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Three Dark Crowns #.2: The Young Queens

January 13, 2018 / 05 STARS, 2018 JANUARY, KB YA THREE DARK CROWNS

The Young Queens Book Cover The Young Queens
Three Dark Crowns
Kendare Blake
Young Adult Fiction
HarperCollins
December 26, 2017
EBook
112

In this must-read prequel to Kendare Blake’s New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, the queens’ origin story is revealed. It’s a pre-crown lowdown of Fennbirn’s ruling class. Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine weren't always scheming to murder each other. They weren't always surrounded by rival foster families, each swearing to have their best interests at heart. And they weren't always afraid of being unexpectedly attacked—by one of their own sisters, no less—in a way that could cost them their last breath. They used to be together. Just three sisters. Alone in a glen. This is the story of the three queens—after they were born, before they were separated, during the time when they all lived together, loved each other, and protected each other. It’s also the story of the day they were torn apart, and the several years that follow. From birth to eleven years old, this is a rare glimpse of the queens' lives…before they were at stake.

WrensReads Review:

“Three black witches, the mainland would say. Born to a descending queen. One would rise to become queen in her place. Perhaps the strongest of the three. Perhaps the cleverest. Or perhaps it would be the girl born under the best shield of luck.”

Okay… *deep breath*

Public Service Announcement: There were a lot of confirmations in this novella. This is something you need to read before you read book three and after you read book two. Novellas these days are actually starting to be necessary to a series. They aren’t just fillers or side stories you don’t need to worry about; they are actually short stories that are dire to the story as a whole. This is one of those instances. Do not read this book before you read book one or after you read book three.

The first story in this, you meet the Triplet Queen’s mother Camille and their father Philippe. It was so heartbreaking to see how these parents weren’t even allowed to hold their own children. And the fact that the triplets were torn away from them and taken to another room before the parents leave to go to the main land.

“Philippe was a strong consort, but he was too softhearted for this. If he saw the triplet queens, he might want to hold them. And if he held them, he might start to feel that they were his instead of Fennbirn’s.”

I just don’t understand why the parents can’t raise their own children. And the Queen reigns for like five years basically until she gives birth to the kids and then leaves and then there is no one ruling for a long time besides the counsels… It’s all kind of heartbreaking and confusing, but mostly heartbreaking. One of the last thoughts we get is the mother wishing that she could save her daughters from the pain and the hurt she went through with her own sisters.

“But when Camille looked at the babies, for just a moment she wished she had jaws like her beloved snakes, so she could unhinge them and swallow the girls back down under her heart forever.”

We see the girls grow up with one another until they are taken to the separate corners of the island. The girls did not want to leave one another, and they didn’t go quietly.

The whole concept of this book is really heartbreaking, and reading about it happening instead of being told it happened is completely different. You see what is expected of the girls, you see why they are at the places they are in the beginning of the book, and you also learn more about Jules and Joseph’s back story with Arsinoe as well. Honestly, Arsinoe got the best deal out of all three of the girls.

The one who got the worse is Katharine. I mean, can you imagine your poisoner gift not appearing and the people in charge of you forcing you to continually put poison in your body that you aren’t ready for? The things that can do to your skin, hair, your insides, your internal clock, your brain…. I just feel for Katharine the most and where she left off at the end of book two makes me so worried for her…

I can’t wait for the next novella, but I really can’t wait until the third book. Can I get at least a title reveal please?!

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The Diviners #02: Lair of Dreams

January 7, 2018 / 05 STARS, YA LB THE DIVINERS

Lair of Dreams Book Cover Lair of Dreams
The Diviners
Libba Bray
Juvenile Fiction
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
August 25, 2015
Audiobook
624

After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O'Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. Now that the world knows of her ability to "read" objects, and therefore, read the past, she has become a media darling, earning the title, "America's Sweetheart Seer." But not everyone is so accepting of the Diviners' abilities... Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been turning up in the city, victims of an unknown sleeping sickness. Can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld and catch a killer?

WrensReads Review:

I recommend people to read this book after you’ve read a few other things between Diviners. It has a different feel than its predecessor, but it is still just as wonderful and deliciously creepy as The Diviners was. I’m not going to give much away, but you are dealing with another type of spirit in a way in this book. I’m going to go by character again since there is so many!

PS: Listen to this! January LaVoy is literally my favorite narrator in the world’s entirety. Please, oh please, get on the LaVoy bus with me!

Evie O’Neill

Evie, our flapper girl who now has her own radio show about telling people the messages left in the objects they bring her. She always has to put a positive twist on it with a dash of scandal to keep the listeners listening and her ratings high. She is positutely delicious. When her boss catches wind of a rumor she is engaged to Sam Llyod though, she makes a deal with said “fiance” to keep the media, and more importantly her ratings and her boss, happy. And lets not forget about her unclear feelings for Jericho Jones. She kissed him even though her absolute best friend Mabel has had a crush on him since she met him.

Who knew that a girl could be in more than one type of triangular love? And what happens when an object she reads for a guest doesn’t tell her anything about their secrets, but her own?

Henry DuBois

I basically want to label this whole book “The Book That Henry DuBois’s Character Gets the Attention The He Deserves”. He drives a lot of this book. He’s been trying to find his boyfriend from his hometown through dream-walking. That’s right kids, this guy can walk through the dream world. Sure, it might make him paralyzed for a few minutes after he wakes up, but it will all be worth it in the end. Because who better to find the cure to the sleeping-curse going around town than someone who can walk through dreams?

How about two people who can walk through dreams?

Ling Chan

This is our representation of disability and race. I loved her so much. Her special gift? She can find the dead in dreams. So people ask her to find their dead loved ones a lot and ask them questions. So when she meets Henry and he asks her to find him in dream-world and then to help him find his friend, she reluctantly helps, even though Chinatown is slowly shutting down because of the sleeping curse. People just can’t wake up and end up with all these scars and then one day.. they just die. Maybe their new friend, someone coming to America to be married off for her family’s benefit, will be able to help them? Three is the magic number after all.

Sam Lloyd / Sergei Lubovitch

Sam knows that The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, or as locals call it, The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies is keeping some secrets, including something about his mother. The Museum is on its way out, being behind on payments and what-not, but Sam is eagerly trying to keep it afloat because he wants, no he needs to figure out what happened to his mother and what is Project Buffalo? And who does Evie think she is? Besides loud, beautiful, spunky, the cat’s meow, the reason that his heart stops beating…

Theta Knight

You know the saying “There is no secret that time will not reveal” ? Because Theta is learning that real quickly. Her past, that she has been running from, is about to run her right over. Not only that, but she is in love with someone of a different race which is not accepted (on either side) in this time, her best friend / roommate is staying under in his dream walks longer and longer and it is hurting both of their careers, and his health, and her friend is randomly engaged to someone she thought she hated? Theta is unraveling quick, but can she outrun her own past to save her future?

Jericho Jones

Jericho is having a hard time with Evie not being around and basically avoiding him. Not to mention that Will is gone, the museum is going under, and his only friend seems to be the guy he loathes: Sam Lloyd. Sure, Mabel is around and he kind of gets the feeling that she has feelings for him, but she isn’t Evie. And the one thing that is keeping him alive is hanging on a string. What’s more important, his freedom or his life?

Will Fitzgerald
Will finally is coming to terms that what he thought wasn’t going down is going down and now he has to go do something and he is super absent in this book.

Mabel Rose

Mable knows she isn’t someone special. She knows her best friend Evie is the life of the party, she’s the pretty one and Mabel kind of just goes along with whatever she does. Well, she’s finally going to go and try to become apart of Jericho’s life so he can see she is more than what meets the eye. But little does she know that because of her relations with Jericho, Evie (who is engaged to same now?) and Theta, her life is about to be flipped upside down.

Memphis Campbell

Memphis has a lot going on. He has an over-religious aunt who doesn’t want Memphis and his brother Isaiah using their gifts, his brother keeps having fits, he is dating a white girl, and he has lots his power to heal. Or has he? His brother was miraculously healed.. does he have his power back? What keeps happening to him anyway? And why has Blind Bill all of a sudden become like a wannabe father to him and Isaiah?

This story is miraculous and I am so excited about the third book! I am literally obsessed with Bray and all the stories she has ever written; but this one takes the cake!

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Nerve

January 2, 2018 / 05 STARS, JRYAN YA NOVELS

NERVE Book Cover NERVE
Jeanne Ryan
Juvenile Fiction
Penguin
2012
Hardcover
294

As a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, high-schooler Vee is unhappy to be watched constantly but finds it exhilarating to be paired with handsome Ian taking ever riskier dares--until the stakes become too high.

WrensReads Review:

Holy Crickets, guys.

This book is seriously amazing. I don’t even know what to say about it.

You start off with your book-typical normal girl who is plain and blah blah blah blah… she has a best friend that is drop-dead gorgeous… she is in love with a really hot, popular guy… nerdy boy likes said normal, plain girl.

Sounds typical, right?

THE ANSWER IS NO WREN, THAT ISN’T RIGHT BECAUSE THAT ISN’T THIS BOOK.

Jeepers.

After a lot of anger is built up in Vee (the plain girl) she goes against gorgeous best friend and nerdy guy’s wishes and she joins Nerve.

What in the world is Nerve? It’s a game. I would describe it as truth or dare minus the truth and plus a lot of cool prices if you succeed with the dare.

These dares are things like (these are not in the book, by the way) wearing a fur coat at a animal rescue charity event while singing Cruella Deville or singing loudly in a library while throwing books and running around like a maniac. They don’t start there. You have to apply first by doing dares that you can pick from. As Vee figures out, sometimes you can take the easiest dare and it can literally give you the fame you don’t/do want.

BUT what happens when they start including your personal life? How do they know the things they know about you? Who is telling them and who can you trust? What about that partner they give you for the live round? Are they a plant or are they in it for the cool prizes too?

And how do they know what exactly will get you to finish a dare?

Who even IS NERVE?

This book is written at the aim of young adults/teens and it comes off that way; but unlike a lot of young adult books, it doesn’t make you feel like a young adult wrote it. It is so entertaining, I can’t even explain that to you. Vee is very relatable and you are questioning everything even more than she is. Seriously, you will find yourself laughing at some parts and not able to do anything else until you finish it.

And that ending… ohhhh I wish there was a next one; but at the same time it is such a good ending to hate that… omgsh PLEASE read this book and tell me what you think because I need someone else to read this book and go to the movie with me and then have discussions on discussion about it because seriously I loved it and PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.

You go Ryan! Write more things, please?

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Meet Wren!

Meet Wren!

Hi my name is Wren and welcome to my page. I like to read books, listen to books, take care of my plants and pet cats and dogs.

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