Book Review: Everless (Everless #1)

Everless
Sara Holland
2/5

I feel bad giving this book 2/5, because the premise is so interesting. Time is money, people bleed their time out and it's minted into coins. There is a Queen who has ruled for hundreds of year, thriving off years stolen from peasants. I love that, the potential for a revolution and the whole peasant uprising thing. That's not where this story went. Instead, it was all about Jules whining and trying to figure herself out by doing absolutely nothing productive, obsessing over people she barely knows, and just being annoying for most of the novel. In my opinion, a weak plot can be redeemed by strong characters, but a strong plot can't be undermined by weak characters.

It wasn't all around horrible, which is why I feel bad with the two stars, there were points when I was interested in the world and trying to figure out who was who. But Jules, why are you in love with someone who you haven't seen in ten years? It was like secondhand embarrassment that whole time. Then the feelings were reciprocated and I'm like hey ditch this dirtbag he's definitely not loyal. Maybe I could understand holding onto love for ten years, like as an adult, but what kind of seven year old just falls in love with their playmate? Weird and a real just confusing plot thing for me.

Descriptive language was failing a little here. I have no idea what the people look like, no idea what the castles look like, honestly don't understand how a book of this length could have missed so many descriptions. Maybe that's just me, but I was really lost with all of that. I'm at least going to want hair color like I don't like reading blind.

The time idea is great, the universe with all of the drama and plot twists could be confusing, but could also shape up to be something better. I don't know if I'll feel motivated to go onto the second book when I know what's going on with Liam and it's another case of me wanting to throw the book at Jules. The cover is gorgeous though, I really love the aesthetic, and it's too bad I just couldn't handle Jules.

Book Review: Give the Dark My Love (Give the Dark My Love #1)

Give the Dark My Love
Beth Revis
4/5

I went into this book not thinking that I'd like it a ton. It just looked like the kind of book that's trying to be edgy but just wouldn't hit the mark. I honestly loved it though, it was such a cool read. Nedra is hardworking and determined, she wants to be medicinal alchemist and save her people from the plague which consumes them. To do so, she has gained admission into the top university on the island, a place typically reserved for the wealthy elite. She's determined in her beliefs, she volunteers at hospitals, works herself to the bone, she needs to save everyone. Nedra is the kind of character I can really get behind because there's really nothing that originally differentiates her as a genius, she's hardworking and she has beliefs and I love that.

I don't like books that have that whole love-at-first-sight-let's-abandon-the-mission-for-this-rando type vibe to them, this isn't like it. Greggori isn't a jerk, he's just a normal guy who understands that he makes mistakes. There aren't ultimatums, the book is dramatic but it's also not totally focused on the romance. Greggori and Nedra felt super authentic, her relationships with her family members were also very authentic. The emotional reactions are understandable, I wasn't screaming at any of the characters for their stupidity.

The only problem I had with it was the simplicity of some of the actions. Like somethings just fell into place way too easily. She said like two sentences to the professor and he respected her and wanted to train her from nothing. She isn't with her family in months and then returns home right at a critical point. I just didn't like how convenient that felt, made it awkward.

Definitely would recommend, it's short and easy to read and just really nice. I'm super excited for the sequel, and I'm glad that it's a duology. I think a trilogy could have made it felt overdone or tired, the duology will be perfect.

Book Review: Rebel Springs (Falling Kingdoms #2)

Rebel Spring
Morgan Rhodes
3/5

I'm going to be real, there isn't enough magic in these books. I'm holding out cause I know that there's going to be some more, but it's not feeling like hard enough fantasy yet. This is the second book in the Falling Kingdoms series, it continues the adventures of Lucia, Cleo, Magnus, and Jonas, with a couple other POVs mixed in just for fun. The three kingdoms have merged into one, Mytica, and they're ruled by a psycho.

Said psycho, King Gaius, is actually a pretty fun villain. He's so cruel and so loveless, but at the same time he like loves his kids in his own twisted way. I appreciate how he expresses his pride and his appreciation for them, he's definitely very abusive and sadistic, but he has some great twists to his character that make him more human. I don't think I like Magnus, he has some weird Warner vibes from Shatter Me, like I don't know if he should be forgiven for what he's been doing but I feel compelled to forgive him. We'll see where that goes, I guess Rhodes is good at writing a redeemable villain?

I think that my main problem with this one was the pacing, it all felt very weird. There are a couple awkward time jumps that like lessen the impact of the situation, made it feel more listy than intense. There are some good plot twists in there though, even with the weird pacing I was entertaining. I'm not going to say that Rhodes isn't afraid of killing people, cause there are obvious mains that have yet to die, but there are some fun deaths in there where I was like wow that had me shook didn't see that one coming. I liked that, kept me on my toes and got me past the pacing.

I'm looking forward to reading the next one in this series because I've heard that it only gets better. At this point, I think it's worth a read because it does have some complexity without being convoluted. Not fantasy enough yet, but it's a slow burn fantasy.

Book Review: Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms #1)

Falling Kingdoms
Morgan Rhodes
3/5

Falling Kingdoms was super exciting and interesting the whole way through. It's through the eyes of Cleo, Magnus, Jonas, and Lucia, teenagers who have suddenly become very involved in the war between their kingdoms. They all have their strengths, politically, mentally, physically, and magically. If you like books that have court intrigue with magical elements, this has it all.

The three kingdoms, Paelsia, Limeros, and Auranos, have stark differences in wealth. This becomes exceedingly obvious when a peasant from Paelsia is murdered by an Auranos noble while haggling over prices that the Auranos noble could obviously pay. After that, there's a bunch of building tension and political maneuvering in attempts by Paelsia and Limeros to take the wealthier Auranos. I liked the war scenes, the idea of the rich taking advantage of the poor and the poor getting sick of it. The idea of three kingdoms who used to be one having such stark differences.

I had problems with the general convenience of it. A lot of it felt so just blatantly spoken, like things were being said instead of shown. Like Magnus has been abused, let's use these situation directly and have it all be described through clunky flashbacks. The prologue gave away what could have been a cooler plot twist, but like instead it felt like Rhodes was trying to justify Magnus's creepy thoughts towards his sister. (Did not like that and I'm glad that it got shut down, even if you aren't related by blood like why do you feel that way I don't understand).

(Slight spoilers) The deaths also didn't strike me as much of plot twists, just obligatory in order to push the characters towards each other. Theon's whole arc was so random, I never really cared if he lived or died and I didn't feel the authenticity of his love story with Cleo. I couldn't handle the line where he was like "you should fall in love with someone" and then like forty pages later "he thinks he's in love with her" (I read mostly on the bus and didn't take notes). Obligatory, a character motivator for Cleo's arc and not really a great way of doing so.

This one didn't have me shook or screaming, more like I was reading the prologue or their backstories. I'm still super excited to read the next book, this one was too short to get into all of the different characters listed. I want to like Magnus and Jonas, but I'm skeptical that I will, I don't know how you can come back from how I felt about their actions in this one. I loved Cleo, and though we didn't see enough of Lucia, I'm thinking she's also going to be a great character. This one was definitely a three star read, but still a great set-up to the rest of the series.

Book Review: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1)

The Cruel Prince
Holly Black
3/5

This book has been on my TBR list forever, I think I had the ebook from the library at one point and then I just couldn't get into it. I definitely got into it this time, I've heard so many people tell me that if you make it past the initial parts of the book it really picks up, I think I can confirm that. The book is through the perspective of Jude, who has been living in the world of Faerie since her adopted father killed her parents when she was seven. She and her twin sister don't have any fey blood and they are the subject of constant bullying from the other fey children who despise them. Obviously, this only makes her want to be included, so she's trying to fight her way into becoming a permanent member of the courts. This book is set in modern day, which I didn't expect, so there are references to the real world that shocked me and add an interesting twist.

I couldn't decide if I liked Jude, she's one of those characters that I went back and forth from being like wow you're literally so stupid to wow I would have done the same thing. She isn't a character who is constantly right or embarrassingly wrong, I think she just makes the mistakes that most people of her aspirations would make. I liked her better than the rest of the characters, because honestly all of the people in this book suck in some way. I don't think it could be a five star read just on the grounds that I don't love anyone, there's a disconnect between me and their story lines.

I'm excited to read the next book, I can't wait how Jude deals with everything she has created. I appreciated how she is making changes without being the chosen one- though I do love a good chosen one plot- she's a normal person who has been thrown into an impossible situation. I don't know if I'll end up liking Cardan, he isn't especially charismatic or funny, or even cruel in an interesting way. I think he's a character that I might decide I like later on when he gets more coverage, I don't feel like he was in this book all that much.

If you start this book and you hate it, I'd definitely recommend continuing. It has a great plot, the kind of thing that could build into a real thriller, especially given the potential for romance and treachery.

Book Review: Dark Shores (Dark Shores #1)

Dark Shores
Danielle L. Jensen
4/5

This review is a little biased because I don't feel like I could hate anything with pirates in it. I mean, well-written pirates. Plus, you have to add in the whole Romanesque Celendor Empire and a tastefully done romance, there's all the best elements of a great series. Teriana is the daughter of a Maarin ship captain, sworn to keep the two halves of the world separate from one another. The system of transport is super cool, like underwater tunnels to get from the East to the West, I hope the transport system gets more focus in the sequel because wow. The POV alternates between Teriana and Marcus, he's a solider of the Celendor Empire trained and programmed to kill and conquer. Obviously, things pick up when the Celendor Empire realizes that there's a whole other half of the world to kill and conquer.

It's a little cliche as initial plot lines work, but I feel like it has enough moving parts and completely separate elements to prevent it from being boring. The dichotomy between the strength of a military leader and the weakness of chronic illness, like wow that's some top tier stuff. The bonds between the crew members, amazing. Just the relationships in general were really well done, the romance had a lot of buildup without it feeling like overkill, it felt pretty natural. I'm so excited to see where this goes because there are so many open story lines that could be explored. We haven't even gotten past the surface of all the conquering, all the magic, all the mythological battles of the gods that could occur in this series.

The only problem I had with it was how little there was about the pirates despite it feeling like the central part of the story. That leaves a lot to build off in the second book, so there's obviously a lot of potential there, but I would have like a little bit more about Teriana's pirate life before the whole being conquered part. I'm kind of excited to see what happens with the second book, because I just saw that it's going to be about Lydia and another character rather than Teriana and Marcus. I usually don't like series that leave their main characters in alternating books, but I'm super invested at this point.

Book Review: Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2)

Soul of the Sword
Julie Kagawa
4/5

I've heard that Soul of the Sword isn't as good as Shadow of the Fox, but I think that if you liked the first, you'll definitely like the second. The second book continues to follow Yumeko as she attempts to preserve the world from being destroyed by the Kami Dragon and save her partner in crime, Tatsumi, from total possession by the demon Hakaimono. We get alternating POVs from Yumeko, Hakaimono, Tatsumi, and Suki, a ghost from the first novel.

I'd like to say I loved the fact that Suki has maintained her importance throughout both books. When I started Shadow of the Fox last year I was so sad when I thought it was over for her, she just is way too innocent and good for that. Her role is formative while not making me feel like I'm following too many story lines, I think it was very well done.

Tatsumi and his demon possession, that kills me. But Kagawa also did a great job leading to the ultimate end resolution between the two, because I didn't really hate Hakaimono. He kept saying he wanted suffering and bloodshed and to break Tatsumi's mind, I didn't like that, but he has goals and he has like I don't know a strong sense of what he wants from the world. Kagawa also gave him a first person voice, it's difficult to see a character as this distance villain to hate when you've been inside his head. It gives a cool duality to a demon, something that's not easy to do when he literally tried to rip my favorite character's heart out.

Ok spoilers ahead for the side characters, bail now if you don't want to hear about that. Okame and Daisuke, I didn't see that coming. Usually I'm pretty good about seeing relationships coming, especially LGBT ones because I feel like authors are under a little more pressure to give more signs since the whole JK Rowling and Dumbledore thing. I liked it here, I feel like it was given as much attention as any side romance would, I appreciate the normalization, and I thought it was pretty cute. There's a little potential there, I love a romance that fights together like it's a great dynamic that I'm here for. Those few short pages were such a highlight for me when all I get from Tatsumi and Yumeko is like a cheek touch every three hundred pages.

The only negative thing I'd say about this book is that there are some really slow scenes. The first book had this as well, I think the Iron Fey might have had this as well if I'm remembering correctly. I think some of it comes with taking on such heavy material, there are a lot of elements that need to be fleshed out in a not so exciting way. It wouldn't make me not recommend the series to people, I think this series should definitely be on any fantasy lovers TBR list. Can't wait for the third!