Best Review for a Fantasy Book Nominees!

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED CONGRATS TO CUDDLEBUGGERY'S STORMANCER FOR WINNING! :) 

Here's how it's going to run down: there will be a poll at the bottom of this post and you simply just vote for your favorite blog out of all of these arguments! :) Each day, there will be THREE voting rounds posted, so you'll have to scroll down and see all the posts for yourself. Each voting round lasts for exactly a week and once every voting round it done, winners will be announced, and prizes (if you would like to donate contact us. Please remember that if we don't get enough prizes we won't be giving ANY out at all) shipped out—that is, if the winner wants a prize.

For the Best Review for a Fantasy Book category, we asked for each reviewer's favorite portion of their review. If they didn't submit anything, we just have their link listed.

Becca Hamilton: The Grimoire: Lichgates
(No link found)

Paranormal Indulgence: Seraphina

Mindful Musings: Shadow and Bone


I also loved how Shadow and Bone examined the issues of social class and inequality. In Ravka, the Grisha are basically the aristocrats, and everyone who isn't gifted with magical powers (with the exception of the king and his court), are put off to the side and seem to be given pretty crappy lots in life. Even the Grisha themselves have a complex hierarchical structure. This makes it even more amazing when the protagonist, Alina, comes out of nowhere with the coveted ability to "summon the sun." Alina is immediately ripped from everything she's ever known and thrust into a world filled with fake, can't-wait-to-stab-you-in-the-back smiles, political intrigue, and oh, let's not forget the assassins.

Eleusinian Mysteries: Stormdancer

BlookGirl: Throne of Glass
"Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan's Assassin, is one such character. Seriously, this girl was kick-ass, and not just because she's purported to have killed men with her bare hands. She's snarky, calculating, and confident, yet vulnerable, caring, and sensitive. A perfectly flawed character. It's clear that Celaena has seen and experienced her share of heart-break, but instead of caving in on herself, she used her grief and anger to survive. She certainly didn't set out to be an assassin, but when you have nothing left to lose, you take the chances you're given."
GraveTells: Evermine
“This second installment of the Daughters of Askara series is full of wonderfully complex relationships, exciting mortal danger, and ambitious political power plays. Witnessing Harper and Emma’s struggles to put the pieces of their once envisioned future, that was stolen from them and left shredded, back together is heartbreaking but satisfying. You must read Evermine if you want a fun, emotional rollercoaster ride and a captivating story!”

The Teen Book Guru: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone
"It's been such a long time since I've read a book this good. I feel like I've been walking in a haze, surrounded by fog this whole time, and this book has finally woken me up. It was like BAM! This is what really great writing is! Where have you been my whole life???"

"Karou is me. She is you. She is all of us. Our hopes, our dreams... our fears. Just everything, really. And I think that everyone will be able to find a bit of themselves inside Karou."

"Laini Taylor's awesome fantastical novel is honestly nothing short of magnificent. Utterly heart-wreching and breath-taking, and wholly captivating, it really is a true masterpiece that you won't want to miss out on!!"

Comment Love:
"YES, Laini's hair is AMAZING! I wish I had the guts to die my whole hair pink, but for now the dip dye will have to surfice. Not to mention how awesome Karou's hair sounds!

"Karou is me. She is you. She is all of us. Our hopes, our dreams... our fears. Just everything, really. And I think that everyone will be able to find a bit of themselves inside Karou." Riya, this part is just so... Beautiful! You have such a way with words.<3

Thank you for yet another wonderful review, Twinny.<3"

-Ria @ The Beaucop Review

"'Akiiivvaa... come hither!'

Hahahahaha, my thoughts exactly! I adore you Riya, I wish I could reach through this computer and just hug you. In a completely non-stalkery way. Obviously. In a you-are-too-cute-I-simply-must-hug-you type of way. So so so so so glad you loved this one as much as I did, it just blew me away. I need Days of Blood and Starlight IMMEDIATELY!"

-Jenny @ Supernatural Snark

"Wonderfully beautiful review, Riya - YOU are the one with such a way with words!!! I've been hesitant about this book too because of all the hype but you have managed to convince me that I NEED to read it! The lovely way you used to describe Karou... was just so breathtakingly beautiful I need to 'meet' her now. And she has blue hair?! OMG!!!! And the romance between her and Akiva sounds totally HOT, I love sizzling romances so this may be the book for me! And I believe you if you say Laini Taylor's writing is amazing!

You've filled me with NEED for this book, Riya! I adore you and I adore this review just as much <333"

-Beverly @ A Reading Daydreamer
Cuddlebuggery: Stormdancer
"And now that I have got­ten all the oblig­a­tory seri­ous dis­cus­sion and annoy­ing stuff that I have to do to be taken seri­ously as book blog­ger out of the way, may I just men­tion one, juve­nile thing that I rather enjoyed:

Orig­i­nal pic­ture by Cory Doc­torow – alter­ation inspired by Darkstarz

All the jizz­wor­thy toys. Yes! Great char­ac­ters, writ­ing, world-building, plot, pac­ing, blah-blah-blah… GIVEME MY CHAINSAW KATANA, KRISTOFF!"
Cuddlebuggery: Throne of Glass
"Not only does it present a strong female MC, but a another sec­ondary char­ac­ter, Nehemia, who also hap­pens to be a per­son of color. Oh, yes, you read that right. No, ridicu­lous, over stereo­typed, token char­ac­ter here! Because you know, if there is one thing that irri­tates me the most, it’s mis­rep­re­sen­ta­tion in YA nov­els. But that didn’t hap­pen here. Nehemia is strong, incred­i­bly smart and under­es­ti­mated (of course) by every­one at court because of her nation­al­ity. Their mis­take! I pity the fool who finds their self on the other end of her staff. It won’t be pretty. Beau­ti­ful chaos. I’m hop­ing we get to see a lot more of her in the series. ;D"

Swimming in YA: Keeper of the Lost Cities

Fictitious Delicious: Finnikin of the Rock

Two Chicks on Books: Crown of Embers
I have never in my life finished a book and picked it back up to re-read it. Not until now!The Crown of Embers was an amazing book! Rae Carson took what she did in The Girl of Fire and Thorns and kicked its ass! Rae Carson has become one of my favorite authors of High Fantasy right up there with Maria V. Snyder (my favorite of all time!).

The Book Cellar: Shadow and Bone
What a delightful gem of a book Shadow and Bone was! This book made me have all the feelings. It was intense, dark, and all around just wonderful. Shadow and Bone was everything I was hoping for. Shadow and Bone is storytelling at its finest and I loved every page. If you only read one book this summer, this is the one to go get your hands on. It’s that good.

Scattered Pages: Tiger Lily
This is a Neverland equal parts savagery and beauty, where the exquisite lives side by side with the menacing, and often hand in hand. Mermaids may be lovely but they’re deadly. Lost Boys may be sweet, but they can kill. It’s a land that’s still untamed, a tiny corner of the world that hasn’t yet been colonized, that still holds wonders, but it’s a desperate beauty with a lot of rough edges. Within all those vibrant colors are a lot of shadows, and a lot of dark things thrive there.

Bewitched Bookworms: Of Poseidon
Emma! Belongs to the hall-of-fame of awesomeness heroines! Emma was incredibly cute but at the same time I loved loved loved her snarky retorts. She was awesome and I have such a big girl crush on her. I want to be her friend!!!

Galen - *dies* ... uhmm *fans self* Who would think a mermaid could be sex-on-fishtails? I didn't, but then I met Galen! Prince of the Syrena (because we do not use the word mermaids from this moment forward, Galen would not be happy...) Galen is hotness personified. (..) I adore and love Galen insanely! He's incredible hot (thank you for that) but since he's a Prince he also is very bad-ass, dominant and possessive! Gosh, don't we all love hot alpha males?

A Reader of Fictions: Stormdancer
"Yukiko is, as the cover promises, a BADASS, with the all-caps completely necessary to convey the degree of her ability to be awesome. However, Buruu totally stole the show from her, I thought. He is definitely my favorite character, because he's funny and loyal and A FRACKING THUNDER TIGER! It does not get more hardcore than that.

The other characters are also fascinating, interesting in how unclear they are. I really don't know how to feel about most of them, unable to figure out whether they're trustworthy or not. Pretty much by the time you figure that out, it's too late. This is not a world where good and evil are always bathed in black and white, and both are generally bathed in red, either from blood or from lotus."

The Reviews News: Tiger Lily
"...there is something uniquely charming and entertaining about Whaley's prose. He manages to weave two very delicate tales with masterful fluidity, so that when everything finally comes together it unleashes a thought-provoking conclusion. By the end, I was overcome with emotion. I didn't know if I should slam the book across the room or find John Corey Whaley and hug him.

At this point, I would go with the latter.

Despite my oh-so-huggy feelings, I'll admit that Whaley managed to break my heart and mend it, all in the span of some 200-odd pages! The novel's lessons really resonated with me and I couldn't get enough. I was a mess by the end of it, but I set the book down with a renewed sense of hope. Life is all about second chances and I finally got mine..."

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