Winter Queen by Amber Argyle

Rating: 3.7 Stars
Author: Amber Argyle
Genre: YA/Fantasy

    
     Overall: I believe that Winter Queen, the first in the Fairy Queens (trilogy?) series by Amber Argyle, deserved 3.7 stars. Ilyenna, the seventeen year protagonist, is the clan mistress of her clan, the Shyle. There are several clans that have banded together to fend of the 'Raiders,' except very soon we discover along with Ilyenna that one clan is not very happy being equal to everyone else. After killing the son of the bad clan's chief, Ilyenna is given a death blow, and is in the process of dying when winter fairies come along and save her by turning her into the winter queen.
     
     Ilyenna isn't sure that she wants to be the winter queen, however, so she gives back the powers of winter and chooses to become human again. This sets off a chain of events that leads to Ilyenna becoming a tiam, or slave, to the opposing clan.
    
     I gave Winter Queen 3.7 stars because the author succeeded at building a magical world, and a believable, strong, and smart protagonist. I enjoyed reading about Ilyenna and company, and will likely read the next book in the Fairy Queen series by Amber Argyle. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a strong heroine and a subtle, yet definitely there, romance that progresses expectedly through the book.

     Characters: Ilyenna, the main character, who we follow through the novel, is the clan mistress of her clan, the Shyle. I enjoyed reading about Ilyenna because she was strong and did not care what others thought of her; she did exactly what she believed she had to do. I truly enjoyed Ms. Argyle's portrayal of Ilyenna because she made her an independent woman, something that is woefully ignored in most YA novels.

     Other than Ilyenna, I found Rone to be pleasantly protective, and I liked that he wasn't overbearing like a lot of love interests can be. The supporting characters were well-developed, and I enjoyed their dialogue between each other and with Ilyenna.

     The Dialogue: Winter Queen is one of those books where dialogue is only used to further the plot. While this can be a good thing, considering I absolutely despise fluffy dialogue with absolutely no point whatsoever, but I felt that Ms. Argyle took this to an unnecessary degree. All of the dialogue was used to further the plot. There were no pleasantries exchanged between friends, and while given the setting an subject matter, I do understand why this was, I simply think that a bit more dialogue of the less-dire kind would have been gratefully accepted. Other than that little grievance, the dialogue exchanged between characters was well put together and enjoyable.

     The Plot/Setting: The setting in Winter Queen is another reason why I could not give the book a four-star rating. It was certainly well thought out in the beginning, and the descriptions were wonderful, but in the beginning Ilyenna is in the Shyle camp, while most of the book takes place in the Tyron camp. The Tyron camp was sort of almost described when Ilyenna first came to it, but then I felt that the setting kind of just disappeared. I didn't know if it was supposed to look like Shyle, or if it looked completely different, and that bothered me.

     The plot was good, and it progressed nicely. I really liked how well developed it was, and the pace was actually near perfect. Whenever I was wondering what is going to happen next? it happened. There was never a lull in suspense, and I could read the novel quite smoothly.

     The Originality: Although Winter Queen is about fairies, a subject that is wearing thin in the YA world, it didn't feel overdone or cookie-cutter like. There were times when I could see a distinct resemblance to other books I've read like this one, but Winter Queen definitely manages to pull itself together in a unique fashion. I enjoyed reading Winter Queen, and hope that the next novel in the series is just as good as this one!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Rating: 4.6 Stars
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA/Fantasy


     Overall: I gave City of Bones by Cassandra Clare 4.5 out of 5 stars because I genuinely liked this book, the characters, and the general tone. City of Bones starts off following Clary, a supposed 'Mundie' girl--meaning mundane, or non-magical--with her best friend, Simon, as they are entering the Pandemonium Club. Right from the start I liked City of Bones because of the multiple perspective used. It was nice throughout the entire book to see things from a slightly different view.

     City of Bones details the lives of a group of Shadowhunters, or part-angel demon hunters. Right from the start I could tell that something dark was coming...and that something dark turned out to be Valentine, one the most calculating and cruel evil villain's I've read. I would recommend City of Bones to anyone who enjoys an action-packed novel filled with faeries, weapons, and the perfect bad boy ever.

     The Characters: The novel starts off with Clary and her friend, Simon. Although I liked Clary, throughout the entire book I found myself annoyed by her rude, downright childish actions. Several times I found myself muttering to myself, and scoffing at the actions of Clary. Though her actions can be construed as 'loyal to a fault,' I rather found them bothersome.
    
     Simon, another mundane, was delightful to read. He was funny, loyal in a more pleasant and realistic way than Clary, and he was such a dork that it was adorably laughable. Simon was almost my favorite character, coming at a close second when compared to Jace. Jace was...amazing. He is unique, such a misunderstood bad boy, and I absolutely loved him from the moment he found himself amused by unrequited love to the moment the book ended.

     Overall, the characters were generally well-developed, and mostly likeable. They all had their own unique personalities; the personality aspect was definitely pulled off very nicely.

     The Dialogue: At times, I found the dialogue between Clary and other somewhat contrived, but that's mostly because Clary really came off as whinny to me. Otherwise, the dialogue between characters was realistic and amusing. Several times while reading the book I found myself laughing out loud, which rarely happens when I am reading. The personalities of the characters really came out through the dialogue, and the talking never weighed down the plot.
    
     Everything was very smooth and effortless, tying in completely with what was going on. At no point did the dialogue feel forced, and it always had a point. The dialogue was very well done.

     The Plot/Setting: If there's one thing Cassandra Clare is good at, it is making her characters come alive. But running a close second, the plot and setting of the novel was very well developed. The imagery was very intense, and extremely well done. The plot...the plot was amazing. Cassandra Clare obviously did a lot of research and thought deeply about her topic, and it showed in the plot. I adore the theme of the story, and am so glad that I read this book.
    
     The Originality: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is undoubtedly a unique and original novel. Everything about this novel was unique, and very easy and fun to read.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Rating: 4.8 Stars
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: YA/Science Fiction/Dystopia

     Overall: Cinder by Marissa Meyer is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles. A retelling of the classic story 'Cinderella,' the book follows the cyborg girl Cinder in her adventures through New Beijing. With a futuristic setting, in a world where a plague is put upon the population and people lie on the moon, Cinder is a fantastic book filled with exciting developments and characters.

 

     For those who enjoy stories about futures filled with robots, cyborg's, and a kick-butt engineer heroine, Cinder is the book for you. If not, then this is still the story for you! I did not expect to like Cinder when I first picked the book up. However, once I got started reading, I could hardly put the book down. I would 100% recommend Cinder for anyone.

 

     The Characters: Cinder is, as I said before, a totally kick-butt engineer cyborg heroine who is not exactly who she thinks she is. From the moment the book started with Cinder changing her foot to the very last scene, I was in love with Cinder, and cannot wait to read the next book, Scarlet.

 

     Other than Cinder, I felt that Iko, Cinder's best robot friend, Prince Kai, and the other characters were well developed and likeable--or, in the case of the evil stepmother and sister, perfectly unlikeable. Marissa Meyer managed to make the characters pop straight off the page.

 

     The Plot/Setting: New Beijing was described wonderfully and realistically. I could easily imagine the monarch-led country just as easily as I could picture the plague.The plot is well-developed, very intriguing. There weren't any times at which I felt that the story was dragging on, nor any time when the action was too fast to comprehend. There was a perfectly satisfying dollop of suspense dropped into the storyline, and the end was wrapped up neatly, though with enough of a cliff-hanger to leave me anxious for the sequel.

 

     The Originality: As a retelling of 'Cinderella' about a cyborg, in a science-fiction future where robots are commonplace and an advanced breed of human beings live on the moon, Cinder is an extremely original novel