Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore

Pages: 539

Publisher: Gollancz

Release Date: 13^th April 2013

Edition: UK paperback, purchased

Other Titles in this Series: Graceling, Fire

Eight years have passed since Princess Bitterblue and her country were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.

But the influence of her father, and his mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck’s reign; and to forget every dark event that ever happened. Monsea’s past has been shrouded in mystery, and it’s only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle – curious, disguised and alone – to walk the streets of her city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the spell of a madman, and their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.

Graceling and Fire are two of my 2013 reading highlights so once I had Bitterblue in my hands I put it on my shelf and put it off for months. I wanted to postpone the ending of such a incredible trilogy, but I was actually a little disappointed.

I wanted as immediately sucked in to Bitterblue’s world as I was Katsa and Fire’s. At over 500 pages, it was too long. There was so much detail and politics and a fair bit that I have to admit to scan reading to get on to something more exciting. Being queen was boring for Bitterblue and a little for me as well. I found myself desperately wanting Katsa and Po to turn up at some point. Thankfully, there were a large part of Bitterblue, especially Po and I was so, so happy to see them again and they stole the show. I loved the effortless way that their love and intimacy was portrayed from someone not in the relationship; the smallest moments, expressions and subtleties. Perfect.

As well as being reunited with Katsa and Po and a few other minor characters from Graceling, I was really hoping for a hint from some of the characters from Fire, though I knew it was a longshot. Towards the end, I started to feel the connection through the trilogy as things were uncovered and Dell was revealed as existing. It was a really nice to see all three books come together and also formed a support for the whole of Bitterblue’s story to sit on.

Bitterblue is a fantastic heroine from start to finish. She really grew over the course of the novel; she became a queen. The way that she spoke, acted and felt veered wildly for the most part of the novel. she switched from the child thrown into power that she was to strong and self-assured, it was so authentic and real that I became so thoroughly invested in her quest to better herself and her kingdom that I was able to push through the drier sections of Bitterblue. To be forced into a position so difficult and dangerous so young seems impossible so I am glad that she also has a really snap and sass about her that gave way to some excellent banter, especially between her and Saf, who I kind of fell in love with, by the way. Though never as much as Po who I only continued to fall in love with throughout Bitterblue.

This book in no way compared to Graceling and Fire, but it was lovely to be back in Kristin Cashore’s stunning world and to be reunited with Katsa and Po. This is a trilogy well-worth reading.

Sophie

Letterbox Love #15

Letterbox Love came about after some drama with the American book haul memes, so the UKYA bloggers came together on Twitter to organise one of our own. Summaries are taken from the cover, or Amazon/NetGalley/Goodreads in the case of e-books, unless otherwise stated. Hosted by Narratively Speaking.

For Review:

The Name on Your Wrist – Helen Hiorns (e-proof)

It’s the first thing they tell you when you start school. But they don't need to; your parents tell you when you’re first learning to say your name. It’s drummed into you whilst you’re taking your first stumbling steps. It’s your lullaby. From the moment it first appears, you don't tell anyone the name on your wrist.

In Corin’s world, your carpinomen – the name of your soul mate, marked indelibly on your wrist from the age of two or three – is everything. It’s your most preciously guarded secret; a piece of knowledge that can give another person ultimate power over you. People spend years, even decades, searching for the one they’re supposed to be with.

But what if you never find that person? Or you do, but you just don’t love them? What if you fall for someone else – someone other than the name on your wrist?

And what if – like Corin – the last thing in the world you want is to be found?

This sounds so, so different and I’m really intrigued. Thanks NetGalley and RHCP Digital!

Resist – Sarah Crossan (e-proof)

Resistance to the Pod Leadership has come apart. The Grove has been destroyed but so had the Pod Minister. Quinn, Bea and Alina separately must embark on a perilous journey across the planet’s dead landscape in search of the rumoured resistance base Sequoia. They welcome they receive at Sequoia is not what they expect, and soon they are facing a situation that seems as threatening as that of the Pod inhabitants.

Meanwhile the Pod Minister’s son, Ronan, is beginning to have his doubts about the regime but as a member of an elite force he is sent out of the Pod to hunt down the Grove’s survivors. In a world in which the human race is adapting to survive with little air, the stakes are high. This action-packed sequel to Breathe is every bit as nail-biting and satisfying as its predecessor – visionary storytelling of the highest quality.

I don't really remember Breathe, but I’m pretty sure I loved it. Thanks NetGalley and Bloomsbury!

Wild Cards – Simone Elkeles (e-proof)

After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain – people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she puts everything into winning a state championship until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek – someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

*happy dances* Thanks NetGalley and Bloomsbury! So freaking excited for this!

I did actually get approved for Icons by Margaret Stohl but it’s already been archived and can’t be downloaded... Helpful.

Earthbound – Aprilynne Pike (e-proof)

Eighteen-year-old Tavia is the only survivor of a plane crash that killed her parents. Grieving and lonely, she starts having strange visions; of a boy she’s never met but feels compulsively drawn to. A boy who tells her to do things she’d never dream of.

Tavia begins to suspect that secrets are being kept from her, and that her kindly aunt and uncle know more than they are letting on. Was the plane crash really an accident? Or is Tavia part of something bigger than she ever imagined?

With only her instincts and long-time crush, Benson, to rely on, Tavia must decide where her destiny lies, and who with.

Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins UK! I really loved Wings so I hope this’ll be just as good!

Darklord of Derkholm – Diana Wynne Jones (e-proof)

In a world next door to ours, the tourist industry is devastating the population by its desire to experience all the fantasy clichés – Dark Lords, impoverished villages, dragons etc.

The Head of the University resolves to shut the tours down; the only problem being the ruthless tour-master – and his all-powerful demons. To save them all, the incompetent wizard Derk is appointed as Dark Lord in the hope that he will ruin the tours, and sure enough proceeds fail at everything due to his general uselessness. But can failing at everything lead to a win this time?

After falling in love with Howl’s Moving Castle I’m super excited for this! Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins UK!

Gifted:

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee (paperback)

‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’

A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this enchanting classic – a black man charged with the rape of a white girl.

Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties.

The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man’s struggle for justice.

But the weight of history will only tolerate so much...

A massive thanks to the lovely Lucy of ChooseYA for sending me her spare copy. I’m finally going to read this!

Bought:

The Bane Chronicles: The Rise of Hotel Dumort – Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson

In 1920s Manhattan, Magnus Bane hobnobs with the elite at a glamorous Jazz Age hotspot.

The immortal Magnus Bane is a making the most of his time in the Roaring Twenties: He’s settled into New York society and is thriving among the fashionable jazz set. And there is nowhere better to see and be seen than the glamorous Hotel Dumort, a glittering new addition to the Manhattan skyline. But a different type of glamour may be at play...

Yay! I do love this series.

Pantomime – Laura Lam (e-book)

R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic of the vanished Chimeras is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

I’ve heard such amazing things about this so it was a complete bargain for 99p on Kindle!

Sophie

The Infinite Moment of Us - Lauren Myracle

Pages: 336

Publisher: Amulet Books

Release Date: 20^th August 2013

Edition: e-book, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: Ttyl, Ttfn, l8r g8r, Kissing Kate, Bliss, How to Be Bad (with E Lockhart and Sarah Mlynowski), Peace, Love and Baby Ducks, Let It Snow (with John Green and Maureen Johnson), Shine and more

For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realisation: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now...not so much. Wren needs to honour her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie – at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated as are the bodies that house them...

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult’s greatest fiction writers.

Everything about The Infinite Moment of Us appealed to me: the title, the cover, the synopsis, Lauren Myracle’s reputation for awesomeness. And yet, I don't really know what I think about it.

At first I was struck by how distinctly I felt like I was being told a story. I wasn’t watching Charlie and Wren’s summer unfold naturally; I was being told what had happened between them that summer. Sometimes that works beautifully but this time it didn't seem to fit the story right. Luckily that feeling dissipated fairly quickly and I flew through the rest of the novel with ease. I never fell in love with though. I wanted to, I really did. We just didn’t click.

I will say that I was surprised and impressed with Lauren Myracle’s approach to Charlie and Wren’s sexual relationship. It was fairly involved for a YA novel but it was tasteful, sexy and it felt authentic. She didn't cut any corners and I loved that there was no doubt that Wren had a sexual appetite which is something that still only just making its way into awareness in YA, and literature and general.

Speaking of Wren; I really wasn’t a fan. I know that she was flawed and human and all that jazz, but man she was annoying. And rather selfish and self-absorbed at times as well. Her reactions to things where she had no idea what was really going on or the history behind the moment thoroughly irritated me. She was a brat, really. I didn’t entirely believe that her and Charlie were destined for each other and that idea was a large part of the novel.

So yeah. A mish-mash of thoughts about this one. I’m a bit disappointed as it did have some great moments and it could have been amazing.

For my 2013 YA Contemporary Reading Challenge

Thanks to NetGalley and Amulet Books for the review copy.

Sophie

If You Could Be Mine - Sara Farizan

Pages: 256

Publisher: Alonquin Books

Release Date: 20^th August 2013

Edition: e-book, review copy

Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They’ve shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love – Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed if their relationship came to light.

So they carry on in secret – until Nasrin’s parents announce they’ve arranged for her marriage. Nasrin tries to persuade Sahar that they can go on as they have been, only now with new comforts provided by the decent, well-to-do doctor Nasrin will marry. But Sahar dreams of loving Nasrin exclusively – and openly.

Then Sahar discovers what seems like the perfect solution. In Iran, homosexuality may be a crime, but to be a man trapped inside a woman’s body is seen as nature’s mistake, and sex reassignment is legal and accessible. As a man, Sahar could be the one to marry Nasrin. Sahar will never be able to love the one she wants, in the body she wants to be loved in, without risking her life. Is saving her love worth risking her true self?

If You Could Be Mine is a unique and thought-provoking debut. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

With a premise that I’d never really encountered before and the lure of a forbidden love story, I was eager to get stuck into Sara Farizan’s debut from the first time I heard about it. As the release date got closer the reviews started rolling in and there were a little disappointing. I started to worry that it wouldn’t live up the promise of the idea. Luckily, I loved it.

I immediately connected with Sahar. She was thoroughly in love, dedicated to Nasrin and so, so passionate. She was also rather young and innocent; her insecurities plagued her and she saw herself as inferior to Nasrin. She’s just such a real seventeen-year-old girl. I think that’s one of the things I liked most about If You Could Be Mine; it wasn’t just the trials of a homosexual relationship in Iran, it was about the trials and tribulations of first love. I didn’t like Nasrin, however. She’s spoilt, manipulative and I just, there was something about her that got up my nose. She just didn’t seem as invested in her relationship as Sahar was. She wasn’t willing to take a risk whereas Sahar was prepared to risk it all. To give up your identity for love; that’s the ultimate sacrifice, and one I really didn’t want Sahar to make.

All of the girls’ problems stemmed from their home country of Iran and its rules against homosexuality. Even though the Western world still occasionally struggles to get it right when it comes to gay rights, the overwhelming opinion is that love is love. Not so much in Iran. Being caught in any activities even hinting at being gay is enough to get you arrested, hurt or even executed. Then came the outright ridiculous rules about women and the archaic oppressions. I don’t mean to offend anyone; I just can’t see how that’s still acceptable in 2013. It made me angry and frustrated. Women aren’t allowed to show their elbows, they are still entrapped in arranged marriages, money is everything and they are at the mercy of men. The culture of Iran, Tehran in particular was vividly captured, especially with Persian words and phrases thrown effortlessly into the narrative and the fact that it was made clear by Sara Farizan that they were conducting this affair in Persian and that they didn’t speak very much English.

If You Could be Mine is an involving and thought-provoking debut and I’m really interested to see what Sara Farizan will deliver next.

For my 2013 YA Contemporary Reading Challenge and 2013 Debut Author Reading Challenge

Thanks to Alonquin and NetGalley for the review copy.

Sophie