Waiting on Wednesday (30)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

And I Darken by Kiersten White
Genre: Young Adult/Historical Fiction
Page Length: 475 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: June 28, 2016

About And I Darken (via Goodreads):

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

This book sounds so amazing... I don't even know what else to say. The plot sounds so intense and intriguing, and this book is definitely one of my highly anticipated reads of this year! And I just found out that it's also a reimagining of Vlad the Impaler, but instead of Vlad, it's Princess Lada. Which makes the book sound even more glorious and fascinating.

Blackhearts (Review)

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
Genre: Young Adult/Historical Fiction
Page Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Format: Hardcover (purchased)

About Blackhearts (via Goodreads):

Blackbeard the pirate was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until he met the one girl who would change everything.

Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.

I honestly don't know where to begin. I mean, I was definitely anticipating Blackhearts, but I had no idea just how much I would fall in love with Teach and Anne's story. Blackhearts completely blew me out of the water, and hit me in the feels in so many ways. It filled my heart with so many emotions, from hope to happiness to shock to anger to heartbreak and everything in between. It was definitely a whirlwind of a story, and I loved every second of it.

Most of the secondary characters were horrible people. There was little to love about them, since they were quite pretentious and haughty, but they definitely provided amusement and left me making unintelligible noises from the pure shock of their actions. They definitely provided a great contrast to characters, and made me root for Anne and Teach so much more.

Anne was such a strong female character, despite all the horrible atrocities she seemed to face. Her snark and wit were so refreshing, and even though she made some mistakes, she was a respectable and intriguing character. I admired her determination and unwillingness to allow others to treat her badly based on her gender and ethnic background, and her drive to be free and happy. I also loved seeing Teach embrace change and fight back against his father and society's expectations of him. Towards the beginning, he was a bit annoying and cold, but he quickly became a passionate character who fought for himself and what he believed in.

When you put Anne and Teach together, sparks flew. At first their personalities clashed due to all they had in common (and their banter was hilarious), but they slowly became accustomed to each others' presence and their interactions were precious. It took a long time for their relationship to develop, but once it did, I was squealing in delight. They had their differences, naturally, but their chemistry was incredible nonetheless. Somehow they were still just so perfect together and I SHIP THEM SO HARD.

Now let's talk about the plot. There were a few times where the plot lulled, but I loved all the characters, the writing, and the overall story so much that I couldn't stop reading, even during those parts. I JUST NEEDED TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT. I WAS SO HOOKED ON THIS BOOK. (I mean, I did devour it in less than 24 hours, and if that doesn't prove anything, I don't know what will.)

All in all, I absolutely adored Blackhearts, and hope everyone will give Nicole Castroman's stunning debut a try. I have never been much of a historical fiction fan, but Teach and Anne's story enchanted me from beginning to end, and Blackhearts has definitely become one of my favorite books.

✪✪✪✪✪

“Are Epilogues Necessary?” and the “Cookie-Cutter Epilogue”

Have you ever found yourself loving a book and thinking the last chapter ends with a bang, only to find out that there's still an epilogue to read? And then you read the epilogue and that high-impact ending is no more? I know I have. So I'd like to talk about epilogues today. Especially what I like to call the "cookie-cutter epilogue".

The cookie-cutter epilogue is commonly seen in the final installment of a trilogy or series as means to wrap everything up. It usually jumps ahead by __x__ amount of time and dive into the lives of our beloved characters in the near future, skipping ahead to move past the problems the characters still have to face after they've finally won whatever battle they've been fighting for so long.

I suppose epilogues are a nice way to say that all is well with the characters, but sometimes I find that they take away from the story, and I know I'm not the only one.

To elaborate on my previous point, epilogues far too often wrap up with the main character happily married with child and everything being rebuilt, yada yada happily ever after. The end. Don't get me wrong, I'm usually glad that my favorite characters are safe and sound, but so many stories seems to end in the same exact way. It gets so bland.

I personally don't want to sit through more books just about the reconstruction of the kingdom or whatever after the war is over, but I find it is kind of obvious that the changes will need to be made and they do not need to necessarily include it in the story as the closing thought. I understand all stories can't end with "And they looked off into the distance and saw all the rubble of the battle, but instead of feeling despair, were filled with hope for the future" or something more eloquent but along that same wavelength, but it's also kind of frustrating when so many epilogues have the same exact end.

Yes, everyone deserve to be happy, but does every book have to end on a high note? What's wrong with not having a perfect ending?

The main reason why I assume epilogues exist is because we as readers want closure. Often, the last chapter has a strong impact on us, but they are often open-ended. Do we really need the closure of epilogues to be satisfied? Is there anything wrong with having an ambiguous ending? Can there be a happy medium?

Or here's another question: can we have endings without epilogues? Last chapters are always unique to the arc of a particular story. Although they can be open-ended, having slightly ambiguous endings does not bother me. I hate cliffhangers, but I don't mind vague endings if it means having a special ending solely for my favorite characters, rather than sharing the same fate as many other book characters out there. Not having epilogues will limit the cliche endings I dread. But will something be missing from the story without them?

Whatever It Takes (Book Blitz + Giveaway!)

Whatever It Takes
Lindsey Pogue
(Nothing But Trouble, #1)
Publication date: January 22nd 2016
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

Four years ago, I thought my life was pretty normal for a teenager. Three years ago, my world was shattered, and now I’m just trying to hold the pieces together. But regret and anger aren’t so easy to ignore.
I just need to catch my breath … for it all to go away …
I thought I might finally be ready to move on from that horrible night, but then he decided to come back.
He can’t come back … he’ll ruin me completely.
One horror-filled night changes the course of Samantha’s seemingly normal life. She’s ruined everything. Despite her determination to keep the family ranch up and running, her guilt makes it impossible to completely move on or forget.
Sam takes comfort in her quirky, endearing friends as she tries to balance between the girl she was and the woman she wants to become. Just when she thinks she’s finally making amends with her past, someone she never thought she’d see again returns, and Sam’s life is once again turned upside down. Both her head and her heart want different things, so she’s lost when, once again, she’s forced to make a decision that will inevitably change her life.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Author Bio:
Lindsey Pogue has always been a little creative. As a child she established a bug hospital on her elementary school soccer field, wrote her first YA manuscript in high school, and as an adult, expresses herself through writing. Her novels are inspired by her observations of the world around her—whether she’s traveling, people watching, or hiking. When not plotting her next storyline or dreaming up new, brooding characters, Lindsey’s wrapped in blankets watching her favorite action flicks or going on road trips with her own leading man.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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The Island (Cover Reveal + Preview!)

Introducing the brand-spankin' new cover for The Island, made by Anita over at Race-Point.com.

About the Book

Prince Galian is third in line to the throne, but prefers his place as a resident at the Royal Kylaen Hospital. When his father urges him to join the military to help reclaim their colony, Galian is forced to put aside his oath to Do No Harm and fight a war he does not believe in.
Across the great Madion Sea, Captain Theo Kallistrate dreams of a day when she is no longer bound by conscription to fight for her country's independence. But when the Kylaens threaten, honor and duty call her to the front lines to fight off the oppressors.
When an air skirmish goes wrong, both Theo and Galian crash on a remote island hundreds of miles from either nation. Grievously injured, Theo must rely on Galian's medical expertise, and Galian must rely on Theo's survival skills, to live another day in a harsh and unforgiving terrain.
Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive? Or will the war that brought them to the island tear them apart?
The Island is the first in a new romance trilogy by S. Usher Evans, author of the Razia series and Empath. Preorder Today for Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover and more!

Preview

Galian

I landed with a soft thump on the sandy beach a little ways from my plane, and immediately dropped to my knees, releasing a loud breath. My hands shook and my heart pounded, but I thanked my lucky stars that I was alive and had practiced parachuting out of my plane a few extra times during my training.

Once my pulse returned to normal, I stood and released myself from the parachute straps, leaving the long trail of lines and white parachute laid out on the beach. I approached the wreckage of my plane. Pieces of it lay in a long trail as it had skidded across the sand. I picked up a metal piece that had a bullet hole in it and then tossed it aside.

Besides the nose and engine being smashed to smithereens, the back of the plane was fine. I cracked open the back hatch and pawed through my emergency supplies. I found everything including the medical bag Dr. Maitland gave me to be intact. Again, I thanked whatever was up there looking out for me. Of all the outcomes that could've happened from the battle, crash-landing on an island with my supplies was better than most.

A burning smell reached my nose, and I stepped back, searching my plane for any sign of fire. Then I noticed the black column of smoke rising up from the treetops.

Despite everything, worry knotted in my chest. What had happened to the other pilot? I hadn't seen another parachute. Was he even still alive? He was my enemy, but still a fellow human being. I couldn't help but hear Dr. Maitland in my ear.

I don't have the luxury of differentiating between Kylaen and Raven patients.

Guilt gnawed at me. I looked down at the medical bag and sighed. Dr. Maitland was right I was a doctor first and a warrior second. Shouldering my bag, I stumbled off the sandy beach onto the firmer forest ground.

The trees were tall and thick and everything around me was green. It was late summer, but there was definitely a chill in the air since I was so far north. I was thankful for my extra layer under my jumpsuit.

I walked into a clearing, covering my nose from the smell. One of the two wings had been shorn off in the crash and was the source of the black smoke. The rest of the plane was mashed and mangled some ways away. I saw the pilot in the cockpit through the shattered glass, and his helmeted head hung motionless. I was sure that he was dead. I couldn't see how anyone could have survived such a crash.

And then he moved.

Theo

I woke slowly, the sound of unfamiliar animals coming to me first, followed by a cold breeze. As I tried to move, pain shot up from every corner of my body. I looked up at the blue sky, barely visible through a thick canopy of trees. I smelled leaking fuel, and wondered if my ship would explode or if I'd bleed to death first.

I relaxed into my seat and prepared for the inevitable. Even if the Raven government sent a search party for me (which they wouldn't), I doubted they'd come in time to save my life. Still, I took some solace in the fact that I killed another son of that mass murdering king.

A noise startled me and I turned my head slowly to find the source.

I couldn't believe my eyes. The stupid princeling was alive and standing in front of my ship.

Fear and anger gripped at me. How was it possible that I was badly injured and he appeared to be walking just fine? I hated that the last thing I was going to see in this world was Prince Galian standing in a clearing, his pale skin flushed and his eyes sparkling with amusement?

I was dying and this guy was laughing at me.

"What's so funny?" I snarled through my helmet.

"Serves you right." He was smirking as if he had something to smirk about.

"For what?"

"Shooting me down. Looks like you're in worse shape than I am, too."

"Go to hell."

He laughed again and hoisted himself up onto the broken nose of my plane. I was in too much pain to fight back, and my gun was nowhere to be found.

"Yep," he observed, with a smirk on his face. Up close, he was every bit as handsome as I'd seen in pictures. "You definitely got what you deserved. Shouldn't have shot at me."

"You shouldn't have invaded my country."

His eyes widened for a moment and I thought I'd finally done something to wipe that smile off his face. To my supreme annoyance, he tilted his head back and let out a throaty laugh.

"Oh, you are witty," he said, nodding. "And technically right. But it wasn't my decision. I was, as they say, just following orders."

"And I was just following orders when I blew your ass out of the sky."

"Aren't we at an impasse then?" He seemed to be enjoying this conversation. He looked down at the side of my ship and read the inscription. "Theo, huh? Well, you must be a pretty high ranking pilot then. I hear the Ravens only allow you to put your name on your ship after you've survived plenty of battles."

I moved out of anger, but the pain in my legs came roaring up my body. "Please let me die in peace," I asked, unable to look at him.

"Oh, you aren't going to die today."

Preorder today for Amazon Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover.

About the Author

S. Usher Evans is an author, blogger, and witty banter aficionado. Born in Pensacola, Florida, she left the sleepy town behind for the fast-paced world of Washington, D.C.. There, she somehow landed jobs with BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Television before finally settling into a "real job" as an IT consultant. After a quarter life crisis at age 27, she decided consulting was for the birds and rekindled a childhood passion for writing novels. She sold everything she owned and moved back to Pensacola, where she currently resides with her two dogs, Zoe and Mr. Biscuit. Check her out on the below social medias:  

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The Prophecy of Shadows (Book Blitz + Giveaway!)

The Prophecy of Shadows
Michelle Madow
(Elementals #1)
Published by: Dreamscape Publishing
Publication date: January 26th 2016
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Filled with magic, thrilling adventure, and sweet romance, Elementals is the first in a new series that fans of Percy Jackson and The Secret Circle will love!
When Nicole Cassidy moves from sunny Georgia to gloomy New England, the last thing she expects is to learn that her homeroom is a cover for a secret coven of witches. Even more surprisingly … she’s apparently a witch herself. Despite doubts about her newfound abilities, Nicole is welcomed into this ancient circle of witches and is bedazzled by their powers–and, to her dismay, by Blake–the school’s notorious bad-boy.
Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt. His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic. But the chemistry between Blake and Nicole is undeniable, and despite wanting to protect Nicole from Danielle’s wrath, he finds it impossible to keep his distance.
When the Olympian Comet shoots through the sky for the first time in three thousand years, Nicole, Blake, Danielle, and two others in their homeroom are gifted with mysterious powers. But the comet has another effect–it opens the portal to the prison world that has contained the Titans for centuries. After an ancient monster escapes and attacks Nicole and Blake, it’s up to them and the others to follow the clues from a cryptic prophecy so that they can save their town … and possibly the world.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

“Elementals is going to blow your mind!”
-Crossroad Reviews, ★★★★★

“Five glittery stars for being such a compelling read!”
-Andrea Heltsley, Goodreads Reviewer ★★★★★

“A perfect mixture of magic and mythology. An entrancing story of trust, friendship and well naughty boys. WITCHES are not the only thing walking the earth!”
– BenjaminOfTomes, BookTuber ★★★★★

—

EXCERPT:

“There’s energy everywhere.” Chris moved his hands in a giant arc above his head to demonstrate. “Humans know that energy exists—they’ve harnessed it for electronics. The difference between us and humans is that we have the power to tap into energy and use it ourselves, and humans don’t.” He smiled at me, as if I was supposed to understand what he meant. “Make sense?”

“Not really,” I said. “Sorry.”

“It’s easier if you relate it to something familiar,” he said, speaking faster. “What happens to the handle of a metal spoon when you leave it in boiling water?”

“It gets hot?” I said it as a question. This was stuff people learned in fifth grade science—not high school homeroom.

“And what happens when it’s plastic?”

“It doesn’t get hot,” I said slowly. “It stays room temperature.”

“Exactly.” He grinned at me like I’d just solved an astrophysics mathematical equation. “Humans are like plastic. Even if they’re immersed in energy, they can’t conduct it. Witches are like metal. We have the ability to absorb energy and control it as we want.”

Author Bio:
Michelle Madow grew up in Baltimore, graduated Rollins College in Orlando, and now lives in Boca Raton, Florida. She wrote her first book in her junior year of college, and has been writing novels since. Some of her favorite things are: reading, pizza, traveling, shopping, time travel, Broadway musicals, and spending time with friends and family. Michelle has toured across America to promote her books and to encourage high school students to embrace reading and writing. Someday, she hopes to travel the world for a year on a cruise ship.
Visit Michelle online at www.michellemadow.com, and be sure to sign up for her newsletter and follow her on Amazon to get instant updates on her books! 

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The Rose Society (Discussion Review ft. Aila)

Hi guys! I'm here with Aila @ One Way or An Author to give you our thoughts on The Rose Society by Marie Lu. Please note that there are spoilers in our discussion/review, both for The Young Elites (the first book in the series) as well as The Rose Society, so be careful as we go pretty in depth about the events that take place.

The Rose Society by Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites #2
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 395 pages
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover

About The Rose Society (via Goodreads):

Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.

Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she flees Kenettra with her sister to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her.

But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good when her very existence depends on darkness?

Bestselling author Marie Lu delivers another heart-pounding adventure in this exhilarating sequel to The Young Elites.

Aila: Okay, so one word to describe this book? INTENSE. Adelina’s character grows as dark as ever, and I experienced so many emotions while reading about her development.

Alexandra: I agree with Aila. It was really interesting to see how Adelina’s character developed, for better or worse. I’d definitely say the book was dramatic. It was riveting from start to end, and I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time, either overcome with squeals, screams or tears. It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster.

Aila: OMG so how did you think of the romance? Like, I know everyone loves Enzo and everything but I knew from the end of the first book that it couldn’t happen. Plus, MAGIANO IS BAE.

Alexandra: Hey, you stole my line ;) Magiano is probably my favorite character in the trilogy now. Even from the very beginning I loved him, despite all his snark and his seemingly greedy, heartless demeanor. He really has so many layers to him (as do all the characters) that I really hope will be revealed more in the next book, and he is there for Adelina as an anchor throughout, even when she doesn’t see him that way. He has so much capacity to love her and take care of her, if Adelina would just loosen the reins and see clearly once in awhile. She’s so fueled by hatred and vengeance that she often fails to see what’s right there in front of her. I’ll happily take Magiano off Adelina’s hands if she doesn’t want him ;) Anyway, to go back to Enzo. I really wanted Enzo and Adelina to work out, but in truth, I knew it couldn’t. They fuel each other’s fire way too much and expose an extremely dark side of each other that is really frightening to watch. Together, they have way too much passion and anger inside. Also, Enzo seems the same now that he’s back, but Adelina has to realize (and is slowly starting to realize) that things can’t be the same. Not anymore.

Aila: So true. Seriously, Magiano’s joy and light provides the perfect contrast and foil to Adelina’s dark passion. He’s definitely a character that I would love to see explored more in the next book. It really broke my heart to see Adelina constantly choose Enzo when Magiano was there. WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME BOOK. Overall, the romance in this book was quite unique in my opinion. Rather than make it a normal love triangle with the girl being wishy washy, Adelina takes in account the person she could benefit the most from, in terms of political maneuvering as well as balancing that out with her own passions. Plus, you have a dead guy. So. That’s pretty different. Speaking of romance, Violetta and Sergio though? *waggles eyebrows*

Alexandra: *laughs* I am definitely curious to see if their relationship develops into more. Violetta is similar to Magiano in the sense that she tries her best to soothe. Sergio seems to be a relatively stable character, but when he’s doing his waterworks (since he is the Rainmaker), Violetta seems to be by his side and it is kind of adorable. I’m hoping to see more of Sergio and Violetta (maybe even some chapters from their perspectives?) in the next book. There’s definitely a lot of underlying romances, but they do not overpower the plot of the book, which I really like. But, to continue with the topic of romance a bit more… Aila, what did you think about that little tryst between Maeve and Lucent?

Aila: Honestly I was quite surprised with that one chapter that confronts their relationship. I love being surprised, but at the same time I would have liked to see more exploration between those two characters in general. The way that Lu mentions it, it sounds like it was added on last minute or just as a side note. Theirs is the only LGBTQ+ relationship in the book and it’s like “Oh yeah there’s that too lol.” So while I do appreciate the diversity, it would’ve been nice if we saw a bit more development on their end.

Alexandra: I definitely agree with you. Especially since their relationship ended so abruptly. It was all like, “well you’re the queen so you’re obviously going to have heirs so I can’t be with you because I don’t want to be your mistress”. And I totally understand where Lucent is coming from because I wouldn’t want to be someone on the sidelines that has to be kept a secret, but I’m also curious to know more about Beldain as well as Lucent and Maeve’s past. Especially since it seems Lucent’s time is running out.

Aila: Speaking of Lucent’s time running out, Lu really gave us scare when we find out what’s going on with the Elites, didn’t she? Raffaele’s theory is making me get theories of my own regards to their powers. Since it’s eating away at them, the only way for them to survive is to get rid of their powers… via Violetta maybe? I like the whole twist she put in there, and it makes the situation seem scarier considering all of our beloved characters have these dangerous powers.

Alexandra: It’s a scary thought for sure. I think it makes sense that the powers have repercussions, but I’m really worried to see how they are affected. There were definitely some theories being thrown around, but I’m kind of afraid of what’s to come. It’s hard to say how bad the effects will be (and how quickly they will manifest), especially with characters like Adelina and Magiano who have such strong powers that they constantly rely on to survive. Throughout The Rose Society, we’ve seen Adelina struggle so much already to control her powers and not be overcome by the rampant illusions/hallucinations (and we’ve also kind of seen it even in The Young Elites) so it will be interesting to see how it affects her and her development in the third installment. In addition, it will be even harder for her since she’s turned away from all her friends. Based on her character arc, it makes sense that she’s wary, but she is definitely going to be swallowed by the darkness if she does not seek help or light from her friends (or maybe someone who means even more *cough* Magiano *cough*). Speaking of turning away from her friends, what did you think of that ending? Pretty heartbreaking, right?

Aila: God, that ending GUTTED me. The whole “she sat on the throne but had no sense of triumph” (paraphrasing here) just left me aching. THE POOR GIRL. I love how all the characters in this series are so gray; there’s never a black-and-white outlook, it’s always in the middle. *applauds Marie Lu* Another awesome book written by an amazing author! Overall, Adelina’s development and the ever-growing plot and revelations made this a solid sequel for the Young Elites series.

Alexandra: I definitely feel bad for Adelina and pretty much all the characters (except Teren, obviously, since he’s kind of a psychopath). They’ve all been betrayed and hurt so many times, and it’s really heartbreaking. But since they are grey characters, it’s kind of hard to sympathize with just one character. It’s hard to know who is in the wrong and who is right. I’m really interested to see how the characters develop in the future. The Rose Society was a beautifully written sequel to a fantastic series, and I am extremely excited to see what’s to come.

Aila’s Rating: 4 stars

Alexandra’s Rating: 4.5 stars