And I Darken by Kiersten White {blog tour review}

I'm super excited and honored to be participating in the blog tour for one of my long-time fave authors and her new title! Today I'm reviewing the incredibly epic 

AND I DARKEN 

by Kiersten White! 

And I Darken

by Kiersten White

♦publisher: Delacorte Press

♦release date: June 28th, 2016

♦hardcover, 496 pages

♦intended audience: Young adult

♦series: The Conqueror's Saga, book 1
♦source: ARC from publisher for honest review

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. 

And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

Review: AND I DARKEN has a vast epic feel and scope that I really enjoyed.  It followed it's characters, the hard and seemingly heartless Lada, and the tender-hearted and gentle-souled Radu from their birth into their teens and really gave the reader a chance to know them. There is so much that happens in the course of their lives but at the heart of it is a brother and sister, their familiarity, their rivalry, their protectiveness of each other, and how love will shape both of their lives. 

I have certainly never read about a princess like Lada--and I loved her! Though admittedly I was also terrified of her by the time she turned the not-very-sweet age of 5! Her bravery, her stubborness, her fierceness, and her insistence to be treated as an equal to the boys and not as incapable simply because she was a girl were all things that I couldn't help relishing as I watched her character grow. Radu faces challenges just as immense, as he constantly struggles to prove himself and later when he is forced to face a truth in himself that he doesn't even have a name for. I also loved the focus on his spiritual journey and how it strengthens him. 

While it's a huge brutal and exciting tale, there were a few sections of the story that I found to be really slow going. Also, as much as it might have made sense for Lada and Radu to be hardened and matured by the harsh situations they found themselves in,  there were still some actions and dialogue that I couldn't picture a 12 and 13 year old doing or saying. The story almost immediately picked up for me though when they turned 15 and 16, and stayed a twisting, engaging, emotional roller coaster until it's very end.  There were a few nights this one kept me up until 3 am, completely unwilling to put it down! This is nothing like anything I've read from Kiersten White, but it was definitely another piece of incredible and creative storytelling from her!

•ABOUT THE AUTHOR•

KIERSTEN WHITE is the New York Times bestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy; the dark thrillers Mind Games and Perfect Lies; The Chaos of Stars; and Illusions of Fate. She also coauthored In the Shadows with Jim Di Bartolo. She lives with her family near the ocean in San Diego, which, in spite of its perfection, spurs her to dream of faraway places and even further away times.

WEBSITE  •  TWITTER  •  TUMBLR  •  GOODREADS

Purchase And I Darken:  Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon

Be sure to visit the rest of the tour stops for AND I DARKEN!

Monday, May 30^th: Icey Books, Review

Tuesday, May 31^st: Bookiemoji, Guest Post (Character Profiles)

Wednesday, June 1^st: Seeing Double in Neverland, Review

Thursday, June 2^nd: Alexa Loves Books, Playlist Post

Friday, June 3^rd: Owl Always Be Reading, Review

Monday, June 6^th: Jessabella Reads, Review

Tuesday, June 7^th: The Eater of Books!, Top Five Roundup

Wednesday, June 8^th: Across the Words, Review

Thursday, June 9^th: Pandora’s Books, Sneak Peek for Book Two

Friday, June 10^th: Tales of the Ravenous Reader, Review

Monday, June 13th: A Midsummer Night's Read, Review

Tuesday, June 14^th: The Irish Banana Review, Top 10 Guest Post

Wednesday, June 15^th: Stories & Sweeties, Review

Thursday, June 16^th: Jenuine Cupcakes, Author Mystery Guest Post

Friday, June 17^th: The Soul Sisters, Review

Monday, June 20^th: Winterhaven Books, Review

Tuesday, June 21^st: Two Chicks on Books, Q&A (4-6 questions)

Wednesday: June 22^nd: The Book Swarm, Review

Thursday, June 23^rd: Read. Sleep. Repeat., Top Five Fantasy Books Kiersten Loves to Re-Read

Friday, June 24^th: Please Feed The Bookworm, Review

Monday, June 27^th: Comfort Books, Review

Tuesday, June 28^th: Fitshun, Q&A

Wednesday, June 29^th: Addicted Readers,Review

Thursday, June 30^th: Lindsay Cummings, Movie Casting Post

Friday, July 1^st: Rabid Reads, Review

Monday, July 4^th: Reading Teen, Review

Tuesday, July 5^th: YA Bibliophile, Guest Post (Trip to Romania)

Wednesday, July 6^th: Carina’s Books, Review

Thursday, July 7^th: Mundie Moms, Author Mystery Guest Post

Friday, July 8^th:  Bookishness and Tea, Review

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White {review}

Illusion of Fate
by Kiersten White
♦publisher: HarperTeen
♦release date: September 9, 2014
♦hardcover, 288 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone
♦source: from publisher for honest review

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Review: From page one of Illusions of Fate, I realized I’d forgotten how much I enjoy Kiersten White’s fun-spirited writing style from my experiences reading her Paranormalcy series.  The wit and humor immediately pulls me in and gives the heroine a voice that is entertaining and likeable.  We first meet Jessamin through a letter she is composing to her mother, and from this clever beginning, we get a first taste of her snarky humor, learn that she is from the island of Melei, and attending school on the main land of Albion, and that her estranged father is one of her professors.  

Further in, we learn exactly what she thinks of her school, her father and this new dreary sunless land.  She'd a very head-strong, determined girl, if her tactics for gaining entrance into the school is any indication.  Then she meets the strangely mesmerizing and mysterious Finn, and suddenly finds herself a pawn in the middle of a two-man war over magical power and political control.   

I liked the many facets of Jessamin’s character, her strong will and stubbornness garnering both respect and frustration from me. I’m all for a won’t-back-down attitude, and loved her determination not to let a strange man take care of things for her.  But it did get to the point where I was getting frustrated with her character when she put herself and everyone in danger in the name of doing things how she wanted to do them. Sometimes it came off as strong, sometimes it just seemed plain pig-headed. But it made for a great fleshed-out and complicated character. 

For the most part it was a fun story to read, but once the villain made himself known, I couldn’t help but feel the plot fell into a bit of a repetitive loop.  They’d venture out, Jessamin or one of her friends would be put in danger, they’d make a quick fix of it, and then go into hiding for a bit---and then start that cycle all over again.  Still, the lively characters, the fated romance, the mystique and magic, and a pretty shocking twist at the end all added up to a story that kept me glued to the pages until the end.  I truly waffled between a 3.5 or 4 rating for this one, but I think White's fun writing flare tips it toward the latter.  

Find Kiersten White online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Illusions of Fate:  Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  BN.com

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

In the Shadows

by Kiersten White & Jim Di Bartolo

hitting shelves April 29, 2014
from Scholastic Press

description:

From the remarkable imagination of acclaimed artist Jim Di Bartolo and the exquisite pen of bestselling author Kiersten White comes a spellbinding story of love, mystery, and dark conspiracy, told in an alternating narrative of words and pictures.

Cora and Minnie are sisters living in a small, stifling town where strange and mysterious things occur. Their mother runs the local boarding house. Their father is gone. The woman up the hill may or may not be a witch.

Thomas and Charles are brothers who've been exiled to the boarding house so Thomas can tame his ways and Charles can fight an illness that is killing him with increasing speed. Their family history is one of sorrow and guilt. They think they can escape from it . . . but they can't.

Arthur is also new to the boarding house. His fate is tied to that of Cora, Minnie, Thomas, and Charles. He knows what darkness circles them, but can't say why, and doesn't even know if they can be saved.

Sinister forces are working in the shadows, manipulating fates and crafting conspiracies. The closer Cora, Minnie, Arthur, Thomas, and Charles get to the truth, the closer they get to harm. But the threat is much bigger than they can see. It is strangling the world.

Until one of the boys decides he wants to save it.

Told in an astonishing mix of art and words, IN THE SHADOWS collides past against future, love against evil, and hope against fear. The result is both a mystery and a masterpiece.

My thoughts: I am a 100% sucker for books like this.  I can only imagine what an amazing story comes from these two working together.  Told alternately through White's storytelling and Di Bartolo's awesome illustrations.  In Kiersten's own words: it's Hugo Cabret meets Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  That sounds amazing.

Thanksgiving-away #7 - Win Endlessly & Sweet Shadows!

Time for giveaway #7 in my Thanksgiving-Away event!! Two fantastic Harper titles! 

 

ARC of Endlessly + ARC of Sweet Shadows

(see event kick-off post for more details!) 

•US mailing addresses only

• Must be 13 or older

• Last day to enter: November 29, 2012

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Becky's View: Endlessly by Kiersten White

Endlessly by Kiersten White
♦publisher: HarperTeen
♦release date: July 24, 2012
♦hardcover, 400 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Paranormalcy, book 3 
  review of Paranormalcy (book 1)
  review of Supernaturally (book 2)

Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands.

So much for normal.

Review: So, it's farewell to another great YA series.  In this final installment to the Paranormalcy trilogy, Evie faces her biggest challenges, temptations,  and fate-changing decisions yet.  She is the Empty One, made to draw in souls and open the gates between the mortal world and the world where all the paranormal beings came from.  But will she do it? Does she want to? Is she even able to? 

As much as I've always loved Evie and her rambunctious spirit, this was first time where she had her moments of getting on my nerves.  She still has one of the funniest inner dialogues of any YA heroine I've come across, but there were times in this one where she acted like a petulant child---she has the fate of thousands of innocent beings in her hands and she doesn't want to cooperate because she feels like she's being told what to do or because she might lose her boyfriend.  I totally get the whole "making your own decisions" thing, but at times it seemed like she was willing to put everyone in danger just to have it her way.

Evie is just as fierce as always, taking on werewolves, curses, a malicious new head of IPCA,  and the Dark Queen herself {spoiler-highlight to read: OH what she does to the dark queen is priceless. That is one bad-ass way to rescue your boyfriend!}.  On a side note, as much as I've always loved Evie and her rambunctious spirit, this was first time where she had her moments of getting on my nerves.  She still has one of the funniest inner dialogues of any YA heroine I've come across, but there were times in this one where she acted like a petulant child---she has the fate of thousands of innocent beings in her hands and she doesn't want to cooperate because she feels like she's being told what to do or because she might lose her boyfriend.  I totally get the whole "making your own decisions" thing, but at times it seemed like she was willing to put everyone in danger just to have it her way.

The story was fantastic and the plot was wild and twisting and dangerous. Much like a ticking time bomb, you start off thinking time is running out---and then that time bomb is meddled with and suddenly time is running out even faster than you thought!  There are so many great characters in this one, it will be hard to say good-bye to them for good!  Jack is back and once again, the exchanges between him and Evie are hilarious.  Reth is a big part of this one, we really get to see a whole new side of the beautiful mysterious faerie.  Lend is great once again, but because of one important plot twist, he's not in this one as much. Arianna, I think she was one of my favorites this time around.  Still tough and sharp-tongued as ever, but she had a great inner struggle going on that I loved. 

All in all, a great ending to a seriously fun series.  I'm looking forward to the next fantastic series from Kiersten White!

Visit Kiersten White:  Website  •  Facebook   •  Twitter

Purchase Endlessly at:  Amazon  •  BN.com  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound 

Review: Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Supernaturally by Kiersten White

publisher: HarperTeen

release date: July 26th, 2011

hardcover, 352 pages

intended audience: Young adult

sequel to: Paranormalcy (my review)

rating:



source: from publisher for honest review

Warning! Description and review may contain slight spoilers for book 1, Paranormalcy. If you haven't started this series, stop reading now!

description: Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal.

Review: What on earth is that breath of fresh air in the YA section? Why, it's Supernaturally---one of the only books that is the second in a series and doesn't end with a break-neck cliffhanger!! Not that I hate cliffhangers, it's just that after coming across so many first and second books that practically left me with vertigo, I read the ending of Supernaturally with a sign of relieved satisfaction.

But I'm started backwards. Actually, this one got off to a bit of a slow start for me. Evie has finally gotten her wish and is getting a taste of normal teenage life: high school, gym class, and, yes, Evie finally has her own locker. Unfortunately, she is finding out that real high school is nothing like her favorite high school TV drama, Easton Heights. She's having a hard time fitting in, has found her way onto the gym teacher's torment list, and is pretty bored with the rest of it. After the first book with Evie's fun, sometimes naive, spirit and all the paranormal craziness---reading about her being bored and mundane was just not as fun. The story really picked up further in though.

This one is a little darker than the first---Evie is going through some pretty big emotional conflicts with Lend, leaving and being drawn back into what used to be home to her at the IPCA, worrying about her future, and her in-dream relationship with her new-found sister, Vivian. She's torn in trying to decide how she feels about what Lend's dad does to protect paranormal compared to what the IPCA does to monitor them. We get to find out some pretty juicy bits of info about where she came from, what she is, and what she was "created" for. There's a new face, Jack, who is even more playful than Evie herself. While he was fun sometimes, his actions were just a little too childlike and I kept picturing him as a hyper 11-year-old, jumping on the bed, and pulling silly pranks. Still, an entertaining addition and he's an important part of the story!

On the whole, another great adventure for Evie! Even though the villain was not a huge surprise to me, I still enjoyed the ride very much. With a good amount of closure on most of the storylines that were introduced in book two, the next book can basically go anywhere it wants! I can't wait to see what's next for Evie and Lend in Endlessly!

Visit Kiersten's site here. (Her blog is one of my favorite author blogs---she is so funny!)

Purchase Supernaturally at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

Trailer:

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.


Supernaturally
by Kiersten White

NEW RELEASE DATE!!! July 26, 2011
from HarperTeen

description:A lot has changed in the six months since Evie escaped from the International Paranormal Containment Agency with her shape-shifter boyfriend, Lend. She finally has the blissfully normal life she’s always dreamed of, including:
1) A real live high school
2) A perfectly ordinary after-school job
3) Her very own locker (and by the way, rusted metal is every bit as awesome as she imagined)

But Evie’s not-so-normal past keeps creeping up on her...and things get pretty complicated when you factor in:
1) A centuries-old, seriously decaying vampire stalker
2) A crazy faerie ex-boyfriend who is the perpetual bearer of really bad news
3) A major battle brewing between the faerie courts where the prize in question happens to be...Evie herself.

So much for normal.

My thoughts: Really, this one needs no explanation. Paranormalcy was awesome. And I can't wait to see Evie take on the everyday high school experience. SO happy that the release date has been moved up on this one...a whole month less to wait! Yay! :D

Incredible Book News: Paranormalcy!

I had to spread the exciting news on this one! If you haven't been to Kiersten White's blog today, you might not have heard:
It's been one heck of an exciting day for this debut author! Not only did the awesome Paranormalcy officially break out into the wild today (if you missed my gushy review of this one, you can find it HERE) BUT Kiersten announced earlier today that the film option rights have sold!! How exciting is that?? While this doesn't guarantee that we'll see Evie and Tasey and Lent up on the big screen, it certainly brings us all one step closer to that amazing possiblity!!

So, a BIG HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY and GIGANTIC CONGRATS to Kiersten and Paranormalcy!! YAY!!

Review: Paranormalcy

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

publisher: HarperTeen

release date: August 31, 2010

hardcover, 352 pages

intended audience: Young adult

source: received from publisher for honest review

rating:


description from goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Evie's job is bagging and tagging paranormals. Possessing the strange ability to see through their glamours, she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. But when someone--or something--starts taking out the vamps, werewolves, and other odd beasties she's worked hard to help become productive members of society, she's got to figure it out before they all disappear and the world becomes utterly normal. Normal is so overrated.

Review: And its official. With this review, I very happily join the ranks of readers who are in love with this book. Let the gushing begin.

Page one,...no, actually it was sentence one: I laughed out loud. Upon getting to page two, I'd giggled at least two more times. Page three and I was completely addicted.

The main character of this book is what really makes it. Evie has a great voice. She is witty and funny, brave and sassy (I hate that word, but seriously, that is the best way to describe this girl!), and throughout the story she is very believable as a real teenager. Despite the fact that she has this incredibly adventurous and abnormal life working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she still yearns to be a normal teenager, to experience high school and have a school locker of her very own. It's an interesting departure from the norm to be introduced to a character who starts out fully confident and sure of the world around her and her place in it, and in the progression of the story, see that confidence disintegrate as her eyes are opened and she begins to question what she's always known as truth.

This was a wild paranormal ride from beginning to end with a little who-done-it mystery thrown in for good measure. You spend a good part of the book wondering who is good and who is just plain evil, how the plot will twist next and what will Evie be wearing when it does! :) Mischievous fairies everywhere, creepy vampires, werewolves, hags, and mermaids,...they are all part of this amazing tale. And did I mention the romance?? Perfect. The character of Lend is wonderfully complex---he is a complete mystery and we get to know him as Evie does, slowly as little bits of information are revealed about what he's really doing at the IPCA. Their relationship grows slowly with a little more trust given every day of her secret visits to him. This is exactly how I like my romance stories to unfold.

In the end, even though it was a satisfying ending, I turned the last page and let out a disappointed "Awww!" because there was no more to read! I didn't want this story to end, and I can only hope its not going to be another whole year before the next one comes out! I don't think I could bear it!

Visit Kiersten White's site here.

Preorder Paranormalcy:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Book depository

Trailer:

Waiting on Wednesday : Paranormalcy

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

release date: September 21st, 2010 (updated, thanks Kiersten!)
by HarperTeen

Description:
Sixteen-year-old Evie's job is bagging and tagging paranormals. Possessing the strange ability to see through their glamours, she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. But when someone--or something--starts taking out the vamps, werewolves, and other odd beasties she's worked hard to help become productive members of society, she's got to figure it out before they all disappear and the world becomes utterly normal.

Normal is so overrated.

Really, does this one need much more explanation of why I can't wait to read it!! Drop-dead gorgeous cover ( I would kill to see a gal "bag and tag" a werewolf in that stunning dress!!), a completely amazing-sounding storyline...nuf' said, right? And you really have to check out the author's blog...she is seriously the most adorable thing ever, and her post on the day her proof copy arrived is just hilarious. I'm sure if her fiction writing is half as entertaining as her blogging, it's going to be a fantastic book!! October is such a long way off---I'm hoping for a bump up to an earlier release date!! :)