The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

 Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Publication: October 6th 2015 by Disney Hyperion

Goodreads summary:

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . . 

My thoughts:

*Before getting into my thoughts I just want to make it clear that you do not have to have read Rick Riordan's other series to read Magnus Chase.*

I loved this book. It was a perfect blend of some of my favourite aspects of Riordan's other series. It has the hilarious first person narrative from Percy Jackson and the Olympians and had older characters as the protagonists like him Heroes of Olympus.

I was worried going into the book that the characters would be copies of Percy, Annabeth and all the rest but I was worried for nothing. Magnus and his gang are all unique. One of the best things about this book was the diverse characters.

Magnus is not a copy of Percy. Yes they have similarities but they also have differences. I felt like Magnus was more mature and grown-up than Percy. He sets out on his quest and doesn't get distracted. He's focused on getting things done.

We are introduced to a young Muslim girl Samirah Al-Abbas. I love how openly she talks about her hijab and her arranged marriage that she is excited about. Sam is one of my favourite characters. I think it's great that Rick Riordan has character like Sam in his books it's fantastic to see diversity!

As to be expected, The Sword of Summer was packed with action, adventure and magic. Magic is definitely going to be a big part in this series and I can't wait to learn more. 

Norse mythology is obviously a major part of the story. I knew next to nothing about Norse Gods so for me The Sword of Summer was both an education and a fun read. I loved learning about all the gods, monsters,dwarves and elves.

The Sword of Summer was a great introduction to the world and characters. I'm excited to see where the story goes in the next one!

My rating: 4.5 stars

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Series:The Queen of the Tearling,#1

Publication: July 8th 2014 by Harper

Goodreads summary:
An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy.
Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom's haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.

Long ago, Kelsea's forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea's nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen's Guard—loyal soldiers who protect the throne—have appeared to escort the princess on a perilous journey to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling.

Though born of royal blood and in possession of the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic, Kelsea has never felt more uncertain of her ability to rule. But the shocking evil she discovers in the heart of her realm will precipitate an act of immense daring, throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil—and unleashing the Red Queen's vengeance. A cabal of enemies with an array of deadly weapons, from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic, plots to destroy her. But Kelsea is growing in strength and stealth, her steely resolve earning her loyal allies, including the Queen's Guard, led by the enigmatic Lazarus, and the intriguing outlaw known simply as "the Fetch."
Kelsea's quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea's journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her.

My thoughts:
I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for The Queen of the Tearling, it seems to me that people either loved it or hated it. I'm somewhere in the middle. I liked it but wasn't blown away.
What really made this novel unique to me was the setting. The novel is a dystopian but takes place in a regressed society so it has a historical feel to it. There wasn't much world building and I'd like to know how we discovered the Tear and more about the world before it they found it. I assume this will be explained in more detail in the next book.

While this is classified as a fantasy novel, I felt like there was not much magic going on. I wanted more. The Mort Queen was extremely interesting to me and I hope her character is explored more in the next book. I still have some questions about the magic system and how it came about.

I felt like the plot was slow placed but still held my attention. I was interested for the majority of the book and was sucked into the world of the characters. I think the story is more character driven. Kelsea was an interesting heroine. I liked how she knew about her royal status, a lot of the time in YA, characters are often the "lost princess" type.
My favourite characters were Lazarus "The Mace" and Pen Alcott. Both are Kelsea's guards and I felt like they really stood out compared to the others. Mace is a kind of father figure to Kelsea and Pen a friend.
One of the things I really liked about The Queen of the Tearling was that there was no romance storyline.
My rating: 3.5 stars

The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

*Warning this post contains spoilers for the first book in the series The Iron Trial*

Series: Magisterium #2

Publication: September 1st 2015 by Scholastic Press

Goodreads summary:

Callum Hunt’s summer break isn’t like other kids’. His closest companion is a Chaos-ridden wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And, of course, most kids aren’t heading back to the magical world of the Magisterium in the fall.

It’s not easy for Call . . . and it gets even harder after he checks out his basement and discovers that his dad might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc.

Call escapes to the Magisterium -- but things only intensify there. The Alkahest -- a copper gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic -- has been stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call and his friends Aaron and Tamara awaken the attention of some very dangerous foes -- and get closer to an even more dangerous truth.

As the mysteries of the Magisterium deepen and widen, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take readers on an extraordinary journey through one boy’s conflict -- and a whole world’s fate.

My thoughts:

I flew through The Copper Gauntlet reading it in I sitting. The books is short, just 265 pages long, but somehow Black and Clare tell a gripping story full of action.

I've heard a lot of people compare Magisterium to Harry Potter and yes there are similarities but there is also differences. I still think Magisteruim is a solid Middle Grade series that stands apart from others in the genre.

The Copper Gauntlet surprised me. I thought each book was going to take place over the course of the school year (eg Book 1 was about getting through 1st year, book 2 was going to be about getting through 2nd year etc) but the majority of this book tool place over the course of a few days.

Call is still as likeable as ever despite having the Enemy of Deaths soul in him. His inner dialogue is funny, especially when he thinks before making every decision what an evil overlord would do.

Reading about Aaron was interesting. He's struggling with being called a hero and being treated like someone special. He isn't use to being treated this way so it was interesting to see him react to people interacting with him. He's always polite and kind to others.

Tamara is just as clever as she was  in the first book. I liked how her friendship with Call was challenged in this book. She's out in hard situations sometimes but I think she always does what is right. Her number one priority is to keep her friends safe.

Jasper has a more prominent role in The Copper Gauntlet than he did in The Iron Trial. I didn't like him in book 1 but after reading book 2 I'm starting to enjoy reading his interactions with Call and his friends.

I can't not mention Callum's pet wolf Havoc. He's is on of my favourite characters in the series. He's no longer a little pup but he's still adorable.

Overall, I really liked The Copper Gauntlet, I think it was a good second book and I'm excited to see where the story goes in the next instalment!

My rating: 4 stars out of 5

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

*Warning this post contains spoilers for the first three books in the Throne of Glass series (Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire)*

Series: Throne of Glass #4

Publication: September 1st 2015 by Bloomsbury 

Goodreads summary:

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

My thoughts:

Queen of Shadows is my new favourite book of all time. From the beautiful cover to the words inside,this book is perfection. It's 645 pages of pure epicness and everything I had hoped for.

Before reading Queen of Shadows I'd recommend reading the prequel novellas in The Assassins Blade because now that Aelin is back in Rifthold she encounters a lot of characters that were introduced in the prequels.

In Queen of Shadows Maas brings back old characters and introduces lots of new ones. I really enjoyed reading all of them, they are all fantastic and complex. Everyone knows that the series has had a big cast of strong male characters (from Dorian and Chaol to Rowan and Aedion) and I'm pleased to say that Maas introduces lots of new strong female characters in this book. Up until this point it's only been Aelin and Manon but now there are other who are stepping into the spotlight and I love it. The women in the story are amazing and I'd fight side by side with them any day.

One of my favourite things in this book was the friendships that develop between Aelin and the others. A lot of readers will focus on the romance (which is a big part of the series but I don't want to talk about that because I'll spoil you) but for me it was the platonic relationships that stood out. Aelin has had some pretty bad experiences with friends (i.e. Nehemia) so I was so excited for her when she let these people in.

The pacing, as usual in a Maas book, was perfect. The plots starts rolling almost instantly in the second chapter when Aelin meets with her old master Arobynn. The short chapters are full of twists and turns and the action sequences throughout the novel are amazing as expected and the multiple plot lines made it impossible to put down. Obviously Aelin's point of view was my favourite but I loved the others too.

The ending was spectacular. There were lots of reveals and now I have more questions than answers but that just makes me even more excited for the next book in 2016.

My rating: 5 out of 5! 

The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Publication: August 18th 2015 by Dial Books

Goodreads summary:

Surprises abound and sparks ignite in the highly anticipated, utterly romantic companion to My Life Next Door

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To:

- find the liquor cabinet blindfolded

- need a liver transplant

- drive his car into a house

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To:

- well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard. 

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

And Alice is caught in the middle. 

Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this return to the world of My Life Next Door is a story about failing first, trying again, and having to decide whether to risk it all once more. 

My thoughts:

I liked My Life Next Door a little bit more but I still really enjoyed The Boy Most Likely To. It's a companion novel so it can be read as a stand alone but I'd recommend reading My Life Next Door first because you will end up spoiling yourself.

I think Tim's character development was well paced. At the start of the novel his dad tells him he has until Christmas to change his life or he's not paying his health and car insurance and he's pulling his college fund. Tim does change throughout the novel but not in the way I expected him to and I loved that. But The Boy Most Likely To isn't just Tim's story,it's Alice's too.

Alice was my favourite character. She's definitely a complex character with lots of layers. She was portrayed very realistically and I liked that. She has a big burden on her shoulders because she feels it's her job to keep the family running smoothly because her mother is pregnant and her father is in hospital. With 7 other siblings she has her hands full but she does her best. She's very closed off and often referred to herself as Tin Alice which I thought was an interesting way of showing how she sees herself as heartless, but during the story she does grow and change and learns that she doesn't need to do everything all the time.

Huntley Fitzpatrick knows how to write a realistic family dynamic. Each of the Garretts are so easy to love.They're all so different from each other. I'd love to see a book about Andy or one of the others someday. They are one of my favourite fictional families I've ever read.

I loved how we got to see what Jase and Sam were up to after the event of  My Life Next Door,because when I finished that book I wanted to read more about them.

 I didn't understand why one character,Hester, acted the way she did to some of the other characters. I don't know if she was supposed to be written like that, but I didn't like her at all, she was very cold towards the others and I think realistically a person in her situation would have acted differently.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book,it was a quick enjoyable read and I can't wait to pick up What I Thought Was True,which is the only Huntley Fitzpatrick book I haven't read yet.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Seven Realms Series by Cinda Williams Chima

This is a review of the full series and is spoiler free!

Publication: 2009-2012 by Hyperion

GoodReads summary of The Demon King (book 1):

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her...

The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Hans and Raisa collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and wizards.

My thoughts:

Seven Realms has adventure, magic, action, mystery and a hint of romance so it is no wonder I absolutely loved this series so much. I can't believe I waited so long to read them. I marathoned the four books over the last 2 week and each one was better than the last. I can't wait to pick up more of Cinda Williams Chima's books!

I don’t have a lot to say that isn’t going to spoil you other than it was fantastic and amazing and if you like fantasy, read this.

The plot and writing are both great but I think it's the of memorable characters that makes Seven Realms so amazing. Han, a streetlord thief,and Raisa, the princess heir, were both excellent protagonists. Their character development over the course of the story is slow but after finishing and looking back you can see how much they've changed. Each one has distinct characteristics that sets them apart. While I loved Han and Raisa I also loved the side characters such as Dancer,Cat, Margret and Willo just as much.

Being a fantasy story the series obviously has a big plot. I think Cinda Williams Chima did a fantastic job of weaving the multiple story lines together. I was eagerly waiting for characters to cross paths, and when they did I got so excited. The only problem of the multiple plots was when I was reading from Hans POV I wanted to get back to reading Raisa POV and visa versa.

The story is set in world that is very fleshed out. I kept wishing there was map (I'm not sure if there is one but there was none in my editions on my kindle) so I could track the characters progress as they moved from place to place on their adventures. I loved that we were not stuck in the same place the whole time, there was a lot of moving around. We got to see different cultures of the different queendoms/kingdoms in the Realms which I really liked. I particularly liked the pieces of the story set in the mountains with the clans. Book 2 had a very Harry-Potter-like-feel because we get to go to Odens ford which is a wizards school.

I think Seven Realms is a fantastic series and I definitely recommend for fans of Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, Fallen Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes and the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. It can be emotional and intense at times but you must read this series,trust me, it's phenomenal.

My ratings:

Book 1,The Demon King: 4.5 out of 5.

Book 2,The Exiled Queen: 4.5 out of 5.

Book 3,The Grey Wolf Throne: 5 out of 5.

Book 4, The Crimson Crown: 5 out of 5.

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

 

Publication:May 4th 2010 by Simon and Schuster

Goodreads summary:

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

My thoughts:

I absolutely loved Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, it was such a fun quick read. It's definitely a summery book. 

This is my favourite Morgan Matson book (I've also read Since You've Been Gone). After I read her books I just really want to go out and do things. Her books inspire me to want to travel and see the world, to push boundaries and not be so scared to do things and that's what I love about her stories.

The characters were definitely the highlight of this book for me. I loved both Amy and Roger. Amy's character development was wonderful. At the beginning of the book she's been through a lot,she's very closed off and lonely so watching her friendship with Roger grow was a pleasure. The story takes place over 5 days but their relationship never feels rushed.

I loved Roger because he was so ordinary. In most YA novels the guys don't feel real,they're super hot and are bad boys who in the end really have good hearts,they're all the same. But Roger is completely ordinary,he felt so real to me, like I could bump into him on the street.

It wasn't just Amy and Roger that I liked, I also loved all (well most of) the people they met on their trip. There was such a variety of characters and I felt like each one was different from the others.

Something I really liked about this book was all the extra things Morgan Matson included like maps, receipts, playlists, photos etc. They made me feel like I was on the trip with Amy and Roger because I got to see all the place they went to alongside them.

The ending was satisfying but with like all contemporaries I wish it was longer.

My rating:5 out of 5!