Review: All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

Published: October 10th, 2017
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 320 (hardcover)
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
My Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

From bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater, a gripping tale of darkness, miracles, and family. Saints. Miracles. Family. Romance. Death. Redemption.

Here is a thing everyone wants: A miracle.

Here is a thing everyone fears:
What it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

 

Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Published: February 10, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 383 (Hardcover)
Series: Red Queen #1
Source: Bought
My Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own—an ability she didn't know she had. Except...her blood is Red.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and mare against her own heart. 

Review: Pawn by Aimée Carter

Pawn by Aimée Carter
Published: November 26, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 343 (Hardcover)
Series: The Blackcoat Rebellion #1
Source: Harelquin Teen Panel
My Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING.

For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.

If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked - surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter. 

There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed, and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.

Review: Unhinged by A.G. Howard

Unhinged by A.G. Howard
Published: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 400 (Hardcover)
Series: Splintered #2
Source: Bought
My Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.

Review: A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest
Published: December 14, 2012
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 152
Series: A Shade of Vampire #1
Source: Author
My Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake.

A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.

She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.
An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.

Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

My Review: It's been a few months since I last read a book about vampires and now I know why. It seems that almost every vampire book I pick up has the same kind of romance. For awhile vampire books were probably one of the most popular books around but now it seems like most vampire books are the same. There's always a forbidden love with the main character and the vampire. The problem? The vampire wants to drink the main characters blood so he's a danger to the main character. Sound familiar?

The concept of the Shade was something that I would have liked to know more about. The only information about it is that it is a sanctuary for vampires. It probably would have added to the story if more vampire politics were involved since Derek was their prince. The entire book was basically Sofia living in the Shade and trying to figure out her feelings for Derek.

The romance actually wasn't too bad but I had a few issues with it. My main problem with the book was the insta love. The moment Derek wakes up he sees Sofia and wants to drink her blood but then he stops himself because she's too beautiful and he doesn't want to hurt her. He thinks she special the moment he sees her. I'm just not a fan of books that have something like that in them.

There was kind of a love triangle in this book too but that didn't really bother me. Sofia is in love with her best friend but she also falls in love with Derek. Not much is known about Ben (her best friend) but from the flashbacks he felt more like her brother than a friend. I got the feeling that Ben wasn't really competition for Derek.

Most of the book was fairly uneventful. The ending was probably the best part of the book because it left me hanging. I think that the book could have been much better if more actually happened throughout the book instead of just near the end.

*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!