Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James

Not all are free. Not all are equal. Not all will be saved. 

A girl thirsts for love and knowledge.

Abi is a servant to England's most powerful family, but her spirit is free. So when she falls for one of the noble-born sons, Abi faces a terrible choice. Uncovering the family' secrets might win her liberty, but will her heart pay the price?

A boy dreams of revolution.

Abi's brother, Luke, is enslaved in a brutal factory town. Far from his family and cruelly oppressed, he makes friends whose ideals could cost him everything. Now, Luke has discovered there may be a power even greater than magic: revolution.

And an aristocrat will remake the world with his dark gifts.

He is a shadow in the glittering world of Equals, with mysterious powers no one else understands. But will he liberate--or destroy? 

Our world belongs to the Equals--aristocrats with magical gifts--and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind gates of England's grandest estate lies a power that could break the world.

Review:

It took me much longer than it normally would to finish reading this book, because I was so shocked at how Americans are really that terrible, insane, clueless and gullible. I will not rant anymore. If you want to read more about why I am so disappointed in our country, click here, but let's just say that I was not able to focus on reading while watching votes be tallied and going into shock after hearing something that I NEVER EVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS thought could happen. EVER. 

However, I did not let that influence my perception of this book. It's not the book that wants to put the country back in the 1950's... In fact, this book is set in the future, one that I pray we aren't headed straight for...

The basic premise of The Gilded Cage is that the wealthy, powerful people in the US have Skill (crazy, magical powers), and the normal people are required to sacrifice 10 years of their life to work as a slave (and all that entails), to keep the country functioning smoothly. 

Luke's family decides that him, his older and younger sisters, and his parents will all do their 10 years of "slave days" together, and they have a plan they think will make it a primarily uneventful, "quick" 10 years, but of course, that's not how it goes. It wouldn't be a very good book if everything went perfectly according to plan, would it?

I like how Luke progresses rather quickly, from a teenager, whining about missing out on his last year in high school and hanging out with his friends, to a strong, confident man who wants to do whatever he can to help. 

This book was awesome! The author did an amazing job of world building. He also made sure to include twists and turns that are completely unexpected, and the ending is something that I never would have come to on my own. With all those surprises throughout the book, I didn't know how the book would end, but there is no way I would have been able to guess the ending.

I absolutely loved this book, but I am very disappointed that I have to wait to see what happens next! 

Although there is somewhat of a love interest included in the story, it doesn't shove it down your throat. It is only one of many small plots, interwoven into the grand scheme. 

I encourage anyone who reads any kind of YA, fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, or anyone else who just wants to read a really good book, to pick this one up! You definitely will not regret it! However, you may very well be upset that you have to wait to see what happens next. I know I am!

I was given a copy of this book by the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Reader by MK Harkins

Hunted, shot and without her memory, eighteen-year-old Ann Baker wakes in a shallow water on a deserted Pacific Northwest island. She is soon approached by two young men claiming to be her friends. Something isn't right, but when gunshots sound, Ann is left with little choice but to allow Devon and Archer to help her escape. Soon she finds herself in their North Bend mountain compound, where the higher evolved humans claim to be mind-readers. While Ann heals, she realizes that they believe her to be one of the last and most powerful of all - The Lost One.

She's welcomed by most with opened arms, but  not everyone is happy about her arrival. A jealous adversary has plans for Ann, which spirals the entire Reader community into chaos.

As lies, murder and betrayal threaten to rip apart the once harmonious mountain dwellers, Ann is thrust into making a decision that could save or devastate not only The Readers, but all of mankind. But there is just one glitch: by doing so it may require her to make the ultimate sacrifice.

I really enjoyed this book, but it seemed a little obvious what was going to happen at some points. Sometimes, I was worried that it wouldn't be very suspenseful and it was going to be predictable.

However, I was very pleasantly surprised! There were twists and turns that I could never have predicted! It turned out to be a great book!

With the way it ended, I am hoping that the author writes a sequel. I felt like this one could have been longer and could have benefited from some extra details in some places and elaboration on some parts of the story, but overall, it was a great concept. I look forward to reading more from MK Hawkins!

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Seasons Within Blog Tour & Giveaway

Seasons Within
Lele Iturrioz
(Acorn Publishing)
Publication date: December 15th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Most teenage girls know their name, where they came from, who they are. Not G, a beautiful redhead with unusual markings on her wrist. She gets her name from a silver locket she keeps around her neck, unaware the engraved letter “G” on its front holds the secret to her past.
G’s life before the age of six has been a mystery to her. Each night for the last twelve years she’s been haunted by the same nightmare—a war. Horrendous beasts, warriors able to wield the four elements, and a boy who saves her by means of blue fire taunt her memory. But on her eighteenth birthday, G’s life begins to unravel. When she meets her new Chemistry professor, a man with an uncanny resemblance to the boy who saves her, she knows there must be more to her dreams.
It’s dangerous not knowing who you are, what you’re capable of, and what future awaits you. Especially when the darkness that slaughtered your entire world, just found you.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:
Major geek by day, hermit writer by night! Love books, sugar gliders and everything that comes in a delicious taco.
I’m the author of the YA fantasy series, Seasons Within
I spend my time writing, planning on writing, reading, drinking coffee like there was no tomorrow, MMA and chilling with my friends and loved ones.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Review

At the end of the year, I ambitiously signed up for several blog tours scheduled for the beginning of the year and had planned to start them the first week of the year. However, that was before I took the detour of reading The Darkest Minds, which resulted in me devouring the series without reading any of the books I had planned to read and review or posting anything to my blog until now. Happy New Year everyone!

While I don't plan to post reviews of The Darkest Minds books, because I have so many other books on my TBR list to review. I will tell you that the detour was well worth it! But moving on to Seasons Within...

I wish the rest of the books in this series were already released. If they were, I would be devouring them before moving on to the other books that I signed up to review. As you might have noticed, if you have read any of my previous posts, I have a tendency of requesting books to review or for blog tours like this one, then by the time I get to actually read the book, I forgot what it was about and why I requested it. If you haven't noticed this pattern, know that the struggle is real.

I tell you this so that you understand that I started reading this book blind. I didn't read the description to refresh myself on the book before starting to read. Needless to say, I went in not knowing what to expect. So, with the first page, heck, the first sentence clued me in a little:

Dust: Everything was covered in dust and ashes.

The next note I made about this book was a couple of chapters in, and I just had to point out how strange it is that other countries use the words "on" and "in" in different context than we do in America. For example, in chapter 4, the main character says "I never pictured him on a house," while I would have said "I never pictured him in a house." I actually thought the first couple of instances were typos, but I actually read a really interesting infographic the other day that cleared this up for me. I digress... Sorry! Now, on to the actual review of the book...

Overall, this was a great story! The author was great at world building and coming up with a unique plot for the story. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next! 

However, I must point out that G did some things that really irritated me. I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but for starters, I know she is supposed to be kind of reckless, and that's part of her personality, but seriously? How much of a sign do you need to realize that you should probably try to be more careful?

Also, I have to chime in about the love interest. Again, I'm trying to hold back so that I don't give too much away, but goodness, this girl drove me crazy with her romantic interest. This took a little bit away from what was otherwise an AWESOME story. When you have what is supposed to be a strong, independent, yet quirky female main character that has a complete meltdown when she finally realizes that those weird feelings she's getting are infatuation with a boy, and she has a complete meltdown, it takes away from her being that strong, independent female. I know that some people will love the romantic aspect to this story, but IMO, I hate when authors build awesome worlds with strong characters, only to turn them into complete idiots when it comes to their love interest.

Sorry, I always have to add my little rant, no matter how good the book is. It always gets me! However, please do not let this tidbit deter you from reading this book. Everything except my pet peeve explained above was great! My only other disappointment was that I have to wait to see what happens next! I will definitely be waiting not so patiently for the sequel!

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway