Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Title: Serpent & Dove

Author: Shelby Mahurin
Genre: Paranormal, YA
Series: Serpent & Dove #1
Audiobook, Unabridged
Publication: September 3, 2019 by HarperAudio
Source: Personal Library
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Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

I’ve been waiting for a good witch/witch hunter story for ages! Serpent and Dove sounded like the perfect remedy. The synopsis had me right off the bat; a witch marrying a witch hunter? Hell yes, sign me up A.S.A.P! The story started off very promising with the hustle and bustle of the city life as readers are introduced to Lou and Reid our main characters. But suddenly the story took a hard left leaving me lost and confused. It wasn’t till the very end that the story started to get better but honestly, it wasn’t enough to redeem itself from the haphazard middle/execution.

I’m going to start off with what I enjoyed. I liked that the story was centered only on the witches and chasseurs (witch hunter). There were no monsters, vampires, or werewolves to crowd the storyline, just two distinct factions. Although the witches were divided into specific covens, depending on their abilities. In Serpent & Dove, we were introduced to the Dame Blanc and Dame Rouge was briefly mentioned (which will be seen in-depth in the sequel). I also liked that there were many laugh-out-moments. Reid’s reactions to Lou’s outgoing, wild nature was priceless.

Unfortunately, the flaws outweighed the good. With so many amazing reviews, I was expecting to be blown away, or at least get buffy vibes. I got neither. The writing, world building and characters all fell short and left me feeling underwhelmed for most of the book. The writing left much to be desired, it didn’t flow nor have that captivating spark seen in most debut novels. I felt the writing needed more time to develop and given more time I’m sure it would’ve been better. The world building was a hot mess, or lack of a world building. While Mahurin never stated the time period, it isn’t too farfetched to assume that the story took place during the 16th century (time of the witch trials) or latest 17th or 18th century which is when the word, chasseurs was coined…or at least around those time frames. The descriptions of the setting also supported this assumption. Then there was the dialogue…things turned messier. Lou and Reid's vernacular kept bouncing back and forth to 16-17th century and present day. I’m pretty sure they didn’t have words like F*ck or B*tch back then. I could be wrong. I don’t have an issue with curse words, it’s all gravy. But my point was it didn’t sound right. Mahurin should have picked and stayed in one lane because the combination of the setting and language timeline/style was ridiculous and took me out of the story on more occasions than I can count. 

And finally, we have the characters. I’m not a fan of Lou or Reid as you can guess by now. Perhaps Mahurin was going for an independent feminist in Lou but Lou wasn’t likeable, period. She’s vulgar in the worst ways, the kind of girls you see drunk and belligerent at the bars. Which many can imagine, low-class (ironic, since she's the coven princess) trashy and annoying. Reid wasn’t any better. He was all about rules, rules and more rules. He had a stick so far up his ass, I was surprised he was able to run at a drop of a hat at the mention of a witch nearby. Reid apparently had no clue Lou was a witch till the very end. ZERO. I find that unbelievable, especially when it was said countless of times that witch magic gave off an unpleasant odor. And Reid and Lou got personal so many times, I lost count. Give me a break, I didn’t buy any of it.

Serpent & Dove fell way below expectations. The cover, while beautiful and eye-catching did not match with what was inside the book. And if you haven’t read this novel yet, avoid it, especially the audiobook. The audiobook had one of the most annoying narrators I’ve ever listened to. With that said, do yourself a favor and skip Serpent & Dove, this isn’t the witch story you’ve been waiting for.

 

 

That Night by Amy Giles

Title: That Night
Author: Amy Giles
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Series: N/A

Hardcover, 320 Pages
Publication: October 23, 2018 by HarperTeen

Source: I received an arc review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

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The year since a mass shooting shook their Queens neighborhood has played out differently for Jess and Lucas, both of whom were affected by that night in eerily similar and deeply personal ways.

As Jess struggles to take care of her depressed mother, and Lucas takes up boxing under the ever-watchful eye of his overprotective parents, their paths converge. They slowly become friends and then something more, learning to heal and move forward together. But what does it mean to love after an unspeakable tragedy?

I didn’t know what to expect when I started That Night. All I knew was the two main protagonist were both dealing with grief and a tragedy; and eventually, along the way they would some how help each other through it. The synopsis was very good at shrouding everything in mystery. Which was why I was surprised that this book involved a mass shooting. Everyone has seen the unfortunate increase in mass shooting all over the world. It’s nothing new as it become so prevalent in the news. And like the news, there seems to be more and more books on the matter. But what makes That Night different, what makes it stand out is that Giles never really talked about what happened, hence it always being referred to as “that night”. After the lights and camera coverage goes down, readers get an in depth look behind the scenes at the aftermath of these type of tragedies. We see what the survivors “walking wounded”, witnesses, families, and communities go through. We normally see how a life is suddenly ended and how events led up to the tragedy but what people forget or not see is there’s actually a ripple effect that can transcend months and years and its the ripple effect that Giles explores in That Night.

The novel alternates between our two main protagonist, Jess and Lucas. At the start of the novel they’re strangers. The only connection between the two are: they go to the same high school, they both lost their brother a year ago and are trying to deal with their grief and guilt of being the surviving sibling. I thought Giles did a great job at exploring the issue of grief and loss. She paints a vividly realistic picture and shows how everyone deals with sadness and pain in their own way. Or in some cases, they don’t deal with it at all. Take Jess, ever since her brother died, she’s left to take care of herself because her mother is a shell of her former self and her BFF is in rehab in another state. Versus Lucas who is smothered by both of his parents, afraid to let him out of their sight. To cope and find meaning in life and the reason for living; Jess ends up getting a job at Enzo’s Hardware to help her mom with the bills and Lucas picks up boxing as an outlet.

That Night isn’t a novel about a mass shooting or romantic relationship between two teens. It’s a novel about learning to move on from grief. It shows that those affected by tragedies shouldn’t blame themselves for things out of their control and to never be afraid to talk about it or seek help. And most important of all, not to let such tragedies define who we are. I really enjoyed That Night. Giles writes as if it were a first hand account because I truly felt like I was right there alongside the characters as they processed their grief and learn what it really means to feel alive/included again. That Night is a relevant and well-written novel for our time. It should be read by both adult and teens. I highly recommend it.

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

Title: Ten Thousand Skies Above You
Author: Claudia Gray
Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy/New-Adult
Series: Firebird #2

Hardcover, 432 pages
Publication: November 3, 2015 by HarperTeen

Source: I received a review copy courtesy of HarperTeen/Kaye Publicity in exchange for a honest review.

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Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions.

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared. 

A Thousand Pieces of You was one of my top 10 favorite reads of 2014, so I had extremely high expectations for the sequel. Gray not only met all my expectations but she knocked it out of the park with Ten Thousand Skies Above You, the second book in the Firebird trilogy. In the first book, Gray introduced readers to the Firebird project from where it was just a conceptual idea to the final implementation of the Firebird, which is a small device (necklace) that facilitates the wearer to jump to multiple parallel world/dimensions. In Ten Thousand Skies Above you, readers delve further into the multiple dimensions as we explored three new universes and the characters of Marguerite, Paul and Theo.

What I loved about this series is the incredible world building and the love story. I think authors have a tough time creating one believable world as it is, but Gray tackles not one, not two but three new world/dimensions this time around; from war-ridden San Francisco, Futuristic Money-centric San Francisco to Mobster New York. I thought each world was well thought out and fully developed and had a unique vibe to it to make it distinguishable among the other dimensions we've already visited. I also loved seeing all the different side-personalities of the characters, and while the main essence of a character stayed true, in each dimensions things are slightly tweaked enough to be similar and yet different all at the same time.

 As for the romance part, I gotta say, Marguerite and Paul’s love story is the best I’ve ever read…I mean it’s literally transcendent and infinite as they find each other over and over across worlds…it’s pretty darn romantic. I’m not really the romantic, lovey-dovey type but reading about Paul and Marguerite had me melting into a puddle of goo. Swoon. It was clear right from the beginning that the two were destined, but my only complaint is that I didn’t understand why the author still made it feel like a love-triangle with Theo. I know it never happened, but still in book two, there was a small potential for it. Marguerite even entertained the idea briefly when she had doubts about Paul. I didn’t think it was necessary and it didn’t add anything to the story. All I wanted was more Paul/Marguerite page time and thankfully we got to see more of them, even if it was alternative versions of their selves.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ten Thousand Skies Above You and can’t wait to read the third and final book in the trilogy! I must say the masterminds behind splintering Paul and poisoning Theo with Nightshade was quite a shocker…definitely the last people I’ve ever imagined to be part of triad. Then there the crazy cliffhanger! Ten Thousand Skies Above you is a must read for all sci-fi fantasy fans. If you haven’t started this series yet, you’re totally missing out on some amazing world building/characters…and one of the most enthralling love story ever told. I highly recommend this series!

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray [Excerpt + Giveaway]

AVAILABLE NOW!

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

For a history lesson, this is almost interesting. Maybe it’s the way he talks with his hands, like an excited kid. But right when I might actually get drawn in, I see Paul walking swiftly up the side aisle to the exit.

Theo’s hand closes over my forearm, tightly, in warning. He whispers, “You see him too?”

I nod. He rises from his seat—crouching low so we don’t block anyone’s view and create a disturbance—and I do the same as we slip out to the side of the auditorium.

A few people give us annoyed looks, but the only sound in the room remains Conley’s voice. “For generations now, people have dreaded World War Three. But they’re making a huge mistake. They’re expecting war to look the way it looked before.”

Nobody much is milling around in the corridors outside, except for a few harried assistants trying to prep for some kind of follow-up reception. So Theo and I go unnoticed as we try to figure out where, exactly, Paul might have gone. In a building this old, nothing is laid out quite like you’d expect.

“Through here, maybe?” Theo opens a door that leads into a darkened room, one empty of chairs or tables.

I follow him inside; as the door swings shut behind us, darkness seals us in, except for the faint glow of the tech we wear—our holoclips, or my security bracelet. We can hear Conley’s speech again, but muffled. “The next challenges humanity will face are going to be fundamentally different from any we’ve faced before. New threats, yes—but new opportunities, too.”

Then we hear something else. Footsteps.

Theo’s arm catches me across the belly as he pulls us both backward, until we’re standing against the wall, hiding in the most absolute darkness. Adrenaline rushes through me; my hair prickles on my scalp, and I can hardly catch my breath.

The steps come closer. Theo and I look over at each other, side by side in the dark, his hand firm against my stomach. It’s too dark for me to understand the expression in his eyes.

Then he whispers, “The far corner. Go.”

We break apart. I rush into the corner, like he said, while Theo walks straight toward the steps . . . which turn out to belong to a tall man in a uniform who doesn’t have a sense of humor.

I knew somebody like Wyatt Conley would have security.

“I only wanted to get an autograph afterward,” Theo says as he keeps going, leading the guard farther from me. “Do you think he’d sign my arm? I could tattoo the autograph on there forever!”

Probably Theo meant for me to get out of here while he distracts the guard. Instead I creep around closer to the stage, and to Paul.

From onstage, Conley says, “The dangers we have to fear aren’t the ones we’re used to. They’re coming from directions we never imagined.”

Theo protests as the guard backs him out of the room, “Oh, come on, no need to overreact—” The door swings shut again, and I can’t hear his voice any longer. I glance over my shoulder, as though looking for Theo would bring him back again—

—which is when Paul Markov’s hand clamps down over my mouth.

My father’s killer whispers, “Don’t scream.”

Due to shipping errors I ended up receiving two duplicate copies of A Thousand Pieces of You. And with permission from the publicist, I am giving these copies away to two lucky readers! To enter please fill out the Rafflecopter below!

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[Review] A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You
Author: Claudia Gray
Genre: Sci-fi, Young Adult/NA
Series:  Firebird #1

Hardcover, 368 pages
Publication: November 4, 2014 by Harper Teen

Source: I received a review copy from the publisher and Kaye Publicity in exchange for a honest review.

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Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

There’s been a lot of alternate/parallel books cropping up, many with intriguing synopsis but the few that I’ve read fell into two categories: good or bad. None of them had that ‘wow’ factor that blew me away…till I read A Thousand Pieces of You. Most alternate/parallel books play with the idea of another world, one other world to be exact. But A Thousand Pieces of You exceeds that idea by exploring multiple worlds, where the worlds are either freakishly similar to our own just somehow slightly tweaked or extremely different, advance (or behind in terms of technology).

Marguerite,Theo and Paul are constantly jumping dimensions, thanks to a nifty invention called Firebird, a device (necklace) that Marguerite parents’ created. The Firebird enables the wearer to jump to parallel dimensions and temporary inhabit their ‘other self’ for a short duration. Gray’s world building was incredible and the concept for this book extremely unique. I don’t think there’s any book like this, nor as well done. The science behind the idea of alternate/parallel multiverse was very in-depth; the information was explained in a way that’s easy to understand and made the idea/story believable. I loved all the different dimensions that the characters ended up in. Each dimensions had its own elements that made them standout which also made it easy to differentiate one from another. My favorite, like the cover is alternate Russia; which happens to be where Maguerite and Paul were at the longest. I thought the incorporation of the Tsar family and Maguerite as a princess during the second imperial dynasty was a fun play on the Romanov family history.

I really liked all the characters. For one thing, they’re older. Early twenties I believe, which makes this book more NA than YA in my opinion. Marguerite is an artist living among a family of scientists, trying to carve a different path from her physicist family. For the most part Marguerite is a strong, smart, and likeable heroine. I liked that she always listened to her gut, and never let what others say influence her thoughts/feelings. Then there are the two men vying for her heart, Theo and Paul who is both her parent’s assistant. Both men are also likeable and wholly different. Theo is more laid back, always making jokes, and has this confidence that borderlines being cocky. And there is Paul who is quiet, shy, extremely smart but isn’t so great on being social or expressing his feelings. And the thing they have in common is how much they love-care for Marguerite. With that said, there is a love-triangle in this book (not my favorite) but it doesn’t last long thankfully. Marguerite does make a definite choice midway and I was glad to see she didn’t flip-flop back and forth between guys or lead anyone on.

Like many reviewers stated, A Thousand Pieces of You is heavy on the romance. As someone who isn’t all that crazy about romance (I’m more of an action kinda girl), I actually loved the romance aspect of the novel. LOVED it! It might have overshadowed the importance of Marguerite finding her father’s killer but I mean once readers get to the end, and find out the truth…no one can really get mad lol. The love story was so sweet, it literally made me feel all mushy inside (and again, I never get all swoony about this stuff!). While the book explores multiverse dimensions, it also explores the topic of destiny/fate (which is what one of the character proposes, that there IS a scientific explanation behind the idea, and that it’s real). And readers will get to see that idea in play throughout the book, as two characters find themselves together regardless of time, space or dimensions.

A Thousand Pieces of You is hands down the best young adult sci-fi book I’ve read all year. I’m a big fan of Gray’s Evernight series, but I gotta say I love this book more and am excited to see where it go. I highly, highly recommend this book; words aren’t enough to express how much I enjoyed it. There’s a little something for everyone, mystery, action, romance, historical, and sci-fi. Pick up your copy of A Thousand Pieces of You NOW, you will not regret it!

Die for Me by Amy Plum

Title: Die for Me
Author: Amy Plum
Genre: Paranormal, Young-Adult
Series: Revenants #1 

Hardcover, 341 pages

Publication: May 10th 201l by HarperTeen 

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|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO|

Source: Won through giveaway

|SUMMARY|
When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

|REVIEW| 

I had Die for Me in my TBR pile for awhile, but I read the synopsis and thought…’oh, probably the usual YA books’ so I never picked it up. After finishing it, I wished I picked up the book sooner! Plum’s twist on the mythology of revenants was refreshing, no vampires, werewolves, or faeries in this book.  Plum’s revenants are like zombies but different, the revenants die over and over when they save someone else’s life.  The overall take on revenants’ is really well-written and complex, and made for an interesting read. I like that the author sprinkles the information throughout the book, and didn’t bog the readers down with info-dumping.

The setting is Paris, France, and what a wonderful choice. I never been to any countries, but the author did a great job of painting a descriptive Paris that I can picture myself there. I definitely think the location of the story made this paranormal YA different from other books I’ve read. The setting laid down the overall tone of the book, creating a mysterious yet romantic feel to the novel. I really like Kate; she’s just your typical and most time relatable sixteen-year-old.  Kate and her sister Georgia reminded me of my sister and I. I like being at home and reading whenever possible while my sister loves to go out clubbing.  Kate isn’t a totally kick-butt heroine, but she isn’t a damsel in distress either. When the leader of the Numi clan came to look for Vincent, she never backed down from his challenge and did what she could to protect the people she cared about.  Vincent was also a great love interest, he isn’t shy about expressing his feelings, and kind of reminded me of modern knight in shining armor.  It is stated in the book that revenants get kind of obsessive/stalker-ish about people they save…and there were moments where Vincent was a like creepy-stalker-ish.  Being kind of of stalker-ish is not romantic people lol. 

Finally this brings me to the secondary characters, the other revenants that live with Vincent. I love them as much as I love the two main characters. They’re all funny and different, and I enjoy the little brotherly/sisterly bickering that goes on amongst them.  Overall a great start to a new series that I can’t wait to read more of it. There was not a lot of action, but what lacked in action was made up for in witty, great dialogue between all the characters, great setting, suspense, and a deliciously budding romance.  I highly recommend this to all paranormal, and young-adult readers. This is a series not to be missed, and is not of the regular YA variety.  A fresh and exciting read indeed! :)