Review: A Thousand Heartbeats

A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Annika has lived a pampered life, but as a princess and the spare heir, she knows that her life is not her own.  The next task she must undertake?  Marry a man she does not love.  Miles’ life has been the opposite.  He has trained with the Dahrainian army and wants to help reclaim the kingdom that was stolen.  Lennox doesn’t have time for anything else … even love.  When these two are thrown together, love sparks, even though they both know it is impossible.  What will these young people do next?  Who will end up in control of the kingdom?

A Thousand Heartbeats is a stand-alone romance told in alternating voices.  Readers will experience a full story as the point of view switches between these two protagonists.  Cass has created a wonderful world with believable characters and a captivating story.  Although this is a stand-alone novel with a firm ending, this newly created world has hidden depths and I wouldn’t be surprised if more books are released.  A good romance that wasn’t too long and wasn’t risqué at all.  

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Review: Five Survive

Five Survive by Holly Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is time for the senior year spring break road trip and Red plans to enjoy time with her friends in an RV.  The drive seems to never end but everyone is trying to enjoy themselves until they make some wrong turns and the RV breaks down in a secluded area with no cell phone reception.  They quickly learn that this wasn’t an accident when a sniper shoots out their wheels and their gas tank.  He tells them that he knows who they are and he will let them go IF they tell him the secret he wants.  What secret?  Who is hiding something?  Who is going to die?

Five Survive is a stand-alone mystery that was a page-turner from the start.  Jackson has created a new cast of characters that readers will easily relate to and as different people slowly admit to their secrets; readers will be just as shocked as those within the pages.  We know from the title that one of them will die, but the why and the how is a shocker.  I enjoyed this book and think all mystery fans will enjoy it too.

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Review: Children of Ragnarok

Children of Ragnarok by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eiric has had a fairly good life on his modir’s farm.  He must work hard to keep everything going, but he must also try and stay out of his stepfadir’s way.  When Eiric is put on trial for killing his stepfadir, he knows that there isn’t going to be a good outcome since the jury is made up of his stepfadir’s family.  Reggin is a performer who is controlled by a fire demon.  She wants to get away and when two wyrdspinners offer to train her, she thinks it is an offer she can’t refuse.  These two stories alternate throughout the book and readers will willingly anticipate when they will converge.

Children of Ragnarok is the first book in the Runestone Saga series.  This series is different than many of Chima’s other series because it takes place during the time of the Vikings, but as a person who enjoys books and TV shows about this time period, I willingly jumped into this one.  There is a lot of world-building and character development, but the time spent on these pages adds so much to the story that readers won’t be bothered by it.  I enjoyed the start of this new series and can’t wait for the next book to be published.

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Review: Gleanings

Gleanings by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many readers have enjoyed the world where Scythe decide who dies and people live what seems like forever and Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe will take them into new storylines, new worlds, and introduce new Scythes.  As with any short story collection, there are some amazing stories and some ho-hum stories, yet everyone who liked the original books will be happy that this volume was released.  I did find myself pacing myself; I wanted to pause after each story before going on to the next so that the events could cement more into my brain.  I know that isn’t the only way to read this book, but it worked for me.  This collection has a variety of secrets from some very talented authors.

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