In the third installment of the Seven Realms series, Han finds himself fighting for the life of his love interest, Raisa, who remains under disguise from him. He races back to Marianna Pines Camp and their healers, and nearly dies during the journey.

“Will you give the girl to me?” she said. “Will you let me try?”

He nodded, dizzy with relief. “Please, Willo. Please. Save her. It doesn’t matter…what happens to me.”

Of course, the camp knows exactly who Raisa is, and that moment that I was so desperately terrified to experience…happened. It was heartbreaking. Utterly and horribly painful to read. Han’s reaction…no words, people. *sniff*

Han and Raisa become connected in another, more formal fashion. The tension was high but they both remained professional throughout their interactions. It was so obvious that their intense feelings still boiled in their hearts, but duty called and they answered it with dignity and grace. Of course, Han is in a position he never would have expected someone of his background to be in, and he is doing what Han does best: manipulate and squirm his way towards his own personal goals. I love how damn smart and effective this young man! He gets shit done and is halfway down the mountain before you realize you’ve been duped. Love. Him!

Amon and Raisa’s relationship is also heartbreaking in this installment. Their connection remains fierce and loyal, but the last vestiges of any romance between them fly out the window. It’s hard for them to fully come to terms with, but as most of the characters in this world, they do it with grace. I love Amon. He is an incredibly loyal, protective and generous soul, and he is so very dedicated to the royal line and his role in protecting it.

Raisa remains as strong and eloquent as ever. This chic has an iron will and can slap the biggest dude around with her words. She’s admirable, generous and so very dedicated to her people. She is responsible and does not run away from her duties, even though numerous people would like nothing more than to see her dead and gone. Kudos to this chic and her steadfast, determined soul!

We learn who Crow is in this installment. I was flabbergasted. It was an awesome reveal. Maybe others will guess, but I never catch on to that kind of stuff while reading. I love how his character is being woven into the story, and how he and Han are scheming together. I am unsure if I still trust him, because he has a serious vendetta, but if Han is as smart as I think he is, hopefully he can use Crow to his full advantage. I’m rooting for you, Han! Oh! Cat is a prominent character in this installment, and this chic just rocks! She is wicked fun, full of spunk and can gut you before you realize your intestines are making nice with the pavement. My kinda chic!

This series keeps getting better and better! I mean, there has been NO lull in excitement. No second-book syndrome, no fillers. None of that shit, yo. Cinda Williams Chima is a master plotter and has really laid out the details for this series well. Not only that, but she has kept the characters and scenery as alive as the plot. And the world continues to expand! I mean, it’s glorious. Just glorious…

Favorite Quote

A moment later, Cat hurtled back into the room as if chased by demons. She stationed herself in front of Raisa, a knife in either hand, all of her genteel patina swept away. “Cuffs! Look sharp! It’s him, the whey-faced, gutter-swiving, prig-napping bastard! He’s here!”

Book Two in the Seven Realms series demanded my attention from start to finish. When the book opened up, I was nervous and scared for Raisa’s situation. Halfway through the book, I was giddy and happy with developments between two characters. At the end of the book, I was back to being freaked out. There was no down time and the author kept me totally engrossed the entire ride. Han’s world has turned upside down, and he is now on a journey to discover his past and future. Raisa is in exile until she can figure out how to deal with the treacherous magicians at court. And Amon is in tow, because he would never let Raisa face this alone. All three characters end up at Oden’s Ford for educational purposes. Raisa is under disguise and things get interesting…

I LOVED the expansion of the world. In this installment, we get Aediion, an alternate world of sorts, that only magicians can visit. The magician has to have visited the exact spot in the real world in order to visit it in Aediion. They are able to alter their appearance while there, however, which can be fun and quite useful. And, if their amulet runs out of juice while they are there…well, bad stuff happens. A certain character, who I will not name because it’s a spoiler for the first book, visits Aediion and meets someone who goes by the name of Crow. Crow, a mysterious figure, urges this character to work with him to bring down the magical Bayar family. There is obviously some bad blood there. Can Crow be trusted? I’m still on the fence.

Princess Raisa is a character than can definitely hold her own, though I don’t see her getting very far without her personal guard and friend, Amon, by her side. Those two make a fierce team and I love their loyalty and dedication to one another. Of course, deeper feelings reside in their hearts that can never be acted upon, given their stations in life. Boo on that rule, I say! As expected, Raisa, makes a love connection with Han during her exile, though it is under devious circumstances, seeing as she needs to remain anonymous and all. I was completely wrapped up in this romantic connection. Some of the scenes made my sappy heart pitter patter, and I sighed a time or five.

“I can’t play this game if my heart’s not in it. That’s me personally. I’m not judging anyone else.”

“I see,” he said. He tightened his arms around her, brushing his fingers along her collarbone, setting her nerves tingling. “What’s your heart saying now?”

She wanted to be honest with him, even though she’d probably pay for it. “I’m in trouble,” she whispered.”

Of course, seeing as how Raisa is in disguise, I don’t foresee her relationship with Han ending well. It makes my heart hurt thinking about his reaction. *whines* By the end of the book, Raisa’s anonymity is no more and the magical shit hits the fan! The next book is called The Gray Wolf Throne, which makes me wonder about Raisa’s royal future!

I was so completely enthralled by this book. And I feel strongly about the characters, both the ones I love and the ones I abhor. One of my comments in my review journal is “Micah is a dirty, rotten arsewipe.” I guess I get a British accent when I’m angry. :Þ

Favorite Quote

And, like a fool, she kissed him back. Kissed him a way that would leave no doubt about the way she felt about him. Kissed him because she knew the chances were slim she’d have very many kisses like that in her lifetime.

Which is a sad thing when you’re only seventeen.

• Tags: Cinda Williams Chima, Seven Realms•

It could happen tomorrow . . .

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling post-apocalyptic novel about a world that could become ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.

This book has been on my radar since its release.  I’m really glad I experienced the book via audio. The narrator, Katherine Kellgren, was annoying in the beginning. Her voice has a strange pitch to it and I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to deal. However, it didn’t take her long to prove to me that she does her job well. She did so fantastic with the different voices and personalities that we meet throughout this story. Most of all, her intensity during action scenes was off the charts. I think she almost gave me a heart attack a few times. I was literally on the edge of my seat. Or, since I mainly listened to it while doing cardio, I was on the edge of the crossramp, eliptical, treadmill, *insert crappy cardio machine here*. That could’ve resulted in injury on my part, but lucky for me, I was gripping the machines tightly during those scenes.

The prologue completely confused me, but it made sense as the story progressed and I learned more about Alex, our 17-year-old protagonist. The world was interesting to discover. After the electromagnetic pulse that kills off much of the population, human and otherwise, occurs in the beginning of the book, Alex finds herself confronting the end of days. The people who are spared from meeting the grim reaper are either struggling to survive or devouring the living. The zombie piece of the book was not huge, and the zombies are different from your typical walking, hungry meat sack. The appear to posses some intelligence, and can either adapt or learn. Not a great scenario for the living.

Alex has had a traumatic life. She is very mature for her age, due to her personal experiences, and it shows throughout the story. Carrying around sorrow, grief and guilt, she sets off on a cathartic mountain adventure that turns ugly. I felt for her situation immediately, and wanted to hug her and offer my friendship. She is a little abrasive in the beginning, but I understood why she remained so cutoff from other people. When she finally begins to open her heart, it was really beautiful to experience. She may have  a hard time getting close and intimate with people, but when she lets you in, she loves you hard. She’s very perceptive and intuitive, easily picking up on things that others seem to ignore.

Ellie is an 8-year old girl who just so happens to find her way into Alex’s life after the EMP goes off. Ellie has also had a traumatic life and does not warm up to Alex for some time. She was an absolute brat, one that you want to shake repeatedly, but her behavior was easy to connect to her experiences. She was in the same boat as Alex, and Ellie was testing her to ensure she would stick around. Both ladies endured major losses even before the EMP, so their bond grows strong as they let each other in. Tom comes into the picture later, and I immediately loved him. He is strong, level-headed and loyal. He protects Alex and Ellie and welcomes them into his life with abandon. A slow burning romance develops between Tom and Alex, and then it is ripped away by an event that changed everything about this story. He is a character I pray to see more of in the second book!

The first half of the book unites Alex, Ellie and Tom. This trio becomes very close and endure a lot of WTFckery. However, a certain event changes the entire story! Alex finds herself alone and ventures into a small town that reminds me of the Governor’s township in The Walking Dead. It appears all “let’s rebuild and save humanity” on the outside, but there has to be something more sinister happening behind closed doors. As we know with post-apocalyptic scenarios, humans are at their worst and often pose more of a threat than the monsters chasing you. It is no different with this story, though the cliffhanger at the ending was not one I was expecting.

The story loses a lot of momentum once the plot changes from the trio on the run to Alex living in this township. And, it was just plain weird! It was really jarring and completely broke down the awesome pace and story line. I did not mind the township arc, but it just did not match where it felt the first half of the story was headed. It felt like the author got derailed or lost focus. That being said, I still enjoyed the book, though I did lose my enthusiasm halfway through.

• Tags: Ashes, Ilsa J. Bick•

Ok, so I’ll get to Roar in a moment, but just know he was the highlight of this book. Hell, of this series! Now, on to the meat and potatoes of the plot. This installment was a serious emotional ride, on all levels, with all characters. Aria and Perry are reunited after months apart. She is anything but welcome into the Tides, and it proves difficult for her and Perry’s relationship. Perry does his best to see she is treated fairly, but only he can do so much, and he is not in all places at all times. An ugly event occurs that sends Aria and Roar off into the wilderness. Of course, their journey is not aimless. They are headed toward the Rim to seek out the Blood Lord, Sable, and find Liv! If you haven’t been paying attention, Liv is Roar’s past and he wants her to be his future, too. Unlucky for him, Liv was promised to Sable by her older brother, Vale, in exchange for food and supplies for the Tides, who struggle to survive through the seasons. Quite the predicament, you see? Also, Aria is on a mission to find the location of the Still Blue, the mysterious promised land, free of Aether storms and full of life and prosperity. Ahhh…one can dream….

PERRY! I cannot express the emotions I felt when he was struggling with his new-found responsibilities. He is confident one minute, and then his confidence is torn to shreds the next.  He constantly struggles with being the leader his people expect and protecting them at all costs. He makes quick decisions based on emotion, throwing rationality out the window. But…that’s Perry! It’s ingrained in his nature to protect first and deal with the consequences later. His people want him to be rational and realize he is more important alive, but Perry is all about jumping in head first without thinking the risks through. There is a scene in the book where Perry is brought to his knees by overwhelming emotion, and I was brought to mine, too. Well, I was laying in my bed, but I was on my knees in spirit. (Get your minds out of the gutter!)

Moving on. ARIA! And PERRY! Squee! Sob! Smile! Cry! And many more !!! These two are so off-the-charts special. Fate brought them together, they struggled to understand and even like the other, and their destinies are enmeshed to hell. Throughout their struggles, an intense romance has bloomed and they are now fighting to save the lives of their people and each other. I mean, they have not had a chance to breath since their first meeting, let alone find the time to fall in love. Yet they still manage to FEEL and SHOW their love and affection, even in the smallest of ways. It’s like… all beautiful and shit.

“Do you ever miss anything?’

Perry smiled. ‘You, all the time.”

Now, collectively…”awwwwwwwwwww!” You know you said it, or thought it. Don’t try to lie about it. You feel the same sappy, cheesy feels I do.  Now I get to talk about THE MAN OF THE HOUR. Or Book. Or Series, really. Roar, aka Made of Awesome. Aka, My Favorite Secondary Character in YA. As swoon-worthy as this guy is, I don’t even have romantic feelings towards him. Yes, we readers have romantic feelings towards our swoony characters. Don’t judge. Or else.

Back to THE MAN. Roar. Dear Heavens, this poor guy was put through the ringer in this book, and thus, so was I! Lots of SADS. Lots of cries and whimpers and HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO US, ROSSI! *first of dooms* Roar…it’s hard to put into words my thoughts about this character. The ease at which Aria connected with him in book one because of his simple, carefree, love life attitude, the passion and compassion that he possesses that allows him to throw himself into situations, safe or otherwise, with such abandon…the overwhelming feelings I FEEL when I think about what he experienced in this book, and how I would MOVE MOUNTAINS to see this guy happy. He is just one of those people, those rare, rare people, that are almost perfect. Yet, he isn’t, and his vulnerability and blind passion are what make him worth loving and fighting for. SO MUCH LOVE.

The world-building expanded, especially near the end, when Cinder become a serious piece of the story! Holy firecracker, Batman! This kid surprised me, not only with his actions, but with his purpose in the overall plot. Into the Still Blue is bound to be a traumatic and treacherous journey for the Tides, and this kid is at the center of it all. Freaking out!

Favorite Quote

Love was like the waves in the sea, gentle and good sometimes, rough and terrible at others, but that it was endless and stronger than the sky and earth and everything in between.

***I think this synopsis is spoilery!

Rebel armies are getting closer and the fate of The New America rests with Eve. Trapped in the City of Sand and married to a man of her fathers choosing, Eve can't forget her love for Caleb-or her passion for the rebel cause. Then tragedy strikes, and Eve must choose who to leave behind, who to save and who to fight in this final battle for freedom.

In the last book of the Eve trilogy, the world shifts between life in the City of Sand and out in the wilderness. We get a lot of information about the rebels and their plan of attack. We also see Pip and Ruby again, Eve’s friends from School. A lot happens as the rebels try to overthrow the King. Of course, Eve is involved in this plot, and she encounters many complications. However, she never backs down from the fights and surprises me with her bravery.

Caleb is one of those characters you will not easily forget.  He is the biggest reason I continued reading this series. He is a fantastic combination of all the qualities I love in YA boys, and he belongs on my favorites list. Caleb’s role in this book is to propel Eve along on her mission to bring peace and free-will back to humanity. He is constantly in her thoughts and is the driving force behind all of her actions. He makes Eve a better person and is truly the reason for her incredible metamorphosis throughout this series.

The ending, for me, was emotional. It brought a tear or 20 to my eyes. I had hoped for more of a certain piece of the story, but in the end, IT WAS OK. The very, very last page made it all ok. Some people may not enjoy that the author choose to write the ending this way, but it kept my hope up the entire time. Hope is all we have to get us through the hard times. Since it is an abrupt ending,others may [strongly] disagree, but that is ok, too. If you feel strongly about it, then it means you probably loved these characters. And that is pretty much what it’s all about.

I truly loved this YA Dystopian series! I was extremely happy to be provided an ARC in advance so that I could enjoy the story all the way through with no interruptions. I inhaled it and was completely engrossed with the setting, characters and plot. If you are a fan of the series, I hope they you enjoy the final installment as much as I do. Rise is being released on April 2nd!

P.S. Anna Carey posted a teaser!

• Tags: Anna Carey, Eve series•