Book Review: Blood Like Fate by Liselle Sambury

Title: Blood Like Fate

Author: Liselle Sambury

Series/Standalone: Blood Like Magic Series (Book #2)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 480

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Year Published: 2022

Format: Audiobook

"Voya fights to save her witch community from a terrible future.

Voya Thomas may have passed her Calling to become a full-fledged witch, but the cost was higher than she'd ever imagined.

Her grandmother is gone.

Her cousin hates her.

And her family doesn't believe that she has what it takes to lead them.

What's more, Voya can't let go of her feelings for Luc, sponsor son of the genius billionaire Justin Tremblay- the man that Luc believes Voya killed. Consequently, Luc wants nothing to do with her. Even her own ancestors seem to have lost faith in her. Every day Voya begs for their guidance, but her calls go unanswered.

As Voya struggles to convince everyone- herself included- that she can be a good Matriarch, she has a vision of a terrifying, deadly future. A vision that would spell the end of the Toronto witches. With a newfound sense of purpose, Voya must do whatever it takes to bring her shattered community together and stop what's coming for them before it's too late.

Even if it means taking down the boy she loves- who might be the mastermind behind the coming devastation."

My Rating: 3.75/5

The more I read YA fantasy the more I realise that what I want from many fantasy stories isn't going to be in a YA anymore and that's ok. For the age range this is meant for this book was excellent. I think that the character had such tremendous growth throughout the duology. This series though set in the future touches on current topics throughout. I would strongly recommend this duology it is hard-hitting and powerful. Fully YA in the best way. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

Title: Blood Like Magic

Author: Liselle Sambury

Series/Standalone: Blood Like Magic Series (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 496

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Year Published: 2021

Format: Audiobook

"An urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family's magic. The problem is, she's never been in love- she'll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.

After years of waiting for her Calling- a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their power- the one thing Voya Thomas didn't expect was to fail. When Voya's ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees- and thenhy6jm7u is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic.

Voya is determined to save her family's magic no matter the cost. The problem is, Voya has never been in love, so for her to succeed, she'll first have to find the perfect guy- and fast. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. What she doesn't count on is being paired with the infuriating Luc- how can she fall in love with a guy who seemingly wants nothing to do with her?

With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she'll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. And in witchcraft, blood is everything."

My Rating: 4.25/5

This book was such a great read. I loved reading about this future world of witches where they are forced to compete in many ways with technology. The culture that the author wove within the story kept me reading, and I loved the large cast of characters. The festivals and the world described were excellent to hear and the romance was cute to watch. I was surprised to see that this was a debut as it was well written, entertaining and hard-hitting. I look forward to finishing the duology and reading more work from the author.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Title: Legendborn

Author: Tracy Deonn

Series/Standalone: Legendborn Cycle (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 501

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Year Published: 2020

Format: Audiobook

"After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC-Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape- until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called "Legendborn" students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a 'Merlin' and who attempts- and fails- to wipe Bree's memory of everything she saw.

The mage's failure unlocks Bree\s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there's more to her mother's death than what's on the police report, she'll do whatever it takes to find the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society's secrets- and closer to each other. But when the Legenedborn reveals themselves as the descendants of King Arthur's knights and explains that a magical war is coming Bree has to decide how far she'll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down- or join the fight."

My Rating: 3.75/5

This was such a fun urban ya fantasy to listen to. I think that the author did a wonderful job of creating a secret society and its past in such a short amount of time. The diversity in this book was amazing, we had nonbinary characters, LGBT characters, and p.o.c characters. I was impressed with the discussions that took place regarding the racism that is built into societies such as this one, and the history of North America as well. The only reason this book wasn't all I wanted is the age of the main character. i wished that this was a new adult just so then the book could really go there for the different romance opportunities. I also had trouble remembering that she was 16, not 18 as she was at a college campus. This might just be a me problem. I plan to continue the series after the dynamic ending and can't wait to see where the second book takes these characters.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The You I've Never Known by Ellen Hopkins

Title: The You I've Never Known
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Verse
Pages: 608
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Year Published: 2017
Format: Library Copy 

"For as long as she can remember, it's been just Ariel and Dad. Ariel's mom disappeared when she was a baby. Dad says home is wherever the two of them are, but Ariel is now seventeen and after years of new apartments, new schools and new faces, all she wants is to put down some roots. Complicating things are Monica and Gabe, both of whom have stirred a different kind of desire.

Maya's a teenager who's run from an abusive mother right into the arms of an older man she thinks she can trust. But not she's isolated with a baby on the way, and life's getting more complicated than Maya ever could have imagined.

Ariel and Maya's lives collide unexpectedly when Ariel's mother shows up out of the blue with wild accusations: Ariel wasn't abandoned. Her father kidnapped her fourteen years ago.

What is Ariel supposed to believe? Is it possible Dad's woven her entire history into a tapestry of lies? How can she choose between the mother she's been taught to mistrust and the father who has taken care of her all these years?"

My Rating: 2/5

After writing out that synopsis I'm a little confused on the point of this story. I thought that the whole idea was finding out how Maya and Ariel connected and what happened all those years ago. But the description pretty much does it justice. 
I have read other works by Ellen Hopkins in the past, mainly while I was in high school and I will say that I do love the use of verse in her stories. In other novels, it helps to capture a feeling that words might be able to describe and keep the reader hooked. In this story I just found it to be drawn out and frustrating. Overall this book was ok for me, but I'm not sure I understand the purpose other than to inform people about the issues of spousal kidnapping (it's more common than you think). 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Spoiler: The You I've Never Known by Ellen Hopkins

So let's start this off by saying that I rarely read the synopsis in a book and I'm certainly glad that I didn't in this one. After writing it out I see that any idea of mystery or wonder is totally explained in the description. I found it extremely frustrating that this is the case. I understand that the author is using her voice to describe a situation that in some ways was own voices. A terrifying tale to say the least, but this is more common than some may think. That being said, as someone who works in childcare, I understand how these things could happen.

Overall I just found this story to be too drawn out for me. I enjoyed the verse, but it didn't have the same effect on me that it has in some other books by the author. I also found that the characters were difficult to connect with. 

Characters:
Ariel/Casey: I think that her character is difficult to read from. Watching her walk on eggshells around her father and talk about her love for him was difficult to stomach, but that's the only life she remembers. Seeing her develop relationships with those around her was also good, but just not in depth as I thought that it would be. 

Jason: I do believe that he has a mental disorder. I'm not sure what, but the way he manipulates and uses Ariel/Casey against Maya is horrifying to think about. That and the way he is able to lie so convincingly made me extremely uncomfortable. I do wonder what happened to all the women he used and abused along the way.

Maya: I enjoyed her end journal entry's to be able to better understand her life with and without her daughter. The hope she lives with is amazing. 

Monica: Her character wasn't as fleshed out as I hoped it to be. At some points, she was spoken as this kick-ass girl who knew who she was and other times she almost appeared meek. 

Gabe: I liked him, but probably based on every basic guy I've ever met.

Hillary: I'm more interested in her life. Was she running away on her horse? What is she going to do now that she can't ride? Does she miss it? Like we're not going to talk about this?


Thanks for reading,
Sidny