Sunday Funday: ARC Mini Reviews - Dark of the West (Glass Alliance #1) by Joanna Hathaway & Apocalypse Five (Archive of the Fives #1) by Stacey Rourke

Happy Sunday everyone!  Today I'm sharing two ARC mini reviews with you: Dark of the West (Glass Alliance #1) by Joanna Hathaway (available February 5th, 2019) and Apocalypse Five (Archive of the Fives #1) by Stacey Rourke (available February 12th, 2019).  Dark of the West was provided by NetGalley and Apocalypse Five was provided by Black Spot Books in exchange for honest reviews.  Read on to see my thoughts on these two stories.

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I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dark of the West (Glass Alliance #1) by Joanna Hathaway is an unexpected and sprawling debut YA fantasy. The world-building and scope of this novel are grand and point to an incredibly detailed history. The author does a wonderful job of mixing the WWII-esque political elements and classic fantasy elements. Hathaway's cast of characters are also quite intriguing, including the secondary characters, and all are well developed. I particularly enjoyed reading Athan's POV chapters, as he flies his airplane in training and battle most especially. My real issue with this series opener was the prologue. It didn't really grab me, but I'm certainly glad I continued on because Hathaway's storytelling skills are great as the story continues. If you're interested in World War II set YA historical fiction like Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein along with your fantasy, then I highly recommend Joanna Hathaway's debut novel.

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I'm so glad that I agreed to take a chance on Apocalypse Five (Archive of the Fives #1) by Stacey Rourke. This novel was such an awesomely diverse YA dystopian sci-fi adventure with just a dash of romance. The novel has a strong opening that makes you want to keep turning the pages and the high-octane action, twists and turns, and kick butt characters don't let up. You will get fully sucked into the brutal world of the A5 and it won't let you go until the very end. I can't wait to continue the Archive of the Fives series and I really need to read more from this talented author. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, I have a feeling you'll love Apocalypse Five too.

Have I piqued your interest in reading either of these novels?  What are you reading this weekend?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!