We Will Set Right the Imbalance In the World

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Imbalance
By Faith Erin Hicks & Peter Wartman
in collaboration with Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino
Amazon ~ Powell's

When Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph return to Earthen Fire Industries--the factory owned by Toph's father--Aang is surprised when their arrival is met with a cold shoulder. As soon as the team is asked for help at a business council meeting, the reason for the slight becomes clear: a massive bender-versus-non-bender conflict has gripped the town and is threatening to turn violent. In order to heal the divide and save the town, Aang and the team will all face tough decisions about power and identity that could tear them apart.


This is it. The final chapter (so far) in Avatar Aang's journeys following the end of the war. I'll admit, I was both excited and cautiously apprehensive going into this. For all intents and purposes, this is the finale of the series, so a lot rides on this to get things right and give us a satisfying conclusion to everything that's come so far. But it should also work as its own story, and set up for the future we see in Legend of Korra. With so much riding on just one story, could it ever match my expectations?

A Northerner, a Southerner, and an Air Nomad, All Working Together

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

Avatar: The Last Airbender
North and South
By Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru
in collaboration with Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino
Amazon ~ Powell's

When Katara and Sokka return home to the Southern Water Tribe, they are shocked to find that it has gone from a small village to a bustling city! Malina, a Northerner, is behind the change and plans to unify the Water Tribes, but Gilak, a Southerner, leads a fierce rebellion to stop her. In the face of these two opposing tribes, Katara will have to make peace with her nostalgia and mistrust to save the home she loves from being permanently torn apart.


Welp, it's finally time to focus on Katara and Sokka. While they were present in books 1-3, and had a very short stint in book 4 (mostly setting up this book), I can't say the pair ever had much impact in their stories, aside from comic relief or sideplots. So I was happy to finally get them front and center, especially if their story was all it promised to be.

A Little Smoke Was All It Took To Get the Better of the Mighty Avatar

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Smoke and Shadow
By Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru
in collaboration with Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino
Amazon ~ Powell's

The Fire Nation is threatened by a prophecy told by the Kemurikage--mysterious figures thought only to exist in legend: remove Zuko from the throne or the country will perish! Unrest is brewing as the New Ozai Society prepares to make its move against the crown, and children begin to go missing from their homes under mysterious circumstances! Avatar Aang and his friends are doing everything in their power to save them--but will it be enough?!


I'll admit, when I realized that this would be a continuation of Zuko's family's story following The Search, I was a bit more excited than I was for The Rift. I mean, I love Toph, and it's interesting seeing what the Fire Nation colonies are getting around to, but between Zuko and Azula and their mother, there's just so much drama and baggage to unpack. Add in some good political intrigue and a mystery to things, and I'm sold!

The Border Between Our Two Worlds Grows into a Rift

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, specifically The Promise & The Search, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Rift
By Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru
in collaboration with Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino
Amazon ~ Powell's

Avatar Aang asks his friends to help him honor Yangchen's Festival—one of the highest Air Nomad holidays, which hasn't been celebrated in over one hundred years. But cryptic visits from the spirit of Avatar Yangchen herself lead Aang to discover a jointly owned Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom refinery—operating on land sacred to the Airbenders! Is this simply a case of corporate greed or is something more mysterious happening?


Tackling my unfinished series this year, and juggling a new job on top of all that, I decided to go a little out-of-order and jump back into the Avatar comics/graphic novels. I went ahead and re-read through the first two again, then jumped straight into this one. But after reading through it, I think I actually may have read it before. Well, I knew I'd read at least the first part, but I think I recognized enough in it that I'd actually read the whole thing through. Well, better late than never, right?

A Failed Queen Without a Kingdom

~This Woven Kingdom~
Book 1
By Tahereh Mafi
Amazon ~ Powell's

Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology.

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.


I'm obviously no stranger to Mafi's works, having made my way through her entire 11-part Shatter Me series. But upon finishing the last installment of that series last fall, I noticed a 2-chapter preview of her upcoming fantasy work, This Woven Kingdom, and decided to try it. Having also read through her fantasy books, Furthermore & Whichwood, I knew she'd dabbled in the genre before, but I was interested to see what track she'd take with fantasy, romance, and YA. Needless to say, I was immediately hooked, and was then forced to eagerly await the book's release. A secret queen of a magical people, forced to hide her identity in squalor and servitude, tormented by whispers from the devil, and unknowingly headed toward a forbidden romance—what more could I ask for?

Alive in Her Thoughts and Dreams

~Once Upon A Dream~
Twisted Tales
Book 2
By Liz Braswell
Amazon ~ Powell's

It should be simple—a dragon defeated, a slumbering maiden, a prince poised to wake her. But when said prince falls asleep as soon as his lips meet the princess's, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.

With a desperate fairy's last curse infiltrating her mind, Princess Aurora will have to navigate a dangerous and magical landscape deep in the depths of her dreams. Soon she stumbles upon Phillip, a charming prince eager to join her quest. But with Maleficent's agents following her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are, and moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?

Though these books are part of a series, they don't actually share any continuity from one to the next, so there's no risk of spoiling one with another. Likewise, there's really no need to read them in any particular order—I'm simply choosing to do so for simplicity's sake. So coming to the tale of Sleeping Beauty, which features one of my least favorite heroines but one of my most favorite villains, I had mixed feelings. Would the heroine be elevated by having more time and depth added? Would the villain be re-imagined with a(nother) sympathetic backstory? Would this story reside in my dreams, or haunt my nightmares?

Her Mouth Got Long, and Her Big Teeth Got Bigger

~What Big Teeth~
By Rose Szabo
Amazon ~ Powell's

Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds.

Eleanor finds herself desperately trying to hold the family together — in order to save them all, Eleanor must learn to embrace her family of monsters and tame the darkness inside her.

Exquisitely terrifying, beautiful, and strange, this fierce paranormal fantasy will sink its teeth into you and never let go.


Coming off of two somewhat disappointing werewolf stories, and having a surprise spot opened up for October, I decided to seek out another werewolf story to see if I could satiate my craving for fangs and fur. Enter What Big Teeth which happened to be available in both e-book and audio formats in my library. I remembered this book mainly from its enticing cover, its wolfish reference to Red Riding Hood, and seeing it doing the rounds on Facebook earlier this year, but otherwise had no idea what it was about. So, deciding not to question my luck, I went ahead and sank my teeth into this story.

Walking Through a Literal Valley with Death Himself

~The Company of Death~
The Immortal Journey
Book 1
By Elisa Hansen
Amazon ~ Powell's

The zombie apocalypse was just the beginning of vampire hunter Emily’s problems. Now she must team up with Death himself in this thrilling apocalyptic adventure series!

It’s been two years since the zombie uprising devoured 99% of the world’s population—and the vampires have come out of the shadows to claim the spoils. It’s Emily Campbell’s job to destroy vampire communes and rescue their human herds, but when a mission goes wrong, and she faces certain undeath, she would rather die than ever let them transform her. The problem is that when she makes a desperate suicide attempt, not only does the Grim Reaper fail to take her life—he also somehow loses all his powers in the process.

Now neither alive nor dead, Emily is stranded in the California desert with Death himself. She has heard the remnants of human civilization are developing a cure that could make her alive again in New York—all the way on the other side of the vampire- and zombie-swarmed continent. Only with Death’s help does she have a chance to complete the journey.

But without his powers, Death is mired in a crisis of his own. And he is not used to having company.


Having been a member of her Vampire Book Club for most of the year, you'd think I'd have already read her book, right? Well, now that I have a Kindle Unlimited trial, I'm jumping on one of the (many) books I've been meaning to read. Besides, I've already covered the other big Halloween themes this month: Demons, Superheroes, Vampires, and Werewolves. So a book about zombies (and more vampires) and Death incarnate sounded like a great way to finish off my month's proverbial bingo card.

I Was Going to Tell You When I Was Sure You’d Keep Your Promise

~The Promised Neverland~
Introduction & Jailbreak Arcs
Vol. 1-5
By Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu
Translated By Satsuki Yamashita
Amazon ~ Powell's

Norman, Emma, and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of Isabella, who they refer to as "Mom," all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes, and the perfect environment to learn- what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark and twisted truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.

Emma swears that she'll never lose another family member and starts gathering information in order to survive. They eventually bring Ray into the fold, and together the three start planning a way to escape.

I first heard about this story through praise of its anime adaptation. One of my favorite Ani-Tubers, Geoff Thew (aka Mother's Basement) has been gushing about its story, characters, and tension for years. And then they made a second season and absolutely slaughtered any good will they'd built up from the first. So, I decided to take him up on his suggestion and dive into the manga to see just what I'd been missing out on.

I decided to stop at the same place Season 1 of the anime stopped, just at the end of the Jailbreak arc (the second arc of the manga), which took me through the better part of 5 volumes, or 37 chapters. I figured that was the best way to get a good taste of the story and characters (ha), without leaving off on too big of a cliffhanger (like each volume tended to do).

With Every Flap of the Strixes’ Ink-Black Wings Came Shadows

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Crown of Feathers & Heart of Flames, or don't mind knowing some spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Wings of Shadow~
Crown of Feathers
Book 3
By Nicki Pau Preto
Amazon ~ Powell's

I had a sister, once…

Veronyka is no longer an orphaned stable boy or a nameless Phoenix Rider apprentice: she is the daughter of Pheronia Ashfire, the last queen of the Golden Empire…and the niece of Avalkyra Ashfire, the resurrected rebel queen who tore the empire apart.

We shone brightly, burned fiercely.

Now that the secret is out, everyone at the Eyrie treats Veronyka differently, and with Tristan still a hostage of the scheming Lord Rolan—and Sev with him as a spy—Veronyka feels very much alone. Except for her beloved phoenix, Xephyra, of course, and her new friend, Kade, who has his own reasons for wanting to save Tristan.

Was it always going to come down to this? Sister against sister? Darkness against light?

Veronyka is determined to do whatever it takes to get Tristan back, even if that means revealing her identity to the world and inheriting a throne she’s not sure she wants. But when she discovers that Avalkyra has bonded with a strix—a legendary creature of darkness that feeds off the life force of others—Veronyka realizes she has more to deal with than an encroaching war with the empire. Val is willing to destroy everything to get her revenge on a world that rejected her, and if Veronyka wants to bring peace to the empire and Pyra alike, she must face down her sister once and for all.

The world began with Ashfire queens…perhaps they will also be its destruction.


I can't begin to tell you how pumped I was for this book. I didn't even want to read the book's summary, I was so ready to just dive in. With the last couple series enders I've read being a bit disappointing, I probably should have had a bit more apprehension going in, but with my re-read out of the way (and two amazing audios enhancing my experience) I was eager to see what the shadows had in store for me...

Welcome to Cheshire Crossing

~Cheshire Crossing~
By Andy Weir & Sarah Andersen
Amazon ~ Powell's

The three meet here, at Cheshire Crossing--a boarding school where girls like them learn how to cope with their supernatural experiences and harness their magical world-crossing powers.

But the trio--now teenagers, who've had their fill of meddling authority figures--aren't content to sit still in a classroom. Soon they're dashing from one universe to the next, leaving havoc in their wake--and, inadvertently, bringing the Wicked Witch and Hook together in a deadly supervillain love match.

To stop them, the girls will have to draw on all of their powers . . . and marshal a team of unlikely allies from across the magical multiverse.


I actually came upon this book when I was searching the library catalog to put an early hold on Project Hail Mary. So when I pulled up Andy Weir on Libby, along with his other sci-fi novels, this one popped up. A MG/YA illustrated fanfic about Alice, Wendy, and Dorothy exploring multiple universes together? Uh, sounds kinda crazy, but sign me up!

Change My Fate, Break My Curses

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, All the Stars and Teeth, or don't mind knowing MAJOR spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~All the Tides of Fate~
All the Stars and Teeth
Book 2
By Adalyn Grace
Amazon ~ Powell's

Through blood and sacrifice, Amora Montara has conquered a rebellion and taken her rightful place as queen of Visidia. Now, with the islands in turmoil and the people questioning her authority, Amora cannot allow anyone to see her weaknesses.

No one can know about the curse in her bloodline. No one can know that she’s lost her magic. No one can know the truth about the boy who holds the missing half of her soul.

To save herself and Visidia, Amora embarks on a desperate quest for a mythical artifact that could fix everything―but it comes at a terrible cost. As she tries to balance her loyalty to her people, her crew, and the desires of her heart, Amora will soon discover that the power to rule might destroy her.


After reading the first book last year, I was eager to see how everything panned out for Amora and the Keel Haul crew. What with the Barracudas being unceremoniously dropped, the semi-dystopian world reveal, and Amora being cursed to be close to a man (torture, am I right?), there were quite a few threads left to explore. And so after (a slightly pained experience of) reacquainting myself with the series, I was ready to dive into the sequel and conclusion to this series.

You Are the Lightbringer, and Our World Is Growing Dark

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Furyborn and Kingsbane, or don't mind knowing MAJOR spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Lightbringer~
Empirium Trilogy
Book 3
By Claire Legrand
Amazon ~ Powell's

Queen Rielle, pushed away from everything she loves, turns to Corien and his promises of glory. Meanwhile, whispers from the empirium slowly drive her mad, urging her to open the Gate. Separated from Audric and Ludivine, she embraces the role of Blood Queen and her place by Corien’s side, determined to become the monster the world believes her to be.

In the future, Eliana arrives in the Empire’s capital as a broken shell of herself. Betrayed and abandoned, she fights to keep her power at bay—and away from Corien, who will stop at nothing to travel back in time to Rielle, even if that means destroying her daughter.

But when the mysterious Prophet reveals themselves at last, everything changes, giving Rielle and Eliana a second chance for salvation—or the destruction their world has been dreading.


I've made no effort to hide how much Kingsbane's ending affected me. In fact, I've mentioned in several other reviews how depressed I was, and how I didn't plan on ever reading it again, regardless of my tradition of rereading series leading up to the latest book. It was really thanks to the audiobook that I ended up revisiting both Furyborn and Kingsbane, partly to refresh myself on the characters, but mostly so I could give a review of the audio throughout the series. And I will say, thanks in part to the year of letting my wounds heal, and having the expectation of devastation in my mind throughout the reread, I entered into this final chapter with a bit more hope than I last left off.

In London a Bookseller Feller / Wore One Glove Surprisingly Yeller

~The Left-Handed Booksellers
of London~
By Garth Nix
Amazon ~ Powell's

In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn’t get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin.

Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops.

Susan’s search for her father begins with her mother’s possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms.

Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan’s. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.


Garth Nix has been on my to-read list since the 90's. I've heard his Abhorsen series is great, his Keys to the Kingdom series even got my quasi-illiterate sibling to read a little, and I've drooled at the covers for the Seventh Tower series during many a bookstore visit. So when I saw this new book on my Facebook feed, with that cover and a title that promised to involve bookish characters, how could I put it off any longer?

The Memory Thief Who Backstabbed the Shadows

~The Memory Thief~
By Lauren Mansy
Amazon ~ Powell's

In the city of Craewick, memories reign. The power-obsessed ruler of the city, Madame, has cultivated a society in which memories are currency, citizens are divided by ability, and Gifted individuals can take memories from others through touch as they please.

Seventeen-year-old Etta Lark is desperate to live outside of the corrupt culture, but grapples with the guilt of an accident that has left her mother bedridden in the city’s asylum. When Madame threatens to put her mother up for auction, a Craewick practice in which a “criminal's" memories are sold to the highest bidder before being killed, Etta will do whatever it takes to save her. Even if it means rejoining the Shadows, the rebel group she swore off in the wake of the accident years earlier.

To prove her allegiance to the Shadows and rescue her mother, Etta must steal a memorized map of the Maze, a formidable prison created by the bloodthirsty ruler of a neighboring Realm. So she sets out on a journey in which she faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and, above all, her own past in order to set things right in her world.


Definitely hesitant to start this one, what with my grandmother grappling with dementia, but since trying to skirt around the topic resulted in being blindsided by the last two books I read containing dying grandmothers (one who also had dementia), I figured maybe I'm better off diving straight into a story knowing that it deals with lost memories. It turned out I didn't feel much of anything...

Her Incandescent Heart of Flames

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Crown of Feathers, or don't mind knowing spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~Heart of Flames~
Crown of Feathers
Book 2
By Nicki Pau Preto
Amazon ~ Powell's

You are a daughter of queens.

The world is balanced on the edge of a knife, and war is almost certain between the empire and the Phoenix Riders.

Like Nefyra before you, your life will be a trial by fire.

Veronyka finally got her wish to join the Riders, but while she’s supposed to be in training, all she really wants to do is fly out to defend the villages of Pyra from the advancing empire. Tristan has been promoted to Master Rider, but he has very different ideas about the best way to protect their people than his father, the commander. Sev has been sent to spy on the empire, but maintaining his cover may force him to fight on the wrong side of the war. And Veronyka’s sister, Val, is determined to regain the empire she lost—even if it means inciting the war herself.

Such is your inheritance. A name. A legacy. An empire in ruin.

As tensions reach a boiling point, the characters all find themselves drawn together into a fight that will shape the course of the empire—and determine the future of the Phoenix Riders. Each must decide how far they’re willing to go—and what they’re willing to lose in the process.

I pray you are able to pass through the flames.


I'll admit, I was kinda spooked for this one. The last 2nd-in-a-trilogy book I've read was Kingsbane in the Empirium trilogy, which was so utterly heartbreaking and full of despair it still has me dreading the prospect of returning to it. I was even put off the thought of returning to any unfinished fantasy trilogy for fear of a similar downturn. I mean, medieval-ish politics and revolution are rife for heartbreak, right? Well, maybe not as much as I'd feared.

Their True Magnificence Shines Beneath the Stars

~All the Stars and Teeth~
Book 1
By Adalyn Grace
Amazon ~ Powell's

Set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice.

She will reign.

As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer—the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic.

When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule, if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic.

But sailing the kingdom holds more wonder—and more peril—than Amora anticipated. A destructive new magic is on the rise, and if Amora is to conquer it, she’ll need to face legendary monsters, cross paths with vengeful mermaids, and deal with a stow-away she never expected… or risk the fate of Visidia and lose the crown forever.

I am the right choice. The only choice. And I will protect my kingdom.


Recommended as a YA Book Club pick by my local bookstore, Jan's (Paperbacks), I picked this up partly for the cover and partly for the premise. I've never read anything featuring mermaids before and figured it was worth a shot. Little did I know, a mermaid doesn't show up until nearly halfway through the book.

Questing for Resurrection

7Days!
By Buff Studio

A number of dead spirits have been assigned to a test. Successfully completing the test ensures they will be resurrected.
The messenger of death has assigned them each a task. They must attack one another or work together to complete their tasks.
Your character, Kirell, must also complete the task she has been assigned.
But her tasks requires that others die.

She has only seven days.
What choices will you make?

Seven Days is a text mystery adventure game enjoyable for all audiences, with uniquely styled illustrations. The game proceeds as a series of chats, and users read through the story as they make important decisions. The choices made determine the route the story takes.

Every choice you make changes your story.
Small choices add up to transform your relationships with comrades and determine your destiny and those of your comrades at critical moments.

You can choose to become the ultimate villain, or a trustworthy friend.
Everything depends on what you decide.

Struck by Cupid's Arrow

Last of my current set of story apps, and probably the most casually fun:

Lovestruck
By Voltage Entertainment

Choose your ideal romance and enjoy the love you've always wanted to in this unique visual romance novel game! Find a story that captures your heart and decide who you want to fall in love with from a selection of over 70 unique characters!

This is what I would imagine the majority of chick-lit romance apps are like: flirty, fun, and fairly simple.

Magic, Romance and Mystery Await

I said I'd be back with another interesting reading app, and here it is:

The Arcana
By Nix Hydra

Welcome to The Arcana, a thrilling world full of mystery and romance! Immerse yourself in this beautiful otome-inspired visual novel. You will become a tarot prodigy, wander the hidden alleys of an ancient city, and mingle with seductive figures. Choose your story carefully to decide who you condemn and who you desire!

You take the role of a prodigy tarot card reader employed in your mentor Asra’s magic shop. You wake up confused and with no memory of what took place before. All of a sudden, someone is knocking on the door. Three characters appear who wish to speak to your mentor, but you offer them a tarot card reading instead. Nadia, the countess of Vesuvia, is intrigued by your reading. She offers you an invitation to her Palace, however for a price - you must first uncover the mystery of her murdered husband!

Immediately you are thrust into a mystic story, where you rendezvous with a mix of sultry characters on your path to uncovering the mystery. Each character has many hidden secrets that you discover through your choices. Will you fall in love? Be careful, your choices impact more than just yourself!

In this LGBT-friendly game, you pick your pronoun - then romance to your heart’s content! If you play mystery games, otome, or anime games, you will love The Arcana! Are you ready to fall in love?