Bri's Books
Hello, there! My name is Brianna, but everyone calls me Bri. I'm a book lover that lives in San Francisco, CA, and I will literally read anything that I can get my hands on. My go-to genres are usually urban or epic fantasy, anything YA, classics, and popular fiction and non-fiction works. I love going to unique bookstores, and the ultimate happiness is sipping on a cup of tea or coffee, curled up on the couch in a blanket and reading a good book.
I tend to write reviews on books that I really enjoyed or books that I didn't. My reviews can sometimes be snarky and sarcastic, emotional, or just filled with love and mushiness. I'm usually just a laid-back, open-minded and friendly person, but I will get excited and fangirl about books like you wouldn't believe! I always try to be respectful of both authors and readers whose opinions are different from mine, and I love having in-depth. thoughtful book discussions. If you are a fellow book lover that is active on the site, please do not hesitate to reach out and say hi! :)
Trial by Fire
WOW! I thought the first book was good, but this book was infinitely better! The story is even more enthralling and politically turbulent than before, and it completely captivated me. The writing is more lush and emotional, and I ate up every word. I fell more in love with the characters, especially Bryn and Devon. I feel like whatever I say about this book, or no matter how much I gush, I will never do justice to just how amazing and original of a series this is. I love how strong of a character Bryn is. Even though she is both human and female, she is Alpha of her pack, and she knows how to run it despite being inexperienced. She has some conflicts with some of the other Alphas due to her lack of werewolf-ness, but she never stands down. She is smart, almost deviously so, and she knows how to strategize. I mentioned this earlier in my review for Raised by Wolves, but I will say it again: it is so nice to have a main character who knows how to use her head. More about Devon and his past is revealed in this book, and it made me adore him even more than before (which I did not think was possible). Old faces (and a few new ones) are back, and I loved seeing Ali back in all of her awesome, kick-butt glory. Something else that I love about this series: the romance between Chase and Bryn takes a backburner to everything else going on. There is so much going on in the story politically and strategically, so I think it would have lost most of its intensity had it focused more on the romance. It is really refreshing coming across paranormal YA novels that are not purely focused on some of the characters’ love lives.
This series has quickly become one of my favorites. I love the characters, I love the writing, I love the plot twists. I just love everything about it. The third book in the series, Taken by Storm, is due out May 22, 2012. I probably do not need to tell you how excited I am to read it! Is it possible that it will be even better than Raised by Wolves and Trial by Fire? I am eager to find out!
