Helena Christodoulo
“The City of Brass” is the first in a trilogy written by S.A. Chakraborty. This novel follows Nahri, who lives in 18th century Cairo. One night while working on one of her cons, she accidentally summons a mysterious djinn warrior. The warrior takes Nahri to Daevabad, which is the legendary city of brass, which is the city that Nahri is permanently bounded to. The city's walls are walls laced with enchantments, and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are festering.
I found the setting quite interesting. I also enjoyed learning about the djinn and the different beings of the four elements. The story was very interesting, and I enjoyed the novel, I gave the novel a 4/5 stars.
“Unearthed” is the first in a duology co-written by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. “Unearthed” follows two main characters named, Jules Addison and Amelia Radcliffe. These two meet on the planet Gaia, after Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race called ‘The Undying' who had advanced technology that has the potential to undo the environmental damage to the Earth. Both characters have different reason's for being on Gaia, Jules Addison is there to study “The Undying's” culture while Amelia Radcliffe is there to scavenge for treasures.
I enjoyed the novel, which had elements of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, which I enjoy, but unlike Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, “Unearthed” was not as entertaining and as exciting as these adventurous movies. I gave the novel a 3/5 Stars.
“The Last Namsara” is the first in a trilogy written by Kristen Ciccarelli. The novel follows Asha, the King of Firgaard's daughter. Asha is a dragon slayer, and she brings the slayed dragon heads back to her father. She is betrothed to a cruel commandant, and when she is offered the chance to gain her freedom from her betrothed in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard.
There is a romantic relationship between Asha and her betrothed's slave named Torwin. I quite enjoyed the story, there are chapters that are about the old myths that exist in Asha's world. These myths are very interesting. I gave this novel a 3.5/5 stars.
“The Thousandth Floor” is the first in a trilogy written by Katharine McGee. The novel is based in a thousand floor building in New York City, the richer you are the higher up you are in the tower. The novel follows five main characters who live in this tower. Throughout the novel the five teenage struggle to find their place at the top of this tower. The novel is a science fiction novel with high-tech luxury. Throughout the novel we are trying to find out who of the five had died at the beginning of the novel.
This novel was really odd for me. I found one of the romantic relationships kinda gross. I didn't enjoy this novel that much. I gave this a 2/5 Stars, I will not be continuing with this trilogy. I don't really care about anyone in this book.
“No Good Deed” is a standalone novel written by Kara Connolly. The novel follows the main character named Ellie Hudson who is the front-runner on the road to gold for the U.S. Olympic archery team, but to qualify for the Olympics she need to win at the trials in England. While there she makes a wrong turn when in the caverns under Nottingham Castle and with that she ends up in medieval England.
This novel is a Robin Hood retelling and has time travel aspects. Overall the novel was enjoyable, though the romance was strange, especially at the end of the novel. Ellie is a strong and brave character. I gave the novel a 3/5 stars.
“Everless” is the first in a duology written by Sara Holland. The novel is based in the Kingdom of Sempera, where time is currency which is extracted from blood then bound to iron, then the coin would be consumed to add time to one's own lifespan. This novel follows Jules Ember, who goes to the Gerlings' estate called Everless to earn time in order to keep her father alive and well after learning that her father is dying.
“Everless” is an interesting and unique novel due to the idea of time being a currency. I overall enjoyed the novel, I gave the novel a 3/5 Stars.
“Flame in the Mist” is the first in a duology, written by Renee Ahdieh. The novel follows a Japanese, seventeen-year-old, named Mariko who was raised one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. On her way to her betrothed, her journey is cut short when Mariko's party is savagely attacked by the Black Clan, which is a dangerous group of outlaws who have been hired to kill Mariko before she reaches the palace. As a survivor of the attack, she dresses as a peasant boy to infiltrate the Black Clan.
The novel was interesting, and enjoyable. I thought Mariko was a strong character. There is romance in the novel, that was okay. The novel is not a Mulan Retelling! I gave the novel a 3/5 Stars.
“Love, Life and the List” is a standalone novel written by Kasie West. This novel follows Abby who is a teenage artist whose paintings are not accepted into an art show because she does not “have enough heart,” so Abby decides to make a list of things to do that will apparently give her the depth that she needs to become a better artist.
The novel also includes a romance as she does have a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. This novel is filled of romance, which is cute and fluffy. The book is a fast and quick read. I gave the book a 3/5 Stars.
“The Heart of Iron” is the first novel in a series which is written by Ashley Poston. The novel follows Ana, who was found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a space captain and his crew, that she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him. Ana's desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But, a spoiled boy beats Ana to the coordinates. When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive.
I found the novel really fun as the novel is basically Anastasia, in space. The novel is a fast-paced and engaging novel. I found Ana quite annoying sometimes as she was a bit of a loose cannon, as she is willing to take all the risks and putting her own crew mates which are her so-called-family in harm's way to save D09 from permanently dying down due to his memory core glitch. I mean I get it, but he didn't want anyone to get hurt for him, so in a way she was disrespecting his wishes, but I did like the romance between Ana and D09. I also liked Jax as I found him a fun and enjoyable character with a cute romance. I gave the novel a 3/5 stars.