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 For once, Percy has endured a relatively uneventful year at a school, although he’s been stuck with an awkward friend, Tyson. That’s until a game of dodgeball goes wrong and Percy gets blamed. When he heads to his summer refuge, the camp for half-bloods, he finds that Thalia’s tree is dying and the camp’s borders are failing. It’s no longer safe. Even though Percy and his friends are told not to, they head off to save one of their friends and their camp from destruction.
Since I knew The Sea of Monsters was more of a MG book going in, I found myself enjoying it a lot more than The Lightning Thief. When I kept the audience in mind, I found this a very engaging read. The characters are all still endearing. I loved the addition of Tyson and I felt that he really helped Percy to grow and develop as a character, which if you’re reading this blog, you know I really appreciate. He also brought up an interesting issue that Percy needed to explore – that being the son of a god is not necessarily a wonderful thing that will get you out of every scrape you land in. It makes the story more interesting and more relevant for real kids, even if obviously no modern child is going to get on a ship to rescue their satyr friend.
This is a fast-paced, enjoyable book. Percy and his friends don’t rest from the first page onwards. This book does, however, stand alone a bit less than the first did. A reader new to the series would probably pick up on what was happening thanks to Percy’s explanations, but the story ends on an intriguing twist that will have readers looking for the next book in the series. There are also references to a prophecy that will probably apply when Percy is sixteen – if he makes it that far – which makes it clear that we’ll have to read the entire series to know what happens. I’m looking forward to continuing when I need a light, humorous, fast-paced read.
I am an Amazon Associate. I purchased this book.
 This is the third book in a series. If you haven’t read The Thief and The Queen of Attolia, don’t read this review yet!
Eugenides, the Queen’s Thief of Eddis, is now the King of Attolia. Through the eyes of a young guard, Costis, Eugenides is an incapable ruler deserving only his disrespect. When he punches Eugenides in the face, Costis expects dismissal, if not execution, but instead finds himself promoted and near the king at all times. As his derision for Eugenides slowly turns into respect, the rest of the court also realizes that this King of Attolia is far more capable than he wants to let on.
I have really, really enjoyed this series and I’m glad there is another one coming. There is just so much to like about this book. Having read the first two, I knew Eugenides was capable even without one of his hands and I was certain he was playing a game. While it’s frustrating to watch everyone mock him, given how fond I became of him, it’s incredibly gratifying to watch the tide change and his careful plan unveil itself. This is a well-plotted book and it unfolds in a way that made me want to keep reading to figure out what was actually going on. It’s subtle but fascinating and complex. Eugenides in particular has developed a ton over the course of the series, but he’s so well written that it’s obvious he’s still the clever boy turned into a man with a great amount of struggle behind him.
There is also the love story here between the King and Queen of Attolia. We never see things from their viewpoint, just from outsiders, which is a refreshing approach to a romance. We know they feel for each other, but their romance still changes and grows, and the fact that we’re never in their heads makes us curious as to what is going on. This is also great because Turner trusts her readers to figure things out for themselves. She doesn’t always spell out the fact that they’re in love, she just shows it.
I’m going to keep this review short because otherwise I’d just continue gushing about The King of Attolia. If you appreciate YA fantasy, I really recommend this series. You won’t be sorry.
I’m an Amazon Associate. I purchased this book.
 Aisling’s grief at her mother’s death was strong, but nothing compared to how she felt when her father also fell ill, shortly after taking a new wife. Ash, connected deeply with the forest, was forced to move to the city for her father’s care. When he died, her stepmother declared that Ash’s fathers debts had been so numerous that Ash would have to work as a servant for the rest of her life to pay them off. Ash’s unhappiness leads her to the forest, where she meets the fairy Sidhean and begins to hope that he’ll steal her away from her mortal life. But then she meets Kaisa, the king’s huntress, and Ash’s wishes begin to change.
My expectations for this book were severely lowered thanks to Nymeth’s review. She also adores fairy tale retellings, and in case you couldn’t tell, this is a version of Cinderella. So when she didn’t like it, I thought there wasn’t all that much hope for me to like it, and I started the book thinking that. Imagine my complete surprise when I sat down and read the entire book in one sitting, staying up late just to finish it. I enjoyed it that much. Maybe it was the fact that it was a Cinderella story, a fairy tale I have always loved*, or the fact that I was craving fantasy at the time, but this book worked out beautifully for me.
Ash has been publicized as the book where Cinderella falls in love with a woman, but it’s more than that. It’s also not nearly as big a deal in the book as it has been in the publicity. Same sex relationships are normal in Ash’s world, which was a refreshing viewpoint. It surprised me how completely normal it felt and made me wish that I lived in a world where the same was true.
Malinda Lo creates a whole world and a mythology here, and I felt that frame was absolutely perfect for the story that unfolded. While the introduction of all the lore at the beginning was fairly slow, it did help as the book went along. The depiction of Ash’s grief at the loss of her parents felt real, and, though not the best I’ve read, really was moving. I thought at first that the part of the story with Sidhean was going to take away from her relationship with Kaisa, which only begins in the second half of the book, but I enjoyed the way it was developed and wrapped up in the end. I really loved Ash’s romance with Kaisa. I felt that it was so organically written and so natural; they really became friends and then realized what they had. The whole storyline left me breathless, and for me that’s unusual but cherished.
I also really liked Ash as a character. As time passed, she grew as a person and as a woman, and her love led her to take a step back into having a life, not just wishing the fairies could whisk her away. She likes to read, which automatically endeared her to me. So I wanted her to escape her life of servitude and I relished every step on the way. If someone was brave enough to be her friend, I liked them too. I was not fond of the evil stepmother and her daughters, but I still appreciated the fact that Lo built credible family dynamics into their relationships. They’re all human beings, even if they are very selfish.
I know how the Cinderella story goes, but I was still captivated by Ash, still reading until the very end. To me, that’s the mark of a good retelling.
*Some useless knowledge about me: I watched the movie Ever After at the perfect age and I have basically adored Cinderella stories since. I don’t know what it is about that movie, but I still love it.
Also, I received this book from review from the Amazon Vine program and I am an Amazon Associate.
 First, if you haven’t read The Thief, stay away from this review to avoid spoilers. Second, I like the back cover summary, it reveals very little but hints at so much, so I’m going to be a little lazy and just use it here:
“When his small mountainous country goes to war with the powerful nation of Attolia, Eugenides the thief is faced with his greatest challenge. He must steal a man, he must steal a queen, and he must steal peace.
But his greatest triumph – as well as his greatest loss – can only come if he succeeds in capturing something the Queen of Attolia may have sacrificed long ago.”
Thinking about this book now, I believe I may love it even more than I did when I’d finished it. It just feels so well done, so well put together, that I’m still thinking about it days later, and I read it during the read-a-thon, when I couldn’t really give it as much attention as if I’d been well rested and had no other books on my mind.
The first thing that I noticed was a shift to third person narration, which was a little odd after being in Gen’s head for the entirety of the first book. When the view switched around, though, I realized how important this was, because Eugenides is not entirely the central character here. There is now a war brewing between his country, which is Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis, but Eugenides is out of commission for a while and instead we get the viewpoints of the queens as they manuever in this new war. There are politics involved and lives are at stake. The queens are strong, powerful women in their own rights and it was really wonderful to have a focus on women after the male-centered first book.
The world has expanded; this is no longer a boy’s journey, and Eugenides is definitely no longer a boy. He’s lost that playful thieving edge, but to be honest I loved him even more, for his suffering and the man he became because of it. There are a few gods in this book and they do manipulate events to suit themselves; it’s so fascinating to see the results and how they had a purpose in the way everything turned out. Gen is the clever one, of course, without or without the help of the gods, and his plotting is startling; all the plot threads come together in an astonishing way. It leaves the reader marveling at his strength, self-possession, mind, and remarkable ability to cope with adversity.
Then of course, there is the love story. I didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t what I got; what I got was beautiful and almost hard to believe, but somehow credible. An author who can convince you that something you’d never normally believe is possible and downright wonderful is an author to watch, and Megan Whalen Turner is definitely that.
I hope I haven’t spoiled anything in this wonderful book. I’ve done my best. I do hope that I’ve encouraged you to seek it out. Set aside a few hours and spend some time with The Queen of Attolia. You won’t regret it.
 After bragging that he could steal anything, and promptly laying his hands on the king’s seal, Gen finds himself in prison for that very theft. That is, until the king’s magus recruits him for the ultimate theft in another country, a treasure that no one has ever managed to steal. Of course Gen accepts, but he has ideas of his own, and he knows that once he gets out into the open, nothing is going to hold him back from freedom.
I’ve widely heard that this is the least of all the books of the series but I loved it. I adored the characters. Gen is a trickster and a liar, but he is just so clever. I really wanted him to succeed in his mission, whatever it finally turned out to be. I enjoyed the conflicts between all the travelers as they went along and the realistic way their relationships changed and grew. The magus genuinely learned who Gen was and what he was capable of and it was remarkable to watch his respect for Gen grow as the journey continued. In the beginning, Gen was marginalized, a prisoner and a thief, but as his companions got to know him, they considered him a person. I love books that do this and show how people are forced to reconsider those they classify as “other”.
The book is written in first person, which really works, but its difference lies in the fact that we still don’t know all about Gen. He doesn’t reveal who he really is or his past until the end. We’re given little tantalizing glimpses, like when he talks about his family and lets us know that it’s a big one, but his secrets for me kept the whole book very interesting. I wanted to know more about him. It was also a good choice for a read-a-thon book, as it’s very short and extremely absorbing.
I thought overall that this was a great little adventure story about identity. It’s well-written, with nice imagery, but the characters really stole the show for me. There was a reason I immediately picked up The Queen of Attolia and just writing this review has made me really long to read The King of Attolia as soon as possible. If you enjoy YA fantasy and haven’t read The Thief yet, I highly, highly recommend it.
I am an Amazon Associate. I purchased all books mentioned in this post.
 Todd Hewitt is nearly thirteen years old and has never seen a woman. He knows what women look like, though, because he can see them in other men’s thoughts. The ability to see thoughts – words and images – is called Noise, and all the men in his town have the same ability. The Noise, a disease passed on by the Spackle, aliens who previously inhabited Todd’s world, isn’t just limited to men, as all animals can talk, including Todd’s slightly stupid dog, Manchee. On Todd’s thirteenth birthday, he will become a man, the last boy in his town to do so, but before that can happen, Todd encounters a pocket of silence that leads to his expulsion from Prentisstown and causes him to question everything he’s ever known.
This is a book that has been hyped throughout the blogosphere endlessly. I know I bought it because so many book bloggers I trust had read and loved it. I think my expectations made the book less of an experience for me. I simply knew it was meant to be amazing, so perhaps it’s not a surprise that it wasn’t. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, but it hasn’t immediately catapulted itself onto my list of all-time favorite books. The rest of this review might contain slight spoilers, so I wouldn’t suggest reading it unless you’ve completed the book.
The best and the worst thing about this book is the pace. It’s Todd’s frantic flight from his entire life, a girl and a dog in tow, with terrifyingly bad men behind them. The sense of urgency is overwhelming and is constantly pushing the reader to read on, to read faster, to find out what happens next. While this ability to absorb me is a great thing in a new era of books that only half-heartedly interest me, it also harmed the book’s impact, perhaps because I did read it so quickly. I did get attached to Todd and Viola and Manchee, but all of the tragedy within the book simply did not have the time to emotionally hit me. Something else happened so quickly that the characters couldn’t dwell on their losses or problems, so I didn’t really feel them the way I was supposed to. In addition, the many tragedies made the book feel somewhat emotionally manipulative. There is no respite from it at all.
There is still a lot to love here, though. The concept of the Noise is just fascinating and while the men of Prentisstown can’t be excused for what they did, it’s so easy to see how this could drive someone mad. Todd is an incredibly loveable character despite what he’s driven to do over the course of the novel. I even enjoyed the deliberate misspellings because I felt they revealed a lot of his childishness and innocence; they gave him part of his voice and I honestly don’t think the book would be the same without it. Best of all, I think, was his relationship with Viola, even though he’s obstinate as only a boy could be at the beginning. At first he sees Viola as a foreign object, then as a woman, and finally as a person, just like him, and I think the transformation of his thinking and their interactions was my favorite part of the entire book. If you read this blog you know I’m all about the relationships between characters and this is a great one.
So, in short, The Knife of Never Letting Go* didn’t totally blow me away and it’s not my favorite book of the year, but I seriously enjoyed it and I’m anxiously awaiting the return of The Ask and the Answer* to the library so I can continue the story.
*I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small referral fee if you purchase through these links. I purchased this book.
 Rose and Lissa are best friends. Lissa is one of the Moroi vampires, while Rose is a dhampir, learning to become a guardian and protect Lissa from the Strigoi, the evil vampires. Convinced that someone was out to get Lissa, the two fled St. Vladimir’s Academy, living on their own and evading capture. That only lasted so long, however, and now the girls are back at school. Sexy dhampir guardian Dimitri found the girls and while acting as guardian for Lissa, begins to train Rose to become a far better guardian than she was before. In the face of a new danger, can Rose keep Lissa safe while denying her newfound attraction for the older Dimitri?
Vampire Academy is a fun start to what appears to be a promising YA series. For once, it isn’t particularly Twilight-esque and I appreciated its originality with the two different kinds of vampires and the dhampirs as the guardians of the Moroi vampires. It’s a well done world. I always enjoy books set in boarding schools. They provide such a terrific setting with all the characters in one place, with a reason for them to be parentless, and I find that I often wish I could go there myself (Hogwarts is the best example of this). While I don’t think I want to attend St. Vladimir’s Academy, the setting worked perfectly and allowed all of the young drama to take a strong hold on the characters and their actions.
Rose is by far the strongest character in the book. She is a vibrant teenager that visibly grows over the course of the book. She is a bit promiscuous, but I like that she learned over the course of the novel how to be a better guardian and became much more of an adult. Her priorities straightened out and her development was impressive and fluid. I really liked her crush on Dimitri. I think most teenage girls have an older man that they decide they love, so it humanizes her and gives the story an interesting direction to take for the next few books. I’m really looking forward to seeing where it goes. Lissa is a weaker heroine, in part because we see her only through Rose’s eyes. She seems to be loyal and kind, but it’s harder to get a grasp on her personality, although I loved her scenes with Christian when Rose was spying on them.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It’s great YA urban fantasy and I’m looking forward to continuing the series.
I purchased this book. I’m an Amazon Associate.
 In Katsa’s world, people with Graces, or extraordinary skills, are feared and sometimes exploited. They are distinguished by their dual colored eyes. Unfortunately for Katsa, she has a killing Grace, and has been used by her uncle to do his bidding since she was eight years old and accidentally murdered a man with her bare hands. When Katsa seeks to rescue the father of the King of Liend, she stumbles upon a mystery and on Po, a man who can fight almost as well as she. Katsa decides to defy her uncle the king and set off to solve the mystery, the curious Po at her side.
I love fairy tales, especially fairy tales expanded into novels. While this is a completely new story, it feels very much like a fairy tale. It is a once upon a time fantasy with a darker edge in that Katsa’s Grace is so violent. The closest I can compare it to in style is Robin McKinley, who I recently discovered and loved. Thus it’s not at all a surprise that I really enjoyed this book too.
For Katsa, this is completely a coming-of-age story. She is disgusted with herself, with her uncle, and with the world. She knows so little about both her Grace and the wider world, though, that even as a teenager she essentially goes on a journey of self-discovery. She realizes how much she herself is a product of the kingdom in which she grew up and takes steps to become a strong, confident woman. Add in a little bit of budding, confusing romance and Cashore has the perfect combination for a teenage girl. Although I enjoyed the adventure that Katsa went on, I appreciated her believable and steady character growth much more.
Cashore’s pseudo-medieval world is also very well considered. The kingdoms that we see are distinct and interesting, especially Po’s, and the idea of Graces is beautifully developed. It’s fascinating that even people with Graces shy away from others who have them, because no one knows what particular skill might be lurking behind blue and brown eyes. Everything feels organic and natural and it’s very easy to lose yourself in this world.
Graceling is a compelling fantasy set in a fairy tale medieval world. Katsa is one of the best female characters I’ve come across in YA, with strengths and vulnerabilities in equal measure, and her adventure had me spellbound. Well worth a read for both young and regular adults.
 Thomas wakes up in a lift with no memory of anything regarding his previous life. He knows his name and how to speak, but virtually nothing else. He’s stranded, until the lift doors open and he’s greeted by a group of boys who have similarly lost their memory. All of these kids eke out a life in a place called the Glade, farming, cooking, and doing their best to solve the ever-changing maze that lurks just outside, without getting killed by the Grievers, machines designed to kill kids. The gates open in the morning and close at sunset; any kid left outside at night is guaranteed to die in the morning. The day after Thomas’s arrival, the first girl is found in the box, and she is suspiciously familiar. Can Thomas solve the maze as the end game engages?
This book is a great read. It’s going to be hard for me to back up and explain why, but I’ll give it a shot. Perhaps the foremost reason is how amazingly suspenseful it is. There is a sense of dread lurking over the entire book. Thomas is tossed into this strange world with no knowledge of it at all, and as we learn what the boys know, we also learn that nothing is as it seems. This is even more pronounced when things start to go wrong. I had no idea what was going to happen next or how the boys (and girl) were going to solve the maze, or even if they were going to be able to do so. There was no way I was going to stop reading this book. Besides that, I adore dystopias, and while this is another variant of the fight-for-your-life scenario, it has plenty of individualism to spice it up. The wiped memories, the larger picture that is only available at the end of the book, and the maze itself and the reasons behind it were all fascinating.
Of course, such a book wouldn’t be so great if it didn’t have characters to care about. We have to care whether or not these kids die, and luckily Dashner pulls this off just beautifully. Thomas is a great kid. He’s perplexed, he’s unhappy, but he’s smart as a whip and determined to succeed. He’s not a perfect wonder boy, but he’s loyal, tenacious, and a true friend. I also thought his role in the greater plot was excellently planned and made his position a lot shakier than I’d expected. The other kids, while not center stage, are also characters to cheer for.
This is a YA book, but I had very few moments when I was aware that its projected audience was younger than me. I did take a while to get used to the fact that the boys are frequently called “kids”. I haven’t referred to anyone as a kid in quite some time, and somehow I don’t remember coming across this in other YA. Saying that I’m not sure how else to refer to the group, so I suppose it is more natural. That was really the only strange moment; otherwise I was as absorbed in this novel as a thirteen-year-old would be. There is similarly the fact that this book is totally clean; it’s as though these boys have no sexual urges whatsoever, and even when a girl arrives their reactions are subdued. To be honest, I don’t think a romantic entanglement would have been out of place, but the story works extremely well just as it is, so this is more of an observation than a criticism.
I highly, highly recommend this YA dystopia. The Maze Runner is a breathtaking work of truly addictive fiction and I am waiting with huge amounts of anticipation for the next book.
 This is book two in The Hunger Games trilogy.
I’m going to follow everyone else’s lead and totally skip plot summary for Catching Fire. This is a thoughts post more than a review. I don’t want to give anything away, so we’ll just say that Katniss is back home but her troubles are greater than ever. She has a lot more riding on this than just her own survival. I had no idea where this book was going and I was thrilled about that. It’s another heartstopping, breathtaking ride. And no, the prose isn’t great, and to be honest the beginning is a little slow, but when I hit the middle nothing else really mattered. I had to know what happened. The book went in a direction I hadn’t even imagined, which makes it all a much better experience. Of course, the cliffhanger is just as intense as I’d expected. I normally hate cliffhangers, but there was no way I was missing out on this. I was sure I was going to be spoiled and I wasn’t, so I’m grateful for that. At least I knew the cliffhanger was coming and I’m glad that Suzanne Collins is hard at work on number three. I must know what happens!
While I’m here, I’ll go ahead and declare I’m on
I’m not sure I’d have even realized there was a Team Gale if not for twitter! I can see the case for him, but I’ve always had a thing for adoring beta males.
I’d totally recommend this series. It isn’t great literature but it is an incredible, suspenseful story. Well worth reading.
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