Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins, the bestselling author of the Hunger Games, is a children’s fantasy story about a young boy and his baby sister who fall from their New York City home into an underworld infested by massive bats, rats, and insects, as well as humans with nearly transparent skin.
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger is the first book in this fantasy series. In this book, Sophie Foster is living with humans. However, she soon discovers that she is an elf instead. She must leave her human family and learn how to live with the elves. But, between her human upbringing and stronger abilities, she still does not have a normal life. While she settles into her new home, she makes new friends who help her along the way.
Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen, the first in a series, is a fantasy, dystopian novel which follows the story of a teenage girl, Mare, as she discovers that she, a "Red-blooded" person, has special powers similar to those of the elite "Silver-blooded" class. Mare's life is turned upside down when her power is revealed as the Silvers attempt to disguise the fact that she is a lowly Red by telling the public that she is the long-lost relative of a dead Silver general.
For me, the most compelling part of the book wasn't the existence and secrecy of magic itself, but the lack of acceptance around it. While normally the world of a book having magic isn't something too impressive. The way that this book had magic exist but villanized by the general public was a unique twist that I don't normally see and I was really intrigued to see how it turned out.
The Cup and The Prince was a largely enjoyable read that featured charming characters, an amazing world, and a strong plot. The idea of winning a competition under false pretense was really interesting.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le. Guin is the classic tale of how Ged, a young wizard, comes into his powers and repairs the mistakes of his youth, restoring balance to the land of Earthsea. Along the way he attends a school of magic, battles a dragon, and faces true evil. I really wanted to love this book. It’s high fantasy with a cult following and I wanted it to capture my heart the way that it has for so many people over the years.
After her mother dies in a car accident, 16-year-old Bree Matthews enters an Early College program at UNC-Chapel Hill. During her first night on campus, she witnesses a demon attack — one that she shouldn’t be able to see. When a mage’s attempt to erase her memory backfires, her own magical powers are awakened and she uncovers an erased memory from the night of her mother’s death.
The Tower of Nero is the fifth and final book in Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series. It follows the Greek god Apollo turned mortal Lester Papadopoulos, as he continues his quest to restore the power of the prophecy, take down the power-hungry Roman emperors, and regain his seat on Mount Olympus. I haven't loved the Trials of Apollo series as much as other Rick Riordan series, but this book was truly excellent.
The Night Country is the chilling sequel to Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood. After returning to New York City from the Hinterland, Alice, an ex-Story, attempts to live a normal, human life. Even though Hinterland citizens are still trickling into New York, Alice vows to leave her past behind. However, she quickly learns that escaping the Hinterland was far from the end — Hinterland characters are being slaughtered, one after another.
Wench was a promising title that ultimately fell short for me. I loved the idea of following a tavern wench as she tried to get back her tavern and found it was really interesting. I was also pleasantly surprised by the role magic played in the story. However, the book ultimately failed to please me. Tanya was the only character who had a real arc. Other characters felt unimportant and under-developed. They had very little backstory and served no purpose beyond helping Tanya. They didn’t feel like real people.
