Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young & We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal! 🌌✨🏹🔥
Sometimes you just can’t choose between two awesome YA fantasy books, so you just need to start both, one in hardcover and the other on Kindle. Let me know if you’ve read either of these. No spoilers please!!
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
I have a weak spot for stories about circuses and competition. There is just so much potential for drama! and magic! and darkness! And Where Dreams Descend certainly delivered on this tall order!
Kallia is a protagonist who was very easy to root for. I genuinely liked her and wanted her to succeed! It was really refreshing to see the confidence she brought to her performances and life, even as she was facing so many unknowns (new places, judgmental people, and a society she knew nothing about) and while nobody believed in her but herself.
Jack and Demarco were also both interesting characters in very different ways. I feel like I know them a bit less than Kallia, mostly on account of the mystery surrounding their characters that was significant to the plot. I hope moving forward in the sequel that we get more candid looks at their values and motivations.
The storyline was a lot of fun. I just love the way competition-style plots create such a heightened, condensed arena for drama and intrigue. My one critique which held me back from giving it five stars was that the ending felt a bit rushed. It certainly captured the *wow* moment I was expecting from all the suspense throughout the rising action, but I wish we had a bit more time afterward to digest what just happened.
Altogether, though, this is certainly a book to look out for this summer/fall! I will definitely be recommending it to many friends and YA fantasy fans.
Comparable Titles:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
***I received an e-ARC from Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review as a part of the blog tour!
Over the years, I have been a pretty big fan of The Selection series (It’s kind of my guilty pleasure series… it’s just so entertaining to reread). The Betrothed is definitely in the same vein as Cass’ first series as a relatively feel-good fantasy romance. In fact, at times it felt like the same world to me (although this one is much more high fantasy than dystopian futuristic). While I enjoy that Cass’ writing style is distinct and recognizable, I wish this book held its own a bit more. I will try to refrain from comparing the two series too much, but I felt it just had to be said since I think a large part of my enjoyment of this book stemmed from the sentimental factor that it brought me back those warm and fuzzy and jaw-dropping feelings!
I quite enjoyed the first half of the book, but then the ending felt rushed with so many plot twists thrown in there. I was a bit surprised to learn that there will be a sequel due to this hasty ending (it felt more like trying to wrap it up quickly for a standalone); I wish that the fall-out of the climax was more fleshed out rather than thrown in there for shock value. I’m sure it was a necessary plot point for the future progression of the story, but I found it rather jarring and didn’t quite find my footing again by the time the novel finished.
While I have many critiques, I am giving it such a high rating because of how darn enjoyable and entertaining it was to read! Please give this one a chance. I know I’ll be reading the sequel and maybe I’ll even reevaluate my feelings about the plot’s pacing once I see where it’s going!
Comparable titles:
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Torn by Rowenna Miller
The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
I enjoyed the sequel to the Omte Origins series a bit more than the first book. I feel like it’s because this book had *more oomph* — if that makes sense. The relationship between Ulla and Pan is better developed and actually discussed between them in a very mature, commendably responsible way that I rarely see in fictional relationships. While the characters themselves don’t come across to me as super complex, their fierce loyalty to one another really makes the book for me.
I enjoyed getting to see more insight into this world. The mysterious magical elements felt darker (where I feel like the envelope wasn’t quite pushed enough in the first book). However, I still had some of the same issues of the worldbuilding feeling vague and intangible. The different cultural groups for the trolls were further explained and seem to be like a microcosm of our society. However, I think the lack of interaction between the troll world and human society prevented the narrative from really *going there* with this concept.
Comparable books:
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd
Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell
***I received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
I enjoyed What I Like About You because it felt really grounded in something that’s very relatable to my own life: book fandoms and the publishing community. The main character Halle is a book blogger and her major conflict comes from her anonymous identity online causing issues when she moves to a new town and meets her online best friend and crush Nash in real life. I haven’t read many books that are so in-touch with the present-day YA book community. Yes, tons of contemporary novels feature protagonists who LOVE to read, but rarely do they actively engage with reading beyond stating it as a hobby to seem more *relatable*.
I did find some of Halle’s friends to act in off-putting ways at times, but it seemed kind of realistic because you can’t always control or expect the ways people will react, especially when all your interactions are behind a screen. It was also pretty unrealistic (at least, to me!) that Halle would just choose not tell Nash about her real identity. They start becoming really close friends and I feel like there is no way that a normal teenager would keep that from their friend for *so long* since the stakes were pretty low (Like they’re friends online and now they’re friends IRL, what’s the big deal?). But once you suspend your disbelief, it is a really interesting conflict to drive the novel and help explore their relationships through two totally different platforms.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, relatable contemporary read. Also, it gave me a bit of nostalgia for *the old days* before this whole pandemic turned the world upside down. Book Con, author signings, even going to the library!! These are all things that I miss and can experience by living vicariously through Halle in this story.
Comparable Titles:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
***My review is also posted on my blog!
In preparation for the release of The Damned in a few weeks, I wanted to review Renee Ahdieh’s The Beautiful. This novel had a lucious, historical setting in New Orleans in 1872 with the twist of paranormal creatures roaming the streets of the vibrant city. I found the atmospheric writing of the setting to be the most compelling part of the narrative (not unexpected, considering how lovely Ahdieh’s writing is in The Wrath and the Dawn and Flame in the Mist series) and it’s what is bringing me back to anticipate the next book!
The protagonist Celine Rousseau is a force to be reckoned with as she has no problem subverting expectations for proper ladies of the time to get what she wants. The circumstances of her society force her to become confident and independent, yet she still manages to find trust in her friends (and sometimes, unfortunately, her enemies).
I actually quite liked that the paranormal elements of the plot were left vague throughout most of the book. In fact, it felt a bit strange to me when the term “vampire” was mentioned toward the end of the novel. I know when this book was first being hyped a lot of people made the inevitable comparison to Twilight, but I really don’t think it ended up being the classic vampire story most of us were expecting.
The potent tension between Celine and her love interest Bastien was really fun to read, especially with the great dialogue that felt straight out of a telenovela at times (but in the best possible way—this coming from a major Jane the Virgin fan). However, the many minor characters felt underdeveloped. Since this is the first book of the series, though, I’m sure there will be much more room for these other characters to grow.
As a side note, every time I hear Camila Cabello’s song “My Oh My” (which coincidentally just started playing as I’m writing this review), I think of this book. So I think that goes to show how successful Ahdieh was at establishing the deliciously dark tone of the novel.
I’m interested to see where the sequel will take this story!
Comparable titles:
The Diviners by Libba Bray
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
A Love Like Blood by Marcus Sedgwick
***My review is also posted on Goodreads and Tumblr!
UnapologeticallYA Book Reviews! 