Legendary by Stephanie Garber

👍
✹ I found Tella a more relatable protagonist than her sister
✹ Dante
✹The Prince of Hearts
✹Better than Caraval

👎
✹The flowery writing style, although I didn't find it as noticeable or annoying as I did in Caraval
✹ Predictable at times

Legendary is one of those books where the sequel is better than the first, though the overall writing style is very similar, it reads better in my opinion. It's much more exciting, with an almost sinister vibe and a more likeable protagonist - Tella's sharp wit and humour was a welcome addition to the series and I found her character easier to read than Scarlet. The reveal of Tella's 'friend' wasn't surprising, nor was his involvement within the story, I did really like this addition to series. Tella's participation, and her reasons for participating in Caraval were fun to read and I liked how the story wove together; the climax wasn't as earth shattering as it could have been but it was well executed and I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy, Finale in May 2019.

★★★★☆/★★★★★

★★★★☆/★★★★★
Book Review: Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

Positives
👍 Intriguing plot
👍 Once I got used to it I did like two pov's

Negatives
👎 Slow paced, didn't grab me until 30% ish
👎 Quite different to what I was expecting

I was really pleased to be approved for Karin Slaughter's latest standalone, Pieces of Her. The plot was intriguing and I was keen to see how well a standalone would hold up to her Grant County/Will Trent series', both of which I love.

Told from two third person povs, Andy's pov is over a week in the present (which is actually in the future, a few weeks away from now - spooky!) and Jane's is over the course of a week in Summer 1986. I will admit to being confused when the first past pov appeared, somewhat out of the blue but once I got used to it, I really enjoyed reading both. Initially I found both Andy and Jane irritating, both of them appear to be very passive until something shocks them. The book itself was fairly slow paced until around 30% when I started to enjoy it more, but I was truly unable to put it down once I got to 58% when it just came together. Overall I did enjoy the book, it was cleverly done and all was not as it seemed.

★★★★★/★★★★★
Book Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Positives
☄ love the setting (centurians and the weapons etc)
☄ engaging from the offset, hard to put down
☄ the dual povs worked really well, I looked forward to both povs
☄ the foretellings are very clever

Negatives
☄ upsetting scenes (whipping/death of a 10yo child, frequent threats of rape)
☄ quite violent at times (this isn't a negative for me, just a warning to others)

An Ember in the Ashes has been on my tbr for a while now, I actually bought it months ago on Kindle but haven't picked it up until now. The first person, dual pov worked really well, both povs showed engaging characters, whose stories wove together well. Laia is a Scholar, whose brother is arrested right at the start of the book. She goes to the resistance to try to get them to rescue him, which they agree to for a price. Laia must spy on the Commandant, the vicious leader of the centurian army who martial the lands. Elias is a Mask, a member of the Commandants unfailing army. Laia should hate him, but Elias isn't all that he seems.

Very engaging story, I'm itching to read the second in the series as soon as possible.

★★★★☆/★★★★★

Book Review: The Universe is Expanding and So Am I by Carolyn Mackler

Positives
🥠 Virginia
🥠 All the book references
🥠 Sea-glass-eyed, long haired artists who definitely do not skateboard, because no coordination
🥠 Growing up/growing some balls

Negatives
🥠 Somewhat predictable, but it didn't detract from the story

This super cute first person YA contemporary wasn't just fluff for the brain. Virginia is a fantastic protagonist and I can totally see her as a purple haired, kick-boxing curvaceous superhero. I loved all of the reading/book references, especially this one which had me laughing out loud:'I glance longingly at my bedside table , at the cover of Fates and Furies. I wish I could be reading right now.' Throw in a sea-eyed-eyed, long haired artist and some forbidden lust and we have a fun romp through New York as Virginia navigates her summer break (which is not going to plan) and some fairly serious issues involving her brother which could have serious ramifications for the future of her family.

Really enjoyed this, read it in two sittings - perfect summer YA read.

★★★★☆/★★★★★

Book Review: The Universe is Expanding and So Am I by Carolyn Mackler

Positives
🥠 Virginia
🥠 All the book references
🥠 Sea-glass-eyed, long haired artists who definitely do not skateboard, because no coordination
🥠 Growing up/growing some balls

Negatives
🥠 Somewhat predictable, but it didn't detract from the story

This super cute first person YA contemporary wasn't just fluff for the brain. Virginia is a fantastic protagonist and I can totally see her as a purple haired, kick-boxing curvaceous superhero. I loved all of the reading/book references, especially this one which had me laughing out loud:'I glance longingly at my bedside table , at the cover of Fates and Furies. I wish I could be reading right now.' Throw in a sea-eyed-eyed, long haired artist and some forbidden lust and we have a fun romp through New York as Virginia navigates her summer break (which is not going to plan) and some fairly serious issues involving her brother which could have serious ramifications for the future of her family.

Really enjoyed this, read it in two sittings - perfect summer YA read.

★★★★☆/★★★★★
Book Review: Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts

Positives
🗡 developed characters
🗡 good storyline

Negatives
🗡 not very much in the way of world building

This fun romp though the wilds with a bunch of Bastards on the run was really cool. Tilla is the bastard oldest daughter of Lord Kent, who is either unable or unwilling to legitimise her, so she spends her time in the castle avoiding her tutors and, spending most of her time drinking with her older brother Jax (same mother, different father) whilst waiting for something exciting to happen. Enter Princess Lyriana, and a feast held in her honour. The feast brings the Princess together with Tilla, Miles, another bastard, and Zell, a Zitochi warrior bastard. The four cobble together a plan for a fun night away from prying eyes and enlist Jax, but little do they know that they're about to witness a coup and need to run for their lives.

I loved Tilla's narrative, shes definitely not your usual YA female protagonist...not all the time at least. Though the world building wasn't the best, the characters were well developed - I liked Tilla, Zell and Jax most.

There is some violence, swearing, an off page sex scene and some sexual innuendos - so not for the younger YA audience. I'll definitely be reading the sequel, City of Bastards, when I manage to get my hands on a copy.

Mafi's first entry in the contemporary market, this three chapter sampler has me really intrigued. We meet Shirin, a Muslim American who is not attending her third high school in less than two years. The verbal and sometimes physical abuse that she details, just in those three short chapters, is so emotive. The character comes across as very intelligent and also very angry. She is not close to her parents who appear to put more merit on her academic achievements than her emotional well being and has grown apart from her older brother.

I'm really looking forward to reading the full book once it is released, it was a very intriguing glimpse into what could be a very good novel.