Mundie Moms

Sunday, March 2, 2014

MARCH 2014 YA RELEASES

Happy March! Here's to warm weather & pool side reading (I wish). Here is a list of this month's YA releases. 

Week of March 4th


Week of March 11th





  
 


Week of March 18th




Week of March 25th




As always, please let me know if I've missed any YA books that are being released this month. Just leave me a comment below.  Thank you & Happy Reading!

* List source: books on my shelves, publishers & Goodreads

Knight Assassin by Rima Jean, Book Review


By: Rima Jean
Published: Entangled Teen
Released on: March 4, 2014 - TODAY
Source: e-arc to review from publisher
Rating: 4.5 Stars - I Really Enjoyed It
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to: Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Zayn has special powers she cannot control—powers that others fear and covet. Powers that cause the Templar Knights to burn Zayn’s mother at the stake for witchcraft. When a mysterious stranger tempts Zayn to become the first female member of the heretical Assassins, the chance to seek her revenge lures her in. She trains to harness her supernatural strength and agility, and then enters the King of Jerusalem's court in disguise with the assignment to assassinate Guy de Molay, her mother’s condemner. But once there, she discovers  Earic Goodwin, the childhood friend who still holds her heart, among the knights—and his ocean-blue eyes don’t miss a thing. Will vengeance be worth the life of the one love she has left?

From her fast paced plot line, to the characters and vivid setting, Rima Jean totally hooked me with Knight Assassin. I didn't take me long until I totally found myself immersed in her story. I enjoyed reading this book! Rima did a fabulous job at combining the elements I love in both a YA fantasy and YA romance, and created something both new and exciting. 

Zayn is an awesome heroine. She deals with so much in this book, that even I was amazed at the incredible strength she had to go on. This poor girl literally goes through hell. From being shunned by her own town's people, to losing her mother in a tragic way, to a brutal attack that left her broken, Zayn somehow found this inner strength to keep going, even when it would have been ok for her to just give up. She is a survivor. She's a fighter, and she's not someone who gives up. Instead all her grief, brokenness & passion for revenge into fuels her desire to not fail at her mission as an elite Assassin. 

Zayn can kick some serious butt. She is not someone anyone wants to cross. She's got nothing to lose and everything to gain, and that makes her a deadly weapon. Combine that with her training, and Zayn is a force to be reckoned with. That doesn't mean that she's still not vulnerable. Earic is the only boy who's ever had her heart. Since they were kids these two had something. Even though at first we see Earic through Zayn's memories, it's obvious that he's always held her heart. These two always protected each other, and helped each other. When Earic re-enters the picture, that doesn't change, but now there's a lot more at stake, and both of them are a danger to each other. 

I loved Earic. He matches Zayn in strength, but he, at least to me, seems to be a little bit deadlier than she. While Zayn fights for revenge, Earic fights for a cause and purpose. He's been trained longer than she has, and he believes in his cause. What I admire about Earic is he is still just as fiercely loyal and protective of Zayn as he always was, and then some. Despite the dangers, and the opposing sides of the political battle these two are on, there is no denying the chemistry these two still have that's always simmering just below the surface. Even though these two aren't in a lot of scenes together, it's still evident that their romance means something to each other. I love it when a romance has that kind of power in a story. That even though both characters aren't together for a portion of the book, it still feels like they are. 

Knight Assassin's setting is something I really enjoyed. It's so vividly described that I felt as though I was there. It's not a setting that is all that common in YA books. Rima did a beautiful job at introducing me to the rich, Arab culture of Zayn's world. I don't know a whole lot about this culture, but I know some, and I felt that Rima either really knows a lot about this culture, or she did a lot of research into making sure she got it right for her book.  

Strong characters, danger, plenty of action, and a well written romance, there is a little bit of something for everyone in this book. My only complaint is, I really hope this book eventually gets published into a paperback/hardcopy format, because I want to add this one to my shelves. **Warning, there is a non graphic rape scene. Being non graphic doesn't take away from what happens to Zayn. It's one that may not be suitable to younger YA readers. 


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