Witch’s Pyre by Josephine Angelini

Series: The Worldwalker Trilogy (bk. 3, finale)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Fantasy/Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: supernatural, witches, magic, parallel universes

Setting: California, in another universe and Salem, Massachusetts

POV/Tense: 3rd person POV, past tense: Lilly Proctor

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 376 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $18.99

Publisher: MacMillan: Feiwel and Friends

Summary/ product description: “Lily Proctor has come a long way from the weak, sickly girl she used to be. She has gained power as a witch and a leader, found her way home, chosen to face battle again, and (after losing her first love and being betrayed by her new love) she has learned more about loss and grief than she ever wanted to know.

Thrust once again into a society different from anything they have ever seen, Lily and her coven are determined to find answers―to find a new path to victory, a way to defeat the monstrous Woven without resorting to nuclear weapons or becoming a tyrannical mass murderer like her alternate self, Lillian. But sometimes winning requires sacrifices . . . and when the only clear path to victory lies at Lillian's side, what price will Lily be willing to pay?

Internationally bestselling author Josephine Angelini takes us on another emotionally wrenching thrill ride in the stunning conclusion to her Worldwalker Trilogy.”

My Review: Witch’s Pyre is the final book in the World Walker trilogy. If you have not read this series, I recommend this series to fantasy fans, especially fans of parallel universe books such as: Tandem by Anna Jarzeb, A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray, and Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris. And fans of witch books. Also if you liked Red Queen or The Jewel or anything mix of dystopian and fantasy.

Lily, Rowan, Tristan, Breakfast, and Una are brought to Bower City (it what’s coastal California in Lily’s world) by the Hive. As newcomers, they are honored with a ball so the elite of Bower City can see them.

The witch Grace, who at one time was an Outlander, runs Bower City. They meet Toshi, the apprentice of Grace’s head mechanic, Ivan. Toshi is a powerful healer and his willstone is a deep garnet color. He’s of Japanese descent and the rest of his family live outside the city wall.

Lily and her coven discover the truth behind the Hive and who really runs them. They uncover dark secret behind the Woven’s creation and decide they must take action to save this world. Lily expands her abilities and claims many willstones so she can build a powerful army of allies.

I loves the world building still. I love books about parallel universes, especially when there’s some fantasy elements. The only thing that really confused me about it was Lilly having to go into a Pyre to provide her claimed with power. I guess she somehow “transmutates” the heat of the fire into power. I found the Hive to be very creepy sounding. I don’t like the idea of giant bee-ladies. Some of the other woven, like the tamed Greater Drake sound cool, because the look like dragons, but huge insects are just gross.

This finale was mostly enjoyable, but I always having trouble getting into a book when I can’t recall what happened previously, or who’s who character-wise. We get to see a very different city from Lillian’s Salem and meet new characters. There are some interesting discoveries. There were some parts with funny dialogue, mostly exchanges between Lilly and Rowan. I really like Rowen, but I feel like there was not enough romance in this book. Lilly and Rowan are both a bit stubborn and they took to long to make-up. I always glad when this work out in the end, but it would have been nice to get more romantic scenes.

Cover Art Review: I like the complexity of the cover. The willstones are a nice touch. I don’t like the image of the girls with the swords and the fire behind them.

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

Series: Reckoners (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: super powers, abilities, supervillains

Setting: The city of Ildithia, which used to be Atlanta, Georgia, but was turned into constantly moving salt and now is in Kansas

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, past tense: David

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 417 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $18.99

Publisher: Random House: Delacorte Press

Summary/ product description: “When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy.

David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners’ leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back...

But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.”

My Review:  This is a truly EPIC finale! It’s like a rollercoaster through a zoo filled with unicorns, dragons and puppies, while you eat ice cream, and listen to you favorites music. Sadly, the ride’s over, and I don’t want to get off. (How that for a metaphor….I mean simile.) I’ll miss David’s ridiculous metaphor-similes and his Epic obsession and his adorable geekiness.

This series has been one of the most constantly entertaining series to date. Seriously, these books never bored me and always left me wanted the next one. I’m just so mind blown by this finale, I don’t know what to say. I wish we could see more of what happened later on, after the end of the book, like a novella or story at least.

The characters in this series have been so unique, set apart from each other. I never had trouble remembering their traits, abilities or quirks. The character relationships were amazing. David and Megan, who I totally ship because they’re made for each other, remind me of other romances in YA series from a male POV, in which the girl’s the tough one in the relationship, and the guy’s a bit more nerdy or sweet. Think Percy and Annabelle, Alex and Darla (Ashfall), or Gray and Bree (The Taken Trilogy). Megan is an Epic and can pull shadows of parallel worlds into ours to make an illusion of reality.

I love the Reckoners team. Prof was cool, in a Xavier from X-men sort of way, until Prof went dark in the previous book. What a super villain. Abraham is an African-French-Canadian who’s ex-military and pretty reserved, but he’s still cool. He’s get a chance to work with some awesome Epic-derived technology in the book. Cody is a southerner who obsessed with Scottish stuff, and makes up tall tales about his people, the Scotts. Mizzy, an African-American with poufy hair, is very perky and uses words like “Groovy,” that David’s never heard. Tia, an older redhead and Prof’s girlfriend (who’s missing, or dead possibly) was an expert on Epics.

Of course if you read the previous books, you know all that, or just needed a reminder. If you hadn’t read them, you you should probably stop reading this review and look for spoiler free reviews on Steelheart, ya slontze. (That’s not an insult, that was a made-up word from the book, which was set in Chicago, now Newcago).

The Reckoners are in Ildithia, which used to be Atlanta and used to be in Georgia. Well now’s it’s made of salt that grows and disintegrates over a week, moving like mold, by growth and decay. It’s currently near Kansas City, Kansas. Weird, I know. I didn’t get it at first either. It’s pretty cool though. I like the idea of a building made of a crystal. Though, having to move each week would suck.

They set up a base there, avoid Epics until the mission. Stuff doesn’t go so well. They have quite a few run-ins. The make plans. David in currently leading the group and coming up with crazy ideas and persuading the other Reckoners to go along with it. Everyone’s skeptical of David’s farfetched plans. David’s eternally optimistic, sometimes in an annoying cheeky way. I like him for that. He almost reminds me of Ray from Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow, (who get called “boy scout” a lot).

The ending of the book is crazy. I kind of suspected what Calamity was, but didn’t know who he was. A what happened to David was what I was hoping for, but I didn’t expect what exactly would happen. If you think I’m being vague, I am doing so to not spoil it. I really want to talk about it though. OHMYGOSH!!!!!! EERRRR!!!! I just…loved it too much. Seriously, why can’t there be more series like this?

Recommend this to fans of Marvel and DC comics and movies and TV shows. Books like Illusive, V is For Villain and Shatter Me.

Cover Art Review: Cool cover. Love the colors and the bullet hole. Very representative of the series.

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

Series: Firebird Trilogy (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Sci-fi/Romance

Subjects: multiverse, parallel universes, science, love

Setting: San Francisco, California, New York City, Paris

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Marguerite Caine

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 426 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions.

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.”

My Review:  This is a really awesome sequel. I’ve been waiting for this since I finished the first book and now I’m so happy to have read. Claudia Gray has made another great series, this time sci-fi instead of paranormal. These books have such beautiful covers, and wonderful content to match. I enjoyed every moment of this book. There are no dull moments. It’s like a thriller. The setting moves to different places, different worlds. It’s exciting and fast paced.

Marguerite travels to different dimension, into different versions of herself to collect the pieces of Paul soul that were splintered. She’s been made a “perfect traveler” so she has complete control over herself in the other universes. Conley is forcing her to destroy her parent’s Firebird project work in these other dimension. The Firebird is a device that lets people’s consciousness travel into other version of themselves. They can’t physically travel there; only their minds do. I love seeing how different or similar each universe is. It’s like a surprise every time. There are different circumstances, so people may be different from their other selves in some ways. Sometime she finds herself in California, where she lives currently. Sometimes in England, New York, or Russia. The travel part of this book adds interest.

Somehow Marguerite is connected to Paul in some way in most of the universes. Also Theo is there frequently too. Marguerite discovers that she sometimes is in love with Theo, not always Paul. She loves Paul deeply, though. Theo is a great friend to her. I personally like Theo more because he’s got a great sense of humor and dresses like a hipster, and Paul is kind of quiet. They’re both smart, though. It’s not truly a love triangle.

I recommend it to those who enjoyed: Parallel by Lauren Miller, Tandem by Anna Jarzeb, 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil, The False Memory Series by Dan Krokos, Unraveling and Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris, Unremembered and Unforgotten by Jessica Brody, and other parallel universe book, and The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges, which is set in Russia.

Cover Art Review: I still love the use of watercolor texture and the city skylines. These are still some of my favorite covers and make me wish I bought them, but I liked the colors of the previous cover better. The indigo/navy blue with the stars in it is nice and reminds me of my own watercolor paintings of night skies.