Review: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Series: Snow Like Ashes #1
Pages: 422
Copyright: 2014
Publisher: Blazer + Bray
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.


Feelings: 

The world created in Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch was different than any other fantasy world I've come across. I found the idea of a circular world made up of an inner circle and outer circle interesting. The inner circle was composed of four kingdoms that each at one season year round. The outer circle was also four kingdoms, but they cycled through the seasons as our world does. 

I liked the characters but I didn't like any of them enough to say I had a favorite. I thought Meira was a little whinny at times, particularly when she didn't get what she wanted, which was often. Meira was the first person narrator so we see the other characters through her eyes. That may be why I didn't feel much of a connection with the other characters. Meira really likes Mather but I didn't find him to be that interesting of a character. He is the child King of winter, but he is a refugee like Meira and has no power to help his people. Maybe because he is only sixteen years old. The character I ended up liking the most was Theron, the son of the King of Cordellan. Theron had in many ways given up on his dream. However, while he was forced into the role of future king he remained true to who he was, and I liked that about him.

Snow Like Ashes was an enjoyable story of learning to be true to who you are. I recommend this story to those who enjoy very different world. I intend to read the next in the series. 

Review: The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Series: The Impostor Queen #1
Pages: 415
Copyright: 2016 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Sixteen-year-old Elli was only a child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic in service of her people. The only life Elli has known has been in the temple, surrounded by luxury, tutored by magic-wielding priests, preparing for the day when the queen perishes—and the ice and fire find a new home in Elli, who is prophesied to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between her love for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must choose the right side before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

Feelings:
I made the mistake of looking at a few reviews as well as the over all rating before I started reading this novel. It had a not so great over all rating. I normally look for an average of 4 stars, and this had 3.7 stars. I didn't think it was the best book, but I really enjoyed the story.

Elli seemed like a real person. She had fears and worries. I liked that about her. She also had disappointment but she learned to live with it and make the best of what she had. She was a very interesting character, and I enjoyed getting to know her as she grew throughout the novel.She knew what her short comings were outside of the temple and she did her best to learn and grow. She made mistakes, but she didn't obsess over them. She did obsess a little over what she wasn't and what sh actually was. It was interesting to see her learn about magic and her lack of it.

Another character I really liked was Oskar. He denied so much of himself because of fear. This is true of so many people, not just in fiction. We let fear hold us back because we are scared of what might happen. I could go off into a rant about the politics of fear, which is applicable to this novel. However, I won't. Oskar does learn from his fear and he changes. It was the growth in both of these characters that made me really like reading about them. I also enjoyed the family dynamic that was present in the outlands rebel camp. It was so different from the city.

I also liked the balance that magic had with fire and ice. Without a balance a person is consumed by the magic. Sarah Fines created an interesting world in The Impostor Queen. I recommend this novel and look forward to the next in the series.

Review: The Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Series: No
Pages: 487
Copyright: 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon—like all the girls in her class—she’ll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor. Which is the last thing she wants. Jo secretly dreams of becoming a writer—a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly.

Wild aspirations aside, Jo’s life seems perfect until tragedy strikes: her father is found dead. Charles Montfort accidentally shot himself while cleaning his revolver. One of New York City’s wealthiest men, he owned a newspaper and was partner in a massive shipping firm, and Jo knows he was far too smart to clean a loaded gun.

The more Jo uncovers about her father’s death, the more her suspicions grow. There are too many secrets. And they all seem to be buried in plain sight. Then she meets Eddie—a young, brash, infuriatingly handsome reporter at her father’s newspaper—and it becomes all too clear how much she stands to lose if she keeps searching for the truth. Only now it might be too late to stop.

The past never stays buried forever. Life is dirtier than Jo Montfort could ever have imagined, and the truth is the dirtiest part of all.

Feelings:
The Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly is set in New York City at the turn-of-the-century when society is obsessed with the old rich, and daughters of the rich are expected to marry for wealth and advantage. Josephine Montfort knows she wants to be a journalist, but she knows it will be looked upon with disdain. When her father died, they tell her it was an accident cleaning his gun and she doesn't believe them. She set out to find the truth with Eddie, a young journalist looking for a big story, to find the truth.

Along the way Joe discovers that her life as one of society's most eligible young ladies is everything she isn't everything she thought it was. With Eddie she begins to discover herself in the city. I liked the story a lot more than I thought I would. Sometimes I find historical fiction to be doll, this wasn't. It didn't reflect the acetic of the time but Joe was not your typical girl. She had an opinion and she stood by it, even if it meant asking questions no one else does and taking risks.

"They teach you anything in finishing school besides embroidery, Miss Montfort?" Eddie asked. "Your uncle had a good reason for bribing the police--you. Suicide is a lot of things. It's ugly and sad, but most of all it's scandalous.  . . . The old New York families--your people--they're not too keen on scandals, are they?" p. 35

After Jo finds out that her father may have killed himself or worse been murdered, she can't let it drop even if it means risking her future as part of New York's elite.

There are many less reasons I recommend the story but the biggest is it's characters stand up for themselves and they aren't fun to read about. A nice stroll through his stork New York City with great people.

Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Genre: Young Adult
Series: The Winner's Trilogy #2
Pages: 416
Copyright: 2015
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement... if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

Feelings: 
I really enjoyed the first in the series, The Winner's Curse, and I wondered if The Winner's Crime would be as good. The Winner's Crime has espionage, betrayal, and hidden love. It was well written, and I enjoyed the political parts of the book. Yes, I like politics, but prefer the fictional kind.

One thing this book was missing for me was romance. Kestrel denies her feelings because she is scared of what will happen if she doesn't. Arin is still head strong and a little frustrating in the way he jumps to conclusions and doesn't listen. However, I really enjoyed both the narration from Kestrel and Arin's point of view. My favorite new character in this book was Mine, the puppy Prince Verex gives Kestrel. I'm I allowed to pick a puppy as a character? Maybe not. I did find Prince Verex an intriguing character, even though I didn't want to like him at first.

Did I mention how horribly unlikeable the emperor is? He is great to dislike. I enjoy disliking him. He is also a well developed character, which makes disliking him even better.

I'll defiantly be picking up the last book in the series.

Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Genre: Young Adult
Series: Yes, The Winner's Trilogy #1
Pages: 355
Copyright: 2014 
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love...

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Feelings:
Have you ever been to an auction and gotten so excited that you bid higher than you intended to and won? That is the winner's curse. You regret your purchase because it is not something you intended, but it happens. Here you have the set up for this novel. The Winner's Curse is not set in our world, but a made-up world where an empire the Valorian is expanding and coercing enslaving those they conquer. That Herrani are such a people.

Kestrel, the daughter of a general, buys a slave at auction because she sees something of herself in his defiance. Arin is our second narrator and the slave Kestrel buys. He is haughty and doesn't act like a slave should. This attitude is what draws kestrel to him. I give nothing away, when I say, this is a story of forbidden romance. It is more than that deceit, lies, and betray, but they all playing important part in the story.

This wasn't quite fantasy but it is close. The world is not our world which pushes it towards fantasy. However, I would place this in the general fiction category. A made-up world, though, does that automatically make it fantasy? Should it be considered fantasy? I seen a lot of people considering it such, and I admit I'm tempted to agree. Tempted but I feel like the story doesn't have anything, besides the green storms, that I really make it being fantasy. I'm undecided. It might be, it might not be.

What I liked about this novel was a strong characters. This is adventure, nor is there as much romance as you might expect. It is an engaging story though. I liked the political side of the story. It wasn't what I expected, but when you think about slavery and the turmoil it causes having one group subjugated, the political side of the story rings true. While some people might have found it less then engaging, I found find fictional politics fascinating. Yes, it reflects our past, but it also shows possibilities.

Watching Arin in Kestrel in their game of intrigue was interesting. They know the other is smarter than they anticipated and that draws them to each other. There is a reveal and shadow that happens through out the story. It increased their understanding of the other, but does not reveal the other's secrets.

It was the complexity of the narrative and the strength of the characters that made this a story I can't wait to read more of. I highly recommending The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski. It is a world that is bright yet full of darkness.