Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Picked Up on a Whim

I am typically very meticulous about the books I buy. No book makes it onto my wishlist without being thoroughly researched on Goodreads. However, I've been known to make exceptions. Below are ten books that I picked up on a whim.

1) Queen of Dragons (Drakon #3) by Shana Abe


I saw Queen of Dragons in a used bookstore and with a title like that, I just had to buy it. It wasn't until later I found out that it was part of a series so I hunted down those books as well. I am so fortunate to have stumbled across this book because Shana Abe is now one of my all-time favorite authors!

2) Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo


I had kind of heard of Shadow and Bone before I saw it at a Chapters. After seeing that beautiful cover in person and reading the book's description, I just knew I had to take it home.

3) A Natural History of Dragons (Memoir by Lady Trent #1) by Marie Brennan


I saw this book's cover on a book blog and ordered it about five minutes later. Although it still remains unread on my shelf, I've gone on to collect the other books in the series as they've come out.

4) The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon


Again, this was a cover buy. But I have read it and was absolutely blown away by the writing.

5) Introverts in Love: The Quiet Way to Happily Ever After by Sophia Dembling

I saw this on Book Outlet and decided to pick it up because I consider myself an introvert - and the cover is super adorable.

6) Bestial by Ray Garton


The cover and title of this book initially grabbed me and then I discovered it was about werewolves. So naturally, I took it home to live with me.

7) Chasing the Dragon by Nicholas Kaufmann


Do you notice a trend here? Any book with 'dragon' in the title and I will usually buy it, no questions asked.

8) Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1) by Jay Kristoff


This is another book where I kind of knew about it but I mostly picked it up because of the gorgeous cover. (But I've heard it's a really good series!)

9) Monster, 1959 by David Maine


I think the cover and the title pretty much explain why I bought this book.

10) Wolf Bride (Lust in the Tudor Court #1) by Elizabeth Moss


Okay, okay don't judge me - I saw this at Chapters and noticed the 'Fifty Shades of Tudor Sex' blurb almost immediately. I flipped through it, scanning for the naughty bits and after reading a couple of sex scenes, I took it straight up to the counter. AND I AM NOT ASHAMED!

Tell me what books you've picked up on a whim in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original bookish meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Book Review: The Deepest Night (The Sweetest Dark #2) by Shana Abe

 

Synopsis: It's 1915, and sixteen-year-old Lora Jones is finishing up her first year as a charity student at Iverson, a prestigious, gothic boarding school on England's southern coast. While she's always felt different from everyone around her, now she finally knows why: She is a drakon, a rare, enchanted being with astonishing magical abilities. 

    As war hits Britain's shores, and Lora reels from an unimaginable loss, she finds that her powers come with grave and dangerous responsibilities. At the request of Armand Louis, the darkly mysterious boy whose father owns Iverson, Lora will spend her summer at his lavish estate. To help the war effort - and to keep Lora near - Armand turns his home into a military hospital, where Lora will serve as a nurse. For Armand is inescapably drawn to her - bound to her by heart-deep secrets and a supernatural connection that runs thicker than blood.

     Yet while Lora tries to sort out her own feelings toward Armand, fate offers an unexpected surprise. Lora discovers there is another drakon, a prisoner of war being held in Germany. And that only she, with her newly honed Gifts, will be able to rescue him.

     With Armand at her side, Lora will cross enemy lines on an incredible mission - one that could bond her to Armand forever, or irrevocably tear them apart.

Shana Abe delivers another enchanting romance without sacrificing plot. I loved the previous book but The Deepest Night is better in almost every way - there is breathtaking romance, thrilling adventure, and gorgeous, lush prose that I practically salivate over.

I love the whole 'quest' aspect to this story - Lora and Armand must set out on a journey to rescue Armand's brother, Aubrey, a fighter pilot now captive in a German prison camp. The last hundred pages or so are chock-full of exciting, dangerous moments - Lora and Armand fight German soldiers on the ground, get chased by German fighter planes, and almost get captured (by Germans.) 

I love that there are so many more 'dragon scenes' in this book: Lora flies with Armand across the English channel, and Turns to dragon to fight the soldiers, etc. The transition between Lora's human form and her dragon form never feels jarring or unnatural - it all flows so well that it never feels weird to read parts where Lora refers to 'my wings' or 'my tail.' This is due to Shana Abe's impeccable world-building. She makes the fantasy of the Drakon come to life. 

The romance is so much better than the one in the last book. Without spoiling the previous book, it just feels like Lora is paired with the right guy - while at the same time never forgetting the one she lost - and that's one of the interesting struggles she faces. 

Lora is so badass in this book, it's almost frightening. Armand, too, grows as a character in leaps and bounds. I love how it's never just Armand saving Lora or Lora rescuing Armand - they save each other throughout the whole book.

I cannot recommend The Sweetest Dark series enough. READ THEM!

(The third book has not been published yet. It's listed on Goodreads as 'expected 2014' but it still doesn't have a title or a fixed release date. Hopefully late 2014/early 2015? I need to read the third book now!)

Book Review: The Sweetest Dark (The Sweetest Dark #1) by Shana Abe

 

Synopsis: Lora Jones has always known she's different. On the outside, she appears to be an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Yet Lora's been keeping a heartful of secrets: She hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she's far more that what she seems.

     England, 1915. Raised in an orphanage in a rough corner of London, Lora quickly learns to hide her unique abilities and avoid attention. Then, much to her surprise, she is selected as the new charity student at Iverson, an elite boarding school on England's southern coast. Iverson's eerie, gothic castle is like nothing Lora has ever seen. And the two boys she meets will open her eyes and forever change her destiny. 

     Jesse is the school's groundskeeper - a beautiful boy who recognizes Lora for who and what she truly is. Armand is a darkly handsome and arrogant aristocrat who harbors a few closely guarded secrets of his own. Both hold the answers to her past. One is the key to her future. And both will aim to win her heart. As danger descends upon Iverson, Lora must harness the powers she's only just begun to understand, or else lose everything she dearly loves. 

The Sweetest Dark is a sort of companion/sequel YA series to Shana Abe's Drakon series. You don't have to read the Drakon series to enjoy The Sweetest Dark but you'll pick up on all of the hints of the previous series that Abe has scattered throughout. 

I loved this book just as much as I loved the previous series. It's full of adventure and romance and magic and is written in such gorgeous prose that you will want to slow down and savor every single word. You will also want to tear through it to find out how it ends.

Lora is one of my favorite YA heroines of all time and it's a shame that more people don't know about these books. It is so refreshing to read about a powerful female heroine that is strong and tough and doesn't let people walk all over her. She knows how to hold her own. Something else I love about her is that she's kind of a bitch, when she needs to be. She's always got a cutting remark on hand for the snobby, bullying girls she's forced to mingle with at Iverson. But she can also be vulnerable; she's hiding a lot of pain and trauma behind that tough exterior. She is just so well-rounded and real. 

Being a YA novel, this book suffers from the familiar love-triangle trope that, in my opinion, is getting a little tired. But I'm glad to say that Abe pulls it off in this book by making it a little bit more complicated than 'two boys drool over one girl and she can't decide between them.' Lora is sure whom she wants to be with - or at least she thinks she is. Without giving too much away, Shana Abe shows in her book that love is messy and complicated and, sometimes, we don't get the happy ending we want. 

I will say that my favorite of the two love interests is Armand. He definitely plays the part of the bad boy at first - drinking, reckless driving, a ladies' man. But it is slowly revealed that there is more to him and I love the relationship that evolves between Armand and Lora.

If you love romance mingled with magic and dragons, you will love this series. I think any YA fan will love this series. If you've read this book or the preceding Drakon series, let me know what you think in the comments!

Book Review: The Time Weaver (Drakon #5) by Shana Abe

 

Synopsis: Honor Carlisle may have been born into the drakon clan, but she's always felt like a stranger to her kin - an intuition that proves true when she discovers that she is a Time Weaver: a creature with the extraordinary ability to transport herself into the past of future.

     On one of her Weaves into the future, Honor encounters the very man she should most avoid: Alexandru of the Zaharen, prince of a rival tribe of drakon. As the two surrender to a desire that brings the present and future ever closer, they also risk fulfilling a terrible prophecy. Now Honor and Sandu must place their trust - and their lives - in each other's hands, and their faith in a magical love that could restore order to the drakon universe - or destroy it forever.

The fifth and final book in the Drakon series is a masterful work of fantasy that involves dragons, danger, and time travel. By far, this is the most complex book in the series.

Even though this is technically a romance novel, I didn't find either of the two main characters very compelling. I found Honor to be kind of bitchy and whiny and actually kind of boring. Her story is interesting but not her character. Same goes for Sandu. Not really that interesting, just kind of there. Also, the romance between them is kind of a snoozefest. Honestly, I didn't care whether they ended up together or not, which is something a reader should be emotionally invested in when reading a romance novel.

This sounds like it's heading for a bad review but I actually really liked this book and I'll tell you why.

LIA AND ZANE ARE IN THIS BOOK!!!!

Yes, Lia and Zane, my absolute favorite couple in the Drakon series, are featured in The Time Weaver. And I'm not talking cameo appearances here. They both are an integral part of the plot and I would even argue are the actual heroes of the book. It was so wonderful to see how their relationship has developed since The Dream Thief. The chemistry between them is just as hot as ever and I got so excited when they had a love scene. There were also some incredibly touching moments between them that gave me some pretty heavy feels. LIA AND ZANE FOREVER!

I thought the ending was perfect for both the book and the entire series. It even hinted at things to come: Shana Abe has written a companion/sequel YA series to the Drakon books, which I will be reading and reviewing next. 

Book Review: The Treasure Keeper (Drakon #4) by Shana Abe

 

Synopsis: She is a young drakon of untried powers. He is the powerful second son of the Alpha male from their clan of shapeshifting, supersensual beings. And what she is about to attempt will violate every taboo and break every law that bind the drakon together - and just may save them from destruction.

     A mere seamstress's daughter, Zoe Cyprienne Lane isn't even in the same league as Lord Rhys Langford. Nothing could be more shocking than the notion that she'd set out to find her childhood friend and first true love. But when news arrives in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania that Rhys is being held captive, that's just what she does. Guided by her own hidden gifts and her psychic link to Rhys - his presence and touch as electric as if he were beside her in the flesh - Zoe is his last lifeline to a world and a passion he thought he'd never regain. Only reunited, hunter and huntress, can they save the drakon from those who would destroy them all.

This is definitely the darkest and most complex novel in the Drakon series so far. There is an overwhelming sense of dread and heaviness while you read it and while Lord Rhys offers some comic relief with his dry wit and acerbic observations, this is not really a fun read. 

I shouldn't say it's not fun to read. It's a romance novel featuring shape-shifting dragons - of course it's fun to read. I suppose what I should say is that it is not as fun to read as the last three books. There seems to be a lot of death in this book along with pain and sorrow - and the twist at the ending is a little depressing and disturbing. Maybe other readers won't have such a problem with it - maybe it's just because I become so engrossed in these novels that the problems the characters face seem real to me and it affects my mood as I'm reading.

Lord Rhys Langford is definitely my favorite character. He's rebellious and sarcastic and doesn't apologize for his roguish nature - one of his sisters even describes him as 'piratical'. It's a shame he spends about half the novel as a sort of spirit/ghost thing that only Zoe, his love interest, can see, thanks to her psychic Gifts. Like the last novel, I was not left swooning over the romance between Rhys and Zoe. I thought there were some romantic moments between them but I don't think any other couple in the Drakon series will compare to the couples in The Smoke Thief (Rue/Kit) and The Dream Theif (Zane/Lia.)

The ending has a shocking twist and sets up for the next book, which is the final one in the series. If you like neat, tidy endings you might not like this book. Overall, I thought it was an exciting installment in the Drakon series even though it is definitely not my favorite. I'm excited to see how the story unfolds in the final book.

Book Review: Queen of Dragons (Drakon #3) by Shana Abe

  

Synopsis: It's a stunning claim: the existence of a lost drakon tribe. And it comes from an intriguing source: a woman calling herself Princess Maricara of Transylvania. Alpha lord Kimber Langford, Earl of Chasen, can't ignore the possibility. For whoever this unknown princess may be, she's dangerous enough to know about his existence - and where to find him. And indeed, it isn't long before Maricara breaches the defenses of Darkfrith and the walls around Kimber's heart. Yet the princess arrives with urgent news: a mysterious serial killer is targeting the entire drakon race. To save their kind, Kimber and Mari must ally themselves body and soul in a battle that can spell their salvation, their extinction...or both.

It was such a treat to immerse myself back in the world of the Drakon with this third installment in the series. Queen of Dragons essentially picks up where The Dream Thief left off: Princess Maricara, only eleven in the previous book, is now nineteen and is (unknowingly) engaged to Kimber, the Alpha of the English Drakon. Kimber is the eldest son of Rue and Christoff, the couple from the first book. Kimber is a lot like his father: blonde, bold, and a little bit too domineering. Thankfully, Maricara is not one to be dominated easily.

Princess Maricara is my favorite character in this book. She is smart, powerful, and unwilling to compromise her freedom - even when she is in danger of falling in love with the man she swore she would never marry. The cat-and-mouse game between Kim and Mari is fun to read and while the romance is intriguing, I can't help feel like something is missing. 

I absolutely loved the first two books so anything after is destined to pale in comparison. Queen of Dragons is still a good read but I can't help but think it would work better if it were written as a strict fantasy and not a romance. I felt like if this were not marketed as a romance novel, there is no way Mari would have ended up with Kimber. There, I said it. I just didn't root for them the way I did for the previous two couples - Rue/Kit and Amalia/Zane. (Speaking of Zane, he makes a very surprising, and very welcome, guest appearance in this book. Really hoping we get more glimpses of Zane with Amalia in future books.)

My only complaint with this book is the romance. Everything else is spectacular - there is tons of drama, and action, and there seem to be a lot more dragon moments in this book, always a plus in my opinion. Shana Abe writes such vivid, beautiful sentences that I sometimes get goosebumps reading her books. There was one scene in particular that stands out in my mind. Basically, Mari is being accused by Kimber's councilmen that she is deliberately putting the tribe in danger - the tension builds and builds until it explodes and I actually could feel the emotions that Mari was feeling during that scene. I just get so sucked into these stories and into the world that Shana Abe has created that it starts to feel real. If that's not a mark of a talented writer, I don't know what is.

I have said it a thousand times before and I'll say it again: if you are not reading the Drakon series, you are missing out!