Hunter--Mercedes Lackey

Title: Hunter
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion, 2015
Pages: 374 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None
Read: July 2015

Mercedes Lackey's Hunter

Joy has been hunting monsters ever since she was a young child. In her remote isolated village, hunting monsters is a normal activity and everyone is expected to contribute to the cause. Regular citizens handle the less dangerous types (like gnomes), while those with magic—like Joy and her fellow Hunters—protect them from the bigger sinister Othersiders like dragons. When Joy is summoned to Apex City to protect the most important people in this post-apocalyptic society, she is baffled by the way they live. Citizens feel safe behind magical barriers and view Hunters as entertainment, watching their every movement on reality TV channels. Joy quickly realizes that this sense of security is just an illusion as more and more Othersiders break through the barriers.

Lackey does a good job of setting up the conflict between the traditional monster-hunting Joy and the vain reality star Hunters of Apex City. There are brief scenes between Joy and the most dangerous of the Othersiders, the Mages, that hint at a much larger story to come in the following books of the series. Fans of Suzanne Collin’s Hunger Games series who like a little more magic and fantasy with their dystopia will appreciate this new series.

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Seven Realms Series--Cinda Williams Chima

In an attempt to make my life a little easier (I am behind on quite a few reviews), I am going to review this entire series in one post.

Title: The Demon King
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Hyperion, 2009.
Pages: 506 p.
Source: Library e-book
Compensation: None
Read: June 2015

Cinda Williams Chima's The Demon King

I enjoyed Cinda Williams Chima's other series--The Heir Chronicles--but I really liked this one. In this first book we are introduced to Han, a rough street kid with a heart of gold and thick silver cuffs on his wrist that he cannot take off. Selling those cuffs could feed his family but they are magically attached to him and all they've ever done is give him his streetname--Cuffs. Things start happening for Han when he runs into the bratty son of the High Wizard and he and his friend Dancer steal the boy's magical amulet. At the same time, the young Princess heir Raisa has just returned to court determined to be more than a figurehead ruler. When Raisa and Han's worlds collide, the entire Seven Realms will never be the same.

Title: The Exiled Queen
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Hyperion, 2010.
Pages: 586 p.
Source: Library e-book
Compensation: None
Read: June 2015

Chima's The Exiled Queen

Han has finally been able to remove his cuffs and claim his role as a wizard, alongside his clan friend Dancer. They enroll at Mystwerk house to learn proper sorcery. On the same campus, Raisa has secretly enlisted at the military academy to escape the High Wizard's devious plan to marry her to his son. Raisa learns more than she expects while posing as regular student Rebecca Morley. 

Title: The Gray Wolf Throne
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Hyperion, 2011.
Pages: 517 p.
Source: Amazon e-book
Compensation: None
Read: June 2015

Chima's The Gray Wolf Throne

Han discovers his good friend Rebecca Morley near death and knows he must do everything he can to save her. When he discovers her true identity he feels betrayed and hurt. Han has never had any love for the royalty who are responsible for so much pain in his life. But he must honor his vow to help Raisa become Queen. Raisa is unsure of Han's loyalty. They both doubt each other's motives but cannot deny the bond they share.

Title: The Crimson Crown
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Hyperion, 2012.
Pages: 608 p.
Source: Amazon ebook
Compensation: None
Read: June 2015

Chima's The Crimson Crown

Queen Raisa is faced with the difficult task of uniting her warring kingdom, protecting it from outside enemies, and repairing the hostility between the clan people and the wizards. Han does his best to help her, but he seems to cause even more hostility and trouble. The series wraps up when a thousand-year-old lie is finally uncovered.

I loved this whole series. I loved Han and Raisa, I loved the clan and wizard conflict, the world-building. Fantasy, romance, political intrigue. I loved it enough to buy the last two e-books in the series so I could read them immediately.

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All Fall Down--Ally Carter

Title: All Fall Down
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2015
Pages: 320 pages
Source: Library ebook
Compensation: None
Read: June 2015

Ally Carter's All Fall Down

Ally Carter is back at it with another suspenseful series. I love Carter's books. She writes strong female characters who know how to kick ass but be a little vulnerable too. Her stories are dangerous and thrilling, but fun too. This new series, Embassy Row, is no exception.

Grace lives just a stone's throw away from Russia. And Greece. And Italy. She lives on Embassy Row with all of the other diplomat's kids. Her ambassador grandfather just wants her to stay out of trouble and be happy, but it's hard for Grace to do when she knows her mother was murdered but cannot remember any of the details. It's up to her to find the killer and exact revenge. No one will believe her but she knows the truth. She embarks on a dangerous game of espionage and teenage hijinks to try to uncover the mysteries surrounding her mother's death and life. But the dangerous path she follows leads her to unexpected discoveries.

Grace is a little more "messed up" than Carter's other lead characters have been but that only makes the story more interesting. Fans of the Gallagher Girl Series and the will be sure to eat up this new series as well. I'm eagerly awaiting the rest of the series.

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Saint Anything--Sarah Dessen

Title: Saint Anything
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking, 2015
Pages: 417 p.
Source: Library
Compensation: None
Read: June 2015

Sarah Dessen's Saint Anything

Sydney is invisible, hidden in her older brother's shadow. Peyton has always been likable and charismatic and even when he drives drunk and must go to prison, his family is more concerned about him than about the victim of the accident he caused. Sydney feels lost and confused until she happens to meet the Chathams, a crazy family who run a pizza parlor. The Chathams work together to take care of their mom who has MS and completely accept Sydney into their fold. Which turns out to be a good thing when Peyton's prison buddy--who has Sydney's parents wrapped around his finger--shows his true colors.

I've liked everything Sarah Dessen has ever written and this was no exception. The story was interesting, but with Dessen's books it's less about story and more about characters. Fans of Dessen will not be disappointed.

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