Review: Myths of Mish by Katie Hamstead

4 STARS FOR MERMAIDS, ADVENTURE, AND A STRONG FEMALE LEAD!

Hansel and Gretel Herrscher survived the witch in the woods, but the experience has made Hansel paranoid for the past ten years. He sees dark magic at every turn. When Gretel has a marriage arranged to a much older man, and Hansel discovers he's about to be sent halfway across the galaxy, he knows something sinister is afoot. 

Wilhelmine Nordon has plenty of experience with Hansel's quirkier side. So when she catches him and Gretel running away in the middle of the night, she follows to keep them from getting killed. The siblings have never left the capital of Mish on their own, so they need a babysitter. Except when she's discovered, Hansel gives her his usual cold shoulder, and Gretel secretly begs her to take them back. 

The problem is, Hansel's paranoia turns out to be well founded, and they're all being hunted.


*Generously received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Myths of Mish is a sequel to Princess of Tyrone, but it can be read as a standalone novel. I have written a review of Princess of Tyrone, if you have not read it then you can find it here. I would recommend reading Princess of Tyrone first though due to different places and people being referenced. Thus, you will have a more informed mind of how the whole world that Hamstead has created works.

When I received the email that I was being provided an ARC to review the next book in this series, I was completely excited and thrilled. I LOVE Princess of Tyrone. It is one of those book series that takes stories and concepts that everyone is familiar with, but brings a whole new twist. I don't want to rant and rave too much of how much I love the general concept and world. I could spend the whole review just speaking about that without even touching on this particular story. 

Myth of Mish focuses on the story of Hansel and Gretel, but also on Wilhemine Nordon and is told in first-person point of view. Everyone knows the story of Hansel and Gretel, but Myths of Mish tells the story of what happens to Hansel and Gretel as they are becoming young adults and going off on an adventure with their friend Wilhemine. The book is filled with action, romance, a coming of age story, and is fast paced. I never felt like the story slowed down or had any moments that were lacking. I read through this book within two days and I didn't feel like I was purposely speed reading it. 



Hansel is really a complex character. He was one of my favorite character to read from their perspective. Hansel as a character is written to be very complex and has deep problems that are very relatable. Due to the trauma that occurred during his and Gretel's childhood, he has deep mistrust of essentially everyone, but Gretel. For this reason alone, he is one of my favorite characters. I loved reading his perspective to see through his mind how he reacts, reasons, and makes decisions. I think many individuals can read Hansel's story and really empathize. He lost his mother growing up, gained a step-mother that was the direct person that caused the trauma in his life, feels like he lost his father to the one person that he truly hates, and has pretty much lost all of his friends and others due to this event and the toll that it has taken on him. I think Hansel is a real representation of children and how trauma effects them years down the line as they are becoming adults. As an adult, Hansel feels isolated, misunderstood, lost, and abandoned. This is where Hansel stands at the beginning of Myths of Mish. 

Gretel as a character is very different from Hansel. Gretel is 17 years old and was very young when the incident occurred. Thus, her mind was not as self-aware of everything that occurred. Overall, as a character Gretel was not my favorite, but that was due to personal reasons. As I said before, Gretel is 17, so her mind is very naive, gullible, and is quick to make rash decisions. This leads her to making decisions in the book that leave me shaking my head and thinking "Man, this girl is dumb!" Gretel comes across in the book as a side character that is really in the middle of all the action. She was directly there with Hansel when they were trapped with the witch in the house and she is directly there with Wilhemine and Hansel on the adventure. So Gretel comes across as the glue that is connecting a lot of things in the story, but she doesn't have enough agency to really understand everything that is going and being truly involved. Also, when she does make decisions, it is for the wrong reasons and she is misinformed. All of this is true, but remember she is 17. I think that many 17 year old girls can say that they made some bad decisions growing up and that they were a little dumb. 

Saving the best for last, WILHEMINE! Wilhemine is my favorite! She is strong, mature, self-aware, confident, brave, smart, and cares about others. She is a perfect role model for young woman. She has always cared about Hansel, but she has not given up who she is to try to win him over. She has stayed true to herself and if Hansel did not like her then so be it. I love that about her! Too many women try to change them self to win a guy, but Wilhemine does not do that. In the end, Hansel recognizes Wilhemine for who she is, but that is because her beauty shined from within. She stood up for herself and didn't let Hansel or any other person boss her around. She is a total Queen B! Queen Boss, guys! :D Also, like any modern Queen B, she has her own career and dreams. I completely love that everyone on the planet respected her, because she earned it. She has worked hard for everything that she has and nothing has been handed to her. She is not some sissy girl in a pretty dress with pretty hair. She is a strong, confident, and beautiful woman that knows her value and worth, but is also really kind. How can anyone hate her or not want to be her?! *Crying* SHE IS PERFECT! 

Last but not least, I was really excited to see the fairies made an appearance! :D Here are my favorite fairies to end my review. Enjoy! That is a wrap for me! 4 STARS and a must read in my opinion! I love this book and can't wait for book #3!

Review: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

3 1/2 STARS FOR X-MEN LIKE RECRUITING, CAL, & A WELL DEVELOPED HEROINE! 

Kneel Or Bleed

If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different.

Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. 

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. 

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. 

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.

If you have not read Red Queen, then I suggest that you wait to read my review. Glass Sword is the sequel to Red Queen and cannot be read as a stand-alone. 

I have done it! I have finally read this book! I first read Red Queen, the first book in the series, last year when it came out and since then I have been dying to read the sequel. The book came out in February, but unfortunately my to be read books were way to high for me to have the chance to read it and the perfect opportunity came in May while I was on a vacation. 

So, I have read a little bit of the reviews on Goodreads after I read the book for myself and I don't know where I stand with everyone else. For the most part, I feel like there are a lot of mixed reviews. Either people love it, giving it a 5 star rating, which if you can tell by my reviews that is not something that I do. I do not give a book a 5 star rating unless I feel like it is one of my favorite books of all time and ranks on my top 5 or top 10 books. Just wanted to clarify that. Back to the topic at hand, so the book is falling into either the reader really loves the book or people are giving it a 1 or 2 star and do not believe that it lives up to the caliber of Red Queen. 

So where do I stand? Well, I give it a 3 1/2 stars. 3, because it is not quite a 4 and the 1/2 because I do think that it does have enough qualities and substance to be recognized. The hardest thing with books in a series is trying to review and rate them as individual books. If a book is a trilogy, then it is a little bit easier. I felt like I had a clear judgement with how I felt of each book in the Hunger Games series. The same can be said for the Harry Potter series, but this is also after the series is finished that I feel like I can say that. I state this, because as a reader and reviewer, once the book is finished and the reader knows that the series is not over, they have to acknowledge that. There is more to the story. So, that is my overall thought process while reviewing this book and future books in general when they are in a series, such as Glass Sword. 

Well, what did I like/dislike?

Likes:

• One of my favorite aspects of the first book and I'm glad that it was continued into the sequel, is the similarity to X-Men. So think about it for a second with me. In X-Men, (if you are familiar with the X-Men movies and TV series) those with mutated genetics were sought out to be exterminated. They were different and not understood scientifically, but there was a group that came together to find others like them with the X gene. In X-Men, the group was obviously, the X-Men, while in Glass Sword the group was Mare Barrow and the Scarlet Guard. I really enjoyed Mare and her pursuit of the new bloods. It was really fun finding out what each newblood's power was. It reminded me a lot of X-Men. 

I know that other readers thought that the search for newbloods was boring and did not provide much action, but for me I enjoyed it because I felt like it was setting the basis or foundation for the next book. It takes time to introduce all of the new characters, their powers, and the overall development of the plot. Also, the search for the newbloods provided character development for Cal and Mare. It showed Mare struggling as a leader, connecting with others, and feeling isolated. As for Cal, it showed how his strength as a leader, a strategist, and training all of the newbloods. So in my opinion, the search for the newbloods and bringing the group together, X-Men style, was fun to read about and I really enjoyed. It has been one my favorite things in the whole series. I love learning about all of the different powers. 

• Maven and his mother, Queen Elara, are badass villains. Seriously, Maven is awesome. He is dark and unyielding in his pursuit for Mare, especially with the letters. There is nothing better in a book then a good villain. Someone that really gets into the mind of the hero and breaks them down. It is completely boring to have a villain that is weak and doesn't push the hero, but that isn't Maven or even Queen Elara. Maven scares the shit (sorry for the language) out of Cal and Mare. He is in their head and dreams. That is what makes him a good villain! He is someone Cal and Mare can't escape. They can't move past who they thought he was and who he is now. As for Queen Elara, there is nothing better than an Evil Queen that can get into anyone's head and control them. 

• Mare Barrow is a badass heroine for young women to read about. I really like how Victoria Aveyard wrote Mare Barrow to be so real. She has so many layers to her character and she is not perfect. She is an authentic teenage girl, 17 years old, going through struggles of identity, feeling alone and isolated, without certainty of anything. Is she someone that is always fun to read about? No. There were definitely times when I wanted to shake the girl and tell her to get over her issues. I definitely thought that there were times when she was just self-wallowing, having a pity party, and taking on problems for herself. But then that just brings me back to my earlier statement about Mare Barrow being authentic, she has pro's and con's. But she is still Mare Barrow a 17 year old girl. 

Dislikes:

• The ending. I hate the ending of this book. I don't want to give it away, but I hate the cliff hanger. I feel like I was just left empty-handed. I am completely confused and caught off guard. Part of me feels really angry at Aveyard. Angry at her for not giving us more of an explanation for the ending and what to expect for the next book. It is a completely frustrating ending for the reader and Mare Barrow. What happens to Mare Barrow is awful, annoying, terrible. It is one of those situations that the reader doesn't want to read about or have happen. I know personally, that if something is happening in a book that is terrible for the protagonist, then I don't want to read it. I want to wish it away and not even acknowledge that it is happening. And this is the type of situation that Aveyard put Mare Barrow in. The lightning girl. AND IT IS A CLIFF HANGER! Like I said. It is awful and frustrating. Thus, I am probably going to hate Aveyard until the next book, but it is a cruel thing to do to your readers. 

But what can I do? Wait till the next book and hope that things quickly turn around for Mare Barrow. I sure do hope so. Until then, I will be waiting and follow all of the updates for the next book like everyone else!

Review: The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

4 STARS FOR MAGIC, ALADDIN, & LOVE!!!

She is the most powerful Jinni of all. He is a boy from the streets. Their love will shake the world... 

When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years—a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes. But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of Aladdin from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury.

It has finally been completed! I hated having to put this book on hold to read other books for reviews, but c'est la vie! It's all part of the gig. ON WITH THE REVIEW!

"I am not allowed to hope. I am forbidden a wish of my own. And so I will not think of the world above, of the open sky, of the fresh air and the light of day.

I will be lost, a myth, a dream. Trapped forever with myself in this prison of sand and magic. I cannot imagine a more terrifying doom. I thought I had resigned myself to this fate long ago, when it seemed no one would ever find me. Now I know this to be untrue, and that hope has pulsed deep within me like a dormant seed, waiting to flourish at the first sign of escape."

Khoury's The Forbidden Wish is a beautifully written work. I mean, come on! Just read the quote above! The book is a perfect blend of the well known story of Aladdin with a completely original love story. When I first started reading the book, I recognized the story of Aladdin that we all know. 

The reader hears the jinni in the lamp calling out to Aladdin to come find the lamp and keeping to the original text, Aladdin finds the lamp, takes it, and has to escape the tomb. But after this, Khoury twists the story and makes it her own. Instead of the Robin Williams' comedic jinni that I was familiar with growing up, the reader is introduced to Zarah. Oh, Zarah. Zarah is such a fantastic heroine for the story. She is completely conflicted with her past, what she wants, and what she can realistically have as a jinni. I love that she is a strong female jinni that uses the wishes of men against them. "I've destroyed smarter  men than you with their own words." She is by far one of the most interesting characters that I have read this year.

Through the character of Zarah, Khoury created a whole universe with a past, present, and possible future. The past holds the beginning of the world with jinnis and magic, Zarah's history before a being a jinni, and Zarah's past as Queen Roshana's jinni and best friend.

Most of the story is told at the present with Aladdin as her new master who wants to seek revenge on Sulifer who murdered his parents. It takes place in the same land that Zarah had once lived in with Roshana,Parthenia, but time has passed and now people hate and fear jinnis following the war and devastation that was brought down on them. This provides the foundation for most of the conflict that will occur.

The future is something that is kept open in the book. Zarah, as a jinni, wants a future free from her lamp, but does not allow herself to dream and hope for it. Aladdin wants a future free from his past and with a possibility of his home being free from Sulifer.

Now, on to Aladdin! I loved the Aladdin that Khoury created. He is realistic, flawed, brave, and someone that the reader can easily fall in love with. He still had traces of the Aladdin from the Disney movie. Ladies man, thief, clever, smart and an outsider, but Khoury created more depth to Aladdin. We get more of a story of his past,  inner conflict between doing what is right and what he wants to do, and struggling to move forward from his past. Plus, falling in love! Khoury does not keep Abu in her story, but it is understandable why. It wouldn't have really added too much to the story and it isn't really essential. Also, the magic carpet was mentioned in the beginning, but was not continued throughout. This demonstrates the lack of magic available to Aladdin in this retelling. He solely relied on Zarah and his wishes for magic.

All of the secondary major characters are interesting as well. Caspida, Caspida's handmaidens, Sulifer, and Sulifer's son (his name is drawing a blank on me at the moment.) I don't even know if I would really categorize Caspida as a secondary characters. Her character is written very compellingly. She is a very bad ass character in herself and could easily have her own story. Khoury could have written the story between Aladdin's and Caspida's  point of view and it would still be interesting to read. She really holds her own, is noble, strong, and courageous. She is truly a modern woman in a not very modern time. A woman in authority is looked down upon and is considered ludicrous, but she does not let that stand against her. Instead she is inspired from women from the past and surrounds herself with strong women as her handmaidens. Again, I repeat myself. Caspida really probably deserves her own story. Sequel possibly?!? *wink wink nudge nudge* I'm talking to you Khoury!

So overall, I give this book 4 stars! It really has several great elements without anything lacking. Strong writing, great character development, the characters have depth, the universe that was created is beautiful, and the pace of the story was great! 

Review: Princess of Tyrone by Katie Hamstead

4 Stars for Steampunk, Fairy Tales, and Female Ass-Kicking!

Apolline is happy hunting magical creatures on her pirate infested outer-perimeter planet. She is a fantastic shot, and doesn’t flinch at the blood and guts of her kills. Never once did she consider she could be the missing Princess of Tyrone. 

All her life, she has heard the story of the Princess, cursed to sleep for eternity, unless her betrothed, the Prince of Oran, gave her true love’s kiss. Although Apolline knows she is betrothed, she thinks her fairy guardians arranged it out of ignorance of human ways. The thought she could be a princess is inconceivable.

Then Allard appears. Handsome, charming—but he’s not hers to have. He’s betrothed, too. Her guardians warn her against her new found friendship, but she and Allard meet in secret anyway. Despite her rough exterior, he sees beyond her gun-slinging bravado, and their love blossoms.

But the deadline for the sleeping curse is approaching. If Apolline falls in love with the wrong person, she could end up sleeping forever. 

A quirky, adventurous retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with a less than princess-ly princess!

*Generously received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

(Reviewer's Note: I am still currently reading The Forbidden Wish and I am hoping to finishing it soon, so I can post the review for everyone)

Who I would recommend this for:
I would recommend this to readers that enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles series by Marrisa Meyer,The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, and Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls series) by Maggie Stiefvater. 

As soon as I saw the cover of this book and read the description, I was hooked. I love re-tellings of fairy tales and steampunk stories, such as, Firefly and The Infernal Devices. And Princess of Tryone did not disappoint. 

Hamstead's creation of a space universe with different plants and creatures is incredible. I absolutely loved the way that she stayed true to the Grimm's fairy tales, yet she made them her own. As a writer, Hamstead made each fairy tale identifiable, but with a twist. The focus was on the children of the well known characters, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Snow White, the Evil Queen, but Hamstead did not rely on the original name of the characters. She made them her own by naming them Cytheria, Byranna, and Apolline as Sleeping Beauty. This allowed for the characters to become someone and something else in a whole new story. 

The main protagonist is Appoline, or Sleeping Beauty. She is a spunky, sassy, ass-kicking female that is completely independent and stays true to herself. I applaud Hamstead for keeping these traits in Appoline through the whole story. For many stories, the writer will create a heroine that is strong and independent, but as soon as they meet "the one" they completely lose all of the traits that made them strong and appealing. This was not the case for Appoline. Appoline stayed Appoline even after she met her parents and learned that her true identity is Elpida. This is such a strong message to send to women. Stay true to yourself and who you are. 

Appoline feared that once she became a queen and would be in the public eye, that she would have to become a totally different person, but I loved that she was told that all of the basic traits of being a queen could be taught. It is who she is an individual that will make the people love her. 

Appoline's love interest is Allard. Allard was a particularly fun character to read. I think that I actually enjoyed reading his parts of the story more than Appoline's. Allard is extremely loyal, respectful, and thoughtful. He is mature for his age. Instead of thinking about himself, he thinks about Cytheria and Hernan, his planet, his father, and Elpida. He does have instances where he wants to be selfish, but in the end, he realizes that he needs to think about what is best for the future.

Allard's love and interest in Appoline is pure. He loves her for who she is as a person and does not judge her for her social position. He does not believe that he is better than her, instead he actually believes that she is better than him. He is amazed by her knowledge of magic, the working class, and her ability to hunt. I find this to be really admirable.

I really appreciate that Hamstead wrote Appoline and Allard's love story as a friendship that grows into more. They did not automatically jump into a whirlwind romance. They kept each other at arms link, because they want to be respectful to their betrothed. They both understand the promises that they have and the responsibilities that come with it. This work shows a mature depiction of a friendship and romantic relationship. I stand-up and applaud Hamstead. Thank you, Hamstead! Thank you for writing a strong heroine, thank you for writing a great love story where people become friends and love each other for who they are, and thank you for creating such a great steampunk/fairy tale world!

I could keep writing about all of the different facets of this work that I love. I haven't even touched on the fairies, Bryanna (which is a great villian! She is just as interesting as the heroes!), the Whites, and the technology in the work. If you have not read this book, you need to! I am so happy that there will be a sequel and can't to see which direction Hamstead goes with it. Either way, I know that I will be in for a treat. Thank you, again, NetGalley for the copy! :)

Review: Rebel of Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

3 1/2-4 STARS FOR MAGIC, GUN-SLINGING BANDIT CHICKS, AND PRINCES!

"She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is."


Who would I recommend this for?
I would recommend this book for those that have enjoyed Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury, The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, and A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

I am honestly really surprised with how I ended up feeling with this book by the end of it. I have been DYING to read this book since it came out in March and I finally got a chance to read it this weekend! :) BUT I am a little disappointed, because I felt like there was something just kind of missing with it. I loved the excerpt (the first 3 chapters) that I read and I overall enjoyed the first half of the book, which pretty much leaves the second half of the book that really kind of threw it off for me.

The first half of the book was great with Amani and Jin. Amani's smart-mouth is hilarious and reminds me of myself, a normal girl. She is just like any other girl would be in her situation. She has a little bit of an attitude, she doesn't want people telling her what to do or who to marry, and she wants more to life. These are all traits that I believe are relatable.

Also, I enjoy the mysteriousness around Jin. He is portrayed as this mysterious foreigner in the beginning of the book. Amani and myself, as the reader, do not really know how to feel about Jin, what his motives are, or who he really is. Yet, he still has moments where his character and personality break through and we learn more about him.

The overall world created in Rebel of Sands is interesting and really kind of fascinating. Even after I have finished the book, I am still really kind of fascinated to learn more of the world that is created. Jin talks to Amani about some of the other countries and places that he has visited and are foreign to Amani. This is a short conversation, but it provides enough information to make myself and Amani curious. Hamilton is really great at describing and creating all of the different characters, creatures, and continents. All of the characters are unique and different.

So, what is holding me back from falling absolutely in love and head over heels with this book??? There is a point in the book, I don't really want to give too much information or spoilers away, where there is shift in direction. Literally, where Jin and Amani shift their travel direction and it changes the rest of the book, in my opinion. Also, at this point the pace of the book changes. The pace of the plot sped up. I think the change of pace and the information that is revealed, really kind of changed the progression of the book. As a reader, I was really kind of caught of guard and actually took a moment to look up from the book and ponder what was left of the book and what might happen. After this shift, everything fell into place really fast and almost came across as a plot/data dump. I wanted to scream at the book, "WHOA! HOLD ON! LET ME ENJOY THE REST OF THE BOOK!" This made me question if there will be a sequel. By the way, the book does not end with a cliff hanger like you would expect it to have, if there were to be sequel.

I have found out since finishing the book that the book is actually part of a trilogy. So, yes! There will be a sequel! I am excited to read the sequel! I really do like Jin, Amani, and the world that Hamilton has created. If I were able to spend more time enjoying a slower progression of the plot and possibly a hint of what is going to happen in the sequel, then I probably would have given the book 4 stars. I am curious where Hamilton is going to be going with the rest of the series, but I guess we shall see! :)