Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier

Sixteen-year-old Neryn is alone in the land of Alban, where the oppressive king has ordered anyone with magical strengths captured and brought before him. Eager to hide her own canny skill—a uniquely powerful ability to communicate with the fairy-like Good Folk—Neryn sets out for the legendary Shadowfell, a home and training ground for a secret rebel group determined to overthrow the evil King Keldec.

During her dangerous journey, she receives aid from the Good Folk, who tell her she must pass a series of tests in order to recognize her full potential. She also finds help from a handsome young man, Flint, who rescues her from certain death—but whose motives in doing so remain unclear. Neryn struggles to trust her only allies. They both hint that she alone may be the key to Alban’s release from Keldec’s rule.

Homeless, unsure of who to trust, and trapped in an empire determined to crush her, Neryn must make it to Shadowfell not only to save herself, but to save Alban.

It's odd, because I usually adore Juliet Marillier's books, and yet this one wasn't a slam dunk for me.  It was certainly better than most, but it just didn't have that absorbing quality I've come to expect.  Perhaps that's from the romance.  It hung on such tenuous assumptions I often wanted to shake Neryn and say "Just talk to each other darnit!"  I mean, I know Neryn is young, but you'd think after a few times she'd get the point.  She just kept making the same dumb mistake, though, while skating through all the other challenges presented to her (another slight problem, she seemed a little overpowered in the virtue department, her 'tests' didn't give her much problem).  This was really the only character issue I could see.  The other characters we meet are well developed for their time on stage.  The pacing was slow in spots, but not too bad.  I could probably have overlooked the pacing issues if it weren't for the repetitiveness of the plot.  Neryn's relationship I trust him / I don't trust him / I trust him flip-flops probably accounted for a lot of that feeling.  It got a little better towards the end when there were new characters other than Flint to interact with, but the issues were still there.  I think the biggest problem, though, is that Marillier is too used to writing for adults.  The book felt like a good START to a great novel, but it didn't really have time to develop into something really juicy, and it didn't tighten up like a YA usually does.  I think fans of epic fantasy will like this one, especially if they can read the whole series at once.  As for me, I'll pick up the next book in the series to see if the spark of promise pays off.

Skylark by Meagan Spooner

Sixteen-year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.

Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.

Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret—but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

I had high hopes for this book.  The premise seemed very interesting and the cover was so pretty that I really wanted to like it.  I'm sad that the book didn't live up to my standards, although I think part of that is me building them up too high.  The book wasn't a complete disappointment, but it was not much more than average.  I think its major problem was in pacing.  There were some major lulls where not much happens or some very repetitious events happen for quite a while.  I wish they could have been broken up better with twists or some other event.  The plotting is bare bones and really could have been thought through a little more.  I did like the characterization.  Lark was easy to love, and Oren is realistic and consistent even if he is a little harder to identify with.  I loved Nix and her development (I dunno why, but Nix is a her).  The worldbuilding is solid and consistent, and unlike other reviewers I didn't mind that they never explained the magic or how it works.  I guess I'm such a fantasy fan that magic just is and doesn't need a why.  The dystopian society, though, was thoroughly realistic, and I felt that the best parts of the book were while Lark was trying to escape her fate there.  Afterwards things got rather hazy, and I got frustrated at the lack of direction.

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...

Another great book by a great author.  I was looking forward to reading a fantasy by Snyder after reading her Inside Out series, and I was definitely not disappointed.  The biggest part of what I loved was the worldbuilding.  Snyder built her own magic system in a world that works symbiotically with it.  I like how there are different types of mages and their effects on the world around them are unique.  The magic plants, especially the lilies, are also a nice touch.  Characters are another high point.  I loved Avry and how she grew into her power while keeping her morality and learning what it is to keep a promise to evil people.  I was not as big on Kerrick because of his early manipulations and meanness towards Avry, however, I can see how it really defined his character as the person who would do anything to save his friend.  The plot was good, however it had some really repetitive spots where the gang were yet again hiding out in a cave or walking through a forest which really slowed things down to a near-standstill.  I did like how Snyder is not afraid of being cruel to her characters, and in some areas I almost cried over them (no spoilers!).  The ending was good, making me want the sequel but not being so much of a cliffhanger that I was angry.  I've already got the next book on order and I'll be furiously devouring it in December!

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

The blurb to this book sounded awesome, so I went in with high hopes.  I don't want to say that my hopes were dashed, exactly, but they weren't exceeded.  Perhaps the premise of assassin nuns is just so awesome that nothing can totally meet it.

The characterization in this book is good.  I felt a connection with Ismae and her confusion, logical workings, and her heartbreak over her job.  Through her eyes we meet a vast cast of characters that all seem individualized and realized, with motivations that follow through to actions.  The pacing started off slow, and was a little jarring at the beginning (it switches from "we want to make you an assassin" to "you're an assassin now" with only a chapter break), but towards the middle it picked up speed and really became the book of court intrigue.  I saw the romance coming miles away but it still felt natural and logical.  I did not see the big villain twist coming and yet it still felt like it fit with the book and the characters.

Now, the things I didn't like.  There was a lot of "story" to this book, especially the first part.  I felt like I was being told a lot of stuff without evidence to back it up.  For example, I was told "Ismae is now an assassin" without seeing much of her training or her relationships growing with her fellow nuns and superiors.  The book gets better as it goes on, but there is still a lot of telling going on.  I also felt that the worldbuilding was a little suspect when it came to the nuns and their world.  Perhaps that is because we spend so little time there, but it felt as if details about the nuns' beliefs only came up when they were necessary, not planted chapters before, which makes things seem a little contrived.

In all, I think this was a great but not amazing book.  Perhaps I am jaded by all the amazing court intrigue books that have come out this year, but it just didn't click with me like some others did.  It certainly wasn't a waste of time, though, and I'd highly recommend it over many other books.

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

I had a few problems with Girl of Fire and Thorns, so I was a bit hesitant to read this book.  It's hard to have such a good thing destroyed by a blatant prejudice.  Fortunately this book was much more enjoyable.  The issue of Elis being fat was hardly mentioned and never mocked like it seemed the author was doing in book 1.  In the absence of fat-phobia Elisa actually became a delightful character.  She started out a little unsure of herself, a backslide from the last book, but an understandable one.  As the book goes on she manages to grow into herself and her role.  Of course, she has a lot to experience to change her!  This book is a plot gem, with intrigue and diabolical plots, spies and double agents, action and adventure.  There is a cast of thousands who move around each other in a ballet of suberfuge and power plays.  I think if I had to come up with a problem in this book it lay in the cast of thousands.  So many people were introduced with such little description or significance that I sometimes could not keep them straight.  And, of course, underneath it all is Elisa's romance!  The romance in this book was perfect.  It felt like it really built on respect and familiarity, not animal attraction, and the two players really seem like they've got the other person's best interests at heart even when they do stumble and fumble.  Lovers of the romance beware, though, the stumbles and fumbles will come, Elisa does not have an easy path, especially when combined with the rest of the plot.  This all leads up to a climax that is breathtaking and a denouement that will rip your heart out and throw it in the dirt.  In a good way, though.  The ending leaves just enough open for the sequel without being a huge cliffhanger, and it wraps up the plot in a satisfying way that middle books rarely get. 

Son by Lois Lowry

They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive?　 She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice. Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver,　as well as Gathering Blue　and　Messenger　where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil

The first thing I noticed about Son is that it is huge in comparison to the other books.  In fact, it could have been split into three books, one each the length and location of The Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger.  In many places this book seems to serve as the answers to all the FAQs Lowry has received over the years about those three books.  As a result some things seem a little contrived, a little convenient, a little too carefully placed.  I really enjoyed the first part.  Seeing the events of The Giver from a different perspective was interesting.  It also helped to really get invested in Claire and why she was different from everyone else in the community.  I was not so big on the second part. 

****MANY SPOILERS****


I think that Claire's memory loss was unnecessary and took up too much time.  Claire could have just as easily skipped to her fight to climb out.  The reintroduction of Trademaster was chilling, but I hate how the point of view and action shifts from Claire to Gabe in the last part of the book.  Claire has been such a proactive, vivacious character that I don't see how something as simple as age can make her give up so easily.  I would have liked to see her take more ownership and more action in the scenes.  I didn't mind that Gabe was the ultimate victor, but him doing it without even talking to his mother made it seem kind of hollow, as if he was fighting for an archetype rather than a person.  In all I found the ending rather unsettling and unsatisfying, and not in the what-happens-next way that The Giver did.


****END SPOILERS****

Overall the book is good but not great, but any fan of The Giver series should read it to see how the story wraps up and to get to know Claire.