Tag Archive | Steampunk

REVIEW: Lastland by A. R. Ivanovich

Mar30

You guys, my NetGalley reading list is OUT. OF. CONTROL!

I wish I could say that by finishing Lastland last night, my list is growing smaller…. but alas, I was just approved the other day for the third book in the Black Blade series by Jennifer Estep.

Oops?

My husband says, “Just stop requesting new books until you catch up!”

Ha! Like it’s that easy! Whose with me here? Reading is an addiction. There are so many great books out there, I don’t want to miss any of them!

Tell me in the comments, is your TBR list as out of control as mine?

Lastland by A. R. Ivanovich
Series: War of Princes #4
Read: March 2 – 29, 2016
Format: ARC Ebook (Kindle)
My Book Rating: 4.5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy / Steampunk

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, if you haven’t read The War of the Princes series yet, you are MISSING. OUT.
We’ve got a fantasy world like our own, hidden within another fantasy world.
We’ve got a driven, relatable, female heroine.
We’ve got the tortured love interest.
And a whole slew of other amazing characters.
There are twists. There are turns. People we’ve come to love die—it’s a war, remember?—but others live.

Lastland is the final book in the series. While book 1, Haven, remains my favorite of the series, Lastland is jam-packed with feels.

The War of the Princes has raged for hundreds of years, and Katelyn and crew will do everything they can to save her homeland of Haven and finally bring down Prince Raserion.

After four books I feel like I’ve come to really know these characters—Katelyn and Rune, Kyle and Dylan and Ruby, and so on—so a satisfying ending had to happen for me. I expected nothing less, and Ivanovich delivered. There were moments I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. Moments I wanted to yell. Moments I wanted to hug the characters. I felt a whole range of emotions.

So now you’re thinking, if you loved it so much, why are you only giving it 4.5 stars? The answer to that is simple, I don’t really like military/war books. This series, despite the title, didn’t start out that way, but it sure ended that way. We’re talking epic battles of war. There were a couple times in the book where I just wanted to get on with things because I was growing bored with the war, and then Ivanovich would throw in a plot twist. This author knows how to hold a reader, even as I was starting to wonder about this book, she always pulled me right back in. And in the end, I leave Lastland with peace, glad to have had the chance to visit this world and meet these amazing characters.

Bonus: There was a plot twist from book 3, Monarch, which I had completely forgotten about due to the length of time between reading this book and that, which the author didn’t forget about, because she tied the loose ends in this book. We also get to find out what really started the war, which leads me to something I love about villains. Well written villains always have a realistic backstory—Well, realistic in the realm of the world in which the book takes place anyway!—and this book is no different. In the end, I felt a little bad for Raserion.

Long story short: This is a must read series I will continue to recommend!

REVIEW: Monarch by A. R. Ivanovich

Jan25

MonarchMonarch by A. R. Ivanovitch

Series: War of the Princes #3

Read: January 24-25, 2016

Format: Kindle Ebook

My Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: YA Fantasy

 

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Monarch, like it’s predecessors, Haven and Paperglass, is a fantasy / steampunk novel packed with action, adventure and surprises.

We pick up immediately after the events of Paperglass with Katelyn and crew fulfilling their promise to Common Lord Brendon Axton in helping to aid the city of Breakwater.

I love that in this book we get to learn more about the Northern army. We already learned a lot about the Dragoons and Margraves of the West in previous books, but the Northern army has their own tricks up their sleeves as we learn in this book. And secrets.

I really can’t say much without spoiling the plot, but I’ll tell you this. There’s a huge secret unveiled and a huge betrayal. Beyond that… I just can’t!

I know this is pathetically short, but if you enjoyed the previous books, I think you’ll enjoy this one. The set up for the end is beautiful and I honestly don’t know how everything will go down.

The only criticism I have is that up until the 40% mark it kind of dragged. Then—BAM! We’re thrown into the action again. There were also a couple of editing mistakes I caught as well, but not enough to pull me out of the story or lower my rating.

REVIEW: Paperglass by A. R. Ivanovitch

Jan17

Paperglass by A. R. Ivanovitch

Series: War of the Princes #2

Read: January 4-15 2016

Format: Kindle Ebook

My Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: YA Fantasy

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Paperglass is the sequel to Haven and picks up a year after the events in the first book. If you haven’t read Haven yet – What are you waiting for? The book is amazing!

Anyway, in Paperglass we find our heroine, Katelyn, graduating from high school, ready to set off in the world. After leaving her peaceful haven in Haven (see what I did there? Sorry…) Katelyn vowed never again to leave Haven for the war-torn outside world. Then, everything changes. A man commits an act that puts many lives in jeopardy, including Kaelyn and her friends. Soon she finds that Haven’s government is hiding things from it’s citizens and Katelyn is tasked with using her talent of finding anything to lead a rescue team to the outside world to rescue a group of Havenites who have left their protective country and ventured into what was unknown to them, but a world Katelyn knows all too well – she bares the scares.

Unwilling to bring more people to the outside world and risk their lives, she sneaks off to rescue the team, led by an individual going by code name Paperglass. Once back on the outside, Katelyn finds herself in an alliance she doesn’t quite trust, and three other surprises are waiting for her.

Paperglass reunites us with characters we knew and loved…and hated from Haven, as well as introducing us to new characters and more of the outside worlds war and politics. There are twists and turns, just when I think Katelyn is home free, safety is torn from her. Everything is so well thought out and put together, it just flows from one scene to another. The only reason it took me 11 days to finish this book was because I had to read another book for my job.

If you loved Haven, Paperglass will surely keep your attention and leave you desperate to find out what happens next, in book three of the War of the Princes series, Monarch.

NOTE: Paperglass was previously released under the title Dragoon.

REVIEW: Haven by A. R. Ivanovitch

Jan5

Don’t forget to enter to win the ghostly romance The Way Forward by Jill Bisker over at THIS post!

 

 

Haven by A. R. Ivanovitch

Series: War of the Princes #1

Read: January 3-5 2016

Format: Kindle Ebook

My Book Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Genre: YA Fantasy

 

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book. Wow. This is the kind of book that keeps you turning the page, not wanting to put it down, saying ‘just one more chapter!’ only to get to the end and need to dive into the next book ASAP. That is Haven.

Katelyn Kestrel is the heroine of this series. Seventeen years old and a bit of a rebel, Katelyn doesn’t just accept the way things are, she questions them. Growing up in Haven, an isolated kingdom/country nestled in a hidden mountain valley, she knows that to try to find a way out is the greatest law, punishable by imprisonment or worse. However, Katelyn can’t help herself. She’s always had an instinct about finding what she’s looking for, and finding her way out of Haven is no different. She suddenly finds herself in a cave, forced to choose between taking the safe route and going back, or helping a wounded soldier in her path. Katelyn helps the soldier and that’s where the story really begins.

There is a minor-almost-love-triangle in this book. Katelyn has strong feelings for her rescued soldier, Rune, but the other young man she meets, the Common Lord Dylan Axton, has his eye on her as well, showering her with gifts.

Katelyn discovers secrets about herself and her people and soon, Haven’s fate is entirely in her hands.

The world building in this book is captivating. There were little things that drove me a little crazy, like the Haven people’s superstition that name alliteration was good luck (hence our heroine being Katelyn Kestrel, sister to Kevin Kestrel, friend of Kyle Kiteman, etc.) I quickly forgot all that once the plot moved forward. The powers are very cool, and the military and royal hierarchy well thought out.

The best part of this book though? It’s a fantasy novel done right. The reader is not inundated with pages and pages of description, we’re given just enough to set the scene to feel as though we’re there, and then we move on. As I stated before, I could not put this book down. I said ‘just one more chapter’ for a good seven chapters before forcing myself to go to bed. I told myself I would get some work done before starting book 2, however I’m already almost 20% into Paperglass and let me tell you, it’s as good if not better than Haven!

There are plenty of questions left unanswered in this book; for example, if the Haven people have been secluded from the Outside World for over 700 years, why do they still speak the same language, albeit with a strong accent? At least some of these questions are answered later in the series (which I only know because I’ve started the next.)

In my opinion, this is a must read YA title for readers looking for a strong heroine, adventure, magic, and alternate history. I did deduct half a star because there were more than a couple editing errors, perhaps not enough to distract the average reader, but definitely enough for me to catch.

Haven and the rest of the series was originally self-published and now available from Alloy Entertainment.