Tag: book review

Review: “Kids of Appetite” by David Arnold

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22466429~o~Rating~o~

4 tp

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

Victor Benucci and Madeline Falco have a story to tell.
It begins with the death of Vic’s father.
It ends with the murder of Mad’s uncle.
The Hackensack Police Department would very much like to hear it.
But in order to tell their story, Vic and Mad must focus on all the chapters in between.

This is a story about:

1. A coded mission to scatter ashes across New Jersey.
2. The momentous nature of the Palisades in winter.
3. One dormant submarine.
4. Two songs about flowers.
5. Being cool in the traditional sense.
6. Sunsets & ice cream & orchards & graveyards.
7. Simultaneous extreme opposites.
8. A narrow escape from a war-torn country.
9. A story collector.
10. How to listen to someone who does not talk.
11. Falling in love with a painting.
12. Falling in love with a song.
13. Falling in love.

~o~My Review~o~

“And when the kids needed someone most, someone to love and trust, they found one another, and they called themselves the Kids of Appetite, and they lived and they laughed and they saw that it was good.”

I received an ARC of this fantastic book and I really wanted to post my review before the release date but alas, I am the opposite of punctual when it comes to blogging.

All these awesome new contemporaries are gradually bringing the genre to the top of my YA favorites ladder. It can’t beat Fantasy of course, but it’s getting there. That said, I loved this book!

I loved David Arnold’s writing style! To me, it was a mix of John Green’s existential questions to Jandy Nelson’s beautiful imagery of the world. The writing itself gives the story more depth than it would otherwise have.

Victor – Vic – is a teenager with Moebius Syndrome which is a rare neurological disorder that causes facial paralysis. Vic cannot blink or smile or laugh. So instead he smiles with his eyes and he feels with his heart. I thought Victor was a fantastic protagonist, at times reckless and self-centered but with good intention and a broken heart (over his father’s death).

The other characters were just as good. Baz, the group leader, who leads this ragtag team and takes care of them. Nzuzi, Baz’ little brother, who doesn’t talk but is a constant presence in their lives. Little Coco with an obsession with cuss words and ice-cream. And the awesome Mad who is always in inner turmoil for leaving her grandmother in a house with her abusive uncle while she stays with Baz.

This book explores some diverse topics like the mentioned Moebius syndrome, kids coming from abusive homes, death of a parent, racism and basically what it means to be different in a society that is terrified of the other. 

The character relationships were developed well. My only complaint with the characters is the insta-love that is present, mostly from Vic’s side. It develops into something much more meaningful as the novel goes on so I was completely okay with their relationship. I do wish the relationships between the other characters were played out a little more but what was there was pretty fantastic.

Review: “A Torch Against the Night” by Sabaa Tahir

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25558608~o~Rating~o~
5 tp

Warning: This is the second book to the Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir and the following contains spoilers for the first book. 

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own—one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape…and kill them both.

~o~My Review~o~

“So long as you fight the darkness, you stand in the light.”

Oh my gosh! This was SO GOOD. Okay, okay, let me just get my thoughts together.

giphy-4

All right, I think I’m good. All things aside, I thought A Torch Against the Night was the perfect sequel. The characters were true to themselves, there was more world building and we got to see much more of the Fantasy aspect of the Ember world.

The second book starts off almost immediately after the first where we last left Laia and Elias off down at the crypts. They are now runaway fugitives who are on a time limit to get to Kauf prison to get Laia’s brother out of prison. Back in the Empire, the loathsome Marcus is now Emperor with Helene as his Blood Shrike. The Commandant continues to be her despicable self though she isn’t as present in this book as she was in the last one.

ATAtN is not as action packed as Ember in the Ashes but it’s more Fantastical. We see old and new magical creatures appear, still with an aura of mystery surrounding them. And action packed or not, it’s still a page-turner.

Laia and Elias’ relationship develops nicely in this book. And though I like Laia, I would still prefer Elias with Helene but Laia is growing on me. Laia has come a long way from the terrified girl she was in Ember. She is braver and much more confident.

My favorite thing about this book by far were the Helene pov chapters. I don’t know why some people dislike her so much when in my opinion, Helene has the most depth out of all the characters in the series. Helene is now her own biggest enemy because she doesn’t know who or what she fights for anymore. And she is just so precious!

We also see most of the side characters in the first book appear again (the ones who we left alive in the first book anyway). And though I had forgotten a few of them, we got recaps of what had happened to them in Ember. 

Overall, it was an absolutely glorious book that everyone must read. If you haven’t read the first book yet and are a Fantasy fan, please do.

~o~Spoiler Alert~o~

I HATE Marcus with every fiber of my being and I need to see him die a slow and painful death in the hands of Helene. He destroyed that poor girl completely. I hate him like I hate Umbridge. Just. UGH

That reveal with Keenan? I was NOT expecting that. Maybe because we don’t yet know what all the rules of this world are. We really didn’t know much of anything about the Nightbringer before ATAtN. I never liked him though so it goes to show that I’m a good judge of character 😀

The whole idea of Elias being a Soul Catcher is something that’ll take time to get used to. Better than him dying I guess?

All right, I guess that’s it. I hope you didn’t read the spoilers if you haven’t read the book.

 

Review: “An Abundance of Katherines” by John Green

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1320817~o~Rating~o~

4 tp

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun–but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

Click here for the Goodreads page.

~o~My Review~o~

“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?”

This was my second time around reading this book. If I had written a review the first time, I would’ve given this book two stars, maybe two and a half at the most. I’m really glad I decided to revisit.

Now, let me start off by saying, I LOVE John Green. As a person. I love the Vlogbrothers, (I’ve been a Nerdfighter for about five years now), love CrashCourse and Mental Floss and Dear Hank and John. But he isn’t the best author. Mostly because all of his characters tend to sound the same and have similar existential crises (had to look up the plural). But you know one thing John is awesome at? Ideas and Dialogues. His dialogues make you want to curl up into a thought bubble and play his words over and over again in your head.

All of his books focus on a big theme. This one is about mattering and how you will be remembered (similar to TFioS but less depressing). I think part of the reason I loved Abundance of Katherines the second time around is because currently, I’m in the same boat as Colin and Hassan. It’s the summer before college and I’m also thinking a lot about how much I matter and how I want others to remember me.

What I liked:

Colin is whiny and dramatic and sentimental and a guy. How many whiny/sentimental male MCs exist in YA? Not many. If a girl can kick a** (excuse the non-cussing), why can’t a guy be overly emotional? Now I would admit, if Colin was a girl, I would tell him to get up and get his act together but it’s nice to see the guy whining about a break-up for once. And when I say whining, I don’t mean sulking and brooding but I mean full on annoying sob-fest.

Hassan was by far my favorite character. He is Colin’s pudgy (his words) Muslim best friend. He is absolutely hilarious and I love that John Green doesn’t shy away from writing about Islam.

The footnotes. I read a lot of mixed reviews about the footnotes. I love them! I think the footnotes give a better glimpse at what goes on in Colin’s mind. And some of those facts were honestly pretty interesting.

The math. Even though I didn’t understand most of it, I’m a math geek. I love math. I tell everyone math is my true love (right up there with books of course). So Colin spending most of this novel trying to write a theorem was more than okay with me.

Disliked:

Sometimes, the talk about all the Katherines gets a bit much. Guy or not, excessive whining is never a good thing.

Unfortunately, I still couldn’t give this book five stars because it just didn’t have a WOW factor. But I think AAoK just made my Favorite Contemporaries list.

 

ARC Review: “What Light” by Jay Asher

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29093326~o~Rating~o~
4 tp

Goodreads Synopsis: Sierra’s family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it’s a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other.

Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.

By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb’s past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.

What Light is a love story that’s moving and life-affirming and completely unforgettable.

Click here for the Goodreads page.

~o~Review~o~

I received the ARC of What Light for winning YA Trivia at b-fest in Barnes and Nobles. I was super excited when this came in the mail because I love Jay Asher!

If you read YA contemporary than most likely you’ve read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. What Light is not nearly as emotionally heavy. It’s pretty much a typical- girl meets boy, they fall in love, there are some obstacles- love story. I don’t know if it’s an unforgettable love story but this was definitely one of the cutest things I’ve read in a while.

Sierra lives two lives, her life at home in Oregon where they own a Christmas tree farm and her life in California during Christmas where her family sells their Christmas trees. They haven’t been making as much profit lately so her parents think this year may be their last Christmas in California.

What I liked: 

Female Friendships. Sierra has friends who are girls. THREE of them. How often do you see female MCs in YA having female best friends? Who talk and hang out and are basically nice to each other? Not often. (Granted I don’t read a lot of contemporary so I might have just missed a lot of books). Seeing Sierra spending time with her best friends was a nice change from the female drama that usually happens in YA.

No Insta-Love. More like insta-infatuation that led to love. Caleb has a bit of a reputation around town and most of the other kids tend to avoid him. It was nice to see how Sierra tried to get to know him first and didn’t just jump into the rumor train. Their relationship progressed gradually and realistically. And Caleb is honestly pretty awesome.

Parents! She has parents! Sierra has both parents who love and support her and she actually listens to them. Shocking, isn’t it!? Parents are probably one of the rarest things in YA. Sierra’s mother and father have a huge presence in her life which is always interesting to see.

What I didn’t like:

The plot felt a little generic. Like I said before, it’s a typical love story which is fine. It was still cute, there just wasn’t anything new.

ARC Review: “The Sun is Also a Star” by Nicola Yoon

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28763485~o~Rating~o~
4.5 tp

~o~ Release Date: November 1st 2016 ~o~
~o~ Publisher: Delacorte Press ~o~

I was lucky (and knowledgeable) enough to win an ARC of this book at B-Fest trivia at Barnes and Nobles a few weekends ago (as you can see, I am also great at remembering dates).

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

Click here for the Goodreads page.

~o~Review~o~

The Sun is Also a Star is very unlike what I expected. Is it a cute love story? Yes. But it’s also a story about immigrating into the USA and what it means to come from an immigrant family, especially the family expectations that come with it.

Natasha’s family immigrated to the USA from Jamaica when she was eight years old so her dad could pursue a career in acting. Her story is one I can connect with at a deeper level being an immigrant myself (who also happened to move to America at eight years old. It’s actually almost scary how that happened actually). Though unfortunately in her case, Natasha is undocumented and her family is getting deported that night.

Daniel is a first generation Korean-American living with his parents’ high expectations of being a doctor and marrying a nice, Korean girl. I’m not sure why the Goodreads synopsis says “Never the poet. Or the dreamer” in his description because that’s exactly what he is: Daniel is a poet and a dreamer. While Natasha is more factual and rational, Daniel is more sensitive and optimistic.

Now usually, I LOATHE books that are love at first sight or books where the main characters fall in love after one day of knowing each other. But honestly, this was the cutest thing ever. In the span of one day, their relationship developed more than I can say for 80 percent of YA characters. You know those books where the story tells you the main characters are in love but really, you have absolutely no idea why because they’ve never even had a decent conversation? Well, that’s not this story! I felt their connection, I knew the exact moment each of them fell in love with the other and, just THE FEELS!

The book itself mostly focuses on Natasha’s and Daniel’s points of views but it also shows some brief POVs of side characters which I enjoyed immensely because you also get a glimpse of their lives.

I also like books with big themes and this one had quite a few up its sleeves. How so many things had to go right for the world to form. How the smallest of all decisions can lead to and entirely different parallel universe. How a single exchange with another person can change your life forever.

And the ending is just

giphy (1)

so BE WARNED!

Review: “The Wrath and the Dawn” by Renee Ahdieh

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18798983~o~Rating~o~
4.5 tp

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.

Click here for Goodreads link.

~o~Review~o~

“Some things exist in our lives for but a brief moment. And we must let them go on to light another sky.”

I LOVED it. The Wrath and the Dawn is a retelling of the infamous A Thousand and One Nights. It’s similar to A Thousand Nights by E.K Johnson but it’s more action packed and I enjoyed it a lot more.

Shahrzad is intelligent and resourceful and witty without sounding snobby. The same could be said for countless other YA main characters but Shahrzad actually pulls it off. Her best friend was taken to be Khalid’s wife and like all his other brides, she was killed. Shahrzad volunteers to be Khalid’s bride to end his regime once and for all. I’m not usually a big fan of the whole “falling in love with the monster” trope but Ahdieh plays it off very well. Shahrzad gradually realizes all is not black and white after all as she struggles to understand how she could possibly be drawn to her best friend’s murderer.

Khalid was mysterious and alluring and too secretive for his own good. Like Shahrzad, I also gradually came to like him. He is also intelligent and observant. Not much could be said about him without spoiling.

I really enjoyed the romance in this book, it was well written and well developed. Khalid and Shahrzad are a good match and will always keep each other on their toes.

I liked most of the secondary characters though at times it felt like there were too many of them to where their personalities felt the same. If you gave me a description, I wouldn’t be able to tell you whether it was Rahim, Tariq or Jalal (or maybe it’s just because they say men are all the same :D). Feisty Despina on the other hand (Shahrzad’s maid) was my favorite secondary character and I loved the interactions between her and Shahrzad. YA often lacks female to female interaction as if a strong female MC cannot have a female best friend so it was a nice change.

Now to my favorite thing about this book: the food. No book has ever made me this hungry, not even the lavishness of the food at Hogwarts. I came as close to tasting the food as you possibly can while reading.

~o~Spoiler Alert~o~

So, I understand Ava’s father cursed Khalid and told him he had to kill the next hundred brides and all but what I don’t understand is why it had to be a secret. Surely Khalid  could have announced to the people that hey, I’m cursed and I must kill your daughters once I marry them or the kingdom will be destroyed. It would have still created problems but at least the people would know and no doubt many girls would willingly volunteer. Hasn’t keeping it a secret done more harm than good?

 

Series Review: The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Published on by Shouni14 Comments

17675462173473891737850817378527

I read all four books in the series in a row so I decided to do a whole series review at once.

Overall: Say hello to one of my new favorite series of all time. I cannot believe it took me two tries to get through the first book. WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I THINKING? The Raven Cycle series is wonderful and magical.

The first book hooked me when I started. I can’t decide what genre The Raven Boys would fall into: Fantasy? Sure. Paranormal? Kind of. Does it have magic and magical elements? Yes. But it feels so real!

The characters Stiefvater created are magical. I have found yet another friends circle I would love to be a part of, up there with the trio of Harry Potter and the Argo crew from Heroes of Olympus or the Black Betty gang from Darkest Minds.

The books (and characters) get better and better as the series continues. Except for Ronan who is pretty much perfect all the way through. I highly recommend this series to anyone!

Let us continue. The later books have spoilers for the previous ones so don’t read those if you have yet to read the books before it.

17675462~o~Rating~o~
4.5 tp

“She wasn’t interested in telling other people’s futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own.”

Blue started off as my favorite character. Blue, the only non-psychic in her house full of psychic women, longed to witness the extraordinary herself. There was Gansey on his quest to find and wake a sleeping king. Ronan who is wild and angry at the world for his father’s death.  There’s quiet and shy Noah who always pops in and out of the story. And then we have Adam, who lives with his abusive father in a trailer park and works his butt off to have a better future. I quickly grew to love Ronan and Gansey. Adam, I had lots of problems with. I thought he was too prideful and ungrateful starting off; in his mind, every sign of genuine concern from his friends was pity and a helping hand was charity. I sympathize with his situation but just, his principles are annoying to say the least.

Blue has always been told that she would kill her true love if she ever kissed him. And even though this comes up in this book, it is not a main plot point. The Raven Boys is not a romance, it is a mystery and adventure and a story of a bond forged by an unlikely group of teenagers.

Click here for Goodreads link. 

~o~Rating~o~17347389
5 tp

“While I’m gone,” Gansey said, pausing, “dream me the world. Something new for every night.”

The Dream Thieves was even better than The Raven Boys. This book felt more like Ronan’s book than the others though everyone had a presence. In the end of Raven Boys, we find out that Ronan can pull things from his dreams. That’s explored more in depth in this one.

Click here for Goodreads link.

***Some spoilers ahead for this one***

I actually don’t remember most of the details since I read these all in a row. I did think this book was better than the first one, but just slightly. And a bunch of random thoughts coming:

I love how every time some creepy thing happens, everyone is automatically like, “Knock it off, Noah.” 😀 Not in those exact words.

Mr. Gray grew on me quite a bit. He is a brilliant villain and quite a sympathetic one. I though he was much better character than Whelk. By the end of the book, he really isn’t the villain anymore. I thought what he did was very noble and deserving of Maura.

We learn more about the psychic women living in 300 Fox Way and I have to say, I love the trio (Maura, Calla and Persephone). They’re a very close knit group of women who have a firm set of beliefs and isn’t afraid to show them to others.

Adam has been going through a lot but I still haven’t gotten fond of him. He’s just a little too rash in my opinion.

Ronan has earned his place as my favorite character. He’s so sweet! Well, not really. But we understand him and why he does stuff a lot more in this book.

17378508~o~Rating~o~
5 tp

“I think it’s crazy how you’re in love with all those raven boys.”

The third book to the Raven Cycle series or as I like to call it, the book where Adam finally redeems himself and earns his rightful place in this ferocious but loyal team of nutcrackers. Why nutcrackers you ask? I don’t really know.

So, Blue’s mother has disappeared down a cave. The search for Glendower continues. Adam is still Cabeswater’s hands and eyes though he is learning to understand Cabeswater more thanks to Persephone. Noah is still dead and decaying. The Gray Man had teamed up with the heroes. There’s a new villain in town – the Gray Man’s former boss and the person behind the murder of Ronan’s father – Greenmantle. And his extremely cunning wife Piper who really cares for nothing.

Ronan and Adam started teaming up more and I LOVE THEM. Same with Gansey and Blue. I wasn’t sure about them at first, but they won my heart.

And I loved the Gray Man even more in this book. You can really tell how much he cares for Maura. And him and Blue teaming up was great.

Click here for Goodreads link.

~o~Rating~o~17378527
4.5 tp

“What a strange constellation they all were.”

The Raven King was an awesome conclusion to this wonderful series! An almost perfect one. I wanted more but what I got was great. All of these characters have come such a long way, I feel like like a proud mother.

Adam especially has gone through a lot of self-reflection, A LOT, and he’s finally letting the others be his friend. *long applause*

Maura and Artemus (Blue’s dad) are now out of the cave. And so are Piper and Neeve who have woken the third sleeper (a demon) who they were NOT supposed to wake. Artemus is useless. Persephone is dead. Glendower is now or never.

Click here for Goodreads link.

***Lots of spoilers ahead***

A moment for poor Gansey who’s life’s work pretty much meant nothing. Glendower is dead and they did not get a favor. BUT he found his best friends and true love in this fantastical journey and had the adventure of a lifetime. That counts for something, doesn’t it?

All these unexpected Pynch moments!! I was squealing like a broken rubber duck! I love them! Same with Bluesy. They get a happy ending! I am joyous.

This is also the book that made me like Declan. He’s pretty good after all.

Artemus is a tree? I was honestly pretty confused about that whole thing.

The involved addition of Henry Cheng was starting to worry me because I’m too used to our exclusive band of Raven Boys but he grew on me just like he grew on Gansey and Blue. I think he would be good for the group, especially with Noah pretty much gone now.

All in all though, I couldn’t give this book five stars because there are SO MANY unanswered questions.

  1. What the heck happened to Noah? So, he’s the one who, all those years ago, spoke to Gansey and sent him on his search for Glendower. Okay… why? What’s the purpose? And what happens now? Does Noah decay completely? Is he finally put to rest? Is he finally actually dead?
  2. Whatever happened to Matthew? Did the sacrifice work? Is he okay?
  3. Is Blue’s curse gone? Does this mean she can now kiss Gansey without killing him again? I NEED ANSWERS
  4. Whatever happened to that deal Gansey made with the principal about Monmouth Manufacturing? Was Helen successful in digging some stuff up about him?
  5. Will Artemus forever be inside that tree? Does this mean Blue can also be a tree? Does that mean Blue is half tree and half human? I just don’t know anymore.

I mean, I really enjoyed this book so I don’t want to bump the book down to four stars but more closure would’ve been nice.

Review: “Seraphina” by Rachel Hartman

Published on by Shouni4 Comments

19549841~o~Rating~o~
4 tp

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

In her New York Times bestselling and Morris Award-winning debut, Rachel Hartman introduces mathematical dragons in an alternative-medieval world to fantasy and science-fiction readers of all ages. Eragon-author Christopher Paolini calls them, “Some of the most interesting dragons I’ve read in fantasy.”

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen’s Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

~o~Review~o~

“Sometimes the truth has difficulty breaching the city walls of our beliefs. A lie, dressed in the correct livery, passes through more easily.”

Seraphina is quite possibly the best book about dragons I’ve ever read. Hartman is a good writer and her world building is very detailed and thorough. Although some parts of the book are a little slow, I think Hartman did a marvelous job creating her Fantasy world.

In the kingdom of Goredd, there is an uneasy alliance among the people and the dragons after years of war. Some dragons live among humans as scholars or teachers but mostly the dragons live in their region and the humans in theirs.But now, the fortieth anniversary of their peace treaty is coming and the queen of Goredd invited the dragon leader and ambassadors to Goredd to celebrate.

My favorite thing about this book is Seraphina  herself. She is intelligent, bold and resourceful. I think she is a well developed character who is flawed in her own way  (**Mild spoiler** she is half dragon. A weredragon? She has scales all around her body and has to wear a full-sleeved, full body dress at all times **End of spoiler**). Her relationship with all the characters were gradual and were developed in a realistic way.

Prince Lucian – Kiggs – was another fantastic character. He is the leader of the crown’s guard and is engaged to his cousin, Princess Glisselda.  He isn’t overly good-looking or a master at fighting but he is good match for Seraphina’s sharpness. They are both smart and logical and are willing to do what others aren’t.

Princess Glisselda was another high point of the book. I was expecting her to be a snooty princess, almost like the mean girl of the book. I’m so glad I was wrong because I would not have enjoyed this book as much if I had been right. Glisselda is also intelligent and she tries her best to keep an open mind about things other people won’t appreciate.

Overall, Seraphina is a great epic fantasy and should be read by all dragon lovers should read. Or you know, Fantasy lovers in general.

Review: “The Hidden Oracle” by Rick Riordan

Published on by Shouni2 Comments

26252859~o~Rating~o~
4 tp

Warning: The following contains spoilers for its two prequel series Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus both by Rick Riordan. This is the first book to the Trials of Apollo series. 

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favour.

But Apollo has many enemies – gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

~o~Review~o~

Do you have to read the other two series to read this? No, not really. But it would help with your understanding of the book so it is highly recommended. And wouldn’t you rather know the full history behind these characters?

**Note: Again, spoilers for the first two series coming up. Not major ones but beware anyway.

I am SO glad I liked this book. Because, well, Blood of Olympus was horrible. I refused to consider that book a true conclusion so I was very excited for this chance to revisit my favorite characters. I kept my expectations at bay because after BoO and Magnus Chase (which was another disappointment), I didn’t have much hope left. I was not disappointed!

Back to first person point of view! Honestly, the third person of HoO wasn’t working out very well. Apollo’s pov is nothing like the usual sarcastic-jokester Riordan protagonist. Apollo is whiny, self-centered and egocentric and I LOVED it. His mortal name? Lester Papadopoulos. Any other character who acted so pathetic would bother the Hades out of me but this is Apollo. He gets a freebie.

Meg was a wonderful addition to this world. She is a fierce twelve year old demigod living in the streets. She rescues Apollo right after he, quite literally, falls from Heaven. Apollo and Meg have a pure friendship and it seems like this is the first time two main characters won’t be in a relationship in these series.

To those who are wondering if you see Percy and gang. Kind of. You definitely see Percy. And SOLANGELO IS CONFIRMED! It is no longer a thing of fanfiction!

Four stars because as much as I liked it, it didn’t have enough WOW factor to make me love it. And I wish it was longer. Only 361 pages? That’s not nearly enough.

~o~Spoilers Alert!~o~

Since I can’t help myself, here are some of my favorite scenes.

“Yep,” Percy agreed. “That pretty much describes my entire life: Because Poseidon.”

Percy is just so done with this world.

“But the truth is we gods are a little in awe of you mortals. You spend your whole lives knowing you will die. No matter how many friends and relatives you have, your puny existence will quickly be forgotten. How do you cope with it? Why are you not running around constantly screaming and pulling your hair out?”

Apollo gave me a serious existential crisis.

And I love all the jabs Riordan makes at, dare I stay it, stupid people.

At this point, you may be wondering how I felt seeing my son with Nico di Angelo. I’ll admit I did not understand Will’s attraction to a child of Hades, but if the dark foreboding type was what made Will happy…

Oh. Perhaps some of you are wondering how I felt seeing him with a boyfriend rather than a girlfriend. Is that’s the case, please. We gods are not hung up about such things. I myself have had… let’s see, thirty-three mortal girlfriends and eleven mortal boyfriends? I’ve lost count.

The casual he talks about homosexual relationships in a middle grade book is honestly one of the greatest things I’ve ever read. Hats off to Riordan!

“Nico,” I said at last, “shouldn’t you be sitting at the Hades table?”

He shrugged. “Technically, yes. But if I sit alone at my table, strange things happen. Cracks open in the floor. Zombies crawl out and start roaming around. It’s a mood disorder. I can’t control it. That’s what I told Chiron. “

“And is it true?” I asked.

Nico smiled thinly. “I have a note from my doctor.”

Will raised his hand. “I’m his doctor.”

“Chiron decided it wasn’t worth arguing about,” Nico said. “As long as I sit at a table with other people, like … oh, these guys for instance … zombies stay away. Everybody’s happier.”

Will nodded serenely. “It’s the strangest thing. Not that Nico would ever misuse his powers to get what he wants.”

“Of course not,” Nico agreed.  

Every Solangelo scene in was just too perfect! I’m glad I read this at home because I would just start squealing whenever they came up. A few more of these and I’ll put them above Percabeth! (Well… maybe a tie).

Nero waved dismissively. “But the Christians were terrorists, you see. Perhaps they didn’t start the fire, but they were causing all sorts of trouble.”

As a Muslim, I found this contrast absolutely hilarious.

“Eh,” Leo said. “We took Gaea in, like, forty seconds. This’ll be easy squeezy.”

I seemed to recall that the lead-up to the fight with Gaea had involved months of suffering and near misses with death. Leo, in fact, had died.

Who trolls their readers better than Riordan? I believe this was a jab to all those (including myself) who complained about the BoO end scene to be too short and anti-climactic. And that none of the heroes died, which was actually great.

Other random thoughts:

Percy studying for the SAT’s just so he could go to college with Annabeth. If that’s not true love, I don’t know what is. Especially since we know, Percy Jackson hates studying.

Austin and Kayla were pretty great and I’m glad we finally got to know them a little more.

Little Harley is so cute!

Leo and Calypso are going with Apollo! Not going to lie, I’d much rather have Will and Nico go but Leo is good too.

That Percy and Calypso reunion! I wish Annabeth was there.

I did not see the Meg thing coming! She’s Nero’s stepdaughter! This is one of the first times a Riordan book actually surprised me.

 

Review: “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli

Published on by Shouni13 Comments

19547856~o~Rating~o~
4 tp

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

~o~Mini Review~o~

“Sometimes it seems like everyone knows who I am except me.”

This book was super cute! The writing is simple without sounding childish. The scenario seemed very realistic. I’ve always liked the trope of pen-pals falling in love because then it really is two people falling in love with each other’s minds long before there is any physical attraction.

As a high school student in Georgia, it was uncanny how similar these characters were to some of my classmates (so much that I couldn’t help but assign each character to someone in my class. And now I’ll never see them the same way again :D).

I’m giving it 4 stars because even though I loved all the characters, I felt like there could have been some more individual interaction between Simon and the others. There were some great scenes between Simon and his best friends as a group but I wanted more of him just talking to his friends individually. But it is easy to see that he has a great relationship with all of them and they all care about him a lot.

This is a tiny review but I honestly can’t think of anything to say except “This was SO cute!”