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Synopsis

Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn’t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.

 When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch’s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.

 During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is—as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.

 From the author of The Paper Magician series comes a haunting and otherworldly tale of folly and consequence, forgiveness and redemption. 

Details

✱ Author: Charlie N. Holmberg
✱ Publication date: 28 June 2016
✱ Pages: 306 (ebook)
✱ Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

First Impressions

Would you look at that gorgeous cover?! Also I enjoyed Holmberg's Paper Magician trilogy so I had high hopes.

My Review

Imagination abounding

I mean, really. She is such an imaginative author, I'm always surprised by her writing - magic in baking for example is such a cool idea. There are so many interesting elements in this one that I felt had a lot of potential, but at the same time it felt a bit aimless. I really enjoyed the beginning but it sort of lost its way. In the synopsis some themes are mentioned, like 'folly and consequence,' which I think is quite apt, but it does take quite a while to see the wider effects and the real meaning of these themes.

The protagonist, Maire 

Maire has lost her memory so we're in her head, trying to figure out what's happening right alongside her. She faces some pretty difficult situations and usually keeps a cool head which makes her likeable to me, but I also found I couldn't really identify with her despite that. Maybe that's because it's hard to define the personality of someone who doesn't have their memories? The person Maire is and has been since losing her memory might be someone completely different from who she was before, and I think that has to show in her personality too.

Despite how much I adore imaginative stories...

This one fell a bit flat for me. In a way there's a mystery to it which means you keep waiting and waiting to find out what's really going on. It just didn't really work for me, in the end. If you like your books a bit different from everything else, and you like not knowing where the story is headed you might enjoy this. For me the ending just didn't deliver enough, and something about the execution of the story just diminished the magic overall.

Quick Recap and Rating

I wish I could give Magic Bitter a higher rating, but I didn't love it like I wanted to. The good thing is this one's going to be free for kindle unlimited - so if you have that you can give it a go without spending any extra money.
Have you read the Paper Magician? Are you planning on reading Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet? Have you read books where you had high hopes and it felt promising but fell short? Let me know!


For some people, silence is a weapon. For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield. Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.

 Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.

 It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with the lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory faces a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard.
✱ Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout 
✱ Pages: 480 (hardcover)
✱ Publication date: 17 May 2016
✱ Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review


The story is based on two people - Mallory and Rider - who both faced abuse as children. I was kind of prepared for the waterworks.

Dealing with Old Wounds

Rider and Mallory both felt real to me - I understood their reactions, I understood their decisions, and how their past had affected them in different ways. These two high school students have tried to put behind them these horrible things in their past - but they are very clearly still dealing with them. It's emotional, and it naturally affects the story and drives it forward. It's a good premise - if a bit heart-breaking and tear-inducing.

High School is Hard for Everyone

Something Mallory starts to see is that maybe she's not as different from everyone around her as she thought. It has an impact on her journey as she tries to be like the others, to prove to herself and her foster parents that she's doing better and is able to go to school.

The Problem with Forever is an emotional, evocative and inspirational story about love, family, and how our experiences make us who we are. 

My favourite thing: Mallory's struggle felt so real to me, and it was easy to identify with her. I think we all have our struggles in high school, and even though her situation is worse than most, it still hits me hard.

Props to the Author

The Problem with Forever is absolutely lovely, moving, and overall just very, very emotional. It's clear that the author has done her research, and she paints a realistic picture of young foster children who sometimes slip between the cracks in the system.
Romantic YA (maybe even NA because of some tough topics?) that treats love in a very realistic way. I cry at the drop of a hat, really - but I have this rule that if a book makes me cry, it's probably easily worth five stars. I CRIED OKAY.


Do you read books that you know will make you cry?

Nanette O'Hare is an unassuming teen who has played the role of dutiful daughter, hardworking student, and star athlete for as long as she can remember. But when a beloved teacher gives her his worn copy of The Bugglegum Reaper--a mysterious, out-of-print cult classic--the rebel within Nanette awakens.
As she befriends the reclusive author, falls in love with a young troubled poet, and attempts to insert her true self into the world with wild abandon, Nanette learns the hard way that rebellion sometimes comes at a high price.

✱ Pages: 272 (hardcover)
✱ Publication date: 31 May 2016
✱ Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
This was my first Matthew Quick book! I read an excerpt of the first few chapters two or three months back, and I was already hooked, so you can imagine how super excited I was to receive and ARC for this one!

My Rambling "This is Why I Love It" Review

You probably already got the basic message: I really loved Every Exquisite Thing. It's one of those books I just couldn't put down. The plot actually surprised me and things took a surprisingly serious turn but that made me love this story even more. I really don't want to go into the specifics because I fear that would take away from your reading experience! Suffice it to say that this story handles serious topics in a way that makes you think. It really fits this story, and I much prefer that to, say, making something horrible happen because it's emotive and will make the reader cry (which is also cool and necessary [yes, I'm looking at you, All the Bright Places] but I don't always want that, you know?)

 My favourite thing about Every Exquisite Thing might be that it touches upon some really important topics: mental health and therapy, how we live our lives, and - as a kind of central theme - literature and stories and their profound effect on us. I highlighted so many passages of this book that I can't even pick favourites to share with you. I'm pretty sure I'll be rereading this as soon as I can manage it.

 A book for the quiet rebels among us who don't want to go to prom, who excel at things they don't really enjoy, who get tired of doing what's expected just because other people tell them it's for the best, Every Exquisite Thing surprised me in the best way possible. It is refreshing, compelling, and honest: exactly what you want from good Young Adult literature.
Verdict: SO GOOD. Read it!
Have you read Matthew Quick before? And I'm always curious about this: which cover do you prefer? Keep reading my lovelies!

Everyone knows the legends about the cursed girl--Isabel, the one the señoras whisper about. They say she has green skin and grass for hair, and she feeds on the poisonous plants that fill her family’s Caribbean island garden. Some say she can grant wishes; some say her touch can kill.

Seventeen-year-old Lucas lives on the mainland most of the year but spends summers with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico. He’s grown up hearing stories about the cursed girl, and he wants to believe in Isabel and her magic. When letters from Isabel begin mysteriously appearing in his room the same day his new girlfriend disappears, Lucas turns to Isabel for answers--and finds himself lured into her strange and enchanted world. But time is running out for the girl filled with poison, and the more entangled Lucas becomes with Isabel, the less certain he is of escaping with his own life. 



✱ Pages: 288 (hardcover)
✱ Publication date: 12 April 2016
✱ Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review


A YA début that features magical realism? Sold.

The Setting


Maybe my favourite thing about this book: the setting was lovely. Reading this book kind of feels like being transported to Puerto Rico. It's rather wonderful, really. The descriptions are lush, and give a really nice picture of what life is like for our characters. The writing is enjoyable and works for this story really well.


The Characters


This is where my opinions get a bit mixed. Isabel - the girl filled with poison - is an enigma. I like those. She kept me reading - I had to find out more about her. She is interesting, and her circumstances just make you wonder, make you want to know everything. But the protagonist, Lucas... I guess I didn't find him all that likeable? Which is fair enough, and actually might just mean that he's quite a realistic portrayal of a teenage boy. I just couldn't quite bring myself to care about him. Potentially because he sometimes seems like he doesn't care about things.


The Mystery and the Plot


Isabel may be the first mystery in the story, but there is also another pretty important one: girls are disappearing. This storyline works well enough to drive the plot, but overall it ended up being a bit confusing. I wanted something slightly more from the plot because there was so much potential in the premise of the cursed girl. On the other hand the magical realism is a cool part of the story.

Overall, I'm glad to have read A Fierce and Subtle Poison but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a few problems with it.

An interesting feat of magical realism with a pretty intriguing plot, wonderful descriptions, and characters that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens to them (even if you're not overly fond of Lucas).
Have you read A Fierce and Subtle Poison? Do you enjoy magical realism?

Her story begins on a train.

 The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo.

 Yael, a former death camp prisoner, has witnessed too much suffering, and the five wolves tattooed on her arm are a constant reminder of the loved ones she lost. The resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year’s only female racer, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin’s brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael’s every move.

 But as Yael grows closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?
✱ Pages: 388 (hardcover)
✱ Publication date: October 2015
✱ Series: Wolf by Wolf #1
✱ Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review


I went in only knowing that this was an alternate history where Hitler lived. Pretty interesting (and scary) premise, right?


The Plot

I can't believe I actually read a book that's basically about motorcycle racing. I have absolutely no interest in motorcycles or racing... or motorcycle racing. But Wolf by Wolf is so good. I got really caught up in the plot, especially because the story-telling happens in the 'then' and 'now' - describing Yael's childhood and the horrors she has seen, as well as the deadly race she is caught in, in the present. Wolf by Wolf keeps moving at a fast pace (literally and figuratively), and there's something really original about this alternate history.

Yael

A superb protagonist who faces her problems head on and struggles to do what she thinks is right,Yael is interesting and relatable. Because of her peculiar ability to skinshift ( - to change her looks at will), she takes on what could be the most important task in the resistance against Hitler, and she concentrates on that mission in a way that really makes you respect her. The rest of the resistance is easy to side with too, and the other characters who take part in the Axis Tour get more and more interesting as the story progresses and we learn about them, little by little.

Important Themes

Graudin's brilliant writing brings the story to life and makes us wonder about questions of morality and identity. These are pretty big themes to grapple with, but it's done extremely well: Yael's ability to skinshift makes you wonder what it is that makes a person who they are. If you can change the way you look, who does that make you? Questions of morality come up too - is it right to do things that are wrong if it's for the greater good? Important things are explored in a very smart way in this story, and I couldn't help but appreciate that.

Exciting and exceedingly enjoyable, Wolf by Wolf is an amazing work of alternate history.
Have you read this one or other books that focus on alternate history?

Hi lovelies!

Today we're talking about Pam Brondos' Fourline trilogy which I'm a tiny bit obsessed with. I'll talk about the series as a whole, and then expand on the final book, the Last Remnant, specifically a little bit towards the end of this post,  We'll keep this as spoiler free as possible!


For the first book in the trilogy, Gateway to Fourline:

Years before, a gateway opened between their world and ours. Sending one young woman through may be the key to survival for the kingdom of Fourline.

Strapped for cash, college student Natalie Barns agrees to take a job at a costume shop. Sure, Estos—her classmate who works in the shop—is a little odd, but Nat needs the money for her tuition.

 Then she stumbles through the mysterious door behind the shop—and her entire universe transforms.

 Discovering there’s far more to Estos than she ever imagined, Nat gets swept up in an adventure to save his homeland, an incredible world filled with decaying magic, deadly creatures, and a noble resistance of exiled warriors battling dark forces. As she struggles with her role in an epic conflict and wrestles with her growing affection for a young rebel, Soris, Nat quickly learns that nothing may go as planned…and her biggest challenge may be surviving long enough to make it home. 
✱ Pages: each book is about 300 to 350 pages
✱ Publication date: the Last Remnant will be out 10 May 2016
✱ Series: Fourline


  
What do you think of the covers? I love them for their simplicity, and I think they actually fit the books really well. I read the first two over Christmas break, and I've been waiting for the release of the Last Remnant since then. When I saw it up on Netgalley I squealed a little and then read it immediately.

The Kingdom of Fourline

Danger lurks in Fourline, and those who've escaped from that danger to our world cannot return for fear of being caught immediately. Enter Natalie Barns. A college student in need of funding for her studies, she agrees to a small mission to Fourline - enter the kingdom, finish the mission, then return home. But nothing is ever that simple.

Fourline is an enchanting world. The evil Nala are kind of terrifying, and pose a continuing threat. The warriors who could fight them are either dead or in hiding. These warriors are women known as Sisters. It's time for Nat to pretend to be one long enough to survive Fourline and make her way back home.

The Protagonist, Natalie

I think the reason I'm so into this story is Nat. She is so likeable. She's a student who worries about her family, worries about paying tuition, worries about being a burden. Pretty easy to identify with, at least for me. Also, she's kind of a geek and likes to spend her time in the lab. She's smart and resourceful and those are qualities I really like in a main character. She also does what she has to, without feeling sorry for herself or blaming others.

The Other Characters in the Story

Well-rounded and more and more detailed with every book, the characters of the trilogy have very distinct personalities. I love the dynamic between Natalie and her room-mate Viv, as well as the good old sisterly hatred that Nat and her little sister Cal have going on.

The characters from Fourline are intriguing too: there's Estos - the student Nat meets and agrees to help; Annin, who wears an eye-patch and gets made fun of but doesn't really care about what people say; Soris, who ends up helping Nat on her mission. The way we learn more about each character as the story goes on is wonderful.

The Final Chapter: the Last Remnant

As the last book in a trilogy, I think the Last Remnant worked very, very well. It had everything I wanted in it - danger, adventure, a bit of romance. Things really escalate towards the end of the second book, and in the Last Remnant, the stakes are high for everyone involved. Natalie and her friends' journey and their mission to save Fourline has had its effect on all of them, and it's wonderful to witness the character development that's happened during the course of the trilogy, and even just during the Last Remnant.
A thrilling, satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy!

Awesome characters, interesting world-building, and a thrilling plot. And the best thing? All three books are out (or will be on the 10th May) so you can easily binge them!
What do you think - are you willing to give this YA fantasy trilogy a go? What do you think about the whole travelling from our world to a high fantasy one?