The Rose & the Dagger is the second and final book in The Wrath & the Dawn duology. It picks up directly where the first book takes off and is more about Khalid trying to break the curse and readying for war with his uncle if need be. This review will have spoilers.
As with what happened with the first book, this book took a little longer to get into for me. The writing is still absolutely beautiful in this book, but something was holding me back from truly enjoying it at first. This book is slower paced than the first one I feel and the first half of the book felt like one huge filler until the end. Shazi is in a camp, that Tyriq took her to, trying to get back to Khalid and learning how to break the curse. Towards the middle of the book, they learn what to do to break the curse though it's never explicably told if what he was told broke the curse. Towards the end of the book is when the action actually picked up. Shazi was taken again and finally Khalid was forced to go to war with his uncle. I think the plot got lost a little in this book and some of the characters were lost among it. I expected this to be a quest to break the curse and it being a lot more complicated then what it was.
I questioned what Shazi's objective in the book was. She was mostly a pawn for other people's game even though she swore she wouldn't be. I mean, she was kidnapped from one place to another with so many betrayals and lies it was hard to keep track of. I didn't really understand Irsa's point in either novel. She didn't do much for me, and the only time I felt something for her other than indifference was when Rahim died. Khalid and Tyriq were still true to form in this book and I was thankful that neither changed too much.
I liked the first book a lot more than I liked this book but this one was still spectacular with the world building and descriptions. 3.5/5 Stars.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
City of Fallen Angels {The Mortal Instruments Book Four}
This is the fourth book in The Mortal Instruments series, so if you have not read City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass, I suggest you go back and read those before you read this book.
This book had a lot more of Simon and Jace's perspectives in it, but I'm not saying this as a bad thing. Simon, as all of you should know, is a vampire and he can be in the daylight, which all vampires except him can't be in the daylight, everyone calls him the "Daylighter." Simon tries to live as much as a mundane life as possible. Obviously drinking blood and going away to Idris for two weeks is not mundane like at all. After his Idris visit his mother, who knows nothing about him being a vampire or going to Idris, is a lot less chill than she was in the past. He is expected home at certain times, she waits up for him and she started drinking. Simon's mother starts snooping around his room after she has had enough of it and you can imagine what she found. But that's enough about Simon.
There is a new character introduced and his name is Kyle, he's part of Simon's band, that has at least a dozen names by now, and Kyle is a very important part of this book. Later on you will find out that Kyle isn't who he says he is. OH! Also I almost forgot. One more thing about Simon. He has two girlfriends and that gets him in deep trouble.
Jace. Where to begin with him? Well, he is still deeply in love with Clary and he helps train her to become a Shadowhunter. Throughout the whole book he has these nightmares, I won't tell you about what, but it makes him very distant from Clary. The confusing part but not so confusing part is that every time he sees her, he makes out with her and she always asks whats wrong and he never says. But finally he tells her after Clary stands her ground and gives him an ultimatum after a..uhm..incident happens or nearly happens. Clary and Jace *attempt* get him some help but..I'm not telling you what happens after that!
Also Luke and Jocelyn are getting married!! This was a great book. I love Cassandra Clare's writing style and all of the characters she brings into these books.
5 Stars
This book had a lot more of Simon and Jace's perspectives in it, but I'm not saying this as a bad thing. Simon, as all of you should know, is a vampire and he can be in the daylight, which all vampires except him can't be in the daylight, everyone calls him the "Daylighter." Simon tries to live as much as a mundane life as possible. Obviously drinking blood and going away to Idris for two weeks is not mundane like at all. After his Idris visit his mother, who knows nothing about him being a vampire or going to Idris, is a lot less chill than she was in the past. He is expected home at certain times, she waits up for him and she started drinking. Simon's mother starts snooping around his room after she has had enough of it and you can imagine what she found. But that's enough about Simon.
There is a new character introduced and his name is Kyle, he's part of Simon's band, that has at least a dozen names by now, and Kyle is a very important part of this book. Later on you will find out that Kyle isn't who he says he is. OH! Also I almost forgot. One more thing about Simon. He has two girlfriends and that gets him in deep trouble.
Jace. Where to begin with him? Well, he is still deeply in love with Clary and he helps train her to become a Shadowhunter. Throughout the whole book he has these nightmares, I won't tell you about what, but it makes him very distant from Clary. The confusing part but not so confusing part is that every time he sees her, he makes out with her and she always asks whats wrong and he never says. But finally he tells her after Clary stands her ground and gives him an ultimatum after a..uhm..incident happens or nearly happens. Clary and Jace *attempt* get him some help but..I'm not telling you what happens after that!
Also Luke and Jocelyn are getting married!! This was a great book. I love Cassandra Clare's writing style and all of the characters she brings into these books.
5 Stars
Monday, June 27, 2016
City of Glass {The Mortal Instruments Book Three}
Hello Readers! I know it's been a while since I've posted something, my apologies! But I am so interested in this series and normally I can't put these books down but with the school year coming to an end, it took me a little while to read this book. Now let's get into this review shall we? This is the third book in The Mortal Instruments series, so if you have not read City of Bones and City of Ashes, I suggest you go back and read both of them before you read this book.
This book takes place in Idris. And somehow (I know how I'm just not telling you) Simon, who is now a vampire and is not allowed in Idris, is dragged into Idris and then thrown into prison not long after he arrives with Jace and the Lightwood family. Clary opens her own portal and Luke tries to stop her from entering and ends up going in after her. They both fall into Lake Lyn from the open portal and it's poisonous to Clary and she almost dies from the lake. Luckily she has Luke there and Luke has someone to help him in Idris. This is only the beginning of the book. Five people die, of those five one comes back to life. A handful of new people are introduced and a few of them play a large part in this book. Some people profess their love to one another and you'll just have to read and see who these people are! That's all I will spoil of the book! My next review will be up when I finish the fourth book in this series, City of Fallen Angels. Happy reading!
5 Stars
This book takes place in Idris. And somehow (I know how I'm just not telling you) Simon, who is now a vampire and is not allowed in Idris, is dragged into Idris and then thrown into prison not long after he arrives with Jace and the Lightwood family. Clary opens her own portal and Luke tries to stop her from entering and ends up going in after her. They both fall into Lake Lyn from the open portal and it's poisonous to Clary and she almost dies from the lake. Luckily she has Luke there and Luke has someone to help him in Idris. This is only the beginning of the book. Five people die, of those five one comes back to life. A handful of new people are introduced and a few of them play a large part in this book. Some people profess their love to one another and you'll just have to read and see who these people are! That's all I will spoil of the book! My next review will be up when I finish the fourth book in this series, City of Fallen Angels. Happy reading!
5 Stars
Sunday, June 26, 2016
A Court of Mist and Fury Review *Spoilers*
This review will have spoilers. If you have yet to read A Court of Thorns and Roses, I encourage you to read that now. This book also has some explicit scenes so beware if you are a younger reader.
A Court of Mist and Fury is the second book in the ACOTAR trilogy. Feyre is now in the Night Court with Rhysand and it's the journey of her events after Under the Mountain. She is trying to heal herself and the hole that Tamlin leaves after he betrays her in more than one way.
This review as a whole may be an unpopular one as a whole. I picked up this series again after several attempts with the first book because I heard that this book is legions above the first book. That's not actually what I got, but I did see improvements with characters and the way things were written. This book overall was just okay with some shocking parts throughout the book but the end being the most shocking part and a cliff hanger. Same recipe as the last book.
Feyre darling's character definitely matured in this book. She is dealing with the events that took place under the mountain and is not just ignoring them or acting like it never happened. The author does a great job at reminding us what happened and not blowing it off like so many other books do. She does eventually heal but it's not instantly. It takes time. We got such depth with Rhysand's character and why he does what he does. I fully enjoyed diving into his court and seeing how the infamous Night Court works. I personally have never loved the Spring Court and when the book got the change of scenery it was much appreciated.
As I said above, the recipe of this book was the same as the last one: a few surprises throughout the book and give this explosive ending that leaves readers wanting more. I was not shocked by many of the things that happened in this book and that may be because it was kind of obvious. Tamlin's alliance with the king of Hybern was less than shocking. He was obsessed with Feyre and would do anything to get her back. It's kind of disturbing. Feyre getting mad at Rhys not telling her that she was his mate was just petty. Little things like that in the book just bothered me. I won't say that this is a bad book because it's not, the writing just isn't where I was expected to believe it was.
I am left rather disappointed with this book. I think Sarah J Maas is a wonderful author but this series does not compare to Throne of Glass. I give this book a 3.5/ 5 Stars
A Court of Mist and Fury is the second book in the ACOTAR trilogy. Feyre is now in the Night Court with Rhysand and it's the journey of her events after Under the Mountain. She is trying to heal herself and the hole that Tamlin leaves after he betrays her in more than one way.
This review as a whole may be an unpopular one as a whole. I picked up this series again after several attempts with the first book because I heard that this book is legions above the first book. That's not actually what I got, but I did see improvements with characters and the way things were written. This book overall was just okay with some shocking parts throughout the book but the end being the most shocking part and a cliff hanger. Same recipe as the last book.
Feyre darling's character definitely matured in this book. She is dealing with the events that took place under the mountain and is not just ignoring them or acting like it never happened. The author does a great job at reminding us what happened and not blowing it off like so many other books do. She does eventually heal but it's not instantly. It takes time. We got such depth with Rhysand's character and why he does what he does. I fully enjoyed diving into his court and seeing how the infamous Night Court works. I personally have never loved the Spring Court and when the book got the change of scenery it was much appreciated.
As I said above, the recipe of this book was the same as the last one: a few surprises throughout the book and give this explosive ending that leaves readers wanting more. I was not shocked by many of the things that happened in this book and that may be because it was kind of obvious. Tamlin's alliance with the king of Hybern was less than shocking. He was obsessed with Feyre and would do anything to get her back. It's kind of disturbing. Feyre getting mad at Rhys not telling her that she was his mate was just petty. Little things like that in the book just bothered me. I won't say that this is a bad book because it's not, the writing just isn't where I was expected to believe it was.
I am left rather disappointed with this book. I think Sarah J Maas is a wonderful author but this series does not compare to Throne of Glass. I give this book a 3.5/ 5 Stars
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Gena/Finn Review
Gena/Finn is a novel told strictly in IMS, text messages, blog posts, and all other media related things. Gena and Finn are two girls who meet after bonding over liking the same tv show. It follows them as their relationship goes from friends to more than friends. It's an intense novel and not for the lighthearted. I actually finished this book in a day but this review won't be up until two days from now.
As I said before, this book is very intense. It's not the feel good story I thought it was going to be and this book made me laugh and cry with the characters. I loved the characters personally. Gena a little more than Finn because she was closer to my age and I understood what she was going through, but both were fantastic. I thought their relationship was a little unhealthy though. They started out s strangers, turned into friends pretty fast, and then they were meeting and developing more than friends feelings and becoming a little obsessive with each other. I LOVE PIE. I have nothing against internet friends and I know they're valid, but I thought the friendship moved way too fast to be realistic. I've never had an internet friend before so I could be wrong. The middle and ending was absolutely insane. At times I felt it was odd and out of place, but for the most part I realized where it went in the story and realized it fit well. (It was a huge event. You'll know what I'm talking about if you read it).
I know the two authors wrote their own character and it was flawless. The two characters had their own voice and was distinct without being two different and feeling like I was reading two different stories. To show how the fandom and the show brought these two together, the blog posts and text messages were excellent. You saw them interact directly with the fandom and the fangirls and it was just excellent. The mental illness part of it was done excellently and it wasn't the only thing that book was about.
4/5 stars
As I said before, this book is very intense. It's not the feel good story I thought it was going to be and this book made me laugh and cry with the characters. I loved the characters personally. Gena a little more than Finn because she was closer to my age and I understood what she was going through, but both were fantastic. I thought their relationship was a little unhealthy though. They started out s strangers, turned into friends pretty fast, and then they were meeting and developing more than friends feelings and becoming a little obsessive with each other. I LOVE PIE. I have nothing against internet friends and I know they're valid, but I thought the friendship moved way too fast to be realistic. I've never had an internet friend before so I could be wrong. The middle and ending was absolutely insane. At times I felt it was odd and out of place, but for the most part I realized where it went in the story and realized it fit well. (It was a huge event. You'll know what I'm talking about if you read it).
I know the two authors wrote their own character and it was flawless. The two characters had their own voice and was distinct without being two different and feeling like I was reading two different stories. To show how the fandom and the show brought these two together, the blog posts and text messages were excellent. You saw them interact directly with the fandom and the fangirls and it was just excellent. The mental illness part of it was done excellently and it wasn't the only thing that book was about.
4/5 stars
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Love & Gelato Review
Love & Gelato is the debut novel of Jenna Evans Welch. It takes place in Italy and follows a girl, Lina (Carolina), who must figure out why her mom sent her to live with her father that she hasn't known for 16 years. It holds love, mystery, and a feel good story.
This book gets major points for being set in Italy. The author actually spent her high school years in Italy and you can definitely tell. The detail is phenomenal and you really feel like you are in the country also. That's about all I felt went well with this book. The setting brought this book together but the characters made this book fall apart.
The main character was dry. She had no substance or personality about her, and she mainly focused on herself and why would her mom do this to her and all that teenage angst. Ren was annoying and moody towards the end of the book only to end up with the main character (insta-love happens). The only interesting person was the mom and her journal entries and even then at times I didn't love it. I knew her dad wasn't Howard once he was introduced and Lina had an idea, but she spent the whole book trying to make sure it wasn't him. A good part of this book wasn't necessary.
In all honesty, that's what this whole book is about. Lina trying to figure out who her dad is and falling in love with Ren. That's the mystery of this whole book so it's kind of hard to say much else about it. If you love Italy or books about Italy, I definitely recommend checking this book out even if it's just for the setting.
3/5 Stars.
This book gets major points for being set in Italy. The author actually spent her high school years in Italy and you can definitely tell. The detail is phenomenal and you really feel like you are in the country also. That's about all I felt went well with this book. The setting brought this book together but the characters made this book fall apart.
The main character was dry. She had no substance or personality about her, and she mainly focused on herself and why would her mom do this to her and all that teenage angst. Ren was annoying and moody towards the end of the book only to end up with the main character (insta-love happens). The only interesting person was the mom and her journal entries and even then at times I didn't love it. I knew her dad wasn't Howard once he was introduced and Lina had an idea, but she spent the whole book trying to make sure it wasn't him. A good part of this book wasn't necessary.
In all honesty, that's what this whole book is about. Lina trying to figure out who her dad is and falling in love with Ren. That's the mystery of this whole book so it's kind of hard to say much else about it. If you love Italy or books about Italy, I definitely recommend checking this book out even if it's just for the setting.
3/5 Stars.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Books That Have Made Me Cry (With some spoilers)
There are two types of readers in the world: the over emotional ones and the stony ones. This will separate the strong from the weak when it comes to a sad scene in a book. A favorite character dies: will you cry? Or will you persevere and hope they come back to life in some mysterious way? WHAT WILL YOU DO? Okay, enough of the dramatics. These are the books that have made me shed a tear, let out a silent sob, or made me throw my book against the wall in anger and collapse into a puddle of tears asking the universe why this had to happen to me because I'm a relatively good person once in a while.
1. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater: So, I don't know if you all know this but I love The Raven Cycle. It's actually on my list of top series and Gansey is one of my many fictional boyfriends. As we all may or may not know from my other review,Gansey dies (I still haven't accepted it so I like to pretend it never happened). Yes, he comes back to life and Cabeswater is now apart of him, but still. My boyfriend is dead and then Noah disappeared from the book at the end. I was upset. Very very very very upset. You have no idea. Then I just cried because the series was over. Sadness all around in this book. Don't read this book. Let the characters stay alive in your mind in Blue Lily, Lily Blue.
2. Every Last Word by Tamera Ireland Stone: This was a fantastic book about a girl who deals with OCD and starts to come into her own. She makes a friend with a girl named Caroline and is introduced into Caroline's friends. The whole story is beautifully executed and shows OCD so well. It's not a story built around OCD. It's just a story with a character who suffers from it. Well, it turns out that Caroline was dead the whole time. I was upset to say the least when that came about. She befriended the main character, brought her into her own, got her and her crush together, all to find out she's dead. The worst part is it was from suicide. Upsetting.
3. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven: This book is about a boy who is bipolar and a girl who loses her sister in a car accident and blames herself for her sister's death. They become good friends and even lovers in this book. Then Finch offs himself. When Violet describes how she sees him when they pull him up from the water, is absolutely devastating. You see what suicide does to the people around you who love you. I knew Finch would die, but I still wasn't quite prepared for it. He was a good character and I loved him and Violet together.
4. Allegiant by Veronica Ross: This ending was just cruel. Everyone knows what happened because either you've been spoiled or you read it, or you've been spoiled and still read it but you know. And you may accept it but I don't. Only during death did her original faction finally show who she was. Cruel.
5. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson: This book follows a girl whose father is dying and her family decides to have one last family summer together. She doesn't really want to go to her summer house because there are memories and people up there that she's done wrong. She goes up here anyway and the summer turns around for her. Then her dad dies and it's so painful and I can't. You just have to read it. These book deaths are all sad. Only the first one has a decent ending.
This is just a very short list of my long list of sad books. I can imagine you can see which group I fall into with the emotional or stony people. Yeah.... Have a good day and don't read sad books!
1. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater: So, I don't know if you all know this but I love The Raven Cycle. It's actually on my list of top series and Gansey is one of my many fictional boyfriends. As we all may or may not know from my other review,
2. Every Last Word by Tamera Ireland Stone: This was a fantastic book about a girl who deals with OCD and starts to come into her own. She makes a friend with a girl named Caroline and is introduced into Caroline's friends. The whole story is beautifully executed and shows OCD so well. It's not a story built around OCD. It's just a story with a character who suffers from it. Well, it turns out that Caroline was dead the whole time. I was upset to say the least when that came about. She befriended the main character, brought her into her own, got her and her crush together, all to find out she's dead. The worst part is it was from suicide. Upsetting.
3. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven: This book is about a boy who is bipolar and a girl who loses her sister in a car accident and blames herself for her sister's death. They become good friends and even lovers in this book. Then Finch offs himself. When Violet describes how she sees him when they pull him up from the water, is absolutely devastating. You see what suicide does to the people around you who love you. I knew Finch would die, but I still wasn't quite prepared for it. He was a good character and I loved him and Violet together.
4. Allegiant by Veronica Ross: This ending was just cruel. Everyone knows what happened because either you've been spoiled or you read it, or you've been spoiled and still read it but you know. And you may accept it but I don't. Only during death did her original faction finally show who she was. Cruel.
5. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson: This book follows a girl whose father is dying and her family decides to have one last family summer together. She doesn't really want to go to her summer house because there are memories and people up there that she's done wrong. She goes up here anyway and the summer turns around for her. Then her dad dies and it's so painful and I can't. You just have to read it. These book deaths are all sad. Only the first one has a decent ending.
This is just a very short list of my long list of sad books. I can imagine you can see which group I fall into with the emotional or stony people. Yeah.... Have a good day and don't read sad books!
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
The Crown Review *Spoilers*
The Crown is the 5th and final novel in the Selection series. It's a part of The Heir that follows Eadlyn and her selection. This series as a whole has gotten a lot of hate and a lot of love but The Heir and The Crown especially has received a lot of hate. I can understand why, but this series was never meant to be stimulating. It's just meant to be a fun book series that you didn't have to think about. This series does come with its faults and problems as all books do. This is a spoiler review on The Crown.
When it was announced that The Selection series was getting two more books 20 years in the future, I was pretty disappointed. I felt that the series was wrapped up nicely and I wasn't sure that the spin off books would live up to the other three. Turns out I was right. I couldn't stand Eadlyn as a narrator and she was extremely self-centered. She didn't get much better in the second book. She was still very self-centered even when her mother was recovering from a heart attack. There was no character growth with any of the characters. Her choice that she made was not surprising and I'm just extremely disappointed in both books in this series.
2/5 Stars
When it was announced that The Selection series was getting two more books 20 years in the future, I was pretty disappointed. I felt that the series was wrapped up nicely and I wasn't sure that the spin off books would live up to the other three. Turns out I was right. I couldn't stand Eadlyn as a narrator and she was extremely self-centered. She didn't get much better in the second book. She was still very self-centered even when her mother was recovering from a heart attack. There was no character growth with any of the characters. Her choice that she made was not surprising and I'm just extremely disappointed in both books in this series.
2/5 Stars
Everything, Everything Review
Everything, Everything is the debut novel of Nicola Yoon that follows an 18 year old girl, Madeline, who has a rare autoimmune disease (SCID) that stops her from going outside and being a normal teenager. This book shows her struggles with the sickness and what happens when she meets the right boy to get her to start living.
There's almost no complaints I have about this book. It was just that good. The writing was wonderful and light hearted even when dealing with such a topic as SCID. The main character took it all in and understood that she couldn't do things like the other kids even if she wanted too. I will admit she was a little childish sounding, but since she hasn't left the house in 18 years and had been so guarded I can completely understand that. Olly was such a good character and I loved that he didn't feel bad for her. He tried to make her feel normal, and most kids wouldn't do that. HE put in effort to try and see her even though the process is long and arduous. He was just a good kid who didn't have the best life at home but never let that stop him. I can't sing enough praise for these two characters and how well they fit together in the book.
I will say I couldn't stand the mother and she gets a whole paragraph for this. From the first page that she was introduced, I couldn't stand her. I understand having a sick child and needing to protect them, but she just needed to be with Madeline (main character's name) 24/7. She couldn't go anywhere so she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. At the end of the book I realize now why she was the way she was and I completely respect it. I still didn't like her, though. I just respected her reasoning for protecting her daughter.
This book has extra little things in it like IM messages, drawings, schedules, and other stuff like that. I feel those things only add to a reading experience because now you're even more in the characters lives and get to see things happening first hand instead of them just describing it. The ending was completely shocking at something I didn't see coming at all. Sometimes, I can pick up on little hints that give stuff away but not this time. Not even close. Yoon just executed this book so flawlessly and beautifully and I can't wait for her next book in November.
5/5 Stars
There's almost no complaints I have about this book. It was just that good. The writing was wonderful and light hearted even when dealing with such a topic as SCID. The main character took it all in and understood that she couldn't do things like the other kids even if she wanted too. I will admit she was a little childish sounding, but since she hasn't left the house in 18 years and had been so guarded I can completely understand that. Olly was such a good character and I loved that he didn't feel bad for her. He tried to make her feel normal, and most kids wouldn't do that. HE put in effort to try and see her even though the process is long and arduous. He was just a good kid who didn't have the best life at home but never let that stop him. I can't sing enough praise for these two characters and how well they fit together in the book.
I will say I couldn't stand the mother and she gets a whole paragraph for this. From the first page that she was introduced, I couldn't stand her. I understand having a sick child and needing to protect them, but she just needed to be with Madeline (main character's name) 24/7. She couldn't go anywhere so she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. At the end of the book I realize now why she was the way she was and I completely respect it. I still didn't like her, though. I just respected her reasoning for protecting her daughter.
This book has extra little things in it like IM messages, drawings, schedules, and other stuff like that. I feel those things only add to a reading experience because now you're even more in the characters lives and get to see things happening first hand instead of them just describing it. The ending was completely shocking at something I didn't see coming at all. Sometimes, I can pick up on little hints that give stuff away but not this time. Not even close. Yoon just executed this book so flawlessly and beautifully and I can't wait for her next book in November.
5/5 Stars
Monday, June 13, 2016
Falling into Place Review
Trigger Warning: This book deals with the topics of suicide, depression, abortions, drugs, along with a few other heavier topics.
Falling into Place is the debut novel of Amy Zhang, and it deals with girl named Liz Emerson who crashes her car into a tree and tries to make her suicide look like an accident. It's told both in the present and in flashbacks with a mysterious narrator. There will be spoilers on a few things so beware.
This book left me feeling a whole lot of different emotions: hope, disappointment, and sadness. This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a great book either. I had problems with characters and the narrator and topics and everything else. This was just not my type of book.
We'll start with characters and the narrator first. Liz, Kennie, and Julia are three best friends who have been inseparable since 6th grade. They've been to parties, have humiliated people, been through Kennie's abortion together. They did everything together. These characters are the definition of preppy high school girls. They're mean and they humiliate people without caring. They're what everyone wants to be like but no one actually likes. Julia wasn't bad because she was different than the rest of them, but she was into drugs so was she really any better than the rest of them? I don't know. None of these characters left a real impression on me. I was rooting for Liz to live, but I felt no connection towards her. The narrator is supposed to be "surprising" and "shocking" but I guessed it 10% in the book, and I couldn't have been more disappointed. I expected someone crazy or someone who used to be friends with her until they grew up but she always still cared for her. No, that's not at all what happened. It was her/her imaginary friend. The story lost so much to me when I realized it. That's not surprising or shocking. It's kind of a cop out narrator; where's the imagination in a narrator?
The book surrounded the party scene with the drugs and alcohol and the whole nine yards and it felt too cliché for the popular girls to be at the best parties drinking the best alcohol or doing the strongest drugs. I just wanted more from this book. I didn't love the way the book was written with the flashbacks and the nonlinear writing style. I guess I expected a completely different story than what I got and that's okay. I was left uncomfortable with some of the scenes and left missing something from others.
2/5 Stars
Falling into Place is the debut novel of Amy Zhang, and it deals with girl named Liz Emerson who crashes her car into a tree and tries to make her suicide look like an accident. It's told both in the present and in flashbacks with a mysterious narrator. There will be spoilers on a few things so beware.
This book left me feeling a whole lot of different emotions: hope, disappointment, and sadness. This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a great book either. I had problems with characters and the narrator and topics and everything else. This was just not my type of book.
We'll start with characters and the narrator first. Liz, Kennie, and Julia are three best friends who have been inseparable since 6th grade. They've been to parties, have humiliated people, been through Kennie's abortion together. They did everything together. These characters are the definition of preppy high school girls. They're mean and they humiliate people without caring. They're what everyone wants to be like but no one actually likes. Julia wasn't bad because she was different than the rest of them, but she was into drugs so was she really any better than the rest of them? I don't know. None of these characters left a real impression on me. I was rooting for Liz to live, but I felt no connection towards her. The narrator is supposed to be "surprising" and "shocking" but I guessed it 10% in the book, and I couldn't have been more disappointed. I expected someone crazy or someone who used to be friends with her until they grew up but she always still cared for her. No, that's not at all what happened. It was her/her imaginary friend. The story lost so much to me when I realized it. That's not surprising or shocking. It's kind of a cop out narrator; where's the imagination in a narrator?
The book surrounded the party scene with the drugs and alcohol and the whole nine yards and it felt too cliché for the popular girls to be at the best parties drinking the best alcohol or doing the strongest drugs. I just wanted more from this book. I didn't love the way the book was written with the flashbacks and the nonlinear writing style. I guess I expected a completely different story than what I got and that's okay. I was left uncomfortable with some of the scenes and left missing something from others.
2/5 Stars
Friday, June 10, 2016
A Court of Thorns and Roses Review
I attempted this book over winter break last year and only got 35% through before I gave up. I tried it again and loved it more than I liked it before, but I still didn't love this book. This is Sarah J Maas' other book series. The second book A Court of Mist and Fury is out now.
This book is *loosely* based on Beauty and the Beast but take the loosely very heavily because I didn't see any similarities between Beauty and the Beast and this book, and I think that's why I didn't like it the first time around. I thought it was going to be more closely of a retelling than what it actually was. Now that I know what I got into this time around, I could accept it for what it was. This is not one of her better books and I think her other books does leaps around this book, but I also heard the second book gets better and I'm quite excited to read it.
This book is just average. The writing was very repetitive with certain phrases and it lost its punch or effect after its repeated for the 5th time in 3 chapters. Nothing really happens in the first half of the book other than Feyre getting taken by Tamlin (not a spoiler). Then I feel the plot kind of disappears until the second half of the book and we're tossed into a whole different plot it feels. It also did a lot of jumping around and I was left very confused through parts of it.
This book is *loosely* based on Beauty and the Beast but take the loosely very heavily because I didn't see any similarities between Beauty and the Beast and this book, and I think that's why I didn't like it the first time around. I thought it was going to be more closely of a retelling than what it actually was. Now that I know what I got into this time around, I could accept it for what it was. This is not one of her better books and I think her other books does leaps around this book, but I also heard the second book gets better and I'm quite excited to read it.
This book is just average. The writing was very repetitive with certain phrases and it lost its punch or effect after its repeated for the 5th time in 3 chapters. Nothing really happens in the first half of the book other than Feyre getting taken by Tamlin (not a spoiler). Then I feel the plot kind of disappears until the second half of the book and we're tossed into a whole different plot it feels. It also did a lot of jumping around and I was left very confused through parts of it.
Tamlin had amazing character growth through out the book and so did Lucein for that matter. They felt so real to me and I fell in love with all the characters except Feyre. She wasn't a bad heroine, but I also compared her to Aelin (or Celaena) quite a lot. That was probably my fault.
This book does have a little mature content so read at your own risk. It's nothing too shocking, though. Overall, I'd give this book a 3.5/5.
Sunday, June 5, 2016
The Unexpected Everything Review
The Unexpected Everything is the newest novel by Morgan Matson. Andie, the main character, like to have everything planned out and when her summer takes a turn, she has to try and go along with it having no plan on what this summer will have in store. It is a feel good story filled with friendship, first love, and everything else you would expect in a Morgan Matson book.
I love Matson's books. I think her writing is phenomenal and she writes beautiful summer stories. That said, this one is no different. It had all the elements of a typical Morgan Matson story, but I thought this one was lacking on quite a few things:
1. Plot. There was a plot in the beginning of the book and then by about 50% through we lost it. I thought the book could've wrapped up nicely around that. Andie had figured out her summer plans, she had a new boyfriend that she actually cared about, and her friends and her were still together. Of course that's not what happened and a bunch of stuff got added to the book that probably didn't need to be added. I was just lost on what the second half of the book really had to do with the first. Drama was added that didn't need to be, and I know we all appreciate a nice long contemporary read by a great author but this one was unnecessary.
2. Predictable. I know most contemporary books seem to be pretty predictable and Morgan Matson's books are not necessarily excluded from this but they're also so good that you can ignore the slight predictable element. This one was too predictable. I could've told you what was going to happen from 30% in because it happens in almost all summer books. The relationship crumbles because either someone intervened or the girl got scared about the way the relationship was going, she gets into a fight with either all her friends or one of her friends, she goes and chases the guy and tells him she loves him, her friends take her back in an emotional state, and everyone lives happily ever after. (Sorry if I ruined the plot for you, but I know that you know that you've read a book like this before so did I really spoil you?)
3. Characters. I can honestly say I liked only one character and it wasn't even the main character. I couldn't stand Andie at first. I thought she was stuck up and felt she was entitled because she was a senator's daughter (I don't think he was a senator, oops). When Clark was introduced and her relationship with him grew I saw changes in her that seemed to have resulted from him and I started to like her a bit more. I didn't care for Bri or Toby. I felt they were basically the same character and I just wasn't impressed. I did like Palmer, though. She was laid back and the most sane and normal friend out of the bunch.
Even though I had a lot of complaints, it's still a great book. It just wasn't up to my expectations. I rated it 3 stars out of 5. Here are some of her other titles you should definitely check out:
Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
Since You've Been Gone
Second Chance Summer
I love Matson's books. I think her writing is phenomenal and she writes beautiful summer stories. That said, this one is no different. It had all the elements of a typical Morgan Matson story, but I thought this one was lacking on quite a few things:
1. Plot. There was a plot in the beginning of the book and then by about 50% through we lost it. I thought the book could've wrapped up nicely around that. Andie had figured out her summer plans, she had a new boyfriend that she actually cared about, and her friends and her were still together. Of course that's not what happened and a bunch of stuff got added to the book that probably didn't need to be added. I was just lost on what the second half of the book really had to do with the first. Drama was added that didn't need to be, and I know we all appreciate a nice long contemporary read by a great author but this one was unnecessary.
2. Predictable. I know most contemporary books seem to be pretty predictable and Morgan Matson's books are not necessarily excluded from this but they're also so good that you can ignore the slight predictable element. This one was too predictable. I could've told you what was going to happen from 30% in because it happens in almost all summer books. The relationship crumbles because either someone intervened or the girl got scared about the way the relationship was going, she gets into a fight with either all her friends or one of her friends, she goes and chases the guy and tells him she loves him, her friends take her back in an emotional state, and everyone lives happily ever after. (Sorry if I ruined the plot for you, but I know that you know that you've read a book like this before so did I really spoil you?)
3. Characters. I can honestly say I liked only one character and it wasn't even the main character. I couldn't stand Andie at first. I thought she was stuck up and felt she was entitled because she was a senator's daughter (I don't think he was a senator, oops). When Clark was introduced and her relationship with him grew I saw changes in her that seemed to have resulted from him and I started to like her a bit more. I didn't care for Bri or Toby. I felt they were basically the same character and I just wasn't impressed. I did like Palmer, though. She was laid back and the most sane and normal friend out of the bunch.
Even though I had a lot of complaints, it's still a great book. It just wasn't up to my expectations. I rated it 3 stars out of 5. Here are some of her other titles you should definitely check out:
Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
Since You've Been Gone
Second Chance Summer
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Reading Habits Tag
Hello everyone! Things have finally calmed down at my place and now I can focus more on reading. Since I'm currently in the middle of The Unexpected Everything, I decided why not do a book tag? This is my apology for my lack of posting in the blog and to do something fun and interesting. As the title says, this tag is about my reading habits and what I do.
1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
No, I do not. I read anywhere and everywhere in my house, but you can probably find me curled up on my bed with a book.
2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?
Both. If I know where my book mark is then I'll use that, but if I don't then I'll just tear off a random piece of paper.
3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/certain amount of pages?
I prefer to stop at a chapter if I can get myself there. If the chapters are really long and I don't have the time to read until the next chapter, then I'll just stop at what page I'm on.
4. Do you eat or drink while reading?
If it's meal time and my mom doesn't care, then yes.
5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?
Music. I feel like it adds to the reading experience; when I'm listening to music and reading and the song just makes perfect sense with the book, I get even more into the book. Music and books go together. I mean even authors do playlists with their books.
6. One book at a time or several at once?
When I was younger I used to read multiple books at once, but now I'd rather read once and let it have my full attention then attempt to read two or three and lose track of all the plots of the books.
7. Reading at home or everywhere?
Everywhere.
8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?
Silently. I used to read out loud but now I'm able to read silently with no problems. I will read out loud if a sentence doesn't make sense to me or something is particularly shocking.
9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?
Yes. Sometimes a book is just too good and I can't wait and I skip pages. I'm also known to spoil myself because the mystery of what happens next just eats at me.
10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?
It doesn't really bother me if I do break the spine or keep it like new, but I don't go out of my way to break the spine of a book. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.
11. Do you write in your books?
Absolutely not. I only take notes if I'm reading on my kindle but a pen or pencil will never touch the pages of my books.
Thank you all so much for reading!! This was just a little more about me and some of my reading habits that I have!
1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
No, I do not. I read anywhere and everywhere in my house, but you can probably find me curled up on my bed with a book.
2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?
Both. If I know where my book mark is then I'll use that, but if I don't then I'll just tear off a random piece of paper.
3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/certain amount of pages?
I prefer to stop at a chapter if I can get myself there. If the chapters are really long and I don't have the time to read until the next chapter, then I'll just stop at what page I'm on.
4. Do you eat or drink while reading?
If it's meal time and my mom doesn't care, then yes.
5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?
Music. I feel like it adds to the reading experience; when I'm listening to music and reading and the song just makes perfect sense with the book, I get even more into the book. Music and books go together. I mean even authors do playlists with their books.
6. One book at a time or several at once?
When I was younger I used to read multiple books at once, but now I'd rather read once and let it have my full attention then attempt to read two or three and lose track of all the plots of the books.
7. Reading at home or everywhere?
Everywhere.
8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?
Silently. I used to read out loud but now I'm able to read silently with no problems. I will read out loud if a sentence doesn't make sense to me or something is particularly shocking.
9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?
Yes. Sometimes a book is just too good and I can't wait and I skip pages. I'm also known to spoil myself because the mystery of what happens next just eats at me.
10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?
It doesn't really bother me if I do break the spine or keep it like new, but I don't go out of my way to break the spine of a book. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.
11. Do you write in your books?
Absolutely not. I only take notes if I'm reading on my kindle but a pen or pencil will never touch the pages of my books.
Thank you all so much for reading!! This was just a little more about me and some of my reading habits that I have!
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