Book Review | THE DEEP & DARK BLUE, by Niki Smith

The Deep & Dark Blue, by Niki Smith

Publish Date: January 7, 2020
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Length: 256 pages
Genre: MG Graphic Novel/Fantasy/LGBTQ+
My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5 stars)

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Synopsis:

After a terrible political coup usurps their noble house, Hawke and Grayson flee to stay alive and assume new identities, Hanna and Grayce. Desperation and chance lead them to the Communion of Blue, an order of magical women who spin the threads of reality to their will.

As the twins learn more about the Communion, and themselves, they begin to hatch a plan to avenge their family and retake their royal home.While Hawke wants to return to his old life, Grayce struggles to keep the threads of her new life from unraveling, and realizes she wants to stay in the one place that will allow her to finally live as a girl.

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My Review: 

Book Review | DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE, by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1), by Laini Taylor

Publish Date: September 27, 2011
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 418
Genre: YA Fantasy/Urban Fantasy
My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (2.5 out of 5 stars)

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Synopsis:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

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My Review:

To say this was a disappointment is a bit of an understatement. This is one of those books that everyone in the YA community seems to have read and loved. I’ve been anticipating reading this one for several years, and finally got around to it, only to find my expectations to be completely dashed to bits.

Book Review | THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN, by Holly Black

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, by Holly Black

Publish Date: September 3, 2013
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Length: 419 pages
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5 stars)

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Synopsis:

Coldtown was dangerous, Tana knew. A glamorous cage, a prison for the damned and anyone who wanted to party with them.

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. And once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

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My Review:

I started reading this just before BookCon and while I wasn’t all that in the mood for it afterwards, I had made enough of a dent that I wanted to keep going. The writing is very much the style I come to expect from Holly Black at this point – both easy to fall into but also full of imaginative prose.

The cover for the final Diviners book has been revealed…and no, I’m not happy.

Well, the final cover for the last book in The Diviners series by Libba Bray was revealed today!  (I only just discovered it though oops).  I haven’t read the synopsis yet because I still haven’t um read book three yet (I’ll get there…just need to reread the other two first…after I read everything else on TBR apparently…) and I don’t want to get spoiled (and of course I saw part of the first sentence and am already WTFing out of my mind and trying to erase what I saw from my memory).

But anyway here are all four covers that I will be owning when the last one comes out apparently!

So on the one hand – yay!  They finally stopped doing cover redesigns!

On the other hand – why the hell didn’t they continue the cover redesigns??  At this point I might as well keep the non-matching cover aesthetic of this series cause why the hell not? 

Book Review | THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW (NEVERMOOR #1), by Jessica Townsend

The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #1), by Jessica Townsend

Publish Date: October 31, 2017
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 480
Genre: MG Fantasy
My Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)

**I received this as an egalley from the publisher through Edelweiss in return for an honest review.**

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Synopsis:

Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks–and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.

But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart–an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests–or she’ll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

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My Review:

When I first read the synopsis for this novel, I knew I had to read it. It sounded like everything I loved to read as a kid, and it definitely did not disappoint. The Trials of Morrigan Crow is a fun, fast-paced novel that is full of wonder (no pun intended) and magic, characters that delight, and a story that truly mesmerizes.

Book Review | INVICTUS, by Ryan Graudin

Invictus, by Ryan Graudin

Publish Date: September 26, 2017
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 464
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (2.5 out of 5 stars)

**I received this as an ARC from the publisher at BookCon2017 in return for an honest review.**

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Synopsis:

Time flies when you’re plundering history.

Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far’s birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he’s ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past. 

But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far’s very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems.

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My Review:

This book was such a highly anticipated read for me that I was determined to get it when I went to BookCon. Thieves and time travel? Yes please! I was so so excited for it – only to find that I kind of didn’t care for it at all.