Tag: 4.5 Stars

~o~Rating~o~

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

Khaled Hosseini’s #1 New York Times Bestselling Debut

Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir’s choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.

~o~Review~o~

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime.”

I am a big Kite Runner fan so naturally I picked up A Thousand Splendid Suns. I was not disappointed. I loved this book! I love how Hosseini’s descriptions actually take you to the streets of Kabul. Afghanistan has been under A LOT of turmoil over the past few years, decades to be more precise, and this book shows just how much hardship the citizens of this country have to go through on a daily basis (the women especially).

I thought it was a beautifully crafted story of brutality and suffering as well as strength and hope. This book kept reminding me of one of my favorite Mahatma Gandhi quotes: “You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body but you will never imprison my mind.” Both Mariam and Laila are two women living under a fiercely male dominant society in which they have little to no power but they never lose their spirit. They show that bravery isn’t always in fighting but in going through life with your head held high and a bucket of courage.

I’m giving it 4.5 stars because there were a few parts I had to trudge through because it was boring me. Completely worth it though.

~o~Spoiler Alert~o~
 
Many parts of the book were truly painful for me to read. When it comes to violence in Fantasy or Sci-Fi books, I enjoy it immensely, but it just feels so real when it comes to realistic fiction. I absolutely hated Rasheed and felt immense joy at his death; he had it coming. And I thought it was even more justified that he would die at the hand of Mariam who sacrificed so much for that undeserving bastard. I was cheering her on the whole time.

I have to say, I liked the ending a lot. Laila deserved a real and happy family.

~o~Rating~o~

Warning: End of Days is the third and last book to the Penryn and the End of Days trilogy.

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

~o~Review~o~

A satisfying ending for an awesome series! End of Days is everything I was hoping for and more. It’s action packed, full of humor, some very memorable scenes and of-course Raffryn (is that how you spell it?). Not much to say without spoiling but read this series! Susan Ee brings a whole new twist to angels and it’s mind blowing! Not a very thorough review, but it was so good! Go read it NOW!

~o~SPOILER ALERT~o~

I loved all the different aspects of the book. I liked that Susan Ee explained Beliel’s back-story. The whole concept of going through a sword to Hell and bringing back the Watchers was something I never would have predicted.

I also really liked that Paige and their mom played a big part in the book. Honestly, her psycho mom had become one of my favorite characters. I mean, scaring the hellions with rotten eggs? That’s as cool as moms get. And every time I try to picture Paige, I start to hate Doc more and more. I don’t care what good thing he did, he literally tore that little girl apart and sewed her back together. Why isn’t he dead again?

The ending scene with the fight was great; especially picturing the Watchers fighting side by side with the humans. *tears* That was beautiful.

I of-course loved the Raffryn ending! Their conversations always make me laugh, they’re hilarious! Poor Raffe though, after working so hard to get his wings back. Hopefully Pooky Bear will accept him soon.

~o~Rating~o~

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

~o~Review~o~

I have mixed feelings about the main character Adelina Amouteru (reasonably so). She’s not exactly a hero but she’s not a villain either, she’s more of an anti-hero (she actually reminded me of Elsa from Frozen in certain parts). Marie Lu herself says this was more of a villain’s origin story than anything else. Adelina is unlike any main character I’ve read about (except maybe Ender Wiggin from Ender’s Game). Adelina is very aware of the fact that she is flawed in both her appearance and her personality. Her marking is her bright silver hair and because one of her eye stopped working, they had to take it out of her socket so she is missing one eye.

I love that Marie Lu created this very dark and disturbing character, but gave her enough personality where the readers can’t help but sympathize with her (at-least a little bit). Adelina crosses the line between good and evil quite a few times and her sense of morality is very different from the typical YA protagonist. It’s not that she is inherently evil but more that she will do anything to protect herself. She tries to be good but she has this growing fury inside of her that she can’t get rid of. Her energy depends on the fear of others which alone warned people to stay away from her so she was pretty much doomed from the beginning. She is tired of being used and has this hunger for power which she can’t seem to quench. This book brings up the question of good vs. evil quite a few times as the line between the two get more and more unclear.

4.5 stars because the beginning was a little slow and it took me a while to get accustomed to the setting and the characters.

~o~SPOILER ALERT~o~
 
I loved how Adelina’s power developed and it’s a pretty cool power. I mean, killing someone with an illusion of pain? Terrifying but awesome.

The other characters were interesting but I didn’t connect with most of them. I liked Raffaelle but wanted more of his story which I’m hoping the later books will bring. His character proved that no one is who they appear to be because he is the one who banishes Adelina at the end (granted she killed Dante and technically Enzo).

Enzo: I honestly didn’t like him all that much but it did surprise me when he died. But at the end, we do see Maeve who can bring people back from the dead so this should be interesting.

I wanted to know more about Gemma and Lucent; they were mentioned quite a lot but we didn’t really get to witness Adelina interacting with them. There might be more of Teren than we saw in this book, but right now, I pretty much hate him. Thinking he’s some kind of savior by killing all these people, that’s what you call delusional.

Violetta is probably my favorite character since I always tend to like the sweet ones. She has protected her sister her whole life. I’m confused on why she doesn’t have a marking though, maybe it’s just really small. Or maybe her hair just turned a very similar shade to what it was before so no one noticed. Oh well…

I’m really excited to see where this is going. Adelina’s character could go in any direction.

~o~Rating~o~
 

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

~o~Review~o~

“But the truth is that we’re all just stumbling around in the dark. Sometimes we hit something terrible.”

“Sometimes, as we’re stumbling along in the dark, we hit something good.”

Now here is a very admirable heroine. Penryn is brave, kind and fiercely loyal to her little sister, Paige. The book begins with her, he sister and her mother going out at night to scout for supplies. As the story progresses, the pieces of what has happened comes together. The world had been attacked by angels and humans are barely getting by.

While scouting Penryn meets an angel named Raffe whose wings is cut off in a fight and his opponent flies off with Penryn’s sister. Penryn saves Raffe because she needs his help finding her sister. They two start to bond and help each other out.

I loved how determined Penryn is to the point of extreme stubbornness. She is also not just another helpless teenager; her mother has some form of psychological disability and made her take a bunch of self defense classes as a child so Penryn has some really cool moves up her sleeve.

And Raffe is just adorable with an awesome/cocky sense of humor.

~o~SPOILER ALERT~o~
 
In the end, when they sew giant bat wings on Raffe made me so angry! How could you do such a thing!? And then when he though Penryn was dead and brought her to the car with the other rebels, imagining that scene gave me goose bumps.

And also, poor little Paige! Those monsters took her apart then sewed her back together like a rag doll. Whoever they are, they better die a horrible death.