I found this book while doing some random perusing of the YA section at the library. I looked it up on here and was surprised how many 5 star reviews it had, so I went for it. Honestly, I just never really got into it. I mean it was good. And it had some features that I really enjoyed - the ideas of dreamhunting is something I had never encountered before really. And the "Place" stuck me as a very real name...something people would name something that they couldn't explain and most couldn't see. A small detail, but one that really stuck out at me. I also liked the steampunk feel of the novel. I'm not too into the genre, but the old school camera/video references seem reminiscent of the genre. It's a cool feel. A chance to be historically minded but not have to follow all conventions or research of the time. I had a love/hate relationship with the dialogue - I liked that it wasn't stilted or teenager-y, but I also had a hard time following or understanding sometimes. It seemed as if the cousins were speaking in special code or...like since they knew each other so well, when they spoke they left out parts that they already know but other people, outsiders, wouldn't. It gave me a strange, disembodied feeling and maybe explains why I never felt a part of the story like I wanted to. But on the whole, for some reason I just didn't find myself as engrossed in the reading as I normally am. So even though that's not a real reason, that's why the 3 stars. I have the second one and am planning to read it as well. I don't like not knowing how things end. And I'm hoping I'll be able to get more into it.

This second book was better than the first...I'd like to give it a 3.5. I think partially I was getting more used to the style of writing and strange, drifting, dialogue. But honestly the story started coming together more as well. I've never read a "duet" before and it has it's own special aspects I think, like how the second book in a trilogy tends to be a placeholder. In any case, there were some really interesting details - specifically I was really impressed with the transformation of Nown from a sandman to a glassman in the fire and the idea/characteristics of a Master dream. I also liked the conclusion of the Place being a "Now" and the connected of Laura's son's life to the communication by dreams. It is strange to me that no one else noticed the connections before, but maybe just everyone's different viewpoints, etc. made it hard to put pieces together. I feel like the end was a little too perfect - I mean I'm glad Sandy didn't die and I agree with the theme that fate does not exist/infallibly predict - but to have Rose marry Laura's son from the future? That seemed odd to me. And in general I think the end just wrapped up a little too quickly. It felt rushed. Plus, I really don't understand what happened to Nown. Lastly, I think the biggest issue is the base plot is just too nebulous. What the heck was Cas Doran's eventual goal? What was he fighting for and why was he putting out all that effort for it? What was he dousing people with "Contentment" for - what was his aim? Also, I agree hard labor is not an appropriate punishment and that prison systems, especially here in the US, are abused as far as power structures are concerned, but I just felt that there is missing connective tissue between that situation and the rest of the story. Just....something wasn't completely fleshed out. But all in all, very creative story. And I did enjoy the read.

This book was fun. It wasn't anything particularly special in the genre - nothing crazy new or original - but I enjoyed reading it and am excited for the next one. I like that Kelsea isn't gorgeous or an amazing fighter or any other kind of "special" that most heroines in books like these are. She has some education and some great advisers...and we are starting to see a little magic, but nothing she knows about or how to control. She's idealistic, which is about right for her age and lack of worldly experience and it's endearing. I like that she has anger issues and can be petty in her anger like a normal 19 year old, but her path to learning how to use and control it is realistic. Mace, the Fetch and Thorne, and of course the evil Census/lottery/slave tribute, are the characters/events one expects, but necessary and well written. And I like Pen. I can't wait to see what happens with Javel and Andalie. And I was very happy that there was not really a "love story" here. I was nervous when the Fetch was introduced, but I like that this was jsut a story of a girl trying to survive and grow into her role - no need for a male interest yet. The one thing that is slightly confusing is the whole "Crossing" thing: what is pre-crossing versus now, how they have organ transplanting and some magic but not gunpowder and heroin and the references to America, famous books like Harry Potter and other familiar things and I feel like the Tearling country is England...but I do not understand the connections between then and now and how the changes that happened came to be. How can one have all that medical expertise of the Old World and then lose it all in a single ship-based crossing? Maybe it will be explained more as we move through the story, but for now it seems like arbitrary anachronisms and steampunk choices...I'm still on the fence about how it feels to me.

Well this was a great fantasy epic. I don't know if this is supposed to be the case or not, but it reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. A curse to make someone fall in love with a "beast" whose face one cannot see and whose people/kind one inherently hates. Even though this "I love you" didn't come in time, this story tells a more intense kind of love. One where other lives are at stake and what one would do for love, what sacrifices they would make, are well and truly tested. It explored physical tests, emotional/trust tests, and what parts of oneself (innocence, self-image, wholeness) a person would give up for the love of their life. I appreciated the story from that angle very much...it was a realistic portrayal of what love means, what a person would give up or do for love. Would you kill an innocent person to save the one you love? Would you kill an innocent person to save the rest of a population? These questions aren't usually asked in stories like this without a loophole or another way out. This story was real in its telling...sometimes there is no other way and you have to chose. So I respect the author for that. Quite a bit. I was impressed with this story in general, it's development (the pacing was great, both in general story-telling and the realistic way love developed over time - things like "melting icy hearts" are not instantaneous), and the overall feel. This was one magical story and I am excited to read the next one.

Well, I succumbed to the hype and read it. And it was good. I enjoyed it. But it wasn't what it was built up to be. Maybe it's impossible to live up to that kind of hype...maybe it's just because it's not my preferred genre. I mean it kept my attention, it was suspenseful. But I guessed the "twist," which normally I don't do. I knew the reveal before it happened. And though I liked the ending a lot - I liked the way Anna and Rachel ended things and I felt it was both appropriate and deliciously deserved - it just wasn't quite enough to save the whole book for me. I think probably the most impressive part of the book, and what I really took away from it, was the exploration of Rachel, Anna and Megan as women. It was a very interesting set of character explorations/studies. Three different women with different stories, their interactions with men (and one in particular, of course), and the role that having a child plays in a woman's life. Because that's what this story was for me - a review of how motherhood, or the lack thereof, can completely take over and change everything a woman is or thinks she is. It was interesting and worth reading, but maybe not quite to the extent that it's time on the bestseller list makes it seem...

This was a phenomenal second book - not at all the placeholder second books usually become. The past and present were beautifully woven together, from "pre-Crossing" with Lily and William Tear, to the history of the new world/the Tear/Raleigh lines, and the Mort invasion of the Tearling in present time. The pace was wonderful and the story was well developed. The continuation of old characters' stories and introduction of new blended well. I really enjoyed many of the smaller story lines, like Ewen (especially Ewen), Aisa (I always have a soft spot for this character, in any book), Maddy and Father Tyler. And I am dying to read the next one now, with this book ending on so many cliff hangers. Where is the crown? What is Finn Rowland up to? What is the Fetch's story (still waiting on that)? And who is Kelsea's father? And really, I'm interested in Kelsea and Pen - I think it's a great way to introduce relationships into the story in a believable but understated way, with only a little YA cliche, and I want to see where that ends up. Also, I really appreciated all the darker, more mature, themes brought to light in this book; everything from domestic and sexual assault, to acceptance of differences (i.e. homosexuality), to religious and brainwashing institutions, to cutting and self abuse, to sexual debut as a teenager, and the many angles on birth control that are covered. Many YA books skirt some of these topics, gloss over, them, pretend they don't exist, or have unrealistic representations of the actions and people associated with them. I think it's all the stronger that these themes are brought up both in a new/fantasy world and also in an older, dystopia version of the future of our world - it make the reality stronger. The one aspect that rings strange is the sapphires, and the magic in general. I just am not sure how I feel about them dropping into the story in William Tear's possession, conveniently getting them to this new world. At that point, I accept all the magic or lack thereof as an understood invention of the time/place they crossed to, as necessary with all fantasy books. But their origin in a futuristic version of our current world seemed just slightly hard to swallow. All in all, I would actually say that this second installation was better than the first, really drawing me in and keeping me turning the page, so I can't wait to see how everything gets wrapped up in the final.

Well, this was not as good as the start of her new trilogy... It was a pretty typical YA fantasy/dystopia: pretty girl (too pretty - like way overdone here - if she was that pretty, there's no way she'd have stayed an anonymous assassin) is the hero with a tough background and a chance to save the world that she doesn't really want, a love triangle, the couple bad guys, a competition with intrigue, and some magic. Plus, the catch all fix-it character, Nehemia, who does "magic" in a world where it is banned and is there with information and to save the main character's life when necessary. Also, the whole acceptance of slavery until a pretty young girl is scarred (by both the prince and Chaol) was too convenient and cliched. I liked some of the side characters, like Nox. The Elena thing was interesting, but a bit too surface. And I think whatever connection exists between Celeana and the ancient queen and the throne of Terrasen, etc. was alluded to a couple too many times - I got it. All in all, definitely not the best YA I've read and I would recommend the author's newer stuff. But it was the escape I was looking for this weekend and I was able to read it quickly, so it filled the role I meant it to nicely.

Just what I needed. Kearsley has never disappointed before and this was no different. It appealed to all my soft spots for romance, historical fiction/romance, a little present day to connect and mirror it all, and, of course, Highlanders. I enjoyed the exploration here of a type of person that is normally less present in literature - the less than perfect heroine, the person who is not your typical, the one with Asperger's, the one left behind trying to find herself. It put a little bit of a different twist on the story that otherwise falls right in line with Kearsley's norm - enough to be different (plus some extra, lovely details, like the ciphers, the watch-making, the story telling), but not so much that you lose the magic you look for when you start one of her novels. It had all the sweet bits I wanted, the slow falling in love feeling, and I feel fuller and happier for having been able to read it. A wonderful Thanksgiving read - a day well spent.

This was beautiful, in a haunting way. A few times throughout this novel the narrator, Ana, mentioned that people in America didn't really know/care what was going on during the violent split of what used to be Yugoslavia...and I realized she was completely right. I was very young during the war and genocide itself, but it was never something covered in school as I went through. So I did some research while reading. This book, and my extra reading, was hugely eye-opening. The crimes committed during this series of war were horrifying on a level that should have been as equally recognized worldwide as other genocides and war crimes have been (Holocaust and Rwanda, for example). But as for this book, it was an emotional reading experience. I thought the narrator was perfectly rendered, both her voice as a child as later, as an adult. The mix of past and present tense wove together smoothly and was the exact right style for this type of story. The experiences were written with reality and feeling and, while I don't think anyone on the outside can really understand an experience like Ana's, the author brought it to life so effectively. The difficult parts, her parents deaths, were handled with a matter of factness that made them all the more heartbreaking - viewed through the eyes of a child. The relationships (at the Safe House, with her godparents, with Brian) were rendered with truth in their closeness and also the detachment Ana felt throughout the changes in situation. And I think Luka was a perfect grounding character for the story/plot created here. Although this was fiction, I have read interview with the author where she talks about the stories she was told by friends in Croatia that gave rise to this novel and those friends approval of her retelling. I agree. I think she captured all the elements of this turbulent and horrific time the best a person could have in a fictional telling. Very well done.

Girl Waits with Gun - first of all, what a phenomenal title. Which becomes even more understandable and appealing knowing that it was actually the title of one of the newspaper articles written about Constance Kopp and her sisters. This is such a great story, one that I had no idea about before this book, and I am grateful to the author for researching and telling this story. There are so few historical accounts of normal, everyday women rising above what was expected of them in the time period of this story. This was before women had even won the right to vote, and that a woman was able to so impress that she was offered a role as Deputy Sheriff is really impressive. I enjoyed the story itself and the progression of Constance as a character. I felt the development was so real, from a young lady who "disgraced" herself early and spent all following years on the perimeter, almost in hiding, with her family. But as the events of the story unfold and they are forced to come out into the public eye, Constance steps up to protect the family and grows into herself (a prodigious feat, considering her size) and her future (challenging the normal expectations for "spinsters" in her situation). The story told is not what I expected, the story of how she became a Sheriff, not tales of her life as a Sheriff, but I actually think that's the better story. It was a slower paced read, for that, but answering the question of how she become such an anomaly for women of the time is definitely the story worth telling. The setting and characters really came to life and the author really built and handled the atmosphere perfectly. Very enjoyable experience.