Book Review: Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Title: Furyborn

Author: Claire Legrand

Series/Standalone: Empirium Series

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 501

Publisher: Sourcefirebooks Fire

Year Published: 2018

Format: Audiobook

"The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world... or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed.... unless the trials kill her first.

One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable-- until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connection between them ultimately determine the fate of their world-- and of each other."

My Rating: 4.5/5

Honestly, this was a great YA fantasy, certainly a series I plan to binge-read. This book on audio was well-acted and so fun to listen to. It held my attention and the dual perspectives were easy to identify (something that can sometimes get tricky with audiobooks) each character felt uniquely themselves. I loved the magic system and the explanations for the different timelines were perfect. The only reason I docked this .5 stars was because there was a sex scenes which I did not anticipate for YA and I wonder what the author might have done if this had been given a new adult or adult title instead. Overall a fun read with great characters and an interesting world.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Reverie by Ryan La Sala

 Title: Reverie

Author: Ryan La Sala

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, LGBT

Pages: 397

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Year Published: 2019

Format Audiobook

"Inception meets The Magicians in the most imaginative YA debut of the year!

All Kane Montgomery knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. He can't remember how he got there, what happened after, and why his life seems so different now. And it's not just Kane who's different, the world feels off, reality itself seems different.

As Kane pieces together clues, three almost-strangers claim to be his friends and the only people who can truly tell him what's going on. But as he and the others are dragged into unimaginable worlds that materialize out of nowhere- the gym warps into a subterranean temple, a historical home nearby blooms into a Victorian romance rife with scandal and sorcery- Kane realizes that nothing in his life is an accident. And when a sinister force threatens to alter reality for good, they will have to do everything they can to stop it before it unravels everything they know. 

This wildly imaginative debut explores what happens when the secret worlds that people hide within themselves come to light."

My Rating: 1/5

I just don't understand the enjoyment that some are finding from this story. Yes, there are LGBTQ characters, but the plot is all over the place, the characters are not well described/laid out. And I honestly just don't think that the villain just wasn't what I needed it to be. Villianizing someone in drag just didn't feel right for me. I didn't think that the idea behind the book was bad, it just needed either more time to develop relationships with the characters, and a build-up to the world, or it needed to have fewer characters. It was just trying to do too much for what it was.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

Title: I'm Not Dying with You Tonight
Author: Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 249
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Year Published: 2019
Format: Audiobook

"Lena and Campbell aren't friends.

Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she's going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school.

When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together.

They aren't friends. They hardly understand the other's point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they're going to survive the night."

My Rating: 3.5/5

This book is surprisingly short for the story it contains. The story follows Lena, a fashionista teenager and Campbell the new girl in town through a riot and the panic that often lies within. I thought that the story was interesting and a good read for anyone! That being said, I did find that the writing just wasn't my taste! There were times where I was rolling my eyes about a corny line being said, or when the info was dumped on us for no good reason (in the first 3 minutes of the audiobook we hear about someone's mom who died without having to need that information for any reason). That being said, for anyone who has never experienced a riot, myself included, I think that it really shows how things can go downhill so quickly, and you can have no idea how it happened or why. it also goes to show that when peaceful protests are held, and there is no acknowledgement sometimes people get desperate, go to extremes (even just a few people, that's all it takes to stir up some shit).  I'm glad that this story was chosen for the overdrive library readathon thingie. Its something I wouldn't have pick up otherwise.

Thanks for reading,
Sidny