Sophie Reads YA: Quercus

2020 Beat the Backlist challenge

Review: Taken by Storm (Raised by Wolves #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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2020 Beat the Backlist challenge

Review: Trial by Fire (Raised by Wolves #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Trial by Fire
Series: Raised by Wolves #2
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published June 13th 2011 by Quercus Publishing Plc

Goodreads Synopsis
Bryn is now leader of the Cedar Ridge pack of werewolves and she's convinced that her pack is different - it's democratic and fair. Then Bryn finds a battered teenage Were, Connor, bleeding on her front porch. He begs Bryn to protect him from an abusive leader. By the end of the story Bryn will be changed forever.
Goodreads

Review
I started to read this book as soon as I had finished Raised By Wolves, as I couldn't believe how that book had ended, especially with Bryn now being a human Alpha of the Cedar Ridge pack. Bryn's in a dangerous position, as a human Alpha, and she knows that one wrong step, especially when her pack has the largest amount on female Wares of them all, could be deadly. Shay, alpha of another pack, and best friend, Devon's, older brother, is always nipping at her heels, and when one of his own, Connor, turns upon her doorstep, battered and bleeding, she thinks it's a trap. But, she's too kind to leave Connor to die, especially when it's discovered that a magical coven of humans has been attacking Were's, and is out to get her own pack, if she doesn't stop them.

This book definitely cemented everything that we had seen in Raised By Wolves. Jenn has created a fully fleshed out family - definitely a found family for the most part - and the bond and growing kinship within the Cedar Ridge pack was wonderful to see. Obviously, we have Bryn's relationships with best friends, Devon and Lake, adopted mam, Ali, and baby siblings, and with Chase, but there's also how she is with the rest of the pack. Yes, she's their Alpha, and they need to listen to her, but she truly cares about them, and wants them to have as normal a life as they can, especially when so many were turned against their will, at a young age.

I really wasn't expecting to have a magical coven show up in this series, but it was refreshing to see it. Some of the group had seriously scary powers, like manipulating dreams to make you actually think you were burning alive, and waking up with burns, but some you could see had a nicer side, but were being manipulated themselves. My favourite out of all of them was Caroline, and she definitely was someone I wanted to see more of, because I could see there was something there that needed exploring more. This book, again, ended on such a cliffhanger, I was desperate for my copy of Taken By Storm to arrive, because I needed to see how Bryn's actions would have consequences, and if we would get a happy ending in this triology.

Dates Read:

January 29-February 1, 2020

Rating
4 Stars

2020 Beat the Backlist challenge

Review: Raised by Wolves (Raised by Wolves #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Raised by Wolves
Series: Raised by Wolves #1
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published September 30th 2010 by Quercus Publishing

Goodreads Synopsis
At the age of four, Bryn watched a rogue werewolf brutally murder her parents. Alone in the world, she was rescued and taken in by the mysterious Callum, the alpha of his werewolf pack. Now fifteen, Bryn’s been raised as a human among werewolves, adhering to pack rule (mostly). Little fazes her.

But the pack’s been keeping a secret, and when Bryn goes exploring against Callum’s direct orders, she finds Chase, a newly turned teen Were locked in a cage. Terrifying memories of the attack on her mom and dad come flooding back. Bryn needs answers, and she needs Chase to get them. Suddenly, all allegiances to the pack no longer matter. It’s Bryn and Chase against the werewolf world, whatever the consequences.
Goodreads

Review
I've always loved all of Jenn's books from the very first that I read, The Naturals, but for some reason had been sleeping on this series, but when I saw that my local library had copies of books 1 and 2, I decided to give them a go. Bryn was rescued by the Alpha of her pack, Callum, when her parents were murdered in front of her as a small child. A human, she's well aware of her limitations when it comes to the rest of her pack, but's she not above pushing the boundaries when it suits her. When a new wolf appears in their territory: her age, and new turned, not born, which is neigh on unheard of, she goes against direct orders to speak with him. Chase's experience reminds her very much of her parents' deaths, and the closer she gets to Chase, the more she is desperate to stop the Rabid Were, pack allegiances be damned.

Like all of Jenn's other books, this just gripped me, and was so full of adventure and intrigue. Bryn, as the main character, was refreshing, and acted so much like a teenager, it was good to see. She tested all of the boundaries she was faced with, but adored her family, especially adopted mam, Ali, and best friends, Devon and Lake. When Chase appeared in their territory, there was an attraction, but that wasn't just it. Rather, it was more of kindred spirits meeting that immediately brought them together.

The start of the book is when we see the dynamic of the wolf pack, and what happens when direct orders form Alpha's are ignored, but once Bryn leaves for the outer reaches of their territory, she comes into her own with her friends, and the mystery surrounding the Rapid starts to really come to the front. So much happened in this book that I just wasn't expecting, and I was definitely hooked. With the ending, which was quite cliffhanger-y, I was so happy that I had the second book to immediately jump into, to see what consequences Bryn's actions would have.

Dates Read:

January 26-28, 2020

Rating
4 Stars

#RockMyTBR 2017 Challenge

ARC Review: Wayfarer (Passenger #2) by Alexandra Bracken

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Wayfarer
Series: Passenger #2
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Published January 12th 2017 by Quercus Children's Books

Goodreads Synopsis
All Etta Spencer wanted was to make her violin debut when she was thrust into a treacherous world where the struggle for power could alter history. After losing the one thing that would have allowed her to protect the Timeline, and the one person worth fighting for, Etta awakens alone in an unknown place and time, exposed to the threat of the two groups who would rather see her dead than succeed. When help arrives, it comes from the last person Etta ever expected - Julian Ironwood, the Grand Master's heir who has long been presumed dead, and whose dangerous alliance with a man from Etta's past could put them both at risk.

Meanwhile, Nicholas and Sophia are racing through time in order to locate Etta and the missing astrolabe with Ironwood travelers hot on their trail. They cross paths with a mercenary-for-hire, a cheeky girl named Li Min who quickly develops a flirtation with Sophia. But as the three of them attempt to evade their pursuers, Nicholas soon realises that one of his companions may have ulterior motives.

As Etta and Nicholas fight to make their way back to one another, from Imperial Russia to the Vatican catacombs, time is rapidly shifting and changing into something unrecognisable ... and might just run out on both of them.
Goodreads

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

Following the ending of Passenger, I knew I needed to get my hands on a copy, so I was grateful when I was approved for an ARC on NetGalley. Picking up not long after Passenger ended, Wayfarer begins with Etta as a prisoner for the Thorns, separated from Nicholas. Julian Ironwood is there, and they work together to steal the astrolabe from Cyrus. Nicholas, now working with Sophia, seek out Rose, only to end up owing people more favours than they should do. The only saving grace is the mysterious Li Min, who helps them even though she is keeping something secret too. For most of the book, Etta and Nicholas are separated, and though the main aim is to ensure Cyrus has no access to the astrolabe, they have the ulterior motive of reuniting.

I love Etta and Nicholas as much in this book, as I did in the previous one. They haven't lost their get up and go, and fight through their own fears and emotions to do just what they need to to get the astrolabe, and be together again. I also loved from Bracken developed the secondary characters - such as Sophia and Julian - into more of a pivotal role in the plot.

The story was long, and there were many time jumps, but for some of them, especially Carthage, I loved learning about the history. Yeah, maybe the book could've been a bit shorter, but the world building was fantastic, as if Bracken had spent ages doing research. However, because parts of the book felt a bit unnecessary, I could only give the book 4 stars. I did enjoy it, and would recommend the book, but in some respects, I do see where other bloggers are coming from when they say the book didn't live up to their hopes.

Dates Read:

January 16-18, 2017

Rating
4 Stars

#RockMyTBR 2016 Challenge

ARC Review: Passenger (Passenger #1) by Alexandra Bracken

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Passenger
Series: Passenger #1
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Published April 7th 2016 by Quercus Children's Books

Goodreads Synopsis

In one devastating night, Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has travelled not just miles but years from home.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods - a powerful family in the Colonies - and the servitude he's known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can't escape and the family that won't let him go. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, his passenger, can find.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveller who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods' grasp. But as they get closer to their target, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home forever.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

I first heard about Passenger around Christmas time last year, not long before it US release. I'd never read anything by Bracken before, but had her previous series on my bookshelves. When I heard that Quercus were publishing the book in the UK, I immediately request an ARC, and preordered it. Because of uni, I wasn't able to read the book as quick as I'd hope, but when I finally did, it lived up to all my expectations.

In Passenger, Henrietta 'Etta' Spencer is a violin prodigy, set to perform at the Met in New York. During her performance, she is dragged through a time portal, as she is the missing link to discover a lost artifact to create new time portals. Etta discovers that her life is irrevocably intertwined with this new world, as her mother was the one who stole and hid the artifact in question. Everyone is out to get her, simply because of her family history, except for Nicholas, a PoC captain, who is dealing with the prejudices that come with living in the 18th century. He has his own connection to the powerful Ironwood family, whom basically control all the portals, and have spies in every era of history. Etta and Nicholas have to travel space and time to retrieve the artifact, while also having their own goals. As the journey becomes more perilous, Etta realises that she might not just fail, but she might also be separated from her own times zone, and family, forever.

I loved the settings of this book. I've read a few time travel books, most particularly the Firebird series, and love seeing all the different eras in one book. Etta and Nicholas visit so many different places, and times, that it was just a rush. My favourite was definitely WW2 era London, especially the way Bracken perfectly described how the Blitz was, down in the shelters.

One thing that was a definite plus for this book was the alternating PoVs of Etta and Nicholas. They had such different experiences and opinions, that it wouldn't have been enough to just have one or the other. As they worked together more and more, their feelings for each other grew, and I loved the romance. It was slow burning, and each had their own reservations about it all, especially due to the social norms of the different periods they were in, and of those they grew up in.

The book, be warned, does end with quite the cliffhanger. I was kept on the edge of my seat right to the last line, and nearly cried when I realised there was no more. It wasn't helped by the fact I'd been sat on the tarmac, on a delayed plane, for a few hours either.

I haven't read any of Bracken's other books, but do have her Darkest Minds series on my shelves. Now that I've seen how wonderful her writing and stories are, I'll be getting to those books as soon as I have time. I can't wait to get my hands on Wayfarer, especially after that cliffhanger, and to see how Etta's story ends.

Dates Read:
June 23-26, 2016

Rating
4 Stars