Arclight is one of those books that grabbed my attention from the first paragraph. Josin McQuein does a wonderful job of not only creating the world these characters live in but also creating a story that is interesting. I will do my best not to ruin anything in the story but be warned.

The world is made up of three things, the Arclight, the Grey, and the Dark. The Arclight is where the humans live and the light only thing that really protects them from the Fade. The Grey is a buffer zone where the light and dark meet. The Dark is where the Fade live and it is assumed that the main character, Marina, came from here…trying to escape the Fade and the Dark.

The Fade are (in my opinion) really what make this story. They are different from any kind of character I have come across in a dystopian novel and I love it when an author introduces something that I haven’t seen/read before. That’s really all I can say about them without giving anything away.

Marina is unique for a number of reasons. First, unlike everyone else, she didn't grow up in the Arclight – she was actually found in the Grey. Combined with the fact that she survived being attacked by the Fade and it is clear she is different from everyone else. Her differences actually make others in the Arc uncomfortable and once Marina came to the Arc, the Fade seemed to attack more often, almost as if they were trying to get to her for some reason. Unfortunately Marina doesn't remember anything prior to being rescued in the Grey. During her rescue, a number of people ran to help her and unfortunately a few didn't make it back, including Tobin’s father. Because of that, Marina feels like Tobin may hate her.

You may have read already that there is a love triangle. I thought it was done in a way that didn't disrupt the actual story and honestly, I didn't mind it at all and thought it actually added a layer to the story.

I thought McQuein did a great job developing the characters in this story. I thought Marina was a believable heroine and McQuein did a great job showing how isolated she felt through the beginning of the story. It was clear she didn't feel like she belonged anywhere and getting the snippets of her backstory (what was known) helped me understand her separation. I also liked Tobin, Rue, and Anne-Marie.

I’m not going to go into a lot of the storyline here because I don’t want to ruin the twists. I will say there were some things that I saw coming and others that surprised me. I especially enjoyed the end and how McQuein revealed everything – I will be interested to see how she picks up book two because I honestly thought this one had a pretty solid ending.

4.5 stars
Across a Star-Swept Sea is a companion novel to For Darkness Shows the Stars and while I don’t think it is absolutely necessary for you to read For Darkness Shows the Stars first, it might be helpful. You get more of the backstory on Reduction and the Aristo/Reg history which definitely ties into this novel. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Kai and Elliott make an appearance in this book.

New Pacifica is made up of a set up islands, Albion and Galatea. While the Aristos on Galatea are being attacked by the Regs in power, Persis Blake has decided to take on the role of flighty socialite to help the people of Galatea. You might ask yourself how that works. Well Persis is actually the Wild Poppy who happens to be the Albion responsible for saving the Aristos that the Regs are reducing with the pink pills created by the Helos – specifically, Justen Helo. Her role as a socialite is her cover and she does her best to hide who she really is underneath the hair and clothes.

Justen Helo is a medic and researcher who comes from a very well-known family, the Helos. His goal is to make it to Albion to get away from General Aldred but also use his knowledge of the Pinks (the pills being used on the Aristos) to come up with a way to help the Regs and Aristos that are in danger on Galatea. On his way off the island, Justen runs into Persis and it only helps to skew his perception of who she is. Between the two of them, they have plenty of secrets and despite that, they find themselves becoming closer.

I love the characters in the books that Peterfreund creates. Persis is smart and savvy but puts on a show to keep people from seeing what she is truly capable of. She also dreads the day she has to marry because despite how advanced they are as a society in Albion, the belief is still there that men need to be in charge. This helps her keep her secret identity as Wild Poppy hidden as most people wouldn't consider that the revolutionary would be a sixteen year old girl. Justen is one of those people who is book smart. He doesn't appreciate the idea of court or navigating politics just for appearances so he has made a conscious effort to stay in the lab doing research. When he is forced to navigate the politics of court, he finds that he doesn't have the patience and almost admires Persis for her ability to do so.

The secondary characters were great as well and I hope we get to see more of them in one of the future novels Peterfreund gives us. Isla, Tero, Andrine all make up the League of the Wild Poppy with Persis and I want more of their stories. Remy was great too. Vania made the perfect villain – for sure. She didn't care what others thought about her other than her father (General Aldred). In the end, she did whatever she wanted as long as she felt the outcome was a benefit to the revolution on Galatea.

This book is based on the Scarlet Pimpernel which I have not read but I might just have to check it out. I found this book to be just as good as Peterfreund’s first book and am definitely looking forward to the next one she writes. Peterfreund creates these interesting worlds that make it very difficult to put her books down. I honestly wanted more of this one as I thought the ending felt a bit rushed but otherwise I thought this one was very well done.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer & Bray for the review copy.

Merrin Grey has the ability to hover…unfortunately in her world that isn't enough. As a One, she lacks the second power that would make her a Super and able to fly. When she transfers to Nelson High School (for Normals) for her sophomore year of high school, Merrin meets Elias and things change. See, Elias is a One as well and his ability is he can control the air. When they are together they feel a buzz and their powers are compounded. Now Merrin is finding that she wants more than to be able to fly and an internship at The Hub, Elias has become just as important to her.

One mixes this world of superpowers with a world of normals and I loved it. I would have liked to see a bit more of the interaction between the Supers, Ones, and Normals. I enjoyed the background we got and it was clear that, as with anything, depending on what side you are on, stories can vary. It would have been nice to see what things were really like between the groups as I didn't really get a sense that there was conflict with the exception that Supers felt differently toward Ones.

People are definitely keeping secrets in this book and I don’t just mean Elias or Merrin. Anyone who works for The Hub seems to know more than anyone else and they aren't telling. Merrin’s parents won’t tell Merrin something about her science teacher, Elias’ parents seem a bit odd – we really never meet his dad until later and his mom seems to be hiding something, and Elias’ sisters clearly have some secrets of their own.

Kopans does a wonderful job developing the characters in this story. I could feel Merrin’s anger and disappointment in the beginning and as her relationship with Elias progresses, she becomes more accepting of the fact that she is a One. Don’t get me wrong, Merrin hasn't stopped trying to find out a way to fly but she has come to accept that Elias is just as important to her. It was great to see it all come together in her mind toward the end and see her decide what she needed to do.

Elias feels the connection to Merrin right away and is perfectly swoony. He knows that if certain people found out what they can do when they are together things could be dangerous for both of them so he does what he can to protect Merrin as well as their friends Leni and Daniel. On top of that, he is worried about his sisters and worried that he will never make his father proud of him.

Keep in mind that I really haven’t said much about the story here as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. There were a few twists I expected but a number of them I hadn't so hopefully you will be as entertained as I was. This was a quick read and I found myself unable to put this one down until I turned the last page. I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA, a solid story, and great characters. I am excited to see what is in store for Merrin and Elias in the next book as well as what happens with not only Leni and Daniel but also Merrin’s and Elias’ families.

Allie Sheridan is in trouble…again. Caught vandalizing her school with friends, Allie’s parents aren't sure what to do with her anymore. Ever since her brother, Christopher, ran off Allie has been acting out and they decide the best place for her is Cimmeria, a boarding school she has never heard of.

Once Allie arrives at school she realizes it isn't a typical boarding school. There are “The Rules” and they must be strictly followed. Also, there are no computers, phones, or mp3 players. This creates a pretty isolated environment and pushes Allie to cut her ties to her old life. It also pushes her to consider making a change. When she lived in London, her way of acting out was to dress differently and wear heavy makeup. Here she decides she can go back to the way she was before Christopher left.

From the start, it is clear that there are secrets at Cimmeria but no one trusts Allie enough to tell her what Night School is and what it means to really be attending Cimmeria. Along the way, Allie makes some friends and of course draws the attention of the two hottest guys at school. Warning – there is a bit of a love triangle here but thankfully it isn't the main focus. It comes up and actually until the end of this book I thought it wouldn't be a big deal but my spidey senses tell me it will be a returning topic for book two.

The characters are interesting but I wish we would have gotten more background. With Allie being the new girl and the introduction of Rachel (the school gossip), it would have been the perfect opportunity to dive into the main and secondary characters stories but I felt like it was glossed over. We know that Jo is rich and has some problems, Sylvain is French, and Carter lives at the school all the time because his parents are dead…but that is about it. I wanted to know more about them. I felt like I had a lot of unanswered questions about each of them by the end of the book.

Overall the story itself grabbed me from the start. The underlying mystery of what Cimmeria is as well as what is going on there had me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. I was also drawn into the mystery of who Allie actually is and what it means that she was accepted for the summer term. I will most likely be checking out book two when I can as I want to know the rest of the story and understand what really is going on with Nathaniel, Isabelle and the organization.

review to come

Review to come.

4.5 stars - LOVE! Review to come.

GAH - Daniel! I love him and it was great to get in his head. Also, the peek into A Darkness Strange and Lovely...the only thing better would be if I had a copy in my hand.

I'm conflicted on this one.

Dance of the Red Death is one of those books I feel like I have been waiting on forever and imagine my excitement when this was up on Edelweisse. I have to admit, I was a bit underwhelmed with this one which has me very conflicted because I love Araby’s story and loved Masque of the Red Death.

Let me start with what I loved:
• The writing – I thought Griffin did a wonderful job and brought the story to life. Most of the highlighting I did was because of the words and descriptions more than the actual situation.
• The characters - Araby, Will, Elliott, Kent, and Alice – I enjoyed them all and actually wanted more of all of them.

Here is where people may (or may not) get mad at me – I will do my best not to give anything away. What I didn't enjoy as much:
• The last 1/3 of the book – it felt very rushed and the pacing was off. The beginning of the book in comparison seems slow (in my head now that I think back to how it all flowed).
• I have more questions – the end did not give me answers to everything. There were some answers but I thought some critical pieces were missing.
• The showdown between Prospero and Elliott/Araby as well as Araby’s challenge during the ball. It all seemed rushed and anti-climactic.
• I thought April got shafted…that is all I will say.

Based on this review you might think I didn't enjoy this – that’s not really true. I liked the story and still like that this focuses on the plague. Overall I wish that this had been paced a bit differently and perhaps instead of focusing on Araby trying to find her father or saving other people, perhaps (in my humble opinion) it would have been better to focus more on the actual fight between Elliott, Prospero, and Malcontent. I would have also liked to see more about how the plague was going to be eliminated and now you see why I didn't get all the answers I wanted. Again, just my opinion but I wanted to love this one like I loved the first book and I kind of didn't.



Thank you to the publisher for the eARC.

So many questions still - Review to come.