Review: Sisters of the Fire (Blood and Gold #2) by Kim Wilkins

Title: Sisters of the Fire (Blood and Gold #2)

Author: Kim Wilkins
Published: 22 August 2016
Source: Harlequin Teen Australia/Mira via netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: *****

My Review:

I do believe I liked Sisters of the fire even more than Daughters of the Storm. And I adored Daughters of the storm. This book takes up the story 4 years after the end of book 1. All 5 sisters and their offspring are spread across Thrysland and Bluebell hears that one of her sisters has the trollblade that can kill her and she is determined to her her hands on the sword before it gets her.

Again, from page one I fell headlong in to the story. Each sisters thread was spell binding as the next and drew me ever deeper into the story. the way the threads are pulled and weaved is genius with each on pulling the reader ever towards the end.

I love Ms Wilkins storytelling. She manages to weave this extremely intricate yet seemless story that with characters that are so well drawn they leap off the page in all their flawed brilliance. I was invested in each and every one of them in one way or another and they really added and extra layer to an already riveting story.

This book is full of secrets from beginning to end, the sisters and other characters have secrets from each other and from those around them, even from their selves and they way ms Wilkins slowly reveals these secrets and the consequences of their revealing is nothing short of perfection. This book really advances the series whilst still leaving the reader with a sense of satisfaction with the end of this book.

This book is a perfect mix of action, romance and fantasy with well developed characters and a story that will keep you glued to the pages from beginning to end.

This is Australian fantasy writing at its finest and I give this book 5 stars!

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

 Sisters of the Fire (Blood and Gold #2) by Kim Wilkins

An action-packed, compelling historical fantasy, from the pen of an award-winning author

The battle-scarred warrior princess Bluebell, heir to her father’s throne, is rumoured to be unkillable. So when she learns of a sword wrought specifically to slay her by the fearsome raven king, Hakon, she sets out on a journey to find it before it finds her. The sword is rumoured to be in the possession of one of her four younger sisters. But which one? Scattered as they are across the kingdoms, she sets out on a journey to find them.

Her four sisters all have their own paths to tread, the gifted magician Ash is on a journey to find a dragon that could determine her destiny. The beautiful, unhappy Rose has left her undermagician Aunt and is speeding to the aid of her daughter, Rowan, who has been lost to her. Ivy, sold into marriage for the sake of an alliance, is now set to become the ruling Duchess of Seacaster with the imminent death of her much older and sick husband, and the power-hungry Willow is raising her infant child as a potential trimartyr king and training to be a warrior for the fanatical religious order Maava.

From wild rocky coastline to granite-topped tors, from bustling harbours to echoing ghost towns, from halls of kings to ancient primal woodlands, this story follows five sisters upon whose actions kingdoms will rise and fall.

Publication Date: 22 August 2016

Purchase: Booktopia  |  Harlequin Teen/Mira Australia | Amazon

Teaser Tuesday #123: Sisters of the Fire (Blood and Gold #2) by Kim Wilkins #TeaserTuesday

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My current read is Sisters of the Fire (Blood and Gold #2) by Kim Wilkins and my four lines are from location 1644 of 5103

"'Someone calling Snowy has sent for you from Nether Weald. He says it is urgent.' Bluebell frowned. Snowy had never sent for her, let alone urgently"

 Sisters of the Fire (Blood and Gold #2) by Kim Wilkins

An action-packed, compelling historical fantasy, from the pen of an award-winning author

The battle-scarred warrior princess Bluebell, heir to her father’s throne, is rumoured to be unkillable. So when she learns of a sword wrought specifically to slay her by the fearsome raven king, Hakon, she sets out on a journey to find it before it finds her. The sword is rumoured to be in the possession of one of her four younger sisters. But which one? Scattered as they are across the kingdoms, she sets out on a journey to find them.

Her four sisters all have their own paths to tread, the gifted magician Ash is on a journey to find a dragon that could determine her destiny. The beautiful, unhappy Rose has left her undermagician Aunt and is speeding to the aid of her daughter, Rowan, who has been lost to her. Ivy, sold into marriage for the sake of an alliance, is now set to become the ruling Duchess of Seacaster with the imminent death of her much older and sick husband, and the power-hungry Willow is raising her infant child as a potential trimartyr king and training to be a warrior for the fanatical religious order Maava.

From wild rocky coastline to granite-topped tors, from bustling harbours to echoing ghost towns, from halls of kings to ancient primal woodlands, this story follows five sisters upon whose actions kingdoms will rise and fall.

Publication Date: 22 August 2016

Purchase: Booktopia  |  Harlequin Teen/Mira Australia | Amazon

Stacking The Shelves #32 #Stackingtheshelves

Welcome to Stacking The Shelves! Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga Reviews and is a meme to share those books, both print and e-book, that have been added to your shelves in the last week/s.

I know I said last week that this will be a monthly event rather than  a weekly one but after receiving a few titles this week decided I needed to do another stacking the shelves post before September started.



Have a great week!

Review - E-ARCs & Blog Tours (via netgalley)

Two ARCs via netgalley this week.  Including one that I am participating in a blog tour for.  Come check out my Tour Stop for Keeping her Secret on September 6.

Olivia Decoded (Olivia Twisted #2) by Vivi Barnes
Entangled teen via Netgalley

This isn’t my Jack, who once looked at me like I was his world. The guy who’s occupied the better part of my mind for eight months.

This is Z, criminal hacker with a twisted agenda and an arsenal full of anger.

I’ve spent the past year trying to get my life on track. New school. New friends. New attitude. But old flames die hard, and one look at Jack—the hacker who enlisted me into his life and his hacking ring, stole my heart, and then left me—and every memory, every moment, every feeling comes rushing back. But Jack’s not the only one who’s resurfaced in my life. And if I can’t break through Z’s defenses and reach the old Jack, someone will get hurt…or worse.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

keeping Her Secret (Endless Summer) by Sarah Nicolas
Entangled Crush via netgalley

Two girls. One Kiss.

The last person Riya Johnson expected to run into at her new summer camp is Courtney Chastain—her childhood best friend and the girl who broke her heart after a secret, mind-blowing, life-altering kiss. She definitely didn’t expect to be sharing a bunk bed with her for four long weeks.

Courtney has what every girl wants—she’s beautiful, rich, and the object of every boy’s desire at Camp Pine Ridge. Too bad none of them make her feel an iota of what Riya’s kiss did all those years ago. But Courtney needs to uphold appearances at all costs—even if it means instigating an all-out prank war with Riya as her main target.

Neither girl can stop thinking about the other…but that doesn’t mean they can give up past hurts and take a chance on a future together.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains drinking, sexual situations, and a fairy-tale romance sure to make your heart melt

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

Purchased - Print Books

Another load of awesome book mail arrived this week.  I finally started both these series last month and immediately knew I would be needing book 2 for both.  And such pretty covers :-)

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer  Purchased: Book Depository

The Rose & the Dagger (The Wrath and the Dawn #2) by Renee Ahdieh  Purchased: Book Depository

Purchased - Audio  Books

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson  Purchased: Audible

Borrowed - Library

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

So what did you add to your shelves this week?

Stacking The Shelves #31

Welcome to Stacking The Shelves! Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga Reviews and is a meme to share those books, both print and e-book, that have been added to your shelves in the last week/s.

At the end of last month I decided to make this a monthly feature rather than a weekly one so I could put more of my focus on reading and reviewing and I think it has helped as I had a really productive reading month and better reviewing month also 

In terms of books for review, I have really been trying to limit what I request to things I absolutely want to or must read so as to limit the amount of DNFs and books that I just run out of time to read.  I have also spent the month going through my TBR list and reading a lot of books that have been sitting on my shelves, literally, for a year or more.  I have joined a number of reading challenges on Goodreads also that focus on reading and reviewing as well as choosing books to read that fit certain categories or certain tasks and I am having a lot of fun.



Have a great week!

Review - Print ARCs ( with thanks to Bloomsbury Australia)

Stealing Snow (Stealing Snow #1) by Danielle Paige
Bloomsbury (UK & ANZ) 

Seventeen-year-old Snow lives within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she doesn't belong there, but she has no memory of life outside, except for the strangest dreams. And then a mysterious, handsome man, an orderly in the hospital, opens a door – and Snow knows that she has to leave …
She finds herself in icy Algid, her true home, with witches, thieves, and a strangely alluring boy named Kai. As secret after secret is revealed, Snow discovers that she is on the run from a royal lineage she's destined to inherit, a father more powerful and ruthless than she could have imagined, and choices of the heart that could change everything. Heroine or villain, queen or broken girl, frozen heart or true love, Snow must choose her fate …
A wonderfully icy fantastical romance, with a strong heroine choosing her own destiny, Danielle Paige's irresistibly page-turning Snow Queen is like Maleficent and Frozen all grown up.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

The Devil You Know by Trish Doller
Bloomsbury (UK & ANZ) 

Eighteen-year-old Arcadia wants adventure. Living in a tiny Florida town with her dad and four-year-old brother, Cadie spends most of her time working, going to school, and taking care of her family. So when she meets two handsome cousins at a campfire party, she finally has a chance for fun. They invite her and friend to join them on a road trip, and it's just the risk she's been craving-the opportunity to escape. But what starts out as a fun, sexy journey quickly becomes dangerous when she discovers that one of them is not at all who he claims to be. One of them has deadly intentions.

A road trip fling turns terrifying in this contemporary story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

Review - E-ARCs (via netgalley)

Recreated (Reawakened #2) by Colleen Houck
Hachette Australia via Netgalley

From Colleen Houck, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger’s Curse, comes Recreated, the second book in the epic Egyptian-inspired Reawakened series, in which a seventeen-year-old must literally go to hell to save the love of her life.

Lily Young thought traveling across the globe with a reawakened sun prince was a grand adventure. Now she’s about to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

When Amon and Lily part tragically, he transports himself to the Netherworld—what mortals call hell. Tormented by the loss of his one true love, he’d rather suffer in agony during Lily’s mortal years than fulfill his duty to protect humanity.

Heartbroken, Lily seeks refuge on her grandmother’s farm. Yet she can feel Amon’s pain, and she has been having dreams—dreams of Amon continually suffering.

For before he departed, Amon gave Lily something very special, an item that connects them even though they are worlds apart. Now Lily must use this object to free him, and to free their realms from darkness and utter chaos. She will do whatever it takes.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

Sisters of the Fire (Blood and Gold #2) by Kim Wilkins
HarlequinTeen/Mira via netgalley

An action-packed, compelling historical fantasy, from the pen of an award-winning author

The battle-scarred warrior princess Bluebell, heir to her father’s throne, is rumoured to be unkillable. So when she learns of a sword wrought specifically to slay her by the fearsome raven king, Hakon, she sets out on a journey to find it before it finds her. The sword is rumoured to be in the possession of one of her four younger sisters. But which one? Scattered as they are across the kingdoms, she sets out on a journey to find them.

Her four sisters all have their own paths to tread, the gifted magician Ash is on a journey to find a dragon that could determine her destiny. The beautiful, unhappy Rose has left her undermagician Aunt and is speeding to the aid of her daughter, Rowan, who has been lost to her. Ivy, sold into marriage for the sake of an alliance, is now set to become the ruling Duchess of Seacaster with the imminent death of her much older and sick husband, and the power-hungry Willow is raising her infant child as a potential trimartyr king and training to be a warrior for the fanatical religious order Maava.

From wild rocky coastline to granite-topped tors, from bustling harbours to echoing ghost towns, from halls of kings to ancient primal woodlands, this story follows five sisters upon whose actions kingdoms will rise and fall.

Goodreads | Galaxy Bookshop | Amazon | Booktopia

Replica (Replica #1) by Lauren Oliver

Hachette Australia via Netgalley

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. 'A sickly child', her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father's connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she's always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father's name seems inextricably linked to it.

Amidst the frenzy outside the institute's walls, Lyra - or number 24 as she is known as at Haven - and a fellow experimental subject known only as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing , they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven's purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever...

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

Purchased - Print Books

I had a pretty awesome book mail month this month with some awesome titles arriving/being purchased all in the space of a week.  I was even lucky enough to attend the Sydney Nevernight launch and have my copy signed by Jay Kristoff!

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff  Purchased Dymocks

And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga #1) by Kiersten White  Purchased Dymocks

Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2)by Rachel Caine  Purchased: Book Depository

The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4)by Maggie Stiefvater  Purchased: Book Depository

Borrowed - Library

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) 

A Corner of White (The Colours of Madeleine #1)

The Cracks in the kingdom (The Colours of Madeleine #2)

So what did you add to your shelves this week?

Review: Recreated (Reawakened #2) by Colleen Houck

Title: Recreated (Reawakened #2) 

Author: Colleen Houck

Published: 9th August 2016
Publisher: Hodder & Staughton as part of Hachette Australia
Source: Hachette  Australia via netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: *** 1/2

My Review:

I read the first book in this series at the beginning of the year and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to this read. I started it with great excitement and whilst overall I did mostly enjoy, I am sad to say i didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed awakened.

Whilst Reawakened is a story about lily and Amon, this story is mostly about Lily and her journey to rescue Amon who has ended up in the netherworld as a result of the events at the end of reawakened. As the holder of Amon's heart scarab, Lily is still intricately linked to Amon and needs to use this link to rescue Amon from the netherworld otherwise Chaos could be allowed back in and potentially destroy Lily's world.

I think my biggest problem is that I had trouble connecting with Lily in this book and i felt the beginning of the book with the random visit to the nana in Iowa so she could leave to save Amon didn't make sense to me. I mean she is told that if all goes well, it will be as if she never left so why did she need to go to Iowa to be able to do this. The visit itself seemed quite out of character of either the Lily from the beginning of book 1 or even from the end.

That aside my connection with Lily was haphazard at best as Lily went through all the trials to get to and be ready to enter the netherworld, I found the pace a little frustrating and at times the story struggled to hold my attention. It sometimes seemed like the author was trying to weave some threads that would be needed later in the book, but at times they just seemed confusing and made the story that little bit harder to get through.

The second half of the book moved a lot better than the first half in my opinion. Some of the earlier threads started to come through and make more sense and the story itself seemed to flow that little bit better. I felt the addition of Asten and Ahmose to the story and finding out more about their roles in the afterlife when their bodies are sleeping added a lot to the story as a whole and helped to fill out the world building of the story in general.

I though the last 20% of the story got quite exciting and I devoured it pretty quickly and overall I was left with the feeling and the need to see what happens next in this series. So I will definitely be reading book 3.

Overall I did enjoy this book even if I did struggle for a while in the middle. I felt the world building and attention to detail in regards to the ancient egyptian mythology was stronger in this book and this really solidified the story for me. I look forwrad to seeing how this all plays out in book 3.

A mostly solid and enjoyable read and I gave this book 3 1/2 stars

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

Recreated (Reawakened #2) by Colleen Houck

The second book in Colleen Houck's Reawakened Series, where Lily must now not only travel across the globe, she must enter the Netherworld (hell), to save the love of her life, Amon.

If Lily thought traveling across the globe with a reawakened sun-prince was an epic adventure, she's now in for the journey of a lifetime. Amon has left his sacred duty to the gods and transported himself to the Netherworld, what we know as hell, to live out the rest of his years in agony. He is tormented by the loss of his love, Lily, and wishes to relinquish his obligation to the gods until they can reunite again.

Lily has sought refuge on her grandmother's farm until she must attend the college of her parents' choice, and it is there that she is visited by Anubis, the Egyptian god of mummification, who fills her in on Amon's choice and that she is the only one who can save him.

What Lily doesn't tell Anubis is that since she's left Amon she has known something went wrong. Lily can feel Amon's pain and she's been having dreams, dreams filled with Amon fighting awful beasts and crying out in agony. She will do whatever it takes to save him. For his life means more to her than anything in the world, which may not exist if she doesn't bring him back home.

Purchase: Booktopia  | Book Depository | Hachette Australia | Amazon

   

     

Teaser Tuesday #122: Recreated (Reawakened #2) by Colleen Houck #TeaserTuesday

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My current read is Recreated (Reawakened #2) by Colleen Houck and my two lines are from location 3095 of 5143

"A judgement has been requested and a judgement has been made," Ma'at said "I have judged the heart of the deceased, Amon; the wandering spirit, Tia; and the still living , Lily.  Their souls stand as witnesses against them. In all sincerity I decree that..."

Recreated (Reawakened #2) by Colleen Houck

The second book in Colleen Houck's Reawakened Series, where Lily must now not only travel across the globe, she must enter the Netherworld (hell), to save the love of her life, Amon.

If Lily thought traveling across the globe with a reawakened sun-prince was an epic adventure, she's now in for the journey of a lifetime. Amon has left his sacred duty to the gods and transported himself to the Netherworld, what we know as hell, to live out the rest of his years in agony. He is tormented by the loss of his love, Lily, and wishes to relinquish his obligation to the gods until they can reunite again.

Lily has sought refuge on her grandmother's farm until she must attend the college of her parents' choice, and it is there that she is visited by Anubis, the Egyptian god of mummification, who fills her in on Amon's choice and that she is the only one who can save him.

What Lily doesn't tell Anubis is that since she's left Amon she has known something went wrong. Lily can feel Amon's pain and she's been having dreams, dreams filled with Amon fighting awful beasts and crying out in agony. She will do whatever it takes to save him. For his life means more to her than anything in the world, which may not exist if she doesn't bring him back home.

Purchase: Booktopia  | Book Depository | Hachette Australia | Amazon

Review: The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by ReneeAhdieh

Title: The Wrath and the Dawn

Author: Renee Ahdieh
Published: 12th May 2015
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Source: Book Depository
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: *****

My Review:

For some unknown reason and despite the rave reviews and the fact I own a gorgeous hardback copy of this book, I have resisted reading this book and had it sitting on my bookshelf for nearly a year. I finally picked it up this week, despite being not well nor in much a reading mood and fell under its spell.

The magic of the tales of the Arabian nights is in this book and Ms Ahdieh weaves the spell from the first page instantly transporting you to the midst of one such tale. I love Sharzhadi as the main character. She is fearless and smart and fun to read about. There is such depth to her character which makes her story so much more real.I also liked peripheral characters Despina and Jalal. I am still not sure what i think of Khalid. I liked the chemistry between Shazhadi and Khalid however.

The story itself is one full of action and intrigue and a spell binding tale. Everyone has secrets. Some secrets we as the reader find out quite quickly, others we have to wait for, to earn. The pace of the story is perfect and it flowed divinely. I hung on every word from beginning to end. Is it worth it in the end? I would say a resounding yes though I will also say I am so very glad book 2 is already out because I need it! Now!

An extremely enjoyable tale and I give it 5 stars.

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh

Goodreads | Amazon | Booktopia | Book Depository

One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.