Review: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Book: The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3)

By: Rae Carson

Published: August 27th 2013

Published By: Greenwillow Books

Description: The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

My Thoughts: OMG. I’ve talked about this series time and time again. It’s amazing and I absolutely love it. This final installment into the series is no different. I don't even have a lot to say about it so this will be brief.

The Bitter Kingdom picks up where The Crown of Embers left off. Elisa is headed to rescue her love Hector from her enemies who have captured him to lure her into their lands and use her for unknown evils. Still, Elisa has a plan, and she is more powerful than her enemies know.

I enjoyed seeing the power and strength Elisa possessed. She has come a long way from the little girl we met in The Girl of Fire and Thorns. She became a true ruler here and worthy of her followers. We also learn more of the history behind the ongoing war in this novel.

I enjoyed this conclusion to the series immensely. I would suggest this book to those who enjoy fantasy and strong women. I give it 5 stars.

Review: The Bone Bearer by Lani Wendt Young

Book: The Bone Bearer (Telesa #3) 

By: Lani Wendt Young

Published: June 27th 2013

Published By: Self Published

Description: The thrilling, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to The Telesa Series.
Leila's selfless act at the closing of 'When Water Burns,' unleashed the demonic fury of Pele the Fire Goddess and now Daniel must fight an epic battle to free the one he loves. Unlikely allies come to his aid as a group of troubled elementals try to overcome their differences and work as a team to save their friend. But Pele's awakening has caused cataclysmic fear throughout the Telesa guardians of the Pacific and they are gathering their forces, preparing to defend the Blue Continent from the devastating threat of the Fire Goddess. Only one thing can destroy her - the Tangaloa Bone. The race is on to recover the three pieces of this ancient weapon and the question remains: who will wield the power of the Bone Bearer? And can Leila survive its apocalyptic fury?

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved the first and second books in the Telesa Trilogy, so when this one came out, I absolutely HAD to have it (nevermind the new covers that caused me to up and re-buy all the printed books, just because). I went into this one expecting much the same of what I got in the other two, but though I still loved it, it was completely different than anything I had imagined.

Before the primary story we read the story of Pele, daughter of The Covenant Keeper for the Telesa back in the day. Unfortunately, she was ungifted. Her mother loved her though, so she decided not to give her away, as was custom. Later, Pele became distraught about the fact that she was ungifted, and her mother sought to rectify the situation. Unfortunately, as we all know, power is not meant for everyone, and with just a taste, Pele became a bit of a (excuse the term) “power whore.” Later she went mad, and soon her body could no longer hold all the elemental power she owned so she was consumed by the earth, but not before she killed the only two people who cared for her.

We are then tossed into the story with the aftermath of the ending of When Water Burns. If you remember, Leila is in the hospital with Daniel, and Pele is lingering somewhere under the surface. At the beginning of this story however, things switch, and we lose all contact with Leila, and gain Pele instead. Pele is taking things over (literally) and no one can control her.

Feeling the change in the elements, many other Telesa from other Pacific Islands swarm to Samoa in order to destroy Pele. Meanwhile, Daniel, Simone, Keahi, and some other wonderful characters must band together to defeat Pele and save Leila.

This story has a lot more drama, a lot more characters, and a lot more myth. I loved reading every word of it. Unfortunately, Leila wasn’t much present, and that disappointed me, but there were plenty of the other characters we loved. Daniel is pretty much pathetic most of the beginning of the book, but things got better for him and I wasn’t as disappointed in him. As for my new love Keahi, I loved him even more in this one.

There was only one thing I didn’t like. Pele was a bit dense in my opinion. You’d think that for a woman as old as she is, she’d know when she was being betrayed, but she was a bit naïve. Then again, she never actually had friends, so I guess she wouldn’t know the difference. Also, there were a lot of characters, and sometimes it was kind of hard to keep up.

I don’t want to give too much away for the ending of this series, but I absolutely loved it. Though this story was much different than the others, I still enjoyed reading it. Lani Wendt Young is an amazing writer, and I can’t wait to read everything else she writes.

I give this one 4 stars.

Review: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

Book: The Calling (Darkness Rising #2)

By: Kelley Armstrong

Published: April 10th 2012

Published By: Harper

Description: Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is -a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

In THE CALLING, the sizzling second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong pumps up the romance, danger, and suspense that left readers of THE GATHERING clamoring for more.

My Thoughts: I didn’t much like the first book in this series, but I tried my absolute best to give this series another chance, hoping that by the second book, I may be more invested in the series, and like it a bit more. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

The book starts off right where the last ends, with all the kids stuck in a helicopter after almost being kidnapped once before. Things happen, the plane crashes, and the kids are once again on the run in the woods.

My problem with this series is not that it’s bad. It doesn’t necessarily suck, though it is a bit predictable and anticlimactic. Still, it doesn’t suck. My problem is that I don’t see the real reason for it to be a series. What I feel so far is that this story is one large story that the author decided to make into three for no real reason. I feel like not much happened in the first or second books by themselves, but, if put together, the two may make me feel the same was I would feel were I 2/3 of the way through one book. (Does this make sense?) I just don’t get it, nor do I really like it. . There wasn’t enough that happened in each book to warrant the feeling of completion or wholeness I should normally get at the end of a book, even a series. It just bored me to death.

Unfortunately, I have to give this series 2 stars. I will not be reading anything else in this series.