The Invasion of the Tearling

Title: The Invasion of the Tearling

Series: The Queen of the Tearling - book 2

Author: Erika Johansen

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Number of Pages: 511

Publication Date: 2015

Publisher: Bantam Press

Summary: Kelsea Glynn is the Queen of the Tearling. Despite her youth, she has quickly asserted herself as a fair, just and powerful ruler.

However, power is a double-edged sword, and small actions can have grave consequences. In trying to do what is right - stopping a vile trade in humankind - Kelsea has crossed the Red Queen, a ruthless monarch whose rule is bound with dark magic and the spilling of blood. The Red Queen's armies are poised to invade the Tearling, and it seems nothing can stop them.

Yet there was a time before the Crossing, and there Kelsea finds a strange and possibly dangerous ally, someone who might hold the key to the fare of the Tearling, and indeed to Kelsea's own soul. But time is running out...

The Invasion of the Tearling is not a fast paced book nor does it cover a huge amount of time in the plot line. But this does not hold the book back. Johansen's story is told from multiple perspectives which allow you to fully understand the complexity of the world she has created for her regressive-fantasy future. Johansen manages to weave the web of a world that is familiar, yet unique with characters that are so complex and well developed you can't help but love them all.

While the first book in this series deals with Kelsea's journey to taking on her rightful position as the Queen of the Tearling, this book follows Kelsea's next major hurdle...how to deal with the impending doom that is coming in the form of the Mort army. In this second book we begin to get more details on who the Red Queen is, even a name...which I won't spoil...

Through the stress that Kelsea faces we are reminded that she is human, a major highlight for me. We get to see Kelsea make a few decisions she would not have made in the first book and begin to her unravel a little at the edges.

While all of this is happening, Kelsea starts getting visions of the past before the crossing over to what is now Tear. At first I must admit I really didn't like where the book was going with these and I was tempted to skip ahead, but as the story progressed it becomes more and more obvious that these flashbacks of soughts, play an integral role in the story's present. Johansen's ability to weave the past and future together seamlessly is astounding and brings so much to the overall story.

The only thing I really wished that this book had included was more of The Fetch. I absolutely loved him in the first book and I was dying for him to play an even bigger role in this book and he didn't. I hope we get to see a considerably more of him in the next book because the short moments we do get of him, one thing is clear, he knows a lot more of what is going on than everyone else.

I would totally love it if we got a novella or even better a entire book that focuses on the story of The Fetch.

Ghost Medicine

Title: Ghost Medicine

Author: Andrew Smith

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Young Adult

Page Numbers: 357

Publication Date: 2008

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Summary: The summer before Troy Stotts turns seventeen, his mother dies, Troy and his father barely speak, mostly communicating instead by writing notes on a legal pad by the phone. Troy spends most of his time with his closest friends: Tom Buller, brash and fearless, the son of a drunk; Gabe Benavidez, smart enough to know he'll never take over the family ranch; and Gabe's sister Luz, whose family overprotects her, and who Troy has loved since they were children.

Troy and his friends don't want trouble. They want this to be the summer of what Troy calls 'Ghost Medicine', when times seems to stop, so they won't have to face the past, or the future. But before the summer is over, their paths will cross with people in dangerous and fateful ways,

Troy and his friends want to be invisible. Instead, they will become what they least expect - Brother's, Lovers, Heroes, and Ghosts.

This book is unlike any other book I have ever read. The writing style, the themes, the premise; the entire book and every aspect of it is unique. Ghost Medicine is Andrew Smith's debut novel.

The thing that I loved most about Ghost Medicine was the writing style of this book; but in particular the way the writing style portrayed the story. There is an almost simplicity about the writing of Ghost Medicine. That rather than reading a book, I was listening to a story to being told. But this added to the story rather than took anything away from it and fitted nicely in with the premise of the book.

The writing style is also in many ways responsible for the thing that I loved most about this book and that was its humbleness. Which is a little ironic given the trouble and lies that fill the pages of Ghost Medicine. Rather than being filled with characters that are complex and deep, with a story line that steers them on a course of development, this book seems to exist within itself and the story just is.

But this incredible uniqueness also made the book a little difficult to get into as it was not fast paced nor was it written in a way that I am used to. And while I seriously contemplated putting this book down a couple of times I am really glad I didn't. A book like this is one of those one's you just have to read for the experience. 

I also found that this book had nothing that stood out and grabbed my attention, yet once again I feel like this suited the story and helped to build to it. I think this book is one of those books that in order to understand what it is like you just have to read it. 

This book will not be for everyone, that I can guarantee. I am really interested in giving some of his other works ago to see if they share this same unique style as what Ghost Medicine does.

The Warrior Heir

Title: The Warrior Heir

Series: The Heir Chronicles - book 1

Author: Cinda Williams Chima

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Number of Pages: 426

Publication Date: 2006

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Summary: Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. And it feels great - until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.

Soon Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing the Game - a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.

As if his bizarre heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind - he's one of the last of the warriors - at a time when both houses are scouting for a player.

I found this book to be an interesting and unique read. The world that is created within this book is complex and well thought out. For every possible question you could ask, you can guarantee that their is an answer, not that any of the characters like to share any important information. Clearly a lot of work has gone into building this world as it continued to expand and become even more impressive and detailed. The Weir and their world is one of a long history of bloodshed, betrayal at the ultimate cost and a world steeped in tradition.

As complex as the world is, the characters are even more so. Every character you meet has some important role to play, some trick or treachery they are meant to fulfill. Just when you think you have the devious characters distinguished from the good guys, you find out you couldn't be more wrong. As I was reading this book I couldn't help but imagine myself in Jack's shoes. The way this story is written meant that I was just as confused and lost as Jack was feeling. The sense of hopelessness, betrayal and fear he feels are so easy to get drawn into.

I must confess that as much as I enjoyed this book I did struggle with it quite a bit. First of all as I mentioned earlier the world and the characters are complex. Each and every time I thought I has it all figured out, I found myself having to start over. The story is also not particularly fast paced, in fact it's slow. The first half of the book is simply Jack learning that he is a warrior and that he must train, with a few hit and miss fight scenes thrown in for luck. The last half of the book is all about him getting ready for the actual 'Game'. And when I found myself with only about 50 pages to go and no Game so to speak, I was seriously beginning to wonder if I had brought a book that was missing part of the story and within a couple of pages you find yourself at end and its game over.

As for the main character Jack, while I found myself getting caught up in so many of his emotions, there were also quite a few times that I was left wondering what the hell he was thinking and why he was feeling the way he was. But overall I did enjoy the premise of this book and the unique world and will continue with the second book. I feel that The Warrior Heir is the kind of book that you appreciate it more the second time, when you know a bit more about what is going on. So if you love betrayal, and a little bit of mystery, I would recommend this book.

An Ember in the Ashes

Title: An Ember in the Ashes

Series: An Ember in the Ashes - book 1

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Rating: 4.5 stars

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Number of Pages: 448

Publication Date: 2015

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Summary: For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she's never had much of a choice.

For Elias it's the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire's elite soldiers. With the Masks' help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands of Scholars, all in the name of power.

When Laia's brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks, and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.

But once Laia and Elias meet, they find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire.

I absolutely loved this book. The premise, the world building, the whole thing. This book is set in a Roman Empire type world with magic, betrayals and death around every corner. Everything about this book worked. In fact I found this book so good, I read it all in one sitting. There was always something happening that meant I couldn't put the book down, I just had to keep reading.

Despite the fact that this book is set in a fantasy world with magic and supernatural creatures, you don't get thrust into a new world that is confusing and distant. Sabaa Tahir mixed this strange and magical place in with a Roman Empire feel making it easy to get drawn into.

I loved the idea of the Masks, the soldiers of the Empire, trained from the age of six to twenty, who are taught one thing: obey. Obeying usually involves a horrible death of those that are considered a threat to the Empire. So much detail has been clearly put into creating the Masks and in no way can they be confused as anything other than deadly and dangerous.

This book is told from the perspective of the two main characters Laia and Elias, with alternating perspectives given for each new chapter. At no point in this story did it not work. Despite the constant perspective change, the story flowed in a way that it never would have been able to if only one of them had been narrating.

The characters also contained an unbelievable amount of back story and depth. Just when you think you have the characters all worked out, they get infinitely more complex and well thought out. The pain, the fear and the anger that these two characters feel is so real at times you will feel like its your own. Both Laia and Elias go through an incredible amount of character development. Both, despite being two very different characters, learn to stop letting the world go by and to stand up and fight for what they believe in. 

This book ends at the cusps of a new and dangerous era and I can't wait for the next book to be released in April 2016.

Ignite Me

Title: Ignite Me

Series: Shatter Me Trilogy - book 3

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Rating: 4

Genre: Young Adult Dystopia Sci Fi

Number of Pages: 421

Publication Date: 2014

Publisher: Harper Collins

Summary: With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn't know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won't keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world...but that's not all he wants with her.

What a fantastic conclusion to the Shatter Me Trilogy. This final book is action packed, fast paced, and brings the series to a nice close. By the end of this book I had well and truly fallen in love with the characters and was sad to know that their story had come to an end.

May contain spoilers...

The character development in Ignite Me was perhaps my favourite part of this book and this series. I originally found the characters to be very two dimensional and I couldn't really love them. But by the end of this book I found myself understanding who the characters were and the difficult decisions they were making. Juliette had a huge amount of character development in this book. When I read Unravel Me I thought that she was finally the character she was meant to be, but after Ignite Me I realised that only the surface of the strength and determination she possessed had been revealed.

Warner also makes huge changes in this book. While in the previous books and novella we have slowly been revealed to the human side of Warner, it is in Ignite Me that I fell in love with him. In the previous books Warner, while having genuine and redeeming qualities, had ultimately done what he needed to survive. But in Ignite Me he learns to be a strong individual who not only does the right thing, but isn't scared to do so. Warner also learns to do things for others, and I don't just mean doing things for Juliette because he likes her.

The character development that I loved the most, however, was that of Adam. Why?.. because he went kinda backwards. I loved seeing the petty, angry and not-so-perfect side of Adam. Previously I had found him to be too perfect, too flawless and lacking any realistic dimensions. But seeing him crumble and failing to be this perfect crutch that would help Juliette and the rest of the world onto the right path was a refreshing sequence of events in the book.

I was also pleased to see a more active role of the Reestablishment in this book. This series is meant to revolve around the destruction and corruption of the world and the Reestablishment, but in many ways it was lacking in the first two books. There was a lot of talk of the Reestablishment but no real action. While a large portion of the beginning of this book did continue in this same fashion, the big epic battle at the end did make up for this.