Review: Exiled by RaShelle Workman - Megan

Synopsis from Goodreads

Worlds divided them. Chance brought them together. Only love will save them.

Stubborn, sixteen-year-old Princess Venus of Kelari wants one thing, to become immortal, that is, until someone exiles her to Earth, kills her irrihunter and takes her family.

Now she wants revenge.

First she’s got to get home. But before she can return to Kelari, the Gods have commanded her to help an arrogant boy named Michael find his soul mate.

Only she doesn't know the first thing about love.

Rather quickly, her inexperience with human emotion is obscured by other matters--alien-controlled psychotic teens that are out to kill her, and a government group that is set on capturing and dissecting her.

Worst of all, Venus will suffer a painful death-by-poisoning, thanks to Earth’s atmosphere, if she remains on the planet longer than one week.

Still, Venus is a Princess and she's got a plan. Surely, with her help, Michael will fall in love with a human.

But time is running out and Michael is falling for the wrong girl--her.

Let's all just take a moment to admire the cover, shall we? I mean, that is one beautiful cover! Unfortunately, the contents of this novel didn't quite amaze me as much. Although I inexplicably enjoyed this book, RaShelle Workman failed to balance all the key elements of a good story - world-building, characterisation and realism - which majorly deteriorated from the book's overall quality.

After reading the first page, I immediately wanted to stop reading because I couldn't connect with Workman's writing style. I honestly don't know how to describe it but it just didn't flow with any sort of elegance that coincided with the plot's incredibly fast pace. What made it worse was the alternating POVs. The way they keep switching at random without any significant indication of doing so made the entire plot the epiphany of confusion.

Venus was a rather interesting character with a complex personality that was a challenge to dissect. Her ignorance of human emotions became quite endearing yet I couldn't find a suitable excuse for her shapeshifting perceptions of humans in general. Plus, constantly switching between anger, lust, determination and despair every few sentences made Venus quite unbearable at times. Her uncontrollable human emotions towards Michael and Zaren - her Formytian (an immortal guardian) - had me on the edge of my seat because it was impossible to figure out who she was in love with and who she was simply physically attracted to. (TEAM ZAREN!)

Michael's character wasn't much of an improvement. One minute he was a sleazy, shallow jock and next he was some cartoon hero that's got a playground crush on Venus. I struggled to believe that what he felt for Venus was genuine love because, although he takes big risks for her, he didn't hestiate to help turn her into a science project or violently dismiss her in their several ecounters after their first meeting. Workman also squanders precious words in an attempt to make us sympathise with Michael by mentioning his violent upbringing but this adds nothing effective to the plot and doesn't dismiss his erratic behaviour.

Dervinius - aka Vinny - creeps me out. He has some sort of evil plan that is so top secret I don't even think the author knows what it is. Him and Zaren have an ability to read minds while they're on Earth - probably because they're Kelvieri's - but while Zaren tries to surpress his new talent for invading people's minds, Dervinius just carelessy takes a ride on everyone's thought train. His manipulative and deceiving nature is his greatest weapon and, if his character was developed a little more, he would make the perfect villain.

One thing that majorly confused me was the different stages of Kelarian life. I mean, there's Kelni (which I assume is the toddler/child stage), Kelphi (adolescence?) and Kelvieri (immortal/adult). The word 'Kel' was also used frequently but I think that was just a slang term used to describe Kelarians in general. Basically, the society on Kelari wasn't explained in enough detail so when these terms kept appearing I couldn't help but be flustered by it all.

Mystery was the key element in Exiled and it was fluently weaved through essential parts of the plot. Unfortunately, it lacked in consistancy - only making significant appearances at the beginning and end of the book. As I continued reading, I was torn between the strong urges to stop reading and continue reading. It was rather bizarre. I wanted desperately to see what the outcome would be but I was also desperate for the story to end. 

All criticisms aside.. I did enjoy this book. Call me crazy but there was something about it that just clicked with me. I'm definitely eager to read the next instalment, Beguiled, in hopes that it will improve where Exiled has failed and ultimately, offer a better view of what life is like on Kelari.

Review: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff - Leona

Summary from Goodreads:
Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie comes from a world of tunnels and black, murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattoed princess. He is a replacement - left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago when it was stolen away by the fey. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world. Mackie would give anything just to be normal, to live quietly amongst humans, practice his bass guitar and spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem, where he must face down the dark creatures and find his rightful place - in our world, or theirs.

When I read the blurb for this book I was so intrigued. I have never read a book like this before and it was a nice break from the usual vampires, werewolves and witches that are so popular nowadays.

Brenna Yovanoff created a story line that was very unique and slightly strange. Some of the details were hard to grasp and left me slightly confused.

I expected this book to be really eerie but I just was creeped by it. I expected the replacements to be scary but since we reading from the POV of a replacement this idea was lost. It was also nice to read a YA book from a male perspective and I really enjoyed it. 

The book was really about Mackie's journey of self discovery and that kept me reading. I wanted to find out everything about Mackie. Even though we learn a lot about Mackie I just didn't see the reasoning for a lot of the things that he did.

I never bonded with any of the characters within the story. There was something missing for me, I just didn't feel any connection towards any of the characters. It was like watching a film with bad acting and you can't connect with the characters or get a grasp on their feelings.

Having said that the idea for the book was brilliant and I liked it, I just didn't love it. Doesn't mean you won't!

Review: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins - Leona

Summary from Goodreads:
Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Sweet Evil has been on my TBR list for ages and I finally ordered it! Now, let us take a minute to admire the gorgeous cover!

I was a little disappointed with it if I am completely honest. I had hyped this book up and it didn't deliver for me. I liked a lot of the plot turns but it wasn't my favourite read ever. It is a new take on the angel/demon trend that is going around nowadays! This one is a bit darker though!

The blurb had me intrigued. I mean 'What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?' how can that not intrigue you?

There was a little case of insta-attraction. I am not a fan of this at all. I'm sure that in real life there is insta-attraction I'd just rather not read about it in books. However, I still loved the romance and the relationship between Anna and Kaidan! 

There was good character development throughout the book. Each character was brilliantly written and I really enjoyed learning about them. 

The writing in this book was a plus. Sweet Evil is a well written book that left me thinking about it even after I finished it! I didn't love it as much as I thought I would but I still liked it!

Being the hopeless romantic that I am the ending made me want to cry! I need the next book!!! 

Review: Heaven by Christoph Marzi - Leona

The night that Heaven lost her heart was cold and moonless. But the blade that sliced it out was warm with her dark blood...

David Pettyfer is taking a shortcut over the dark rooftops of London’s brooding houses, when he literally stumbles across Heaven: a strange, beautiful, distraught girl who says that bad men have stolen her heart. Yet she’s still alive...

And so begins David and Heaven’s wild, exciting and mysterious adventure—to find Heaven’s heart, and to discover the incredible truth about her origins. 

The concept of this book had me interested from the beginning as it was not something that I had heard of before. I was a bit disappointed with it though.

The book is written from the point of view of a boy named David. He has run away from home and he moved to an awesome bookshop. I quite liked him, I thought he was caring and strong. Thankfully this book did not include the two words I have learned to loathe : insta-love or insta-attraction! Heaven and David do not meet under the most usual of circumstances and there was no 'there eyes meet across the room.' I didn't connect with the characters no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't.

There was a few points throughout the book that made me have to read it twice as there was a lot of detail thrown at me and it was difficult to keep with the story. I felt as though the book was dragged out towards the end and it put me off and brought my overall rating of it down.

I was rather surprised to find out the background to Heaven and what she is. It was something that I have never come across before. It made the book rather interesting.

The book had more description and not enough action for my liking and the action that happens was over almost as quickly as it had begun. There was a few times when I found myself forgetting where it was set. 

Overall, this book was okay but I wouldn't read it again.

Guest review: Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer

Summary from Goodreads:To New Yorker Rosa Alcantara, the exotic world of Sicily, with its network of Mafia families and its reputation for murder and intrigue, is just that—exotic, and wholly unknown. But when tragedy strikes, she must travel there, to her family’s ancestral home, where her sister and aunt have built their lives and where centuries of family secrets await her. Once there, Rosa wastes no time falling head over heels for Alessandro Carnevare, the son of a Sicilian Mafia family, whose handsome looks and savage grace both intrigue and unsettle her. But their families are sworn enemies, and her aunt and sister believe Alessandro is only using Rosa to infiltrate the Alcantara clan. And when Rosa encounters a tiger one night—a tiger with very familiar eyes—she can no longer deny that neither the Carnevares nor the Alcantaras are what they seem.

Ancient myths brought to life in the Sicilian countryside, dangerous beasts roaming the hills, and a long history of familial bloodlust prove to Rosa that she can’t trust anyone—not even her own family. Torn between loyalty to her aunt and love for her family’s mortal enemy, Rosa must make the hardest decision of her life: stay in Sicily with her new love . . . or run as far and as fast as she can.


The setting to this novel is refreshing compared to most YA novels currently out there. The “Romeo and Juliet meets The Godfather and hangs out with Twilight” relation; the mythological Arcadian shape-shifters; the beautiful ruin-covered Sicilian landscape; and menacing age-old rivalries all add up to serve a very appealing story.

Kai Meyer introduces us to the dark underworld of Sicily’s Mafia in a realistic yet mysterious manner. The undying authority of Cosa Nostra and bloodlust between the Alcantara and Carnevare clans hints at an action-packed storyline, however, this wasn’t fully delivered. The majority of this story was predictable and the key points to the plot were revealed very early on without much mystery for us to linger onto beforehand. Regardless of this, the themes of death, loss and violence were handled in an appropriate manner as to not give the reader an uncomfortable reading experience.

The protagonist – Rosa Alcantara – is introduced as a kleptomaniac with a hidden secret. Her snarky comments and sarcastic tone sets her aside from other female protagonists but her rebellious nature seems to gradually shy away when she comes into contact with the desirable Alessandro Carnevare – who just so happens to be the impending capo of an enemy clan. Even though he is the novel’s obvious love-interest, I was relieved to see that the ‘insta-love’ factor was absent at their first meeting but as the story continues there is obviously a strong attraction between the pair. Plus, Alessandro is a somewhat unpredictable character as there were moments when I had no idea what the hell he was going to do next! Talk about keeping me on the edge of my seat.

The element of shape-shifters captivated me, especially because it was derived from ancient Greek mythology which I absolutely adore! The written transition from human to animal form was impeccably done with each clan assuming the form of a different species of animal - the Lamia and Panthera being the novel’s main focus.

Unfortunately, even though the premise for this story completely intrigued me, it did come with its flaws. One aspect that I had a major problem with was the over-description of individual scenes. I felt that Meyer was going too far in his attempt to bring these mystical places to life – the non-stop details made it hard for me to process them all at once and it took me a couple of re-reads to finally piece together what I think it was that Meyer intended for me to visualise. The first handful of chapters also lacked in substance. I understand that they were used to help readers familiarise themselves with the Mafia and Rosa’s background but it was very spread out and seemed to be going forward without much sense of direction.

Despite these flaws, Arcadia Awakens proved to be a very fascinating read, especially considering it was originally published in German. I’m eager to get my hands on the next instalment – Arcadia Burns – which is to be released next year.

3/5 stars.