Tag: Review

Thunderlight by Adrienne Woods

Thunderlight by Adrienne Woods

by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Vibrant, scale swathed wings… Abilities that can be harnessed by a chosen few… Dragons…

All this may seem like old news, but for seventeen year-old Elena Watkins the world of Paegeia is not finished revealing all its secrets. During a summer break intended for relaxation, she discovers that her harrowing adventure to retrieve the King of Lion sword wasn’t the destiny foretold by the cryptic Viden, a dragon with the ability to see a person’s true fate. The words inked onto the page of the mysterious Book of Shadows remains black and Elena must return to Dragonia Academy to discover their true meaning.

Upon her return to the magnificent castle she has to face a challenge of a different kind, keeping her boyfriend Lucian McKenzie, the Prince of Tith and love of her life, away from the dangerous new student, Paul Sutton. As a Wyvern, Paul has made it his mission to claim Elena as his rider but he is proving to be more perilous than at first glance.

Everyone knew that Wyverns were bad news, and just as evil as the darkness that lurked inside Blake Leaf, the Rubicon forced to fight against his inner nature every day. But Elena can see a small light lurking in the darkness, a destiny still unfulfilled; to prove that Wyverns can be claimed.

Will Lucian’s dark secret about Wyverns and Elena’s need to prove their true nature cause their love to be torn apart? And which of Elena’s friends will be sacrificed this time if she is wrong? 

Book Overview:

Author: Adrienne Woods | Series: The Dragonian Series | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: A. T. Chandler and Erin Moon | Length: 14 hours, 49 minutes | Publish Date: November 20, 2014 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend; Yes


“Evil isn’t capable of telling the truth.” 


Well, I’m glad to say that at least this book was better than the first.

It still wasn’t my absolute favorite, and this still isn’t my favorite series, but it definitely got better over time. Elena still isn’t super savvy on what’s going on in the world of Dragonia, but she’s getting a little better. She still has her whiny moments though, and I’m trying to figure out where it’s coming from when she’s constantly surrounded by people that know that things are going to be tough when things are going down. It’s not like Dragonia is in a state of peace or anything. So what’s with the whining, Elena?

I laughed so hard when Master Long Fei told her to stop her whining. Just straight to her face. I was at work too, so I could imagine the office wondering what the heck was so funny to me.

There’s so much more drama in this one. Attacks on students, people dying, just chaos in general. Not to mention we get a glimpse of what’s happening in Eton, and that is always interesting. The villain is great, from what we can see. We don’t get to see much of what he is doing out there, but having another voice involved in the book made it more interesting.

This is a super short review, and I apologize for it. The things I really want to comment on would be spoilers, and we all know I try my hardest not to spoil books. But I will say that this book was better, and if you’re able to get through the first book, you’ll appreciate this book more.

Here goes the next book in the series!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 1 Comment

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series!

A wicked mash-up of fairy tale and Terminator—set in a Star Wars kind of world—Marissa Meyer’s Cinder is a fresh and fiercely ingenious futuristic retelling of Cinderella

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Book Overview:

Author: Marissa Meyer | Series: The Lunar Chronicles | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Rebecca Soler | Length: 10 hours, 1 minute | Publish Date: January 3, 2012 | Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopian | Literary Awards: Kalbacher Klapperschlange for Altersgruppe 7. -9. Klasse (2015), Pennsylvanian Young Readers’ Choice Award Nominee for Young Adults (2014), Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2012), Premio El Templo de las Mil Puertas Nominee for Mejor novela extranjera perteneciente a saga (2012) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: HECK YES

“We all have our weaknesses.”“I know,” said Iko. “Mine is shoes.” 


Oh. My. Gosh.

I absolutely loved this book. I don’t know why I didn’t take the time to read this before! I think it was probably the length of the book, and I was getting intimidated by the size. Boy, what a huge mistake I made. I can’t believe that I am only now getting to this amazing series.

Technically this story is supposed to be a retelling of Cinderella, in case you couldn’t guess by the title and the leg with the heel on the cover. But if you’re thinking that this is going to be similar to the Disney version, or even the Grimm Brothers’ story, you would be dead wrong. This is nothing like Disney’s Cinderella, and it’s so much better. Yes, there are some elements that are similar: the stepmother and stepsisters, not being allowed to go to the ball and being treated like trash, a handsome prince that Cinderella ends up falling in love with, and all that jazz.


“Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.” 


However, it gets so much better than just a typical love story. Not only is Cinder a freaking cyborg, but she’s also the best mechanic on her side of New Beijing, and that’s how she ends up meeting Prince Kai. She can fix pretty much anything, and when Prince Kai needs his favorite android fixed, he went to her booth in the market. But things start to go downhill when there’s an outbreak in the city, a plague that has a 100% kill rate once you get infected, and somehow her stepsister Peony gets infected. Peony is the only human stepsister that actually likes Cinder -Iko is an android, but she loves Cinder too – and Cinder believes that everything is hopeless. Nobody has ever survived the plague before, and was it her fault that her sister got sick? She certainly thinks so.

So when her evil stepmother sends her away to “volunteer” to be a test subject for the research to find an antidote, she’s basically going to her death.

But she doesn’t die, and that’s where the real fun begins.

Not only is there a plague infecting the Earth, but Queen Levana of Luna (yes, literally the queen of the Moon people) has a plan to either take over the Earth and everyone in it, or go to war with them and destroy them all. What could go wrong, right?

If you haven’t done so already, you seriously have to read it. I loved this book. I couldn’t get enough of it. And it doesn’t end with Cinder! There’s more books! And more people become involved in this amazing adventure. Just trust me, you won’t regret reading it.

Author Spotlight
Courtesy of Goodreads

Born: In the United States
Twitter: marissa_meyer
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Literature & Fiction
Goodreads Member Since: March 2011

I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my husband and beautiful twin daughters. Represented by Jill Grinberg. Learn more about me and my upcoming books at http://www.marissameyer.com.
Looking for Dei by David A. Wilson (ARC Review)

Looking for Dei by David A. Wilson (ARC Review)

by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Fifteen-year-old Nara Dall has never liked secrets. Yet it seems that her life has been filled with them, from the ugly scar on her back to the strange powers she possesses. Her mysterious father refuses to say anything about her origins, and soon, she and her best friend must attend the announcement ceremony, in which youths are tested for a magical gift.

A gifted youth has not been announced in the poor village of Dimmitt for decades. When Nara uncovers the reason, she uses her own powers to make things right. The decision sets her on a path of danger, discovery, and a search for the divine. In the process, she learns the truth about herself and uncovers the biggest secret of all: the power of broken people. 

Book Overview:

Author: David A. Wilson | Series: None | Format: eBook – ARC | Length: Unknown | Publish Date: March 23, 2018 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe


And the phyili was put asunder; separated, but not destroyed. Each defied the other, bringing conflict, pain and death to many. In the end, only one remained. – Cataclysmos 18:10


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you again, Netgalley for the opportunity to review ARCs. I love this chance, and I’m always ready to read the books you have available.

Now, on to the book.

The premise was pretty interesting, at least I think so. There are certain people in the world that either has gifts (they are called gifted if they have more than one special power). Then there are others that are plain, and others that are considered cursed. The ones with powers are conscripted to the government, whatever entity their abilities would be the most useful, and it gives them an opportunity to send money back to their village. The cursed are usually killed almost immediately as they are seen as an abomination to the church that needs to be put down. Pretty nice, right?

So it seems like the main character, a young fifteen-year-old girl named Nara, has so many abilities that she’s developed at such a young age. Her father figure, a man named Bylo, told her from the moment he saw her exhibit some powers to keep them a secret from the rest of the village. It seems like she has a combination of all the known powers, and yet she is so much stronger than what she seems. So when her power is discovered on the day the village finds out that her best friend is cursed, that’s when things hit the fan.

I feel like the book got way too descriptive about things that didn’t seem really important. There was a character that was introduced in a chapter, only for that character to be killed off mere pages later. And it wasn’t just a mini introduction. It was more like the character’s life story. So you feel like you have to invest in one more character, and then they are ripped away from you in seconds. It’s so hard to read a book that does that, or to introduce characters that don’t seem to have any significance until later – or never – and still keep track of everyone.

I understand that this is an ARC, so I’ll be forgiving about the grammatical errors I’ve found. I’m hoping those will be fixed by the time the final comes out. All in all, I think it could have flowed better, but it wasn’t terrible. I wouldn’t mind reading something else from this author, but this book just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Author Spotlight
Courtesy of Goodreads
Born: The United States
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Goodreads Member Since: May 2017

David A. Willson lives in the great land of Alaska with his wife and five children. His passions are faith, movies, books, coffee, traveling with his beautiful lady, and hanging out with his wonderful kids.