The Wondrous and The Wicked by Page Morgan (Review)

Genre:	YA, Paranormal
Publication Date:	April 14, 2015
Pages:	352
Published By:	Doubleday Canada
Series:	The Dispossessed #3
Review copy:	From Random House Canada for honest review

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Since the Waverlys arrived in Paris, the streets have grown more fearsome by the day. As Ingrid learns to master her lectrux gift, she must watch Axia's power grow strong enough to extend beyond her Underneath hive. By all indications, the fallen angel's Harvest is near-and the timing couldn't be worse.

Targeted by vengeful gargoyles, Gabby has been exiled to London for her own protection. Meanwhile, the gargoyle castes are in disarray, divided between those who want Luc to lead them and those who resent him and his fondness for humans. The Alliance is crumbling from the inside as well, its members turning against one another, and possibly against the Waverlys, too.

Axia has promised that the world will burn. And now, unable to trust the Alliance, separated from Luc, Gabby, and her twin, Grayson, Ingrid is left to face the demon uprising alone.

  A swell of nausea and exhaustion, chased by more pain, brought Ingrid's head back to the dirt floor.  She couldn't move.  And if she couldn't move, she certainly couldn't fight.  It was too late anyway.  It was over.  Axia had won.

  "I'm a criminal," Grayson said, his heart gaining speed and his body growing warm from the way Chelle was looking at him.  "I took a life, just as brutally as any rogue gargoyle.  Why trust me?"

  "I love you, Gabby."
  Air.  There wasn't enough of it.  Nolan stood a moment while Gabby stared up at him, stunned speechless, just as she'd been the first time he'd said the words to her.

  It is so hard for me to finish a series.  Unless it is a stand alone, I seriously put off reading that last book.  This is a serious problem I have only recently begun to recognize and correct.  Though Morgan's series isn't the first I have decided to finish this year, it has proven to be one of the many reasons why I have problems doing so.  Finishing the Dispossessed trilogy left me both happy and torn.  

  What always sweeps me away when starting these books, is the strikingly beautiful writing.  Morgan has a perfectly flowing and intriguing way of telling a story, pulling you deeper in with each chapter, each page.  There was a lot of build up leading to this epic conclusion, and a lot that I wanted to happen and I couldn't figure out how it could all happen in 352 pages.  Needless to say I got basically everything I had hoped for and a whole lot that I hadn't seen coming.  The best part of this was quite possibly the fact that all of this was wonderfully paced from start to finish.  Yes, there are times that the action is amped and you fly through the pages a little quicker, but honestly the entire book was page turning.  Merge this with the fact that the characters basically all rose to their full potential, and you have a stunning final read.

  Ingrid has grown leaps and bounds since the starting of this trilogy.  She may still be a society woman but she is also so much more than that, and knows that she no longer fits where she once did in England.  Paris has pushed her to her limit and has made her stronger for it.  Though there were times that I wanted her to step past the romance she worried about so often with Luc, I also grew to understand the love that she had developed.  There were times that I think that love made her a little bit stronger, if not for the simple reason that it gave her a deeper understanding of the world she had by plunged into.  In her final battle there were so many times she could have given in, given up, but she pushed through.  With this there was victory but there was also loss, and my heart went to her for both.  From start to finish Ingrid proved not to be perfect, but she was the type of heroine that I thoroughly enjoy. 

  Though Ingrid is undoubtedly the star of the books, I have to point out that both Gabby and Greyson shine in their own way.  Admittedly I completely adore Gabby and love reading her.  She is the quirky and strong character that is almost always underestimated, and even that is an understatement with her.  Gabby has basically gotten the shortest end of the stick at every turn, and yet there was no point in which she backed down.  This is a character that I would adore a spin off with her at the centre of it, because I believe that she has so much more to offer.  With Gabby's secondary voice, there was also Greyson's point of view and this was something that I greatly enjoyed as he had not been as prominent in the previous novels.  I enjoyed him because I liked that he was not painted as the strong and heroic brother.  Though he did love and care for his sisters, he was not as confident in his blood and his ability to accept what he truly was.  Although this may not seem like the type of person you would be riveted by, I enjoyed it every single time he graced the pages.

  Teeming with action, romance and character growth, The Wondrous and The Wicked was a wonderfully though out conclusion to this trilogy.  I enjoyed how everything ended, even if at the same time my heart bled a little.  Morgan is an author that I will be keeping my eye on, and I hope to read more from her in the future.  I highly recommend that the previous two books be read before this one, and if you already have those two started or read this is not a book to put off.  Recommend for people that enjoy paranormal reads, or are looking for a trilogy that will keep her captivated from start to finish.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (Review)

Genre:	YA, Paranormal
Publication Date:	September 18, 2012
Pages:	409
Published By:	Scholastic Press
Series	The Raven Boys #1
Review copy:	Purchased/Hard Cover

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Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure any more.

 "There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve, Blue.  Either you're his true love," Neeve said, "or you killed him."

  Ronan and Declan were undeniably brothers, with the same dark brown hair and sharp nose, but Declan was solid where Ronan was brittle.  Declan's wide jaw and smile said, Vote for me while Ronan's buzzed head and thin mouth warned that this species was poisonous.

  Blue had two rules: Stay away from boys, because they're trouble, and stay away from raven boys, because they were bastards.

  Ronan was right.  Things felt bigger.  He may not have found the line, or the heart of the line, but something was happening, something was starting.

He had to confess to himself that until now he probably had never really believed Gansey's supernatural explanation for the ley line, not in a way that he'd really internalized.  Now, it was real.  Magic existed, and Adam didn't know how much that changed the world.

  Holy macaroni and cheese Batman!! This book was basically everything that I could have wanted.  I know that I held off and to many my excitement will be old news, but knowing my love for this author and having issues waiting for the next book to release, I feel I made the right decision.  My love for this series has begun, and yet I know it is going to get so much more complicated before all is said and done.

  What I love about Stiefvater's writing is that I can expect solid awesome.  I know that is a primitive way of saying it, but it is completely true.  When you pick up one of her books it's a given that the writing is going to be fluid, with a solid plot, gripping pacing and complex characters.  This is not something that I really need to go into much detail with, if you have ever picked up one of Maggie's books.  If not, well basically you have no problem becoming a part of the book, and with the pacing you never want to stop and step back into reality.  This book becomes your reality as you read it.  You see the characters, feel so much of what they do and become a part of something that you never thought possible.

  Blue:  Let's talk about Blue.  She has grown up with the paranormal as a normal... Got that?  Basically, her world is filled with different variations of psychics.  Though she doesn't have any "power" herself to see someone's future, her uncanny ability to enhance the power of those around her is really something else.  I really enjoyed the depth of Blue's character, and the fact that she was able to be on the outside of everything and yet somehow not.  Explaining why I loved blue isn't really a simple thing.  It's basically her originality, her snark, her honesty and the fact that she was typical and yet not typical in every way possible.  I hate that her future holds something for her that makes her have to hold back, but at the same time I hope that it gives her something to fight and prove wrong.  Blue, as a character, gives me nothing to complain about and only more to look forward to in future reads.

  When it comes to the boys, I'm not sure we really have enough time to get down to the nitty gritty of each.  They really are all completely different.  I would like to say opposites but with the four of them, that's even harder to explain.  Gansey is basically the glue that holds them together, being the one that sought each out knowing that they would just fit.  It was different reading about each or from different points of view, when it came to the guys.  However, Gansey is also currently the main man.  He is the reason everyone's paths cross, even if he doesn't know that it is him tying everyone's fates up together in a horribly messy knot.  I think in him, I really enjoyed that despite the fact that he is meant to be perfect, he is honestly worried about not belittling anyone or offending them by accident.  Each boy really has his own charm (kind of), but they built a seriously original cast when stuffed together.

  When you hold off reading a book because you know waiting for each book might just rip your soul out, it's hard.  Building the anticipation isn't always a good thing, but in this case, it couldn't have worked out any better.  If you have ever picked up a novel but this spectacular author, you know that it isn't hard to drive right through any of her books.  For those out there that have yet to fall in love... Well, it is not a question of if, so much as when.  Lovers of paranormal/fantasy, brace yourself for this one if you have yet to read it.  There is not a doubt in my mind that this series will blow everyone away, book by book.

Down with the Shine by Kate Karyus Quinn (Review)

Genre:	YA, Fantasy
Publication Date:	April 26, 2016
Pages:	355
Published By:	Harper Teen
Series	Standalone
Review copy:	ebook from Edelweiss for honest review

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There's a reason they say "be careful what you wish for." Just ask the girl who wished to be thinner and ended up smaller than Thumbelina, or the boy who asked for "balls of steel" and got them-literally. And never wish for your party to go on forever. Not unless you want your guests to be struck down by debilitating pain if they try to leave.

These are things Lennie only learns when it's too late-after she brings some of her uncles' moonshine to a party and toasts to dozens of wishes, including a big wish of her own: to bring back her best friend, Dylan, who was abducted and murdered six months ago.

Lennie didn't mean to cause so much chaos. She always thought her uncles' moonshine toast was just a tradition. And when they talked about carrying on their "important family legacy," she thought they meant good old-fashioned bootlegging.

As it turns out, they meant granting wishes. And Lennie has just granted more in one night than her uncles would grant in a year.

Now she has to find a way to undo the damage. But once granted, a wish can't be unmade...

  To put it simply: I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it any more.  So yeah, I'm going to fulfil a a dead girl's wish.  But that's not all of it.  I'm also going to that party to FUCKING OWN IT.

  Grinning, I bring the jar up and take my second swallow.  And this time    the crowd cheers.  It is perhaps the best moment of my life.  I am at the biggest party of the year and I am owning it.  Bow down, bitches.

  "We, Grant. Wishes.  Make a wish isn't a way of saying, 'Down the hatch.' It's our way of saying, 'What do you wish for?' That's it.  Right there.  We grant wishes.  Do you think you maybe got that now?"

  I'd be jealous except, lets face it, some people are meant to rule the world and some are meant to ruin it.  And at this point I don't think there's any doubt which category I fall into. 

  So here's the deal.  I had no clue that this was the same author that wrote Another Little Piece.  It was a book on my must have list in 2014, and though I have it I never got the chance to read it.  I have looked at it longingly many times but it remains on my shelf.  Well, Down with the Shine has made regret never making the time to read ALP.

  The book starts off with a bang.  Well, not literally but seeing Lennie's best friend dies, it's hard to explain the intensity that leads this book into its start.  Having not read the synopsis since originally deciding that I needed this book, the start also took me by surprise.  I was sure that I was in for some sort of contemporary/mystery, but that was quickly remedied.  This book hooked me in with its quick pace and honest characters.  Quinn crafted a twisted and intriguing tale, that was more original than I could have expected, and so addictive I only put it down to sleep... Because I had to.  I can't say that once I understood that Lennie could grant wishes that I knew where everything was going.  In fact despite the fact that you have an idea of the chaos once the wishes are granted, there is always some twist of fate that comes to take out any preconceived ideas you may have.

  I would like to say as far as Lennie goes, that her character was extraordinary but she wasn't really.  Lennie was an outsider because of her notorious father, and kind of isolated herself because she felt judged.  Hell, maybe she was judged, but she had no idea the power that she held either.  She had lost the only friend she felt she had, and only learned her inner power, when she decided not to take life laying down any more.  When I said she wasn't extraordinary, what I meant was she didn't seem that way because despite what she thinks she is anything but ordinary.  I think that Lennie is the type of character that everyone can get behind.  Beyond the fact that she can grant wishes, she is just the girl that wants what she feels is beyond her reach.  Basically, Lennie is the girl next door... Well, she is isn't quite the girl next door because people see her as from the wrong side of the tracks, but on the inside she is the girl next door.

  The entire book is based around Lennie and her 'mistakes', but there is a little wiggle room love and friendship.  When I say love and friendship, I don't just mean Lennie but everyone around her.  It's hard not to see the wishes many made as not just a curse but also a blessing.  Lennie wanted nothing more than her friend back, and Smith wants Lennie to get what she has coming to her.  Problem was that in the process they created a bond that they didn't expect.  Same could be said for so many people that Lennie granted for.  The wishes made a mess of everything, but in the long run as they say "everything happens for a reason,"  and many of the characters became developed in their own way because of this.

  There is no denying that this book was an absolute addiction.  The kind of book that people start and don't put down until the end.  With quirky characters, wonderful pacing and throughout, Down with the Shine is one of my favourite reads this year!  Hats off to Kate Karyus Quinn for creating a fun and unique read that fantasy and paranormal lovers alike will surely devour!