Hey guys! I got to work with Rockstar Book Tours this week for their blog tour of The Quest to the Uncharted Lands.
This awesome midgrade novel follows Stella, a young alchemist and healer, as she stows away in the cargo hold of a blimp. It’s on a mission to explore the Uncharted Lands, a part of the realm that has never been explored before. Stella’s parents are recruited to go on the mission (they’re both world renowned healers), and Stella is scared for their safety, so she sneaks onto the ship. On her first day hiding in the cargo hold she comes across a mysterious boy with golden eyes putting a protective charm over the engine room. The boy, Cyprus, and Stella become fast friends and must eventually join forces to protect the ship from a mysterious threat.
I really liked this book. Midgrade is my favorite genre so getting to read this book was SO exciting. I binge read this book in one sitting (and it was 320 pages). I really loved two main things about this book- the setting and the friendship.
This novel had a super cool steampunk feel to it. The world was either futuristic or in an alternate universe, and the steampunk aesthetic was so fun to read. One of my favorite things about books is how they can transport you to a different world, and this world was one I wanted to live in forever. It also had really interesting races of people, such as human-lizard shapeshifters. The diversity of races and groups in this book was really well done.
However, my absolute favorite part in the book was the friendship between Stella and Cyrus. Despite the futuristic setting, their friendship had a great old-fashioned adventure friends feel to it. The bonding they do down in the hold of the ship made me so happy, and I want a whole other book just of them being friends.
When I got to the end of this book I was so sad, because I just wanted it to start all over again. I HIGHLY suggest that you go out and get this book (in bookstores now) and the other books in the series!
As always, thanks for reading my review. Until next time, happy reading :)
Other books by Jaleigh-
Other books by Jaleigh-
Title: THE MARK OF THE DRAGONFLY
Author: Jaleigh Johnson
Pub. Date: March 25, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 400
Piper has never seen the Mark of the Dragonfly until she finds the girl amid the wreckage of a caravan in the Meteor Fields. The girl doesn't remember a thing about her life, but the intricate tattoo on her arm is proof that she's from the Dragonfly Territories and that she's protected by the king. Which means a reward for Piper if she can get the girl home. The one sure way to the Territories is the 401, a great old beauty of a train. But a ticket costs more coin than Piper could make in a year. And stowing away is a difficult prospect--everyone knows that getting past the peculiar green-eyed boy who stands guard is nearly impossible. Life for Piper just turned dangerous. A little bit magical. And very exciting, if she can manage to survive the journey.
Title: THE SECRETS OF SOLACE
Author: Jaleigh Johnson
Pub. Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audibook
Pages: 384
From Jaleigh Johnson, the acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller The Mark of the Dragonfly, comes another thrilling adventure in the magical world of Solace.
Lina Winterbock lives in the mountain strongholds of Solace. She’s an apprentice to the archivists, the wise men and women whose lives are dedicated to cataloging, studying, and preserving the objects that mysteriously fall from the sky in the scrap towns.
Lina should be spending her days with books, but the Iron War has changed everything. The strongholds are now a refuge, and the people Lina once counted on no longer have time for her, so she spends her days exploring the hidden tunnels and passages of her home. The strongholds are vast and old, with twisting paths, forgotten rooms, and collapsed chambers, some of them containing objects that have been lost and forgotten even by the archivists.
And in one of the forgotten chambers, Lina discovers a secret.
Hidden deep in a cavern is a half-buried airship like nothing she has ever seen before. She’s determined to dig it out and restore it. But Lina needs help, and she doesn’t know anyone she can trust with her secret.
Then she meets Ozben, a mysterious boy who has a secret of his own—a secret that’s so dangerous it could change the course of the Iron War and the world of Solace forever.
Praise for The Secrets of Solace:
"An engaging world rich in detail, mayhem, and adventure...All aboard for fantasy lovers with a dual penchant for girl power and keeping up with the Indiana Joneses."—Kirkus Reviews
Praise for The Mark of the Dragonfly:
[STAR] “This magnetic middle-grade debut . . . [is] a page-turner that defies easy categorization and ought to have broad appeal.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred
[STAR] “Heart, brains, and courage find a home in a steampunk fantasy worthy of a nod from Baum.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred
[STAR] “A fantastic and original tale of adventure and magic. . . . Piper is a heroine to fall in love with: smart, brave, kind, and mechanically inclined to boot.”—School Library Journal, Starred
“A complex and impeccably developed plot—there is plenty to recommend in this novel.”—The Bulletin
“Appealing characters and lots of action make it a good choice for young adventure readers.”—Booklist
Praise for The Secrets of Solace:
"An engaging world rich in detail, mayhem, and adventure...All aboard for fantasy lovers with a dual penchant for girl power and keeping up with the Indiana Joneses."—Kirkus Reviews
Praise for The Mark of the Dragonfly:
[STAR] “This magnetic middle-grade debut . . . [is] a page-turner that defies easy categorization and ought to have broad appeal.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred
[STAR] “Heart, brains, and courage find a home in a steampunk fantasy worthy of a nod from Baum.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred
[STAR] “A fantastic and original tale of adventure and magic. . . . Piper is a heroine to fall in love with: smart, brave, kind, and mechanically inclined to boot.”—School Library Journal, Starred
“A complex and impeccably developed plot—there is plenty to recommend in this novel.”—The Bulletin
“Appealing characters and lots of action make it a good choice for young adventure readers.”—Booklist
About Jaleigh:
Jaleigh Johnson is a fantasy novelist living and writing in the wilds of the Midwest. Her middle grade debut novel The Mark of the Dragonfly is a New York Times bestseller, was chosen for the ABA 2014 Spring Indie Next list, and was named one of Amazon’s Top 20 Children’s Books of 2014. Her other books in the Solace series from Delacorte Press include The Secrets of Solace and The Quest to the Uncharted Lands. She has also written several novels and short stories for the Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms fiction line published by Wizards of the Coast. Johnson is an avid gamer and lifelong geek, and in her spare time she also enjoys traveling, reading, baking, and going to movies with her husband. Visit her online at www.jaleighjohnson.com. Photo credit: Mark Jones.
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE QUEST TO THE UNCHARTED LANDS, US Only.
Enter the giveaway here !
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