The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

The Burning Sky (The Elemental Trilogy #1)

Author: Sherry Thomas

Genre: YA High Fantasy

Rating: 4 Stars

It all began with a ruined elixir and a bolt of lightning.

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's been told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the most powerful tyrant and mage the world has ever known. This would be a suicide task for anyone, let alone a reluctant sixteen-year-old girl with no training.

Guided by his mother's visions and committed to avenging his family, Prince Titus has sworn to protect Iolanthe even as he prepares her for their battle with the Bane. But he makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the tyrant closing in, Titus must choose between his mission—and her life.

The Burning Sky—the first book in the Elemental Trilogy—is an electrifying and unforgettable novel of intrigue and adventure. --Summary from Goodreads

I have been trying to up my fantasy reads this year and happened to run into this high fantasy on Goodreads. Because I was going to see the author at an event I decided to bump it towards the top of my TBR list. Though it was a bit of a confusing start, and perhaps because I haven’t read many high fantasy’s it took me a while to adjust, I really enjoyed getting pulled into this world.

I was a bit confused at the beginning as to what time this story was set in. We are given two dates that seem centuries apart but are actually happening at the same time? I didn’t know what to think. However, after a few chapters I discovered that the times did indeed coincide but one was the year for the mage realm and the other for England. Once I realized that I was able to fully enjoy the mixture of the Victorian England with the mage realm. It’s like Harry Potter in a way, where there are two separate world and only one knows about the other.

After a series of events where her elemental powers manifest into something beyond amazing, Iolanthe finds herself ripped from her old life and on her way to an all-boys school in Victorian England where she is in hiding from the Bane, a tyrant who wants to capture her, with the help of Prince Titus.

Let me just say that Iolanthe is an awesome heroine but she also makes an amazing boy. When she first arrived at Eton College, where the prince had spent years creating an identity for the person in his mother’s vision, I was as nervous as Titus as to how she would pull off being a boy but she fit right in, armed with an arsenal of insults and swagger. She’s quick and smart and though she never wanted this destiny thrown upon her, she rises to the task despite her fear.

The relationship between Iolanthe and Titus is a mixture of desire, disgust, and despair. Titus is protecting Iolanthe but only so he can train her to confront the Bane and hopefully destroy him. Iolanthe just wants to stay in hiding and live a semi-normal life. Titus basically cons her into creating blood oath with him leaving her little option but to train or else endure excruciating pain. You kind of wanted to kill Titus at this point but, like Iolanthe, there is no way to fully hate the boy who carries so much on his shoulders.

My favorite parts of the book was when they were in training in the Crucible, a book that they can enter and run fairytale and legend simulations in order to exercise their powers. They can even set it up so they can fight against dragons, how cool is that! In the Crucible you can get hurt, and even die, but it doesn’t physically carry over into the real world. And to exit the book all they have to say is “and they lived happily ever after.” Isn’t that awesome!

The world Sherry Thomas has created is a mixture of fantasy and historical and I love it. This story has good pacing and plot and the cast of characters, main and side (my favorite being Kashkari), really bring it all together for one great read. If you love fantasy, you must try out the Burning Sky.

-Sarah

 

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Page #: 418
Source: Library
Rating: 4 Stars

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.
It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

          Celaena Sardothien is back and more badass than ever in this intense sequel to Throne of Glass. Heads will roll, blood will splatter, and readers will swoon… oddly enough… and tears will be shed!

          After being disappointed in the first book I was a bit hesitant to read Crown of Midnight but it surprised me and exceeded my expectations. Celaena really stepped up her game and became the complete badass that I was looking for. We get to find out more about her past as well as meet some of the people in it (his name is Archer and I swooned) though I’m still waiting to see Arobynn Hamel. That’s going to be intense. Being an assassin, it’s not much of a happy past so some of it was quite heartbreaking.

                I still have mixed feelings however when it comes to the other major characters, specifically Dorian and Chaol. I like Dorian a little better now that he is accepting the fact that he and Celaena cannot be together. It gives Celaena a good friend and the scenes with them feel more real now. Chaol on the other hand… I still can’t fully accept him as a love interest. I don’t always believe his actions/reactions and he seems a bit too soft to be Captain of the Guard. The only time I liked him was when he was AWAY from Celaena and NOT thinking about her. I know this is not the popular opinion but that’s just how I feel. My favorite characters actually are Nehemia and Archer. They were cool, had personality, and (in Nehemia’s case) is just as badass as the King’s Champion herself.

                I absolutely love the world that Sarah J. Maas has built. I love the mythology and the fey and was really excited to delve into it more in Heir of Fire. There was enough action to keep satisfied without overdoing it and just disturbing enough to be believable without making me squeamish.Though I wasn't surprised by the big twist at the end, cause I had been expecting it since the first book, I was really thrilled that the author went that way and am jumping up and down at the drama that will come from it.

I definitely enjoyed this sequel and am now officially hooked. I can’t wait to see what happens next on out heroine’s journey!

-Sarah

Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance

Title: Spies and Prejudice

Author: Talia Vance

Source: Library

Rating: 4 Stars

Pride & Prejudice meets Veronica Mars in this slick romantic spy-thriller where nothing’s as it seems.

Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She's busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she's sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either.

So when arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her "nothing amazing," it's no loss for Berry. She'll forget him in no time. She's more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother's death.

But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can't Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?

With a playful nod to Jane Austen, Spies and Prejudice will captivate readers as love and espionage collide. -Summary from Goodreads

            Books are always getting described as “X-Men meets Ocean 11,” “Just like the Hunger Games,” “For fans of Game of Thrones,” and you just have to take it with a grain of salt because most of the time you can’t see any resemblance. However, calling Spies and Prejudice a lovely dish of Veronica Mars mixed with Pride and Prejudice would not be far from the truth.

            Strawberry “Berry” Fields (let us pause on that name for a second) spends most of her time hanging out with her friends, keeping up with her schoolwork, and catching cheaters on camera for her dad’s private investigation service. She doesn’t put up with idiots and she seems like she’s got her life under control. But when she see’s something that opens up an old wound, Berry is on a mission to find out what really happened to her mother that fateful night years before.

            I really enjoyed this read. There was mystery and snarky-ness and I loved seeing bits of Pride and Prejudice under the surface. Tanner played his role as the Mr. Darcy character well and I couldn’t help swooning over him a bit. Especially when he would try to make nice and then Berry would reject him. I know it’s silly but also very romantic. The mystery surrounding him and his brother though was very intriguing and I couldn’t figure out what was up with those two so it was pretty shocking to me when we were finally told. I was like “whoa” and then “swoon.”

            This was a cute, short read, but if I had one complaint about this book it is that I felt the ending might have been too abrupt and the tiniest bit disappointing. I think I expected a little more out of the mystery of her mother’s death and while everything was revealed in the end it just didn’t feel… complete.

            It was a fun read and I would recommend it to people who like Veronica Mars or Pride and Prejudice, but I’m not sure I would read it again.

 -Sarah