I haven’t submitted anything to Liv’s blog since April but I have been reading a fair amount, actually. I’m going to review two books per submission and two submissions for a total of four reviews. I didn’t want to write long out thoughts on them, so I decided to compress and group them.
This group consists of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and Vicious by V.E. Schwab. Both stories focus on supernatural powers and abilities. The novels are clearly fantasy. Both books were really enjoyable and fun to read. I’d recommend both to anyone in the mood for superpowers and fantasy elements in storytelling.
Rating: 4.7 Stars (4.5 for the audiobook)
Page Count: 525
Published on: June 27, 2017
Published by: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Genre(s): Fantasy, YA, Fiction
Age Rating: YA
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.
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Avatar The Last Airbender meets Africa. If Aang was a teenage girl with white hair. And could control dead spirits. And shadows. But seriously, Tomi Adeyemi has created a compelling story featuring strong male and female characters, each with their own trials and shining moments. The characters deal with prejudice, from both sides of the issue. There are some unavoidable tropes, with the evil ruler and romantic pairings, but they were written wonderfully. I liked this book so much that Liv got me an ARC after I read it and I bought the audiobook. The narrator, Bahni Turpin, did a wonderful job. I probably would have rated the audiobook higher, but I primarily listened to it while I was at work. I might listen to the audiobook and follow along with the ARC at some point in the future.
I am impatiently waiting for my pre-ordered copy of the sequel and would love to be chosen to receive an ARC of it too.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Page Count: 366
Published on: September 24, 2013
Published by: Tor Books
Genre(s): Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult, Paranormal, YA, Fiction
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
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It’s fun to see two supervillains fight each other. One thinks he is the hero. The other knows he isn’t.
That is how I would describe Vicious. The book follows two college friends on their quest to make superpowers a reality. They figure out a method and then go separate ways. The ex-friends come head-to-head years later in an attempt to kill one another. Neither character is a good person and that’s okay. I think the biggest selling point is that there aren’t heroes. The series is called The Villains. Schwab isn’t trying to trick readers into thinking that there is a hero.
The book was fun to read. It felt like a Marvel film. There was a supernatural backstory, interesting secondary characters, and a climactic final fight. And a sequel. And like Marvel movies, the main problem is that isn’t ambitious enough. The protagonist wins, there’s going to be another one, and the antagonist probably won’t come back. One of the antagonists at least. The comparison probably isn’t deserved since the book came out in 2013 and Marvel had just started Phase Two of the MCU. But with my first read through in 2018, I can’t help it.
~~~
Skate or be skated.
-Alex
