The Queen of Zombie Hearts Review: Ali

I am a slayer.
I hunt zombies throughout the night.
I'm the one who grants the undead peace.

But I'm also hunting Anima Industries.
They're trying to find a way to "cure everything".
But experimenting on zombies isn't the way to go.

Anima has been killing people along the way.
Killing my friends.
Trying to kill me.

I'm going to put an end to Anima.
To their kidnapping, torturing, and death-leading ways.
An end to their zombie projects.

I am Ali Bell.

Book: The Queen of Zombie Hearts
Author: Gena Showalter
Series: The White Rabbit Chronicles 
Book status: Book 3 (final)
Setting: Birmingham, Alabama
POV: Ali, first person
Genre: YA action, romance, horror (sort of)

Reading: first time
Favorite line: "If you can, get your butts back here. If you can't, hide and call me. If you lose your phones, don't panic. I'll find you. Whatever it takes."
Rating: 4 stars





Ali, oh Ali. She has an interesting mindset in this book. Not that it's bad, it's just...unexpected. Enough of that. She's still the same awesome fighter and loyal friend, through and through!

For starters, anyone who has the title "slayer" is automatically awesome. Ali is no exception: she's hardcore, able to fight with daggers, guns, axes, hands, even pens. But what I really like about Ali is concern for her friends. It's proved especially in this book, when every all of her slayer friends are all individually put at risk. Ali doesn't stop looking for her friends, defying whatever anyone else tells her. Nothing stands between her and the safety of her friends, not even logic itself. If a friend's life on the line, Ali has no issue going solo, even if it's a really stupid idea to go out alone.

Of course, the fact that she doesn't really care much about her own well-being and safety is a flaw of hers, but it lets her make selfless (if sometimes somewhat dumb) decisions. Things get done and Ali finds out information because of it. And I appreciate things like that.

Highlight the bottom paragraph, as it's spoilery, else skip down...

But what I really want to ask: WHAT WAS WITH THAT ENDING??? I mean, what was the point of her losing her memory? I just didn't get it. And clearly, Frosty is depressed. He's going to do something stupid. Stupid! UGH.

If there's ever a zombie apocalypse, you can bet that I'll be calling Ali. 

Talon Review: Ember

I have spent the past 16 years away from the world.

Learning to act human, to assimilate.

To hide right in plain sight.

I am a dragon.

I am disguised as a human.
No one can tell the difference.

I was finally deemed ready to test my skills in the human world.

I am spending summer in California.

I am getting to know how human society works.

I was taught that we were superior to humans.

But there is a secret group that fights us back.

The Order of St. George will do anything to kill us all.

I won't worry about them.

I'm just here to have fun, to have a human summer.

I won't worry about a spy or the rouge dragon among us.

My name is Ember Hill.

Hey guys! Today, I’m Ember from Julie Kagawa’s Talon!

Book: Talon

Author: Julie Kagawa

Series: Talon

Book Status: Book 1

Setting: Crescent Beach, California

POV: Ember, Garret and Riley, all in first person

Genre: YA fantasy, action

Reading: first time

Favorite part: EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK

Heads up: this is going to be a very long post.

Let me make this very clear: Julie Kagawa is my absolute favorite author. It’s no secret. I could go on and on about how her first series, the Iron Fey (first book is the Iron King--check it out!!!), changed my world, but I’m going to save that for another time. Right now, I’m going to obsess over Talon, and the beautifully crafted world of dragons she has introduced me to.

I’ve never really come across a good dragon story that really clicked with me. Sure, I’ve read Eragon, the Dragon Rider, and Scorched just to name a few, but none of them I could relate to very well on a personal level. Until Talon. Until Ember. This was a dragon story beyond my imagination, and one that I could relate to, It had a very realistic protagonist, realistic in the sense that all her emotions were spot-on and very human. Her wants are the same as any normal person's: wanting to spend summer having as much fun as possible, learning everything she can about surfing, everything.

Ember, being raised upon slews of rules and mantras of how humans are inferior, isn’t some complicated dragons-are-better kind of person; upon being released into the human world, she immediate makes it clear that she isn't in it to compare herself to the humans, but to have fun. Yes, learning to fit in was important, but that wasn't her goal. It was to be free, to have fun, and get as close as she could to having a normal, awesome and fun human summer. Hanging at the beach every day? Check. Surfing? Check. Mango smoothies? Check. Shopping-turned-arcade-sprees? Check. Fun, freedom, friends? Check. And let’s not forget possible romance. Basically doing everything any normal teen would do if given the chance to spend a summer at a California beach.

Through Ember, it really got me thinking about rules and laws. Who makes them? Why do they make them? What aren’t they telling me? Why? Ember challenged everything, never being able to willingly submit to orders without further explanation. And, it turns out, for good reason too. You have to be careful with who you take orders from, and always be cautious of superior motives.

Okay, I’m going to move onto another topic here. Yes, it might be a little bit of a spoiler, so don’t read onwards if you haven’t read Talon yet!

***Still here? Good. Because I’m starting. SPOILER ALERT!!!***

Illusions of Fate Review: Jessamin

I moved here from my island.
I am here to better my education.
But my skin marks me as an outsider.

This land is different than my village home.
The biggest difference is the hidden world of nobility.
It's filled with power, money, and magic.

I was unwillingly dragged into the secret world.
Now I am swept up in a dangerous game, as a pawn.
I am a man's weakness; I am a man's strength.

Fate brought me into this game.
Fate will not let me out.
But I will not let Fate rule me completely.

I will find a way to win this game.
To navigate through this new world.
I will not submit to Fate.

My name is Jessamin Olea.

Hi guys! Today, I'm Jessamin, from Illusions of Fate!

Book: Illusions of Fate
Author: Kiersten White
Series: Stand alone
Setting: Albion
POV: Jessamin, first person
Genre: YA fantasy, history
Categories: We Need Diverse Books

Reading: first time
Favorite line: "I refuse to be ruled, whether by those with bad intentions or those with good."
Rating: 4 stars



Such a powerful protagonist. Firstly, I love that Jessamin is not Caucasian. It is made very clear that she has darker skin than those in Albion, thus making her a target for discrimination. But Jessamin is able to rise above it, which is one of strengths in this book. It is an excellent demonstration of character and inner strength, and most importantly, of strong diverse characters. Add the fact that this is about a female protagonist, and you immediately get a strong feminist from a diverse culture. It's no secret that I approve of this, immensely.

Jessamin moves to Albion not because she's forced to, but because she knows that's the only way to better herself in education. She knows that by moving away to Albion, she will be subjected to discrimination for both race and money, but in the end, she knows that she'll become an even better person. Her resolve and conviction to learn as much as she can through tough times makes her very admirable. She doesn't let anything get her down, doesn't let anything sway her from her main purpose of being in a foreign country.

But that's not all she goes through. She finds herself dragged into the nobility world of magic, somewhere she never even began to dream of being. She is an outsider to this world, given that a) she's not nobility (she's not even from Albion to begin with) and b) she does not wield magic. She is as far from familiar as it gets, tangled up in a dangerous game she normally has no part of. Yet circumstances cause her to become involved, and Jessamin still is able to make the best of it, with merely her wits and determinism.

Jessamin demonstrates that just because you may not be rich, magical, powerful in name, or Caucasian, does not mean you should be underestimated. Jessamin is not weak, is not purely at the mercy of men and the people of the country she lives in. She is clever, smarter than the average Albion citizen, and able to work her way through the magical nobility world she finds herself in. "Weak" and "helpless" are not words used to describe Jessamin.

It's a nice change to finally see more diverse characters taking the spotlight. It's a good chance to see them being arguably better than a few Caucasian characters, to show that everyone of all cultures can be equally as awesome. Add that to the feminist theme you got going here, and it's amazing.

Trial by Fire Review: Lily

I have too many life-threatening allergies.
The world is literally trying to kill me.
I am weak, helpless, in this world.

But then I found myself in a different Salem.
One that is run by monsters and magic.
But above all, it's run by powerful women.

One of the women is Lillian.
She's me, but not me.
Lillian is this world's version of me.

Lillian brought me here.
But I don't belong in this world.
There can't be two of us in the same world.

But what makes me weak at home makes me strong here.
And Lillian knows it.
How do I save a world where I'm my worst enemy?

My name, in my home world, is Lily Proctor.

Hi guys! Today, I am Lily from Trial By Fire!

Book: Trial By Fire
Author: Josephine Angelini
Book series: Worldwalker Trilogy
Book status: Book 1
Setting: Salem (Massachusetts), Salem (another version)
POV: Mainly Lily, third person
Genre: YA fantasy

Reading: first time
Favorite line: "The people who love you will guide you like bright lights into the other worlds."
Rating: 4 stars




Okay okay, this may or may not be a spoiler, but I think it's pretty obvious that we're dealing with witches here. The name of the city Lily's from, Salem? As in the Salem witch trials? Yeah. Therefore I see no reason not to talk about witches, because it is, after all, the basis of the book.

Being Lily, I have to say, it's terrifying to enter another world (or version) of the same one we're living in. That, plus to also find out you have potential to be a very powerful witch? Terrifying. I'm going to break it down a little bit...

Same but different worlds. Let's start with that first. Lily finds herself in another version of her town, where though it's familiar, it's not the same. Lily pretty much does exactly the same thing I would: freak out. Very realistic. Especially since she's being confused with a very powerful (and scary) witch. It has disaster written all over it, and you got to wonder what the heck Lillian was thinking. Because now, there are suddenly two versions of Lillian (Lily's fully name is Lillian, but she goes by Lily), one who rules the entire place and the other who doesn't belong. If I'm in another world and there's an evil version of me running the world there, I'd for sure want out. Too weird. And creepy. Just like the rest of this other version of the world. Everything is similar, but not exactly the same. Again, weird and creepy.

Lily is constantly being confused for Lillian, and honestly, why wouldn't she be? Lily is Lillian, just another one from another world. They look exactly the same, have the same stubborn qualities and everything. Except one's a little crazy, and happens to be a very powerful witch. Lily, being confused for a powerful witch back at home? Laughable. But it turns out that's not quite the case, because again, what made her weak in her own world is what makes her powerful in this new world. Which is why Lillian is so powerful. Which also means Lily has every capability to become equally as powerful.

One thing that really resonated with me was Lily's weakness in her own world. Her allergies made her weak, like hospital-every-other-day-weak. But when she gets to the other Salem, it's what makes her strong. The foods she can't eat, the reason why she's always overheating with fever, her reactions, everything makes sense. And it makes her strong and powerful in magic.

What would you guys do if you found yourself in another version of your town? Found other versions of the friends you know, maybe even siblings or family? What if you found you in that world? And your other you was immensely powerful and maybe crazy?

If you want to know what I would do, read Trial by Fire.

Legend of Korra

Do any of you know about Avatar? No, I'm not talking about the movie with the blue people. I'm talking about the TV show about people having the ability to control (or "bend") elements. The Avatar can control all 4 elements (regular people can only bend one) and is also the bridge between the physical world and the spiritual one. Maybe you guys saw the movie The Last Airbender, but that movie in no way did the actual series justice. It was just bad.

Well, I'm going to go on a rant here about the Legend of Korra, which is the sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender (the original series). Why, you ask? Because the final episode came out. That's right. After 4 seasons, it's all coming to an end. Correction: it all came to an end.

And may I be the first to weep because of it.

Let's talk about Korra. That's her above. She's the Avatar, so automatically, it makes her awesome. But it's not just about the fact that she can bend all 4 elements that makes her cool. She's a girl, yes, but she is headstrong, maybe a bit brash, and is equally as much or more of a hero as a guy would be. There are a lot of people who know guys that are reluctant to read or watch something with a female heroine. Well, enter Korra, and you just proved everyone wrong. Korra proved that female protagonists can appeal to both girls and guys, even moving the story along better than a male protagonist could have. It is a wonderful thing.

Another awesome thing? Korra isn't caucasian. There's actually a book movement called We Need Diverse Books, which empowers diversity among writers and characters all over the place. Korra definitely fits in under that category, proving that you can be awesome even if you aren't white.

Another rising thing? Well, it's sort of a spoiler, so I'm going to put it in white text here. Highlight it to read, else skip down...

LGBT ending. I know that we don't get much (or any) of it until literally the very very end, but the whole Korrasami shipping really paid off. I honestly think that it's good for the world to have something like this: a strong-willed female who strays away from the "white" and "straight" categories. Some people don't agree, but I think this is what truly makes the Legend of Korra unique. It truly is diversity in all aspects, and I think it is simply amazing because of it.

Korra is such a strong-willed female. She really brings the world into a new era, changing the lives of all those who watch it. It's themes are easy enough for children to understand, but deep enough for the adults to appreciate. Themes of light vs. dark, politics, friendships, fascism, romance (a little bit), self identity, public image, family relations, everything. It's got the action, the drive, the adventure, everything you'd ever want. And it's all wrapped up in one show. One amazingly epic show.

And now that it's done, officially over for good, well, normal parting words simply do not do it justice. I have loved Korra, loved her character and development, just as much as I loved some of my favorite book characters. I am extremely sad that it has come to an end, but also happy for her. This is the end of her journey, but I know that she'll be okay, that nothing terrible can happen to her anymore. She will always have a place in my heart, alongside my book characters.

It's no surprise that it's called the Legend of Korra. Because Korra is going to be forever marked down in history as the ultimate legend.

The Young Elites Review: Adelina

I am a survivor of the Blood Fever.

It left me with the marks of a malfetto.

Some believe that malfettos possess powers.

My father is cruel.

He believes I have strained the family name.

I hate him for that.

There is a group of malfettos out there.

A group that all posses powers.

They call themselves the Young Elites.

They are feared among people.

They are worshipped among people.

They are known by all.

I am a Young Elite.

I will make those who hurt me pay.

My name is Adelina Amouteru.

Hello! Today, I happen to be Adelina Amouteru...

Book: The Young Elites

Author: Marie Lu

Series: The Young Elites

Book Status: Book 1

Setting: Kenettra (another world)

POV: mostly Adelina (first person), bit of Teren (third person)

Genre: YA fantasy

Reading: First time

Favorite lines: 

"I am tired of losing. I am tired of being used, hurt, and tossed aside. It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt. My turn."

"Some hate us, think us outlaws to hang at the gallows. Some fear us, think us demons to burn at the stake. Some worship us, think is children of the gods. But all know us."

Rating: 4 stars

If you're looking for a dark book with an even darker protagonist, this is definitely the book for you. Adelina is downright scary. Not in a bad way, but her thought process...well, let's just leave it at the fact that her powers are fuelled by fear and hatred. Get the picture?

Actually, what I really liked about Adelina is that through her, I was able to express and experience emotions that very seldom books explore. Yes, Adelina is the heroine here, but she is in no way a hero of light. Her powers are formed through darkness, and she herself is a dark person with even darker thoughts. 

Her life has not been easy, and she has a lot of bottled up hate and anger for everyone. She isn't the classic character where she learns to get over it and forgive. She takes the hatred, holds it close, and draws strength from it. Nothing has gone right for her, and she's coping with it the only way she can.

Adelina's darkness is really unique. On the inside, she's lost and doesn't know what to do. Rather than turning to light, she turns to darkness, mostly because there is little light for her to turn to. 

This is a story where it's all right to have dark thoughts, to want to take the dirty way out to get what you need. The emotional conflicts Adelina has and how darkness generally triumphs is beautifully written. I really felt Adelina struggles as my own, how at some point, you just have to let go. Not all of her actions were for the good of anyone, but her drive to do the things she needs to get done is admirable.

Adelina's intentions are good at heart, though her thought process and actions are less. But still, whether people like to admit or not, we all have those moments of darkness, where we let ourselves go willingly into it. Adelina finally brings to people a way to relate to it, to find strength in one's darkness while not letting it fully consume you.

(Side note: this book is rich with Venetian culture. Beautiful silks, masks, scenery, everything!)

Winterspell Review: Clara

I am the mayor's daughter.

The proper daughter that everyone looks to.

But that's just one side of me.

Christmas Eve brought disaster.

My house destroyed, my father taken.

And my Godfather's statue came to life, became a man.

Creatures did this.

I don't know why, or what they want.

But I do know they aren't human.

I will travel to their world, to Cane.

And I will find my father.

I have only until New Year's Eve.

My name is Clara Stole.

Hi guys! Today, I'm Clara Stole from Claire Legrand's book Winterspell!

Book: Winterspell

Author: Claire Legrand

Series: it's a stand alone!
Setting: New York (1899), Cane (another world)
POV: Clara, third person
Genre: YA fairytale retelling, fantasy

Reading: First time
Favorite line: "You cannot shy away from yourself. Look the world straight in the eye, and it can do nothing to hurt you."
Rating: 4 stars




This is a great holiday read, especially since it's almost Christmas! It's a retelling of The Nutcracker, which is one of my favorite Christmas stories. I got to admit, though, I'm one of those people who never read stand alones. I prefer having more than one book to get to know characters, to watch them grow. That being said, I couldn't resist the idea of The Nutcracker retelling, so this is probably the first stand alone I've read willingly.

Clara is the mayor's daughter, and because of it, she has a reputation to hold so that she doesn't damage her father's imagine. Yes, she's a proper lady and whatnot, but she's also extremely skilled in fighting, both with hand-to-hand combat and with daggers.

Clara is able to keep a cool head, something I really admire. There are multiple times where one of her "suitors" (and by that I mean a really evil kind of suitor) does something not exactly proper to her, and Clara is going through all the ways she could hurt him. But she doesn't; she executes restraint, because she puts her family first. I'm not sure if I'd be able to stop myself from kicking the guy; the temptation for showing the guy off, for letting him know that he is not in control of me, would be too great. And I don't think I'd be very good at putting on a weak facade when I know I'm stronger than that. But that just adds to Clara's strength. Her ability to both downplay and up play herself at the appropriate times makes her a cool and collective thinker. Add that to her amazing fooling techniques when she's in Cane, and you have a pretty awesome person.

Another one of Clara's strengths is her ability to analyze situations, analyze people, and make use of their weaknesses. I won't tell you specifically who I'm talking about, because I don't want to spoil it, but there is one person in which Clara plays to her advantage. She's smart like that, and it actually works in her favor. She can read people, and she knows how to make use of it.

Clara is a very independent person. She doesn't need anyone to make an escape (which she does more than once), meaning that she's good at both planning and following through on her plans without a hitch. And to add, she has some pretty awesome sneaking around skills, which she demonstrates right at the beginning of the book. Sneaky, smart, and independent. That's a good bunch of traits to have.

Christmas. Magic. A semi-freed nutcracker/prince who is under a curse. A smart and brave protagonist, on a mission to save her father and possibly the land of Cane. What could be a better combination for the holidays?