First Year by Rachel E. Carter

I'm guessing this hunk on the cover is
Darren... yum!

Title: First Year

Author: Rachel E. Carter

Page count: Ebook, 278 pages

Publishing Date: August 2014

Publisher: Astraea Press

My rating: 4/5 stars!

  Blurb:

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?                                                                        

If any of you guys know me really well, you know that I absolutely LOVE Damon Salvatore. I love him in the book series (well, before L.J. Smith was wrongfully taken from the series because after that I stopped reading them) as well as CW's television show The Vampire Diaries. I've always loved Damon and the lovely Ian Somerhalder. *drools* Anyways, when I saw that people were comparing Prince Darren in the book First Year to Damon Salvatore, I was really interested. I've been wanting to read First Year for quite a while now, but it wasn't until the author, Rachel Carter, contacted me to see if I wanted to read it that I really got excited. I immediately excepted and now here I am! 

Before I start the review, I have to say something. I binge-read this book in less than four hours. When I downloaded the ebook to my Kindle, I told myself that I would read ONE chapter and then read some more tomorrow morning before I had to go to college. I cracked open the book (or ebook) and began reading. Immediately the book started out strong. Within one chapter, I was already hooked. I couldn't stop reading. I told myself that I needed to go to sleep, that it was already ten p.m. and I had classes at 9, but my eyes were glued to my Kindle. Hours later, at 1:30 a.m., I finished First Year. And although I was bleary-eyed and evil to everyone I saw due to lack of sleep the following morning, I don't regret it. First Year was really good. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to read it!

The plot of the story- young adult training in the Academy to hone their magical abilities and secure their futures- reminds me a lot of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series. Luckily, while it does have some qualities that Hogwarts had, the Academy is MUCH different. Hogwarts seems like rainbows and unicorns compared to the Academy. With that said, I love Hogwarts. But, still, the Academy is so much rougher than Hogwarts. Hogwarts seems like a mythical haven to some, or even a magical getaway for others. But the Academy? I wouldn't want to step a foot inside that place. The Academy is not a vacation. The Academy only accepts the strongest of will, strength, and power. If you're weak, you won't last. This place isn't fun and games. It's challenging. It's rough. It reminds me of prison or boot camp... or both meshed together. Be that it may, I really liked the Academy. While it's not somewhere I would go, I did enjoy reading about it. It leads to a great story line. In fact, I'm glad that it was tough. If it hadn't, I probably wouldn't have liked this as much as I did. 

This brings me to the characters. Because the Academy is so demanding, there has to be tough characters. There's no room for boring, weak, or annoying characters. These people need to be intense, strong, and determined. I'm glad that the author agreed with me on this. The main characters were worthy to be at the Academy. Not all of them were the best in the class, but they never stopped trying. Never. Especially Ryiah. 

The characters:

Ryiah, or Ry, is one of the strongest young women I've seen in a YA novel in a long time. She wasn't nearly the best at any of the classes she had to take at the Academy, but she always tried! She worked really hard to make it to where she was at the end of the book, and I admire her for that. While she might not be the best when it comes to magic, she showed the most determination out of all of them. Personally, I'm glad that she wasn't able to hone into her magic abilities easily. I like it when the main character has flaws and actually has to work hard for the things that they want. I hate perfect characters. I'm glad that Ry wasn't perfect. 

Another thing I liked about her: she was insecure at times. She wasn't sure about herself. She didn't know if she could handle the Academy. She teetered between leaving and staying. But, in the end, she hunkered down and held out. Despite all of the drama, intense training sessions, lack of sleep, and a confusing relationship with a certain prince, she holds on. That just shows how strong she was. Most people would have already ditched the place when they went through the first day of training, not to mention all of the other crap that Ry has to handle. 

Alex is the twin brother of Ry. I really enjoyed Alex. While he's dedicated to his training and education, he can also be really funny at times. He enjoys being a ladies man, but at the same time I think that he wants to really be with someone. He's also very protective of Ry, which I think is so sweet. I don't know why, but I always go "Awwww" when the brother protects his sister. It's just so cute. I will say that I would have liked to have seen more of Alex in the book. 

Ella is the best friend of Ry. Ella meets Ry at the Academy and they immediately hit it off. I liked the friendship that they two of them shared. Ella is really kind and sweet. She's a great friend to Ry and always helps her out to the best of her ability. Even though she is really nice, she can also be cruel, especially to people who try to hurt her loved ones. So I would say she's kind of territorial. I really enjoyed Ella and hope that I get to see more from her in the next book. 

Now, for one of the most dynamic characters in the book: Prince Darren. I don't know what to say about the Prince. He's rude, mean, sarcastic, and quite snobby. He seems heartless throughout a large portion of the book, and I thought that I was going to hate him. Yet, at the same time, I liked him. (I know, that makes no sense!) Honestly, this was how I felt about Damon Salvatore. You want to hate him but you just can't. I have this same feeling for Prince Darren. He makes Ry's life at the Academy really hard at times and the reader wants to punch him, but then the next scene he'll help Ry out... and then, as the reader, you'll want to hug him. It doesn't help that he's a hunk, either! But even if he is really mean at times and you think that there's no way that the author can make you like him, it happens. 

Like I said before, Prince Darren is a very dynamic character. He's got more than meets the eye. Underneath all of the false pretenses, he's actually a great guy. And he cares. He might not show it, but it's there. You can catch glimpses of his real emotions at times, and you know that he's not the bad guy that Ry thinks he is. He has his own reasons for his actions. You might think that there would be no excuse for some of the things that he does in the books, but then he spills the beans about his true intentions and you're left feeling guilty for not trusting his judgement in the first place! Darren will have you hating him one moment and loving him the next. It's a roller coaster ride!

The romance:

While there were many hints to a romance between numerous characters, it's not really the focus of the story. The focus is still training for a possible future through the Academy and passing the tests at the end of the first year to move on. Still, there are glimpses of possible romantic futures for some of our characters, and I hope that this happens! The relationship between Darren and Ry is really rocky and I feel like it will continue to be rocky, especially because of Priscilla, the evil "girlfriend" of Darren. I'm not sure how Darren and Ry will proceed in the next book. Their relationship, or friendship, rather, is very fragile at this moment, so I hope that they'll talk things through. But who knows? As for Alex, I hope he finds love with a certain someone... not saying any names, though. 

The magic:

This was one of my favorite parts of the book! I liked the training sessions that the characters had to go through. It was really interesting and I liked learning about it. I will say that most of them are really hard and exhausting, but I thought it was enjoyable. (Probably because I'm not actually doing the work!) Anyway, I like the magical elements in the book and how it ties to the Academy.

Other thoughts:

I didn't really see any grammatical errors- only a few- but I want to let you guys know that the ebook version for First Year has yet to be edited completely. If I'm not mistaken, the paperback version has been edited. So keep that in mind if you're going to read the ebook/epub version. The dialogue flowed freely and smoothly; I didn't find many awkward lines and conversations. Also, I really enjoyed the writing style of Rachel Carter. She was very descriptive and was able to convey what she meant in a few sentences instead of having to drag it on and on forever. 

I really enjoyed this book. I'm interested to see what will happen in the next book for Ry, Alex, Darren, Ella, and all of the other characters. I have a feeling that things are going to be any easier than they were in this book! I definitely look forward to reading the rest of the series. If you're a fan of Harry Potter, magic, swoon-worthy men that remind you of Damon Salvatore, an interesting writing style, and gradual romance, this might be the book for you! Go check it out!

Until next time, 

                     

The Rose Master by Valentina Cano

Title: The Rose Master

Author: Valentina Cano

Page count: ebook, 200 pages

Publishing date: June 2014

Publisher: REUTS Publications, LLC

My rating: 2/5 stars!

Blurb:

The day Anne Tinning turns seventeen, birds fall from the sky. But that's hardly the most upsetting news. She's being dismissed from the home she's served at since she was a child, and shipped off to become the newly hired parlor maid for a place she's never heard of. And when she sees the run-down, isolated house, she instantly knows why:
There's something wrong with Rosewood Manor.
Staffed with only three other servants, all gripped by icy silence and inexplicable bruises, and inhabited by a young master who is as cold as the place itself, the house is shrouded in neglect and thick with fear. Her questions are met with hushed whispers, and she soon finds herself alone in the empty halls, left to tidy and clean rooms no one visits.
As the feeling of being watched grows, she begins to realize there is something else in the house with them--some creature that stalks the frozen halls and claws at her door. A creature that seems intent on harming her.
When a fire leaves Anne trapped in the manor with its Master, she finally demands to know why. But as she forces the truth about what haunts the grounds from Lord Grey, she learns secrets she isn't prepared for. The creature is very real, and she's the only one who can help him stop it. 
Now, Anne must either risk her life for the young man she's grown to admire, or abandon her post while she still can. 

Anne's in a bind. She's has no options but to move to Rosewood Manor. She's leaving behind her friends and the people that brought her up. Everything she's known is about to change. Does she have any idea who the Master is at Rosewood Manor? Not at all. She has no clue what to expect, but what she finds at Rosewood Manor shocks her to the very core.

Rosewood Manor is absolutely breathtaking. With all of the red flowers surrounding the estate, it's hard to think that Anne could be making a mistake by leaving behind her old life to start a new one here, right?

Wrong. 

It doesn't take long for Anne to realize that something is off with the entire manor. The caretakers are odd, skirting around the manor as if something is breathing down their necks constantly. And the Master? He's mysterious, barely leaving his room except to eat on occasion. He hasn't left Rosewood Manor in years, spending his time locked behind closed doors doing God knows what. And when Anne does meet Lord Grey, it's obvious that there's something wrong happening in this house, maybe even deadly. 

The creature is watching them. The creature wants them dead. 

The premise of this story is downright awesome. I like the creepy vibe to it. This is a dark story filled with violence, blood, and magic. As I'm not a fan of horror books, I didn't think that I would like this. But upon reading a couple of chapters, I realized that this isn't horror at all. It's more suspense with a lot of magic. That's really all. If you're looking for a horror story, this isn't for you (unless you get scared really easily). 

I liked Rosewood Manor. It's creepy and odd, but at the same time it's really beautiful. In a dark sort of way, of course. I liked how it could be beautiful one moment and horrifying the next. As the characters spend most of their time at Rosewood Manor, it's really important that you like it. Otherwise you're going to be very bored with the lack of setting changes. 

The characters:

Anne: She's the main character of this story- the maidservant; poor, loyal, and proper. In other words, she's rather bland. While I like her loyalty to other characters and her job, everything else about her is really really boring. She has no depth to her, no personality. I couldn't find myself to care what happened to her. If she was scared, she didn't really show it. If she was mad, she didn't show it. If she was upset, SHE DIDN'T REALLY SHOW IT. Maybe she was trying to be all prim and proper as women should be back in those days, but I just couldn't see it. 

Workers at Rosewood Manor: Honestly, these people didn't really matter much. As the reader only gets to know a couple characters in the story, I felt like this was a bad thing. Only having two important characters overall is not a good thing. The workers- I can't even remember their names because they were so unimportant- were not beneficial to the story at all. The story line could have went along just fine if they were deleted out altogether. 

Lord Grey: He's the other main character for this story. Odd, quirky, and a little bit on the eccentric side, he's quite the character. His personality is hard to describe; he's sort of a bunch of different qualities meshed together into one being. While this might seen pretty cool, it wasn't. He sort of seemed like he had multiple personality disorder, which would have been great if that's what the author was going for but I don't think that's the case. I want to say that I liked him just a little bit, but I'm not sure. I really don't know how I feel about him. 

The creature: For the creature to be a huge part of the story, it should have been in the story a lot more. Sure, the reader gets some glimpses of it. Sure, it might cause some chaos every once in a while. But is it really that important? It SHOULD have been- the plot calls for it-but it wasn't that important really. The plot is supposed to be centered around this terrible creature and yet the reader doesn't get to see it that much. It was kind of disappointing. I wanted a creature, a monster, to run rampant through the manor, cutting up servants left and right, basking in blood... you know, doing monster-y things. But because it didn't have many scenes, it wasn't even that scary... which brings me back to saying that this is more of a suspense than horror. 

The romance:

It was odd. It was not swoon-worthy. It seemed to happen all of a sudden. One moment Anne thinks Lord Grey is the weirdest and rudest man on the face of the planet and the next moment she's saying she's in love with him! I can't relate to this kind of romance. If you've read my reviews on Goodreads or any of my reviews on this blog, you know this. I just can't deal with a love that isn't true. Because, let's face it, this was more of an infatuation than love. Which brings me to this scene that annoyed me in the book SO MUCH... there is something that Lord Grey has kept hidden from Anne regarding a certain female friend. Anne finds out about this certain thing (and it's not a thing for Lord Grey to be proud of) and yet she shrugs it off, saying that Lord Grey isn't like that... blah blah blah. It just goes to show that's more of infatuation due to the fact that Anne barely knows Lord Grey AND he lied to her about something really important. But, whatever. Anne, if you wanna be stupid, be my guest. 

Overall thoughts:

I just didn't care too much for this title. I liked Rosewood Manor, I liked the creature (when it was actually in the book), and I liked the magic part to it, even if it wasn't that much. I didn't like the characters, the romance, or the fact that the creature wasn't even really in the book despite it being the center for the plot. But, hey, the author did try. So that's a start.  

Coral & Bone by Tiffany Daune

This cover is absolutely gorgeous! I love
the sparkles on her face!

Title: Coral & Bone

Author: Tiffany Daune

Page count: ebook: 278 pages    

Publishing date: July 2014

Publisher: Jester Ink Press

My Review: 3/5 stars! 

Blurb: 

Halen knows the sparks igniting under her fingertips are dangerous. She has spent her entire life trying to quell the tingly feelings that make her destroy things, but now that she is back in Rockaway Beach, where she watched her father drown, the flames have become impossible to tame.

Halen is trying to hold on, but when she is thrust into a mysterious new world, the underwater realm of Elosia, she unravels the secrets of her past and can't help but ignite. As she explores Elosia, she realizes her life has been a lie. And when those who have deceived her come to her for help, Halen must choose—walk away or unleash the magick that could destroy them all.

Before I say anything, I have to talk about my love for sirens and underwater creatures in general. I love the idea of them- the mystical aura they create. Sirens, mermaids, and other underwater creatures haven't gotten much of the hype like vampires and werewolves have, so that's pretty awesome. I'm sick and tired of the paranormal hype that some "creatures" are getting. Obviously I was excited to read something rather new in the paranormal genre. An underwater world...c'mon, you know it's awesome.

But was this book awesome? Well, it wasn't terrible. Still, it wasn't great. While the plot was really interesting and unique, it wasn't exactly well executed. There were too many slow parts, too many chapters that didn't have much depth. It took away from the overall plot. The romance was also something that I didn't particularly enjoy, but I'll get to that later in the review.

For now, I need to talk about the characters. Halen, the main character of this series, has extraordinary powers. Or, she should. I can't get over the fact that all characters in this book talked constantly about how powerful she was. The thing is that Halen didn't show off much of her powers and when she did it wasn't anything that "powerful". I wasn't impressed. Despite her lack of amazing powers, I didn't hate Halen. However, I didn't like her either. She was really annoying and whiny. Every chapter she whined and complained about something silly. She couldn't get over the fact that she's a pawn in a war that she has to stop and would constantly whine and whine and whine about it. As the reader, I feel like I couldn't connect with her character because she was so annoying all the time. It took away from her personality. I didn't care for any of the other characters, either, which is sad because I know that they were major players in this book and will continue to be throughout this series. They felt bland. Boring. I couldn't get myself to really care about what happened to them.

The only character I thoroughly enjoyed was Asair. He's dynamic, intriguing, smart, alluring, and menacing. There are so many different layers to his personality. I LOVE that about characters. I love seeing that there's more to a character than what meets the eye. Asair is probably my favorite character in this book and, if I read the next book, he will probably be as well. Despite being evil, I'm rooting for him to have a happy ending.

Now, the romance. I wasn't a fan at all. The budding romance between Halen and Dax was practically instant and not realistic. There was no chemistry between them AT ALL. I could tell that the author desperately wanted the reader to see a beautiful romance between two completely different characters, but I couldn't. All I could see was that Halen kissed Dax only a few days (one? two?) after meeting. There is no possible way that you can fall in love with someone that quickly. They don't even know each other! It just wasn't a realistic romance and so I couldn't root for them to be together.

I know it must seem like I hated this book, but that's really not the case. I promise! When the chapters weren't slow or boring, the story was really good! Like I said before, the plot is really intricate. I mean, it's not The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer intricate but it's more than just "find Asair, kill him, and save the world". There's a psychological aspect to the plot, and there is also some mystery. Thankfully the romance takes a back seat to this. Otherwise, my rating would be a lot lower.

To be honest, I did enjoy the world building. When the reader is first introduced to the other realms, it got a little confusing. However, the author does a good job of explaining everything in a slow and steady way. It's not all forced on the reader at once, but it's not too little of information that it wasn't enough. I felt that it was a good balance.

I also enjoyed the guardian bit in this book. It's sort of a balance of light and dark, both the protector and the siren holding on to each other so that they don't teeter off the edge. It's very interesting and I think it gave this title a rawer edge, bringing in the psychological factor I mentioned earlier.

Anyways, I thought this book was okay. Like I said, it's not perfect. I saw a lot of grammatical errors. Some involved punctuation problems; others with dialogue. It could be that the format for the ebook made it that way, but I don't think that's the case. I personally think this book needs to be edited more. Despite this, I enjoyed the overall story. Not the romance. Not the characters. But the overall plot even if slow chapters made it less powerful.

OVERALL THOUGHTS?

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy sirens/underwater worlds. If you're looking for a strong romance or characters to connect with, this book might not be for you. But if you're looking for a villain that you could fall in love with, great world-building, and a dynamic guardianship/relationship, this might work out for you.