Cruel Crown ~ Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen 0.1 & 0.2)

Cruel Crown 
by Victoria Aveyard
YA Dystopian Fantasy
Novella Collection
Link to Goodreads

Two women on either side of the Silver and Red divide tell the stories no one else knows. 

Discover the truth of Norta's bloody past in these two revealing prequels to #1 New York Times bestseller Red Queen. 

Queen Song

Queen Coriane, first wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary-how else can she ensure that no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead for her in royal life.

Steel Scars

Diana Farley was raised to be strong, but being tasked with planting the seeds of rebellion in Norta is a tougher job than expected. As she travels the land recruiting black market traders, smugglers, and extremists for her first attempt at an attack on the capital, she stumbles upon a connection that may prove to be the key to the entire operation-Mare Barrow.

My Review

I actually enjoyed the first story, Queen Song. It was interesting to see what Queen Coriane went through during her time at court. It was even more heartbreaking knowing what was going to happen to her. 

Steel Scars, however, I did not finish. I picked it up about five different times and was only able to get through one or two pages each time. It just did not hold my interest and felt way too slow for a novella. 

Even though I did not like Steel Scars, I would recommend the novellas to fans of the Red Queen series. 1.5 out of 5 Stars. 

Red Queen ~ Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen
by Victoria Aveyard
YA Dystopian Fantasy
Link to Goodreads

This is a world divided by blood - red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Red against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart...

My Review

A perfect example of a book that I was super excited about that just fell flat. Ok, not really flat, because I did enjoy it - just not as much as I had anticipated. I expected an epic fantasy, but ended up reading a book that couldn't seem to decide if it is dystopian (with cars & airplanes) or epic fantasy (with the world building, magic, & royalty). Eh, ok... dystopian fantasy. 

The world building is pretty cool. There are different kingdoms - two are at war - and each of them is ruled by Silvers: those with silver blood and magical (god-like) abilities. Reds (red blooded, non-magical) are forced to work and fight for the Silvers. 

Somehow, Mare discovers that she is both. She bleeds red, but has silver abilities. This places her in a dangerous position, especially when she suddenly shows these abilities in front of the entire royal court. Forced to hid her red blood, Mare must become a Silver to live - at least until the King & Queen can figure out how to safely kill her without arousing suspicion. 

I really liked Mare until she started yo-yoing between Cal and Maven. She would hate Cal one minute, and be seeking him out in the next --- all the while, engaged to Maven and forming feelings for him. I hate love triangles, and while this was not completely a love triangle (actually, square if you add in Kilorn), it was close enough to one to bother me. 

The ending was expected. EVERYONE LIES. It just made me frustrated to see just how stupid and naive Mare still was after over a month of living with Silvers. 

Decent read, but not one I would ever read again. I can see where many people would really enjoy it. 3 out of 5 Stars. 

The Shadow Queen ~ C. J. Redwine

The Shadow Queen
by C. J. Redwine
YA Fantasy
Snow White Retelling
Link to Goodreads

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common-magic. She'll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol's father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic-and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman... and bring her Lorelai's heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected-beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable-and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon  huntsman-who she likes far more than she should-Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn't going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

My Review

I really enjoyed this take on Snow White. But then again, who could argue with a retelling that includes dragons? 

Lorelai and her brother, Leo, are on the run from their step mother: the sorceress queen Irina. 

Kol is the rebellious second son of the Dragon King. His only interest is in parties. That is, until his father and older brother are killed by ogres and he is forced to become king. Kol seeks out the only one he think can help him agains the ogres invading his kingdom - the neighboring Ravenspire's own sorceress queen. 

Kol and Lorelai's paths collide as he is tricked into killing her. Will his blood thirsty dragon heart win? Or will Lorelai be able to help him remember his human side? 

Many of the characters are written beautifully. There is humor and hardship that can be found in each one. However, I think that Kol's character development is lacking. In the beginning, it is obvious that he is the party boy. Suddenly thrown into a leadership role, Kol abandons the party side of him completely. I just don't think this is believable for his character. I would have liked to have seen him trying to keep some of that part of him. 

A highly enjoyable read. I cannot wait for the next book (no this is not a cliffhanger ending). Recommended read! 4.5 out of 5 Stars!

Welcome to 2017

2016 was a good year for books. I read quite a few, and found some new favorites.

I am hoping that 2017 will produce even more favorites. This year, I have decided to take on the Edwards Challenge (info take from the Goodreads group page.).

Margaret A. Edwards was a seminal force in creating young adult spaces in libraries. Edwards authored The Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts, a book about her experiences as a librarian working to advise and advocate for young adults in the library. The Margaret A. Edwards Award, distributed by YALSA, is named for her, and the Alex Awards, also distributed by YALSA are sponsored by her trust. Edwards required her employees to read 300 books per year so they could be a living advisory resource. This challenge honors her thinking, and challenges participants (especially librarians and library and information science students) to read 300 books, YA and/or children's, a year.

Yup, this means that I am going to try and read 300 books this year. Yikes! Fortunately, one of my Masters classes that is coming up will knock out a handful of books from this challenge.

Also, 2017 means that I will be serving on a Nutmeg award committee. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is our state (Connecticut) book awards. Committees read through 80+ books and narrow them down to the final ten (10) that will be voted on by students across the state. The Nutmeg Book Award encourages children in grades 2-12 to read quality literature and to chose their favorite from a list of ten nominated titles (Nutmeg Award).


I'd like to end this post with just a couple favorites from 2016:

Heartless
by Marissa Meyer

Jackaby
by William Ritter

The Shadow Queen
by C. J. Redwine

My Lady Jane
by Hand, Aston, & Meadows