SEVENTH BORN by Monica Sanz Review + Blog Tour Stop!

Seventh Born
by Monica Sanz
Genre: YA Paranormal/Mystery & Suspense
Release Date: September 4th 2018
Entangled Teen

Summary:

Abomination. Curse. Murderer. All names hurled at eighteen-year-old Seraphina Dovetail. As the seventh-born daughter to a witch, she’s the cause of her mother losing her powers and, in turn, her life.

Abandoned as a child, Sera dreams of becoming an inspector and finding her family. To do that, she must be referred into the Advanced Studies Program at the Aetherium’s Witchling Academy. Her birth order, quick temper, and tendency to set things on fire, however, have left her an outcast with failing marks…and just what Professor Nikolai Barrington is looking for.

The tall, brooding, yet exceedingly handsome young professor makes her a proposition: become his assistant and he’ll give her the referral she needs. Sera is quickly thrust into a world where witches are being kidnapped, bodies are raised from the dead, and someone is burning seventhborns alive. As Sera and Barrington grow ever closer, she’ll discover that some secrets are best left buried…and fire isn’t the only thing that makes a witch burn.

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My Rating: A+
My thoughts on the book:
Witch books are usually hit or miss with me, but I absolutely loved Seventh Born. I stayed up half the night reading the book, and I was so glad when I checked online and found out it is part of a series because I am not ready to say goodbye to these characters or this world yet. Sure, there are tons of books out there about ostracized witches and outcasts and betrayal, etc., etc. This book stands out, though... it has feeling. On top of that, it has a murder mystery that is actually well done! Add that to well-developed characters and top of the line world-building, and you have Seventh Born. This novel completely captivated me.

The heroine, Seraphina Dovetail (her friends call her Sera), can't remember her past. On top of that, she has PTSD from the past that she can remember, which results in her having issues controlling her magic if she feels threatened or has a flashback, so she kind of sets a lot of things on fire. Her PTSD reactions are really spot-on, though. I know that everyone handles things differently and PTSD presents itself differently in everyone, like all illnesses, but it was easy to believe that Sera has PTSD. It's not diagnosed as such in the book (I think this was set in the Victorian era... or a similar equivalent for the world Sera and co. live in), but it's pretty obvious. Sera is a wonderful leading lady, and so empathetic, even though she has walls up and trusts no one. It's clear she is a good person from the beginning. In addition to Sera, we have a full cast of well-developed secondary characters, including her best friend Mary, the popular boy Timothy, and Professor Barrington. None of these characters are what you'd expect, though. There are no cookie cutter or filler characters in these novels. I felt like I got to know everyone Sera interacted with, at least as well as she knew them, and that is a rare find.

The world building in this novel was fantastic. I could clearly picture the world that Sera lived in, and I understood the rules of the world. That's always difficult to do in a fantasy style novel. There were no info dumps, though. Everything was paced out nicely. Sanz wrote beautifully, too. I absolutely loved a lot of the lines in the book. The plot was complex, and the "big reveal" actually surprised me, and that doesn't happen often. It was still believable, though. While we found out around the middle of the book who was doing the killings, we get a nice big betrayal at the end that I didn't see coming at all. The ending tied this book up nicely and leaves room for a sequel.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy/paranormal novels that are set in alternate realities/historic type worlds with strong leading ladies and wonderful writing. Give this book a try. You won't be sorry.

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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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