Tag: magic

YA

Review: Defy by Sara B. Larson

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Defy #1

defy -sara b larsonA lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and heart-racing romance.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king’s army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince’s guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can’t prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she’s sworn to protect?

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Defy instills themes that remind me of great pieces of YA fantasy such as Graceling by Kristin Cashore and The Study series by Maria V. Snyder. With a premise that starts off sounding like the classic Mulan tale, I was rather excited for this book. Who doesn’t love a forbidden romance forming when a girl has to pretend that she’s a guy? Even seems to throw in some of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night ideologies.

I had really wanted to give it at least a 4 star rating, but maybe because of my rather high expectations from the books I compared it to, Defy was a little lacking in the middle with its adventure. Mostly, I felt it lagged a lot as the author didn’t seem to know what to do to make it more exciting after their kidnapping. I was really hoping for more action as well near the end. There was a battle, sure, but it just wasn’t…exciting enough. I was truly hoping that it wouldn’t end so fast or so easily. Like, it pretty much went down the way I would’ve imagined it, so I guess I’m sad about the lack of surprise factor.

As for the romance, it was not so much a love triangle as the synopsis made it sound. I loved the way Larson depicted both guys. It makes it hard to pick which one I might have liked more, as they both care deeply for Alexa and for their country. But I normally hate love triangles so I do appreciate that the protagonist isn’t one of THOSE GIRLS who drags along both guys endlessly just ’cause she has no idea how she feels about either one of them. It gets so tiring and plain exhausting!

Although the story could use so more umph in the action area, I did enjoy the world that Larson built for this series. Evil sorcerers and tyrant kings? Check. Forbidden magic use? Check. All the makings for a fun fantasy novel, albeit not a very original starting point.

The main characters were loveable, but in particular, I really enjoyed Alexa as the protagonist. She’s a fighter, and a good one at that. She doesn’t hold many people close to her because of her secret. Dealing with tragedy while maintaining her duty to the prince as his guard was admirable. I won’t say what kind of tragedy, but it shook her world and to see her try to stay strong on her own 2 feet made me like her all the more. Contrary to what other reviews for Defy might suggest, she really tried to keep up the pretense that she was a guy for a very long time, as this was punishable by being sent to the breeding house or even by death. How so many people figured out she was a girl is still a question I’d like to know the answer to.

So, whether this book met expectations or not, it lands solidly in the YA fantasy genre and has great potential to becoming something akin to Graceling one day.

Overall Recommendation:
Defy was everything I expected, yet still held notes of pure emotion for me. Comparably similar to Mulan and Graceling, this debut novel starts off the series with simple world building and great characters. Alexa was a wonderful protagonist, strong and capable yet vulnerable and lonely due to the secret she bears as the prince’s guard. Filled with romance and the truths of friendship and family, Defy is worth checking into, even though a little more action would’ve picked up the pace a bit.

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.