Cliste Bella: Taming the TBR | Mini Review Compilation #4

____________________________________________

Published September 4th 2012 by Razorbill

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home―and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin―a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost. [1]

Review: I saw this book in Netgalley a few months ago (I think) and unfortunately my request to read it got denied. Thank goodness for National Bookstore's Book Binge Bazaar, I got this book for $3.23 hardbound no less. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. It reminded me so much of The Island of Dr. Moreau - evolution, human nature, genetics. Origin, however, took the teenage self realization both back to basic but also to the next level. Best part for me in this book was when Pia realized that she is not a god and that she new what she needed to do. The book is so unsettlingly close to reality which made for a good read.

____________________________________________

Last Star Burning

(Last Star Burning #1)

Published October 10th 2017 by Simon Pulse

Sev is branded with the mark of a criminal—a star burned into her hand. That’s the penalty for being the daughter of the woman who betrayed their entire nation.

Now her mother’s body is displayed above Traitor’s Arch, kept in a paralyzed half sleep by the same plague that destroyed the rest of the world. And as further punishment, Sev is forced to do hard labor to prove that she’s more valuable alive than dead.

When the government blames Sev for a horrific bombing, she must escape the city or face the chopping block. Unimaginable dangers lurk outside the city walls, and Sev’s only hope of survival lies with the most unlikely person—Howl, the chairman’s son. Though he promises to lead her to safety, Howl has secrets, and Sev can’t help but wonder if he knows more about her past—and her mother’s crimes—than he lets on.

But in a hostile world, trust is a luxury. Even when Sev’s life and the lives of everyone she loves may hang in the balance. [2]

Review: I rated this book 4 stars because of the ending. Most of the book was pretty confusing, too many plots on top of each other that the original plot was buried until it tried to put it's foot forward in the end. I like the relationship of Sev and Tai-ge that I though was just going to get lost in the adventure. Turns out he's one of the 2 boys who will eventually vie for Sev's affection. In between is an disease that is slowly turning people into zombies. There were lots of parts that I wish they explained a little bit more and there were parts I just skipped over.

____________________________________________

The Last Namsara

by Kristen Ciccarelli

Published October 3rd 2017 by HarperTeen

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her. [3]

Review: I've seen this book floating around the book community for a while but never picked it up until I saw a tweet reply to Rin Chupeco's Tweet about a girl and her dragon burning down the people which is kinda like The Bone Witch but is also very much like The Last Namsara. This isn't a typical girl-with-dragon book. Asha is scarred from when she was a child because of the first dragon. Stories are supposed to be poisonous. She uses stories to hunt the dragons who scarred her. This book has the middle eastern element I love so much but with more evil antagonists. Can I say how pretty that cover is too? And because I liked this book so much I had to read the 2nd book.

The Caged Queen

(Iskari #2)

by Kristen Ciccarelli

Published September 25th 2018 by HarperTeen

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Once there were two sisters born with a bond so strong that it forged them together forever. When they were angry, mirrors shattered, and when they were happy, flowers bloomed. It was a magic they cherished—until the day a terrible accident took Essie’s life and trapped her soul in this world.

Dax—the heir to Firgaard’s throne—was responsible for the accident. Roa swore to hate him forever. But eight years later he returned, begging for her help. He was determined to dethrone his cruel father, under whose oppressive reign Roa’s people had suffered. Roa made him a deal: she’d give him the army he needed if he made her queen.

Together with Dax and his sister, Asha, Roa and her people waged war and deposed a tyrant. But now Asha is on the run, hiding from the price on her head. And Roa is an outlander queen, far from home and married to her enemy. Worst of all: Dax’s promises go unfulfilled. Roa’s people continue to suffer.

Then a chance to right every wrong arises—an opportunity for Roa to rid herself of this enemy king and rescue her beloved sister. During the Reliquishing, when the spirits of the dead are said to return, Roa can reclaim her sister for good.

All she has to do is kill the king. [4]

Review: I was kinda expecting more of Asha and Kozu but I know the story of Roa also needs to be told. It fills in the gaps from book 1 - the 5 great houses of the scrublands who helped Asha and her brother over throw their father, the story of Dax, and of course what happens next while they are rebuilding their kingdom. This book had it's own story but it read like a novella as well. I am enjoying this series so far and I'm fidgety because the next book isn't going to be out until September 2019.

____________________________________________

Published January 22nd 2013 by Hyperion

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da's death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself may crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption. [5]

Review: I encountered this book when I was looking up fictional libraries and I promise this isn't the only libraryesque book I found and added to my TBR. I've read Victoria Schwab's Monsters of Verity Series and I wasn't that impressed with those books so I was a little hesitant in getting into this one. I liked the premise of an archive of memories from people who have already passed on and the role of Mckenzie as a Keeper, which means she has to catch the Histories (with a capital H) if they wake and escape the archives. This book was written for a much younger YA crowed, I think, or maybe the YA books nowadays are just basically boarder line NA books and feel more adulty. It did keep me reading until the next book.

Published January 28th 2014 by Hyperion

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she starts her junior year at Hyde School, she's struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn't easy -- not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real, and when her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she's really safe.

Meanwhile, people are vanishing without a trace, and the only thing they seem to have in common is Mackenzie. She's sure the Archive knows more than they are letting on, but before she can prove it, she becomes the prime suspect. And unless Mac can track down the real culprit, she'll lose everything, not only her role as Keeper, but her memories, and even her life. Can Mackenzie untangle the mystery before she herself unravels?

With stunning prose and a captivating mixture of action, romance, and horror, The Unbound delves into a richly imagined world where no choice is easy and love and loss feel like two sides of the same coin. [6]

Review: I actually got invested in this series and was actually looking for book 3 but after this was published in 2014 the next book hasn't come out yet. I have read the The Archive and The Unbound while it was dark and I was all alone and it actually creeped me out. That is a good thing. I don't really scare easily with the books I read but this one made me look at the dark corners of my room. I wish book 3 would still come out. There is so so much more to Mackenzie and Wesley's story. I want to know if they make Crew eventually!

Whew! I know these are mini reviews, but 6 books is still a lot. How are you're TBR Piles (folders, mountains) doing? Tell me what you've read from your TBR recently. I am currently reading Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine, which I had to put down for the mean time because, well, Dr. Gregory House. 👨‍⚕️

____________________________________________

Thank you for dropping by. Tell me what you think of these books.

Click on the follow button to the right to get more awesome content.