Review: The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine

The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: January 3rd, 2017
Purchase: Amazon

Ansa has always been a fighter.

As a child, she fought the invaders who murdered her parents and snatched her as a raid prize. She fought for her place next to Thyra, the daughter of the Krigere Chieftain. She fought for her status as a warrior in her tribe: blood and victory are her way of life. But the day her Krigere cross the great lake and threaten the witch queen of the Kupari, everything changes.

Cursed by the queen with fire and ice, Ansa is forced to fight against an invisible enemy—the dark magic that has embedded itself deep in her bones. The more she seeks to hide it, the more dangerous it becomes. And with the Krigere numbers decimated and the tribe under threat from the traitorous brother of the dead Chieftain, Ansa is torn between her loyalty to the Krigere, her love for Thyra, and her own survival instincts.

With her world in chaos and each side wanting to claim her for their own, only one thing is certain: unless Ansa can control the terrible magic inside her, everything she’s fought for will be destroyed.

My Thoughts:
The Impostor Queen was one of my top favorites of last year and I was SUPER excited to get my hands on The Cursed Queen.  TIQ left off at such a dangerous place that I just knew TCQ would be explosive.  Well to my surprise, this installment takes us back to before Elli's adventures and to a place where trouble is brewing among the Krigere tribe.

I wasn't really happy when I found out this book was about totally new characters, but by the second chapter I was all in!  The Krigere tribe is actually pretty horrible. They are raiders and they live by taking what's not theirs.  I liked the fierceness of the people, but I was a bit uncomfortable when raids were being described.  It was pretty horrible, but thankfully the author chose to make these just stories and not something we had to witness through the characters eyes first hand.  That being said I found the Krigere tribe quite fascinating.

The story itself like I said takes place at the same time as Elli's story.  If you remember in the beginning of TIQ the Valita goes out to sea to stop raiders. Well you guessed it these are those same raiders.  We get to see the aftermath of the Valita's destruction and yes it is as crazy as you would imagine.  The Krigere are left without their chieftain and must rally around his daughter who does not share the same principles.  From the beginning it is a hard road from Thyra's (the daughter) pleas to start a new way of life to the fight bigger than anyone saw coming.

I will say that I liked this story.  It was stronger than TIQ at times and weaker at others.  One thing I wasn't fond of was the romance.  I thought Fine strayed from her path in TIQ and I feel like in this one she is just trying to hard.  I liked Ansa and I was excited to see her drawn to Thyra, but the back and forth got to be a bit much and I didn't like the inclusion of Jaspar.  It felt almost too similar to TIQ and I was a bit upset that Fine wouldn't just go there with her characters.  She moved in a better direction this time, but it all still felt like she wasn't sure she wanted her characters to love each other.  For me this became a distraction and took away from some of the things Ansa was going through.  I wanted to focus more on the "curse" Ansa was given and see if she could tame this new side of herself.  By her constantly complaining about being discarded as Thyra's wolf I lost the momentum.

Speaking of being Thyra's wolf, I wasn't happy with Thyra for most of the story.  She kept Ansa in the dark about so much and it really ticked me off.  I know the whys, but if she had included her and chosen to stand with her things could have gone so much better.  Miscommunication is a peeve of mine and these two just could not get on the same page!  So frustrating!

Even with all that though I still liked the story for the most part.  I found it went hand in hand with the first one really well and Fine did a great job weaving these two stories together.  I am excited to see what the third installment will bring because I'm not sure it will be as explosive as I want it to be.  This one ended on a happier note that the previous book and it seems like all the peace is all that is wanted from the parties left standing, but I know things will not be that easy for either side so I am anticipating a blow up somewhere along the way.

3 snowflakes

Review: The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: January 5th, 2016
Purchase: Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

My Thoughts:
This year is definitely going to be the year that Fantasy takes over our shelves and brains and The Impostor Queen is setting the bar high my friend!  This expertly crafted world is truly amazing and will grab even the fantasy fearfull.

This book from the get go is intense.  The very first chapter had me on the edge of my seat and craving more and with fantasy novels this is a really hard thing to do.  Worlds have to be created, characters have to be built, and a whole epic storyline has to be crafted.  Sarah Fine manages to do these huge tasks in a matter of a few simple chapters.  Don't get me wrong I promise you won't know everything in a few chapters, this world continues to build and build and just when you think you know everything BAM! things get crazy!

This is honestly one of the most imaginative worlds I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I think the addition of the magic and what it symbolized was really intriguing and I liked how the author used it throughout this story.  The part I loved the best though was the ending and how everything came to be.  I cant go into specifics, but I will say WOW!  I never saw that coming and I can't wait to see how it all plays out!

What truly surprised me though was how connected I felt to the characters.  I loved Elli!  She was fierce and determined to serve her people no matter what, even in the face of pain.  I really appreciated how the author let Elli grow up and let her make decisions not based on her heart.  She knew what she was born to do and she did just that even if it meant heartache.  This to me is a true Fantasy character.  I enjoyed the secondary characters as well.  Oskar and Sig were fun even though a bit moody and I loved Ramio!  His character is the one I am looking most forward to because he has answers but also because I think there is something else to him and I smell a little sinisternish coming from him!

The only thing I wasn't fond of was the overall romance.  If it had just been Elli and Oskar I would have been okay, but the story starts off a different way and I wish the author would have stayed true to her path.  I liked that this book was different and I would have loved to have seen where things could have gone, but the author chose a different path.  I am not sure why she did and I know I probably will never know but it makes me sad.  The romance between Oskar and Elli was really well written though and I appreciated the slow build up so I suppose I can live with the way things are.  I am curious if the author will revisit these issues in later installments though.

4 snowflakes

Waiting on Wednesday: The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

Here's my selection for this week…

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine 

Expected publication: January 5, 2016

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

When it comes to Young Adult fiction, there are two genres I tend to gravitate to, which includes Contemporary and Fantasy. The Impostor Queen sounds like the perfect YA Fantasy to cleanse my palette after a long stretch of ready contemporary novels. Couple that with having previous experience with Sarah Fine's exquisite writing in Sanctum, and I'm sure her newest novel will be an exciting journey.

Preorder

Amazon

Sooo, what book are you waiting on? Be sure to link me up! :)

Review: Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowlands #1) by Sarah Fine

Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowlands #1) 
by Sarah Fine Published October 16th 2012
by Marshall Cavendish Children's/Amazon Children'

“My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple.” A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance—hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone—she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife. As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t—the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.

My Thoughts

This book was certainly unexpected. I am undoubtedly a huge fan of Sarah Fine. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak at an event last November and she is one of the most intelligent woman I have ever met. The way she is able to weave those smarts into books in something to be admired. Mrs. Fine is also a child psychologist and she definitely hits hard from certain emotional angles. When I first began Sanctum I thought I was getting a story about a creepy underworld. I have a habit of not reading the blurbs since they often lead me astray. It is that in a sense but so much more intense and involved.

Sanctum follows the troubled Lela to the gates of hell....literally. Her best friend and the only person who has ever made her feel like she was worth a damn was suffering and ending up taking her own life. Nadia the in the world and Lela is able to see her. She once stood at those very same suicide gates herself before she was brought back from the brink of death. No lela will stop at nothing to save her friend, even if it means condemning herself.

My favorite part of this book was some of the internal struggles that the characters had to endure. They learned that what they wanted wouldn't bring them happiness. Sometimes it is what you need that sets you free. In a world where anything you want is imaginable yet unsatisfying at the same time, this seems to be the only way to set your soul free.

Of course there is a bad boy hunk name Malachi. I adored him from the start. Lela was also an awesome characters. I really loved her wit and smart mouth. There was a gang of times though when  I wanted to shake her and say," Forget the stupid Nadia. She is not worth this nonsense!" Alas, that would have made for a pretty lame plot line. The evil that the guards must face is also a pretty interesting entity.

I am so curious to see what happens next in this series and will listening to my audio as soon as I can! If you like books that are on the darker side this would be a perfect read.

4 Snowflakes

Review: Sanctum by Sarah Fine

Thank you to Alexa from Collections Book Blog for allowing me to read this ARC. ((HUGS))

Sanctum by Sarah Fine
Expected Publication: October 16, 2012
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos's best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance – hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn't just anyone – she's determined to save her best friend's soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife.



As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she's captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city's endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn't – the dark city isn't the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.

My Thoughts:
The gift was helping me understand my friend and forgive her for leaving me.

Sanctum by Sarah Fine is one of those unique book experiences that blends both despair and hope in equal measure to deliver a hauntingly beautiful journey.

I was left floored with a gamut of emotions that I will now try to sort out in the best way possible. But first, let me state a clear and undeniable fact – Fine has an amazing writing ability. And, it’s not only because of how easily she continued to hook me into her novel as I traveled deeper and deeper into the dark city she created; but also because I came to care about the two main characters to such a profound level that when I turned to the final pages I felt slightly empty and sad to see them go… for now.

In Sanctum, we meet Lela who is a foster kid that’s had to endure a difficult life. When the novel begins, she meets Nadia and immediately comes to her aid when Nadia places herself in a precarious situation. From that moment, these two girls form a bond of friendship that shifts Lela’s outlook on life and has her building a better future for herself. However, all of that comes crashing to a halt when Nadia takes her life, leaving Lela confused and lost. As Lela deals with her grief of losing her best friend, she’s plagued with vivid nightmares of a dark and sinister place that is the Sanctum for souls who’ve ended their own lives. After a horrific accident, Lela finds herself at a crossroads, she can either lead her soul to the Countryside or enter the Gates of the Sanctum in the hopes of finding Nadia and rescuing her from this city of despair.

Lela is such a strong and determined character in so many ways. Throughout the novel we get glimpses of the horrors she’s had to endure as a foster child and the violations she experienced at the hands of those who were suppose to protect her. It was heartbreaking to witness that the first time she finds a champion, a true friend, this person happens to be so broken inside that Lela loses her to the despair Nadia is suffering through. From the beginning of the novel to the very end, I was an adamant fan of this character. I rallied behind her as she fought her demons and sacrificed her existence for what she believed it. Loved this character!

Nadia was somewhat ambiguous to me. I didn’t get to know her enough before she ended her life and as the novel progressed, I felt like I was on that same journey with Lela to discover the reasons behind Nadia’s choice. In the end, when we discover the why, I have to admit that I was truly saddened for this character.

Malachi was such a complex character in the most rewarding of ways. I fell hard for him and admired the sacrifices he made while paying his dues in the Sanctum. He serves as the Captain of the Guard, but truly he’s more than the leader allotted by his title. He’s a guy that has a haunting past and is working toward a rewarding afterlife. However, he’s ever willing to forego his reward if it’s at the expense of someone he’s come to care about. There were so many layers to his character and having just pealed back a few, I’m left wanting to learn even more about him as his journey continues.

As far as the writing goes, I stand behind my earlier statement… Fine is amazing at crafting her setting in such intricate detail as she weaves her events that take the reader from a contemporary feel to a dark fantasy realm. I transitioned quite easily throughout her narrative and as the story progressed, I became more and more captivated and hooked. Everything blended to perfection – the plot, the characters, the narrative, the message behind the novel… Very well done and I can’t wait to read the next installment!

5 Snowflakes