Exile by Anne Osterlund

This is the second novel in the Aurelia series by Anne Osterlund.

My review of #1: Aurelia.

After finding out who was trying to kill Aurelia, she decided that she was going on an expedition through her country to get to know the different tribes and lands. She defied her father by not marrying the man he chose for her and took control of her own life.

And beside her is Robert. The man she kissed. The man she yells at, all of the time. But Robert is her companion - her friend - and one of the few people she trust now-a-days.

The expedition is not the nicest trip she's ever had. In fact, she's been taken more times than she can count, and is still finding herself in danger of being assassined - even though she found out who was trying to kill her before her trip.

One of the groups she gets captured by surprisingly has her mother located there - a mother she has not seen in 14 years.

Even though she wants to get to know her mother again, the trip is what is important, and she won't let Robert leave without her.

Robert is having conflicting feelings. He wants to protect the Princess, but knows that he is not capable of doing that. He wants her to be safe, but as long as she is on this expedition, safe is far from what she will be.

And is also starting to fall in love with her. Which can't happen because she is the royal princess, even if she is currently exiled from the palace by defying the King.

So both Robert and Aurelia take it day by day, but soon Aurelia realizes that she needs to face the problems at the palace rather than running away from them. However, they find out who is trying to kill Aurelia again, which makes going home a bit of a problem...

Will Aurelia be able to go back to Tyralt and take her royal place again? What will happen with the attraction between Aurelia and Robert? Who is trying to kill Aurelia, yet again? Read Exile by Anne Osterlund to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This book ended just where the first novel ended, which was nice for me since I read them back to back. And I really enjoyed where this book went. Aurelia has shown once again that she is not the spoiled princess that most are claimed to be.

She gets dirty and takes the blame for the mistakes she's made. She also wants to know the people of her country, who are ruled by her father and one day, by her.

Also, attempting to be assassined is a lot for a person to handle, but Aurelia gets back up and fights back, which I very much admire about her.

My favorite part of the novel is when she is at Robert's family's house and is working on the farm. Who would have thought that a royal princess could milk a cow?!

I guessed who was trying to kill her through this book, so the ending wasn't a surprise.

What was a surprise was how the book ended as a whole! Is there going to be another book? Cause that was not a final ending! There was too much left open and I need to know what happens next. Does anyone know if there will be another book to wrap everything up?!?

Other than the ending being what it is, I really liked this novel and enjoyed how both Robert and Aurelia developed from the first novel. The trust between them only grew, which made their decision choices a lot more wiser than in the first novel.

I would recommend this to any female reader, as it mostly focuses on Aurelia. For those that want a strong lead female character who isn't afraid to get in a bind, this book would also be good for you to read. I would advise that you should read the first novel first, though, as it will make it a lot more clearer when reading this novel.

Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

This is the first novel in the Aurelia series by Anne Osterlund.

After her older brother passed away and her mother ran off away from the kingdom, Aurelia has had to fend for herself against her father - the King's - moods and the dislike she gets from her stepmother, Elise. Good thing she has Malory, her step-sister, to keep her company without hating Aurelia on site.

When Robert comes back to the kingdom, he's doing so under false pretenses. The princess's life is in danger, which 3 attempts on her life by poison or "accidental" tears in her horses saddle. Robert has come back to find out who wants to kill the Princess.

Aurelia has no idea about the attempts on her life, but when Robert starts to act suspicious, she knows something is going on. Robert was once a close friend of hers before he moved away with his family. Now, she still wants to view him as a friend even though there's an air of mystery around him.

But Aurelia is no shy princess. She knows her town like the back of her hand and finds out that someone wants her dead. For what reason, she can only guess, but now she wants to find out who would risk killing her.

That's when they devise a plan together. They are going to get the suspect, the attempted killer, out in the open and find out who has hired him to kill Aurelia.

But when the truth finally comes out, it is not what either Aurelia, Robert, or even the King suspect.

Will they be able to find the assassin in time before he kills Aurelia? Or will it be too late? Who is this mysterious killer? Read Aurelia by Anne Osterlund to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I've adored Osterlund's other novels and wanted to complete my reading history with her first two novels. And I gotta say, Osterlund is an author that has surprised me! Not only because I enjoy her novels, but because she has written 3 different settings and types of novels that have nothing related to her other novels.

That is a talent! And she makes each world so real that you would never guess that she has dabbled in contemporary, historical, and science fiction genres!!

Okay, on the the review of this novel.

I really liked Aurelia. She is going to be the ruler of her city one day and is making sure she will be the voice of the people, rather than a rule of a city. She wants to help the people who contribute and keep the city alive instead of punishing them with more taxes, etc.

She also knows what she wants and goes for it, whether it defies her father, the King. She is the only one who gets away with it, though that's not why she goes against her father. She just wants to do the right thing.

I enjoyed that this book wasn't all about the romance between Aurelia and Robert. Yes, there was a small portion, but mainly it was about Aurelia's love for her city and trying to find out who was attempting to kill Aurelia. And the historical aspect was very refreshing for me to read a YA novel in a historical setting.

This is the first of a two part book series, which I just happen to have the second waiting for me to pick it up.

While I did enjoy this novel, I found myself comparing it to the last two of Osterlund's novels that I really loved and found it lacking. However, if I would have read it by publication date, I might have seen that Osterlund's writing has improved throughout the years to make her latest release the best she has written so far.

For anyone who wants a strong female character who is bound to do what is right, with a historical setting, this would be a great novel for you to read!

Salvation by Anne Osterlund

Salva
Growing up with his immigrant Mexican father who just got his U.S. Citizenship, Salva has grown up with the thought of succeeding at everything that he does. And he has been very successful.

Salva has taken the football team to state and won. He has the highest GPA in his class, making him valedictorian. He's taken the hardest classes and has passed every single one of them. He will go to a college and get a degree, from the persistence of his parents.

He will prove to his father that he was successful and will get an education that will mean something.

Senior year should be easy. But with a schedule mishap, he now has to take AP English - a class that is taught by a teacher nicknamed "the Mercenary". That name is not to be taken lightly. Salva has found himself getting an F for the first time in his life and he must do everything to make sure this class won't ruin everything he's worked so hard for.

And that's where Beth - the walking disaster - comes in. For some reason, she's able to get A's in the Mercenary's class. She may be a disaster who can't keep anything in the right spot, can't walk into a room without spilling papers everywhere, or losing things left and right, but she is very smart.

Smart enough to want to go to Stanford and might have a chance at getting in.

And now Salva is going to have to ask someone for the first time to help him.

Beth
Since Beth was 13 years old, she has had a crush on Salva. Too bad he has never looked at her before, or since, she obtained her crush.

Over the years, she's gotten used to it. Sure, she still gets twinges when he's around, but it's not as bad as it used to be when she was younger.

The moment Salva came to talk to her about the AP English course, Beth thought a joke was being played with her. The most popular guy at school is now talking to her. Not just talking to her - asking her for help in their class. She wants to say no, but after he says please and seems so depressed, Beth couldn't say no to him again.

So now Beth is working with Salva. And she's  having a great time just hanging out with Salva. He's a great guy, smart, kind and is very protective of his family and friends.

Life at home isn't the greatest for Beth, so getting to know Salva has been a blessing. And since she is working her tail off to hopefully get into Sanford because she doesn't have all of the money in the world, she's a little leery on letting him in to hurt her again - even if he didn't know about the first one.

But their lives are very different from one another and not everyone likes the idea of the two of them hanging out. The thing is, though, Beth becomes more open around Salva and Salva starts to wonder about what he really wants - because Beth makes him question everything.

Can things work out for the two of them, or are they destined to follow the paths that their peers vision for them? Read Salvation by Anne Osterlund to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Wow. I really, really enjoyed this novel! I've read one other novel by Osterlund and enjoyed that as well, but this one was really amazing for me!

The characters are minorities in a school that makes them the majority. Salva is a Mexican American and Beth lives in a trailer, hoping that there would be something to eat when she gets home. I think this alone is amazing because it shows a different lifestyle that people live through everyday and isn't really depicted well throughout YA fiction.

Also, both students are determined to get out of their town and make a name for themselves by going to college and getting the degree they need to have a life outside of the little town. Neither of them slack and are very dedicated.

The home lives for both of the characters made my heart wrench for them. To be around people who either judge them too harshly or ignore them completely is hard and doing that for years can really effect a teenager.

So yes, I absolutely loved this novel and I think that all teens should read this! It would really show the reader how the "other side of the tracks" looks and how life goes for people in these situations. Also, both Salva and Beth are narrating the book, so I think guys could like reading this book as well.

I just ordered the other two YA novels from Osterlund that I haven't read yet because I really like her as an author and I'm looking forward to see what the other series is about.

Another great thing about this book? It's a standalone! No sequel :) Everything is in this novel and I think Osterlund wrapped it up very nicely.

So go read this! I think you'll really enjoy it!

Academy 7

When reading the back of this book, I was not prepared for the setting of the story. It just seemed like two students were going to a prestigious boarding school and were rivals because they wanted to be the best in all of their classes and found that they were competing for that first place slot.

That is definitely not the case! The setting for this story is somewhere in the far future, where civilians live on different planets and they fly from one planet to the other. There is one diplomatic system and then each planet has their own ruler to carry out the rules.

Aerin was rescued when her ship was stuck in space: she wasn't able to reach another planet or another fueling station. After she was rescued, she took a series of tests on the ship, but wasn't told why. A few weeks later, she got a letter in the mail saying she was accepted at Academy 7, a very prestigious school where she would have to prove that she should stay there.

Dane is another student who was accepted to the school, and he is a celebrity because his father is the General of the government and also an alumni of Academy 7. When Aerin starts beating Dane in all of the tests - mental and physical - he starts to wonder why she doesn't recognize him and delves deeper into the mystery of her past, and, as he finds out later, his past as well.