The Black Mage: First Year by Rachel E. Carter

Title: The Black Mage: First Year by Rachel E. Carter
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Date: February 6, 2015
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Loved this book so much I had to repost it!

I liked the whole magic system they have. I also love the type of books where the main characters have to train to become better. The tension between the characters who are fighting for the same spots in the academy. Loved It!

Before the age of seventeen the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice -follow tradition, or pursue a trial year in one of the realm's three war schools to study as a soldier, knight or mage...

For 15-year-old Ryiah the choice has always been easy. Become a warrior and leave the boring confines of her lowborn life behind. Set to enroll in the School of Knighthood on the eve of her next birthday, plans suddenly shift when her twin brother discovers powers. Hoping that hers will soon follow, she enrolls with Alex at the Academy instead -the realm's most notorious war school for those with magic. 

Yet when she arrives Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted apprenticeships. Every "first-year" is given a trial year to prove their worth -and no amount of hard work and drive will guarantee them a spot. It seems like everyone is rooting for her to fail -and first and foremost among them Prince Darren, the school prodigy who has done nothing but make life miserable since she arrived. 

When an accidental encounter leads Ryiah and Darren to an unlikely friendship she is convinced nothing good will come of it. But the lines become blurred when she begins to improve -and soon she is a key competitor for the faction of Combat... Still, nothing is ever as it seems -and when the world comes crashing down around her, Ry is forced to place faith in the one thing she can believe in -herself. Will it be enough?

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Title: The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Genre: Paranormal dystopian?
Date: January 18, 2015
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Holy shit. This flipping book. I seriously wasn't expecting any of this to happen. It was definitely shocking. I've read Lu's other series 'The Legend Trilogy' and I thought it was good. But this book, just blew that series out of the water. The ending was something else, and I am excited for the next book!

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all. 
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen. 
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.
It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Man, was I not expecting this. The book was so dark, and made me feel like, I cant even describe it. Just had to put the book down at some points because of how, what would you say, ahh yes; sadistic it was. The main character Adelina is a sick and twisted character. I'm not even kidding. I mean I've read about some pretty sick and sadistic characters before, but never in a YA novel. The fact that she found pleasure in other's pain and fear mad the book so much more compelling. I loved it!

Adelina wasn't always so messed up, she use to love her family quite alot, and use to enjoy herself. But, that was until the epidemic wiped the nation, making children and adults sick. From what I read all the adults who got sick died, along with most of the children. The children who did survive were looked down upon and were called 'malfetto'. When she and her sister survived, her sister came out unscaved but Adelina came out with silver/grey hair and one eye short.

So, I've never read a book where the main character had one eye. Even though it was a disadvantage to Adelina at the bbeginningof the book, but buy the end she was kick ass.

Enzo. I did enjoy him quite a bit. He is strong and ruthless, except when it comes to Adelina or his previous love. He's the one who helps train Adelina with her powers. Adelina and Enzo have a special bond, they both pull towards the Amber in the same way. When he died at the end, I was tthoroughlyshocked, since he was one of the main characters and all. But, I guess authors are doing that now days. I still think that Enzo is going to be brought back in the next book, I mean who else is going to take over the throne. Adelina? Hell to the know. She may be the main character and all, but she is hell bent unstable. Not ruler material.

You don't really see much of Enzo and Adelina's relationship throughout the book, and it kind of just hits you in the face when they start making out. I mean we all knew something was between them but I didn't expect them to start a heavy makout sesh. The relationship they have is kind of unconventional, she is to worried of what he thinks of her that she makes stupid and rash decisions, such as going to break her sister out of Teren's grasps.

Then we have Teren. The traitor to all the Elites, to all of the Malfetto. He is an Elite but he works for the Queen. His mission throughout the book, and most likely the upcoming books of the series is to kill all the Elites, and to make sure all of the Malfetto are exiled from the city. He is the one responsible for Enzo's death, along with partially Adelina's but she didn't mean to. Also, apparently this Teren guy can't be compelled by magic, or magic can't harm him. And he heals super quick. What I want to know is what Teren really is.

Over all, I thought this book was fantastic. The darkness Lu adds to this book took my breath away, because I wasn't expecting this due to her previous work. But, I definitely wasn't disappointed. Maybe in the next book we could make Adelina a bit more stable? Oh, and bring back Enzo. I'm not sure that Adelina will be stable enough to go on with out Enzo. I would recommend this to a friend times 100. Happy Reading!!!

~Alysia

Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance
Date: January 18, 2015
Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Another fantastic book written by one of my favorite authors. Lately i've been in a pitiful reading slump, and I need a pick me up book. This was that book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book so much, and I loved the romance that was in it. Hell, I love the romances in all of Armentrout's books!

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans.

Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan isn’t your average college student. She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.

Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.

But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul.

Man, oh man. This book was amazing. Its not like I'm totally biased or anything. So the book starts out with Ivy the main character sitting at a cafe sweating her ass off. Immediately off the bat I knew that I was going to love this book. All of Armentrouts characters are spunky and have their own personality, that's one of the main reasons I love her books. Then her friend Val joins her brining her ice coffee as a bribe to work for her that upcoming Saturday.

As you can tell by the summary, these girls aren't just normal girls with normal jobs. They both work for a group called the Order. They kill or send the fey back to their own land. They are basically the Buffy's of this book. 'you know, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. They literally kick ass.

So, back to the begining of this book. After Val leaves Ivy goes off on her own to search for a fey to kill. When she comes upon one and she follows it into the ally, they have the whole 'your dead' conversation, and they she kills him. Little did she know that when she turned around a man would be there. Not a normal man, but a fey, that didn't look like a normal fey. This fey unlike the normal silvery skin had olive skin and looked like a normal person. Except for his eyes. His eyes were just like any other feys. He conjured a gun, and got the upper hand on Ivy and then shot her as she was running away. What a coward. Who shoots a person in the back?

So you know. Blood, bleeding, she can't help it right. She keeps running and no one picks up the phone when she calls them. Little did I know she could have just bled out there on the street. But she kept going. All I know is that if I got shot, my ass would be on the ground groaning in pain. But, she kept going. When she finally made it to the base or what ever you want to call it, and she cant make it up the stairs. So she just lays there.... bleeding out..... on the steps.
But, no worries as soon as she is about to die. People decide to come out and help her....

So lets talk about Ren. He is a masculine, hunk of hotness. And a totally persistant mother fucker. Immediately you find out that Ren is cocky and isn't afraid to show it. He has emerald green eyes and dark hair. Lovely, compared to Ivy's bright red hair. Perfect match.

You can tell that Ren gets under Ivy's skin from the beginning, from calling her Merida 'yes from Brave', to sneaking into her house and sitting beside her while she's sleeping. Creepy I know. But, due to his persistent's she ends up falling for her. I cant tell you enough how much I love Armentrout's relationships in her books. They are so cute.

Don't get me started on Tink. As soon as this character was introduced I fell in love with him. Not the whole 'I love you so much, love me' kind. But, the whole 'your such a great character, let me love you' kind. He has an attitude, and he doesn't give a flying fuck about what other people think of him, even if hes a foot tall and wearing dress up clothes for barbies.

Then there is the whole fey aspect. There could have been more details about the fey world, and possibly all the types of fey. We are only introduced to the fey that are in the earth plane, and the brownies. Is there other types? But, the whole Halfling thing, you could tell that Ivy was one of them as soon as it was mentioned in the book by Ren. But, Armentrout did a good job trying to sidetrack us from it by saying that the fey who shot her would have known, because of her blood. Tricky tricky.

Nothing-less, I loved this book. The romance was perfect, and the fey aspect was interesting. Although, Armentrout could have gone a bit more in depth with the whole fey aspect, she did a fantastic job. I do hope that Armentrout adds in more information about the fey in her next book. I seriously would recommend this to a friend. Its Awesome! Happy Reading!

P.S: Sorry I posted this so early in the morning! I finished the book last night and wanted to review it while it was fresh in my mind. Also, I wanted to review it before I went to work and started a new book!

~Alysia

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
January 10, 2015
5 out of 5 Stars

GUYS THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! In the first too books I was surprised on how well Maas was building her world, and she made it clear that this would be a six book series. I was a little suspicious on how she would do that after reading the first book. Most authors tend to drag out their books so that the books will fit into a trilogy when they are meant to be a stand alone, or so on and so forth. But, Maas really know how to bring her books to life! She Is a fantastic writer, she definitely knows how to keep a reader entertained and interested, THE WHOLE BOOK!! Now I'm going to talk about the book so if you haven't read it leave now!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy. 

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

So, in the previous book Crown of Midnight the king of Adarlan sends Celaena off to kill her aunt. But little did the king know,  really Celaena is going to find her true self there.

In this book there is major character growth. We see the transition of Celaena Sardothien the assassin, to Alein Ashryver Galathynius future queen of Terraasen. In this book she wasn't her usual strong and relentless self. She was broken and trying to find her way. This book shows that Celaena isn't unbreakable. She is still the same snarky, and cocky person in this book. But, the difference is, as she soon finds out is that she is not the best.

Rowan. We meet Rowan at the very beginning of the book when he comes to take Celaena to her aunt. I immediately didn't like him off the bat. When the arrive to meet her aunt, Celaena finds out that he is a very distant cousin from her, and that he will help her train. When her aunt said train I was confused, and I immediately thought back to the first book. So, yes train. Rowan has to train Celaena up to par, so she can get the answers she needs.

To be honest Rowan is my second favorite character in this series, beside Celaena. These two fight consistently. He calls her a coward to her face, calls her useless, pitiful, a brat. But, even though these two fight consistently, you can just tell there is a connection there. I really hated his character during the first half of the book, every time he got pissed at Celaena for not doing something right and called her a coward, my heart actually hurt for her. But, during the second part of the book, he was sweet, calm, and patient with her. And you could tell the difference it was making in her training too. She went from being a closed out rock to a woman who could use her flames correctly and efficiently.

I can totally feel a relationship brewing between these too. I like him more than I like Dorian or Chaol. He's strong, and knowledgeable and broken just like Celaena. They help each other, mend each other's inner demons. They don't let each other fall down, and that's just what both of them need. I'm really excited for the next book to see more of Rowan and Celaena.

So this fight Scene at the end. With the dark princes. Holy Crap! It was full out madness. During her fighting the princes she is witnessing memories of her past, things she hasn't really faced till now. And those memories are what is pushing her forward. But, Celaena is about to burn out and when she does she collapses, and she witnesses the worst memory of them all. Her parents death. She can see everything. After that memory she can see hear the ghosts of everyone shes lost, and she get up. During this fight Rowan is trying to help her, but his friends are holding him back because they think she's dead. But shes not. When they see an ark of light they know that shes alive. And Rowan and Celaena make a connection 'a rare connection' and share each others magic to kill the .

This book was seriously intense. Even though it took me a while to get into, I'm glad I finished it! Just read it. I consistently recommend this to my friends, and they all love it. So you should read this book too!

Favorite Adult Books of 2014

All of these books were fantastic! Since this Is my first year I've gotten into reading, I've only had the pleasure of reading a few good adult books. I know that I only have a few posts at this time on my blog, and that's because I just started this blog. I will keep you all updated In the future of the books I read, as soon as I read them! Happy Reading!

Favorite Young Adult Books of 2014

HEY EVERYONE!! The time has come for the my favorites of 2014. Since this Is a new blog there arn't very many posts. But, I have been reading 'quite frequently might I add' all year. So, this is my first year to actually get into reading. I know a lot of these books didn't come out In 2014 but these are the books that I read for the first time this year! Leave comments below If you have any suggestions for me. Now I'm going to give you a little incite to these books I have below. Do to my list being kinda long I'll only put in the reviews for the first 4. If you want the reviews for the rest of them, just comment below!

1. Throne of Glass By Sarah J. Maas: **5 Stars** This book takes place In a sort of mid-evil world. "SORT OF". There are Is a king, and a prince. There are royal guards, and assassins. Celaena Is really a kick ass character. She Is strong and doesn't take shit from other characters. She also has a sassy attitude, which I did enjoy reading. Sorry, I can't really say much about this book. It will give to much away. But It tells you something when its my number one favorite book of 2014.

2. The Final Empire By Brandon Sanderson: **5 Stars** Okay, this book was also fantastic. I loved the way Sanderson built the world. It was a gradual build that lead up to some awsome shit. Also, the type of magic In this book was intriguing. I feel like no one has ever used the metals as a form as magic in their books, Its insane. I was genuinely surprised when I finished this book. I went into it not knowing what I was getting myself into.

3. Opposition By: Jennifer L. Armentrout: **5 Stars** Any book that Is written by Armentrout Is a auto-buy for me. She Is on of my all time favorite authors. The reason I put the final book of the Lux series on my favorites list "Even though I read all 5 this year" is because It was one of the best book finales I've read all year. Even though I cant really talk about this book In any specifics, I can still tell you about it as a whole. This series is about aliens who come down to earth. Yes, that's all I'm going to tell you. Go read the book!

4. Clockwork Princess By Cassandra Clare: **5 Stars** DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU THE MORAL INSTRUMENTS IS BETTER THEN THIS SERIES! I'm telling you, If you've read The Moral Instruments series and you loved it, you'll think the clockwork series is AMAZING. This is also the last book in the series, so i have to be vague. It's a spin off of The Moral Instruments and takes place in a Victorian England In the 1800's. They are the relatives of the characters In the Moral Instruments. Just read the series! You won't regret it!