From Goodreads: "Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield — her brother, fighting with the enemy — the brother she watched die five years ago. Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family. She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating."

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

I've been having a difficult relationship with reading lately (for personal reasons) but Sky in the Deep seems to have gotten me out of my reading slump! This book was the perfect dose of historical fiction I didn't know I needed and I'm definitely looking forward to Adrienne Young's future releases!



Characters:
Eelyn was definitely the strong, fierce warrior main character that I've been dying to read about. She was brutal but smart and loyal to those she called family. I do feel that she spent a lot of her time at the Riki camp basically talking about how she could destroy/kill the Riki, but never really doing anything. I was slightly frustrated at this, but then I came to the conclusion that she did this for a reason: she was beginning to realize that maybe the people she's grown up hating aren't so different from her after all. She never says this, but you can definitely tell in her character development that she changes her mind about the Riki over time. Which, speaking of character development, I actually really enjoyed her growth throughout the book. She does remain a fierce warrior, however, and that was my favorite part about her! A Viking warrior female main character that is able to hold her own on the field of battle but also has complex feelings and emotions and is able to grow as a character throughout the book? Yes, please! We need more characters like Eelyn in Young Adult books.

I didn't particularly care for any of the other characters in Sky in the Deep, unfortunately. If I had to choose one that I would be interested in reading more about, it would be Eelyn's battle partner Myra. I'd love to know more about her backstory! However, I do feel that the companion novel may possibly be about Fiske? He wasn't a bad character, and I suppose I wouldn't mind knowing more about him and his connection to Eelyn's brother, Iri. I did feel that the romance between Fiske and Eelyn wasn't necessary, though. I would have much rather seen the two of them become friends! But I will say that, while I may not have necessarily agreed with the romance, it wasn't insta-love, and that wins a ton of points in my book. It was more of an enemies-to-lovers kind of development, and even at the end, they weren't exactly the typical YA romance couple. So, I didn't exactly hate it and would be interested to see how it develops possibly in the companion novel.

From Goodreads: "When her mom inherits an old, crumbling mansion, Seda’s almost excited to spend the summer there. The grounds are beautiful and it’s fun to explore the sprawling house with its creepy rooms and secret passages. Except now her mom wants to renovate, rather than sell the estate—which means they're not going back to the city…or Seda's friends and school. As the days grow shorter, Seda is filled with dread. They’re about to be cut off from the outside world, and she’s not sure she can handle the solitude or the darkness it brings out in her. Then a group of teens get stranded near the mansion during a blizzard. Seda has no choice but to offer them shelter, even though she knows danger lurks in the dilapidated mansion—and in herself. And as the snow continues to fall, what Seda fears most is about to become her reality."

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

This is one of those books where the cover and the synopsis worked together to draw me in and make me want to read it. Unfortunately, this was a huge disappointment for me and...well, that's about it.

Plot:
I generally explain the plot a bit in my own words, but the synopsis above does a pretty good job at doing that for me. Honestly, I'm just frustrated by this book. It had such an interesting premise that really appealed to me, especially since I've been on a horror book kick lately. Creepy isolated murder mystery mansion, teenagers get into a wreck during a snowstorm and take shelter there, suspicious main character that hears a voice in her head and has been isolated from human interaction for months? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I am all for creepy isolated houses and people being stranded in said houses, kind of like The Shining. The story started slow and nothing creepy really happened until about halfway through, but I was fine with it because it still had an overall eerie feeling to it. It was a slow build up to the horror and I was on board with it, again, because it still felt creepy while it was actually getting to the creepy, if that makes sense. When the creepy actually started happening, I was all for it! When it threw in a plot twist, I was taken aback and writing in my notes frantically! When the last chapter happened, I almost threw my Kindle across the room. I actually verbally said, "Are you kidding me? I hate when books do this." Because I genuinely do hate what happened at the end. It made me, the reader, feel stupid and cheated, and it truly ruined my reading experience. I will admit, the very end, the final paragraph, was clever. And there was something that the main character kind of came to the realization of right before the end, which was also kind of cool and twisty. But other than that? Unfortunately, a huge thumbs down from this reader. I don't appreciate being made to feel stupid, and the ending of this book did just that. Which is sad because the pacing was great, the plot itself was intriguing, and the characters were relatively decent. Obviously I'm not going to spoil the ending, but it was definitely the low point for me and ruined my reading experience entirely.

Of course, I don't mean to bash the book in any way, that's not my intention. I actually was really enjoying the slow build mystery that was present throughout the book, the ending just seriously let me down, unfortunately.

Characters:
Seda was actually a really well-written character. She was basically isolated in a creepy old murder mystery house with her mother and four siblings (two sets of twins) and had no contact with the outside world due to there being no cell phone reception and no land line. It seemed like she had somehow forgotten how to interact with other people in the four months that she had been at the house which was slightly odd but did add something to her character. So did the fact that she heard a voice in her head. While she wasn't necessarily unreliable, she was sketchy at times and did kind of feel like you couldn't exactly trust what she was saying or doing. Seda was normal-ish, I suppose, but did have an air about her that made the reader feel like there was something she wasn't saying at times. Definitely enjoyed her character the most, especially towards the end!

The other characters were also well-written but I just wasn't a huge fan of them like I was of Seda. The twins were super cute, and her mother was kind of out there and I did enjoy them, for sure. The group of teenagers was just eh. They were all your stereotypical teenage characters, not much to really say about them. Again, they were all well-written, but I just didn't enjoy them as much as I enjoyed reading from Seda's point of view.

Writing:
The writing in Alone was actually my favorite part of the whole book! I loved the way that Cyn Balog slowly built up to the creepy stuff that started happening later on. It was so easy to read and I loved the unsure atmosphere that was constantly present while I was reading. You were never really sure what was going to happen next or if anything that was happening was real or not, or even if it was dangerous. I genuinely enjoyed the writing in this book and would definitely pick up another one by this author simply because of how much I liked reading her writing. It brought such an eerie feeling but you never really understood why and despite the fact that I disliked the way the twist was presented, I actually thought that the final paragraph (or so, I don't exactly know) was pretty clever. I'd be interested to see how other books by this author end and if the letdown twist ending is frequent or if I just grabbed the wrong one. But regardless, the writing was A+ and really kept me guessing and entertained throughout my reading experience.

While I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped I would, I do think that others will enjoy it much more than I did. It has a great spooky atmosphere with easy and enjoyable writing and a main character that will make you question exactly what is going on while you're reading. If you're looking for an entertaining and creepy read, then I'd definitely recommend Alone!

From Goodreads: "The zoo is nearly empty as Joan and her four-year-old son soak up the last few moments of playtime. They are happy, and the day has been close to perfect. But what Joan sees as she hustles her son toward the exit gate minutes before closing time sends her sprinting back into the zoo, her child in her arms. And for the next three hours—the entire scope of the novel—she keeps on running.
Joan’s intimate knowledge of her son and of the zoo itself—the hidden pathways and under-renovation exhibits, the best spots on the carousel and overstocked snack machines—is all that keeps them a step ahead of danger."

Thank you to Viking Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

This one came as a recommendation from one of my favorite Booktubers, Books and Lala, as she is someone whose opinion I hold in high regard when it comes to thriller books. She had this on her TBR and suddenly, it started popping up everywhere around me with high praise, so I ended up picking it up on NetGalley. While I had my issues with it, it was still enjoyable and I'm really glad I got the opportunity to read it!

Plot:
Joan and her four year old son are relaxing in their last moments of playtime at the zoo for the day. It's been a good day and the two are happy. But as Joan is making her way toward the exit before closing time, she sees something that makes her turn and run, clutching her son in her arms. For the next three hours, she continues to run, and only Joan's knowledge of both her son and the zoo keep them a few steps ahead of the danger that lurks in the zoo.

This book was a solid "okay" for me, personally. It wasn't really tense or thrilling like I was expecting, but I did find myself wanting to find out what would happen next. I think that the fact that this book takes place over the span of a few hours really allowed me to just sit down and read through this relatively fast. I didn't want to really break the pacing of the book so I found myself turning page after page fairly quickly. Speaking of the pacing, I did feel it moved at a moderate pace, probably trying to build up suspense for the reader. Again, I didn't find this very thriller-esque, but that may have just been because of my inability to really connect with the main character. Fierce Kingdom did change points of view multiple times, but never for very long. I didn't enjoy the other characters as much as Joan, so that also may have contributed to my "okay" feeling on the book overall. I did enjoy the cat and mouse feeling that Joan was experiencing, having to make her way around the zoo while there were men creeping around killing people (not a spoiler, it's pretty obvious) and trying not to get caught. That was a cool experience and I do wish it been expanded upon more because unfortunately, Joan doesn't really...do anything for a large portion of the novel. She does have to focus on keeping herself calm and her son, but she mostly just...sits there. I understand, you probably don't want to move around without knowledge of where the potential killers are, but it just kind of left me bored while reading. There were a few things I took issue with, but the overall story was decent with, as I said above, moderate pacing that was easy to just kind of fly through.

Characters:
First off, I have to say that as I am not a mother, I wasn't able to really connect with Joan as a character throughout this book. She also did a few things that just really drove me nuts while reading, such as refusing to call the police and throwing her cell phone away as a distraction when she had perfectly good rocks she was already throwing. Just...why? I suppose if I was put in a situation like that, I may not make the best decisions either, the ones she made just did not sit well with me. But she did do the best she could under the circumstances, and I guess that's really all one could ask for. She did have to not only try very hard to keep herself calm, but her son as well. Lincoln was very active and did get loud at times, and I feel that if he had seen Joan outwardly panicking, then it would have caused him to act out even more and potentially get them caught. I'm sure as a mother, staying calm under stressful situations in order to keep your kid(s) calm is not an easy task, so again, doing the best she could in her situation. She was a fairly strong character, doing all that she could to keep herself and her son safe no matter what, and I did have moments where I did genuinely enjoy her. I do feel that I would have liked her a lot more had the story solely focused on her and Lincoln instead of switching character points of view throughout, but she was an overall strong character that really did stand out to me and that I enjoyed reading about. I just wish she hadn't thrown away her phone!

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy any of the other characters in this book. They weren't really fleshed out very well but rather were like your typical nondescript side characters. Kailynn was a pretty boring teenager character, not much background on her was given and she only really came into play towards the end of the book. Even then, she wasn't a huge part of anything and I just didn't really like her very much. Also, Margaret felt like she was just there for convenience which will only really make sense if you've read the book, but just like Kailynn, she was a pretty boring character. The side characters really felt like side characters and Joan was more of the main character focus. Again, I wish she had been the only point of view that I got to read from as I think that she could have been developed more and I think at that point, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more than I did.

Writing:
I believe I stated this above but Fierce Kingdom was a fairly easy book to just sit down and read through. I genuinely think that with the entire book taking place over a few hours really allowed me to just sit down and read through it without stopping. I felt like I didn't really want to break the pace of the book by putting it down, so I just wanted to read it in its entirety. The writing was very easy to follow, though not as suspenseful as I had hoped for. But Gin Phillips did do a good job at drawing me in and making me want to read more about Joan and Lincoln. I wasn't able to connect or really care about any of the other characters, but I feel that they may have been written that way on purpose? Almost as if the author wanted you to focus on Joan's story but also have a few different points of view to see the situation from. If that was the case, the author did a great job at that. One thing I did have a problem with was the abrupt ending! I had gotten very into the story, especially by the end, and then just as things kind of picked up and got intense, the book ended. I was left feeling somewhat empty and like the true ending was almost stolen from me, if that makes sense. It was just a very sudden "this happened and then this and the end" without much warning and it definitely had me turning the pages back to make sure that it really was the end and that I didn't miss anything. It was an interesting place to end the book at, that's for sure, and I suppose we as readers are supposed to kind of draw our own conclusions as to what happens. There were some lose ends that didn't get tied off but again, I guess we're supposed to kind of create our own ending. I did enjoy Gin Phillip's writing enough to where I would consider checking out her other books, so that was a definite win for me!

Overall, I did enjoy this book despite it just being a relatively alright read for me. I think that the main character will be easily relatable for mothers (or even fathers!) that read this book as the main plot point of the story is a mother protecting her child. It wasn't the most A+ thriller I've read this year, but was still an enjoyable read and was pretty easy to get through in one sitting. Despite the issues I had, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a decent thriller that's fairly quick to get through!

From Goodreads: "Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout's knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media's attempts, they never meet.
Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.
That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy's doorstep. Blowing through Quincy's life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa's death come to light, Quincy's life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam's truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished."

Thank you to Dutton Books for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

This was a book that had been one of my most anticipated of the year but for some reason, life kept getting in the way of me reading it. But finally, I was able to sit down and fly through this and oh my goodness was it a good one. If you're a fan of slasher horror movies, Final Girls is one you won't want to miss!

Plot:
Generally this is where I would sum up the story in my own little way but honestly, the synopsis up there does a...detailed enough job on its own. So don't just skim it if you want to know what this book is about- which you totally want to know.

As a fan of horror movies in general, this was a book I knew I was going to love just from the synopsis alone. And thankfully, I was not wrong! The story is so well written and really gives you that feeling you get when watching a slasher movie. It's not cheesy or silly (kind of like the Scream movie franchise, if you've seen that) but rather gives you this constant creepy vibe like something just isn't right. Reading Final Girls really felt like I was reading a horror movie script and I absolutely devoured it. It has an absolutely killer (haha, see what I did there?) opening and the momentum just keeps going from there. I loved how everything unfolded at what felt like the perfect pace where nothing was rushed through and nothing dragged on forever and got boring. It was such a suspenseful story that had me rapidly turning pages to find out what was going to happen next! My favorite part of this whole book was probably Quincy and how as you're following her story, you start to question quite literally everything about her and the things she does. You don't know who to trust and you're not even sure if Quincy is reliable and that was just such a fantastic aspect of the book that really elevated things to a new level. The blurb by Stephen King is a great way to describe this book: "The first great thriller of 2017 is here." Final Girls has just the right amount of horror, thrills, and suspense to keep you guessing until the very end and trust me, you won't see the ending coming at all.

Characters:
Everyone loves an unreliable narrator and Quincy is exactly that. You think she's got it all together and that she's at the very least managing to live a relatively normal life after Pine Cottage, but as the book progresses, you really see her start to unravel. She still can't remember everything that happened but something about Sam's presence causes Quincy to start remembering small details about that night. Is she telling the truth about what happened? Does she really not remember anything? As the reader, you just don't know and you're only able to go by what Quincy says. But as her life starts to fall apart after the arrival of the tornado that is Sam, you start to question Quincy and everything she says and does. I think I loved her character the best because of her unreliability and unpredictability. One minute she's baking and taking photos for her blog and the next she's beating a guy to a pulp. You never know what to expect, especially once she starts digging into Lisa's death more, and it's one great roller coaster ride with Quincy as the ride operator. Except this roller coaster has no safety bars and the conductor is a bit crazy.

I also really enjoyed all of the other characters in this book as well. Sam was, as I already described her, a tornado, and she was actually exciting (on the more suspenseful side) to follow because I never knew what she was going to do next. Coop was a strong, supportive character that Quincy was able to lean on when she needed him and I really enjoyed his presence throughout the book. Jeff was more of a side character, I personally felt, but he was also pretty supportive and helpful with Quincy although he definitely had his moments where he put his butt on his shoulders. But something that I liked was that Quincy and Jeff's relationship was more on the realistic side where instead of things being perfect throughout the whole book and them never fighting, they got into arguments and got upset at each other. It's just always nice to read a book with a relationship that I can actually believe because real relationships are not all kittens and rainbows, but rather hard work, fighting, disagreements, and even nights spent angry at each other. To have a horror book with a realistic relationship in it was just A+ for me as a reader.

Writing:
I believe I stated this above but Final Girls truly read like a horror movie script. It was so suspenseful and creepy and just constantly built up more and more suspense as the book progressed. It unfolded at such a great pace, never lagging or speeding through things, but rather giving the reader just what they needed to know at the perfect time. There were flashbacks to Pine Cottage that allowed the reader to find out exactly what happened despite Quincy not remembering. It really was just an absolutely fantastic read that was literally impossible to put down once I started. The writing felt like I was reading a long time horror/thriller author's work, but Final Girls is in fact Riley Sager's first novel! It's an absolute thrill ride from start to finish with descriptive and eerie writing that will draw you in and have you looking over your shoulder for the Pine Cottage killer!

Final Girls was definitely one of my favorite reads of 2017 and I highly recommend it to anyone that is a fan of horror movies and books. You'll be drawn in by Quincy's narrow escape and will be left with your jaw on the floor by the final page. Don't miss this exciting debut horror novel that's absolutely impossible to forget!

From Goodreads: "Skye Thorn has given tarot card readings for years, and now her psychic visions are helping the police find the town’s missing golden girl. It’s no challenge—her readings have always been faked, but this time she has some insider knowledge. The kidnapping was supposed to be easy—no one would get hurt and she’d get the money she needs to start a new life. But a seemingly harmless prank has turned dark, and Skye realizes the people she’s involved with are willing to kill to get what they want and she must discover their true identity before it’s too late."

Thank you to HMH Books for Young Readers for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

I have such strong feelings about this book. This was one that I started and hadn't intended to finish as quickly as I did but I ended up reading it in about two hours or so. It. Was. Addicting. And I mean that in the best way possible! I was hooked in no time and found myself turning page after page because I was just so invested in the story that I didn't want to put it down until I was done. And then the ending came along.

Plot:
Skye Thorn has been giving tarot card readings for years- they're not real, but people believe what they want to believe. But when a girl goes missing, Skye uses her psychic visions to help the police find her. They're not real, of course, but the insider knowledge that Skye has is very real. It was supposed to be easy- no one was supposed to get hurt and she would get the money she needed to start her new life. But the kidnapping has turned dark, and Skye realizes that the people she's working with are willing to kill to get what they want and she must discover their true identity before it's too late.

This book was absolutely addicting. I'm not joking, once I got started, I could not stop. I loved every twist and turn that this book threw at me. I ate it all up and kept going because it was just so good! The fake psychic aspect was great, the insider knowledge was great, the kidnapping was great, the twists were great, it was all really great. There was so much good in this book that lead me to turning page after page to find out what happened next. It was twisty and exciting and I was so happy that I had found a book that I enjoyed so much.

Then the ending happened.

Why oh why did that ending have to happen? It's been days since I finished the book and I'm still ranting over the ending. Everything up until Skye's graduation was amazing. And then for some reason, things just...fell off. The ending seems to be something that a lot of other people enjoyed and that's totally great, I'm glad you loved it! But me? No. I cannot accept that ending. I won't spoil it, I won't give details, but the ending absolutely destroyed this book for me. If I could just have everything up until the ending, then I'd be completely satisfied. But for some reason, that ending just ruined everything I had read up until then. It's not realistic, it's not believable, it's almost insulting to me as a reader. The build up was fantastic. The end? Not at all. I may be the odd one out here, but I was absolutely not a fan of how this book ended.

Characters:
Unreliable characters are some of my favorite character types. You never know what's going to happen next with them or even if they're telling the reader everything, telling the truth. Skye is an unreliable narrator and she was great. When she was younger, she accidentally created a huge lie that blew up in her face and ever since, people haven't trusted anything she's said. It was actually really sad, and I could understand why she would do that, especially at such a young age. But Skye seems to keep that little lying habit well into her teenage years. She lies about her tarot readings (she's just really good at reading people and noticing the little things about them), she lies about having psychic visions, she lies about the kidnapping, she lies to her mother, and she lies to her best friend. So how can the reader believe anything she says? You can't, and that's what makes this book so much fun to read. You never know what's going to happen next and the twists hit you hard and fast, leaving your jaw on the floor and you saying, "Wait what?!" Skye is great and is probably the best part of reading this entire book because you don't know what she's going to say from page to page. I genuinely liked her character for about 97% of the book. The last 3% of the book, I just...couldn't. I explained that above, but the things her character does in the end just didn't sit well with me, unfortunately. I just couldn't believe anything that happened in the last few pages and it seriously destroyed my whole view on the book and Skye as a character. So I loved her for the first 97%, and I know readers who are fans of unreliable narrators will definitely love her, too.

Paige was also fantastic and another seriously unreliable narrator. She threw so many twists and turns at Skye and the reader and I just couldn't help but love her. I never knew what to expect when it came to Paige and that added such a great aspect of unpredictability and suspense to the book that elevated my love for it. Well, for at least the first 97% of the book, anyway.

Writing:
Eileen Cook has a gift with writing a fantastic mystery/thriller book. I didn't expect to be drawn in so quickly to The Hanging Girl, but it took literally no time at all for me to finish it without realizing how fast I was reading. She created such a fantastic suspenseful feeling with the unreliable narrators and the general creepy feeling that was on every page. I was devouring every word trying to solve the kidnapping mystery as I read through the book and every twist and turn that came at me only added to my overall enjoyment of the story. Her writing is something special and I don't think I'm going to let my feelings on the ending of this book ruin my desire to read more by this author. I love how she builds suspense and throws in twists at perfect points in the story that just make you want to read more. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for anything else Eileen Cook writes because her writing was extremely enjoyable and kept me hooked until the very end!

Please, please, please do not let my aggressive feelings towards the ending deter you from reading this book. I genuinely enjoyed the rest of the book and I feel that I am the odd man out in how I feel about how things wrapped up. The Hanging Girl is sure to be a huge hit for those that are fans of mysteries, thrillers, and unreliable narrators. It's full of twists that will take you by surprise and writing that will keep you reading from start to finish. Don't miss this fantastic thriller that is sure to be a hit, especially during the spooky Fall reading season!

From Goodreads: "In a realm where toxic mist sweeps the lands and magic is forbidden, all Bleak wants is a cure for her power. Still grieving the death of her guardian and dangerously self-medicating with alcohol, Bleak is snatched from her home by the Commander of the King’s Army, and summoned to the capital. But the king isn’t the only one interested in Bleak’s powers. The leader of an infamous society of warriors, the Valia Kindred, lays claim to her as well, and Bleak finds herself in the middle of a much bigger battle than she anticipated."

Thank you to Helen Scheuerer for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

I had the opportunity to read two short stories that tie into the world of Heart of Mist back in June and absolutely loved them. The world was beautiful, the writing was unlike any I had read, and I fell in love with Bleak. I was blown away by the fact that Helen was able to make me care so much about everything to do with this world and Bleak in such a short amount of time. I was absolutely hooked and reached out about reading the full Heart of Mist book. Helen was so incredibly kind and sent me an e-ARC of the full book and I somehow managed to fall even more in love with what she has created. This was easily one of my favorite fantasy novels I've ever read and I am so excited to see where this series goes!

Plot:
All Bleak wants is to find a cure for her magic. In a world where magic is forbidden to use by anyone other than a royal, being able to hear the thoughts of others is a constant danger to orphan Bleak. Known as the town drunk, Bleak dangerously self-medicates with alcohol in order to try and suppress the voices in her head. One day, she's snatched from her home and summoned to the capital on suspicion of being an Ashai, or magic wielder. But the king isn't the only one interested in Bleak and what she can do. The legendary Valia Kindred lay claim to Bleak and soon, she's drawn into a much bigger battle than she ever anticipated.

Seriously, this book was fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about how much I enjoyed reading Heart of Mist. There was action, magic, strong female fighters, deception, politics, friendships, and no freaking romance. Okay, that came out wrong, because there is romance, but it's not the main plot point and it doesn't happen with the main character! I can't tell you how tired I am of reading books where the main plot point is the romance between two characters and it completely overshadows the overall story. I was absolutely over the moon when I realized that Bleak was not going to get caught up in a romantic plot! Heart of Mist has so much to offer and even if you like your YA fantasy to have romance in it, you won't even miss it here.

There is so much that happens in this story with several characters (yes, it's a multiple POV book, we'll get to that) and it was so much fun following the different characters and watching their stories unfold. Nothing is thrown at you all at once but rather introduced or touched on and then explained more as the story goes on. Info-dumping is not a problem with Heart of Mist and you definitely learn all of the things that you need to know when you need to know them. This book flows like the ocean; unpredictable during a storm but beautiful when the calm finally comes. You never know what's going to happen next and that's what makes this book so exciting. Heart of Mist is full of so many exciting things and it was an absolute treat to have the opportunity to read this incredible start to the series.

Characters:
I mentioned above that this is a multiple POV book. If you've been following my reviews for any amount of time you know that I seriously dislike multiple POV's in books, especially if there are more than two. But Heart of Mist pulled off what I never thought a book could accomplish and it made the changing points of view enjoyable to read. I didn't think it would happen, but it did. I loved Bleak, I truly did, but getting to read about everyone else and what was happening to them outside of what was happening to Bleak was so much fun. I never felt like I was missing out on anything but rather that I was learning more as I read the book and got to see what the other characters were experiencing. Of course, I was hesitant at first simply because I dislike multiple POV books, but I quickly learned to love them. They were so much more than I initially thought they would be and I genuinely enjoyed watching their stories unfold. I can't imagine where they'll go from here on out, but I'm eagerly awaiting the continuation of the series so I can find out.

Bleak was an all-around amazing character. She was broken and flawed but she was also incredibly strong. Because I had read the short prequel stories, I already knew that Bleak had a drinking problem, but I didn't realize just how bad it was. My heart broke for her because she was addicted to drinking in order to try and dull her mind reading abilities that, if revealed, would pretty much lead to her death. It was so sad to watch her struggle with her addiction, but by the end, I think she was able to overcome it. Reading about her journey from start to finish was a journey that I never wanted to end. Bleak is just such an amazing character and after that absolutely explosive ending, I am so excited to see where she goes in the next book!


Writing:
In my review for the two prequel stories, I said that I thought the writing was beautiful and alluring, and the same easily can be said for Heart of Mist. This was undoubtedly my favorite part of the book and I just could not get over the fact that the writing was so fantastic. It really brings you into Bleak's world and you can effortlessly get lost in everything that is going on. It's so descriptive and elegant and draws out feelings of magic, wonder, and mystery. My personal favorite part, and probably the longest part, is when Bleak travels to Valia. It's written so well and I loved picturing the Valian people and their lifestyle. Just like with the prequel stories, Heart of Mist has one of my absolute favorite lines that I've had the pleasure of reading:

"The mist is coming, and with it comes a power so hungry for magic, it threatens the whole realm."