Rivulet Review: Indie

Book: Rivulet

Author: Jamie Magee

Series: Rivulet / A Web of Hearts and Souls

Standing: Rivulet Book 1 / A Web of Hearts and Souls Book 11

POV: 1st person by Indie, past tense 

Genre: NA paranormal, mystery

Source: ebook, Netgallery

Publisher: Mark My Words Book Publicity

Pages: 212

Release: October 3rd, 2013

Unfathomable forces have always contested Genevieve Indiana Falcon, known as Indie. The curse of her cold touch entraps her just as the grief ignited in her past torments her. Yet, her mysterious ability to dream while awake saturates her in the belief that she was not always anguished. There is hope that one day a true peace in her soul can be found. Foolishly, Indie assumes she has contained her life in an odd balance, and she cherishes the visions she sees of the enigmatic boy that held her in a lost time, but can never reach. She grieves for a life she fears she'll never possess, and that grief is a weapon she uses against her aunt who stands between her and her inheritance. Weeks away from her twenty-first birthday, the date where she would assume control over her family legacy, a night terror robs Indie of the balance she was clinging to. Like the dream she had before she lost her family, it predicts a fatal catastrophe on the horizon. The fight between life and death, good and evil, began the moment her thundering heart awoke her. Everything changed after that dream. The one thing that keeps her curse at bay is stolen, and then the enigmatic boy arrives in the flesh. Face to face with her fiery born-again lover Indie realizes that the only way she can prevent the tragedy before her is to surrender everything she was, is, and could be. Can she bend the laws of nature and fight the improbability that fire and ice could ever be one? As far as Indie is concerned, there is not a myth, spoken fate, or curse that is stronger than her stubborn desire to have it all ... including him. (Goodreads)

The Last of the Firedrakes ARC Review: Aurora

Book: The Last of the Firedrakes

Author: Farah Oomerbhoy
Series: The Avalonia Chronicles
Standing: Book 1
POV: 1st person by Aurora, past tense
Genre: YA fantasy

Source: ARC, Netgallery
Release: August 15th, 2015
Pages: 488
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb (Goodreads)
16-year-old Aurora Darlington is an orphan. Mistreated by her adopted family and bullied at school, she dreams of running away and being free. But when she is kidnapped and dragged through a portal into a magical world, suddenly her old life doesn’t seem so bad.

Avalonia is a dangerous land ruled by powerful mages and a cruel, selfish queen who will do anything to control all seven kingdoms—including killing anyone who stands in her way. Thrust headlong into this new, magical world, Aurora’s arrival sets plans in motion that threaten to destroy all she holds dear.

With the help of a young fae, a magical pegasus, and a handsome mage, Aurora journeys across Avalonia to learn the truth about her past and unleash the power within herself. Kingdoms collide as a complicated web of political intrigue and ancient magic lead Aurora to unravel a shocking secret that will change her life forever.

                          ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭

A beautifully written fantasy world!

This book contains the elements of everything I love in a good fantasy: escape into another (more awesome) world, an evil queen, magical creatures, an impossible love, the idea of regaining one's rightful place, and of course, a mysterious guy who saves people (aka love interest). The world was rich in description, from the rooms to the ball gowns to classes to the use of magic. This was definitely one of the more descriptive and vivid fantasy novels I've read in a while.

The story portrays Aurora, who lives with her adoptive Uncle's family (her adoptive parents died). At first, I thought this was a Cinderella story, but I was completely wrong. And I'm glad of it, too! Aurora finds herself kidnapped and taken to the world of Avalonia, where she discovers some key elements to her true identity. If you haven't guessed already, Aurora belongs in Avalonia, and also has the ability to wield magic. The land of Avalonia is being threatened by the evil queen Morgana, who intends to force all seven kingdoms to submit to her control within a few months. Needless to say, the task of stopping her lands upon Aurora's shoulders.

The world of Avalonia is huge. Thank god for the map in the beginning, because without it, I would have been completely lost, left to trying to puzzle out where was what. You have forests, palaces, dukedoms, and magical schools. Such a cool world! I wouldn't mind visiting it, you know? Maybe just spend some time there for vacation. Or I'll just move there.

Rafe was charming as any. He's your standard mysterious good-guy who happens to be following/protecting Aurora, going under the anonymous name Black Wolf. I'm hoping that his character will develop a more, as I'd love to see more sides of his personality. I really ship him and Aurora, and I hope that their relationship works out (because honestly, after we find out who Rafe really is, who wouldn't ship them?).

Aurora gains quite a bit of power in this book. She's a rarity, and has the potential to be extremely powerful (which she is). That's a lot of magic at her fingertips, and the fact that she needs to wear an amulet to keep her powers under control speaks of how scary the true extent of her powers can be. Though she seems like a nice girl, so I wouldn't mind being friends with her. Doesn't hurt to know someone who can incinerate people with a single blast, you know?

The only slight downside was Aurora. Aurora was forced to go from place to place as a means to run from Morgana. I get that. But I can't help but feel like it's a little like running away, especially since she goes without much of a fuss. I wanted to see a bit more attitude and stubbornness from her, to see that she wants to fight Morgana on her own terms, instead of simply doing whatever her Granduncle tells her is best. Similarly, Aurora's character annoyed me a little bit. She was too innocent, too naive, and because of it, makes some really reckless and questionable choices. But hopefully it means that she has the capacity to make the biggest of character growth, and toughen up into a warrior! 

All in all, a great debut novel! I was shocked when I realized I only had 10 pages left, because I really wanted to know more of the story and the world. Does anyone know when the next book comes out? Hopefully soon...

The Wonderland Effect ARC Review: Alice

Book: The Wonderland Effect
Author: Robert Arrington
POV: 3rd person by Alice, past tense
Genre: YA fantasy, paranormal

Source: ARC, author (thank you, Robert!)
Pages: 406
Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb: (Goodreads)

Alice Littleton, gifted with the powers of Wonderland, draws a catastrophe down on herself when she tries to use them in aid of a kidnapped child. Now, she and her father are being pursued by a relentless paranormal intent on recruiting other supers- or eliminating potential competition. She finds her way to Prometheus Academy, a new school with a truly empowered student body. When the school comes under attack, Alice must decide whether to run again, or take a stand against the forces threatening her and her new friends. 

                          ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭

Wow. I couldn't put this book down! It was captivating!

This book tells the story of Alice Littleton, who, after her 8th birthday, gains the powers of Wonderland. She keeps her powers secret, and uses them to help others. However, when a rescue attempts results in her discovery by a madman, she finds herself on the run. Turns out Alice isn't the only one with powers, and she ends up at Prometheus Academy, a secret school for empowered people like her. It's the perfect place for her, hidden from both the madman and from the general public. But then the school comes under attack, and things get complicated...

Alice, our main character, has an entire arsenal of awesome powers. She can shrink, she can grow, she can fly/glide, she can talk to animals and insects. Not to mention that she can also summon up any character from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland story for physical company. The Mad Hatter, March Hare, Cheshire Cat, card soldiers, you name it. Not only are these characters their own people, but they too have their own powers, which Alice can use. For example, the Mad Hatter has time manipulation powers. If Alice wants to change the speed of something, all she needs to is summon the Mad Hatter and ask him nicely for a dose of hyper-speed or slow-speed, and bam, it's done. So in a way, though time manipulation is not directly Alice's power, it's still her power in the sense that she's the one who can summon the Hatter in order to gain access to his powers. Pretty cool, huh?

My absolute favorite power that Alice has is her looking-glass. Her looking-glass, which is a large mirror she can summon whenever she wants, enables her to actually travel to Wonderland. It's like her own private world she can retreat to. And to be honest, who wouldn't want a Wonderland all to their selves? Me, being a huge Wonderland fan, would probably spend days in there, scourging the fantastical world. It's literally paradise to me.

Alice isn't the only empowered person we get to see. We get to see bits and pieces of the other students, and how their powers work. May I be the first to say that these powers are also pretty awesome. Robert Arrington has clearly outdone himself, coming up with fantastic powers I'd kill to have for myself!

The main antagonist himself has a pretty wicked power: he can copy other people's powers. I won't go into detail what he does with that, as it'll spoil the story, but just think of all the evil possibilities he can do if he's able to copy numerous powers...

Prometheus Academy itself isn't really your normal school, either. The assignments that are given out are ones that require the students to actually use their powers to solve, and it all involves discreet interactions with the public. We get to see tons of cool powers and solutions at hand!

I'm one of those people who likes to obsess over the idea that there are superheros living among us. This book is a little like X-Men in the sense that everyone has different powers. But at the same time, the plot is completely different than X-Men. It has a fantasy spin to it, which is really refreshing to read. It was no short on action, which pleased me greatly, and the pace was perfect. I would definitely give this a read if you're fans of superheros, a bit of law breaking (both physical laws and government laws), and, of course, if you're a fan of Wonderland. 

This is definitely a new and unique take to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland story, and I highly recommend it! I really hope there's a sequel, because I would love to read more about this fantastic world!