Book Review: The Secrets of Moldara

The Secrets of Moldara
By Brianne Earhart
Paperback: 346 pages
Published by Myth Machine
January 3, 2018
Series: Secrets of Moldara #1
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ | 4.5 / 5 |
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| Brianne Earhart | Myth Machine |

CIRCLE THE MOON AND CROSS THE TIDE
BEYOND THE WATERFALLS, PROTECTORS HIDE
LEAVE THE LAST SECRET AT THEIR DOOR
AND THEY WILL DEFEND YOU EVERMORE

The woods around Lotty’s childhood home are filling up with dangerous people. Her grandmother’s death has brought the family back from Chicago and triggered a secret Lotty was never meant to face alone. Guided by a desire to finally solve her Grandpa’s disappearance, Lotty has enlisted the help of farm hands that are keeping their own deadly secrets. Together they will have to learn to trust again, relying on each other’s will to fight, if they are going to survive the truth that waits for them all in Moldara.

Book Review - An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes
By Sabaa Tahir
An Ember in the Ashes #1
Hardcover: 446 pages
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Publisher: Razorbill
Rated: ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ - 5 out of 5 Stars

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Related Reviews: | The Young Elites | Snow Like Ashes |
Categories: Dystopian, Urban Fantasy

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Blood of Eden Series by Julie Kagawa

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for… again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins.

Another vampire series? Julie Kagawa laughs in the face of Twilight with this wonderfully written story. Blood of Eden is one of the best written worlds that I have ever read. Her version of vampires are dark and dangerous, as they should be. The world after a vicious plague has taken more than 60% of the population is the perfect, post apocalyptic world. Humans are greedy and selfish, as is our protagonist- Allie. She is jaded from years of starvation, of being the prey to the vampire rulers of her city. Along comes Kanin, a rare selfless vampire who turns her world on its head. Allie is a character that I could instantly relate with. Real world issues, whether they are post apocalyptic or not, are raging within her constantly. Yet she has the strength to pull herself out of her own darkness and be able to hope for a better outcome, a better world. It is her hope that survives throughout this wonderful story of war, bloodshed, insane vampires and humans alike, and, believe it or not, love. Amazing story Julie Kagawa, I cannot believe this series sat on my TBR shelf for so long! For the urban fantasy junkies out there that see "vampire series" and cringe, this one is definitely for you. (:

"The mighty hunter,” I quipped as we snuck out the backdoor, escaping into the yard. “He can take down vicious rabids and rampaging boars, but one old lady can make him flee in terror.” “One scary old lady,” he corrected me, looking relieved to be out of the house. “You didn’t hear what she told me when I got up — you’re so cute I could put you in a pie. Tell me that’s not the creepiest thing you’ve ever heard.” His voice climbed a few octaves, turning shrill and breathy. “Today for dessert, we have apple pie, blueberry pie and Ezekiel pie.” -Julie Kagawa

“You don't dwell on what you've lost, you just move on." -Allison

Connect with Julie Kagawa: JulieKagawa.com; Twitter; Goodreads

Tags: vampire series, paranormal, urban fantasy, dystopian, julie kagawa, ya, na, teen.

Faelorehn - The Otherworlds book 1 by Jenna Johnson

I never heard him come after me and even as I climbed the slope and stumbled onto our shaded back lawn, I didn’t look back. It was like the day the gnomes chased me all over again, but this time I was not escaping some horrible little creatures, I was fleeing from an incredibly good-looking guy who could very well understand me completely. I was either saving myself from that serial killer I always imagined lived down in the swamp, or I had finally gone over the deep end . . .

Meghan Elam has been strange her entire life: her eyes have this odd habit of changing color and she sees and hears things no one else does. When the visions and voices in her head start to get worse, she is convinced that her parents will want to drag her off to another psychiatrist. That is, until the mysterious Cade MacRoich shows up out of nowhere with an explanation of his own. Cade brings her news of another realm where goblins and gnomes are the norm, a place where whispering spirits exist in the very earth, and a world where Meghan just might find the answers she has always sought. But at what cost?

Meh. I really liked the concept of this book, and the world building was well done. I just never connected with any of the characters. Meghan, the protagonist, was completely obnoxious. She constantly asked herself ridiculous questions, regardless of the situation at hand: why, who, what, etc. It was fine at first, I enjoy to hear what's going on in a character's head, but it proceeded to irritate the hell out of me the more frequent it became. The Celtic research was well done; having been raised in a pagan family with a rich Celtic background, I was impressed that the author was accurate with the legends. The plot line was pretty slow though; the entire book, the reader is basically waiting around for Cade to come back. Following Meghan to and from school, out with her friends; it was like a really boring diary! There was little humor, which maybe would have helped break up the monotony a bit. I had high hopes for this series, especially with my fae obsession, but I was sadly let down. Maybe the next book in the series will be better, but it will take a lot to get me to continue reading this series.

"If I were an ordinary high school girl and if he were an ordinary high school boy, I would be hoping for some romantic liaison on his part right then. But neither of us was ordinary and he was definitely not a high school boy." - Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

Connect with Jenna Johnson: JennaElizbethJohnson.com; Twitter; Goodreads
Tags: Fae, faerie, faery, otherworld, urban fantasy, series, paranormal, goblins, gnomes, spirit animals