Category: YA

YA

Review: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

the start of me and you -emery lordFollowing her pitch-perfect debut Open Road Summer, Emery Lord pens another gorgeous story of best friends, new love, & second chances.

Brimming with heartfelt relationships and authentic high-school dynamics The Start of Me and You proves that it’s never too late for second chances.

It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

3 Drink Me Potions

“Knowing what happens isn’t the same as knowing how it happens. Getting there is the best part.”

Likewise, it wasn’t hard to predict how The Start of Me and You would turn out, but Paige’s journey in rediscovering herself, both returning to her old self before the accident as well as figuring out her new self, was a wonderful thing to witness. Paige had lost her boyfriend, Aaron, by a freak drowning incident after only a few months of dating. I was a little glad that this book didn’t focus on her sadness too much, as some books with similar freak accidents do. Instead, it focuses on her determination to get rid of That Look of pity from others and to learn to move on with her life without feeling guilty that she had this opportunity while Aaron hadn’t.

Thus, she makes a simple list of 5 things to accomplish for her junior year to help her move on from her standstill. For some reason, I really like books that make simplistic lists to follow as it gives the events of the story a structured feel. But accomplishing lists don’t always seem as easy as it is to just write it down. Throughout her school year, Paige finds in herself all these small moments that she could never have predicted she could have gotten. I thought she rather aptly named her list of goals as How to Begin Again, as it really was the first step that set the ball rolling for the rest. In fact, I liked it so much, I kind of wonder why How to Begin Again wasn’t the title. Ah well.

Besides the steady-paced journey to discovery for Paige, I loved her relationship with her 3 girlfriends. Their friendships were so real, as besties should be. Each brought something different to the table, they were uniquely themselves (come on, they each even had very specific music preferences), yet they could come together so easily in order to hold up each other when any of them needed it. Not many books write about friendships as well as Emery Lord does. I think my favourite way that Lord described this friendship was in this single sentence.

“Together, we made four walls, holding each other up even as the world around us shifted.”

It is absolutely the best way to imagine a close friendship, or rather, close friendships between 4 girls. Even when the world threw all these different problems at them, whether it be death or breakup or abandonment from parents, they held each other up. That’s the kind of inspiring relationship here that I’m starting to recognize as Emery Lord’s signature description of the best kinds of friendships.

And that leaves me to talk about the romance. It was, at the end of the day, realistic. Yes, it was kind of slow, especially since Paige was so consumed by the idea of Ryan. However, I loved Ryan as much as I loved Max. Just because one guy is popular while the other is a nerd doesn’t mean they can’t both be kind and selfless. In fact, the biggest difference I found between the cousins was just in their label: the Guy Everyone Wanted to Date and the nerd. So, just because there is the stereotypical label in place, their personalities aimed to be different. That was an admirable attempt, although it made the two boys harder for me to decide on which I liked more. Hence, the romance was a little lagging for the first half of the book.

The only other problem was Ryan’s rather unnecessary attempt to chase after one of Paige’s friends. Like, just because she moves on to realizing Max might be more meant for her, was it really necessary to make Ryan seem a little desperate to move onto someone else as well, given the bad breakup he had? Sure, this book is all about rediscovering yourself and possibly finding the involuntary pull of someone else. It just felt a little off to me, although I was kind of glad Lord didn’t tie it into such a neat bow that there was an explicit relationship mentioned. I guess it left it open for interpretation for anyone who would rather that he found his happiness too.

At the end of the day, The Start of Me and You was a very interesting story with its heartfelt relationships, both with friends and with Paige’s family, as it chronicled her year of attempting to begin again.
See? How to Begin Again would’ve made such a great title. Honestly.

Overall Recommendation:
Another beautiful story of the best kinds of friendships, heartbreak and the ability to redefine yourself afterwards, Emery Lord doesn’t disappoint. Albeit a bit slow in the romance department at first, the story excels in other areas as we follow Paige’s journey at learning to be herself again without the label of Girlfriend Whose Boyfriend Drowned. Loveable characters and universal ideals that can easily touch anyone’s heart, this proves that Emery Lord weaves gorgeous stories that inspire hope and friendships even in the darkest of days. I suggest you give this a try.

YA

Review: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Bloodlines #6

the ruby circle -richelle meadTHEY WILL BE TESTED

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets – and human lives.

Their forbidden romance exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead’s bestselling Bloodlines series.

When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, she and Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world and alter their lives forever.

Don’t miss their unforgettable final chapter…

LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL

4 Drink Me Potions

And thus the Bloodlines series finally concludes, with the final battle rightfully dealing with Jill’s kidnapping, as that was the original fear that had set off this series of events. I find myself a little sad that it’s done. I do hope this won’t be the last time I see these characters. What I love most about this final installment of the series is Richelle Mead’s ability to wrap up ALL, and I do mean ALL, the crazy plot lines that has happened throughout the series. And also seeing most of the recurring characters that I know I at least have grown to enjoy make appearances somewhere at least.

That being said, the biggest problem I had with the book was also because there were so many plot lines to figure out and make satisfying conclusions to them. It felt crowded and a little rushed in some conclusions. I had wanted to read more about one adventure and then it just finishes, with Sydney and Adrian moving on to the next problem that needs to be solved. Nothing lasted very long, and in that way, made each conclusion feel a little less satisfactory. Like it could have been more epic of a battle or whatever, but it never really came to that as nothing was built up to a climax moment for such a strong feeling to occur. It was like, engage with enemy, then in a short while, it was eliminated. Yay. Just not as much excitement as I’d initially hoped for.

The only other thing I wished for was a more satisfactory way for Adrian to deal with his spirit problem. I love that we get to go into his head and see how hard he’s struggling with his want to help while fearing the potential downfall of spirit usage. He’s a delightfully complex character that yearns to help others with all he’s got. However, I suppose that nothing “epic” could be solved for spirit users yet in controlling their horrible side effects. It was just a wish, seeing as this was the last book after all.

Throughout it all, this book still centres all the amazing love between Adrian and Sydney. I love their connection and even when they argue, it shows even more that they can last even through the rough times. They balance each other perfectly, even when they really don’t seem to be. They’re truly the perfect couple I’ve had the pleasure of following in a series in a long time. And that epilogue? Just. Perfect. I couldn’t have wanted a better one.

Although it was a happy ending, the world of the Moroi and Alchemists haven’t much changed in their taboos and such. For that, I do wish there would be more on this world someday as there is still such potential storylines to be explored. I can only cross my fingers and hope with all my might. All in all, it was a satisfactory ending that left a sweet nostalgic taste of the crazy adventures Adrian, Sydney, Jill and the rest of the gang had gone through in the last 6 books.

Overall Recommendation:
I found The Ruby Circle as a wonderfully satisfactory ending to the Bloodlines series. My only problem lies in the fact that although the many plot lines throughout had been solved in some way, it felt kind of crowded in one book. So much went on that it literally felt like Sydney and Adrian were moving off from one problem to the next, or alternating with other problems in between. It never allowed for a lot of time to build up each conclusion to something that could be called epic. However, the rest of the book did justice to all the main characters and I find that I’m going to miss them. Richelle Mead made each memorable and uniquely their own selves. Although a bit sad to see the conclusion to the spin-off series, I have hopes that something new in this world of Moroi, Strigoi and Alchemists will come back one day.

YA

Review: Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Bloodlines #5

silver shadows -richelle meadSydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off.

4 Drink Me Potions

Continuing with the alternating POVs between Sydney and Adrian like the previous novel, The Fiery Heart, the stakes are raised in this fifth installment, Silver Shadows. Sydney’s been captured and is trapped in re-education, far from the reach of Adrian and his love.

I particularly loved this book because both Adrian and Sydney are doing such different things between them. So I was really impatient to read both their parts to see what they were up to next, whether it be about Sydney’s attempts at escape or Adrian’s attempts to find her while fighting off the temptations of his vices. Both POVs were deliciously exciting and fast-paced, which wasn’t often the case when it came to some of the previous books in the Bloodlines series.

Re-education and its threatening implications were present since book 1, so to finally see it become reality for Sydney was intriguing indeed. To my greater surprise, there was something beyond the humiliation of solitary isolation and confinement. It was like a school, with teachers and other “students” that had to be re-educated. The highs and lows of this school environment felt similarly to any school environment, with antagonism from other students and particularly cruel teachers. And of course, the excitement rises with the dangers of trying to find a route of escape with or without Adrian’s help. But practicing human magic is as great of a transgression as being intimate with a vampire. Uh oh, Sydney.

As for Adrian, I loved his part almost as much as Sydney’s. He loved her, and without her love balancing him, he let spirit control him, falling back into all the old temptations and vices that used to hurt him. I’m glad one of the old vices he didn’t fall back into was girls, as I was terrified that he’d be so out of it or feeling so hopeless he would give up staying true to his one love. However, I should’ve known better than to fear, but it was interesting to see him fall to his very lowest point and then pick himself back up in order to find his beloved.

With lots of action as Adrian and some of our other favourite friends from Palm Springs, like Eddie and Marcus, race to find Sydney’s location, and the crazy antics of Sydney’s as she does her best to hold onto her love for her Moroi and dhampir friends, I must say, Silver Shadows had the best plot line of them all. Plus, a wonderfully cute ending that was as surprising as it was perfect.

Overall Recommendation:
Taking place pretty much from where the previous book stopped, Sydney finds herself trapped in re-education, trying to figure out a way to send Adrian a message to rescue her. Meanwhile, Adrian’s battling his own inner demons as he struggles to hold onto hope in finding his love as time continues to pass without any results. With such an exciting premise, Silver Shadows was a fast-paced and truly enjoyable read that propelled me through its alternating POVs as fast as I could. And to top it all off, Mead added the perfect ending that satisfied both the romantic in me as well as left room for bigger problems to be solved in the last book of the Bloodlines series. This book really surpassed some of its predecessors, and is most definitely recommended.