The Diviners Book Review

Book: The Diviners

Author: Libba Bray

Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Paranormal, Mystery

Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Blurb

“People think boundaries and borders build nations. Nonsense-words do. Beliefs, declarations, constitutions-words. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History”

There are books that you know everything about due to the hype surrounding it and the plethora of spoilers going around social media.  This wasn’t the case for this books.  Sure, I’d seen it around bookstagram, I agreed that it was beautiful to look at, but I knew NOTHING about the plot before picking it up.  Going into this with my eyes closed worked out for the best this time.

The Diviners is a BIG book with and equally BIG story.  We start off with Evie O’Neill, who is always chasing trouble’s tail, being shipped off to New York to live with her uncle Will after a “prank” gone wrong.  It’s 1926 and New York is where the party is at.  Evie is beyond ecstatic for the change of scenery, a place where she can finally belong.  Uncle Will is master of all things occult, owning a creepy museum and teaching courses on  everything there is to know about the supernatural.  When bodies start popping up, desecrated and missing body parts, Will becomes the man of the hour and Evie is not far behind.  Together, they’ll try to uncover the mystery of The Pentacle Killer and hopefully, live to tell the tale.

Let’s get one thing clear, I LOVE NEW YORK. I love the city, I love the ambiance, I love the craziness of it.  It’s a place where everything seems possible, like every corner is harboring it’s own adventurous opportunity.  But it’s also scary and mysterious and broad.  This book captured that. Beautifully.  People underestimate the power of a good setting.  Giving life to the buildings, the streets, the very wind that surrounds your characters can give a whole new edge to your story.  A different time period? Madness. Genius.  A busy city, right in it’s prime; it’s not hard imagining all the crazy events that happen throughout the story.

This is one of the few books that I stayed for the atmosphere, instead of the plot.  Not that the plot was lacking; it’s just as fantastic.  But the wow factor was definitely the richness of city.  In addition to this, we have the dialogue which was fluid and fun s heck.  There’s so much slang from the ‘2os, giving it that classic movie quality you expect from the era.

The plot itself is like one of those Russian dolls.  It’s a plot within a plot, within a plot… Though there is a lot to take in, the author doesn’t try to rush the action.  Everything is at low simmer; the drama, the romance. Hopefully it’ll pick up a bit more in the sequel, Lair of Dreams because I sill have A LOT of questions.

One of the things I loved most about this book is the amount of characters presented.  Each one has a secret and a different life story but in odd ways, they’re all connected.  The chapters change point of view constantly to accommodate all of the protagonists, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat to see what will happen next.  This strategy runs the risk of getting annoying because sometimes you want to read a specific POV more than the other.  Even so, I enjoyed it a lot more in this book because I loved all of the characters.  Even the villain, who was scary beyond belief, had fantastic chapters.  The only con was that with the constant switching, the story kind of dragged on.  But I appreciated the slow place.

With Evie, the first think that came to mind was spunk.  This girl is as feisty as they come; she’s definitely the life of the party.  She’s vain, she’s petty, she’s a bit too adventurous and I loved it! There’s nothing I hate more than a bland character and Evie was so full of life, so real and girly that I couldn’t help but love her whirlwind personality.

Then we have uncle Will himself, all scholarly but at the same time mysterious and anxious (and handsome I’m not gonna lie), a total contrast to Evie.  His role as parental figure is lacking but he’s key to the plot. At his side we have Jericho, giant, silent and beautiful Jericho.  Now he was a surprise.  He doesn’t talk much during the book but when he does, he makes an impact.  He makes you laugh, swoon and maybe coo at his dorkiness.  He’s my personal favorite to be honest.

In addition to those three we have Sam a rake and a thief; Theta, superstar and runaway;   Memphis, a poet with street smarts; Mabel, a quiet girl with rebellion running through her veins.

I believe that in the next book these last 4 characters will develop more and take up the spotlight and I am oh so ready for it.  I honestly don’t know what more to expect, how this will go on…

But what I do know is that it’ll be epic.

 

The Raven Boys Book Review

 

Book: The Raven Boys

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal

Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Blurb

“Aglionby Academy was the number one reason Blue had developed her two rules: One, stay away from boys because they were trouble. And two, stay away from Aglionby boys, because they were bastards.”

I know a book is great when my chest starts to feel real tight every time I read a chapter or think about a certain character involved in the book.  I know it’s fantastic when I’m twenty pages in and I’m already swooning over the protagonists.  I know a book is perfect when the main character is real and I feel a connection to her/his/their story.

The Raven Boys is an amazing read that I just fell hard for.  It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a book, no joke.

I didn’t take me long to be completely enraptured by Maggie’s writing; she’s one of the best I tell you.  I knew that already because I’d read Shiver not too long ago but this book… The Raven Boys is Maggie’s beautiful narrative style on steroids.  You can tell how much Maggie put into this gang.

The story revolves around a sixteen year old girl named Blue Sargent and the Aglionby boys: the elite of the small town that is Henrietta.  Blue has had a very peculiar upbringing, what with her family consisting of psychics and everything paranormal and has been told all her life that she’s destined to cause her true love’s death.

Nice.

The book is written in third person point of view but each chapter revolves around different characters; mainly Gansey, Blue and Adam.  This gives the story a well-rounded view without spoiling any of the events for the reader.

Blue is my main chick. I want to be her friend.  Though she isn’t as fierce as other main heroines (whom I also adore), there is this softness about her that makes me adore her even more. And not in the wilted flower type of way but the ultimate caring mother figure kind of way. If that makes sense.  She fits in with these boys and it’s solely because of who she is and how she sees the world.  She’s very perceptive and lovely and goes the extra mile to understand these boys.  She respects their personalities, even makes fun of them sometimes and best of all, she’s a friend.

One of the things I related to the most in this book was Blue’s day to day life.   Her house is one filled with women who are quirky a best, maniacal at worst.  It reminds me of my childhood  since my home was and is still dominated by women.  Maura, Blue’s mom, is such a refreshing parental figure without being unbelievable. Her character just brought out so many memories of my own mother, it was surreal.  I’m so glad that Maggie took the time to elaborate on this aspect of the Blue’s life since in YA, the norm is to keep parents as vague as possible and/or only exist as plot devices.

Aside from Maura, we have characters like Persephone and Calla, Maura’s two best friends, who also contribute to the story’s richness without stealing the limelight.  Maggie is a genius when it comes to secondary characters.  Persephone gives such a Luna Lovegood feel without being a replica and Calla is just straight out bad ass.  I love that I get to love them this much.

To love everybody this much, especially the boys.

I’m a sucker for guys in books, it’s a given.  The Aglionby boys are no exception.  Maggie’s way of building up these boys is why I couldn’t pick a favorite.  Instead of writing about the strictly physical aspects of each boy, she takes the time to give us small details that are exclusive to them.  You get to know their essence as a person.  I cannot for the life of me tell you the color of Adam’s eyes, but I can feel who he is.  It’s the oddest thing.

What’s so great about this is that there is no way of confusing the boys.  There is no mix-up on who is whom, there can’t be.  The way they talk, smile, love and hate is so different from the other.  And you will love them individually, with all their faults and quirks.  Unconditionally.  Believe me.

The atmosphere in this book is nothing less than alive.  Without it, nothing could have happened in the story, the setting and tone are exceptionally executed throughout all the scenes.  You will feel joy when you’re supposed to feel joy and you will freak the fuck out when you’re supposed to freak the fuck out.  The plot twists grab you by the throat and refuse to let go until you’ve finished the book.  AND EVEN THEN.  THE FUCKING CLIFFHANGER. MY GOD.  KILL ME.

The mystery and the suspense will remain alive even after the last word.

So if you’re still having doubts about finally picking up this series. Don’t.  I’m so ready to keep going with this story and loving every single word of it.  My heart might not be ready but since when do I ever listen to my heart? Especially when it comes to book?

 

Guilty Pleasures! New Adult Recommendations

Hello ladies, gents and other human life forms! I know I haven’t posted in a while.  I sincerely want to apologize for that, my emotional state has been crap lately and just a bunch of bad things ended happening during the past two weeks.  Still! I feel a bit better and feel good enough to show you some of my infamous, not so secret favorites.

This list is gonna consist of New Adult books which have made me fan my face and squeal so loud, I woke my housemates right up.

Let’s start with the book the changed the game for me!

Ah yes, J. Lynn.  I’d already read the first book of the Lux series when I bit into this piece of perfection.  I read this along some lovely girls (including Adriana and Taylor from bibliophilegathering) and I was absolutely hooked from the very first page.  Jennifer has a such an effortless way of writing plus her male characters are always so damn dreamy.  I’ve read the rest in this series but Cam still holds a special place in my heart and soul.  He is just so sweet and kind and flat out adorable.  I’m all for the bad boys but good guys just make my heart melt into a disgusting mushy puddle.

To sum it all up, it’s a typical boy meets girl but there’s an actual development of friendship and characters and the dialogue is superb, not to mention the steamy scenes.  They’re great, I promise.  This book will leave you in a state of love and bliss and honestly, I couldn’t have asked for more.  But I did and so I read the companion novella called Trust in Me which is written in Cam’s point of view! I definitely recommend it as well.

Nani wrote a more complete review of this baby, the link is over here!

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Staying on track with the whole college scenario, I shall introduce you to the fantastic Elle Kennedy and her brand spanking new series called Off Campus.

The first two books are out and I devoured those babies in two days.  The Deal is my personal favorite at the moment but The Mistake is still pretty fantastic.  Let’s just take a moment and…look at the abs.

ALRIGHTY THEN!

Yes, these books have hot, drool worthy men.  Yes, they’re hokey players. Yes, they will knock you off your ass and make you love them.  Thee books are everything I’m looking for in a New Adult book.  They’re witty, they’re sexy, they’re REAL! What I loved most abut Elle’s writing is how easy she made it to believe her characters could be everyday people.  They joke around, they have personalities and dreams and issues and naughty thoughts just like anyone else.

There’s sex in these books, a lot of it.  And I loved it.  Gosh, I loved the raunchiness of it all.  They’re young and open about they’re sexuality, there’s no unnecessary slut-shaming or close-minded thinking, there’s strong female characters that aren’t stupidly annoying and really smart, cool (and also pretty nice!) guys that you can’t help but fall in love with.

10/10 Elle, kudos.

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And last but not least, I bring you a gritty saga about hard rocker dudes and their girlfriends.

 Say hello to Stage Dive.

Man, it took me less than a week to finish all of these and I do not regret it one bit.  Kylie Scott is goddess when it comes to hilarious scenarios and steamy sex.  My favorite is definitely Play; I’m weak for drummers and contagiously funny guys.

The series goes on with each member of the band respectively.  Lick is about the guitarist; Lead, the lead singer and Deep, the bass player.  I loved how we got to see all of the guys separately and really appreciate just how different they were from each other.  It takes no effort to distinguish their personalities.  The plot is always interesting; there’s drunken marriages, drug abuse, personality disorders…Just, a lot of what’s involved in the fast paced life of every rock star.  Even so, the stories stay very real and so do the characters.  I got emotional at times and just fell in love with this fictional band.

Yeah, there are cliches involved but you know what? We all need a little bit of sap in our lives.  Even when it comes from grungy rock stars.

Cinder Book Review

Book: Cinder (first installment of The Lunar Chronicles)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA Science Fiction/ Retelling

Rating:  ★★★

Goodreads Blurb

“Vanity is a factor, but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.”

Once upon a time, there was a teenage cyborg named Cinder with a questionable past, and some serious self-esteem issues, who was hated by everyone in New Beijing with exception of her little sister and her android side-kick Iko and maybe even the wonderfully handsome prince Kaito.

alrighty then.

Teenage cyborg? another level of cool.

Futuristic setting? coolio.

Evil beings that live on the moon? sign me up.

Romantic subplot? …meh.

Cinder is a well-loved book, which is basically a nice way of saying that it’s been hyped up to the extreme.  And for that same reason I was beyond excited to finally be reading this book.  Truth is, I was pretty disappointed.  I’m a huge fan of fairy tale retellings and the moment I found out about our futuristic Cinderella, I had to give it a try; I was prepared to love this book to bits.  I expected scientific narration, a complex world filled with hover whats-its and holograms, and I got that…but in the lowest scale possible.

That’s how I can best explain the entirety of this plot.  You’d think that with the setting, the description of the characters and the structure of the political system, this book would have a lot more depth that it truly has.  There’s so much to be learned and discovered in this story and the author took the liberty of barely scratching the surface and that irked me.  I wanted so much more! I wanted to know more about the Lunars, enough to keep me on my toes and craving for the next books in the series.  Instead, I got a whole lot of frustrating “mystery” and dull characterization.  I did like the diversity presented in the cast, I’m pretty dang tired of seeing white people as protagonists in novels (sorry if this offends anyone).

It took me less than 100 pages to figure the entire plot, no joke.  And if there’s something I loathe in this world, it’s predictability.  I know what you’re all gonna say: it’s a retelling, it makes sense for it to be easy to figure out since you know the original story.  I’m gonna say this once (and probably many times again later on): just because a story is a retelling, doesn’t mean it has to follow the exact same story line of the original story.

If any of you have read A Court of Thorns and Roses and/or Crimson Bound, you know what I’m talking about.  Retellings are about keeping the essence of the story, not repeating it.  There are certain tropes that might be necessary to keep but the main reason these original stories were created was to present a life lesson.  If you portray that lesson in your story in an efficient and innovative way, you’ve got yourself a decent retelling.

Cinder is certainly creative with the whole cyborg adaptation and the introduction of the Lunars but it’s too vague with this new spin of the tale.  I’ve been told that with each book the story takes up a better shape and gets less predictable and I’m holding on to that hope!

As for Cinder the main character, I liked her.  Believe me, I did.  She was witty and very human, her internal monologues were fascinating and she made me giggle and root for her most of the time.  I really really really loved that she was a mechanic.  You don’t see that a lot in female characters in YA fiction, as if there aren’t young girls who are interested in engineering and science and math, and I was very glad for that crucial piece of individuality the author decided to give her.    She was kind of vain though but it’s an understandable quality due to the circumstances she’s been raised in.  All in all, she was very relatable and a good role model for all teenage girls out there who tend to stick out due to their differences and tastes.

The love interest was…okay. I didn’t really get to know Kaito all that much throughout the book so I really can’t say that I ship them to ends of the Earth.  I can ship them from here to the next street corner I guess.  I need more of him though to see if he’s worthy prospect.  Honestly, the romantic subplot bummed me out, which is not common for me since I’m a hopeless romantic.  In this story’s case, I didn’t find it necessary and it was just boring and more of an obstacle than anything.  Kaito didn’t offer much for Cinder.  PLUS, WHAT HE SAID IN THE ENDING KIND OF MADE ME HATE HIM A LITTLE (A LOT).

AND THAT’S ABOUT THE ONLY THING THAT I DID NOT SEE COMING. THE ENDING.  It’s the reason why I gave the book 3 stars instead of two.  The ending was heartbreaking and it got me screaming at everyone involved.  I NEED THAT IN A BOOK. I NEED TO BE SURPRISED AND PRONE TO EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS.  IT WAS STILL CLICHE BUT IT WAS EXECUTED VERY WELL AND IT LEFT ME WANTING EVEN MORE.

In conclusion: the book could’ve been much better.  There is still a lot to be discovered and I hope the rest of the series completes this enormous plot hole the first book left behind.

Unpopular Opinion: Popular Books I Hated (part 1)

I’m not much of a hater, I always try my best to see the good in people and in books.  But, alas, I am only human and sometimes I get filled with pure rage over silly things.  This year (so far) I’ve read a total of 76 books and among them are a couple of very hyped up books that I just…did not appreciate.  I’ll divide these into parts because there is an insane amount of hatred in my little body and I need to take it easy.  There might be some minor spoilers and swearing ahead so you’ve been warned!!!

Let’s start with the worst one of them all!

Goodreads Blurb

Oh boy. Where to even begin with this trainwreck.

If you haven’t read this piece of work then I really don’t recommend you do unless you’re looking for some horrible literature that’ll make you want to rip you hair out.  Talk about unimaginative characters, terrible plot line and boring narration.  So many things went wrong with this book, I still can’t process all of them.  First of all, nothing really happened in this book.  It was just a really long book about nothing.  The dialogue was stilted and unrealistic and everything was just so repetitive.  The same scenarios keep happening along the “story” over and over and you can’t help but groan at the lack of creativity.

Our main characters, Tessa and Hardin, are just straight up AWFUL people.

Tessa is just plain stupid, I swear.  Her ditziness is so forced that sometimes while reading I found myself screaming at the book because I could just NOT understand how she could be so stupid.  Not only that, but she was a cheater and tHEN SHE ACTED LIKE SHE WASN’T.  SHE WAS ALWAYS ASKING FOR TROUBLE AND THEN ACTED ALL INNOCENT AND VICTIMIZED WHEN SHE GOT IT.  I WANTED TO SLAP HER, REPEATEDLY.  SHE’S SUPPOSED TO BE THIS OVERACHIEVING NERD CHICK WITH A STICK UP HER ASS BUT SHE SURE IS A MORON WHEN IT COMES TO RELATIONSHIPS AND BEING A NORMAL HUMAN BEING.

Hardin took the shit cake though.  The author tried to portray him as this tortured soul who couldn’t handle love because he is just so jaded (BARF).

Hardin is the shittiest leading man I’ve ever read.  Not only is he abusive towards Tessa, but he’s such a baby about things.  There was not an inch of maturity in his character and that’s a total turn off.  He’s supposed to be a “stereotypical bad boy” but mostly, he just whines about everything and throws the most ridiculous tantrums for no valid reason   whatsoever.

Back to the abuse; Hardin is very thorough with giving Tessa a total mental breakdown.  He makes her extremely insecure and ruins any possible relationship she might have had in the future.  I’m not saying that Tessa didn’t provoke him at times, because she did, but Hardin really was a psychotic little fucker with no self control.  Not only that, but later on they try to excuse his behavior by telling us his sob story, WHICH STILL DOES NOT IN ANY CASE EXCUSE WHAT AN ABSOLUTE ASSHOLE HE IS.

So yeah, toxic relationship and abuse? check.  Repetitive scenarios with no originality whatsoever? check.  Slutshaming? double check.

Needless to say, I’m not continuing this series anytime soon.

My Name is Memory book review

Book: My Name is Memory

Author: Ann Brashares

Genre: I’m really not sure (???)

Rating: ★★★.75

Goodreads Blurb

“Love who you love while you have them. That’s all you can do. Let them go when you must. If you know how to love, you’ll never run out.”

I went into this book expecting a weepy love story about soulmates and the drama that comes with that trope.

And I did get it.  But not in the way I expected.

We have the boy who remembers absolutely everything from his past lives and has been in love with the same girl/soul ever since he remembers and we have the girl who forgets and always escapes his grasp.  First cliche: covered.

Now this is where it gets interesting.  The story is told in dual points of view, with no established order.  We have Lucy’s (our leading lady and Daniel’s star crossed love) which is set in present time; in this case, 2006 to 2009, and we have Daniel’s.  Daniel’s part is a bit tricky because we have chapters exclusively dedicated to his past lives, where we see him as he was before and we have some of his in present time also.

I absolutely loved Daniel’s point of view.  It was so fascinating.

I’m not sure if any of you are into philosophy but Daniel gives us this very open and new way of thinking about life and the machination of souls.  It’s a refreshing view of how we function as people and how small our lives really are compared to the cosmos and to the entirety that is time.  We learn about morality, about how we tend to take things for granted, about life as a whole.  I loved how he incorporated history into everything he narrated; reincarnation is a huge part of this story and Daniel claimed to have met various famous souls such as Thomas Jefferson in the bodies of other people.  Making a character seem like an old soul is something most authors fail at but Ann made Daniel very convincing and real.

Kudos to you Ann!

My main problem with this book was Lucy.  I really did not like her character.  She was bland beyond belief and her entire existence was very forgettable.  I couldn’t fathom how a soul as rich in personality as Daniel’s is could possibly love this wisp of a girl.  By the end she gets a bit better, there’s a spark of a bright person there but we don’t really get to see much of it.  I actually liked her a lot better in her past lives.  Especially when she was Constance.  That entire chunk of the book was my absolute favorite.  And if you read it, you’ll know why.

The narration itself is great, not too much detail; straight to the point even when I sometimes wanted that extra umph of adjectives but it was still pretty well written.  I did get frustrated with the pace of the story several times.  It was beyond slow and sometimes I even considered skipping through some of Lucy’s parts but I didn’t.

The conflict was… pretty bad I’m not gonna lie.  I didn’t like the villain but not in that typical way of not liking villains.  I didn’t really see much of him in the book therefore my hatred for him wasn’t big.  And that’s the thing that killed his character for me.  I love hating villains.  The more evil they are, the more I hate them. I love me a horrible villain.  THAT IS THEIR PURPOSE IN LITERATURE.  But that doesn’t happen with our antagonist.   He just appears briefly in the beginning, disappears for most of the middle and then suddenly comes back by the end and even then it’s only for a short bit of time and we don’t really get to see him being totally despicable.  Weak and disappointing is the best way to describe his character in my opinion.

AND HE IS ALSO THE REASON WHY I WAS SO ANGRY WITH THE ENDING.

I don’t even know where to start explaining my emotions when it comes to the ending.  Scratch that, I do.  I HATED IT (not really but really).  If you’re not into open endings that make you just a bit angry and leave you wanting so much more, then don’t read this book. I finished it in the early hours of the morning (2am to be exact) and I couldn’t fall asleep later because of the frustration.  SO MUCH FRUSTRATION.

I just found out that this was supposed to be a trilogy (which explains the ending) but since it wasn’t as popular as they thought it would be, the publisher’s discontinued the series. Damn.

If even after this review you want to go on and read, I wish you the best ヽ( ˘∪˘ )ゝ

Angelfall Book Review

Book: Angelfall

Author: Susan Ee

Genre: Post-Apocalypse

Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Blurb

“I never thought about it before, but I’m proud to be human. We’re ever so flawed. We’re frail, confused, violent, and we struggle with so many issues. But all in all, I’m proud to be a Daughter of Man.”

Oh boy.  This is gonna be a long one so bear with me.

I’ve read this book twice already and it’s definitely up there on my list of favorite books of all time.  Probably number 2 or 3, give or take.  Why? Because it combines most if not all of my favorite things when it comes to a good book.

Number 1.

BADASS FEMALE LEAD

Penryn is everything I’ve ever wanted in a protagonist.  First person narration gives you a lot of insight into who she is as a person and how fierce she is mentally and physically.  A teenage girl, hurled into this post apocalyptic mess where the rules of the world have been twisted beyond recognition, combined with the responsibility of her wheelchair bound little sister and her schizophrenic mother; you’ve got yourself quite the predicament.  And despite all of this, we see a very human Penryn.  Most YA heroes, in my opinion, seem very unreal and unrelatable.  They automatically assume leadership of things, they don’t have doubts, their not as scared as they should be.

Penryn, though very mature, doesn’t hide that she’s scared.  She doesn’t act as this supernatural force that can lead everyone to safety.  She just wants her family to be safe and she fears not being able to accomplish that.  There’s this war inside of her between doing what’s morally correct and what’s beneficial for her and her family.  I am so in love with the way the author projects this struggle.

And it is because of this struggle that we meet our male “lead” (the quotations shall be explained later on)

Number 2.

HOT MALE LEAD WHO EMPOWERS AND DOES NOT OVERSHADOW THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FEMALE LEAD

As a raging feminist, I absolutely HATE when the male love interest completely takes over the female lead’s role and destroys her purpose as a character.  I live for strong characters and of course, Penryn does apprecie Raffe’s physique (HE’S AN ANGEL FOR CHRIST’S SAKE) but that alone doesn’t muddle her entire personality and turns her into a blubbering mess.  Raffe also doesn’t exploit his hotness and he actually has a lot to offer as a character.  He’s funny, strong and not a total douche to Penryn but also not overly nice just because she’s a girl.  Their relationship is one that starts off as blackmail then develops into one of admiration and respect.

(quotations explained) Raffe is the male lead but the real protagonist is Penryn and her journey.  This is about her and well, Raffe is a part of it but the emphasis is always on Penryn.

I’m a hopeless romantic, always have been  But I really appreciated that this story didn’t revolve around romance; it’s more of a subplot to the subplot; kept to the minimum but still enough to make you sigh once in awhile.

Number 3 & Nummber 4

POST APOCALYPTIC SETTING AND ANGELS

I will eat anything set after an apocalypse.  I love the chaos, I love the madness, I LOVE IT.  You see human emotion being tried at every corner, the very limitations of morality being questioned over and over; in conclusion:

That, accompanied by one of the best portrayal of angels I’ve read? Good stuff.

The angels in this book aren’t your fluffy, harp playing peace bringers.  They’re how they’re SUPPOSED to be: warriors who hate the Sons and Daughters of Man.  Ruthless soldiers with no trace of humanity BECAUSE they’re NOT human.  Writers tend to forget that little detail when portraying angels and I’m so glad Susan didn’t fall into that little cliche.

And last but in now least, Number 5:

GORE/BLOOD & GUTS

This book is not for the queasy or the faint hearted.  There are very gruesome scenes described in detail (ugh) that made me freak out and gag quite a bit.   Your skin will crawl and sometimes you might just want to stop reading and take a breather (I recommend it) but in the end, everything will be worth it. Trust me.

Well, I think that pretty much sums up everything I have to say about this book.

Happy reading, Daughters and Sons of Man.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone Book Review

Book: Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Author: Laini Taylor

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Parallel Universes and whatnot

Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Blurb

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love.

It did not end well.”

That quote up there? That’s the main reason I decided to pick up this baby.  I’m a sucker for angel stories and that tiny verse caught me hook, line and sinker.  But honestly, I had absolutely no idea what this book was about when I picked it up.  I’d seen a buttload of rave reviews (and some not very nice ones but lets ignore those) and the wonderful Katytastic just freaked over this trilogy so I decided to give it a go, officially.

Needless to say, I absolutely freaking LOVED it! ♡♡

Laini (the wonderful person shown on the side with the cool hair) freaking destroyed me with her writing.  The style is so beautiful, very lyrical and fantastic and it just envelops you in way that leaves you (literally) breathless.  She breaths life into her words, I swear.  There were times when everything was just so perfect that my chest would squeeze. SQUEEZE I TELL YOU.

If that isn’t phenomenal writing then I don’t know what is.

And what world has our lovely author drawn up for us? Well, to begin with the story starts off in Prague (the capital of the Czech Republic if you didn’t already know) with a blue haired university student called Karou.  We see that our protagonist is an artist, a very talented one at that and that her sketchbooks are filled with these realistic looking monsters.  Her entire existence is very peculiar; she disappears from time to time, she know a myriad of languages and even she doesn’t know who she really is. Throughout this book we head on to unveil the mystery.

And then we meet Akiva; this otherworldly, beautiful man who will change Karou’s life, for better or for worse.  AKiva is a very stoic man but even then he made me ache.  His thoughts are very personal and through him we’ll learn about most of the mystery surrounding the black handprints hat are appearing in the doorways.

As I mentioned before, the writing is very beautiful and it has to be in order to intrigue readers into this kind of complex fantasy: a very interesting mix of myth and legend in a modern context.  Not only are there all sorts of “monsters” whose appearances may seem strange to us but not to Karou, but there is new way of understanding the world our protagonist lives in.

We meet Zuzana, Karou’s eccentric best friend who also understands that there is just something very strange about Karou as a whole.  Zuze is probably the character I relate to the most in this entire trilogy and in any other book to be honest.  Her personality is very spontaneous (like mine) and she’s also fiercely loyal to the people she loves  And while this book is very fantastical and full of magic, Zuze adds a pinch of normalcy with her friendship and all around craziness.

There are two halves to this book, I call them the before and the after.  Both are perfect, both connect very well when read completely and both leave you gasping and wanting more, which we do get in the sequel Days of Blood & Starlight.

How exactly is the romance in this trilogy? PAINFUL. EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL.

 THE AMOUNT OF PAIN I WENT THROUGH BECAUSE OF THESE TWO IS NOT OKAY.

Everything is really subtle but very very intense at first.  We see glimpses of what could be and the thoughts each of them have about each other and you just get sucked into their potential love.  THE THINGS AKIVA SAYS LORD HAVE MERCY.

AND THEN.

THEY DESTROY YOU.

The entire trilogy is very plot heavy with extensive character development and lovely dialogue and descriptions.  There is so much to learn in this trilogy about life and sacrifice and the true meaning of hope.  There is pain, suffering, hope, then more pain and despair.  I just-

I don’t even know how I finished this book.  But I did, and I loved it. And for that same reason I’m hoping that you, dear reader, love it too.  I need someone to suffer with. Please （ｉДｉ）

Ugly Love book review

Book: Ugly Love

Author: Colleen Hoover

Genre: Contemporary Fiction (Adult)

Rating: ★★★★★ (all of the ugly stars)

Goodreads Blurb

“Love isn’t always pretty. Sometimes you spend all your time hoping it’ll eventually be something different. Something better. Then, before you know it, you’re back to square one, and you lost your heart somewhere along the way.”

This book is officially going down on my list of books that surprised the heck out of me.  If there’s something that really annoys me, it’s hype. Especially when I finally get to reading/watching said hyped thing and I end up disappointed.  There’s this added pressure to reading/watching just because a lot of people have loved this book and/or movie/series to bits.  And we all know just how HYPED UP Ugly Love is and how popular Colleen Hoover is in the book community.

When I read the blurb, I set myself up for another new adult book with an okay plot and some smexy times.  And that’s when I learned my first lesson when it comes to reading Colleen Hoover’s books.

NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS.

By reading the blurb, you know that our main lady is named Tate and that she has just moved in with her dear brother (who is a pilot) and during this change of pace she meets the dark, brooding Miles (who is also a pilot) whom she has a very raw sexual tension with. They decide to have a “friends with benefits” agreement and, as we all know, it can only go so well.

To start off, the writing is flawless.  Colleen’s way with words captivated me from the very beginning and it was that exact style that led me to read this beauty in one sitting. I freaking devoured this book.

Second lesson when read a Hoover novel:

DUAL PERSPECTIVE. THAT IS THE REAL MAGIC IN THIS NOVEL.

Tate and Miles’ story is told from two different points of view; one set in present time, in Tate’s perspective and another set six years before, told in Miles’ perspective.  This is what really captivates the reader and set him or her on a total loop.  There are two stories being told at the same time and you are desperate to know the outcome of both.  What I really loved about this was how obviously different the narrations are from each other.  There is no way of mistaking one for the other!

MIles’ pov is the most beautiful, in my opinion. It’s very poetic and heart wrenching and it really keeps you on your toes. The wording is very raw and you can’t help but feel very moved by his thoughts.  Tate’s pov is more about action and it’s noticeably more humorous. I did laugh out loud several times while reading which was great.

I did mention the smexy times right? Well, there are plenty of them.

BUT THEY ARE NOT JUST EXPLICIT SCENES WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF BEING SIMPLY SEX.

These scenes give a lot of emotional insight about the characters and they serve a higher purpose (HA!) than just banging.  This being said, I do not recommend this book to young readers because the thematic is pretty strong and meant for adults.

The reaction I had to this story was significantly more than I was prepared for.  There was this constant lump in my throat and I was just so involved in everything that was going on  These characters are so believable and trust me, you will relate and feel so much for them.

Prepare your heart!

Me Before You Book Review

Book: Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes

Genre: Contemporary Fiction (Adult)

Rating: ★★★★★ (all of the sad stars)

Goodreads Blurb

“You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

How to even begin expressing the things I felt while reading this book.

To start of, this book isn’t intended for young readers.  There are some really serious themes involved in the plot and I don’t recommend it to anyone under 16 years of age.

The story presents us this woman named Lou who has just recently lost her job and is now looking for employment.  Her search for a new job leads her to Will Traynor, a paraplegic who’s desire to live has been depleted.  What shall be the outcome of this odd meeting?

There were so many aspects that could have gone wrong with this book, starting with the premise.  I’m a fan of contemporary fiction or chick lit and as a fan I’ve seen a certain pattern with these types of books.  They become repetitive and kind of bland, so the characters are easily forgettable and don’t have any sense of identity.  Also, when serious topics are included in the mix of thins, they tend to just skim over the details of the tragedy and struggle.  I was scared of something like this happening with this piece.

To say I was pleasantly surprised by this novel is an understatement.

From the beginning I was hooked.  It’s set in England, a place that is far far away from where I’m from.  Though it’s a small town setting, the fact that it was a foreign territory made it even more interesting.  The narrative style is descriptive but humorous and in some areas I just straight up laughed out loud at how witty Jojo’s writing style is.

The characters have life! Lou is a lovely girl and her character grows immensely along the way.  I was never annoyed by her actions, in fact, I felt a kind of understanding with the way she handled everything.  Her character is quick as whip, fun, lively and with lots left to figure out.  She could be petty sometimes but really, who isn’t?  And I think these “imperfect” personality quirks just added to the realistic feel of this novel.

Will…

Will was an asshole. Straight up broody, stubborn and impossible.

And I loved him.

The first time we meet him, I laughed so hard I had to put down the book.  It takes some time to warm up to him but oh god, is it worth it.  He is perfect and not at the same time.  He’ll make you laugh and he’ll make you angry and he’ll make you cry.   But you’ll love him anyway.

I read this book in two sittings, that’s how in love I was.  And when I was done I cried for two days.  Yep, two whole days.

There was snot and tears and just straight up sobbing by the end because that’s what this book does to you.  IT DESTROYS YOU.  AND YOU’LL LOVE THAT IT DID.

I wasn’t prepared for the impact this book would have on me, I can’t even talk about it in public because I’ll just start crying.

So, my recommendation is, grab a tissue, grab two. Heck, grab a towel and prepare for a story that’ll make you ache.