Now I Rise is the second book in The Conqueror’s Saga and if you haven’t started this series you should definitely consider picking them up. Don’t let the size/length of them scare you off either – yes they are lengthy but the story is so good. If you haven’t read book one yet, you might want to hold off on reading my review. While I won’t spoil Now I Rise, I can’t promise the same for book one.

Book two picks up shortly after And I Darken wraps up and Lada is still driven to get the Wallachian throne back no matter what. She and her men are attacking anyone they cross paths with so they can survive and she quickly realizes what she is doing isn’t getting her what she wants. What she really needs is her brother, Radu, and his ability to be more diplomatic and connect with others around him. Unfortunately for her, she left him behind with Mehmed and he isn’t in any position to join her…even if he wanted to.

As I mentioned, Radu is with Mehmed but things aren’t the same for them. Radu still loves and Mehmed and Mehmed still loves Lada and I couldn’t help feeling bad for Radu. He kept letting Mehmed take advantage of him and I just wanted Radu to stand up for himself. Unfortunately for Radu, his feelings put him in a position where he ends up in Constantinople as a spy and it is expected that he do whatever he needs to in order to help Mehmed take control of the city. The struggle he has with this is that Radu has built friendships with the very people he has to betray.

Mehmed is super manipulative of both Radu and Lada and I didn’t like a lot of the choices he made. He was so determined to get what he wanted that he didn’t care who he hurt along the way. I’m still not sure how I feel about him knowing everything about what he knew and what he asked of everyone.

As characters, I don’t think any of them changed very much from book one to book two. If anything Lada showed the most growth and I would attribute that to the fact that if she hadn’t changed the way she was attempting to get the throne back, she may not have had any success. By recognizing the need to partner with someone who had a bit more diplomacy she wasn’t stuck in the same place she was when she left her brother and Mehmed behind..

This book gives you two different stories that eventually intersect. With Lada on her own mission, her story is very separate from that of Radu’s/Mehmed’s and I think her story interested me more. The rotating chapters from Lada’s story to Radu’s story slowed everything way down and I found myself struggling not to skim over some parts. What helped move things along were the secondary characters that White developed. They not only added to the story, but also helped me connect more to the main characters and learn more about them.

Overall I enjoyed this book but wish the pace had been a bit faster. The details were necessary but it was a struggle to stay fully interested in some of the slower parts. If you are looking for a story about a strong female warrior, definitely check out the entire series and if you have already read And I Darken, you will want to read Now I Rise so you can see what happens amongst the characters and whether they achieve the goals they have set for themselves.

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

Review to come.

AHHHH - that ending!!! 4.5 stars.

Review to come

I have been waiting for The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye for at least a year and I have to admit, I basically confiscated this book from my sister once it came to our house. The first book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger so I was so excited to dive into this book. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone so if you haven’t read The Crown’s Game yet, stop here and go read it.

The Crown’s Fate picks up shortly after book one and like Vika, I was pretty mad at Pasha. Because of the game, Vika doesn’t really have a choice around what she does for Pasha and Yuliana. We find out pretty quickly…right alongside Vika, that if she doesn’t do as ordered, the magic will punish her. Now on top of her anger at Pasha around what happened at the end of the game, Vika is basically robbed of her free will to decide what actions she will take in support of Pasha.

As Pasha prepares to become Tsar, he is clearly struggling with who he is and how he will lead the people of Russia. His sister, Yuliana, knows Russia and always seems to know what to do and Pasha doesn’t have the confidence she does which causes him to question his ability to lead. With that said, Pasha is loved by the people and when he finally does step up and decides he is the right person to lead, he shows his strength.

Now…I loved Nicolai. I still love Nicolai but he was really hard to support in this book. If you recall the end of book one, he basically gave up his life to Vika so she would survive the game. Well he didn’t die…instead he became a shadow and is living in the scene he created in the Kazakh steppe. When his mother, Aizhanna, comes to see him there, she tries to convince him to steal energy from the visitors so he can come back. When he refuses, she pushes her energy into him and that is the start of this new, darker Nicolai. As Nicolai comes back, he decides he is going to fight Pasha for the throne and he is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants.

It is clear, Aizhanna’s energy is making Nicolai act like someone he is not. His anger and his distrust in Vika and Pasha make him do things I never thought he would do. As we get the different perspectives in the book, it is obvious that Vika wants to do whatever she can to save Nicolai and help him get back to who he was before the game. Unfortunately, Nicolai doesn’t see her actions that way and he immediately thinks she has chosen Pasha over him…which only makes him angrier.

I loved how Skye tied all their stories together and also the way she twisted up the magic in this book. When it was introduced to the people, they weren’t as accepting and eventually, because of Nicolai, the people were frightened and a danger to Vika. As the story moves forward and Pasha realizes what supporting magic has done, he does something that I never expected and I have to admit, I was surprised that Vika didn’t have a bigger negative reaction when he did it. I KNOW – Don’t hate me for how vague that statement is…I don’t want to give it away but trust me, when you get to this part, you will know exactly what I am talking about.

The secondary characters were definitely important to the story and helped move everything along. Aizhanna, Yuliana, Ludmila, Renata, and the Decemberists (to call out a few) all played key roles in the story and I enjoyed how Skye linked them into the lives of Nicolai, Pasha, and Vika

Overall I was happy with the story and the way it wrapped up. I thought Skye left it open-ended enough to let the reader decide what would happen next but she also brought the story to an appropriate conclusion. I definitely look forward to whatever is coming next from Evelyn Skye as she did such a great job creating a story that combined magic, friendship, and family all while keeping the historical feel to the story. If you are looking for something to read, consider checking out this book / series.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh is a book I was excited to get my hands on the second I read the summary. Samurai, a girl seeking vengeance dressed as a boy, danger and of course, romance…I couldn’t ask for more and I loved this book from the second I read the first page. I am going to do my best to do this one spoiler free – apologies in advance if anything comes across super vague.

Mariko has been destined for one thing in her life. As the daughter of a prominent samurai, her importance is in who she marries and this story begins for her as she is headed to the imperial city to marry Prince Raiden, the son of the emperor’s favorite consort. While on her trip, her caravan is attacked and everyone killed…or so the attackers thought.

As Mariko comes to, she realizes how much danger she is in. There are rumors that the Black Clan had been seen in the area they are traveling and Mariko has no doubt that is who has been tasked with killing her. As she narrowly escapes into the woods, Mariko decides she will do whatever she has to in order to protect her family’s reputation as well as get her revenge. I loved seeing the change in Mariko. She learns to fight and to stand up for herself as well as go after what she wants. Despite her initial anger at the beginning, Mariko also finds someone she can respect and love as well as a group of people she can trust.

There are so many great characters in this book. Mariko’s twin brother Kenshin, the emperor and Prince Raiden’s mother…I can’t wait to see what happens with them in the next book. While her brother is searching for her and wants to do the right thing, it is clear there is something more going on with him…I can’t say anything regarding this but trust me, you will see what I mean when you connect the dots.

And of course, the group who make up the Black Clan - there are so many favorites. Ranmaru and Okami of course - I loved the friendship they had and the way they protected each other. The Black Clan has a bad reputation and as Mariko learns more about not only these two but the others that make up the group, she realizes there is more to them than she originally thought.

As the story progresses, it is clear there is more going on here than Mariko ever expected. When the secrets finally come out, Mariko has to choose between her family and the place she has found amongst the Black Clan. As I mentioned earlier, I can’t wait to see what happens next for all of these characters. Ahdieh has created this world that I didn’t want to leave and I can’t wait to get back to now that I have finished this book. If you haven’t put this book on your TBR list yet, you should go do that now. Now…how long do I have to wait for the next book??

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

Review to come

Review to come

Review to come

3.5 stars. Review to come.

Review to comeThe Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale is one of those books that after I finished, my first thought was “how am I going to review this?” I love the summary on this book as it draws on the creepy atmosphere that van Arsdale has created and the (beautiful) cover just brings it all to life.

The story begins with a separate story that sets the stage for the main character Alys. In the time where superstition rules people’s thoughts, a village needed a scapegoat to explain why their crops were failing and people were in danger. Upon noticing a star shaped mark on the farmer’s twin daughters, the villagers immediately informed the farmer they didn’t blame him – it was the work of a witch (his wife) and the offspring of the Beast (his daughters). All he had to do was banish his wife and daughters and everything would be fine. With that, the farmer took his wife and daughters to the woods believing they would be safe from the angry villagers there.
Eventually the mother and the girls are forgotten but over time, the girls become something else and that something else leads to the label “Soul Eaters”. To get back at their father and the village, they let the wolves attack their livestock and that isnt’ enough for them. The sisters decide to go back and seek out those that accused them and their mother of being something dangerous. They went back to make the adults of Gwenith (the village) pay and they left the children alone. This is really where Alys’ story begins.

Alys was an interesting character. She did not have an easy go of things once the adults in her village were taken by the Soul Eaters. As the only child to stay awake when the sisters visited the village, people were immediately wary of her. Add to this the fact that she tends to be in the wrong place at the wrong time fairly often and you can imagine what the villagers think about her. Alys doubts herself as well. She can’t explain why she is the way she is and she almost gives in to the things she is being accused of later in the book.

As she and the children of her village are taken in by the people of Defaid, a village down the road, they are not treated in a way one would expect. When the fear takes hold of the people in charge in Defaid, they immediately build a fence and force the children to guard and protect. When the children continue to go missing or die, they are just replaced with other Gwenith children. Clearly the Defaiders don’t really care about these children and are really just looking at them as an added line of defense against the Beast and the Soul Eaters. When Alys sees something she shouldn’t have, she is accused of being a witch and that’s when things take a turn for the worse for her. I honestly couldn’t believe what the women and Elders put this young girl through and when her adoptive father does what he can to save her, I finally felt like he cared about her.

The secondary characters were interesting. Pawl was one of my favorites. He had flaws but they were definitely outweighed (in my opinion) by the positive things he did for Alys and the children. Through Pawl we are introduced to Cian. The interactions he an Alys had were some of my favorite parts.

As Alys confronts the Soul Eaters and the Beast, she realizes what she wants out of her life…and it definitely isn’t the heartache of being a Soul Eater. When she stands up for what she really wants and ultimately helps the sisters escape the lives they have been living for so long, she also helps the people she cares about because they are no longer going to be threatened by them.

Overall I thought this was an interesting story. It was slow at times but that didn’t bother me overly much. There is quite a bit I am not mentioning in my review as I don’t really want to give away everything and to be honest, this one was tough for me to write about only because there are so many layers to this story that I can’t really cover it all. If you are looking for something different in YA, consider checking this book out.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!