Young Adult

Review – The Occasional Diamond Thief

~ Erika K ~ 4 Comments

The Occasional Diamond Thief by J.A. McLachlan
The Occasional Diamond Thief

Genre: YA / SciFi
Rating: **** (4 of 5 stars)

Kia is a 16 year old girl with a troubled family life and a penchant for languages. When her father dies, leaving her with a mother who seems to despise her and a sister who won’t give her the time of day, she leaves home and starts school to become a translator. After being caught stealing to finance her new life, she is sent to Malem to act as a translator for a Select (a religious title, something akin to a nun or priest) named Agatha. This is the same world where her father contracted the illness that eventually killed him. It’s also the world where her father acquired the gem he gave her right before he died – a Malem diamond that it is illegal for anyone who is not Malemese to posses.

I really enjoyed this story. Kia didn’t seem to be able to get a break at all, and even thought being sent to Malem kept her out of prison, it still seemed like punishment for her. Once she and Agatha arrived on Malem, the story kept moving at a pace that kept me reading, wanting to know what was going to happen next. Both Kia and Agatha were well developed, likable characters who learned and grew throughout the story. Sometimes I wanted to shout at Kia for her behavior, but considering her age it was perfectly appropriate.

There was no cliffhanger ending, and it may turn out to be a standalone novel, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see more adventures for Kia in the future.

Visit the author’s website

Disclaimer – I received a free digital copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Audiobook Review – An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

~ Erika K ~ 9 Comments

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (audio CD edition)
An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)
Narrated by Fiona Hardingham and Steve West

Genre: YA / Fantasy
My Rating: ***** (5 of 5 stars)

I had been listening to this audiobook for about a week during my commute to and from work, and when it ended on my way home, I couldn’t believe it. It couldn’t end there. It just couldn’t. I wasn’t ready. I wanted to know, no, needed to know what happened next! While not a cliff-hanger, there are so many things left unresolved at the end of this story, so many things left to be done, that I really hope Ms. Tahir has at least another 2 or 3 books up her sleeve. (NOTE: Since writing this review I have scoured her Goodreads page and found that yes, book #2 is in the works. I can breathe a little easier now…)

An Ember in the Ashes is the story of Laia, a Scholar girl, and Elias, a soldier in training for the Empire’s army. The Scholars are the lowest class citizens in the Empire, and many of Laia’s people have been killed or enslaved. Her own parents and older sister were killed for being rebels. Elias is just finishing his training as a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. When Laia’s remaining family is raided one night, she goes undercover as a slave at the military academy to try to gain information she can trade to the Scholar resistance, so that they will help her find and free her brother who was captured during the raid.

There was a bit of a love triangle, which I usually hate, but each individual seemed so real, each with his own flaws and redeeming qualities, that it was easy to understand Laia’s feelings. And I loved Laia herself. She was no super-woman, just a frightened girl determined to do whatever she had to in order to save the only family she had left. She was scared, she second guessed herself, but she never gave up. I admired her determination, and it’s been a long time since I read a book that made me care so much about what happened to its characters.

I have to mention the narrators as well. I thought both of them did a great job, and having both a male and female narrator helped distinguish the point of view for each chapter. I hope they  will be available to read again when the next book in this series is ready!

If you enjoy Young Adult Fantasy, then I can’t recommend this book enough. I will be buying a copy of book number two just as soon as it is available!

Visit Sabaa Tahir’s website

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Review – Eden at the Edge of Midnight by John Kerry

~ Erika K ~ 1 Comment

Eden at the Edge of Midnight by John Kerry
Eden at the Edge of Midnight

The Vara Volumes Book 1

***NOTE: I received a free copy of this book from StoryCartel in exchange for an honest review***

Genre: YA / Fantasy
My Rating **** (4 of 5 stars)

Synopsis from Goodreads:
The Vara of Yima, the original Garden of Eden, sealed from the rest of the world and populated with the fittest of men and women. A secret paradise that 150 years ago became ravaged by smog that choked out the skies.

Now the Vara exists in a permanent state of darkness and its people need a champion, a chosen one to save them from the smog that threatens to fill the realm…(read more)

Finally finished – I didn’t want one more What-Are-You-Reading-Wednesday post featuring the same book! 🙂

This was a well-written fantasy with well defined and realistic characters. That always makes it so much easier to be concerned for their well-being, and I did care what happened to Sammy and her companions. Sammy is an average human teenage girl who finds herself alone on a strange world, trying to survive and find her way home. Along with her new-found companions Mehrak, and his dinosaur/house Louis, Sammy has to escape the crabmen, figure out whether or not she might be the golden haired child of prophecy, decide which of those claiming to be trying to help her are actually on her side, and find the book that might show her the way to get back home to Earth.

I started to panic about 20 pages from the end because I knew there was not enough time for everything that I wanted to happen, to happen! Thankfully book 2 is on the way, but now I have to wait until October to read Back to the Vara.

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What are you reading Wednesdays – 5/20/15

~ Erika K ~ 2 Comments

What are you reading Wednesday – 5/20/15

whatareyoureadingwed

What Are You Reading Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Its A Reading Thing. To participate, pull out your current book and answer these questions. If you have a blog, feel free to leave a link to your post so others can visit. If you don’t have a blog, you can leave your answers in the comments below.

The Questions are:
1. What’s the name of your current read?

2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share one complete sentence.

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

My Answers this week:

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1. Same as last week!! I had just started Eden at the Edge of Midnight by John Kerry when I posted last Wednesday, and haven’t quite finished yet.

2. So that I’m not completely repeating myself, here’s something from page 134 instead of 34:
“You look shattered,” he said. “You should get an early night and some sleep.” He didn’t look much better himself.

3. The story is getting really interesting now, but I don’t think I would want to live there. Visit yes, just for the adventure of seeing someplace new, but I would not want to find myself stranded in this world like Sammy (the protagonist) does.

What are you reading Wednesday – 5/13/15

~ Erika K ~ Leave a comment

What are you reading Wednesday – 5/13/15

whatareyoureadingwed

What Are You Reading Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Its A Reading Thing. Be sure to stop by and visit them! To participate, just answer these three questions about what you are reading this Wednesday. If you have a blog, feel free to leave a link to your post, or just leave your answers in the comments below.

The Questions are:
1. What’s the name of your current read?

2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share one complete sentence.

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

My Answers this week:
1. Eden at the Edge of Midnight by John Kerry
Eden at the Edge of Midnight

2. She’d seen nothing to indicate that there was life on this jungle planet, so she took a break at an outcrop of rocks that loosley resembled the Sydney Opera House.

3. That would depend….the story goes back and forth between modern day England and another world. England, yes. The other world, I don’t think so! 🙂

Chimera by Vaun Murphrey

~ Erika K ~ Leave a comment

Chimera
by Vaun Murphrey

Chimera (The Weaver #1)

Rating ***(3 of 5 stars)

Book 1 of the Weaver Series

***NOTE – I received a free review copy of this book from NetGalley***

The is the story of Cassandra Rainbow, who has been held in captivity since her parents were killed in front of her when she was 5 years old. Now, eight years later, she is rescued by her Uncle Gerome, an uncle she didn’t know about. She goes to live with Gerome and his wife Maggie in a compound with other Weavers, like them. Having been in captivity since she was a child, it takes her some time to adjust to her new found freedom, and to understand who, and what, she is. Even though she is only thirteen, she decides that she will try to stop a civil war and kill the man who held her captive and murdered her parents. That would be enough for any teenage girl to deal with, but Cassandra also has to get used to the idea of a twin sister she never knew she had. An invisible twin, who lives in the web and talks to Cassandra inside of her head. When her uncle brings home a friend from another planet, things really start to get interesting….

A unique premise, and a good start to a new young adult series.

Warning to younger readers – there are a few brief scenes describing inappropriate and unwelcome touching near the beginning that might be disturbing.

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