Review: Odyssey

Odyssey by M.L. Fergus
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

She'd gone from a freedom-hungry nobody playing dress-up to save an orphan she'd never met to a princess who now held the life of her kind, sweet, long-lost brother in her hands. 

Second in the Fractured Kingdom series, you'd definitely want to read Prophecy before jumping into this one as it picks up right where that one left off. Our main protagonists, Persephone and Azriel had been cornered by the evil Regent Mordesius in the castle. This was all after learning that Persephone was actually the long lost twin sister princess to the King Finnius. Trying to save their lives, Azriel comes up with a lie about knowing where the healing Pool of Genezig is and if Mordesius lets them go, he'll bring back some healing waters to prove it. Mordesius takes the bait, as he's obsessed with “curing” his deformed body and gives them one hundred days to find the Pool and come back, or he'll kill the king. Thus, sets off our Odyssey as Persephone, Azriel, and a revolving door of tag-along secondary characters travel the fantasy land of Glyndoria. 

“Marry the girl...find the pool...save the king...fulfill the prophecy. It all fits,” breathed Cairn, her eyes aglow with excitement. 

If you read my review of the first, you'll know I enjoyed the character dynamics and developing fantasy and politics worldbuilding, the four hundred pages here, ran too long for me. There was a healthy focus on delivering Mordesius' pov chapters and his reveling in his evilness became a lot to keep reading; numerous times torturing and calling a prisoner of his “cow”. I feel like so much of his story could have been cut, we know he's evil, we know what his goal is. The politics side was him trying to outplay a higher up Lord and maneuvering him and his daughter, that included the king, in a way that would ultimately lead him into power. He juggled some things in a believable way and others it was like, yeah, no surprise that turned out the way it did. 

She tried to believe that she would never again lay her cheek against his warm chest, would never again feel his strong arms around her, would never again feel him lying so close to her in the darkness. 

The romance between Persephone and Azriel did have some momentum, Azriel did some maneuvering of his own and we get a bit of forced proximity. Persephone kept true to character with, overly, fighting feelings and circumstances but as each new little adventure on their odyssey brought them closer together you could see their connect strengthening. This was still kept more in the YA category than adult with a firmly shut-door scene. I enjoyed the secondary characters, Rachel and the mysterious “dressed in homespun” man but others veered into over-the-top goofy annoying like the troll-ish leader. The ending gave us Persephone having to face one of her biggest fears, learning about her mother, a surprise move by a character, some sadness, and a kidnapping that will lead into more trials for our group in the third book. This read somewhat slower and dragged out for me but if you're more into longer adventure fantasy with YA vibe, you might enjoy more.

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Review: Break Wide the Sea

Break Wide the Sea by Sara Holland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Don’t move too fast. Don’t touch anyone. Ignore the smell of blood. 

A young adult mash of historical fantasy, romance, and magic, with a cover that will surely grab those among us that haven't gotten past our ship phases and still have sea shanty songs on our feeds. Break Wide the Sea takes place in a fantasy world where finfolk (mermaid and fae mix) exist and are close to going to war with the humans who hunt Livyati (magical whales). It's a historical fantasy 1800s whaling world where told all from her point-of-view, eighteen year old Annie is now the head of her family's whaling company. Her parent's died when she was younger, finfolk attacked them when they were out whaling and only she, and two other boys August, and Silas, survived. This was nine years ago and bonds the three together, oh yes, we have a love triangle, but it's a weak one. Annie's family was cursed eons ago, she's turning into a Siren, her turning brought on by Heartbreak but holds it off by getting comfort from her fiancé August. When they were attacked by the finfolk it was revealed that Silas was half-human, half-finfolk, but Annie can't reveal him as he also knows she's cursed. Six years ago, Silas sent Annie a shell that holds a memory showing her August plans on killing her eventually and taking over the company. Annie's trying to fend off a curse, take care of her two younger siblings, and figure out who she can trust. 

“Dissolve the company,” he whispers. “End whaling forever.” 

I think this will be more for historical fantasy readers, the whaling world and finfolk elements captured my attention the most, but maybe that's the sea shanties ringing in my ears. The romance felt fairly weak to me, it's YA so there was kissing and groping, with a completely off-screen bedroom scene later on but more importantly, there wasn't much emotion to feel between Annie and August. For plot purposes, it's clear it wants to remain a mystery to put tension between Annie, August, and Silas, if Annie can trust August or Silas, but, it's all pretty obvious. Annie's pov felt wishy-washy a lot of the time and that made for drawn out melodrama because as it's all from her, the reader can't escape. 

Something malevolent is happening on the Heralder. My family’s ship, I think with a surge of possessive anger. 

A lot of the story takes place on the sea, which I enjoyed and the messaging is pretty clear on this, humans have to respect and work with nature or feel it's wrath. I almost felt like Annie's younger sister Lydia stole the show from her, she was a stronger character and I wish we could have felt that decisiveness from Annie. Silas intrigued, as he's mostly a mystery to Annie, he remained for most of the story the same to me as the reader. I'm not usually a fan of love triangles but as the relationship didn't feel strong to me between Annie and August (you'll swim with the whales to deeper depths), well, I was just waiting for her to open her eyes more to Silas. 

A monstrous queen wants me for unknown purposes. 

As Annie fights to figure out who to trust, August claiming to help her build up her whaling business or Silas who claims August wants to kill her and tells her he can bring her to the finfolk to cure her curse, it all builds to a now you're going learn ending when the finfolk and their Queen show up. This does end on a cliffhanger, we see what happens to the characters but they are set on new journeys as the building war between the finfolk and whalers isn't over, and a new one has begun between Annie, August, and Silas.

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Review: All We Lost Was Everything

All We Lost Was Everything by Sloan Harlow
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

My mom is gone. My dad is dead. And my life will never be the same. 

All We Lost Was Everything was a young and new adult feeling fiction story about how lies and covering up painful pasts can lead to hurting the people you were only trying to protect. Newly graduated from highschool, River has just survived a house fire that took her father's life and all her belongings. She's staying with her aunt as her mother took one of her mental health hikes before the accident and hasn't been heard or seen from since. When her bestfriend Tawny starts a GoFundMe for her, she gets a mysterious donation of two million dollars. Not willing to spend the money before she learns who donated it, she continues working at the local cafe, where she can't keep her eyes off the new employee Logan, but he seems so angry towards her and she can't figure out why. 

Because if she knew who I really am, what I’ve done? 

It would be the end of everything. 

The first half of this leaned into those young and new adult feelings and issues of not quite knowing what to do with yourself after highschool and having the hots for a boy. River was previously dating someone that she thought she was going to marry but he broke up with her out of the blue, so she's dealing with trust issues between the ex and her disappeared mom. The story is mostly told from River's point-of-view but the middle brings in Logan's pov and readers learn that he has feelings for River but there's a mystery reason that makes him feel like he should stay away from her. The middle loses itself to focusing in on the physical relationship, kisses and having the hots for each other, between River and Logan for awhile, but the latter second half races on as numerous reveals start happening and the reader gets a bit of whiplash from it all. 

Someone who loved me enough to walk through fire. 

Some of the reveals you'll probably see coming and others will most likely be a surprise. They all were worked in believably but there were some that also felt like a soap opera sweeps week, especially when they are revealed and then moved on from fairly quickly, not letting the reader absorb and try to feel some emotion about. River had that late teen angst attitude at times that colored her with some narcissism, she wanted everyone to act the way she wanted them to act but when the reveals happen, they were so dramatic, it turned me back to her side. This bounced from keeping me engaged in the beginning with the introduction to these characters, to wanting more depth developed in their relationships between them, to barely hanging on for the soap opera drama reveal ride. I could see a younger audience (mostly making out with one open-door scene) enjoying this more as a starter that could lead them into reading Gillian Flynn or Oyinkan Braithwaite. Most of the story was hiding and only sort of working to unfold the mystery, and then raced through the reveals too quickly for them to really emotionally hit, but younger and newer readers might enjoy this step into a romance and mystery mashup.

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Review: Where Shadows Meet

Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.7 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

She had to take control of her own destiny. She had to act now. 

Where Shadows Meet is the first part of a duology where readers are introduced to a fantasy world of humans, vampires, and gods. This would be great as a primer for upper young adult readers you'd want to bridge to adult high fantasy, this had all those elements on a more toned down scale. The beginning, especially before the story actually starts with the family tree and glossary of characters could feel a little overwhelming, my advice, glance over it and then come back after you've read half and look it over again as the names and their positions will be more recognizable and stick with you more. The story follows three point-of-views, Favre, Najja, and Leyla. They each come from different backgrounds but their stories weave together and through their povs, the world building is created. 

I see death. And it sees me. The dead whisper in my ears, tormenting me. 

The fantasy setting land is one year into a peace treaty that has vampires mining gold in exchange for humans giving their blood. Previously, vampires and humans had been fighting for a thousand years after a god, Thana and her partner Favre, left the Heavenly Realm for the human one. Thana had killed her father, from a sword forged from Favre's ripped off wings blood, after he refused to let Thana marry Favre. This action caused Thana to become the first vampire and she was banished from the Heavenly Realm, Favre and a few other gods going with her. The humans didn't like Thana just setting herself up as queen and the war started. Favre's character brings a lot of themes about selfishness, sacrifice, and emotional abuse in romantic and familial relationships. Her povs jump from the past to show her building romance with Thana and what happened as they came to earth and then the present as Favre breaks from an imprisonment imposed on her and her bid to free Thana. You'll get most of the outer whole lay of the story from her. 

“Sometimes the only way to find out the truth is to go along for the journey. Have faith. Believe. Trust in yourself.” 

Najja is the second pov character we meet and her povs are all from the present. She's a yamaja, a messenger of fate, she has visions of death and can see and hear the dead. She fears her powers and doesn't like how her people have been regulated to an island after her great-great-grandmother delivered a vision to the vampire queen that she didn't like. Najja has issues of never feeling good enough and living up to the pedestal she puts her sister on, along with grief from losing her mother. When Reapers attack her home, her sister tells Najja that she had a vision that Najja must help the vampire princess, this sends Najja reluctantly running from her home to the capitol to find the princess. 

“It’s not so simple as us being the bad guys and them being good. Maybe once it was like that, centuries ago, but war means atrocities have been committed on both sides. It’s now up to us, the present generation, to acknowledge our past while also healing the scars that remain.” 

This leads to us meeting our final main character, the vampire princess Leyla. Leyla is the heir and as her mother has a very advanced sickness, she knows she'll be getting the crown soon, even if she feels wholly unprepared for it. Leyla's that sheltered naive but earnest character that has felt beaten down by her mother and suffers from chronic pain that also works to make her feel not good enough. When she's exploring the town with her bestfriend Danai, Reapers attack and end up taking Danai, while Najja shows up to protect Leyla. This leads to Najja and Leyla starting a small road journey at the halfway point to go and rescue Danai from the land of the dead. 

“I’m glad you’re here with me. We’re here and we’re surviving and maybe, for tonight, that’s enough.” 

A lot of this first duology book was getting to know our three main characters, as we spent time in their heads, some of the soliloquies did go on long enough to slow the pace down, but I didn't really feel that way until the beginning second half as I thought some of Favre's feelings were retread one too many times. This is a story, though, that I think is worth investing in the time, it's moving parts might not seem to fit together at first but I thought as it went on it was pretty smooth how the author worked to slowly bring them together. Najja's there to try and protect Leyla and not allow one of the outcomes of fate, the one Favre wants to bring on, freeing Thana. There's the destructive romance between Favre and Thana and then the building one between Najja and Leyla. I did think Najja and Leyla's emotions and romance was rushed and I wasn't a total believer in it but the second book in the series could build on those emotions. 

I’m forced to watch as she rows away, toward the island where souls go at their end, to the place where shadows meet. 

This obviously ends on a cliffhanger, the ending of this dances into horror, which I enjoyed, but the rush of the events happening felt a little jarring after the majority of the book's pace was more slow moving. The worldbuilding was less about the physical setting and more about the social and cultural structuring of society and how that emotionally impacts individuals. There was also a lot of working in mythology, fairytales, and folklore that I enjoyed and will have you saying, I recognize that every so often. The characters fit an upper young adult classification and if you go in expecting a high fantasy primer feel, you'll enjoy this one. The combined elements of vampires, humans, and gods, how this was structured to weave the three main characters together, young adult emotional themes working through, and at times richness to the writing, made this intriguingly enjoyable.

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Review: Prophecy

Prophecy by M.L. Fergus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.7 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

“Never attack in anger,” he whispered, his lips so close to her ear that she could feel his breath on her skin. “And never start a fight you can't win.” 

Prophecy is an updated and revised fantasy story (The Gypsy King) that follows a girl trying to fight destiny and the way it pulls and pushes her into dire consequence situations. We first meet Persephone as a shackled enslaved late teens girl who is trying to protect chickens from a boy a little older than her that is trying to steal them. When Azriel gets a look at her face in the moonlight, he seems to know her and wants her to come with him, which Persephone refuses. Only to have Azriel show up the next night impersonating a lord and buys her. This sets her off on a journey where she constantly tries to find ways to break away for her freedom but is shackled not in chains this time, but to the seemingly workings of an old prophecy. 

Once, she'd believed the prophecy of the Methusian king to be nothing more than the wishful thinking of a hunted people. Now she knew it was a death sentence for all those it touched. 

In almost the opposite of an info dump, this first book in The Fractured Kingdoms series, takes it's time, and doesn't get there for some aspects, in introducing readers to this fantasy land. After a prologue that introduces readers to a Methusian seer who gives us a prophecy of a Methusian king that will reunite the clans of Glyndoria right before she's attacked and killed, the next chapter jumps us fifteen years later. As we follow Persephone and Azriel on their road trip, the worldbuilding gets placed in here and there with the gist of it being that there are four clans who make up this world, a boy king of the Erok clan is currently crowned but as he's not quite eighteen yet, his regent Mordesius runs things. Mordesius has a deformed body from a fire and is mad for the legend of a Methusian magical pool that could heal his body, he also hunts Methusians not only to torture them for their knowledge but to kill the children for their blood, thinking that has healing powers too. The advertisement of this saying it's like the Princess Bride and Game of Thrones kind of fits, you'll get light and goofy with Persephone and her animals that follow her but some gruesome killing and torture with a wanna be Little Finger in Mordesius. 

“I do not believe that the Fates will allow you to refuse. I believe that a path stretches out before us, Persephone, and though I cannot say exactly where it will lead, I would stake my life on the certainty that we are meant to walk it together, come what may.” 

Most of this first book in the series is more of a meet and greet to learn the players and set them in their roles. Persephone will annoy at times with her bratty determination that doesn't always make sense, she wants to escape Azriel and the Methusian prophecy they think she has a part in, but escape to what? Persephone never really has a plan just a “I want to be free” that feels forced to keep her apart from Azriel. Their budding romance had moments, they have some sweet and heated teasing between each other, but it definitely felt in the lighter young adult realm that this is categorized in. In the second half where the prophecy has them headed to the capitol to rescue a Methusian boy, along with an added girl Rachel who looks a lot like Persephone and no one is sure who the prophecy is about, the story started to feel a little dragged out. We get point-of-views from the other side, Mordesius, to further the overarching plot, but there was still not enough moved along for me. 

I enjoyed this because of the cute chemistry between Azriel and Persephone but Persephone's insistence in wanting to “escape” when it didn't quite make sense, had me frustrated with her a lot of the time. This first installment delivered on some answers but a lot still isn't clear and with a sudden cliffhanger, I find myself wanting to start the second in the series right away. This was at turns cute, goofy, gruesome, and had fun back and forth chemistry, I just wanted Persephone to accept she could be a heroine in a fantasy story more readily.

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Quickie Review: Escaping from Houdini

Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

1.5 stars 

"The show must go on." 

NO00000. 

This was a locked boat mystery where a carnival full of contortionist, fire breathers, palm and tarot readers, and Houdini (???) perform every night on the trip from England to America. The beginning was flashy and mystical with the carnival and it's people, the mysterious ringmaster who gets involved in a love triangle with our couple, kept me intrigued but when a murder occurs each night of the show and the whole point of this series, with the romance, is that our couple are forensic detective apprentices and there was barely any detecting going on and no one seemed overly concerned about the murders, enough to stop the shows, it all began to feel deeply unserious and I had a hard time investing in the story and characters. 

Ok, I did start this continuous same couple series at book 3, so I missed some foundational emotion between this young couple but, meh, to feeling much between them. 

The carnival delivered some flashy described cool scenes but the plot was structurally messy af and the characterization was wonky; a lot of elements didn't track. 

I'm exhausted trying to figure this book out and so thankful I buddy read it with thevintagechronicles over on Fable because I had someone to whine, complain, and get my frustrations out with, would have lost my mind otherwise, lol.

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Review: Heartless Hunter

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Because wherever Rune Winters went, her carefully crafted reputation came with her. 

She was an informer. A witch hater. A darling of the New Republic. 

Rune was the girl who betrayed her grandmother. 

The Crimson Moth series is a planned duology (so brace yourself for that cliffhanger) about a fantasy world where witches once ruled but two years ago, there was a revolution by the Blood Guard and the ruling three witch queen sisters were killed. Now, The New Republic has outlawed witches and the Blood Guard have hunted them to the point that very few are ever seen, identifiable by their scars cut into their bodies to supply the blood they need for their spells. Rune was sixteen when the revolution happened and forced into an impossible situation that had her surviving but drowning from guilt. She also gets a shock when, as a later bloomer, she gets her menses and it's revealed she's a witch. Knowing her survival depends on staying hidden, she uses her aristocrat lineage to pretend to be an empty headed society miss, but wanting to fight back, Rune also becomes the Crimson Moth, a vigilante that rescues captured witches and ships them away to freedom. 

Gideon Sharpe. 

Rune’s lip nearly curled at the name of Alex’s older brother. Devoutly loyal to the New Republic, Gideon was a ruthless, bloodthirsty witch hunter who’d sent more of Rune’s kind to the purge than any other member of the Guard. He’d also famously helped assassinate the Sister Queens, sparking the revolution into a blaze. 

The older brother of Rune's bestfriend, Alex, is Gideon a captain in the Blood Guard and helped start the revolution but killing two of the witch queens. When they were kids and Rune met him for the first time, she had a crush on him, until he was rude and dismissive to her. Now that she's eighteen and he's twenty, Rune tries to avoid him as he could be the cause of her death if he ever found out what and who she is. With chapters that alternate giving us Rune and Gideon's point-of-view, we get a good luck at Gideon's character and learn important information about his past, thoughts, and feelings. His family was poor until the queens favored his parents for their dress designs and while that should have made things better for their family, it was their downfall. Gideon catches the eye of the youngest queen, Cressida, and from there he's forced into a relationship that he initially wanted but then can't escape as she becomes murderously jealous and Gideon can't escape people knowing about his relationship with the witch queen and knows he has to stay with her for his remaining family member, Alex's, safety. Gideon has reasons to hate the witch queens and when Nicolas, the commander of the Blood Guard, lays out a way to get his revenge, he takes it. 

He was a witch hunter. He suspected her. He was closing in on her even now. 

And yet. 

I flew through the beginning first half of this, the world-building that was starting to be laid out with Rune having to remain hidden for her survival but having two friends, Alex and Verity, a girl Rune becomes friends with after Verity tells her the story of how she's not a witch but her two sisters were and her mother turned them in, set-up magic, danger, and then intrigue when Gideon came into the picture. Verity pushes Rune to find someone to court and then marry who has access to information so they can safely rescue even more witches, but does think Gideon could be too dangerous. Alex also has tried very hard to never betray his brother and refuses to completely side with Rune against him. However, since this is romance along with fantasy, Rune has a little bit of that drawn to Gideon and tells herself and friends that she's only going to use Gideon for information. Since we get Gideon's povs too, readers also know that Gideon's friends Harrow and fellow guard Lelia, also encourage him to pretend court Rune for information, when it's found out that Rune's family business of ships helped the last witch escape. So a really great cat and mouse dynamic is set-up with Rune and Gideon trying to use each other but also ultimately developing real feelings. 

The hunted had fallen for the hunter. 

The second half slowed down for me some as the romance became more of the focus and it stagnated with rinse and repeat of Gideon feeling he couldn't give into his feelings for Rune because he knows his brother Alex has romantic feelings for her and Rune, rightly so, scared that Gideon would turn her in to be killed if he discovered she's a witch. There was an open-door bedroom scene but I thought the best scenes between the two was when the tension ramped up because both are trying to fight their chemistry and both have some fear, Rune getting discovered and Gideon thinking he could be getting played and wanting to protect his brother. The latter second half also brought in some love triangle that I really didn't like and lead to a component of the ending that didn't quite deliver on the desired emotional impact for me; I'm not sure that character was flushed out enough. 

She was the Crimson Moth— a wanted criminal, not to mention a witch, hiding in plain sight. 

The last twenty percent picked up the stagnated pace and we get a rush of movement with a reveal that some will probably guess early at, some battle, and Rune and Gideon more divided than ever. This is tagged as a YA and it has some of that feel in the beginning but by the end I'd say it was more New Adult, the open-door scene and the method of how they kill the witches might be a little gruesome for the lower end of YA (but for YA/NA I loved that Rune used her menses blood for a source of power, using that blood so she wouldn't have to cut herself and have scars signaling she was a witch). There were characters I would have liked flushed out more, The Good Commander had such an impact on Gideon's life that I really missed seeing more scenes of the two together, not to mention Gideon and Alex. As I mentioned in the beginning, this ends with a cliffhanger and while I wanted more depth in some places, I'll definitely be in line for when the second comes out as in one aspect Rune got what she wanted but it may have just put her in danger from another foe and Gideon is going to want revenge even more.

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Review: A Fragile Enchantment

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

“She is common, but she is divine-blooded.” 

 A Fragile Enchantment was a fantasy re-imagining of the historical way the United Kingdom treated Ireland that lead to the Great Famine in the 1800s. Niamh Ó Conchobhair is an eighteen year old Machlish (Irish) girl who was born with the magical ability to infuse the clothes she sews with emotions. When a dress she sews for a common girl is seen to help her capture a member of the nobility for her to marry, Niamh's designs become popular. So popular, the Prince Regent of Avaland (England) invites her to come and sew the wedding clothes for his younger brother's wedding. Niamh sees herself responsible for her grandmother and mother's well-being and knows this to be the opportunity to make enough money to secure their futures. However, the more Niamh uses her magic, the more life force drains from her but Niamh is a martyr and thinks it's her duty to sacrifice herself for her family, the way her ancestors fought against Avaland's rule. 

She had grown up on horror stories of the Avlish royal family’s power. How it had caused the Blight by depleting the soil. How during the War of Machlish Independence, briars had torn from the earth and skewered men like living bayonets. Niamh had always suspected those legends were exaggerated. Now, she wasn’t so certain what the Carmines were capable of. 

When Niamh gets to Avaland, she's amazed at the opulence (it's a very Regency England setting) but realizes quickly that something itsn't quite right. The castle seems to be running on a skeleton crew and there's obvious unrest with the working class protesting and demanding reparations for how the Avlish have treated the Machlish. There's also the obvious arranged marriage feeling with the Prince Christopher (Kit) sullen and angry that he is being forced to marry the Princess Rosa. The Prince Regent, Jack, seems to constantly be harried and keeps refusing to meet with Helen, the leader of the protesters. It's a tense situation and it gets complicated more when Niamh and Kit start to notice each other more. 

He had chosen her not for her skill or her craft, but to make himself look enlightened. To slither out of any accountability. She was nothing more than a novelty to point out to her fellow countrymen and say, Look, not all of you suffer here. 

Since the world-building borrows and relies heavily on Irish and English historical relations, it's kind of already built in, as long as you the reader are knowledgeable about such things. The magical components also borrows some from Irish mythology, which was a fun additive but Niamh's personal plot of her magic draining her life force didn't feel quite filled out right. Without scenes with her grandmother and mother, we have to go on her word that she's forced to do this and the reasoning never had me truly buying into it. Since she's a seamstress, I thought there would more scenes of her sewing and fabric descriptions but they were fairly few, even though the story has Kit constantly telling her not to overwork herself. I just felt it needed to be a bigger discussion that while she sews, she's taking years off her life?? 

A girl like her wanting Kit Carmine would not—could not—end well. 

This is all told from Niamh's point-of-view and I thought it took until closer to the midway point for her and Kit to show anything of their relationship. They share a kiss in the second half and get a closed door scene but I'm not sure I really felt or understood the claim that they have a burning romance, the emotions just weren't there for me. This does read Young Adult, with the occasional curse word and even though it's historical fantasy, the vernacular reads modern (leading to an uneven feeling with the supposed to be Regency England). The angst comes from Jack making Kit marry, for political reasons, but Kit and Niamh starting to want to be together. There's some secondary character friends on the side, helping and hurting the cause, a quick jaunt to a country house of the royal's that felt added in for the requisite country house scenes, and a little political intrigue. 

“I am so afraid, Kit. I am afraid that I will fail, despite all the pains I have taken. I am afraid I will let everyone down. And deep down, I am afraid that I am horribly, irredeemably selfish because I am so afraid that I will die without having let myself live at all.” 

I read an early ARC copy and I hate to say it, but it read more like a beta, Niamh's magical story thread needed more shoring up as it only seems to get weaker and weaker as the story goes on. The ending gave a last thirty percent third act breakup, and again, not fully constructed right with the stopping a wedding, a duel that felt madcap thrown in, and revelations that were a bit obvious regarding the political aspects. It all wraps up with a HEA and relations between the countries hopefully taking a right step toward working together. The elements were there but lack of refinement had this more of a struggle to get through than enjoyable.

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Review: The Girl Who Was Too Much And Not Enough: Book 1 of 3, Kiera Rieman Series

The Girl Who Was Too Much And Not Enough: Book 1 of 3, Kiera Rieman Series by Lelina Durrette
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

And yet, part of me still wondered what was really so fundamentally wrong about just being myself. 

Set in the year 2125, The Girl Who Was Too Much and Not Enough takes a look at a society that has given full governmental control to what and how much food people can consume, along with other personal choices. Told all through seventeen year old Kiera's eyes, she's one of the “not-quite-perfects”, which is what her friend group calls themselves because they're deemed unattractive for not meeting the society's rigid standards. It's rough for Kiera because in this society, how good you look equals power and most teens, before adulthood, enter The Center and do the Sleep-a-Weigh program. This program is basically where they are put in a comatose state to lose weight and get plastic surgery to look “perfect”. Losing some from her friend group to this program, Kiera feels even more lonely, especially when her mother and younger sister constantly berate her and only her father seems to love her for her, until she has a chance encounter with an eighteen year old boy.

I had never really fit in my world. It was like I had been waiting my whole life to make this change. 

When Kiera meets Asa, her whole world changes. He introduces her to the Underground, a market and makeshift city where people who don't want to follow the restrictive rules of the government live. There she tries real fresh fruit, meat, and see that people can be, what is deemed overweight, and with their “imperfections” like crooked teeth, happy and be loved. The beginning of the story was a little shaky with it's constant talk and comparisons of GMO and non-GMO food, to the point I was thinking this was going to be fully an indoctrinate book but that eventually, for the most part, faded away and the plot of teens and outcasts fighting the evil government started to progress (I fully realize this is a different kind of propaganda but was less forced in face and more flowed written message in). 

I really wanted to believe that Asa and I had our whole future stretching before us, but why did it feel like this was only the beginning of our struggles? 

This was in the vein of a Hunger Games or Maze Runner, with Kiera joining Asa and his friends and family as they first buck the system with the Underground Black Market, the government capturing some of them and sending them to The Center for “rehabilitation”, rescue mission, and eventual plan for the future. There's a romance between Kiera and Asa (it was definitely rushed with how quickly he trusts her) with kissing and a faint love triangle that tries to appear with a classmate of Kiera's named Ian, along with some action and light battle scenes with the rescue mission and them being on the run. 

I drew a shaky breath and turned back to Asa. He smiled and held out his hand to me. I took it and we set off together into the unknown. 

The ending had a slight cliffhanger with the cast of characters having to leave their district for another one to try and avoid all the heat from being found out in theirs. There's an obvious villain, Captain Kulig who tortured people in The Center, in the wings, a maybe maybe not traitor Ian going along with them, the question of what happened to Kiera's family, and of course the continuing romance between Kiera and Asa. The second half with all it's action felt a little disjointed with the slower, introducing beginning but if you like dystopian young adult, this could be another series to add to your reading.

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