Sophie Reads YA: March 2019

March

March Summary

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March

Stacking the Shelves: March 30th 2019

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Cindy Anstey

Waiting on Wednesday: The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey

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2022 Beat the Backlist challenge

Blog Tour & ARC Review: Spectacle (Spectacle #1) by Jodie Lynn Zdrok (+INTL giveaway)

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March

Stacking the Shelves: March 23rd 2019

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Jessica Pennington

Waiting on Wednesday: When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington

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2017 Flights of Fantasy Challenge

ARC Review: The Crown's Fate (The Crown's Game #2) by Evelyn Skye

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The Crown's Fate
Series: The Crown's Game #2
Author: Evelyn Skye
Published May 16th 2017 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads Synopsis
Russia is on the brink of great change. Pasha’s coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult—and dangerous—than she ever expected.

Pasha is grappling with his own problems—his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges—and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly—Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position and protect his kingdom.

For Nikolai, the ending of the Crown’s Game stung deeply. Although he just managed to escape death, Nikolai remains alone, a shadow hidden in a not-quite-real world of his own creation. But when he’s given a second chance at life—tied to a dark price—Nikolai must decide just how far he’s willing to go to return to the world.

With revolution on the rise, dangerous new magic rearing up, and a tsardom up for the taking, Vika, Nikolai, and Pasha must fight—or face the destruction of not only their world but also themselves.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

The Crown's Game was one of my favourite debuts of 2016, and I knew that as soon as copies of The Crown's Fate became available, I would have to request a copy as soon as possible, and I dove straight in when it finally got to me! Now, first things first, there is a lot more angst and tension in this book than in the previous one, but there are still some moments of lightness.

Following the death of his father, Pasha is now Tsar of Russia, with his Imperial Enchanter, Vika, at his side. Both are feeling guilty about Nikolai's fate, not knowing exactly what has happened to him, but believing him to be dead. Becoming the leader of an empire might be enough problems in itself, but he also has the fact that his legitimacy is in doubt - should he even be the Tsar, or not? - and Vika loathes him, and everything he stands for. Vika wishes she didn't have the power that she does, and somewhat wishes that Nikolai had won the Game, rather that it being her. And Nikolai, well, he's alive, but stuck in the shadow world, trying to contact the others, but not being too successful. Nothing can ever be easy in a fantasy world, and that is definitely the case with this story.

Now, I adored book 1, and really thought I would for this book too, but it was lacking something. I don't know what, but it didn't have the same feel as The Crown's Game did. I think one of the problems was that the book was a bit too long - a lot of it felt like filler material, and didn't really add much to the plot as a whole. Overall, it was still enjoyable, but if I'm being 100% honest, I can't remember all that much from it, that's how 'filler-y' it was.

The characters all seemed different from book 1, in good ways, and in bad. Nikolai was still an enjoyable character, and his change was down to his death and shadow-ness, which really worked, and made him even more mysterious. Vika got on my nerves a little, but I still appreciated her character, whereas Pasha was extremely whiney, and actually took away from the enjoyment of the book, rather than adding to it. The ending was a little bit of a cop out too, as if it had been rushed, when a lot of the rest of the book had dragged - the pacing was just wrong!

I was a little disappointed in this one, and I know a lot of other bloggers were too. I do think I'll read more books by this author, but I'm not in any major rush, like I would've been.

Dates Read:

April 17-20, 2017

Rating
3 Stars

March

Stacking the Shelves: March 16th 2019

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Kate Watson

Waiting on Wednesday: Lovestruck by Kate Watson

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4 Stars

ARC Review: Obsidian and Stars (Ivory and Bone #2) by Julie Eshbaugh

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Obsidian and Stars
Series: Ivory and Bone #2
Author: Julie Eshbaugh
Published June 13th 2017 by HarperTeen

Goodreads Synopsis
In the sequel to Ivory and Bone—the prehistoric fantasy novel that New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman described as a “richly crafted world of life-and-death stakes”—the story shifts to Mya’s viewpoint as vengeful adversaries force her to flee the life she once knew.

After surviving the chaotic battle that erupted after Lo and the Bosha clan attacked, now Mya is looking ahead to her future with Kol. All the things that once felt so uncertain are finally falling into place. But the same night as Kol and Mya’s betrothal announcement, Mya’s brother Chev reveals his plan to marry his youngest sister Lees to his friend Morsk. The only way to avoid this terrible turn of events, Morsk informs Mya when he corners her later, is for Mya to take Lees’ place and marry him herself.

Refusing to marry anyone other than her beloved, and in an effort to protect her sister, Mya runs away to a secret island with Lees. And though it seems like the safest place to hide until things back home blow over, Mya soon realizes she’s been followed. Lurking deep in the recesses of this dangerous place are rivals from Mya’s past whose thirst for revenge exceeds all reason.

With the lives of her loved ones on the line, Mya must make a move before the enemies of her past become the undoing of her future.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Following the first book, Ivory and Bone, I knew I needed to get a hold of this book, and boy was I glad when a copy dropped through my letterbox from the publisher. Now that Mya and Kol are betrothed, and coming to terms with the attack by the neighbouring tribes, they think life is back on track. However, Chev, the new leader of their tribe, has announced that their youngest sister, Lees, is to marry Morsk, something that she really does not want. The only way to save Lees, is for Mya to marry Morsk instead, something she has absolutely no intention of doing. Rather than either of them being forced into a marriage they don't want, Mya and Lees run away to a secret island, hoping everything will soon blow over, and they will eventually be able to return, and marry those they love. Obviously, this would lead to a boring book, and Mya realises she's being followed, and has to use all her wits in order to save herself, and her sister.

I really did enjoy this book, but do think I preferred Ivory and Bone. Seeing as book 1 was a Pride and Prejudice retelling, I was bound to love that, and the way the prehistory was woven in, was fantastic. For Obsidian and Stars, however, the plot was a bit slow, in my opinion, as it had to pad out a story that probably would've taken less than half the pages to be completed. The plot, what was there, was really enjoyable, but like I said, it could've been much shorter - and, if I'm honest, there didn't really need to be a book 2.

Kol and Mya's romance, following the turbulence of Ivory and Bone, was extremely sweet, and because of that, that's the main reason I've rated the book so highly. I know it's been a while since I read the book, so maybe hindsight is making me reconsider my original feelings, but I ca't really remember all that much from the book, and what I can remember, was that any of the issues were mainly caused by the lack of communication, or bad choices made by the main characters. I've heard that this series was originally planned as a trilogy, but became a duology, and I'm glad, because I don't know if a book 3 would've added anything to the series, or instead, ruined the good work of book 1. Maybe this book fell into the sophomore slump you find of so many second books, I don't know, but I wish there was just something more to this!

Dates Read:

April 23-27, 2017

Rating
4 Stars