The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Goodreads Blurb

Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.
Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.
Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.

Let me say this now: I will read anything Kiersten White writes. Especially when it has mythology (Egyptian mythology to boot!) and the daughter of two gods. Ummm yes!

The way The Chaos of Stars was written was definitely it's selling point. In the beginning of each chapter, we get a little bit of Egyptian mythology retold by Isadora. It's brilliant and fabulous, not to mention the darker dreams that our main character had, and mentioned, in the beginning of every other chapter or so that added a scene of intrigue to the entire plot.
Not to mention we have White's humor and laugh out loud tendencies and a depth to the book I definitely didn't expect!

Isadora's not just trying to get away from her family--she's dealing with the fact of knowing that she'll be replaced, that her parents have prepared for her death, that her parents just maybe don't care for her at all. It makes her an understandable character, but Isadora...well, she still irritated me. She whined throughout the book about her family, how she didn't want to fall in love, but was falling for love interest Ry anyways, and about why she'd wanted to be her older brother's only family. And when her mother warns her of bad dreams, and she gets some, she fails to mention them as a little "rebellion" even though they could put her in serious danger. What? Not to mention she was so completely and utterly pessimistic which kicked my optimistic side in the stomach.

I loved the reluctant romance in here though! Ry was so sweet and caring and I loved his little quirks. He was a swoony love interest and was just adorable around Isadora! The relationship between them was so cute and I was just in love with the idea of them as a couple and feel free to imagine me as the Sebastian (Little Mermaid) for the two! I really hope you guys get that reference.

The plot was...well, rather slow. Nothing really happened until the last three chapters or so and it was rather dull, although I was still interested with Isadora's life and, of course, the romance! But that didn't help the fact that what we mainly saw was Isadora adjusting to regular American life and that sort of bored me. The last few chapters were definitely explosive, though, and I loved it! I did expect a certain twist about Ry that I found a bit obvious, but the plot twists? Shocked!

Kiersten White, in typical Kiersten White style, has created a hilarious, gorgeously written novel that I loved! With interesting characters, a curious plot, and a character who's trying to figure out who she is, The Chaos of Stars is one I would recommend to anyone who loved White's previous work or wants to start her books!

Pages: 288

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: Sep 30, 2013

Rating: Possibly the one and only 3.75 rating

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

Goodreads Blurb

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.
Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he's also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to revenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.
But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.

The Burning Sky actually took me a while to read. I'd started it in early May and put it down for about 3 months. When I picked it back up, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. So many friends loved it, but I'd hated it. Or, at least, I did at first.
I was this close to DNF'ing The Burning Sky before someone told me that it got better in the second half--and it really did. 

The first half was...pretty dull and pretty annoying. I hated Iolanthe at first. She was whiny and she grated my nerves so many times. I wanted to like her, I did! But I just couldn't bring myself to really care for her at all, even when I passed the halfway mark. She grew on me a big, but I couldn't really care what happened to her throughout the book. She was definitely a bit badass though, and I loved her snarky remarks and willpower.
And Titus. At first he seemed like a pretty flat character, but I absolutely fell in love with him by the end! He's a misunderstood character who pushes everyone away because of both his "destiny" and his royal blood. I loved how strong he was and how dedicated he was to his cause. And, eventually, how dedicated he was to keeping Iolanthe safe.

The writing is a bit off with me. I found it a bit confusing at times and had to reread several parts a few times to grasp their meaning. It was also awkward for me because sometimes I had no idea who's POV I was reading from sometimes and felt a bit estranged from the story with it's 3rd person writing.

The worldbuilding, however, was absolutely gorgeous! It's a complex world, and I always love learning about a fantasy world. How the magic works, what creatures are there, how the government works, everything. And The Burning Sky had a beautiful, developed world with elemental mages, seers, and prophecies of all kind. Magic plays an (obviously) large role, but my favorite bit had to be the Crucible. But, of course, you'd have to read the book to find out what that is!

The plot was, like I said, slow in the beginning and achingly boring. But once you hit the halfway (or 40%?) mark, things quickly speed up until you're just stuck at the edge of your seat, wondering exactly what's happening and what'll happen next. There were no giant twists, but the progression of the story was absolutely breathtaking and page turning.

The romance, while fun with their constant banter an bickering, wasn't really built on anything besides the fact that they shared secrets--and that was only because of a chance of luck. I couldn't help but cheer them on a little, if not only for Titus. I'm going to seriously love seeing their romance develop in the next two books for sure!

If you can sit through the first half, The Burning Sky will take your breath away and astonish you with it's vivid worldbuilding and heartstopping plot. I'd definitely recommend it, especially for those who love a good high fantasy that has a pinch of Tamora Pierce in it!

Pages: 464

Genre: High Fantasy

Series: Elemental Trilogy #1

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: Sep 17, 2013

Rating: 3.5

Blog Tour: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Hey guys! Super excited to be on this tour! I loved it so much! After my review, I have a mini interview for you! (And a giveaway of course!)

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Review
Can we just say right off the bat that Kendare Blake is a literary goddess? She has a way with words that just makes you fall in love with her novels, and Antigoddess is no exception.

Usually, as y'all know, I'm not a fan of multiple POV's, especially when it's third person, but Blake manages to pull it off with two kickbutt characters--both not (quite) human and both in dangerous situations. Athena and Cassandra are such different characters, but you can't help but fall in love with them, even as they opposed each other for a short time.

And the fun thing about dual POVs?

Dual romances.

We all know this author can write swoony romances and she does it again in Antigoddess! While Athena's story doesn't focus much on the romance, you can't deny that Odysseus (yes, that Odysseus) and Athena's dynamic isn't brilliant. Athena seems to melt whenever her hero (literally, since she's his patron goddess) is near and Odysseus is so absolutely loyal and sweet around Athena. Plus, I always did like those kind of snarky love interests! He seemed to love Athena for a while too, and it broke my heart whenever she pulled away.

As for Cassandra, well, I can't really say anything about that (spoilers, m'dears!), but let's just say that their relationship made me squeal, smile, giggle, and cry. Emphasis on cry.

Blake did a brilliant job bringing the gods and goddesses of legend to YA form and it was always amazing seeing our weary characters slip into their more powerful personas. And, as sadistic as it sounds, I did love the irony in how each god was dying...as much as it hurt my heart.

While there wasn't as much worldbuilding as I'd hoped, what was there was absolutely enchanting and her penchant for horror definitely played a role in some of the creepy crawly bumps in the night. Like most Greek mythology based books, things seem to revolve around the Trojan War and seeing the characters' flashbacks was exciting since I always did love new takes on it!

The plot was thrilling and I, honestly, got chills at times. There wasn't a slow moment and it was a never ending battle of trying to be a step ahead of someone who's already winning the game. Seeing it from Athena and Cassandra's perspective only made things all the more exciting and I couldn't help but be sucked into the story! If I have to say only one thing about this book, it's that it never let's you down!

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Kendare Blake is a genius with her words, weaving them into an un-putdown-able novel that'll keep you anxious for ages. She raised expectations with her name alone and delivered it all in one pretty package! It's amazing how brilliant this story is and I honestly can't stop recommending it!

Recommended for fans of Anna Dress in Blood (because Kendare Blake, y'all) and Starcrossed!

Pages: 333 

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology

Series: Goddess Wars #1

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: Sep 10, 2013

Rating: 5 stars

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Fiction Freak: If you were to die in some ironic, morbid way, how would it be?

Kendare Blake: Ironic? Electrocuted by my keyboard? Or perhaps if I was murdered and came back as a murderous ghost, and then Cas murdered me. Or maybe if I died by getting a feather stabbed through my eye.

FF: Suppose you were a Greek goddess--what would you be the goddess of/what existing goddess would you be?

KB: I would be Athena. Or at least I would be friends with her. She’s always seemed the coolest. But if I could invent a goddess of dairy products and hamburgers, I would be that.

FF: How was writing Antigoddess different from writing Anna Dressed in Blood--and whose situation would you rather be stuck in?

KB: I would rather live through ANTIGODDESS, I think. It’s more on the road, and big, big strong hero types. No wait. I would rather go on the road with Cas. No wait. Don’t make me choose.

Antigoddess was definitely harder to write until I figured out how to tell the story and what the story was.

FF: What did you like better--writing about ghosts and exorcism or Greek gods that died in morbid ways?

KB: I don’t know which I liked better…I love them both!

FF: If you would pick one place where the world would end, where would it be?

KB: Well, it should start inside the checkout line at WalMart. That should definitely end first.

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Antigoddess Blurb
The Goddess War begins in Antigoddess, the first installment of the new series by acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood, Kendare Blake.
Old Gods never die…
Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.
Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. 
These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. 
Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. 
Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.
The Goddess War is about to begin.

Author Bio

Kendare Blake is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. You know, that old chestnut. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master’s degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London. She brakes for animals, the largest of which was a deer, which sadly didn’t make it, and the smallest of which was a mouse, which did, but it took forever. Amongst her likes are Greek Mythology, rare red meat and veganism. She also enjoys girls who can think with the boys like Ayn Rand, and boys who scare the morality into people, like Bret Easton Ellis.

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Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

Goodreads Blurb

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster. 
When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. 
As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

Oh my holy freaking crap you guys. You guys.

This is a beyond amazing sequel for The Darkest Minds! While The Darkest Minds wasn't my favorite (but still really good!) Never Fade completely blew away every expectation my puny and uncreative brain had. I never could've imagined (or guessed) any freaking thing that happened in this book. My mind has been blown. Utterly shattered.

The plot is definitely the book's strongest point. Starting off with a bang (literally) Never Fade is 500 pages of nonstop action that had me absolutely glued to the book, dying to find out what happened next. There are innumerable plot twists that absolutely made me die inside. (Also, at a certain plot twist, I choked on my chips. During class. And made a totally attractive gagging sound.)
There's action on every page and there's really no way anyone could ever be bored! So much happens in so little time that I actually couldn't keep track of it all! So I got a bit confused. But that's just me.

Ruby is still one kickass heroine and I loved her even though we can't really connect to her. She comes off as a bit cold and emotionless (more than in Darkest Minds) but it's heartbreaking because we know that she still got bothered by things and that she sometimes felt so weak. She starts to warm up quickly though, and soon, she's the strong and fearless heroine we all know and love!
Chubs was the added humor.
Liam was the added sweetness.
Jude was the added adorableness.
Vida was the added kickass.
Seriously, could our characters get more perfect?

Old characters come crawling back from the dumps, new characters are introduced, but either way, you have to love them! Whether it's the evilness, their madness, their kindness, or whatnot, every character ends up touching you (no matter how fast they're ripped away. Trust me. A lot are ripped away.)

Never Fade was an absolutely amazing adventure that let us explore our characters and the world they're stuck in. More stunning than the first, the Darkest Minds sequel is definitely one to pick up--even if you weren't to sure about the first one! Explosive (seriously. EXPLOSIONS!) and heartwrenching, Never Fade is the perfect sequel with a killer ending!

Pages: 512
Genre: Dystopian/Supernatural
Series: The Darkest Minds #2
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: October 15, 2013
Rating: 7/5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday

The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again. 

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My love for this series is unbeatable. IT IS. SERIOUSLY. I ADORE ADORE ADORE THIS SERIES TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. I'm THRILLED they went with the design of the other covers FIRST OF ALL. SECOND OF ALL. *waves* HI KIERRAN. I'M IN LOVE WITH YOUR DAD. JUST SAYING. BUT SQUEEE!!!!!! THERE ARE NO WORDS. THIS IS SO LONG OVERDUE AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I WAITED THIS LONG. But yeah. *EXCITED FEELS*

So sad my other books don't have that "New York Times Bestseller" thing on my copies of the first 4 books...

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

Goodreads Blurb

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.
A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.
Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Oh my gosh. Was this creepy or was it creepy? (Spoiler: IT WAS CREEPY.)

I am, obviously, not a very smart person. So when did I read this? Well, I started at 11 PM all the way until 3 AM. And then little ole me just couldn't get to sleep.
So yes, yes it was very creepy. Creepy, but very original and absolutely intriguing. I found myself becoming increasingly and increasingly stunned by both the haunting writing and the brilliant story line. Because this story line was absolutely brilliant. And creepy. We can't forget that.

The worldbuilding/paranormal aspect of this was absolutely chilling too. And very, very disturbing. Fascinatingly so. I could not stop reading despite everything that happened. I love the twist on "Selling your soul to the devil" bit and...well I can't really say more than that or else I spoil everything, don't I?

What the best thing about this was, though, was how there wasn't really a giant twist. It was more like an accumulation of little things that starting clicking together in your brain, until finally you got the full picture. And it's an absolutely twisted picture too. It's amazing what Kate Karyus Quinn has done, giving us little pieces that seem insignificant until we realize just what they mean. It's a bit confusing at first, but once you get used to it, you just have to scramble through every detail, wondering which were important and which were just plain creepy.

My only complaint, though, was that the romance was rushed, but after that initial thought, I learned to love Dex. He...okay, damn, can't say much about that either.
Besides the romance, I did feel as if the plot was a bit slow at times, but intriguing all the same. But when it wasn't slow...oh God, it was definitely quickly paced and had me reeling back in shock when I finally figured something out. And...it was sort of heartbreaking too, near the end. But, you know, can't say anything about that either or it just ruins the entire read.

Dark, twisted, and disturbing, Another Little Piece is one of the best horror/thriller books I've read in a long time and I absolutely have to recommend it to everyone. Chilling to the core, this is definitely a book to pick up and one of the best to read on a stormy night (if you want to pee your pants.) It just sucks you straight in and you can't help but flip through the pages, eager to finally get the whole (creepy) story.

Pages: 419

Genre: Horror/Paranormal

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: June 11

Rating: 4 stars