Hark! A Vagrant By: Kate Beaton

Hark! A Vagrant

By: Kate Beaton

My Rating:

5 / 5 Stars

My Review:

Possibly the best and wittiest book of its kind / genre.

More detailed review to come 

<3 

A MUST READ ~ if you are a lit nerd, like myself. 

The Burning Sky By: Sherry Thomas

The Burning Sky

By: Sherry Thomas

Rating:

    

3.5 Stars

Review:

Let me begin that I did thoroughly enjoy this read. It does have a very huge "Harry Potter" influence behind it...so some aspects seemed painfully unoriginal (at least to me, a bleeding hard Harry Potter fanatic). For instance the double world (based mainly in the UK during the 1800s) of the "mages" and "nonmages" ...it seems very lazy to not come up with a quirky synonym for "nonmage" humans..At least in HP we had muggles <3 However, at least it was a timeframe that is not "today"; rather 200 years ago.

Some magic was also eerily similar, such as "vaulting" (ie Apparition spell) and "illegal spells" (ie Unforgivable curses) etc. ~it goes on a tad, but in Burning Sky, there are variation of "mages": elemental, mind, healing etc.

But those were just the small, almost insignificant details, that had me not too submerged in what is practically a very good and creative YA fantasy.

I did really like Iolanthe Seaborne; she had a very heavy character development and, being a biased female, i love how she began very naive and weak, than became resistant and fierce.

However, many of the scenes did seem diluted for a less mature reading audience; so that also was something that made me put the book down after a while...there seemed to be a lack of adventure for many chapters, than a cluster of paragraphs of juicy intrigue in the main plot..then back to, what I like to refer as "filler chapters".
I understand that most of those chapters where to show how Iolanthe was transforming and breaking out of her shell...but it just seemed quite unnecessary and I would have liked for something more edgy..a lot of parts seemed so safe when I believe the author had an oppertunity to really take risks and give a bit more danger to this first installment..

Actually...after the book ended, it seemed to neatly wrap up..almost as if it doesn't need to keep on with the series~

SPOILSSS

At the very end, when the Inquisitor dies and the Bane came back younger and more refreshed after this 3rd resurrection, I feel that there wasn't enough punch to this twist at the end...
The reading came off as: "Yup, that nasty lady died but this dude..eh, he's still here...we knew he would be since the mystery of his resurrections has been looked into yet."

All in all...I can sum up this novel in one, very unexciting word: Cute.

I enjoyed it, yes...I wasn't sucked into it, no. Would I read the second installment? Sure...But i'm not going to die without it (like I am with so many other sequels I am waiting for).

I do recommend this book if you like the more "tammer" fantasies..there are a lot of imaginative and lovely events that I adored...it was just too..nice? I don't know how to further describe it, but it is a good read.

3.5 / 5 stars from me
:)

Seraphina By Rachel Hartman

Seraphina

By: Rachel Hartmen

Rating:

4.5 / 5

Review:

Amazing, review coming soon

"the Bitter Kingdom" by Rae Carson

The Bitter Kingdom

By: Rae Carson

Rating: 

4/5 stars

Review: 

To come 

The Kings Gaurd By: Rae Carson

 

The Kings Gaurd

By: Rae Carson

My Rating:

4/5

(I have been so busy these past few weeks, but I will pick up on my reading!)

Raven Flight By. Juliet Marillier

 

Raven Flight

By: Juliet Marillier

My Rating:

4.5 / 5 Stars

My Review: 

This book is a spectacular bridge between the first book and the finale. The tale really focused on Tali and was so dark, heart retching and beautiful all wrapped together.

The mystical creatures are so vivid and fresh. I enjoy the mythology in this realm, it injects such a dynamic element that most fantasy novels lack. 

Neryn is a fantastic protagonist; so pure, fierce and wise. 

The only thing that sways me back and forth, is the love between Flint and her. I don't know if it's just me, but it seems so anti-climactic. I feel that the real passion is the brink of war, rather than the lovestory undertone...but maybe that's what the author intends: for the readers to focus on the destruction of hate and how hope still conqures. 

I am inlove with this tale, however, cannot asses it until the very end, i suppose. This is a must read! However, you need to read Shadowfell first.

Shadowfell By: Juliet Marillier

Shadowfell

By: Juliet Marillier

My Rating:

5 / 5 Stars

My Review:

I just finished this book and without a doubt, it's one of my favorites! It is beyond incredible.

Nayrn is a well constructed, strong and ambitious creature who embodies strength and endurance that makes for a perfect hero.

Flint is a mysterious and treacherous thing, who has a story that can stain your soul, but he casts such a spell that sets the tone for this story. He's just such a perfect invention of Marillier's mind.

These creatures of Alban are fantastic!! I love these mythological tales and stories that go along with this adventure. There are so many thick and luscious layers, and it is such an encasing experience to read. 

The fusion of magic, the supernatural realm and a malevolent force was woven together so perfectly.  There is a perfect balance of love, adventure and conviction that made this novel above so many other fantasies I have read lately.

It was the one of the best books I have read in a long time. If you love fantasy, adventure, mystery, magic, love and a story about hope, this is the book for you!

I cannot wait for the next one to come out!!!

5 stars from me!

Requiem By: Lauren Oliver



Requiem

By: Lauren Oliver

My Rating:

3 / 5 stars

My Review:

I had to sleep on this one..I really did.

Let me begin by saying, I love Ms. Olivers writing style. It is flawless and palpable. I really enjoy the way that she brings the events in her story to life. It is fantastic, I did not have any issues with how she transcends human emotion and a physical situation together...so in that aspect, I think she is great.

Now. The story...

Once I was done...I chewed on my lower lip and became quite pensive...All in all, this series is a pretty well developed and brilliant dystopian...I guess it unraveled in a realistic sense and not like a reader would have expected or wanted.

I felt for Lena, I did like her as a character very much...even though I did not like Alex coming back because I was scared of the "love triangle" concept, however, I believe Oliver did this aspect of the book tastefully well...

During the parts of Lena's mother arrival, and the discussions that they had, got me kind of teary eyed...and I am not very emotional with books when it comes to right out crying, but I did (almost)..the same with her final chapters with Alex. (when Coral told her that he still loved Lena)

It hit me hard because these are stories are stuff I related to..So, I might have a biased opinion on how these scenes played out...because I did, in fact, like them very much.

I didn't like how Lena pushed Julian away, but he stood his ground and became an accomplished hero, nonetheless...this is something I ultimately related to as well, in a real experience I had...so I understood it to be a realistic point of view..

The final events of the book was unresolved, really...but i appreciated how much is left up for the reader to decide.

 I was chocked up when Hana let Lena go, and how she ultimately left Fred to burn...It was a beautiful ending to that tale..it was a powerful image (Hana walking away from the chaos in her wedding dress, numb but at peace).

I was very happy that Lena found Grace in all the distress...it was pretty amazing how Lena was able to go back for the one person she really cared for and found her.

I don't feel like this book was rushed, like Mockingjay was...I didn't like the epilogue in Mockingjay and I am glad that there was none here...it gave it a kind of resolve that a dystopian should have..."the world is uncertain, but the people who are fighting for the cause are making grounds"

The future is uncertain, in reality, and so was this books ending...so i deem it to be a proper and tragic finale to a tragic book series..

This ranks perfect with The Hunger Games (even the THG is much better, in my honest opinion)

and I am left with a gaping hole in my chest after reading this, so I believe it was a job well done.

upper 3 stars from me, over all.

Pandemonium By Lauren Oliver



Pandemonium

By: Lauren Oliver

My Rating:

3 / 5 Stars

My Review:

Well, I have to say, I was so happy with this book until the final pages. Oh my goodness, what a let down.

To begin with the PROS of this book: I was excited about how Lena was developing as a character. She was emerging from her shell of the brain-washed, typical girl to becoming an amazing protagonist.
Lena became very saturated and a raw, multifaceted person, full of emotion in a world where she was told that emotion would ultimately destroy her.

Passion was beautifully executed in this book and everything was so much heavier with conviction. 

I loved the new characters, especially Raven; she is a murky and diluted entity and a brilliant contrast to Lena. The pain and struggle through their journey and the strength that was presented was a perfect addition to this story.

I also appreciated how multidimensional this installment was. There are many more pillars than the previous book. In “Pandemonium”, the invalids ruled, but all of the different groups are contrasting and full of substance. It helped demonstrate how the “resisters” are poly layered in this post-apocalyptic world and it made the reading experience a lot more palpable and ripe.

Having a target of interests, the Fineman’s, gave this sequel a boost of adventure and hope for the series, since now there was someone to direct the hate and become an antagonist. I believe its so much more tangible when the embodiment of the main issue is personified; I also find it more like a ultimate goal (to bring this person down).

Having the dynamics of Lena and Julian was, also, a lovely addition.

Now, I DID enjoy that Lena grew from what she experienced with the whole Alex ordeal. I appreciated that Lena felt read love and the ultimate lost; and that she hurt and that she realized that love is more then what she was taught.

I believed it made her a stronger character and stronger heroine. This illustrated her evolution, gave her a passion and something to fight for…

When she began having feelings for Julian, I was also very pleased and endeared. This demonstrated that Lena was completely purged from the world without love and opened her heart again. To me, this was the best representation of the moral of this tale. That no matter how much love hurts, we’d rather have love and lost, then not love at all….or I thought that’s where the author was going for. I originally believed that it was the focal point: showing us the ultimate fear was to have feelings at all, which made the country search for the "cure"..

Also, when Lena’s mom makes an appearance, I was also so excited, because I thought she would have regained at least one person that she had thought was lost forever….

THEN
THE LAST FREAKING PAGES!!!

WHYYYY IS HE ALIVE? I know so many fan’s are pleased…but I hate love triangles, especially with this book. Come on! I was on a high from this story FINALLY!
 Lena got to find out her mom exists and is still in the resistance and Julian was saved…Now, i thought, she was going to go after her mom and all the others left behind, save them and live happily with Julian while keeping alex's memory alive...this is what I wanted, but no.
WTH!
Why dump a bunch of ink on a masterpiece? I had the saltiest taste in my mouth after those final sentences….now I am so afraid to read the last book..I didn’t want her to have to choose or be awkward…especially after she promised her love to Julian. WTH. Urg. Well….maybe it will recover..but I have my doubts.

3 out of 5 for me. 

"Delirium" By: Lauren Oliver

 

Delirium

 

By: Lauren Oliver

 

 

My Rating:

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

 

My Review:

 

I have to say, a lot about this book is not too original. It is a very typical dystopian novel, where the citizens are being brain-washed in submitting and conforming to their

 

So in this case, the government is incapacitating the people to love and make them become relatively indifferent; basically without emotion. Not to mention, the citizens are always being watched by the prying eyes of the "law". In this case, it was a post-apocalyptic USA.

government...taking place in Portland.

 

There was no named "president"/"dictator" or a specific antagonist in this book, however. So there doesn't seem to be a target of where the mind-altering "laws" are coming from and the person to direct "hate" to...it's just the system and machine as a whole which is described to be the enemy (in this book, at least, I don't know about the future installments, yet)

[Just incase if you don't understand, Like a President Snow, from THG]

 

Initially, I was a little skeptical, however, I enjoyed the character development and plot twists. I was not too overwhelmed by the love story, either. It was very tastefully done. I really appreciate Lena sticking to her guns when she first met Alex, and didn't fall in love at the first sight. (I've noticed this trend is a lot of books lately, and I really hate the lack of suspense or evolution to the relationship)

 

Also, there was some pretty interesting plot twists that I did not expect, and these kept me glued to the pages rather than putting it down out of boredom and repetition. Every new detail and unravel  to the story left me wanting to know a little bit more.

 

A couple of things threw me off, and it was more into the "world" that was being created...just some ways the town is ran and how people function...it seems so much like today's world .. like all the references to todays products (like coca'cola and jolly ranchers)

I can't see how these corporations survived after the wars and why people who don't express love and show only apathy, have a preference for taste in products like these.

Maybe this was just me, but it did annoy me a little when I kept seeing stuff like this show up.

 

All in all, it was a good book. The ending did take me by surprise and it did make me a little sad. I am already reading "Pandemonium" and I am sure this will not be a disappointing read, either.

 

upper 3's out of 5 rating from me.

 



Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

 

Arclight

 

By: Josin L. McQuein

 

My Rating:

 

1 / 5 Stars

 

My Review:

 

There is a lot to say about this book, but for me it was a complete disappointment. I was so excited for it's release, to just be let down in the worst way. Let me just break it down.

 

First:

The beginning

It's like being dropped into the middle of an action movie, and you have no idea which way to go or what is happening. It's just a free-fall into nothingness really, and I don't know why it's initially so fast paced and then a complete halt of excitement...

there was too much repetition for me after the first couple of chapters and it felt like the events were just encircling and predictable.

 

Second:

The characters were are flat and anti-climactic. There is no real antagonist, and that just leaves this book dead in the water....The book is mainly about figuring out where Marina comes from and who ( or what) she really is....

which was obvious from the middle....which made the rest of the book pointless...

 

Third:

The love story

...so annoying and very blah, it did nothing for me. It was not very original and pretty anti-climatic as well....from the first two pages you can guess who the love interest is, and where it will go...and once the ball got rolling on that, my eyes started rolling as well...it was very immature and dry from then on.

 

**SPOILERS**

 

Fourth:

The "creatures" (Fade)

[NOTE TO SELF: I should have not read this after "Shadow and Bone."] I was like "oh yay...scary creatures in the dark..." trying to be optimistic, these creatures come from a post apocalyptic America, where the other book, the creatures are magically incarnated, lost souls....which were terrifying..so this book had to beat that..

and it didn't

 once the revelation of what they truly are comes to pass...It kind of reminds me of the movie "Avatar" and the book takes a 180...

I thought from the beginning that there was some crazy beasts stomping around or alien creatures...but no...and it was really disappointing...I really couldn't take much more. I wasn't impressed or surprised...

 

 **END OF SPOILERS**

 

In a nutshell, this book had an idea that was "okay"...and the execution was kind of immature. The foundation was just not there and the book suffered immensely because of that. I feels as if it was written quickly and very staggered, like every chapter was a new idea and nothing was connected. It was too much going on and just not a good base.

 

This is my honest opinion, but I am sure it's just McQuein's first book, so she will get her footing...

this one just fell way too short for me.

 

 

Shadow and Bone by: Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone

By: Leigh Bardugo

My Rating:

4 / 5 Stars

My Review:

At the beginning, I was really kinda on the edge of whether or not this book was what I wanted to read. I read a lot of good reviews, some from a couple of my favorite authors, so I gave it a shot.

The first little bit of the book was a little slow for me, I wasn't too sure what was going on or understood too much of the history, so that was a through off.

However

after a couple of chapters, I started to get a better grasp for this world and sunk into it a little more.

The powers from the "Grisha" were a little confusing because they are not like your typical wizards or witches, or magic wielders (what have you.) But that is awesome and very refreshing to have a different type of magic and this world is very thick with war and tyranny, seduction and magic, it does get intoxicating.

The Darkling rules over the Grisha as the oldest and most powerful of them all, and he is a pretty deviant villain, and I loved him. As the story went on, it was a delicious sort of hate and that he had, and I really enjoyed him as the antagonist.

Alina is a perfect protagonist. She begins as a weak and scared orphan who holds on to her childhood love by all means.

She grows so much and I really thought that her struggle and conviction was palpable and luscious.

The internal and physical struggle that she goes through shows her growth as a person and it makes for an amazing hero to cheer for. From fearing the dark to conquering it; it's a very harrowing tale, to say that least.  

The twist and turns that  Bardugo takes you through is page turning, but it just took a little while for that feeling to sink in (for me.) About the last few chapters were the best for me...other than that it was just a slow and steady introduction into the series.

I am almost certain that the second book will have that suspense and magic that I love in reading, and this isn't the first series where the first book to a while for me to get convinced. But now I am a big fan, and cannot wait for the next installment.



Dark Triumph by: Robin Lafevers



Dark Triumph

By: Robin LaFevers

My Rating:

5 / 5 Stars

                   

My Review:

Being the sequel to a stellar book, it had a lot to live up to. However, Dark Triumph is so much better than Grave Mercy. Sybella is very dark and mysterious, and honestly, I didn’t care too much for her in the first book: I figured she was just insane. This book is very, very dark, to say the least. The torment and anguish that this character goes through is unfathomable. It made for a good story, but the way Robin Lafevers gives life to this tale makes it a monster of its own.

The conviction and passion that is exhibited so precisely in this story is riveting and electrifying. Sybella is a haunted and disturbed girl, who is not as relatable as Ismae, just because her back story is just that dark and she is so thirsty for blood shed. But that does not take away from how likable she is. She is very poised and cynical, but later on, such a precious and tender part of her is revealed and it could not have come from the most unexpected of people.

 *Spoilers*

I thought it was so charming how her name is Sybella (almost like Belle) and how she falls in love with Beast. I was like “AHHHH SO CUTE!” but this love shows was she really is and what she needed was someone as passionate as this man to save her from her tormented hell.  I fell in love with this Beast as well and how gentle he was with her. It was a heart rendering love, that was not over exaggerated, but gave just the right ambiance for Sybellas personality and her side of the story. It was a perfect match, and I am so please at how it evolved.

*end of this spoiler*

The tale is thick with adventure, torture, suspense and captures this beautiful realm of the supernatural and fantasy mixed with fictional history that is so succulent as it is extraordinary!  

This character is such a “KICK-ASS” girl, who is just so violent, seductive, but also venerable, there is a piece of her in every girl. It was a magnificent read, and I recommend this to anyone who has a great fondness of any YA fantasy, fictional history with a touch of supernatural realm. It was the perfect book for me; I am so in love with this series, it’s just incredible!

I cannot wait to hear Anniths story, she is such a contrast to both Sybella and Ismae!

10 STAR BOOK!!!!!!!!!