Yvonne Quilenderino

“You either run from your problems or face them with everything you’ve got.” Lee ran. 18 year old Levi “Lee” Ambrosia is struggling to remember his tragic past. Living with his foster family in Ivywood he is plagued by nightmares. His one bright light is his foster sister, Maya, whom he has fallen deeply in love with. The writing is a little raw but the story line is strong enough. The imagery is generous and you can picture everyone and everything playing out as you read the pages. This story is filled with so much emotion causing the reader to experience them along with the characters. And I appreciate that the ending is not so cliché, even if bittersweet. The character developments were too rushed in my opinion. It was hard to feel any authenticity in the relationships because there was no progression. This could easily have been a much longer novel had the author allowed those developments to well….develop. Additionally since this is not just a love story, there could have been more details about the community, side characters and scientific experiments. But all in all it is a decent story that I am glad I was able to read. Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Goodreads and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

“To the Darling women. The stars are not only above us, they are in us. May we shine brightly, dream deeply, and fly high all on our own.” Holly Darling is a scientist and business owner. Her grandmother is Wendy Darling of Peter Pan fame. Living in the US, Holly is running a successful skin care company while raising her teenage son, Jack. Back in England her comatose daughter, Eden, is being cared for by a team of nurses. Eden’s sudden disappearance forces Holly to confront all of her secrets and risk losing both of her children. Utilizing every resource she can, Holly is in a race against time against the most unlikely of villains. In this dark sequel to the Peter Pan story, the author shatters any childhood images of Peter, Wendy and presumably Captain Hook. This book was hard to get through but I was determined to finish it. Continuity errors such as her children’s ages were slight annoyances but the biggest hurdle was that the main character was so unlikeable. If there was a bad decision to be made, she made it. Additionally so much time was dedicated to scenes that didn’t require it but almost no time was given to any type of character development which would have made the story feel fuller. I was left knowing more about the family maid than Tinkerbell or Peter Pan and next to nothing about Eden. While I cannot say that I would fully recommend this book to someone else, I will say it did pick up around the ¾ mark and unlike others, I did enjoy the ending. I think this plot would have benefitted from far more backstory, character development and less rush towards the end.

“...Frae’s hope was restored. She didn’t quite understand how, but her brother’s music was going to save them.” On the east side, the Isle of Cadence is in despair. Several of their young girls have gone missing. Having been gone for 10 years, Jack Tamerlaine, a university trained bard, is returning home from the mainland. Together with his childhood nemesis, Adaira, he must use his craft to call the spirits in order to save the girls. Along the way many secrets are exposed, love becomes anew and renewed, and lives forever changed. I struggle to find any fault in this novel. If anything, it could have been longer with more pages dedicated to Jack and Adaira’s childhood as well as Mirin and Jack’s father’s time together. This novel could be considered a slow burn because most of the action takes place in the last ¼ of the story but the author takes so much care to fill the rest of it with enough emotional drama that it keeps you invested. Ms. Ross has a magical way of giving so much time and attention to worldbuilding for your mind’s eye but doing so within the storyline so it never feels drawn out. The multiple narrators give so much depth to the plot and her extensive research into Scottish culture, myths, and folklore make you truly feel like you are walking on those hills and hearing those whispers from the wind. I just wish I had known beforehand that there was a sequel so I could have had it on hand because I do not want to wait to finish their story.

“Perhaps things aren't great. But however bad they seem, remember this, - where there is life there is hope. You're alive. Embrace this.” 1903, young Dikembe in the Congo, enjoys time with his father and brothers but especially his mama. He is unaware of the horrors happening just outside of his village. 1974, young Lowra also has a happy existence even though she lost her mom a few years earlier. Within a short time both of these children will have their lives upended and face tragedy, betrayal, loss and trauma that no one, of any age, should ever have to bear. This story is told from the point of view of both characters over several different time periods within their lives. There were several times that I felt the author digressed from the situation at hand to drive home the larger sentiment of the lasting effects of colonialism and racism. Those points are unequivocally important but they were done at times when it distracted from the scenario of the characters and caused me, the reader, to disconnect from the emotion that the storyline was pointing me towards. Also, though it may be a difference between British English and American English, there were some sentence structures that left me confused. Beyond that, I cannot find any fault with this novel. If you have ever wanted to feel the full spectrum of human emotions, read this book. Lola Jaye has written a masterful story and manages to see the perspective of even one incident through the eyes of every character, even though she herself could never have had any personal experience with those perspectives. It took me two days to read this novel because there wasn’t a moment where I didn’t hungrily crave to know what was going to happen next in the lives of these two characters.

Lila Madricapal has just moved back home to Shady Palms, IL to help her aging Tita Rosa’s flailing restaurant. Lila reconnects with family and friends but also finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation of her ex-high school sweetheart. As Lila tries to clear her name, the crimes and body count start piling up. Along the way some old hurts and new love interests are uncovered and Lila finds herself torn between her loyalties and her dreams…while also trying not to go to prison for the next few decades. I didn’t find Lila or most of the characters very likeable or relatable and not just because of cultural differences. I also felt, especially for the first half, that the writing was a little pedestrian, especially the dialogue. There was an exorbitant amount of description dedicated to the food but it wasn’t balanced because the same attention was given to any character aside from Lila and not even to the plot. But despite my criticisms I felt this novel was a fun and worthwhile read. It took me just a few hours but I didn’t put the book down even once. And I thoroughly appreciated the trigger warnings at the beginning and the fact that I had no idea who the killer was until the very last moment and that takes a skill very few have mastered.

Isabelle Drake’s son, Mason, was stolen from his crib one year ago. Dedicating her life to finding her son, Isabelle cannot rest, figuratively and literally until her son is returned and she finds the person responsible for his kidnapping. Her husband, Ben, has left her, she is without a job and the whole community is looking at her as the guilty party. A chance meeting on a plane reinvigorates her personal investigation and also breaks loose some skeletons in her closet from childhood as well as secrets others close to her have been hiding. This is a slow burn but captivating enough to keep your attention throughout. The mystery from her childhood I felt was easily figured out early on and I felt that the author didn’t give that bit enough attention. As for the current day mystery, I felt some of it was also foreshadowed enough but all who were involved and their various roles definitely came as a surprise towards the end. I truly enjoyed the plot and writing of this novel which flowed very well. Isabelle isn’t a very likeable character and it was hard to justify some of her choices but that was actually part of what made this story great. Humans are deeply flawed and this was an authentic representation of someone with her trauma. “‘The truth is, people love violence - from a distance, that is. Anyone who disagrees is either in denial or hiding something.’”

“It hurts every day, the absence of someone who was once there.” This third and final installment of the original series amplifies the already fast pace and throws in a lot more action while having you in a constant state of panic about the health and safety of the characters. There really isn’t much to give without providing spoilers but the battle rages on with old friends becoming new again, Day still in the throes of his health crisis, Eden slowly trying to overcome his limited eyesight, and June trying to figure out where she truly belongs. Bittersweet ending but that seems to have been a running theme throughout the entire series. Day got what he wanted, meeting June as Daniel and allowing the reader to determine the future they hold. Edit: after writing this review I found out that Marie Lu could not walk away from this story anymore than us readers could. There is a 4th book “Rebel”, two very small novellas “Life After Legend” and “Life After Legend II” as well as a two story compilation “Life Before Legend.” I have not read any of these yet but reviews do suggest that a lot of questions are answered.

“It’s official, then. You’re going to help us assassinate the new Elector Primo.” June and Day are now both wanted criminals on the run from the Republic, making their way to Las Vegas to join the Patriots and save Eden. They have been tasked with an assignment neither feels quite comfortable with and that will force them both to be separated and placed with strangers they aren’t sure they can trust. As new information comes at them both they have to find a way to let the other know as lives hang in the balance. Not all is what it may appear to be in the Republic, the Colonies and even the Patriots. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Day in this book and that makes me sad because he was absolutely amazing in Legend. His unprocessed trauma made him treat June in a way that shouldn’t be justified but both the author and the characters just dismiss it away or even imply that June deserves it. And when Day finally realizes his mistake, he doesn’t even really apologize for it. It left a bit of a bitter aftertaste for me. But beyond that critique, just like with Legend, this was a story I could not put down. The plot has so many twists and turns but not to where it feels forced or unfathomable. The writing makes it so easy to visualize everything that is happening that the reader feels a part of the whole thing. Cannot wait to read the next and final installment though I will be sad to say goodbye.

“I will hunt you down. I will scour the streets of Los Angeles for you. Search every street in the Republic if I have to. I will trick you and deceive you, lie, cheat and steal to find you, tempt you out of your hiding place, and chase you until you have nowhere else to run. I make you this promise: your life is mine.” Set sometime in the future in a dystopian Los Angeles the new Republic is at war. Read from the perspective of 15 year olds Day and June, this story unfolds in rapid pace taking the reader along with the characters across heartbreaking twists and turns. Day in an attempt to survive and take care of his family has become the Republic’s number one enemy. Under less than favorable circumstances, Day crosses paths with June, the Republic’s teenage prodigy set out with vengeance and loyalty to bring him down. Hard truths emerge and they must decide where their true loyalties lie. This is the paragraph where I usually provide critiques but unless you don’t plan on continuing with the series, I struggle to find much except maybe a little more of Tess’s background would have been nice since she is actually an important character in the story. Day and June are both fascinating characters and narrators. In a story that typically has you rooting for one over the other, I wanted both to succeed each step of the way. Every side character plays a significant role in pushing forth the plot and building up the main characters while their own stories are given in just the correct dose. If life hadn’t gotten in the way I would have read this in one sitting. Cannot wait to read the next installment.

The story begins with a very informative author’s note and every chapter has a preface of a quote relevant to said chapter. It helps to tie not only the historical but the fictional elements together for a lovely flow of information. Some parts felt a little long winded especially when they did not concern the narrative of the story and there were several plot holes and some character development that weren’t accounted for such as how Ari felt he could trust the Chief Warden to not disclose their plans just because one time Ari covered for him. It took a while for me to get into the rhythm of the writing and storytelling but once it got going, it was a fascinating adventure. Several love stories, not just that of our main protagonist, Aristides “Ari” Coelho speckle this tale, each giving us what feels like personal accounts of the real life consequences of the Portuguese Inquisition. All in all it was an interesting read, well worth the time and I am looking forward to the next story of Ari’s journey.