Book releases I'm most excited for in July!

Ink and Bone (The Great Library, #1) by Rachel Caine

Released date: July 7th 2015

Goodreads summary: In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.…

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When he inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn.

The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles, #2) by Mary E. Pearson

Released date: July 7th 2015

Goodreads summary: Intrigue abounds in this hotly anticipated sequel to The Kiss of Deception!

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar's interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.

Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: there's Rafe, who lied to Lia, but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be barbarians. Now that she lives amongst them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country... and her own destiny.

Armada by Ernest Cline

Released Date: July 14th 2015

Goodreads summary: Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure.

But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe.

And then he sees the flying saucer.

Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders. 

No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?

At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make Ready Player One a phenomenon.

Review : Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Title: Frostfire

Author: Amanda Hocking

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: January 6th, 2015

Goodreads Summary: Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes. Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden. But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

REVIEW

First of all, this book is supposed to be about trolls. Have you seen the cover? She's gorgeous, that's not the point, but the girl looks human. You want me to give you trolls? Here you are:

Obviously, I couldn't believe it, this trolls things. If it was about faeries, it would have been realistic, but THIS, THIS?!? I'm sorry, Amanda Hocking, but I don't understand. You wanted to be original, but it failed. Moreover, before 25% in this book, we knew nothing about this trolls, except the main character was a tracker, and there were changelings, for some of them. Even after some explanations, I didn't see the point. Really. They could have been any creatures, it makes no difference. I know this is a spin-off series, but there wasn't enough world building for my taste, so I was kinda lost...

This society seems kind of archaic, for example a sixteen years old girl marries a king twice her age. The worst part of this world was the children that were given away to human host families. Okay, but they switched with human babies and they put them in orphanages. Like seriously? It's not even their world, and they allow themselves to mess up with some children's lives? How selfish is that? 

On top of that, trolls are racists. There are several tribes, the Kanin, the Skojare, et caetera. Our main character, Bryn, is half Kanin (her father is the Chancellor, most important person after the King and the Queen) and half Skojare, most people hate her for that. At some point in the book, she says Kanins forgave their parents, but not her. How is it her fault that her parents fell in love?

About her, she was mostly annoying. I liked she was tough and ready to do everything it takes to have a successful career, which is harder because of her origins, but that was all. For example, she was mad at her best friend because she was pregnant and chose to start a family instead of being truly dedicated to her job. Of course every other character told her she was crazy, but still. It was interesting to see the story through her eyes, because instead of discovering the world with someone who didn't know anything about it, she was explaining (but the world-building wasn't great...). Moreover, her job is really interesting.

The other characters were alright but didn't stand out for me... I liked Ember maybe?

The plot was good. Changelings that were hidden in the human world was in danger - well mostly the ones in line for the throne. The first changeling Bryn rescued in the book was in danger and she saw that bad Konstantin (who tried to kill her father in the prologue) was stalking him too, so she ran away with the boy, Linus. After he is reunited with his parents, she has to help him adapt. Then, there is a problem with an other changeling, everyone is on guard. Of course, Ridley and Bryn are the ones that see Konstantin all the time, not the others. And of course, they are the ones to be sent in the Skojare court. It was kind of interesting, but I felt nothing were resolved at the end of the book. The book ended quite abruptly, but it didn't give me the will to continue with this serie...

Still, I had the feeling that the prologue was long and pushed up, an excuse for Konstantin being the bad guy, but in the end, Bryn starts to doubt he was that bad, and we saw the real bad guy. It seems that Konstantin was serving a higher purpose than serving the King and the Queen, I guess that will lead to more developments in the next books, but honestly, I don't care. At all.

The romance was enjoyable (with her boss, Ridley), it wasn't a big part of the story. It wasn't instalove because she knew him her whole life; and it was tension between us through the book, even if it kinda exploded when they kissed each other (before she ran away), but that's all. Sadly, there will probably be a love triangle with Konstantin, who is supposed to be the bad guy but did everything for love (WTF? At least, it was intriguing). 

I'm really disappointed in this book, it seemed interesting at first, but I struggled to read it at first, at least I liked it a little more when we had more world-building. Maybe I should have read the main series with the Trylle, I heard Finn, Ember's brother, was in it, but I checked out the premise of this other series and it doesn't look that good.

Rating : 2/5 stars

Review : The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent

Title: The Stars Never Rise

Author: Rachel Vincent

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Release Date: June 9th, 2015

Goodreads Summary: Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago.

When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie's sin has put her in serious trouble.

To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie?

Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her.

REVIEW

Really, I didn't see this book coming at all. I've been sick of dystopia for a while, but my interest sparked again with this book. The human world discovers that there are souls and demons along the way. There is a war between humans and demons, which permits the Church to rise : a government that controls everyone's life through religion. For example, big sinners are burnt. In public. And it's broadcasted in the whole country. Our main character, Nina, is almost seventeen years old, she has to take care of her sister, because her mother is a drug addict, and she can't let the Church discovers it. Nina plans to become a teacher and so dedicate her life to the Church, until her sister, Melanie, reveals something that changes their whole lives. Then, Nina kills a demon, discovers she has powers on her own and is hunted by the Church, demons - well, everyone. On top of that, she has to trust rogue exorcists, because whether she wants it or not, she's part of them.

This book was really fast-paced and addictive, I read it in one setting or so. I saw some plot twists coming, but not all of them, and I was so happy about it. To sum up, nothing is as it seems, in this book. I liked some of the author's ideas, like introducing the world through classes : first when Nina interrogates Mellie for her history test, then when she is helping with the five years old class. The world is a dystopian one, but humanity regressed, because the Church is the establishment that controls everything, like in the Middle Ages. The whole book is set in New Temperance, Nina's hometown, which isn't a bad thing, because a lot happened in a few days. I can't wait to see more of this world though.

The main character is a strong one, who does what she has to in order to have something to eat, she even sells herself. She protects her sister and is very mature, I really liked her. My favourite character in this book was Grayson, she's discreet, sweet, and helpless for now, but I'm sure she'll do great things in the next books. The romance caught me off guard, it was really interesting, to see how finally, Nina overcomes the difficulties she had. Still, the romance wasn't overwhelming if you compare to other YA books. 

Rating : 4.5/5

June 2015 - Wrap-up

Hi everyone!

June is already ending : just like that, my first month of holidays is over, I don't know where it goes. Anyway, I read a lot this month, my total is 30 books, which means a book a day, I know... (still, there was a few I didn't finish) My best friend was kind of mad at me yesterday because in one month, I read the amount of books she read this January, haha. Sometimes, I think I'm not human. You can check my GR account to know more on my thoughts of the book I read this month, because this blog is brand new ! I don't think I'll be able to do as much reading in July, mostly because I'll be working.

Some of the books I read this month.

Half Bad (Hald Bad #1) by Sally Green 3.5 stars

Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle #1) by Rachel Hawkins 4 stars

Confess by Colleen Hoover 5 stars

Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2) by Libba Bray 4 stars

The Falconer (The Falconer #1) by Elizabeth May DNF

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh 5 stars

Talon (Talon #1) by Julie Kagawa 4.5 stars

Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle #2) by Rachel Hawkins 3 stars

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black 2 stars

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson 5 stars

The Glass Sentence (The Mapmaker's Trilogy #1) by S.E. Grove 5 stars

Snow like Ashes (Snow like Ashes #1) by Sara Raasch 5 stars

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley 4.5 stars

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa 4 stars

The Crown of Ptolemy by Rick Riordan 3 stars

The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West 4 stars

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa 4.5 stars

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa 3.5 stars

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir 5 stars

Royal Wedding (The Princess Diaries #11) by  Meg Cabot 5 stars

Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer 3.5 stars

Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan 5 stars

The Sin Eater's Daughter (The Sin Eater's Daughter #1) by Melinda Salisbury DNF

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone 5 stars

Rogue (Talon #2) by Julie Kagawa 5 stars

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven DNF

C'est pas ma faute (Mortelle Adèle #3) by Mr. Tan 4 stars

Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard 3.5 stars

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella 4 stars

The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1) 2 stars

What did you read this month? Which book was your favourite?

Review : Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Title: Finding Audrey

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Release Date: June 9th, 2015

Goodreads Summary: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Shopaholic series comes a terrific blend of comedy, romance, and psychological recovery in a contemporary YA novel sure to inspire and entertain.

An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

REVIEW

I have never read a Sophie Kinsella book before, but I meant to, because I loved the Confessions of a Shopaholic movie. I heard it was her first YA novel, and I think she did pretty good.

First, I like how the cover reflect Audrey's state of mind at the beginning of the novel, because her instinct tells her to hide. I liked Sophie Kinsella's style because this book was so addictive (there are chapters, but not the numbers, so I couldn't stop reading) and funny. 

For me, this book was more relatable because it had only half-truths, for example there weren't details about the bullying, because Audrey didn't want to talk about it. Even though I wanted to know precisely what had happened, the author didn't push it and let us imagine, which also permits the reader to make the book his own. 

Audrey's "recovery" was really interesting to read about, it allowed a lot of character development for her. It was realistic, because even at the end, she isn't back to "normal" like she wanted to, and understands people can have a perfect life (see the graphs) like she wanted to. Seeing a part of the story through the camera was really interesting, it was most of the time things she wasn't supposed to see, so even funnier, and it was cute when Frank used it.

About the characters, I think my favourite was Felix. I love children and have three little brothers, so I always relate to characters who have younger siblings. 

"Hello you," I say, and press my face close against his. "Hello you." He squashes up even closer. "Do you want to build a snowman?" 

And because of that Frozen obsession, I started finding him soooo cute. All the characters were whole, Frank with LOC for example. But, I couldn't bring myself to like the Mom. She was really obsessed with the Daily Mail and it pissed me off how much she had a crisis because "Video games are evil, blah blah blah", because in the end, she kinda became interested. Like seriously, she throw a computer off the window? Whose mom would do that? I think she's supposed to understand how expensive that thing is, I really didn't get that part, she was essentially an extreme stereotypical figure.

I liked Audrey and Linus relationship, how he helped her overcome her fears with his challenge. The one with the ice-cream seller was really cute. But, I didn't understand the beginning of their relationship, it was really unrealistic. Audrey is anxious, she can't make eye-contact with him, and the next minute they're making out? I would have preferred it with more steps, even if there was the shoe contact before.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time reading this book, it was a fun, easy and quick read. Still, I had a few issues with this book, but that's not a big deal, it just explains why this isn't my favorite book.

Rating : 4/5

Review : Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: February 10th, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

REVIEW

First, I would like to say that I didn't want to read this book at all, because of the hype. Everyone was talking about it in February and a lot of people said they had mixed feelings about it. I doubted I would ever get around it, but only idiots never change their minds, as they said, so I jumped into it. I won't lie, I also have mixed feelings about this book.

For a debut novel, this book is good, no doubt.

If you aren't so familiar with YA, this book is amazing.

But here is the thing : I'm a sucker for YA.

This book is a mix of YA books (The Selection, The Hunger Games, Red Rising, Shadow and Bone...), which disturbs me a lot. I have stopped reading dystopian novels because I found them too similar to each other, and then, I read this one. This book makes my point. So yes, I liked it, and if I was writing a review only based on my enjoyment, this book would be a 4.5 stars. But right now, all I can't think about is the similarities. If you want to know what I'm talking about, check this review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1204596355?book_show_action=false

However, I don't want to dwell on this matter and try to talk about what I enjoyed about this book. 

This world was really interesting, a true dystopian society, on that point, Aveyard was pretty good, even it there was nothing new. The Silvers are above the Reds, who wants to begin a revolution with a spark (almost a quote of the book, ahem, you know which ORIGINAL book I'm referring to), our main character, Mare.

I really liked her, she was an interesting character, and most of the time she was realistic. I will make an exception for a moment like when she has to bow in front of the king (who can kill her) and refuse, because his system is the reason for her awful life. I can't understand she hates him, but if I had been in her shoes, I would have been terrified. 

There was a love triangle, I don't really like it obviously (like most of the time), I'll be happy as long as she doesn't end up with the Gale. 

The plot was pretty solid, the last plot twists were really well done, even if I knew that character would betray her. Still, I didn't expect the last events at all, I was pleasently surprised. 

Victoria Aveyard can write, that's what she showed me with this book. The pacing, the transitions, it was well written and enough to keep my attention, even if I was mad at her for the similarities. Now, I want to give her a chance for improvement in the second book, for the originality. With an ending like this one, I feel like I have to read the second book, and I will, but I really hope it won't turn out on a collection of similarities to other YA books. I think Aveyard would be great at retellings because of that, though. 

Rating : 3.5/5

Review : Rogue by Julie Kagawa

Title: Rogue

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: April 28th 2015

Goodreads Summary: Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can't forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her—Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he'd signed his own death warrant. 

Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order's headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember's own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George. 

A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day…or start an all-out war?

REVIEW

This month has been my Julie Kagawa's month, I read the Blood of Eden trilogy (about vampires, really good) and the two first books of the Talon quintet. The third book, Soldier, is scheduled to be out during Fall 2016. Personnally, I can't wait to read this book because I loved the first two ! I also need to read the Iron Fey series, but that's another story. 

I loved this book, it was a great second installment in this Talon quintet. At the end of the first book, Ember went with Riley/Cobalt for a rogue life, Garret was taken by the Order to be judged and Dante remained with Talon. At the beginning of the book, Ember discovers what the life of a rogue really is and convinces Cobalt to come with her to rescue Garret (who is to be executed), I'm glad it didn't take too long for the rescue part. For Dante, he has to convince Talon he is trustworthy and organizes a mission to take Ember back. If I had to summarize the plot, I would say it is an on-the-run kind of book, with a fast pace, so I was never bored. I loved the betrayals (even if I had guessed). <spoiler>I think my favorite part of the book was when Faith made Ember shoot Garret, she aimed at his head, dropped the weapon and Shifted. It was such an intense moment, I loved it.</spoiler>

The characters are all supposed to be kick-assed and have a lot of development, for example Cobalt's flashbacks of twelve years ago. Ember, who chose a rogue life, admits she isn't sure about what she's doing and I liked that : she shows her weaknesses. 

<blockquote>"I don't know what I'm doing," I admitted. "I thought I did, but I was wrong. I have no idea what to do now. I…" <i>I don't want to lose anyone else. Especially him.</i></blockquote>

The end is the promise of a fantastic third book : Garret arc in London, Dante and Talon (OMG the epilogue, I want the next one like now) and Ember and Riley going after traitors/rogue hatchlings. I'm really excited, even if the next book will be out in such a long time ! If I had to pick a team, it would be Garret, because seriously, star-crossed lovers.

Rating : 5/5