War Storm by Victoria Aveyard 5 ✭

Title: War Storm

Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: HarperTeen *

Series: Red Queen

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian

Publish Date: May 15, 2018
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers *

Pages: 672

Ages: Teen

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Victoria Aveyard has finished the Red Queen series in a fantastic way. The ending wasn't predictable, and it left me feeling satisfied; it felt complete. I really took my time finishing this book. I had to not only because it was over 600 pages, but because there are a ton of things going on. There are many perspective changes within the book, so you are able to see multiple sides of the many battles that happen. The bonus to these is you are able to understand each character's point of view, and how they perceive the world. It is written in a way that you are savoring each section for each person.

Mare isn't the main focus of this book I feel. I feel like it's every character is equally important. I was a little let down at the end, I was expecting more of her power like some ultimate reveal but we didn't really have that. She goes through a lot of changes in the previous books and in this one she still is a little, but I feel like she aware of who she is going to be.

Evangeline has become a lovable character to me. You see her soft side when she thinks her brother is gone. You see her intelligence show when she is piecing together things while Anabel Lerolan, Cal's grandmother, is talking. She is a strong badass on the battlefield and her strength to continue the fight is amazing. Her strong emotions and opinions, like how much she cares for her brother and is repulsed by her mother, or her hatred/love for her father while he uses her as a bargaining chip. Her love and adoration for Elane, and her desire to be with her, but she can't because it is considered abhorrent and a waste of power. Victoria Aveyard has a knack for writing strong badass female characters for sure. I think if she were the main character it could have been great too. I think she could have had her own book. 

Victoria Aveyard's greatest skill with this novel is the battle scenes. You read from Mare's perspective which she is at another location from the rest of the group and it is fast but intense and emotional. Then you get into Evangeline's perspective which when I was reading it I felt like it would be an amazing scene in a movie. You can feel the tension and the terror that Evangeline deals with while she is struggling to survive. That is just an example of only one of the many battles within the book. I loved reading the battles personally. 

I completely think this series AS A WHOLE is a must read if you enjoy young adult books. If I didn't read past the first book, I might not have recommended it as strongly. Now, since I've read all the books I have to push for this one. I've seen the writing improve through all the books. I've seen the characters develop into memorable people that leave a lasting impression. I feel satisfied with the whole outcoming and the meanings behind certain aspects of the book. 

You can read a Free Sample of War Storm below without leaving the page!

* I decided to add two new categories today while I was doing my blog. I have started picking up a few more E-Galley books recently and I decided that I want to start making note of which publishers I have read books from. I think that it would be worth noting for the future, for myself if nothing more. I haven't decided if I am going to go back to old posts to add this part in. What do you think? With so little of an amount, since my blog is young it might not be bad.

Adeline by Christina McKnight 4 ✭

Title: Adeline

Author: Christina McKnight

Series: Lady Archer's Creed

Genre: Historical Romance, Regency

Publish Date: August 29, 2017

Pages: 260

Ages: 18 + 

Rating: ✭✭✭✭

Adeline by Christina Mcknight was a sweet story but one I have read before, sort of. The story isn't bad, it just introduces you to a snobby young lady who is full of attitude right before she goes to an etiquette school. Then it cut scenes to her as an adult and who has grown-up mature. I just feel like it almost wasn't even worth reading the first part. Now, this is part of a series. So maybe the introduction ties with the previous books of the series, I don't know I have never read them. I guess that kind of threw me off for the first half of the book.

This is another retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Books like that are a classic for a reason. So when you read them you have to find what makes that one special. I think part of what makes this so special is how Jasper is. He is almost like a scared little boy who grew to be a man. So everyone around him cares for him, and he equally tries to take care of them. It's really nice. He is horribly scarred from a fire that took his family away from him. You can genuinely feel the love that he has.

As the story continues I did start to like Adeline more as a character. She had been discarded by her family. So both characters are lonely and need a someone of their own. For me, it was Adeline's character that sort of lost it for me. Online I see tons of people do love her character, so maybe I wasn't feeling it personally. I would recommend this book so some of my friends, but only if it was something I think they would be into. It doesn't feel like one of those books to me that you have to tell EVERYONE you know.

This was a book that I received from NetGalley to give my honest review. You can get all of the books in the series for your Kindle in one bundle for $7.99. Individually it looks like the books vary from $0.99 to $2.99. So if you picked these up getting the four-book bunch would be a better deal. If you want to check out a book by Christina McKnight, I did see that the first book from another one of her series is available for free on Kindle. (Prices are at the time of this review)

You can read a free sample of Adeline below without leaving the page.

You can get all of the books in the series for your Kindle in one bundle for $7.99. Individually it looks like the books vary from $0.99 to $2.99. So if you picked these up getting the four-book bunch would be a better deal. If you want to check out a book by Christina McKnight, I did see that the first book from another one of her series is available for free on Kindle.

Buying a House and DNF reviews

Hey guys! I've been steamrolling through the Red Queen series, haven't I? Well, I am starting War Storm today! However, my parents are visiting from Pennsylvania, and we are in the process of buying a house so I'm hoping that I don't book stall again. It's our first time buying a house and there is so much to it. You have to talk to so many people and make sure everyone is on the same page. Thank god for my realtor, she is amazing! The kids have been pretty good while we have been looking from house to house which was a huge plus. I'm so worried about the schools these days and finding good schools. But I also want to get more value for my money too. I don't want a small house that I'm going to feel cramped for the next however many years we are there. It's tough. I think the house we chose we found a good happy medium. Something with enough space for us, plenty of land for the kids to have fun with, and most of the schools are good. It really is extremely stressful! It's the second most stressful thing in my life so far. Other than waiting to give birth and then the giving birth and post birth too I guess, it is horrible. LOL. That whole time period sucks, plus with all the medical issues I had during it all it was rough. 

A couple books ago I had mentioned that I started a book. I'm not sure if I want to review it. Hear me out. I didn't finish it. I got to chapter five. I find it boring. The characters are not interesting. I see this book has good reviews, but I'm not sure if it's teen fanboy/fangirling or if I need to keep going farther. I feel like by chapter five I should get a good feel for the characters, and the pace of the book. Since I haven't actually read the book, I don't feel like I could review it. I don't have enough to go off. Just because the characters are boring to me doesn't mean that they won't speak to someone else and hold a place in their heart. Does that make sense? I feel like writing a DNF review is just too brutal sometimes. I actually have two books that I have been stalled out on. One is a NetGalley review and the other just a paperback I picked up one day because I had read other books by the author. I don't know, ugh. Maybe I will push through. I just feel like I'm taking too much time to read them, and there are others that I would be more interested in and read faster. We will see.

This month is going to be crazy. We have a few appointments coming up that involve the house we are buying, plus it's BOTH MY KIDS BIRTHDAY MONTH AHHHH. She is going to be four, and he is going to be two. I can't believe it. They're getting older and I don't like it. So it's going to be a long month that's going to go fast. probably.

King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard 5 ✭

Title: King's Cage

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Series: Red Queen

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian

Publish Date: February 7, 2017

Pages: 528

Ages: Teen

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

King's Cage felt long but I enjoyed the value that it brought to the series. I have to warn this is going to have a little bit of spoiler to today's review; not much of a spoiler just a little. This book was horrible, wonderful, and intelligent all in one. I think reading while she was captured was boring to a lot of people because a lot of time is passing and Mare isn't able to do really anything. I think the author did that very well. You feel the passing of time. You read as there are things happening in the world beyond Mare's control and she barely hears about any of it. You see how hollow and desperate she is for escape while she spends months in her room alone with nothing but silence. While she is held as Maven's prisoner, she has to deal with all the emotions that she has been avoiding in the previous books. That must have been horrible and I felt for Mare, it was a horrible time for her. If you don't read all the books in a row like I am doing these weeks, you might very well miss out on those important things. You might not remember how in Glass Sword, she was merely a tool to be used to fight. She cut herself off from everyone around her so that she wouldn't have any more emotions. Mare didn't allow herself to think or feel about anything but completing the next task. The first half of King's Cage features Mare and is about her captivity and character growth. 

Victoria Aveyard gives us a reprieve from just reading about Mare in a plain room with nothing to do. She gives us a couple other characters perspectives in this novel. I appreciate that a lot because without that it would be a really boring book. You get to see what is continuing to happen for the Red Guard even though Mare isn't there. You even get to see from a silver's perspective, which I'm not going to say who, but I really liked that. I would love to continue but I think that would just ruin the "reveals" about that character and who they really are. 

It was wonderful to see the strength of the uprising. The strength of Montfort, the Ardent people, and their leader. Victoria Aveyard does a great job of bringing them into the world and showing their democracy. You also get a small taste of their battle tactics and it makes you curious even more. Like I wonder how extreme are they? To what ends are they willing to go to? Wonderful to see the full force of all the different people fighting together and against each other. You actually see what a battle full of abilities is like in this world. Both sides bring their A-Game. You get to see how powerful Mare really could be as she stands alone protecting herself surrounded by silvers. You get to see new alliances and relationships how they have changed in the many months since Mare's capture. Mare and Cal get a reunion and it feels like the pieces are really beginning to come together for the world. It had the feeling that the end was near and the author could have written a quick happily ever after. That is not what you get in this book.

One part that I had to bother my husband about because I thought it was sooooo good, was the political side of things. You get to see different people strategically moving to complete different tasks. Maven had it rough this book. You find out more about his damaged character, he is betrayed, and he has to repair his kingdom enough so they'll stop rebelling. He does a tour, but really it is just like today's politicians, going around town to town making promises and motivational speeches. I loved that, it makes you think about how much we hear and what is just someone trying to keep you dumb and ignorant of what's really going on. I think that fits perfectly with today's world of politics that it's almost scary. So bringing something like that in, and having it written well that you can understand the meaning at any age is pretty good. There are a lot of politics going on in this book, more than the others. You have even more people who are just trying to maneuver the things they control to get to the ending they want. It's done really good.

Cal is an idiot. I'm totally serious, he is an idiot

I 110% believe this deserves a 5-star rating. There is a sh*t ton of stuff that happens during this whole book. You meet many new leaders from different places, an escape attempt, a rescue, two major battles, a few reveals that were previously speculation at least for me. A little bit of love and a lot more loss.

For a Free Sample read, you can click below and you won't have to leave the page.