"Champion" (Legend #3) by Marie Lu

Champion by Marie Lu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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I actually sat in bed staring at the cover of Champion for a solid thirty minutes after I finished reading it. This book was amazing. I was not that impressed with Legend, and although I liked Prodigy a lot more, Champion blew them both out of the water. Wow. Just wow.

This book was bursting with action from cover to cover. And not that mindless action you find in some dystopian novels, that is overly detailed and serves no true purpose, but the kind of action that makes it impossible to look away because you just have to know how it plays out. These sequences tied in with the political aspects of this novel, which were gripping and realistic. Lu describes at least three separate societies in depth and I believed them all - a lot of dystopian authors can barely manage to describe one well, so I was truly impressed.

June and Day's relationship in this novel was the perfect mix of angsty and satisfying... Originally, I was not barracking for them at all - the relationship seemed forced in Legend. In this novel, I was desperately hoping for them to live happily ever after. I followed their relationship and found myself caring as much about them as I did about the political issues in this book. Sigh. You won me over, Lu. You won me over so badly!

The ending of this book will be felt in my soul forever. It was a great ending, though - I was worried it might end predictably, and I could not have been more wrong. I don't want to spoil the ending, but you won't be disappointed.

Overall, this was an insanely satisfying and action-packed ending to a beautiful and truly unique series. I would recommend this series to anyone who wants a solid dystopian story line with two likeable main characters.

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"Prodigy" (Legend #2) by Marie Lu

Prodigy by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ah, this is the kind of writing I came to (masochistically) love and expect from Lu in The Young Elites series. I could see a great difference in the overall angst and pain (to the reader, as well as June and Day) between Legend and Prodigy, which greatly added to the depth and individuality of this series.

The best thing about Prodigy, without a doubt, was its world building. The best dystopian novels are those that create a world that makes sense both within itself, and as a logical extension of today's world. Both The Republic and The Colonies were described in a way that never made me question their reality, without bogging me down with extraneous details. The concept behind The Colonies was especially intriguing (rampant consumerism gone mad), and that is something I look forward to learning more about in Champion.

The political aspects of this book were intense. I have no idea who I actually want to win ultimately out of the major political groups! The incorporation of back-stabbing and double agents were very true to the often cutthroat nature of the political world (albeit in an exaggerated way). I also appreciated the descriptions of the rest of the world's politics. So many dystopian novels talk in great depth about their own society, and forget that others probably exist too. Oh, and Africa is not presented as destitute and hopeless for once - hurrah!

One of my major problems with Legend was that I felt that June and Day's relationship was rushed. Lu definitely remedied this in Prodigy. Seeing the relationship between these two develop throughout the book, their love no longer felt forced. It was one of those perfect, angsty relationships where one of them was always upset with or separated from the other for varying reasons. This made their love a lot more realistic (and therefore heartbreaking) this time around.

Be prepared for the ending of this novel to destroy your soul a hundred times more than Legend. I will say no more.

Overall, this novel had superb world building, with brilliant political aspects and a believable romance. Even if you did not love Legend, I urge you to read this novel anyway!

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"Siege and Storm" (Grisha Trilogy #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(mild spoilers)

Siege and Storm was a brilliant second novel in The Grisha Trilogy. I enjoyed it slightly less than the first, but not enough to drop it to three stars... Especially since most series fall prey to "middle book syndrome", and this one did not.

I loved that Alina and Mal were not separated from other characters for very long. I was really worried that Bardugo would leave them out of Ravka and we would hear about The Darkling's escapades through rumours and gossip, rather than through our hero's actions. When we got onboard Sturmhund's ship, I was a little too excited. Partly because The Darkling is my favourite character, and partly because Sturmhund/Prince Nikolai was a great addition to the series! I hope that Ruin and Rising delves more into his story, even though Alina and Nikolai were separated at the end of the book.

I continued to feel no emotional connection to Mal. Like at all. His character seemed to just be in the way most of the time! I also did not feel a deep emotional connection between him and Alina. Sure, Bardugo writes about how much they love each other, but I never feel that between them. Alina seems to have a stronger connection with The Darkling, which is really saying something...

Alina is an amazing character. I loved seeing her come into her own during Siege and Storm, both as a Grisha and as a leader. When she first arrives in Os Alta, her leadership is shaky at best, but as time progresses she really shows her true colours. She is by no means lovable at all times, but she is always relatable and interesting.

The ending of this book was, to put it simply, brilliant. That's all I'm going to say here, so read the book!

Overall, this book was a great adventure with an amazing and inspiring heroine and secondary characters (mostly). A great second novel!

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"Frankie" by Shivaun Plozza

Frankie by Shivaun Plozza
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Penguin Teen Australia for the ARC!

Anyone who has heard me talk about books (so basically everyone who has ever met me), knows that I am not a huge contemporary fan. Why would I want to read about real life? I already have one of those. Every so often, however, I read a YA contemporary novel that makes me eat my words - and Frankie is one of them. Maybe because it's an Australian novel and I could actually relate to the characters; maybe just because Plozza writes really well.

One of my major problems with the contemporary genre is that it seems to exist in a frustrating dichotomy - its stories are either fluffy or preachy. Frankie is a novel that strikes the perfect balance between these two. It posed a lot of questions about our society - why are the rich, white kids the only ones who seem to matter? Why do people commit crimes, anyway? These are important issues that need to be addressed, but nobody wants to hear a sermon. Characters like Frankie demonstrate the truth of low socio-economic living, sans condescension - the issues just come up when we talk about her life.

Frankie Vega is a unique and entertaining protagonist. She makes some pretty dodgy decisions (don't we all?), but you never really stop cheering for her. I felt like I was Aunt Vinnie throughout the entire novel, because I really wanted Frankie to succeed, but sometimes I wanted to yell at her as well. I think this was largely down to Plozza's writing - because above everything else, Frankie was hilarious. I actually laughed out loud at a lot of her comments, making her a much more sympathetic and relatable character.

The characterisation in this novel was its true strength (I swear I actually knew Cara in school). The romance never felt forced because I got to know the characters separately first, and saw them gradually develop feelings for each other (no insta-love, hurrah). Perhaps the only thing I did not love about this novel was its pacing. Frankie is attempting to solve a mystery of sorts throughout the novel, and we do not reach a resolution until right at the end. I would have liked to explore the aftermath of this discovery for just a little longer.

Overall, this is a stunning standalone novel with an interesting protagonist and brilliant characterisation. I would recommend this novel to anyone who wants a story about realistic Australian characters, or just feels like reading something honest and raw. I look forward to reading many more novels from Plozza!

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"The Rose Society" (The Young Elites #2) by Marie Lu

The Rose Society by Marie Lu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been staring at the screen for about five minutes trying to think of how to word this review. I was completely awestruck by The Rose Society.

To say The Rose Society was dark would be an understatement of ridiculous proportions. This goes beyond the usual mild-moderate level of angst you found in the average YA novel - and I loved every minute of it. Have you ever been reading a book and thought, "Hey, the villain in this story must have an interesting story, I'd love to hear it from their perspective"? Maybe I'm the only one. But if you have as well, then The Rose Society is the book for you.

Adelina is the best kind of evil - the kind that I could still empathise with. I am a huge fan of morally ambiguous characters, because nothing in the real world is as "black and white" as how a lot of novels portray good and evil. In The Young Elites, Adelina is more of a sympathetic character; one that makes some bad choices, but not because she is a bad person. In, The Rose Society, Adelina becomes truly morally ambiguous, by deliberately making choices in the sole interest of increasing her own power - and somehow, I still empathised with her.

Lu's addition of Adelina's "whispers" really made me ponder about power dynamics. At what point does our power start to control us? Throughout the novel, Adelina's mental state deteriorates steadily. She has hallucinations, and little ghosts whisper to her and tell her to kill things, seize power, and generally wreak havoc. Adelina gradually loses control over her power, but the idea of not having it is too terrible to bear. Adelina is a wonderfully complex and interesting, if not exactly likable protagonist. An Erin Morgenstern quote kept popping into my head while reading - "Is not the dragon the hero of his own story?"

Besides Adelina, there were several characters I thoroughly enjoyed reading about. Magiano's alignment to joy makes me hopeful for Adelina's redemption (although, in many ways, I would love for her to go out guns blazing)! Magiano was a light, fluffy character in the midst of a lot of dark, heavy characters, so I thoroughly enjoyed his scenes. Despite his role as The Big Bad, Teren was self-hating and deluded to the point of sympathy. Reading the story from his perspective was jarring to say the least. Raffaelle continued to draw me in - the idea that in a world of elites with power over fire and death, that playing with someone's emotions could be just as deadly was intriguing. Though he definitely was not in the story enough.

Overall, The Rose Society was a haunting depiction of power and its ability to warp us, with an intriguing protagonist and an interesting premise. It was even better than the first novel in the series, I cannot wait to see how Adelina's story ends.

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New Book Spotlight!

Last night I attended Penguin Teen Australia Live to hear all about Penguin's upcoming YA releases. Needless to say, I fangirled extremely hard. Besides hearing about all the amazing books coming in the next year, I also got my hands on Champion by Marie Lu (which I've been hunting for months) and an ARC of Frankie by Shivaun Plozza. I am unreasonably excited to read Frankie, check it out:

"Frankie Vega is angry. Just ask the guy whose nose she broke. Or the cop investigating the burglary she witnessed, or her cheating ex-boyfriend or her aunt who's tired of giving second chances...

When a kid shows up claiming to be Frankie's half brother, it opens the door to a past she doesn't want to remember. And when that kid goes missing, the only person willing to help is a boy with stupidly blue eyes … and secrets of his own.Frankie's search for the truth might change her life, or cost her everything."

Frankie is written by an Australian author, which is all kinds of exciting for me as an Australian reader. YA is definitely dominated by the Americans, which is fine, but sometimes it's nice to read a contemporary novel set in a town you have actually visited (or even heard of!) 

I'll share my review as soon as I've finished it, but if you like the look of Frankie, it hits shelves 23 March 2016 (also, Melina Marchetta recommends it on the cover - what else do you need to hear?!)

-Grace Lucy

"Fairest" (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer

Fairest by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I will admit it - I am a huge fan of Queen Levana. In the way one is a huge fan of Lord Voldemort or Scar because they just make for such entertaining fiction. Levana was a fascinating character in the first three books of this series, and that was before we knew too much about her. Reading her backstory is truly illuminating.

Fairest reveals a lot about Levana to us: why she hates mirrors so much, how Queen Channary was not the beloved monarch we were led to believe, and why she keeps Winter around even though she clearly dislikes her. We begin to understand her history, her motivations and her desires.

In fact... part of me feels bad for the evil Queen. She did a lot of terrible things, don't get me wrong, but those terrible things almost come from a good place... in a roundabout way.

Overall, this book is a brilliant bridge to Winter. It teaches us more about the villain of The Lunar Chronicles, making us uniquely equipped to understand the possible direction and end of the series... Though part of me still wishes Levana was redeemable!

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