Review: Tiny Pretty Things

 
Tiny Pretty Things
Author: Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton
Publication Date: July 2nd 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars in this soapy, drama-packed novel featuring diverse characters who will do anything to be the prima at their elite ballet school.

Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette's desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever. When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.

Well, Tiny Pretty Things is not pretty, and not in the way you think. Tiny Pretty Things is a dark, twisted and honestly, completely cutthroat. I avoided all reviews of Tiny Pretty Things going in, I think I only read one a week before it, which made me worry about the drama, because you know me and unnecessary drama, so I was surprised by how much I actually loved the drama, and I think that is mainly because the drama in Tiny Pretty Things isn't unnecessary and is completely realistic in its setting, because Tiny Pretty Things shows the dark side of ballet, how competitive and ruthless it is.

Review: The Revenge Playbook (Don't punch the wall, don't punch the wall, don't punch the wall.)

The Revenge Playbook
Author: Rachael Allen
Publication Date: June 16th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

In this poignant and hilarious novel, Rachael Allen brilliantly explores the nuances of high school hierarchies, the traumas sustained on the path to finding true love, and the joy of discovering a friend where you least expect.

Don’t get mad, get even!

In the small town of Ranburne, high school football rules and the players are treated like kings. How they treat the girls they go to school with? That’s a completely different story. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana each have their own reason for wanting to teach the team a lesson—but it’s only when circumstances bring them together that they come up with the plan to steal the one thing the boys hold sacred. All they have to do is beat them at their own game.

Brimming with sharp observations and pitch-perfect teen voices, fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Mlynowski are sure to fall head-over-heels for this sharp tale—by the author of 17 First Kisses—about the unexpected roads that can lead you to finding yourself.

It took me a while to write this review, usually, I like writing them not long after I finish a book so it's still fresh and really, just to get it done. This one? Nope. Because I honestly couldn't put into words how amazing and important and empowering The Revenge Playbook is, and here's me trying now (but you know it's going to be a rambling review, right?) 

Guest Review by Amber: The Perfectionists

The Perfectionists
Author: Sara Shepard
Publication Date: October 2nd 2014        
Publisher: Hot Key Books

Pages: 267

Rough estimate of time it took to read: 1 week (it was a slow reading week)

Source: Gifted by Kirsty 

In Beacon Heights High, Nolan Hotchkiss is king. His charm, wealth and good looks are deceptively seductive, and many are the students whose lives and reputations have been ruined by it. All while Nolan continues to reign, unquestioned and undisrupted. Until now, that is.

Mackenzie, Ava, Julie, Caitlin and Parker seemingly don't have much in common. Each has their own friends, dramas and goals. But one thing they do share: they all have a deep hatred of Nolan Hotchkiss. And they all think it's about time he paid for what he's done. They come up with the perfect murder - a hypothetical murder, of course. It's all wishful thinking ... until they wake up one morning to find that their wish has come true. Nolan has been killed - in exactly the way they planned. The thing is, they didn't do it. So who did?

This is the first time I'm reading and reviewing the same book Kirsty has previously reviewed (if you want to check her review out, you can find it here...) and although I didn't entirely hate it as Kirsty did  (or as she puts it, it felt more of a Pretty Little Liars 2.0) I do have mixed feelings for The Perfectionists. Although I did really enjoy the story, maybe more so because I haven't read Pretty Little Liars (I have had a look at how many there are though and whoa) or watched the TV show, I did have a few issues with the book, mainly due to the characters, but I am looking forward to reading more.

My main problem with The Perfectionists are the characters, I found them to be very very superficial and shallow, and at time a bit "run of the mill" teenager/brat, and it was hard to tell the characters apart from the other. The ending also felt rushed, which since there were quite a few filler chapters, I would've preferred a non rushed ending compared to fillers.

 

Then we come to that ending. And it leaves on a cliffhanger, so now of course I want to find out what happens in the next one, curse you book.

Waiting on Wednesday (#100!)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

When We Collided by Emery Lord 

Expected publication:  April 5th 2016 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Meet Vivi and Jonah: A girl and a boy whose love has the power save or destroy them.

Vivi and Jonah couldn't be more different. Vivi craves anything joyful or beautiful that life can offer. Jonah has been burdened by responsibility for his family ever since his father died. As summer begins, Jonah resigns himself to another season of getting by. Then Vivi arrives, and suddenly life seems brighter and better. Jonah is the perfect project for Vivi, and things finally feel right for Jonah. Their love is the answer to everything. But soon Vivi's zest for life falters, as her adventurousness becomes true danger-seeking. Jonah tries to keep her safe, but there's something important Vivi hasn't told him.

Perfect for fans of E. Lockhart and Jandy Nelson, When We Collided is a powerful story of two teens whose love is put to the test by forces beyond their control.

Because it's Emery Lord, duh.

What're you waiting on?

Review: Because You'll Never Meet Me (Let's ignore the ending, okay?)

Because You'll Never Meet Me
Author: Leah Thomas
Publication Date: July 2nd 2015 
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

In a stunning literary debut, two boys on opposite ends of the world begin an unlikely friendship that will change their lives forever.
Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.
A story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just waiting for their moment to shine.

The thing is, I couldn't put Because You'll Never Meet Me down, even though I wanted to at times,  it's nostalgic for me because it brings me back to when I was twelve (or 13, can't exactly remember) and started writing to my pen pal, although I wouldn't call her a pen pal now, because she's become such a great friend (hey, Britt!) and it's true, you really can say anything that you might not tell someone you know, without worry or judgement, because you've never met them.

Review: Drive Me Crazy

Drive Me Crazy
Author: Terra Elan McVoy
Publication Date: April 28th 2015
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Buckle up…

Lana and Cassie have met only once before, at the wedding of Lana’s Grandpa Howe and Cassie’s Grandma Tess two months ago. They didn’t exactly hit it off—in fact, depending on who you ask, that first meeting was either an embarrassment or a disaster—but they’re about to spend an entire week together, just the two of them and their honeymooning grandparents, road-tripping in Cassie’s grandmother’s Subaru.

Lana thinks a summer road trip sounds like fun, but the backseat is a crowded place for two tween girls with two huge secrets to hide, and this bumpy road to friendship is full of unexpected twists and turns. Like it or not, they’re in this together, full speed ahead on the adventure of a lifetime.

This review is going to be short, so more of a mini review, mainly because it's a middle grade, there's not much to talk about. And swearing at said middle grade's review is probably frowned upon. I don't know how old Cassie and Lana are, it probably was said at some point-or maybe not-but I can't remember, but since it is middle grade, you get the age range. Which makes me realise, I do not miss being that age. At all. Nada. If I acted anything like Cassie did, I wouldn't blame anyone for slapping me-and believe me, this girl needed a slap-hell, I'd slap myself, because fu freaking hell, she was a bi challenge.

I Love You...But I Don't Want to Review You

Or it's better known as Books I'm Never Reviewing because Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight is awesome, and she let me use her idea (which, is equally awesome. Her idea, not letting me use it, and well, that too.)

 When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

I heart you, book. And you know what? I do think this is my favourite out of all of them, and the reason why? Gia (and Hayden, obviously, but shh), out of all of Kasie West's characters, she's the one with the most character growth, and I know all of them have a lesson of learning to be yourself, but this was the strongest. I could've done without Jules (I think we all could have done without Jules) considering she was a few steps away from being a complete psycho and seriously needed to fucking get a life, but there we go.  AND THE ROMANCE WAS ADORABLE, OKAY?

Rating: 5/5

      

Waiting on Wednesday (#99)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Expected publication: October 20th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

 My dear trusted friends who have already read this, you're mean for making me want to read it now because I have to wait and I'm impatient. ;)

What're you reading?

Review: Made You Up (hug the book, just hug it)

Made You Up
Author: Francesca Zappia
Publication Date: May 19th 2015
Publisher:  Greenwillow Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar.

Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal.

Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.

Made You Up is a...touchy one to review, which is why I'm doing more of a What I Liked Vs Issues. But, I just have to say, though I haven't read many (if any) books about Schizophrenia, this has to be the best one I've read (I know, totally illogical, but whatever). I loved how it was explored and felt more  of a positive story than a negative one. 

Review: Deadfall (I'm so not forgiving you, Anna Carey)

Deadfall
Author: Anna Carey
Publication Date: July 16th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

 In the compelling sequel to Blackbird, Anna Carey delivers a gritty and adrenaline-filled story of a girl desperate to escape her mysterious and terrifying assailants. Told in second person, this heart-pounding thriller puts the reader in front of the target.

A week ago, you woke up in Los Angeles with no memory of who you are. The only thing you knew: people are trying to kill you. You put your trust in Ben, but he betrayed you and broke your heart. Now you've escaped to New York City with a boy named Rafe, who says he remembers you from before. But the two of you are not safe. The same people who are after you are tailing Rafe as well. As the chase heats up, your memory starts to return, but your past cannot save you from the terrifying circumstances of your present, or the fact that one wrong move could end this game forever.

With enemies on every side, and not a reprieve in sight, Deadfall will grab readers and refuse to let go. Perfect for fans of the Maze Runner series and the Legend series.

• Warning! There might be some slight spoilers for Blackbird ahead!

I really enjoyed Blackbird last year, while I know some had a problem with the second person narration, I loved it and it worked so well with the plot and story, and I don't think it would have worked any other way.

Blackbird and Deadfall have a lot of things working for it in YA, it's original, I haven't read another book like it, it runs and feels like a movie, which I always love when books can do that, they're fast paced to the point where they don't let you get comfortable with the story so you feel how intense it is and it creates the dangerous atmosphere and keeps you on your toes. It isn't predictable and while one major thing felt predictable in Blackbird, it set things up perfectly for Deadfall, which I have to say, is more intense, crazy and twisted than I thought it would be.

Guest Review by Amber: Possess

Possess
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Publication Date: August 23rd 2011
Publishe  Balzer + Bray

Pages : 382

Rough estimate of time it took to read: 8 Hours

Source: Gifted by Kirsty 

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her overprotective mom, by Matt Quinn, the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, the voices are demons - and Bridget possesses the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from. Literally.

Terrified to tell her friends or family about this new power, Bridget confides in San Francisco's senior exorcist, Monsignor Renault. The monsignor enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession, but just as she is starting to come to terms with her freakish new role, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. And when one of her oldest friends is killed, Bridget realizes she's in deeper than she ever thought possible. Now she must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone else close to her winds up dead - or worse, the human vessel for a demon king.

 Reaaaally enjoyed this book a lot, so I'm suddenly really glad Kirsty's pawning off her DNF'S to me. I've you've been reading my reviews (or even just checking out the ratings) then you would know I have only really disliked one or two books, although it is rare for me to hate a book, since I always like to see the good in a book more than being technical (or if you've read some of Kirsty's DNF reviews, cynical sorrynotsorry)

Now, onto Possess...

Waiting on Wednesday (#98)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

After the Woods by Kim Savage

Expected publication: February 23rd 2016 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Janine O'Malley at Farrar, Straus and Giroux acquired a debut YA novel, After the Woods by former journalist Kim Savage, in a pre-empt. It’s a psychological thriller about two friends in the aftermath of an abduction, where one risked her life to save the other and spent a night in the woods she wants to forget. Now, nearly a year later, a girl’s body is found, and dark secrets are tearing the best friends apart. Publication is scheduled for 2016; Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger did the two-book deal for world English rights.

Okay, we don't know much about it yet, but I don't care. Psychological Thriller. I'm so in.


What're you waiting on?

Review: Emmy & Oliver

Emmy & Oliver
Author: Robin Benway
Publication Date: June 23rd 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Readers who love Sarah Dessen will tear through these pages with hearts in throats as Emmy and Oliver struggle to face the messy, confusing consequences of Oliver’s father’s crime. Full of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, these two equally compelling characters create an unforgettable story

Oh, Emmy & Oliver, I want to hug you. Literally. I wish you were real, and not just because the characters felt so real and were pretty damn awesome. But, the story of Emmy & Oliver is sadly one that we've seen more frequently over the years. A parent taking their child away. Fortunately, Oliver's story has an outcome that we only sometimes get to see, Emmy & Oliver begins with an ending.

Oliver's found.

Magonia Blog Tour: Review & Q&A with Maria Dahvana Headley

 

 

Magonia
Author: Maria Dahvana Headley
Publication Date: June 4th 2015
Publisher: Harper Collins
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Neil Gaiman’s Stardust meets John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars in this fantasy about a girl caught between two worlds... two races…and two destinies.

Aza Ray is drowning in thin air.

Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live.

So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.

Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia.

Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

How to describe Magonia? I don't know how, so I'll just go with wow. There. I can't say I 100% got it, because I didn't, it got confusing at times, especially when Aza gets to Magonia, but not totally getting it doesn't necessarily mean I didn't like it, in fact, I freaking loved it despite that. You know all those comparisons X meets Y that are rather annoying at times because they are not even close to describing the book? This isn't one of them. I totally get why it was Stardust meets The Fault in Our Stars, but especially The Fault in Our Stars and not for the obvious reasons, the characters weren't the same, and neither was the writing, but it had that same feel to it, in a way characterisation, humour and the lyrical undertone in the writing, but you just have to read it to understand it, because it is unique and original and honestly? I haven't read anything else like it.

Unpopular Opinion Tag

Amber Elise @ Du Livre tagged me, Original credit goes to TheBookArcher

Phoenix Rising Blog Tour: Guest Post by Bryony Pearce

Phoenix Rising
Author: Bryony Pearce
Publication Date: June 1st 2015
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
#BansheeCrew

In a future world where fossil fuels have run out and democracy has collapsed, an outlawed pirate crew fight for survival on their ship, the Phoenix, kept afloat by whatever they can salvage or scavenge on the debris-filled seas. Toby has never known anything other than life onboard the Phoenix and he's desperate for adventure. But when trouble comes hunting the Phoenix down, Toby realizes that what you wish for isn't always what you want. He meets beautiful Ayla from the Banshee, a rival pirate ship and sworn enemy of the Phoenix, and his world is thrown into disorder. How can he know who to trust and what to believe? The future rests on him making an impossible choice...A gripping novel, perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Eoin Colfer and Suzanne Collins

 Ending the World

For me, one of the most fun things about being a writer is building the world and the characters that live in it.

In the case of Phoenix Rising, it wasn't so much building a world, as ending and then rebuilding it.

So I set out to think about how the world might end.

By the ‘end of the world’ of course I mean the ‘end of civilisation as we know it’. A literal earth shattering event like a meteor strike or the explosion of the sun (which is a favourite suggestion in school visits) would not leave me much scope for developing characters and a world in which to write a story afterwards. So I needed an event that would kill off most of the people and change the world itself, but not so serious that my main characters could not survive and have adventures.

This is something that, as an imaginative individual with a propensity towards the macabre, I have considered many times over the course of my lifetime.

Waiting on Wednesday (#97)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows

Expected publication: April 5th 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books

Wilhelmina has a hundred enemies.

HER FRIENDS HAVE TURNED. After her identity is revealed during the Inundation, Princess Wilhelmina is kept prisoner by the Indigo Kingdom, with the Ospreys lost somewhere in the devastated city. When the Ospreys’ leader emerges at the worst possible moment, leaving Wil’s biggest ally on his deathbed, she must become Black Knife to set things right.

HER MAGIC IS UNCONTROLLABLE. Wil’s power is to animate, not to give true life, but in the wraithland she commanded a cloud of wraith mist to save herself, and later ordered it solid. Now there is a living boy made of wraith—destructive and deadly, and willing to do anything for her.

HER HEART IS TORN. Though she’s ready for her crown, declaring herself queen means war. Caught between what she wants and what is right, Wilhelmina realizes the throne might not even matter. Everyone thought the wraith was years off, but already it’s destroying Indigo Kingdom villages. If she can’t protect both kingdoms, soon there won’t be a land to rule.

In this stunning conclusion to THE ORPHAN QUEEN, Jodi Meadows follows Wilhelmina’s breathtaking and brave journey from orphaned criminal on the streets to magic-wielding queen

YES YES YES YES YES. IT FINALLY HAS A COVER. I wanted to feature it last week, but was too late. BUT THE COVER. THE COVER. The Orphan Queen looked great online, didn't it? But it looked freaking amazing in real life, so can't wait to see this shiny one.
And if you've read and loved The Orphan Queen, you'll know exactly why I'm all (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) over this. *cough*whodoIhavetohurttogetthisbefore2016?*cough*

What're you waiting on?

Review: An Ember in the Ashes

An Ember in the Ashes
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Publication Date: June 4th 2015
Publisher: Harper Voyager
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.

What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution?

For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she’s never had much of a choice.

For Elias it’s the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. With the Masks’ help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands, all in the name of power.

When Laia’s brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.

But once Laia and Elias meet, they will find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself

If you've already read An Ember in the Ashes you'll know three things. If you haven't read An Ember in the Ashes, you should know these three things.

It really is brutal.

It's without a doubt cruel and immoral.

Its empowering.