Review: Black Ice

Title: Black Ice

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Pages: 392

Genre: Young Adult Thriller/Mystery

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Publication Date: October 7th 2014

 

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Sometimes danger is hard to see... until it’s too late.

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there... and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

BLACK ICE is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick’s riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous…

 

 

REVIEW:

This is one of the best thrillers I have seen in the young adult genre in a long time.

 

The first thing that grabbed me in this story was the main character Brit. In a lot of thrillers these days the hostage is almost always a damsel in distress. In this case that is not true. Brit is a brave, strong, smart girl. After years of depending on everyone around her she finally realizes that she can take care of herself. The book takes place on the mountain while Brit is held hostage but through out the book you get flashbacks to Brit's life back home of her with her best friend and ex boyfriend. I really did not like Brit's friend and ex boyfriend but I could see how they were necessary to Brit's story/development. This really helped put things in perspective and really helped make Brit a fully crafted character. She really appealed to me as a character and that made the story so much more enjoyable for me.  I understood Brit and I became invested with her and had to see what happened.

 

There is a romance in the book that also adds a little steaminess and tension to the novel. I know some people have had a problem with the romance since they have seen it as Stockholm Syndrome but I personally did not see it that way. Not everybody in the book is as they seem. Brit also does fight her feelings for most of the book. I enjoyed the romance a lot and became invested in their story.

 

The story itself is crazy intense and good. There was so much suspense I literally could not put the book down. Fitzpatrick also did a great job of making the story complex, suspenseful, and thrilling without it being over the top. Sometime thrillers get too caught up in the mystery and end up leaving the characters and development behind making it a little too Hollywood and not real life. Fitzpatrick was able to avoid this by balancing the mystery with adding the aspects of a contemporary novel at parts when it came to the characters and their backstories. It was very realistic and well written. It kept my heart racing the whole time as I struggled to figure out who was good and bad.That leads into another thing I liked about the book. Nothing is fully revealed until the end of the book and because of this through the story you cannot tell who is good and bad. You find yourself trusting a character and then the next moment you second guess yourself thinking they are a killer. This really kept me on my toes and made me race towards the finish. When I started the book I did not expect the mystery to unravel the way it did. There is also a very nice epilogue that helps wrap everything up and give you closure.

 

Black Ice is a must read for any fan of mysteries/thrillers in the young adult world. The book was suspenseful, intense, inventive, and I loved the aspect of survival on the mountain.

 

Review: Magnolia

Title: Magnolia

Author: Kristi Cook

Pages: 336

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Publication Date: August 5th 2014

 

Synopsis via Goodreads:

In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are southern royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when a baby boy and girl were born to the families at the same time, the perfect opportunity seemed to have finally arrived.

Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen, for goodness’ sake, not to mention that one little problem: They hate each other! Jemma can’t stand Ryder’s nauseating golden-boy persona, and Ryder would like nothing better than to pretend stubborn Jemma doesn’t exist.

But when a violent storm ravages Magnolia Branch, it unearths Jemma’s and Ryder’s true feelings for each other as the two discover that the line between love and hate may be thin enough to risk crossing over.

 

 

REVIEW:

Magnolia is a sweet, romantic, and stormy read.

Going into this book I did not realize but it is actually somewhat of a backwards and modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet. It is split into three acts, as if it was a play. The acts are divided up as before, during, and after the storm. My favorite act was by far during the storm. In this act Ryder and Jemma are stuck in Jemma's house together while their parents are away during the tornados. During these pages you get to see Jemma and Ryder reconnect from all of those years of hatred and start to get to know each other and open up once again.

I really enjoyed Jemma and Ryder's relationship. It is always fun to read about romances that are hidden behind a wall of hatred. Ryder was my favorite character. He was definitely a swoon worthy book boyfriend. Jemma and Ryder obviously did not have a perfect relationship together. But it worked. They fight together and were good for one another.

I went into the book thinking it was going to be a fun, fluffy, chick book. In some ways it is but it also takes on a more serious feel. During the novel Jemma and her family start to go through some health scares which takes up a lot of Jemma's thoughts in the story. Also the storm is very devastating. Jemma and Ryder are very terrified and in the wake of the storm there is a lot of damage and some casualties. I was glad it took on a more serious nature because I thought it added more depth to the story.

Technically there is nothing wrong with this book to point out. It just ended up being one of those in the middle books for me. It was okay and I enjoyed parts of it. Honestly, I really enjoyed the scenes during the storm between Jemma and Ryder but was not invested in the other acts of the book. When I was finished I didn't have that satisfying moment. It was a short and romantic read but did not have anything special or stand out to me. Overall it was an easy, average, love story.

Review: Winterspell

Title: Winterspell 

Author: Claire Legrand

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 464

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: September 30th 2014

 

Synopsis via Goodreads:

The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince . . . but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.

New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor's ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother's murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.

Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.

Her home is destroyed, her father abducted--by beings distinctly not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they're to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets--and a need she can't define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won't leave Cane unscathed--if she leaves at all.

Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

 

 

 

Review:

When I heard this book was described as a dark retelling of the nutcracker I knew I had to get my hands on it. After finishing the book I am very glad to say that this book did not disappoint. I loved everything about this book. First shall we start off with how absolutely gorgeous that book cover is! But do not worry that gorgeousness does not go away once you flip open the book. The plot was intriguing, the characters were outstanding, and the setting was to die for.

 

My most favorite aspect of this book had to be the setting. It was spellbinding, magical, beautiful, and haunting. I am not a winter person and this setting made me want to go live in a world that snows year round, that is how good it is. I got so caught up in the land of Cane, once I opened a door and entered it I never wanted to step outside of the wonderfully shivering and mystical world. I also loved the back drop of 1899 New York City too. It always seemed as if NYC had a magical element to it as well.

 

Legrand also did a fantastic job with her characters. They are very complex and show great growth throughout the length of the story. The protagonist, Clara, is a strong but vulnerable badass who is a great role model for young girls. It always makes me so happy to see girls in YA being portrayed as strong individuals. Nicholas is not your average prince and that made him even better of a character. He is bound by a curse yet determined but just like the rest of the characters he is somewhat vulnerable. He and Clara complimented each other very well. Legrand mastered her characters so well that you even get caught up in the villainous queen, Anise. You can't help but be enthralled by Anise. Her character has such fascinating human behavior. Legrand made her characters so 3 dimensional that I am still thinking about them today,

 

The plot was fast moving, intriguing, and even surprising. I expected the story to be about a girl from an outside world helping a broken king take back his kingdom. Technically, yes, this is what the plot is about but there is so much more. I honestly saw this book to be Clara's story about her redemption and her version of Cane instead of Nicholas'. This is very much Clara's dark fairy tale.

 

If you love a good fantasy, are a Nutcracker fan, or are just looking for a wintery book to pick up this holiday season put Winterspell at the top of your TBR pile. This is a magical haunting tale of one girl's journey of self discovery in an unknown land.

 

Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before

Title: To All The Boys I've Loved Before

 Author: Jenny Han

Pages: 368 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 

Publication Date: April 15th 2014

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Goodreads Description 

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them... all at once?

Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

When I read the synopsis for To All The Boys I've Loved Before, I thought it was going to be this crazy fun and hilarious read. I thought Lara Jean was going to be having like fifteen different guys begging on their knees for her, professing their love. I expected some hilarious shenanigans would then ensue, but this did not happen. Only three boys actually received letters and they did not go crazy over her. The book turned out to be much more tamed and serious then I expected. I still liked the book, it is just a big book pet peeve of mine when the synopsis leads you in the wrong direction. 

I personally thought the book focused a lot more around family and family dynamics then it did Lara Jean's love life. I thoroughly loved the family dynamic though. This is one of the first books I have read where each member of the family is a fully developed character. I loved all the scenes with Lara Jean, her little sister Kitty, and their dad. I actually did not like her older sister Margot though. She really frustrated me and I personally thought she did nothing good for Lara Jean. 

The characters were fully developed but I actually did not find myself drawn to many of them. I found Lara Jean did not have much of a personality and that made me struggle with the books at times. The only  two characters I liked were her sassy little sister Kitty and her love interest Peter. Peter was by far the stand out character in the book. 

When you read this book you will get to the last page and be like, wait......that is how the book is ending! But do not worry there is going to be a second book! This ending will be resolved and we will see more of Peter and Lara Jean!

Overall I liked this book. I enjoyed the relationship between Peter and Lara Jean and found the family focus very refreshing. 

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

 

Title: Untold

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Series: The Lynburn Legacy # 2

Genre: Fantasy:

Pages: 336

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Publication Date: August 29th 2013

Synopsis:

Free from bonds, but not each other

It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

 

You can check out more about the book here.