York: The Shadow Cipher

York: The Shadow Cipher  by Laura Ruby

Who's ready for an alternate Earth history full of neat gadgets and a cipher that a couple of very famous inventors left for New York City? Is it EVERYONE? Yay!

An amazon summary without all of the reviews or praise, "It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before.

Fifty-seven years later, the enigmatic architects disappeared, leaving behind for the people of New York the Old York Cipher—a puzzle laid into the shining city they constructed, at the end of which was promised a treasure beyond all imagining. By the present day, however, the puzzle has never been solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world is little more than a tourist attraction.

Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment—until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long held by the people of New York.

And if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

The Morningstarr twins were magnificent inventors who made inventions around the city of New York. Notably, they made things like a public transport system that also has little cleaners on it that take care of it. They also built many buildings throughout the city that have elevators that don't just move up and down, but every which way. The Morningstarr twins were also celebrities of a sort, had lavish parties, and met many people through many walks of life.

Tess, Theo, and Jaime live in a Morningstarr building, which is currently being bought by a real estate developer. They hope by solving the cipher, they can save their building. They love their building, they love their community, and they think that by solving the cipher and proving it's real, they can save their building.

That's enough summary.

I loved this book. There was plenty of mystery, there were also all sorts of different inventions, strong themes of family, and such a thrilling adventure.

The world was also full of it's own pockets of mysteries. It's a way more technologically advanced New York City, but they also have their own problems. Like, they have Chimeras; animals that are a combination of more than one animal. Tess has a chimera as a support animal for her mental health, but her chimera is unusual. It's a very large cat, but its unclear what aspects of other animals have been added with the cat. There's a bunch of fun little details like that throughout the story that paints the familiar New York City with a different color. It gives the world an entirely familiar feel, while also giving it more of an alternate world feel.

There's also a cipher society that's been trying to solve the cipher for years, and are FULL of a cast of wonderful, wonderful people. I also learned a crap ton about the different types of puzzles, which was oddly informative and makes me feel like I can take on Escape Rooms better.

I don't really want to talk about the general plot of the book because, it's a mystery book. I feel like any neat cipher clue that I talk about might lead to a reader discovering a clue too soon about the book. The mystery must be preserved!

But, I loved this book. It's very wonderful. I'm looking forward to the sequel!

Happy reading!

Cruel Crown

Cruel Crown by Victoria Averyard

Admittedly, I stumbled upon this book a little later in the whole series game? But....it's fine.

This is a side story to the Red Queen series, so if you don't want any spoilers, don't read this blog. YAY!

I've read and reviewed the first three books, RED QUEEN, GLASS SWORD, and KING'S CAGE. I think you're supposed to read this particular book between Red Queen and Glass Sword because it has a sneak peek for Glass Sword at the end? But.... whatever! Here we are!

To the amazon summary! "The #1 New York Times bestselling series!

Discover the truth of Norta's bloody past in this paperback bind-up of two novella-length prequels to #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series.

Queen Song:

Queen Coriane, first wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary—how else can she ensure that no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead for her in royal life.

Steel Scars:

Captain Farley exchanges coded transmissions with the resistance as she travels the land recruiting black market traders, smugglers, and extremists for her first attempt at an attack on the capital. She was raised to be strong, but planting the seeds of rebellion in Norta is a tougher job than expected—until she stumbles upon a connection that may prove to be the key to the entire operation: Mare Barrow.

This paperback bind-up also includes an excerpt of the second book in the Red Queen series, Glass Sword.

And don’t miss War Storm, the thrilling final book in the bestselling Red Queen series!" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

This book is also a two part story, similar to books I've reviewed in the past. So I'm going to break it down to the two stories inside.

Queen's Song

Queen's song is about Cal's mother, Queen Coriane, and the slow descent into madness she experiences from her ordeals with Elara (Maven's mother). I thought it was an interesting read, but I don't think it was very enlightening to the series in general? If I didn't read this book, it wouldn't really impact my knowledge of the series. However, I APPRECIATE THAT SO MUCH! If you don't read this book, the author doesn't punish you. If you're an inquisitive reader, it does reveal more about the Queen herself, who she was, and what her priorities were. It was kind of nice. I do wonder if this book inspired the author to switch to different narrators in book 3 (and probably book 4). I will say, it was kind of gut wrenching read, similar to Mare's months in captivity and how you see that spiral into chaotic thought.

Steel Scars

I really liked this story. It's about Farley and how she started planting the seeds for the Scarlet Guard to lead the red rebellion in Norta. It showcases a lot more about her relationship with her father, but also gives you a firm grasp of how she views the world around her. I kind of loved it actually. Farley has been a character I've liked a lot throughout the series since she's just been a consistent badass and brings it to you every time (if you will). We also got to see more of Farley's and Shade's relationship before Mare's powers were uncovered, and that was also nice. To know how much they meant to each other before we saw it in the series. Again, I don't think this side story is inherently essential to read to understand the main series, but it also gave me more insight to Farley, Shade, and the Scarlet Guard. I enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed both side stories really, and if you've read the other books and are curious about these story elements, I'd recommend picking up this book. If not, then it really doesn't hurt you at all to not read them.

Happy reading!