Across the Library

This new take on fairy tales focuses on Violet, a prickly court seer that doesn't particularly care if she is likeable. She certainly doesn't care if Cyrus, the prince she saved years ago, earning her place in court, likes or hates her, as she rather hates him. But it is her place as seer to prophesize whether he will find love in time to break his curse and save the kingdom from war and destruction as the previous seer's prophecy foretold. This book does so many things well! The "villainous" main character - this is my favorite type of character, so the bar was high, but this book does it well. The author made Violet properly prickly and supposedly unrelatable, but that just made me love her so much. Enemies to lovers - the chemistry is believable and enjoyable, moving the story forward as well as the rest of the plot. The beasts - The beasts were described so uniquely and beautifully, a strange combination of plant, fur. and horns. Camilla - Rivaling Violet and ...

  I read in an interview with Maggie Stiefvater that this book would appeal to both fans of the Disney movie Brave, as this is a sequel to the movie, and to her longtime fans. I happen to be an adult fan of both. I decided to rewatch the movie before reading the book because even though Merida is my favorite Disney princess, I haven't seen the movie since it was released, and I wanted to make sure it was fresh in my mind in case I needed to remember any plot points. This is not necessary though, as readers new to Merida's story can still find enjoyment in the book. It picks up a few years after the movie, and though it does occasionally mention the events of the movie, it is an entirely new story, where Merida, the princess of DunBroch, must spend a year trying to bring change to her family in order to save them after making a bargain with two gods. In a way, I think rewatching the movie first hindered my enjoyment of the book, because for the first half, I kept hearing movie M...

Do you like alternate histories? Maybe mixed with a little fantasy? I just finished An Affair of Poisons, and I loved it. It's an alternate history tale of a Shadow Society that poisons King Louis XIV and then takes power. There are two perspectives, one told by a poisoned, the daughter of the Shadow Society leader, who doesn't agree with what has happened, and a bastard prince who is fighting to save his sisters. The two meet and try to take back the city in the name of the boy's brother, the dauphin Louis. I thought it was a beautiful story with strong characters. There is romance but it is slow to build and handled well. It has poison and curatives, magic and intrigue. I highly recommend it.⁣

Title: Onyx and Ivory Author: Minee Arnett My Rating:  5 stars I'm not in love with the cover or the title, but the book? Absolutely! This has earned its spot in my top 3 of the year! In this young adult fantasy, the main characters are around 19-20.  Kate's father was a traitor, having tried to kill the king, and that has left her with the name "Traitor Kate." Plus she has had to hide her wilder magic ability to speak with and control animals else she be judged for that as well, since wilder magic is illegal. But then she rescues her old friend, Prince Corwin, from a drake attack and things begin to change. Corwin doesn't want to rule. He has accepted that his brother, Edwin, will likely be the heir. Then he sees Kate again as she rescues him from the drakes and old feelings are rekindled.  But there are more important issues at hand...why are the drakes, typically called nightdrakes, attacking during the day? Is wilder magic involved? Right at 500 p...

Title: Shadow Weaver Author: MarcyKate Connolly Rating: 4 stars This dark tale of friendship, magic, and secrets was enchanting. The main focus is a young girl who can control and speak to shadows. Her parents do not approve of her magic, and soon, she is on the run from those who want to take her magic. She meets new people who her shadow warns her against telling about her secrets, but she finds they have some magic of their own. The story of magic weaves into one of true friendship.  This is the first book in a duology.

Title: Daughters of the Storm Author: Kim Wilkins My Rating: 4.5 stars Five very different sisters work to save their father, the king, while trying to keep their own secrets. Bluebell, the oldest and most loyal to her father, is a warrior, a fierce fighter that brings fear to her enemies. Rose is a queen, married off to a neighboring king to bring about peace, but if her king knew her secrets....  Ash is studying magic, but is more powerful than she should be at her age.  Ivy and Willow, the twins -- Ivy is lustful and vain, while Willow has turned to the trimartyr faith, believing her family to be heathens.  Will they be able to save their father and stop their treacherous step brother from taking the throne? I really enjoyed this book, both the flow and the story.  I know some reviewers felt there were too many characters, but I think that each character had just enough individuality and personality to stand apart enough for me to keep track.  Some o...

Title: Sky in the Deep Author: Adrienne Young My Rating: 4.5 stars Eelyn is a warrior, taught to fight and survive.  She is fighting alongside her clansmen when she sees her brother fighting on the side of the enemy -- the same brother that died five years before.  Feeling betrayed she goes after her brother, only to be taken alive by the enemy, and forced to live with them for a while.  In time, she finds herself developing feelings for one of the enemy clan.  And after an attack by another clan that nearly decimates the enemy clan and her own, she has to work to bring the two clans together. I really enjoyed this well-written warrior tale.  Unlike a lot of typical YA books, the romance was not immediate, it took some time before Eelyn began to trust Fiske and developed feelings for him.  The summary on the book would have you think it happens faster than it actually does.  Eelyn is a strong female character with loyal ties to her family. T...

Title: The Tangled Lands Author: Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell My Rating: 4 stars Magic has been banned in Khaim because it causes the bramble to grow, choking out the cities and life.  If the bramble touches you, you fall into a deep sleep, never to wake. Only the Majister Scacz is allowed to use magic and yet, so many others do, causing the bramble to continue to grow.  Stories of magic, yes, but these are really tales of the lesser people fighting back, while losing people along the way. At first I was disappointed to find out this was a book of four stories set in one world, instead of a novel, but I actually found it to be well written and the stories were moving.  Each author writes two of the stories.  I think my favorite was the Executioness. In the first story, an inventor is trying to protect his young daughter who is sick.  He creates a device that can fight the bramble, but Scacz and the duke discover it can be used to find those...

Title: Weave a Circle Round Author: Kari Maaren My Rating: 2.5 Stars I'll be honest -- I struggled to get through this book, and I think I'm going to struggle with this review. Without giving away the secrets of the plot, I'll just say that Freddy, her little sister Mel, and her step-brother Roland find themselves with strange new neighbors, Josiah and Cuerva Lachance, who have a strange house as well.  There's a strange sequence of time travel plopped into the middle that is far too abrupted.  I think iti's supposed to seem that way, but in my opinion, it is not well done, and makes the story too confusing. There were interesting bits.  I liked some of the rpg elements that were included.  I liked that there was a deaf character and sign language.  I was intrigued by Josiah, and a little bit of the secretiveness of the characters, but it just didn't play out in a satisfying way. I thought the descriptions of the three characters, Josiah, Cuerva La...

Title: Reign of the Fallen Author: Sarah Glenn Marsh This is a fantasy story of a world where mages exist, their powers determined by the color of their eyes.  This particular book focuses mainly on the necromancers, those who bring the dead back to the living world.  The Dead must remain completely shrouded ; if even the tiniest bit of their flesh is seen by a living person, they turn into a Shade, a monstrous creature that feeds on both the Dead and the living. The royal family has been using this method of returning to life for centuries ; in fact, the king himself has been ruling for 200 years.  Though he resists change, he is a well-liked king, as is the rest of the royal family. Our main character is Odessa, nicknamed Sparrow, and she is one of the necromancers.  She is very good at what she does, maybe to the point of being a Mary Sue character, although she does have flaws. All is going well, until one of the necromancers is killed by a Shade....

Title: Children of Blood and Bone Author: Tomi Adeyemi Release Date: March 6, 2018 I received an ARC of this book through the library I work at.  I was really excited to read this one.  The cover is beautiful, and the story is just as lovely.  What can I say without spoiling it? This book is about a girl who lives in a world that used to have magic, but the magic has died.  The king saw to that eleven years ago, killing the magic and the adults who once had it.  The girl, Zelie watched them take her mother, beat her father, and she has worked to never lose another family member.  Now there is a spark, a hope that magic may return.  A rogue princess that escapes the castle and brings that hope.  But there is also a prince who threatens that hope, and their father, the king, will see to the final death of magic if he has anything to say about it. There is so much more to this book than just magic. There is the world it takes place in....

Title: Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Good, Book 1: The Road to Epoli Authors: Ben Costa and James Parks At first glance, the cover art of this graphic novel could lead you to believe that it is meant for children.  It is actually intended for teens, and once you dive into the book you can see this through the art that might be too scary for young children, and the plot that may be too deep for young children to understand.  There are also a couple of things brought up that are inappropriate for children. Rickety Stitch is a singing, and lute playing, skeleton with a soul, an unexpected creation no doubt.  An unusual song that he cannot fully remember haunts his dreams, giving him little clues as to who he may have been in life.  This is a soul-searching story of some depth about this skeleton trying to find out who he is and who he once was.  Along for the ride is his friend that only he can understand, the Gelatinous Goo.  This fun quest story ...

Title: The Cruel Prince Author: Holly Black I have read two other series by this author, one YA and one middle grade, and really enjoyed both. I've been interested in some of her other recent books, but have not had a chance to read them. Cover: I have seen three covers for this book: the one I have pictured, a variation of it that is black instead of white (Barnes and Noble exclusive, I think), and a purple one that shows a throne. I think all fit the book. Review: Once again, I have the unpopular opinion of not liking a book as much as the general populice seems too. Everywhere online I see people raving about how great this is, but I'm just kind of meh about it. The premise is that Jude and her sisters were taken in by a faerie when they were young, after said faerie killed their parents. Fast forward to when Jude and her twin are seventeen. Jude longs to be a faerie, to be like them, but for the most part, they are not treated well by the faeries around their ag...

Title:  The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding Author:  Alexandra Bracken Cover: I love everything about this cover. I love the colors. I love the fox and his expression. I love the use of font size for certain words in the title. The cover is very appealing to me. Review: This middle-grade novel is about a twelve (almost thirteen) year old boy, Prosper Redding, who doesn't really fit in with with extended family or at school. His family is known for being wealthy, successful, and important. It was one of Proper's distant relative's who founded the town of Redhood, where the family still lives. Just two weeks before his thirteenth birthday, Prosper finds out that his ancestor made a contract with a demon, or fiend, and that that fiend now lives inside of him. This sends Prosper on a path to trying to get rid of the fiend, all while communicating with him and trying not to let the fiend control his body. Nevermind that he has to ignore the fiend's request to make a...

Title: Year One Author: Nora Roberts Cover: A decent cover that represents the start of the plague and the crows that come with the darkness. *Mild Spoilers Ahead* Review: I will say first that I am not a typical Nora Roberts fan. In fact, I've only read three other books by her, that being the Seven Signs Trilogy that starts with Blood Brothers. If I remember correctly, those also had a fantasy/paranormal feel to them, while her typical books do not. It was the fantasy elements of this book that appealed to me. A plague strikes, first taking a family, but since it is highly contagious and they are traveling after the holidays, it quickly spreads, wiping out large numbers of the population. There are already some people with gifts before the plague hits, but after, these gifts grow stronger, and others gain powers as well. These people, from witches, elves, fairies, and more, are called the Uncanny, and some people blame them for the plague, or are just generally hateful...