Mini Reviews: How to be Brave & Sorceress

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How to Be Brave
Author: E. Katherine Kottaras
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: November 3rd 2015
Review Source: St. Martin's Press

An emotional contemporary YA novel about love, loss, and having the courage to chase the life you truly want.

Reeling from her mother's death, Georgia has a choice: become lost in her own pain, or enjoy life right now, while she still can. She decides to start really living for the first time and makes a list of fifteen ways to be brave - all the things she's wanted to do but never had the courage to try. As she begins doing the things she's always been afraid to do - including pursuing her secret crush, she discovers that life doesn't always go according to plan. Sometimes friendships fall apart and love breaks your heart. But once in a while, the right person shows up just when you need them most - and you learn that you're stronger and braver than you ever imagined.

How to be Brave is a cute and emotional story of a girl trying be spontaneous. Even though she is trying, some of these new things are terrifying to her but the girl is willing to try. She is willing to do the unknown, to learn to love herself (she is very insecure about herself), and learn new things. It is a journey to self-discover.

I really liked the story, however, I think a younger crowd would be best suited to this story. There were many times Georgia would do things and these were really childish. However, she didn't have a mother to tell her otherwise. Which was heartbreaking. Knowing that she loss her mother and she would need to learn things on her own. As she navigated her bucket-list, we saw her struggle and her grief. It was a touching story.

Overall, I liked How to be Brave. I like the progress Georgia made throughout the book. It was honest, well written and gritty with heavy topics.

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Sorceress
Spellcaster #3
Author: Claudia Gray 
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Released: March 3rd 2015
Review Source: HarperTeen

To save the lives of countless people in Captive’s Sound, Nadia has sworn herself to the One Beneath, to black magic. Her plan, and the town’s only hope, is for Nadia to learn enough sorcery to strike back against the forces of darkness. But now that she’s separated from her friends, her family, and her Steadfast, Mateo, Nadia is more vulnerable than ever to darkness. And as the sorceress Elizabeth summons torrential rains and brings the One Beneath closer to the mortal world, Nadia is running out of time to stop her. The final battle lines are drawn, surprising alliances are made, and true love is tested in the action-packed conclusion to the breathtaking Spellcaster series.

Sorceress is richly woven with New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s signature dark magic, captivating mystery, and star-crossed romance.

Sorceress is the final book in the Spellcaster series and a bittersweet ending. This series is full of magic, adventures and plenty of twists, so if you haven't read it, I recommend that you do.

The reason why I'm giving Sorceress a 3.5 is because I felt the book was rushed. Though the book was fast paced, full of actions, I wish the ending wouldn't have come. It was a good one but it wasn't epic in my opinion.

Nadia, a great and young sorceress, is trying to save her small town. She sworn her life to the One Beneath while trying to fight the black magic. There is a whole lot going on and you just cannot put the book down to know how everything is going to play out. Elizabeth, the great witch who has caused all the damage is still in control but with the help of her friend, Nadia will learn how to defeat her.

Again, this trilogy is full of magic and twists. I loved the first two book of the series and Sorceress was a good ending. Paranormal lovers should give this series a try.