I Woke Up Dead at the Mall is about Sarah, a 16 year-old girl, who wakes up dead at Mall of America with no recollection of who killed her or why. In fact, she deals with trying to believe if she was truly murdered or if she suffered from food poisoning.
This was a great novel that gave a more lighthearted look at death instead of grim reapers and deciding on whether you belong in Heaven or Hell. It's based in Mall of America, which I said above, and that type of setting was absolutely wonderful to see used as a death place. It only added to the lightheartedness of this novel. This book does hold a bit of mystery to it because there isn't a reason as to why the person killed Sarah for a good portion of the novel and you're just left with the question, "Why?" Granted, you will find out and it'll be sort of obvious as to who did it and why if you pick up the clues. It was a super predictable novel, but it was a fun one so I can't complain.
The main character Sarah was a fantastic narrator. She was witty (trying a bit too hard sometimes), funny, and actually cared about her family and the dead people around her. In all honesty, all the characters has such diverse personalities. It was absolutely refreshing to see. I think as a whole this novel did a fantastic job at being positive with relationships between characters and being relatively positive with the whole death scene. I would read another book by this author hands down.
4/5 stars.
Friday, July 1, 2016
Thursday, June 30, 2016
The Rose and the Dagger Review
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.
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.
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.
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