Review: Raven Song by I.A. Ashcroft

 Raven Song by I.A. Ashcroft (Blog Tour)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Blurb:

A century ago, the world burned. Even now, though rebuilt and defiant, civilization is still choking on the ashes.

Jackson, a smuggler, lives in the shadows, once a boy with no memory, no name, and no future. Ravens followed him, long-extinct birds only he could see, and nightmares flew in their wake. Once, Jackson thought himself to be one of the lucky few touched by magic, a candidate for the Order of Mages. He is a man now, and that dream has died. But, the ravens still follow. The nightmares still whisper in his ear.

Anna’s life was under the sun, her future bright, her scientific work promising. She knew nothing of The Bombings, the poisoned world, or the occult. One day, she went to work, and the next, she awoke in a box over a hundred years in the future, screaming, fighting to breathe, and looking up into the eyes of a smuggler. Anna fears she’s gone crazy, unable to fill the massive hole in her memories, and terrified of the strange abilities she now possesses.

The Coalition government has turned its watchful eyes towards them. The secret factions of the city move to collect them first. And, old gods stir in the darkness, shifting their pawns on the playing field.

If Anna and Jackson wish to stay free, they must learn what they are and why they exist.

Unfortunately, even if they do, it may be too late.

Raven Song is the first of a four book adult-oriented dystopian fantasy series, a story of intrigue, love, violence, and the old spirits in the shadows who wait for us to notice them again. Readers of Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, and Charlie Human will enjoy this dark magic-laced tale rooted on the bones of what our world could become.

Author Bio:

​I. A. Ashcroft has been writing fiction in many forms for almost twenty years. The author's first book, written at age seven, featured the family cat hunting an evil sorceress alongside dragons and eagles. This preoccupation with the fantastical has not changed in the slightest.

Now, the author dwells in Phoenix, AZ alongside a wonderful tale-spinner and two increasingly deranged cats. Ashcroft writes almost exclusively in the realm of darker fantasy these days, loving to entertain adults with stories of magic, wonder, despair, violence, and hope, bringing a deep love of mythology into every tale penned. The author also loves diverse and intriguing casts of characters.

When not buried in a book, one might find Ashcroft learning languages, charting road trips, and playing tabletop RPGs with clever and fun people.

Review:

I was really excited when I had the opportunity to receive a copy of this book in order to review it. It looked really interesting, new, and engaging. And it was! A more exact star review is 3.9 stars out of 5. If you are a world-building/plot reader, then you will probably really really like this book. I.A. Ashcroft did a really good job building the futuristic society and world where the story takes place, and it is done in a way where the details are meted out over a length of time instead of all at once, which is really appreciated. 

Another thing that stood out to me was that the action started right away- you jump right in, head first, not knowing how deep the water is. And because of some of the aspects of the book (sorry- not gonna spoil!), it worked really well. The reader is thrust into this world that is similar to ours, yet everything is different, and is taken on a journey that you can't predict the answer too. The reader discovers along with the characters, causing the story to be surprising and eventful and captivating.

I'm not sure when the next book of the series will be out, but I will definitely be keeping an eye out for it! I.A. Ashcroft has a spectacular world here to play around in, and I am 99% sure that he will, which is good news for us readers.

Thanks for reading!

View all my reviews

Review: Endless Knight by Kresley Cole

Endless Knight by Kresley Cole

5 out of 5 Stars

I am so quickly becoming addicted to this series. My favorite interest in it though has shifted from the post-apocalyptic details to the paranormal Tarot card details. Endless Knight seamlessly blended with the first book Poison Princess and just kept building on it. There were a few bumpy character development moments, but even those were minor. The plot actually wasn't as definite in this book. I would even dare to say that it wasn't definite at all, that this book was all set up for some bigger picture. But that didn't bother me at all because there was so many other things happening with world building and character development. If you're reading this because you're wondering if you should continue, I would say go for it and that it is worth it.

SPOILERS AHEAD

CHARACTERS:

Evie: The most frustrating thing about this book was Evie character at times being incredibly weak. It wasn't as often as it was in the first book, but there were still some moments when I was not impressed by her actions. However, I get that's part of who she is though as a person- not aggressive, peace and flowers and all that jazz. Otherwise, I think her character is in the most impossible situation at the moment. She literally has almost no one. She had her grandma to go to, but then realized that her grandma would train her to kill. She had Matthew and Jack, but then they both lied to her. She even had Death, but he's being a mentally unstable creep, so he might be out of the picture too (juries still out on that one- we'll see what happens in book 3).

Death: I feel so bad for this guy!!! He has literally been spending his entire life alone, and the one person he could spend it with has been trying to kill him, and he majorly messed up this time around, and I just don't want him to be alone.... but at the same time he's kinda brutal, so it slightly negates the sympathy. I am really interested to see what happens with his character, because there has almost been a switch flipped inside of him where he now wants to be good and get out of the game. But he has literally a millennia of isolation, so he's probably a little more than crazy.

Jack: I was SO EXCITED for his character, and then we find out that he killed Evie's mom?!?!?!?! UM. Crap- now what do I think about him? I don't think he should be with Evie, especially because now we can't trust his motives, because by the way, he was Brand's half-brother. ***Flips table***

The other Arcana were in general I though really well written. I think one of my favorite characters is going to end up being Lark, but there hasn't really been enough for us to see her fully yet. Almost, but not entirely.

PLOT:
Like I said earlier, I really don't think there was any major plot line except maybe a continuation from book, being that they were trying to find Evie's grandmother. But I think that's fine because there was so much that we learned in this book. It ended up being a book about character development and world building so that (I think) we can plunge into a full plot knowing all of the details so that the future books don't have to slow down ever to explain things for us.

WORLD:
Back in my original review of Poison Princess
(R.I.P. review.... I'm not even going to link it here, it's not worth it) I had talked a little bit about Kresley Cole's writing, but I feel like I really need to highlight this world and paranormal element that she has created. In this book, there was such a great knowledge about the Major Arcana that was thrown at us. There are the Tarot cards, and sometimes there are also the Minor Arcana, and there are only certain ways that some of the cards can be killed, and so many other details and BACKGROUND (cough the marriage cough) that we didn't know before. My biggest question that is remaining is, how can they actually stop playing the game? Especially if there is a higher force that put them all there like pieces on a chessboard? What loophole are they going to find? What are the clear original rules? I feel like there's still so much to this world of Arcana and I can't wait to see how it progresses in the next book.

This second book has solidified my decision to read the rest of the series. It is a mix of paranormal (original paranormal too), dystopian, romance, and adventure. I really loved this book and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the third book Dead of Winter.

Thanks for reading!

Review: Endless Knight NO SPOILERS

 Endless Knight by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am so quickly becoming addicted to this series. My favorite interest in it though has shifted from the post-apocalyptic details to the paranormal Tarot card details. Endless Knight seamlessly blended with the first book Poison Princess and just kept building on it. There were a few bumpy character development moments, but even those were minor. The plot actually wasn't as definite in this book. I would even dare to say that it wasn't definite at all, that this book was all set up for some bigger picture. But that didn't bother me at all because there was so many other things happening with world building and character development. If you're reading this because you're wondering if you should continue, I would say go for it and that it is worth it.


[
CHARACTERS:
Evie: The most frustrating thing about this book was Evie character at times being incredibly weak. It wasn't as often as it was in the first book, but there were still some moments when I was not impressed by her actions. However, I get that's part of who she is though as a person- not aggressive, peace and flowers and all that jazz. Otherwise, I think her character is in the most impossible situation at the moment. She literally has almost no one. She had her grandma to go to, but then realized that her grandma would train her to kill. She had Matthew and Jack, but then they both lied to her. She even had Death, but he's being a mentally unstable creep, so he might be out of the picture too (juries still out on that one- we'll see what happens in book 3).
Death: I feel so bad for this guy!!! He has literally been spending his entire life alone, and the one person he could spend it with has been trying to kill him, and he majorly messed up this time around, and I just don't want him to be alone.... but at the same time he's kinda brutal, so it slightly negates the sympathy. I am really interested to see what happens with his character, because there has almost been a switch flipped inside of him where he now wants to be good and get out of the game. But he has literally a millennia of isolation, so he's probably a little more than crazy.
Jack: I was SO EXCITED for his character, and then we find out that he killed Evie's mom?!?!?!?! UM. Crap- now what do I think about him? I don't think he should be with Evie, especially because now we can't trust his motives, because by the way, he was Brand's half-brother. ***Flips table***
The other Arcana were in general I though really well written. I think one of my favorite characters is going to end up being Lark, but there hasn't really been enough for us to see her fully yet. Almost, but not entirely.
PLOT:
Like I said earlier, I really don't think there was any major plot line except maybe a continuation from book, being that they were trying to find Evie's grandmother. But I think that's fine because there was so much that we learned in this book. It ended up being a book about character development and world building so that (I think) we can plunge into a full plot knowing all of the details so that the future books don't have to slow down ever to explain things for us.
WORLD
Back in my original review of Poison Princess
(R.I.P. review....) I had talked a little bit about Kresley Cole's writing, but I feel like I really need to highlight this world and paranormal element that she has created. In this book, there was such a great knowledge about the Major Arcana that was thrown at us. There are the Tarot cards, and sometimes there are also the Minor Arcana, and there are only certain ways that some of the cards can be killed, and so many other details and BACKGROUND (cough the marriage cough) that we didn't know before. My biggest question that is remaining is, how can they actually stop playing the game? Especially if there is a higher force that put them all there like pieces on a chessboard? What loophole are they going to find? What are the clear original rules? I feel like there's still so much to this world of Arcana and I can't wait to see how it progresses in the next book. (hide spoiler)]

This second book has solidified my decision to read the rest of the series. It is a mix of paranormal (original paranormal too), dystopian, romance, and adventure. I really loved this book and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the third book Dead of Winter.

Thanks for reading!

View all my reviews

Review: Poison Princess

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

My rating: 4.89 of 5 stars

I'm going to cry- I already wrote this once, but the review didn't save, so I lost everything.

I really don't feel like writing it all out again either- so here's the brief:
**** Killer character development
**** Insane descriptions of the new world that they live in
**** Awesome pacing (for the most part)
**** Original paranormal--- I cannot emphasize this point enough because it's one of the most fantastic things about this book

I cannot wait to read the next book!!! There are so many things that I want to see happen and see if what I think will happen will happen and how the characters are going to move on from this point and AKDHPIWUEHG:IO!!!!!

This is definitely a book that I would recommend to people- especially if they like dystopian-ish books with post-apocalyptic things.

Thanks for reading!!
(If I ever feel up to it, I will rewrite the killer review I had done earlier but lost... for now it shall rest in peace)

View all my reviews

Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2016

Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2016

There are two ways for a character to have made my list:
1. The book was published in 2016
2. I read the book in 2016

10. Valek (Poison Study by Maria V Snyder)

9. Nicholas Carter (Passenger by Alexandra Bracken)

8. Todd Hudson (Soul Screamers by Rachel Vincent)

7. Julian Blackthorn (Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare)

6. Elias Venturius (A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir)

5. Aiden St Delphi (Covenant series by Jennifer L Armentrout)

4. Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo)

3. Jamie Fraser (Outlander by Diana Gabaldon)

2. Rowan Whitethorn (Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas)

1. Rhysand (A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas)

Do I realize that my top two book boyfriends both come from Sarah J Maas books? Yes. Do I care? Not at all. This was a hard list to put together!! It was made only slightly easier by the 2016 constraint, but it was still very difficult. I would love to hear who your top book boyfriends are in the comments below! :)

Thanks for reading!

2017 Bookish Goals

2017 Bookish Goals

We are well into the new year now, and after much thought and deliberation, I have decided to compose a list of 6 things that I am going to try to maintain or accomplish in the year 2017. I don't want to call them "resolutions", because there's something about that word that doesn't motivate me as much as the word "goals" does. I'm not sure why and it's probably strange, but that's fine. :)

1. My Goodreads Challenge of reading 101 books this year.

2. Read a larger variety of books (like, poetry, adult books, ummmm.... still gotta research this one).

3. Blog everyday! If I can't, then let no more than one day go by without blogging.

4. Try writing.

5. Read more classics.

6. Give audio books a legitimate try. 

So this post is a bit shorter than my others- but I think a nice short list is doable in a way that isn't overbearing but still challenging. Wish me luck and good luck with yours!

Thanks for reading!!

Clace (from The Mortal Instruments): A Ship in My Fleet

A Ship in My Fleet

Clace (Clary Fray and Jace Herondale)

From: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

***Assume post has spoilers for the entire TMI series***

Alrighty, so I'm rereading the entire TMI series at the moment (that's why there's been less book reviews), and I realized that this was the perfect time for me to share why I ship and love Clace.

When I Started Shipping:
If we're being completely honest here then I started shipping them the second they meet. Yes, in Pandemonium- which is weird now that I think about it because nothing really happens in that moment. But I think it was Clary's stubbornness and grounding in reality clashing with Jace's sassy supernatural point of view that did it. As stereotypical as it is, I saw the snarky personality and was like, "Yup. Him." Totally a cliche, and I totally don't care.


Favorite Canon Moment:
OF thE enTiRe SerIEs??!! Oh boy....hm. (***sits and thinks for 20 minutes***) ONE of my favorite moments is definitely when the two of them are in the Seelie Court. I KNOW- this is probably one of the most awkward moments of the entire series because they are still siblings at this point, but the emotions running through that scene were so intense, and that's why it's one of my favorites. They get totally lost in each other! But then Jace pulls away and there's all of that tortured Herondale crap that they all have, and it made the scene so much more real; because of that, it is one of my favorites.

Jace:
Ladies and gentlemen, it is at this point that I will go into my love for the Herondales. I'm totally kidding (but I love them), this is about Jace Lightwood-Wayland-Morgenstern-Herondale. The evolution of his character is fantastic, and what's even better is that it just gets better for Clace. The same thing happens with Clary's character. But what I love about Jace is that he is so goddamn loyal to those he loves. This is such a Herondale trait and I love it. The sass- that's the other thing that I LOVE about him. He is just so sassy with everyone, everywhere, and I love it. I also kinda love his arrogance. In real life, I hate that; but in books, it seems different. I'll have to explore that phenomenon in a later post.


Clary:
Clary is like the kind of person I want to be, at least how she is toward the end of the series. She takes matters into her own hands and steps up to the plate to get shit done. PLUS, I really love how she's artistic and can create new ruins. Jace can have all the monkey jumping powers he wants, I want Clary's ruin powers. What I love about Clary's character is that it is realistic. Sometimes people give her crap because in the beginning of the series she "isn't a strong female" character. Let's be real (at least for me), if I was suddenly and violently thrust into this world of vampires and shadowhunters and demons, I would not be some automatic demon slayer. I would be like Clary, being smart about the situation, asking questions, training, learning the do's and don't's of the world. 

Clace:
THEY WORK SO WELL TOGETHER!!! Jace is sassy and arrogant by nature, and Clary just has none of it. They grow together through the series and help even each other out. Jace helps Clary be confident about her abilities and Clary helps Jace put things into perspective and humble him. And together, obviously, they were able to save the world along with the rest of the gang. They have been through so much, more than so many other ships that I know of, and they are still doing fantastic. If this changes in Lord of Shadows I might lock myself in a room and cry for days. Clace is one of my all-time ships, and I think this is true for quite a few people, making it like a classic ship in current YA literature.

I can't wait to see what happens for this ship in the future!!

Thanks for reading!