Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Ahiers

Series: Assassin’s Heart (bk. 1)

Genera(s): High Fantasy/Romance

Subjects: assassins, murder, revenge, adventure, gods and goddesses, love, supernatural, ghosts, spirits

Setting: The kingdom of Lovero

POV/Tense: 1^st person, past tense: Lea (Oleander) Saldana

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 420 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover 

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.”

My Review:  I had no idea what to expect with this book. When I first saw it coming out, I didn’t think it would be my kind of fantasy. The cover was kind of interesting. Then I read the description. I was a bit more intrigued. I tried reading it and I was pulled in. This is a really awesome unique fantasy story.

There are assassins, Families, ghosts and gods. Lea’s a Saldana and bear a mask that’s half bone white and half black with a design, like the rest of her Family. She has dirty blond hair and brown eye and she’s a Clipper, an assassin who takes jobs to murder in the name of the goddess Safraella. Lea is romantically involved with a rival Family member, Val Da Via, who’s blonde, sexy and arrogant. This forbidden romance between rival families has the influence of the play Romeo and Juliet.

Lea’s Family is killed in a fire set by the Da Vias and she’s the last Saldana left. Lea wants revenge and meets with the king, who’s a friend of her now dead father. He gives her the location of her only living relative, her uncle. Lea travels to another country full of canals and angry ghosts that haunt the night. There she meets dark-haired Alessio (Les). He’s a wannabe Clipper. She agrees to train him in exchange for his help in making a fire-bomb.

A romance develop between them. I really liked Alessio. I know rightaway her was going to be important, even before we know his name. Just based off the way he was described in the market. He’s funny and sweet. Lea’s a badass and trains him. It made me think of Wren and Callum from Reboot, or other relationships from YA books. I enjoy the humor and banter between them. The ending was pretty good. I found out there’s a sequel that possibly a companion. I’m guessing it’s from another character, maybe in the future (Allegra maybe…)

I recommend this to fans of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, The Young Elites or Legend by Marie Lu, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page, The Jewel by Amy Ewing, Defiance by C.J. Redwine, Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch, and Shadow and Bone by Leugh Bardugo.

Cover Art Review: This cover put me off because I didn’t understand it. Now I read the book and know that’s the holy coin of the Saldanas and not some strange medallion. I like the velvet texture of the paper.

Public Enemies by Ann Aguirre

Series: Immortal Games (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Subjects: supernatural, magic, wishes, horror, immortals, revenge

Setting: Boston, Massachusetts

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, past tense: Edie (Edith) Kramer

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 372 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: MacMillan: Feiwel & Friends

Summary/ product description: “Learn the rules of the game…and then play better than anyone else.

Through a Faustian bargain, Edie Kramer has been pulled into the dangerous world of the Immortal Game, where belief makes your nightmares real. Hungry for sport, fears-made-flesh are always raising the stakes. To them, human lives are less than nothing, just pieces on a board.

Because of her boyfriend Kian’s sacrifice, she’s operating under the mysterious Harbinger’s aegis, but his patronage could prove as fatal as the opposition. Raw from deepest loss, she’s terrified over the deal Kian made for her. Though her very public enemies keep sending foot soldiers—mercenary monsters committed to her destruction—she’s not the one playing under a doom clock. Kian has six months…unless Edie can save him. And this is a game she can’t bear to lose.

My Review: Public Enemies is the sequel to Mortal Danger. I sadly didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book (that I gave 4.5 stars). I was often confused, maybe because I forgot what happened previously. Lots of the stuff in this book is too unbelievable and hard to imagine. The best part was the romance between Kian and Edie. Edie and Kian both are interested in intellectual things, like science, classic movies, and poetry. It’s set in modern day Boston. Edie goes to a private school called Blackbriar Academy.

To recap, Edie used to be the school laughing stock: ugly, overweight and friendless, but very smart. She attempts to end her own life, but is stopped by Kian, who makes her an offer that changes her life. Kian tells Edie she can have 3 favors, like a genie giving 3 wishes. When she burns her first favor, she asks him to make her beautiful. Edie spends her summer leaning about science and getting used to her beauty and planning her revenge on the popular crowd she calls the Teflon Crew. Edie learns that getting revenge isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and that everything comes with a price.

Edie is dealing with immortal who were created by the collective conscious of human beliefs and imagination. Their existence is owed to us. Edie is being watched by the Harbinger, a trickster who made a deal with Kian to keep Edie alive. In exchange, Kian only has until he’s 21 to live and will be eaten (drained) by the Harbinger. Harbinger is kind of like Loki or other trickster gods. He’s kind of ridiculous in the way he acts and dresses. Chaotic, I guess.

There’s Dwyer, who’s the enemy and the Sun God (Apollo/Baulder). Wedderburn who’s a winter god and also who Kian used to work for. There are other kinds of creatures and being too. There’s Buzzkill, the killer clown who was an Internet urban legend. There’s a creature called the Chuthulu. There’s mythological monsters and there’s even demons.

You may enjoy Mortal Danger if you enjoyed: Any books by Brenna Yovanoff, Gretchen McNeil, Josephine Angelini, or Kendare Blake. Also mythology series like Darkness Becomes Her or Percy Jackson or Fury.

Cover Art Review: Not a fan of this cover. The girl looks like the evil queen from Snow White/Once Upon a Time.

The Invisible by Amelia Kahaney

Series: Brokenhearted (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi/Action Thriller

Subjects: crime, criminals, abilities, genetic alteration, vigilantes, superheroes, superpowers, love, ballerinas

Setting: the City of Bedlam (an alternate version of Chicago)

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Anthem Fleet

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 291 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover and soon in Paperback

List Price: $17.99/$9.99

Publisher: HarperTeen and Alloy Entertainment

Summary/ product description: “In the riveting sequel to the reimagined superhero story The Brokenhearted, Anthem Fleet takes on a powerful new villain and makes some startling discoveries about her family and her past that will forever change her.

Taking up where The Brokenhearted ended, the sequel finds Anthem Fleet attempting to return to a normal life after an experimental surgery that left her with a bionic hummingbird heart and a terrifying new strength. But she can’t shake her suspicions about her father’s connection to the Syndicate and she can’t ignore the cries of help in the crime-ridden city of Bedlam. She finds new promise in her relationship with Ford, but after his lifesaving surgery, the Ford Anthem knew slips away.

When a mysterious new group called “The Invisible” starts attacking the privileged North Siders, Anthem has to step up and be the New Hope that Bedlam needs, or Bedlam will fall…once and for all.

Publishers Weekly called The Brokenhearted an “atmospheric, adventure-laced debut” with “graceful world-building, strong characterizations, and an enveloping plot.”

My Review:  The Invisible is the amazing sequel to The Brokenhearted. It’s full of awesome and kind of feels like The Dark Knight meets The Black Swan. Anthem has gone all vigilante, much like Bruce Wayne of Oliver Queen, but unlike them she’s had her heart modified and now she’s super fast and has enhanced senses.

Something bad goes down at a horse show and group that calls themselves the Invisible makes threats. They release videos urging the rich North siders to give their money to the South side. If not, bad stuff will happen. Then don’t take it seriously and someone gets killed. Despite her speed, Anthem was too late. Her and Ford want to find this Invisible just as much as the authorizes. Worse thing happen, and the North side finally does give some money. People now know that the New Hope is out there, but they don’t know it’s Anthem.

Also, we discover things about Anthem’s dead sister Regina.

I originally thought this was set in Chicago. It’s actually set in Bedlam, a city that is based off on Chicago. It’s an alternate reality version of Chicago that’s like Gotham from Batman. It may be a mixed of Detroit and Chicago. Like Chicago, it’s buy a lake, but Lake Morris, not Lake Michigan. There’s a river, like the Chicago River, and a North and South side. The poverty line it much more exaggerated. It’s much more dystopian-like.

If you’re a YA reader who enjoys Gotham (on Fox) or the Batman movies, then you’ll love The Brokenhearted series. Also if you love Arrow on the CW or this older show called Dark Angel. It’s very reminiscent of comic books and graphic novels. There’s so many book I can compare it too, not just TV, movies and superhero stuff. If you liked Divergent, Shatter Me, Die For Me, Cinder, Dark Star, Mila 2.0, False Memory. It’s very much like urban fantasy, minus anything paranormal. It’s action sci-fi, not steam punk. People have cell phones and dye their hair in punky colors and other modern things. I’m note sure if there will be a third book. I want there to be one, but I’m okay with this being the final book. If that sound like something you’d like to read, then give this series a read.

Cover Art Review: Lovely metal hummingbird. It’s very awesome! And also, the cityscape below is infact Chicago. I checked. That oval roofed building I recognize.