Tag: 2018

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy.

Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom’s haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.

Long ago, Kelsea’s forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea’s nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen’s Guard—loyal soldiers who protect the throne—have appeared to escort the princess on a perilous journey to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling.

Though born of royal blood and in possession of the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic, Kelsea has never felt more uncertain of her ability to rule. But the shocking evil she discovers in the heart of her realm will precipitate an act of immense daring, throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil—and unleashing the Red Queen’s vengeance. A cabal of enemies with an array of deadly weapons, from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic, plots to destroy her. But Kelsea is growing in strength and stealth, her steely resolve earning her loyal allies, including the Queen’s Guard, led by the enigmatic Lazarus, and the intriguing outlaw known simply as “the Fetch.”

Kelsea’s quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea’s journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her.

Book Overview:

Author: Erika Johansen | Series: The Queen of the Tearling | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren | Length: 14 hours, 30 mins | Publish Date: July 8, 2014 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy & for Debut Goodreads Author (2014) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes


“Everyone dies eventually. I think it’s better to die clean.” 


I read this book as part of a buddy read with Kayla, so stay tuned for our discussion post.

This book was a really interesting one, but I was getting confused at times about whether this book was taking place in the past or the future. Spoiler alert: it’s the future.

The Tearling is considered the “New World” after the Crossing from Europe and America to escape from the technologies of the future. In the Tearling, the world has resorted back to the medieval days where there aren’t any doctors or modern medicine, people travel on horseback across the country, and slavery is still a big part of society. It’s not fun, but one cool thing is that there’s just a tiny bit of magic in this world.

Kelsea is the true heir to the Tearling throne, her mother was the Queen before her but was killed. To protect her from certain death, Queen Elyssa had her daughter whisked away across the country into hiding to give her a fighting chance at reclaiming the throne for her incompetent and treacherous uncle. So when Kelsea turns nineteen and finds herself surrounded by the Queen’s Guard to take her back to the Keep, she knows that she has a lot of learning to do if she’s going to run her Kingdom in a way that her people will actually respect her.

Kelsea and the rest of her Queens Guard deal with so much trouble during this book, and it’s only going to get worse from there. She has to learn what it really means to be a Queen, and she has to get her people to trust in her to rule them justly and fairly against the evil Red Queen of Mortmesne, a kingdom that has the Tearling submitting a tribute to them every single month in the form of its citizens. There’s a high probability of a war between the Tearling and Mortmesne, but will Kelsea be able to lead her people to victory? Will she be able to deal with the looming betrayal ahead of her without her rule being cut short by assassination attempts?

Sounds kind of like Game of Thrones, right? Maybe a younger version, but there’s still nakedness and swearing just like the former, so be wary if you’re a younger reader.

I really enjoyed this book, and I am dying to find out what is going to happen in the second one, especially since it’s called The Invasion of the Tearling. That spells war, doesn’t it? I’ll just have to see!

Author Spotlight
Courtesy of Goodreads


Goodreads Member Since: March 2013

No biography for this author at this time.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 1 Comment

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Book Overview:

Author: Nicola Yoon | Series: None | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Bahni Turpin & Robbie Daymond | Length: 6 hours, 45 mins | Publish Date: September 1, 2015 | Genre: YA Contemporary | Literary Awards: Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award Nominee for Young Adults (2017), Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee (2018), Soaring Eagle Book Award (2016), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2017), Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis Nominee for Preis der Jugendjury (2016)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author, and for Young Adult Fiction (2015), Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2017) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

“Life is a gift. Don’t forget to live it.” 


I don’t understand how some people don’t like this book, honestly. I really loved it, even if it wasn’t the most perfect YA Contemporary book I’ve ever read or ever will read. I loved how it ended, I loved how it began, I loved almost everything in between.

For one thing, the main character is part African-American and part Japanese, just like me! I think this is the first ever book that I’ve read where the main character is literally me! That already made me give many kudo points to this book. She probably doesn’t even look like it, which I know I don’t because people never believe me when I say that I’m part Japanese among other ethnicities in my mix. It’s like they think I’m lying or something. Um, have you seen my mom? Yeah, that’s where I get the Japanese from, so yeah. Let’s not tell me that I don’t know what I’m talking about?

Mini rant over.

The difference between me and Maddy is that she has grown up without stepping foot outside of her house once her mother found out that she was basically allergic to the world: SCID. Could you imagine your life if you had the same kind of SCID that Maddy has? Not being able to leave your house without the possibility that anything could end up killing you? How would you go on with your life knowing that the entire world is out there, but you can only see it from the safety of your own house, and never in person? Doesn’t sound very fun, does it? Sure, there are books that you could read, which take you to so many other worlds that we can only begin to dream of, but pretty soon that won’t be enough.

Now imagine living that life for seventeen years.

That’s Maddie, and while it seems like she’s coping well, there’s always the dreams that she has. What if she wasn’t sick? What if she could go to a regular school with regular kids? What if she could go to Hawaii and see the state fish, the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a? (Also, hello?! I’m from Hawaii and I instantly got homesick reading about my home in this book.) What if she could walk outside her door without worrying about almost dying, or worse?

“Everything’s a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It’s up to you.”


Then enters Olly and his family, who end up moving right next door to Maddy and her mom. From there, the potential of new friendship blooms and possibly more. Can one person entering Maddy’s life be the reason she may end up risking everything?

There was a certain part of this book that I was so upset about (can’t say since it’s a spoiler and not everyone has watched the movie – like myself!) and it really hurt me. But after knowing exactly what happened in the past to the rest of Maddy’s family, it makes sense to me. I understand what happened, and while I don’t condone it, I understand it. This book has a young eighteen-year-old girl ready to take on everything that used to scare her before, and it makes me wonder why I can’t have her determination? Why can’t I have her drive?

I think I will remember this book for a long time. I’d love to read more books from Nicola Yoon to see what other kinds of stories she can come up with. I really enjoyed listening to Maddie’s mind and seeing the way she reacts to her little slice in the world.

Author Spotlight
Courtesy of Goodreads

Born: Jamaica
Twitter: NicolaYoon
Genre: Young Adult
Goodreads Member Since: October 2013

Nicola Yoon grew up in Jamaica (the island) and Brooklyn (part of Long Island). She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and daughter, both of whom she loves beyond all reason. Everything, Everything is her first novel.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Ella is a girl with a most unusual gift, and her story has charmed readers and critics alike. Now Miramax Films brings this wholly original Cinderella story to the silver screen, complete with princes, ogres, wicked stepsisters, and a fairy-tale ending fit for a princess.

Book Overview:

Author: Gail Carson Levine | Series: None | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Eden Riegel | Length: 5 hours, 42 mins | Publish Date: September 1, 1997 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Literary Awards: Newbery Honor (1998), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children’s Literature (1999), Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Book Award (2000), Grand Canyon Reader Award for Teen Book (1999), Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award for Grade 6-9 (2000)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award (1999), Iowa Teen Award (2000) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes


“It is helpful to know the proper way to behave, so one can decide whether or not to be proper.” 


Can you believe that this was the first ever time that I’ve read this book? I never heard about it when I was a little girl, so it was never one of those childhood favorites that I wanted to come back to after I grew up. This was a very first for me, and while it definitely wasn’t one of my favorites, it was still a cute story.

The main thing that I enjoyed about this book was the twist on Cinderella. How horrible would it have been if Cinderella didn’t have a choice in her upbringing? All of the treatment she endured by her stepmother and stepsisters was terrible in and of itself, but what if she was physically forced to obey them due to a fairy’s curse? This is what Ella Enchanted brought to Cinderella’s story, and it made the story that much better.

That was probably the only part of the story that I liked, unfortunately. As I was going through this book, I couldn’t really enjoy it as much as I wanted to. There wasn’t really anything special about it that made me want to read it again, or add it to my collection. Sure, the curse made things more interesting, but it also made her family that much worse. Not to mention her father was a complete jerk, who didn’t even love her the way a father should. How could he allow her to be put into such awful situations and not care about what’s happening to her?

No, Ella’s father was total tool and I did not like him at all.

This book was okay, and it gave me another movie to watch for another Book vs. Movie showdown. Other than that, It just wasn’t memorable to me. Although I am glad I had the opportunity to read this childhood book for the first time.

Author Spotlight
Courtesy of Goodreads

Born: In New York, New York, The United States
            September 17, 1947
Genre: Children’s Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult
Goodreads Member Since: August 2012

Just letting you all know: I’m only going to review books I love. There’s enough negative criticism without me piling on. A book is too hard to write.

Gail Carson Levine grew up in New York City and began writing seriously in 1987. Her first book for children, Ella Enchanted, was a 1998 Newbery Honor Book. Levine’s other books include Fairest; Dave at Night, an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults; The Wish; The Two Princesses of Bamarre; and the six Princess Tales books. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly and the picture book Betsy Who Cried Wolf, illustrated by Scott Nash. Gail, her husband, David, and their Airedale, Baxter, live in a 1790 farmhouse in the Hudson River Valley of New York State.