Audiobook Review: Faery Born by Donna Joy Usher

Series:	War Faery #1
Pub. Date:	June 12, 2018
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrator:	Rachael Beresford
Length:	7 hrs 39 min
Source:	Publisher

Faery Born was a somewhat surprising read. I didn't realize it was young adult when I started it, and while I do read some young adult, it's not something that I pick up often. This story did seem somewhat juvenile, but I think that was partially because the narrator sounded so young. So I wasn't sure that I was going to finish the story at first, but something about it kept my attention and kept me listening until the end. So I think the story was good, I just had to get over the age and maturity level of the characters.

ARC Review: Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine

Series:	The Great Library #4
Pub. Date:	July 3, 2018
Publisher:	Berkley
Length:	448 pgs
Source:	NetGalley

I have been thoroughly impressed with Rachel Caine's The Great Library series since it's inception, and I'm so happy that we have more books to come. The world-building is complex and detailed, and just superb from beginning to end. I also love the diverse cast of characters from just about every walk of life - there is someone for everyone to identify with.

ARC Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Pub. Date:	April 24, 2018
Publisher:	Wednesday Books
Length:	352 pgs
Source:	NetGalley

Sky in the Deep is the debut fantasy novel from Adrienne Young, and I see good things in this author's future. While this book has been classified as fantasy, don't expect many fantastical elements.  There are no magical or futuristic elements. We are basically operating in a made-up world that had a Viking feel with two warring people's who follow different gods. So you can expect lots of action and fighting and conflict.

Audiobook Review: Making Faces by Amy Harmon

Pub. Date:	March 19, 2014
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrators:	Rob Shapiro
Length:	6 hrs 33 min
Source:	Audible Romance

This is a book from my blogger shame pile that I got from NetGalley some time ago. I actually picked it up and put it down a couple times due to the age of the characters. I am not much of a young adult reader and I didn't realize that this was a young adult coming-of-age type novel. I generally like Amy Harmon, so I didn't want to write the story off so it has sat out there lingering for a while. But when I saw that it was available on Audible Romance, I decided to give it another shot. I'm glad I was listening while I was at home, as there was definitely some ugly crying and tissues needed for this one.

Audiobook Review: The Book Jumper by Mechthild Gläser

Pub. Date:	July 20, 2017
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrator:	Mary Sarah
Length:	8 hrs 15 min
Source:	Publisher

I'm not a huge reader of young adult books, but this story had such an interesting premise that I just couldn't resist. Imagine if you could transport yourself to the fictional world of any story that you read? I mean isn't that the bibliophile's dream? If I was granted a superpower, that would probably be what I would pick.

So Amy Lennox and her mother leave Germany in the doldrums and return home to the Lennox ancestral estate in Scotland. The estate is on the island of Stormsay with very few inhabitants, just two families who have the magical literary ability. Amy first learns of her family's ability when she arrives on Stormsay, and she takes to it with aplomb. She soon finds herself traipsing through magical and literary worlds of The Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Metamorphosis, The Odyssey and many others. I was so jealous of this ability and thought it was so freaking cool! 

Audiobook Review: Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

Pub. Date:	Sept. 5, 2017
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Narrator:	Jennifer Ikeda
Length:	12 hrs 5 min
Source:	Publisher

So this story is a bit out of my normal wheelhouse, but it was a nice diversion. The synopsis really says it all... this is a somewhat feminist retelling of Snow White. 

Our "evil" stepmother character is Mina, with a heart made of glass. I liked that Mina's character was misunderstood rather than truly evil, and I felt more drawn to her character than I expected to be. Mina grew up with an uncaring and slightly evil father, and her longing for love made me sympathetic to her. I enjoyed the play on the magic mirror giving Mina the power over glass, and her creation of Felix was an interesting take on the original story. As we saw Mina grow from young adulthood to a stepmother queen, her desperation for love and understanding was clear to the reader. It was easy to feel sorry for her and want things to go her way.

ARC Review: Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine

Series:	The Great Library  #3
Pub. Date:	July 11, 2017
Publisher:	Berkley
Length:	368 pages
Source:	NetGalley

I have so enjoyed this alternate history fantasy series. Caine has provided us a dense action-packed plot in a complex world based on an alternate history of the Great Library of Alexandria. The Great Library has turned into a world superpower that is power-hungry and corrupt, and suppresses the people at every turn. The Library controls the books and the knowledge, and makes it illegal for the masses to own original books.

ARC Review: The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

Series:	Black Witch Chron. #1
Pub. Date:	May 2, 2017
Publisher:	Harlequin Teen
Length:	608 pages
Source:	Edelweiss

The Black Witch is Laurie Forest's debut novel, and I envision a promising career ahead for this new author. I was initially daunted by the length of the novel, thinking that I didn't have time to fit it in my schedule. But all the controversy (more on this later) made me want to read this book for myself - and once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I read it over the course of a day and late into the night... and got killed by the cliffhanger! I got busy tweeting today to the author telling her to write fast because I need to know what happens... luckily she advises that the next installment is already written, so hopefully we won't have a horribly long delay.

Audiobook Review: The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden

Series:	Casquette Girls #1
Pub. Date:	Dec. 29, 2015
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Narrator:	Kate Rudd
Length:	17 hrs 39 min
Source:	Kindle Unlimited

I really love what Alys Arden did here, taking the myths, legends and history of New Orleans and expounding upon it in a modern-day paranormal story. The Casquette Girls is an amalgamation of the city's vampire legend mixed with the history of les filles a la cassette at Ursuline Convent, brought back to life in post-Katrina New Orleans. 

Series Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Roshani Chokshi is a new-to-me author and one to go on my auto-buy list. I initially received an advanced review copy of Crown of Wishes, not realizing it was the second book in the series. So that is what led me to pick up The Star-Touched Queen, Chokshi's debut novel, and I was blown away. What an outstanding entree into the writing world!

ARC Review: Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves

Series:	Blood Rose Rebellion #1
Pub. Date:	March 28, 2017
Publisher:	Knopf
Length:	416 pages
Source:	Publisher

Blood Rose Rebellion is the first installment of a series by the same name, by debut author Rosalyn Eves. This historical fantasy story features a society with magical abilities intermixed with the activities leading up to the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. The population is separated and defined by their magical abilities, with the upper echelon Luminate hoarding the magical reserves for themselves and shunning those with lesser or no magic. The Romani also play a big part in this story - separated from both the magical and mundane by prejudicial views toward the gypsy way of life.

Audiobook Review: First Year by Rachel E. Carter

Series:	Black Mage #1
Pub. Date:	Oct. 27, 2016
Publisher:	Clean Reads
Narrator:	Melissa Moran
Length:	8 hrs 9 min
Source:	Audiobook Boom

Rachel & Jen Bambi

Full disclosure - I have a girl crush on Rachel E. Carter. She is very cool people and I hung out with her quite a bit at the RT Convention this year. So even though I don't read a lot of Y/A, or "clean reads" for that matter... I knew that I had to check out what Rachel is writing (and I'm glad I did)! I only wish it didn't take me so long, but the blog has allowed me little time for personal reading this year (something I hope to rectify in 2017). I'm rambling... on to the review!

ARC Review: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

Series:	Untitled #1
Pub. Date:	Sept. 27, 2016
Publisher:	Balzar + Bray
Length:	448 pages
Source:	Edelweiss

I have been craving more fantasy in my life this year, and have been seeking out new (to me) fantasy authors left and right. I totally got sucked in by the cover of Bright Smoke, Cold Fire, and the blurb piqued my interest as well. I can't recall having read a retelling of Romeo and Juliet in the last handful of years, so I was definitely intrigued.

ARC Review: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Series:	Three Dark Crowns #1
Pub. Date:	Sept. 20, 2016
Publisher:	HarperTeen
Length:	416 pages
Source:	Edelweiss

I was really intrigued by the blurb for this book as I love a good dark fantasy. The premise of the story is that three sisters (triplets) are born queens. Once they are born, it is the end of their queen mother's reign. The girls are raised together at the Black Cottage for a short time, but are all separated at six years old according to their magical powers. One is a poisoner and is immune to poison. One is a naturalist and can make things grow and have animals as familiars. And the other is an elemental, who controls the elements of earth, air, wind and fire. Katherine is being raised by the poisoners; Arsinoe is being raised by the naturalists; and Mirabella is being raised by the elementals. To become the next queen, one of the girls must murder her sisters and take the throne.

ARC Review: Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

Series:	The Great Library #2
Pub. Date:	July 5, 2016
Publisher:	Berkley Publishing
Length:	368 pages
Source:	NetGalley

The Great Library saga continues with this second installment, which is even more dangerous and action-packed than the first.

Audiobook Review: Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Series:	The Witchlands #1
Pub. Date:	Jan. 5, 2016
Publisher:	Listening Library
Length:	14 hrs 41 min
Narrator	Cassandra Campbell

The Witchlands are a fantastical world separated into various empires where everyone is born with a different type of witchery. Witches of wind, fire, water and threads seem to be the most common, but there are also the rare witches of iron, blood and truth. The warring empires are operating under a 20 Year Truce, which seems in imminent danger of ending. Our protagonists of the story quickly become pawns in the war on the horizon.

ARC Review: Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

Series:	The Great Library #1
Pub. Date:	July 7, 2015
Publisher:	Berkley Publishing
Length:	352 pages
Source:	NetGalley

Rachel Caine has woven a wonderfully complex world full of intrigue, conspiracy, and dangerous secrets with a diverse cast of engaging characters, and them pitted against a corrupt governmental-type entity known as The Library. 

Throwback Thursday Audiobook Review: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Original Pub. Date:  1979

Re-Release Date:  2012

Publisher:  Tantor Audio

Narrator:  Gerard Doyle

Length:  14 hrs

Format:  Audiobook

Source:  Hoopla

This was one of my favorite movies growing up - and I still love to watch it today.  I mean seriously, who doesn't want their own Falkor the Luck Dragon???  If you have kids, I hope that you will encourage them to read this book and watch the movie.