As the story moves forward, there is a full cast of characters that pull this story together. From Hayden’s brother and his bully friends, to a mystery girl who connected with Hayden over a videogame, to another girl who mysteriously knows so much about Hayden and becomes close to Sam. As Sam begins to dig into what really happened with Hayden, he finds out there is more to the story than he originally thought. I have to say, there is a lot going on in this book and while it all ties together, there were times that I was wondering if we were really going to get into the detail of what really happened.

I thought Falkoff did a solid job of developing the characters and while there were times that I definitely felt some empathy to both Sam and Hayden, I didn’t really connect with either of the characters. I also thought that while the playlist has a role in the story, I thought it would have a bigger role in helping Sam figure out what really happened.

I can’t say much else here as I don’t want to give anything away about the story but overall this book was just ok for me.

Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for the review copy.

2.5 stars I think....

The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes fell a bit flat for me. I’m not entirely sure what it was about this story but there were a number of things that drove me crazy which resulted in the rating I gave it.

This is a story about a girl who is thrown into a situation where no one really has any control and she, along with two other teenagers, try to survive being lost in the Smoky Mountains. The underlying story is that six months prior, something happened between the main character, Hallelujah, and the preacher’s son Luke, that made everything very hard to bear for her and as a reader, we don’t really know what it was…only that Hallie is the one that has been getting the blowback from it, not Luke. As the story progresses, we find out more about what happened to Hallie and how it has impacted those around her.

I liked Hallie but I have to admit, she made me mad. I wanted her to stand up for herself and although I get why she didn’t, I was still hoping she would take a stand. I did appreciate the introduction of Rachel as the outsider which allowed a slow reveal of what happened. I’m not sure that I really liked her though (I can’t really pinpoint why – but its true). Now, I will probably not make any friends here because I get that Jonah is supposed to be the “swoony boy” in this story but he also made me angry. He was supposed to be Hallie’s friend and no matter what he saw, he should have had a conversation with her before just believing everything. Yes, it was partially Hallie’s fault too for not telling her side of the story, but if he really had any feelings for her – knowing what type of person Luke was – he would have dug into it a bit more before cutting her out of his life.

As the story progresses, these characters are definitely put through some trials. From facing a bear to sickness, to physical injury and I thought Holmes did a great job of showing just how dangerous it can be to be lost in the mountains if you are unprepared. In the end, this was the part of the story that had me continuing to turn the pages. Don’t get me wrong, I did want to know what really happened between Hallie and Luke but figuring out how these characters were going to survive and make it out of the mountains alive was what I found most interesting.

Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for the review copy!

3.5 stars

Fates and Chaos are the first and second books of the Fates series by Lanie Bross and I have decided that I am going to do this review combining both books since I was able to read these books back to back. I have to admit, I enjoyed both books but I think Fates (book 1) edged out Chaos by a smidge. Please be warned – there are some things that I might mention that could be spoilers so definitely continue reading at your own risk.

Fates kicks off the series by introducing the reader to Corinthe. I was immediately drawn into her story because of the way Bross introduced us to who she really is and although there are a number of other characters, this story really belongs to Corinthe. See, Corinthe was a Fate and has been exiled to Humana for the last 10 years and her role as an Executor has been to help fate along so that she could eventually go back to Pyralis Terra…or so she thought.

Turns out she was really just a pawn in a larger objective that her Guardian, Miranda had been plotting in support of the rebellion. Miranda has invested a lot of time and effort into getting Corinthe to do what she wanted her to do and Lucas, who is introduced early on in the book, plays a large part in making sure Miranda’s plans work out. Miranda has tied their fates together by bringing Luc’s sister, Jasmine, into the mix and as he and Corinthe search for a way to save her.

As the story moves along, we find out what Miranda is really up to but I think the thing I enjoyed most about this book was the world building that Bross did throughout as she described each of the worlds that Corinthe and Luc moved through in an effort to save his sister. We also see the way that Corinthe changes as she begins to realize she wants more than just to go back to her sister Fates…now she has realized that Luc is just as (if not more) important to her.

As Fates comes to a close, things are a bit crazy for these characters and Corinthe gives the ultimate sacrifice to save Luc’s sister. With that in mind, Luc has decided he is going to do whatever he can to bring her back.

Chaos is Luc’s opportunity to bring Corinthe back but there is an added twist. Because Jasmine doesn’t remember anything about what happened when she was taken by Miranda, she is unaware of what Luc has been up to. All she knows is that Luc is acting weird, her dad is going to rehab, and now there are some people she doesn’t know following her around trying to hurt her.

As Jasmine tries learns more about what she missed during the days of her captivity and why time is jumping around so much, she ends up relying on a guy named Ford to help her out. He definitely has a story and we know very little about him. As the stories intertwine, the things Luc does have an impact on Jasmine as he causes time to jump around on her. The jumps help her figure out who she is, what is going on, and what she needs to do to get things back to normal.

As for the characters, I liked Jasmine but I had a hard time believing that she is 15. Maybe the intent was to have her seem older due to the life she has had but she always seemed much older than her actual age. Ford was an interesting character as well. We don’t really learn a lot about him outside of the fact that he is a Radical who believes like Miranda does, that no one should dictate how others live or die.

Similar to Fates, Bross does a great job of building out the worlds in this book. I also thought the story had some good progression. One of the things that does happen that did drive me crazy is the insta-love…both between Luc/Corinthe and Jasmine/Ford.

I can’t say much about the details in this book only because I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone. I found these books to be entertaining and the story interesting. There is plenty of action and a bit of romance all tied together into a story with wonderful world building and an interesting take on fate. Consider checking this series out when you can.