Review: The Fever King by Victoria Lee

Title: The Fever King Series: Feverwake #1 Written by: Victoria Lee Published: March 1, 2019 by Skyscape (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia. The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear. Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

I can't remember when I first learned about this book but it sounded interesting enough to add it to my TBR. Then when I saw that it was one of the Amazon First books for the month of March I picked it up without any hesitation and I am really glad I did. This is one of those under the radar type of books that I was incredibly surprised by. I found it gripping and thoroughly engaging.

This is the perfect book for plot-driven readers like myself. It is one of those books that is full of non-stop action and thrilling twists. Seriously, every time I thought there couldn't possibly be another surprise there was. The overall plot kind of felt like three different books combined into one but it never felt jarring or strange to switch between storylines. The author did a great job in developing a flow that created a cohesive book that had me entertained from beginning to end. It was incredibly fast paced as well. There was not a dull minute at all in this book. And the best part is that the plot still built to a huge and exciting conclusion that had me on the edge of my seat.

I think one of the things that made the plot so good was that world was so complex and engaging. There were a lot of great elements to this world that combined some of my favorite things to read about. First and foremost was the dystopian aspects of the story. I don't read a ton of dystopia but I do like the genre overall. This book was dystopia at its finest. It took a modern problem and the treads in our current society and kicked everything up a notch to develop a fictional world that felt current and outrageous at the same time. There were elements of an oppressive government and revolutionaries that were fighting for their rights which all combined to make thoroughly engaging political unrest. Then it through the main character between the two factions which led to a lot of uncertainty in who was right and who was wrong. I love when books make me question rulers and I loved that about this book.

I also really liked the magical system in this book. I love a magical system where the characters each have different powers and they feel like superheroes, and if they get these powers through a virus that kills a bunch of people, all the better. Seriously, when did that become a trope because it definitely is and I am here for it. I loved seeing Noam use his powers and learn about them throughout the book. And each characters powers were fascinating. I like my magical systems to be based in logic and rules and this was one of those times where it was like that. Even if you had powers, in order to use them you needed to know physics and how the forces of the universe worked which was an interesting layer. My only criticism of the powers is that it almost felt like they had endless possibilities. You could unlock new powers with new knowledge and in some respects it just felt like you were giving the characters magic in order for them to get out of situations that there was no other way out of. If you are going to have a magical system like this there needs to be limits.

As far as the characters go, this is a book that had some great diverse characters. First of all, the characters were of different races, genders, and ethnicities which I really enjoyed. Although if I am being entirely honest, this book needed more women. There was really only one or two and they had much smaller parts than the male characters. The main character was biracial, Jewish, and bisexual. Yes, we also had LGBTQIA representation. And Noam was a great main character. He was easy to root for and had been through a lot of hard times before and during this book. He was easy to empathize with throughout the book and that made his development all the more sweet when he came into his own by the end of the book. The rest of the characters were complex and more odious. Because there was so much uncertainty about right and wrong throughout the book it made for characters who walk in a very grey area. Dara was really interesting and I totally ship him with Noam. Lehrer however was the most complex. He's a very charismatic leader with a great set of powers but is also kind of ruthless. All the characters really worked so well in this kind of narrative.

All in all, I really liked this book. It was the perfect change of pace for me with a dystopian world full of magic and mystery. The plot was gripping and engaging, and the characters were complex and engaging. It's not a book a lot of people are talking about and I wish more people would because it's really fantastic.

I give The Fever King by Victoria Lee 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. This is definitely worth a read for anyone who likes dystopia or is loking for a thrilling read full of diverse characters. It reminded me a lot of books like The Darkest Minds and The Reckoners which are some of my all-time favorite dystopians.

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

Blog Tour: Buried Heart by Kate Elliott Review and Giveaway

About the Book:

Title: BURIED HEART (Court of Fives #3)
Author: Kate Elliott
Release Date: July 25, 2017
Pages: 448
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | TBD 

Synopsis:  The explosive finale to World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott's captivating, New York Times bestselling young adult series 

In this third book in the epic Court of Fives series, Jessamy is the crux of a revolution forged by the Commoner class hoping to overthrow their longtime Patron overlords. But enemies from foreign lands have attacked the kingdom, and Jes must find a way to unite the Commoners and Patrons to defend their home and all the people she loves. Will her status as a prominent champion athlete be enough to bring together those who have despised one another since long before her birth? Will she be able to keep her family out of the clutches of the evil Lord Gargaron? And will her relationship with Prince Kalliarkos remain strong when they find themselves on opposite sides of a war? Find all the answers in this beautifully written and exciting conclusion to World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott's debut New York Times bestselling young adult trilogy!

My 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. ****

 I am so excited to be on the blog tour of this book. Especially because I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. It's an incredibly engrossing dystopian book with subtle fantasy elements, and amazing world building. And Buried Heart was a good conclusion to the series.

My favorite thing about this book, and the series of in general, is the world building. This is a series with such a rich world. It's not uncommon to find a fantasy or dystopian series with influences from Greek and Rome, but somehow the author makes it feel unique. Perhaps it's the fact that there such an elaborate and intriguing history and mythology to this series. In the course of three books we have learned so much about this world and the magic and mystery that influence. Here we learned more about Efea and everything we learned was amazing. There's and incredible amount of depth here. So much so that I think we've only just begun to explore it. But Kate Elliott's writing pulls you in and makes it all come alive.

I also really like the characters in this series. In the course of three books I have become quite attached to these characters. First of all, I adore Jessamy, our protagonist. She's such a great hero. She's tough and resourceful, but also fiercely loyal. She cares so much about her family and the people that she loves me that she will do anything for them. There's something so likable about her for those reasons. You want her to succeed and save the day. But she doesn't always get to do that. She's not perfect. There is a subtle vulnerability to Jess that makes her even more complex and likable. She's a great main character and I love her voice.

This is also a series with fantastic secondary characters. There is a pretty big cast of characters here, many of whom you have had three books to connect with them. In particular I really like Jes's family. Her mother, who gets some great development and a really interesting storyline here, and her sisters are great and complex characters. But I think her father might be the most complex and interesting of her family members. There's so much depth to to him. He has some really great development and his daughter is so much like him that everything I love about her, I love about him. Speaking of love, I have to talk about Kal. Their relationship develops further in this book and some of the most emotional moment here come at the hands of Kal. And yet it was still a subtle relationship. The romance didn't take the focus, it just added depth to a book already full of depth.

The focus of this book was on the political intrigue. Seriously, there was so much political intrigue in this book. I love when the plot of final books focus on the politics and these kind of elements. So much of it was about the relationship between to Saroese and the Efeans. There's the war, the court intrigue, who's going to rule, why, and those who have long been oppressed throwing off the shackles of their oppressors. This series has long explored the mistreatment of the people who have been viewed as inferior and it was great to see their rebellion in full effect as this book developed. This is one of the things I like about dystopia and it is was a great part of this book as well. It was a hugely satisfying ending and I loved the way it developed.

However, I didn't totally love the pacing of this book. It is on the longer side for YA, which is totally fine. I love a long book. But I like a book that doesn't feel long. This book however felt long. It dragged in parts even though there was a lot of action. But I think it just didn't have a good flow to it. It felt a little bit like two different stories. There was one in the first half just about the affects of he first book and the court intrigue, then the second half was more about the rebellion. They were both really interesting but only loosely connected. I just would have liked there to be a little bit of a better flow to it.

On the whole, Buried Heart was a really engaging read. It was good ending to a great dystopian series, it has a brilliant and creative world, likable and complex characters, and a plot full of intrigue and action.

I give Buried Heart by Kate Elliot 8.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. If you liked the first two books in this series you will not be disappointed by this one. It's a really good series that I would definitely recommend to fans of dystopia. But even if you are kind of over the genre, give this one a try. It feels classic and creative at the same time. I really enjoyed it and I think you will as well.

Have you read Buried Heart? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. And if you haven't read the book and want to, there is a giveaway as part of the tour. Scroll down for more info and become one of 3 people to win a copy of the book. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

About Kate: 

Kate Elliott has been writing stories since she was nine years old, which has led her to believe that writing, like breathing, keeps her alive. As a child in rural Oregon, she made up stories because she longed to escape to a world of lurid adventure fiction. She now writes fantasy, steampunk, science fiction, and YA, including recent works Black Wolves, Court of Fives, and Cold Magic.

It should come as no surprise that she met her future husband in a sword fight. When he gave up police work to study archaeology, they and their three children fell into an entirely new set of adventures amid dusty Mexican ruins and mouthwatering European pastry shops. Eventually her spouse’s work forced them to move to Hawaii, where she took up outrigger canoe paddling. With the three children out of the house, they now spoil the schnauzer.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Live Journal | Goodreads | Tumblr 

Giveaway Details: 

3 winners will receive a finished copy of BURIED HEART, US Only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Tour Schedule: 

Week One: 
7/17/2017- YA Books Central - Interview
7/18/2017- The Eater of Books! - Review
7/19/2017- Novel Novice - Guest Post
7/20/2017- Just Commonly - Review
7/21/2017- Two Chicks on Books - Interview

Week Two: 
7/24/2017- My Thoughts Literally - Review
7/25/2017- Sarcasm & Lemons - Review
7/26/2017- Stephanie Plotkin - Review
7/27/2017- PaperTrailYA - Excerpt
7/28/2017- Seeing Double In Neverland - Review

Thanks again to Rockstar Book Tours for having me on the tour for this book. I really enjoyed this series. Have you read The Buried Heart? What did you think? Leave a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

*** This is the third book in a series so if you have not read The Bone Season and The Mime Order be careful of potential spoilers. Also, what are you waiting for? That series is amazing! Here is my review for the first book. You should read it. ***

Title: The Song Rising Series: The Bone Season #3 Written by: Samantha Shannon Published: March 7, 2017 by Bloomsbury (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: The hotly anticipated third book in the bestselling Bone Season series – a ground-breaking, dystopian fantasy of extraordinary imagination. Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population.  But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilizing the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging.  Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it . . .

*** I received an advance copy of this

I have been waiting over two years to read this book. The ending of The Mime Order was incredible and a total plot twist and I couldn't wait to find out more and what would happen next. The Song Rising was a great next installment in a series that I am absolutely loving, despite it being a little bit of a bridge book for me.

The thing that made me fall in love with this series and the reason I still love it is the world. It's such a unique and interesting world that combines elements of fantasy and science fiction into one. In previous books we got to explore much more about the magical system here, and the clairvoyant powers that basically all of the main characters have. I love seeing them in action, especially Paige's which is super badass, but they weren't really the focus of this book. This book was much more about the societies of the world. In the beginning we got to explore more of the Syndicate while seeing Paige as Underqueen, but the real good stuff was the second half of the book where we learned more about Scion and how they are able to control everyone, especially the voyants. I'm all for political intrigue and it was a really interesting element to an already interesting world.

I also totally love the characters in this series. I loved Paige Mahoney from the start and I fall more and more in love with her with every passing book. The thing I like so much about Paige is that she is not your typical "Strong Female Protagonist TM." Yes, she is brave and selfless, and yes she preforms amazing and surprising feats of strength in the face of all kinds of adversity. But Paige is not perfect. She does things wrong, she makes mistakes, and she faces all kinds of consequences for her actions. In this book she is incredibly vulnerable and because of that I have more respect and adoration for her, especially because she came out of it stronger. I love a reluctant hero, I love a female protagonist who isn't just tough. It makes for a more likable and well-rounded character and I love that about Paige.

But Paige is not the only great character here. There are so many fantastic and complex secondary characters. First let's talk about the good guys. I know so many people are huge fans of Warden and I have to say, he's growing on me. I still don't really ship it (don't hate me!) but Warden is a great ally for Paige and I find him totally interesting and want to learn more and see more. I also feel the same way about Nick but I have more of an emotional attatchment to Nick. Here we learn even more about his past and it was so interesting and it made me love him even more. But the real strength of the characterization here is in the villains. Oh man, there are some amazing villains here. So many odious and devious characters. First and foremost, Nashira Sargas. We see the full extend of Nashira's planning and her attempt for control here and it is amazing. But the most brilliant character is Jaxon Hall. Finding more about Jax and his past was everything I hoped it would be and more. He was in rare form in this book and I loved it. But all the characters here are really fantastic.

And while I did really enjoy the plot of this book it didn't really blow me away. It was definitely interesting and really built to a thrilling conclusion but it honestly took it's sweet time to get there. I think my problem is that the first half of the book was totally different from the second and I just didn't love the first half. There was some good stuff towards the beginning but then the characters went on a travel monologue. And you know how I feel about travel. Now don't get me wrong, the travel here was fine, it had a purpose and we learned a lot along the way plus there were action moments but it just didn't hook me until it got to the third act. And by that point I was so emotionally invested I had to keep reading to find out what would happen next. But I think in general this book felt a little bit like a bridge book. There are three more books in this series and it felt a little bit like this one needed to wrap up things that happened in the first book and set up things that will happen in later books.

On the whole The Song Rising was a really good read with a fascinating world, complex characters, and an engaging plot. It did feel like were some things about the plot development and pacing that I didn't love but I did really enjoy the book. I think on it's own I don't think it's perfect but as part of the series I think it's a good addition.

I give The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. If you are a fan of this series you have to pick this book up. It's a good addition to the series and you learn so many more amazing things. And if you haven't read this series and you like fantasy, science fiction, and/or dystopia you must check this series out. I'm such a fan!

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

ARC Review: Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliott

**** This is the second book in a series. If you have not read Court of Fives, read that before you read this. Here's my review of Court of Fives to encourage you. ****

Title: Poisoned Blade Series: Court of Five #2 Written by: Kate Elliott Published: August 16, 2016 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: In this thrilling sequel to World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott's captivating young adult debut, a girl immersed in high-stakes competition holds the fate of a kingdom in her hands.  Now a Challenger, Jessamy is moving up the ranks of the Fives--the complex athletic contest favored by the lowliest Commoners and the loftiest Patrons alike. Pitted against far more formidable adversaries, success is Jes's only option, as her prize money is essential to keeping her hidden family alive. She leaps at the chance to tour the countryside and face more competitors, but then a fatal attack on her traveling party puts Jes at the center of the war that Lord Kalliarkos--the prince she still loves--is fighting against their country's enemies. With a sinister overlord watching her every move and Kal's life on the line, Jes must now become more than a Fives champion.... She must become a warrior.

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher at BEA. This fact has not changed my opinion. ***

I really liked Court of Fives so I was really excited to get my hands on an advanced copy of the second book in the series at BEA so I could catch back up with this world and these characters. Unfortunately, while I liked this one it felt a bit like it suffered from second book syndrome for me. 

One of the things I liked about the first book in this series and enjoyed again here is the political intrigue. I think of this book as dystopian fantasy which is a popular thing in YA at the moment. But it's one of those worlds with a lot of exploration of power and control with the main characters trying to navigate a world of scheming and plotting. A world of precarious leaders do whatever they can to stay in power even if it is at the expense of their friends or family. There was seriously so much political intrigue her and everything was rally stepped up. As the book develops, more and more wrinkles of the plan are revealed and you see just how scheming the secondary characters are. It kept me guessing from beginning to end.

Unfortunately, the political intrigue was also one of it's downfalls. There was just so much going on here. From the Fives and the larger war, which were only minor plot points, to the political intrigue at court which took the bulk of the plot development. . It did keep me guessing here because it was incredibly complicated, but maybe it was too complicated, needlessly complicated. There was more than one occasion where there needed to be a big explanation of who was doing what and why, and even then it didn't always make sense. There was just so much telling instead of showing when it came to the plot development and that usually isn't something that I enjoy.

But in general this book was just muddled. There was so much going on here. The beginning did a good job of building on what happened in the first book and then suddenly things changed completely. It almost felt like there were two different stories here with very little segue. It did all eventually come together in the end but honestly through a lot of the book, I was taken out of the story trying to makes heads or tails of what was happening and why. This made for some issues with the pacing as well as there was almost two climaxes with a lot of rising action between that. It almost had to build up another story line instead of building onto a previous one. I'm such a plot driven reader and while the plot here was interesting, it felt too complicated at times.  

But the book was redeemed a lot by the characters. There are some incredibly interesting and complex characters in this series. So many of them walk the line between good and evil with dubious and selfish actions making you wonder if they are good and bad. They're loyalties are constantly under question and you don't know where they really stand until the very end. I also really like Jess as a protagonist. She's in such a precarious position in that she wants to do what is best for others but doesn't know what they is. She's constantly making mistakes and having to learn from them which makes me like her even more. But the one thing with the characters I did miss was the family and sisters angle. I really liked how Jes was so motivated around protecting her family in the first book and while that was a part of this book it wasn't as big a focus and I think that was so much of the heart of the first book. But in general, the characters and how complex they are is one of the best things about this series.

On the whole, this was an okay read. Not quite as cohesive and captivating as the first book with an overly-complicated plot and world-building but great characters and a lot of political intrigue. I think it may have suffered a little from second book syndrome but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in continuing with the series. I think this may be one that is better marathoned.

I give Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliott 7.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. I think if you liked Court of Fives than you should give this book a try and continue on with this series. It wasn't as good as the first book in my opinion but it is an interesting read. If you are a fan of the dystopian fantasy trend in YA then check this series out but as I said, maybe wait until they are all out and marathon them.