Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) - Sarah J. Maas

Review: Crown of Midnight
Series: Throne of Glass (#2)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: ★★★★★
Genre: fantasy

AHAHAHAHA *maniacal laughter* I am in love with this book. SO MUCH IN LOVE. I mean Throne of Glass was great but this shattered everything into pieces and left me with my jaw hanging open. And there are still four more books. 

So much happened but I can sense how much more is coming. It's all centered on an extraordinary storm named Celaena Sardothien. Also known as, Adarlan's Assassin who will kick your butt and look gorgeous while doing it. It's been a while since I've enjoyed reading a female character so much. Many main characters come off as very irritating and while Celaena is very vain, she's hilarious and downright scary. At first, I was confused. Why was this silly, pretentious, pretty girl named Adarlan's Assassin? She doesn't do anything but read, buy clothing and preen. But oh my god, she can kick butt. In this book, she becomes a force of nature.

Everything was fast, fever pitched, and incredible. The original structure of Throne of Glass was pretty good fantasy, lots of magic, crumbling kingdoms, etc. Nothing extraordinarily special, but still good. This kicked everything to the side and slammed the door open on some really unbelievable fantasy. There were some obvious plot twists, but there was a lot of other interesting stuff that I did not expect. Everything balanced really well, and it was just so gripping.

One of the good things about this book is that the romance is not necessary - but it sure makes it more fun to read. There is a minor love triangle, but there is also a part where Celaena blows everybody off, and just goes and does her own thing. Like "I AM A STRONG INDEPENDENT FEMALE WHO LIKES TO SHOP AND MURDER PEOPLE. FEAR ME AND LET ME EAT CHOCOLATE CAKE IN PEACE." Literally the greatest thing. Yeah Chaol is sexy and beautiful, and Dorian gets pretty interesting too. But Celaena takes center stage, and we begin to learn about her mysterious past *hint, hint.*

So now we have amazing characters, a fast fantasy plot, sexy romance, and what am I missing?...an interesting villainous group! Theres Baba Yellowlegs, the King, and a whole host of other interesting, twisted people. Even Celaena herself walks the line pretty closely. The whole thing is getting bigger and bigger, and there are a lot of new elements involved. Plus, Maas is not afraid to kill people, and have a lot of action occurring. So much happens, but she doesn't skip a beat. 

I found myself holding on for dear life for most of the book, and I may have fallen out of my seat at various intervals. It's by far one of the best upcoming YA series, and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment. I suggest you read it soon, and enjoy the rush. 

Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) - Leigh Bardugo

Review: Siege and Storm
Series: The Grisha (#2)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Rating: ★★★★★
Genre: fantasy

*frantically hyperventilates* That was flipping awesome. A slow build up to one of the most chaotic, deadly climaxes I've ever read. Tension, romance and most of all power. I love the darkness in these books. The desperation and madness written in these books is disturbing and unbelievable. 

This book was sexy. Honestly, I was falling very deeply in love with it as I read. The YA genre is packed with sweet girls who find out they're magical, resist it, do random stuff and end up saving the world. Yay. Big whoop. No, no, NO. The Grisha is brilliantly different. Alina finds out she has immense power, and she takes it. No hesitation, or silliness in this - she grabs the power and begins to use it. Of course there are consequences, and she is beginning to change, but it's freaking awesome. The madness and spiraling descent into moral ambiguity is breathtaking. I feel like it's a roller coaster ride.

The characters are all immensely flawed, and impossible not to love. The Darkling, who captured every heart and ripped it to shreds; Mal, who bored me at first but is now becoming interesting with his intensity and need for freedom; and the newest person, Nikolai, who I am madly in love with as well. He's hilarious, and arrogant, and really cute. Actually, all the boys are total heartbreakers. But the real star of the show is still Alina, who is slowly going power-mad. She is commanding, arresting, powerful, passionate, afraid, dramatic, and has darkness filling her. 

The plot structure is also burning and intense. There's the preparation for the Darkling, the slow gain of power, the hallucinations, the politics in the castle, etc. They all start to build the story up, and form this crescendo which suddenly explodes in a flurry of violence and destruction. The sacrifice, the evil, and oh my god, the end. The last line gave me shivers. It's was one of the best books I've read since Crown of Midnight; the fantasy is fast, furious, and original. The characters have depth and the villain is horrifyingly attractive and evil. It was impossible to put down, and I want to read it all over again.

Every Day (Every Day #1) - David Levithan

Review: Every Day
Series: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Rating: 3/5
Genre: fantasy, romance
Recommend To: fans of the Fault in Our Stars

I heard amazing things about this book. All heartfelt and emotional. But honestly, I was a little disappointed. There were major things that were absolutely wonderful, but a lot of the book was very flat and I wasn't able to become totally invested in the story.

A is a "soul" that wakes up in someone else's body every day. He has never been able to form family bonds, permanent friendships and find love. He simply floats through other lives attempting not to damage their lives as he lives them for one day. Until he wakes up in a body and falls in love with Rhiannon. It sounds very beautiful, full of impossible odds and love, but for me the romance fell through very flat. I liked A a lot, but I never connected with Rhiannon. She was whiny for me, took too long to understand and then there was Justin, her dumb boyfriend. Quite honestly, she was nice, but I couldn't see what A saw in her. A was wonderful and kind, he was understanding and tried to help the people he became for a day. He was pertty interesting. But then there was also the whole Nathan/Reverend Poole storyline, and that was almost pointless and confusing. I though A would learn more about what he was, but it never happened which was unsatisfactory. 

So although the plot and the romance wasn't really my style, the stories of the different people A inhabited were fascinating and inspirational. A gay couple, a depressed girl, a drug addict, these were all the different people we encounter. We see their struggle and understand their problems through A. It was really motivating and eye-opening. Waking up in different person's body, disoriented and having to understand their life...it was definitely the most interesting part of the book.

The ending was lamentable, it was too easy and boring, but still sad and tragic. I didn't feel heartbroken because I never really liked Rhiannon, but I thought it was sort of pointless and disheartening. Why go through all this trouble and just end like that? But overall, the messages the book teaches make it worthwhile and it is a very impassioned story.

Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles #3) - Melina Marchetta

Review: Quintana of Charyn
Author: Melina Marchetta
Rating: 5/5
Genre: Fantasy
Recommend To: fans of the Seven Realms, A Game of Thrones

This series has been a true roller-coaster. It was going up and down, upside down, and the end was nearly impossible to see. Over the course of this book, dozens and dozens of characters were introduced, and their stories were so entwined that it was almost impossible for the book to have any sort of happy ending. 

I first met the majority of characters in Finnikin of the Rock, and it was impossible not to love all of them and just want them all to be happy. When I learned that there would be a sequel I was thrilled. When I learned it was told from the point of Froi I was a little put out, but by the end the book completely changed my mind. I NEEDED to get hold of Quintana of Charyn. I had fallen in love with a completely new set of characters and it looked like they were being pitted against each other. 

It was stressful. 

Honestly, it looked as if they would all end up killing each other, or never finding their true loves and it was just awful. But Melina Marchetta is some kind of fantasy book goddess and managed to wrap it up. When books say they're satisfying they're usually wrong, but this one was deep, complex, confusing, at times humorous, at other times (the majority of the book actually) heartbreaking, and very very satisfying. 

The countries of Charyn and Lumatere will forever be making repairs after the years of struggle they went through, and there will always be problems with neighboring countries, but I loved these broken lands with a passion fueled by the inhabitants. Each inhabitant had a story (usually a painful terrible story) and they created the overall story of their nation. 

The story wasn't always pretty, it showcased some ugly sides of human nature, it addressed mature topics such as rape and genocide. It forced you to put every inch of your soul into the book and care so much that you thought you would self-implode at times. And that's what makes it one of the best series I've read.

Becoming (Daughters of Saraqael #1) - Raine Thomas

Review: Becoming
Author: Raine Thomas
Rating: 3/5
Genre: fantasy, romance
Recommend To: fans of Splintered

Oooh yay. Entertaining stuff. Plus really light and fun, no heavy, awful, gripping emotions. Unless you are emotional at the slightest bit because there is action, and romance, and fights, and typical awesome stuff that bookish people thrive on. By Raine Thomas.

Plot: Amber “explodes” every three years. And whenever she does it always leaves a huge mess and ends in her moving out of her current foster home to another. Until she reaches Mrs. B’s foster home. There she meets a kid her age named Gabriel and when her inevitable episode happens, he doesn’t tell anyone. They become close best friends (who knows where this is leading?). Anyway, so now three years after that Incident she’s due for another one and it’s stronger this time. They go through it together and what do you know? Love. They go on a trip to Alaska and then meet some people(Amber’s sisters, duh, daughters as in plural) who tell them Amber and Gabriel are both not human, they are Estilorians, and don’t belong on this plane. They were sent to be kept safe and in Gabriel’s case to learn about emotions. More stuff happens, plus there are bad guys out to get them. Who doesn’t love this perfect mix of awesomeness?



Characters: 
Protagonist: Amber. Okay she’s pretty cool. Tough. Hardened by the foster system. She’s also pretty funny. She’s intelligent and doesn’t dither all over the place.

The Best-Friend-turned-Boyfriend: Yes. Omg yes, yes. While Amber was okay, Gabriel was much better ;) Funny, caring, protective not to mention hot, yep this boy has it all. Finding out he wasn’t human either was a bit of a surprise but I guess it makes sense because humans don’t transfer planes right?

The Sisters: They both, Olivia and Skye, seem like pretty remarkable characters. I think the next books are going to be focused on them, but it wasn’t like we didn’t get switched to their perspectives in this one, so I’m not too upset about the different protagonist thing which is weird. Usually I hate that stuff, I like my series to just pick a character and stick with it, but I think I’ll survive with this one.

The Romance: OMG. Pick a place in private to read this because you will giggle, smile, and laugh out loud at Amber and Gabriel when they are together. I mean Amber was pretty stupid; of course Gabriel’s in love with you! But it was okay because she figured it out. I was so happy there was no insta-love! Gabriel and Amber have been best-friends for years until they fall in love. Happiness from me. It was sweet but at the same time heated and so oh yes’s to love!

The Villains: Now this is where it gets confusing. There is the Estilorian plane and then on it there are different branches like Gloresti, Mercesti, and more. It was hard to keep track who was who I guess. There was lots going on with snippets of conversations between the bad guys or the good guys who know what’s happening. Argh, you’ll know what I mean if you read it I think. It wasn’t impossible to keep track, it was just harder. But the mythology itself was pretty unique and original.

Overall: Great romance, pretty awesome characters, fast-moving plot, needed more details but nevertheless very fun to read. I bet the next books will answer the questions we have at the end of this book. 

Soulbound (Legacy of Tril #1) - Heather Brewer

Review: Soulbound
Author: Heather Brewer
Rating: 4/5

Genre: fantasy

Recommend To: fans of Graceling 

Yes. Just yes. I was feeling depressed at the lack of kick butt fighter women in the recent novels I had read. Just in general I missed old fashioned sword fighting and monsters leaping out every five feet. Sometimes, you just need some good old action with romance tossed in. I definitely got it. This book just made me plain happy. The writing was not overly complicated, but the story was just plain fun.

Kaya, the protagonist, is born a Healer in a secret world of Barrons and Healers. But she wants to fight, like a Barron. She is forced to go to the school and take part in the life her parents ran away from to protect her. Now she must protect them, and be the docile Healer everyone expects her to be. Except.....she wants to fight. So she asks the guy she gets bound to (who literally happens to be the most boring guy on the planet, even if he is fictional. Honestly it's no competition between Trayton and Darius because Trayton put me to sleep.) He says no, so she asks the head trainer, who might be overly mysterious, but that's okay sometimes, because he is an awesome fighter. Oh and an awesome bodyguard named Maddox, I really liked her sarcasm and brisk nature. 

Okay, so this whole love triangle business. Usually, it drives me crazy. And I think it will in the next book. But in this one, for a long time, I was more focused on the inequalities between Healer and Barrons. In fact, it was so well done, I was just plain terked off. Just, gahhhh, all the rules and protocol and subservience! It made me MAD. Trayton constantly saying he would protect her, and that Healers were helpless. Yeah, he's dead to me. And so props to this book for addressing one of the societal issues that never really goes away.

So here are my final statements. It had great action,  societal issues, awesome evil Graplar beastie things, a pretty cute guy (no, not Trayton), awesome female warrior mojo, and fun characters. But it lacked complex plot lines and romance that was thought out. Plus, the name of the book totally gave the end away, even if the concept of Soulbinding and Binding was cool. 

The Essence (The Pledge #2) - Kimberly Derting

Review: The Essence

Author: Kimberly Derting

Rating: 5/5

Genre: dystopia, sci-fi, romance, fantasy

Recommend To: fans of the Seven Realms series

I definitely liked this one much more than the first, and I liked the first pretty dang a lot. I think this one was just more in depth. 

The Plot: For one, the plot was more developed rather than simple revolution and finding your true identity. This time, Charlie, Charlaina, has to deal with the pressures of being Queen while still having the last Queen in her head. It mainly rotates about Chalie's growing concern with rebellions around the city against her rule and abolishment of the class system, while also preparing for a meeting between Queens at the annual summit. I like that the world-building was more developed and explained, and we got to see beyond the walls of Ludania.

The Characters: Charlie on a whole was progressing well into her role as Queen even if having trouble with the horses. She made some great changes in the city while facing opposition and was mature, but then again, she is still having trouble with Sabara. I love Sabara. It's weird but I loved her even more in this book, especially after getting more insight into her life as a child and well...stuff. She is just so ancient, twisted and evil, but then under that is just this little girl who went to the beach. And then of course there is Max, who is absent for a major part of the book, but is still adorable. Finally, the supporting characters are all absolutely wonderful and you love them and just want to keep them safe although you cant always. Brooklyn, Aron, Zafir, Angelina, Xander, and Eden along with Avonlea, Florence and Neva are all so precious.

The Romance: I guess it's getting a little more complicated here. And very interesting. Seems like Sabara's got an old beau. Haha but that's her old love life. I'm not saying anything more on that matter. Charlie and Max are happy enough, if a little stressed about the events in the kingdom. 

The Style: Ludania was greatly expanded by Derting and she made sure that all the political shenanigans are far from over. Plus all the different perspectives are great and keep the story moving in all directions. Furthermore, the Queens powers and the supernatural aspect of the story are also being explored. 

Overall: Nothing is dull and everything is intense. Sabara's threats are far from over and Charlie has to deal with heaps of responsibility. It was a continuing struggle to mesh the newfound identity and the old identity of  Charlie and her fights against dresses and "Your Majesty"ing, with the ancient, evil of Sabara mixed in. I could see that things were not going to be easy for Charlie, but with the support of such wonderful characters, I know she'll be fine and I cannot wait for the third book. 

Splintered - AG Howard

Review: Splintered

Author: AG Howard

Rating: 3/5

Genre: fantasy, paranormal, retellings

Recommend To: fans of creepy (in a good way) retellings of beloved classics, fans of Wicked Lovely

The Plot: This was harder to adjust to as opposed to other aspects of the book that were excellent. Part of it was that it started out one way, Alyssa jumping into Wonderland to break the curse on her family, and then ending another way. You might say excellent, there are plot twists, and there were some things that I didn't see coming, but the fact of the matter is, I felt that things were just being heaped on and not being explained thoroughly. There was a lot going on and being revealed constantly. Almost too fast.

The Characters: There was also a lot going on in this region. Alyssa is smarter that most heroines I must say. Instead of griping on half the time about how Wonderland had to be a dream or that she of all people couldn't possibly have anything to do with magic and the supernatural, she accepts it very quickly. Yet, other times, she behaves ridiculously. I guess the only actually cool thing about her is that she can hear bugs and flowers and then she kills them to make artwork. Creepy but interesting. I wasn't in love with her character, but at least she didn't complain and she figured out where she was quickly enough. The only other two major characters are Jeb and Morpheus. Neither whom I really liked either. Jeb was noble and loyal, and Morpheus was mysterious and untrustworthy. But neither felt very developed. 

The Romance: To me, its clear who she belongs with. That makes the end satisfying I suppose. But at the same time both Morpheus and Jeb are sucky love interests. I didn't like either of them. The whole love triangles was just irritating and boring too. She's in love with Jeb, Morpheus is her childhood friends, blah blah blah. You bled for me, I bled for you, you saved my life....it goes on. 

The Style: This is where the book shines and really saves itself. It is quite disturbing at some parts, with images of grotesque creatures from Wonderland. It is a truly creepy spin on Alice and Wonderland's original story, with Alice being completely mad and never truly escaping Wonderland's mad world. The characters have all been shifted such as White Rabbit becoming Rabid White. Yeah, pretty interesting. The writing is very lyrical and fits the mood of the novel very well. 

Overall: I really wanted to love this book being a fan of the original Alice in Wonderland and I do love retellings. Especially unusual interesting ones with a great overall mood and beautiful writing. But when they are filled with disappointing characters, an almost too confusing, and actually boring plot,  and a very flat romance, it just doesn't work for me. There are many out there who love this novel, but sadly I am not one of them. 

3/5 Butterflies

Top-10 Fantasy

Oooh this is going to be really hard…ok I’m not including paranormal in this list (that’ll be separate otherwise my head might explode from trying to choose)

I’ll be focusing mainly on high fantasy so if a paranormal series isn't there chances are I’m putting it in a different list. Or I may have totally missed it. Either way you can reply and comment.

1. Harry Potter by JK Rowling (duh)

2. The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

3. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

4. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

5. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

6. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder 

7. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (beautiful series)

8. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

9. Daughter of Smoke and Bone  by Laini Taylor

10. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

More that could have just as easily been on the list if I had thought of them in time or something:

The Battle of the Icemark by Stuart Hill

Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

Crown and Court Duel series by Sherwood Smith

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

Oh jeez I need to stop. There’s too many....

Stormdancer (Lotus War #1) - Jay Kristoff

Review: Stormdancer

Author: Jay Kristoff

Rating: 5/5

Genre: I don't even know....steampunk-fantasy? Whatever it was, it was awesome.

Recommend To: Fans of awesome chainkatana action and sarcastic griffins

Completely blown to pieces right now. I can't even process the magnitude of this book.

The Plot: So much happening. I'll just sum up. Yukiko and her father are sent on a hunt for an arashitora, a legendary thunder tiger, on the whim of the dictatorial shogun Yoritomo. In a storm, the ship goes down, and Yukiko is stuck on a mountain with only the arashitora for company. They realize they need each other to survive and begin to form an unlikely, but unbelievably adorable friendship. (Yeah you might ask how the heck they get to know each other, but she can talk to animals ok?) Not the point. Eventually, she starts to learn all these complicated truths about the Lotus Guild and the shogun and her own family. Plus all this absolutely horrific stuff that has to do with the Blood Lotus itself and the war with the foreigners and basically, we have ourselves a very polluted version of Japan with incredibly detailed myths, and some not-so mythical myths, fantasy griffins, some cool engineering and a full scale rebellion. Can I have more please?

The Characters: In this section, everything was Buruu. He ran this whole book, I'm not even kidding here, I literally read this book to make sure Buruu would be okay. Because he was the best. I want to meet him, and hear him call me MONKEY CHILD and just feel his fur. I couldn't help laughing at his remarks about human "coupling" among other things. Who wouldn't love Buruu? The rest of them, yeah, Yukiko, very independent, driven young-lady, with a lovable father (with some issues), and then the rest of the team. Kin (awesome), Hiro (should go die), Kasumi (badass), Akihito (big, whenever the mentioned him, my first thought was always big), Michi (also badass). You get the picture. Lots of very awesome characters who were overshadowed by Buruu cause he was the best. 

The Romance  Relationships: Is this even a category for this book? Yeah, I'm changing the title of this category. Okay, so the relationship between Yukiko and Buruu was obviously the main one. The way they begin to care for each other and become one was too precious for words. Of course, there is also Yukiko's rocky relationship with her dad. Then I guess there is Yukiko and Hiro (the sea-green eyes guy). Yechh, I wanted to stab him with his own chainkatana. Whatever. Kin, was sweet though. Team Kin anyone? So yeah, lots of different undercurrents going on in the book. Yukiko and Kasumi. Kasumi and Masaru. Yoritoma and Aisha. Not to mention the complexities involved in understanding clan rivalries and whatnot. Phew. 

The Style: Wow. This was one area it took me a little while to get settled into. Very wordy, descriptive, and a little foreign. The Japanese vocabulary took a little while to get settled into, but the dictionary in the back helped. Other than that, it was breathtaking. After a while, it was impossible to put down and you were hanging on to every word. The world-building was exquisite and your understanding of Shima and its complex hierarchies just continues to build throughout the book. It's unbelievable how the small descriptions of the color of the sky, or the black-lung can emphasize the pollution and corruption happening in Shima.

Overall: If you are a person looking for some light-reading, this is not your book. It is complex and takes up a bit of your time, no matter how fast a reader you are. There is a lot of new vocabulary in there and you actually learn a lot about feudal Japan, even if they have chainsaws and a Lotus Guild. But, if you want to read something completely new that will blow your mind with beautiful descriptions and characters, and places, then read this. It has everything and more. It's not all pretty, and there are some gruesome truths about pollution and human nature that some people don't want to face, but it's one of the most unusual and incredible books written in a long time. 

Chime - Franny Billingsey

Review: Chime

Author: Franny Billingsey

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Fantasy, historical-fiction

Recommend To: Fans of A Great and Terrible Beauty

Wow, what a magical, mysterious setting. I’m blown away. By everything. The plot, the characters, the mystery, the wording. It was all surreal as I was reading it, and yet it was all very tangible. I’ll explain.

The Plot: Confusing at first, but the plot is centered on Briony and her struggle to save her twin Rose from the dangerous swamp cough. They are returning to Swampsea, a 20^th century town complete with motorcars, but still with a tinge of the Victorian era and of course haunted by ancient things that roam in the wild swamp. It’s hard to find the actual villain at first because Briony is so hell-bent on the fact that the villain is herself, but that just serves to add more twists and turns. The entire book has a really dark sort of feel to it, mysterious and on the verge on confusing.  Toss in there a bit of sunshine and humor (there were parts I laughed out loud actually) known as Eldric and we really have ourselves a brilliant novel.

The Characters: This is what I wanted to talk about the entire time. It’s not really the plot that keeps the book moving, it’s the characters. Or Briony herself I guess. It’s strange to find a female protagonist not whining about how ugly and unlovable she is, but about how she is pretty on the outside, and wicked and evil on the inside. She doesn’t spend time mooning over some arrogant jerk, complaining how he’ll never love her back, but instead she focuses on how she deserves to hang and to never be loved. It’s quite a flip. But you find yourself still liking her. Even though she can ramble about her wickedness, and you want to shake her, she is still pretty powerful, which made me like her even more. Eldric was the complete opposite, which made him perfect for Briony. They completed each other. He was the light in the story. I laughed over their “bad-boy” Latin and their boxing lessons. It was perfect. And then there is Rose, who is absolutely adorable, and Tiddy Rex who reminds me of a puppy. And Leanne and Cecil (both of whom I would’ve loved to punch in the face). But it’s lovely to have characters that inspire such feeling in the reader.

The Romance: Slower than other books. No insta-love. No love-triangles, (no real ones at least.) Like I said, Eldric and Briony are perfect for each other. They belong together and neither of them cares about the others flaws. They learn about each other before professing undying love for each other. They become real friends, learning about love, loyalty, and trust, before lust (even though they learn about that too). It was sweet and touching.

The Style: Gorgeous. Lush. Deep. Sumptuous. Mysterious. Verdant. Cryptic. Arcane. Opulent. All great words. The poetry, the descriptions, the Latin (you’ll understand when you read it), the emotions. You could sink into them and never return. It was astonishingly rich and worth reading it for the setting alone.

Overall: See above. Or just go read the book. Take your pick. If the choice is the former, you still go read it. 

Defiance (Defiance #1) - C.J. Redwine

Review: Defiance

Author: C.J. Redwine

Rating: 3/5

Genre: Fantasy, Historical-Fiction

Recommend To: Adventure and romance fans

Initially I was super excited about this book. Like crazy. OMG fantasy mixed in with romance type of crazy. And it was good. Just not as good as I was expecting. But it made me happy and the ending was huge so here we go. 

The Plot: Hmm yeah cool stuff happening. Rachel, our main character, has just lost her courier father, he is presumed dead after not returning from a mission. Her guardianship (women have like no rights, they need an escort to even go for a walk, seriously) then transfers to her father’s apprentice, Logan, a man she once loved, now hates (not really). She decides to go find her father and the mysterious package he was carrying with or without Logan, and with the threat of the Commander (super evil) looming over her. Pretty straightforward premise I think. Just one thing. When and where the heck is this happening? There was noworldbuilding at all. None whatsoever. I didn’t know if this was after our modern civilization post-apocalypse, or a completely different world, or a kind of steampunky (they had tech) historical dystopian earth. It was bizarre. And it took away from the book. 

The Characters: 

Rachel Adams: Headstrong, feisty, red-haired Rachel was initially fun to read. She made a lot of stupid decisions along the way though. And then she just became plain scary. I guess in a slightly good way because I couldn’t stop reading about this crazy, revengeful girl-thing she becomes, but she really changes and not really in a good way. More like an ohmygod that’s chilling kind of way. 
Logan McEntire: A nerd who can fight. He’s intelligent, especially with technology; he has a dark past so he can kick-butt. However, he is really overbearing. Blah at first, then kind of protective and endearing. I’m glad he is reminded women are his equals because at first he doesn’t tell Rachel anything as if she’s too stupid. Blah once more. But he’s cute I guess.

The Commander: Whoa, evil alert. Especially with the suppress all women agenda and kill them if they walk in the street alone. Seriously, Logan’s mother….so sad. That doesn’t count as a spoiler does it? Anyway, yeah. He was awesome to hate. I hated him a lot. 

The Romance: Hmm now this was…what’s the word….hurried? It was also a little peculiar. A few years ago, Rachel swears her love to Logan….he rejects her. Okay, so now she hates him right? She is forced to live with him after her father dies, and all Logan does is nothing right? But no, now they must fall in love, this time with Logan falling back and being all “I will let nothing hurt you Rachel!” But seriously, it just happened too fast! I wanted more hate, more denial, more angst! It wasn’t satisfying…

Overall: There were goods and bads I guess. The creatures were interesting, the Commander and his regime were also fascinating. The premise drew me in easily and I enjoyed reading it because of the dual POV’s even without any background. It was fun seeing what was happening in both of their heads. But it wasn’t as awesome as I had hoped it would be and that’s my final judgment.