The Warrior Witch by Danielle L. Jensen

Title: The Warrior Witch (The Malediction Trilogy, #3)

Author: Danielle L. Jensen

Date Published: May 3rd 2016 

Publisher: Angry Robot

Rating: 5 out of 5 

*ARC provided by NetGalley* 

Goodreads Blurb:

Cécile and Tristan have accomplished the impossible, but their greatest challenge remains: defeating the evil they have unleashed upon the world.
As they scramble for a way to protect the people of the Isle and liberate the trolls from their tyrant king, Cécile and Tristan must battle those who’d see them dead. To win, they will risk everything. And everyone.
But it might not be enough. Both Cécile and Tristan have debts, and they will be forced to pay them at a cost far greater than they had ever imagined.

If there is one thing you should read this book for, it would be the ending.

That ending was a bit idiosyncratic, especially as it did not entirely "match" with the rest of the book. But it was beautiful and quite possibly one of the most heart-breakingly wonderful endings I have ever read. I am now going to create a tag just for that.

Cecile has lost so much over the course of this series. She lost here freedom when she was first kidnapped to Trollus. And then she lost her mom twice, once to the city and then again to the witch Anushka. She loses her innocence as she sees the evil in the world of Trollus as well as in Trianon. And then, this probably doesn't count, but she loses her heart to Triston.

This novel picks up exactly where The Hidden Huntress ends and, even more than the last, incorporates supernatural forces and alternate worlds.

One big problem (and non-problem) was that Tristan and Cecile seemed to be working for two different end goals and did not feel as united as they were in the first two books. This created more conflict/tension, and although it was annoying, it added a lot of suspense. It opened up a lot of possibilities: Tristan and Cecile were going to become enemies, maybe they were going to reconcile at the end, maybe Cecile realizes that trolls are evil and monstrous.

The freeing of the trolls was the catalyst for everything that happened in this book (which was catalyzed by the death of Anushka). The dilemma of freeing them/ not freeing them ended after Anushka's death. But a new dilemma arose- how would Tristan keep them under control? And who is the new king? SPOILER Tristan's mom and dad die, and although I personally was happy to see the crazy Troll King go, his death allowed another power-hungry to wreak havoc. This begs the question: are trolls evil? And if not for Tristan, Marc & the Twins my answer would have been a resounding yes.

There were a few epic/memorable moments (the singing during the battle, the death/ "rebirth" of one of my fave characters, and the awesome ending, but there were also silly/bad moments, such as when Cecile feels useless and decides to wander off right into the hands of the witch, when Tristan chooses to forget/dissolve the bond (that was truly annoying), and when the fairy King dude forces Tristan to leave to the other realm, which was frustrating.

If you liked the first two book, I think this one will come as a shock because 1) it is much different, and 2) it does not go the way you expect it to. But if you read it without expectations, I think you'll be able to thoroughly enjoy, just as I was able to.

I recommend this to fantasy lovers as well as those who are interested by magical (evil) creatures and life after death ;)

A School for Unusual Girls By Kathleen Baldwin

Title: A School for Unusual Girls (Stranje House, #1)

Author: Kathleen Baldwin

Date Published: May 19th 2015

Publisher: Tor Teen

Rating: 5 out of 5 

Goodreads Blurb: 

 It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war. After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts...

This book was surprisingly awesome. I totally expected a stereotypical plot (no offense but Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriager was what I was anticipating from reading the blurb) and dull characters but I was so wrong. The genre is historical fiction (one of my favorites) and had three important elements- balls, science, and spies. Ahem, sorry. Diplomats. 

So when Gerogie (yup we're on a first name basis) was sent to the finishing school by her abominable parents, I was hooked. I totally felt her emotions as my own and her character was extremely endearing, not only because she was incredibly smart, but also because she had a crazy passion for science. That was pretty awesome, since most MCs rarely come off as being blue stockings. She was prodigious but wasn't a super ninja like Tess, or a wonderful diplomat like Maya. She just seemed like an ordinary girl, and that, more than anything else, emphasized the fact that she was absolutely brilliant.

Another well done factor in the book was the finishing school. The peculiar characters, like the headmistress, Madame Cho, Ravencliffe, and the girls were extremely dynamic and all of them clearly had depth. Although the specifics and history of a few characters, like Jane and Maya, weren't thoroughly enough described to satisfy my curiosity, the resulting, enigmatic persona only added to their charm. The General and his nephew, Sebastian (OMG, I think Cassandra Clare has well and truly ruined that name for me. Sigh. I totally forgive her though, her novels were wondrous) were ruggedly noble characters. 

The secret spy vibe going on was too cool, and all the parts of the book (the espionage, the war against Napoleon, Stranje house, Georgie's life, Sebastian's still murky past) were all combined seamlessly and left me wanting to know a looooot more about each and  every character. Especially Headmistress Stranje (what is up with her and the Captain), who I adored. 

This book was uniquely its own and I believe it is easily on my top 25 list for 2015. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of any of Gail Carriager's novels (either the Finishing School series or the Parasol Protectorate series, which btw is FAB) or a fan of steampunk, Regency London, bluestockings, and teenagers with superpowers (I know that this doesn't seem to fit in with anything I previously described but trust me, this was the most germane description I could think of).

Champion by Marie Lu

Title: Champion (Legend #3) 

Author: Marie Lu 

Publication Date: November 5th 2013 

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Rating: 5 out of 5

Goodreads Blurb:

He is a Legend. 

She is a Prodigy. 

Who will be Champion? 

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position.But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything.With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling trilogy draws to a stunning conclusion.

First it's Allegiant and now this- I'm convinced that all my favorite authors are all conspiring to break their readers' hearts. But, do not lose hope because, unlike Allegiant, Champion hints at a brighter future.  

Everything from the previous two books carries over and Champion is more intriguing/ heartbreaking and results in a sensory overload. I mean that both positively and negatively; although there is no doubt this book is fabulous, it brings up too many unimportant information. There is soo much going on and frankly, I was skimming to the "important" parts. 

In Marie Lu's Champion, Day is diagnosed with a terminal disease and pulls away from June. But as the plague and the war with the Colonies worsens, both are forced to make difficult choices. As the story progresses, so do the characters of both June and Day. We see more depth to Day and see June's drive to do what's right.

The ending is my favorite part (other than the fact that, you know, it ended) because what happened (won't spoil it!) was soo unexpected (well not really, there were enough hints that I refused to put together) and it made me start crying. Ugh, I'm becoming a silly headed ninny- so many books are making me dissolve into tears! But this book totally deserved it, and Ms. Lu ended the series with so much forethought and general "wonderfulness", that it put many authors to shame- this is a perfect example of ending a series the "right" way. 

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant (Divergent #3)

Author: Veronica Roth 

Publication Date: October 22nd 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Goodreads Blurb:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered - fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.
But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningliess. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

WOW. This book was amazing, and I don't use that term lightly. This is was easily one of the best books, best series I've ever read. 

The Ending. The noble, stupid, perfect, ridiculously sad Ending. It was so right, so heartbreaking, and so unpredictable that I was completely stupefied until I finished the last page. SPOILER. I refused to believe that Tris sacrificed herself- that Ms. Roth would actually let her die, so I kept hoping that she would miraculously pop back alive. And hoping... and hoping... and hoping. I refused to give up until I read through the last page. And then the Acknowledgments. And through all the other stuff at the back of the book that the really bored/desperate readers go through. And when I finally accepted that Tris was actually no longer in the world of Divergent, I broke down. Literally. 

My reasoning is: If Amar AND Tori's brother (George) both somehow survived, then WHY COULDN'T TRIS?

Every time I open this book and start reading, I drown in waves of sorrow (NOT being dramatic). It's been at least a month since I finished this series, and I still can't get over how Tris could just die. 

Now for the less emotional part of the review: 

This book was definitely different from the first two. This book went a little father and delved into morals and character and had an overall more philosophical tone. Each decision was being evaluated and every action had consequences. Roth was constantly trying to develop the characters and make them more real, more perfect.
 In my opinion, she tried to make everything a little too perfect. I appreciate how she wanted to make the last book in this series better/different from the other two and it definitely worked, but I felt that the majority of the book didn't drag me in as much as Diveregent or Insurgent.

One thing I definitely loved was how we got to hear the voices of both Four and Tris. I loved getting the different perspectives.