Review Julie Kagawa's novella The Winter Passage

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl..until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck--Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon--who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter--a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat....

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Thank god for character development, even thought this was a novella at least Meghan has grown a little. However not by much. She really needs to learn to talk with emotional intelligence. I know she's a teenage girl but we're not all raging hormones with no common sense.  I really hope that as the story progress that Meghan starts putting herself and those she loves in unnecessary danger because of her stupidly overly emotional decisions.  3.5/5 diamonds

Review of Julie Kagawa's Iron King (book one of The Iron Fey series)

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

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This book has a really good story and the world building and characters are all well done except the main character Meghan, who is so naive and stupid sometimes you kind of wonder if she grew up in a bubble. There were so many times that I just couldn't believe the kind of decisions she was making and why she went to great pains to accomplish what she needed to do in the most painful way. Well according to Goodreads it suppose to get better. Here's hoping for Character development 3.5/5 diamonds

Review of Thief's Eyes by Janni Lee Sinmer

After her mother mysteriously disappears, sixteen-year-old Haley convinces her father to take her to Iceland, where her mother was last seen. There, amidst the ancient fissures and crevices of that volcanic island, Haley meets gorgeous Ari, a boy with a dangerous side who appoints himself her protector.

When Haley picks up a silver coin that entangles her in a spell cast by her ancestor Hallgerd, she discovers that Hallgerd's spell and her mother's disappearance are connected to a chain of events that could unleash terrifying powers and consume the world. Haley must find a way to contain the growing fires of the spell—and her growing attraction to Ari.

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 This is excellent book from an excellent writer. This story uses it's inspiration from Icelandic myths and legends to create a beautiful story. Haley our heroine is another strong female character whose got a good head on her shoulder and need to teach Julie Kagawa's main heroine some comment sense. Any way this is a really fun and quick read from any author who is not given enough praise for her writing and her skill to write smart, intelligent, teenage  female characters. 5/5 diamonds

Review of Ann Brashares' My Name is Memory

Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. For all the times that he and Sophia have been connected throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart.

But just when Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally awakens to the secret of their shared past, the mysterious force that has always separated them reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.

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Wow what a book I really love all the stories Daniel had about his past lives and Lucy is also a great character, whose reaction to things is typical for someone in her situation. The world building when it came to seeing the kind of realities Daniel faced in his passed lives is spell binding. The book leaves a lot of  questions unanswered which makes you think that Ann Brashares planes on writing a second book.  4/5 diamonds in the hopes that she comes out with a second book. 

Review of Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Sixteen-year-old Delilah is finally united with Oliver—a prince literally taken from the pages of a fairy tale. There are, however, complications now that Oliver has been able to enter the real world. To exist in Delilah’s world, Oliver must take the place of a regular boy. Enter Edgar, who agrees to take Oliver’s role in Delilah’s favorite book. In this multilayered universe, the line between what is on the page and what is possible is blurred, but all must be resolved for the characters to live happily ever after. Includes twelve full-color illustrations, and black-and-white decorations throughout.

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The companion novel to Between the Lines, is a really sweet and heartwarming book. Even though it's a companion novel and can be read as a standalone I strongly recommend reading Between the Lines first before this book. In Between the Lines I really fell for the main characters so when I pick up Off the Page and got stuck a couple of times because Delilah started to annoy me I was able to push through. Overall this was a enjoyable read and worth checking out 4/5 diamonds

Review of Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

An enchanting tale of courage and sacrifice for young readers and adults by the wildly popular George R.R. Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the series that inspired HBO's Emmy Award-winning GAME OF THRONES.

Lavish illustrations by acclaimed artist Luis Royo enrich this captivating and heartwarming story of a young girl and her dragon.

In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire the ice dragon was a creature of legend and fear, for no man had ever tamed one. When it flew overhead, it left in its wake desolate cold and frozen land. But Adara was not afraid. For Adara was a winter child, born during the worst freeze that anyone, even the Old Ones, could remember.

Adara could not remember the first time she had seen the ice dragon. It seemed that it had always been in her life, glimpsed from afar as she played in the frigid snow long after the other children had fled the cold. In her fourth year she touched it, and in her fifth year she rode upon its broad, chilled back for the first time. Then, in her seventh year, on a calm summer day, fiery dragons from the North swooped down upon the peaceful farm that was Adara's home.

And only a winter child-and the ice dragon who loved her-could save her world from utter destruction. 

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This is a beautiful little story, it's a short story and could be finished in one sitting. The illustration in this book are also absolutely stunning. It's also a way to get a glimpse into the Song of Ice and Fire without having to commit to the massively long books and tv series. Both I'm sure are absolutely excellent, however personally I think I'm going to wait for George R.R. Martin to finish the series and then buy a box set. I give this book 4.5/5 diamonds

 

Review of Sandy Meredith's A Death in Custody

Blood on the Streets as a Town Explodes' boomed the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald one winter's morning in 1987. Heavily armed police had been dispatched to quell a 'race riot' in a northern New South Wales town after yet another young Aboriginal man had died in police custody. Intent on learning the real story behind the headlines, Lou Williams, aspiring investigative journalist, goes north. Each character she meets -- country and western singers, community elders, militants and mechanics -- give her a fragment of the truth. In 'a death in custody' these fragments combine into a mosaic stained with entrenched and deadly racism.


This story is a fictional account of events that ignited anger, suspicion and outrage across Australia, and that led to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody which investigated the deaths of 99 Aboriginals in police custody in the 1980s. Little has changed since then.

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Where do I start, this book has a really important message in it about racism and the unfair treatment of Aboriginals. A problem not unique to Australia. My problem with this book is Lou the main character. I really couldn't relate to this girl, who seemed to be this bipolar, chain smoking alcoholic. Lou's point of view made it really hard to get through this book. I can't tell you how many times I face palmed because this girl was such an idiot. Through the voices of the other characters the author dumps a lot of important facts surrounding Aboriginals in the 80s.  However since I found it not to be focused the message got lost and for me this book read more like an essay than a work of fiction. I would recommend this book for those who are interested in knowing about Aboriginal situation in Australia in the 80s. 3/5 diamonds