Bone Witch

When Tea's brother dies, she is unwilling to accept his fate. So she does what all sisters would do, she raises him from the dead. Thus throwing her normal existence into chaos as she is taken from her family to train with the Dark Asha. This is not an easy life, as people are not so happy to be in the presence of dark witches. Tea is trained at one of the famous houses and life isn't easy for her. She is kind of stubborn and tends to jump into dangerous situations with both feet. She meets Prince Kance and finds herself attracted to him, which is forbidden, as his cousin Kalen continually tells her. Tea must find a way to protect everyone and also fulfill her own desires. These things are not often not he same path. This book is told in both the past and present. We meet present Tea who is on a quest to raise an army of Daeva- monsters risen from the dead, to attack the kingdoms. She is telling her story to a Bard as she winds her way through the graves. We also meet past Tea as her story is told. The mystery of how Tea became what she is in the present is fascinating to watch unfold, however, since this is going to be series, we are left with a shocker as an ending (I kinda figured...) This was an easy read that kept a great flow and threw enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. I recommend! Onward to the Seven Realms and Han's children next. Shadowcaster here I come. Happy reading my friends!

Strange the Dreamer

I bow to Laini Taylor. She wrote one of my all time favorite series- Daughter of Smoke and Bone and I anxiously awaited her next series. She did not disappoint. Lazlo Strange is an orphan who works in the library. He is curious, kind and ready to see the world. He is desperate to see Weep, a mystical city that lost it's name one day while he was playing in the woods. He set out to learn all he could about Weep and spent his years writing a history. Sarai is Godspawn. She lives in a floating citadel that overshadows Weep. She lives with four other Godspawn with a variety of powers. They are blue. The town had slaughtered their parents and thought all the children were dead. The Gods were horrible and did horrible things to the townspeople, so the Godspawn have remained hidden high above the city with only each other for company. Sparrow can make things grow, Feral can make it rain, Ruby can start fires and Minya can control the ghosts of the dead. Sarai is the Muse of Nightmares. Each night she unleashes her moths to torment the townspeople so they will stay away from the Citadel. It works. Until the day Lazlo rides into town with the Godslayer. For the first time, Sarai can be seen in someone's dreams. And he doesn't hate her, as a matter of fact, they fall in love. But they can only meet in their dreams. At first. This is a tale of hidden pasts and glorious futures. It is both lovely and heartbreaking at once. It is creative and so beautifully written I had to stop and mark pages to go back and make poster of for my classroom. Lazlo is, in a word, remarkable and a lesson to us all to be kind and open and welcoming to that we don't know. Sarai is a lesson to be willing to see both sides and change accordingly, to have hope. The end has crushed me, but I'm hopeful that Lazlo can will find a way to dream a better end for everyone. This is full of crazy, fantastical characters that make you want to live in Weep- almost. I can't say enough nice things about this book and this author. So I say- when you fall asleep tonight, make your dreams a place of wonder and then see if you can carry that over into the real world. Happy reading and dreaming my friends!

Caraval

Scarlett and Tella live with their abusive father on an island. Since their mother has run away, they only have each other. Tella is wild and spontaneous while Scarlett is the practical protecter of her sister. But Scarlett has one desire, to attend Caraval, the magical game where one can get their biggest wish fulfilled. One problem, one must be invited to attend and Scarlett has been writing to Legend, the master of Caraval for years asking to be invited. On the eve of her marriage to the Count, whom she has never met, Scarlett receives the invitation and must decide if she will follow her heart or her head. When her sister takes her choice away from her, she finds herself on the way to Caraval with the rogue Julian and her sister. What she finds will twist her mind and alter her faith in everyone she loves. The book is filled with magic, deception, twists, turns and a world that is upside down. Scarlett does her best to keep her wits about her, but it isn't easy if you can't trust anyone as anyone could be playing the game. And the game is meant to to keep you off balance. I liked parts of this book, but at times found it not as enjoyable as I would have liked. It reminds me a little of The Night Circus but not as well done. It has some mature themes that are subtle but need to be mentioned. So this one was just ok for me, but I'm sure it has an audience. Laini Taylor's new one awaits! Happy reading my friends!