Review: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Title: Falling Kingdoms

Author: Morgan Rhodes

Reviewed by: Cassie

The Fairies Say: Exhilarating and exciting!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power--brutally transforming their subjects' lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished--and finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past--and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword . . .

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

"Falling Kingdoms will gut you emotionally. It will make you ache, cry, and beg for the sequel as you turn the last page. I absolutely loved it." --Julie Kagawa, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Queen

"This triple-layered tale of bloodshed, heartbreak, and tangled court intrigue kept me turning pages very late into the night."--Lesley Livingston, award-winning author of Wondrous Strange

Falling Kingdoms was one heck of a ride. The plot is breathtaking and exhilarating, taking you from different points of the world. Four completely different young adults clash together in a world-changing power struggle. Fascinating characters tie up any loose ends, so if you're looking for an action-packed fantasy that sucks you into its world with tons of action, this is your book.

With a variety of POVs, I must say many different, fascinating characters were created. We have . . .

Magnus: Probably my second favorite main character. 

He's got a horrible, disturbing secret: he's in love with his beautiful, younger sister. It's all he can do to stop from saying something. No one loves him, except her, and one day he knows he won't be able to keep himself from admitting his love to her. All he can hope is that she doesn't run screaming from him. But the way she always says she loves him so much, more than anyone else . . . How loving and nurturing she is to him . . . Maybe, just maybe, he can have a sliver of hope that she'll love him as something other than an older brother. (anybody think of Commodore from the movie Gladiator?)

Jonas: Probably my favorite main character.

Jonas was the best of friends with his older brother, Tomas. They could barely be told apart and rarely strayed from the other's side. That is, until, someone kills Tomas. The rage Jonas is filled with is something like no other. He's going to kill Tomas's murderer and get vengeance. He's obsessed, absolutely, with Tomas's murderer, and the murderer's sinfully beautiful and absolutely treacherous companion. Nothing can stop him- if he has to convince the ruler of his kingdom to help him, then so be it. He'll get them, no matter what. Nothing can stop him.

Lucia: My least favorite character

Lucia has been kept in the dark from so much. Her whole family has lied to her- even the one whom she trusted most. They say she's powerful-one of the most powerful there ever was in a thousand years. She's the source of a prophecy, one that will change the whole world, and she doesn't even know what it is. But if it means helping her kingdom-and the ones she loves or trusts- she'll do it. She'll do whatever they ask of her. Because she should. She should, right?

Cleo: My favorite female character

Cleo is a princess in the prospering kingdom of Aurenos. Nothing serious has really concerned her- that is, until, she's witness to a murder. Whispers fly, fingers point. She's guilt stricken, desperate, and now concerned for her the health of her older sister- the heir to the crown. She sets out on a journey to find a long forgotten magic, while in the process, finds herself and what she must do, and comes back to chaos. Will she even be able to change anything?

Basically, it's a good read. I had some issues with the female characters (they were portrayed as weak or too willing, etc. etc.) but I look forward to the next book!

Enter our giveaway for Velveteen by Daniel Marks? 

Until next time-

Cassie

Review: False Memory by Dan Krokos

Title: False Memory

Author: Dan Krokos

Reviewed by: Cassie

The Fairies Say: Action-packed and amusing!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

Miranda wakes up alone on a park bench with no memory. In her panic, she releases a mysterious energy that incites pure terror in everyone around her. Except Peter, a boy who isn't at all surprised by Miranda's shocking ability.

Left with no choice but to trust this stranger, Miranda discovers she was trained to be a weapon and is part of an elite force of genetically-altered teens who possess flawless combat skills and powers strong enough to destroy a city. But adjusting to her old life isn't easy--especially with Noah, the boyfriend she can't remember loving.

Then Miranda uncovers a dark truth that sets her team on the run. Suddenly her past doesn't seem to matter . . . when there may not be a future.

Dan Krokos' debut is a tour-de-force of non-stop action that will leave readers begging for the next book in this bold and powerful new series.

False Memory is action-packed with a fun yet enthralling with an almost comic-book like plot and settting.

Miranda, the heroine, is generous with her punches in the face and doesn't mind a stab wound or two. With no memories, she is thrown into a dangerous world where she must kill to survive and be free. With that in mind, and a team of similarly gifted teens who claim to be her friends, she sets out.

While I did like that she was tough, I felt it was a little overdone. She never had a weak moment- not even a close meltdown. As a male author, I don't think Dan Krokos can really understand that female hormones can really just attack us randomly and one moment we're just randomly having a meltdown.

The other characters are nice, if a bit flat. Hopefully, Krokos will elaborate on them and make them more dimensional.

Like I said, the plot is very interesting. I think you'll enjoy this and find it a quick read.

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget we have a giveaway for Velveteen by Daniel Marks!!

Cassie

Review: Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Title: Velveteen

Author: Daniel Marks

Reviewed by: Cassie

The Fairies Say: dark and delicious

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that's not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it's not a fiery inferno, it's certainly no heaven. It's gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn't leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what's really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she's figured out just how to do it. She'll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It'll be brutal . . . and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen's obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she's willing to take-except fate has just give her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker/

Velveteen can't help herself when it comes to breaking rules . . . or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

Velveteen had me extremely excited and hopeful. See, as you may know, I have this wish for an amazing heroine who is not only strong, but also psychotic and really, really MAD. And this made me squeal, and go "Oh my GOSH!! CAN IT BE???"

Eh . . . Not really.

It begins with Velvet haunting Bonesaw. She's messing up his home, screwing his life up, and the regular. And I thought, "oh yes, we're in business". But then it went downhill. Because that's not the main story.

A bad revolution is.

How boring. How cliche. How un-creative.

*bangs head against the wall*

Basically, this depends on your tastes and expectations. If this seems like your book, great!! If you're thinking it'll be awesome because of the summary, be cautious. Try it out, but don't get too excited. Here's why:

1.) Velveteen is strong and angry, yes. But she gets really distracted, and her actions are puzzling. She's kind of psychotic, but her character was really messy. She supposedly was a goth chic who was failing most of her classes, but her vocabulary in this book is pretty dang spectacular for that type of student. Also, her taste in men goes against the goth "regular".

2.) If you read the summary and are drooling over the cover, thinking "My, oh my, this guy seems H-O-T-T! Might he be broody and dark, or maybe sexy and charming?"

STOP RIGHT THERE. BIG RED LIGHT. NONONO.

Well, one, his name is Nick. And two, he is a jock. And three (slap me, please) he is described as "looking like Adonis". Like, he actually had blue eyes and blonde hair, NOT gray-green eyes and black hair like the COVER MODEL. And four . . . Well he was just boring. Nice, but infinitely boring.

3.) [The biggest one for me]

The writing was so dang choppy. Took me a whole week to finish this one, setting me back on my weekly book quota.

I still advise you to try this out, but the summary is really misleading and it really depends on your taste. If the first three or four chapters don't appeal to you, you won't like the book at all. But you never know- you might end up loving it!

Thanks for stopping by! xoxo-

Cassie