Thursday, December 26, 2013

Early Unraveling of Defy by Sara B. Larson

Defy by Sara B. Larson
Title: Defy
Series: Defy Book One
Publication Date: January 7, 2014

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?
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***




My Thoughts



A copy was provided through NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

When I first read the blurb for Defy the first thing that popped into my head was Mulan. A girl that was pretending to be a boy in an army guarding the prince of nation in unrest. I thought it was pretty awesome, unfortunately it didn't quite live up to expectations.

For one thing, no one is supposed to know she is a girl, right? And, yet almost everyone she comes across already knows or finds out right away, so the whole hiding and pretending she is a boy thing felt a bit ridiculous.

Then there is the love triangle. It was a bit weird. Alexa knows who she really wants and is quite sure of her decision and yet there is so much unnecessary angst to it all. I just hate the whole going back and forth thing. She KNOWS who she wants and has has made her descision, but she keeps thinking about Rylan anyway and trying to talk to him and just ugh. This is exactly why I hate love triangles.

Another thing I wasn't onboard with was the death of Marcel, her brother, which occurs in the first few pages. What was the purpose of this? For the love triangle to take place? To give some alone time to Rylan and Alexa? That's the only thing I could think of, and if that was the reason, then it was utterly unnecessary. A waste of a great character.

And finally, is Alexa herself. She is supposed to be this kick-ass chick, but well she kinda isn't? Don't get me wrong she is the best fighter ever and she does kick a lot of guy's asses during the book, but her as a person, not so much. I guess Larson was trying to make her human, vulnerable, relatable, but it didn't work out that was, at least not in my opinion. Alexa ended up coming across as weak, like she couldn't do anything unless she had a sword in her hand, which sucked. And, that last decision she made regarding Damien was so dumb! She needs to put her big girl panties on and fight for him.

I know I've railed pretty bad on Defy and I'm making it sound really bad, but it really wasn't all that bad. I did like the plot and the way Damien planned everything with both factions. It was very devious and cunning. The world building was done quite nicely as well and Larson's writing style also made it very easy to read, unfortunately it just didn't do enough for me.


So...

Would I Recommend it?




***


Other books in the Defy Series:

Friday, December 20, 2013

Upcoming New Releases - Week of Dec. 23


Here are the releases for the up coming week of December 23 - Dec. 29, 2013




Monday, December 23, 2013







Thursday, December 26, 2013









Books I'm looking forward to:

  • control by Lydia Kang

Always excited about books dealing with DNA and fringe science. Hope this one is actually good, been disappointed by most.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Early Unraveling of The Sharpest Blade by Sandy Williams

The Sharpest Blade by Sandy Williams
Title: The Sharpest Blade
Series: Shadow Reader Book Three
Publication Date: December 31, 2013

Torn between two worlds.
Torn between two lives.

McKenzie Lewis’s ability to read the shadows has put her—and …those she loves—in harm’s way again and again. The violence must end, but will the cost of peace be more devastating than anyone ever imagined?

After ten years of turmoil, the life McKenzie has always longed for may finally be within her grasp. No one is swinging a sword at her head or asking her to track the fae, and she finally has a regular—albeit boring—job. But when a ruthless enemy strikes against her friends, McKenzie abandons her attempt at normalcy and rushes back to the Realm.

With the fae she loves and the fae she’s tied to pulling her in different directions, McKenzie must uncover the truth behind the war and accept the painful sacrifices that must be made to end it. Armed with dangerous secrets and with powerful allies at her side, her actions will either rip the Realm apart—or save it.
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***




My Thoughts



A copy was provided through NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

If you have been keeping up with this trilogy you are probably salivating at the chance to finally find out what the hell is going to happen between McKenzie, Kyol and Aren. The constant back and forth of McKenzie's decisions was driving me insane, and the infuriating and frustrating part is that I understood her so I couldn't really blame her all that much for it. Of course this didn't mean that I had to like, cause I didn't. I wanted her to pick already and just stick to it cause her waffling back and forth was just unnecessarily hurting all three of them. But then that ending in The Shattered Dark happened and I about died! Just when it seemed like some kind of resolution was happening THAT happened. Boy was I pissed. I didn't know what direction this last book was going to take but I'm happy to report that the ending and the whole book was just right.

This book started with a bang and didn't stop till the very end. This is one of the many things that I love about this series. Most of you know I hate love triangles so a book that manages to keep me glued to the pages regardless of it is incredibly rare, and this one never disappointed. I was both sad but proud of McKenzie through most of this book, she really shined in this one. She finally made some tough decisions, and once she finally made them she stuck to them and never looked back. Not only did she not look back but she followed through with such determination, made me really root for her and their cause.

Speaking of their cause this book like it's previous predecessors had so much convoluted politics going that it was a bit rough at times to keep up with but mostly cause I didn't remember all the details from the past books. It all gets cleared up eventually but I'd recommend doing a quick re-read of both books just to be on the safe side. I can't really go into too much detail about the plot since I don't want to spoil anything for both new and old readers of this great trilogy. Suffice it to say it had action, intrigue, back stabbing, death, and romance.Do not read that spoiler if you haven't read this book (view spoiler)

If you are an old reader you won't be disappointed at the way things ended, and if you haven't read it The Shadow Reader Trilogy then what are you waiting for!


So...

Would I Recommend it?




***


Other books in the Shadow Reader Trilogy:

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Upcoming New Releases - Week of Dec. 16


Here are the releases for the up coming week of December 16 - Dec. 22, 2013




Tuesday, December 17, 2013






Books I'm looking forward to:

  • Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

Duh! I'm not too excited about it being from Adam's point of view but I guess it's only fair since the other one was from Warner's, but still, Adam just does nothing for me.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Upcoming New Releases - Week of Dec. 9


Here are the releases for the up coming week of December 9 - Dec. 15, 2013




Tuesday, December 10, 2013







Books I'm looking forward to:

  • These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Heard so many great things about These Broken Stars that I'm both excited and terrified. I'm dreading that the over hype is going to kill it for me.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

November Recap!

Sweet, sweet vacation! :D


Books Read: (22)








Books Reviewed: (1)






Favorite Reads: 





 Blackmoore has such a beautiful romance. Wish more romance books had such well developed, ya know, romance...lol. The Life List is a great book about finding yourself again after having letting yourself be stuck in a rut. Fledgling and Ghost were both great fantasies, especially Ghost, it has such a unique world.


Favorite Cover: 





I adore the cover for Blackmoore, it's just plain beautiful. While the cover for Ghost is just so simple, but for someone who loves books about assassins, more than enough to get my attention.


Good news my lovely readers! I'll be back to blogging on January. I probably won't be doing anymore memes or joining blog tours and the like. Going to just be reviewing whichever book pleases me and not worrying about keeping any kind of schedule. Keeping schedules = pressure = sucking all the fun out of blogging, therefore no more schedules for me. I have a bunch of Arcs for the first quarter of 2014 that I can't wait to share with you guys! See you all in the New Year :


How was your month?
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