YA Fantasy: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

 Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
E ARC, 465 pages

Expected Publication:  August 9th, 2016 by Thomas Dunne Books
Genres: Fantasy YA/Adult 
In exchange for an honest review, an E ARC was received from the publisher for free via Netgalley

 In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

My Thoughts: 

Okay, that premise right?  Doesn't it get you wondering?  Plus that cover.    Back in January the Midnight Garden had a cover reveal for Nevernight and after reading the premise it instantly went on my TBR list.  It has all the right elements, a girl who after her father is killed right in front of her enrolls for training in a special school for assassins to exact her revenge.  I mean we have a special school,  so there must be some classes, teachers.  Anyone thinking Hogwarts?  Nevernight was my first introduction to Kristoff's books, and what an introduction. The action and tone of the book are set during the opening chapter.  There is no mistaking that what you're about it read is for a more mature reader.  As the title of the first chapter states, "Caveat Emptor", or "let the buyer beware."  So be forewarned,  there will be sexual content and violence,  Mia is training to be an assassin.  That being said,  I've already pre-ordered a copy to read it again it's so good.  

I really enjoyed the world that Kristoff created with Nevernight, and how he seemed to be inspired by other books/movies.   I don't want to spoil any of them, cause half the fun was reading along and then coming across a word or familiar scene or character from a book or movie.  Although there was this one slang word that immediately drew my attention and had me wondering what time period were we in, it just seemed out of place.  If you check out Kristoff's review of the book on Goodreads you'll see what I mean about influences and there is an excerpt at USAToday you could check out.   Nevernight was a pretty unique world that knew only daylight due to its three suns and night occurs only occasionally.  There's mention of the gods Niah and Aa and I believe this will become more important later in the series.  Mia starts out in  a city (Godsgrave) built on the burial site of a god and parts of the world building happen through endnotes, at least in the ebook version I was reading.  Normally I like footnotes or even endnotes,  but these ones were a bit of a challenge reading as an ebook.  For one, they were at the end of the chapter, so no easy flipping of pages to match the note to its location in the storyline.  For ease of reading, I wish that they were either incorporated into the story or at the bottom of the page I was reading.  There is lots of good information and humor in here and unfortunately, it was difficult to make the connections since they weren't being read together.  It's part of the reason that I ordered the hardcover,  cause now I can flip back and forth if the endnotes are still at the end of the chapter.  

 Mia is my favorite part of the whole story.  I got so wrapped up in her character from the very beginning.  Even though at first all we know about her is that some call her Pale Daughter, Kingmaker or Crow and it isn't until partway through the beginning chapters that we finally know her name.  I really just enjoyed reading about her and wanted to put together all the pieces.    I liked how Kristoff alternates between telling Mia's story from her being ten to currently being sixteen, at first it gives the impression that Mia is vulnerable and mysterious.  We learn that at ten Mia see's her father die by a hangman's noose and her mother whispers to her "never flinch" "never fear" and "never forget."  Her mother and brother are taken away from her, and Mia gets locked into a barrel and is ordered to be drowned in the canals.   Mia believes she is a weak, scared little girl, but yet she is so far from that.  She is definitely a badass girl with her ability to control darkness and draw shadows to conceal herself and she has a remarkable inner strength.   Then there's Mister Kindly, the cat who is not a cat, curling around her feet, or resting on her shoulder consuming her fears.  How and what he is I wasn't entirely sure, but he is always there protecting Mia.   The two are quite funny when they get to bantering with one another.  There was also the Red Church, which in some ways does remind me of Hogwarts,  except here you learn how to be an assassin and murder people.   It's not a cuddly school, the classes and teachers are brutal, there is no forgiveness for failure here.  But Mia's a fighter, and she seems to find a way to overcome all the obstacles put in front of her.  She is also loyal to those that she cares about.  People like Tric, who has his own reasons for wanting to enter the Red Church, and becomes one of Mia's best allies when they do get there.  Nevernight is one of the books that I know I will be reading again, heck I've already read it twice and pre-ordered it just to read again.    I think Nevernight will be hugely popular with a more mature reader in mind.   

Favorite Lines: 
 "She felt a presence--or closer, a lack of one.  Like the feeling of empty at an embrace's end."  
"Your mind will serve you better than any trinket.  Brains you earn."

*Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press for a copy of Nevernight in exchange for an honest review.*

TTT: Ten Books I'd Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed Me A Fully Loaded Gift Card

Top Ten Tuesday is a Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish  This week's Top Ten Tuesday is Ten Books I'd buy right this second if someone handed me a fully loaded gift card.  A gift card sure would come in handy right about now, I've got so many books on my wish list.  My list is going to be a mixture of books, with some publishing soon and other older books.  

1.  Insert Coin to Continue by John David Anderson releases September 20th, 2016   Author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, The Dungeoneers.  I first heard of this via Ms. 

Yingling Reads.  It seems to have action/adventure, video games.  

2 & 3 are two books releasing in 2017. 

The Problem Children by Natalie Lloyd a middle-grade series about seven strange siblings, all born on a different day of the week, and the neighbors who keep trying to tear their family apart.  

The Great Hibernation of St. Polonius on the Fjord by Tara Dairman     a middle-grade novel set in an isolated community, following the chaos and comic adventures that take place after the traditional tasting of the Sacred Bear Liver goes horribly awry. 

4.  The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud releases on September 13th.  One of my must buy authors.

  

5.  The Scourge by Jennifer A. Nielsen releasing August 30th, 2016.  Nielsen is another author on my must buy list and I really like the premise of Scourge.    

6&7  Lots of the authors are among my favorites.  The first one is where the authors turn real life situations into stories and in the second it centers around school.  

  

8.  Tell me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum published April 5th 2016 Contemporary YA.  With a gift card, I can splurge and get something I typically would only look for at the library.  

9. Don't get Caught Let the Prank War Begin by Kurt Dinan released April 1st 2016 I'd purchase this if only for this reference "A mix of Ocean's 11 meets The Breakfast Club."  

10.  Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie  I really want to add this to my classics collection.  I've been trying to add at least one new one per year.  

So what books would make it on your list if you had a fully loaded gift card? Feel free to comment or leave your Top Ten Tuesday link in the comments.  

Two Shorter Reviews: The Seventh Wish and The Lost Compass

So, I've taken a short hiatus from the blog recently.  I spent some time in South East Alaska and boy is it beautiful!  A bit chillier than home, but I got to see some orcas, whales, sea otters and plenty of sea stars (I never knew they aren't called starfish anymore).  Even though I was away, I did get the chance to read a few books and these are two that I wanted to comment on.  

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published:  June 7th, 2016 
by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genres: MG Realistic Fiction, 
Source:  Library

I remember when The Seventh Wish was released reading the controversy about some of the content of the book and how the author was even disinvited to a book signing at a school.  Having read a few of Messner's other books, I admit I was curious so I decided to read it for myself.

First line:  "I've only seen the ice flowers once."

Charlie and her older sister Abby have a tradition, each year they go down to the lake near their house and look for the ice flowers, but this year since beginning college, Abby has changed.  Because of this, Charlie spends time with her next door neighbor and her friend Drew's grandmother ice fishing.  It's on one of their fishing trips that Charlie reels in a fish that speaks to her and offers a wish in exchange for letting it go, which Charlie eagerly agrees to.  What can it hurt?  When Charlie's first wish sorta comes true, she keeps looking for her magical fish for more wishes.  At first, Charlie wishes for things for her friends, but eventually, she tries to get the fishes wishes to help her family.  As the difficulties within Charlie's family begin to surface, her reactions to them have a very authentic feel.   Charlie gets mad at her sister, feels cheated, and is jealous of all the attention her older sister is getting.  She's a kid trying to process something that she should never have to deal with, her sister's addiction to heroin.  Her feelings make sense and I appreciate that Messner doesn't take the easy way out and doesn't just make Charlie's sister all better at the end.  Heroin addiction can be a difficult subject to begin with, then imagine trying to write it geared toward middle-grade children, which I believe Kate Messner did with a unique sensitivity to this age group.  As a parent, I wish this book wasn't necessary, but there are children in my own community who could use this kind of book, so I'm delighted to know that my library ordered a copy for it's collection.

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published:  May 24th, 2016 

by Harper Collins

Genres: MG Fantasy

Source:  Library

The Lost Compass is the sequel to The Fog Diver, which won the Cybils Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction award.  I recall really enjoy the fast paced action and the technological aspects that went into the nanites and creation of the fog.  The Lost Compass takes place after the crew of "slumkids" have escaped to Port Oro where they finally find someone who can help cure their beloved Mrs. E of her fogsickness.  Every good deed seems to have its price, and now the people of Port Oro want Chess to locate a Compass that can stop the fog.  With Lord Kodoc hot on his trail and driftsharks still waiting for Chess within the fog, things are more dangerous than they've ever been. Packed with lots of action, air battles and of course Chess plunging into the fog, this was definitely a perfect book to read on my vacation.  

   

Stars So Sweet by Tara Dairman Blog Tour

I'm really excited today to be a part of the blog tour for Stars So Sweet, the final book in Tara Dairman's All Four Stars series.  Be sure to check out all the other tour stops at the bottom of the post with links to giveaways, author interviews and reviews for Stars So Sweet.  

Hardcover, 288 pages

Expected Publication:  July 19th, 2016 
by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Genres: MG Realistic Fiction, 
Cooking & Food, Humorous Stories
In exchange for an honest review, 

an ARC was received from the publisher for free. 

Also by Tara Dairman:  All Four Stars, The Stars of Summer

 As the summer winds down and Gladys Gatsby prepares to start middle school, she is nervous about juggling schoolwork and looming deadlines from her secret job as the New York Standard’s youngest restaurant critic. When her editor pushes for a face-to-face meeting to discuss more opportunities with the paper, Gladys knows she must finally come clean to her parents. But her perfectly planned reveal is put on hold when her parents arrive home with a surprise:  her Aunt Lydia, one of the only adults who knows her secret, fresh off the plane from Paris. Gladys and Aunt Lydia try one last ruse to fool her editor at the Standard, but even with her aunt’s help, Gladys just can’t manage the drama of middle school and a secret life. It’s time for Gladys to be true to herself and honest with her friends and family, regardless of what those around her think

My Thoughts

Opening line:  "Glady Gatsby felt like a fish was flopping around in her stomach."  

It's the first day of school and time for Gladys to catch up with her best friends,  Parm and Charrisa.  Moving up to middle school means lots of changes, like having to meet new people when you no longer share any classes with your two best friends.  At the same time, Gladys has been struggling with feeling guilty and being a little dishonest for not revealing her secret job as a food critic to her parents yet, but she's really trying to come up with a plan to break it to them gently.  Things become increasingly complicated when Gladys editor wants to meet with her face to face and maybe now is the time to be honest with Fiona too.  Yet when Fiona backs her into a corner, Gladys' Aunt Lydia offers to help, despite her own string of bad luck, and Gladys finds out that Fiona has an offer for Gladys that is pretty hard to refuse.  I've always had a fondness for Gladys ever since I've met her in All Four Stars.  I will never forget the beginning of the series, or "the creme brulee incident." Ever since I've adored this "secret agent critics" passion for cooking and loved reading her reviews for the Dining section of the New York Standard.  In Stars So Sweet, Gladys was beginning to broaden her horizons joining some school clubs (Mathlete's, Chess Club, and French Club).  It's funny how Gladys believed she had everything under control, even though she keeps adding more and more things to her plate.  But where would the fun be if things didn't become overwhelming for Gladys when she overcommits herself to helping run the bake sale fundraisers for all her clubs from school, even a few she's not even a member of?   Despite the chaos erupting around her, Gladys always stays true to her passions (cooking and writing food critic reviews). I adore her creative spirit and love for fine foods.   This time around we're introduced to Salvadoran, Peruvian, and Cuban cuisines, along with some delectable references to treats like buñuelo's, soccer ball-shaped cookies and macarons. This is the kind of book that you want to read with your favorite dessert handy, cause I guarantee you'll get hungry.  Dairman has a knack for making cooking sound so fun and trying dishes from many different cultures exciting.  Her own passion for cooking really shines through, and any future foodies would be inspired as well.  Stars So Sweet wraps up everything from the series nicely, there's even a visit to Gladys former teacher,  Ms. Quincy, for some sound advice about Gladys being honest with herself, and we find out why Gladys hasn't heard from Hamilton in a long while.  Although Gladys never made it to France, I was happy to see that Aunt Lydia gets to have a more prominent role in the series.   Do I hope there will be more books in the future, most definitely, but I am also very happy with the way things ended? Yep, even the surprise that was revealed at the very end, which I didn't see coming by the way. Bittersweet to see the end of yet another beloved series, but now I have The Great Hibernation of St. Polonius on the Fjord to look forward to. 

Favorite line:  "...the longer they wandered, the more Gladys felt like a single chocolate chip drowning in a huge bowl of cookie batter." 

About the Author:

Tara’s author photo: Tiffany Crowder

 @ Crowded Studios: http://www.crowdedstudiosphoto.com/

Tara Dairman  is the author of the middle-grade foodie novel ALL FOUR STARS (Putnam/Penguin) which was named an Amazon Best Book of the Month and won a 2015 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. THE STARS OF SUMMER followed in 2015, and STARS SO SWEET (6/19/16) completes the series. Tara grew up in New York and holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College. After surviving the world’s longest honeymoon (two years, seventy-four countries!), she now lives in Colorado with her family.

Keep up with all of Tara's latest news on her:

 Website *     Twitter *    GoodReads *    Facebook  * Instagram

Purchase Tara's books at:

 Indiebound /BOOK DEPOSITORY /Amazon  /B&N / Penguin / Indigo /  

 STARS SO SWEET blog tour schedule:

Thursday-         July 7                     The Daily Dahlia

Friday-              July 8                    The Reading Date

Monday-           July 11                   Project Mayhem

Tuesday-           July 12                  Bookish Illuminations

Wednesday-     July 13                  Log Cabin Library

Thursday-        July 14                   Word Spelunking

Friday-             July 15                   For What It's Worth

Monday-          July 18                   A Baked Creation

Tuesday-          July 19                    Release day!

Thursday-       July 21                         Fic Talk

Friday-            July 22                  Pop Goes the Reader

Monday-         July 25                    Kitchen Frolic
Tuesday-         July 26                     Creative Spaces

Zaria Fierce and the Dragon Keeper's Golden Shoes by Keira Gillett

Author: Keira Gillett 
Format: eBook 
Publisher: Keira Gillett 
Number of Pages: 300 
Date Published:  July 1st 2016
Source:  In exchange for an honest review, an ebook was provided by the author for free. 

In the first book of the Zaria Fierce trilogy, Zaria was tricked by a river troll and endangered the Stag King's son, Hart. In order to save him, Zaria and her friends Geirr, Filip, Aleks, and Christoffer traveled through various Norwegian realms to the underground kingdom of Jerndor to retrieve the Drakeland sword.   A sword so strong that it is the only thing that can cut through the bonds holding Hart, who's time is quickly running out.  Unfortunately, Zaria was once again tricked, this time into using the sword to release Koll, a fierce dragon from his chains. Once released, Koll began to gather together an army of dragons to wreck havoc.  Now Zaria not only needs to find Hart, but she must also stop a dragon invasion.   Zaria has also been battling her own demons or the trollish specter that haunted her thoughts, making her doubt herself, toying with and manipulating her emotions.  Zaria spent much of the first two books wanting to be courageous but filled with such horrible self-doubts.   Every time she gained a little ground, things would once again go horribly wrong. For instance, when she finds out that she has magical abilities, she still struggles to figure out how they work and to gain control over them. Which becomes even more important when the groups path forward is blocked by a water-wyvern.  Yet Zaria is able to fall on her friends for support and their continual encouragement give her just the confidence she needs to keep trying, to persevere. They never hold her mistakes against her and won't allow Zaria to take the blame for being tricked.   For me, it's one of my favorite parts in reading this series, well that and the unique qualities that each character brings to the story.  I also adore the wonderfully detailed world that Gillett has created, filled with all the sights and food.  Glorious details about “warm, rich cinnamon,... gooey, slightly tart apple slices with a hint of powder sugar on top to dust the lips.” Mmm, wouldn't it be fun to get lost in a world like this?  I think the Zaria Fierce series mixes together all the things that I love about reading fantasy books, there is a sense of good versus evil, strong friendships, dragons, gorgeous illustrations, a captivating world, a perfect middle-grade book for someone looking for an action packed story filled with Norse mythology.    

The Night Parade by Kathryn Tanquary

Format:  Hardcover
Pages:  320
Release Date:  January 5th, 2016 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Genre:  MG Fantasy
Source: Review copy provided by the  author in exchange for an honest review. 

First Line:  "From the back seat, Saki sent another desperate message on her phone."

Saki is on the way to visit her grandmother's village with her family, yet she would've rather stayed in Tokyo spending time with her friends shopping in the city and talking about boys.  Instead, she's stuck in the middle of nowhere, without even proper cell reception celebrating the Obon Festival (a Japanese festival of souls or a time when the spirits of one's ancestor visit their relatives and their family leave offerings and clean the gravestones.)  The whole thing just makes Saki sad, now that her grandfather won't be there to celebrate with them.  While at the festivities in town, Saki takes a moment to wander off to sneak in some needed cell phone time and runs into a few local kids, who goad her into going up to her families graveyard.  While there, they pressure her to ring a bell as a punishment for a game that they had been playing.  Saki hesitantly agrees, until she realizes that by ringing the bell, she might just have set a death curse into action and her only hope of stopping it is to walk with three spirit guides along the night parade to the shrine at the top of the mountainside.  

At first, it's really hard to feel sorry for Saki.  She seemed pretty self-absorbed and takes the importance of family traditions for granted, even cutting corners on some of the tasks that her grandmother asks for help with for the festival.  Yet, as Saki started to feel the consequences of her choice to ring the bell, she also seemed to grow and change.  She starts to realize what is important to her and I really started to like her more.  The Night Parade included Japanese mythology, and I liked how there was a balance of familiar things like Jonken (a Japanese version of rock, paper, scissors) and Kokkun-san (a game similar to Ouija board) as well as all the lovely references to Japanese foods.  There were also some Japanese words that I was able to figure out from the context of the sentence.  I really enjoyed learning more about the Obon Festival and the Night Parade, the three spirit guides kinda reminded me of  A Christmas Carol, minus the refrences to the past present and future.  Yet, each one does help Saki learn a little bit more about herself and especially about the true meaning of friendship.  Overall, a very fun and enjoyable read.  

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten books I wish I had read as a kid

Top Ten Tuesday is a Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish  This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a Freebie or pick any topic of my choice.  So, I'm going with Ten Books I Wish I Had Read As A Kid.  Somehow growing up I seemed to miss out on a lot of the classics. I'm not sure if it was because my head was stuck in Anderson's Fairytales or whether it was because of my sister and I fighting over who got to read the next book in the Little House on the Praire series from the box set we got from the school book fair.   All I know is, I feel like I missed out on some books that I know I would've loved as a kid.  This will be a mixture of books that I haven't read yet and ones that I read as an adult, but know kid me would've loved. 

Books that I still want to read:  

1.  I always feel like I've read Peter Pan, but I know that I haven't yet.  I even started to read Peter and the Starcatchers once by Dave Berry, but then stopped because I wanted to read Peter Pan first. Must fix this soon.  

2.  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.  There really is no excuse for this one, I even purchased three different copies of it recently.  



3&4.  The Borrowers and Wind in the Willows are two books that I know I would've enjoyed.  













5&6.  I've always been curious about The Velveteen Rabbit and only know James and the Giant Peach from the movie sadly.  

Books I've read as an adult and wish I'd read as a kid. 

7.  I would have loved The Tale of Despereaux, an adventurous mouse wanting to be a hero.  Yep, just the kind of book for me.  

8.  Somehow Eloise speaks to the child in me.  I love her adventurous spirit and to dream of exploring The Plaza.  She fits in with my love of Pippi Longstocking.  




 9&10  Harriet the Spy and Emily of New Moon are two more books that I've only read recently but really enjoyed.  









Did I hit on any of your favorites? Or are there any books that you've read as an adult, but wished that you would've read as a kid?  Feel free to leave a comment or link to your own Top Ten Tuesday.