Review: Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Title: Defiance

Author: C. J. Redwine

Reviewed by: Cassie

The Fairies Say: Fierce and fascinating!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city's brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While the other girls sew dresses and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father's apprentice, Logan--the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same one who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but a fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city's top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor's impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

Defiance begins with Rachel with her surrogate grandfather Oliver waiting and desperately hoping for her father to return. When he doesn't and the guards scrape the heavy gate closed, the Commander declares Jared Adams dead. And now, against the wishes of Oliver, Rachel, and Logan, Rachel is under the care of Logan.

Rachel is extremely fierce and amazing. Literally. She actually isn't afraid to use her knife, and I really admired her for that. I've said in the past I really wish I could read about a crazed, psychotic angry-girl. As the book progresses you'd think, Well Cassie, she kind of is . . . BUT that's the issue. Kind of. She's only crazy angry. She's not psychotic. That's a good thing, right? In some parts yes, but it makes reading her POV less interesting. I'll admit, at first I despised her character. She felt all "Oh shame frilly girls, how weak! MUST BE STRONG AND OFFENSIVE."
And then she actually did something fierce that I would never ever do and she earned respect.

The other characters now?
Logan - Okay so at first I was like, OH. Dark blue eyes you say? Dark blonde hair? YUM. But then I was thinking, and his personality is so WACK! For example, in the beginning he's sort of an angry, broody guy. Then he turns awkward and protective. Then he turns wicked smart inventor and super careful. And then he's part inventor part Rambo.
I have to say though, if you decide to read this READ THE CLAIMING CEREMONY. From Logan's POV. I died laughing. He sounded so much like my dad.
The other characters are well depicted. You'll hate the Commander. You'll love Oliver. Etc.

The world was a bit confusing. My big question is HOW EXACTLY DID HUMANITY REVERSE?? Women, needing Protectors? Hmph. Tyrant? City-states? Yet somehow there's some technology.
However, I still think it was fascinating and you should most definitely try this!!

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo
Cassie

Review: Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Title: Crewel

Author: Gennifer Albin

Reviewed by: Cassie

The Fairies Say: Dazzling and delightful!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That's what the other grils whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she's exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn't interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they're coming for her-tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom's overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister's academy gossip and laugh at her Dad's stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything's okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there's no turning back.

Okay, Crewel left me kind of speechless. 

I went like this..

And then...

Yeah.

Crewel begins with Adelice picking up her sister from her academy. And they go home. No one in her family knows she messed up and accidentally wove. Her sister is disappointed her big sis won't be a glamorous Spinster, but her parents are secretly relieved. They even bought her a fancy white cake that's probably worth half a week's rations. And she only has an hour until it all comes crashing down.

Adelice is pretty cool. I mean, she has this wicked power. She's really sarcastic, but not in the "look at me, such a smart-mouth. laugh and praise me". It's more a "let me give you a verbal finger. I dare you to slap me."

So that really made me admire her. The sarcasm just flew from her mouth and I was like, YOU GO GIRL!

She's sorta got the quiet power thing goin'. There are super strong, kick-butt heroines who have no impulse control. Then there are weak, whiney, or stupid heroines. I like to think she's in the middle, leaning towards strong.

The characters are really well-written. The guys could've been more seductive *cough* interesting, but hey that's just me.

Otherwise, the villains/evil wenches are nicely done. The only issue I had was that Adelice didn't really have a friend . . . And hey, I am down with that. It's just that she seriously could've friended a maid for all I care. She felt too cold from this, to me.

And the best part of the book is the world!!! Gennifer Albin gets a huge, fat A+ for her world. It was amazing. Questionable, but amazing.

And we also are left craving for the next book.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

xoxo

Cassie

Book Trailer Reveal: Opal by Jennifer Armentrout

Oh God. Oh God.
It's here.
The official book trailer of Opal!!!!!!
And we only have, oh . . . LESS THAN THREE WEEKS!
Ready for some wicked yummy, lovelies?

Here goes.

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn't fooling around. Doubting him isn't something I'll do again, and now that we've made it through the rough patches, well. . . There's a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.
But even he can't protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.
After everything, I'm no longer the same Katy. I'm different . . . And I'm not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I'm capable of. The death of someone close still lingers help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won't turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.
Together we're stronger . . . and they know it.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in

Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s
not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie
movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time
writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult
paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance
under the name J. Lynn.

Find Jennifer on: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Blog

Review: Venom by Fiona Paul

Title: Venom

Author: Fiona Paul

Reviewed by: Cassie

The Fairies Say: Delicious and dazzling!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice's lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, her own lady's maid, and a wealthy fiance, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet ever since her parents' death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape.

When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman-practically in her own backyard-she's drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret socieities. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin . . . and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before her finds her? And will she stay true to her fiance, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco?

Beauty, love, romance, and mystery weave together in a stunning novel that's as seductive and surprising as the city of Venice itself.

I didn't expect Venom to be historical fiction/murder-mystery. I kinda have a pet peeve for historical fiction (I know, boo me) and so usually I end up fuming 10% in and annoying the hell out of my dad. I'll admit, I got 75 pages into this and was ranting to my dad already. Thankfully, it did manage to turn around.

Venom starts out at Cass's very close friend's funeral. Livi, the girl, was only 14 when she died, and Cass is taking it badly. She steps out to get a breather, and BAM! A mysterious artist boy (Falco; btw I love that name) falls on her.

You would expect me to be raining praise on Cass because, hey! I have a namesake now! Well, I didn't really like Cass for a lot of the book. All I got from her was that she was a whiny, spoiled, rich brat who wanted to 'live'. Ha. Does that include endangering your life just because you're dared to? Yeah, Cass isn't the strongest of women. She'll claim she's "not like the other girls" (THAT IS A QUOTE!)

She made me want to pull out my hair at times like this.

Seriously.

The other characters were actually decent. I enjoyed erm... Siena. Luca could prove very interesting.

HOWEVER. Venice really wowed me. Completely made up for Cass. It was beautiful beautiful beautiful! (somewhat overdone but SO PERTY!) The setting is great, and even though it's historical fiction I ended up liking it!

THAT IS A BIG FIRST GUYS.

Thus, if you don't have a prejudice against hist. fiction, go! Go for this! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Cassie