Book Review: Fate of Flames

Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley

Massive creatures called Phantoms, terrorize the world and 4 girls, known as the Effigies, protect the world from them. Each Effigy is connected to one of the 4 elements of the world, and when one girl dies, another one is randomly chosen to take her place.

Maia is the latest fire Effigy and she doesn't want the job. She's followed the Effigies for years but when it comes down to it, she never thought about what it would mean if she ever had to step into one of their spots. When a young man shows up with the ability to control Phantoms, Maia has to put aside her insecurities and help the other Effigies to work together to stop him before it's too late for the world.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

More like 1.5 stars. This had a lot of good ideas but the lead, Maia, was too weak. She waffled too much and never grew as a character. When something happened that she didn't like, she made up reasons to believe her own version of the events. And that was the last straw for me. Her reasoning, her fangirling, her tendency to mope around and whine, was too much for me to root for her in this book. And despite the almost lack of romance, it stuck out too much at inopportune times, making Maia falter because the story needed her to do so. Not okay when it comes to understanding a character.

If the next book changes leads, I might read it. If it's just going to be more of Maia, no thanks. I liked Lake and Chae Rin so much more than Maia and Belle. Their stories seem to be way more interesting as a whole. And there wasn't enough to explain the world and why it was the way it turned out. There was just some flimsy explanation of well, effigies were eventually discovered but weren't well tracked for many years, so yeah. The book dragged and it made me frustrated to read about Maia and her tendency to react poorly. I wish I had liked more of it in the end.



Rating on my Blog Scale: 2.5 Stars. After all, I did finish it in the end. I tried checking out the second book but I didn't get into it and returned to the library unread. I might try again in the future.




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Book Review: The Deep End of the Sea

The Deep End of the Sea by Heather Lyons

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book did something I have wanted to see for a long time, exploring the what ifs behind the story of Medusa, who I have long believed got the short end of the stick in a situation that never should have happened, if you've read Ovid's version of her story. I hadn't read anything by Lyons before this but this book solidified her as one of my "need to read her books" authors. I went off and bought her entire The Collectors' Society series after finishing this book.

My only problem was with the length. I wanted so much more and while the book works, I think it could have easily had another 100 or more pages added to the story. It ended too soon for me. However, I am happy to say that the other books I have of hers are a bit more generous with the page count, and I am slowly making my way through them so they can last just a little longer.

Talented writer with a great sense for stories. I am grateful to have found Heather Lyon's books and hope to read more in the future.


Rating on my Blog Scale: 9 Stars. I've read this several times since I first bought the book. One of my definite favorites.



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Book Review: Vassa in the Night

Vassa in the Night by Sarah  Porter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was weirdly beautiful and strangely tragic all at once. It's the story of a girl struggling to understand her worth and where she belongs in a world with magic creeping in around her. And I loved it more with each passing page.

Book Review: Do You Want to Start a Scandal?

Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Charlotte Highwood has a problem. She must find out who had a scandalous tryst in the library at the ball she attended because everyone believes it was Charlotte in the library the night of the ball. If she doesn't find out who the couple was, she'll be forced to marry Piers Brandon to save her reputation.

As they work together though, Charlotte is faced with another dilemma, the fact that marrying Piers might not be as bad as she thought it was going to be, after all.

This is more of a 3.5 Stars for me but it's Tessa Dare, and I adore her books, so I bumped it up to 4.

BUT there were a few things that bothered me about this book.

Book Review: Goldenhand

Goldenhand by Garth Nix

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When I was fifteen, I finally decided to buy the book I'd seen sitting on the shelf of my local bookstore for at least a month. I finished Sabriel in a day, ignoring everything around me in order to do that. I found the book in time to learn that a second book in the series was set for release and I bought a brand new perfect hardcover of Lirael a few months later. Abhorsen was released when I started my senior year of high school.

I say all this now so that everyone can understand, I've waited YEARS for this book to finally exist. My heart almost stopped when I saw it on the shelf at the store. I even got a little misty-eyed because darnit, I have wanted this book for so long. I admit, I haven't sat down and read Clariel yet because I wanted to know more about Lirael and Sam and Nick and Sabriel and Touchstone and while I do have that book (autographed, which makes it precious), I couldn't sit down and read it because it wasn't the story I'd been hoping for.

Book Review: Queen of the Tearling

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I am going to be generous here and give this a solid 3 stars. In the end, I didn't feel like I had wasted time reading this book. Was it brilliant? No. Was I incredibly impressed, overwhelmed by the world? No, can't say that I was. BUT, eventually, this book started to show some merit, and that is why it gets 3 stars. It is a solid middle of the scale book.

Book Review: The Butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 Maya has a story to tell. It's a horrible, frightening tale about a garden, filled with butterflies, cared for by a gardener.

Except the garden isn't some beautiful oasis. It's a prison. The butterflies are girls, kidnapped and tattooed with butterflies on their backs, renamed by a sick, twisted man they call the Gardener, who likes to keep pretty things for his own pleasure. No one knows where they are, no one knows what he does, until one day it all changes and the girls are set free.

The girls survived the horrors they faced but now comes the next part of their lives, trying to work to fit into a world that isn't sure where they belong anymore. Maya has survived the garden but now she has to face the task of telling the FBI about what happened to them, all the while trying to understand it all for herself. Is she telling them the truth, or is she only telling parts of it, and why, if she is, would she hide anything at all?

That was frightening and beautiful and disturbing and very nearly heartwarming.

But this book is probably not for everybody.