The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Published: February 8th 2018 by Gollancz

I am a Belle. I control Beauty.

In the opulent world of Orléans, the people are born grey and damned, and only a Belle’s powers can make them beautiful.

Camellia Beauregard wants to be the favourite Belle – the one chosen by the queen to tend to the royal family.

But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favourite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that her powers may be far greater – and far darker – than she ever imagined.

When the queen asks Camellia to break the rules she lives by to save the ailing princess, she faces an impossible decision: protect herself and the way of the Belles, or risk her own life, and change the world forever.

This book was one of my highly anticipated reads for 2018. I was completely drawn in by the beautiful cover and the blurb had me intrigued – as well as all the amazing reviews this was getting! I absolutely loved this book! It was magical in so many ways, whilst highlighting so many social issues.

The world building in this book was phenomenal! It was magical, lush and vivid and I was never left struggling trying to picture anything! I could easily envision the treatments, the rooms, the city itself, the characters and it was a world that was easy to get lost in.

I liked the representation of beauty in this book – both the good and the bad sides. I liked the fact that Clayton represented the idea that beauty is ever changing and that the trends are set by a select few in our community and that everyone is always clamouring to have the last thing. I also liked the fact that Clayton didn’t shy away from the ugly side of beauty – the unhealthy body images that are constantly being presented and the fact that people are willing to change their bodies to extremely unhealthy lengths, just to be trendy, was very reflective of today’s society. Camellia tried to advocate for a natural and healthy body type, but was constantly being shut down, which, again, is constantly taking place in society. Beauty was painful and expensive to uphold and it really reflects everything about the beauty industry in today’s society.

Aside from beauty, Clayton also represented other societal issues – Media influence, sexual harassment/assault, rape culture, Politics and power in politics etc. Clayton managed to weave in various issues and represent them in a way that mattered and didn’t feel flimsy. I also like the fact that Clayton had LGBTQ representation throughout in various places.

I largely enjoyed the plot, but I’m still not sure where this series is heading? Books usually have an end game/a goal that the characters are trying to reach by the end of the book/series and it’s their journey to get there and the challenges that thy face throughout. I can’t say I really know where this series is going and what the characters are ultimately setting out to do because it was never made clear. So,while the plot itself was good and had good twists etc. it seems a little lost in where it’s going.

I would have also liked to have seen a little more development in certain plot points – specifically things like the crying in the teahouses. It is mentioned throughout the book and we are reminded at various points throughout, but I feel that the answer to what it was and what was really going on should have been more fleshed out. The author could have made more out of the mystery.

I liked Camellia as a character. She had no issues questioning things that she knew wasn’t right and she ultimately stayed true to herself throughout, despite what was being thrown at her. I liked the fact that she tried to do the right thing and made things right that she knew she had done wrong. I also loved her interaction with Auguste! They were hilarious and sassy and really helped to lift the mood when various plot points had brought it down. I found myself laughing at them often and always looked forward to when they would verbally spar!

I would have liked to have seen more of a relationship development between Remy and Camille. I enjoyed the tentative relationship that they had the and the judgyness that came from Remy regarding Camille – but I would have liked to have seen them get to know each other a little more (especially Remy) and I would have liked to have seen Remy’s perspective change a little bit more fleshed out – especially because of the ending.

I have a love hate relationship with Sophia. She was well fleshed out and I liked the subtlety of her actions at the beginning, which became more erratic and obvious as the book carried on. She was conniving and manipulative – I can’t wait to see what the author is going to do with this character.

I loved the ending! I was not expecting things to go down the way that they did and I was not expecting a certain character to be at the middle of it! I was pretty shocked when I found out what had happened and I felt betrayed! The ending wasn’t predictable at all and I loved it!

All in all, I absolutely loved this book, despite the few issues that I have with it! The characters were mostly well fleshed out and the world building was just magical and amazing! I gave this book 4/5 stars.

 

Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Published: July 1st 2014 by Entangled Teen

Perfection comes at a price.

As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.

Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows… and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.

But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving… and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death.

For fans of Kiera Cass’ Selection series and Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what it means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous—and dangerous—bow.

I have had this on my TBR for AGES! I have also had it on my kindle for the longest time. So, when I was offered a place on the blog tour for the third book (which releases in a few days), I thought it would be a great time to FINALLY pick this series up. I actually really enjoyed this book, and I am totally bummed at myself for not picking it up sooner!

I liked the concept of this book. The idea of certain humans being raised to be ‘pets’ (and those people being exclusively women) was unique. It was very reflective of society today in the way in which they have expectations of how they are to act and present themselves and what is expected of them b their ‘owners’ – they were expected to be thin, beautiful, have shiny hair, hold themselves in a certain way, have multiple talents, etc.But of course they weren’t allowed to speak for themselves. It is very reflective of the way in which some parts of society still see women and I liked the fact that it was compared to slavery in its own way (which it basically was).

I also liked the fact that the author didn’t shy away from using language that really drove home the fact that these people were considered pets and, therefore, property. She repeatedly used phrases such as ‘pets’, ‘Kennel’, ‘Trained’ etc. It made me extremely uncomfortable in places that humans were considered this way, and I liked the fact that it made me stop and consider it.

What I also like about this book was the fact that a lot of people in the society were vehemently against the idea of keeping humans as pets, despite the fact that the MC didn’t really understand that she was a slave in her own right. Whilst a lot of dystopian books focus on MC’s who are a part of the rebellion to change the society they are in, this book wasn’t like that. It took a lot of convincing from people outside of the MC’s usual life, along with other aspects, for her to really understand what was going on.

This book, however, was a little predictable – much like a to of the books written around this time period,I think. I had already guessed from relatively early on why the previous girl had been sent away and I was expecting the ending to happen in the way in which it did. I also felt like the ending was a little too easy (Don’t want to give away spoilers) and I would have liked to have seem more of a challenge for the characters to face.

I would have also liked to have seen the characters be fleshed out a little more. I felt that they were a little superficial and I struggled to really connect with them. The relationship between Penn and Ella was eye roll worthy because of the insta love and I felt like that could have been developed much better to be a slow burn, as opposed to what it was.

All in all, despite a couple of issues, I enjoyed this book. I liked the pacing of it and the plot overall and the way in which it reflected aspects of today’s society. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

 

Rebel Springs by Morgan Rhodes

Rebel Springs by Morgan Rhodes

Published: July 15th 2014 by Razorbill

Auranos has been conquered and the three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now unwillingly united as one country called Mytica. But alluring, dangerous magic still beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world. . . .

CLEO is now a prisoner in her own palace, forced to be an ambassador for Mytica as the evil King Gaius lies to her people MAGNUS stands to eventually inherit the new kingdom but is still obsessed with his feelings for his adopted sister, Lucia LUCIA is haunted by the deadly outcome of her breathtaking display of magic that allowed her father to capture the kingdoms JONAS watches at the palace gates, a troop of rebels behind him, waiting for him to tell them how he plans to overtake King Gaius When Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of cataclysmic events that will forever change the face of this land.

Since the final book in this series was recently published, I thought it was probably a good time to return to this series! Whilst I found the plot enjoyable, there were other aspects of this book that I really struggled with which were ultimately a let down.

As mentioned, I enjoyed the plot. Despite the jumping between various PoVs (characters who are located a various different places on the continent(?)), the plot was extremely easy to follow and it was interesting watching all the various points start to come together as the characters begin to have similar goals – albeit for different reasons. I liked the magical aspect of this book and the mystery that surrounds the watchers, the kindred etc.

I enjoyed the various different PoVs! I feel that Rhodes did a great job of making each voice unique and, in doing so, the voices didn’t bleed together. I could easily put the book down mid chapter (which I try not to do) and come back and remember who’s PoV I was reading because the voices are unique. They all have their own personalities and each one brought something different to the story.

I am so intrigued by the prince of Kaesia. We don’t get to see a lot of him in this book, but he is such a mysterious figure and I cannot wait until we find to more about him and what is role will be in the bigger picture! I am also low key ready to jump aboard a particular ship if the canon develops – that is all I am saying.

I struggled with the romance element of this book. A lot of it felt forced and I wasn’t really getting any of the feels from the characters who were claiming to be into Cleo. I liked the fact that Cleo and Magnus’ relationship is one that will probably grow and develop as the series continues because it is a slow burn that I will probably enjoy more. I honestly don’t understand why everyone keeps flinging themselves at Cleo because there hasn’t really been a build up of emotions before declaring love – I feel like Cleo needs to arm herself with a bat so she can keep them all away!

Despite the fact that I enjoyed the plot, I am relatively sure I have already figured out the complete end game based off of the prophecy – I just don’t know whats going to happen to actually get there. Everything clicked into place when the prophecy was revealed and I wish that there was more of a mystery to the plot – it was a little to predictable in this sense.

Another aspect of this book that I don’t really understand is the skepticism of magic. A big portion of the book is the characters denouncing the existence of magic and them being skeptical about it… despite the fact that IT IS IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES!! This literally makes no sense to me. They have seen magic and that it exists, but they still refuse to believe it? This elicited a lot of eye rolling from me.

All in all, while I enjoyed the plot and there were intriguing aspects, there were still some flaws that I felt could have been addressed. I am looking forward to picking up the next book in this series and finding out how things will play out to the ultimate end goal. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Published: March 24th 2009 by Margaret. K. McElderry

Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders – or against them. Meanwhile, Jace and Clary have their own decision to make: should they pursue the love they know is a mortal sin?

I picked this book up and put it back down a couple of times before I finally got to the end. I wasn’t really in the mood for it the first couple of times that I picked it up; but after watching some of the shadow hunters series on Netflix, I decided it was finally time to revisit this book.

As with the previous books in this series, it was relatively predictable. I knew what was going to happen before it did and I also knew the truth about the whole Clary/Jace situation before it was revealed. Whilst the book was predictable, it was easy to get lost in the world of the Shadow Hunters again and I enjoyed revisiting these characters.

Speaking of Clary and Jace; despite the fact that I knew the truth about their situation, I loved the angsty romance scenes that Clare wrote between them. It was easy to get swept up by them as a couple and I was rooting for them throughout the whole book. I love them as a couple and I am excited to see how their relationship will grow and develop in the next books.

Can I also mention how adorable Alec and Magnus are? I have been rooting for them since the very first moment and I love the way that they overcame various obstacles as the series continued! I am so over the moon ecstatic that they actually managed to get their stuff together and the little snippet of them at a certain point in the book actually elicited a cheer from me – which got me some weird looks from my son!

I enjoyed the fact that we finally got the whole back story as to who Valentine really was and how things escalated to the point that they did. I liked finding out the backstory and how each and every character linked together and how the events came around full circle to explain what was going on in the current time. I felt like it really helped tie the book and the characters up.

I do feel that the ending was a little too easy? The characters went through a lot and was constantly being thwarted by Valentine, so I felt that the ending should have come around a little differently. Things slotted into place too nicely and I would have liked to have seen more of a fight for the ending that came around.

All in all, whilst predictable, I really enjoyed this book. It was fun read and an easy way to get back into the shadow hunter world. I loved revisiting these characters and I am looking forward to seeing how things will develop in the next books. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess

A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess

Published: September19th 2017 by Random House Books for Young Readers

The magicians want her to lead. The sorcerers want her to lie. The demons want her blood. Henrietta wants to save the one she loves. But will his dark magic be her undoing?

Henrietta doesn’t need a prophecy to know that she’s in danger. She came to London to be named the chosen one, the first female sorcerer in centuries, the one who would defeat the bloodthirsty Ancients. Instead, she discovered a city ruled by secrets. And the biggest secret of all: Henrietta is not the chosen one.

Still, she must play the role in order to keep herself and Rook, her best friend and childhood love, safe. But can she truly save him? The poison in Rook’s system is transforming him into something monstrous as he begins to master dark powers of his own.

So when Henrietta finds a clue to the Ancients’ past that could turn the tide of the war, she persuades Blackwood, the mysterious Earl of Sorrow-Fell, to travel up the coast to seek out strange new weapons. And Magnus, the brave, reckless flirt who wants to win back her favor, is assigned to their mission. Together, they will face monsters, meet powerful new allies, and uncover the most devastating weapon of all: the truth.

I’ve had this book sat on my shelf since it came out – so when I saw someone I knew reading book 1 and enjoying it, I decided it was about time to pick up book 2. I really enjoyed this instalment and I am definitely looking forward to the next book.

This book starts off where the previous left off. I liked the fact that not a lot of time had passed between the end of book 1 and the start of this one because there wasn’t a lot to catch up on. It was easy to remember what had previously happened so it was easy to follow.

Having said that, it took a little while for me to get into.I often felt that the beginning of the story felt a little disjointed and jarring in some places. I didn’t feel that the events joined together in a manner that flowed well for the first two chapters and it really affected the way in which I connected to the story and the characters in general. After a few chapters, the flow sorted itself out and it became easier to really get lost in the story and the characters.

Loved reconnecting with Blackwoods character. It was really interesting watching him develop throughout the book, whether it was good or bad. I liked watching the moments where he acted like his dad and how he handled it. In the first book, Blackwood was a relatively closed off character and I liked watching him begin toped umpire towards Henrietta and the connection that he felt toward her, even if she didn’t see it herself at the time. It was interesting watching his character develop – even if there were moments where he acted like his father.

I did find myself screaming at the characters. I wasn’t a huge Rook shipper, in either the first booker this book. I felt that Rook was more of a brotherly kind of character andI didn’t seem with Henrietta in any kind of romantic aspect… I just wanted to push him out of the picture.

I also enjoyed the fact that we got more of a backstory in this book. It was great to see how the monsters cam into the world ad how all of the characters were linked before Henrietta’s time. I liked the way in which the story started to come together, but in a way that kept the main elements of what we have already learned, but also introducing new elements to the backstory which kept it interesting.

I had guessed a major plot point before it had happened, but it didn’t detract from what had happened at the end and how it all came together. I liked the end and the way in which the characters and their connections really began to come to light and I am looking forward to seeing how things will continue in the next instalment.

All I all, I really enjoyed this story and I am looking forward t the net instalment. I loved the plot and the character development in this bookend I am really looking forward to seeing how develops in the book – especially after the ending! I have this book 4/5 stars.

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Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk

Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk

Published: January 16th 2018 by Tor Teen

FORGED IN BATTLE…
FROM THE DUST OF THE ARENA…
A LEGEND WILL RISE

The action-packed tale of a 17-year-old warrior princess and a handsome gladiator who dared take on the Roman Republic―and gave rise to the legend of Spartacus…

For teens who love strong female protagonists in their fantasy and historical fiction, Blood and Sand is a stirring, yet poignant tale of two slaves who dared take on an empire by talented debut author C. V. Wyk.

Roma Victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire―an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves.

Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is the preeminent gladiator of his generation.

Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end―and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus…

NOTE: I received an ARC copy of this from the publisher via Netgalley. This in no way influences my opinion.

I am going to be honest and say that I don’t really know a lot about the Spartacus legend, except the fact that he was a gladiator and the whole I AM SPARTACUS shenanigans. I liked the fact that I went into this not really knowing much about the original because it meant that I could see the story with a fresh pair of eyes, rather than constantly comparing it. I really really enjoyed this story, even though it had a bit of a slow beginning.

As mentioned, the beginning was a little slow. Whilst there was a lot of action in the first couple of pages, the pacing of the book dipped a little after that and it needed some time before the pacing was really fitting with the book. There were times at the beginning that were slow and where I had to push through a little bit, but it was definitely worth it. When the pacing and the events of the story begins to pick up, it was impossible to put the book down! I had to know what was going to happen next and I was not let down.

This story is also told from the perspective of two characters – Xanthus and Attia. I loved seeing this story from both their PoVs because they were both a huge part of the story. Both characters were unique and had their own voices, so it was easy to keep track of which PoV I was reading at any given time. I probably would have preferred to have had some sort of header (Xanthus, Attia) when the PoV changes because it changed at random moments and from paragraph to paragraph depending on what was going on at the time and it was sometimes a bit confusing to be reading from the PoV of one character, to then switch to the next with no real warning.

I LOVED the world building! I honestly felt like I could have been in Rome/Pompeii (depending on where they were) at this particular point in history. I could easily imagine the rich families and their slaves, the gladiator fights etc. No matter how often I put the book down, I was always sucked right back into it when I picked it up again and it was easy to get lost in it. I also liked the fact that the author kept things in keeping with the history of the Roman times, as opposed to changing things up to make it more appropriate to the YA genre.

Another thing the author did well was to create a slow burn romance, as opposed to the insta love trope. A lot of YA Fantasy novels fall into the insta love trope and it often ruins that part of the story because it just doesn’t fit. Wyk did a great job of building up the trust between the two characters and watching things slowly unfurl. Both characters were naive when it came to love and it was cute to watch both of them try and tread the waters around it, whilst not trying to scare off the other one.

As mentioned above, I don’t really know a lot about Spartacus and the original legend. I do, however, know that in the original legend, Spartacus was male. I enjoyed the fact that Wyk has taken the legend and turned it around by gender reversing Spartacus. I loved the way she used the history of Rome and the way in which they saw women, and used that against some of the characters in the way in which they viewed/thought who Spartacus was, because they never suspected anything. It was a great representation of gender reversal and I am looking forward to seeing where Wyk is going to take it in book 2.

I also just want to quickly mention the ending. I don’t to give any spoilers away, so this may seem really really vague, but for those of you who have read it, will understand. I feel that the way in which the book ended was a little pointless? I don’t feel that things needed to go down the way it did with certain characters, and I feel that it was more used as a plot device to spur another character on, rather than something that probably should have been emotional for the reader. I am hoping that a huge twist is going to come some time in book 2 (which is actually what I believe is going to happen in book 2), because, if it doesn’t happen, I feel that what could have been a really emotional ending was pretty much ruined.

All in all I absolutely loved this story! The world building was rich and magical and I am so excited for book 2 (why do I have to wait so long?). I am so excited to see where the characters will end up going and what is going to happen next. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

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January Wrap Up

Hey guys! I hope you have all had a great January and start to the year. My start has been absolutely terrible reading wise. I really lost my motivation to read and take pictures for my instagram – and even blog, which I am sure you gathered from the sparse posting throughout the month! I am currently 5 book behind schedule on my goodreads goal… I really felt that January just kind of dragged on, and I am so glad that it is finally coming to a close. However, having said that, I finally feel my mojo coming back, so I am hoping to really start getting back into everything and be back more regularly and finally be in the mood for doing what I enjoy the most! Sorry that this post is so short – hopefully next month will be better!

Read: 

• Dirty Uncle by Alexa Riley and Jesse Kane – Adult, Reviewed on Goodreads, 4/5 stars
• Lullaby by L R W Lee – Arc received from the author, DNF, 1 star. Full review still to come!

Started:

• Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk – ARC received through Netgalley. I’m currently about 72 percent of the way through this and I am LOVING it! I highly recommend it.
• Rock Hard Bodyguard by Alexis Abbott – Adult book, will only review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Bought: 

• Red Queen: Collectors Edition by Victoria Aveyard (Link leads to normal version on Goodreads)
• Golden Son by Pierce Brown
• Morning Star by Pierce Brown
• Introductions: Collectors Edition by C. L. Stone
• First Days: Collectors Edition by C. L. Stone
• Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
• The Extinction Trials by S. M. Wilson

ARCS Acquired:

• Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk – Netgalley.
• The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton – Netgalley

Goodreads Monday: 

• 8th Jan – Everless by Sara Holland
• 22nd Jan – The Sacrifice Box by Martin Stewart
• 29th Jan – Iron Gold by Pierce Brown

Book of the Month:

Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk

 

Published January 16th by Tor Teen

FORGED IN BATTLE…
FROM THE DUST OF THE ARENA…
A LEGEND WILL RISE

The action-packed tale of a 17-year-old warrior princess and a handsome gladiator who dared take on the Roman Republic―and gave rise to the legend of Spartacus…

For teens who love strong female protagonists in their fantasy and historical fiction, Blood and Sand is a stirring, yet poignant tale of two slaves who dared take on an empire by talented debut author C. V. Wyk.

Roma Victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire―an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves.

Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is the preeminent gladiator of his generation.

Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end―and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus…

I know I mentioned above that I am not yet finished with this book, however, it is so good, I KNOW that I want to feature it as this months book of the month! It is a Spartacus retelling and has had me hooked throughout. I am hoping to have this done within the next couple of days.

That is it for me. As you can see, my month was pretty terrible, so here is to having a better February! I have a bundle of ARCs to get through and a whole bunch of new releases that I really want to pick up as well 😀

Feel free to add your links to your Wrap up posts so I can see how your month has been.

 

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

Published: February 2nd 2017 by Faber and Faber

Amazon: Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands Trilogy)

This is not about blood or love. This is about treason.

Nearly a year has passed since Amani and the rebels won their epic battle at Fahali. Amani has come into both her powers and her reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit, and the Rebel Prince’s message has spread across the desert – and some might say out of control. But when a surprise encounter turns into a brutal kidnapping, Amani finds herself betrayed in the cruellest manner possible.

Stripped of her powers and her identity, and torn from the man she loves, Amani must return to her desert-girl’s instinct for survival. For the Sultan’s palace is a dangerous one, and the harem is a viper’s nest of suspicion, fear and intrigue. Just the right place for a spy to thrive… But spying is a dangerous game, and when ghosts from Amani’s past emerge to haunt her, she begins to wonder if she can trust her own treacherous heart.

Despite the fact that I loved book 1, this sat on my shelf for quite a while before I actually picked it up! I definitely should have picked this book up sooner, because I really enjoyed this instalment! I cannot wait for the final book in this series!

I think my favourite aspect of this book was the fact that we got to see things from the perspective of the Sultan (obviously through Amani). It was easy to see why he thought he was doing the right thing and it was easy to feel like Amani was doing the wrong things by supporting the rebellion. I could understand some of the decisions he was making throughout the book and why he felt the need to make some of the decisions that he did. However, toward the end, I felt snapped back into reality of who he was after the decisions he made and the things he did to the camp. I have mixed feelings as to whether he is redeemable or not.

I loved Amani’s character development throughout this book and the way she overcame certain things. She definitely questioned her loyalty throughout the book and whether she was doing the right thing or not. Despite her doubts, Amani remains loyal throughout, which is definitely a sign of a strong character. I didn’t feel the same pull between Amani and Jin throughout this book as I did throughout book one and I don’t feel like they are the right ship for this book. I am hoping this either changes in book 3 or something else happens to convince me, because, at the moment, I feel unconvinced about it.

I loved the plot twists in this book. There were a couple spread out – especially toward the end and they made this book fun to read. I was not expecting the ending to happen the way that it did and I was left completely shocked at both the twists that came about (I don’t want to give away too many spoilers). When I realised exactly what had happened, I definitely nearly threw the book clear across the room, I was that upset!

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and the character development that happened throughout. I would have liked to have seen more of Jin and I would have liked to have been more convinced of the ship. However, the plot itself was fast paced and made this book difficult to put down! I gave this book 4/5 stars.

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Emancipated by M. G. Reyes

Emancipated by M. G. Reyes

Published: May 26th 2015 by Katherine Tegen Books

The good girl, the bad boy, the diva, the hustler, the rock star, and the nerd. Six teens legally liberated from parental control for six different reasons, all with one thing in common: something to hide.

Now they’re sharing a house in Venice Beach, acting like a family, and living their lies. No parents. No limits. No alibis. One witnessed a crime, another might be a murderer—and one’s been spying on them all.

As they cling to a fantasy of freedom and slowly let down their guards, the past creeps up on them. And when one of them gets arrested, everyone’s carefully constructed facade comes crumbling down.

In this steamy, drama-filled series, relationships are tested and secrets revealed as lies threaten to destroy their perfect setup.

Yet another book that I have had on my TBR for a while. I was so excited when my copy of this book came through because the blurb had me hooked straight away. Whilst I mostly enjoyed this book, there were a couple of issues that I had with it.

I think my favourite aspect of this book was the multiple POV. We got a look into each and every one of the characters’ heads and each of them added something to the story. Each voice was unique and they didn’t mesh together. Each POV showed off every character and their personalities.

What I also really enjoyed about this book was the way in which things started to come together and the way in which the characters were all connected was revealed. There isn’t one huge info dump, but rather secrets started to come out gradually and when they were needed.  Having said that, I would have liked to have known more about the situation with Maya etc. because I don’t feel like enough was revealed in that aspect of the story.

I think maybe something extra shocking maybe needed to happen some point in this book to give it that little bit of a wow factor. The book plodded along at a mostly comfortable pace, so when certain things were revealed, I wasn’t overly surprised. It did need something to maybe pick up the pace toward the end of the book – to hook the reader onto the series.

I do feel like the blurb was maybe a little misleading. Things didn’t happen the way I was expecting them to and it wasn’t as explosive as is described in the blurb.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I do feel like something needed to happen toward the end to give the book that wow factor, but I enjoyed the secrets that were revealed and I like the fact that it was done over a period of time rather than one huge information dump. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Published: April 1st 2012 by Scholastic

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

This is a book that I have had on my TBR for ages now – I am honestly so glad I decided to create a TBR jar because I don’t think I would have gotten to this book otherwise. This was a fun and relatively quick, but a little predictable.

Can I start off with declaring my love for Sage’s character? Yes? Good, because that’s exactly what I am about to do! I LOVED HIM! He was such a fun character to read because he was constantly doing his own thing, even though he shouldn’t have. He didn’t take to authority very well, he was quick witted, had a sharp tongue and I feel that, without him, this book would have definitely dragged. There was never a slow moment with this character and he definitely kept me on my toes! I had guessed pretty early on what his story was going to be and I was right, but I didn’t know why things ended up the way they did.

I feel like the other characters, whilst they all had their own voices, were pretty boring in comparison to Sage. They were constantly trying to tame him, to no avail. We definitely find out who we can trust and who we can’t as this book continues and I am so glad that Mott was one of those trustable characters because he quickly became my second favourite. He was loyal, but he also knew that maybe he shouldn’t have been, which makes him relatable because he’s not perfect.

I would have liked to have seen more of the lessons that took place, since that is what this book was centred around. Sage was constantly getting into trouble, which meant he missed most of his lessons. However, I would have liked to have seen more of a back story to the kingdom as a whole and the way in which the previous king ruled. We know that he is a bad king, and we find out loosely why, but I would have liked to have seen more in depth descriptions, which would have definitely helped the world building.

I also would have liked to have seen more about Connor and his motives behind some more of his actions and more behind him as a character in general. We do see a lot of him through Sage’s eyes, but I would have loved to have read a couple of chapters from his perspective, because of who he turns out to be (or rather what) and I would have liked, again, more in depth knowledge to the way that he thought, and maybe his family background.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and it was a fun, quick and quirky read! I definitely cannot wait to see what the rest of the story has in store for me! I gave this book 4/5 stars.