The Shadow Queen by CJ Redwine

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.

Goodreads Summary

Lorelai represents Snow White, but not how a reader might think.  She is intelligent, quick-witted, and doesn't depend on a prince to save her.  The reader meets her with her brother, Leo, and Gabril, their savior.  The reader will come to love these characters very quickly just as I did. Leo has a fun and spunky personality and Gabril is warm, comforting, and safe.  The backstory to this latest Snow White story is fascinating and very innovative.  Lorelai must remove her depraved aunt from her rightful throne to help Ravenspire.  

Lorelai's character was perfect and easy to relate to.  I thought it was a nice touch that she wasn't good at court fripperies. The introduction of Kol as a love interest from a neighboring kingdom as well as the ability to transform into a dragon at a moment's notice was a nice touch.  I really enjoyed that the author didn't let Kol overshadow Lorelai even when certain chapters focused more on him than on her.  The descriptions in the book made it easy to paint the scenery and setting in my head and the dialogue was exactly right for each situation in the book from light-hearted to intense.  Overall, this is a great read for young adult/teen readers.

4 Stars

This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LIVE TO READ

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

The author of Between Shades of Gray returns to WWII in this epic novel that shines a light on one of the war's most devastating—yet unknown—tragedies.

In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia, and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety.

Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.

Goodreads Summary

This was one of the most thought-provoking books that I have ever read.  I spent an entire night reading this book instead of studying!  Told from multiple perspectives that I don't know how the author pulled off-it must be very difficult to write from the perspective of a budding psychopath to a young Polish girl with a brutal past-this book is eloquent, descriptive, and will make the reader physically feel for the characters. Joana, Emilia, and Florian are all amazingly distinct characters; I was not so fond of the other perspective, but I must admit that it was valuable to the book.  

Joana acted a nurse during the Holocaust and came off as very compassionate and, in some sense, motherly.  She cared for the little Polish girl with a shocking secret and a glaring health problem, Emilia, as well as the blind girl in the rag-tag group.  Emilia was probably the strongest character of the four perspectives as far as I'm concerned.  She went through the most and suffered the most amongst the four perspectives telling the story as an "un-desirable" Polish girl during the Holocaust. She suffered horrible atrocities as spoils of the war.  The author highlights that Poland was torn apart by two warring countries-Poland and Russia.  Florian brought the thrust and verve two the main characters.  He was a man on a mission throughout the book and the reader won't guess the mission until he decides to spill his secret.  The scenes in the book are vivid and the plot is fast-paced.  I literally couldn't put this book down; teens and adult readers should snatch this book up.

5 Stars



This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LIVE TO READ

Dark Energy by Robison Wells

WE ARE NOT ALONE

Five days ago, a massive UFO crashed in the Midwest, killing thousands of people. Since then, nothing–or no one–has come out.

THEY HAVE ARRIVED

If it were up to Alice, she’d be watching all of this on the news from Miami, Florida. Instead, she’s the newest student at a boarding school not far from the crash site–because her dad is the director of special projects for NASA, and if anything’s a special project, it’s this.

AND THERE’S NO GOING BACK

A shell-shocked country is waiting, glued to televisions and computer screens, for a sign of what the future holds. But when the aliens emerge, they’re nothing like what Alice expected. And only one thing is clear: Nothing will ever be the same again. 

Goodreads Summary

As far as alien encounter books go, this one was a great and fast read!  Readers like me who don't want to be able to guess the ending and who enjoy being completely surprised will find this the perfect book!  Alice's father is the director of special projects at NASA and just when she is installed in a boarding house in Minnesota a UFO crashes near the area.  She is struggling with settling in and getting used to her new room when she has to get used to having two aliens aka "guides" around the schools and interacting with her, as well.  Alice can already tell that the Guides are not quite what they claim to be and, after seeing a blood-spattered room, is sure that she needs to find the truth.

Alice's character was a lot of fun to get to know.  She is half Native-American and I love how the author incorporated quite a few words and some of her culture into the novel.  Having a dad work at NASA has to be one of the coolest things in the world; he was a good character and, with his connections, enabled Alice to step into the UFO.  There were a bunch of other great characters from the two aliens attending the boarding school with Alice to Alice's potential hilarious love interest.  The author offered many twists and shocking surprises when it came to the "guides" that the reader is sure to enjoy!

4 Stars

This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LIVE TO READ

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Goodreads Summary

When I was going to high school it never occurred to me someone could come in and shoot a bunch of students.  The author manages to keep this book suspenseful, scary, hopeful, and heart-pounding all at the same time.  This is definitely a book that would be easy to read in one sitting.  There are multiple characters (4) from multiple points of views from the sister of the shooter to the sort-of girlfriend of the shooter to students who had *nearly* nothing to do with the shooter.  The reader will feel with these characters after every gunshot.  The book is somehow told within a 54 minute time period and yet is packed with emotions and scenes.  

I do with that the author had delved more into the why and how the shooter became the shooter and how the other perspectives tied into his transformation.  The book was missing this one crucial piece and really took away from it for me.  I rooted for the students to live and hated knowing that someone had been shot.  I liked the scenes where the teachers tried to take over and stop the shooter.  A large part of me wishes someone else had a gun and whipped it out to kill the shooter prior to any student/teacher deaths.  Overall, this is a book worth reading.

3 1/2 Stars

This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LIVE TO READ