Throne of Glass: A Close-Up Review

"Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?" (from Goodreads)

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Characters:

Celaena: I wasn't a big fan of Celaena at the beginning, but she grew on me. She has a lot of self-respect, to the point of (at least initially) coming off as full of herself. By the end of the book, though, we see that she can at times be rather brutally taken down. I think at least some of her cocky attitude is a cover so that she doesn't show her vulnerability. Her continual, lightning-fast flip-flopping with emotions and judgments of others irritated me, however — in some cases this led to behaviour that felt out of character, overall making Celaena's characterization feel somewhat inconsistent.

Also, I wish we'd seen flashbacks to when she'd done assassin-y sorts of things. We keep getting told she's a fantastic assassin, sure, but we don't see it. All we get is a lot of her either a) wearing fancy dresses, b) training, or c) competing. She does well in the competition, it's true, but so do many of the other criminals. Celaena's supposed to be Adarlan's GREATEST assassin, and I just didn't feel like I could fully believe it. Especially considering a decision she makes at one point in the story (spoilers): WHY does she pick a wooden staff over a sword when she knows her opponent will be wielding a sword? Unless it's a magical staff that does not break, you are screwed if you do that. Metal shears wood, case closed. Why didn't she choose Chaol's sword? (It was a romantic gesture, too!)

There's a sort-of love triangle here involving Celaena and two guys, and the way it was written did not endear me to Celaena. I dislike it when the heroine leads on two men, and I'm sorry to say that she does that a bit here. It's certainly not the worst case I've ever seen, but I wish she had made an effort to establish the boundaries of her relationships with Chaol and Dorian. As for how the love triangle turned out, here are my spoilery thoughts on that: I was pleased when she finally broke it off with Dorian, as I never felt a spark between them. 

Dorian: I found him rather bland and boring...truthfully, he seemed like a wuss with not much of a spine. It took him forever to stand up to his father about anything. Also, he was all talk and no action! He didn't back up his fine, fancy words. Case in point (spoilers): Dorian kept berating himself after the fact for not doing anything to help Celaena during the duel, and I was like, "Um, YEAH, dude, you sucked. You just stood there and watched her get beat up." Really, Dorian reminded me of nothing so much as an immature puppy dog.

Chaol: While I think I was predisposed to like Chaol because I'd seen readers raving about him, there is no question that he was by far superior to Dorian. He's the strong, silent, stoic, steadfast type (say that 10 times fast!). I think he and Celaena share more values than either of them cares to admit, and certainly more than Celaena and Dorian do.

Other characters: I liked the mystery surrounding what side Nehemia was on. Spoilers: it was interesting to make her out to be a potential villain for a while, and then have it turn out that she was actually one of the people saving Celaena a lot of the time. As for Kaltain, I thought her role wasn't fleshed out enough. Her character just seemed to be there for the convenience of the plotline.

Premise: I'd heard Throne of Glass previously described as the story of "Cinderella as an assassin." Now, they didn't market it that way on my physical copy of the book (rather, they claimed it was "hotter than the Hunger Games!" which I would dispute both metaphorically and, well, literally, considering the castle is made of glass), which was a smart choice since as far as I'm concerned it's a rather misleading comparison. Sure, there are a few similarities: Celaena's an orphan, her work in the mines could be seen as slaving away doing "chores," she attends a masked ball at one point (and dances with a prince), and she has anywhere from one to three potential "fairy godmothers." But thematically, I don't see Throne of Glass as capturing the heart of the Cinderella story. (Perhaps it started out as a retelling, and then expanded and changed in the writing of it?)

Plot: It takes a little while for anything to happen, but things pick up about halfway through (spoilers: once the Wyrdmarks come into effect and the Fae queen starts appearing to Celaena) which is when I started getting more into it. However, a lot of this book is just conversations interspersed with deaths (sometimes off-screen).

There were also a few plot points that confused me. I was never too sure on which cover story about "Lady Lilian" was being fed to whom, and who knew what about Celaena's participation in the competition. I was also left bemused by the Duke Perrington-Kaltain storyline (spoilers: I know he was using the black rings, but how exactly, and to what effect, was Duke Perrington exerting his influence on Kaltain?)

And the rules regarding a certain magic ritual seemed to get contradicted when put into action. Spoilers: I thought Cain needed the victim's blood to summon the Ridderach, but he does not stab Celaena before he calls the creature. Did I just misread this, or is there something I'm missing here? Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

Writing style: Unfortunately, I found the writing less than spectacular. Throne of Glass is written by a debut author and it shows, with plenty of cliched metaphors and overly dramatic phrasing.

Caveat: To be perfectly fair to Throne of Glass, I should really mention the circumstances under which I was reading it. It was during my first term in a highly intense, stressful Master's degree program, and I was really tired all the time! It took me absolutely forever to get through this book because of that (although once I had some time to finish it, I did within a couple of days). Of course, this coloured my reading experience of the book, so take from that what you will.

Final verdict: 3.5 shooting stars. It just didn't live up to all the hype and glowing reviews for me.

Note: there is some mature content (namely violence) in this book.

The Assassin's Curse: A Panoramic Review

"Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be." (from Goodreads)

 
The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

My reaction: I felt kind of mixed about this one. The premise — a curse that more or less binds Ananna and Naji — while not new, is a neat way to throw together two completely different people and force them to work with each other. It gives a reason and impetus for an emotional bond to form between them.

For the most part I enjoyed the characters, particularly Naji and Ananna. In fact, I wasn't really into the book for the first few chapters, but once Naji appeared on the scene things definitely improved. I was not a fan of Ananna's voice to start with, but I found myself warming to her as the story progressed. She's so refreshingly blunt and forward, telling it like she sees it. While her language is a little inconsistent — sometimes she sounds fairly educated, other times she's swearing and using slang — there is no question that Ananna is a smart, especially street-smart, heroine. She's very capable and resourceful, and can take care of herself; moreover, she is sometimes needed to take care of Naji, too. At other times, she needs his help, so really it's a matter of the two of them learning to rely on each other. 

Naji is a real mixture of admirable and irritating traits. He's certainly flawed, with his tendency to evasiveness, leaving out important information that might be very useful for Ananna to know, and a slightly controlling streak. But we can see that he does care about her, feeling protective of her beyond the effects of the curse.

The attraction on her side is quite clear, even if she doesn't want to admit it to herself. Indeed, it's so obvious how Ananna feels that it's almost like the author is sharing a joke with the reader about how dense Ananna's being. Naji, in contrast, doesn't appear to have a clue of how Ananna feels — and it's rather ambiguous as to whether he likes her back. Indeed, outwardly he appears to still be pining over Leila — which brings me to THE most annoying character in this book. Oh my, did I ever dislike her. She's one of those individuals who grates on your nerves and makes you grind your teeth...sort of like nails on a chalkboard. And she pretends that she's nice, which somehow just makes her even more awful. 

Best aspect: the tentative trust developing between Naji and Ananna, and the general premise of the curse. Really, their two characters are the highlight of the story. I thought the relationship thread was handled quite well, and was an interesting tack to take with a YA novel. There is certainly no danger of an "insta-love" romance here!

 

If I could change something... I would not leave the story feeling half-finished, as it does at the end of this first book. I understand there will be a sequel, but The Assassin's Curse ends up feeling almost like a prelude to the next installment of the story. It lacks the complete internal story arc that I look for in each book within a series. There were spaces for several chapters where there was a lull plot-wise, with not much going on (for example, when they're on the island doing all the survival things...sorry, Hatchet lovers, but it just doesn't quite cut it for me). Since the way to break this "impossible" curse isn't introduced until the end, these sections seem like filler being used to stretch the book out — and let's face it, it's not very long anyway. The problems posed by the curse, while consistent, become a little repetitive; it feels like we're always banging up against the same wall. While I haven't read the sequel, I suspect that the first two books could probably have been compressed into a single one, with some of the non-essential portions being taken out and the repetition lessened.
 

I'd also either flesh out the storyline involving the arranged marriage to Tarrin, or ditch it entirely and come up with another, more compelling, subplot. This one, as it's presented here, didn't really work for me. It just seemed thrown in at the beginning to give Ananna a reason to run away and start her adventures, and then again in the middle because it needed to get resolved.

If you haven't read it: and you enjoy YA traditional fantasy, I'd definitely suggest checking it out. But you might want to wait until you have the second in the series at your fingertips. 

If you have read it: did you find Leila as irritating as I did???

Just one more thing I want to mention: for the longest time the origins of the curse are not explained, which gave rise to both confusion and frustration on my part. Eventually we are told the story, but I found it annoying to be kept in the dark for most of the book about something that could easily have been cleared up. 

Final verdict: 3.5 shooting stars. I wasn't crazy about it, but I think there's potential here and I'm interested to see what happens in the sequel.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book for review from the publisher.

Grave Mercy: A Panoramic Review

"Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?" (from Goodreads)

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
 
My reaction: 

I ended up getting really, really into this book. It took me a few chapters, but partway through I was totally sucked into it. While I didn't like Ismae very much at the beginning (I was all, "I don't know if I'm really going to like this girl who just wants to kill men all the time"), she definitely grew on me. At first I couldn't get into the assassin side of things — Ismae was basically a killing machine for the convent, more or less — but she grows a will of her own, which was important to win me over to her side. She's pretty rigid, hard, and untrusting at the start, but as the book progresses she develops a softer side. I liked Ismae's spirited determination and her protective, almost sisterly nature towards the duchess. We also see an interesting conflict in Ismae between loyalty to the convent, loyalty to the religion itself, and loyalty to her own instincts and her heart. She's obviously getting torn in at least two (possibly more) directions about what her purpose is and how she should act.

I really liked the duchess as well; she's one of those pure characters you can't help but root for. She's quite young, and scared in some ways, but still determined to face up to all the threats being made. I had to feel bad for the poor girl because she's between a rock and a hard place, and basically her best option to save her country is to marry someone without any guarantee of love. The duchess' younger sister isn't really fleshed out much, but I think she has the potential to be an interesting character, so maybe we'll see more of her in the next book?

There is a large cast of characters here, but Robin LaFevers handles the characterization fabulously. It's tough to keep track of who's who, yes, but not as difficult as one might expect, because LaFevers gives the characters distinctive features and personalities. There's also a character list at the beginning you can flip to if you're having trouble. What's more challenging is trying to picture geographically what's going on; while there is a map provided, I didn't find it very helpful (in fact, I still can't figure out why the label "France" is in the middle of the ocean?)

I found the idea of Ismae's calling/religion and her devotion to the convent quite interesting, and for the most part well-executed (pardon the pun!). It's something that's not very tangible, and yet LaFevers doesn't take it into the really supernatural zone. The fantasy elements don't scream "paranormal" but are instead kept to a minimum, just a part of Ismae's gifts and ability. There was one plot point relating to the fantasy/religion aspect that I was of two minds about (spoiler, highlight to read: Death appearing to Ismae on the battlefield). I thought it was rather convenient and a little cliched, but it worked to give Ismae's powers and the magic system more validity as well as help Ismae make an important resolution, so I saw the point of it.

LaFevers demonstrates ambiguity in the religious system, and how interpretations can differ; I appreciated that this wasn't portrayed in a clear-cut manner (although I hope we get some more answers as the series continues!). Spoilers: I liked that we're shown the convent is fallible — the abbess ends up being pretty vicious! I always thought Ismae placed too much trust in the convent anyway, so I'm glad she finally realizes it (although it takes her a long time...she's quite dense in some ways).

Best aspect: the Ismae/Duval relationship, especially all the simmering, stretched-out tension before they end up getting together (the tension is often the best part of a romance!). They just can't help themselves, they're drawn to each other and there's this attraction and chemistry there that they both keep fighting. The progression of their relationship plays a significant role in Ismae's character development as well. She puts up a wall for so long, coming up with all these excuses and denying to herself that she cares about Duval, but then it finally breaks down as she lets herself love him. I always find that very rewarding to see as a reader, when characters slowly begin to trust others (although frustrating at times, too! I wanted to conk Ismae over the head and say, "You're in love! Admit it already!")

Once they do become involved, it thankfully doesn't get very sappy between them (a common pitfall of romances, I find. I actually could have used more emotional declaration from both of them!). Still, it's very much implied in everything they do for each other.

If I could change something... I would make the climactic scenes more dramatic and eventful. I thought this was the weakest aspect of Grave Mercy — there's a lot of build-up in terms of intrigue, deaths, and political maneuvring, but then not that much pay-off at the finale. The villain (who wasn't a big surprise — I began to suspect this character was up to no good partway through) was overcome rather easily, the confrontation being disappointingly anti-climactic. (Although it should be noted that thankfully, the villain was motivated by something other than a desire for power, giving the character very good reasoning for their traitorous actions.) I thought all the political maneuvring would tie together somehow, but some of the big-picture storylines are left unresolved; hopefully, they'll be tackled in the next book(s) in the series. Still, I'd have liked to have seen more of a complete internal plot arc within Grave Mercy itself.

And while I liked the idea of a battle — most of the book involved intrigue around the palace, so it was good that we got a bigger-scale event — it wasn't epic enough. They're saved rather easily and I thought the threat to the duchess' life could have been greater. I just wish there'd been more kick at the end; it seemed to lose that gripping quality that most of the book had. There wasn't one heart-pounding, everything-hanging-on-a-string, incredible moment where you wonder if everyone is going to make it.

If you haven't read it: and you'd like to check out an absorbing, stay-up-late-at-night-reading YA fantasy in the vein of Mistwood by Leah Cypess, Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn, Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, and Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (I've seen Grave Mercy likened to that one in particular, and it is a good comparison), then I strongly suggest you pick this book up!

If you have read it: what are your hopes/expectations for the next in the series? (I know the next doesn't focus on Ismae, but I'm hoping she at least gets a cameo appearance!)

Just one more thing I want to mention: I really enjoyed the initial stages of the Ismae-Duval relationship, but I thought the last part of the book didn't handle it as well. There was one scene in particular that had me going, "Okay, that's kinda...weird...just how does that work, exactly?" Spoilers: Ismae has sex with Duval to take away the effects of the poison on him. This seemed to come out of nowhere and I felt like perhaps the author was just using the poison-removal as an excuse for them to have sex. (Plus, I have to wonder, is Ismae going to have to do that every time she wants to save someone who's been poisoned? Could get awkward...).

Quote: 

Feeling miserable, although not sure why, I wrap my arms around myself. "I am sorry, my lord. I did not wish to harm you." The truth of my words surprises me, for it seems as if I have done naught but long to be rid of him.

His smile flashes, quick and surprising in the darkness. "When one consorts with assassins, one must expect to dance along the edge of a knife once or twice. I bid you good night." 

 

Final verdict: 4.5 shooting stars. The first 3/4s were fantastic, but the ending didn't quite live up to the rest of it. However, it was an awesome read in terms of the reading experience, and I'm definitely going to be picking up the next one!

Disclaimer: I received this book for review from the publisher.

Note: This book contains some mature (violent and sexual) content.

Thief's Covenant: A Snapshot

Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell

"Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan of Davillon, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of the city’s aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one horrid night, when a conspiracy of forces—human and other—stole it all away in a flurry of blood and murder.

Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon’s underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshippers but Widdershins herself. It’s not a great life, certainly nothing compared to the one she once had, but it’s hers.

But now, in the midst of Davillon’s political turmoil, an array of hands are once again rising up against her, prepared to tear down all that she’s built. The City Guard wants her in prison. Members of her own Guild want her dead. And something horrid, something dark, something ancient is reaching out for her, a past that refuses to let her go. Widdershins and Olgun are going to find answers, and justice, for what happened to her—but only if those who almost destroyed her in those years gone by don’t finish the job first." (from Goodreads)

 
The subject: a girl who's busy stealing riches, hiding from the law, evading thugs, and hanging out at the "Flippant Witch" tavern in her spare time. Widdershins lives on the edge, brave to the point of foolhardiness; she's crafty, but sometimes underestimates her adversaries and overestimates her own skills. Though she has her own sort of moral code most of the time — as in, stealing's fine, but not murder — when push comes to shove she can be pretty ruthless, and I couldn't get behind all of the choices she makes.

The setting: the city of Davillon, in a world with a bit of a 'historical urban fantasy' feel (but not set in our world's history, obviously).


Shutter speed: for a fantasy adventure, it's actually fairly slow-moving and dense. It's written in third-person omniscient, alternating between many characters, which works to draw the mystery out. There's no shortage of fights, but I thought the action scenes could have been quicker-paced.


What's in the background? An interesting religious system. The gods rely heavily on their followers' worship, and if the god has no more followers, he or she is basically "dead." It makes sense, then, that Olgun is "attached" to Adrienne, and I thought this was a neat way to make Adrienne a target. Olgun comes in very handy to help Adrienne out of some tight pinches (a little too handy, perhaps, at the end when it really counts) but since there are limits to his powers, she has to do a lot of work the rest of the time.  


Zoom in on: the emotional connection. This is definitely a story that's more about the 'swashbuckling,' so to speak (no pirates, but there are plenty of brawls and lots of the grotesque factor). Numerous deaths happen, but I wasn't bawling my eyes out for any of them. While I understand the focal point is the adventure, I do wish there'd been more of an emotional connection. The angle that comes closest is probably Adrienne's relationship with Alexandre, since he's one of the few people she cares about.


I also would have welcomed more scenes involving Julien Bouniard (a member of the Guard).  He's out of his depth dealing with Widdershins but doesn't realize it, and their interactions are actually pretty cute. In an odd kind of way they respect each other, but at the same time, Widdershins is constantly giving him the run-around. I wanted to see these two get together but it seems like the author is hinting at a different character for Adrienne's love interest (there isn't any romance in this book, but I suspect there may be in sequels).


Anything out of focus? The plot is complicated and difficult to follow; I found myself repeatedly flipping back to try to figure out what was going on. It was difficult to keep all of the characters and groups/organizations straight, and remember who knew what/had gone where/was working for whom/etc. 


Ready? Say... "Thieving and murder and secrets, oh my!"


Click! 3.5 shooting stars. It took me several tries to get into this one, I think partly because the prose seemed overwritten, giving me more of an 'adult fantasy' vibe than YA (I believe Ari Marmell has previously written adult fantasy novels but this is his first YA book). As I continued to read, though, I got used to the writing style and it didn't bother me that much. 

 
Note: There is some mature content (namely, scenes of violence) in this book. 




Disclaimer: I received this for review from the publisher.

This book counts towards my goal for the 2012 Debut Author challenge. 

Cross My Palm: YA Fantasy

This is a series of posts I'm doing discussing current trends in YA genres and what might be in store for the future. This is just based on my own observations of books and what I've seen publishers/authors/other bloggers talking about.


Sorry it's been so long since the last post in this series! You can catch up on all the previous posts here (contemporary, sci-fi/dystopian, historical, and paranormal YA have already been covered), but this time it's YA fantasy trends.

• Time travel is the next "hot" topic. I think time travel stories hold a lot of potential for creativity — and apparently publishers think so too, with offerings such as the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire, the Ruby Red series by Kerstin Gier, the River of Time series by Lisa Bergren, and Tempest by Julie Cross. Not always "fantasy" in the strictest sense, I know, but time travel books kind of fit into several genres...

• Retellings — both fairytale and mythological — are holding their own. On the fairy tale side of things, we've got books like the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, Jackson Pearce's fairy tale companion books (Fathomless is releasing this year), Queen of Glass by Sarah J. Maass, and Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. In terms of mythology, there's a whole subsection just for "the underworld" stories, like Meg Cabot's Abandon trilogy, the Sirenz series by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman, the Everneath series by Brodi Ashton, and The Goddess Test series by Aimee Carter. Other mythological retellings (or stories with mythological aspects) include the Starcrossed series by Josephine Angelini, the Medusa Girls series by Tera Lynn Childs, Starling by Lesley Livington, and the Gods & Monsters series by Kelly Keaton. And there are even a few upcoming fantasy retellings of classic tales like Jane Eyre (Ironskin by Tina Connolly) and the Ugly Duckling (The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors).

On a related note, fairytale retellings seem to be popping up in TV and movies as well! Any of you who have not yet tuned into the TV show Once Upon A Time, you guys are missing out. And I haven't watched Grimm but I know that it's a CSI-style show based on the Grimm fairytales. Also, be on the lookout this year for the movies Snow White and the Huntsman (yes, it stars Kristen Stewart – but seriously, check out the cool trailer!) and Mirror Mirror (which has Julia Roberts in it, even though the trailer makes me think a lot of the comedy might not be my style). 

• Here be dragons — well, a few, anyway. Dragons are no vampires in YA, at least not yet. But there seems to be the start of a renewed interest in these fire-breathing monsters, with books like Sophie Jordan's Firelight series, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, Prophecy by Ellen Oh, and Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey.

• Faeries are in, but elves and dwarves are not. Tolkien-esque fantasy does not yet seem to have made its way back into popularity, but faeries still hold an allure for readers. (Note the spelling there: by and large these are the unpredictable, can't-always-be-trusted "fey," not the Tinkerbell type of fairies.) Examples of upcoming faerie releases include Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier, The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long, The Wood Queen by Karen Mahoney, The Falconer by Elizabeth May, The Torn Wing by Kiki Hamilton, and Luminance Hour by Ryan Graudin.

• Thieves and assassins are stealing readers' hearts. In a way, I think this is kind of the fantasy version of the trend in historical YA for secret agents and spies. I guess there's something about the seedy underbelly of a city that draws readers in... Recent or upcoming books that fit into this category are Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell, Mastiff by Tamora Pierce, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maass, Grave Mercy by R. L. LaFevers, and Liar's Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce.

• Oddly enough, "touch" seems to be an important theme in fantasy (and paranormal) YA these days. I don't know if this is just a fluke or what, but with books like Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder, Touched by Corrine Jackson, the A Touch trilogy by Leah Clifford, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, the Clarity series by Kim Harrington, and the Curse Workers series by Holly Black...it seems like this idea is becoming popular. What do you think?

• Unusual settings (for fantasy) and PoC characters are making an appearance. I wouldn't say yet that either of these aspects are common in YA fantasy, but hopefully others will follow these authors' leads and make it happen. We're talking books such as Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, the Wildefire series by Karsten Knight, the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series by Laini Taylor, Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst, The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson, and Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson.

So, what are your thoughts on trends in YA fantasy? Is the "power of touch" something concrete or just coincidence? Will we keep seeing more PoC characters and different settings in the future? Will there be a return of the elves? Let me know what you see for the future of YA fantasy!