Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Publisher: Faber & Faber Childrens Books
Publication Date: February 2nd 2016
My rating: 4 stars  

"Tell me that and we'll go. Right now. Save ourselves and leave this place to burn. Tell me that's how you want your story to go and we'll write it straight across the sand." Dustwalk is an unforgiving, dead-end town. It's not the place to be poor or orphaned or female. And yet Amani Al'Hiza must call it 'home'. Amani wants to escape and see the world she's heard about in campfire stories. Then a foreigner with no name turns up, and with him she has the chance to run. But the desert plains are full of dangerous magic. The Sultan's army is on the rise and Amani is soon caught at the heart of a fearless rebellion... An epic story of swirling desert sands, love, magic and revolution.

Rebel in the Sands was exactly the sort of book I needed in my life, its fast pace and vibrant characters reminded me of why I loved reading so much in the first place. To be honest at first I wasn’t sure Rebel of the Sands would be my sort of book, but within the first few pages I found myself sucked into Amani’s world and backing her to find a better life for herself. In the short time she was around her family it was clear and easy to see that she could do so much better than them and that she was destined to better and bigger things. So when a stranger offers Amani the opportunity, there’s no looking back.

Amani was exactly the sort of MC I like, she had a rough upbringing but she still believed that she could get out and achieve better things. I loved the journey that we got to experience with her, her character arc was brilliant, her fierceness and resilience continually came through and I just wanted her to finally get her happy ending. I enjoyed the characters that Amani got to meet along the way, they not only made the story come alive even more but they were characters that you couldn’t but help fall for, Jin was in particular one of my favourites. Despite being a formidable looking guy with tattoos (even I would have a hard time resisting him) he was charming and funny and could quickly bring a smile to your face with his quick wittedness. But most of all I appreciated the relationship that Hamilton developed between Jin and Amani, the slow burn romance was tantalising to watch play out, I liked how we got to see a different side of Jin because of it, his concern for Amani just made me fall for him even more, but the wait for the make out scenes were so worth it *fans self*. I hope we get a lot more of these in the rest of the series.

I honestly thought I knew the way things would play out for Amani, she would finally find a family and love that she had been missing out on for so long with her aunt. But the path that Jin and Amani found themselves on was so unexpected, but I loved the twists and turns that we got to experience along the way. Hamilton also gave us such a diverse set of characters that I really didn’t want to let these characters go after I finished the last page. There’s still so much to discover with these characters and they have so much more to offer that I can’t wait to see which journey they take us on next.

Review: Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

Marked in Flesh ( The Others #4) by Anne Bishop
Publisher: Penguin/Roc
Publication date: March 8th 2016
My rating: 5 stars 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Audible

 

For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community...

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs…

My Thoughts:

Marked in Flesh was another winning installment of The Others series! I can’t get enough of the world and characters, but especially Simon and Meg!

The fate of the humans comes to a head after the horrific events orchestrated by the Humans First and Last Group in the last book.  Their actions and stance just made me sick, and really they put the future of the humans in big time danger!  The Elders, “Namid’s teeth and claws” have been watching, and I read with bated breath wondering what kind of retaliation they would take.  The question “How much human did the terra indigene want to keep?” hangs threateningly in the balance. 

“We can’t trust humans anymore.”

“Did we ever trust them?”

“No. But we counted on their desire to survive being stronger than their greed.  I don’t think we can count on that anymore.”

Fortunately, for Meg’s friends, the Elders are fascinated with her and the affect her friendship with those in the Courtyard have had on humans and terra indigene relationships. There are more and more being added to the group of humans The Others are allied with, such as the Prairie Gold Intuits, the River Road Community, Ferryman’s Landing, as well as quite a few in the Lakeside Police Department.  These people show that they feel every creature, whether human or other, should be treated fairly and with respect and I’m happy they’re banding together. 

Once again Meg worries about all her friends and tries to do whatever she can with her abilities to help.  It seems like Meg might be able to receive visions without cutting, or release of that pressing need to cut in other *ahem* ways in the future.  I’m hoping that’s the case.  Of course I read every scene with Simon and Meg over and over, relishing all the minuscule steps they take toward romance!  They’re going down that path and I think they’re finally starting to wake up to that fact! Oh, that last scene!!! Love, love, love!

Hope, the young cassandra sangue placed with Jackson and Grace in the Sweetwater settlement is able to have visions and express them through drawing without cutting.  Her visions were vital to all around.  I adored Hope and was warmed by the relationship she has with Jackson and Grace. The two are very protective of her, almost like parents.  She chose Wolfsong as her last name!! That just touched my heart.   

Even though this book is very serious, there are a lot of playful, funny moments that made me smile.  The swimming hole scene with Merri Lee, Ruth, Theral and Meg doing the “Squeaky Dance” made me laugh, and interactions between Vlad and Simon talking about “kissy books” or “exploding fluffballs” gave me a giggle, and the letter in “The ‘Others Etiquette’ Column” was flipping hilarious!

While Marked in Flesh doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, I eagerly await the continuation of this amazing series! I can’t believe I’ve got to wait a whole year!  I’ll be buying the audio version (the narration is amazing!) so I can enjoy this story all over again.

The Readers Den Four Year Blogoversary.

 

Hi everyone, if someone had asked me whether four years later that Rachel and I would be celebrating our Four Year Blogoversary, I would have probably laughed. I know Rachel and I haven't been blogging and commenting as much as we used to, but we appreciate all of you who take the time out and leave comments here. We definitely wouldn't have made it this far without your love and support.

Thank you to my co-blogger Rachel, I can't believe how far this blog has come, I really couldn't ask for a better co-blogger, I'm hugely grateful that the read-along's and book pushing on Goodreads all those years ago led to such a wonderful friendship!

A big thank you to Allie, Rashika and Siiri, I love how we've become the best of friends, honestly I feel like we've been friends for years, I love our daily chats, and regular skype sessions, I can't wait to see all your faces one day. Allie we've had so much fun all the times that we've met up, I appreciate how we can just goof off together and end up in food coma's, I'm glad our mission of Hot dudes reading was pretty successful the last time we got together, here's to many more eventful and wonderful meet ups to come! Rashika you're always great at bringing a smile to my face and making things look better when I've had a crappy day, I can't wait for when we have our plans for this Summer sorted. Love you Alaska ladies <3 

Thank you to Nick, Keertana and Joy who've supported this blog since day one, we appreciate the time you take out of your busy schedules to leave lovely comments and of course contributing brilliant recommendations to our tbr piles. Thank you to Lauren, Danielle, Jenny, Heidi, Donna, Jess, Wendy and Emma for all of your support too! Sorry if I've forgotten to mention anyone!

Rachel:
It's been a lovely four years blogging and there's no way I would've been able to run a blog without having Jasprit! I think our different tastes in books makes for a varying and interesting selection covered here on the blog.  We get along behind the scenes as well, sharing the same opinions and both of us have changed our blogging to a more relaxed approach making it a fun hobby instead of another job. 

I've "met" a lot of wonderful people in the blogosphere that have contributed to my out of control TBR and have been a listening ear when I want to rant or rave about a story that's brought out strong emotions.  Arlene and Crystal are women I became acquainted with right after joining Goodreads and we've even met up on book conventions and signings and where I've had a blast sharing our love of books.  Keertana, Joy, Jenny, Heidi, Brandie, and a new friend, Eva, are my go-to girls for books!  Thank you for all the recommends, brilliant posts, and comments! I'm sorry if I've left anyone out!


So to celebrate our four year blogoversary, we are giving two lucky readers the chance to win one of the 2016 pre-orders below. The Giveaway is open internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to you, (a list of countries can be found here). Good luck everyone!

 

Review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Fire Touched ( Mercy Thompson #9) by Patricia Briggs
Publisher: Ace
Publication date: March 8th 2016
My rating: 4.5 stars 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Audible

 

Mercy Thompson has been hailed as “a heroine who continues to grow and yet always remains true to herself.”* Now she’s back, and she’ll soon discover that when the fae stalk the human world, it’s the children who suffer...

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?

My Thoughts:

When the Fae let a monster loose, the Pack are called to take it down, since the police can’t make any headway and lives are at stake.  Zee and Tad join in the fight bringing with them an odd, fire-touched boy named Aiden who seeks the Pack’s protection from the Fae.  Taking in Aiden brings all kinds of risk and problems, but we all know Mercy and Adam would never turn their back on someone seeking safety. At the end of the battle, Mercy draws a line in the sand with the Fae, and claims the Tri-Cities as the pack’s territory saddling them with new responsibilities, protection of its citizens being one those.  This has far reaching effects on the Pack which could result in an all out war with the Fae.  Can Mercy and Adam diffuse the situation all the while standing their ground?  I was glued to the pages to find out!

As usual with the Mercy Thompson series, once I started Fire Touched I couldn’t put it down.  The Fae are very much front and center in this installment, which dives into action and danger pretty quickly. The Fae are creepy and volatile for the most part, and I love getting a little more of their history and secrets when a Fae centered installment comes along.  I was definitely thrilled to have grouchy Zee back, since we haven’t had much from him lately.  

The dynamics of pack hierarchy and relationships continue to fascinate me.  Adam makes a proclamation to the Pack and I was overjoyed! I felt it was a long time coming, and oddly enough, it had a unifying effect over the Pack.  Adam and Mercy continue strongly united and very much in love, while still being interesting and hot together.  Their bond warms my heart a more and more with every installment!  

I’m always impressed how masterfully Mercy sizes up situations, uses her brain before speaking, (something I could do a little more of!) and comes out on top because of it! 

Still can’t stand Christy! She makes my blood boil every time she’s in a scene.  That Mercy doesn’t scratch her eyes out is a miracle in my opinion! Thankfully, Christy’s presence is kept to a minimum.

There were a couple of side stories that really grabbed my interest.  I’d love to continue on with Thomas and Margaret’s story.  Thomas is the vampire in Frost Burned who fought by Mercy’s side, and he’s accompanying Margaret, a fae, to meet with the Gray Lords. This is a story of unrequited love and I need more, please!  Then there’s Sherwood Post, a werewolf Bran sent to Adam’s pack.  He’s a bit damaged since he lost one of his legs, and feels sort of useless to the Pack.  I won’t go further into his portion of the story, but I’m hopeful we get more of him in the future.

I’m addicted to anything Patricia Briggs writes, Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega are in my top five favorite Urban Fantasy series, and Fire Touched is another winner for me. Just makes me want to go back and read them all over again!

Lucky is Reading Giveaway Hop

Once again I'm (Rachel) joining in Lucky is Reading Giveaway Hop sponsored by the lovely Valerie at Stuck in Books. For a complete list of blogs participating see below or click HERE. I'll be giving away $10 at US Amazon or US Barnes & Noble or up to $10 at The Book Depository. Fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win.

I want to share a few books from the genre I've been addicted to lately: romantic suspense. I've been on a Linda Howard binge read. These have been out for years, but they're new to me and they were wonderful!

(Click on title for Goodreads link)

   

 

One lucky Readers Den follower will get their choice of $10 at US Amazon or US Barnes & Noble or up to $10 at The Book Depository.  The giveaway is International as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.  Click HERE for their list of countries. Fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway