Release Day Review: Hello, Sunshine, by Leila Howland

Hello, Sunshine, by Leila Howland
Publication: July 11, 2017, by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

Becca Harrington is a reject. After being rebuffed by every college on her list, she needs a fresh start, so she packs up everything and moves to LA, giving herself one year to land an acting gig or kill herself trying.
Unfortunately, not everything turns out as planned, and after a few grueling months, LA is looking like the worst idea ever. As hard as she tries, Becca can’t land an agent, she's running out of cash, and her mom is hounding her to apply to more schools. In an act of desperation, Becca and her friend Marisol start posting short videos online—with the help of their adorable filmmaker neighbor, Raj—and the videos catch the attention of a TV producer. Could this be it? Her big break? Or will she have to move back home with nothing but some bad head shots and a monstrous credit-card bill?
Becca may not get the Hollywood ending she was hoping for, but perhaps she’ll learn there’s more than one way to achieve her dream.
Readers will love every page of this funny, romantic, aspirational, and ultimately triumphant novel about a girl who just wants to make it on her own.

My Thoughts:

Hello, Sunshine was a book I did not expect to enjoy. In fact, I thought I would be bored of it due to the plot revolving around a girl wishing to become an actress. We all know that becoming famous, especially in the acting industry, is quite difficult because of the over demand and popularity of this lifestyle. Our protagonist, Becca, made this book memorable. This isn't your ordinary "coming-of-age story" where a girl has dreams. This is an amazing story that basically told me, a teenage girl getting ready to apply to universities, that it is okay to follow your dreams. That sometimes the things you feel are right are not meant to be. That your happiness is more important than what "is right." This is a story about inspiration, about taking life to the next level. I absolutely adored it!

I loved how real this story was and how it wasn't cheesy whatsoever. You see, fiction is fiction for a reason, and I constantly find books being so fake, so unreal. Many of the plot events that occur in contemporaries this year are unreachable for many in today's society, but Leila Howland proved that we teens are able to make things happen if we work hard. Becca, the protagonist, wasn't accepted to any colleges for drama and decided that the only way she could follow her passions is by moving to Los Angeles, living in Hollywood and trying to find an agent who could support her. She even makes a to-do list, listing the various things that she wants to get done in California before the year is over. If someone has a dream like this, Howland proves that it is approachable, even though disastrous things may happen in the way.

Becca moves to Los Angeles from Boston after being unable to get into any university, even Julliard - the school of her dreams. She wants to be an actress, and she knows she is good at acting, however, being in the land of acting is more difficult than it seems. It's so expensive to live there, and Becca feels all alone after she is abandoned by everything she has ever known. The question that I kept asking myself as I read this was: WILL SHE MAKE IT?

I obviously will not reveal whether Becca makes it or breaks it. However, I would like to just point out a minor flaw (that did not affect my rating!) of the summary. The summary notes that Becca and her friend, Marisol, might make it big due to a web series that a producer discovers. Yay - this actually does happen in the book, but it occurs towards the end, and when I first read about the book, I expected this specific event to be a main plot point in the story. It isn't. There are more important details that the author focuses on, so I'm hoping that you're not getting the wrong message from the summary.

I loved the romance, the characters... I loved everything. We see that throughout the book, Becca deals with three different guys, and she has a different kind of relationship with all of them. It's real and authentic with one of them (RAJ) and I cannot help but go crazy. I LOVED THEM TOGETHER. Raj was also a man of colour which I am so happy about. (!!!!!) It's so cute how Leila Howland created a society for Becca that has people who are so similar to her. The friendships she creates with Marisol and Raj make me so envious. And I love how there's no jealousy with any of them. Acting is a competitive world, I'm sure, but the friendships worked out and I kind of went crazy inside BEING EXCITED FOR EVERYONE. I may sound like a weird person, but these characters became my friends by the end of the novel.

The ending was just beautiful. I will not announce whether everything turned out okay or not, but let's just say that I was SO satisfied. Satisfied to the moon and back and everywhere in between. I also am feeling some kind of withdrawal from this story and need more. I want to hear about what is going to happen in Becca's future!

Hello, Sunshine is a must-read for anyone. Whether you enjoy contemporary or not, this is an inspiring story about a girl who is not afraid of taking risks to be able to do what she is passionate about: acting. It's one of the best books of the year. GO GRAB IT!

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What is a genre that you do not normally read but love a book that is classified in it? 

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland // Fun in the Sun (This Statement is As Cheesy As the Book)

Nantucket Blue (Nantucket #1), by Leila Howland
Publication: May 7, 2013, by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 294
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.
Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.
When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.
But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.
A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

 My Thoughts:

Nantucket Blue is one of those books that I added on to my TBR list ages ago when I underwent some kind of YA contemporary-romance chick-lit phase. It happens. I never stopped wanting to read it, either. I finally found a copy of it available when I went to the new library by my house. Seeing a copy in good condition also intrigued me, you know? I borrowed it, sat down in one of their uber-cool noise-cancelling chairs, and read half of it there. The other half? At home. It's currently summer vacation, and although I won't be spending any time on the beach until August, Leila Howland converted me from reality into Nantucket. You cannot imagine how much I want to visit Rhode Island, tour Brown University and take a ferry to this gorgeous island that I now know so much about. For some, this may be a cheesy chick-lit where we could all predict the ending. Yeah, it was extremely cheesy, but that's the fun of it. I really loved Nantucket Blue, and I am excited to read the sequel!

This story revolves around soon-to-be-seniors in high school, Cricket and Jules. They have been best friends since the eighth grade, and since Cricket doesn't have a good relationship with her divorced parents, Jules' home has become Cricket's, in a way. After a huge tragedy strikes, the two friends' lives change forever. This is right at the start of summer vacation, and Jules' family is still going to their summer home on a small island called Nantucket. Cricket follows Jules to show that their friendship still exists and gets caught in a summer fling in the midst of it all... yada yada yada.

You can most likely predict it if I tell you all about each of the characters and how Cricket gets involved with them. That's not why I read the book, to catch the predictability and make fun of the story. I read this book because I was looking for a book that will capture the great moments of summer and make me have this inexplicable feeling. This book is your perfect beach read, a book that you will fly by in a sitting and squeal over. 

Leila Howland is just such a good writer. This story was fast-paced, and although it takes place over a matter of two months, it never got boring. Boringness is a HUGE book pet peeve of mine, and if I get bored reading a book, I feel like it's a waste of time for me to read. Nantucket Blue was just so addicting and like bliss. It had this kind of 90210-like drama, but it was narrowed down a touch and made extra fun. 

Our protagonist, Cricket, was kind of the issue at times, but I liked her anyway. Overly attached characters are no fun. There were moments where I just wanted to slap the book and scream at it because Cricket never made the decisions that she should have made! Like seriously, making out with two guys in a day? Being nice and overly attached to your ex-best friend? NOOOO. Cricket Thompson is your stereotypical example of a bi*chy teenage girl. I honestly am so against stereotypes (they're the worst things possible), but Cricket Thompson fulfilled the ones that have been made for years because of shows/books like Gossip Girl. She had no respect for her parents, didn't care about anything she did, and was so boy-crazy that it blew my mind. 

At least the romance was cute when it came around. Screw Jay though. I can't believe that Cricket was obsessed with this douche-bag. ZACK, GUYS. I don't understand what was the big deal with the whole dating-best-friend-brother thing. I guess people have different opinions on all of this. The age difference kind of frustrated me, though. (Zack is a sophomore. Cricket is a senior).

My favourite thing was Nantucket itself. I've read books about The Hamptons, about Martha's Vineyard or Cape Cod, but never about Nantucket. I wouldn't have known about Nantucket if it wasn't for Leila Howland's duology. I WANT TO GO THERE. I want to eat fried clams, as well.

Nantucket Blue is one of the most summeriest books you could possibly read. Next time I go to the library, I'll have to grab a copy of the sequel and be introduced to another summer of Cricket's in Nantucket. Any lover of Melissa de la Cruz's contemporary novels should definitely go for this pretty. 

What is your favourite summer romance? What is an island that you would seriously like to visit in the future?

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis // Hello, Marissa Meyer?

Stitching Snow, by R.C. Lewis
Publication: October 14, 2014, by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Science-Fictiom, Fantasy
Pages: 338
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

Princess Snow is missing.
Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.
Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.
When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

My Thoughts:

Stitching Snow is just like any other fairy-tale retelling, stemming from a classic Disney-created story that everyone knows and has seen somewhere else. I tried to not believe the other reviewers who said that this is very similar to Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series, and I tried to believe that this would have some different effect, give me something else, but it turned out to disappoint more than I would have ever imagined. Stitching Snow is too similar to the Lunar Chronicles, and even the publisher promised that on the back cover of the paperback edition. You would think that I would rate this five stars then, because I loved Cinder. You're horribly wrong if you think so. This book could have been good in my opinion if I decided to read this when it was newly released in October 2014. Two years later, and you have a chick reviewing it who doesn't like science-fiction anymore, per se. 

Oh no, Princess Snow is missing. That kind of wasn't the point of the book. This was just about some intergalactic tension that the author found to be interesting to place a kick-ass heroine in. Listen, I liked Essie. I liked her character and how she was able to fight men and have confidence even afterwards. We need more heroines like her. Essie was the highlight of the story to me because I just adored her personality. Everything else seemed too unauthentic, including the romance that was begging to be made between Essie and Dane. I just didn't like the tension that existed. Like, it tried too hard to happen. I imagine the author thinking, "romance" and then stapling it into the story. Shouldn't it happen in a flowing, ordinary way? There's nothing "unusual" about romance, authors.

I imagine me liking this back in the day. My thirteen-fourteen year old self would have adored the way the world-building was placed, the amount of different gadgets listed and how the world wasn't necessarily in our world, our universe. It was interesting to read about the climate of the planet that Essie was on, but nothing was unique compared to other dystopians. Was this even dystopian? I don't even know. It's just fantasy or something.

Yes, there were comparisons to the original story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. First of all, R.C. Lewis' definition of dwarfs are drones, which is really cute. Snow White is less cool than Essie, let's just say that. Thank goodness there was that highlight in this story. The villain, or antagonist, is obvious. Read the first few chapters and you'll know. 

What also frustrated me was Dane. I LIKED HIM BUT I ALSO DIDN'T. You know that feel? He originally seemed like this unusual visitor to where Essie lived, but I liked his personality, and it seemed that he and Essie clicked... like friends. It's just that he reveals this secret that "SHOCKS" us fairly quickly. By chapter four, we knew... and it was like there's nothing left for us to read.

I liked R.C. Lewis' writing, but at times it felt forced and that's not necessarily the type of feel I want when reading a novel, especially science-fiction. Stitching Snow was very unnatural. 

Stitching Snow is the perfect science-fiction for new book readers of YA. I think that it's most perfect for readers new to the genre and are looking for something good. I've read too many like this and it's seriously getting boring. We have a lovely heroine who really does act like a hero and deserves the title, and a romance that isn't too great and seems forced, though. It's whatever your opinion on these kinds of books are. Fairy-tale retellings are always supposed to be pretty good, too. This? So-so. 

What is your favourite science-fiction fairy-tale retelling, if you know any others? What is your favourite Disney movie?

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone // A Rich and Enlightening Look at OCD

Every Last Word, by Tamara Ireland Stone
Publication: June 16, 2015, by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Mental Illness, Romance
Pages: 368
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.
Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

My Thoughts:

I love books that deal with subjects that have some kind of mental illness-theme in it. OCD is something I've never read about before, that's for sure. I used to think that I might share some aspects of it, but after reading about Sam's experience with it and how she found love and began to see herself as more crazier than she thought she was, I am nowhere near that. I seriously praise Tamara Ireland Stone for writing about a story that is so true and realistic that I just imagine Samantha in real life, maybe being in my school or living in my community. It's interesting, relevant and realistic, leaving you wondering about what life will actually bring to you. 

Every Last Word makes sense. It's not a fantasy or paranormal story with ghosts as readers may initially think from when they were introduced to Caroline's character. It's a contemporary story that is more real than anything else. It features love, poetry and love for things that can help teenage girls like myself forget about everything else for a while. Did you ever wonder what it's like to be a teenager in modern day 2015? This book will give you the answer, more real than anything else. 

I loved this book. I finished it in a quick nip of time and I can't stop thinking about it until this very day. It's wild, unique and pretty damn sexy at times. Sam and AJ are adorable and no, I don't care that it was instalove-d and that they had a happy ending. Of course they did. But are we really expecting some kind of unpredictability where a plot twist will kill readers and make them have trust issues? I didn't expect or want that at all. Yes, this is a pretty positive look at OCD and Sam's perspective of it all, but I don't think that a dark, moody look at it would've provided any kind of better rating.

Sam has had a tough life, yes. She was diagnosed with OCD at the age of eleven, and she realized that her life with her friends basically ruined her positivity, or the lack of. She does everything in threes, and feels that if she doesn't, something bad will happen. She was popular, in a group of stupid girls who only cared about themselves and which guy they'll kiss next. They treated Sam like she was nobody, caring about what other people think. And Sam kept this secret. She let them treat her like trash and let them make assumptions. That's what us girls do. It's horrible, actually.

I love books where girls are having a tough time in life and love basically saves them. If poetry and AJ hadn't come to Sam at this moment, then I imagine her going into straight depression and not knowing what to do with herself. She'd think things are real when they aren't (I'm hinting you at something here), and I imagine Sam doing what I would do. It's physically difficult to gain this kind of connection with a character and a reader, but that's exactly what happened in my case.

Tamara Ireland Stone is a majestic, easy-going writer. Her novel is very hipster, and in the way of poetry being Sam's saviour. I totally understand that. I could go on and on about how writing and literature could help a person out, but I guess that you understand that since I continue to ramble on and on about books everyday of my life. *inhales sharply* This story is so relatable, even if you're not dealing with any mental health issues. Every single reader could find something to enjoy and obsess over.

Sam finds a friend named Caroline, who loves the same kind of movies that she does and has dealt with depression in the past. The thing is, she relies on this girl too much. And Tamara then handed me a plot twist that made me internally scream and rip all of my hair out of anger. I could not believe it. I cannot even state if that was a good thing to have been added into this story, or a bad. But the clues did add up, and AJ's reaction didn't seem like the best for Sam's situation.

YES. This one was perfect and I can't stop thinking about the ending and how this made me feel. Every Last Word is interesting, special and life changing, just like how some of my most favourite books in the world make me feel. If you're looking for a book that will add that extra spark into your life and make you happy since I promise that it's stuck with a happy ending, then this is it. Since I own one of Tamara's other novels, you'll see me heading to that one soon because I need more, pronto.

Have you read any books about OCD before? Any ones in YA? What do you think of stories based on true events?

Rogue Wave by Jennifer Donnelly Review

Rogue Wave (Waterfire Saga #2), by Jennifer Donnelly
Published On: January 6, 2015, by Disney Press
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Mermaids
Pages: 320
Format: Physical ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

Serafina, Neela, Ling, Ava, Becca, and Astrid, six mermaids from realms scattered throughout the seas and freshwaters, were summoned by the leader of the river witches to learn an incredible truth: the mermaids are direct descendants of the Six Who Ruled-powerful mages who once governed the lost empire of Atlantis. The ancient evil that destroyed Atlantis is stirring again, and only the mermaids can defeat it. To do so, they need to find magical talismans that belonged to the Six.
Serafina believes her talisman was buried with an old shipwreck. While researching its location, she is almost discovered by a death rider patrol led by someone familiar. . . . The pain of seeing him turned traitor is devastating.
Neela travels to Matali to warn her parents of the grave threat facing their world. But they find her story outlandish; a sign that she needs to be confined to her chamber for rest and recovery. She escapes and travels to Kandina, where her talisman is in the possession of fearsome razormouth dragons.
As they hunt for their talismans, both Serafina and Neela find reserves of courage and cunning they didn't know they possessed. They face down danger and death, only to endure a game-changing betrayal, as shocking as a rogue wave.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!*

After reading Deep Blue, the first novel in the Waterfire Saga, I felt like I was in some blur. In a good blur, by the way. I was just so happy and surprised to have found the perfect mermaid series for me. At the same time, I was hoping and praying that that the sequel; this book, would be just as good. Thank ‘gods’ it was. (Did you see what I did there? *winks* My mermaid vocabulary sure is expanding now, hehe.)

I feel like this review is going to be so difficult to write, mainly because this book was just so good. I’m sitting here, after 297 pages, aching and longing for more. Donnelly just shot us with a huge cliffhanger and I can’t get over it. Fuck, but that’s the amazingness of books. Now I’ve got to wait a whole other year to find out what’s going to happen next. And then, watch the same time happen all over again. Book-writing is a freaking cycle, people.

Mermaids are the ‘sickest’ creatures out there. I’d totally like to be one.

I feel like I have such a large amount of respect to these creatures. If you think I’m going nuts here, you just don’t understand. I love Serafina, I love Neela, I love EVERYONE in this book. Although I am giving it the same rating as the first book, there were improvements in some cases, as the characters and info-dumping took a different stand.

You know how everyone always says that sequels are like the mission books of a trilogy or series? Like in Divergent, Insurgent was were all of the rebellion and sad things happened. But the authors always suspect that you now know the main plot, and it’s time to get into the action. In this book, Serafina and the other 5 girls now know their roles, and they’re all off to find the talismans that belonged to the Six Who Ruled. I guess you can say that they all took their own strands, and throughout the book, we don’t find much about Becca, Astrid and Ava, but more of Sera and Neela as they’re overcoming challenges that they certainly weren’t used to in the first book.

Now, there was so much action here that my heart pounded and I didn’t know what to think half of the time. The Death-Riders took a stand and there was a huge plot twist in the middle of the book between both girls and mystery characters, and there even was a ghost. Something happened during every chapter and it was action-packed and just about perfect.

The plot was pretty awesome from the first page. As I saw that there was a glossary at the back of the book this time around (I was dumb with the first book and never even noticed until later), I seemed to get everything and Donnelly was great with giving us a mini-recap at the beginning so we got a clean picture in our minds.

Everything was new, and at the same time, there was a large continuation. But there was so much depth, and I actually loved it. So much was happening that I can barely think of it all in my mind.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this setting? I think of The Little Mermaid and Atlantis all of the time. It’s so awesome how Donnelly uses the real world and relates known locations to those in the story. It’s like it’s possible to picture humans on land and all of the mer-people underneath us, in their own little cocoons.

I have a theory of what’s going to happen in the next book. So you better get ready for it:

IT’S NOT POSITIVE. YOU SHOULDN’T BE THINKING ABOUT UNICORNS AND MERMAIDS AND HAPPY THINGS. 

My theory is… Someone will die in the next book. It just has to be. There were so many mind-blowing shocking moments in this book where we all expected for it to happen, but I guess Serafina was carrying a bag of four leaf clovers in her… pocket? Bra pocket? Tail? Anyways, it’s bound to happen. And really, we should keep gear for a sacrifice anytime soon. I just don’t want it to happen…

Serafina was kick-ass, more than she ever was. She’s a rebel, independent, and doesn’t give a shit about anyone who thinks poop about her. She’s like a gothic Ariel, but ten times more awesome. If she was a Disney Princess (which Disney-Hyperion should definitely keep in mind of) I’d worship her to the highest standards. And so would tiny little screaming girls. Ah, never mind, let’s not get the movie idea in our minds.

Also, how can we forget about Neela? This chick took badass to a whole other level. AND WHAT AWESOME FIGHTING SKILLS DOES SHE HAVE.  Who would’ve thought?

AND THERE WERE MONSTERS, PEOPLE. There were like three monster appearances throughout this book, and I literally freaked out of happiness. We needed this, and we needed more fantasy. Without the monsters, this would’ve seemed like a simplistic mermaid story. The monsters added the bijazzzzzz. 

So—what was missing from the perfect five-star rating? ROMANCE, PEOPLE. Okay, so I’ve always been a stronger shipper of Serafina and Mahdi. He makes me sweat hot chocolate because he’s just so smoking. And we only got a tiny appearance of him together with Sera in this book. :( BUT THAT SCENE, THOUGH.

“Oh, Mahdi,” Sera whispered. “I’ve loved you since the day I met you. Really met you. In the garden.” He smiled. “When you were listening to a conch and knocked the sea fan down to get my attention.” “What? I didn’t knock it down! It fell!” “Uh-huh. Sure it did.” “Mahdi!” she protested. And then she leaned over and kissed him. Slowly and sweetly. 

I’ve had a fantastic two hours with this book, and now it’s all over. The sequel to this gorgeous Waterfire Saga was heart-pounding and racing. I’m still lost without words because it was just intact with my mind. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to read this.

ARC Review: Midnight Thief, by Livia Blackburne

Midnight Thief (Midnight Thief #1), by Livia Blackburne

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

Publication: July 8, 2014, by Disney-Hyperion

Format: Paperback Edition (Printed ARC)






Goodreads Summary: Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.

But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.

When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

Review:

*Review copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

  Well. Since I've been in the mood for fantasy reads lately, I decided to go with this one. And it was spectacular. I've seen mixed reviews about this book. The majority are pretty negative, but I just blocked those away from mind. The point that got me afraid the most was that there barely was any romance whatsoever. 

   I usually never read any books that don't include romance. I adore romance and the feelings that fictional men give me. *gushes* I never really get to go through a reading experience where the protagonist(s) are falling in love. This was a first, and I thoroughly enjoyed the uniqueness that Livia Blackburne created. She isn't your average author. She has formed a fantasy series that (a) has no insta-love, (b) has no love triangles, (c) is diverse. What more can we be looking for?

    WHEN READING THIS BOOK, YOU WILL GO THROUGH THE FOLLOWING FEELS:

-fear, because you are afraid for the badass protagonist, Kyra, well because, she's badass and does badass things, and risks her life for others.

-tears, because Tristam is just so heart-throbbing and caring and has the feels for Kyra. You will cry in happiness and in sadness because of the fact that Kyra almost died, a few times.

-anger at the author because she just left us wanting more, especially after a crazy large action scene. We also have QUESTIONS that weren't answered. *yells* And anger because we'll have to be waiting another whole freakin' year for the sequel. Meh.

-happiness, because every book has those moments where you just want to gush inside out and you feel like the rest of the world is crashing on top of you when you realize that everything's fictional.

       So, if you'd like to go through some, or all of those feels listed above, then you'd probably like to read this book, a bunch of times over and over again. Or not, and you'll be the friendless and sad loser who's really missing out. It's either or, but I recommend to go through the first thing. *winks*

        In this book, Kyra is such a badass character, like you can't even imagine. (One of the most, ever.) In the beginning, we quickly meet Kyra and get to know the person that she is. She grew up as an orphan, living on the streets of Forge, begging for food and money. She one day meets fourteen year old Flick, who quickly becomes like an older brother to her and teaches her how to live, how to fight, and how to survive. Today, Kyra is still struggling to pay rent, but she's thankfully okay. When the leader of the Assassins Guild offers her a cryptic fearful job, she at first regrets it, but then finds that it's for her own good, at least for a while. James is utterly attractive and mysterious at the same time, and his rules need to be played by Kyra or else there'll be consequences. Tristam, a knight in the Palace, loses his best friend through a murder taken by the Demon Riders. He vows to get back at them, and with that said, he'll do anything. Fate unexpectedly puts Kyra and Tristam together, and they're supposed to be enemies. But joining teams together is even better. And well, they soon find out a terrifying shocking secret about Kyra's past that sure will change everything for her future.

        Fantasy is my new favourite YA genre. There, I said it. Livia Blackburne has almost perfected writing a YA fantasy novel, and in fact, that's very hard to accomplish. In order to create a beautiful fantasy read, you must have a beautiful world setting that captivates readers. And bam, she did it. Although the world of this book was very mysterious and we don't really know much about it, I loved it. It's a mystery if it's dystopian, but it's fascinating. The use of fantasy creatures like Demon Riders and the cats were very well thought-out and impressive. I normally never did fall for that kind of stuff but it was mastered here.

         I very much indeed liked the plot. The beginning was striking and captivating, just like any beginning should be. I was hooked by the first page. There was ACTION on the first page. Like really, when does an author do that? Well, in Midnight Thief that did happen... :) Moving on, this book steadily kept its pace at a good level and we had many awesome action scenes, which is a must in a fantasy novel. But by the middle, right before Kyra and Tristam met, the story went a little downhill and I was very afraid to see what would happen next. That was the only flaw, but it kept me bored for at least 75 pages. These type of things usually don't bother me, but the middle part of the book really didn't get me addicted like the other parts did.

          By the end, I loved this book. The ending was just majestic and perfectly formed. It ended with unanswered questions and kept me wanting more. 

            The characters were my favourite part of the book. Kyra was so easy to relate to and even through her struggles, she was still a strong person. She had so much strength in her personality and took everything seriously. She was one of the most emotionally strong heroines that I've ever read about. Move over, Celaena Sardothien, we have another badass in town. :)

             Tristam was pretty brilliant as well. He was a very soothing character. You need a shoulder to cry on, he was there. He was one of those sympathetic characters that gave the struggling people a boost. 

              This book was a definite piece of fantasy literature brilliance. It had its labyrinth moments, but I definitely recommend it to everyone. You don't read fantasy but are looking for a good plot? Then still read this. Especially for those who are looking a change in plot. There's not much love here!