WAITING ON WEDNESDAY (#2)

(First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting for some time now. Although I know that thousands of people don't pour down my posts, it feels nice to have somebody reading my posts. School has been keeping me busy, you know, with my Asian-ness and all. So without further ado . . . here is another Waiting on Wednesday post.)


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event . . . well, happening every Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. We post and goggle at books we want to check out, love, and are needed in our hands ASAP. And this week? Why, no other than the fan-freakingtastic Girl of Nightmares.

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live--not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

Oh my unicorns.

ICAN'TSTOPMYSELFFROMSQUEALINGATTHEAWESOMENESSOFTHECOVERNADTHEBLURBOHMYUNUNICORNSWHYKENDRABLAKEWHATDIDIEVERDOTOYOU

Yeah, I think it's pretty obvious by now how much I obsess over it want to read it.

Seriously though. I fell in love with the first book for the characters, plot, and the romance that (surprisingly) wasn't another InstantLuv Microwave Meal. In fact, it ranked in my personal top ten list of favorite reads last year. Although this is probably the wrong thing to do, I'm judging this book by its cover. And with the cover with that amount of gorgeousness--the small detail like the figures in the water! Anna's freaking face!--it has to be EPIC.

Right? Anyone with me?

. . . *crickets chirp*

Aw, come on, guys!

Review of THE LONERS by LEX THOMAS

The Loners by Lex Thomas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC for this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. No sort of bribes, trades, or illegal transactions for 1004,000 rare diamond unicorns, although I don't mind that as a Christmas gift.


While the Hunger Games is an exciting yet toned-down novel in terms of action and how Battle Royale doesn’t shy away from the gory scenes, the Loners by Lex Thomas is somewhere in the middle of those teenage survival stories: it’s not exactly as bloody as BR, yet it manages to provoke something darker than the Hunger Games. It’s perfect for slightly mature readers in the YA genre. However, the main thing that stopped me from rating it five stars was one thing: the world.

Imagine this: it’s your first day back in high school. Your emotions may run from slightly nervous from extremely excited, or you might feel nothing and just sashay into the halls like nobody’s business. But what if suddenly, all the teachers and students over the age of eighteen dropped dead, and the doors were barred so that no one could get out of the school? What if you were left in the dark for two weeks relying on nothing but the supplies inside the school, until the military comes in saying that there’s a deadly virus that kills adults within you and the other kids, and you’re only allowed to go out once you’ve turned eighteen? In that scenario, it’s really hard to say, since it depends on your personality. This is what happens in this book, and this is why survival/last-one-standing-wins stories are interesting: you just don’t know.

The Loners centers on three main characters: David Thrope, your average nice guy; Will, the younger brother stuck in his sibling’s shadow; Lucy, a girl with no other clique to stay with. When David goes to a party before the first day of high school, still depressed after his mother’s death, he soon finds out that his girlfriend was cheating on him with his arch-nemesis, Sam, and then proceeds to hit him. Not the wisest move, since Sam took David’s old spot as the quarterback on the football team, and now David’s chances of getting back on the team and fitting in are now officially screwed.

When his freshman brother, Will, goes with him to the first day of school and gets locked in with the rest of them, they’re forced to live in the fringes of McKinley high school as loners and not receiving the benefits of being a gang member. They try to live off the radar while attempting to survive, but all that changes when David rescues Lucy, a former member of the Pretty Ones, from getting raped from a guy in Varsity. He accidentally ends up killing the jock, inflicting the wrath of two of the most powerful groups. David is now wanted, and Will, in love with Lucy ever since last summer, just wants to end up protecting her, but Lucy likes someone else. With different dynamics and deception going on, what will they do?

In my opinion, the world-building was its biggest fault. There were so many outcomes and paths that were possible, but the story opts for an easier route and bases the entire groups on stereotypical high school cliques. As a reference, here are some of the names for the gangs: Nerds, Sluts, the Pretty Ones (which are basically . . . well, the pretty girls), Skaters . . . it isn’t the most interesting concept, to be honest. The groups acted like molds, and they didn’t provide much interest. It takes a few seconds to let it sink in your head that if you don’t belong to a group you’re basically screwed and instantly put into the outcast territory. While I do agree that people would pack together, I don’t see how cliques would combine. Personally, I’d rather go with my friends who I trust the most than people who’re like me, yet I wouldn’t be able to trust them that well. Plus, they dye their hairs corresponding to their group’s color. I didn’t really see the point of that part, but anyway, let’s move on!

The plot had a few shining moments hidden inside, but if you’ve read Michael Grant’s Gone series, the formula is similar to that—and come to think of that, almost the characters, so this book may inevitably get comparison to that series. You have the shining hero, the shining hero’s love interest, the guy who’s close to the shining hero and who crushes on the shining hero’s love interest, the bad guy who relies on other people to do the work for him, and the eclectic bunch of characters whose roles depend on the situation. If you compare Gone and the Loners, you’ll notice that the plot is almost the same way: you have the shining hero doing something to piss the bad guy off, bad guy hides and conducts plan while SH and SH’s love interest get it on while trying to keep the people in control, TGWCTTSHAWCOTSHLI either makes a move on SH’s love interest and/or does a bunch of other tasks, and when you least expect it, TADA—bad guy’s back, with friends and an evil plan!

Don’t get me wrong though, there are certain differences defining the two novels apart. While Gone focuses more on the plot and psychological aspects of a no-adult situation later on in the series, the Loners drives something more mainstream. Think of action with every day high school worries, such as liking someone who only likes you as a friend, or staying with someone you hate only because you get some benefits in return. Both have their high and low points, which we’ll get to right now.

Not going to lie—the time skips were irking, even though I knew they were meant so that we could get access to the exciting parts ASAP. In the very first chapter, there’s David in a food-collecting scene. That’s cool. Then, the next chapter is a flashback. Okay. Third chapter is two weeks after the flashback. Um, sure! Then the fourth chapter is a year later after the flashback, aka the first chapter.

I got really confused, especially when new details were mentioned, like how some people had white hair because of their disease. Although no major time skips were made over the book, there were lots of situations that were simply skimmed over and given via dialog. Here’s one example:

"I tried to stop him from leaving, but he wouldn't listen,” Lucy said. “He said the Loners would never forgive him. He thought they might even try to kill him.”

Note that the character here is a significant player in the turn of events. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember seeing a scene like that in the novel. This is actually one of the biggest reasons, because while the writing was fast-paced and there were no unnecessary scenes, it needed to slow down a bit. Especially in the last scene, where I was like, “What? How did that happen?”

The characters were in the middle box for me. They weren’t unreadable, but I wasn’t rooting for them until the very end. There just wasn’t anything defining them apart aside from their roles. Ironically, I actually enjoyed Will and Sam more than the others. Lucy’s your average YA heroine: nice, has the damsel-in-distress syndrome, but otherwise makes a decent narrator. David was the male counterpart of Lucy, except like all heroes, he played a bigger role, but as the story grew on his POV was used less and less.

Despite the cons mentioned, I did like this book. While the main characters were meh-worthy, the side characters added more life to the story. Hilary, despite being a bitch, was interesting to read, and so were the other semi-important characters like Violent and Smudge. In the second book, it would be nice to see more of them, since they were actually more intriguing than the rest of the protagonists.

Also, the action scenes? Perfect. Being a teenager, there was enough blood, yet it didn’t go over the top. There was scene that freaked me out, and for a few seconds, I just stood there, not believing the situation. The ending was also hooking, but not in the way you’re simply dying to get your hands on the next book. It was a good change from the rest of the YA novels out there.

Does this series have potential? Yes. Was it shown properly in this book? Well, yes, but it needs some brushing up on. Will I read the next book? Definitely.

In a Nutshell
While having some faults of its own, for survival junkies looking for a YA dose, this is one book I’ll be recommending. 3.5 stars.

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WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event . . . well, happening every Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. We post and goggle at books we want to check out, books we want to love, and books needed in our hands ASAP. 

This week, the book I'm dying to have is Linked by Imogen Howson. Just read the blurb, and you'll know why I want it so bad.

Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she’s been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere. Finally, she’s promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another girl’s eyes. Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl—Lin—who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed. Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose—secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world. Riveting, thought-provoking and utterly compelling, Linked will make you question what it really means to be human.

Are you still questioning me? Come on! 

Surgeries, twins, mystery . . . it seems like the author knows exactly what I want. I've never heard of a storyline like this before. Despite the cliche last sentence in the fourth paragraph, I can't wait to get my hands on this one.

Plus, it also helps the cover looks gorgeous. I'm drooling just looking at it! Heck, even the text looks good . . .

The problem? It's coming out at 2013, according to Goodreads. I can't wait that long . . .

Review of THE ALCHEMY OF FOREVER by AVERY WILLIAMS

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Looking for something . . . um . . . to read? Well, the Alchemy of Forever provides that.

Seraphina is an immortal living ever since the twelfth century, when she meets a gorgeous dude, also known as Cyrus, at a ball . . . and within the space of a couple of minutes gets stabbed in the back by a thief. Apparently, since Cyrus can’t live without her and he knows they’re meant to be, he makes her drink a mysterious vial as she’s dying and she doesn’t question much about the whole thing. What happens next? Turns out Cyrus learned alchemy from his father, and now she’s an immortal forced to inhabit a person’s body—code word for killing by the way—at least every ten years to live! Isn’t that great? Oh, and after, like, seven hundred years she’s tired of stealing people’s bodies and wants to move on. Problem? Cyrus ‘just wants to be with her forever’, so she runs in hopes of evading him . . . and accidentally inhabits another body of a teenage girl with a pretty decent life.

Okay, when I first picked the book up, I thought it would be interesting. The concept of the entire thing is downright awesome—from an outsider’s perspective. The alchemy isn’t really delved into, as roughly sixty-five percent of it was devoted on Sera in Kailey’s body. Yes, that was the point of the whole book, but I felt like there could’ve been more. In fact, I should’ve stopped when I read the prologue, which goes something like this:

A Modern and Legible Translation Composed by an Awesome Max
Sera: Omigosh, I’m going to a ball! And I look so gorgeous, completely unlike myself! I don’t even know if it is me!
Cyrus: *pops out of nowhere* You should dance, because I’m the Cyrus!
Sera: But I don’t know anyone—
Cyrus: Um, we’re in a masquerade? The whole point of this is to dance without knowing who you’re dancing with.
Sera: Okay! Let’s dance together! Wait, I think I know you.
Cyrus: I would remember you if I saw you, because I’m the Cyrus!
*dancing intermission, with Sera heating up every time she looks into his ‘vivid blue’ eyes*
Sera: *looks at dude conjuring a bird* WOW! (which is completely natural. I mean, he conjured a freaking bird in the 1300’s. Nothing weird about that at all)
Cyrus: Oh, no, I can do better than that. Why not you come out with me outside? Alone. Which is totally inappropriate in this timeline, but . . . I’m the Cyrus!
Sera: What about my parents?
Cyrus: Meh. It’s just along the street. What can go wrong?
Sera: Okay!
*walking to the street, street, walking to the street, gonna sit on a stone bench, sit, sit, sit*
Cyrus: May I?
Sera: I have no clue what you’re going to do, but sure!
Cyrus: *combs hands through Sera’s hair and pulls out one of the roses in there* It’s dead, unlike these other flowers in the garden. So watch, because I’m the Cyrus! *revives flower with vial and liquid*
Sera: Oooooh, magic?
Cyrus: Science.
Sera: It’s magic to me!
(At this point, I was facepalming at the reaction of our lovely heroine)
Cyrus: *looks deep into her eyes, which is totally romantic and not stalkerish* Take off your mask. I must know who you are.
Sera: Okay, just as long as you remove yours!
*untie the ribbons, untie, untie—then gasping comes*
Cyrus: Seraphina!
Sera: Cyrus! You’re that dude who I think who’s cute when you and your father visit our house, ‘cause you know, you’re handsome and nothing else matters about a guy.
Cyrus: Well, duh, because I’m the Cyrus! Hey, let’s get married ASAP. I’ll talk with your dad, then next time, I’ll bring you something better than the rose. Which came from your hair, by the way.
Sera: *face flushes red again*You’re my destiny.
*shocker alert! Two filthy people appear, who manage to have sharp swords! Wow, I wonder where they got them*
Thief #1: Sir! Pass me your purse! (Literally quoting him here)
Cyrus: Nah, you’re too uncool to hang out with the Cyrus.
Thief #1: Give us the items with your chick then.
Sera: Well, I only have this jeweled rosary with me—
Thief #1: Pah! Is that all you have? *spits and then tackles Sera*
Cyrus: Unhand her, you slimy oaf! (He didn’t actually say that, but the scene would’ve been cooler if he did) *grabs sword from woman and sinks the sword into his belly.
Thief #2: Hey, I think I’ll stab the chick for no reason. *stabs Sera with dagger*
Cyrus: *knocks woman over*I’ll save you, Sera! *pours contents of vial in her mouth without telling her what it is*
*after Sera swallows the elixir and feels a whole lot different*
Cyrus: Okay, kiss this thief! *pokes to Thief #2*
Sera: *kisses the thief without any questions*
(At this point, I was staring at my Kindle in a mixture of weirdness and um-ness.)
*world explodes in Sera’s mind*
Cyrus: Hey, open your eyes, because I’m the Cyrus!
Sera: *notices that things are different*I don’t understand.
Cyrus: You’re an immortal now. You’ve possessed a new body.
Sera: I don’t understand.
Sera’s Mom: Seeerraaaa!
Cyrus: Seraphina, we must go!
Sera: *runs after Cyrus* Bye, mother!

. . .


Am I just being my usual paranoid, ‘the-government-is-putting-mind-controlling-substances-in-our-milk’ right now, or was I the only one who saw the total wrong in this?

However, since it was just the prologue, I decided to let it slide. It’s in the past, after all. I’m not familiar with that time period, unless you’re talking about the Philippines during that time. Um, suddenly marrying with a stranger you barely talked could be normal. Maybe I’m the only person who wouldn’t be freaked once they found out the guy who I think is kind of cute randomly resurrected me because he likes me a lot—in a totally non-stalkerish way, of course—and he wants me to suddenly abandon my family. My own family. *laughs nervously*


So, um, moving on! *coughs*

The other thing I didn’t like about this novel is the characters. It was almost as if they were created to represent stereotypical roles that are evident in every tale. One example is Clyde’s team. Clyde was the psychotic leader—who we’ll get to in a bit—Amelia, the ‘rival’ for Sera (who was of course, never going to get the heart of the guy she wanted); Jared, the right-hand man; Charlotte, the best friend; and Sebastian, the other guy who almost everyone forgets about. One could argue characters are meant to fill in roles, but I disagree. Characters are supposed to represent themselves, and create their own roles.

The alchemy, my unicorns, the topic could’ve been expanded! We only get a few paragraphs about the whole thing, and that was one of the greatest things about the novel! Why wasn’t it shown clearly? *sobs in corner*

When Sera inhabits Kailey’s body, practically everyone in her family is oblivious to the changes! Her family doesn’t notice their artist-daughter doesn’t draw anymore, her friends don’t see she doesn’t get their inside jokes . . . it just got to the point of unbelievable that I was facepalming faster than a master-class chef flipping pancakes. If her friends and family loved her that much, then why the heck didn’t they suspect a single thing?

And ladies and gentlemen, we have the final piece: the relationship and the main character.

Sera’s voice wasn’t bad. She was relatable despite the decisions she made, and the writing flowed smoothly. However, the reasoning behind her departure is because she doesn’t want to stop killing people.

The reason itself is valid. However, after 700 years, why just now? Since Sera tries to outlast the ten-years rule as far as possible, that would mean she took around seventy bodies. Wow . . .

Actually, I was more surprised Sera tolerated Clyde’s behavior and didn’t leave because of that reason. He’s the total definition of psychopath in my book, and I don’t give a damn whether his eyes look like the Pacific Ocean or not. If I were stuck with him for more than a year, I would die. He forces Sera to do what we wants her do to, and even obsess over finding her after she leaves. Healthy? Hell no!

The ending was just weird. It was as if the author felt a need for a cliffhanger. I personally was in the meh-territory with this one. Nothing much came out of it.

Overall, I didn’t like this book at all—which is kind of obvious T_T. Not going to read the next one, but if you like short novels with an interesting pretense and you don’t mind facepalming, this is for you.

In a Nutshell
Cool concept with bad retelling. One star.

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Review of THE WITCH HUNT by K.C BLAKE

Witch Hunt by K.C. Blake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, I’ll get this off my chest: I do judge a book by its cover. In fact, it’s one of the most important details to consider when I’m debating whether to buy a book which I have never heard of. Does the blurb seem interesting? Is the price fair enough? If possible to open and skim through, does the first chapter pique my interest? Is the cover pretty? If my answer to all those questions is a big fat no, well, I shake my head and put it back on the shelves, making a mental note to myself to ask one of my friends if they have that book when I see them. However, thanks to the Witch Hunt by K.C Blake, my opinion on my old mantra might’ve changed for the better.

The story revolves around Starr Hughes, a reporter for the school newspaper and a girl with a crush on a guy in the popular crowd, Dylan Winchester. When she hears about the It-Squad playing a secretive game, following her journalistic instincts she decides to investigate further, pulling herself deeper into a whole new world and rules that she never knew about and possibly changing her outlook on life forever . . .

I’m still not so sure why I picked up this book in the first place, especially since it was supposedly the second book of a series. Well, it was probably because I saw it was free on Amazon, and when I read the description, it sounded interesting and promised reading the first book wasn’t necessary. Besides, it was for free, so if I didn’t want to read it, it would be fine. However, I decided to pick this up on a whim—and boy, was I surprised!

One thing I liked about was that it was what it promised to be: light, fun, and enjoyable enough to keep your interest. The writing is easy to follow, save one or two typographical errors. Other than that though, I don’t have any complaints in this section.

Kudos must be given for the originality of the plot, because while witches is a familiar trope in the YA-paranormal world, the way the world was twisted throughout the tale gave it a different perspective. The rules of the game in the story was easy to understand and enjoyable to read, and also managing to add some mystery to the plot. There is some mystery, and even I didn’t know what to expect.

However, I do have to ponder whether the book is realistic or not. While arguably, one could say paranormal novel can border on the line of mystical, I can’t see how a teenager would get her hands on bugs to spy on conversations even if her dad was a private investigator.

The characters, despite half of their personalities being stereotypical, matched the tone of the plot. While they had their own different highs and faults, the main thing about the story I liked was Starr and Dylan’s relationship. Finally, a romantic interest without the bad-boy factor! I didn’t like Lily in the first fifty-percent—personally, I didn’t understand why Starr was her friend, but Bex and Ryder made up for her in some way.

Another thing I didn’t enjoy about the novel and the thing that caused me to not give it five stars was the complete randomness of the antagonist. I don’t know if the role was intentional and there were clues that I forgot to miss, but I just didn’t get it. It was almost as if the author wanted to give some surprise in the novel, and by the end of the book I found myself not having as much fun as before because of that.

Overall, I did like reading this book. It was a perfect summer read for something to bring along during a vacation in the beach. I’ll be checking out the other author’s novels if I have the time, but for now, I’ll end this review with a nutshell.

In a Nutshell
Despite bordering a couple of times near the line of unrealistic, the Witch Hunt brings a good story. Four stars.

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Review of STRUCK by JENIFER BOSWORTH

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Mainstream readers, come hither, because I have a feeling Struck may strike your interest. However, since I’m one of those hipsters who chooses to drink milk tea and listen to musicians no one’s heard of (and yes, sarcastic mode is activated here), I was very interested in it initially, but it just didn’t meet my expectations.

While some people are addicted to drugs, love or chocolate, Mia Price has her own obsession: lightning. Whenever lightning strikes, she always feels the urge to go out and soak it all up—and mysteriously, she manages to survive. But when two different factions want her for her abilities for their own purposes such as the end of the world coming in a few days, she finds herself pulled between the two . . . and gets even more confused when a mysterious boy comes in . . .

Yeah, that last sentence also turned me off.

It’s really a shame though, since I was hooked by the blurb before it came out, and I liked the way the story is set up is almost like a Bethesda RPG, whose games I really love. You know—you could be the Courier or the Dovahkiin, in where choosing which side/person to support will guarantee their victory. Each side has its cons and pros, so they aren’t wholly good or evil either. Unlike some people, I didn’t really mind the Christian influences in the cults, since it was presented decently enough. The tarot cards and the Revelations references were also interesting, which made me like the book at the start. And then the special InstaLuv Microwave Meals had to kick in . . .

What makes Mia attracted to Jeremy? I have no clue. The first time they meet, he tries to kill her while she’s sleeping. Their second meeting occurs in school, in where she doesn’t recognize him. The first thing that interests her is his blue eyes, which as a purple-prose like description somewhere which I couldn't recall.
Um, okay. So what else do you like about him, Mia, besides the fact he tried to stab you with a knife . . . and . . . um . . . ?


There is nothing defining their relationship besides physical attraction. In fact, there is no chemistry between them whatsoever. I was completely clueless about the whole romance bit the whole time. In fact, I think the novel would’ve been two times better if Jeremy’s role was simply as a friend. Let’s get this straight with: I am not a huge fan with it comes to romances with books that I usually ignore this aspect, but I felt like a better job could’ve been done.

Mia wasn’t my favorite narrator. I didn’t get some of her decisions, especially the reason why she didn’t just spill the whole truth to her brother—really, what was the whole fuss about?—and why decided to leave him in the dark for almost no reason at all. Yeah, it’s probably because there was a need for more conflict, but I would’ve preferred reading a headstrong main character than frowning in bewilderment about Mia fifty-percent of the time.

The other characters were cookie-cutter stereotypes. If I hadn’t read more than a hundred other YA novels with a similar trope, then I might have been able to read through, but I wish some originality had been given for each of the characters. The only character I actually enjoyed reading about was Prophet, which was sad since I wanted to be rooting for the main character—which epically failed.

On the brighter side though, the author’s description of the apocalyptic world are interesting, and the writing flowed smoothly. While I was a bit hesitant on the idea of Mia’s decent life situation especially when her mother was cooped up in the house, the Venice beach scene was one of the best parts in the story. The ending managed to bring up the rating of the book ever-so-slightly, so it wasn’t one of the worst books I’ve ever read. However, the cons outweighed the pros this time, hence the rating.

In a Nutshell
It might’ve just been me getting too hyped-up for the novel, but however, Struck by Jenifer Bosworth failed to impress me. While other may find this exciting, I was on the ‘meh’ border with it, with my rating of 2.5 stars.

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Review of THE GATHERING STORM by ROBIN BRIDGES

The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Looking for some fun in a historic setting? The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges should be enough to settle in for a quick enough ride for a bored reader, but underneath its surface is a decent, paranormal story that could’ve had more.

Katerina is a young woman living in old Russia with a dangerous secret: she is a necromancer. And in this time, having dark powers means being shunned, forcing Katya to keep her abilities a secret. However, her powers are noticed when she rescues the prince from being poisoned, and now, two sides know her secrets: a dark, royal family who wants her to marry Prince Danilo, and a Tsar’s son, George. Caught between two alliances and other surprising things rising up the surface, Katya must keep her wits together and choose which path to take.

One thing I liked about this book was the main character. Unlike most heroines in YA books lately, she knew what she wanted and how to get it while being realistic. Plus, her decisions and her thoughts made sense, as it went along with her personality and the time she lived in.

The romance was also really, really good. Not going to lie—when I first saw the blurb, I groaned when I saw there was a love triangle. I mean, really? Another love triangle? Thankfully though, it’s misleading. The romance is sweet, while flowing its way seamlessly through the plot. At first, you don’t know it’s there, and you blissfully read on. Then you start to notice small signs, and so does the narrator. Pretty soon, she’s in love with him, and the ending for the two is satisfying.

However, certain elements stopped me from giving this four stars. First off, the plot and the number of pages didn’t match. The plot was shorter than the number of scenes given, that there were some parts that could’ve been easily removed, and the story would’ve actually moved faster. From time to time, I stopped reading and did other things, because I was tired of reading the part I was in.

Another thing was Katya’s inability for certain decisions. I didn’t understand why she didn’t tell her cousin about her necromancy abilities when she displayed a huge amount of trust on her. Katya was certainly smart enough to know what to do, but for some weird reason that was sort of skimmed over, she didn’t. That part irked me.

For a paranormal story, it was sort of an even situation for me. While there was nothing new or original brought to the table, it did interest me slightly, but on the other hand, didn’t do much. There isn’t really anything to critique about this since it was just okay, so I’ll leave it at this. The way it was entangled with history was nice though, and it was one of the main things I enjoyed about the story with Russian references.

Overall, I wasn’t feeling very inspired with this novel, but nor did I hate it. It did bring some things up though that were missing in certain books, so I’ll probably pick up the sequel to see what happens next. It’s a decent book though, so if you’re looking for something paranormal yet out of the usual plots, this may be for you!

In a Nutshell
Proving to be a decent debut novel if you choose to ignore a couple of things, this may be an interesting historical paranormal romance for some. Since I liked it but didn’t love it, I’m giving it three stars.

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