From Goodreads: Aubree can’t think of a
better place to be than in perfectly boring Ohio, and she’s ready for a
relaxing summer. But when her older sister, Elizabeth, gets into real
trouble, Aubree is talked into taking over Elizabeth’s summer job,
leading a group of senior citizens on a bus tour through Europe. Aubree
doesn’t even make it to the first stop in Amsterdam before their
perfect plan unravels, leaving her with no phone, no carefully prepared
binder full of helpful facts, and an unexpected guest: the tour company
owner’s son, Sam. Considering she’s pretending to be Elizabeth, she
absolutely shouldn’t fall for him, but she can’t help it, especially
with the most romantic European cities as the backdrop for their love
story. But her relationship with Sam is threatening to ruin her
relationship with her sister, and she feels like she’s letting both of
them down. Aubree knows this trip may show her who she really is - she
just hopes she likes where she ends up.
My Rating: 2.5 hearts
Thoughts on the Novel: I haven’t had the opportunity to travel
much so I love it when books incorporate traveling abroad. It’s too bad
then that Jen Malone’s Wanderlost didn’t do such a great job of making me feel
as if I was in Europe since it involved more telling than showing. Also, the
chance for Aubree to go on a trip to Europe began with the laughable premise of her perfect
older sister being arrested for literally no reason. If you’re in the mood to
read something that will make you want to book a trip ASAP, I’d recommend Kirsten
Hubbard’s Wanderlove instead.
Wanderlost was released in May 2016 by HarperTeen.
In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Harpercollins) via Edelweiss.
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From Goodreads: When forced to choose
between safety with the dragon organization Talon and being hunted
forever as an outcast, Ember Hill chose to stand with Riley and his band
of rogue dragons rather than become an assassin for Talon. She’s lost
any contact with her twin brother, Dante, a Talon devotee, as well as
Garret, the former-enemy soldier who challenged her beliefs about her
human side. As Ember and Riley hide and regroup to fight another
day, Garret journeys alone to the United Kingdom, birthplace of the
ancient and secret Order of St. George, to spy on his former brothers
and uncover deadly and shocking secrets that will shake the foundations
of dragons and dragonslayers alike and place them all in imminent danger
as Talon’s new order rises.
My Rating: 3 hearts
Thoughts on the Novel: Considering that the series feature dragons, the
books in Julie Kagawa’s Talon series have yet to wow me – and Soldier was no
exception. Yes, it advanced the overarching plot and confirmed my suspicions about
Ember and Dante’s heritage, but it still focused a little too much on the
love triangle for my liking. As well, the reveal about Garret’s family felt
very rushed. With two more books planned for this series, I don’t think I’m
going to continue on with it.
Talon was released by Harlequin Teen in April 2016.
Talon was released by Harlequin Teen in April 2016.
