#Review - Sisters of Shadow and Light by Sara B. Larson #YA #Fantasy

Series: Sisters of Shadow and Light #1)
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Publisher: Tor Teen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

"The night my sister was born, the stars died and were reborn in her eyes…."

Zuhra and Inara have grown up in the Citadel of the Paladins, an abandoned fortress where legendary, magical warriors once lived before disappearing from the world—including their Paladin father the night Inara was born.

On that same night, a massive, magical hedge grew and imprisoned them within the citadel. Inara inherited their father’s Paladin power; her eyes glow blue and she is able to make plants grow at unbelievable rates, but she has been trapped in her own mind because of a “roar” that drowns everything else out—leaving Zuhra virtually alone with their emotionally broken human mother.

For fifteen years they have lived, trapped in the citadel, with little contact from the outside world…until the day a stranger passes through the hedge, and everything changes. 

Sisters of Shadow and Light is the first installment in author Sara B. Larson's duology. Sisters Zuhra and Inara Montieth grew up in a place called Citadel of the Paladin. The Citadel is all that remains of their father's kind, the Paladins. Beings with great magical powers from another world that came to Vamala to save it from monsters that escaped the Paladin world through a portal. When Inara was born, their father (Aldric) disappeared and hasn't been seen since. At the same time, an enormous sentient hedge grew over night not allowing either sister to leave the property. 

 

As the oldest, Zuhra has always wondered what was out there past the hedges that has kept them virtual prisoners. The only one who has been able to leave, has been their trusty do everything, Mahsami (Sami), who made a difficult choice to stay with the family instead of fleeing. Zuhra is the only one who seems eager to ensure that Inara is happy and not treated as a monster because of her parentage. When a stranger named Halver Roskery is allowed thru the hedge, his arrival sets off a chain of events that pushes both young women to uncover the secrets of the past and embark on a journey that hopes to heal even the deepest of wounds.

 

Inara was born with the glowing eyes of a Paladin, the entities who built their home and who were once the celebrated heroes of the realm; public opinion is not as kind now. Inara has everyone afraid of her because she goes into a sort of fugue state for entire days that prevents her from communicating with anyone. Inara's fugue state is being called roar because she has an overwhelming power that prevents her from interacting with the world. She also has an interesting ability to make plants grow which of course comes in handy when you can't leave. 

 

Inara's existence as half-Paladin appeals to Halver, who is a Library of Mercarum apprentice, on a level that doesn't seem to include Zuhra. This is the point in the book where the story splits between Zuhra and Inara who becomes lucid and is able to have her own adventures as well as being interested in Halver. While Inara is dealing with issues with Halver, and his Master Barloc as well as the villagers who hate Paladins, Zuhra is pushed thru a gateway and ends up in Visperium. 

Zuhra could never imagine the adventure that she will have after meeting her father and his people live and uncovering the reason for his 15 year disappearance. It's especially entertaining once you get the squadron of Paladins and their Gryphons and the fact that Zuhra finds a connection with a Paladin named Raidyn. I had a hard time not screaming at the mother figure. She's broken by the disappearance of her husband and protects her daughters through deprivation and cruelty. She really doesn't much care for Inara for much of the story which is just a sad state of affairs. The ending, of course, ends on a whopper of a cliffhanger. Thankfully, this is apparently only a duology! Yay!

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#Review - The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White #YA #Historical #Retelling

Series: Camelot Rising # 1 
Format: E-Galley,352 pages
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Retellings

A new fantasy series set in the world of Camelot that bestselling author Christina Lauren calls “brilliant,” reimagining the Arthurian legend…where nothing is as magical and terrifying as a girl.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution—send in Guinevere to be Arthur’s wife…and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere’s real name—and her true identity—is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old—including Arthur’s own family—demand things continue as they have been, and the new—those drawn by the dream of Camelot—fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself? 

The Guinevere Deception is the first book in author Kiersten White's Camelot Rising series. While most books in the Arthurian era focus solely on King Arthur and Excalibur, Guinevere has managed to stay a secondary character at best in a majority of those stories. Guinevere has been living in a convent, but is now on her way to Camelot to marry King Arthur. Guinevere arrives at Camelot hiding a secret. She has just been sent to Camelot to protect Arthur from evil magic outside the borders of the kingdom.

In order to do so, she must hide her true identity from the people of Camelot, and Arthur's trusted knights who all seem to accept her without much reservation. Arthur has been told to expect her, and sticks to the story throughout by not letting out who or what Guinevere really is. She must keep her identity, find out the unseen evil that Merlin saw coming, and also keep up the charade of being queen. Guinevere thinks her mission is straightforward, but encounters with the king's nephew Mordred, the mysterious patchwork knight and Arthur himself soon have her reconsidering. 

How can she know what is the right choice when everyone is keeping secrets? Guinevere is so much more than that just a Princess who becomes a Queen, But, she's afraid to let any of it out, afraid to be caught, afraid to leave Arthur without magical protection when enemies are close at hand and moving closer to causing more issues for Arthur. In this world, Merlin and magic both have been banished. But, magic begins to creep out of it's hiding place, and so to does Guinevere's. This takes an interesting twist by adding characters like Tristan, Isolde, as well as Brangien, who in my mind is actually Branwen.

Depending on whom you talk to, Tristan may or may not have been one of the Knights of the round table under Arthur. While Isolde does not make an appearance in this book, she's not far from the minds of either Tristan or Brangien who ends up being maid to Guinevere. Brangien is a pretty interesting character as well. Guinevere is not a end all for the issues in Camelot. In fact, she's often confused as to why she has no memories of her past, or who she should trust, and whether or not to let Arthur in to her heart.

There is some gender bending of a surprising cast member who I won't spoil. As Guinevere struggles and grows throughout this story, we get an inside look at the Camelot that is something of legends. Arthur has spilled blood in order to defeat his father Uther Pendragon, as well as the Dark Queen. Arthur strives for peace and order with every breath of his being. He's a legend who has had to deal with the circumstances of his birth, as well as the banishment of his good friend Merlin. Arthur inspires unbreakable loyalty within all who come to know him, even Guinevere who may be tempted by the fruit of another hanging branch, but ends up surprising readers in the end.

 

There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl on the cusp of womanhood.

This particular girl had never before felt the power she held by existing in a space of men, but today, surrounded by them, it radiated from her. I am untouchable. They revolved around her as though she were the Earth, and they the adoring but distant sun and moon and stars. It was a type of magic in and of itself.

A veil obscured and dimmed the world around her. She sat back-achingly straight in her saddle. She did not wriggle her toes in the boots they were so unaccustomed to. She pretended she was a painting.

“I cannot believe the convent had no nuns willing to travel with you,” Brangien complained, brushing at the fine layer of dust that baptized their journey. Then, as though unaware she had spoken aloud, she bowed her head. “But of course I am very pleased and honored to be here.”

The smile offered in response to Brangien’s apology went unacknowledged. “Of course,” the girl said, but the words were not quite right. She could do better. She had to. “I do not love travel, either, and I appreciate the kindness you have shown by being my companion on this long journey. It would be lonely without you.” They were surrounded by people, but to them, the blue-and-scarlet-wrapped girl was goods to be guarded and safely delivered to the new owner. She hoped desperately that Brangien, eighteen years to her own sixteen, would become a friend.

She would need one. She had never had one.

But it would also complicate things. She had so many precious hidden things. Having another woman with her at all times was both unfamiliar and dangerous. Brangien’s eyes were black like her hair and hinted at cleverness. Hopefully those eyes would see only what was offered them. Brangien caught her staring and offered a tentative smile.

Focused on her companion, the girl did not notice the change outright. A subtle shift, a lessening of tension, her first breath fully drawn in two weeks. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, grateful for the leafy green reprieve from the sun. A forest. If she were not barred on all sides by men and horses, she would hug the trees. Run her fingers along their veins to learn each tree’s story.

“Tighten the circle!” Sir Bors commanded. Under the heavy arch of branches, his shout was hushed. He was a man unaccustomed to being muted. Even his mustache bristled at the offense. He moved his reins into his teeth to grip them and drew his sword with his good arm.

The girl snapped out of her daydream to see that the horses had caught the fear of the men. They shifted and stamped, eyes rolling to search as their riders did. A gust of wind lifted her veil. She met the gaze of one of the men—Mordred, three years older than she, and soon to be her nephew. His subtle mouth had twisted up at one corner as though he was amused. Had he caught her reverie before she realized she should not be pleased by the forest?

“What is it?” she asked, turning quickly away from Mordred, who was paying far too much attention. Be a painting.

Brangien shivered and shrank into her cloak. “The trees.”

They crowded in on either side of the road, twisting trunks and grasping roots. Their branches laced overhead to form a tunnel. The girl did not understand the threat. No crack of a twig, no rustling. Nothing disturbed the beauty of the forest. Except her and the men around her. “What about the trees?” she asked.

Mordred answered. His face was serious, but there was a songlike quality to his voice. Playful and low. “They were not here on our journey to retrieve you.”

Sword still drawn, Sir Bors clicked his tongue and his horse moved forward again. The men clustered around her and Brangien. The peace and relief the girl felt at being among trees again disappeared, soured by their fear. These men claimed every space they went into.

“What does he mean, the trees were not here?” she whispered to Brangien.

Brangien had been mouthing something. She leaned over to adjust the girl’s veil and answered in a whisper as well, as though afraid the trees were listening. “Four days ago, when we passed through this area—there was no forest. All this land had been cleared. It was farms.”

“Perhaps we took a different route without realizing it?”

Brangien shook her head, her face a blur of dark eyebrows and red lips. “There was a jumble of boulders an hour back. Like a giant had been playing a child’s game and left his toys behind. I remember it very clearly. This is the same road.” A leaf drifted down from the trees, landing as lightly as a prayer on Brangien’s shoulder. Brangien squeaked with fear.

It was a simple matter to reach out and pluck the leaf from Brangien’s shoulder. The girl wanted to lift it to her face, to study the story in its lines. But, touching it, she instantly sensed that it had teeth. She dropped it to the forest floor. She even checked her fingers for blood, but of course there was none.

Brangien shuddered. “There is a village not far. We can hide there.”

“Hide?” They were a day from their destination. She wanted this to be over with. Everything to be done and settled. The idea of huddling with these men in a village while they waited to—what, fight a forest?—made her want to tear off her shoes, her veil, to beg the trees for safe passage. But the trees would not understand.

They were on opposite sides now, after all.

I am sorry, she thought, knowing the trees could not hear her. Wishing she could explain.

Brangien cried out again, putting her hands over her mouth in horror. The men around them stopped abruptly. They were still surrounded by green, everything filtered and unclear through the veil. Shapes loomed out of the forest, enormous boulders covered in moss and trailing vines.

Modesty be damned. She tore off her veil. The world came into startling, perfect focus.

The shapes were not boulders. They were homes. Cottages much like ones they had passed before, made of lime-washed cobs and beams with thatched roofs sloping down to the ground. But where smoke should have been drifting up from the roofs, there were flowers. In place of doors, trailing curtains of vines. It was a village reclaimed by nature. If she had to guess, she would say it had been abandoned generations ago.

“There was a child,” Brangien whispered through her fingers. “He sold me bread weighted with stones. I was so cross with him.”

“Where are the people?” Sir Bors asked.

“We must not linger here.” Mordred veered his horse toward hers. “Surround the princess! Quickly!”

As she was carried by the momentum of her guards, she saw one last vine-covered boulder, or perhaps a tree stump. Just the right size and shape for a little boy, offering bad bread.

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#Review - Find Me Their Bones by Sara Wolf #YA #Fantasy

Series: Bring Me Their Hearts # 2
Format: E-Galley, 400 pages
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

Fast-paced, endlessly romantic, and answering fans’ questions while posing exciting new ones, the sequel to Sara Wolf’s Bring Me Their Hearts is a tour de force.

No one can save her.

In order to protect Prince Lucien d’Malvane’s heart, Zera had to betray him. Now, he hates her. Trapped in a tower as a prisoner of the king, she awaits the inevitable moment her witch severs their magical connection and kills her.

Or so she thinks.

With freedom coming from the most unlikely of sources, Zera is given a second chance at life as a Heartless. But it comes with a price. As the king mobilizes his army to march against the witches, Zera must sway the elusive valkerax underneath the city to her cause.

Winning over a thousand bloodthirsty valkerax? Hard. Winning back her friends before war breaks out? A little harder.

But a Heartless winning back Lucien’s heart?

The hardest thing she’s ever done.

Find Me Their Bones is the second installment in author Sara Wolf's Bring Me Their Hearts series. The book begins right where the previous installment ended on a cliffhanger. When Zera Y'Shennia's family was killed by a witch, Nightsinger, she decided to spare Zera's life by making her into a Heartless instead of letting her die. By taking her heart, Nightsinger had control of Zera and she became the monster she had feared. For 3 years, Zera has been trying to find a way to regain her heart and her humanity. 

Nightsinger ordered Zera to get close to Prince Lucien d’Malvane. If she successfully brings his heart to her back to Nightsinger, she was promised to be free her from her bondage. Zera became a Spring Bride, and pretty much lost her non-existent heart to Lucien. But, that was then, this is now. Zera has lots of issues to deal with as the story opens. She's been found out as a betrayer, Crown Princess Varia of Cavanos who was missing for 5 years, is very much alive, and somehow managed to wrestle control of Zera's heart from Nightsinger.

Suffering from the negative consequences of a choice she is now convinced was wrong, Zera is more determined than ever to win her heart back, no matter the cost to her former friends. Even if that means training a Valkerax to Weep, a trait only Heartless can don, and leading Varia to the Bone Tree that she has been seeing visions of since she was young. Valkerax, in the past, was the one thing that made both humans and witches work together. Valkerax are bloodthirsty and half-mad not known for its willingness to cooperate.

While Varia claims that he end game is peace, Zera wasn't born yesterday, and neither was Lucien, Fione, or Malachite. With an army of Valkerax behind her, Varia could very well be unstoppable. Zera has to choose between helping Varia keep her secrets of what she is planning, or helping Lucien who also has a few secrets of his own  Zera is once again strong and sarcastic and even though she is supposed to be this mindless being who just follows orders. She's proved that she's so much more than a walking, talking zombie. The romance definitely took a back seat in this installment, and I'm not one to complain as long as the story is solid. 

This is a book of secrets, and tension, and an understanding of the past that has lead these characters to this point. I was slightly exasperated at the ending which ended on another killer cliffhanger. It's become apparent that the author uses cliffhangers as a way to lure readers into reading the sequel. Not a fan, but I will continue as I want to see how the author resolves Zera's situation.

 

 

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#Review - Pax Novis by Erica Cameron #YA #SyFy

Series: The Pax Archives # 1
Format: E-Galley, 400 pages
Release Date:  November 4th 2019
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction

A gritty sci-fi thriller trapped onboard a spaceship with a ticking clock and a forbidden romance, for fans of Illuminae and Carve the Mark.

Cira Antares has disavowed all ties to any planet. Her citizenship and loyalty are tied to only the Pax Novis—a treaty ship from a fleet of cargo transports carrying supplies across war-torn star systems.
 
For years, Cira has been violating intersystem treaties to sneak war-orphaned children on board. Some she takes somewhere safer. Some stay. Like Riston, who's been hidden on Pax Novis for three years. He’s been her main ally in helping pilfer supplies for the others and making sure the ship’s tech doesn’t pick up their presence.

But Pax-class ships start disappearing, leaving nothing but a radiation signature. It’s clear Pax Novis is next when the ship’s systems start breaking down. Someone is sabotaging the treaty ships. Cira and her stowaways know the ship’s passages and secrets even better than the crew—they’ve lived in her tunnels for years. They’re the ship’s best hope. But time is running out and the crew is searching for traitors. If they can’t catch the attacker first, treason charges won’t be the worst they face. The entire ship, everyone on board, and the stowaways themselves may simply disappear.
 

Pax Novis is the first installment in author Erica Cameron's The Pax Archives series. The story largely takes place onboard the spaceship Pax Novis and told by Ensign Cira Antares, the daughter of the Captain and Chief Engineer, and Riston, a stowaway and war orphan. The story also includes documents like communication transcripts and news articles to give the reader a broader understanding what has taken place and what is happening to other Pax ships. They also give indications as to who the real enemies are in this universe.

For Riston, Tinker, Treble, Shadow, and Greenie, the only safe place to be in the universe is onboard a Pax ship. It is fair to say that Riston's group is the most interesting, especially those like Tinker and Greenie who are brilliant. All of the stowaways have suffered various forms of trauma, from seeing their homes and families destroyed in a war to child abuse, but were generally trying to make the best of it on the Pax Novis. That is until they are blamed for items on the ship going missing, following by other Pax ships disappearing leaving only a radiation signature behind.

The group independently tries to trap the villain in order to prove they are innocent. The person sabotaging their ship is tricky and smart and always one step ahead of them. Riston's group knows its passages and secrets better than most of the crew, especially since Riston has been onboard the longest. The clever use of technology and a ticking clock add to the high-stakes, entertaining brain game of the plot. When the group suffers a great loss, Riston comes out into the open. This is bad news since now any stowaways found can be put in a cell for a month, or executed by the commanding officer. This also puts the spotlight on Cira's actions.

Cira is the youngest officer onboard. Unfortunately, she has no hope of going any further up the chain unless she transfers to a Space Station and away from her family. Cira also has a cybernetic arm as a result of a birth defect. She has been committing treason by harboring the stowaways and providing them with food to survive until she can find them another home. Her family and her ship are basically her whole life since nobody in this universe has any loyalty to any particular planet. She’s convinced she doesn’t have room for anything else, including her crush on Riston. 

Her weakness is that she's quick to jump to conclusions believing the stowaways are guilty based on flawed evidence. She eventually redeems herself by working with Riston and the others to suss out the villain, but she loses respect from much of the crew, including the Captain and others she's supposed to be trusted by. There's a bit of romance, but it’s very mild and more of the pining-from-afar sort. This story works way too hard to be inclusive to everyone. So, Cira has two moms, and considers herself to be asexual. Riston and another character are apparently non-binary, even though there are parts that clearly related to calling them either he, or she. 

Without reservation, the last chapters of this book were the most exciting to read. Otherwise, the pacing is really slow to the point of abandoning the story for something else and then coming back to it.

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#Review - When She Reigns by Jodi Meadows #YA #Fantasy

Series: Fallen Isles# 3
Format: Hardcover, 544 pages
Release Date: September 10, 2019
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

From the New York Times bestselling coauthor of My Plain Jane comes the sizzling finale in a fantasy trilogy about a girl whose connection to dragons is the only hope for her peoples’ survival. 

The Great Abandonment has begun! Now dragons aren’t the only creatures facing extinction in the Fallen Isles. As entire islands rise up from the sea, causing earthquakes, tidal waves, and utter devastation, Mira must use her growing connection with dragons’ powers to track a legendary treasure that could stop the destruction—the bones of the first dragon. But finding them means traveling into the land of her greatest enemies. What will it cost Mira to save the dragons, the people she loves, and the only home she’s ever known from total ruin? And what will be left of Mira once the final cataclysm is over?

When She Reigns is the third and final installment in author Jodi Meadows' Fallen Isles trilogy. For Mira Minkoba, the worst possible situation is happening. The Great Abandonment is upon the Fallen Isles. Their gods are abandoning them as the people have abandoned their commitments to protecting their world and their dragons.  Mira, who has a dragon soul, has tried her hardest to get people to pay attention to what she is saying. 

Mira, is also the former Hopebearer, and spokeswoman for the Mira Treaty. She must somehow convince an enemy to help her people before thousands end up dead or forever adrift in the ocean. Mira has her own friends who have been with her since she broke out of prison. Best friend Ilina, dragons Lala & Crystal, Chenda, Hristo, Zara, and Aaru who has already lost his entire family who once lived on Idris Island before it rose up from the ocean. The Algotti Empire has long been enemies of the people from the Fallen Isles.

But, Paorah, the High Magistrate, has reached out to them for assistance. Or, is he up to something even more nefarious? Because Mira's people already shipped 7 dragons dragons to the Empire along with powerful noorstones, Mira has to hope that she can beat Paorah to the Empress before it is too late. Mira and her friends set out on the quest to find the dragons that have been taken, stop more gods from rising and abandoning their people, and putting an end to Paorah's machinations. 

Mira gets to meet Apolla, the Empress of the Algotti Empire, while trying to find the bones of the First Dragon which she apparently has a deep connection to. These are two women are not only trying to hold a nation together, but Mira's people might not exist past the upcoming eclipse if she can't convince the Gods and Apolla not to abandon them. Mira's connection to Dragons was absolutely wild. I have to say the last chapters of this book were action packed, and exciting.

Would Mira finally find a way to save her people? Would her connection to the Dragons finally unleash what she has held back for so long? Mira has grown up so much as a character and has cemented her relationships with the supporting cast – once an abrasive ragtag group, now a formidable team. Her love for Aaru is unbreakable, as is her connection to her best friend Ilina who is a dragon handler who loves dragons as much as Mira does. Overall, I have no regrets in reading this trilogy, and will look forward to Meadows next project.

 

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