Review: What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read for Battle of the Books 26

So much happened in this book, my brain is still trying to wrap itself around everything. Inez is such a strong character but she is left in the dark too much and has become a pawn in so many schemes. Seriously I don't know how she has the will to keep going after finding out everyone around her is just lying and using her left and right. She is so sweet and naive but fierce and passionate and all of those things meld together makes for a horrible disaster. She's very bold too, and I love her spirit so much!

And the betrayal of her own flesh and blood? I understand her revenge 100% and would be right there with her. 

Whit is going to tick me off, I already know. Hopefully he's not yet another person to betray Inez. I could see her going on a spree of revenge if that were to happen. 

I'm so glad I waited to read this book once I had the ending novel to dive into, because that ending was brutal and I need to see how this all ends! 

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Review: The Encanto's Daughter by Melissa de la Cruz

The Encanto's Daughter by Melissa de la Cruz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read for Battle of the Books 26

I really thought i would like this novel more than I did. And the beginning chapters were fantastic, even though extremely fast pace with little information. But once MJ was in her fathers kingdom, it went downhill from there. 

She has 1 month to learn about a country she's never been to, learn a royal system to become queen, go to school, and find her royal magic. That's a lot of pressure.

 But what does MJ do? She zones out in class, sleeps in late, roams to the town to frolicking with Nix, stresses over a boy... she didn't study or read books about protocols she's needs to know. She doesn't take being a queen seriously until she was treated like a child. I get she wants to change things, but in order to do that, she had to know what the current law is to then change!

Basically MJ was a spoiled brat who didn't know what she was doing and her immaturity was too much for me to handle. After the ending and then reading about vampires for book 2, I thought i could try to read it to see what progresses, but love triangles are annoying for me and it seems like even if Lucas is stuck, he's not putting up much is a fight for MJ if he's getting married to another girl. And neither is MJ fighting that hard? I think book 1 is enough for my patience. 

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Review: Artifice by Sharon Cameron

Artifice by Sharon Cameron
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read for Battle of the Books 26

This book had a rough start for me. I had a lot of difficulty with the terms used and just words explaining something that meant nothing to me, so trying to figure out what Isa was talking about was hard to follow. After awhile I got the hang of it, or enough to get by. And I liked the message of the story and what good deeds Isa was doing. I'm not sure i could been as brave as she was but desperate times call for crazy acts of desperation. 

The twists and turns with Michel and Wiilem got a bit old after awhile. Then again I'm sure it was really hard to know who to trust in those circumstances. 

I really loved the ending and how determined Isa was in her decisions. 

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Review: Brighter Than the Sun by Daniel Aleman

Brighter Than the Sun by Daniel Aleman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Read for Battle of the Books 26

There is so much heavy stuff in this book, i was a bit surprised by that. Sol is a wonderful person. She is 16 and doing more than most adults are. The fact that she gets up at 5am and has a 1 hour commute to school across the boarder? That alone shows her determination to make sure she achieves her goals. And then to take on a part time job and work as many hours around her schooling that is allowed? At really awful times? I don't know how she did it. 

I also could feel her sadness and loneliness and tiredness throughout this book. Seriously, I can't even comprehend the level of emptiness she felt. I just wanted to hug her and make everything better for her. 

I hate that her fault asked her to do this extremely massive thing as a teen. I get why she was the only one who could do it, having been born in America, but that was too much responsibility for Sol. 

A very eye opening novel to me. Glad I read it. Puts a lot of small things in my life in perspective. 

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Review: Invisible Son by Kim Johnson

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Read for Battle of the Books 26

This is a powerful book. Discussing in detail how COVID 19 and Black Lives Matter impacted Andres life was really heartbreaking. And it brought back a lot of memories of that time in my life. Then to add the mystery of Eric and the hypocrisy of his neighbors household? This book packed a lot of sensitive subjects that will make any reader feel every emotion. I wasn't ready for this level of brutal honestly that Kim Johnson delivered.

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Review: Heroes by Alan Gratz

Heroes by Alan Gratz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read for Battle of the Books 26

This is a very quick read. I can see why a lot of students like reading Alan Gratz's novels because it's all about history but with a splash of fun and a story to go along with it. This was the first one I've read and I was entranced into the story from the start. 

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Review: Half City by Kate Golden

Half City by Kate Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been hearing a lot about this book lately and I'm glad I got the chance to read it early. The beginning was a little slow for me, but once Viv got to Harker, I was locked in. I love how unique this book is compared to other books I normally read. I also love how strong Viv is. She knows exactly who she is and what she meant to do, but she decided to try Harkers because she can always learn more. She's smart and catches on to things very quickly. 

Reid is intriguing and I love how he is an abnormality of this world. The attraction between these two is intense. 

I adore all of Viv's new classmates and Penny. Her mother and sister are too judgemental for my taste and James is an idiot. I thought the lies Viv was telling her family were too much and there's no way they couldn't have figured out she was lying to everyone. 

But overall I'm surprised at how much I liked this book and I'm already excited for book 2 to find out what happens after that ending! 

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