Review: The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) by C.J. Redwine

The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) by C.J. Redwine

Published: February 16th 2016 by Balzer + Bray

 Rating: 3 out of 5

✤✤✤✤

Available from:  
 

✤✤✤✤

Synopsis:

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.
✤✤✤✤

Review: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Expected publication: December 31st 2013 by Balzer + Bray

The cover pretty much sums up the book. Sweet, innocent, little Wren and older (by a couple of years), Grayson. One adorable couple who want to try for something real. No pretence, no lies, just an honest relationship.

"Wren: 
Wren Caswell, Doesn't participate in class.
Bright but quiet.
Quiet. Quiet.
Too quiet.
I tried not to let the evaluation bother me, but it did. Being quiet was not a conscious protest. It was my nature."

They do share a connection from the beginning of the story. Even though their beginning is Grayson acting an idiot in front of his friends and speaking down to her. Wren, equally not amused by him, is the only one looking when he starts choking on a mini sausage. One Heimlich manoeuvre later and he sees Wren through different eyes. In fact, his whole outlook on life changes.

"Grayson:
She's just a girl, Grayson. 
A girl who saved my life. 
I wanted to sweep the hair away from her face, feel her body against me, without an audience or the threat of my imminent death.
Connecting with her had felt different. Real. I had to get to know her."

Don't be misled. This is a book of secrets and lies, back-stabbing school mates, evil Ava, and the beginning of a romance that might easily be thrown away if the couple doesn't try hard to make it work. Time and again Grayson's past comes back to haunt and ruin him. But Wren is a smart cookie. She's good at damage control, especially with herself. And she's definitely is not one to be underestimated. She's a fighter.

The only thing I would criticize is the lukewarm ending. The rest of the book had sizzling eyes, warm hands and plenty of kissing. I couldn't help feeling like I wanted a little bit more heat.

View all my reviews

Review: A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

My rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:
We all want to be remembered. Charlotte's destiny is to be Forgotten...
Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth, who feels the Need—a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger.
But Charlotte never wanted this responsibility. What she wants is to help her best friend, whose life is spiraling out of control. She wants to lie in her boyfriend's arms forever. But as the Need grows stronger, it begins to take a dangerous toll on Charlotte. And who she was, is, and will become--her mark on this earth, her very existence--is in jeopardy of disappearing completely.
Charlotte will be forced to choose: Should she embrace her fate as a Forgotten, a fate that promises to rip her from the lives of those she loves forever? Or is she willing to fight against her destiny--no matter how dark the consequences.

My Review:
What I loved about this book mostly was that it went against the grain of most YA books. Firstly she is in a very healthy and loving relationship with Harlin. She's happy with her adoptive mother, Mercy, who loves her. Her brother, Alex, is great and openly gay. And she had a father figure in her life who looks out for her, Monroe. Everyone in her life, including her best friend Sarah, are great, lovely, fantastic.
Except Charlotte's been hiding a secret from them for years claiming that its asthma attacks that cause her pain.
When her Need (her word for the strange sensation she gets when she needs to help people she's never met) starts getting worse, and more frequent Charlotte starts to panic. And when her skin starts revealing gold patches underneath she turns to Monroe for help.
But Monroe is also keeping his own secrets and eventually Charlotte learns the truth. A truth that is more horrible than she could ever imagine. She is one of the Forgotten and will soon meet her own demise.
The writing of this book is amazing, I loved the authors flow and quick storyline. I was so engrossed before I realised that I'd read 70% of the book!
This is an Angel book but one that's very different. That is, we don't actually know whether she's an angel yet but I'm assuming she is. All of the characters were fantastic, really fleshed out and believeable to the point that I wished Charlotte and Harlin had had more of a chance to say goodbye. The ending is really sad but is left open for the next installment which will be released on June 26th. I can't wait!

You can reach Suzanne Young  here: 

Email

Blog

Twitter

 Facebook: Profile

Goodreads