Review | Smoke

Smoke (Burned #2) by Ellen Hopkins
September 10th 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry
560 pages
Five Stars

"Pattyn Von Stratten’s father is dead, and Pattyn is on the run. After far too many years of abuse at the hands of her father, and after the tragic loss of her beloved Ethan and their unborn child, Pattyn is desperate for peace. Only her sister Jackie knows what happened that night, but she is stuck at home with their mother, who clings to normalcy by allowing the truth to be covered up by their domineering community leaders. Her father might be finally gone, but without Pattyn, Jackie is desperately isolated. Alone and in disguise, Pattyn starts a new life, but is it even possible to rebuild a life when everything you’ve known has burned to ash and lies seem far safer than the truth?" - Goodreads


If you have not yet read the first book in this duology, Burned, beware of spoilers!

For any Ellen Hopkins fan, this book was a long time coming. Burned came out about 7 years prior. It was meant to be a stand alone but the fans wanted more of Pattyn's story. Thus, Smoke was born. I hadn't been more excited for an Ellen Hopkins book ever before, but it still took me 8 months to read this. I don't think I was ready to accept the end of the story. I am really glad I did read it though. I needed to know what happened after the events in Burned, and I needed closure. Burned was one of the first books I read by Ellen Hopkins and it had quite an impact on who I was as a reader.

Burned was told from Pattyn's point of view alone, while Smoke switches between both Pattyn and her younger sister, Jackie's point of view. We follow Pattyn, who is on the run after the death of her father. She makes a new life for herself under an alias of an undocumented housekeeper. She learns to make room in her life for people who have accepted her and care for her. The new life she has made is threatened by her bosses troublemaker daughter and friends. Meanwhile, Jackie is still at home dealing with the mess that was left over when Pattyn left and her father died. She is ridiculed and made to believe her rape was consensual while suffering through PTSD. She starts to heal and the wall she has built around her comes crashing down. There is a twist at the end that I did not see coming!

At first I didn't think I would like Jackie's point of view but I came to really like her as a character. She had a good influence in her life and learned to stand up for herself. She really grew so much. I think the story is much stronger with two points of view. You see how both sisters are affected by the events of Burned.

I really wasn't very sure where this story was going to go. We were left with such uncertainty at the end of Burned. I marathoned this duology, so I was able to stay in the world Ellen Hopkin's created and really feel all the emotions this story brought on. It's a very powerful, honest and moving story. When dealing with this subject matter, be mindful of trigger warnings. Some scenes are very hard to process. I think this book, as with so many other Ellen Hopkin's books, is so important.

Review | Dorothy Must Die

Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die #1) by Danielle Paige
April 2014 by HarperCollins
452 pages
Five stars


"I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission." - Goodreads



I went into this book not knowing what it was about. I knew it had something to do with Oz, but not much more than that. So I dove into this story headfirst and came out very surprised at how much I liked it. The storyline and characters are face paced and so addicting.

Amy Gumm is our sassy main character who is full of attitude and spunk. She is one of my favorite female characters in quite a while. Like Dorothy, her trailer in Kansas is hit by a tornado, and she is blown away to the land of Oz. But this isn't the Oz she has read about in books or seen in movies. It's dark and dangerous with Dorothy and company now being in charge. Dorothy has enslaved the munchkins to suck the magic out of Oz. After being thrown in jail Amy is recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. She is a vital pawn in their mission. They want to kill Dorothy Gale. They disguise her as a servant in the castle.

There is so much depth to this book. The characters are well developed and have so much personality. The story is addicting and impossible to put down. It's dark and gory, which I love. You can feel that the danger is real for Amy. There is so much mystery. What happened to the sweet Dorothy we once knew? What is happening in Oz? This is a story that just keeps you wanting more. I want to know everything about these characters.

You know those books that you finish and you just want to turn back the first page and start again? This was one of those books for me. I really can't think of anything that I didn't love about Dorothy Must Die. I cannot wait to continue with the series. 

Review | Frostfire

Frostfire (Kanin Chronicles #1) by Amanda Hocking

January 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin

321 pages

Four stars

"Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?" - Goodreads

I was so excited to hear about a spin off of Amanda Hocking's Trylle series, The Kanin Chronicles. In Trylle there are five tribes of Trolls, including Kanin, which this series is about. I love the world that Amanda has created with the trolls. Even though I read the Trylle series in 2012, I had no problem jumping back in the world. It's set in a world of our own, with the different tribes being in remote areas. I was very excited to learn more about the Kanin, who are most powerful tribes of trolls. They live quiet and peacefully, and some have the ability to change their skin to blend into their surroundings like a chameleon. The Kanin have a very powerful and respected guard set up to protect their kingdom, the Hogdragen. 

Bryn Aven feels like an outsider in her own community. Her mixed heritage, half Kanin and Skojare, puts her at a disadvantage. She won't let that stop her from what she wants, which is to be a part of the Hogdragen. Konstantin Black, the queen's rogue guard, starts kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent to help stop him and keep the changelings safe. She has a personal grudge against him, as he tried to kill her father years ago. This is her chance to seek revenge and impress the people in her community, to show them what she can do. The queen of the Skojare, Linnea is missing. Bryn and Kasper are sent to Storvatten to see if they can figure out what has happened. 

This book really sets up for the rest of the series. We don't yet fully understand what is going on with Konstantin and the changelings, or what the bigger picture is. I'm very interested in seeing where things go with Ridley and Bryn. They are both battling what they think is right and what they want to be doing. I was also very happy to see a few familiar faces from the Trylle series, like Finn. 

Knowing Amanda Hocking, the rest of the series will be fantastic.She has such a talent with world building and writing action packed books. I'm sure this will be another of my favorite series. You can read the first few chapters on Amanda's Wattpad after making an account here.