#Wednesday Review - The Ghost Rebellion by Pip Ballantine/Tee Morris (Steampunk, Fantasy) @BooksAndBraun

Series: Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences # 5
Format: E-Galley 
Release Date: June 17, 2016
Publisher: Imagine That! Studios
Source: Author
Genre: Steampunk

The chase is on!

After rescuing Queen Victoria from the clutches of the Maestro, Agents Eliza D Braun and Wellington Books are in hot pursuit of Dr Henry Jekyll. While he continues his experiments on the aristocracy of Europe, he leaves a trail of chaos and despair in his wake. However when Eliza and Wellington run him to ground in India, they are forced to come face to face with ghosts from the past, and the realities of empire.

Meanwhile Ministry agents Brandon Hill and Bruce Campbell travel deep into Russia hunting down a rare ingredient to save Queen Victoria's life. Amid the cold they uncover a threat from the revitalized House of Usher that comes directly from their new Chairman.

All in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences will find their allegiances in question, and their mettle tested 

The Ghost Rebellion is the FIFTH installment in Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris's Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series. This is a series that features Eliza D. Braun and Wellington Thornhill Books Esq. as agents of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They are supposed to save Queen and country from dastardly villains like the House of Usher who will do anything to bring the Empire to its knees. High at the top of Books and Braun's current enemies list is Dr. Henry Jekyll who continues to slip through the couples clutches. 

Books and Braun find themselves in the middle of a rebellion against the Empire as they try to trace a certain turncoat back to Dr. Jekyll which leads them to India. This means new characters like Lt. Jamal O'Neil and Agent Vania Pujari. Vania just happens to be the sister of Eliza's friend Ihita who was killed in action. This means Eliza gets to be Eliza. I can't tell you how utterly fascinated I am with Eliza's ability to get the job done even though she leaves destruction in her path almost every single time. I love that Eliza is a badass. I adore her charming bullet proof vest and her weapons as well.

With a rebellion brewing in India, it means that the Ministry, which was torn apart and lost numerous agents thanks to the Department of Imperial Inconveniences, must cobble up a fighting force to bring down the villains and traitors. But, what it really means is that readers will finally get to understand a bit more about Welly's dark side. A dark side that has been kept mostly under wraps thanks to Eliza. There's a whole lot that I will not spoil about Welly's abilities. Just read the book! The rebellion will also bring some stunning revelations to light.

Pip/Tee did something a bit different this time around which I was happy to see. She gave Agents Brandon Hill and Bruce Campbell their own mission. With the Queen showing the affects of Jekyll's serum, it is up to Hill and Campbell to travel to Russia and find a rare firebird feather. As with Braun & Books, this means a new character gets her chance to prove she should be kept around longer. This character is sniper Ryfka who not only joins the fun, but saves the boys from the Ministry from the villainous Mama Bear. I dare challenge the authors to keep her around, and maybe put her alongside of Eliza and Italian Sophia Del Morte, former assassin for the House of Usher.

The Ghost Rebellion once again features interludes. These interludes contain important stuff from those who are up to no good so please don't just skip over them thinking they hold no merits to what's happening to our protagonists. One of these interludes includes our favorite assassin and what she uncovers. Which is why you should not be surprised when the story kicks into high gear during the very first chapter! And, yes when I say couple, that is exactly what Books and Braun have become after years of skirting around the issue. For me, this is even more of a reason to continue to read this series!

PS - At the time of writing this review, the only link I could find where this book was found was B&N. If it becomes available on Amazon, or Kobo, I will update this review. 

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#Tuesday Review - The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May (Young Adult, Fantasy) @_ElizabethMay @ChronicleBooks

Series: The Falconer # 2
Format: E-Galley, 384 pages
Release Date: June 21, 2016
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

The second book in the Falconer trilogy is packed with surprises and suspense.

Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, disappeared through the portal that she was trying to close forever. Now she wakes up in the fae world, trapped and tortured by the evil Lonnrach. With the help of an unexpected ally, Aileana re-enters the human world, only to find everything irrevocably changed. Edinburgh has been destroyed, and the few human survivors are living in an uneasy truce with the fae, while both worlds are in danger of disappearing altogether. Aileana holds the key to saving both worlds, but in order to do so she must awaken her latent Falconer powers. And the price of doing that might be her life.

Rich with imaginative detail, action, fae lore, and romance, The Vanishing Throne is a thrilling sequel to The Falconer.

The Vanishing Throne is the second installment in author Elizabeth May's The Falconer trilogy. Meet 18-year old Lady Aileana Kameron, the girl who is apparently the last in a long line of female warriors born with the gift of hunting and killing fae. Like her mother before her, Aileana has the rare ability to sense the sithichean, a faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans. When last we saw Aileana, along with her mentor/lover Kiaran (Kadamach) MacKay, she was trying to stop a war on humanity by closing a portal, but was caught and dragged into Sìth-bhrùth.

Here we find Lonnrach who believes that Aileana is the key to finding something that will allow him to rule both the Seelie and Unseelie courts. As Aileana is being tortured for her memories over and over again, Kiaran and his sister, newly introduced Athinne who spent a thousand years with her enemies, are struggling to find her. Thanks to the Athinne, her cheeky sarcasm and wit, Aileana returns to a world that has been utterly destroyed and there are few human

survivors. What's worse is that THREE years have passed while she was Lonnrach's prisoner.

Here May takes us to the pixie kingdom where she is reunited with lost friends like Catherine, Gavin, and Derrick. But, this is just the beginning of Aileana's trials and tribulations. If you think May is done with either Sorcha or Lonnrach, you might want to buckle in for the long haul because things will happen quickly, painfully, and Aileana's life will never be the same again. If you don't think that May enjoys teasing readers by making certain characters less appealing, you have another thing coming folks!

So, dare I say that The Vanishing Throne was action packed from the first page until the stunning ending? Yep! Dare I say that this book is a step above and beyond The Falconer? Yep! Let's put this out there so there will be no misunderstanding. I adore Aileana, but Athinne is bloody brilliant! I loved her back story, and how the two characters connect. Heck, I am even happy that we got a look see into Kiaran's past as well. Explains a whole lots of things.

I was happy to see the reunion between Aileana and Derrick. Not so much with the Gavin who apparently survived the Fae apocalypse. I loved the meeting between Aileana and Cailleach who has both her uses, and her dangers to Aileana's health. I loved that we get a look-see back into how the Falconer's were made, and who made them. I'm not sure how I feel about Kiaran right now, but apparently the third book will be filled with answers to questions I have been left with.

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#Monday Review - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (Young Adult, Fantasy)

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses # 2
Format: Hardcover, 640 pages
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Source: Library
Genre: Fantasy

“Tell me what you see.”“A world divided in two.”

Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

A Court of Mist and Fury is the second installment in author Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses. As the story opens, it has been three months since 20-year old Feyre (Fay-Ruh) survived a brutal challenge thrown down by Amarantha in order to save those she cared about. In the process, several things happened to her. She was reborn, remade into a High Fey and given immortality by the seven lords of the realms (Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall, Day, Dawn, Night). 

She also has the markings on her left hand that indicate that she made a bargain with Rhysand, Lord of the Night Court, to spend one week a month with him. Feyre is also having issues in accepting what she had to do in order to survive. She believes that she is a murderer, and a deceiver for what she had to do. She believes that she is broken and can't be fixed by anyone. Yet, she has accepted a marriage proposal from Tamlin to be his Consort. Oh, yes. Not his wife, but his Consort because that's the way things have always been done in Tamlin's Court. 

I think that her actions up to and including her own wedding day, were signaling that a change will be coming soon. It was apparent that Maas had something else in store for Feyre. You have to admit that Feyre fell in love with Tamlin rather quickly after he showed her kindness, and helped her family. Now let's remember back to my review for the previous book and how I really didn't care for the romance between Tamlin and Feyre. That continues with this book. I was and have been a fan of Lucien's, but Lucien disappointed me this time around. Just one single act of kindness may have changed a whole lot of things. Even though Rhys was considered a tool to be used by Amarantha, he at least tried to help her through her ordeal under the mountain. 

One could say that this book is broken down into several acts. Act one is Feyre's inability to accept who she now is, and what she had to do in order to survive. She hates just sitting around and being pampered by Tamlin and especially Ianthe.  Feyre is a hunter. That is what got her into this situation in the first place. She promised to take care of her family and did as well as can be expected under the circumstances. Now, she finds herself with a man who I dare say does believe she can't take care of herself even though she has more strength, speed, and immortality.

The second act becomes Feyre's attempt at finding herself and her time spent with Rhys and his court at Velaris which includes Azriel, Morrigan, Amren, and Cassian. One could say that Feyre finally gets to understand her new abilities that she was given/borrowed from the Seven Lords of the Realm. Some of those powers are very, very useful and awesome. Feyre definitely belongs in the Night Court, and not any place else. Here she starts to feel like herself again, and believes that yes, she may have had issues before, but she can work through them now that she isn't being treated as a child. 

Act three to me was the best part of this book. I loved the danger. I loved that Feyre and Rhys court became a family who actually respected HER and didn't want to keep her in a bubble in order to keep her safe. I loved the search for a tool to be used against a rising enemy. I liked that she and her friends met King Hybern, and I liked that things became abundantly clear who I was rooting for and against. I am more than firm in my feelings for Tamlin after the third act, and am eager to see what happens with Lucien as well.

Some positives for me: Less sex scenes. Yep, I could care less about what is happening between the sheets or any place else. There were some pretty graphic scenes nonetheless, but that is easily taken care of by zipping past them quickly. Feyre's determination and choices in Act three. I really, really can't wait to see what happens now that she's become the fox looking for a way to save her friends. I really, really loved her new abilities and can't wait to see how she gets revenge on those that have become her new enemies.   

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#Stacking the Shelves / Bought, Borrowed, & Bagged* #19

Bought Borrowed and Bagged is all about the latest additions to your library – virtual or actual, with books that are  bought, borrowed, won or ARCs  you will be reading soon. Bought Borrowed and Bagged is a homage to to Barron’s Books and Baubles from Karen Marie Moning’s amazing Fever series, and is hosted by Braine over at Talk Supe. 

Thanks for Shopping by! 

Have a great weekend!

~Shelley~

This Weeks Reviews: 

Memorial Day - Break Day

Tuesday - Of Blood and Passion by Pamela Palmer (Paranormal, Romance)

Wednesday - The Rose & The Dagger by Renee Ahdreh (YA, Fantasy)

  Thursday - The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (YA, Fantasy)

Resurgence by Kerry Wilkinson (YA, Dystopian) <--Talk Supe Blog

Friday - Forest of Ruin by Kelley Armstrong (YA, Fantasy)

 Saturday - Let The Wind Rise by Shannon Messenger (YA, Fantasy)

Scheduled for Next Week: 

Monday - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas (Fantasy)

Tuesday - The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May (YA, Fantasy)

Wednesday - The Ghost Rebellion by Pip Ballantine/Tee Morris (Steampunk)

  Thursday - City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong (Mystery, Thriller)

Friday - With Malice by Eileen Cook (YA, Mystery)

 Saturday - Relentless by Terry Lynn Childs/Tracy Deebs (YA, Syfy)

*Received from Edelweiss, NetGalley, Publishers, & Library*

#Saturday Review - Let The Wind Rise by Shannon Messenger (Young Adult, Fantasy)

Series: Sky Fall # 3
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

The breathtaking action and whirlwind adventure build to a climax in this thrilling conclusion to the “remarkably unpredictable” (BCCB) Sky Fall trilogy from the bestselling author of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series.

Vane Weston is ready for battle. Against Raiden’s army. Against the slowly corrupting Gale Force. Even against his own peaceful nature as a Westerly. He’ll do whatever it takes, including storming Raiden’s icy fortress with the three people he trusts the least. Anything to bring Audra home safely.

But Audra won’t wait for someone to rescue her. She has Gus—the guardian she was captured with. And she has a strange “guide” left behind by the one prisoner who managed to escape Raiden. The wind is also rising to her side, rallying against their common enemy. When the forces align, Audra makes her play—but Raiden is ready.

Freedom has never held such an impossible price, and both groups know the sacrifices will be great. But Vane and Audra started this fight together. They’ll end it the same way.

Let The Wind Rise is the third and final novel in Shannon Messenger's Sky Fall Trilogy. This is a series that features 17-year old Vane Weston, as the last Westerly Sylph in existence, and 17-year old Audra, an Easterly Sylph who was once his guardian while he was living with human parents. Sylph's are air elementals who can ride the wind, twist it into weapons, and translate the winds songs. As the story picks up, Audra and Gus are prisoners of Raiden, the most powerful and dangerous Sylph in existence. He's also the man who wants to rid the world of humans after he collects the final power of Four. 

Vane, on the other hand, has to deal with fellow Gale's like Os who wants him to become their King and put all his efforts into training and learning a new way to fight back and not running off to save Audra who is no longer a guardian. Something that goes against his peaceful upbringing. Vane refuses to allow Audra and Gus to remain prisoners of Raiden, and ends up going on a mission alongside Audra's mother and betrayer Arella, his supposed fiance Solana, and Aston who is perhaps the only known Sylph to ever escape from Raiden's brutal prison.

Audra is one of the rare sylph's who is able to speak Westerly. In fact, she has a westerly shield still trying to protect her. Audra knows that she has the means to escape if she really puts her mind to what Aston told her. But, Raiden also is a tempting force who has more than once suggested that she become his queen. Audra isn't one to fall down and go all weak kneed because someone wants to force her into making difficult choices. Her choice to break her bond with Vane was in an effort to save HIM and keep her knowledge of Westerly away from Raiden. After all, she gave up 10 years of HER life to ensure that he remained hidden. Something that isn't far from her mind now that she's no longer a guardian.

Let's clear up some things. First, this book was two years in the making in which I could have honestly given up hopes of seeing a third book. I am saying this because unless you take notes, or have a great memory, it will behoove you to go back and read Let the Sky Fall, and Let the Storm Break first. I believe that Audra is the better character between her and Vane. Vane, because of his heritage, is not a fighter. He doesn't have the ability to use fight back like Arella, or even Solana. 

Even though he is in the final scene/battle against Raiden, I give all the praise to Solana for understanding her new abilities, and not falling prey to them, or joining Raiden in his desire to control the winds for his own selfish reasons. Like the first two books in this series, Messenger alternatives first person narratives between Audra and Vane. It's probably good that Messenger did it this way so that readers can understand what is happening to them and not from someone else's perspective. 

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#Friday Review - Forest of Ruin by Kelley Armstrong (Young Adult, Fantasy)

Series: Age of Legends # 3
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

In a world at war, who can you trust?

The empire rests on the edge of a knife, and sisters Ashyn and Moria are the handle and the blade. Desperate to outmaneuver the evil Alvar Kitsune, whose hold on the people grows stronger every day, Emperor Tatsu begs Moria to put aside past grievances and ally with Gavril—at least long enough to make an attempt on Alvar’s life. 

Meanwhile, reunited with her long-lost grandfather, Ashyn discovers that she is the key to a ritual that could reawaken an ancient dragon and turn the tide of the coming battle in their favor.

But with lies and betrayal lurking around every corner, Ashyn and Moria will have to decide once and for all where their allegiances are. And it may not be where their hearts would lead them…

Forest of Ruin is the third and final installment in Kelley Armstrong's Age of Legends trilogy. Forest of Ruins picks up right where Empire of Night left off. Twin sisters Moria (Keeper) and Ashlyn (Seeker) were raised in a tiny village of Edgewood. In their village, they were the ones who were responsible for keeping angry spirits at bay, and putting them to rest. But, after ancient monsters awakened and slaughtered everyone in their village, including their father, and took the children away with them, the sisters were forced to flee.

Each of the girls has a bond-animal which carries the spirit of a great warrior. Moria and her companion Daigo escaped with Gavril, while Ashlyn and her companion Tova found herself with Ronan, an exile from the Forest of the Dead. The time they should have been spending together training by older and wiser women in their positions, was instead trying to find ways to retrieve the children of Edgewood, survive dark and dangerous shadow stalkers, betrayals, and villains who are willing to wage a war using innocents as their fodder. 

At times, the sisters have been treated as though they were prisoners by the Emperor and scorned by their peers. Other times, they have been used to send a message to their nemesis Alvar Kitsune who has the ability to create creepy shadow stalkers. Forest of Ruin alternatives narratives between the sisters. As Forest of Ruin opens, Moria and Ashlyn are once again separated by circumstances. More of the story's focus is on Moria, rather than on Ashlyn. 

Moria, captured by Alvar Kitsune and imprisoned so that she is forced to marry Gavril, has escaped thanks to Gavril. But, her brief respite doesn't last long. She is ordered by Emperor Tatsu to return to her prison with Gavril with the hopes she can be a spy for him or better yet, kill him. This doesn't sit well with Moria or her new friend, Prince Tyrus, the bastard son of the Emperor who she has fallen for.  Moria isn't one to hold her tongue no matter who she is speaking with. I would dare say that Moria is obstinate at times, impatient, perhaps impetuous, and yes, she has taken ill-conceived actions. But, she's got a whole lot of reasons to act the way she does after being betrayed, lied to, and tricked by Gavril.  

Meanwhile, Ashlyn & Ronan have stumbled upon a man who claims he is her grandfather and needs her for an important mission. That mission is to wake sleeping dragons so that they can help save the Empire. Did I mention that there were DRAGONS? Good. Say hello to Zuri! Adorable little Zuri who gave me a smile every time she was in a scene. I was kind of disappointed with Armstrong not spending equal time with Ashlyn. Yes, she is the more serious, quieter, and softer of the sisters. But, I adored her relationship with Ronan. I liked that she accepts who she is and doesn't whine about her sister getting the hero treatment while she's in the background. 

By the way, I am totally OK with how the romance ends up sorting itself out. I am totally OK that the three involved could remain best friends. I would have had to mention that this story tried it's hardest to have a brutal love triangle, but in the end, Armstrong chose the best options for BOTH girls. 

Summary: Yes, I would recommend this trilogy. Yes, I am going to warn you about a heart breaking cliffhanger ending to Empire of Night. Yes, I ask that you read these books in order because they are ALL connected. You can not read one, without reading the others. No, I am not going to use the silly S world to refer to the coupling so leave me alone. The. End.

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#Thursday Review - The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (Young Adult, Fantasy)

Series: The Raven Cycle # 4
Format: Hardcover, 439 pages
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Library
Genre: YA, Fantasy

Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted.

For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey… and is certain she is destined to kill him.

Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.

The Raven King is the fourth and final installment in Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle series. For series regulars, The Raven King picks up a week after the ending of Blue Lily, Lily Blue. A week since they pulled Gwenllian out from her 600 year sleep. A week after Maura found Artemis and Blue discovered who her real father was. So, let's get to it. After years of searching for his Holy Grail (Glendowner) and coming up empty time and time again, Richard Gansey III, and his Raven Boys (Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish, Noah Czerney) plus Blue Sergeant, will have one last adventure to try to bring everything together that they've learned up to this point.

But, if you are expecting Stiefvater to make things easy for her characters, then you haven't read one of her previous books.

Everything is in place for the group to locate Glendowner, but can they piece together what is necessary to find him before evil gets in their way? We have learned a great deal up to this point. From a magical forest called Cabeswater, to unfamiliar creatures crawling out of a cave mouth, to dangerous artifact collectors, and an even more dangerous demon lurking in the shadows thanks to a bargain made by a tertiary character.

As readers of this series, we've become attached emotionally to these characters, and even Blue's quirky extensive family including Orla, Jimi, and Calla. But, one of the more interesting additions to the Raven Boys quest is that of Henry Cheng who more than makes things interesting. Henry is a very interesting character who was a minor character in a previous book. In quick sequences, he sees what he's not supposed to be able to see, becomes friendly with both Gansey and Blue, and doesn't squirm away from a challenge once he's involved in the hunt for Glendowner.

This is a book that took a strange twist several times over. We've already known about Gansey and Blue and the fact that she is fated to kill her true love with a kiss. We also know that this is the last year that Gansey will have before he is fated to die. Stiefvater made, to me, a surprising move by putting Adam and Ronan on a course to be together. I dare say that the relationship between Adam and Ronan made a whole lot of sense. Adam is the magician, Ronan is the Dreamer of Dreams (Greywaren). Together they can spin the most unlikely of scenarios and make them realistic.

After everything Gansey has been through to find Glendowner, what happens next? Does he, and Blue travel on yet another adventure? Is Blue's curse finished? Will Grey Man and Maura continue as a couple? Will Artemis and Gwenllian put their pasts behind them?I would have rated this story higher, but unfortunately there are way too many loose ends that needed a whole lot of explaining. I dare not go any further for fear of spoilers. No, I do not regret starting out this journey. I just wish that perhaps things were a little more straight forward. 

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