Walk the Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Series: The Gold Seer Trilogy (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Paranormal/Western Historical Fiction

Subjects: adventure, magic, gold rush

Setting: Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and to California

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Leah Westfall

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 431 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover 

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen: Greenwillow Books

Summary/ product description: “Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.

Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.

She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.

The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.”

My Review:  I don’t usually read historical fiction for fun. I’ve only read the Madman’s Daughter series, which I enjoyed, and A Clockwork Angel and Dead Reckoning, which I didn’t enjoy. But how could I resist trying to read a book about a girl who can sense gold and travels to California during the gold rush? I like Western movies, hot cowboys, all that. Walk on Earth a Stranger is a true western adventure.

Leah is an awesome heroin. When she leaves her home because her uncle murdered her parents, she disguises herself as a boy and pulls it off. She heads to Independence, Missouri to meet up with Jefferson, a guy friend who’s a neighbor. Jeff is part Cherokee and lots of people have negative beliefs about natives at that time. It takes months to get there and see him again. Crossing the plains and the mountain with a caravan takes way longer and some friend she makes even die along the way. It’s a treacherous journey. She hears her uncle took the sea rout to California, which is supposedly faster and easier. She hopes that her uncle won’t find her because he wants her for her ability to find gold.

I really enjoyed this book. Much more that the Girl of Fire and Thorns, which was pretty slow and used a lot of Spanish words, but had fantasy. This book does have some old fashioned/southernisms in it and sometime is a little slow, but not too bad. I wish there was more paranormal stuff that just Leah finding gold, but it’s fine the way it is. I watch Prospectors on the Weather Channel and sometimes other treasure shows. I panned for gold once in Deadwood, South Dakota. It was seven dollar and I got little pieces of gold, like sand grains. I collect rock too. So gold and gem prospecting is really cool to me.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes westerns or pioneer stuff, like True Grit or the Lone Ranger or even Little House on the Prairie.

Cover Art Review: Beautiful Cover. Not sure I like the girl’s dress though. Leah mostly wears boys clothes in the book are a disguise.

Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne

Series: Monument 14 (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: apocalyptic, near future, survival

Setting: Canada, Missouri, various other states

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, rotating between Dean (past tense, serif type) and Josie (present tense, san-serif type)

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 305 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: MacMillan: Feiwel & Friends

Summary/ product description: “The stunningly fierce conclusion to Emmy Laybourne's Monument 14 trilogy.

The survivors of the Monument 14 have finally made it to the safety of a Canadian refugee camp. Dean and Alex are cautiously starting to hope that a happy ending might be possible.

But for Josie, separated from the group and trapped in a brutal prison camp for exposed Type Os, things have gone from bad to worse. Traumatized by her experiences, she has given up all hope of rescue or safety.

Meanwhile, scared by the government's unusual interest in her pregnancy, Astrid (with her two protectors, Dean and Jake in tow) joins Niko on his desperate quest to be reunited with his lost love Josie.

Author Emmy Laybourne reaches new heights of tension and romance in this action-packed conclusion to the Monument 14 trilogy.”

My Review:  In this epic finale to the Monument 14 trilogy, we get to read the story from Dean and Josie’s perspectives. Dean is in a refugee camp in Canada. Josie is in a camp in Missouri for people with the blood type O that have been exposed to the compounds. Astrid, Alex, Sahlia and the rest of the kids that came with them are also in Canada.

Astrid, who’s pregnant, is having cramps. The government is taking pregnant women from the camp to study them and how exposure affects their pregnancy. Dean, Astrid, Jake and Niko leave the camp. They also heard about where Josie was, so Niko is going after her. The story becomes a fast paced journey filled with action and gruesome events. It’s exhilarating and everything you’d want the final book to be.

I was so surprised that we have Josie’s perspective this time. Her personality may have been affected by her killing someone, but she still deeply care for people. Mario is in the camp with her, though he’s a AB blood type. He insisted to be her sponsor. The camp is such a horrify places with gangs, sexual assaults and fighting. It’s s prison. I really hated how that guard treated Josie. He was such an a-hole.

There’s a touch of romance, and heart-warming scenes. There’s also times where Dean feels a sense of normalcy, like when the visit Denny’s. There’s fun and adventure. Hitchhiking, fighting, babies. There’s aso these things called Drift, which are moving clouds of the gas compound that affects different blood types. There’s a lot of sad parts too. Deaths and heart-stopping moments. This is a killer ending to the series. If only all dystopian series had endings this good.

If you love Ashfall by Mike Mullin, Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas, No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz, Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick, or Blackout by Robison Wells, be sure to read the Monument 14 series. Now that all the books are out, try a series binge. They’re short and fast easy reads. Also check out the novellas/short stories: Jake and the other Girl, Dress Your Marines in White, and What Mario Scietto Says.

Did anyone with a hardcover copy notice the map in the back end paper of the cover? The map of the USA? Notice that Monument, Colorado is not where’s it’s supposed to be. It’s placed in Wyoming. Someone goofed up and didn’t know their states. Colorado and Wymoning look alike. Both are rectangles of the same size, but the Four Corner region Wyoming is not.

Cover Art Review:  This cover reflect the previous books' covers well. Looks like a prison camp.

Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Series: Goodnight Family (bk. 2)

Genera: Paranormal Romance/Mystery/Adventure

Subjects: ghosts, psychic ability, supernatural, magic, kidnappings, Chicago, Illinois, Egyptian mythology

Age/Grade Level: Teen and New Adult (because Daisy is a college freshman)

Length: 384 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Summary/ product description: “Daisy Goodnight can speak to the dead. It’s not the result of a head injury or some near-death experience. She was just born that way. And she’s really good at it. Good enough to help the police solve the occasional homicide.

But helping the local authorities clear cold cases is one thing. Being whisked out of chemistry class by the FBI and flown to the scene of a murder/kidnapping in Minnesota? That’s the real deal.

Before the promotion can go to Daisy’s head, she’s up to her neck in trouble. The spirits are talking, and they’re terrified. There’s a real living girl in danger. And when Daisy is kidnapped by a crime boss with no scruples about using magic—and Daisy—to get what he wants, it looks like hers is the next soul on the line.”

My Review: I didn’t think it would be possible that this book would be better than Texas Gothic, the 1^st book in the series, but this was way better. Ridiculously awesome. So many things I didn’t expect. The description barely tells you anything. This book is very different from Texas Gothic. They both have ghosts, but Texas Gothic didn’t have nearly as much action or adventure as Spirit and Dust.

Daisy Goodnight is psychic and can sense spirit energies, of remnants and connections. She can summon then with objects connected to them, talk to them and also help them move on. She’s very sarcastic and funny and wears girly-goth garb. She’s a redhead like her cousin Amy (the narrator of Texas Gothic) and has the same Goodnight determination. I think I like her more than Amy as a narrator. Daisy got a lot more spunk and feels more developed. I almost wish that there can be another book with her as the narrator, instead of a companions series with standalone-sequels. She’s the perfect strong protagonist with unique traits.

Then there’s the other characters. I though Agent Taylor would be the love interest, because he and Daisy had a thing, but that’s not the case.  Daisy meets Carson after being kidnapped by a mobster who’s the father of the kidnapped girl Alexis. Carson doesn’t seem like a hardened criminal. He’s pretty young and too nice. He and Daisy go a search for this Jackal artifact that’s the ransom for Alexis. Carson and Daisy’s romance is the total opposite of insta-love. She even starts to think that she has Stockholm syndrome because she starts to like him. The travel and she’s learns about him.

I also loved the setting. You’d think based off the description that this book would be set in Minnesota. Minnesota was really only the beginning of the book. I’d say 15% set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 10% set in St Louis, Missouri, and 75% set in Illinois, and mainly Chicago and it’s museums. As a resident Chicagolander, this made me very excited. Another great book set in my home state? Awesome. And the final third or fourth or the book takes place in the Field Museum. My absolute favorite museum to go to. I’ve been there at least 5 times. Probably more. And yes, Sue the T. Rex is awesome. And I did see the Egypt exhibit in 4^th grade, or 5^th. There were a lot of animal mummies down there. I’m never been to the Oriental Institute Museum, but my mom’s been there.

I love the paranormal parts, especially the Egyptian Mythology. I didn’t know that there would be any Egyptian stuff going into this. It really started to remind me of Rick Riordan’s Kane Chronicles series. Looking for artifacts and some brotherhood and everything. I don’t want to spoil the book, but I think that more people would read this if they knew more about it. So it’s not just another ghost-story/murder mystery. This book turned out to be an unexpected surprise, and I really hope that Rosemary write a 3^rd Goodnight book that’s even better. Maybe from Phin’s perspective? I still would like Daisy’s best.

Cover Art Review: Boring cover. It’s just an eye. Daisy’s eye, and a silhouette. There’s nothing that suggests the content.

Faerie After by Janni Lee Simner

Series: Bones of Faerie (bk. 3)

Genera: Post-Apocalytic Dystopian-Fantasy

Subjects: faeries, magic, supernatural, post-apocalyptic, Missouri

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 261 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $16.99

Publisher: Random House

Summary/ product description: “After a devastating war between humanity and Faerie, Liza’s world was forever changed. Plants and trees became aggressive, seeking to root in living flesh and bone, and newborn children were discovered to have magic powers. Liza was one of these children, and with her abilities she brought her mother back from the ruined Faerie realm and restored the seasons to her own.
Now there are signs of a new sickness in the forest. Piles of ash are found where living creatures once stood. Liza investigates and discovers the Faerie realm has continued to deteriorate, slowly turning to dust, and that its fate is inexorably linked to that of the human realm. To find a solution, Liza must risk crossing over, putting herself and all she cares about at risk. Will Liza be forced to sacrifice her life and the lives of her friends in order to save both worlds?
Here is the exciting conclusion to the Bones of Faerie trilogy, for fans of dark fantasy and dystopian adventure entranced by Janni Lee Simner’s unique vision of a magic-infused postapocalyptic world.”

My Review: A pretty good ending to this post-apocalyptic faerie series. It was a quick and easy read. I charged through it so quickly, that I probably have eye strain. I enjoy the creative world building. It’s very different from other dystopias I’ve read.

In the last book, at the end, Liza left hand was turned to stone. She has this handicap throughout the book. Her hand it frozen and pretty useless. She deals with it well though, and that makes her a strong character. Her abilities as a summoner are growing stronger, still.

I love all the different abilities that the characters have. Allie, is a healer, and Mathew is a shape-shifter/werewolf. There’s Karin, who’s a faerie and a plant speaker. Nys is a stone shaper. So many cool and unique abilities. The summoning ability Liza has reminds me of necromancy. She she’s shadows, which are spirits or souls, and can control them.

The setting of this series is unique. It’s mostly is St. Louis, Missouri, and sometimes in Faerie. The plants are man-eaters, as are most the animals. Deadly nature. Wild magic that made all of nature vicious and man-eating. Not the kind of dystopia you’d ever want to live in. This series will make you thankful that plants can’t eat people.

The end of the book wraps the series up nicely. There are resolutions, and a few twists along the way. This final book may have not been the most exciting book I’ve read, but it was good enough. I recommend this trilogy to anyone who’d like to read a dystopia with faeries. Or dystopian fantasy.

Cover Art Review: This cover it black, with lime green type and image. It’s very minimalistic. It looks like a bush or tree. I like the title type. But the cover is boring. It’s still similar to the previous two books’ covers.

 

 

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

Title: Blood Magic
Author: Tessa Gratton
Series: The Blood Journals
Genera: Supernatural/paranormal romance
Subjects: Magic, witches, death, immortality, blood, Missouri
Length: 405 pgs. Hardcover
Rating: ê ê ê
After Silla’s parents are killed, she receives a spell book that appears to be written in her father’s hand writing. Silla shows her brother that the magic is real. Nicholas Pardee moves in next store and see’s Silla do one of the spells in the cemetery. Nick already knows about the magic. He’s seen his mother do it when he was little. Blood is a necessary sacrifice in making a spell work, but Nick is afraid to tell Silla how dangerous the magic can be so he doesn’t let her know he knows. Silla and Nick fall for each other even though people at school warn him that Silla is “messed up” after her parents dying.
I thought this book would be really good. I just didn’t get into it because it’s somewhat different from the paranormal romance YA book I’m used to-I don’t know how, but it is. Maybe it’s the metaphorical masks that Silla wears…I was confused and thought she was literally wearing masks. I like Nick still. He calls her step mom Lilith, though that’s not her name. He’s poetic and cares for Silla.
The atmosphere of this book was pretty cool. Creepy. If it was closer to Halloween, I would definitely be more into it. I liked the mystery of who Josephine Darly was in relation to the main character. The story kept me guessing.
I recommend this books if you like dark magic and immortality stories, or mysterious stories.
Art Review:
I love the cover. Blood Magic in metallic red letters, a metallic forest with a soft-matte texture. The girl and the flower and red crows are glossy . It’s a well done cover.
~Haley G