Review: The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins

The Great Hunt (Eurona Duology #2)
Author: Wendy Higgins
Release Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss / HarperTeen
Review by: Jenn

Kill the beast. Win the girl.

A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.

Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there’s no denying the unspoken lure between them…or his mysterious resentment.

Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast and protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.

Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale, “The Singing Bone,” New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged hunters, romantic tension, outlawed magic, and a princess willing to risk all to save her people.

3 stars out of 5 stars

*I received an eARC of this title from the publisher but it did not influence this review in any way.*

1- Good story. I like the plot of how a king who married for love and was going to do the same for his kids and had to go back on his word in order to save the kingdom because of beast going around killing people. I was curious to see where Wendy was going to take the story.

2- I liked the characters, to an extent. Aerity is naïve and Paxton is an ass. Paxton is mean and crude to Aerity just because he feels that everyone is kissing up to her. Aerity in turn, dislike how he speaks to her but find him attractive even after the fact. It really doesn’t compute for me, which it explains why I had such a hard time liking either of them. I also really didn’t see the attraction they both shared towards each other so I had a hard time picturing them together.

3- I am looking forward to the next book and learning how the story wraps up. Hopefully Paxton learns to be a bit nicer and Aerity grows more of a backbone and tells Paxton to shove it when he is crude to her.

Mini Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter 
(The Lunar Chronicles #4)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release Date: November 10, 2015
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Nahomi

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Winter is the final installment of the Lunar Chronicles. After finishing Cress I was so anxious to get my hands on this story that I bought it immediately. Winter is the retelling of Snow White with a twist. In this tale Winter (Snow White) lives on the moon and is going insane with Lunar sickness. Marissa Meyer does an outstanding job with this retelling! There are enough elements from the original story that it’s noticeable that it’s Snow White, but the story is definitely different. Normally, I am afraid to read the final book in any series and have a number of unfinished series to prove it; but Winter was everything I look for in a final book and more. I love how all of the stories intertwined in this final book.

Winter is full of suspense and excitement. I was always on my toes not knowing what to expect next. Winter and Jason balance each other in a great way. Winter has a quiet strength to her that is admirable. Jason is stoic, but has a soft stop for Winter. I had fun getting to see all of the characters interacting with one another. I loved how all of the characters stories ended up. Winter is another great addition to an already amazing series!

Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress 
(The Lunar Chronicles #3)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Source: Library
Review by: Nahomi

Even in the future. there are damsels in distress...

In the third installment of the Lunar chronicles, Cress, having risked everything to warn Cinder of Queen Levana's evil plan, has a slight problem. She's been imprisoned on a satellite since childhood and has only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress a great hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress involving Cinder, Captain Thorne, Scarlet, and Wolf goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes as a high price. Meanwhile, Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

5 stars out of 5 stars 

Cress is one of my absolute favorite books of this series to date! Every time I think that I can’t fall in love with this series anymore, I read the next book and I fall in love all over again. Cress follows the same format as the previous two books but adds the perspective of Cress a Lunar shell that has been locked away in a satellite in order to hack earthen systems and spy for Queen Lavana.

Cress is fast paced and more of an emotional rollercoaster than the previous two installments. There is so much happening in Cress that I couldn’t finish fast enough! Experiencing life through Cress’s eyes is great because she is experiencing everything for the first, and has a sense of wonder that isn’t often depicted in novels.

It was fun getting to know Carswell Thorne and Cress. Carswell reminds me of Flynn Ryder from the Disney movie Rapunzel.  He adds a lot of the comedic relief during some of the more serious moments of the novel. Cress is brave and really comes out of her shell as the story progresses. She goes through some major personal growth throughout the novel and comes out stronger at the end of it. There are some major plot twists thrown at us in Cress, which left me speechless. I need to get my hands on Winter ASAP!
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Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Source: Library
Review by: Nahomi

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

5 stars out of 5 stars 

It was a wonderful surprise to find out that in Scarlet we still get the povs that were in Cinder! Although the focus of the story is Scarlet and Wolf we still get to read about all of the other great characters too!! There was so much going on in this story, that it made my head spin. I really loved this retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Scarlet is fast paced and full of action and intrigue. You never really know who you can trust. Also it’s heartbreaking as well. Holy moly towards the end I was in tears for Scarlet.

Scarlet is a kick ass character for so many reasons. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and does what needs to be done even if it takes her shooting someone to accomplish her goal. I love her character so much! She is kind, trusting, but fearless and the same time. Her relationship with Wolf is odd. In the beginning I get that she is using him to get information about her grandmother, but as the story progresses it turns to more.

Wolf is hard to get a read on. He is good looking but aloof and I wanted to trust him but I couldn’t let myself trust him completely. His relationship with Scarlet is interesting in the sense that there are mixed signals coming from him. I didn’t really get a firm understanding of his character until the very end. There were definitely some very shocking moments for me where Wolf is concerned.

Scarlet is action packed and full of plot twists that will leave your head spinning and you itching to get your hands on the next book Cress.

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder 
(The Lunar Chronicles, #1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Source: Library
Review by: Nahomi

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg.

She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Leydy from Once Upon a Twilight recommended the Cinder audio book to me and I am so glad she did! I'm obsessed with the story! Rebecca Soler did a fantastic job with the narration. In the beginning I was a little skeptical because I am not a fond of retellings. I've had some bad experiences in the past, but this was definitely not the case with Cinder.

There are parallels throughout the book that are reminiscent of Cinderella but the story really takes a life of its own. I love this book from beginning to end but there are some elements in particular that I would like to single out. The book is separated in sections and in the beginning of each section is a quote from the original story, I absolutely love that! It sets the tone for the next sections of the story. The pacing and the plot twists really set the story a part from the original story and that is partially why I love the story so much.

The characters… I adore that Cinder is a damn good mechanic and that she is beautiful but not perfect. She is a cyborg which means parts of her are metal and that she has a computer in her head, which I find, would be useful all the time. Her friendship with Iko a droid is heart warming and strange at the same time. I love Iko’s quirkiness; she is such a funny character. Prince Kaito I am on the fence about him after finishing the story. I love all of his and Cinder’s interactions together, and I get where he is coming from there at the end but I still wanted him to act differently.

Cinder is emotional at the end and man I definitely can’t wait to get my hands on Scarlet which is the next book in The Lunar Chronicles.

Review: Great by Sara Benincasa

Great
Author: Sara Benincasa
Release Date: April 8, 2014
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Edelweiss
Review by: Jenn

In Sara Benincasa's contemporary retelling of The Great Gatsby, a teenage girl becomes entangled in the drama of a Hamptons social circle, only to be implicated in a tragedy that shakes the summer community.

Everyone loves a good scandal.

Naomi Rye usually dreads spending the summer with her socialite mother in East Hampton. This year is no different. She sticks out like a sore thumb among the teenagers who have been summering (a verb only the very rich use) together for years. But Naomi finds herself captivated by her mysterious next-door neighbor, Jacinta. Jacinta has her own reason for drawing close to Naomi-to meet the beautiful and untouchable Delilah Fairweather. But Jacinta's carefully constructed world is hiding something huge, a secret that could undo everything. And Naomi must decide how far she is willing to be pulled into this web of lies and deception before she is unable to escape.

2.5 stars out of 5 stars

*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher, but it did not influence this review in any way.*

I haven't read The Great Gatsby (yet) but I have seen the movie, so I was really excited about starting Great. I've been eyeballing the cover because is so eye-catching and it one of the reason why I chose to read it. However, Great wasn't all that great (pun intended). 

Naomi is spending the summer in the Hampton and somehow managed to become a part of popular crowd, partly because of her mother and because Jacinta seeks her out. Jacinta is the new girl in the neighborhood and everyone is curious about her. Jacinta has an air of mysterious clout and it was very interesting seeing it unravel.

As the story progressed, I was curious about some of the characters' motives. I was concerned that they were using Naomi for their own sneaky scheme and that she would get hurt. I was always suspicious of Delilah's, Teddy's and Jeff's real reasoning for hanging out with Naomi. But I did managed to figure out (well partly) Jacinta's motives. And unlike Naomi, I would have checked out of the budding friendship she had with Jeff a lot earlier than she did. Yes he was being charming but the way he defended Teddy when he was being an asshole really rubbed me the wrong way. I understand Teddy is Jeff's best friend but there was always something underlying in his reasoning.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't end up loving the book. I just couldn't click with any of the characters, not even with Naomi. I think I'll read The Great Gatsby and hopefully that will make up for the disappointment of Great.