Category: Book Reviews

Book Review: A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

Published on by Savana - The Biblio Life2 Comments

asbabTitle: A Shadow Bright and Burning (Kingdom on Fire, book 1)
Author: Jessica Cluess
Pages: 416
Release Date: Sept. 20, 2016
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Summary: I am Henrietta Howel.
The first female sorcerer in hundreds of years.
The prophesied one.
Or am I?

Henrietta Howel can burst into flames.
Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, she’s shocked when instead of being executed, she’s invited to train as one of Her Majesty’s royal sorcerers.

Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her.

But Henrietta Howel is not the chosen one.
As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be the one? And how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?

TRB Review – 4/5

A refreshing spin on fantasy, sorcery and magic with fantastically developed characters, terrifying monsters, and an absolutely stunning war-wreaked world! This book was very well written which is such an exciting thing to see from a debut author.

I was immediately absorbed into Henrietta Howel’s extraordinary life. Jessica Cluess has a special way of writing that draws you near to her characters and drops you off in the center of the world that she’s created. Henrietta, or “Nettie,” is likable from the first page and her POV is very interesting throughout the book. She’s 16 so there’s quite a bit of teenage angst and drama, more emotional than anything else but we’ve all been there so it’s at the least relatable. For being so young, Nettie is fairly mature (except for the love triangle thing, I’ll get to that) and very strong willed, both characteristics that I like to see in leading ladies. Rook, Nettie’s best friend who is called an “Unclean” because he was touched/wounded by the Ancient Ones, is a bit of a mystery. They have an obvious connection, but his history isn’t put into much detail and he becomes more elusive as the story proceeds.

As for the love triangle situation – that portion became a bit annoying to me after awhile. The main character is a teenage girl without much worldly experience so of course I expected some of the theme to surface. In retrospect though, she just seemed confused and love sick about too many young gentleman and there were parts that I didn’t even think necessary to feed the story. Perhaps these little side romances and bubbly feelings will develop or lead to more interesting sub-plots in the sequel(s), but for now they felt a bit forced.

This was a quick read for me because I was constantly enthralled by the plot twists and various things that were happening to the characters, I couldn’t put it down! Especially toward the end, if you haven’t read this yet but plan to OH JUST YOU WAIT!! I did not expect the story to take the turn that it did, which made the last 50 pages or so such a blur since I couldn’t read fast enough! Cluess’s style of writing is such a delight, I’ll just be sitting here twiddling my thumbs until the next book comes out!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author:

jessica-cluess-author-img Jessica Cluess is a writer, a graduate of Northwestern University, and an unapologetic nerd. After college, she moved to Los Angeles, where she served coffee to the rich and famous while working on her first novel. When she’s not writing books, she’s an instructor at Writopia Lab, helping kids and teens tell their own stories.

Bio retrieved from author’s website.

You can also connect with Jessica via Twitter, Goodreads, and Tumblr!

If you haven’t already added this book to your TBR list, now’s the time!
It can be purchased from any of your favorite retailers below:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Penguin Random House

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What is your favorite type of YA fiction/fantasy? I am not huge on magic and sorcery, I prefer dragons and knights but love to get my hands on just about anything! Comment below and share some of your favorite reads with us!

Book Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

Published on by Savana - The Biblio LifeLeave a comment

acomafTitle: A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)
Author: Sarah J Maas
Pages: 640
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Genre: YA Fantasy, New Adult Fantasy
Summary: Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court–but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms–and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future–and the future of a world cleaved in two.

TRB Review – 4/5

I’m going to try my absolute hardest to keep this review spoiler free, but there’s so much to discuss and it’s hard to do that without delving into details, hmm this will be very difficult. Just in case, if you’ve yet to sell your bookish soul to the lovely Sarah J Maas and her Night Court (meaning you have not finished ACOMAF yet) – do not read beyond the “STOP READING HERE” warning I’ve set up for you below. Instead, skip to the comments and tell me whether or not you’ve started the series, and what you think!

A Court of Mist and Fury is the second book in the Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas. The hype that surrounded ACOMAF on Bookstagram is what lead me to reading series. I am very happy that I did, but like I mentioned in my ACOTAR review, I think the hype surrounding them was a little bigger than the truthful quality of the content. Before you start angrily thrashing your keyboard in the comments – I say this only because of how long it takes for the story to really get good. Maas takes some freedom in the buildup to the most important parts of the story, although in this second book the time spent in the first half is necessary because of the internal struggle that Feyre is facing and must overcome for the story to continue as it does.

STOP READING HERE
(skip to the comments if you have not yet finished ACOMAF, spoilers ahead)

Where do I even begin. While reading the first book I had a very hard time liking the main character, Feyre. She was a strong and tougher than nails, but the broken and hopeless girl from the first book transformed into a hardened and guarded Feyre moving into ACOMAF. After her trials Under the Mountain and the transformation that she experienced, she had some soulful healing to do and I think that Maas did an excellent job letting us into her head and heart and experiencing her pain and fears along side of her.

I immediately regretted my prior fondness of Tamlin. It was apparent very quickly to me why everyone was on “Team Rhysand” from the end of ACOTAR, I think I was just blinded by Tamlin’s High Fae glamour or something? It’s no excuse. I about hooted and hollered when Rhysand swooped in and saved the day, and I was very mad at Feyre for her ignorance. I really thought that Tamlin was out of the picture, but surprise surprise when he and his snot nosed court showed back up to ruin the day! Although to be fair, I did really like Lucien and still believe that he’s going to break away from the madness of Tamlin’s corruption…but who am I to interject my personal thoughts and opinions here. Actually, this has turned into more of a discussion than review anyway it would seem.

The unique way that Maas introduces her characters and builds you up to their full personality and character potential is very interesting to me, and I enjoyed learning about each of them (Rhysand’s right-hand ladies and gents) as Feyre spent more time in the Night Court. They continued to awe me event towards the end of the book, of course there is an air of mystery around them all anyway but as pasts are revealed the characters are really rounded out. I was thrilled that there was so much more going on in ACOMAF, the lack of action bored me before which was very well made up for this time around. Feyre continually grew and developed, a great improvement from her hopeless romantic persona in ACOTAR. She was so snarky, it made me laugh out loud more times than I can count on my fingers and toes!

It’s true, I have jumped on the Rhysand train and I refuse to look back. He’s the newest addition to my ever-growing book boyfriend list, and I mean, if he’s ever looking for a new mate…

I’ve definitely fallen in love with the world that Maas has created in this series. Velaris, really the Night Court as a whole, has stolen my heart and refuses to release it back to the real world. I am looking very forward to the next book, A Court of Wings and Ruin, which is set to release in May of 2017. Yikes, that’s so far away! I’m assuming if you’ve come this far you must have finished the book, I am really curious to know what other readers thought?

Comment below with your thoughts on ACOMAF. What did you think? I have so many questions that I hope ACOWAR answers next year, until then I will burn my Starfall & Rhysand candles and make irrational and unnecessary bookish purchases to hold me over.