This book was exciting, action-packed, and satisfying. Maddie, Ranger’s apprentice and second heir to the throne, goes on a journey to save her father and his men from the Red Fox Clan surrounding the hill fort they are in. If they succeed, they must then go to rescue her mother and the king from members of the clan within the castle. The story is well paced with battles that leave you wanting more. It is an excellent conclusion to the story that began in The Red Fox Clan.

Dance of Thieves is a fast-paced fantasy and romance novel. The author has strong worldbuilding that helped bring the story to life. I did think the author rushed the worldbuilding at times, and it took longer than I would have liked to understand certain aspects of the world. However, Mary E. Pearson was also able to create many unique characters with different cultures, and it helped me feel like I was in the world, learning about these characters and their beliefs.

I loved both main characters and their different personalities, and I enjoyed seeing how their differing actions influenced the plot. I never found myself loathing a certain character's POV. The author makes sure both characters have different hidden goals and motives even when working together. This helped contribute to the tension between the characters, which helped me enjoy the book. Something new was always happening, and I never felt that the author was adding unnecessary information.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for a fast-paced novel that will hold your attention from beginning to end, or if you are looking for a romance that drives the plot but doesn't overshadow it.

Julie Clarke seems to have everything in her life perfectly planned out before her: an aspiring writer, she hopes to get accepted into her first-choice college and someday move out of her quiet home of Ellensburg with her music-loving boyfriend, Sam. But in an unexpected turn of events, Sam dies in a car crash during senior year, flipping Julie's life upside down and destroying all her plans for the future. In an attempt to forget him, Julie throws away all she had relating to Sam and even avoids going to his funeral. Her pain nonetheless still lingers, and in a moment of desperation, she calls his number just to hear his voicemail again...except Sam picks up, even though he's still dead. The two of them have somehow become reconnected through their phones, giving them a second chance at goodbye. But as Julie continues to call him, refusing to let go of Sam's presence, she slowly notices how much she's hurt her own friends and Sam's family through her isolation and buried grief.

Although I didn't find this book as gut-wrenching as some other people, You've Reached Sam is still an emotional story that touches on the grief of losing a loved one. I personally saw the concept of the main couple's reconnection through their phones as a good metaphor for Julie's refusal to move on from her tragedy and how it affects those around her. I did find it hard to connect with the characters in the novel however, especially the side characters, as they felt very one-dimensional. Julie's love story with Sam didn't feel as deep as Julie herself thought it to be (I didn't really care for their romance, although this book is romance centered), and Sam's character fell flat. I couldn't describe much about him other than his kindness and his love of music, and even during his phone calls with Julie and the flashbacks, he only felt like a passing, shadowy figure rather than a real character and love interest who I'm supposed to feel something for. I did find Julie's character development interesting; her character was admittedly annoying and selfish at times, as some other readers have pointed out, but I think her rocky personality is a good example of how hard loss is to handle at such a young age and how everyone has different reactions and ways to deal with grief. I enjoyed seeing her navigate through her trauma and learning to balance living in the present while holding on to little pieces of her past. The pacing of the book had some issues; the second half dragged on a bit too long and was very repetitive in its utilization of Julie's flashbacks. But the ending was a very touching and poignant close to the book as well as Julie's character arc.

This novel may not have had the biggest impact on me, but I was still moved by some parts of the plot. It's not the most well-written depiction of grief in literature, but the story does have some beauty in it, and I can appreciate its message.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is a dystopian novel set in a future where people are strictly divided by age and appearance. Littlies are young children who live with their parents until they turn twelve, when they are labeled Uglies and move into dormitories in Uglyville. When they turn sixteen, they are pressured into undergoing an operation that changes their appearance to become Pretties, who can move to the paradise of New Pretty Town. The story follows Tally, a fifteen-year-old girl a few months from her sixteenth birthday, who is looking forward to becoming a Pretty and joining her best friend Peris in New Pretty Town. Like most Uglies, Tally sees the operation as a turning point in her life, as Uglies are treated in a way that makes them feel inferior to the Pretties and pushes them to undergo the surgery. One day, Tally befriends another girl her age named Shay, who doesn't want to become a pretty and tries to convince Tally to join her before running away. Things only go down from here, as Tally is offered an impossible decision by the authorities and begins to learn the truth about the operation and the seemingly idyllic nature of the society she grew up in.
This book was a great read, and I really enjoyed the concept. The characters were written well and were realistic in a way that showed off their individual motivations and traits. Shay and Tally's views on society and being pretty are clearly different, and that affects their actions throughout the story. The ending is powerful, written so similarly yet different from the beginning of the story, which helps to emphasize Tally's character development and shows how much the events of the story changed things. Something I especially liked about the story was its unexpected plot twists. Some parts surprised me, proving my predictions wrong and making the story even more engaging. The novel is packed with symbolism and themes of conformity, individuality, and beauty while being easy to read and understand. It does great as the first book for the series, sparking interest in the world and characters and making readers want to know what happens next. I recommend this book for fans of science fiction and dystopian novels with some adventure and good plot twists.

The Hobbit is a well-known book, widely considered a classic by many people. It takes place in J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional world, Middle-earth, and follows the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, who also makes an appearance as a side character in the author's series, The Lord of the Rings. The novel is an adventure in which the wizard Gandalf convinces Bilbo to join him and twelve dwarves in hopes of finally being able to infiltrate their stolen home on Lonely Mountain to reclaim their treasure and take down the dragon Smaug. The group embarks on a journey, traveling to many different places, discovering objects that could help them on their mission, and facing obstacles along the way. It's a complex story with diverse and unique concepts that set it apart from some other novels of a similar genre.
While I enjoyed the story and the world-building, along with its distinctive plot, I wasn't very familiar with the story's writing style, and it was slightly difficult to understand the story at times. Another part that slightly threw me off was the characters' voices and personalities. It was a bit difficult to grasp their individual traits, which is something I tend to look for a lot in stories. Sometimes they seemed to break character or switch between two character tropes, which was a little confusing. However, those points were likely because of my unfamiliarity with the author's writing, as The Hobbit was the first of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books I’ve read. Other than that, the novel was a very good read that I enjoyed, from the world-building to the deeper themes of greed, bravery, and heroism. The contrast between Bilbo around the beginning of the story and around the end shows the character development in Bilbo over the course of the story and contributes to the impact of the story. The events were also written very well, and the adventure was exciting. The mood and tone were also described in a way that strengthened the imagery and made it more vivid. Overall, it was a good read, and I would definitely recommend it for those who enjoy books with a mix of adventure and fantasy with deeper under

Harley Quinn Ravenous is a YA fantasy superhero novel. This book is the second of three Harley Quinn novels in the DC icon series. The DC icon series is known for its unique, intriguing, and refreshing take on DC villains and heroes; this book encompasses all of these traits. Harley Quinn Ravenous continues to follow Harley's adventures throughout college. My review grade of Harley Quinn Ravenous is a solid 10.

The Winter Soldier: Cold Front is a YA novel that focuses on Bucky Barnes' life before and after WW2. What I like most about this book is that it goes back to the comic book origins of the winter soldier. One thing I disliked about the book is how he and Steve Rogers met. This is an intriguing story that combines Bucky's past and his future. My review grade on The Winter Soldier: Cold Front is a solid 7.

In this prologue and upbringing of one of Disney’s greatest villains, #1 New York Times bestselling author Hafsah Faizal envisions his childhood. When Jafar and his brother Rohan were young, their mother told stories about a golden scarab and a magical lamp. As time goes on, Jafar’s protection over his younger brother, Rohan, is shadowed by his parents untimely deaths, the siblings resort to thievery and mischief. Jafar’s longing for the House of Wisdom sets the two on a journey to the city of Maghriz. The brother’s are trapped in a game of power by Maghriz’s Sultana. As Jafar’s ambition grows more and more, brotherhood steps out of the picture. Will Jafar corrupt himself for a position of power or will he give it up for his brother’s sake? Faizal’s book “The Wishless Ones” shows what steps it took for Jafar to become Agrabah’s royal vizier in a suspenseful, thrilling, wicked tale.

This book is both excellent and engaging. I personally picked this book because of “Aladdin” being one of my childhood favorite movies. I enjoy how this book captures ideas said in the movie. The book shows you that Aladdin is not the only way romance ends. In this book, you will find that Jafar’s experience with romance differs from the one you see with Jasmine and Aladdin. Anyone, Disney enthusiast or not, will love the story and plot of this book. However, the book lacked some important details that could have changed and adapted more like the story with Iago, Jafar’s pet parrot. I loved how the description of characters and their emotions played out; I thought it was very powerful, her descriptions. I can relate to Rohan who finds himself calmer in the shadow of someone else. This book was amazingly written so that you can understand Jafar’s actions in the popular Disney film.

There’s a reason The Wonderful Wizard of Oz continues to have cultural influence over 100 years after L. Frank Baum wrote it. Aside from its popular adaptation as a movie in 1939, which earned the story most of its visual representation, the original itself is a solid piece of children’s entertainment. Something about the isekai into a fantasy world coupled with these unique characters has kept a spot in pop culture that’s hard to deny. The world-building itself is likely why others continue to adapt Baum’s work today.

As an adventure, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has great character motivations which accentuate their individual flaws. From Dorothy wanting to return home to the Scarecrow wanting brains, the Tin Man wanting a heart, and the Lion wanting courage, each character has a part to play so that the entire team can achieve their goals. That anyone can find at least one character they can relate to speaks to the universal nature of the cast. To top it off, all of this is accomplished in a format that’s approachable to everyone, including the children it was originally written for.

Even though the strength of this story still stands up today, comparison to the movie version highlights some of its weaknesses. The end seemed to ramble for quite a bit, even if there were interesting concepts introduced that highlighted the fantasy aspects of the story. I can appreciate that it wasn’t framed as just a coma dream like the movie does, which helps to sell the journey as true character development. Overall, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz remains a classic piece of literature and is an easy enough read that everyone should try it.

A great fantasy classic that still holds up, I give The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 4.0 stars out of 5.

The third book in a large series always feels like it doesn’t have the weight of expectations on it and can relax into its own story. It’s far enough from the first book that it doesn’t get as many direct comparisons, but it’s also taking advantage of any feedback from the second book that either worked or didn't. Ozma of Oz isn’t nearly up to the level of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but it pulled enough elements through to make it feel as successful as that first book.

First, Ozma of Oz brought Dorothy back. Her missing presence in The Marvelous Land of Oz left me longing for the reaction of an average human to these fantastic settings and characters. Second, the plot felt much more simple compared to the second book. The singular focus helped bring the characters together for a common goal that didn’t get distracted by introducing too many different ideas and concepts for this world. That they weren’t even in Oz for most of it probably helped, since it didn’t have the burden of tying everything back into that land’s lore.

Of course, even in the areas where it was successful, Ozma of Oz doesn’t quite live up to the strength of the first book. Sure, it has a better antagonist than The Marvelous Land of Oz, but he pales in comparison to the threat of the Wicked Witch of the West. Since her desire to return home did not fuel Dorothy’s adventure, this just feels more like a fun jaunt through a new world instead of a concerted effort to leave. Overall, it still felt like a return to what made the original great.

The return of Dorothy and a simple plot to the Oz series, I give Ozma of Oz 3.5 stars out of 5.