River Readers

A year has passed, and the crew has separated. Catrin follows a signal that will lead her to a reunion and a chance to take the battle to Earth.

A fitting end to the story arc, but wrapped up oh so quickly. It still packs plenty of emotional punch, though, and the art is wonderful.

It's time for Uma and crew to blow off some steam. Unfortunately, the universe has other plans. The characters and plot grow in this second volume, slamming through odd alien encounters and personal revelations, ending on a great cliffhanger.

Uma wants off this oppressive Earth, so joining forces with her friend, Dewydd, the teens steal a ship and head for space. Catrin, a guard who was chasing them, is aboard when they leave, and soon the three are on the run from the World Government Alliance.

This opening volume is more setup than anything else. The art and writing is compared to Saga with good reason, but it's the adventure to come that makes me want to read the next volume.

Veteran starliner pilot Priscilla Hutchins is taking the chance to be part of a first-contact mission, despite the efforts of the government to stop it. The team had to leave before fully prepared, and judging by the age of the alien transmission that triggered the mission, there is no guarantee they will find anything when they arrive. The mission will test the team in ways they didn't anticipate.

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

Commoner Pomella has been invited to the trials to be the next High Mystic's apprentice. People are outraged that a commoner has been selected over a highborn, and the local royalty tell Pomella that if she goes to the trials she will be "unclaimed" or made a pariah. Pomella decides to risk it anyways.
A surprising twist ends this fun novel.

Oona, Jax and An Tzu have lit the white beacon and are now headed to Toki for the blue. There they will have to face Oona's sister and the Cobalt Prince. They will also have to discover where their friends are and hopefully rescue them. This series is so much fun and I hate having to wait for the next installment. The world-building is awesome, the art work is beautiful and the story will keep you wanting more.

I liked this book a lot because it was a bit different. While the dysopian society is similar to others, I liked the idea of belonging to a passion. I'm not sure I would want that passion to decide my fate, but I guess in a way that is what choosing a career does - just not usually at seventeen. I had a little trouble keeping everyone straight, but the charts at the front were a good reference tool. I began to care for many of the characters and look forward to the next book to see how Brienna and the others fare.

Princess Kestra born into a wealthy noble family is kidnapped and blackmailed into finding the Olden Blade, the only weapon that can kill the brutal repressive emperor. Lots of twists and turns and reveals. A bit too much tension for my taste, but Kestra is a worthy hero.

To celebrate the rise of their new queen, three goddesses of the moon created three stars, one of fire, one of ice, one of water. But then they fell from the sky, putting the fate of all worlds in danger. And now three women and three men join forces to pick up the pieces.

Mermaid Annika is from the sea, and it is there she must return after her quest to find the stars. New to this world, her purity and beauty are nothing less than breathtaking, along with her graceful athleticism, as her five new friends discovered when they retrieved the fire star.

I'm not sure if I just really liked this book or if it was because it reminds me of one of my favorite books from my younger days Something Wicked This Way Comes. Ray Bradbury's book and the movie that came out where two of my favorite "scary" tales that still taught life lessons. That was how I saw this book. The idea of not being sure what was fantasy and reality, the fact Scarlett couldn't always tell who to trust, but her own heart, made it worth reading. I like a surprise or two at the end and am ready to read the next one.

Kingdoms wobble, crowns topple and knives flash on the magical Discworld as the statutory three witches meddle in royal politics. The wyrd sisters battle against frightful odds to put the rightful king on the throne. At least, that's what they think...
-- From Goodreads

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is one of my all-time favorite series. It has been seventeen years since the first volume, The Golden Compass, hit the shelves with rave reviews among critics and controversy. Pullman wove a fierce, fantastic and magical adventure, arguably one of the best fantasy series in young adult literature. The series is set in and out of a world where people’s psyches walk around outside of themselves as animals and other worlds are just a tear away in the fabric of the universe.