Dec 312013
 

 

feudlingsFeudlings: Fate on Fire (book one)

Author: Wendy Knight

Publisher: Astraea Press

Published: March 18th, 2013

ASIN: B00BWH9UHY

ebook: 283 pages

Genre: YA speculative

FTC FYI: Received a ecopy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads Summary

Nothing makes a new school suck worse than discovering the guy you’re in love with is your prophesied nemesis.

Ari is the most powerful flame-throwing sorceress ever, and her people’s last hope in an ancient war. But she’s also a seventeen-year-old girl, and in her free, not-hunting-nemesis times, she jumps from school to school, trying to figure out regular people her own age and pretending she’ll get the chance to graduate.

Shane lives a double life. He goes to school and masters the art of popularity, hiding the fact that he has a fate with a slim chance of his survival. He’s destined to end a 300 year-old war by killing or being killed. He knows he’s hunted by a powerful enemy who’s not afraid to die. Only problem? He has no idea who that enemy is.

When Ari shows up at Shane’s school, angry and sullen and determined to keep him at arm’s reach, neither of them realize they are supposed to be killing each other, not fall-ing in love. Until Ari does realize it, and she almost dies – by Shane’s hand.

17699925Feudlings in Flames: Fate on Fire (book two)

Author: Wendy Knight

Publisher: Astraea Press

Published: September 3rd, 2013

ASIN: B00EY5DALS

ebook: 267 pages

Genre: YA speculative

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads Summary

Ari thought being in love with her prophesied nemesis sucked. But being responsible for her best friend’s kidnapping? It sucks worse.

Ari and Shane thought they’d beaten Fate and ended the three-hundred year war plagu-ing their people. They thought love had won. But they were so, so wrong.

Instead of graduating high school like the normals, they’re in a battle to save Charity – Shane’s cousin, Ari’s best friend, and the seer who might hold the key to ending the war for good. To do that, they’re forced to accept help from a boy they aren’t even sure they can trust. He’s powerful and knows spells even Ari’s never heard of, but he’s also secre-tive and has a past he’s determined to keep hidden. Add to that the fact that he has his sights set on Ari, and Shane would rather do without his help.

Ari has bigger problems than mysterious boys and their strange powers. The powerful Edren Family is hunting her brother, and she can’t very well save him or Charity while they’re constantly being attacked by her own people. To stop the raids, she has to take the fight to them. But if she starts hunting the family that raised her, what kind of mon-ster will she be?

Fate still waits for the death of one by the hand of the other.

My Review 

WOW!  This series is so much fun.  The first thing that drew me in to these books was the cover of Feudlings.  I also thought Feudlings in Flame’s cover was fantastic, too.  The premise of Feudlings is what I loved the most.  Only they can end the feud and only they can destroy each other.  Very cool.  I can tell that the author, Wendy Knight, must be a doll in person, because it reflects in her writing.  Her characters are well-written, very fun and very likable.  Ari and Shane are AWESOME.  Wendy wrote them well.  As well as all the character’s magic and the very cool world they are in.  The feud back story is told well, and in the second book it all comes to a head.  Charity and Hunter are great and I also enjoyed the characters without magic too.  Ari’s friends Nev and Livi are adorable.  These books start off quick and don’t let go until the last page.  I would love to give you a summary, but I can’t.  There are some very cool twists and turns, especially in the second book, that I don’t want to give away.  I hesitated even putting the Goodreads summary of the second book.  Make sure you read Feudlings first, but Flames picks up right where the first ends.

Very enjoyable read for you and your teenager.  Wendy also wrote a prequel Feudlings in Sight which is about Charity, Shane’s cousin.  Wendy also released Warrior Beautiful this year too!  She is a rock star.

Author Links


Purchase Links

I am giving away an ecopy of Feudlings and Feudlings in Flames on Min Reads.

Dec 122012
 

First Frost

Author: Liz DeJesus

Publisher: Musa Publishing

Published: June 22, 2012

ISBN13: 9781619372269

Genre: YA Fantasy

ebook: 274 pages

FTC FYI: I received a review ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads Summary

Fairytales aren’t real…yeah…that’s exactly what Bianca thought. She was wrong.

For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”

Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.

She’s about to find out how wrong she is.

My Review 

Glancing at Facebook one night I came across the Book Trailer of First Frost book posted by my friend, and author Cheri Chesley. The trailer was done by Mel Chesley, and I was hooked. I followed the author on Twitter, and she graciously followed me back. Emails were exchanged and I asked Liz for a review of her fun book. I am a Fairytale junky. Just reading about this book on Goodreads, I knew I was going to enjoy First Frost.

Bianca and her mother, Rose, run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts. After a frustrating day for Bianca at the museum, she and her mother head to their modest home. Bianca’s father David is gone and it is a topic that is avoided by her mom. After dinner, Bianca heads to her best friend Ming’s house, on her way home she has a feeling that something is terribly wrong. When she arrives, Rose is in a magical battle with a witch. Her mother escapes the battle, but the witch Lenore has one demand. Give her the spell book, or face the consequences. Rose then comes clean with Biana, Fairytales and magic are real, and they are descendants from the fairest one of all, Snow White.

I enjoyed this book a lot. There is some language, but nothing I was offended by. The characters are fun, and Liz can write teen-agers very well. I love the adventure this story takes the reader, and the ending is a great one. Liz told me that she is done with Book 2, called Glass Frost, and is drafting Book 3. She is hoping there will be 4 to 5 books in the series. I know I can’t wait to see what happens next.

4 out of 5 stars.

Author Links

Blog / Twitter / Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble