Rogue by Julie Kagawa [ARC REVIEW]

TITLE: Rogue (Talon Saga #2)
AUTHOR: Julie Kagawa
PUBLISHER: Harlequin Teen
PUB DATE: Apr 28 2015

Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can't forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her—Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he'd signed his own death warrant.

Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order's headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember's own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George.

A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day…or start an all-out war?

- Source: Goodreads

Rating:

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"Oh you know, a little burned, a little sore. Nearly died a couple of times. The usual."

The second installment of the Talon Saga packs quite a punch!

Julie Kagawa once again gives her readers another thrilling and adventurous sequel.

Rogue continues on to where it's predecessor, Talon, left off. Readers get to see Ember right in the middle of attempting to rescue Garrett. While I can see that Ember is a valiant protagonist, I can't seem to shake off my feelings of dislike. She hasn't really done anything wrong (other than the whole Garrett-Cobalt thing), but i can't find it in me to like her. Why? Maybe I've seen too much of her type [of character]?

The plot and flow of the story is as Julie Kagawa's style as ever. It smoothly goes through scene after scene, and you know you'll be getting somewhere exciting soon enough. Julie's writing style is a never failing one, as reader's will find themselves immersed in the story and nearing the end before they even realize it.

SPOTLIGHT + GIVEAWAY: Smoked by Mari Mancusi

Title: Smoked

Author: Mari Mancusi

Series: Scorched, #3

Pub Date: September 1st, 2015

ISBN: 9781402284649

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Once upon a time the world burned.

Until a girl and her dragon smothered the flame.

But the spark that ignited the apocalypse never went out.

And the scorch is about to begin…

When Team Dragon rescues Emmy from the government lab, they think the future is finally safe. But they soon discover that Emmy has a secret—a secret so dangerous it could trigger the very apocalypse Connor and Caleb were sent back in time to prevent.

As a dragon hunter, Connor has committed his life to saving the world. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do to complete his mission…even if it meant betraying his brother and losing Trinity’s heart. Even if it meant doing the unthinkable.

Shattered by Mari Mancusi [ARC REVIEW]

TITLE: Shattered (Scorched #2)
AUTHOR: Mari Mancusi
PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire
PUB DATE: Sep 2 2014

A girl at the end of the world.

Two brothers fighting for opposite sides.

And a dragon who can save them all...

Or set the world on fire.

Trinity's world changed forever the day she stole Emmy's egg. Now she's on the run with the last living dragon and twin brothers from a war-torn future. Connor may have betrayed his mission to kill Emmy, but he'll do whatever it takes to prevent the coming dragon apocalypse. Coddling a temperamental dragon on its way to being the size of a house is no way to keep them safe. But Caleb can't stand to see Emmy trapped and miserable.

When a video of Emmy flying over the skies of the Texas Hill Country goes viral, the government closes in--and the future they've risked everything for is about to go up in flames.

Source: Goodreads

Rating:

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I wasn’t a big fan of the first book from this series, Scorched. But I always saw the plot as something intriguing. Even though the book didn’t meet my expectations, I was hoping to see it improve with the next books to come. So in spite of my uncertainties, I thought to give Shattered a try.

Shattered started off with a rather confusing prologue. It made me wonder, “Did I mistake this sequel for another book?” Always the impatient reader that I am, I suppose I should have waited until I reached the first chapter. What? I couldn’t help but react too soon!

I was glad to see that Shattered turned out way more eventful than Scorched. I had complained before that Scorched had an inconsistent pacing. Shattered on the other hand, showed off an exciting flow to the story.

I don’t think I felt improvement character-wise though. Trinity is struggling but she has that ever-determined persona that she always had going for her since book one. Caleb was turning into a weary yet redeemable character. Connor’s still self-righteous. He was boring to begin with in my opinion and I don’t find him any more interesting with this book.

The addition of Scarlet as a character first felt like it was unnecessary, then upon the Caleb-encounter, it felt like a consolation prize for him since he felt like being singled out by Trinity and Connor. Finally by the end I see the purpose behind the emergence of her character.

Scorched by Mari Mancusi [ARC REVIEW]

TITLE: Scorched (Scorched #1)
AUTHOR: Mari Mancusi
PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire
PUB DATE: Sep 3 2013

Trinity
Don’t leave me here... It starts with a whisper. At first Trinity thinks she’s going crazy. It wouldn’t be a big surprise—her grandpa firmly believes there’s a genuine dragon egg in their dusty little West Texas town. But this voice is real, and it’s begging for her protection. Even if no one else can hear it...

Connor
He’s come from a future scorched by dragonfire. His mission: Find the girl. Destroy the egg. Save the world.

Caleb
He’s everything his twin brother Connor hates: cocky, undisciplined, and obsessed with saving dragons.

Trinity has no idea which brother to believe. All she has to go by is the voice in her head—a dragon that won’t be tamed.

- Source: Goodreads

Rating:

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"I guess it's just a place - filled with empty promises and broken dreams."

It was conflicting. Really. I would say that Mari Mancusi’s Scorched showed such promise behind the Terminator-meets-Eragon plot twist, but the execution just didn’t come together. Almost everything was a cliché.

Trinity, our protagonist, was the “unbeliever” who turns into the master of a very powerful dragon. And to help her out on this quest is not one, but two, good looking guys. To make it a lot more interesting – they are twins. Imagine that. Yes sarcasm intended.

I would have been okay with that, if only she didn’t pine over BOTH of them! She instantly falls for one, then falls for the other too. And to make it even more interesting (once again) they both fall in love with her. Seriously? How convenient? Insta-love really does not work that much anymore.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman [REVIEW]

TITLE: Seraphina (Seraphina #1)
AUTHOR: Rachel Hartman
PUBLISHER: Random House Books
PUB DATE: Jul 1 2013

Summary from Goodreads:

"Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page."

Rating:

“He did not know the truth of me, yet he had perceived something true about me that no one else had ever noticed. And in spite of that—or perhaps because of it—he believed me good, believed me worth taking seriously, and his belief, for one vertiginous moment, made me want to be better than I was.”

I had a rough start with Seraphina. As expected, High Fantasy stories always come out confusing for me in the beginning. Whenever I read one, a map is always something I am grateful for, and yet I find the places a mouthful to say. The lore is another thing I had to adjust to, and it takes quite a while for their histories to sink in. Most of all – there were so many names!!! I can’t quite stress out enough how badly I am with remembering names, so thank goodness for the glossary at the back. It really helped a lot to understand this world.

Our heroine, Seraphina, lives in a world where the powerful dragons are thought inferior to the human race, quite a foolish and egotistical belief for a race that can be swiped off the earth in mere seconds. But because of a treaty between them and the dragon-kind, humans have become overconfident, not knowing that there is danger lurking right under their noses.

Although I already knew what Seraphina is without her revealing it yet, I never considered the danger that she would have been in if she were to reveal her secret. Another interesting factor about Seraphina were her visions. To think at first I thought that imaginary world seemed senseless and irrelevant to be elaborated in such a way, and yet it became quite a major factor in the story.

Kiggs didn’t really capture my attention that much. He’s a good character, but I didn’t find anything that was unusual about him as a hero and a romantic interest that would stand out from the others.

Glisselda was another story though. The first word that came out of my mouth when I met her was “idiot”. But her kindness towards Seraphina gave me a change of heart; I might have judged her harshly in the beginning. “Ignorant” would be a better description, I guess. Her actions in the end made me think that there may still be hope for her.

Reading this book was like riding a rollercoaster. All the excitement and anticipation brewing before the ride, much like how captivated I was over the story during the first half of the book. Then come the twists and turns similar to the rush I felt over the encounters with the dragons. But eventually the ride comes to a complete stop and I was left weary and a little queasy. Did I have fun in the end? Yes I did. But the action scenes, which were pretty much nonexistent (it was so short!) was rather disappointing.

Hidden by Sophie Jordan [REVIEW]

TITLE: Hidden (Firelight #3)
AUTHOR: Sophia Jordan
PUBLISHER: HarperTEEN
PUB DATE: Sep 1 2012

Summary from Goodreads:

"Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....

Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy."

Rating:

Jacinda and Will believe that nothing can stand between their love, even with Jacinda being a Draki and Will being a part of the hunters who pursue their race for the enkros.

When Miram, the sister of the prince of their pride, Cassian, was captured by the hunters, Jacinda feels responsible for her capture. She intends to get Miram back to the pride before she runs off with Will, and find her mother.

Posing as a prisoner, she ventures into enemy territory. Her goal is to reach Miram and get out as fast as she can, but there is danger lurking about in the enkros’ laboratory... and their escape doesn’t mean the hunters won’t give chase...

Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman [REVIEW]

       

Eona (Eon #2)
by Alison Goodman

Summary from Goodreads:

"The New York Times bestseller and stunning companion to Eon!

Once she was Eon, a girl disguised as a boy, risking her life for the chance to become a Dragoneye apprentice. Now she is Eona, the Mirror Dragoneye, her country's savior - but she has an even more dangerous secret. She cannot control her power. Each time she tries, it twists into a killing force. And more destruction is on her trail - High Lord Sethon's army. She and her companions must find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona's power if he is to wrest back his throne. But to help him, she must drive a dark bargain with an old enemy, which could obliterate them all. Eona, with its pulse-pounding drama, unforgettable fight scenes, sizzling tension - and many surprises - brings to a close an epic story."

Rating:

I gotta say this was a hefty book to read. Before I started Eona, looking at the number pages, I was wishing it would not drag because I had the growing feeling that I might not be able to finish it if so. I really liked Eon so I would hate to miss out the ending of this story.

Vanish by Sophie Jordan

        

Vanish (Firelight #2)
by Sophie Jordan

Summary from Goodreads:

"To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever."

Rating:

Absolutely beautiful!

A lot of changes have happened since Firelight, the first book of this series. If you’ve read that, then you know that Jacinda, Tamra and their mother went back to their pride, with Cassian of course.

So on with what I found changed, it’s mostly on the characters:

Jacinda, didn’t come out to me as a striking character from Firelight, but here in Vanish… Ugh! She is annoying. I don’t like the fact that she’s pining over both Cassian and Will. Stick with one guy, girl! Not cool! But at the same time, I totally feel sad for her, being separated from Will and dropping to the lowest of low and being distrusted by the pride, it was just so much for her to bear.

Tamra, who was the annoying one before is now so lovable! She’s not so bitter anymore. And I like that she and Jacinda are now bonding, as sisters should be.

I didn’t like Cassian from the first book but that hasn’t changed. Of course, I appreciate the way he looks after Jacinda but most of the things he do to help her benefits him more. And don’t get me started on his sister. She’s absolutely aggravating! Despite the fact that I didn’t want her hurt, she totally deserved what happened to her.

I adored Will before but sadly he wasn’t much of a standout here, except during the last few chapters where there’s another mystery to be solved over his connection to the draki world. Although I did find it sweet of him to beat the odds to find Jacinda, but still, I already know that of him. I would’ve wanted to see something new from him. Yet, I really am intrigued about where all his draki connection would lead him to.

I love that Vanish was more quick and adventurous than Firelight. It’s nice to see a lot more of the draki world and know more of what the hunters do to the draki they capture.

As much as I enjoyed Firelight, I enjoyed Vanish even more. It’s amazing how Sophie Jordan was able to create a story that has so many possibilities. I’m really excited to read the next installment because I know there’s so much more to see.

Eon: The Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

        

Eon: The Dragoneye Reborn
(Eon #1)
by Alison Goodman

Summary from Goodreads:

"Sixteen-year-old Eon has a dream, and a mission. For years, he's been studying sword-work and magic, toward one end. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye-an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. 

But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a twelve-year-old boy. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured. 
When Eon's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic...and her life."

Ratings:

An incredible fantasy book! What an adventure! 

This book tackled on a lot of issues that are commonly talked about in our everyday lives: politics, greed, prejudices, and survival. I love how Goodman has created a world that, despite being solely made for the book itself, we could relate to with the problems we have in real life. 

I also like the Asian atmosphere of the setting and the descriptions of the places were so vivid that I wanted to experience seeing it in the flesh. Although, I will admit that there are terms in this book that I didn’t know and I found myself flipping a dictionary to find its meaning. 

Eon or Eona, the protagonist, is kind of annoying. There are times that she seems to be very smart and yet there are moments that she doesn’t have a clue on what to do when it’s obviously easy to be done. I guess there are valid conclusions to her ability, or at this instance, inability to comprehend the matter. She’s been through tough times so I guess I couldn’t blame her since she’s probably jaded. 

Most of the chapters may be a bit of a drag to others because it’s mostly focused on Eon’s life in the palace and learning her role as a Dragoneye, but I didn’t feel the boredom because each chapter gave me something new to look forward to. There are parts that seem to give you a piece of a puzzle that you’ll hope to get another with the next chapter to come, so I really enjoyed that Goodman didn’t leave me hanging on for so long just to find everything pouring out at one final chapter. 

I do wish to have seen a bit more romance to Eon’s life but overall I find this as a really exhilarating experience and I strongly recommend this book to fantasy-loving bookworms out there. 

May I also say that with how this book ended I’m really looking forward to the sequel!

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

        

Firelight
(Firelight #1)
by Sophie Jordan

Summary from Goodreads:

"A hidden truth. 

Mortal enemies.
Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide."

Rating:

I’m having a hard time summing up how I feel about this book. 

Basically, it’s a mythological Romeo and Juliet kind of tale. The premise was good enough to draw me towards this book and the cover was amazing, those are my weaknesses. The whole draki race and history was very interesting. The love connection between Jacinda and Will, Prey and Hunter, is also interesting; nothing like a bittersweet tale of forbidden love to spark anyone’s interest. 

With all that in mind, I expected to enjoy this book. I did. But I didn’t devour it as I anticipated myself to. 

Reading the book was quite fun, but there were times I felt that the characters, namely Jacinda and her twin Tamra, were irrefutably whiny. Both wanting something of the opposite, making things difficult even though it could’ve been solved easily. Will’s personality was a bit vague, as well as Xander, Cassian and Angus. I guess I wanted to know more about them. 

From the whole fantasy tale of creatures that descended from dragons, I expected more than just a love story, even though I’ve read the synopsis of the book, which eventually held true to its content. It IS a story of romance and Jacinda’s struggle with her draki.