Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo is the second book in the Shadow and Bone series. It’s a young adult/fantasy novel that was recently made into a Netflix show. The reader continues to follow Alina Starkov, a powerful summoner of light as she tries to evade the Darkling. The Darkling, a nearly immortal summoner of shadows, wants to use her to aid in his goal of ruling their country, Ravka.
When she was younger, Jude and her sisters were taken to a strange land, different from their earth. The High Courts of Faerie where different types of fey live. Though, her and her sisters were the only humans in this kingdom. The fey are not fond of humans and think of them as inferior. Jude wants to prove herself worthy and become a knight in the court. As she tries to make her way up, betrayal happens within the court, making it crumble.
Yadriel is a Blacksheep. His whole family brujos and brujas fit into their roles as spirit savers and healers respectfully. But Yadriel, a transgender boy, is stuck in the middle identifying as a brujo but being acknowledged as a bruja by most of his family. To prove he is a brujo, Yadriel appoints his cousin (the other Blacksheep of the family) in saving the day through the powers of the brujos. Yadriel succeeds in using the brujo powers but summons the wrong spirit. Instead of helping his family, he summoned the spirit of bad boy Julian...
When Alina Starkov is sought to have a special power, she is sent to a school for the magic to learn and train with the best of the best. During the process she encounters new acquaintances, romance, and plenty of secrets. This book was amazing! Bardugo does a fantastic job of world building; from the moment the book starts, you immediately feel like you are in the Grishaverse with Alina. The imagery the novel provided was spectacular, and I was hooked off the bat. The concept was very unique, and it made me that much more engaged.
Meet two rival magician assistants, Jack and Wilhelm. Jack works for the Enchantress, and Wilhelm works for Laszlo. During the Exposition, they both cross paths and form a secret romance. Does the romance between Jack and Wilhelm keep them together? Or does it fall apart? Read more to find out!
Shadow and Bone is a fantasy YA novel by Leigh Bardugo. The book centers around the main protagonist, Alina, as she discovers who she is and who she can trust. During her childhood, she lived in an orphanage with her best friend, Mal. As she’s tasked to cross the Fold with her group, she discovers something about herself that could potentially change the entire fate of the kingdom, for better or worse.
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander is an example of a textbook someone would find at Hogwarts. It gives a history of magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe, as well as notes from Harry and his friends. Along with the history, it also gives specific information about the creatures within the magical world. Along with the information, it tells the reader how dangerous the creature is. Not to mention, information about Newt Scamander himself.
The sixth and final book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, Last Sacrifice, was a great finale. Queen Tatianna is murdered, and Rose is framed by an unknown source; Rose, Lissa, and friends must figure out who framed Rose and find Lissa’s hidden half-sibling to make things right. This installment was much better than Spirit Bound; it took on more of an exciting and mysterious thriller quality than its predecessors, and Rose seemed more like her old self.
Spirit Bound, the fifth novel in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series, was all over the place. After returning from her journey to Siberia, Rose is caught up in the hope of turning Dimitri back into a damphir. Rose recruits Lissa, Eddie, and some unlikely friends to return Dimitri to his original state while preparing to become an ocial guardian. This book was more drawn out than it needed to be; it was especially slow initially; however, things did pick up closer to the middle of the book.
The third book in The School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani, The Last Ever After, was surprisingly unpredictable. While Agatha and Tedros are transported back to Gavaldon, Sophie is living with the School Master. Although the girls’ story was supposed to be closed long ago, their separation causes their story to be opened once again as evil takes over and old villains return from their graves.
