Guest Review: Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen

Title: Reign the Earth

Author: A.C. Gaughen
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Hardcover, 448 Pages
Published January 2018

Summary: Shalia is a proud daughter of the desert, but after years of devastating war with the adjoining kingdom, her people are desperate for peace. Willing to trade her freedom to ensure the safety of her family, Shalia becomes Queen of the Bonelands. But she soon learns that her husband, Calix, is motivated only by his desire to exterminate the Elementae—mystical people who can control earth, wind, air, and fire. Even more unsettling are Shalia’s feelings for her husband’s brother, which unleash a power over the earth she never knew she possessed—a power that could get her killed. As rumors of a rebellion against Calix spread, Shalia must choose between the last chance for peace and her own future as an Elementae.

Today on the blog we have a guest review from Annie over at Read3r'z Re-Vu! She's super awesome and provided us with a review of Reign the Earth, a book that was released just last month but we hadn't gotten a chance to read yet. So we're really loving this guest posting feature, because it gives us the chance to show you guys thoughts on some books that we may not have read yet, and we're learning about these books in the process, too! 

Alright, enough with our rambling. It's time for Annie's review!

This was one book that had me on the edge of my seat as I was gasping, cringing and rapidly turning the page to simply know what happened next. The plot was interesting as it follows the story of a young girl, Shalia, who is a proud yet naive daughter of the desert and after many years of war with another tribe/kingdom, she was used as a pawn via an arranged marriage with the king of the opposing tribe as a means to bring peace to both worlds. Shalia’s betrothed, Calix, the king, is motivated by a strong desire to kill all who identify as Elementae – magical people who have powers that can control the elements: earth, air, wind and fire.

So the question is, when two worlds become one family, what becomes of the proud, naive daughter of the desert when she is crowned queen as a result of this arranged marriage and learns of her new husband’s plans then later discovers her true self once she is thrown into this whole new world?

I found it was interesting to follow Shalia’s perspective during the story and how she grows as a character when taken out of her world of order and thrown into a world of chaos where, for her, it’s sink or swim – follow what is expected of her to retain peace or question everything, be true to herself and risk war. Does she thrive or just manage to survive?

This story is dark and it does take you on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. For some of the themes covered, I would be more likely to recommend this to older YA readers, adults who enjoy fantasy fiction stories or who, like me, LOVE stories set in the desert. This had a great plot, is fast paced and it even confused me when I was trying to decide where my loyalties were during the story. I would love to read the sequel!!

Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishers for sending me an Advanced Review Copy in exchange for my honest review.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd like to once again thank Annie for stopping by The Book Bratz today to post this guest review. You can read the original review over on her blog by clicking HERE!

Annie in the best habitat -- being stuck in a book! :-)

** Psst! Interested in guest reviewing on The Book Bratz? Shoot us an email at thebookbratz@gmail.com or DM us on Twitter (@thebookbratz) and we'd love to have you!

Review: Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

Title: Without Merit

Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Paperback, 384 Pages
Published October 2017

Summary: The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit. Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix. Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.

Emily and I are both big Colleen Hoover fans, so she got me a copy of Without Merit for Christmas, and I was really excited to dive into it and be enveloped it another Colleen Hoover story to love. However, unfortunately, there was just something about this book that I couldn't really attach myself to and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I've enjoyed her other books in the past. But this isn't a post to bash the book by any means -- I'm going to get into what I liked and disliked about the book, so stick around and keep reading!

As the summary explains, Merit is a member of the infamous Voss family, and therefore is always the talk of the town with various family rumors and scandals. While her mother was sick with cancer, her dad cheated on her with their nurse, got her pregnant, and ended up marrying her...on top of buying a church out from under the pastor he couldn't stand, and moving the entire family in to live there. There are also a lot of family secrets, long-lost family members, and mischievous dogs. Basically, there's a lot going on in the Voss household. In addition to her family being the talk of the town, Merit also struggles with keeping some of the dark, pressing secrets that she's discovered about her family that the public doesn't know -- things that they'd be better off not knowing. On top of it all, she's struggling with the possibility of being depressed, even if she doesn't want to admit it to herself yet.

So, yeah. There's definitely a lot going on in this book, so it'd do you good to pay attention from start to finish, or you might find yourself missing some crucial details.

Speaking of a lot going on, I wasn't really keen on this book because I felt like there was too much going on throughout the whole thing -- it felt like a bunch of different tropes thrown together in an attempt to cover as many bases as possible. There are plenty of books out there that manage to tackle a bunch of important topics in one story, but this one felt...sort of jumbled and tossed together and not thought out very much. Even after I finished this book, I couldn't really tell you what the main theme. This book flip-flops between focusing on mental illness, family ties, sexuality, infidelity, virginity, relationships, and even the Syrian Refugee Crisis. While all of these subjects are incredibly important and certainly need to be talked about, the book felt very unorganized in the sense that these topics were discussed briefly and then dropped, sometimes brought back in a little while later, but there didn't seem to be a steady thread uniting the story from start to finish. Whether or not that's the author's intention isn't the point -- it's just how I received it as a reader.

Something that really bothered me throughout this book was the weird relationship dynamic that took place throughout the whole thing -- it seriously threw me off. (Spoilers ahead, so please skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read this book yet!) Luck tries to sleep with his niece -- and then ends up sleeping with his nephew?!!?! And then the whole family is just okay with it and lets it happen?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?! It's not even a secret??? And the new wife lives in the same house as the old wife and just...what? There's a lot going on with the relationships in this book and it's just a lot to process/handle.

I also really didn't enjoy Merit as a character. I can't even pin something specific, her character just rubbed me the wrong way throughout the entire story. She was really mean, judgmental, and made so many biting comments toward her family members and friends, and at times she struck me as such a high school mean girl that I couldn't stand it.

However, there were still some parts of this book that I thought were okay. My favorite character throughout the book was Sagan, even when there were times that he seemed weird or insufferable -- by the end, he was super sweet and caring, and you learn a lot about him and the secrets in his life and he becomes the most bearable character of them all, in my opinion. So, yeah. I'd like to think he was the redeeming character in the book for me.

Overall, I wasn't a big fan of Without Merit, which left me really disappointed because I've loved all of Colleen Hoover's previous stories. While I'd still be open to reading more of her books in the future, I feel like this book felt really rushed and thrown-together, and it just felt somewhat juvenile and it threw me off a little bit. But of course, everything listed here is just my opinion, so I still encourage all of you that were considering reading this book to pick it up and give it your own fair shot and try to form your own opinions on the subject (because my word certainly isn't gold!). 

Waiting on Wednesday: Don't Forget Me by Victoria Stevens

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine where we highlight some of the upcoming books we can't wait to read!

Jessica's Waiting on:

 
Title: Don't Forget Me
Author: Victoria Stevens 
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: February 13th, 2018



Summary: Seventeen-year-old Hazel Clarke is no stranger to heartbreaks, and being sent to live with a father she’s never met is the latest in a string of them. Even the beauty of eastern Australia isn’t enough to take her mind off her mother and the life she had to leave behind in England. But when Hazel meets the friendly, kindhearted Red and his elusive twin, Luca, she begins the slow process of piecing together a new life—and realizes she isn’t the only one struggling with loss. As friendships deepen and love finds its way in, Hazel also learns that when you truly love someone, they are always in your heart. 

Not only is the cover of this book gorgeous, but the story itself captivated me from the minute I read the summary, and now I'm absolutely so excited to get my hands on this book and to read it! I'm also really interested in the whole "going somewhere else and trying to start over while holding onto your past" trope, which is something I really like to read.

So, basically, I can't wait to get my hands on this book and next week can't come soon enough. If this book isn't on your TBR yet, it definitely should be, because this is a debut that you certainly don't want to miss!

What are you waiting on this week? Leave your links so we can stop back! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My TBR The Longest!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl in which we create bookish lists about everything from our favorite characters to love triangles and everything in between!

This Week's Topic: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read

Wow, this week's theme was totally a blast from the past -- I really enjoyed going through my Goodreads to-read shelf and looking at all of these books! All of these were added onto my list in 2013 -- that's five whole years ago now!!!! So without further ado, here we go, looking at the ten oldest books on my to-read shelf that I promised I'd read and I still haven't gotten to yet!

1. Seven Minutes in Heaven by Sara Shepard 

I forgot how much I loved this series! I remember that our library didn't have the last book. Which explains why I never got around to it...

2. The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

3. Destination Unknown by Amy Clipston



4. Hooked by Catherine Greenman



5. A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier



6. The Here and Now by Ann Brashares



7. The Taking by Kimberly Derting



8. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

 

9. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell



10. Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Going through my old TBR has made me remember how excited I was for some of these reads -- and I think I've officially been inspired to finally pick these up and dive into these stories! Have you read any of these? Are any of these on your TBR as well? Comment down below and let me know! :-)

Review: Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga

Title: Here We Are Now

Author: Jasmine Warga
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Hardcover, 304 Pages
Published November 2017

Summary: Despite sending him letters ever since she was thirteen, Taliah Abdallat never thought she'd ever really meet Julian Oliver. But one day, while her mother is out of the country, the famed rock star from Staring Into the Abyss shows up on her doorstep. This makes sense - kinda - because Julian Oliver is Taliah's father, even though her mother would never admit it to her. Julian asks if Taliah if she will drop everything and go with him to his hometown of Oak Falls, Indiana, to meet his father - her grandfather - who is nearing the end of his life. Taliah, torn between betraying her mother's trust and meeting the family she has never known, goes. With her best friend Harlow by her side, Taliah embarks on a three-day journey to find out everything about her 'father' and her family. But Julian isn't the father Taliah always hoped for, and revelations about her mother's past are seriously shaking her foundation. Through all these new experiences, Taliah will have to find new ways to be true to herself, honoring her past and her future.

I received a copy of this book for Christmas, and when I did, I was so excited. I really enjoyed Jasmine Warga's previous book, My Heart and Other Black Holes, and the summary (and beautiful cover!) of this story immediately caught my eye. I mean, a father that comes out of the blue and turns out to be a rockstar?! I don't even know how I'd react.

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. Onto the summary!

As the blurb above explains, Taliah is sixteen years old and living with her super-smart and accomplished mother. Her father is nowhere to be found, and she spent her entire life being told that he was a random hookup with her mom many, many years ago back in Jordan. But slowly, throughout her life, Taliah starts piecing the clues together, and she eventually has a hunch that her father could possibly be the Julian Oliver, rockstar and heartthrob known all over the world. So, of course, she writes a letter to him. (She writes several letters, actually.) She's beginning to give up on her plan when, one day, the unthinkable happens.

Julian Oliver shows up at her door.

Hardly able to believe it (and definitely a little bit weary), Taliah isn't sure what to say when he invites her on a road trip to see his family and his dying father (which makes him her dying grandfather). But what ensues leads to a lot of darkness and mystery in Taliah's life being brought to light, and the secrets and stories she finds out will shock you.

I loved this story. I feel like it was the perfect blend of serious and cute -- and some of the flashback scenes of Lena and Julian had me smiling from ear to ear (while other ones had my heart breaking). It was really interesting to see Taliah's journey of getting to know her father, rather than just having her meet him and have them immediately become buddy-buddy and act like sixteen years weren't lost and they weren't total strangers. It was refreshingly realistic, and I'm so glad about it. (If anybody knows me, I am not a big fan of mega insta-love.)

My favorite character in this book was definitely Harlow. While her and Taliah bickered some times, she reminded me a lot of myself in the sense that she was the stereotypical voice of reason (which isn't an insult, because, as mentioned, I'm one too!), and she gave Taliah the nudges she needed when the time was right, even if Tal was resisting her with all of her strength. By the end of the book, you realize how great of a friend Harlow really is to Tal, and it just makes your heart fuzzy and warm.

The only thing I wasn't a big fan of in this book was the ambiguity of the ending. (Some spoilers here, please skip to the next paragraph if you don't want the book ruined for you!) While Taliah's parents seemed to be on better ground toward the end at the memorial, there's still no hint if they end up back together, or just friends, or staying in each other's lives more, etc. And then Taliah kisses Toby in front of everyone and nobody notices? I just wanted another chapter or two to explain how everything pans out. Does Taliah end up telling people who her father is? Do the pictures from the record store leak? How do kids at school treat her? What happens with Lena and Julian?! I just wanted to know it all, and while I can certainly enjoy some books that leave you with some questions, I feel like this one left me with too many. When Lena showed up in Oak Falls, I remember being shocked because there wasn't a lot left in the book (only a small amount of pages left), so I was wondering how everything would wrap up in just a short amount of pages. And while some things can definitely be left up to the reader to interpret, I feel like we were left with a little too much questioning to do here.

But other than that, I absolutely loved this book. It made me laugh, smile, cry, and took me on an exciting emotional rollercoaster that I hadn't been expecting. I'm so glad I asked for this for Christmas and decided to pick it up when I did! It also helped that the book was less than 300 pages, which meant I was able to breeze through it quickly, which is definitely something to appreciate when you're on a tight college schedule.

Overall, I really enjoyed Here We Are Now. If you're looking for a story about piecing together your past and going on an adventure to find a part of your life that you never knew you had, this book is definitely the one for you! It's full of love, romance, friendship, and even some loss (and tons of great music references!). I really enjoyed this book and I'm really excited to be reading more of Jasmine Warga's work in the future. She's an excellent writer who had me captivated from the first page to the last!