Review: Undying by Amie Kaufman & Megan Spooner

Title: Undying

Author: Amie Kaufman & Megan Spooner

Narrator: Alex McKenna, Steve West, Vikas Adam

Published On: 1/22/19

Audio Length: 11hr 19min

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Trapped aboard the Undying's ancient spaceship and reeling from the truth

they've uncovered, Mia and Jules are desperate to warn their home

about what's coming.

After a perilous escape, they crash-land on Earth's surface - but Jules and

Mia can hardly fathom their new predicament: No one believes them.

I liked the recap in the beginning it was a really nice refresher. The start of the

novel we get a fast action chase through vents of the enemy ship. Talk about diving

right into the story. It really added to the initial suspense.

I do hope there will be a novella or longer epilogue on the events after the novel.

Earth has gone through some crazy changes and It would be interesting to see what

future earth would look like.

This novel did suffer from second book syndrome unfortunately. It was nice to

have the focus shifted to those of the undying. Their history was well planned and I

think I found myself rooting for them more than the humans themselves.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: The Blood Spell

Title: The Blood Spell

Author:CJ Redwine

Published On: 2/12/19

Page Count: 438pgs

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Blue de la Cour has her life planned: hide the magic in her blood and continue trying

to turn metal into gold so she can help her city’s homeless. But when her father is

murdered and a cruel but powerful woman claims custody of Blue and her property,

one wrong move could expose her—and doom her once and for all.

Out of the four books in this world I think this one has to be my favorite.

Kellan wasn't my favorite human when we were introduced to him in The Traitor Prince.

However once there was some backstory I started to understand him a bit more.

Blue was by far the most interesting character alongside Nessa. Nessa did steal

pieces of my heart throughout the novel and I hope to read more about her and

some adventures in future novels.

I`m starting to fall in love with any book that involves Alchemy. Blue uses

alchemy as a way to help others not for personal gain. I also loved how much

botanicals came into play when crafting spells and brews.

A super highlight of this novel is the fact Nessa using a form of sign language

in order to communicate. There are some in the court who have taken the time to

earn the language while others refuse to do so. This whole scenario relates so well

with real life. I had a friend in elementary school that did sign language and I knew I

wanted to get to know them so I asked to take classes. This sparked my love of all

languages. I took ASL classes for 9 years and jump at using that skill any chance I

can. Having that sort of representation in a YA novel is fascinating. It was well written

and I look forward to what else this series will bring.

All of CJ`s Ravenspire novels can be read separately however I feel like this one

you really should read the other novels to fully enjoy the plot.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: The Gilded Wolves

Title: The Gilded Wolves

Author: Roshani Chokshi

Narrator: Lauri Winkel, P.J. Ochlan

Published On: 1/15/19

Audio Length: 11hr 55min

Rating:4.5/5 (Almost 5/5)

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the

Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up

ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter

and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie.

This was such a fast fun read. I wish it wouldn't be compared to Six of Crows

though. That's where i see a lot of it not living up to that hype. The characters each

had flaws however there didn't seem to be a big push to have them grow. I think if

there had been more growth with the characters I would have given it five stars.

This is a plot driven novel and when the characters had these flaws (like all humans do)

and they made no effort to change their ways it became a tad frustrating. Every person

grows at their own pace so I do hope to see some more growth in the second book.

The novel is well paced and kept me interested. The narrators used accents which

added to the story and pictures in my head.

I`m looking forward to the next book and what grand adventures our characters

go on next.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Dear Evan Hansen

Title: Dear Evan Hansen

Author: Val Emmich

Narrator: Mike Feist, Mallory Bechtel

Published On: 10/9/19

Audio Length: 8hr 8min

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Dear Evan Hansen,

Today's going to be an amazing day, and here's why....

When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior

Evan Hansen into a family's grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance

of a lifetime: to belong.

After reading What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, as well as

listening to the Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack I knew I was going to need this book

in my life. The audio was fantastic and I highly recommend listening to it over reading it.

There is some pretty awesome bonus content with music.

Although Evan makes some poor choices I could honestly understand that his

intentions came from the best. The story is well paced and gives just enough “Idle”

information. I`m hoping one day to see the musical in order to compare it to everything

I`ve read and listened to.

I liked how at first Evan didn`t want to write about his day because he knew he was

only lying to himself about how it was going. The because of unforeseen causes writing

how he felt actually became a therapeutic method for not only himself but for others

struggling with reality as well.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Circle of Shadows

Title: Circle of Shadows

Author: Evelyn Skye

Published On: 1/22/19

Page Count: 400pgs

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Sora can move as silently as a ghost and hurl throwing stars with lethal accuracy.

Her gemina, Daemon, can win any physical fight blindfolded and with an arm tied

around his back. They are apprentice warriors of the Society of Taigas

The pacing was a bit off in the overall plot but I really loved the magic line in

this novel. Not only do we get magic evolving towards to the future we also get

two types or levels of magic. The Gemina bond concept seems similar to that of

Susan Dennard`s Threadsisters or soul-bonding. I would assume that that concept

is going to be a thing in the YA world this year.

I am looking forward to what Book Two will bring for the Tiagas and Ryou.

I really enjoyed seeing the growth of the magic system and the changes in the

Empire. It will be interesting to see how much changes in book two.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Title: Girls of Paper and Fire

Author: Natasha Ngan

Narrator: Allison Hiroto

Published On: 11/6/18

Page Count: 400

Audio Length: 14hr 23min

Rating: 2.5/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. 

It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most cruel.

But this year, there's a ninth girl. 

And instead of paper, she's made of fire.

This was not at all what I was expecting when I heard all the hype

surrounding this book. I did appreciate the trigger warning that the

narrator gave. This did get pretty graphic considering the audience

it is intended for. The F/F love interest was awesome so I can appreciate that.

Our Main character did feel little young for the sheltered life of knowledge

she had. She did however pick up experience and education with little effort.

As much as I would like to know what happens next I don't think I`ll be

finishing this one. The last 15% of the audio was pretty awesome but after

75% of the novel being about abuse, sexual desires and hidden lies that

were pointedly obvious I can't in good faith continue.

TTFN,

Ashley

Review: Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

Strange Grace

Tessa Gratton

Narrator: Amy McFadden

Published On: 9/18/18

Page Count: 389

Audio Length: 10hr 53min

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Once, a witch made a pact with a devil. The legend says they loved each other,

but can the story be trusted at all? Find out in this lush, atmospheric fantasy novel

that entwines love, lies, and sacrifice.  

Long ago, a village made a bargain with the devil: To ensure their prosperity,

when the Slaughter Moon rises, the village must sacrifice a young man into

the depths of the Devil's Forest.

Here's my original Goodreads update:

Maybe the author just isn't for me. I tried to push to finish this before starting 2019

but it just dragged a bit. There are parts I truly enjoyed. Other parts just seemed to

be descriptive paragraph after paragraph. I did enjoy the narrator so I know that wasn't the cause.

Full review:

I appreciated this one for the most part but for long periods of the story it just seemed

to be drawn out. What appealed to me was the cult and sacrificial aspect. It reminded

me of Kim Liggett`s Blood and Salt as well as Dawn Kurtagich`s The Dead House.

(both books I highly recommend)The growth or progression the love triangle goes

through is an interesting one. Other than that I just listened to finish instead of listening

to enjoy unfortunately. I can honestly say that maybe Tessa as an author just isn`t for me.

I've tried two of her books and both just seem to fall flat for me sadly.

TTFN,

Ashley