Miss Phi's Bookshelf: book review

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Review: And I Darken

5/29/2016

Title:
And I Darken
(The Conqueror's Saga #1)

Author:
Kiersten White

★★★★

4 out of 5 stars

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwyla likes it that way.

Ever since she and her brother were abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman sultan’s courts, Lada has known that ruthlessness is the key to survival. For the lineage that makes her and her brother special also makes them targets.

Lada hones her skills as a warrior as she nurtures plans to wreak revenge on the empire that holds her captive. Then she and Radu meet the sultan’s son, Mehmed, and everything changes. Now Mehmed unwittingly stands between Lada and Radu as they transform from siblings to rivals, and the ties of love and loyalty that bind them together are stretched to breaking point.

The first of an epic new trilogy starring the ultimate anti-princess who does not have a gentle heart. Lada knows how to wield a sword, and she'll stop at nothing to keep herself and her brother alive.

And I Darken tells the story of Ladislav and Radu Dragwlya, both children of the infamous Vlad The Impaler. Lada is a girl born with no evident beauty but that has a fierce personality and a strong will, on the other hand, Radu is a weak yet charming boy that depends on his sister to be rescued from his bullies. The story is told from both characters perspectives which are very different from one another so there's the perfect combination between heart and muscle that make the story very interesting.

Lada is a strong leading female, her main goal is to show her father -and the world- that even though she was born a female she can fight as well as any man would, if not better, she is brutal and would stop at nothing. I adored having Lada as the main character, she is the perfect representation of the anti-princess, she is rough, knows how to fight and has a very explosive personality, her relationship with her younger brother is very complicated and you can tell she despises the fact that even though she has all of what her father is looking for on a son she was born a female. She is such a complex character that might deserve to be hated but I just couldn't do so, in fact, I disliked Radu -her counterpart- and I understand he is only looking to be noticed but I thought he was too codependent.

When Radu and Lada are separated from their father and brought to a new country with a different culture and religion, their already unstable relationship gets even more complicated when love, jealousy, power, and political intrigues become part of their everyday life after they meet Mehmed, the sultan's son. Soon both siblings will start working on getting Mehmed to the throne for them both care deeply for him and will do whatever it takes to keep him safe. The complexity of these three characters and their dynamics amazed me, their loyalty is impressive and even though Radu and Lada have their indisputable problems Mehmed gets the best of them both without even realizing how bad things really are.

The romance was slow and believable, it was substantial for the second half of the book without it being the main focus. It was obvious Lada and Mehmed had feelings for one another, however, Lada is very conscious that Mehmed has concubines and will be able to marry as many women as he wants, thing that makes her feel uncertain about a afuture between them. As for the love triangle, I didn't really feel it was much of a triangle since Mehmed only seems to love Lada not taking much interest in others, yet it was bothersome.

Overall And I Darken is a well-written story about the search of power in its different forms, can't wait to read the next installment.

Happy reading,

book review

Review New world: Rising

5/08/2016

book review

Review: Risuko

4/12/2016

Title:
Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale
(Seasons of the Sword #1)

Author:
David Kudler

★★★★☆

4 out of 5

Though Japan has been devastated by a century of civil war, Risuko just wants to climb trees. Growing up far from the battlefields and court intrigues, the fatherless girl finds herself pulled into a plot that may reunite Japan -- or may destroy it. She is torn from her home and what is left of her family, but finds new friends at a school that may not be what it seems.

Magical but historical, Risuko follows her along the first dangerous steps to discovering who she truly is.

Kano Murasaki, called Risuko (Squirrel) is a young, fatherless girl, more comfortable climbing trees than down on the ground. Yet she finds herself enmeshed in a game where the board is the whole nation of Japan, where the pieces are armies, moved by scheming lords, and a single girl couldn't possibly have the power to change the outcome. Or could she?

**I received an eArc of this book provided by Netgalley and Stillpoint Digital Press in exchange for an honest review**

The book takes place in Japan during an era of civil war where the country and its people have been divided; our main character Risuko- a young girl with a peculiar gift for climbing- finds herself involved with warlords after she is sold to a rich woman by her own mother. Risuko is thrown into a world she can barely comprehend and starts training to be a good maiden, however things get a little more complicated and she starts developing other abilities without even noticing.

Risuko is a strong character and the circumstances surrounding her affect her emotionally obliging her to grow, she is very likable and a solid lead. The secondary characters are interesting and unique, we have men and women fighting for the same cause with very similar abilities where women may be stronger than men, and men respect them for that. Most of the characters grow on you and some of them even feel multidimensional.

The first half of the book is slow paced, the main character starts making friends and forming bonds with others trying to understand where is they are going and why her mother got her involved with these people, there isn't much action but the characters grow on you. The second half is much more interesting, there's a mystery to solve but also a secret is revealed to Risuko, we are given a lot of hints so the ending isn't so surprising but it is gripping. To be honest, I was expecting more action but the way the book is written, with very detailed information made me appreciate the culture and understand it better, you can tell there was a lot of investigation previously done so the book portrays the Japanese culture and the era where the story takes part as accurately as possible.

Judging by how things ended and the hints we were given all throughout the book I am guessing Risuko will grow to be a fine Kunoichi, and I can't wait for that to happen. I am for sure hooked up and will continue on with this series.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes to enrich themselves with the knowledge of Japanese culture.

Happy reading,

book review

Review: Water's Wrath

4/11/2016

Title:
Water's Wrath
(Air Awakens #4)

Author:
Elise Kova

★★★★☆

3.75 out of 5

Librarian turned sorcerer. Sorcerer turned hero. Hero turned puppet.

The Solaris Empire found victory in the North and, at the cost of her heart and her innocence, Vhalla Yarl has earned her freedom. But the true fight is only beginning as the secret forces that have been lurking in the shadows, tugging at the strings of Vhalla’s fate, finally come to light. Nowhere is safe, and Vhalla must tread carefully or else she’ll fall into the waiting arms of her greatest foe. Or former lover.

**I received an eArc from the author in exchange for an honest review. This review contains minor spoilers regarding the first 3 books in the Air Awakens series. Stay until the end of the post to join the Water's Wrath giveaway!! **

Let's go a little bit back, shall we? As some of you might already know, I have stated before that the ending of Earth's End wasn't something I enjoyed, I thought the characters overreacted and it wasn't believable considering how much they have grown as a couple since book one and to be honest, I didn't think the ending of book 3 was crushing, I thought it was disappointing, but having Vhalla actually functioning without Aldrik felt really nice, for a moment I thought she was becoming too codependent and I am not into that kind of relationships. On Water's Wrath Vhalla has to reincorporate herself to society by pretending not to be the Windwalker, which becomes a little harder than she would have thought and trouble ends up finding her. The badassery of this woman is simply amazing, she surprises me a little more each time, what makes it different this time around is that she can't rely on Aldrik and their bond which doesn't necessarily makes it harder for her, but distinct and refreshing.

Having Vhalla coming back to the tower means we get to see characters that were introduced in book one, she has some suspicions and doesn't know how much she can rely on these people especially now that she has Achel. Vhalla also finds more things about her kind which at some point make me feel sorry for her because now she understands things could have had another outcome, she could be living a more peaceful life.

When it comes to the new characters, I wondered how things were going to work with Aldrik having a betrothed what her role was going to be and if she was going to be relevant to the story, I was thoroughly surprised by this character, she is fierce, smart and has a goal in mind, I like her character a lot for she is the face and voice of those affected by the war, also, she has a special gift that makes her different to others. I appreciate how every woman on the Air Awakens series is someone you have to be careful of, so much female power.

I find it interesting, and this is something I have noticed on every Air Awakens book, that you always think the author is going somewhere and then something -whatever- happens and the story takes you somewhere else entirely, however, whatever seems to be the problem at the time gets solved too fast, sometimes I like it but sometimes I don't. When it comes down to Water's Wrath I felt things between our lovebirds got solved too fast and that some of the things that happened only did in order for them to get back together and that bothered me a little, although I must admit that I felt I was riding an emotional rollercoaster that left me crying for my beloved characters more than once.

The ending of Water's Wrath takes the prize for the most interesting ending in the whole series. When a new power emerges and threatens all those against it, unexpected alliances have to be made by making sacrifices, which make Aldrik doubt and dread. It definitely was the best part of the book, Aldrik now has many things to overcome, things seem to be happening too soon and he might not have the chance to process things properly, so I wonder how is this going to affect him emotionally for I am all about character development.

Overall, Water's Wrath wasn't my favorite book in the series, I thought the action at the beginning set up a pace that wasn't followed all through the book, after a few chapters in it slowed down and took a while to build again. The second half was my favorite, there were betrayal and new alliances that made the story more interesting and make me think Crystal Crowned will be a book more about war and less about love for what else could happen in the romance department that hasn't already?

Are you guys reading Water's Wrath? What do you think of this series? Which one is your favorite secondary character? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy reading,

Ps. About the guy on the cover, I can't let you know who it is since it would be a major spoiler, but the majority of you are half right half wrong at the same time.

Ready for something amazing? Elise Kova organized one of the most amazing giveaways ever, this time instead of giving away a signed copy of her books, she decided to immortalize the winner's name written into Air Awakens book five, Crystal Crowned, as a minor/mentioned character somewhere in the book! How awesome is that?

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Direct Link to Elise's giveaway: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/39698f6c12/?

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About the author:

Elise Kova has always had a passion for storytelling. She wrote her first novella, a high-fantasy, in sixth grade. Over the years she’s honed her love of literature with everything from fantasy to romance, science fiction to mystery, and whatever else catches her eye.

Elise lives in Saint Petersburg, Florida, where she’s currently working on the next installment in her debut YA fantasy series: Air Awakens. She enjoys video games, anime, table-top role playing games, and many other forms of “geekdom.” She loves talking with fans on Twitter (@EliseKova) and Facebook.

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