Review: Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read this for Battle 27

Hanalei has been on her own for 10 years after her father stole a dragonfruit, a dragon egg, to save Hanalei from a poison she and the princess consumed, making them both sick and stay in a coma. The dragonfruit was supposed to be for the princess until it was stolen, and Hana has been exiled from the home she loved with all of her heart. But with stealing and using a dragonfruit comes consequences, and once Hana got better, her father died, leaving her alone at age 8. 

Ten years later, Hana is reconnected with her home island and her closest friend Sam, son to the princess. She is on an adventure to find another dragonfruit to help the princess, but is having a lot of conflicting emotions when it comes to harming the seadragons and their dragonfruit. 

I honestly adored this book. I read it in one sitting and gobbled up the story so quickly! I loved all of the dragon parts and how Hana had a connection with them. I love how they learned more about these seadragons as the story grew. I love the culture in this book and how easy it was to picture everything so clearly. It was a great novel and I'm glad I got the chance to read it! 

View all my reviews

Review: Stay Dead by April Henry

Stay Dead by April Henry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read for Battle 27

This book takes you on an ultimate survival story, showing you that anything is possible if you have the determination to survive. This novel has 3 POVs: Milan, Janie, and Lenny. 

Milan is a 16 year old girl who lost her father in a car accident, and has now just lost her mother in a plane accident. Both accidents Milan was with them and both times she survived the crashes. Only now when the plane crashes, she's alone on top of a mountain and has to survive the cold weather along with wild animals. With thoughts of her parents life lessons, Milan takes one step at a time to find help and also find out why her whole family has been targeted.

Janie has lived on her family farm her whole life. But farm life is showing signs of struggle and when she's offered the chance to give up a little bit of her land for a lot of money, she decided to take the deal. But the longer the workers are there digging, the worse her farm gets. Animals and family members are getting sick, the water is getting extremely dirty, and construction workers are literally in her front yard. What she discovers had really happened, Janie's sole mission is to take down the company that has destroyed her life. 

Lenny grew up with a hit man as a dad, so it's no surprise Lenny also became a hit man. And now she is currently hunting down any one who was in that plane crash that survived: Milan. Lenny is there for a party check. She had no qualms about her target, until she finds out it's the same girl she helped after the car accident she cause that killed Milan's dad. But a target is a target, so Lenny, while extremely impressed by Milan's resources and talent to survive, is on a mission to complete her assignment. 

This book had a lot of suspense and thrilling moments. My biggest issue was the beginning was excruciatingly slow. I need dialog to get immersed into the story and when Milan was on her own after the plane crash, not a whole lot of dialog happened. Because of that it took me a lot longer to get through this book. Definitely a me issue and not the story, but my brain is already mushy in what occurred for the first 45% of the book. The ending was really good though! 

View all my reviews

Review: A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim

A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm quite surprised at how much I love this novel! I thought it would be a good read, but there is so much packed in here and I was bursting to read more and more. 

I am stunned this is a standalone and honestly, as much as I usually want more single novels, I wish there was more to come for Tru and Elang. I'm a bit sad is all done in one book and i can't pine for the rest of their story! 

I adore that this is a retake is Beauty and the Beast, but underwater with talking turtles and mermaids, and a talented painter with swimming dragons. So much encumbered in this book that kept my attention the entire time. 

I love how much Tru is a fighter and will do whatever it takes to keep her family safe. Even marry the Demon Prince who is then discovered to be the Dragon Prince. Tru has always wanted to go on an adventure, and an adventure she got when she met Elang!

Elang is so full of secrets, I'm shocked Tru didn't bash him on the head. But she also so smart and figured out so many hidden secrets without his help. They really are synced up with each other. 

I thought the author did a phenomenal job describing the multiple worlds these characters lived in. I felt like I was right there with them, seeing it all through my own eyes. 

I'm so glad I decided to read this and may just have to explore more books by this author! 

View all my reviews

Review: Mountain of Fire by Rebecca E.F. Barone

Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens by Rebecca E.F. Barone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Read for Battle 27

This is a narrative non fiction describing the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. The author interviewed numerous witnesses and survivors of this event to be able to write this short but powerful story about a true event. When Mount St. Helens stated having earthquakes in April 1980, scientists, reporters, and tourists all rushed to the site to see what would happen. Many thought it would be safe and nothing would erupt. Others were treading lightly with information saying it was possible the mountain could erupt, but couldn't give any detailed information. This eruption was the first of is kind with a rare timeline of events that couldn't be predicted. If the technology today was available in 1980, more information could have been discovered. 

This very short book has a lot of information provided in a way that can be easily read like a story but also gives great information on how this time frame passed for the people who were involved in this natural disaster. I didn't really know a lot about this event so it was nice to learn some history while also feeling the emotions of the survivors. 

View all my reviews

Review: Dreamslinger by Graci Kim

Dreamslinger by Graci Kim
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read for Battle 27

Aria lives in a world where nightmares can leave magic inside of you unless you release the build up once she wakes up. This is magic that she has feared for the last 3 years when she discovered she had it at age 13. But when the royal family opened up a competition to allow anyone to come to their kingdom and see if they can find a dreamcompanion and live in their society, Ariana thought this would be a good way to spy on their world and report back to her father, who wants to contain people with magic to make the world a safer place. 

But once Aria arrived in this new world, she realized that her father's way may NOT be the only way to live her life. Here she is accepted for her magic and dreams. Here she can learn to control the magic and not be scared to hurt someone. And she found new friends and got her own dreamcompanion, Rio, her unique tailed dragon. 

Now Aria is trying to find all the answers to what happened 10 years ago with the Battle that killed her mom, the secrets of the royal family, and the untold lore of how the magic came to be, all while trying to stay in the competition and be the top 20 that passes, and find a way to still help her father, even when her feelings are becoming conflicting... And the answers that she discovers changes everything she thought she knew her entire life. 

With the help of her new friends Tui and Lion, Aria is slowly learning to trust her heart and make the right decisions for her future and the future of their world. 

I honestly thought i would like this more than I did. Fantasy is right up my alley. I think i struggled the most because there were so many words and terms that were unfamiliar to me. So many dream___ that distracted me. Just a lot of unknowns that brought me out of the story and made me ho "what?". I think Aria definitely grew as a person throughout this book. She had a lot of growing up to do in a very short amount of time. I was proud her her reasoning at the end of the book. But I'm not going to read the next novel because my brain might explode trying to keep up with everything to remember again. 

View all my reviews

Review: The Right Call by Tommy Greenwald

The Right Call: A Game Changer Companion Novel by Tommy Greenwald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read for Battle 27

This book is more than sports and baseball, surprisingly. This is about a 15 year old baseball superstar going through a lot of emotional decisions about his sport, his family and his life. The entire novel is told only through text messages, transcriptions, and announcements that explain what Cal Klondike is going through during a pivotal moment in his baseball career as a high school student. This story also goes into depth in how one bad moment and one good moment should not define a person as a whole. 

Cal's dad got too involved in the idea that Cal is talented enough to play in pro baseball in his near future. Cal grew as a great pitcher overnight and once that happened, so many changes happened for the Klondikes. Going to a specific school to improve his talent. Having scouts, college recruiters, and even professional team recruiters come to games to watch his games. 

But the biggest change was attacking the manager or umpire for calls that were made not to his dad's liking. Arguments, yelling matches. Embarrassing moments. Moments that distracted Cal from playing the sport that he loves. Moments that made Cal not love the sport he used to love. 

I didn't think I'd like this format of a book, but I was actually very invested. And the message was really great. I loved how Cal had his guidance counselor and how he reached out to the umpire, discovering a whole new person than the umpire he thought he knew. Very glad i read this. 

View all my reviews

Review: Good Girl Exception by Maren Moore

Good Girl Exception by Maren Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maren moore always writes amazing romances filled with tension but also some really deep emotional battles for her characters. This book has both in spades and did not disappoint! 

Maisie is such a joy to read about. She literally has no bad bone in her body. Always wanting to help everyone and had such a great personality that makes everyone around her happy with her contagious perspective on life. But I loved how she met Wilder and how she decided to put her own wants first for once. Rather than letting her parents choices dictate her life. 

Wilder has so many past demons to work out. And Maisie is the perfect person to be next to him helping him through those nightmares. I love how polar opposite they are from each other because it makes them the perfect match. 

So glad I got the chance to read this book and I'm always looking forward to more from Maren Moore! 

View all my reviews