Mirk and Midnight by Jane Nickerson

Pages: 384

Genre: Gothic Literature/Retelling

Series: Strands #2
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Release Date: Mar 11, 2014

Seventeen-year-old Violet Dancey has been left at home in Mississippi with a laudanum-addicted stepmother and love-crazed stepsister while her father fights in the war—a war that has already claimed her twin brother. When she comes across a severely injured Union soldier lying in an abandoned lodge deep in the woods, things begin to change. Thomas is the enemy—one of the men who might have killed her own brother—and yet she's drawn to him. But Violet isn't Thomas's only visitor; someone has been tending to his wounds—keeping him alive—and it becomes chillingly clear that this care hasn't been out of compassion. Against the dangers of war and ominous powers of voodoo, Violet must fight to protect her home and the people she loves.

While I hadn't read Strands of Bronze and Gold prior to this, the synopsis had me wanting and, I mean, it was a companion novel. So I could read it right? And who can pass up a Tam Lin retelling, anyways?

This story takes place during the Civil War, something that fascinated me, especially since it was a retelling of Tam Lin, a story of fairies and magic--what place did the Civil War have in this?
As it turns out, the main plot for most of the story didn't really have much to do with Tam Lin (or Thomas, in this case) as I'd expected. The retelling bit of the book was in maybe the last quarter of the book and we don't even really meet Thomas until halfway into the book. But that didn't really matter to me, by the time I was in that deep.

The story, even without meeting Thomas yet, is exciting or, at the very least, intriguing. It was slow at times and it definitely resembled a plain old historical fiction at times, but it was so much more than that. While I do wish it was more like the last bit of the book, I have to admit, the story was still interesting especially with Violet's rather...well, with all the changes that Violet's family is going through. Sunny and Emily were such contrasting characters and it was interesting to see their personalities start to grow a bit more complex, especially Sunny's. My favorite characters have to be, by far, Miss Ruby (Oliver?), Laney, and Seeley. Nickerson has a knack for secondary characters and I couldn't help but just grow attached to all of them!

The romance was quick and a bit insta lovey, I suppose, but it just seemed to fit the story and made me love it even more. The story really focused on Violet's independence as a woman in this time and how she dealt with all the terrible and wonderful things that were happening in her life at the same time. And I loved that.

There were definitely a few creep factors in this, especially with the voodoo mentioned in it. I definitely wish that there were more scenes like the last, but nevertheless, it was enjoyable and pretty spectacular, for lack of a better word!

The Mirk and Midnight Hour was a completely fascinating read that brought out the Gothic in Gothic Literature and I couldn't help but fall in love with the solemn atmosphere and the supernatural/voodoo forces that pushed the plot on. The historical feel just brought the story alive and the story stands out as something I'd call darkly enticing and hopelessly enchanting. 

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Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally

Goodreads Blurb
They’re from two different worlds.
He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries.
With her dream of becoming a horse jockey, Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules either. She’s not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack…

Racing Savannah is one of those books that I'm just...not quite sure how I feel about it. I haven't read Catching Jordan or Things I Can't Forget (but I plan to!), but I have read Stealing Parker. And it wasn't my style. So when I started Racing Savannah, I was a bit wary. And, apparently for a good reason.

Honestly, I almost DNF'd (did not finish) it because I just couldn't stand Savannah. Or maybe this just wasn't my type of book. I wasn't the biggest fan of Savannah, honestly. She assumed the most ridiculous things sometimes and she had such a giant prejudice against rich people, although we never really see what fueled it. She was a mostly flat, rather annoying character, and I couldn't really relate to her all that much. Except, perhaps, her passion for what she loved to do. And that was pretty much the only reason I tolerated her throughout the book.

Jack was a pretty cute love interest, but I just wasn't swooning over him as much as I wished. I hated how he kept backing away from Savannah for fear of his father, but what I found interesting was that Mr. Goodwin was actually really nice and seemed to really care about his staff, including Savannah. I just couldn't really see him all that angry if Jack wanted to date Savannah.

The romance did seem pretty rushed though--almost insta-love. Despite Savannah's prejudice, she was almost instantly enamored with Jack and he pretty much crushed on her almost as quickly. Surprising since he was supposed to be leading on a different girl and never had a serious girlfriend. They didn't really understand each other that much, I think.
But it was cute, the stolen moments, the secrecy, the teasing. If Kenneally hadn't rushed it so much, I'm sure I would've loved the romance wholeheartedly!

Since I've only read one other Kenneally book, I'm pretty sure there were a lot of inside jokes I didn't really get. (Hey, I read the teasers of the other books!) We do get to see some old characters and, even though I haven't read the books, it was hilarious to watch them! (And the siblings of two old characters pop up! And oh, one of our couples get married. And another are engaged. Fun, right?)

All in all, I was pretty disappointed, but it wasn't totally bad. Fans of Miranda Kenneally are sure to love it! (And I'll go get started on the other books, yeah?)

Pages: 304

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Series: Hundred Oaks #4

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: Dec 3, 2013

Rating: 3 stars

Copperhead by Tina Connolly

Goodreads Blurb

Helen Huntingdon is beautiful—so beautiful she has to wear an iron mask.

Six months ago her sister Jane uncovered a fey plot to take over the city. Too late for Helen, who opted for fey beauty in her face—and now has to cover her face with iron so she won’t be taken over, her personality erased by the bodiless fey.

Not that Helen would mind that some days. Stuck in a marriage with the wealthy and controlling Alistair, she lives at the edges of her life, secretly helping Jane remove the dangerous fey beauty from the wealthy society women who paid for it. But when the chancy procedure turns deadly, Jane goes missing—and is implicated in a murder.

Meanwhile, Alistair’s influential clique Copperhead—whose emblem is the poisonous copperhead hydra—is out to restore humans to their “rightful” place, even to the point of destroying the dwarvven who have always been allies.

Helen is determined to find her missing sister, as well as continue the good fight against the fey. But when that pits her against her own husband—and when she meets an enigmatic young revolutionary—she’s pushed to discover how far she’ll bend society’s rules to do what’s right. It may be more than her beauty at stake. It may be her honor...and her heart.

I loved reading Ironskin last year, so I was pretty excited to start in on Copperhead. But, while it was a pretty good read, I just didn't feel it and it fell flat.
The concept of Copperhead, while fascinating, was disappointing, although I can't pinpoint the exact reason why. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of steampunk and, with more tech than Ironskin, it's possible that that's the reason. But it could also be that there were so many little things that just made me feel...awkward.

While Helen was a fierce character (and I loved that she knew where her loyalties lay) it just irritated me that there didn't seem to be much difference otherwise between Jane's POV and Helen's, as far as I could remember. Jane was also written out as a bit of a boor compared to her own novel, and that was another little thing that went up against the book.
Then again, Helen was a pretty badass character, so I'm trying to figure out if it balanced out or not.

The romance in the story was...hmm. There was honestly no need for it whatsoever and it was completely rushed. They only met each other a handful of times and yet, nearing the end, they were young and in love. Very very rushed, especially considering the fact that they don't really talk/meet until halfway through the book.
Besides driving the plot on, but I really really felt like the story would've gone on a lot smoother without the romance (So honestly, it didn't even drive the plot on that much, so I'm not quite sure...why it was there? Except perhaps, to make the story more YA.)

I really do love the worldbuilding and all the secrets behind Copperhead was absolutely fascinating. The plot was completely unpredictable and I was shocked more than a few times. I have to hand it to Connolly for writing a thrilling plot that had me at the edge of my seat in the second half. It was a bit hard to get into at first, but after a while, I started to love it more! (Although some of the stuff I highlighted before did still irritate me.)
My last complaint is that the ending seemed too rushed, but it was creative nonetheless!


Pages: 304

Genre: Steampunk/Fantasy

Series: Ironskin #2

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: Oct 1, 2013
Rating: 2 Stars

Hero by Alethea Kontis

Goodreads Blurb

Rough and tumble Saturday Woodcutter thinks she's the only one of her sisters without any magic—until the day she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard. With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the top of the world. Is Saturday powerful enough to kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world from sure destruction? And, as she wonders grumpily, "Did romance have to be part of the adventure?" As in Enchanted, readers will revel in the fragments of fairy tales that embellish this action-packed story of adventure and, yes, romance.

You know what surprised me the most about this book? How much I absolutely adored it. I haven't read Enchanted, but now I have to because I just love Alethea Kontis's writing so much!

I am a sucker for retellings guys, especially when they intersect with about a dozen more of my favorite fairy tales and when they're written in E.D Baker esque! I grew up with Tales of the Frog Princess series, so it's really no surprise how much I loved Hero, in hindsight. Actually, more than I did The Frog Princess!
Ten pages in and already we see intersecting fairy tales--it's absolutely genius how enchanting she makes the story and how deliciously magical the world is. The sisters are the base of basically all my freaking favorite fairytales. I have fallen in love with a new series. And now you guys have to too.

Because from what I've seen, all the sisters, all the characters, are pretty kick-ass. Some are fiery, independent, and headstrong, while others are more mellow, but just as smart and brilliant. Saturday...well you can rightly assume she's in the first bunch. She made me laugh out loud and want to cry at the same time, but mostly? I just wanted to hug her. She's sassy and stubborn and I loved her witty remarks. Saturday's made it to my list of Favorite Heroines with her adventurous nature and her hilarious personality.

I loved the romance which was so absolutely cute and silly! It's insta-love, but in a fairy tale story like this, it makes things all the better and all the more adorable. It really was sweet how much Peregrine loved Saturday and I just couldn't help but fall in love with these two just as quickly. They're endearing and their interactions just made me giggle with glee.

The adventure was pretty action packed and just as exciting as the rest of the book. Saturday's destiny is to defeat the lorelei (water witch) while pretending to be her older brother and discovering a way to do so--without killing everyone on The Top of the World, including herself. You can bet that's going to be a bit hard. And absolutely fun to read. The plot is fun and definitely exciting and I can't wait for the sequel!

Absolutely enchanting, Hero was a fabulous read from a great author I can't wait to read more from! I loved every aspect of this story and definitely recommend this to everyone!

Pages: 301

Genre: Retelling/Fantasy

Series: Woodcutter Sisters #2

Publisher: Harcourt Books

Release Date: Oct 1, 2013

Rating: 5 stars