Imprudence

Imprudence by Gail Carriger

HELLO. I've returned once more to tell you that I freaking adore books by Gail Carriger. It's a theme. NOT SORRY.

I've previously read & blogged about these books by Carriger:
THE PARASOL PROTECTORATE
ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE
CURTSIES & CONSPIRACIES
WAISTCOATS & WEAPONRY

And, the book before this one in the series, PRUDENCE. 

Admittedly, my review of Prudence was a little lackluster, probably because I've loved all of these books so much, that I just become a babbling mess in real life when I talk about them.

I will say, there is a lot of world building down in the The Parasol Protectorate series that is important. However, I read Etiquette & Espionage first, and I was well introduced to the world. I think you could pick up the first book in this series and be totally fine? I would recommend reading ALL of her books, because they're just amazing.

Here's an amazon summary, "Rue and the crew of the Spotted Custard return from India with revelations that shake the foundations of England's scientific community. Queen Victoria is not amused, the vampires are tetchy, and something is wrong with the local werewolf pack. To top it all off, Rue's best friend Primrose keeps getting engaged to the most unacceptable military types. 
Rue has family problems as well. Her vampire father is angry, her werewolf father is crazy, and her obstreperous mother is both. Worst of all, Rue's beginning to suspect what they really are... is frightened." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

To do a super quick recap of book 1; Rue is the daughter of a Soulless and a Werewolf, which makes her a metanatural; she can touch other immortals and borrow their power. The immortal turns mortal for the interim. More supernaturals have been found, and Rue is developing a romance of sorts with a certain French engineer on board. SUPER QUICK recap.

Imprudence begins with all three of Rue's parents keeping a secret from her. Determined to find answers, she sets off with her crew to Egypt. ...and then I'm going to be super disappointing again about these summaries. There's just so much wit, humor, and adventure all peppered with fashion. It's pretty much fantastic.

I thought a lot of the characters were thoughtful and well portrayed.......except for Rue & Quensel's relationship. It felt forced and like it had lost of the charm it kind of held in the first book.

However, I still really liked it. It was another fantastic, puffy adventure.

Happy reading!

A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

This book is the sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses which I reviewed HERE. This review WILL MOST DEFINITELY contain spoilers for A Court of Thorns and Roses, so if you don't want anything spoiled, do not read this review.

There are definitely scenes of sex and violence throughout this story, and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. If you don't like reading about those aspects of humanity, I would suggest skipping this book.

An amazon summary, "Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court--but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms--and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future--and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

At the end of A Court of Thorns and Roses, Feyre has defeated Amarantha's challenges, the curse is broken, Feyre had her necked snapped...and the high lords each gave a kernel of their power to her to save her life. This also turned Feyre into an immortal High Fae.

Feyre has returned to the spring court and is being swept away into a 'wholesome' fantasy where she's to become Tamlin's wife and basically start pumping out children. A high priestess has come to stay with them and help Feyre basically become Tamlin's wife.  Feyre isn't 100% sold on this idea, but it's what Tamlin wants, so she goes along with it. She's also dealing with a crap ton of post traumatic stress which manifests itself as nightmares, vomiting, avoiding rooms with certain colors, and she's entirely lost interest in painting. Tamlin also constantly has guards around Feyre, she's not allowed to help with the rebuilding process, and she can barely go out onto the spring court grounds without Lucien or a sizable escort.

The day of their wedding comes, and Feyre finds herself walking down the aisle, pleading with someone, something, to just make this all stop and to take her away. Tamlin reaches for her, and Feyre is taking a step back, saying no in her head. ...then Rhysand shows up. Remember their deal from under the mountain? Rhysand gets Feyre one week every month; he has not cashed in on their bargain in the last few months, but has decided to in this moment.

Feyre goes to the night court. She is treated very well and begins to learn how to read/write a little better. She practices her mental shields to better guard herself against High Fae before she returns to the Spring Court. Feyre has also started to show signs of abilities she inherited from the High Lords when they revived her. She spends another three weeks with Tamlin, before she is taken back to the night court again. When she returns to the Spring Court, she and Tamlin have a fight, and Tamlin ends up sealing her inside the manor. Feyre has a panic attack and ends up wrapping herself up in night, she's rescued by Mor (from the night court) and brought back to the night court.

....that's enough summary.

I love this book. This book has become my story to reread on rainy days and I absolutely adore it. The topics covered, characterization, world building, flow of plot, and how this book keeps building to more in the series is just fantastic. I would highly, highly recommend this book.

This book definitely picks up where the first book left off, and full speed runs ahead into the over-arcing plot of the series. I can't say how much I loved it, because I'll undoubtedly start ruining things about the ending because oh my gosh that ending. There's definitely a book three.

Happy reading!

Glass Sword

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

This is the second book in a series, I reviewed the first one, Red Queen, HERE.

If you don't want anything spoiled for Red Queen, I would highly recommend not reading this review.

Props to this book series for sticking to the blood covered crown theme for the book covers instead of beheaded women.

Here's the amazon summary so you have time to think about it, "The electrifying second installment in the Red Queen series has all the drama, intrigue, and steamy romance that made it a #1 New York Times bestseller.

Mare Barrow's blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

Perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series, Glass Sword is the high-stakes follow up to the #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Recap of book 1 ending, in the briefest way. Maven's mother orchestrated Cal to behead his Father on camera, paving the way for Maven to take the throne. Mare has escaped the madness of the Silver court with Cal, and retreated to the Scarlet Guard to hopefully find the other newbloods. There is hope that Cal's uncle is still alive, but that remains to be seen. It's important that in the first book, Cal's uncle has given the list of reds with unusual blood to Mare; they are most likely reds with powers, aka newbloods.

Book 2 begins with the Scarlet Guard escorting Cal and Mare to a safe haven of sorts, and I'm going to over summarize this for my sake. Mare's family is safe, Kilorn is safe, and through a series of mishaps, Mare has convinced Farley to go out looking for the newbloods despite other people in the Scarlet Guard NOT being on board with the plan. They bring Cal along, who the Scarlet Guard had locked away...and they also kind of locked Mare away too. By kind of, I mean at one point they were both trapped in a room of silent stone.

So there's that.

There's also crazy King Maven who can't really undo the world knowing that a red has powers (Mare) and has been scrambling like mad to do damage control. While also publicly grieving for his father that he helped murder. And attempting to run the country with the aid of his manipulating mother... yeah, I think I got everything on the Maven plate. Maven, because he was part of the Scarlet Guard as a ruse in book 1 and ultimately used their plans for his own gain, knows about the list given to Mare. Maven has also started hunting newbloods....but literally. If he gets there first, he usually leaves bodies in his wake as he thwarts Mare and her team. Sometimes Mare wins, sometimes Maven wins.

This has also opened a whole cast of new powers, but again, I'm not seeing any sort of original powers. I'm going to chalk that up to my rabid consumption of superhero comics, but it's still like, C'MON! Make someone do something that hasn't been done before! It's like a weird Marvel, DC Universe, and even random TV shows like Heroes set of powers. ...but again, I know this is probably just because I've been kind of hyper exposed to those stories/powers. ...so that's me. ANYWAYS.

Let's talk about Mare. So in book 1, I read her as a survivalist character. Literally, doing anything in her power to survive, then trying to protect her family, and then trying to protect other people. Mare definitely came first though. I could get behind that. In book 2, I just kind of really wanted Mare to get over herself. WHICH, is pretty much impossible when you have an exiled prince fighting with you for your cause, and the King dogging after you, leaving weird, creepy stalker messages on dead bodies. Complete sidenote: I find it wonderfully weird and kind of ironic that both brother's are flame manipulators. Hehehe....hehehe. I know they explained that the females powers are recessive, but like whatever. Mare is the 'first' red with powers, why couldn't one of the brothers be the first male with their mother's powers? I digress. Anyways. I take issue with how much Mare constantly puts on herself to always 'do the thing' (no spoilers) when she really DOES NOT FREAKING HAVE TO. She seems to have this weird complex of, "Well, the world knows me as the face of reds with powers. CLEARLY, I SHOULD LEAD THE PEOPLE" she says with no experience in leadership or really forming coherent plans that didn't only involve saving one person (book 1 sass). The Scarlet Guard definitely had more of a dramatic eye roll to her attitude....so then Mare left to put herself into a leadership position to save the newbloods...because she holds herself responsible for Maven's involvement with the Scarlet Guard in book 1 and that's the only reason he ever found out about the list Cal's uncle created or something... AND THEN. She's in this weird place where she's like, "I don't really love Cal, I just NEED to be around him. He's the only one who understands me! I also miss Maven! But was that really Maven, or just the mask Maven was putting on? Who is the boy beneath the mask? I loved the caring and vulnerable boy, but who is he now!?" and then she gets a case of the vapors. Mare, has for the most part (in case this rant wasn't enough of a hint), has really tried to go full throttle into useless prop of a narrator land. I will give her credit that she does constantly try to do her best, but she just doesn't really seem to learn from any of her mistakes.

Does anyone else find it weird how much technology exists in this world, but there is still such a rigid caste system? The more technology that keeps cropping up and being hinted at, the more I really question how the Silvers have managed to have such oppressive power for so long. Eh. I guess it makes for a most interesting story now.

With ALL of this being said, I'm going to read book 3. There's definitely enough interesting things going on as far as world building, political plot, even just action scenes that I can make it through another book.

Happy reading!

These Vicious Masks

These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker, Kelly Zekas

I really just want to get to the amazon summary so I can tell you it's kind of wrong.

An amazon summary, "Jane Austen meets X-Men in this thrilling Victorian adventure full of magic and mysticism, perfect for anyone who loves a confident, rebellious heroine, snappy dialogue, and a hint of romance.
England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they're not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true―and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.

Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads, These Vicious Masks is an action-packed, genre-bending novel by debut authors Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Jane Austen meets X-men? Really? I can see Jane Austen if you're going for the Victorian era, and I can see if you're going with X-men if you mean people with powers... but Jane Austen themes are wildly different from These Vicious Masks and X-men has a lot more going on in the sense of mutants not being able to blend in with the general populace. None of the characters in this series have any issues in blending in.

....so anyways.....

Evelyn and Rose attend a ball, where they converse with the dashing Mr. Kent. They are called away to see a patient (both sisters are healers; well Rose is, Evelyn just kind of helps out). They see the patient and bump into Sebastian Braddock who is seeking their help. He believes they have healing powers. The sisters laugh him off, but there's also a strange man at the ball, kind of creeping about. The next morning, Rose is gone with a note about running away left in her stead. Evelyn knows it's rubbish, but her parents are not having anything to do with finding Rose for they'll be ruined if it gets out. So Evelyn sets off to find Rose and seeks the help of Mr. Kent. Sebastian is still seeking the healing powers of the sisters, and joins the quest to find Rose after Evelyn sees one patient for him.

And that's enough summary.

So what's brilliant about this book is Evelyn is not immediately swept into the dazzle of maybe powers DO exist, and falling in love with the nearest attractive gentlemen; she wants to find her sister. She's convinced Rose was kidnapped and she will stop at nothing to rescue her. Evelyn's kind of a badass in her own right. She will not give up, despite many, many setbacks she faces.

The plot and pacing unfolded very well, so there wasn't a moment I was impatiently waiting for the next thing to happen. The book is also filled with a great cast of characters that deliver on plenty of snark, banter, throwing the societal normal out the window (a particularly unapologetic Mr. Kent and brothels), and well, powers.

It's not X-men or Jane Austen, but it's still pretty great.

Happy reading!

Red Queen

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This is one of those books that I picked up because it says in the description, "Graceling meets The Selection..." I've read Graceling (and Fire and Bitterblue) and I ADORED them! I also read the The Selection (and the rest of the series) which were okay because I liked how they dealt with the downfalls of a caste system. ...yes, I do get sucked in when books relate to other books to describe themselves. SH-RUG.

An amazon summary, "The #1 New York Times Bestseller

Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard's sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?
Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood--those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.
To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard--a growing Red rebellion--even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Mare Barrow's world is divided into red and silver. Red bloods do not have an extra ability, but silver bloods do. The red bloods are treated terribly; if they don't have a job or apprenticeship by the age of 18, they're conscripted to fight in the war effort against the lakelanders, which has been going on for decades. Mare has accepted that when she turns 18, she's going to be drafted to fight in war, but she takes solace that her close friend Kilorn, will not be drafted since he's an apprentice fisherman. ...until his master fisherman dies. Kilorn is about to be conscripted to war in a matter of days, unless Mare can buy his freedom. So Mare, with the help of her sister Gisa (who works for a seamstress), go to a silver city to pick pocket silvers to get enough money to smuggle Kilorn out of their town and save him from war. ...until a red rebellion group known as the Scarlet Guard commits a terrorist act and all the silvers go on a murder spree, trying to kill every red citizen in sight. Mare and Gisa escape, but Gisa's sewing hand is crushed when she tries to pick pocket a silver. In desperation, Mare goes to linger outside a bar and pick pocket people as they exit. She's mostly successful until she pick pockets one man who catches her. After some conversation and introducing himself as Cal, he gives her a good chunk of money and lets her go about her business.

The next day, Mare is summoned by a car and spirited off to be a servant for the royal household - Cal has gotten her a job. Mare is saved from conscription and may be able to save Kilorn too. She can't find Cal though amongst the servants. As they start serving at the event, she sees Cal, amongst the silver royalty; turns out he's the prince in line for the throne. Mare goes about her business of being a servant, but when the stadium moves, Mare is thrown onto the electric shield that covers the arena, and miraculously doesn't die. She's swept up in a silver whirlwind of cover up - of course she isn't red blooded, she's silver blooded and from a long lost silver house.

...that's enough summary. I just feel like the amazon summary left out a lot of chunks of information leading up to Mare discovering she has powers. Anyways.

Throughout the book, I read Mare as a survivalist; constantly in a cross roads of decisions trying to make the best one in the moment she's placed in. Sometimes her heart sways her decisions, other times her mind. But she's trying to survive and I can't stress that enough.

I thought a lot of the political climate was interesting, especially with how the red versus silver caste system kind of plays out. I also thought a lot of the background with the royal family was very interesting but really, we need to talk about the powers.

So a lot of the silvers fall into different houses and certain bloodlines carry on the power. I thought a LOT of the powers were interesting, especially in the portrayal of their use. But, I was also a little peeved that none of the powers presented felt original or different... which would probably be increasing difficult to do with how many super heroes/villain powers are very prevalent today. But still, it's on my wishlist for maybe future books in this series.

I also wanted a little more time spent with the world building surrounding the Scarlet Guard. I feel like we got a really good glimpse of them? But not much else.

I also also thought how Mare felt about the different potential romantic partners was a little inconsistent, but I relate that back to her trying to survive. I could go either way with logically, it'd be better to choose this one, but my heart wants me to pick this one. There seemed to be a lot of internal fighting with herself throughout the story.

I will read the second book; there was definitely enough unique and interesting ideas presented in this book to get me to pick up book 2.

Happy reading!