Firewalker

Title: Firewalker (The Wordlwalker Trilogy #2)
Author: Josehpine Angelini
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 10/10

Worlds divide, magic slays, and love lies in the second book of Josephine Angelini’s The Worldwalker Trilogy.
"You think I’m a monster, but my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified."
Lily is back in her own universe, and she's ready to start a new life with Rowan by her side. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their escape from New Salem, and must hide her magic for the safety of everyone she cares about, but compared to fighting the Woven, the monstrous creatures inhabiting the alternate Salem, life is looking pretty good.
Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. If she can’t persuade Lily to return to her world, she will force her to come back by doing away with the ones she loves.
Picking up right where Trial By Fire left off, Firewalker is another sexy, fast-paced, heartbreaking thrill ride from internationally bestselling author Josephine Angelini!

***

The Rowan Fire Fanclub lives! Woo!
Except it took a hard blow in Firewalker... no spoilers, though.

One of the best things about Firewalker, and the way Angelini weaves her characters, is how there is no good and bad. To quote Voldemort, "There is no good and evil. There is only power". Voldy, despite his psychopathic tendencies, does describe what goes on in Firewalker pretty aptly.

As we're taken through Lillian's memories and past experiences, it becomes more and more hard to brand her as the evil bitch witch. None of Lily's choices are easy, but - and here's the true beauty of so many books recently - when it comes down to it, Lily makes her choices for her. Not for Rowan, who she knows she will hurt by agreeing with Lillian. Not for Tristan, her best friend and the only one who believes in what she says; she does it because it is the right thing to do.
For the first time in a very, very long time, I had no idea how the book would end, because it didn't hinge on who she would choose. And I cherish that uncertainty for what it is: fresh, new, different storytelling. Bravo!

And kudos to Ms Angelini for creating believable, lovable and three-dimensional characters, all in third person, allowing us to jump around. On that note, Carrick is still as creepy as ever.

Best new addition mentions have to go to Breakfast and Una - I can't wait to see more of them as we move forward!

Also, without spoiling anything... hats off to Angelini for having the guts to do the hard thing. I wasn't ready, I didn't see it coming at all, and it took me completely by surprise. I need to have a good cry over it still, but it takes courage to do something like that, and honestly, it felt true to the story, so... yay?

Cover Love: Firewalker + Soundless

Hello, lovelies!

Josephine Angelini just revealed today the cover of the second novel in her Worldwalker series, Firewalker.
I like it, but I have to say, the original cover for Trial by Fire was absolutely gorgeous, and I don't think it needed revamping, so I'm not too sure about this.
I'm holding out for the UK cover, because we had a stunning one for #1.

Worlds divide, magic slays, and love lies in the second book of Josephine Angelini’s The Worldwalker Trilogy.
"You think I’m a monster, but my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified."
Lily is back in her own universe, and she's ready to start a new life with Rowan by her side. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their escape from New Salem, and must hide her magic for the safety of everyone she cares about, but compared to fighting the Woven, the monstrous creatures inhabiting the alternate Salem, life is looking pretty good.
Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. If she can’t persuade Lily to return to her world, she will force her to come back by doing away with the ones she loves.
Picking up right where Trial By Fire left off, Firewalker is another sexy, fast-paced, heartbreaking thrill ride from internationally bestselling author Josephine Angelini!

In other news, this week Richelle Mead revealed the cover to her upcoming standalone YA fantasy novel, Soundless. It's a stunner, and seems to reflect the story - that follows a Chinese girl in a completely soundless town in the mountains - pretty accurately.

From Richelle Mead, the #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, comes a breathtaking new fantasy steeped in Chinese folklore. 
For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom. 
When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.
But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.
Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever...

Soundless is scheduled for a November 17th release, and Firewalker for a September 1st release.

Waiting on Wednesdays #4: Firewalker

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

There's still no cover for #2, so let's
stare are this pretty instead.

Title: Firewalker (Worldwalker #2)
Author: Josephine Angelini
Genre: YA
Publication Date: September 1st

"Worlds divide, magic slays, and love lies in the second book of Josephine Angelini’s The Worldwalker Trilogy.

You think I’m a monster, but my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified.

Lily is back in her own universe, and she's ready to relax with Rowan. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their escape, and must hide her magic for the safety of the world, but compared to fighting the monstrous Woven and leading armies in the alternate Salem, life is looking good.

Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. If she can’t persuade Lily to return to her world, she’ll have to find a way to make her come back.

Picking up right where Trial By Fire left off, Firewalker is another sexy, fast-paced, heartbreaking thrill ride from internationally bestselling author Josephine Angelini!"

I mentioned last year that I made the (wonderful) mistake of reading Trial by Fire directly after reading Heir of Fire, resulting in me being overwhelmed by Rowan feelings (and creating the Unofficial Rowan Fire Fan Club. It's made up by, well, me). Well, looks like this is going to be a pattern; Queen of Shadows, the book spotlighted in last week's WOW is the proud owner of fae prince Rowan Whitethorn, Husband #1, and Trail of Tears has Rowan #2. So I guess it'll be another happy day for the fan club!

What books are you looking forward to this year?

Trial by Fire

Title: Trial by Fire (Worldwalker #1)
Author: Josephine Angelini
Genre: YA fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 10/10 (UK version - it has little glittery stuff in her hair too, it's so pretty)

Quick tip: do not read this like I did, on the tail of Heir of Fire. Not only do they both have 'Fire' in the title, they also both have Rowans. I have since found that my new favourite name is Rowan, and cannot contain my Rowan feels - the fact that they're entirely different characters makes no odds to my love and devotion, and I have started up the Unofficial Rowan 'Fire' Fanclub so I can have an excuse to sit and daydream about them. But I digress.

The premise of this book was fascinating, and the book itself didn't disappoint. Lily was a very likeable character, and I loved her trying to explain to everyone what different things meant.
I cannot wait to see Rowan's reaction to stuff like cars and planes, it will be glorious.

But my favourite part (Rowan aside) was the fact that I'm still not entirely sure if Lillian is evil or not. She clearly believes that she's doing what is best, but then why pull Lily over? I hope to find out in #2, because I was so confused. And not in a bad way, mind you. Just... weird.

I loved seeing Lily grow and flourish from this sickly, weak girl in her own world, into this glorious, powerful witch in the other universe. As a rule, I tend to hate parallel universes, because they have the nasty habit of breaking up my OTPs (see: Rose and the Doctor and Lyra and Will). But, in this case, it's actually pretty cool, especially since there doesn't seem to be any averse effect whatsoever in changing universes, which gives me the hope that this particular pairing won't be separated at the end.

All in all, a good book, with fun characters, and amazing world construction :)