Caraval (Caraval #1)

Author: Stephanie Garber
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Year: Jan 2017
Pages: 402
ISBN: 9781473629141
Series: Caraval #1
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Time: Jan 12 - 14
Binding: Hardback
Goodreads

Blurb:
 Welcome to Caraval, where nothing is as it seems.
 Scarlett and Tella have never left the tiny isle of Trisda, pining from afar for the wonder of Caraval, a once-a-year week-long performance where the audience participates in the show.
 Caraval is Magic. Mystery. Adventure.
 When the sisters' long-awaited invitations finally arrive, it seems their dreams have come true. But no sooner have they arrived then Tella vanishes, kidnapped by the show's mastermind oraniser, Legend.
 Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is an elaborate performance. But she quickly becomes entangled in a dangerous game of love, magic and heartbreak.
 And real or not, she must find Tella before the game is over, and her sister disappears forever.

Review:
 I'm so glad to finally get my hands on this book! It's been getting mentioned for what seems like ages and I didn't get to read it on publishing day as I had to hunt for my favourite design. You have no idea of the trouble I went through to get that clock! Calls and reservations and all sorts of nonsense! The artwork that went into this is amazing, the exterior designs are excellent (yes, I got the Tesco exclusive as well!) but on the inside... The letter designs are so real, the chapter designs intricate and time separating pages just as thought through!
 I think the anticipation that got built up in the time I was waiting to finally read this truly added magic to my experience. I'm finally allowed in on the story and the wait made the experience more enjoyable than I think it would have if I'd picked Caraval randomly off the shelves.
 So, two days to read and the first day I was weeping after finishing King's Cage and only read the first chapter of Caraval to get my reading in motion. It was an easy read so I tore through this book. Waterstones have put this in the Adults rather than Young Adults section, which I have to question. The way the romance carries chapters of this book makes it YA. Nothing was that bad to make it teen inappropriate. Especially if ACOTAR is allowed on the shelves!
 The characters were what I expected and as someone without a younger sister I despised Tella for her inability to really take care of herself, much as I did Prim in The Hunger Games trilogy. I know, I'm cruel. The way Scarlett attaches colour to emotions added to the magic. Julian calling her Crimson was the icing on my cake for his character, loved him! Dante, oh the tattoos. You'll have to read it... The males were interesting and I'd like to see more of them in future books. And that cliffhanger - uh! I had no idea what was happening, couldn't guess right at any part, which impressed me. It's hard not to know what to expect at the ed of a YA book recently.
 Therefore, you must join the magic. I'm expecting more character depth in future books, this was a fantastical introduction to the world of Caraval. Garber's got to reveal it's secrets in the end or what fun would that be?

King's Cage (Red Queen #3)

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Publisher: Orion Publishing

Year: Feb 2017

Pages: 507

ISBN: 9781409151197

Series: Red Queen #3

Genre: Young Adult

Reading Time: Feb 7 - 12
Binding: Paperback

Goodreads

Blurb:
 Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal.
 Now a king, Maven continues weaving his web in an attempt to maintain control over his country - and his prisoner.
 While Mare remains trapped in the palace, the remnants of the Red Rebellion continue organising and expanding. As the prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows, Cal - the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare's heart - will stop at nothing to bring her back.

Review:
 Wow, it feels as though it's been a long wait for this book. When Red Queen first came out I was utterly captivated by this world, by the time Glass Sword was released I'd reread my favourite bits of RQ so many times I was obsessed! Now King's Cage is an excellent instalment for the series and I was kept awake all night thinking of my own plots for RQ#4. A step up from Glass Sword, but I don't ever think it's fair to compare a book to the first in the series, it's the one that started it all and we'd only just discovered the world by then.
 After the last book - actually since book one - I've wanted to see more of Samson Merandus, the whisper had me intrigued and I wasn't disappointed. We spend a lot of time in the one place throughout this novel, which was a big contrast to the constant moving in GS. I didn't get bored of it, the settings were a luxurious place of nightmares. We do see more of the world again, the travelling spurred by Maven's schemes.
 Maven... Oh my, Maven. I'm a straight up Cal supporter but...Maven's got me a bit in this one. He's incredibly intelligent and confused. The loss of the last book left so much to discover about him and he opens up to a little of his history under his mother's wrath. It's fascinating. He's still playing games and he's gotten better, so much still needs to be explained of how he feels for Mare.
 Cal, I needed more of! Again, he has to make a choice and the end, well. I was awake all night. I want to see how the brothers would choose to directly compare them so I can decide who is best for Mare because right now I really don't know.
 We also had a couple different POVs in this book and when I noticed we switched to Cameron's POV I nearly screamed. Cameron, I'd forgotten about and she was a real stubborn character to read from, very similar to Mare but filling us in on all the characters we were missing. Then Evangeline... Well, that was just a phenomenal mind to get into.
 New characters made for huge plot turning points, so I need to avoid them but Anabel, I will kill you! You ruined it all!
 I'm going to go and crawl in a heavily stocked library until the next book...

The Devious Dr. Jekyll (Electric Empire #2)

Author: Viola Carr

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Year: Oct 2015

Pages: 447

ISBN: 9780062363107

Series: Electric Empire #2

Genre: Steampunk

Reading Time: Jan 31 - Feb 07

Binding: Paperback
Goodreads

Blurb:
 Solving the notorious Chopper case was supposed to help crime scene physician Dr. Eliza Jekyll - daughter of the infamous Henry - establish her career in the chauvinistic world of Victorian law enforcement. But the scrutiny that comes with her newfound fame is unwelcome for a woman with a diabolical secret: her dark and jealous shadow self, Lizzie Hyde. And there is the mercurial Royal Society agent with his own secret to hide, Captain Remy Lafayette. Does he want to marry Eliza or burn her at the stake? It's impossible, however, for Eliza to push Remy away when he tempts her with the one thing she can't resist: a bizarre crime to investigate. And although Eliza is uncertain about Remy, Lizzie isn't. Lizzie wants to steal the magnetic and persistent agent and usurp Eliza's life.
 As the search for a bloodthirsty torturer dubbed the Pentacle Killer draws Eliza and Remy into a terrifying world of spies, art thieves and evil alchemy - where the price of immortality is madness or damnation - only Lizzie's dark ingenuity can help Eliza survive. Eliza and Remy must race to thwart a foul conspiracy involving the sorcerous French, but they must also overcome a sinister enemy who is all too close to home: the vengeful Lizzie who is determined to dispose of Eliza for good.

Review:
 Firstly, I'm so glad I didn't have to wait long to read this book after reading the first, there was no time to forget the small details or mix up the character names and I'm really excited for the third book later this year (April apparently)! Another excellently steampunkish cover was waiting to greet me at the library, I read it quickly enough to be satisfied and just slowly enough to prolong the joy.
 Carr's descriptions are elaborate, still building a world that's growing in size and relevance to the story. The actions of The Diabolical Miss Hyde have not been forgotten and now our favourite murderer is on the loose again causing all sorts of trouble with Eliza. Her struggles are hypnotic to read, completely plausible yet entirely insane!
 The Pentacle Killer is the kind of murderer I could read endlessly about. Black magic (or whatever you want to call it) never fails to make an interesting murder case on page or screen. Trying to put the pieces together was once again thrilling and though I identified the suspect, I most definitely had no idea of the why or how. It was a surprising twist and reminded me of another piece of classical literature that I really need to get my hands on at some point...
 Eliza and Lizzie's interactions are still interesting, still struggling with one another for their own lives, endangering and saving each other on a daily basis. Eliza is still working to find her way in the world without and against her male counterparts. Her conversations with the gorgeous Remy are still so amusing as they stand over several mutilated corps, working the crime scene as well as their own feelings. Just get on with it, the two of you! We get to see more of Remy this time, his brother included and that was certainly entertaining. All of these interactions continue to spur Lizzie's jealousy, she starts to dabble where she shouldn't and continues to cause edge-of-seat trouble for herself.
 Hipp was perfect, of course. How can a mechanical pet not be?
 Our cliffhanger was a big one, a world changing one for the Electric Empire setting. I'll be waiting for the April release, Sherlock cap on to try and solve the next case with these excellent characters!

Windwitch (The Witchlands #2)

Author: Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen
Year: Jan 2017
Pages: 377
ISBN: 9780765379306
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Time: 17 - 31 Jan
Binding: Hardback
Goodreads

Blurb:
 After an explosion destroys his ship, the world believes Prince Merik, Windwitch, is dead. Scarred yet alive, Merik is determined to prove his sister's treachery. Upon reaching the royal capital, crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets, fighting for the weak - which leads to whispers of a disfigured demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed.
 When the Bloodwitch Aeduan discovers a bounty on Iseult, he makes sure to be the first to find her - yet in a surprise twist, Iseult offers him a deal. She will return money stolen from him, if he locates Safi. Now they must work together to cross the Witchlands, while constantly wondering, who will betray whom first?
 After a surprise attack and shipwreck, Safi and the Empress of Marstok barely escape with their lives. Alone in a land of pirates, every moment balances on a knife's edge - especially when the pirates' next move could unleash war upon the Witchlands.

Review:
 It feels like it's been forever since Truthwitch was released, I'd forgotten a lot of the details so I had some gaps when reading this. Seriously, reread the first novel if you've got the time! I'll do a rerun of the series when the last book is set to come out! I'd forgotten quite a few characters apparently, Auduan, never! Red eyes, oh yeah!
 Say what you like about changing POV chapters, I feel like it made me read faster, I got excited to return to a character so would tear through the next few stories to see them again. It still took me a little while to read, not because it was difficult or I didn't have much time but I was savouring the next instalment of The Witchlands series, it'll be a while until we see the next! The changing POV let me connect with each character more, you went along the story with all of them, felt how information changed each one of them!
 Though Safi and Iseult are apart, the sisterly way they think of one another is such that it's as if they were together, knowing the others thoughts and habits gets them out of difficult places. There's loss in their separation and strength in their memories of one another, it's really amazing to see. I only imagine it's sisterly as I have no such thing, but am sure once the sibling rivalry is gone some if this love there... At least I hope.
 Aeduan. Still love him, can't get enough. Nuff said.
 Merik's character building is going strong and I can't wait to see more from him. His relationship with Vivia is fascinating but you can read about that for yourselves. The Shadow Man had me intrigued and I still have one hell of a load of questions! Yes cliffhangers, it's a series of course!
 On top of all the fabulous character work, I'm so glad we got the see more of the world they're in! That gorgeous map in the front of the book is actually getting put to some use, thank goodness. I can't stand maps that are just a waste of ink. Again, I can't reveal too much, but the Game of Thrones lover in me was satisfied by Safi's journey and her new companions (who are awesome). Again, can't wait for more!
 If you've not yet divulged yourself in this story, I'd suggest doing so now but the wait would be torture. So I suggest two months before the final book is released, enough time to read and join the excitement!