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Review: Ruined by Amy Tintera

January 23, 2016May 18, 2016 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Ruined #1

ruined -amy tintera Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war. She lacks the powers of her fellow Ruined. Worst of all, she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders and watched helplessly as her sister, Olivia, was kidnapped.

But because Em has nothing, she has nothing to lose. Driven by a blind desire for revenge, Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family.

In a brilliant, elaborate plan of deception and murder, Em marries Prince Casimir, next in line to take Lera’s throne. If anyone in Lera discovers Em is not Casimir’s true betrothed, Em will be executed on the spot. But it’s the only way to salvage Em’s kingdom and what is left of her family.

Em is determined to succeed, but the closer she gets to the prince, the more she questions her mission. Em’s rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake.

4 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

**Ruined comes out May 3, 2016**

I am a huge fan of Amy Tintera and her latest novel, starting an epic new trilogy, is no exception. Ruined is the fantasy book I’ve been waiting for this year. It is action-packed, brimming with betrayal and love and fear, as we follow one young woman’s quest in taking down a nation who nearly wiped out her whole race.

Em was a kick-ass heroine. She is one of the last of the Ruined’s royal family still alive. In this land where Ruined were graced with immense power and magic, they are now sought out and hunted as the other kingdoms feared what they are capable of. Out for revenge, she plots this absolutely crazy plan to take down her enemies, almost single handedly.

And the craziest thing of all? She doesn’t even have any Ruined magic in her.

Yes, this book sounds a little like Red Queen but Continue reading “Review: Ruined by Amy Tintera” →

Review: Down with the Shine by Kate Karyus Quinn

January 18, 2016January 20, 2016 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

down with the shine -kate karyus quinn There’s a reason they say “be careful what you wish for.” Just ask the girl who wished to be thinner and ended up smaller than Thumbelina, or the boy who asked for “balls of steel” and got them-literally. And never wish for your party to go on forever. Not unless you want your guests to be struck down by debilitating pain if they try to leave.

These are things Lennie only learns when it’s too late-after she brings some of her uncles’ moonshine to a party and toasts to dozens of wishes, including a big wish of her own: to bring back her best friend, Dylan, who was abducted and murdered six months ago.

Lennie didn’t mean to cause so much chaos. She always thought her uncles’ moonshine toast was just a tradition. And when they talked about carrying on their “important family legacy,” she thought they meant good old-fashioned bootlegging.

As it turns out, they meant granting wishes. And Lennie has just granted more in one night than her uncles would grant in a year.

Now she has to find a way to undo the damage. But once granted, a wish can’t be unmade…

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

**Down with the Shine comes out April 26, 2016**

This story had its dark moments but it never quite felt that way due to the whimsical manner in which it was written.

Or it could just be because wish-granting made it seem less serious since (hopefully!) you could wish the terrible things undone.

Down with the Shine was immediately not what I had originally expected. Lennie was named after her infamous father, a known robber and killer on the FBI’s Top Ten Watch list or something. This made her very unpopular among her peers, and hence, the understandably low self-esteem and “play it safe” look on life.

Oh, and also? Her best friend was murdered and chopped into individual pieces. Continue reading “Review: Down with the Shine by Kate Karyus Quinn” →

Review: Shade Me by Jennifer Brown

January 17, 2016January 20, 2016 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Nikki Kill #1

shade me -jennifer brown Nikki Kill does not see the world like everyone else. In her eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray. Thanks to a rare phenomenon called synesthesia, Nikki’s senses overlap, in a way that both comforts and overwhelms her.

Always an outsider, just one ‘D’ shy of flunking out, Nikki’s life is on the fast track to nowhere until the night a mysterious call lights her phone up bright orange—the color of emergencies. It’s the local hospital. They need Nikki to identify a Jane Doe who is barely hanging on to life after a horrible attack.

The victim is Peyton Hollis, a popular girl from Nikki’s school who Nikki hardly knows. One thing is clear: Someone wants Peyton dead. But why? And why was Nikki’s cell the only number in Peyton’s phone?

As she tries to decipher the strange kaleidoscope of clues, Nikki finds herself thrust into the dark, glittering world of the ultra-rich Hollis family, and drawn towards Peyton’s handsome, never-do-well older brother Dru. While Nikki’s colors seem to help her unravel the puzzle, what she can’t see is that she may be falling into a trap. The only truth she can be sure of is that death is a deep, pulsing crimson.

Shade Me is award-winning author Jennifer Brown’s first book in a thrilling suspense series about Nikki Kill.

2.5 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review

**Shade Me comes out January 19, 2016**

It took me a long time to persuade myself to read Shade Me after seeing the drastic negative ratings from reviewers. Now that I’ve actually read it for myself, I can see why it may not have sat well with everyone.

Here’s the background context of the story.

Nikki Kill (cool last name, right?) is a synesthete who associated colours with numbers and letters. Oh boy, I can only imagine how distracting that would be to do math or chemistry with colours floating in the air around it.

Anyway, she likes to be alone for the most part. She has no real friends. This all stems back from her mother’s murder when she was a kid that was never solved. Add into the equation that not everyone believed she had synesthesia, which I find astounding considering it isn’t some unheard of disorder that affects nearly no one, she’s apt to want to stick to herself. Trust and trusting her heart to someone is a huge issue with her. So getting dragged into a whole mess with a super powerful family, the Hollises, was the very opposite of what her life was normally like. Now people were paying attention to her and spreading rumours when her biggest worry previously was to just be able to graduate high school.

So let me break it simply down into what was likeable and what- well – wasn’t. Continue reading “Review: Shade Me by Jennifer Brown” →