I love Kim Liggett's books. That is all.

Full Review:
I love Kim Liggett’s stories and if you haven’t read one yet, you are definitely missing out. The Grace Year is her newest and not only does it have a cover that I love, but the story itself was one I didn’t want to stop reading. I’m definitely not going to tell you everything or give anything away so feel free to read on.

As the summary states, in Garner County, girls are told they have magic that makes men and women act out of character and the only way they can be cleansed and prepared for marriage is to be sent off for their sixteenth year to a remote area in the woods so they can release that magic. Unfortunately, not everyone comes back intact…or even alive. You’re probably wondering why they don’t just run away when they are on their own. Unfortunately, they can’t because that would mean their families and younger sisters could be banished.

The world that Liggett created in this book was frightening. Not only are these girls deprived of any kind of ownership of themselves, but they are forced to leave their families and attempt to survive in the wilderness with dangers outside and inside the fence. Since no one is allowed to speak about their Grace Year, none of the girls headed out each year have any sense of what they are walking into or ability to prepare and as you can imagine, that only creates bigger problems.

Tierney is the main character and I loved everything about her. Living in a very repressive (to women) society, she clearly saw where the issues were and what was wrong but as a young woman headed out to her own Grace Year, she doesn’t really feel like she can make a change in her village. Lucky for her, Tierney’s parents and sister did everything they could to prepare her without breaking any rules. Unlucky for Tierney, she is headed to her Grace Year with a girl (Kiersten) who is very angry with her due to the fact that her best friend, and the boy who will take over leading the county, Michael, has chosen to marry Tierney instead of her. As you can imagine it doesn’t create a great start to their year.

Initially the things Tierney learned from her parents help to get some initial things set up but as the days go by, she finds that those who were initially behind her to make their space livable, eventually trickle over to Kiersten’s group who are only interested in expelling their magic and become crazed. Just to make things even more interesting, the girls aren’t supposed to go outside the fencing because there are Poachers in the woods that are waiting to capture and kill the girls to then sell their body parts on the black market. When something happens to put Tierney on the outs with the other girls, she finds herself in a position she never thought she would be in. And no, I’m not going to say anything about it because you really have to read it to believe all the things!

The secondary characters in this book were all interesting and necessary. Each one plays a critical part in Tierney’s story and get her from the first to the last page. Trust me when I say that there are some you will love and some you will really hate…yes, hate. I can’t even tell you everything about them because I don’t want to ruin any bit of this story. As Tierney’s year comes to a close, she learns so much about herself and the girls around her. She also finds herself in an unexpected position that she has to figure her way out of.

That’s about all I can say about this book without giving anything away. It has a fast pace and a great story that once you pick it up, you won’t want to put it down until you get to the end. Just brace yourself because Liggett doesn’t take it easy on her readers and if you’re like me, when you hit the end of this book, you’re going to be looking to see if there is more because I really wish there were. Liggett has become an auto-buy author for me and if you enjoy a good dystopian, you should pick this book up when you can.

Thank you to Netgalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Definitely not an easy read but so well done.

Find Me Their Bones is book two in the Bring Me Their Hearts series by Sara Wolf and if you haven’t stared this series yet, I recommend you go do that now. As this is a second book, if you haven’t read the first, there is a good chance there will be spoilers for book one below…be warned.

This book picks up right where book one left off and Zera has revealed who she really is to Lucien. Not only that, but as Zera is revealed as a Heartless, out of the woods walks Varia, Lucien’s sister who has been missing for five years. With all of those things happening, it’s no surprise that Lucien tries to distance himself from Zera. He hadn’t opened himself up to anyone the way he had with her and her betrayal definitely affects him.

While Zera waits for her witch, Nightsinger, to shatter her, she actually finds herself in a position to have a second chance at getting her heart back. Unfortunately, it comes at a terrible price and Zera has to decide what’s most important to her. Along the way, Zera faces a number of challenges, including taming a valkerax to get it to tell them the location of the tree. Oddly enough, this isn’t really the hardest thing she has to do. She also has to come face to face routinely with those she lied to about who / what she is.

As Zera works with the valkerax, we get to learn a lot more about the species. In addition to that, we learn more about what Varia has been up to (since she’s been gone) and what she is planning to do going forward. I thought Wolf did a great job in keeping the story moving, introducing new, impactful characters, and not losing sight of the relationship that had developed between Zera, Lucien, and the others.

I love Zera. She is strong and sarcastic and even though she is supposed to be this mindless being who just follows orders, she is much more than that. Throughout this series I have always felt that Zera is in a difficult position and regardless of what she is now, she was never given a choice on whether to become a Heartless or not. Not only that, but in this book, she is treated with little to no regard of her feelings and it made me what to yell at every single one of the characters surrounding her. I get that some were afraid or didn’t trust her but some of the things she had to deal with just made me angry.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend the series. If you are looking for a book that has magic, great characters, and some swoons, consider checking this one out. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book so I can find out what happens next!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gravemaidens is the first book in a duology by Kelly Coon and when I read this summary I knew I needed to check it out.

Kammani is the main character and things haven't been easy for her and her family lately. When she is cast out of their privileged life with her father and sister, her only real desire is to become an accomplished healer. Unfortunately when Alu's ruler becomes deathly ill, Kammani's little sister is chosen as one of the three sacred maidens who will accompany him into the afterlife. While this is considered a great honor, Kammani doesn't see it that way. In an effort to save her sister, Kammani decides she will go heal the ruler herself and what she finds is something so much more than their dying ruler.

I enjoyed the story but didn't connect with all of the characters. I thought the relationship between Kammani and her sister, Nanaea was challenging. Nanaea came across as ungrateful and a bit spoiled and while the end revealed a bit more around her motivations, I think I would have liked her more had I known sooner.

I also wanted more Dagan. I really liked him but he didn't have a big role. I also wanted Kammani to be less wishy washy about him and her feelings for him. Also, Iltani was a fantastic BFF for Kammani and she challenged and pushed Kammani in so many different ways.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and thought Coon did a good job with the pacing and the character development. Add this one to your TBR list if you're looking for a fantasy story that has a different feel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.