Category: Fantasy

Title: Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1)
Author: Laini Taylor
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Release Date: March 28, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

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 or 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?

Welcome to Weep.

Review:

I had never read a Laini Taylor book before this one, and I loved it! I’ll definitely be reading more of her books.

I was hooked right from the beginning. I really liked Lazlo. He was a unique character for a fantasy novel, because he was so meek. He didn’t know much beyond his books in the library. He was a dreamer, as the title suggests. However, he was able to live his dream, which changed him.

The city of Weep was so fascinating. I loved the mystery of how the name suddenly disappeared from history. The gods and godspawn were creepy, though. It took a while to get used to the dynamics of the godspawn up in the citadel. There are a few who I really didn’t like. I would love to see a backstory to the gods and their escapades before they were killed.

The ending was quite surprising. I can’t wait to continue this series with Muse of Nightmares.

What to read next:

• Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) by Laini Taylor

• 

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

• 

Have you read Strange the Dreamer? What did you think of it?

Title: The Devil’s Thief (The Last Magician #2)
Author: Lisa Maxwell
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this spellbinding sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Last Magician, Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic.

Hunt the Stones.
Beware the Thief.
Avenge the Past.

Esta’s parents were murdered. Her life was stolen. And everything she knew about magic was a lie. She thought the Book of Mysteries held the key to freeing the Mageus from the Order’s grasp, but the danger within its pages was greater than she ever imagined.

Now the Book’s furious power lives inside Harte. If he can’t control it, it will rip apart the world to get its revenge, and it will use Esta to do it.

To bind the power, Esta and Harte must track down four elemental stones scattered across the continent. But the world outside the city is like nothing they expected. There are Mageus beyond the Brink not willing to live in the shadows—and the Order isn’t alone in its mission to crush them.

In St. Louis, the extravagant World’s Fair hides the first stone, but an old enemy is out for revenge and a new enemy is emerging. And back in New York, Viola and Jianyu must defeat a traitor in a city on the verge of chaos.

As past and future collide, time is running out to rewrite history—even for a time-traveling thief.

Review:

I was so excited to read this book! I loved The Last Magician and this one was just as great!

There were many layers to this story. It alternated between two years, 1902 and 1904. The puzzling part was that we don’t really know what happens between those years, because some of the characters jumped forward in time. Though there was a gap in the timeline, the story flowed seamlessly. There weren’t any spoilers in either narrative as to what happened in the past or what will happen in the future.

The only thing that this story was missing was a shocking ending. The end of The Last Magician had some shocking revelations. I found some characters suspicious in this story, and that was confirmed at the end, so it wasn’t a surprise. Other than that this book was amazing! I highly recommend this series to fans of YA fantasy.

What to read next:

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

  

• A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

  

Have you read The Devil’s Thief? What did you think of it?

Title: Very Rich
Author: Polly Horvath
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ten-year-old Rupert Brown comes from an ordinary family. They live in a small house in the poorest section of Steelville, Ohio, and have little money or food. So when Rupert inadvertently finds himself spending Christmas at the house of Turgid River — the richest boy in town — he is blown away to discover a whole other world, including all the food he can eat and wonderful prizes that he wins when the family plays games, prizes he hopes to take home to his family so they can have Christmas presents for the very first time. But this windfall is short-lived when Rupert loses it all in one last game and goes home empty-handed. Each member of the Rivers family feels guilty about what happened and, unbeknownst to each other, tries to make it up to Rupert in their own unique way, taking him on one unlikely adventure after another.

Review:

This was an unusual story. It follows many adventures that Rupert has with the members of the Rivers family.

Rupert comes from a very poor family. They eat oatmeal for every meal because they can’t afford much else. The Rivers family is the opposite. They have every extravagance possible. Rupert ends up spending Christmas with them, but his great evening takes a horrible turn when Rupert loses all of the prizes he won in the games. Then over the following weeks, the members of the Rivers family try to make up for taking all of Rupert’s gifts away.

I found this story very strange. The Rivers family kept dangling gifts and food in front of Rupert but didn’t actually give them to him. It was so cruel. There were some fantasy elements like time travel, but these moments didn’t fit in with the rest story because the rest of it was fairly realistic.

This story reminded me of some other children’s stories. Rupert’s family is in the same unfortunate situation as Charlie Bucket’s family in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The narration style and circumstances of Rupert’s life were like the Beaudelaire children in A Series of Unfortunate Events. However, I found this book was missing the excitement and redemption that these stories had.

What to read next:

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

• 

• The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) by Lemony Snicket

• 

Have you read Very Rich? What did you think of it?

Title: Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1)
Author: Kendare Blake
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose … it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest … but she may be the darkest.

Review:

I’m so excited about this series! I wish I hadn’t waited so long to start it, but I’m glad that I can read the next two books right away.

I found the story a little confusing at first because there were so many characters! Each Queen lives with a different guardian family, and they each specialize in a different power, so it was hard to keep track of them. Also, there were some names that looked similar, such as Luca and Luke. This slowed down my reading at first, but once I figured everyone out, it was so good!

The narrative switched between each of the three Queens. I loved reading about each of them, but then I wanted to keep reading their stories when it switched to the next girl. The final chapters were so fast paced. They were each just a few pages long so I flew through them.

I have to admit that I guessed the ending correctly. I was glad that I was right, and now I can’t wait to read the next book!

What to read next:

• One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2) by Kendare Blake
  

• Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard
  

Have you read Three Dark Crowns? What did you think of it?

Title: The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, #1)
Author: Laurie Forest
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: Purchased
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A new Black Witch will rise…her powers vast beyond imagining.

Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner, who drove back the enemy forces and saved the Gardnerian people during the Realm War. But while she is the absolute spitting image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above all else.

When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren joins her brothers at the prestigious Verpax University to embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother’s legacy. But she soon realizes that the university, which admits all manner of people—including the fire-wielding, winged Icarals, the sworn enemies of all Gardnerians—is a treacherous place for the granddaughter of the Black Witch.

As evil looms on the horizon and the pressure to live up to her heritage builds, everything Elloren thought she knew will be challenged and torn away. Her best hope of survival may be among the most unlikely band of misfits…if only she can find the courage to trust those she’s been taught to hate and fear.

Review:

I really enjoyed this story!

It may just be me, but I found a lot of similarities between this book and Harry Potter. There weren’t direct references, but there were a few things that reminded me of the series. For example, Elloren doesn’t know much about the rest of the magical world that she enters when she goes to university, just like Harry didn’t know about the magical world before he went to Hogwarts. They even have a teacher who is a Snake Elf, who teaches their science class. He reminded me so much of Snape. I loved the similarities between this book and Harry Potter, since that is one of my favourite series!

Elloren developed as a character throughout the story, as she learned more about the world around her. At the beginning, she was very naive because she was inexperienced. She had never been around different races or species, so she didn’t know what they were like. She took it on herself to try to learn the truth, rather than just follow everyone else’s beliefs.

I thought I figured out the ending, but it turns out I was wrong! I’m curious to see how the story continues in the next book.

What to read next:

• Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy) by Leigh Bardugo
  

• The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross
  

Have you read The Black Witch? What did you think of it?

Title: The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Library
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Magnus Chase has seen his share of trouble. Ever since that terrible night two years ago when his mother told him to run, he has lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, staying one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, Magnus learns that someone else is trying to track him down—his uncle Randolph, a man his mother had always warned him about. When Magnus tries to outmaneuver his uncle, he falls right into his clutches. Randolph starts rambling about Norse history and Magnus’s birthright: a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

The more Randolph talks, the more puzzle pieces fall into place. Stories about the gods of Asgard, wolves, and Doomsday bubble up from Magnus’s memory. But he doesn’t have time to consider it all before a fire giant attacks the city, forcing him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents. . . .

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die.

Review:

I didn’t know much about Norse Mythology before reading this book, but I learned a lot.

This book was very fast paced. The chapters were short so they were easy to read. Magnus had to go on many small missions in this story, which were each like a mini plot by themselves.

I have read the first two books in the Percy Jackson series, and this book reminded me of the first Percy Jackson book. Magnus and Percy have a lot in common. They both have gods as fathers. Their mothers are also supposedly dead early in the story. They also both have protectors from the mythological world who were watching over them in the human world. I was disappointed when I saw these similarities at first, but once Magnus entered into the world of the Norse gods, his story took a different path from Percy’s story.

Another interesting thing about this book is that the main character dies at the beginning. It actually works in this story! You’ll just have to read it to find out how!

What to read next:

• The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2)
  
  

• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)

Have you read The Sword of Summer? What did you think of it?