{Review} And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga #1) by Kiersten White

Posted by Donna
Release Date: July 7th, 2016
Finished Date: May 27th, 2016

Publishers: Corgi Childrens 
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Source: For Review
Format: Paperback

Pages: 498
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo 

 

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.

The Review: I adore unique stories. I adore them that much that I’m always looking for new books to try and when I stumbled across And I Darken by Kiersten White I couldn’t wait to read it. A re-telling of Vlad the Impaler but changed so it’s a story about a female princess, it sounded amazing. However the premise did not live up to my expectations and honestly it was utterly disappointing. 

I admit the first 100 pages and I was hooked. I didn’t mind the fact the characters were very young for a good portion of the book – 13 and 14 years to start with. It certainly didn’t read that way and I actually enjoyed reading about them being young and how they came to be with their current situation. But, as I read more I slowly starting losing interest and that’s because NOTHING HAPPENS FOR MOST OF THE STORY. I kept waiting and waiting for something to jump out at me but it was utterly boring. I enjoy historical stories but I think this story was so over hyped that I expected so much and instead of getting a badass warrior princess we got a little girl that pretends she a badass, mainly because she doesn’t do any killing in the book other than in self-defence. She’s more talk than action. She trains all day to become a better warrior but doesn’t actually go out to battle. She's not brutal. She doesn't do much at all. 

Lada and her brother Radu were mildly likeable characters but spent more time swooning over the love interest Mehmed who had completely no redeeming qualities about him. The way he treats Lada was shocking. He has wives and children and also a harem of ladies. But then of a night time he’s confessing his love for her while also using Radu’s feeling for him for his own gain. It’s appalling – bearing mind he is only a young lad himself but he was not a male lead I was swooning over. For someone like Lada that tries to be as strong as she can, she is just like a teenage girl with a school crush when it comes to Mehmed. And the same goes for Radu. He’s in love with Mehmed too so Mehmed gets a lot of time on the pages. Every page was filled with both of them thinking of him, or talking to him, or more thinking of him. You all know how much I love romance in books. I can’t live without it but this was wrong. This wasn’t good. It was too much.

As I neared the end of the book I was pretty hopeful that there would be something coming that could save the story and make me love it but there wasn’t. Nothing could save this book or change my mind that I would be reaching for the sequel when it releases. There’s too many parts of the story that is dragged down by political talk, religion and unneeded information that just made the story far too long and add that along with the character issues I had, it’s safe to say I didn’t enjoy this story at all. 

Thank you to Corgi Childrens for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. 

{Review} My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins

Posted by Donna
Release Date: October 9th, 2014
Finished Date: December 24th, 2014

Publishers: Macmilliam Children's Book
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance, Holiday
Source: For Review
Format: Hardcover

Pages: 355

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES. 

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ... 

This beautiful collection features twelve gorgeously romantic stories set during the festive period, by some of the most talented and exciting YA authors writing today. 

The stories are filled with the magic of first love and the magic of the holidays.

The Review: Ever since I received My True Love Gave to Me I've been dying to read it. But like many others, I decided to read it closer to Christmas for the festive feeling and what a fantastic idea it was. 

My True Love Gave to Me features twelve stories wrote by twelve different authors. With some authors I was already familiar with some of their previous works but some, I had never heard of. And while most stories were easy enough to read and pleasantly enjoyable, there were a few little gems that stood out and really left me wanting more of the story - I'm not sure that's supposed to happen with anthologies, but hey, it did....but here are my favourite's........

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell;
What a perfect way to start this book. Midnights by Rainbow Rowell is a cute read - one that has a wonderful set of characters. Noel and Mags relationship is clear from the very start of their story. It's a relationship that continues to grow throughout the years of their friendship and it's clear to see when things become that little bit more to each of them. I really enjoyed the little chapters giving us details of their past New Years Eve's together and the countdown was fun to read too. You know it's a good story when you're left wanting more once you've finished. 

Polaris is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han;
This has to be my favourite from the story. I really loved Natty and I really felt for her situation. With Natty living with elves in the North Pole and her adopted father being Santa Claus, this story was simply refreshing to read. Something different. Something new. Something I've never read before. Even though I did wish for that little bit more towards the end of Natty's story, I remained hopeful that she got her big wish. Another well done for Jenny Han! 

It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins;
Simply perfect! A sweet and cute story that although was a little too long is still fully enjoyable. The way the romance is told in the story is very unexpected but once it happens, you can't help but want to hold on to it. It's about two characters coming together and helping each other out. 

In all, My True Love Gave to Me has a good mixture of different stories to keep readers entertained and will bring your spirits up for the holidays. Definitely a great pick to read over the holidays. 

3.5 flowers!

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Books for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. 

A Review for Endlessly (Paranormalcy #3) by Kiersten White

Posted by Donna

Release Date: August 2nd, 2012

Finished Date: July 28th, 2012

Publishers: HarperCollins 

Source: ARC For Review

Format: eGalley 

Pages: 267
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. 
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A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. 
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The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.
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The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands.
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So much for normal.

The Review: Before I start this review I just want to take time to swoon over the cover. Just look at it. It's probably one of my favourite ones this year, mainly because I adore the colour purple but honestly, it's gorgeous. 
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Anyway, so Endlessly....I have to admit, I didn't know what I expect before I started this because I didn't enjoy book two; Supernaturally, as much as I would have liked. BUT, I'm pleased to say Endlessly was just as fantastic as Paranormalcy and it made me remember why I enjoy this series so much. 
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This time around we see the Paranormal Containment Agency trying to get Evie to work and live with them again, Evie is determined to not go but when she finds out that the Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans, Evie feels the need to save them - especially when Reth claims that she will be the salvation of them all. All Evie wants to do is have a normal life with her boyfriend but how can she do that when the paranormal world keeps dragging her back? 
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Kiersten White has definitely ended this series on a high. The Paranormalcy series is a fun, quirky and exciting series and I have to say now it's over, I'm a little sad about it. Even though the series isn't a huge favourite of mine, it was still an enjoyable one and the characters are very unforgettable. Evie was always so much fun, the way she thinks and the way she acts, I loved her. She's always so bubbly and lovable and she can lighten the mood at any time. At times she's got the weight of the world on her shoulders but she always does the right thing, even if that means sacrificing her own happiness. And Lend, oh how I love Lend! He's definitely my favourite character out of the whole series. He brings a smile to my face whenever he is present because he's just so sweet. He's dedicated to Evie and will do anything he can for her. They have a few problems to overcome in this book and I was worried they wouldn't be able to do it, but Kiersten White doesn't let us down and gives the characters the ending they deserve. 
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All in all, Endlessly was a perfect ending to an enjoyable series. It was full of laughs, tears and love and I can't wait to see what Kiersten White comes up with next. 
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Thank you to HarperCollins UK for giving me the opportunity to review this book. 

A Review for Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2) by Kiersten White

Posted by Donna
Published Date: July 26th, 2011
Finished Date: August 5th, 2011
Publishers: HarperCollins
Source: UK Swap's Travelling Book
Format: Hardback
Pages: 336
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The Blurb from Goodreads: Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees. So much for normal.But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.
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The Review: Where to start with this review? I’m not quiet sure. Well if I’m honest, Supernaturally kind of fell short me, I liked it but I didn’t love it.

The story follows Evie who is getting used to life without the IPCA, she’s going to school, she’s dating Lend who is away at College and only see’s on the weekend and she’s living with Arianne but of course, Evie didn’t expect for things to be so…..boring. When IPCA unexpectedly come back into her life, Evie is thrown back into the life with paranormals and that includes her ex-boyfriend Reth, who has been hiding some startling secrets from Evie…..one’s that involves who and what she really is.

Firstly I loved Paranormalcy, I really did. I thought it was exciting, fresh and full of action but Supernaturally wasn’t. I felt suffered with the second book syndrome and I just didn’t think much happened. I know I know, apparently second books are always the hardest to write but I still can’t help feeling slightly disappointed that it wasn’t as good as I hoped. Maybe my expectations were too high….I’m not sure.

However, despite all that it was great being back with our characters. Evie is an absolute gem, I love her. Her sense of humour and her personality is really what makes these books for me. She went through completely different emotions and I really felt she developed as a character. It was nice to see a different side to her. But I have to say, I missed Tasey! There wasn’t enough Tasey for me. I still loved the ‘bleeps’ though and it was good to hear Lend use it too. I do wish Lend was in it a bit more though, he wasn’t in it enough as I would off liked and when he was around, it wasn’t great because of the IPCA getting in the way. So I’m looking forward to Evie and Lend getting back on track in the next book.

We’re also introduced to Jack in this story…. And I’m honestly going to say it right now, I loved Jack! I was laughing out loud at his quirky comments and antic’s. He’s sense of humour was fantastic, he’s like a little kid in a sweet shop. It’s a shame how it ended but hopefully, we see more of him in the future.

The storyline itself was okay. It wasn’t exciting as the first book but it has left me with a few unanswered questions that I’m looking forward to finding out in the next book.

Overall, Kiersten White has created an awesome series, even though I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I would of liked, I still enjoyed the characters and the general plot of where the story is going so I will definitely continue reading the series. I just hope we get some more action, more Tasey time and more Lend time!