The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh and read by Ariana Delawari

Summary (from Goodreads):

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

Review:

This was above and beyond what I was expecting it to be. As a huge YA fan, I pounce on books that seem remotely different and unique from the heard. Not only was this inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, but it takes place in a part of the world I’ve barely had the fortune of learning about. I pounced.

I do have to admit, I hesitated a bit at first. This is not my favorite type of romance, and I had to suffer through a very similar one in a different fantasy novel I was reading at the same time (aka: Uprooted). It worked here, for me though.

My hesitancy dropped away almost immediately. The more I got to know Shazi, the more I knew the standard rules just didn’t apply. I loved her. What’s not to love about a character who risks her life for the revenge of a best friend, and for the revenge of all the murdered women before her? Also, she’s a storyteller, she’s brave, intelligent, witty, and a tad unpredictable. What a great main character.

I also had to know things. Why were all the wives being killed? What did it have to with the rain mentioned in the beginning chapters? Was Shazi really planning revenge or was she punishing herself for something? What was Khalid always hiding? And what was her family back home really getting into? The more I listened to Shazi’s story, the more invested I became in finding out all my answers. I needed to know.

Besides the excellent, suspenseful mystery of a story and one kick-butt main character, there was also just this huge sense of unpredictability. This book shocked me. There was  a scene in the first half of the book, that had me gasping out loud in shock and outrage. I literally had to pull my car over on my way home from work that night to digest what was happening. And while it’s hard to imagine an author killing a main character, I never quite felt like Shazi was safe, and because so much of the story wasn’t going the path I expected it to, I really wasn’t sure if my main girl would make it through it all. And I loved this.

Also, the narrator has probably proven herself to be one of my all-time favorite readers. She was fantastic. She’s the kind of reader, all authors should hope to get for their audi-version of things. I literally pulled over to keep listening one night, and then was almost late to work another day because I could not leave my car until I knew how something resolved.

I do wish there was a little more resolution at the end. There was one giant cliffhanger there that I know was meant to segue nicely into book 2. It’s just that book 2 is so far away and I needed it like yesterday.

Oh, and I have to take a moment to bask in the wonders that is the world-building here. Everything seemed so real, so vibrant, colorful, and interesting. I was practically drooling, listening about the food Shazi was eating. I could see the colors of the jewelry and the clothes. I could feel the heat of the desert. The description of the setting was just pure, beautiful. It was everything I could hope for in a YA book that took place in such a unique setting.

I also, just loved how smart the characters were. I’m not used to getting so much snark in a fantasy novel. The dialog between Shazi and her handmaiden was loaded with witty commentary. I loved all the scenes with them together. I also loved how forward Shazi was with Khalid. She wasn’t afraid to get angry with him or say her opinion, ever. And I loved her for it. And when Khalid seemed the most human was when he was conversing with Shazi and bickering with her.

This book was unpredictable. It was full of amazing characters. The setting and world-building were as good as they can get. The snark and witty commentary between certain characters was fantastic. The mystery and suspense was so intense there were moments I couldn’t drive and listen at the same time. The narrator was amazing. And I really can’t think of anything negative to say. I give it a 10/10.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Description from Goodreads:

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

Review:

I have read so many good reviews for this book (at least a dozen). There has been some serious hype. Also, I was craving a good fantasy, and this sounded exactly like what I needed.

And it was what I needed, mostly. The story grabbed me from page one. It read like a classic folktale. The language, the world building, and the descriptions were all just so pretty. Sometimes I forget how nice it is to read something that is just so beautifully written. It’s like drinking a nice, tall cup of cold water after being thirsty for days. Seriously, it’s so nice to read something that’s written so well.

The plot was amazing too. It’s a book all about magic! The main character is both someone who has to work really hard to become good at magic and someone who seems to come naturally to pieces of learning it too. She’s powerful, brave, and smart. I love how loyal she is to her best friend. And I love how loyal she is to her home.

I love books about magic. The learning of it is so much fun to read. Also, it’s one of those classic fantasy books where you get to see the main character in the country, but also at court, so there’s all this clashing of classes too. The main character had so much to learn and while she was ignorant of so many things, she also was so willing to learn and fill in those holes of her ignorance, and I applauded her for that. She was a great main character.

This wasn’t my favorite type of romance. I’m actually pretty against student/teacher romances. And I’m definitely against these romances with such drastic age gaps. She was a kid, grasping at straws to learn everything she could. And he’s over a century old, and well part of me just got the creeps from it, a little. Though, you’d think I’d be used to this by now. So many books have this romance arc now.

On the other hand, it was a slow-building romance, and those are the best kind. And clearly they were connecting on a lot of levels, sharing so much magic together. I guess I got sucked into the romance a bit after a major development happens, but then I was kind of disappointed about how it sort of disappears. It felt a bit like the author threw in a couple of sizzling romantic moments when she needed time to figure out where the story was going because then there is no romance mentioned, thought of, thought back on, or talked about again….

I loved the story though. It was fun, action-packed, and full of all the things I come to expect from a good fantasy book. There was some stuff I didn’t really understand at the end. Stuff got a little strange with the trees and the evil forest, and I think I was following it all, but I’m not 100% sure. It goes from a Tamora Pierce type fantasy to full-out Lewis Carol and I think I actually would have liked it more if it ended a little more open-ended. The answers/justifications for things were just so strange and hard to wrap my head around.

All in all, I was a craving a good fantasy and I got one. I loved the world, the characters, and the folk-tale type storyline. The writing was gorgeous. The action was great. I had mixed feelings about the romance and I was a little confused by the ending. I don’t think I loved it as much as everyone else seemed to, but I still really enjoyed it. I give it an 8/10.

Waiting on Wednesday (162)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead (4/5/16):

Summary from Goodreads:

Big and sweeping, spanning the refined palaces of Osfrid to the gold dust and untamed forests of Adoria, The Glittering Court tells the story of Adelaide, an Osfridian countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria, the New World. But to do that, she must join the Glittering Court.

Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies capable of arranging powerful and wealthy marriages in the New World. Adelaide naturally excels in her training and even makes a few friends: the fiery former laundress Tamsin and the beautiful Sirminican refugee Mira. She manages to keep her true identity hidden from all but one: the intriguing Cedric Thorn, son of the wealthy proprietor of the Glittering Court.

When Adelaide discovers that Cedric is hiding a dangerous secret of his own, together, they hatch a scheme to make the best of Adelaide’s deception. Complications soon arise—first, as they cross the treacherous seas from Osfrid to Adoria, and later, when Adelaide catches the attention of a powerful governor.

But no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An attraction that, if acted on, would scandalize the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands. . . .

Why I’m Waiting:

I love this author. I will read everything she writes. Everything. Her other YA series’ were so amazingly good. I wasn’t an enormous fan of her latest stand-alone; however, I will never give up with this author. That’s how good her other books are. And this one just sounds like so much fun. I cannot wait to read it.

What are you waiting on this week?

A Good Week in Books (121)

I’ve had another good book week.  I received three for review. Thank you Macmillan. Double thanks for sending Winter early! I’m going to start it tonight!!! Also, my boyfriend (who has a lot in common with me) needed to get rid of some of his books, and because I have so much shelf space (that was sarcasm), I came home with 3 of his books too…

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Coraline by Neil Gaiman and adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (look how big and pretty this version is!)
The August 5 by Jenna Helland
Winter by Marissa Meyer (!!!!!!)
The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett

How was your week in books?

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Summary from Goodreads:

Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.

Review:

Wow. Firstly, I need to just say that I am so glad this book exists. I am a HUGE Rainbow Rowell fan. I have loved all her books. In 2013, two of her books were on my Top Ten list (with Fangirl as number 1). I loved Fangirl so much. It was all I could talk about for months. As soon as I heard that Carry On, the fanfiction written by Cath in Fangirl was becoming its own novel, I just about melted in happiness. Seriously, I have been anticipating this book for so long.

And then there’s the slight worry that comes with so much anticipation. You worry that it won’t possibly live up to all your expectations. But, hello, this is Rainbow Rowell. Of course it lived up to all my expectations. This was amazing.

While reading Fangirl, I wanted more Simon Snow. I wanted so desperately to see more of the story Cath was writing. And it’s like Rainbow Rowell read my mind and gave me exactly what I wanted.

I’ve never read anything quite like this. It’s the fanfiction of a fictional book series, written by a fictional character from a different book. Do you need to read Fangirl  to read this one? No. This works as its own book, for sure. But, would you appreciate it as much? Also, no. Read Fangirl first. I kind of want to re-read them both simultaneously…This may have to happen at some point.

And what’s so genius about this story is that it read like a juicy piece of fanfiction. The romance is sizzling! Yet, it also comes across as satire. It kind of pokes fun at all the “chosen one” type stories, particularly Harry Potter. And, it does it in a good way, that fans of Harry Potter will like and appreciate. And it has its own story. I loved the whole idea behind the Humdrum. I loved the ghost stories/visits. I loved the mystery behind why Simon is the way he is. And seriously, if I didn’t know what this book was and what it represented, I would still probably love it (satire or no), because it’s a great story, on its own.

The characters were just amazing. Rowell excels at writing character, and I’m so glad because I could easily see myself dismissing some of the side characters were it not for her mad skills. I adored Baz. I was in love with Simon. I couldn’t get enough Penelope. And I even liked Agatha, the type of character I normally hate. I found her so interesting. I also found the conflicts among the families and the mage to be so interesting too. I loved that so many people hated the mage (the Dumbledore character). It was certainly a new spin on a classic story.

This was one of those books that I worked hard to read slowly. I wanted to savor all of its greatness in a slow way. Though, this was super hard to do in the second half, once Baz shows up. I easily could have read more. I’d read the whole series if Rowell wrote it.

All in all, I was beyond impressed here. What a unique way to write an old (beloved) story. The characters were amazing. The romance was fantastic. The story was addictively good. I already want to re-read it. I give it a 10/10.

Waiting on Wednesday (161)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on A World Without You by Beth Revis (July 2016):

Description from Goodreads:

When 17-year-old Bo is sent to a school for troubled youth, he believes he’s actually at The Academy, a home for kids who, like Bo, have superpowers. There, he falls in love with Sofia, a quiet girl with a tragic past and the power of invisibility.

But after she commits suicide, Bo is convinced that she’s not really dead, but stuck somewhere in the past, and it’s his job to save her. In her first contemporary novel, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis guides us through the mind of a young man experiencing mental illness and grief.

Why I’m Waiting:

Wow. This doesn’t sound like anything this author has written before. I’m excited to see how she writes contemporary. I love her sci-fi. I just adored her sci-fi trilogy, and I’ve been waiting for her to come out with something else for a long while. Bring on summer!

What are you waiting on this week?

Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan and read by Nick Chamian

Summary (from Goodreads):

Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it might be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

Review:

I have had a marvelous time listening to these books. I’m not the biggest fan of the new narrator, however, I have had so many entertaining hours in my car, and I am so glad I decided to continue with my reading of this series.

I have grown to love almost all the characters by this last book. I’m still not the biggest Piper fan. However, I have grown to love Jason and Leo. It’s been so cool getting to see Percy and Annabeth’s relationship grow over the series. I loved getting to see so many old friends from the Percy Jackson books, but that was seriously the biggest treat I could I hope for –Percabeth.

Also, I love Nico! I’m so glad he had a voice/point of view in this last installment. I think I loved his chapters the best. Watching his friendship with Reyna grow over their quest to retrun the Parthenos was just so much fun!

Almost everything was all tied up by the end of this story. The Parthenos story ended. Everything with Gaea was resolved. And there was even revolution amongst the very divided Greek/Roman Gods. There were all the quests, adventures, humorous moments, and suspense I have come to expect from these books, and really, overall, it was just a lot of fun to read.

I have come to expect a sort of Rick Riordan formula. There’s always a prophecy and there’s always these little quests among the way to figuring out the prophecy and saving the world. I have to admit, each book is so formulaic I became accustomed to zoning out at certain parts, and knowing when I really needed to focus. I both liked this and didn’t like this. I never want to feel like I can skim/zone out pieces of story. The story should be so good that wouldn’t even occur to me. Yet, it’s also nice feeling so familiar with the writing style. I know what to expect from a Rick Riordan book. So, I know when I’ll be in the mood for his next series. I’ll probably read it soon…Sometimes I want a good, predictable layout. What’s not to like about a classic adventure?

I wish there was a little more Percy in this last book. He had no point of view. Though, I can see why Riordan might have wanted this series to be more about the other characters. I do like hearing what Percy’s ending is though. That was nice.

I do also feel like the ending battle was over a little too quickly. One thing leads to another (I won’t spoil what these are), but then that’s it. I guess I was hoping for more of a bang at the end than what I got. I did like a lot of the resolutions, particularly Nico’s and Leo’s. And  I will definitely keep reading Riordan’s books. I hope Annabeth comes into this next series. And I can’t wait for The Trials of Apollo, a series I was lucky enough to hear all about (early!) on Rick Riordan’s tour.

All in all, I enjoyed these books a lot. I give this last one a 9/10. I really like the Rick Riordan formula. I wanted a little bit more from the climax at the end. And I never liked Piper. But, everything was so much fun. I love the humor. I love the characters. I love the whole premise of everything with the Greeks v. Romans. And I love the action and suspense.