Author: LRWLee

Author - I am passionate about helping people live better lives by overcoming frustration, impatience, fear and a whole lot more. I weave these narratives throughout the entertaining novels that I write.

#BookReview by @LRWLee of Snow Like Ashes

Snow Like AshesFrom the well-constructed prose to the riveting storyline to the examination of how to always remain “yourself”, no matter the situation, I loved Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch!

SUMMARY (from the back): Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, Winter’s future king—she would do anything to help Winter rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself—only to find herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics—and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

WHAT I THOUGHT: I must begin my critique with the world Raasch built. At the beginning there seemed to be so many kingdoms that it felt overwhelming, but the author sorted out how they came to be. While this first book fleshed out only three of them, I presume Raasch will bring the others in to play in defeating the major conflict as we move into book two.

Another thing I love about this book is where the story picks up…not with defeat looming, not with an enemy attacking, but completely and utterly defeated with only impossible hope spurring on the Winterians. And after hopes have been dashed so many times, few dare to hope again. How many world’s have been built thusly? Not many that I can remember. I love the author daring to rise up, daring to consider the possibility, daring to hope again…awesome…

Raasch also did a masterful job of unveiling a major plot twist three quarters of the way through that made so much sense but took me completely by surprise. I’ve read a lot of epic fantasy and it takes a lot to “pull one over on me” but she did it and thrilled me. Well done.

The main heroine, Meira, is a believable 16-year-old complete down to her impulsiveness and lack of confidence. I admire that she loves her country so much that she is willing to act for what she believes even if it means her own life is forfeit. That commitment makes her someone I could support and root for. The other theme I appreciated for Meira is her wrestling with how she can remain true to herself when those in authority over her dictate so much of her life. I enjoyed her search for answers that work for her. How true that is for each of us…we must seek to always be ourselves despite peer pressure or those in authority over us.

As for a budding love triangle, we definitely have one between Mather and Theron, but I appreciate how Raasch constructed it…not whiny, but testosterone driven guys who will clearly come to blows at some point. Personally, I’m rooting for Theron as he seems deeper and able to appreciate more deeply. Will that relationship be possible though? Hard to say.

I gave this 5 stars.

Buy Snow Like Ashes at Amazon

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Review by YA fantasy author L. R. W. Lee
Website: LRWLee.com
Twitter: @lrwlee
FB: LRWLee Author
Blog: blog.LRWLee.com

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS POST, be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you thought.

FREE EBOOKS: I also invite you to download the free ebooks of the award winning Prequel and Book one in the Andy Smithson coming-of-age epic fantasy series.

#Interview by @LRWLee of YA Fantasy Author Laura Thalassa

Meet YA Fantasy author Laura Thalassa and watch as she reads from THE UNEARTHLY, book one in The Unearthly series. Then get to know her as she poses a fun trivia question. Be sure to leave a comment to enter the giveaway for one of two prizes: (1) eBook copy of The Unearthly, book one in The Unearthly series for an international winner OR (1) a paperback of the same for a US-based winner.

Summary: The first time I was declared dead, I lost my past. The second time, I lost my humanity. Now I’m being hunted, and if I die again, my soul is up for forfeit.

After enrolling in Peel Academy, an elite supernatural boarding school on the British Isles, the last of the sirens, Gabrielle Fiori, only wants to fit in. Instead, the elixir meant to awaken her supernatural abilities kills her.

When Gabrielle wakes up in the morgue twelve hours later, something wicked is awakened in her, something even the supernatural community has never seen before. Now the only person who can help her is Andre de Leon, the community’s infamous bad boy and the king of vampires.

Yet even his help can’t prevent the repeated attempts on Gabrielle’s life. Someone is after her, and they will stop at nothing to end her short existence. Only Gabrielle cannot let that happen now that her soul hangs in the balance, because she may have met the devil. And he wants her. Bad.

#BookReview by @LRWLee of The Girl of Fire and Thorns

GirlofFireandThornsCoverHow do we really know what to believe? This summarizes The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson.

Summary: Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one. But she is also the younger of two princesses. The one who has never done anything remarkable, and can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king–a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior, and he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young. Most of the chosen do.

WHAT I THOUGHT: I have to say I don’t usually like reads that focus on a religious belief system, but I’m glad I stayed the course because this is a well written series.

In the first book of the trilogy, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, we meet Elisa, second in line to the throne, and in her mind, second in everything–she’s overweight, politically inept and expendable, therefore she’s married off to a foreign magistrate to strengthen the bonds of peace with that land.

What Elisa doesn’t fully appreciate, however, is the godstone that appeared in her navel as an infant on her naming day, something that occurs only every 100 years. She’s confused and frustrated by what it means for her and her life and she struggles to invent an identity for herself that satisfies her.

But other nations have plans for her as the Bearer and they kidnap her. Through her ordeal trekking through barren dessert, the soft girl begins to toughen up and question what she has always been taught. The questioning is where Carson’s brilliance shines, for we all question what we believe from time to time and that questioning usually changes us…at times significantly.

I won’t offer any spoilers but suffice it to say, if you love a good mystery that changes and grows the main protagonist, you’ll love this first book in the series.

I give this 4.5 stars.

Get Girl of Fire and Thorns at Amazon

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Review by YA fantasy author L. R. W. Lee
Website: LRWLee.com
Twitter: @lrwlee
FB: LRWLee Author
Blog: blog.LRWLee.com

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS POST, be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you thought.

FREE EBOOKS: I also invite you to download the free ebooks of the award winning Prequel and Book one in the Andy Smithson coming-of-age epic fantasy series.

#BookReview by @LRWLee of Rite of Rejection

RiteofRejection_coverAmazing writing. Evolving characters.  Engaging plot twists. This is how I summarize Sarah Negovetich’s debut novel, Rite of Rejection.

SUMMARY: Straight-laced, sixteen-year-old Rebecca can’t wait for her Acceptance. A fancy ball, eligible bachelors, and her debut as an official member of society. Instead, the Machine rejects Rebecca. Labeled as a future criminal, she’s shipped off to a life sentence in a lawless penal colony.

A life behind barbed wire fences with the world’s most dangerous people terrifies Rebecca. She reluctantly joins a band of misfit teens in a risky escape plan, complete with an accidental fiancé she’s almost certain she can learn to love.

But freedom comes with a price. To escape a doomed future and prove her innocence Rebecca must embrace the criminal within.

WHAT I THOUGHT: For the record this is a Dystopian novel. And having Hunger Games and Divergent play big for so long, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to invest in another future society that’s gone to pot. But since the author was so nice and gave me the book, I plunged in. And I’m glad I did 🙂

First, I loved the premise of the book–a future society uses a machine to predict a person’s tendencies while still a teen, to weed out people who will harm the society in the future. I’d not seen such an idea explored and it’s pretty scary if you really think about it.

There were five primary characters–Rebecca, Eric, Elizabeth, Daniel, and Molly. While I felt Molly wasn’t well developed, the author did a good job at evolving the others, particularly the main protagonist, Rebecca, from a naive sixteen-year-old who wouldn’t think of hurting a flea, into a character resolved to sacrifice herself in order to change society. That’s quite a span to bridge but I thought Negovetich did it in a way that was believable, even including Becca’s first true love, with all the challenges that holds, in the process.

That said, the plot felt too predictable for the first half of the book. Kids are sent to the PIT (a prison-like facility) because a machine predicts they will become criminals in the future. Enter sixteen-year-old Rebecca who, despite how unlikely it seems, gets sent to PIT.  Of course the first half of the book is about how she and her compatriots try to break out…which is of course foiled.

IMO the book shines after this, and Negovetich’s brilliance is revealed for she takes Rebecca and her adoptive family of other teenage PIT convicts (Elizabeth and Daniel) and plants for them the opportunity to make a statement about what society  outside the PIT walls doesn’t know. In so doing, Rebecca is set up as the agent of change.

One complaint I had was the plot shift with Eric betraying the group seemed a bit sudden and I felt like it came out of the blue without enough lead in to make the moment more gripping. I feel like if the author had developed that a bit more, I would have felt personally betrayed and livid at the guy. But I came away from it as more of a fact that Rebecca and friends must deal with but not feeling it myself–it was more a surprise in an academic sense than experientially.

Overall, this was a great first novel by a debut author! If I could have had such a strong start…LOL! Look for Negovetich to refine her storytelling and become a force. If you like dystopian with a hint of romance thrown in, I think you’ll enjoy Rite of Rejection.

I give it 4.25 stars!

Buy Rite of Rejection on Amazon

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Review by YA fantasy author L. R. W. Lee
Website: LRWLee.com
Twitter: @lrwlee
FB: LRWLee Author
Blog: blog.LRWLee.com

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS POST, be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you thought.

FREE EBOOKS: I also invite you to download the free ebooks of the award winning Prequel and Book one in the Andy Smithson coming-of-age epic fantasy series.