The Belles

Description from the Publisher:

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful. But it's not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orleans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision. With the future of Orleans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever. Dhonielle Clayton creates a rich, detailed, decadent world of excess and privilege, where beauty is not only skin-deep, but a complete mirage. Weaving deeper questions about the commodification of women's bodies, gender equality, racial identity, and vanity with high-stakes action and incredible imagery, The Belles is the must-read epic of the season.

My Thoughts:

I do not totally agree with the description here, but I do not want to create spoilers. I think they should at least talk about Sophia, one of the antagonists, especially since the description makes it seem like the queen is the bad person here. She is a minor player, as is the "ailing princess." I actually cannot remember the name of the ailing princess, so that says a lot.

That being said, though, that is just a comment on the descriptor that the publisher puts out. The book itself is good if you like dystopia, female-centric, fantasy (with the royalty and magic, but not the fae). They also throw in a futuristic cloning plot that hints of all the evil science fiction cloning movies and books of the past.

This book reminds me of this generation's The Uglies series (The Uglies, The Pretties, Specials, Extra). Considering the Uglies came out in 2006, that counts as the next generation of YA readers. Dystopia in YA continues to be popular. The grass is not always greener on the other side, which is a harsh life lesson, but the magic of YA literature is that the teen protagonists don't let their age/youth/innocence/naivete let them just curl up and die. They are fearless and brash. They set out to change society as social justice warriors. And they always succeed (most of the time, and usually by the third book). 

Black Wings Beating

From the Publisher:

The people of Uztar have long looked to the sky with hope and wonder. Nothing in their world is more revered than the birds of prey and no one more honored than the falconers who call them to their fists.

Brysen strives to be a great falconer—while his twin sister, Kylee, rejects her ancient gifts for the sport and wishes to be free of falconry. She’s nearly made it out, too, but a war is rolling toward their home in the Six Villages, and no bird or falconer will be safe.

Together the twins must journey into the treacherous mountains to trap the Ghost Eagle, the greatest of the Uztari birds and a solitary killer. Brysen goes for the boy he loves and the glory he's long craved, and Kylee to atone for her past and to protect her brother's future. But both are hunted by those who seek one thing: power.

In this first young-adult fantasy novel in a trilogy, Alex London launches a soaring saga about the memories that haunt us, the histories that hunt us, and the bonds of blood between us.

My Thoughts: 

This book has been on my "read later" list on my Kindle for months and yet when I finally decided to read it, I just devoured it. It is my kind of book with fantasy types of quests, as well as YA characters who must try and save their communities with help from other YA characters and despite their present but not present parents (or dead and still haunting them). I know YA  researchers have looked into the different ways that parents are not present in many YA books, and I don't want to go into another essay on that, but it seems to be a formula that YA readers look for and expect in this category of fiction. The post modernist social constructs of "family" and the immense agency that YA characters are given in these books (Catcher in the Rye, The Outsiders) seem normalized now and readers want to suspend their disbelief. It is one of the charms of being a YA fiction reader. This also has an LGBTQ character and love triangle, but that too seems normalized, so although it is labeled as LGBTQ, like multicultural YA couples, it's not a thing. Love is love. 

What makes this one interesting is the concept of the raptor birds who almost take the place of "dragons" in this genre in that they are elusive, they are the key to winning and the best trainer is best because of some ancient and as yet untapped ability to connect and communicate with the animal (in this case, birds).

I also enjoyed the complicated relationship between the twins, mostly because I have twin grandkids. The dynamic between twins is always unique even over mere siblings and this book captured it well. Add to that adventure, love interests, betrayal and just the first leg in the journey (the hunt for the ghost eagle) and London has done a great job of reeling in and engaging the reader. 

So why did it take so long for me to pick this book up? After all, this is my preferred genre, it is fast paced and grabbed me right away (once I started reading). 

I did not pick this book up because I don't like the cover. It looks more like a horror cover, even a psychological thriller cover than a YA girl power, fantasy/romance/adventure novel. The cover for me conjures plague, Hitchcock's The Birds, Amityville Horror (the scene with the flies) and for some reason ebola. Maybe the whole plague, bird mites horror for me. It is just personal past trauma, but I am sad that I did not get beyond the cover because I was missing out on a great read.

Red Skies Falling, book 2 in this series comes out in the beginning of September 2019, so it will definitely go on my TBR list, even though I still do not like this next cover. 

A digital copy provided by Net Galley and the publisher for an honest review.

Warrior of the Wild

Publication date: February 26, 2019

Description:

An eighteen-year-old chieftain's daughter must find a way to kill her village’s oppressive deity if she ever wants to return home in Warrior of the Wild, the Viking-inspired YA standalone fantasy from Tricia Levenseller, author of Daughter of the Pirate King. 

How do you kill a god?

As her father's chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest: To win back her honor, she must kill the oppressive god who claims tribute from the villages each year or die trying.

My Thoughts:

I put this on my TBR list because I like reading this kind of fantasy-ish (no magic), Viking-ish (not really Vikings but it seems cold and they like to fight), girl power Clan of the Cave Bear ish wilderness feminism, survivalist adventure with a bit of YA rated romance. 

It does not disappoint. It has enough relationship angst to appeal to the girls, enough blood, gore and action for the boys and enough disappointing, clueless, rigid adult characters that make up most YA stories.  With these types of books, there is just so much pressure on the young main characters to basically save the world or die trying. Enter strangers who become friends and allies, including the first LGBTQ character in this type of genre. **Note - the fact that here is an LGBTQ character has nothing to do with the story and it does not add any kind of contemporary agenda which is how it should always be. 

Having said that, this book is not original, but it is still entertaining in its familiarity. Like the Hunger Games' Primrose "Prim" Everdeen who is the healer to her older sister Katniss' warrior, Rasmira in this book has her older sister Irrenia who is the nurturer and healer of the family.  The landscape reminds me of the also fantasyish girl power book Sky in the Deep, and finally, like Kagawa's Iron Fey series, Rasmira, like Meghan, seems to be the main person to save the day for everyone else. If readers devoured any of these, they will devour this too. 

Closing Words:

I am Rasmira Bendrauggo. . . I am both a woman and a warrior. . . And I will not let anyone cause me to forget.

An advanced copy provided by Net Galley for an honest review

Sky in the Deep

This is geared toward readers who like fast paced, girl power, woman warrior stories set in the northern climates similar to  the communities beyond the wall in Game of Thrones. The story starts in the middle of a clan war as Eelyn and her battle partner Maya from the Aska clans fight the Riki clans. These two teenagers are seasoned warriors who plow through the enemy ranks until Eelyn gets separated from Maya and is cornered by a massive and powerful Riki warrior. Just as Eelyn believes that he will kill her, she is saved by her brother, but she must be mistaken. She saw her brother die five years ago and this warrior who looks like her brother is wearing the armor of the enemy.

I labeled it fantasy-ish just because it is not really in an unrealistic setting or containing the kind of magic or fantastical creatures found in the genre, but as a fantasy buff, it contains enough of the elements to make this devour worthy.  Carve out enough time for this.

A digital advance copy provided by Net Galley and the publisher for an honest review.