manda-rae's Haul

Stacking the Shelves consists of books we received in the last week, hosted by Tynga's reviews.

Another beautiful Saturday although it looks like it's going to rain.  Oh well.  More time for reading then...

For Review from Around the World ARC Tours:

• Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• This is a happy-down-to-reality book.  For being a fairy tale retelling, it's sure got its quirks.  I think people will enjoy this one. 
• Sweet Temptation by Wendy Higgins
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• The Sweet Trilogy told from Kai's point of view.  Need I say more?  I'm about 100 pages into this thing, and I'm enjoying it.

From the Library:

• The Replaced by Kimberly Derting
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• Even though I did not absolutely love the first one, I am picking up this one.  Here's hoping to getting things answered.  Otherwise I'll probably give up on the series.

manda-rae's Past Three Weeks

Reviews:

• Tether by Anna Jarzab
• Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs
• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Genre:  YA Fantasy

Red Queen Series, Book 1

Victoria Aveyard's website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Victoria Aveyard's website):

Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn’t know she had. Except … her blood is Red.

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.

Let me start off by saying this is a fantasy novel.  Despite the word "queen" being in the title, it is not historical fiction.  And if you're like me who picked up this book solely because of the cover and without having read any description on it (the only thing I knew was a lot of people liked it), then you're in for the surprise of a lifetime.  It took me about two chapters to realize how wrong I was with the assumed genre.  And I'm so glad I was wrong.

Mare lives in a world with two colors of blood: silver and red.  Those with silver blood have special abilities and live a very privileged life.  Those with red blood are the serfs who most likely end up getting conscripted and sent to war.  When Mare tries to help her friend avoid this fate, she finds herself in the middle of Silver society.  And when the Silvers notice her, they find she's not so different from them.  But can Mare keep up with the competing priorities and truly ally herself with one side?

This is a fantasy novel full of political intrigue.  You're always wondering what's going to happen next and what is truly motivating the characters.  And while I had the ending pegged from the beginning, I was still overjoyed by the story that happened in between.  There was so much going on.  And we learn very quickly that your blood doesn't necessarily tell you if you're on the right side.  I can't go on too much with this story just because I feel like you should read it...

From the beginning, this one felt similar to The Pledge, but it definitely has its own kind of feel.  Even though I don't remember much of Night Circus, I still want to say it has similar intrigues (even though the plots are totally different).  You're just going to have to read it and decide for yourself.

Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs

Genre:  Adult Paranormal Romance

Alpha and Omega Series, Book 4

Patricia Briggs' website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Note:  This is the fourth book in a series, not to mention the twelfth in two series from the same universe.  If you haven't started it, beware that anything said below kind of let's you know what happens in earlier books.

Description (taken from Goodreads):

For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal, as Charles plans to buy Anna a horse for her birthday. Or at least it starts out that way...

Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up—and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire.

Anna, an omega werewolf, is living the dream with her mate, Charles.  Only thing is they haven't really taken a real vacation.  So when Charles gets a call from an old friend, they decide to make their way to Arizona with the sole purpose of buying a horse.

But all things supernatural tend to follow Anna and Charles anywhere they go.  While the Fae have all but left the human world and holed up on their faerie reservations, Anna and Charles soon find out not all of them have left for good.  In fact, one has been released, and he is hell bent on doing what he's always done: feeding off of children.  As the two race to figure out what's going on and protect their own, they find a war is brewing.  Only question is which side will the werewolves be on?

I really don't have anything negative to say when it comes to Patricia Briggs' novels.  I love diving into her stories.  And I find I enjoy the Alpha and Omega series more because it changes points of view in order to get the whole story.  It actually makes it flow better and has no confusion when switching narrators.  And there's nothing bad to be said of the relationship between Anna and Charles.  This book definitely appeases the paranormal romance lover in me.

If you're a paranormal romance lover and you haven't read Patricia Briggs, shame on you.  Consider this as me throwing my copies of her books at you and telling you to read them.  Now.

Tether by Anna Jarzab

Genre:  YA Science Fiction

Many-Worlds Trilogy, Book 2

Anna Jarzab's website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Goodreads):

Tether, the sequel to Tandem, continues the captivating tale of rebellion and romance that spans parallel worlds.

Everything repeats.

Sasha expected things to go back to normal once she got back on Earth. But now that she knows parallel worlds are real, and that an alternate version of herself exists in a world called Aurora, her old life no longer seems to make sense . . . and her heart breaks daily for Thomas, the boy she left behind. Troubled by mysterious, often terrifying visions and the echoes of a self she was just beginning to discover, Sasha makes the difficult decision to journey once more through the tandem.

Thomas is waiting for her on the other side, and so is strange, otherworldly Selene, Sasha’s analog from a third universe. Sasha, Selene, and their other analog, Juliana, have a joint destiny, and a new remarkable power, one that could mean salvation for Selene’s dying planet. With Thomas’s help, Sasha and Selene search for the missing Juliana. But even if they can locate her, is Sasha willing to turn her back on love to pursue a fate she’s not sure she believes in?

Sasha has finally come home from Aurora.  She's back to her normal life on Earth, but she misses Thomas.  And the connection between her and Juliana has begun to grow.  Sasha's beginning to experience visions of Juliana in Aurora, and it's blurring her own understanding of reality.  This can only mean one thing: she has to go back.

Sasha's not the only analog to journey to Aurora.  Selene has made the journey and awaits for Sasha.  Once they're both there, they will make their way to Juliana.  Selene has plans of saving her own world by using the power that she and her two analogs can generate.  And it benefits Sasha because all she wants to do is break the connection between the three of them.  But in the end, will she still be able to return to her Thomas?  Or will the demands of the various universes keep them apart?

This book is definitely a second book feel.  The story continues and gets a little more in depth by adding a third universe.  But I kind of felt like I forgot the little nuances from the first book, and all of those side characters.  So without this connection, I felt disconnected with all of the characters.  And while I really enjoyed Sasha's story, I felt like that little extra oomph was missing for me.  But I still like all the universal time travel and the analog power that comes with it.

This is a series that I believe needs to be read one right after the other.  I'm definitely planning to read the third one.  I just hope I've remembered enough by then to enjoy it.

manda-rae's Haul

Stacking the Shelves consists of books we received in the last week, hosted by Tynga's reviews.

I've kind of been away for a while.  It's been nice doing other things in the world and not reading all of the time.  But I'm sure behind on my reading now.  Happy Saturday!!

For Review from Around the World ARC Tours:

• The Leveller by Julia Durango
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• This was a good gaming novel.  It would definitely be something different to be stuck in a virtual gaming reality.  It's definitely a quick and fun read.
• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• A Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it's set in a world of faeries.  I definitely enjoyed this book more than Sarah J Maas' other series.
• Until the Beginning by Amy Plum
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• The second book in a series.  While I definitely found the first book in this series interesting, I'm not so sure I was still interested after finishing the second.  This series is definitely one to read one after the other.

From the Library:

• Tether by Anna Jarzab
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• I'm almost done with this one.  It's the second one a parallel universe series.  And while I've been confusing it with another series, I'm still enjoying it.
• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• I've heard good things about this one.  I'm kind of excited to start it.
• Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• One of the werewolf series I hold dear.  I'm hoping this is a good one...
• The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• I enjoyed the Incarnate series so much so that I had to grab the author's next piece of work.  Looking forward to an awesome fantasy.

manda-rae's Past Six Weeks

Reviews:

• The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson
• The Exile by CT Adams
• A Fistful of Evil by Rebecca Chastain
• Velvet by Temple West
• The Leveller by Julia Durango
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
• Until the Beginning by Amy Plum