Review: The Queen's Rising

The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My Review: I really wanted to love this book. I gave it over 200 pages instead of the normal 50-100 pages that I normally give books but sadly this one came to an end around page 225. I found that it took the story way to long to get really started. At about 100 pages the story picked up but even past that it lagged a lot.

I loved the idea of the passions it was something fresh and new. The world that they lived in was like most fantasy worlds set in this time period of Castles and queens and kings. My main issue was that I was just bored to tears. I wished that this would have started out like it did with Brienna showing up at the school and then it skipping to 7 years later. But I wished that those chapters after that leading up to the solstice and her graduating would have been summed up a lot faster.

The next issue I had was that if you looked at the front of the book it gives you a very convent family tree that lays out who everyone belongs to and where. So this entire book that centered around Brienna's family was kind of stupid I am sorry to say. Because we already knew who her father was etc. So that was a very big let down. I wished that the author/publisher would have maybe put that at the back of the book because it really is like a MAJOR spoiler for the story.

This book just really lacked the suspense and thrill that it could have had. I kept reading because I was hoping that something was going to happen to speed up the story and make me be like OMG that's awesome. But in 225 pages that just didn't happen.

So sadly this one just was not for me. If you like slower stories that well are fairly predictable then check this one out.

Go Into This One Knowing: Spoilers at the start of the book, Predictable, Slow

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Review: The Deepest Blue

The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review: When I started this book I thought, OMG YES were going to get a brand new story and this time we won't be in the glade etc. Like we were in the other three books. Where it was all about becoming queen. This was going to be about these two newly married people being on the run!!

Sadly, that didn't happen and were back on an island this time against these women's wishes. I have to say how the world of Belene felt very Hunger Gamesish. I actually just now looked at book synapses and yes this is VERY much like the Hunger Games. But instead of other tributes that these women are defending from its the spirits.

This story follows a bunch of characters from the main character Mayara and her trying to survive to get back to her husband, her husband trying to find a way to get her off the island, and the Queen trying to find a way out of her situation. I did enjoy that we had a character from the original series. I do not remember who she was in the other series so if someone knows and can remind me that would be great. It's been a while since I read it.

The number one thing I loved about this story was the pacing. I liked that it was a stand alone and that although the author could come back and add more to this story she doesn't have to. This is a fully formed story on its own. The story starts we get all the information that we need to know and then it gets going. Nothing was stagnate and it flowed very well. Even when it was just Mayara surviving on the island and she was going through caves this story was still going and it was great!

The world building was amazing I loved all the islands and the construction and use of old skeletons as homes and roads etc. The diving aspect was great as well. I felt like the author did a wonderful job with the ideals and just everything. This world of Belene came alive on the page and it really made me want to go to the beach. The characters were the same way. I loved how strong Mayara was as well as her husband Kelo. The rest of the cast from the Queen to the other Spirit Sisters were all there and no one was lacking.

The spirits of the Deep Blue themselves were awesome even though we don't really get to spend a lot of time with them. I do hope we get to see what occurred in the end of this book in a new one set with them. (view spoiler)[At the end of the story Mayara tells the spirits of the Deep Blue that they could go out to the vast oceans and build. It would be awesome to get a story that deals with that. (hide spoiler)]

*Do you need to read the other series to read this one?
No you don't really need to read the other series to know what is going on with this one. The author gives you everything you need to know in this title to read it on its own. (view spoiler)[The only things you will miss without reading the other series is the way things are done on the mainland of Renthia. As they use schools to train their Heirs vs. sending them to a death island. As well as how the Queen of Belene is treated vs. how the Queen of Renthia is. And then there is that one character from the original series that for the life of me I don't remember who she was. But other than those things no you do not have to read the other series. (hide spoiler)]

Go Into This One Knowing: Danger, Sisters, Magic, Romance

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Review: Kawaii Origami: Super Cute Origami Projects for Easy Folding Fun

Kawaii Origami: Super Cute Origami Projects for Easy Folding Fun by Chrissy Pushkin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review: This book is just so adorable!! It comes with 50 sheets of paper so as soon as you get it you can start working. I do wish that some of the papers would have had cut lines on them so for the projects that require you to cut would have been a little easier especially for kids to do these . But all in all it was a great little book with a ton of awesome little origami things to do. I know we will be coming back to this book time and again!!

The instructions for this one are some of the best that I've seen. The start of the book gives you everything you need to know to get started. When creating my first origami box I never got lost and could follow the directions very easily. Each page also has suggestions on what to use other than paper for some of the projects which was a nice change. As well as giving you a difficultly level.


Go Into This One Knowing: Great for All Ages, Great for all Levels

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Review: Beyond a Darkened Shore

Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My Review: I really loved this one to start out with and I made it a little past 200 pages before I decided that this one was just not for me. I usually eat up books that are faster paced but this one seemed to be just a little too fast. I swore that these characters needed a vacation within the first 200 pages. I was like man people take a day off and rest for a few hours. Because from the start of this one it was one bad guy to the next and the next and the next and the next. And as I crept toward that 200 pages I just lost interest in what was going on.

I really loved the mythology that was used as well as the characters. For this one it was all the the action that just didn't work for me at all.

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Review: Five Feet Apart

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review: This story was wonderful and yes it did make me cry. And when I watched the movie it was even worse. This story is so sad but also so eye opening. It covers the illness of CF or cystic fibrosis. You learn a lot of about this illness during the course of this story from how new lungs won't cure them but give them another 5+ years to live. And how they must stay 6 feet apart from other CF's or risk infection.

This story started out with Stella living for her treatment and Will not wanting to live at all. But by the end everything changed I really loved how strong Stella was and although she did have a save the world complex (as the story says) there was just something about her where you wanted to get healthy if you weren't.

Book vs. Movie I have to say that I was happily surprised when I watched the movie to this one. They did everything they could to keep this the same. I found out later that this had been a screen play first then had been turned into a book. I think more books need to happen this way. Because for the most part things were word for word from book to movie. Which makes my book to movie heart happy. The one major thing that the book did and that the movie did not was give us 8 more months. At the end of the book we get an epilogue that is set 8 months after the end of the movie. And that is what a lot better than the open ending of the movie.

In the end I really enjoyed both the movie and the book but if I had to choose one I think for this one I would choose the book for those extra 8 months. I kind of feel like Stella right now as I am stealing those 8 months from the book and really wished we would have gotten to see that in the movie.


Go Into This One Knowing: cystic fibrosis, Death, Talking about Death, Movie (Open Ending), Book (8 Months Later)

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Review: Crown of Feathers

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

My Review: I wanted to love this one so much. I mean the cover was just so pretty and I love stories about sisters, magic, and magical creatures. But I have to say that this one started out pretty well with some info dumping but the author started out with this being done in a way that I wanted to learn more. But the closer I crept towards 60 pages I just found myself wanting to skim the pages because it was just dragging so bad. After that I was just kind of done. The dual POV wasn't right for this story if you ask me. I would have much rather had the story all in Veronyka's as I was really interested in her part of the story and really didn't care about the other guy who I have to say wasn't even in the description of this title. So that was kind of weird.

For me I really just wished that this book would have been faster.


Go Into This One Knowing: Dual POV, Slow Plot, InfoDumping

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Review: A Curse So Dark and Lonely

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review: When I started this one I really was thinking that I was going to end up DNFing it. And that all was because of the pacing. This is this author first dip into the world of fantasy and don't get me wrong the book was freaking amazing and by the end, I was like NO NO NO You can't end yet!!! And that major twist at the end was just WOW I did not see that coming!! But the rest of the book especially the middle parts were very slow and really reminds me more of a contemporary novel vs. a fantasy. I mean yes this one had the cursed castle and prince etc. But the core parts of the book laid heavy in the romantic aspect and well Contempo.

I will say that as this is a series I think Kemmerer is more than capable to flourish as a fantasy author I just think that this one could have been just a tad better.

This book wow just wow. I loved what Brigid did with the characters and the world. This twist on a tale as old as time knocked my socks off for the most part. I loved how she wove elements of sci-fi (parallel worlds) with that of fantasy and her normal titles which are contemporary. This story was so beautifully woven with all of these elements and I could not put it down. I can not wait for the next title in the series and I have to say that for a first try into the world of fantasy I think the author did a bang-up first try.



Go Into This One Knowing: Dual POV (there is one more POV at the end), Blend of Scifi, Fantasy, and Heavy Contemporary, Slight Cliffhanger, A Little Slow in the Middle.

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