Air Awakens

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Air Awakens, Air Awakens by Elise Kova, author, book, book reviews, books, characters, Elise Kova, fantasy, fiction, literature, magic, magic system, novel, plot, read, reader, review, stories, story, world building, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Indie

Pages: 377

Point of View: Third Person (Vhalla)

Released: August 27th 2015 

Series: Air Awakens 1

Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Gift from the lovely Shannon

My Rating: 10/10 Stars

Errors: I only noticed one!

My Summary:

A library apprentice discovers she processes magic. The kingdom is in dire need of magical people right now, because they’re in the middle of a war.

My Review:

I could easily relate to Vhalla. It might be that she’s as obsessed with books as I am! She’s also a genuinely nice person, but a bit of a people pleaser. I enjoyed watching her evolve over the course of the book.

When Vhalla discovers she has magic she does everything she can to deny and run from it. I understand why she’d be hesitant to leave her old life. She also doesn’t know if she can trust those in the tower or know how her old friends would treat her if they learn she has magic. It was nice seeing her ordinary world in the library and the rich magical world of the tower.

The world building was your fairly standard midieval world, but she really brought it to life. I also liked that our heroine’s kingdom wasn’t the one being attacked for once. They were the conquerors! The magic system might seem like your normal elementals, but the way she learned to use her powers and what she could do with them were wholly unique.

Romance plays a large part in this book, but I loved every bit of it! She started out pretty much hating him and gradually realized she had feelings for him. I felt the same way! I thought he was a jerk at first and hoped he wouldn’t be the love interest. But he won me over! He wasn’t a necessarily good guy, but he was smart, complex, and he really did care about her. In the end he was the best part of the book! (I was afraid of a love triangle, but she didn’t feel the same way about him, so it doesn’t count.)

Warning: the end is really intense! I lost some sleep on this one, because I just had to know what happens!

The story wrapped up satisfactorily and I can’t wait to find out what happens next! (But I’m being a good girl and reading books I already own.)

No bad for this one!

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What books did you ask for for Christmas?

I asked for Magnus Chase, Six of Crows, and Winter!

Six of Crows By Leigh Bardugo

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author, book, book reviews, books, characters, fantasy, fiction, Grisha, heist book, Leigh Bardugo, literature, lstories, magic, magic system, novel, plot, read, reader, review, Six of Crows, Six of Crows By Leigh Bardugo, story, Thief book, world building, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Thief

Pages: 465

Point of View: Third Person (Inej, Kaz, Jasper, Nina, Mathias, and two one chapter narrators)

Released: September 29th 2015

Series: Six of Crows 1

Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Library

My Rating: 10/10 Stars

My Summary:

A new drug, Jurda Parem, appeared in Ketterdam, which allows a Grisha to have insane powers. The Fjerdan witch hunters have the maker of this drug and Kaz and his crew have been hired to break him out before someone else gets their hands on him.

The Crew:

Kaz is the mastermind. A ruthless gang lieutenant who walks with a cane, always wears gloves, and has a dark reputation.

Inej used to be a tightrope walker and now acts as Kaz’s spy. She believes in her gods and can climb anything.

Nina’s a curvy Grisha who does everything over the top.

Jasper’s a hyperactive sharpshooter with a gambling problem, but he always sees the best in people.

Mathias is an ex Witch Hunter convict who is torn and confused by his feelings for Nina.

My Review:

Although Six of Crows takes place in the same world as the original Grisha trilogy, it stands on its own. You don’t have to read Shadow and Bone to understand this book! Usually it’s still better to read the books in order for the little details, but there were only a couple of mentions of the characters from the first series. (I almost missed the one!)

The Good:

All of the characters were flawed and very real! They all had their vices, weaknesses, and shady pasts. I loved them all, but Kaz was my favorite! He might be more villain than hero, but I liked how clever he was, always a step ahead.

Most of our crew are a part of the Dregs, a gang from the barrel, the worst part of the city of Ketterdam. My favorite part was their traditions! Like saying No mourners, no funerals before a job.

As much as I liked the original Grisha trilogy, Six of Crows is miles better! Bardugo has obviously matured a lot as a writer since then. Her writing is tight and beautiful. She sets up the novel and the intricate world quickly and without any info dumping.

I had a lot of questions about the characters’ pasts and they were all answered as our characters head the capital of the Witch Hunters. The short flashbacks were interspersed as they travel and break in, and kept things interesting.

Once the job starts the action doesn’t let up! I tried to savor this book, but I gobbled if up once they reached the city. Six of Crows has the perfect combination of telling us part of the plan, but keeping plenty of surprises. Of things going to plan and going to hell. It all made for an incredible ride!

Bardugo did an excellent job of expanding her world! From the grittiness of Ketterdam to the shiny white city of the Witch Hunters, I enjoyed it all. The magic system wasn’t expanded much, but Nina’s heartrending was cool.

The Bad:

It ends to be continued! Not a little to be continued, but like I NEED the next book NOW to be continued! (I was fooled by the Grisha sample chapter! It ends at 86%!!)

What was the best book you read this year? Mine was either Six of Crows or Uprooted!

Winter By Marissa Meyer (Spoiler Free Review)

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author, book, book reviews, books, characters, cinder, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, cress, Epic Fantasy, Fairytale retelling, fantasy, fiction, Ice Like Fire, Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch, literature, Lunar Chronicles, magic, magic system, Marissa Meyer, novel, plot, read, reader, review, Sara Raasch, Scarlett, sci-fi, science fiction, snow like ashes, Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, stories, story, who dies in cinder winter, who dies in lunar chronicles winter, who dies in winter, winter by Marissa Meyer, winter cinder spoilers, winter spoilers, world building, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fairytale Retelling

Pages: 827

Point of View: Third Person (Winter, Jacin, Cinder, Kai, Cress, Thorn, Scarlet, Wolf, Lavana, Iko, and one more)

Released: November 10th 2015

Series: Cinder 4

Predictability: 5 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Library

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

My Summary:

Winter is the beautiful princess of Luna. Since she refuses to use her Lunar powers of deception, she’s slowly losing her mind.

Cinder and her friends are on their way to Luna to stop the evil Queen Levana once and for all.

Spoiler free review! (Even if you haven’t read Cinder) You will be warned before the tiniest of spoilers! 

Click here to find out who dies in Winter! (This obviously has spoilers!)

My Review:

I am the oddball. Again. Everyone loved this book. Except me. I LOVED this series! It’s one of my favorites! I had such high expectations for this book! I was disappointed.

The Good:

It was nice to finally see Luna. The moon and the domed cites were cool! And the crazy Lunar fashions which incorporated their Illusion abilities.

I wasn’t sure if I’d like Winter based on her part in Cress. I was worried about the crazy thing, but I found myself wanting to get back to her parts! I especially enjoyed her banter with Jacin!

Iko got to narrate!!! It was great!! I need more! How about a whole Iko book, okay?

The Bad:

I know Snow White is the Fairest of them all, but it got annoying how often we were told. Winter is so so pretty. Her scars only make her prettier.

I read this 800 page book quickly, but it did feel a touch long. Some sections could’ve been tightened up a bit. (Like Kai’s parts. They were just boring.)

This series has been predictable, but it’s just been the major plot points. In this one almost everything was predictable! It felt like the author was just going through the motions to me.

The writing just wasn’t as good and the plot got repetitive.

If you want to go into this book blind, skip to the conclusion! (Small Spoilers!)

Which couple is going to be separated next, so they can be reunited and have a moment?

There were quite a few romantic moments. Maybe it’s because I just read a Rowell book, but none of them were that amazing. Big romantic scene and I’m all ‘meh, okay.’

Some previously smart characters acted idiotically! Example:

Your friend is fighting someone with mind control powers, you’re easily controlled, so what do you do? Go to ‘help’ of course! *facepalm*

It wasn’t only stupid good guys:

Levana left her top secret research center unlocked and virtually unguarded. Seriously?!

I am mostly mad about what she did to one of the characters! I was so angry with the book I set it aside for the day. I couldn’t believe she would do that! I could rant all day about how that ruined this book, but I won’t. (Click here to find out what I mean. Spoilers!)

Conclusion:
I’m glad I read Winter and it was a quick enough read, but it wasn’t great or amazing like I hoped. Iko’s first POV chapter was terrific! And there were a few good moments, (especially between Winter and Jacin) But it wasn’t half as good as the other books! They were just so fantastic! With some really great lines! This one? Not so much. It just fell flat for me.

What books are you wishing for for Christmas?

I asked for Winter, Magnus Chase, and the Copper Gauntlet. I obviously couldn’t wait to read Winter. (Oops!)