YA Fiction – Page 2 – The Biblio Life

Title: 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 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

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!

I’ve done some recent re-designing on my blog, and thought it the perfect time to make some changes around here! My reading goal for 2017 is 25 books. I thought I’d set it low since I will be working & attending school full-time. Who doesn’t love to exceed a goal anyway, right?! So, partially to keep tabs on myself & partially to interact with you guys a bit more, each month I’ll be posting my TBR list here! ***see below for a question***

Most of my TBR pile consists of ARC’s and review requests, but come January it will be more of my own purchases and choices, I’ll be cutting back on marketed reviews because of a heavy semester. Below you’ll find my TBR list for the month of December along with each book’s details & synopsis. Skip to the bottom to comment and be so kind as to answer this question for me:

*** I’d love for this to be a much more interactive blog, so I was thinking about starting read-alongs on my FB page that will follow my TBR list posted at the beginning of each month. Would you participate? What would I need to do to in order to garner your interest? I’d absolutely love & appreciate any feedback from you guys! ***

The Books

Title – Ever the Hunted
Author – Erin Summerill
Genre – YA/high fantasy
Length/Pub – 400 pages, ARC (pub. 12/27/16)
Synopsis – Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.

However, it’s not so simple.

The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.

Title – A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author – Sarah J. Maas
Genre – YA/fantasy
Length/Pub – 416 pages, 2015
Synopsis – When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Title – Return of the Continuums (13th Continuum #2)
Author – Jennifer Brody
Genre – YA/sci-fi/dystopia
Length/Pub – 432 pages, 2016
Synopsis – As Myra and her friends set out to find the First Continuum, Captain Aero Wright and two companions from the outer space Second Continuum find themselves banished for treason and stranded on Earth. Wright has vowed to complete his late father’s mission to recolonize their ancestral planet, but his true mission is to find the mysterious girl who haunts his dreams. Meanwhile, Myra and the young refugees of the underwater Thirteenth Continuum must make an unlikely ally if they are going to survive the hostile surface world and reach their destination, the nexus of humanity’s hope for survival. As their paths begin to converge, the Beacons that guide and connect Myra and Aero begin to prove their power, and a shadowy force with a centuries-old grudge reveals itself.

Title – The Cottage (Secret of the Shetlands #2)
Author – Michael Phillips
Genre – Christian Fiction
Length/Pub – 416 pages, 2016
Synopsis – When Loni Ford is informed that she has inherited property in the Shetland Islands, she laughs. She wants nothing more than to sell it and be done with it. But when she arrives in the North Sea enclave, she is stunned to find that “the Cottage” is not at all what she expected, nor is David Tulloch, the man most of the islanders believe to be the rightful heir.

The locals could hardly be more surprised that the heir is a woman–and an American. Loni, in turn, finds the islanders quaint and a bit behind the times. Expecting David to be as provincial as the rest of his clan, she discovers that there is far more to the man than meets the eye. And there is something about the peaceful atmosphere of the place–and the character of its most prominent citizen–that soon gets under her skin.

Beneath the peaceful surface, however, change is threatening the island of Whale’s Reef. David’s cousin Hardy Tulloch, whose claim to the inheritance now in Loni’s hands was backed by oil investors, has not been deterred in his aim to control the island. But his co-conspirators have plans of their own, plans that put Loni’s very life in danger.

If you’ve made it this far, or you’ve skipped to the bottom as instructed above (hehe), please leave a comment below and tell me what you think about the following:

Thank you SO much for your love and support!

Savana

Tag: YA Fiction

Book Review: A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

NEW December TBR

The Books