Mortal Heart

When Rylee tells me that a book is the "best one of the series", I have to believe her. She hasn't steered me wrong yet. Mortal Heart is the third book of the The Fair Assassin series. It is the story of the daughters of the god Mortain, the god of Death. They are sent on missions to exact his justice and follow his orders. Annith has been waiting her whole life to be sent on her first mission. She has been obedient, loyal and true, and can't figure out why others have been sent out before her. When the Abbess decides she will never leave and become the Seer for the order, Annith must take matters into her own hands. She leaves the convent and is immediately ensnared by the hellequin, the riders of  Death. Their leader, Balthazaar, attempts to protect her from the dangers she faces on the road. He is mysterious, broody and strangely familiar to Annith. She soon finds she is in love with him, but can see no future with someone who is chained to the Underworld. She reunites with her sisters, Ismae and Sybella, to help the Duchess find a way to come to some kind of peace with France. But her path is fraught with peril, betrayals and a love that becomes more than she had ever hoped it could. So Rylee was right, this one was the best so far, especially because all the fair assassins are together in one place, doing their thing, Love can conquer all, even Death. You don't have to read the books in order, but it helps to know all the stories before this one, so start with Grave Mercy, then hit Dark Triumph. You will want to join the daughters of Mortain and learn some assassin skills of your own. So take Rylee's advice and join the assassins. Happy reading my friends!

Blue Lily, Lily Blue

I have yet to meet a Maggie Stiefvater book I didn't like and this one is not the exception. Blue Lily is the third part of the Raven Cycle. This is the magical, mystical quest of four friends. Gansey, the prince, Ronan, the rebel, Adam, the outsider and Blue, the girl who holds sway over all of them. They are on a quest to wake a mythical king named Glendower so he can grant them a wish. Gansey has been on this quest for much of his life and has drawn his gifted friends into the quest with him. They all have reasons to need a favor from the sleeping king- but the most important one is to save Gansey's life. See Blue has foreseen his death and time is running out. She loves Gansey but she knows she will kill her true love with a kiss, so that kinda puts a monkey wrench into their love story. In this third book, Blue's mother disappears, Adam comes into his power over the ley line and Gansey gets closer and closer to finding his king, also getting closer and closer to his end. Blue must navigate all this while trying to remain neutral among the boys. I don't know which Raven Boy I love the most, so I won't pick... right now I'm still leaning toward Ronan- I mean who doesn't love a snarly bad boy who can pull things from his dreams and speaks (?) fluent Latin??? This is a series about friends, a quest and the desire to fit in while standing out. Start at the beginning and join the team on their quest to wake the sleeping king. You won't be disappointed! Happy reading my friends.

Idols

Oh, it's my favorite time of year- vacation. Which is a good thing since my stack of books is taller than my television right now. One season to go on Sons of Anarchy so that distraction- Jax Teller- will be over and I can resume my book obsession. This book is the sequel to Margaret Stohl's Icons. This is the the story of four teenagers who each have great powers. They are on a mission to save the world from the Icons. Machines who have killed millions of humans already. These four, Dol, Ro, Tima and Lucas are the world's only hope for survival. But they are just teenagers and don't really know what they are doing. Fortis- a mercenary- is helping them. Or is he? Dol keeps seeing a fifth Icon child in her dreams and believes she is the key to saving them all. They set out on a quest to find the Jade girl. Along the way the love triangle between Dol, Ro and Lucas intensifies as Dol seemingly decides who she wants to be with. But the mission is the most important thing and when Dol loses trust in the one guiding them, all bets are off. The conclusion is heartbreaking, but as we all know in science fiction, anything can happen. (Even though I know it won't) Dol has to find a way to go on even in the face of devastating secrets and sacrifice. So, onward to book three, with hopes for resurrection. (a Christmas miracle perhaps?) Hope the holidays find you happy and healthy my friends and happy reading!