Navigating Solutions and Darkness

Title:  Pawn Author:  Aimee Carter Year of Publication: 2013 Series: The Blackcoat Rebellion #:  1 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  3.80 Goodreads Rating (Mine): 2 SO MANY SPOILERS Plot Description:  Kitty Doe lives in a world where everyone takes a test at the age of 17 which evaluates their worth in society. She receives a 3, rather than the average 4 on her test. Just when she thinks she's doomed to a life of menial work, she's whisked off to be a doppelganger for the Prime Minister's dead niece, Lila Hart. As Lila Hart, Kitty is supposed to help stop a rebellion against the current regime - a rebellion Lila had secretly been fostering. Disclaimer: I didn't want to read this book, but it was lying around at home and I was starved for options. Since I was going into this book with no expectations whatsoever, I actually ended up pleasantly surprised at times. It was only after I started reading YA almost exclusively that I came across the ...

Crossposted from Feminist Quill , dated June 4, 2017. Title: Silver Shadows Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2014 Series: Bloodlines #: 5 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.37 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 I Don't Do Spoiler Free Reviews Plot Description: Sydney has been kidnapped by the Alchemists, the human organization she works for. Their methods for dealing with rogue Alchemists involve imprisonment, torture and brainwashing designed to make their victims more pliable towards their objectives and methods. While she attempts to navigate the various pitfalls of "re-education," Adrian, Jill, Eddie and the rest desperately search for her. Silver Shadows is all action. The only scenes that seem to slow the pace down are - predictably - the ones that involve Adrian's depression following Sydney's kidnapping. Even as she spends months in the dark, resisting torture, Adrian falls off the wagon, spending his days depressed and disoriented. In ord...

Written June 4, 2017, at Feminist Quill Title: The Fiery Heart Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2013 Series: Bloodlines #: 4 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.41 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 Spoiler Alert Plot Description:  As Sydney's sister Zoe is assigned as her partner on the Palm Springs assignment, Sydney finds her instinct to bond with her sister warring with her need to keep her new relationship with Adrian a secret. She continues to work towards finding a magical means of breaking the bond of compulsion used by the Alchemists on all their agents, and must keep from making any mistakes that might end with her sent back to Alchemist 're-education'. Although Mead meant for this series to have two narrators from the start, The Fiery Heart  is the first book to actually implement that plan. The first chapter takes place from Adrian's POV, and the POVs alternate between the two protagonists after that. For someone who'...

Written January 13, 2016, posted on Feminist Quill Title: The Indigo Spell Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2013 Series: Bloodlines #: 3 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.43 Goodreads Rating (Mine): 4 Spoiler Warning Plot Description:  Having kissed Adrian once, Sydney is now struggling with the realization that she might perhaps return his feelings, even as she continues to follow up on leads that hint towards corruption within her organization, the Alchemists. She also finds herself in danger thanks to a mysterious serial killer witch who is tracking down young magic users and draining them of life and power. The Indigo Spell  begins on a hilarious note: This wasn't the first time I'd been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission. It was, however, the first time I'd been subjected to such a personal line of questioning. "Are you a virgin?" "Huh?" I rubbed my sleepy eyes, just in case this was all some sort of bizarre dream t...

Crossposted from  Feminist Quill , written January 8, 2016. Title: The Golden Lily Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2012 Series: Bloodlines ( Series sequel to the  Vampire Academy series) #: 2 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.37 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  3.5 Spoilers... and all that. Plot Description:  In the course of her new assignment protecting Jill Mastrano at Palm Springs, Sydney Sage gains new insight into the working of her organization - the Alchemists, about rogue vampire hunters who call themselves grandiose and cultish names, and even goes on a couple dates. Oh, and there's like, fighting and stuff at the end. Anyway, the progress of Sydney and Adrian's relationship in  Golden Lily  is wonderful to watch. They start looking out for each other, thinking about each other's mood, doing little things to cheer the other person up. They went from strangers to friends in  Bloodlines,  and  Golden L...

Posted on Feminist Quill , on December 19, 2015 Title: Bloodlines Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2011 Series: Bloodlines ( Series sequel to the  Vampire Academy series) #:  1 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.22 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  3 Insert the Usual and Mandatory Spoiler Warning Here Plot Description:  In this series sequel to Mead's  Vampire Academy  series, we revisit the world of dhampirs and Moroi - and the much overlooked human component of this world, the Alchemists. We're following the continued story of Sydney Sage, a minor but favourite VA  character who made her first appearance in  Blood Promise , the fourth book of that series. We're also following complete fan favourite Adrian Ivashkov, who, broken hearted and looking for meaning in life, is drawn to Sydney as the two of them work on a new assignment together. I have to admit, when I first heard of the idea of Adrian and Sydney gettin...

Written August 16, 2015; published on Feminist Quill Book Title: #scandal Author:  Sarah Ockler Year of Publication:  2014 Series:  N/A #: N/A Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  3.56 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 Plot Summary:  Lucy Vacarro's phone is stolen on prom night and a bunch of inappropriate pictures uploaded to her Facebook account through it. All the subjects in the pictures - along with the rest of the school - is pissed at her, and resort to an extremely dirty bullying campaign for revenge. The novel follows her as she tries to figure out who did that, tries to deal with the fall out, and tries to repair her relationship with her best friend Ellie, while simultaneously trying to deal with her feelings for Cole, Ellie's ex boyfriend. I picked #scandal rather randomly from a reading list without even bothering to look at the blurb. And I'm glad I did that, because blurbs often give you a mini summary that is supposed to give you pre-conceive...

Written on September 29, 2015; published at Feminist Quill Title:  Alpha Author:  Rachel Vincent Year of Publication:  2010 Series:  6 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  4.33 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  3 Plot Description:  After the death of a couple of family members and the loss of their father’s position as Chair of the Werecat Council (or whatever it is they’re calling themselves these days), Faythe Sanders’ Pride finds themselves about to be turned out of their own home – all because the current Werecat Council refuses to recognize the new Alpha. SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE  SHIFTERS  SERIES: BEWARE Faythe is Alpha now. At least, her father named her Alpha before he passed away in  Shift . The new Council mandates, however, that every new Alpha is to be recognized by them, and they’re not about to recognize the first female Alpha in North America. This means war. Right? Nope. This actually means Faythe once again forgets to l...

Written September 25, 2015; published at Feminist Quill Title:  Prey Author:  Rachel Vincent Year of Publication: 2009 Series: 4 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  4.21 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  3 Plot Description:  Faythe, Marc and a couple of other characters are attacked by a group of strays while on neutral territory, and Marc goes missing soon after that.  Prey  chronicles the ensuing manhunt and the list of never-ending problems that rival Alpha Calvin Malone manages to lay at their door, both directly and indirectly. Prey  provides a very good set up for the next two books, complete with a high stakes finale. It also proves a turning point for Jace Hammond, who is the Adrian Ivashkov of the  Shifters  universe. We need to talk about Jace. My reviews of the first three books in this series were too taken up with Faythe's complex personality, and how it fits into this incredibly contradictory and patriarchal universe, and with ...

Crossposted from Feminist Quill , originally written on September 13, 2015 Title:  Rogue Author:  Rachel Vincent Year of Publication:  2008 Series: Shifters #:   2 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  4.10 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  3 I'm so glad to be able to get back to reviewing, but I'm less excited that I'm going to be reviewing the rest of the Shifters series by Rachel Vincent. As I stated in my review of  Stray,  the first book in this series, I'm very conflicted about  Shifters.  And as far as the general plot goes, my thoughts on  Rogue haven't changed much from my thoughts on  Stray.  So in this review, I'll focus on the differences, and will try and avoid spoilers as much as possible. Spoilers for  Stray may, however, be unavoidable at times. Mild Spoiler Warning Plot Description: Following the events of  Stray , Faythe has taken up working for her father as an enforcer - the first fema...