[Review] Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Series: Serpent & Dove #1

Rating: 4.5 stars

Release Date: September 3rd 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.
Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.
The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.
And love makes fools of us all.

I'm usually iffy on books that are surrounded by hype but I must say, this book lived up to its hype. I had Dragon Age vibes reading this and that is one of my favorite games.

Louise le Blanc has been living on the run from her coven, the Dames Blanches, in the city of Cesarine - a city that despises witches and burns them at the stake. Chasseurs roam the streets hunting for these witches. So she goes by the name of Lou, committing petty thievery in order to survive. But her last crime leaves her with two options - jail time or marriage. She tricks Chasseur Reid Diggory into marrying her, and in this marriage of convenience, Lou learns that the war between witches and Chasseurs isn't black and white.

[Review] All the Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle

All the Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Rating: 4 stars

Format: ARC

Published: August 27th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Deena's wild and mysterious sister Mandy disappears - presumed dead - her family are heartbroken. But Mandy has always been troubled. It's just another bad thing to happen to Deena's family. Only Deena refuses to believe it's true.
And then the letters start arriving. Letters from Mandy, claiming that their family's blighted history is not just bad luck or bad decisions - but a curse, handed down through the generations. Mandy has gone in search of the curse's roots, and now Deena must find her. What they find will heal their family's rotten past - or rip it apart forever. 

What a powerful book, one that conveys an important message. Deena works to uncover the truth about her family's dark history, specifically the ones who were considered the "bad apples" after her sister Mandy's apparent death. Deena believes Mandy is still alive, and is sending her letters to help Deena along the way.

[Review] Permanent Record by Mary H. K. Choi

Permanent Record by Mary H. K. Choi

Rating: 4.5 stars

To be released: September 3rd 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

After a year of college, Pablo is working at his local twenty-four-hour deli, selling overpriced snacks to brownstone yuppies. He’s dodging calls from the student loan office and he has no idea what his next move is.
Leanna Smart’s life so far has been nothing but success. Age eight: Disney Mouseketeer; Age fifteen: first #1 single on the US pop chart; Age seventeen, *tenth* #1 single; and now, at Age nineteen…life is a queasy blur of private planes, weird hotel rooms, and strangers asking for selfies on the street.
When Leanna and Pab randomly meet at 4:00 a.m. in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn, they both know they can’t be together forever. So, they keep things on the down-low and off Instagram for as long as they can. But it takes about three seconds before the world finds out…

Mary H. K. Choi does it again with Permanent Record! I absolutely adored her debut, Emergency Contact, because relatable college situation/anxiety is relatable, but there are honestly very few YA authors that present contemporary in the college setting. Plus this takes place in NYC and speaks so strongly to the quintessential New Yorker experience.

Pablo is an NYC dropout who works at a bodega (read 'health food store') during the night shift in Brooklyn, trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. Leanna Smart, nicknamed Lee, a famous social media personality, comes into his store at 5 AM one winter evening, and the two hit it off immediately, starting a secretive, fast-paced romance that's doomed to failure.

[Review] The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Braken

Series: The Darkest Minds #1

Rating: 3 stars

Published: December 8th 2012

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.
When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.
When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

It's another one of 'Raisa reads 2012 series', and it's been a hot minute since I've read a dystopian.

This is going to be one of those reviews that doesn't really have much to say. I thought this book was okay (nothing more, nothing less). It wasn't mind-blowing, but it did have a cool concept that was prevalent for 2012 dystopians. Teens and kids were mostly wiped out by a disease, but the ones who survived now have powers that terrify the American government, and they're forced into "rehabilitation camps" to attempt to exterminate their powers. Clearly, this is not the case.

[Review] Wintersong by S. Jae-Song

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Series: Wintersong #1

Rating: 4 stars

Published: February 7th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

The last night of the year. Now the days of winter begin and the Goblin King rides abroad, searching for his bride....
All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They've enraptured her mind and spirit and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen and helping to run her family’s inn, Liesel can't help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away.
But when her own sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl has no choice but to journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds--and the mysterious man who rules it--she soon faces an impossible decision. With time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.

This Labyrinth-esque book was amazing! And beautiful. I loved it to pieces (I must say that a lot, I imagine).

Liesl's sister has gone missing and she must journey through the Underground to bargain for her life with the Goblin King. This story is split into two acts - Liesl's quest through the Underground, and then her eventual acceptance to become the Goblin King's wife.

[Review] A Dress for the Wicked by Autumn Krause

A Dress for the Wicked by Autumn Krause

Rating: 3.5 stars

Published: August 6th 2019

Format: ARC

Goodreads Synopsis:

Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Shy in Avon-upon-Kynt. And for eighteen years, Emmaline Watkins has feared that her future held just that: nothing.
But when the head of the most admired fashion house in the country opens her prestigious design competition to girls from outside the stylish capital city, Emmy’s dreams seem closer than they ever have before.
As the first “country girl” to compete, Emmy knows she’ll encounter extra hurdles on her way to the top. But as she navigates the twisted world of high fashion she starts to wonder: will she be able to tailor herself to fit into this dark, corrupted race? And at what cost?

This is my second Project Runway-esque book in two weeks. And I've become such a fashion person lately, so I'm all here for this.

A Dress for the Wicked is about a Emmy, a start-up designer from Shy, a small town in the country of Britannia Secunda, who is chosen to participate in the Fashion House Interview. It's a competition in which girls all over the country compete to work for the illustrious Fashion House, a fashion company that has a monopoly on the country's fashion. Emmy realizes that the Fashion House is not exactly as it seems.

[Review] Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Series: The Numair Chronicles #1

Rating: 4 stars

Published: February 6th 2018

Goodreads Synopsis:

Arram. Varice. Ozorne. In the first book in the Numair Chronicles, three student mages are bound by fate . . . fated for trouble.
Arram Draper is a boy on the path to becoming one of the realm’s most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness–and for attracting danger. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the “leftover prince” with secret ambitions. Together, these three friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. And as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram’s heart, Arram begins to realize that one day soon he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie. 

I'm reading Tamora Pierce's books in some weird kind of order. It certainly isn't in publication order, nor is it chronological. I remember reading The Realms of the Gods first, and I haven't picked up the rest of The Immortals yet (though I really should). So while I know of Numair, I don't really know him the way all other Tamora Pierce fans do.

However, this prequel series makes him certainly very likable. Tempests and Slaughter is the first in the series, starting off with Numair (or as he's called in this book, Arram Draper) and his early years at the mage university of Carthak. He's an exceptionally gifted mage, and progresses quickly through the university, getting private lessons from masters. He also befriends Varice Kingsford and Prince Ozorne, and the trio get into all sorts of adventures.

[Review] Defy the Stars and Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray

Defy the Stars and Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray

Series: Constellations #1 and #2

Overall Rating: 3 stars 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Defy the Stars:

She's a soldier - Noemi Vidal is willing to risk anything to protect her planet, Genesis, including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she's a rebel.
He's a machine - Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel's advanced programming has begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he's an abomination.
Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they're not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they're forced to question everything they'd been taught was true.

Defy the Worlds: 

An outcast from her home -- Shunned after a trip through the galaxy with Abel, the most advanced cybernetic man ever created, Noemi Vidal dreams of traveling through the stars one more time. And when a deadly plague arrives on Genesis, Noemi gets her chance. As the only soldier to have ever left the planet, it will be up to her to save its people...if only she wasn't flying straight into a trap.
A fugitive from his fate -- On the run to avoid his depraved creator's clutches, Abel believes he's said good-bye to Noemi for the last time. After all, the entire universe stands between them...or so he thinks. When word reaches him of Noemi's capture by the very person he's trying to escape, Abel knows he must go to her, no matter the cost.
But capturing Noemi was only part of Burton Mansfield's master plan. In a race against time, Abel and Noemi will come together once more to discover a secret that could save the known worlds, or destroy them all.

I loved Claudia Gray's Firebird series and thought the romance and alternate dimensional travel was fantastic. However, moving on to her more speculative sci-fi series, Constellation, I was just... confused? I'm not sure how to describe how I feel because the two books, Defy the Stars and Defy the Worlds, tackle intergalactic space travel on a grand scale, as well as a human/robot romance.

[Review] The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: 4.5 stars

Published: September 17th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.
Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid's voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy's bidding but only for a terrible price.

Leigh Bardugo's fairytale retellings set in the Grishaverse are actually deliciously wonderful and full of that dark, wondrous awe that retellings tend to have. I'm going to individually review each - I must say, the last story, When Water Sang Fire, was my favorite of the collection and essentially made the book for me. Also the illustrations came to life and weren't stagnant - they transitioned as each story progressed!

There are many unexpected and dark plot twists here, and I wouldn't say they're really children's fairytales because they're so twisted.

[Review] Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Rating: 4 stars

Published: November 8th 2016

Goodreads Synopsis:

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

"When please, I beat like a drum. When sad, I break like glass. Once stolen, I can never be taken back. What am I?"
She thought for a moment before venturing, "A heart?"
Hatta's eyes warmed. "Very acute, Lady Pinkerton."
"It's very good," she said, "although I wonder whether it wouldnt' be more accurate to say, 'Once given, I can never be taken back."
"That would imply we give our hearts away willingly, and I am not sure that is the case." 

Marissa Meyer is honestly really good at making me sympathize with villains. This introspection on the Queen of Hearts before she was the queen went from cutesy to dark so quickly. She did a fascinating job of making an authentic hearts - full of madness and the impossible, but also crafting into it the origin story of someone who appears to be heartless.

[Review] The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Rating: 5 stars

Published: February 28th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Funerals aren't for dead people. They're for the living.

I'm essentially echoing the words of thousands of others who have read and loved this book, but everyone needs to read this book. Now. It speaks volumes of the issues that POC in America deal with, because of those who cannot overlook the color of one's skin. The Hate U Give is evocative, powerful, and moving.

[Review] Phoenix Rising by Bryony Pearce

Phoenix Rising by Bryony Pearce

Series: Phoenix Rising #1

Rating: 2 stars

Published: June 1st 2015

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a future world where fossil fuels have run out and democracy has collapsed, an outlawed pirate crew fight for survival on their ship, the Phoenix, kept afloat by whatever they can salvage or scavenge on the debris-filled seas. Toby has never known anything other than life onboard the Phoenix and he's desperate for adventure. But when trouble comes hunting the Phoenix down, Toby realizes that what you wish for isn't always what you want. He meets beautiful Ayla from the Banshee, a rival pirate ship and sworn enemy of the Phoenix, and his world is thrown into disorder. How can he know who to trust and what to believe? The future rests on him making an impossible choice...

It's really hard for me to enjoy the steampunk genre. For me, I love knowing my setting crystal clear. I feel weird in some steampunk stories because the time and place is ill-defined. I had this problem with Phoenix Rising, where I had honestly no clue what was going on for a good portion.

[Review] Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me by Carrie DiRisio

Brooding YA Hero by Carrie DiRisio

Rating: 3.5 

Published: October 17th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

Have you ever wished you could receive a little guidance from your favorite book boyfriend? Ever dreamed of being the Chosen One in a YA novel? Want to know all the secrets of surviving the dreaded plot twist?
Or maybe you're just really confused about what "opal-tinted, luminous cerulean orbs" actually are?
Well, popular Twitter personality @broodingYAhero is here to help as he tackles the final frontier in his media dominance: writing a book. Join Broody McHottiepants as he attempts to pen Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me, a "self-help" guide (with activities--you always need activities) that lovingly pokes fun at the YA tropes that we roll our eyes at, but secretly love. 
As his nefarious ex, Blondie DeMeani, attempts to thwart him at every turn, Broody overcomes to detail, among other topics, how to choose your genre, how to keep your love interest engaged (while maintaining lead character status), his secret formula for guaranteed love triangle success, and how to make sure you secure that sequel, all while keeping his hair perfectly coiffed and never breaking a sweat.

Brooding YA Hero is fun, satirical journey of the Twitter sensation for which it was named. Broody, our YA boyfriend, guides readers through the path of becoming a main character.