Tag Archives: teen fantasy

Mar 10 2014
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Escape Reality Book Club – March’s Selection!

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Hosted by your’s truly and Charlotte at Apathy and Rhetoric

Your votes have been counted and the results are in!

March 2014′s official book club book is:

seraphinaTitle: Seraphina

Author: Rachel Hartman

The Overview: Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high. Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen’s Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

 So what happens now?

If you missed the Escaped Reality Book Club launch post, click here for more details.

Otherwise, you are all invited to join in the fun!

We will be reading Steelheart from March 10 – March 23 and geeking out about it on our official Facebook page and at #escaperealitybc on Twitter.

Mar 5 2014
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Coming Soon: Invaded by Melissa Landers

InvadedTitle: Invaded

Author: Melissa Landers

Series: Alienated #2

Genre: Teen Science Fiction

Release Date: February 3, 2015 (a.k.a. way too far away)

The Overview: The romantic sequel to Alienated takes long-distance relationships to a new level as Cara and Aelyx long for each other from opposite ends of the universe…until a threat to both their worlds reunites them. Cara always knew life on planet L’eihr would be an adjustment. With Aelyx, her L’eihr boyfriend, back on Earth, working to mend the broken alliance between their two planets, Cara is left to fend for herself at a new school, surrounded by hostile alien clones. Even the weird dorm pet hates her. Things look up when Cara is appointed as human representative to a panel preparing for a human colony on L’eihr. A society melding their two cultures is a place where Cara and Aelyx could one day make a life together. But with L’eihr leaders balking at granting even the most basic freedoms, Cara begins to wonder if she could ever be happy on this planet, even with Aelyx by her side.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Aelyx, finds himself thrown into a full-scale PR campaign to improve human-L’eihr relations. Humans don’t know that their very survival depends on this alliance: only Aelyx’s people have the technology to fix the deadly contamination in the global water supply that human governments are hiding. Yet despite their upper hand, the leaders of his world suddenly seem desperate to get humans on their side, and hardly bat an eye at extremists’ multiple attempts on Aelyx’s life. The Way clearly needs humans’ help . . . but with what? And what will they ask for in return?

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Hosted by Breaking the Spine

I am so eager to pick up this second book, I can hardly stand it. Alienated was easily one of my best reads of 2013 and just might be among my all-time favorites. I loved the concept, the characters, the writing, the story, the everything! Just imagine if Rory Gilmore (I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan) was selected to host an alien exchange student… What’s not to love about that? Anyway, I think I’m most excited because I love where the story is headed and am eager to learn more about Aelyx’s people. If you haven’t read Alienated yet, you are missing out!

What book are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 17 2014
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Escape Reality Book Club – February’s Selection!

books-wallpaper-books-to-read-28990398-900-675

Hosted by your’s truly and Charlotte at Apathy and Rhetoric

Your votes have been counted and the results are in!

February’s 2014′s official book club book is:

SteelTitle: Steelheart

Author: Brandon Sanderson

The Overview: There are no heroes. Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.  Nobody fights the Epics… nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them. And David wants in. He wants Steelheart—the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David’s been studying, and planning—and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience. He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

 So what happens now?

If you missed the Escaped Reality Book Club launch post, click here for more details.

Otherwise, you are all invited to join in the fun!

We will be reading Steelheart from February 17 – March 1 and geeking out about it on our official Facebook page and on Twitter at #escaperealitybc.

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 13 2014
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Book Review: Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

deathTitle: Death Sworn

Author: Leah Cypess

Series: Death Sworn #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: March 4, 2014

Rating: 2.5 stars

The Overview: When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances. But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.

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The Review:

When I first started Death Sworn, I had some mixed feelings about it. On one hand, the concept (a young sorceress is sent to a secret training facility for assassins where she is supposed to survive long enough to teach them magic) intrigued me because I thought it was a really cool idea for a story. On the other hand, it wasn’t presented quite as well as I was hoping it would be.

For one thing, I was at least 100 pages in before I realized Death Sworn was supposed to be a Young Adult novel. Everything about the writing style up to that point screamed middle grade, but what finally clued me in was the rather more mature subject matter. In any case, it never really fit comfortably in either category.

What started out as a thin plot developed into something I enjoyed reading about. It was a mite more complex than the initial chapters would have you believe. Although this wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, I still found it engaging and a light, fun read. I will most likely be picking up the sequel.

Recommended Reading: This is a difficult one to recommend because of the conflicting subject matter versus writing style (YA or middle grade). I have a difficult time hand selling this one unless the customer already had their eye on it (the gorgeous cover doesn’t hurt).

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 6 2014
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DNF Review: Dangerous by Shannon Hale

DangerousTitle: Dangerous

Author: Shannon Hale

Series: Dangerous #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: March 4, 2014

The Overview: Maisie Danger Brown just wanted to get away from home for a bit, see something new. She never intended to fall in love. And she never imagined stumbling into a frightening plot that kills her friends and just might kill her, too. A plot that is already changing life on Earth as we know it. There’s no going back. She is the only thing standing between danger and annihilation.

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The Review:

Having read (and loved) Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, I was really excited to see how she would take on a futuristic YA novel. I was a little concerned that her voice wouldn’t transfer over to the genre, but as it turns out the writing style was the only redeeming quality to the book.

That might sound a little harsh, so let me explain why I feel this way:

When I first read the basic concept of the book, I was sold right away. I loved the idea of teens competing for a chance to go to space and was really looking forward to the series of trials they’d have to face to get there. With that initial promise of what was to come, the first page of my post notes were pure geeked-out excitement. But by halfway through the book, none of those promises had been delivered on. The entire competition (which could have been epically amazing had it been done well) was summarized into a couple of paragraphs. In fact, many others cool ideas were skimmed over this fashion, giving the pacing and oddly rushed feeling. The only thing she took time to develop was the love story.

Indeed, romance seemed to be Hale’s only priority and the only thing she was willing to slow down and highlight… and it wasn’t even that great of a love story. I don’t mind instaloves, I really don’t, but I have to be able to see what’s drawing the characters together right from the start. In this case, the boy was outright rude to her, treating her as if he only wanted to get into her pants. I will never understand how a boy who behaves like he’s only interested in sex and treats the protagonists poorly can be considered a love interest. Evidently, I have really high standards for whom my book heroines should be dating. It was disappointing to say the least.

Overall, because I was so on board with the initial concept and original idea for the story, I feel like this novel was an opportunity wasted. However, because my objections are almost all centered around plot decisions, I will probably read this author in the future even though this book was a bust. I’ve seen her create magical worlds and sweet love stories in the past and I look forward to more of that in the future.

Recommended Reading: I will likely not be recommending Dangerous to other readers.

Other books you might like better:

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 4 2014
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Coming Soon: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Dreams of gods and monstersTitle: Dreams of Gods and Monsters

Author: Laini Taylor

Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: April 8, 2014

The Overview: By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz. Common enemy, common cause. When Jael’s brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

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Hosted by Breaking the Spine

This is another release I think I would be extremely excited for… had I managed to read the first two in the series. The premise seems totally up my alley and I’ve even purchased a copy of the first two books in anticipation. Let’s hope I’m ready for the finale by the time it comes out in April!

Have you read this series? Is it worth bumping up in my TBR pile?

by Niki Hawkes