REVIEW: Guardian of Secrets by Brenda Drake

Saving him could end her world.

Being a Sentinel isn’t all fairytales and secret gardens.

Sure, jumping through books into the world’s most beautiful libraries to protect humans from mystical creatures is awesome. No one knows that better than Gia Kearns, but she could do without the part where people are always trying to kill her. Oh, and the fact that Pop and her had to move away from her friends and life as she knew it.

And if that isn’t enough, her boyfriend, Arik, is acting strangely. Like, maybe she should be calling him “ex,” since he’s so into another girl. But she doesn’t have time to be mad or even jealous, because someone has to save the world from the upcoming apocalypse, and it looks like that’s going to be Gia.

Maybe. If she survives.

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NOTICE: This book is a sequel. I will refrain from spoilers but look here for my review of Book One.

MY THOUGHTS
When I first read Thief of Lies, I was disappointed. Not enough library jumping, too much insta-love. There is less inst-love in this book, but I still had difficulty getting into this book.

We jump right back into the world of the Library Jumpers (which I am still disappointed by the lack of books). My main issue with this is that I did not remember much about the first book. All I remember was that I hated the romance. The world that Brenda Drake has created is very impressive. I love the creative use of magic and the magical society she created. But after more than a year, I couldn't remember the world clearly and having magical words thrown around at me just confused me. Eventually, I was able to understand the plot, sort of, but even at the very end I had to be reminded of things.

Gia as a character, I feel, is growing. She's no longer the confused girl thrown into this world. She was still thrown off by things in this world, but she was stronger and had a better understanding. I really like her relationships with the characters within this book. Her friends are so supportive and she is so supportive of them. Within this book, I especially noticed her friendship with Nick, because they share a prophecy together, but she is so close to many people within this book and these friendships are just so nice.

Okay, now for the romance. I hated the romance in the last book. I honestly believe that Gia "fell" for Arik because he is hot and due to the situation. That's it. I don't see any love between them and I do not support the relationship. This book supported my feelings on the romance. Besides being Sentinels, Gia and Arik have nothing in common. In fact, Arik doesn't even like to read! ARIK DOESN'T LIKE TO READ! I cannot fully ship Gia with a character that doesn't like to read. So when issues arose in their relationship, I rejoiced.
Now, Bastien... I am fully on Team Bastien. He's sweet and he's always there for Gia! Also, HE LIKES TO READ! TAKE THAT, ARIK! Bastien is more of a character in this book and I loved it!

IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I know I'm complaining a lot, but I did like this book. The world is very interesting, I just couldn't remember the details from the last book. Gia is a great MC, but she honestly needs to get her crap together and FORGET ABOUT ARIK! I will be reading the next book! I need to make sure that Gia picks Bastien (and, you know, saves the magical world, but come on. Bastien). Though I will lose all respect for Gia if she picks Arik (HE DOESN'T EVEN LIKE TO READ BOOKS! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!!!).

I hereby give this book

3 Stars

Meaning: I liked it.

REVIEW: Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake

Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.

Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed. 

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I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

MY THOUGHTS
I've been waiting to read this book for almost two years, since the book was titled "Library Jumpers". That was all I needed to know in order to need this book! This book wasn't as much as I hoped for, mostly due to the romance, but the fantasy elements were amazing and I did enjoy this book!

After being sucked into a book and ending up in a library in Paris, Gia's life is changed forever. They discover Sentinels, magical knights that travel across libraries to protect the human race from various creatures. Now, Gia and her friends are in danger from these creatures and whether they like it or not, they're now in this new world. Gia may be involved more than she realized.

The main idea behind this book sounds absolutely fantastic! A fantasy that is based around libraries? A booknerd's dream! I loved the idea behind this book! This book also has a very complex magic system. I thought that all the magical and fantasy elements were very interesting. They were a bit hard for me to wrap my head around at first, but in the end, I was very impressed by the world Brenda Drake created.

A lot did definitely happen in this book, which may also factor why my head was spinning so much. Gia also founds out a whole lot of stuff in a short period of time, some about the world, some about her, some about other things. There is a lot of information in this book and I still feel like I don't know anything, that there are answers that I still need. I hope my questions will be answered in the other books in the series!

Gia is a lover of libraries and a bit of a tomboy. I liked Gia. She annoyed me at points, due to the romance (which I will get to), but she was a great MC most of the time. We're thrown into this world with Gia and both of us are still trying to understand it. She cares deeply for her friends and family, and on that thought, they too are really great characters. I can't say that I love her as an MC though. She's great, but I've read many books with similar MCs.

The romance is the main reason why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I don't have much luck with romance in books and it's very hard for me to like a romance in books because it's just so easy for an annoying trope to sneak in. This book was no different. First of all, once a guy was described as hot and with a snazzy accent, I knew that we've found the love interest. The romance just felt too much like insta-love. Arik is not a bad guy, but sometimes all I ever really felt the attraction was based on was the fact that he was really hot, because Gia thought about that a lot. I know there was more to it, but it happened so fast! Add in the fact that of course it was forbidden and of course there's some really hot French girl, with big boobs, hanging around Arik. I'm sorry, but I'm getting sick of these tropes in YA. Maybe eventually, as the series continues, I'll be less annoyed. Also, another guy was introduced and is it wrong that I actually want a love triangle? I kind of want to know more about the other guy.

IN CONCLUSION
Okay, despite my annoyance with the romance, this was a great book. It introduced a very new and unique fantasy world with a very complex magic system! I enjoyed reading this book and I'm very curious what will happen next as the series continues.

I hereby give this book

3.5 Stars

Meaning: I liked it, but it wasn't quite amazing.

REVIEW: Illusion by Lea Nolan

New school. Cross-country move. Broken heart. If only these were Emma Guthrie’s worst problems. Instead, she must battle a trio of enemies—human and spectral—who may or may not have joined forces against her and everyone she loves. All while pretending to be over Cooper Beaumont, her ex-boyfriend and true love, to shield him from her arch-nemesis’s revenge.

Worse, when the fight escalates, Emma is tempted to use black magic, which will endanger her soul. As her enemies close in, join forces, and fight with new and dark magic she’s never seen before, Emma must harness the power within her to fulfill an ancient prophecy, defeat a centuries-old evil, save her family, and reclaim the only boy she’s ever loved.

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I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

NOTICE: THIS IS THE THIRD AND FINAL INSTALLMENT IN A SERIES. THERE MY BE SPOILER FOR THE PREVIOUS BOOKS.

MY THOUGHTS
This is a very interesting series, definitely unique among all the paranormal clones so I was excited to pick the conclusion to this series up. It took a bit for me to get into at first, due to book amnesia, but once I did, I found a very high-stakes conclusion! 

Emma is just starting up at a new school, if only that were the worst of her problems. Someone she cares for could go to jail, an evil spirit is intent on revenge by destroying everything Emma loves, and there's a bully who isn't afraid to use dark magic. Emma wants to make sure that she, and all those that she loves, can survive this, but will she destroy her soul in her search for her own revenge?

This book immediately dives into the action, which is okay, but I was just very confused. I had difficulty remembering the events in the last book (due to my terrible memory), so I had no clue what was going on in the first few chapters. Thankfully, I was able to get my memory back and be able to fully understand what was going on. This book gives you enough details of the last books for you to understand things (if it's been awhile), but not too much info to annoy those that are binge-reading the series, so I'm thankful for that.

As for the plot, this book felt so different than the other books. Being the conclusion, there is a lot more going on. Emma basically has three different enemies in this one, which is not an easy thing to take care of. Thus, this book was a lot more action-packed than the previous book. It was so hard to put this book down, since I needed to know what would happen next! I also mentioned earlier how unique this series is among the YA paranormals. This entire series is about Hoodoo, the entire plot is just so different. 

The setting of this book and the overall feeling is different from the other books too. The other books take place in the summer, while this one takes place during the start of school. This setting change actually dramatically changes things. This book also felt somewhat darker than the other books. The other books were dark, of course, but I felt like this book was entirely dark, if that makes any sense.

As for characters, Emma definitely does grow throughout the series. It's hard for me to recall what she was like in the beginning of the series, but it's hard for me to realize that Emma isn't even 15. Emma has had to grow up so much and she's become such a strong girl. This book also has a focus on Emma's character, since she has to fight the darkness in herself.

As for romance, there wasn't a whole lot of it, mostly due to the events of the last book. I'm torn on the romance. The romance of this series is more light than some other YA books, but I also don't like how in love they are. I guess I'm just a non-romantic, but I always have a hard time believing that high schoolers are that in love. Still, it doesn't distract at all from the story, so I won't complain too much.

IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I thought this was a fantastic conclusion to this series! This is actually my favorite out of the three! This book was action-packed, dark, and so very different than other books out there. I really think that more people should know about this series, meanwhile, I'll be waiting for more by Lea Nolan.

I hereby give this book

4 Stars!

Meaning: It was amazing!