The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron King	Loved it	Graded
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Elements: Fairies
Series: Book 1 of the Iron Fey series

Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why.

When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined--the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king.

Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart.

Re-reading this book is so much fun, so full of imagery and bookish goodness, that I'm going to bring both copies of THE IRON KING and THE IRON DAUGHTER on my trip overseas to combat boredom.

There are so many vivid, rich descriptions and scenes that make me feel like I'm there with Meghan, from her high school to her house to the NeverNever, the club, Unseelie and Seelie courts. I admit that I have absolutely no idea what the Unseelie and Seelie courts are, which is sad because I realise that I've read so many fey books. *sad face* But THE IRON KING, it can double as a fey dictionary.

Someone make one please?

Meghan, Meghan. Always so afraid, that I was glad when she realised that fact herself. The character growth was clearly there, but I was a bit sore that it happened a bit suddenly and because of Ash. The relationship seemed a bit forced, whereas the relationship with Puck was more natural.
What can I say, I love Puck. The fact that he almost seems human plays no part in it, noooo.Kagawa creates so many scenes in different places, both on Earth and NeverNever, each with its own history. She highlights the danger and ruthlessness of the NeverNever well, where humans are playthings that are easily discarded. NeverNever. Another name for Faeryland. I suppose it's because Faeryland sounds more like a Disney theme park ride than an actual place. Though NeverNever does bring to mind PeterPan.

There's one scene where Grimalkin introduces Meghan to the fey living on Earth, which I think is genius! At first read I thought nothing of it other than the obvious, but afterwards, I realise that it could apply to partners of influential people or runaways who go missing, for example.

There is extensive world building, with obviously a lot of research put into it. A heckload of characters, old and new that somehow works. What I like most was that THE IRON KING went back to the roots of the fey mythology, and yet manages to create a unique blend of the old mythology and new by introducing the Iron Fey element.

Iron Fey. Such an oxymoron. Such a good oxymoron. Why did no one think of this?

Overall, it's a very satisfying read, one that I can give the Liyana seal of approval to. Here's to THE IRON DAUGHTER, a more treacherous journey for Meghan and much more happy Puck.

Devilish by Maureen Johnson

Title: Devilish	Loved it	Graded
Author: Maureen Johnson
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Razorbill
Elements: Demons
Series: Stand alone

The only thing that makes St Teresa's Preparatory School for Girls bearable for Jane is her best friend Ally. But when Ally changes into a whole different person literally overnight the fall of their senior year, Jane's suddenly alone - and very confused.

Turns out, Ally has sold her soul in exchange for popularity - to a devil masquerading as a sophomore at St Teresa's!

Now it's up to Jane to put it all on the line to save her friend from this ponytail-wearing, cupcakenibbling demon...without losing her own soul in the process.

I was introduced to DEVILISH by a certain someone. The day I saw that tweet she made,  thunder sounded in the distance and I got shocked by current while baking cookies. I suppose I should have seen the signs then, but what do they say about cookies?

Join the dark side, we have em. ;)

It is charming, funny and what I liked best was that it didn't take itself too seriously. This is due to Jane's outlook. At first glance, she's like one of those scientists that everyone talks about: intelligent, looking for reasons by logic rather than by magic; she sticks out like a sore thumb because she's in a school where religious studies is a module, and all the classes are taught by nuns or brothers. She's also brave, unfailingly loyal, willing to stand up for what she believes in and willing to take risks despite the odds that she's aware are against her.

Man, I kinda wish I was like her. Except without the blonde spikes. I like my lustrous black hair too much. Typical Asian stereotype here.

Johnson doesn't pull any punches in the construction and design of DEVILISH. I could practically experience the school events (which are a hoot, I love the idea of the Big-Little. Do you have such events in your school?), hang out with the characters (hello Lanalee, I like you!), see the bottles stacked carefully on Lanalee's display (shiny, shiny!), envision the fanged sheep doodled in Jane's textbook (my friend drew a sheep in our textbooks the last year of secondary school. It was curly.).

A fanged sheep that looks like this:

and edited to look like this:

Hah! Thanks Maureen, I love it! :D

Morbid humour is injected in every and any situation, making a bad situation seem much better in comparison.

You know, in situations where your best friend steals your ex-boyfriend. Or when you find out she sold her soul to the devil. Or when you go all out to save her, risking your soul in a gamble you're not even sure you'll win.

Yeah, situations like those.

When it gets down to it, DEVILISH teaches us all a lesson about wanting things too much and taking the easy way there. The lesson is terribly painful (Heh heh heh. You'll find out why when you read the ending, which you WILL, right? *stares*), and makes you wonder whether the whole short cut was worth it.

All I can say is, don't take the short cut while reading DEVILISH. You don't want to miss the fun, do you?

Things I Wish Book Covers Didn't Do

*picks up*
Thoughts: Oh wow! That cover is gorg- Fuck that blurb. Oh no, two blurbs. Perfect.
*puts down*

*picks up*
Thoughts: Interesting. Yeah, I pretty much read the whole book.
*puts down*

Clicky to embiggen and see other examples, along with my Photoshop skillz. 

*picks up*
Thoughts: What, what, what is this book about? Sucks that it's still in its plastic wrapping.
*puts down*

Fun fact: Those are just three books out of ten that I randomly picked up off my table. And there are four more books out of that same ten where an excerpt is used.

Guest Post by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson

Let's welcome the authors of The Familiars, Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson for a guest post today! *applause*

Familiars are the animal companions to a wizard or witch. They are mentioned several times in the Bible, from Deuteranomy to Leviticus. Shakespeare's Macbeth had them, too. Familiars were common in Europe during the Middle Ages, and could be seen in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. They existed in popular culture since the 1800s. The earliest and most recognizable of these magical assistants were the black cats of a witch. You’ve seen them on Halloween posters rubbing up against the leg of a woman dressed in black. Surely you are aware of some of the more famous familiars, like Harry Potter’s owl, Hedwig, or Gandalf’s horse, Shadowfax, or Merlin’s owl, Archimedes. Disney’s animated films added many more familiars to the lore, including Jafar’s parrot, Iago, Ursula’s eels, Floatsam and Jetsam, or Maleficant’s crows.

White Cat by Holly Black

Title: White Cat	Loved it	Graded
Author: Holly Black
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Elements: Cons
Series: Book 1 of the Curse Workers trilogy

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

This is my first foray into Holly Black's work and it didn't disappoint.

It starts off with Cassel standing on the ledge of a building with no idea how he got there. Intriguing start, but his name... Cassel. Tassel. Castle? I've never heard this name before, and those words kept running in my head whenever someone uses his name. Very distracting.

Also, just the title and the author's name. HAH! White Cat. Holly Black. Ahh, I'm so lame. -___-

The plot's not bad; it seems a little simplistic, but the tension, action and mystery is enough to propel the story forward. Clues were littered throughout the story, clues which I thought were blatant and repetitious. As soon as I realised that it was repeated one too many times, the magic was slightly gone and I was impatiently waiting for Cassel to just realise it.

The twists are pretty good once they happen, with a bit of plot left after the reveal. That part is always my favourite part of a book, when the author doesn't just leave us readers smack bang with the revelation and says 'Bye bye! Wait for the sequel to find out more!'. After which the sequel always seems to be disappointing. *sad face*

A con! Curses! Curse workers! And the glove factor, just truly ingenious ingredients, with great characters. I just wished more could have been done with them. Sure, the main characters are the ones that seem to have a little more life, but other than that, all of them seem to have only one purpose, one characteristic that defines them. I like the world that Black built, it's interesting and well executed. So here's to reading the sequel, and hoping that it won't disappoint.

P.S. The reason I blanked out the synopsis is because it ruined the whole book for me. I had to rewrite this review many times (Rewrite number 3, hello!) because it affected my enjoyment and experience in reading WHITE CAT.

Albatross by Josie Bloss

Title: Albatross	Loved it	Graded
Author: Josie Bloss
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Flux
Elements: Abuse
Series: Stand alone

What’s so cool about nice guys?

Everyone at Tess’s new school warns her that Micah is bad news—a heartbreaker. But she can’t ignore her attraction to this brooding, brilliant, friendless emo hottie who can turn on the charm—or heart-shredding scorn—at a moment’s notice.

Starting over in a new town after her parents’ split isn’t easy for Tess, and Micah feels like her first real connection. But what happens when their bond suddenly feels like shackles? And Micah starts to remind Tess of her freakishly controlling father?

With Albatross, Josie Bloss takes her storytelling in a new direction by exploring the dark side of relationships.

Look there. What do you see? A boy in a leather jacket, sitting all alone in the cafeteria. An ~*aura*~ of mystery surrounds him. And a sense of foreboding too, but you ignore that thought, because trouble with that boy would be good, so good. No one talks to him, and he? He's not bothered at all. In fact, he seems to prefer the solitude, minding his own business. Hey! The most popular girl is talking to him and OH MY GOD he brushed her off without a glance! You giggle. He looks up at you, and you're caught by that deep mesmerizing glance, and even when he looks away, dismisses you like, your heart is still beating a little too fast. And you know, that he's the one for you.

You know the drill. Also, this review contains spoilers.

It sounds absurdly familiar. Put the jerky, smoky hot guy with an insecure main character and bang! You've got the set up of a paranormal YA book. Why do I generalise Paranormal YA books? Because the bad boy seems to be a staple in those types of stories, and I never thought that such a plot device would be able to carry the story over, hence the paranormal factor to add a little zing and plot to the whole shebang.

But I was wrong. That relationship is the basis of ALBATROSS, and it definitely carries the story and sub-plots within it.

ALBATROSS was an eye-opener, because poor Tess is going through two similar relationships in her life. One is with Micah. Tess has a good heart. All she wanted to do was make a friend in a new town, someone that she could really trust.  She just wants to belong, and Micah makes her feel like she belongs. However, he makes her feel like she belongs to him, and that's entirely different.

She befriends him because of two other factors:
1) even though he had the attention of the girl whom Tess envied, the girl that everyone wants, he treated it as nothing special. That right there seems just fine, except that Micah's 'nothing special' means 'nothing special' in the worst way possible, like no one else other than him deserves respect.

2) the misunderstood bad boy factor. Here's how it works. You live for the compliments and you stay through the hurt, the anger, and that little voice in your head that tells you you deserve better. Because even though you know you deserve better, you still believe that you'll be the one person who will change this poor, misunderstood bloke. Because bad boys do change, and maybe this bad boy will too. And you'll be the one to do it. Let me rephrase that: you'll be the one that he'll be willing to change for. That's more special right?

It's saddening, but I understand the lure. Tess believes the best in people, which is a great quality to have! It is also a double-sided quality as it blinds her to people's faults.

Her relationship with Micah mirrors the relationship between her parents, except that she's going through the beginning phases, while her parents are at the end of it. Her mom is the older, wiser equivalent of Tess. She's been through the relationship, the passion, and she was strong enough to break things off with Tess's dad, to know that she deserves better than years of slights and insults and actually act on it. Because knowing and doing it are two entirely different things. It took a long time, but she did it, for Tess and ultimately for herself.

Tess and her dad. *sigh* Her dad is what Micah will grow up to be if he doesn't want to change. He's the main reason why Tess is subconsciously drawn to Micah, because she is used to the same relationship at home, before her mom left her dad. This is a theory, but perhaps Tess has not adjusted well to her new life is because her dad is gone. It's not a mistake that Tess seems to thrive and really live after she meets Micah, as it seems like that's the only way she knows how to live. And who can blame her, when all her life she's had such a presence in her life?

I can write longer about the relationships, the different connotations in the story but I'll stop here.

Bloss wanted to show readers the lures and danger of such a relationship and she does so well. She shows us the consequences of such a relationship, not just on the abusee, but the children too. Because this is verbal abuse, and marks are left, even though they're invisible to the naked eye. The addictive quality of the relationship between Tess's parents is well-portrayed with the fleeting glances we get from Tess's interactions with each parent, along with Micah.

I would have loved for the resolution to be more satisfying, to be longer, to show how Tess has grown, but sometimes it just takes one little thing for the growth and awareness to be realised. The supporting characters could have been more well-rounded rather than just convenient plot elements for Tess to reflect on at convenient moments, but what little we see of them is enough to get the basic idea.

ALBATROSS is a book that I think everyone should read. Because even though you might scoff at Tess's decisions and mutter at her stupid choice, and even though you say you know what it's like, the truth is that you don't. Other books might glorify such a relationship, and show the best case scenario: which is that the boy changes for the better and falls in love with the girl, yadda yadda yadda.  But ALBATROSS? It shows what happens when you get the worst case scenario of the bad boy factor. And it's not at all pretty.