Tagged: romance
Wilde’s Fire by Krystal Wade
“There is no pain in this death, only peace, knowing I am going to die with the one I love the most.” — Katriona WildeKatriona Wilde has never wondered what it would feel like to have everything she’s ever known and loved ripped away, but she is about to find out. When she inadvertently leads her sister and best friend through a portal into a world she’s dreamed of for six years, she finds herself faced with more than just the frightening creatures in front of her. She’s forced to accept a new truth: her entire life has been a lie, and those closest to her have betrayed her. What’s worse, she has no control over her new future, and it’s full of magic and horrors from which nightmares are made. Will she discover and learn to control who she really is in time to save the ones she loves, or will all be lost?
[Full disclosure: I received a free book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
After my rant about the lack of diversity in fantasy, I took a break from the genre for a bit, knowing that a return would prompt another rant. Now that I’m through my cooling off period, I decided to give fantasy another chance. And you know what? I’m glad I did because I found Wilde’s Fire by Krystal Wade.
Romance, fascinating characters, a love triangle with a huge twist and superb world-building…what more could you ask for in fantasy? Well, this first book in the Darkness Falls series will leave you anxious for the second book, but nothing else because it is such a satisfying read. Wilde’s Fire is a fast-paced roller coaster that will keep you quite literally on the edge of your seat. The book starts out slow, but I guarantee that after the second chapter, you won’t want to put it down.
Katriona “Kate” Wilde, the main character, is pretty much your typical female lead in the beginning, but as she becomes more sure of herself and falls in love, she becomes a very strong protagonist. I would call this more of a character driven novel than a plot driven novel, which I actually don’t mind because Kate is such a good character. She stays strong, but she has her vulnerable, more human moments and she doesn’t fall in Insta-Love. It’s a nice change, actually.
For those of you that love good world-building, I would recommend this book. The daemons, the magical animals, the different humanoid races…they are partly clichés, but Krystal Wade had put a spin on these old fantasy tropes. For a first time writer, she really does have amazing world-building. Heck, she’s better than most experienced writers when it comes to world-building.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Can true love survive the end of the world?
Imagine finding your first love, only to be ripped apart by the apocalypse. Peyton Anderson will never forget the day she was forced to make a choice–between her family–and Chris Parker, the boy she’d given her heart. Now, four years later, as she steps from the fallout shelter and into a dead and broken world, he’s the only thing on her mind.
All Chris “Chase” Parker wanted was to take Peyton away and keep her safe from harm. But he waited for hours in the rain on judgment day and she never showed–breaking his heart without ever telling him why.
Now the two of them have been thrown together once again, reluctant chaperones to a group of orphan children in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead still walk…and feed. As they begin their pilgramage [sic] to the last human outpost on Earth, can they find a way to let go of old hurts and find the love they lost–all while attempting to save what’s left of the human race?
(Book blurb courtesy of Mari Mancusi’s website.)
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
For all of you zombie lovers out there, be warned: this is more of a romance novel with zombies than a zombie novel with romance. Like Feed, it focuses on how people are affected after a zombie apocalypse. It doesn’t really get into the nitty-gritty of how the virus works (much to my dismay), but it does give a nice explanation, unlike in The Forest of Hands and Teeth, which doesn’t give any explanation at all.
The story switches between Peyton’s and Chris’ points of view to keep up the suspense, and I think this works well. Both characters are well-developed and you can really feel the raw pain they experience when they see each other again. Chris’ addiction to painkillers heightens the suspense even more and I love how he is ready to quit because of Peyton. The only thing that didn’t sit well with me was how long it took from exposure to death and re-animation in this book. In Tomorrow Land, it can take up to 2 weeks before you actually turn! Since most common viruses take 4-7 days to incubate, that seems a little ridiculous to me.
The plot moves along at a fairly fast rate, in spite of all of the backstory scenes about how the outbreak began and Peyton and Chris’ respective choices. Personally, the ending seemed much too rushed, especially because of the big twist the plot took. Otherwise, Mari Mancusi has penned a nice romance with zombies thrown in for fun. If you love naturally developing romances, you will love this book.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Amazon (Kindle)* Barnes and Noble (Nook)*
*If you want the paperback edition, it is called Razor Girl and is only available through used book sellers.
Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle by Gordon Korman
(Cover picture courtesy of Scholastic Canada.)
When Vince heads out to sunny L.A. to go to film school, he’s sure he’s left his family and their criminal dealings behind him.
But then Vince finds out the hard way that you can take the kid out of the mob, but you can’t take the mob out of the kid. Soon, his brother Tommy is shacking up in his dorm room, and a steady stream of “uncles” are showing up with his mother’s homemade rigatoni, and a whole lot of trouble, in hand.
Fans of Son of the Mob will enjoy reading more about Vince as he navigates his way through another hilarious adventure, while trying to keep his integrity—not to mention his life—intact.
Most sequels to originally stand alone novels are horrible, but Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle is definitely a great sequel to Son of the Mob. Gordon Korman fills every page with his usual over-the-top sense of humour that will literally make you laugh out loud in parts. But it does tackle some serious issues and not every part of the book is hilarious, which is partly why I love it. Gordon Korman is one of the few authors I know of that can tackle serious issues with a good sense of humour.
Vince Luca is a great protagonist and is very three dimensional. He is a good guy at heart, but he is definitely not perfect. With his newfound freedom, Vince gives in to the temptation to be lazy, but what college student doesn’t? Despite his faults, readers will cheer him on the whole way through the novel, especially during the climax.
Of course the plot of Hollywood Hustle zips right along in the usual Gordon Korman fashion. It goes along quite quickly, but the pace fits the story without being ridiculous. For young adults who are sick of all the doom and gloom that seems to be the trend in YA literature, this is the perfect book.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
*For some reason, Barnes and Noble does not have this book. The link will take you to their home page, so maybe you can find it and prove I’m blind.
Timeless by Alexandra Monir
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s family, she is forced to move from Los Angeles to New York City to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she has never met. In their historic Fifth Avenue mansion, filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers the biggest family secret of all—an ancestor’s diary that, amazingly, has the power to send her back in time to 1910, the year it was written. There, at a glamorous high-society masquerade ball, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life. And she finds herself falling for him and into an otherworldly romance.
Soon Michele is leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves—and to complete a quest that will determine their fate.
Have you ever read a book that you couldn’t put down? One that was absolutely captivating? One that literally made you gasp for breath when you finished it? Well, that’s how Timeless was for me.
I know a time travel romance is very clichéd and time travel itself is wrought with problems, not the least of which is the time paradox (more commonly known as the grandfather paradox). But once my scientific instincts were quieted, I really did enjoy Timeless. I must admit that I know next to nothing of America circa 1910, so I can’t critique its accuracy, unlike books about ancient Egypt or ancient Rome. But I think Alexandra Monir did quite a lot of research and her writing really brought the period to life. Her writing is absolutely captivating because she has found the perfect balance between description and dialogue, something a lot of writers—especially the younger ones—struggle with.
In addition to her amazing writing, Alexandra Monir has great characterization. Michele is a very believable character and I could really feel her grief over her mother’s death. She falls in love very quickly, but when you meet someone who has haunted your dreams all your life, what do you expect? She is very sympathetic because in the end she does what she thinks is the right thing, even though it cuts her to the core. And because of her decision, we get a very nice cliffhanger ending that makes me anxious for the sequel, Timekeeper.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Fire by Kristin Cashore
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. Young King Nash clings to the throne, while rebel lords, in the north and south, build armies to unseat him. War is coming. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves.
This is where Fire lives, a girl whose startling appearance is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.
Everyone…except Prince Brigan.
Fire is sort of a prequel to Graceling, but it does not connect the two novels until the end. If you read Fire before reading Graceling, you won’t miss a thing, which is the beauty of Kristin Cashore’s series.
As I said in my review of Graceling, Kristin Cashore has a wonderful way with world-building. Aspiring writers of all types (and some professionally published authors) need to reader her work and take notes on it because her fantasy world sits on a pedestal in YA fiction. The Dells, where the main character Fire lives, is an alien world full of both light and darkness, with strange monsters that are unlike any I’ve seen before. I would read this book for the world-building alone.
But the world-building is certainly not the only reason to read this novel; the character development is right up there. Fire is a strong protagonist in the beginning, yet she still changes for the better by the end of the novel in a wonderful character arc. Her romance with Prince Brigan is unforced and develops slowly, making it all the more authentic. Fire is probably one of my favourite protagonists in the entire YA genre.
The plot of Fire twists and turns, throwing new and unexpected hurdles at the characters. It starts out slow, but the tension slowly ratchets up as Fire’s love for Prince Brigan grows. By the climax, you will be unable to put this book down.
I give this book 5/5 stars.