Books to read

Books that are currently in my to read pile are:

- Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver (third book to the series legacy)
- The fault in our stars by John Green.
- The darkest minds by Alexandra Bracken
- The warriors princess by Barbara Erskine

Cold Magic by Kate Elliot

Cold magic is a book for an older audience it is not a typical teenage love story. It’s about two cousins who live in a world ruled by princes and cold mages. The two live in the same house as the elder cousin Catherine lost her parents when she was young. The cousins believe that they know their place in this world; however they could not be more wrong. When a strange man comes to the house, Catherine is whisked away as she is to marry this man. They soon find that the parents had made a deal with the four moon house that the eldest Barahal daughter would marry into the house. It follows their journey to the house and how Catherine deals with being ripped away. Catherine is married to the cold mage. However when brought in front of the mansa do they only realise that they had been tricked and Catherine was just the replacement that the parents had made. Catherine was the eldest Barahal in the house however it was the cousin that had meant to be married. Bee the cousin has the ability to walk the dreams of dragons they discover and the four moons house is desperate to be able to have that under their house that sort of power. However now that Catherine has been married the only way out of the marriage is death. Andevia the cold mage she had to marry was ordered to kill her. Catherine managed to escape and knows she has to get back to Bee and save her from the four moons house. The contract was to expire in a few days so that all they needed, however Catherine faces many dangerous along the way and is still being hunted by the cold mages. Catherine does not know who to trust anymore, she doesn’t even know who her true parents, her family are anymore. She finds her way back and now the two girls have to try and hide from the mages and protect themselves.

The book is very intriguing; it has a great story line. The book is not childish, teenage love like some of the books on this blog have been. This one rings with an air of sophistication. It is not based around a love story. There is however a forced marriage it looks at how their entwined destiny changes each other. However not all can overcome all authority. It is struggle for survival. This is defiantly a book that is worth reading and I am very excited to start reading the second book cold fire.

The fault in our stars.

The Fault in our stars, written by John Green. It follows Hazel who is a sixteen year old cancer patient who is forced to attend support group. this is where she meets Augustus, who is a amputee. it follows these two and their blossoming love story, however dealing with having cancer, of being given he short end of the straw in life. This book/movie looks to be and emotional roller coaster. it is written by john green who wrote on of my favorite novels looking for Alaska. John green has proven to be a very emotional writer and is able to create some of the most realistic characters and the most moving stories. i am so excited to read this book and then be able to watch the movie.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

The setting is reminiscent of Renaissance Europe, and it is about dragons. Rachel Hartman puts an interesting spin on dragons, that they can have a human form. There is a peace between the dragons and the humans; however the humans view the dragons as malicious and evil and not to be trusted. They stick to themselves humans and dragons ever really crossing. However one young girl named Seraphina is half human half dragon, she lives among the humans but must hide that she is part dragon as she would not be accepted.  She has scales on her torso and arm that is the only signs of her dragon side and she cannot make them go away. Another thing about Seraphina is that for some unknown reason she has this ability to enter into a part of her mind which she calls a garden. There are people in this garden which she once feared but now accepts. She has no idea who they are or even if they are real all she knows that if she doesn’t attend to this garden and keep the people inside calm it can bring her great pain. The story is about how she hides and the difficulties that she faces. As the book progresses you start to learn more about the people in her garden and who they are and what it all means. The peace that is between the dragons and humans is ripped apart when a royal prince was murdered. The humans blame the dragons. Seraphine feels drawn towards this investigation and tries to help, and tries to unveil the truth behind the murder. As she searches she unveils a much darker plot then just a murdered prince but one that can threaten the entire kingdom. Discovering the truth has put her own life in danger and is now a fight to survive and to stop the terrible plans that they have for the kingdom, all while trying to keep her secret safe.

This book is a very interesting take on mythical creatures, it explores a new world that none has seen before. I Admire Hartman’s creative thinking and how she was able to create this world and keep it so engaging. None of it felt too over done, she managed to pull together a great book with many different and interesting characters. Hartman is a skilled writer and has defiantly proved herself in this book.

Something that I liked about what this author did is at the back off the book she has put a sort of glossary that lists all the important characters, who they are their role in the story, and it also has the places that are mentioned in the book, so you are able to know what the place is while reading and are able to refresh on characters if you have forgotten, it is quite clever.

Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Legacy follows the story of a young princess named Alera. Alera’s duty is to marry a man suitable for the role of the next king. Alera’s father king wants her to find the perfect replacement for him so he is able to step down from his position. However Alera does not wish to marry the man that her father has chosen for her and is desperate to find true love, but knows her duties and tries to find a way to fill both of these. Things become even more complicated when the palace guards capture a boy her own age from the kingdoms enemy. Alera has no idea that this boy will unveil the legacy that shadows both their lands. They soon piece together who this boy is, he is not only from enemies land but originated in Hytanica and was taken by the enemy when he was a child. The enemy took many children from that generation when they were babies no one knew why and returned all dead except for one whose body was never discovered. Now this boy has returned home and many question his loyalties. Alera knows he is possibly dangerous however there is something about him that keeps Alera interested in him. She accepts him in and begins to trust the boy, and the more she digs into the secrets of the past the more she discovers about the legacy and what this boy was destined to become.  Alera and the boys relationship grows and they find themselves struggling to overcome the pressure of the courts and the lands. They find themselves trapped in the middle of the start of the darkest war that their lands have ever been through.  Everyone is tested; courage alone is not enough to save the people she loves and the kingdom that she holds dear.

This is the first book of the series there is a lot more secrets and court being revealed then there is action in the book, however it is a great start to a series that has the potential to become great.

This book is filled with many dark twisted plots and hidden secrets and forbidden love. It has everything which entices a reader. This series of book will make you fall in love. It takes you through a journey as you discover all the secrets in this world.

The novel is written by Cayla Kluver, who is a very young writer and very impressed to have such a high quality book at such a young age. She uses sophisticated writing skills and structures the book well.

If you are after a very enjoyable and enticing read then I strongly suggest this book

Venom by Fiona Paul

Cass is a girl who is from Venice’s wealthy elite; she was raised as a proper lady. Her life was filled with ball gowns, masquerade parties; she was one of the top families. Cass wanted something else though. Her fiancé which has had since she was a little girl has been gone for years and Cass dreads the return and the marriage. With her fiancé away she meets another young boy named Falco, who is from lower class, he is an artist. He comes and goes as he pleases and is a mystery and suspicious to Cass. But when Cass finds her recently deceased friend’s body missing from her tomb and a different body there with a bloody X carved into her chest, Cass looks for answers and the one person who can help her is Falco. The two go around trying to find out what has happened to the girl in the grave and find a lot more then what they were expecting. Cass is now thrown into a world of danger and secret society, trying to put all the pieces together and find out what is happening. She no longer feels safe but feels that she can trust Falco and slowly falls for him. However when his secrets and lies are brought to light Cass no longer knows who she can trust.

It is an interesting take on secret stories and is an interesting crime story. It is a good reading following Cass as she finds all the clues on figuring out everyone’s secrets. It is a well planned book and it all falls together well. The whole book flows well and it is a nice read. It has interesting stories that all join and connect. It is good how the writer Fiona Paul has put the book together how she has planned all the secrets. Cass is also an interesting character she isn’t your typical heroin. The author has shown her for how she should be she is scared a lot but goes through with it anyways, she was bought up being a wealthy proper lady so for to have kept that evident her character is commendable. One thing that I like about books is when I can’t predict the ending where the author is able to make it their own and that is exactly what Fiona Paul has done. I enjoyed reading this book and it leaves it open to tell a great second book.

Dark Visions by L.J. Smith

Dark visions follow the story of a girl name Kaitlyn, who is an outsider in her town. She is able to see into the future, she draws images of the future which scare the people and call her a witch. Kaitlyn is not a witch but however a physic. When a strange person comes to her and offers her a spot in this new school, a school for physics she decides it’s the only option for her as she is not wanted in her home. At this new school she meets the other physics. This is where the love story starts to come in as two of the boys fall for Kaitlyn, the kind and athletic boy, and the dark and mysterious one.  The kids are taught how to use their abilities but start to find something deeply wrong with school. They get trapped in a telepathic bond which threatens each ones sanity. They are desperate to break the link but they discover it is also their best option to find out what is happening at the institute and who is trying to use the fives abilities and their agenda behind it.

I really enjoyed this novel, it had a very interesting story, and it does come across as a darker novel which I really enjoyed. The love story they have is rather enjoyable it’s not as pathetic as some when the girl has to choose between two.  L.J. Smith seems to be able to take that typical love story and put her own spin on it. I very much admire L.J. Smith as a writer she is always able to create amazing stories and dark visions is proof of this. The story is well written with great plots. I do recommend this novel.