Review: His Hideous Heart

Title: His Hideous Heart Anthology 

Author: Dahlia Adler edt.

Narrator:

Audio Length: 14hr 13min

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Thirteen of YA’s most celebrated names reimagine Edgar Allan Poe’s most

surprising, unsettling, and popular tales for a new generation.

Edgar Allan Poe may be a hundred and fifty years beyond this world, but the themes

of his beloved works have much in common with modern young adult fiction

Thoughts:

Edgar Allen poe's stories are retold and twisted by YA Authors. What is

really awesome is that the original tales are included at least in the audiobook.

Out of the thirteen stories I truly enjoyed five of them. I did however find two

new authors I`d like to read their other novels.

My favorite retelling was “The Fall of the Bank of Usher: by Fran Wilde

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Deck of Omens

Title: Deck of Omens

Author:Christine Lynn Herman

Narrator: 

Audio Length: 11hr 9min

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

The teenagers of Four Paths must save their home.

Though the Beast is seemingly subdued for now, a new threat looms in Four Paths:

a corruption seeping from the Gray into the forest. And with the other Founders

preoccupied by their tangled alliances and fraying relationships, only May Hawthorne

seems to realize the danger.

Thoughts:

Four Paths is going to take a long  while to recover from the corruption and events of this story.

I enjoyed the dynamics the Founder kids had but it was frustrating that they didn't always work

as a team. I found it annoying to know that some had information and ideas but they weren't

sharing it with each other.

Overall I enjoyed the characters and there were a few twists I didn't see coming. The plot

slows down a bit but not enough to want to put the book aside. 

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Deathless Divide

Title: Deathless Divide

Author: Justina Ireland

Narrator: Jordan Cobb

Audio Length: 14hr 34min

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

The sequel to Dread Nation is a journey of revenge and salvation 

across a divided America.

After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would 

get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

Thoughts:

Jane McKenne has one of those attitudes that create a story of its own. I loved that a lot of

the story takes place on the west coast in areas I`ve been. There are a lot of amazing side

characters and some twists that I never saw coming.

Katherine plays a huge role and I am living for her parts. I truly like her in Deathless Divide

unlike Dread Nation when she just needed to go away.

As for plot twists I'm satisfied with how loose threads from Dread Nation are tied up in

book two. The plot in book one is pretty broad but this one has the adventure as well as

some science fun stuff. I would love to see both be made into a tv series.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Don`t Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross

Title: Don't Call the Wolf

Author: Aleksandra Ross

Page Count: 512

Rating: 3.5/5

I received this E-ARC from the publisher via Edelweiss; this in no way

changes my opinions of the novel.

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

When the Golden Dragon descended on the forest of Kamiena, a horde of monsters

followed in its wake.

Ren, the forest’s young queen, is slowly losing her battle against them.

Until she rescues Lukasz—the last survivor of a heroic regiment of dragon slayers—and they

strike a deal. She will help him find his brother, who vanished into her forest… if Lukasz

promises to slay the Dragon.

Thoughts:

Brotherhood and a dark past make up this stunning novel filled with adventure,

romance and a fairy tale.

 I do wish that it was not a stand alone however it wraps up beautifully and

satisfies the fantasy reader in me.

 Although it took a couple chapters to get into and make sense of what was

going on once the true journey started towards the golden dragon and the

mountain the book kept an even pace

 It's nice to have a refreshing view of family values and that blood doesn't

always have to be the number one thing to create family.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: A Phoenix First Must Burn

Title: A Phoenix First Must Burn

Author: Edited by Patrice Caldwell

Narrator: York Whitaker

Audio Length: 10hr 31min

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly

Octavia Butler’s heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that

centers Black women and gender nonconforming individuals.

A Phoenix First Must Burn

will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and

everything in between.

Thoughts:

Anthologies are always a hit or miss but out of sixteen stories I enjoyed twelve of them.

I`ll preface this with I know I am not the audience this novel was intended for.

With that said though it was a window into a culture I wish to know more of.

Each story I enjoyed was from an author that I wanted to read a novel from.

Now that I got a taste of their style I look forward to diving into their full works. 

My favorite story was “Tender-Headed” by Danny Lore

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Call Down the Hawk

Title: Call Down the Hawk

Author:Maggie Stiefvater

Narrator: Will Patton

Audio Length:13hr 35min

Rating:4/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes

out of his dreams and into his compromised reality.

Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the

more inextricably she becomes tied to it.

Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer . . . and a killer.

Thoughts:

 I should really have finished the original Raven Boys series first before diving into this

but I just couldn't wait. Yes there are some spoilers but it's been so long since reading the

others that I wasn't too heartbroken.

Maggie`s writing style gets better every book she publishes. Ronan wasn't my favorite of

the Raven Boys but this novel made me like him a bit more. You get a little backstory of

Ronan act out the way he does.

Hennessy is an interesting character and I look forward to watching the storyline grow.

Carmen is the one character I need more information on to decide how much I like her. 

Overall this is a great start to a new series with some adored old characters as well as new.

The adventures and dreaming continues with a touch of magic.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: The Scapegracers

Title: The Scapegracers

Author: Hannah Abigail Clarke

Page Count: 400

Rating: 2.5/5 (DNF at 75%)

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

An outcast teenage lesbian witch finds her coven hidden amongst the popular girls in

her school, and performs some seriously badass magic in the process.

I received an earc via Edelweiss+ this in no way changes my opinion of the book.

Thoughts:

The first 20% of the novel was fast paced and very witchy. Then everything slowed

way down and I was just bored. I felt like this was a cheaper version of The Craft

and Mean Girls. Outcast invited to hang out with the cool girl group only to learn that

her magic becomes more powerful.

I did keep reading but by 75% I was finding myself wanting to pick up anything else

but my kindle to finish. Normally I would have forced myself to push on but I couldn`t.

I was not invested in Sideways or any other character. 

Just because this novel wasn't for me doesn't mean you won`t enjoy it. It has

representation that YA books need and if you haven't seen The Craft or even

AHS Coven then maybe you won't notice the similarities. 

TTFN,

Ashley