War of Rain by H.W. Vivian

War of Rain by H.W. Vivian
Publisher: LuLu Publishing Services
Format: Paperback
Source: Received for review.

Fifteen year-old Miri lives in a desert village called Boreala, which competes with the city of Stratos for Rain - the equivalent of Holy Water. During a confrontation while gathering Rain, Miri accidentally kills a citizen of Stratos, and unintentionally starts a heinous war. Now it is up to her to find the God of Rain, Kalono, and ask Him for an invention that can bring both peace and war before Boreala is destroyed.

This was a really hard book for me to rate, I really did enjoy this book but at the same time it feels like it took me forever to get through. The story has a really interesting premise where the world is pretty much destroyed where it barely rains and there are little to no natural resources left and the humans have reverted to living in small villages and trading for goods and specialized products just like they did in the past.

I really liked Miri. She was tough and even though everything under the sun was thrown at her she always managed to come out on top. Philippe was my favorite character however. He's such a sweet boy and even though how he was raised should have affected how he acted it seems to have the complete opposite effect on this gentle boy.

The action through this novel kept me reading just to find out how it all ended. The fights were amazingly detailed and described and I do love some blood and gore. So if that isn't your type of thing maybe you could skim over those parts.

All in all I am extremely glad I was contacted by the author to review this book. I loved her previous novel Chasers and I'm looking forward to starting the companion novel for this story as well.


I received a copy of this book for review purposes this has in no way effected my views on this book and all opinions expressed are my own.

 

How to Protect Your Neighborhood from Circus Werewolves by Mick Bogerman

How to Protect Your Neighborhood from Circus Werewolves by Mick Bogerman
Series: Slug Pie Story, #4
Publisher: Slug Pie Stories LLC
Format: Paperback
Source: Received for review.

The circus is in town, and Mick Bogerman has a fail-proof plan to sneak inside the adults-only Macabre Pavilion. But there’s something weird about the A. Linville & Purnima Bros. Circus this year. Angry parents and crying kids exit early by the carload. Maybe it’s the clowns. Yes, they wear the standard stark-white faces and red bulbous noses, but underneath their painted smiles, there’s something not quite right. What's more, after the full moon rises . . . they howl. When Mick and his friends rescue a caged boy from the clown’s clutches they set off a series of disasters that threaten their entire neighborhood. Can Mick become the leader his neighbors need and protect them from the pack of hungry predators infiltrating their town?

When I was contacted by the publisher to review this book I was crazy excited to because I have read and reviewed the first three books in the series and absolutely loved them. This book was no different and to be perfectly honest this book has been my favorite so far.

It was great to see that Mick, Finley and their friends were up to their usual shenanigans and back to dealing with paranormal stuff in their little town. These kids have a lot of street smarts and can really handle themselves in any situation. Which is a good thing when you have werewolves hunting you down and threatening your town.

The action was great in this one I felt like so much happened and the book never once got dull. I love how all of the characters seem to be getting closer and helping each other out. That cliff hanger though why would you do that to me? I really want to know what is going to happen with Savannah in the next book!

If you haven't picked up this series yet I highly recommend it. It's great if you have kids or even if you're just a big kid at heart. These books are great fun and have enough action to keep adults entertained as well.

I received a copy of this book for review purposes this has in no way effected my views on this book and all opinions expressed are my own.

 

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
Series: Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #2
Publisher: Quirk Books
Format:Hardcover
Pages: 400
Source: Borrowed.

This sequel to the first novel, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended.

Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.

I absolutely loved this installment in the series. However it did take me a lot longer to get through this one than it did the first. This could be one of two things, maybe I took too long after reading the first book before picking up the second. Or it could have possibly been that I was not prepared to wait for the final book to find out what happened. Either way I still loved the novel and it was great seeing what was happening to the peculiar children.

We are once again with the peculiar children only this time it's not all of them. Quite a few decided to stay behind while they try to save Miss Peregrine. This was probably a good thing considering a huge group of children would have drawn way too much attention.

Just like with the first book the plot is quick moving and there is more than enough action as well as seeing the children just trying to survive so they can get their beloved caretaker returned to her normal state.

Now that the final book is out I can't wait to pick it up and find out just how all of this will end for the children and all of the other peculiars in their respective loops. If you haven't picked up this series yet I highly suggest it. It's full of suspense, mystery, action and even a little bit of a hint of romance.

Waiting on Wednesday #21

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Title: Strange the Dreamer
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Strange the Dreamer, #1
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Expected Publication: March 28, 2017

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around— and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? and if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

In this sweeping and breathtaking new novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.

Welcome to Weep.

Can we please just read that description for a minute? It sounds freaking awesome. Plus I've loved everything I've read by Laini Taylor so I'm super hyped for this one. It sounds like it's going to be one crazy book and it's bound to be especially paired with her beautiful writing style.

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler 

Series:Y por eso rompimos #1-8
Publisher: Little Brown Books For Young Readers
Illustrated by: Maira Kalman
Format: Paperback
Pages:354
Source: Gifted.

I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

I had such high hopes for this book. Maybe that has something to do with why I did not enjoy it. It took me forever to get through it even though it isn't even that long. The writing was weird and dragged for almost the entire book and it felt like nothing even really happened throughout the whole novel.

I couldn't stand the characters. They all felt extremely fake and over the top to me. The way Min handled the breakup and everything that came after seems extremely petty and childish even though she's supposed to be in high school. Ed seemed like he was just there to be the bad guy and Al I can barely even remember.

The only thing I really enjoyed about this book was the illustrations and the fact that it was written as a letter telling what happened in the past leading up to why these two teenagers broke up. If it hadn't been so angsty maybe I could have loved the book a little more.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross
Series:The Steampunk Chronicles, #0.5
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Paperback (included in the first book)
Pages:86
Source: Purchased.

Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined.

There really isn't much I can say for this novella besides the fact that it got me interested in reading the rest of the series. It was extremely slow in the beginning to the point where I wanted to put it down and quit but the further I got through it the more I wanted to read.

Despite the beginning I am actually looking forward to seeing where the story leads and I just hope where it picks up in the first novel it doesn't go back to being slow paced. I hope there's a lot more steampunk elements in the first novel because I absolutely love steampunk stories.

Once it picked up however I was drawn into the plot of the story. I didn't expect anything to happen and I was pleasantly surprised by everything that did. The characters were pretty interesting as well and I can't wait to see how they develop as the story goes on.