The Star-Touched Queen

TITLE: The Star-Touched Queen
AUTHOR: Roshani Chokshi
RELEASE DATE: April 2016
PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Griffin
PAGES: 342 pages
SERIES: The Star-Touched Queen book 1
GENRE: Fantasy
OVERALL RATING: 1/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 7-12

SUMMARY: Treated with scorn and fear in her father's kingdom because of a formidable horoscope, 16-year-old Maya commits herself to her education only to land in an arranged marriage that culminates in her sudden elevation to the throne, a situation that is threatened by dark secrets and Otherworldly magic.

FAVORITE QUOTE:  "Why do they always start with history? Show me a dream unrealized. Don't show me unchangeable paths." (Chokshi, )

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I could not follow the story of this book. It seemed to jump around a lot. In Part One, she is the daughter of a Raja, with a horoscope of death. In Part Two, she is in an alternate dimension with strange creatures. I felt the story jumped too much. Every time I picked up the book, I had to reread the last couple of pages just to remind myself what was happening in the storyline. 

SERIES UPDATE: Book Two: A Crown of Wishes releases March 28, 2017

READALIKES: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

BOOK TRAILER: No official book trailer was available at the time this review was published.

The Girl at Midnight

TITLE: The Girl at Midnight
AUTHOR: Melissa Grey
RELEASE DATE: June 2016
PUBLISHER: Delacourt Press
GENRE: Fantasy
SERIES: The Girl At Midnight #1
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 8-12 

SUMMARY: When the Ala, a magical, feathered being, caught Echo trying to pick her pocket as a child, she didn't see a homeless orphan, she saw hope. But now Echo is stuck in the middle of a war between the Avicen that she considers family and the dragon-like Drakharin. Only by teaming up with the Dragon Prince to find the Firebird can Echo finally end this centuries-old war.  

   

FAVORITE QUOTE: "The young always think they're invincible, right until the moment they learn otherwise. Usually the hard way." (Grey, )

WHAT I LIKED: I love the idea of a secret world full of magical creatures taking place right in the world of New York City (or should I say under it). The story starts out with the Ala visiting the New York City Public Library after hours with sunglasses and a scarf to cover her head of feathers. It makes you wonder how often magical people are hiding among us.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: There is so much backstory to this book that I feel like it barely skims the surface. I really think this book series needs a prequel. I would LOVE to hear Rose's story. 

READALIKES: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

SERIES UPDATE: Book 2: The Shadow Hour, Book 3: The Savage Dawn will release July 11, 2017

BOOK TRAILER: official book trailer not available at the time this blog was published

The Sword of Summer

TITLE: The Sword of Summer
AUTHOR: Rick Riordan
RELEASE DATE: October 2015
PUBLISHER: Disney Hyperion
PAGES: 497 pages
SERIES: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
GENRE: Fantasy
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 5-8+

SUMMARY: Magnus Chase has had a rough life. His mom died when he was eleven and his apartment was attacked by wolves with glowing eyes. Now he is a homeless teenager, living in Boston under a bridge in the Public Gardens, with only two homeless guys: Blitz and Hearth to watch over him. When his uncle tracks him down to tell him that his life is in danger and he is the only one to find a magical sword in the bottom of the bay, his life starts to get a little weird.

FAVORITE QUOTE: "My name is Magnus Chase. I'm sixteen years old. This is the story of how my life went downhill after I got myself killed."

WHAT I LIKED: As with any Rick Riordan book, I loved the voice of the narrator. Magnus tells his story while cracking jokes at the most suspenseful parts. There were many parts of the story where I found myself laughing out loud: the entire chapter about the crazy squirrel... Hilarious!
Another thing that I really loved about this book is the fact that it made me want to find more information on Norse mythology. Everyone knows about Thor, Loki, and Odin from The Avengers movie series. But did you know that there are dwarves, trolls, giants, elves, and other strange creatures in Norse mythology? 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Other than the first one or two books in the Percy Jackson series, I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of Rick Riordan's books. Its nothing against his or his books, anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love mythology, but for some reason I just never got around to reading his books. With the knowledge I have of his series, it seems like they are all the same. Some kid finds out he is a descendant of some god: Greek, Egyptian, Norse, and all of a sudden he is thrown into a quest to save the world from an ancient evil. Rick Riordan definitely has a huge following, and that's the kind of storyline they enjoy, so he definitely can keep going as there are a whole lot of different types of mythology that he can cover. 

READALIKES: any other series by Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Red Pyramid

SERIES UPDATE: Book Two: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor is due out October 4, 2016.
BOOK TRAILER: