Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor Blog Tour: Review and Favorite Quotes

**** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour. This fact has not changed my opinion. ****

Title: Tarnished Are the Stars Written by: Rosiee Thor Published: October 15, 2019 by Scholastic Press (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: The Lunar Chronicles meets Rook in this queer #OwnVoices science-fantasy novel, perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer and Sharon Cameron.  A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher's chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog -- donning the moniker Technician -- to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner's tyrannical laws.  Nathaniel Fremont, the Commissioner's son, has never had to fear the law. Determined to earn his father's respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father's elusive affection is worth chasing at all.  Their game of cat and mouse takes an abrupt turn when Eliza, a skilled assassin and spy, arrives. Her mission is to learn the Commissioner's secrets at any cost -- even if it means betraying her own heart.   When these uneasy allies discover the most dangerous secret of all, they must work together despite their differences and put an end to a deadly epidemic -- before the Commissioner ends them first.

There needs to be more standalone science fiction novels and I was really excited to read this one. It seemed like it was totally up my alley so I was glad to be a part of the blog tour for it. It was an engaging story with great characters and an interesting world.

My favorite thing about this book was the characters and character development. This is one of those books which alternates perspectives. Those can be incredibly tricky because often I like one character more than others, and feel like the multiple narrators make things complex. But that was not the case with Tarnished Are The Stars. Each character added to the story and offered a unique perspective. I never felt like a section was unnecessary or that I wanted to go back to someone else. However, I did have a favorite character. While I liked Anna and Nathaniel, it was Eliza who I loved. She was a kickass female who is trying and often succeeding at being the smartest person in the room. I found myself rooting for her and loved her development throughout the book as she discovered who she wanted to be and then became that person. But that was the case for each of the characters. They were all easy to root for and had great development.

One of the other things I liked about these characters was the LGBTQIA representation. Because seriously, this book is super queer. Not only is there a good f/f relationship that develops throughout the book but we also had asexual and aromantic representation. I firmly believe there needs to be more ark and ace rep in books. I’m constantly feeling like a romance is unnecessary and having a character who states on the page that they are not only not interested in a relationship but not even attracted to anyone was so amazing. Having Nathaniel come to terms with his own identity was part of what I liked about him and the book.

I also liked the world of this book. It is one of those books that reminds you that dystopia is a subgenre of science fiction. It had subtle sci-if vibes with the use of technology to impact the lives of the people, but it also had dystopia feels with a new planet being colonized because of the fact that earth was negatively affected years ago. There was also that ever present shady government adding to the drama and a disease impacting the you people like our main characters. However, as interesting as the world was, I did feel like we weren’t given a lot of information about it. I felt like some of the big reveals were not as impactful as they could have been because there was so much going on and the pacing was so fast. If it had scaled back a little bit and given more information I think I would have liked the world even more.

But my biggest frustration with this book was with the fact that it was so fast paced. I usually like a quick read that moves quickly from element to elements but here it was just jarring. I had no sense of how much time had passed and things just moved on with or without me. Instead of what I assumed was the desired effect of keeping me connected to the story, it actually pulled me out. I kept wondering to myself how much time had passed and whether they had actually spent time making this plan or if they were just winging it. And it even affected the character development at times because I was asking myself how they had gone from enemies to friends so quickly. This is about average length for a YA novel but I honestly wish it had been a little bit longer and was fleshed out a bit more. It was a very engaging story with tons of twists and turns but that was negatively impacted by the breakneck speed.

On the whole, Tarnished Are the Stars was an interesting read and a good debut novel. It had great characters, an interesting world, a fat-paced plot. But I wish the story had been fleshed out a little more.

I give Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor 7 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. If you are looking for a standalone dystopia with queer characters and a fast-paced plot then I would suggest checking this one out.

Have you read Tarnished Are the Stars?  What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stooping by and HAPPY READING!

FAVORITE QUOTES

"A good weapon, she found, needn't draw blood to be effective. A controlled target was better than a dead one."

"Murder comes in many shapes... You don't always have to look someone in the eye and watch them die to be their killer."

"But that was the thing about loss: Death could rip love from life, but those memories stayed behind, burning a hole through the heart."

"I don't give much credence to regret. I can't go back and change what's done. All I can do is take what I learned and do better next time."

"It matters because this is who you are - but it is not all you are. It does not make you weak, nor does it make you strong. You make yourself one or the other through the choices that you make."

"Power is not the same as strength... Some days strength is control, and some days strength is release. Perhaps today strength is understanding that being like your father isn't inherently bad, and two men can be alike and still make different choices."

BOOK LINKS 

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Google Books

AUTHOR INFORMATION 

Rosiee Thor began her career as a storyteller by demanding that her mother listen as Rosiee told bedtime stories instead of the other way around. She lives in Oregon with a dog, two cats, and four complete sets of Harry Potter, which she loves so much, she once moved her mattress into the closet and slept there until she came out as queer.

Goodreads / Website / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook

TOUR SCHEDULE:

https://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2019/08/tour-schedule-tarnished-are-stars-by.html 

GIVEAWAY Prize: Win a signed hardcopy of TARNISHED ARE THE STARS by Rosiee Thor (US Only) Stars: 15th October 2019 Ends: 29th October 2019

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small Blog Tour and Review

Title: Bright Burning Stars Written by: A.K. Small Published: May 21, 2019 by Algonquin Young Readers (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School since childhood, where they’ve formed an inseparable bond forged by respective family tragedies and a fierce love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves what they would do to win the ultimate prize: to be the one girl selected to join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they die? Cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic would make them shine, too? Neither girl is sure.  But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other.

*** I received an advance copy of this book

I was really excited to read this book. I'm not someone who reads a ton of contemporaries but I love boarding schools, a Parisian setting, and have enjoyed books about dancers in the past so this seemed totally in my wheelhouse. And while this isn't my typical read, I really enjoyed this one.

One the things that surprised me most about this book was the plot development of this book. For someone who reads mostly genre fiction, I honestly didn't think a book about ballet would be all that exciting but this book definitely showed me how wrong I was. Bright Burning Stars takes you into the savage and cutthroat world of competitive dance. It definitely made for an exciting read, although it is probably not for everyone. The characters are competing against each other and themselves to win "The Prize," a coveted spot on stage at the Opera Garnier. It's not an easy story to read sometimes. There is a lot of serious and hard to read moments including characters dealing with eating disorders, abortions, and thoughts of suicide. They put their blood, sweat, and tears on the floor which means a lot of pressure and regret when things don't go well.

This is very much a character-driven narrative. The story alternates between Marine and Kate who are both students at an elite ballet boarding school and best friends. Marine is a Parisian who is inspired by the tragedy of her twin brother who died and was also a ballerina. Throughout the book she struggles with the pressure of being the best and having the perfect ballet body. She makes some really bad decisions in the face of proving that she can be a great dancer. Kate is an American, something that makes her an outsider, who will do whatever it takes to succeed. A lot of Kate's struggle is her need for approval. She wants to be loved and makes some really bad decisions because she thinks that being the best will give her the approval she so desperately deserves. I liked each of the characters on their own, but interestingly this was one of those rare occasions where I wanted the characters to fail. I hated how much pressure it put on them and I honestly just wanted them to give up it all and be happy. But that wasn't what their character development was all about. Well not entirely.

And while I loved the characters alone, the two of them together was what I wanted the most. In the beginning when they were best friends who would do anything for one another it gave the book a lot of heart. Their Moon Sisters backstory and all their Beyonce dancing was amazing. But then as the book development and they let boys and dance come between them, I started liking the characters a lot less. I am a big fan of books about female friendship and with a narrative with so many serious issues, I think this book could have really benefited from some more of those light and fun moments.

I did however like the setting of this book. For one thing, I loved the boarding school setting. It was more on the subtle side but I loved seeing the characters in their classes and interacting around the school. The other really subtle thing about the setting was it's use of Paris. There were few mentions of known landmarks but honestly the school could have been anywhere. I love books set in Paris and I wished that the book did a better job of establishing Paris as the setting. The better setting was of course the world of dance. I am not at all familiar with ballet or dance at all but I felt like it really came to life in this book. Small's descriptions of the dances in particular made it all so beautiful and visual in the best possible way.

This is not my typical read but I really enjoyed it. There were some elements that could have been fleshed out a little bit more but on the whole this was a brutal and engaging read about the brutal world of dance and the toll it takes on the ballerinas. It's not an easy ready but it is very entertaining.

I give Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small 

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. I think this is going to be one of those books where people either love it or they don’t. It's a good contemporary read especially for those who like more serious books.

AUTHOR BIO: 

A.K. SMALL was born in Paris. At five years old, she began studying classical dance with the legendary Max Bozzoni, then later with Daniel Franck and Monique Arabian at the famous Académie Chaptal. At thirteen, she moved to the United States where she danced with the Pacific Northwest Ballet for one summer in Seattle and with the Richmond Ballet Student Company for several years. She’s a graduate of the College of William and Mary and has an MFA in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her husband, her puppy, and her three daughters, and practices yoga. Bright Burning Stars is her first novel.

SOCIAL LINKS: 

Website: https://eaduncan.com/ 
Twitter: @aksmallwords
Instagram: @aksmallwords

Have you read Bright Burning Stars? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan Blog Tour Review

Title: Wicked Saints Series: Something Dark and Holy Written by: Emily A. Duncan Published: April 1, 2019 by Wednesday Books (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: “Prepare for a snow-frosted, blood-drenched fairy tale where the monsters steal your heart and love ends up being the nightmare.” - Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself. A prince in danger must decide who to trust. A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war. In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy. “This book destroyed me and I adored it.”- Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval

I was really excited to read this book. Since I learned about it way before it was even published, it seemed like a book totally up my alley. I love dark YA fantasy especially those inspired by Eastern European culture. And while there were some things I enjoyed about this book, it just didn’t quite live up to the hype.

One thing I did really enjoy was the world. There were so many great layers to this world. It’s a fantasy world rooted in religion and magic with two warring nations who believe very different things. It had so many elements that I love. I always enjoy a world with this much depth to it and this one was brilliantly inventive and complex. I thought the way the magic and religion interweaved was one of best parts. I am always looking for a creative magical system and I found that here. The blood magic in particular was really fascinating. I wish we got to learn more about how that worked and the make up of the spellbooks the blood mages used but maybe that’s coming in book 2. I will say, I did find there was a bit too much info dumping at the beginning of the book but it did lead to a really fascinating the world.

The part of the book that didn’t enthrall me however was the plot development. Now, don’t get me wrong, the plot was interesting. The last quarter of the book was really fascinating with high stakes and a lot of action, but that was really only the last bit. This book definitely suffered from first book syndrome for me. The first half really just felt like all that the characters were doing was getting from point A to point B and dumping information on one another along the way. It took me much longer to connect with the plot than I would have hoped. However that could just be a personal problem because I am such a plot driven reader. But I was honestly confused through a lot of it. I found myself having to reread chapters because something would happen and it was almost as if it had gone down off the page because I couldn’t remember it being told to me. I hope some of this is corrected in the final copy because I did read an ARC and that can happen.

But a lot of my confusion could have come from the changing perspectives. The book alternated between Nadya and Serefin who come from the two rival kingdoms. Multiple perspectives is challenging sometimes especially of the characters are in different places and having different storylines. This was one of those books where it is frustrating because when you leave one character and return to the other you completely forgot what the other had been up to. The chapters were short and I think I may have liked it better if they were a little bit longer so I could connect with the plot points a little bit more before switching back.

I did however like the characters. This is a book full of grey and odious characters. None of them are perfect and genuinely good. They all have secrets and are scheming and plotting both independently and together. Those are the kind of characters I love in my books. Some of them make for the kind of people you love to hate and others just make for really interesting choices along the way. Nadya and Serefin were good characters to be in the head of but I honestly think I like Serefin a little bit more. He I think had better character development throughout the book. It seems like Nadya is going to be the “chosen one” and she has some moments of heroism that I enjoyed but her personal growth just wasn’t as pronounced for me. Plus I found Nadya a little frustrating at times. She made some really bad choices especially when it came to the the romance.

Ugh, this romance. We have to talk about the romance in this books because it was not my favorite. I’ve never been someone who likes the good girl falls for the bad boy trope and that is totally what this was. I didn’t trust Malachaisz at all and the fact that Nadya fell so hard for him so quickly and would just forgive his transgressions just didn’t work for me. I love a complex, dark, and odious character but not as a romantic lead. I know a lot of people do however so if that is your thing then you will probably love that about this book.

I was really looking forward to reading this book and over the moon when the publisher sent me a copy as part of the blog tour. And while I liked some elements, it just fell a little short for me. It had a great world and interesting characters but the plot was confusing and the pacing slow plus the romance did not work for me at all.

I give Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan 8 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. I think this is going to be one of those books where people either love it or they don’t. For me, it was kind of a miss but I know a ton of people really loved it. If you like fantasy on the darker side with a heavy romance and a good girl/bad boy trope then check this out.

AUTHOR BIO: 

EMILY A. DUNCAN works as a youth services librarian. She received a Master’s degree in library science from Kent State University, which mostly taught her how to find obscure Slavic folklore texts through interlibrary loan systems. When not reading or writing, she enjoys playing copious amounts of video games and dungeons and dragons. Wicked Saints is her first book. She lives in Ohio.

 BUY LINK: 

 https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/wicked-saints/ 

SOCIAL LINKS: 

Website: https://eaduncan.com/ 
Twitter: @glitzandshadows 
Instagram: @glitzandshadows 
Tumblr: http://glitzandshadows.tumblr.com/

Have you read Wicked Saints? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Review: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi Blog Tour

Title: The Gilded Wolves Series: The Gilded Wolves #1 Written by: Roshani Chokshi Published: January 15, 2019 by Wednesday Book (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Set in a darkly glamorous world, The Gilded Wolves is full of mystery, decadence, and dangerous but thrilling adventure.  Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.  To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can't yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.  Together, they'll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.

The Gilded Wolves was one of my most anticipated books of 2019. I mean, come on, it’s a total me book. Not only am I a huge fan of historical mysteries and heist novels, but I have been wanting to read a book about Belle Époque Paris for ages. This book seriously checked all the boxes and it is written by an author I have enjoyed in the past. It was a no brained for me. And while there is a lot to like about this book, it didn’t end up being a book I loved.

One thing I did love however is the setting. Belle Époque Paris was indeed the setting I was dreaming of for a book like this. Roshani did a great job of establishing the historical time and place. Starting of course with the backdrop of the Exposition Universelle and all the majesty and mechanics it brought Paris. This was the year the Eiffel Tower opened and I loved that Roshani showed how many Parisians hated it. But she also didn’t shy away from the more negative aspects of the Exposition and the time period including the “Negro Village” and the mistreatment of minorities and those deemed lesser. It gave the book a lot of depth and accuracy in terms of the period. The contrast wall the more obvious because of Roshani’s writing. She’s always done a great job describing the beauty of a setting and transporting the reader there and this book was no exception.

But the actually setting was only the beginning of the world in this book. There was also a really interesting magical system. The book is an alternative universe and what makes it that way is that this is a world where people have the ability to Forge which allows them to control a substance or a person. It was sort of similar to bending in Avatar: the Last Airbender. I liked the overall concept but it just didn’t feel fully-formed as a magical system. I like my magic to have rules, which this did, but those rules need to be explained. The reader needs to understand how the magic works. They need to see it in action. But I didn’t feel like we were able to see Forging as much as I would have liked. There were a few opportunities where we saw someone mention a Forged object or talking about how they could Forge but I would have liked to see it used in a bigger way. I think this was just a case of the author telling instead of showing when it came to the world-building.

The other thing I liked about this book was the characters. This is a book full of a diverse cast of characters including those of different races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations. Each of the characters had their own backstories and their own way they were trying to prove themselves. It was easy to root for them and want them to succeed so that they could overcome adversity. Although I do think that there was a lot of info-dumping in the beginning when it came to introducing the characters. Most of them had perspectives so it was a bit overwhelming to learn a ton about one and then switch to a different person. But the weird thing is, I don’t think one perspective was more interesting or engaging than the others. I think Laila might of been my favorite because she’s the one I want to know more about but all of them were compelling which is hard to do. That I think is a testament to how likable the characters were.

However, my biggest disappointment with this book was with the plot. I was so pumped to read a heist novel, especially one with a historical spin. And there was definitely a heist aspect to the story, and those were some of the best moments for me. I loved the puzzles and the near disasters that came with trying to steal something. However, it felt a little too easy. They knew every answer almost right away and then they would explain everything in such detail that it would take me out of the story giving the background of things like the Fibonacci sequence and the golden spiral. Heists are hard to do because you really need to have t all planned out walk a fine line between surprising your readers and giving them the knowledge to figure things out. This just didn’t do a great job of walking that line for me. Many of the reveals were not big surprises and I felt like some of them were too easy even for the characters. But I might just be hard to please when it comes to a heist. I tend to be good at solving things so maybe it was just me.

All in all, this was a good read, it just didn’t blow me away. It had an engaging setting and likable characters, I just wanted a little bit more surprises and magic.

I give The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi 8 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. If you are new to heist novels and you want to read a book with a subtle mystery and historical fiction with diverse characters then check this one out. But if you are looking for a thrilling adventure of a fantasy heist this book might not be the beat choice.

Have you read The Gilded Wolves? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

White Stag by Kara Barbieri Blog Tour and Review

Title: White Stag Series: Permafrost #1 Written by: Kara Barbieri Published: January 8, 2019 by Wednesday Books (Macmillan) (Buy Links / Goodreads) Synopsis: The first book in a brutally stunning series where a young girl finds herself becoming more monster than human and must uncover dangerous truths about who she is and the place that has become her home.  As the last child in a family of daughters, seventeen-year-old Janneke was raised to be the male heir. While her sisters were becoming wives and mothers, she was taught to hunt, track, and fight. On the day her village was burned to the ground, Janneke—as the only survivor—was taken captive by the malicious Lydian and eventually sent to work for his nephew Soren.  Janneke’s survival in the court of merciless monsters has come at the cost of her connection to the human world. And when the Goblin King’s death ignites an ancient hunt for the next king, Soren senses an opportunity for her to finally fully accept the ways of the brutal Permafrost. But every action he takes to bring her deeper into his world only shows him that a little humanity isn’t bad—especially when it comes to those you care about.  Through every battle they survive, Janneke’s loyalty to Soren deepens. After dangerous truths are revealed, Janneke must choose between holding on or letting go of her last connections to a world she no longer belongs to. She must make the right choice to save the only thing keeping both worlds from crumbling.

I love YA fantasy and I read a lot of it. So when I heard about White Stag it sounded like an interesting book and I was excited to read it. And while there were some good things about this book, I didn’t quite enjoy it in the way I was hoping.

One thing that I did really like about this book was the world. I’m not a huge fan about books with goblins, they are often too similar to fae for me, and I don’t always find them very interesting. But here, the author did a great job in creating goblins that were the perfect combination of dark, brutal, and compelling. There is a history and mythology to the world, complete with a frost-filled land of magic and a human world destroyed by the goblins. It pulled me in and captured my interested for what was today.

Unfortunately, what was to come was not very much. My biggest problem however is with the plot and pacing. Honestly, this felt like two different books. The first half of the book is a character-driven fantasy about a person trying to figure out their place and where they belong despite being torn between to two worlds who distrust here. While an interesting concept, that’s not often the kind of plot that I enjoy. Add to that romantic tension that I wanted nothing to do with and you have a book I think a lot of people will like, but I don’t. But then the last third of the book completely changed course and became more of an adventure. This was the part of the plot I enjoyed with a mission, and a goal, and daring escapes. But in terms of a cohesion, there really wasn’t much. It felt like two different stories, just with the same characters. Personally, I wish the plot lines from the second half were more detailed and took up the whole book. But I know this was originally written for Wattpad and so perhaps it is meant to be more serialized, which would explain this. But I just had to struggle through the exposition.

As far as the characters go, they were kind of hit or miss for me. One of the characters I did like was the main character of Janneke. She had some real strong Sansa Stark vibes as she is help captive in a court she doesn’t want to be in only to be abused by the the king. She was an easy character to empathize with and when she snapped and fought back you were completely on her side. But she was the only character whose side I was on. The main villain of the story was ruthless and terrible, the kind of character who you completely detest. But then there was Soren, who I know I was supposed to like but I didn’t. Even her kinder moments I felt myself not being very impressed. He just felt like a cliche fantasy live interest and I wasn’t interested.

Which about sums up my feelings on the romance in general. I am totally romancephobic and one of my biggest frustrations is when romance is shoehorned into the story without giving it enough build up. This book did exactly that. I knew going in that there was going to be this romance so it wasn’t a completely surprise but I still wasn’t shipping it at all. It just felt so sudden and like a complete flip for the character. I like a hate to love romance but it actually has to show me that there is mutual affection between the characters and not just a few moments where they talk casually and then suddenly they are deeply in love. Maybe people who are bigger fans of romance will enjoy this one but for me, it was a miss.

There were some good aspects of this book but it did not blow me away. It’s not the next great YA fantasy for me, just another okay read that wasn’t for me.

I give White Stag by Kara Barbieri 7 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. I would recommend this book to fans of romance heavy fantasy like A Court of Thorns and Roses that is more character-driven. It wasn't my type of read but I feel like in the right hands this is going be a very loved book.

About the Author:

Kara Barbieri is a writer living in the tiny town of Hayward, Wisconsin. An avid fantasy fan, she began writing White Stag at eighteen and posting it to Wattpad soon after under the name of ‘Pandean’. When she’s not writing, you can find her marathoning Buffy the Vampire Slayer, reviving gothic fashion, and jamming to synthpop.


Have you read White Stag? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Amber and Dusk by Lyra Selene Blog Tour: Review

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Amber & Dusk
Author: Lyra Selene
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: November 27, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis: Sylvie has always known she deserves more. Out in the permanent twilight of the Dusklands, her guardians called her power to create illusions a curse. But Sylvie knows it gives her a place in Coeur d'Or, the palais of the Amber Empress and her highborn legacies.

So Sylvie sets off toward the Amber City, a glittering jewel under a sun that never sets, to take what is hers.

But her hope for a better life is quickly dimmed. The empress invites her in only as part of a wicked wager among her powerful courtiers. Sylvie must assume a new name, Mirage, and begin to navigate secretive social circles and deadly games of intrigue in order to claim her spot. Soon it becomes apparent that nothing is as it appears and no one, including her cruel yet captivating sponsor, Sunder, will answer her questions. As Mirage strives to assume what should be her rightful place, she'll have to consider whether itis worth the price she must pay.

MY REVIEW

**** I received an advance copy of this book from the published in exchange for an honest review as a part of the blog tour. This fact has not changed my opinion. ****

I am usually looking for a new and different YA fantasy so when I read the synopsis for this book and saw the opportunity to take part in the blog tour for this one I jumped at the chance. And while I do think that this felt like a classic fantasy, and while it had a lot of promise it didn't quite deliver on that.

The thing that I think best expresses this for me is the characters.. This is a book full of odious and interesting characters. I usually prefer my fantasies to have characters who are on the darker side. People who have allegiances that are hidden and plenty of secrets. These were those kinds of characters. It made for interesting characters who I was curious to learn more about, but I feel a little bit like we didn't get that payoff. Some of the characters got good reveals towards the end of the book but for the most part they didn't strike an emotional chord for me. I think honestly because most of them weren't really very big surprises. The main character of Sylvie felt like a classic YA fantasy protagonist. She was tough and brash which I liked but she was also incredibly dense which I found a little frustrating. To be honest, that was one of the things that added to the classic feel of this book for me. It was the find of book where I preferred the secondary characters.

What I enjoyed most about Amber and Dusk was the world. For one thing, the magical system is one of those where each character has their own power and they feel almost like superpowers, which is a magical system I always enjoy. Plus the author was great about how the magic had clear rules and before the main character was able to use her powers in a significant way she had to learn how to control them, which is something I prefer in my magic. But the world also had a ton of political intrigue. I love when fantasies deal with court politics and the secrets surrounding the court and this book definitely handled that well.

I do think however that this book had too much world building and that's at the expense of the plot. New fantasy books always have a lot of exposition. I expect at least 100 pages of set up and world building. But this book kind of took things way too far. The most interesting part of the story for me didn't really kick in until about the last 80 pages and then it was over way too soon even though it sent into motion so much of the book's final act. There was one section that was only 20 pages long that I really wanted more from and I felt like this portion of the plot could have been expanded on. I need a very plot-centered story though so maybe most people won't mind about this too much.

All in all, I think this was an okay read. It had a lot going for it like odious characters and an interesting world full of political intrigue, plus it definitely read like a classic YA fantasy but it didn't quite blow me away.

I give Amber and Dusk by Lyra Selene 7.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. If you are looking for a YA fantastic that is heavy on the world and political intrigue and light on the plot development then check this out. It has classic fantasy vibes that I think fans of the genre will enjoy.

BOOK LINKS

฀Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37825423-amber-dusk
฀Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Amber-Dusk-Lyra-Selene/dp/1338210033
฀Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/amber-dusk-lyra-selene/1127731151
฀Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Amber-Dusk-Lyra-Selene/9781338210033?ref=grid-view&qid=1539641765675&sr=1-1
฀Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/amber-dusk
฀IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781338210033
฀iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/author/lyra-selene/id1332300728?mt=11

TOUR SCHEDULE

http://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2018/10/tour-schedule-amber-dusk-by-lyra-selen.html 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lyra Selene was born under a full moon and has never quite managed to wipe the moonlight out of her eyes. When she isn’t dreaming up fantastical cities and brood-ing landscapes, Lyra enjoys hiking, rainstorms, autumn, and pretending she’s any good at painting.

She lives in New England with her husband, in an antique farmhouse that’s probably not haunted. AMBER & DUSK is her debut novel.

 GIVEAWAY 

 •AMBER & DUSK by Lyra Selene
 •US Only
 •Starts: 11/12
 •Ends: 11/30

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco Blog Tour: Review and Favorite Quotes

About the Book

Title: Escaping from Houdini Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #3 Written by: Kerri Maniscalco Published: June 6, 2018 by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: In this third installment in the #1 bestselling Stalking Jack the Ripper series, a luxurious ocean liner becomes a floating prison of scandal, madness, and horror when passengers are murdered one by one…with nowhere to run from the killer. .   Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.  But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?

My Review

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher at ALA in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion. ***

I am a huge fan of this series. When I read the first book two years ago I fell completely in love witht he characters, the setting, the mystery, everything. I was so excited to see Kerri again at ALA and pick up a copy of this book. So excited in fact that I didn't wait to read it, something I almost never do. Yes, friends, I read this book three months ago and I waited to share my review.

My favorite part of this book and the series in general is the character. I absolutely adore Audrey Rose. She is such a fantastic protagonist and my favorite kind of female heroine. She's not perfect and while she is completely badass she is still feminine and vulnerable sometimes. But the best part of Audrey Rose is that she is entirely herself and who she wants to be despite what society might expect from her. This book is so much about trying to figure out exactly what she wants with her future. I loved seeing Audrey Rose figure that out even if I didn't totally agree with all the decisions that she made throughout the book.

But my favorite characters are probably the secondary characters. It seems strange to call Thomas a secondary character but I guess that's what he is. Who cares what he is, because Thomas is amazing and my absolute favorite. Thomas is in rare form in this book and is a hilarious and fantastic snark machine. He always makes me laugh especially at the magic shows. Some of my favorite quotes come from Thomas interacting with others. One of those people I love him interacting with is the ringmaster. I don't want to give too much away about him but he is the sort of over the top charming sort of person that I think a lot of people are going to like. I however am hardcore Team Thomas and was a annoyed at him for trying to come between my ship. But I will say, he was a complex and interesting character like a lot of the members of the circus.

Speaking of the circus, this setting was completely amazing. I am not usually a big fan of books set during circuses. I know so many people love fantasies in circuses but for me they always seem too over the top magical and not at all realistic. This however felt realistic. It was grounded in reality of actual circuses at the turn of the 20th Century. I felt the wonder and mystery that characters were feeling and I was just as fascinated with everything that was going on. But I think the characters in the circus also made it all the more interesting. I wanted to know about them and about the circus.

The only thing that I didn't love as much about this book was the mystery. I'll be honest, the mysteries in this book are not at all complicated. I have solved every single one of them and usually I solve them with a throw away comment that leads me directly to the killer who is only revealed. Their motivation is then revealed as the book develops. I am perfectly okay with that. I like solvable mysteries. The only problem however is that there needs to be a good explanation as to why they are doing what they are doing and how it is all connected. Here I didn't quite get that. Even when everything was all said and done there really wasn't much of that cohesion to the mystery. Plus there really was no connection to the overall narrative of the series. I know this series was only going to be three books but then it ended up being four. I think maybe this one just kind of felt like a companion that is connected to the series but indirectly. I wish it had added more to the larger story but maybe it will in the end.

Overall this was a really great read. I loved being able to reconnect with Audrey Rose and Thomas, and to go with them on another great adventure to a fascinating historical circus setting. I wish the mystery was a little more cohesive but I still really enjoyed it.

I give Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalso 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. If you liked the first two books in the series then you have to read the next book in then series. On the whole this is a truly brilliant historical mystery series and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction or crime novels.

About the Author

Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats. Her first novel in this series, Stalking Jack the Ripper, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It incorporates her love of forensic science and unsolved history.

Website: http://www.kerrimaniscalco.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/KerriManiscalco
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/KerriManiscalco/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KerriManiscalco/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KerriManiscalcoAuthor

Favorite Quotes

And now as part of the blog tour for this book I want to share some of my favorite quotes. I don't usually make a note of quotes while I am reading but when it came to this book I did do that. There are some overall amazing quotes that just resonated with me. Then there are some hilarious Thomas quotes that made me so happy.

Follow the Tour

http://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2018/08/tour-schedule-escaping-from-houdini-by.html

http://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2018/08/tour

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by.html

http://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2018/08/tour

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by.html

Giveaway

Prize: One ARC of Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco (USA only)
 Starts: 9/12/18
 Ends: 9/26/18

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you read Escaping from Houdini? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Mirage by Somaiya Daud Blog Tour: ARC Review

**** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher as part of the blog tour in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion. ****

Title: Mirage Series: Mirage #1 Written by: Somaiya Daud Published: August 28, 2018 by Flatiron Books (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.  But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.  As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death.

MY REVIEW

I wanted to get a copy of this book at ALA but I did not get one for some reason. But I had seen some really good really good reviews of this one so I was really glad to be a part of the blog tour through Fantastic Flying Book Club. This definitely sounded like a good and interesting science fiction read and while I enjoyed some aspects of the book, it didn't completely blow me away.

Lately I have been reading so many books with very cool and creative worlds, and Mirage was no exception. Probably one of the most unique things about this book is that it is a science fiction book with a Middle Eastern inspiration. Desert landscapes are common in science fiction but one that was so grounded in the setting and culture of the people of the desert and Middle East is not something I think I have read before. It was definitely cool and I really enjoyed being able to experience the culture. Especially because it's a book which has it's own history and mythology and you know I love that. And the author did a really good job of showing the reader the world instead of telling them. In fact, she may have done too good a job. I felt like I wanted to learn so much more about the science fiction aspect of the book and we didn't get that.

The other thing that I liked about this book was the characters, especially the female characters. Amani was a really good main character. She is the kind of female character that I love in that she is not your typical kickass femme fatale. She's vulnerable and a reluctant hero who is forced into a terrible position and has to show a lot of inner strength to make it through. She's easy to get behind in that way because you are in her head and can completely sympathize. But there were other really interesting and complex characters. One of the ones I liked best was Maram, the princess who Amani becomes the body double for. Maram could have easily become a total cliche bad girl, but she was super complex and had really great development throughout the book. I wish her father Mathias had a little more development and screen time because he was really interesting and could have gone very dark but he wasn't around much.

If you read this book then you may have noticed that I didn't mention Idris as a character that I liked, and believe me there is a reason for that. It's not that I didn't like Idris, who by the way is the love interest. He was a fine character. I just really hated the romance here. This is probably no surprise to most of you, I don't like a lot of romance. But here it was really tough because the romance was so much a part of this book and I really wish it wasn't. This had all the hallmarks of romances I don't enjoy. The character fell hard and fell fast after what was definitely insta-love. And she made so many of her decisions based on her feelings for this guy. I felt like the romance kind of took over the plot of the book in portions, which is something a lot of people love but I am not one of those people.

Which, brings me to the portion of the book I wish was different, the plot. There was a lot of promise to this book when it came to the plot but it just didn't deliver for me. There was a good amount of political intrigue here. I love books that combine fish out of water stories along with court politics and that's what this book had. For me, it was at it's best when it was focusing on the rebellion and the relationship between the rulers and the people they ruler. There were some really good scenes where it explored these aspects of the story. But I wish there were more of them. It got there in the end and I think the next book in the series is going in a really great direction, but in this one it just felt like it had a little bit of first book syndrome. 

I liked this book but I feel like I'm a bit of a black sheep here. Maybe it was the hype monster, maybe it was first book syndrome, or maybe this just wasn't my kind of read. However, it did have some great things like a really good world and complex characters.

I give Mirage by Somaiya Daud 7.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. I don't know that I would recommend this book to fans of hard science fiction, but if you like romances especially fantasy and sci-fi with a strong romance plot. And I am intrigued to see where this series goes.

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32768520-mirage
 Amazon: https://amzn.to/2NJ4rMT
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mirage-somaiya-daud/1124880923#/
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Mirage-Somaiya-Daud/9781250126429
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/mirage-80
IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250126429
 iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mirage/id1339181554?mt=11

TOUR SCHEDULE 

https://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2018/08/tour-schedule-mirage-by-somaiya-daud.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Somaiya Daud was born in a Midwestern city, and spent a large part of her childhood and adolescence moving around. Like most writers, she started when she was young and never really stopped. Her love of all things books propelled her to get a degree in English literature (specializing in the medieval and early modern), and while she worked on her Master’s de-gree she doubled as a bookseller at Politics and Prose in their children’s department. De-termined to remain in school for as long as possible, she packed her bags in 2014 and moved the west coast to pursue a doctoral degree in English literature. Now she’s preparing to write a dissertation on Victorians, rocks, race, and the environment. Mirage is her debut, and is due from Flatiron Books in 8/28/2018.

Website: http://www.somaiyabooks.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/somaiyadaud
Tumblr: http://somaiyaonline.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/theravendesk/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/somaiiiya
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/somaiyadaudauthor/

GIVEAWAY 

Prize: One finished copy of Mirage by Somaiya Daud (USA only) 

 Starts: 8/22/18 

 Ends: 8/30/18 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway