#ARCstravaganza: Whisper of the Tide – Sarah Tolcser

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Happy Monday! #ARCstravangaza is a weekly meme now hosted by Flavia the Bibliophile where readers can show off their wonderful ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) and spread the word about upcoming releases. For more information about this meme and its origins check out this post.

About the Book

36134048Title: Whisper of the Tide (Song of the Current #2)
Author: Sarah Tolcser
Release: June 5, 2018

Caro has settled into a routine: Wake, eat breakfast, try to figure out who is going attempt to assassinate Markos today. The currents aren’t exactly calm. Markos is in constant danger, and his claim to the Akhaian throne is largely unsupported. Without military strength he doesn’t have a chance. Relief appears on the horizon when a powerful Archon wants to side with Markos in his fight for the throne. But in exchange for an army, Markos must marry the Archon’s daughter. They must decide which is more important: their love for each other or the fate of Akhaia. And Caro will have to decide if her destiny is to sail with the tide, or chart her own course.

With shipwrecks, lost treasure, old and new enemies, dark magic, and devastating romance, Sarah Tolcser weaves another epic story about chasing fate.

 

REVIEW: Onyx and Ivory – Mindee Arnett (ARC)

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34739766Title: Onyx and Ivory (Onyx and Ivory #1)
Author: Mindee Arnett
Rating: ★★★★

ARC provided by the author through a giveaway.

I’ve been reading a lot of Young Adult Fantasy lately, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feel a bit of apprehension going into this. The other books I had read in this genre I ended up enjoying and I was worried I was going to compare this to them and find it lacking. I’ll admit that Onyx and Ivory does contain many of the same traits and tropes as other books in the genre, however, the characters, setting, and writing were excellent and made it an enjoyable read!

The worldbuilding was well-written, and I look forward to it continuing to develop in the next book. The concept of Nightdrakes – flightless dragons that terrorize the people, forcing them to live in walled cities protected by magic – was really interesting to read about. I also loved the idea of the uror trials; the rituals that determine who will rule next in Norgard. I can’t wait for the culmination of the trials in the next book, as Corwin and Edwin fight for the crown. 

The characters were all dynamic and compelling. The book alternates between the POVs of Kate and Corwin, and I found both their characters to be well-developed. I also just want to make a point that Kate is slightly older than most YA heroines tend to be, which is something we don’t see too often! The romance was wonderfully written. The romance plot is light and the characters have a past, which makes their rekindling feelings reasonable instead of unbelievable. There was also a great deal of communication between Corwin and Kate which, sadly, tends not to be the norm in YA books. It was great to see Kate put her trust in Corwin and have him respond in the way we should expect the love interest to: with reassurance, continued support, and love. In any other YA Fantasy, this might have gone differently, simply to add drama to the story, but I’m glad the author decided no to go down that route.

Onyx and Ivory was a great start to a new Young Adult Fantasy series (duology, maybe?) and I look forward to reading the next book. Some of the plot may seem similar to other books in the genre, but the character and writing make up for it, and the book definitely held my attention the entire time!

REVIEW: Love and Other Words – Christina Lauren

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36206591Title: Love and Other Words
Author: Christina Lauren
Rating: ★★★★★

“He’s my person. He’s always been my person. My best friend, my confidant, probably the love of my life. And I’ve spent the last eleven years being angry and self-righteous. But at the end of the day, he tore a hole in us, and fate ripped it wide open.”

I went into this expecting to enjoy it, but not necessarily be swept off my feet. Love and Other Words was such a stunning, emotional book that I simply could not stop reading. This is a beautiful book about first loves, mistakes, heartaches, and second chances. 

The story is told through alternating chapters of the past and the present. We witness Macy meeting Elliot for the first time as children fourteen years ago, and then we see them meet again as adults after eleven years of silence. We follow Macy and Elliot as they create a beautiful friendship that slowly develops into more, and we also watch them years later attempt to mend the fissure of hurt and possibly start anew. I flew through these pages, not just because of the engaging writing and compelling story, but also by the need to know what happened to have caused such a rift between Elliot and Macy.

Love and Other Words is such a treasure of a book. I was totally enchanted by every page and didn’t want the story to ever end. If you’re looking for a wonderful book to pull on your every heartstring, I would highly recommend this! 

WWW Wednesday #6

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words in which the three W’s stand for:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

36206591WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren. I’m absolutely loving it.

 

 

34739766WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH?

Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett

 

 

34640572WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury. I had never heard of this book until it showed up in my FairyLoot box for March, but it seems really intriguing and I’ve seen some great reviews for it!

REVIEW: LIFEL1K3 – Jay Kristoff (ARC)

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29456569Title: LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike #1)
Author: Jay Kristoff
Rating: ★★★★★

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

In typical Jay Kristoff fashion, LIFEL1K3 delivered one hell of ride. It took me a while to put into words how blown away I felt by this book without rambling incoherently. Set in a post-apocalyptic America, the blurb’s description of “Romeo and Juliet meets Bladerunner meets Mad Max” is absolutely accurate. LIFEL1K3 is an action-packed story featuring amazing characters, secrets and lies, betrayals, romance, and a whole bunch of plot twists.

This book has such a fun cast of characters! Besides a sassy sidekick named Cricket and Kaiser, a lovable cyborg-dog, there’s also Lemon Fresh, Eve’s best friend. I loved her wittisms and jokes, and her friendship with Eve is so amazing. The only complaint I had was that while I liked her as a character, I really could have gone without her POV. Then there’s Ezekiel, the Lifelike Eve and Lemon Fresh stumbleupon. I may or may not be slightly in love with that loyal, sweet cinnamon roll of an android. Jay Kristoff forewarned us of a doomed romance, and yet I couldn’t stop myself from becoming emotionally involved. I’m still upset about that ending and I think it’s pretty rude of him to pull that kind of stunt with no regard for my emotional wellbeing. 

One of the best parts about LIFEL1K3, besides the non-stop action, is that the book constantly keeps you guessing from all the twists and reveals. I really should have seen it coming because of who the author is, but that last revelation just about damn near killed me. I went through all five stages of grief with that twist and the cliffhanger. This was such a fun and entertaining read and I have no idea how I’ll make it until the sequel!