MY LADY JANE by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Rating: A-
Synopsis:
The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.

My thoughts on the book:
I will admit that I was a bit hesitant when it came to this book. I am a history dork (my minor was history), and I am absolutely obsessed with Medieval Europe especially the Tudor and post-Tudor era. Therefore, I wasn't really sure how I'd take a revisionist, comedic history written about Lady Jane Grey. However, Ashton, Hand, and Meadows are three of my favorite authors, and I knew that if anyone could pull this off, they could. As it turns out, I was absolutely enthralled with this novel. It is light, funny, and a ridiculously engaging read. I couldn't put it down. I read it all over the course of 3 days after work, and considering it's over 500 pages, that's a pretty big feat. This was simply a lovely story.

I'm always a bit nervous when I hear about historical fiction reworking actual historical figures, rather than setting a book in a certain time period and creating one's own characters. The authors rarely get the characters "right," in my opinion, and any history buff would say the same thing. We could all nitpick everything to death until the end of time. However, this book didn't really *try* to get the characters right. Since it was a comedy, and the narrators made it clear that it wasn't to be taken seriously, I was able to completely delve into their world, the characters, and the alternate version of the time period. Yes, the language was off, and yes, one of the characters wanted to be called G, which would just never happen in that day and age, but I loved all of the characters, nonetheless. Jane was a strong heroine, and I really loved their version of Elizabeth I. I feel like they actually had Bloody Mary pretty spot on, to be honest. Edward was more engaging than he would have been had they stuck to his actual personality. I wasn't a fan of what they did with Mary, Queen of Scots, but that's because I'm a huge fan of the Scottish Queen. 

The writing was cute and casual and incredibly engaging. They had little side notes and parentheticals throughout the novel to let the reader know that they were the ones telling the story. I enjoyed that, and their random (some real, some fake) historical facts, too.  They didn't try to pass this off as anything close to authentic for a single second, and I loved that. It took a lot of courage and wit to pull this off. The pacing was quick but not rushed. The ending was adorable. The romances were cute and appropriate for all ages of YA readers. Each author took one one character, and the book was told from 3 perspectives. I have an idea who wrote which character, but I don't want to ruin it for other readers, so I won't hazard my guesses here. In my opinion, this was a courageous, witty, and fun modern day fairy tale. We don't get many actual fairy tales nowadays, and I appreciate these ladies writing one for us.

I'd recommend this book to anyone. Whether you're a fan of romance, historical fiction, comedy, fantasy, or all of the above, you are sure to be charmed by this book. 

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CITY OF LIGHT by Keri Arthur

Rating: B+
Synopsis:
The first in an all-new futuristic fantasy series from Keri Arthur—the New York Times bestselling author of the Souls of Fire novels.

When the bombs that stopped the species war tore holes in the veil between this world and the next, they allowed entry to the Others—demons, wraiths, and death spirits who turned the shadows into their hunting grounds. Now, a hundred years later, humans and shifters alike live in artificially lit cities designed to keep the darkness at bay....

As a déchet—a breed of humanoid super-soldiers almost eradicated by the war—Tiger has spent her life in hiding. But when she risks her life to save a little girl on the outskirts of Central City, she discovers that the child is one of many abducted in broad daylight by a wraith-like being—an impossibility with dangerous implications for everyone on earth.

Because if the light is no longer enough to protect them, nowhere is safe...

My thoughts on the book:
I didn't know what to expect with this novel, to be honest, but I really enjoyed it. I generally like Arthur's work quite a bit, and this book was no exception. The characters were well-developed, the worldbuilding was done wonderfully, and the pacing was spot on. The ending tied things up nicely but set up the sequel, which I can't wait for. If you're looking for a unique spin on Dystopian novels, this book is definitely for you.

Tiger was a super strong female lead. I really loved her. She wasn't callous or angsty or bitter. She was just strong. She accepted things as they were and made the best out of her situations. She did what she had to do in order to live up to her own standards, everyone else be damned, and I really loved that about her. The men in the book were interesting, but Sal was a weak character, in my opinion. I really liked Jonas, and I think he'd be a good match for Tiger. The other men weren't present much, so I didn't get to form any lasting opinions on them. Nuri was interesting. I'm not sure what I think about her yet. I really loved the ghosts that Tiger interacted with and how she viewed them as equal to the living. I could appreciate that outlook. 

The plot was pretty fast paced and there was a lot of action. Some sex and romance, but nothing too extensive. A lot of violence, but nothing graphic. The story and world were dark enough without graphic descriptions of darkness. I appreciated Arthur going light on that. The world made sense, though, and I could picture the world that Tiger lived in. It wasn't as desolate as some Dystopian worlds, but it was pretty bleak. I think things will get better, though. Just a feeling I have. 

Overall, I'd recommend this book to fans of Dystopian novels and fans of Keri Arthur. She lives up to her great reputation with this novel, and these characters and this world are intriguing and full of mystery and suspense that you won't want to miss. 

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FIRE TOUCHED by Patricia Briggs

Rating: B+
Synopsis:
Mercy Thompson has been hailed as “a heroine who continues to grow and yet always remains true to herself.”* Now she’s back, and she’ll soon discover that when the fae stalk the human world, it’s the children who suffer...

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?

My thoughts on the book:
When I saw this novel on NetGalley, I was so excited. Patricia Briggs is one of my favorite authors, and this is one of my favorite series, even though a couple of the most recent efforts in Mercy's world have fallen flat for me. However, this novel was a refreshing change from the past few books. The action starts in the first couple of chapters and doesn't end until the very last page. Some of the new characters introduced were extremely interesting, and aside from Mercy randomly throwing in ridiculous words in an effort to prove she's intelligent, the writing was top notch. Fans of the series are going to devour this book.

Mercy is one of my favorite Fantasy heroines. She's tough, smart, and able to take care of herself. She has a man in her life because she loves him, not because she needs him to be fulfilled. She continues to grow throughout the series, but she doesn't change so much that the growth seems out of character for her. She has issues and PTSD and a bit of anxiety, but she overcomes that to help others. She's a great example of a flawed, but still wonderful and strong, heroine. Adam is a fantastic complement to her, and the way he's evolved over the series is also organic. I really like who he's becoming, and I love how Mercy has challenged him, and his whole pack, to open their minds and accept people for who they are instead of trying to change them. This novel illustrates more of that kind of pack growth, and I feel that it's much needed and really added to the tapestry of the pack and their bonds. 

The world-building and descriptions were beautifully done in this book, but Briggs seemed so hung up on showing that Mercy wasn't an idiot that she used some really random, what I like to call "GRE words" to prove it... words that no one uses because you can express things in a much simpler manner. This hasn't happened in the past, and I'm not sure why it happened now. Those words really broke up the flow of writing, though, because even though I knew what they meant, as many readers will, they just didn't come across naturally. That was my main pet peeve with this novel and why it got a B+ instead of an A. The pacing was super fast, but not rushed, the story itself was well-told and interesting, and the alternating of action scenes vs. emotional scenes kept me emotionally engaged. The ending tied things up nicely, and after this book, I can't help but think that Mercy's story is about to come to an end. I feel like she's about to get things squared away enough that she can have her happily ever after. We'll see if I'm right or not, but that's the feeling that I got. 

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this series. I'd also recommend this series to anyone  who loves Urban Fantasy with strong female characters. Briggs is an amazing author, and she will not disappoint. 

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