Stardancer by Ariel MacArran

Another in the Tellaran series, Stardancer is set in a futuristic universe between two warring empires. The Az'kye are fierce and proud warriors who will stop at nothing to defend the honor of their people and their families. The Realm is a futuristic society similar to that of present day, who find the Az'kye's practice of binding rituals and slavery to be barbaric and uncivilized. Both deeply misunderstand each other. When Kinara's brother is killed in a battle between the Realm and the Az'kye, she sets out on an illegal mission to avenge her brother's death. Greatly underestimating the advancements of the Az'kye, her ship is taken, and the only chance she has of returning her crew home is to befriend, and come to love the commanding officer who would take her as his wife.

Ariel MacArran is a stupendous writer. Not just be indie publishing standards, but by any. This book, read for free with my Kindle Unlimited membership, held the quality I would expect from a company published book I bought in the store, if not surpasses it. There were so few editing errors that when I found one or two I couldn't be sure that they were really there. The pride she takes in the scripting and editing of her book is worthy of Az'kye honor, and the entire indie industry would be better off to take her example.

Kinara is a fierce commander, but she's also a woman. For the first time ever in reading the SciFi genre has the character reacted properly to being imprisoned. She does feel an attraction for Aidar, but as soon as she realizes what's going on, she snaps out of it and gets mad. She doesn't crumble to his will and despite his treatment of her, stand strong with her morals and beliefs.

The conflict of Aidar and Kinara's opposing cultures was a work of art. It was frustrating to no end the way Aidar wouldn't explain the working of his world to her, but that's to be expected. Having been raised there, even the simplest things he assumed she should be able to do were contradictory to everything she knew from her own home world. This is the first time, after reading many alien abduction leading to marriage and love stories, that the culture conflict was believable and well done.

Their romance is tragic, because the whole time you just wish they would sit down and talk things out, but at the same time neither of them are like that at all. But I'll tell you, their relationship is very well done. Things never get so dark and depressing that you just can't take it anymore and have to put the book down. Whenever something sad happens it is soon counteracted by another aspect that cheers you up. I won't say it isn't heart-rending at times, but just push through it.

Kinara's assimilation into the Az'lye society is also extremely well written. All aspects of the world are thought out and the rules that Ariel establishes are not broken, as she stays consistent in her work.

Being a romantic, I do wish there had been more time in which Aidar and Kinara were happy together. It seemed like every time they almost got past their differences and had a moment of happiness, Kinara or Aidar would do or say something that would tear each other apart again. It was really hard to read, because you felt so badly for the star-crossed lovers, and just wanted them to be happy.

While the cover isn't exactly appealing and didn't draw me in the way the cover for the Seer did, I urge no one to judge this book by its cover. The writing is intricate, descriptive, and utterly beautiful. I will be reading every book if Ariel's I can get my hands on.

I recommend this to any and all readers. This series is something worth investing time in.

Five Stars

Rosalie Williams

Stardancer on Goodreads

Evertrue by Brodi Ashton

Evertrue is the final installment in the Everneath trilogy by Brodi Ashton. This much anticipated finale had a lot to live up to, especially after the surprising ending to the second novel. So the question is, did it live up the the high standards? That's debatable. 

Let's start with the characters. This is the first book where Jack and Nikki are together the entire book. In the first two they were separated by something for nearly the entire book, so we finally get to see them as a couple. I'd say that overall they are good together. They know each other, and you can almost believe the intense commitment they always profess to each other. Heres my issue. I don't feel like the emotions were real. Nikki's attachment to Cole seemed more profuse than her loyalty to Jack for some reason. 

Cole. Quick spoiler, he loses his memory about of a third of the way through the book, and all he can remember is how much he loves Nikki. I think this was a bad choice for Brodi Ashton to make. Having Cole lose his memory turned him into a different person, and it was like a new main character was introduced in the final book! Readers have grown attached to Cole, despite his scheming, and taking him out of the picture was a bad idea. I can see how Ms. Ashton thought it was necessary for Nikki to forgive Cole, but in the end, it was Cole that Nikki still loved, not the version that had lost his memory. It was distracting to the plot of the story, and I didn't enjoy it. The first book is the story when the characters are scrambling around, trying to figure everything out, not the third. This book felt pretty frantic, and didn't provide the closure that should have been there after all the build up.

If you don't want to read a spoiler about how the book ends, stop reading now.

The final scene was far too short. You want my to believe that this hundreds of year old queen is defeated by Nikki in a matter of minutes when all Nikki could conjure up was a straw? Nope, I don't think so. The climax was extremely short compared to how long they spent dithering about the Everneath and the world, trying to figure things out. Like I said, there wasn't the relationship development that I needed to feel like the story came to a good end.

So Cole dies. I'm not sure why, but I always root for the underdog, for the guy you're pretty sure the girl won't choose. But so what? I didn't connect with Jack the way I connected with Cole, and I honestly think that Cole was better for Nikki than Jack was. But I still can't decide if this was a good ending or not. My heart tells me no, but my brain tells my yes. The lack of closure with Cole is what really throws me off I think. He (or at least the version of him with his memory) isn't in most of the story, and when he finally comes back, he saves them all and helps them destroy the Everneath! Cole is a really good person, and I wasn't happy with him dying like that in end. 

Not the ending I was hoping for, to be honest. I don't know if I wanted Nikki to choose Cole, or what should have happened, I just know this wasn't it.

After all the months of waiting, I hate to say I'm disappointed.

Three Stars

Evertrue on Goodreads

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Into the Still Blue is the final book in the Under the Never Sky trilogy by Veronica Rossi. It is one of the best written Young Adult series I've ever read, right alongside the Shatter Me series. The plot is so well devised, that everything flows into something else. The actions and events are so natural, the world seems almost more vivid than reality.

This finale was perfect. I can honestly say I've never read a more outstanding summation to a series. The author didn't try to startle the readers with shocking ending, but finished the series the way it should have been finished. With hindsight being 20 20, I couldn't have assembled a more perfect sequence of events.

The book is filled with action, but more seriousness than the other books. Perry is the leader of the Horns now, and Aria is the defacto leader of the Dwellers. There is much more responsibility on their shoulders, yet they don't yield to it. Both rise to the occasion and develop not only as characters, but as people, and as a couple.

The only complaint I'd had with Through the Ever Night, the second book in the trilogy, is there wasn't much time that Perry and Aria spent together. It seemed as if they'd just become a couple and stolen our hearts, when they are whacked hundreds of miles apart from each other. However, the redeeming feature of that installment was the never wavering loyalty they had toward each other. The second book allowed Perry and Aria to develop separately, and then more together as a couple in Into the Still Blue.

I won't mislead you, this is a roller coaster of action and emotion. The book covers a lot in a very short amount of time, but it never feels rushed. There is sacrifice, and I doubt you'll make it through the pages without shedding at least a few tears–I know I didn't!

For me, this was a highly awaited finale, and it was definitely worth the wait. If all YA series came to a close as cleanly, and as well as this one did, I would be much happier with the current YA genre.

To put this into perspective, Divergent is all the rage right now in the YA literature, and cinematic world. I would rank this series above that one in a heartbeat. Not only above it, but miles ahead in terms of plot, characters, and the overall writing.

It is an honor to award this book:

Five Stars

Rosalie

Into the Still Blue on Goodreads

Beyond Our Stars by Marie Langager

Beyond our stars very much has the feel of a self-published novel. I didn't do enough background research to determine whether or not it is, just know that I rented it from my library.

Beyond Our Stars is about a fleet of ships sent from a ruined Earth to colonize a new planet. Originally they have no idea if there is inhabitation on the new planet, but the day after they land it becomes obvious that there are is an advanced civilization already living there.

This review is going to be very short, because I'll admit it's been a while since I finished the book.

The editing errors really bothered me. Spelling and grammar errors take away from the validity of the story for me, and are highly distracting. If the writing is already teetering on the edge of below par and par, editing errors really tip the scales for me.

Regardless of the editing issues, I really enjoyed this book. I love anything to do with space and aliens, and I did like the story here. I've always believed that the teenage generations are the ones that can bridge the gaps between species and even races. The young are too easily influenced, and the adults too stuck in their ways.

What I didn't like was the characters. The main character seemed really mean, and very antisocial. Despite her being referenced as "the most popular girl on the ship" she doesn't have very many friends, and her boyfriend is really immature. Her boyfriend was the weakest point for me. She was definitely the dominant in their relationship, and he was too submissive and needy. While I appreciated the ending and a lot of what happened near the end as far as character and events go, there were times when I was ridiculously upset with the main characters. After refusing his marriage proposal he was very mean and like I said before, immature.

There were fun aspects to the story, like the observation decks, as well as the alien—human interaction.

If you don't mind rather annoying characters, I'd highly recommend this.

Three Stars

Rosalie

Beyond Our Stars on Goodreads

Absence

Hello!

Long time no posts! I apologize immensely for my long absence from the blog and my previously quick reviews. With finals week in school and an increasing work load plus state for my debate team coming up, I've had my hands full!

Currently, I am working on three books. I'll admit that I've read a few since I last posted, and yes, they were great. My favorites, however, I plowed through so quickly that I could never have reviewed them without giving away things from the sequels, so, my apologies. As I finish the immediate books I'm reading I'll be sure to review them, and I promise to work on getting back to regular postings!

Thanks for baring with me!

What am I reading right now?

Across a Star-Swept Sea (For Darkness Shows the Stars, #2) by Diana Peterfreund

Fire (Graceling Realm, #2) by Kristin Cashore

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1) by Julie Kagawa

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

What makes a human being? Is it their memories, things they've done throughout their lives? Are we made up of tiny moments absorbed from other people, not really ourselves but a million faceted reflection of the world around us? Or is there something more? Are our thoughts, feelings, and desires driven by our memories or do we have souls, individual and precious to each of us? I'd never thought this through too deeply until I read the spellbinding tale of the Icarus, and it's two passengers, Lilac and Tarver.

After crash-landing on an unknown planet, Lilac and Tarver are thrown into a race to survive far more taxing than either could have ever imagined. Led across the land by mysterious beings called the Whispers, they find that the world is nothing like anything they've ever seen before. They each find something in themselves they never thought could exist, and in each other find a reason to keep on living. Both driven by the desire to signal for help, each with a different reason.

This is the best book I've read in a very long time. From the writing, to the characters, the plot and the setting, it is a rose in a briar patch of young adult novels. I'd forgotten what a good book really read like until I picked this up, and set it down not hours later, gasping for breath after finishing it.

The writing is incredible, some of the best I've ever seen. The world is painted in such bright clarity that not once was it a struggle to picture what was happening. Though not overly descriptive to the point of being tedious, I was so swept away it felt like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book. Had I known how amazing it would be, it would not have sat on my shelf for the week it did.

This book as changed the parameters for which I rate things, and now I feel like I should go back through every book I've rated in the last year and take away a star. This book has raised the bar for literature, rivaling some of the best books in history.

Lilac and Tarver are wonderful characters. Not only are they great to begin with, both outsiders in their own worlds, but they grow too. Not just though their love for each other, but also within themselves. Lilac goes from a complaining, eager to aggravate princess, to a hardworking and stubborn fighter. She grows from a child to an incredible woman throughout the book, and you don't even feel it happening. Tarver, a war hero and self-appointed guardian also grows throughout the story. You don't realize it at first, but looking back it's easy to see that finally loving someone the way he loves Lilac allows him to truly grow into his potential as a man. Their personalities are distinct, and don't falter throughout the story.

In an attempt not to spoil the heart-wrenching action of the last seventy pages, I'll try to keep my next sentences as vague as possible, while still getting my point across.

The writing in this book is so good, they tell you things without having to say them. Feelings and emotions practically pour from the pages without you reading a word. Your mind changes with the story up until a point, and then you feel like you've been snapped out of a coma, the bleak world snapping back into brilliant, colorful focus. As a reader it was a tantalizing experience, one I can say I am grateful to have been given the chance to read.

Five Stars.

Rosalie Williams

These Broken Stars on Goodreads

Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

This is the kind of book you would never admit to liking. The name, Greta and the Goblin King, implies a kind of cheesy-ness that makes you embarrassed just to say the name. But despite the self-eplanatory name and poorly marketed cover art, I actually enjoyed this book a lot.

The goblin king, Isaac, had the strong willed determination that is often lacking in the heroes of YA literature these days. In a time that is fiercely promoting female heroes and strong heroines, I find myself missing the knights in shining armor. But what stood out about this book is that it had a strong heroin and a knight! Not only that but there was romance and a brief love triangle!

I would say the biggest turn-off about this book was a lot of the plot contained simply this: Isaac chases Greta, trying to convince her to trust him. She kisses him and almost believes him, the goes all defensive and runs away. Repeat several times.

That was frustrating because I really liked Isaac and I wanted to scream at Greta to get herself together! But in the end she managed to straighten everything out, and even saved some people! I think the finale was fitting for the story, and she even admitted her feelings in the end which was a nice change from the stubbornness that she maintained throughout the entire story.

While it wasn't one of those breathtaking books that changes your life, I enjoyed it. Despite some heavier material in the plot, it felt light, like I wasn't taking on some great burden that will weigh down my soul as I read. It was a feel-good read with fun characters and a vivid new world. If there is a sequel I am looking forward very much to reading it.

The creativity of Ms. Jacobs is extremely refreshing, and it was nice to not be able to predict a plot for once. While the stubbornheadedness of Greta did sometimes get on my nerves, she was a good person all around, and a real person. I think the maturity that the characters showed really elevated the storyline. It wasn't a bunch of hormone ridden teens making rash decisions and professing undying love to each other after knowing each other for a day. This was a real plot, with excitement and fantasy. Really a perfect book if you enjoy the genre as much as I do.

I would highly recommend this book if you can get over the cover and the old-world title, because it truly is a wonderful story.

Four Stars.

Rosalie

Greta and the Goblin King on Goodreads

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

After a confusing reaction to the first book, I had a lot of trouble convincing myself to read the second. I'll admit that after retrieving it from the library I allowed it to sit dormant on my shelf for a week or so. I can't hide that I was procrastinating reading it. But now that I have I am very glad that I did.

First I've come to the conclusion that the reason the first book left such an unsatisfying aftertaste in my mouth is because of the romance that I witnessed. Prince Kai was pretty great, but as soon as he became emperor he lost all his freedom, and so the romance in the book failed pretty miserably. But I am happy to say that the romance in the second is much better.

Another apprehension I had about Scarlet is I didn't like the idea of new characters being introduced into the story. But in the end I can say I like Scarlet and Wolf's story more than I liked Cinder's. Cinder had a rather boring tale throughout this book, but Wolf and Scarlet were thrilling and so much fun to read.

At one point something happened that upset me so much I put the book down and didn't pick it up again for a solid two days. I was so afraid that what happened in the first book was happening again in the second–the romance was being ruined. But in the end that moment only made the ending more exciting, and so much better when Scarlet and Wolf resolved themselves.

It's a long book, I will say that. There's a lot of plot and character development throughout it though. It's basically two stories in one, so it makes sense to be so long. The font is rather wide and big, so it doesn't actually take too long to get through. The story is so interesting that you can blow through fifty pages without even realizing it, I assure you that.

Meyer did a good job of balancing the stories. Sometimes with story and personality breaks, the author will cut at the climax of one person's story, to something less interesting going on with another character. This is a dire pitfall because then the reader is tempted to skip that chapter (as I will admit to doing more than once), and in good writing every chapter should be important, and the reader unable to skip a chapter. As I said Meyer did a good job of avoiding this, and keeping the reader engaged.

There are two more books in the series, or that's what I've been told. I can say I am much more excited going into the third than I was going into the second. Meyer is a gifted writing, crafting a world wonderful, exciting and imaginative, that you can't help but fall in love with. If the next two books are as good as this one was, I think it's safe to say this will be one of the best works of YA writing we've seen in the current decade.

Four Stars.

Rosalie

Scarlet on Goodreads

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

This was an enormous book. From beginning to end there is so much in the plot that I feel as if I've read multiple stories in one. While I very much appreciate the skill of an author that can create such natural flow and extended story lines, it also makes for a very difficult review.

So I suppose I shall start at the beginning.

Katsa. She is an incredible heroine, and I very much appreciate the struggle she has with her Grace as well as the jobs she is given. However I will admit sometimes she's too volatile for me to like. There is a lot of character development with her from beginning to end as far as her interactions with other people, however, there are some aspects in which she doesn't change at all, and those are the ones that bothered me the most.

Po. Let's start with the name, shall we? It bothers me, I'm not going to lie. Initially Cashore tries to paint this strong boy who is a worthy opponent to Katsa. He's big and powerful and has startlingly intense eyes. But this image wavers throughout the book, and I wish she'd put more effort into his character. In different parts of the book it felt like I was reading about a different person. Sometimes he's strong and manly but also a good friend to Katsa, and the next he's weak and kind of pathetic. I think if Cashore had put as much effort into Po's character as she did Katsa's, I would have appreciated him a lot more in the story.

There's a lot of introduction and then disappearance of characters. Most the the characters you meet at the beginning of the book aren't in the majority of it, and then when they're brought up again later you've forgotten who they are!

The world building in this was fantastic. Katsa travels all over the place, and you get a very good sense of the world she's living in. Most of the people she encounters are given good depth and many of them are quite interesting. However, I feel like a lot of them should have played larger roles, and developed stronger ties to Katsa. This tags along with the character introduction and then disappearance that I mentioned before.

The romance in this was interesting, to say the least, and not always in a good way. Po really gets into Katsa's mind, but she's a huge baby about it. I don't think their relationship was dealt with in the right way, however once accepted it was very fun. But there's also something serious about it that I hate to bring up but I really have to. There's a lot of casual sex, and Katsa even says she's fine with Po loving other women, which I don't think is a good base for a YA romance. To my dismay, upon reading the reviews of the next book, Fire, it seems this is a theme with Cashore. While I don't have anything against people having sex before marriage, this is marketed to young children, even middle school age, and I don't think that's the morals that they should be reading.

All that aside, I really did enjoy the book. It had an exciting plot with lots of action, and never a dull moment. While I wish Katsa and the characters hadn't been separated for so long, it wasn't hard to stay interested.

The next book, Fire, has some extremely mixed reviews. I have a few things on my plate currently, but afterwards I do think I'll make an effort to read it. The ratings are either five stars or one star pretty much, so it would be nice to get my own take on it. From what I've read it seems significantly darker than this book, which I think could be good, because a lot of aspects of this world were left unexplored.

Three Stars

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

Graceling on Goodreads

Countdown by Michelle Rowen

I am going to begin this review rather bluntly in saying that I would not recommend this book. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how this got published. I've read amazon books for free that are better than this one, and I must say I despise the poor writing and slow story lines in free ebooks. So you can imagine this must have been pretty awful for me to say such a thing.

Let's start from the beginning. The writing style? Nothing particularly interesting about it. It's not bad, though maybe a bit lacking, but not godawful. The cover? A little cheesy, but it caught my attention! Then in the summary promised a Hunger Games-like book? Sold! If only it were that easy.

Rogan, the main boy of the story I will admit to liking very much. I'm not sure why, but something about him was really fun. Kira on the other hand? I did not like her, not at all. She was trying way to hard to be like Katniss, and honestly I think the author was just trying to hook people on this story because of their love for the Hunger Games.

I wanted to like this, I really did. In fact, for the first one hundred pages I really did like it! I'd read a few poor reviews about it, and up until that point I was wondering what could have spurred such negative thoughts! Then the games ended, and there was still one hundred pages left in the story! The story line started getting really weird, and at that point I couldn't take it anymore. There were conspiracies, and hidden houses and all sorts of things that I just could take.

As for the romance, it progressed way too quickly. For people supposed to hate each other, they sure fell in love quickly! Rogan almost seemed to go into the games with his mind set on falling in love with her! From the first seen he seems ridiculously devoted to her! Honestly while I adore a love story as much as the next girl, it has to feel genuine, and this was anything but.

Another thing that really bothered me was the way it was obvious the author was setting everything up. Unlike a good story, things didn't flow. I didn't become lost in the story. Normally you can emerge yourself and feel like you're there with the characters. They make their own decisions, and the story flows in a way that seems real. This had none of those qualities. Especially when it got to the part where Kira was dressed like slut, it was just too much. Unfortunately I felt like the author was literally telling me the story, and begging me to believe that these people and actions are real.

The world building in this story is truly terrible. I cannot even picture the world because there is so little to go off of! It feels like this story is occurring in a white box floating in the nothingness of space, and for a dystopian novel, that is a very bad thing.

I'm not sure if there is a sequel, and if there is I am not interested in reading it. If you're looking for a good book to read, I strongly encourage you to steer clear of this one.

One Star

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

Countdown on Goodreads