DB
Cameron Post thinks her life is good. But then her parents die. She thinks her life is getting better. But then she's found kissing another girl and sent to a conservative boarding school. And in there she finds friends again. She finds happiness. She finds herself.
CW/TR: Self-harm, attempted suicide, homophobia.
So like, I liked this book, really liked it, like a 4, 4.5 out of 5 (stars) – which sounds great, right? It's just the pacing was very slow – which made me drop it down to 3.5. Doesn't mean I didn't like it, I did. It was just a bit slow. It also doesn't mean it isn't worth 4 or 5 stars, it probably is. And I went back and forth, trying to figure out if I should rate it 4 stars, because I did like it, but did I enjoy reading it enough to give it 4 stars? No, I felt 3 stars while reading it.
But I'm not for slow books. I've known about this book for years but I didn't know much about it? I thought it was only about a girl in a small town (the original cover shows that) and then maybe she falls in love. I didn't expect a book like this. I liked that the story started when Cameron was young. I think it's so important to show that girls liking girls and boys liking boys and everything happens when they're young and we have to let kids know that it's okay to feel that way.
The formatting on this e-arc was off but it did make me change my kindle font to all bold – I think it's sort of easier on my eyes? Or it's just nice to look at? Well, I tried using the nicer fonts, but it got difficult to look at. This wasn't the reason why I marked it 3 stars, if you wanted to know. Just annoyed that the fonts were like this.
I loved Cameron from the start. I remember I liked Adam when we met him but Jane took a while to like. I think that's because she did put up a wall and Cameron and the reader had to learn to trust her. But then I started to love Jane!! But those adults (at the camp and Ruth) ????!!! ANNOYED ME ENDLESSLY LIKE JUST THROW THEM ALL INTO THE ABYSS WHERE THEY BELONG. Like how do you profess being a good person and wanting to look after teenagers (who really really need that because they're in that spot where they do start to question themselves AND IF you're an ass who decides to make them start hating themselves, guess what they're gonna do!!
Also, you should watch the movie because it's excellent!!
I realised it had been a while since I had read a fantasy book – and by a fantasy book, I mean like an adult fantasy book, and I forgot that with adult fantasy books, it takes some time to get into the story, be involved in the plot, connect to the characters, etc. And that was my opinion towards this book – I wasn't allowing myself to connect to the characters because I was so used to loving them the second you meet them (not that that's wrong) that I forgot about the characters that take a while to connect to and how they can be good too.
That was definitely my feeling in this book. It took me awhile to connect to the characters (though Rolf, the dragon, was a favourite from the get-go. I mean dragon, boom). But I'm glad I kept reading because I ended up loving them. Especially our main character – Riana. I felt for her, was angry when she was angry, became sad when she was sad. All which I love to see in characters! The same thing with the plot! I only realised it was great when I realised I that it was – yes, this sounds confusing, but it works. Somehow.
Loki was another great character – and by that I don't mean he was a good character – as in morally good, but just very Loki – he is the god of Mischief and Trickery, after all. Though I didn't like how he treated Riana – but that's because I loved Riana and wanted the best for her.
I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone but there are vampires!! Which, of course, gets me all excited, because VAMPIRES. They added a bit extra to the book, amongst everything else that also give the book even more extra, and I, for one, am happy about that.
Is spying a genre? Oh well, it's one now. The cover is definitely something that drew me in. I like how it's drawn but also it's super cool? There's tons of badges and the nosebleed? Excellent. But the art inside – I'm not an expert in drawing like at all, but the illustrations were a bit weird. Not like bad weird, just that the characters were drawn a bit weird. Didn't put me off wanting to read it, though.
My mother and I are always interested in reading news about the Girl Guides (she was a leader, my sister and I were part of it. It was really fun) and what they're doing. When I saw the book, I went ‘yeah, that's something I want' and clicked request and luckily they approved me!!
I love kids doing things normally done by adults – spying, fighting, being badasses. I believe this is the first book in the series of what I'm hoping will be more; but it did feel like they just dropped the reader into the middle of a case and let the reader piece together the story. These kids are young and they're ferocious but I still want to protect them? Like sure, give them weapons and send them off to various places for cases; but also give them a blanket and some snacks so they can sleep, please.
I like that there's different types of teams and they're all expert in different things and that's definitely something I'd want to see in later volumes. Another thing I think the writers did amazing work on was the camp and the map that was added in. Carcass disposal? Tactical jump scares? I found the badges to be amazing – crime scene cleaning, shark attack? Where are the issues where a scout would try to receive one of those badges?
I'm going to be honest here, I don't remember the plot at all. Obviously they were on a mission. I vaguely remember they sort of go rogue? Or maybe they don't. That's it. I remember the characters more but that's about it.
Do I recommend it?
It's a fun, easy-to-read book. If you want an adventure with kids who know what's what, this book is a good one.
This was an okay read. It wasn't anything really special and didn't stay in my heart. Partly because of the characters. Partly because of the writing. I enjoyed the plot, don't get me wrong, but it fell flat a lot of the times.
So, Hallie was the 15 year old who got stuck in Susan's body, and Susan was the 82 year old who got stuck in Hallie's body – which seems pretty easy enough, since you think their two voices would be vastly different – and not just because of their ages, but because their personalities – but so many times I had to flick towards the start of the chapter or read on until I can find out whose chapter it is.
If I had to pick a favourite character (of the mains), I'd probably choose Hallie? She had the more interesting personality and I maybe even wanted to be friends with her. Susan, I felt, fell into the stereotypical old person viewpoint – which isn't exactly the wrong thing here, because as you get older, you do have a different viewpoint on issues and whatnot – but Susan was definitely on that stereotypical line and it was annoying to read.
The plot, though a good one, did have some flaws. A big thing was that I thought it felt too preachy, too life-lessony. Now the author is an older person (which isn't the issue here because older writers can and do write YA), it's just that there was a definite feeling of the writer pushing a life lesson onto the readers – there's even a Dear Reader letter that speaks about what inspired the book – again, sounding preachy.
Do I recommend this: It was a good read, so you can be sure of that, and the characters were fun.
https://dbsguidetothegalaxy.wordpress.com/2019/08/02/mini-dnf-review/
Listen, I didn't finish this one, okay? I stopped around, I think, 15%. Therefore I don't have as an articulate summary as my other reviews (or well, two, excluding this one, as I recently started doing this).
I did want to like this book, as it seemed like a good book – a lot of people on Goodreads liked it. Everyone said it had a good plot, but I sometimes have trouble with the going back and forth of time. But unfortunately, it just wasn't for me – which is perfectly fine, as not everyone likes the same book.
I think what I didn't like were the characters – Scott and Winny. I didn't click with them and if I don't click with the characters within the first 10 or so percent of a book, I'll probably not finish it.
Do I recommend this: Since I didn't finish it, I can't actually say if it's good or not. If you read the actual summary (the way more concise one on Goodreads. and you think it's interesting, definitely go have a read!).
Apparently I got to 22 % percent while reading this, which probably meant I was a little bit bored reading this. Again, I'm sorry if you read this book and you really liked it, and once again, as mentioned earlier, that's totally fine. But I didn't enjoy it.
I'm that kind of reader where I pay attention to the characters, plot, and worldbuilding (if it's a fantasy-type novel). But more often than not, I'll focus on the characters. I want to like the characters I read, I want to root for them. I want see them achieve the goals they set for themselves. But for these characters, I could see they had goals and wanted to achieve them; I just didn't feel the need to root for them.
Do I recommend this: If you're interested in reading about pirates, f/f relationships or long hauls on the sea, then you might want to pick this up. Also remember that as I didn't finish this book, I don't know how the book ends or how specific events unfold.
Well, first of all, the synopsis (the true synopsis, not my summarisation) is fantastic and it's a major major reason that I took the book; it is also massively long. Even for a fantasy novel. So, picture this, right? The synopsis is all fantastically good, makes me super excited to read the book and I can't wait because it's going to be epic... aaand it... just fell apart.
And by ‘just fell apart', I mean the synopsis built up this expectation and I was already thinking of like it's gonna be like Game of Thrones with the dragons or some type of siren-like power with the singing, but it didn't have any of that.
And the whole thing with the actual wing walkers (who only showed up a bit) – this confused me a lot because I thought they would be there a lot and that their role would be important; and while it was, I didn't think it was properly used. And that was a shame because they could've been fantastic. But alas.
Do I recommend this: Listen, if the book lived up to its synopsis, I would be all over it. But if you like dragons and magic involving dragons, maybe pick this up!
I was instantly drawn by the comps – Black Swan meets Paranormal Activity and immediately wanted to read the book. I wanted to get the same type of psychological horror we see happen to Natalie Portman's character in Black Swan – that type of dreading we get from having to see the character slowly going down this path where they're not sure what's happening to them. With Paranormal Activity¸ I'm a fan of seeing creepy and disturbing things happening to the characters and sometimes those around them who don't believe them (about the paranormal happenings) at first.
I like Marianne – her personality and her narration. We see enough from her point of view that we root for her from the beginning and like her early on enough. Which is a good thing because I really don't like reading books where I don't like the narrator. She's also an unreliable narrator – though that's more because she's experiencing the strange circumstances happening around her rather than her being unreliable due to her personality.
I liked Ron and her relationship with Marianne. She believed Marianne from the beginning and helped her as much as she could. Their friendship easily melded into a sweet relationship and I really enjoyed that transition.
The first half of the book starts creating the atmosphere and showing the reader odd things that are occur around Marianne. Then it starts to escalate and the action happens more – which is exactly what I like in this genre.
Memory plays a big role in the story and Marianne's understanding of herself and what's happening. I always enjoy reading books where memory loss occurs. And by enjoy, I mean I like to angst over the memory loss, the character having the memory loss and now having to deal with that. And the book adds the paranormal genre and the love for this book grows.
Most of my experience with the paranormal genre comes from movies, so I did compare the storyline and the timeline of this book to paranormal movies. It worked out well and I'm impressed by how well Bérubé channeled the feeling of a horror movie into a book format. I could easily see this as a movie and I think that's a big reason why I liked reading this so much – the easily readability of The Dark Beneath the Ice.
Everything flowed well together and although it did sometimes feel like it dragged in places, the pace picked up nicely the next chapter.
This is a non-fantasy book, to my knowledge. Aka, there's no actual vampires in the book. The book is set in New Orleans and I am a fan in believing in the extraordinary. So maybe there are actual vampires and this book just doesn't touch upon that. Was I sad that this book didn't have any vampires in it? Yes, I was, as I love vampires. At the same time, the book works well without the inclusion of the vampires.
By the mixed signals bit, I meant that I was confused about how much I liked this book, and why. Yes, I gave it 3 stars. That doesn't mean I didn't like the book, I did. But it was also confusing re plot. There's the main plot, Lucy, Mina, Arthur, and Van Helsing decide to look for Harker (Lucy's brother) as he's disappeared. And then the plot gets all muddled? And they're also focused on a game that's supposedly linked with Harker's disappearance; and while we do get to the bottom of it, I'm also perplexed. Because for me, the result/? sort of fell flat.
Poor Lucy's trying to look for her brother but the clues they get are so bare they make a skeleton cringe. But maybe that's how a mystery book is meant to be? I haven't read many, so maybe they do tend to give the reader bare clues and allow the clues to be fleshed out over the course of the book.
I loved the characters! Lucy and Mina were adorable together and I loved seeing their relationship. I loved seeing Arthur and Van Helsing interact - Van Helsing was such a fun character to read about. Even though I didn't understand much about what he said re anthology (as he's an anthology professor), I still enjoyed it. Which is something!
I liked reading about the app (Thrall) and also the ‘sub-app' that they find through Thrall - which I won't spoil for you. I would maybe use the dating app as it did sound cool?
I would like to listen to their true-crime podcast (Shadowcast) though. Even though I've never listened or am not subscribed to any true-crime podcasts.
STREET FREAKS BY TERRY BROOKS (REVIEW)
Street Freaks
Terry Brooks
Year Published: 2018
Publisher: Grim Oak Press
Genre: Young Adult ~ Science Fiction ~ Fantasy
Stars: 1 and a half, but I'll make it 2
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc through Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. The image header used is my own and the link at the top of the post links back to the book's Goodreads page. All quotes given in the review are from the e-arc and therefore might not be accurate. All opinions expressed are my own.
This looked extremely interesting on Netgalley – science fiction, written by the (apparently) stellar Terry Brooks (I've only read the screenplay of Hook but my dad always raves about Shannara Chronicles), so I wanted to give it a try. Heck, even the reviews I looked at it spoke positively!
And then it slowly started to become boring. It's not that Ash (the main character) is boring, but he's whiny. And while that is relatable in terms of him being a teenager, there's a difference between a realistic whiny teenager and a jerk. And honestly, I'll rather have a boring character than a whiny one. He wants to find out the truth about his father and what happened, but then forgets that it's ever happened as soon as Cay comes in.
Now, Cay is a pleasure synth – which means she's sort of like a robot? And her only role is to please men (first of all, how heteronormative. And then secondly what a way to write a female character). The other (secondary) characters also sometimes don't treat her like she's a normal person, they only see her for what she's ‘made for' – which just made me mad.
But now I'm going to rant about all the ways Ash annoyed me (towards Cay and how he felt about her and thought about her). So Ash is super entranced by Cay (he's also seventeen – and while I'm not being rude about teenage love; I think it's also true that teenage love can be.. immature – or well, Ash definitely made it seem immature); and while you could make the argument that she's a pleasure synth and is therefore created to be looked at by men (which is how you can clearly tell this book is written by a man) but I'd rather you didn't as it's a really stupid argument that you clearly made up in a few seconds. And the way he talks about her puts her on a pedestal WHEN SHE CLEARLY DOESN'T WANT TO.
Next will be a couple of quotes I found re Ash and Cay that just annoyed me so much I had to put the book down for a few hours.
So what was she before? A painting? A table?
LisTEN, if a guy ever said that about me I would boot him through the rugby poles.
She's helPING you WASh not signing her ENTIre life over to you!!
And even she tells him to stop thinking about her, he doesn't, which was just so annoying to read. Like why did we have to read from his perspective?
I hoped the book would feature more street racing than it did. If you ask me, they should've focused more on the street racing and not added the unnecessary romance bit (Cay could've still come in, as I liked her, it could've just been without the romance).
The main plot (as the street racing was an underutilised subplot and the romance an unwanted subplot) just... (to me) fell flat and went nowhere. By the end of the novel, I barely remembered what had happened and why the main character was there. And in a novel, whether it be contemporary, or epic fantasy, or a sci-fi like this – the plot has to be structured. It has to be well-thought out and it has to connect throughout the story and it has to remain true. Otherwise what you get is a story that doesn't follow through, one that doesn't make sense.
That's all I thought of the book (mostly because I didn't want to keep on thinking about the book) Have you read this or saw it? Do you think I was right? Are you also really upset and frustrated with how some male authors write female characters? Tell me in the comments!
Come read it on my blog: https://dbsguidetothegalaxy.wordpress.com/2019/01/16/17th-jan-review-calling-calling-calling-me/
Calling Calling Calling Me
Natasha Washington
Year Published: 2018
Publisher: Natasha Washington (Self-published)
Genre: NA ~ Contemporary Romance ~ LGBT+
Stars: 4
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from A Novel Take PR in exchange for a free and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
There's something about big cities that fascinate me. Maybe it's because I live in a small town and the nearest ‘big city' is Cape Town (which a bit confusing – we call it the ‘Mother City' and it has ‘town' in its name) and we don't go down there a lot – I mean my dad does basically everyday as he works there, but we only go if we're meeting family, or birthdays; so, like I said, they fascinate me.
I definitely loved all mentions of San Francisco. I love it when cities are added and when they play a part in the book – sort of feel like a secondary character on their own. It adds some character to the book and makes you feel like you're there – which I think it is very pivotal for a book – it needs to be able to draw you into its pages and make you forget about the outside (unless you're reading and walking. Which in that case, don't read and walk, people. I've done it before – not fun).
Josh and Patrick are so cute! All the flirting between them and the cute little moments and then Patrick went and did research about Hanukkah for Josh?? Just made me love him more. I loved the way Washington wrote them (all the characters) – how they all welcomed Patrick in early on – which was great as it's good to have people around you who know the area. And as he's from a small town, it's good for him to have people from different backgrounds around him. People who can teach him about new subjects, maybe even help with a new outlook on life.
With most books with romances the couple gets together 80 or 90% of the book and the rest of the book is them during their first two weeks to maybe a month (of their relationship). But in Calling, Josh and Patrick get together halfway through the book and then of course the rest of the book is them exploring their relationship. Which I didn't have a problem with, of course – the more couple time I get, the happier I am!
I didn't like how their roommates dismiss the fact that Josh is pan – if you don't actually know what pan means, you literally have a pan roommate, go ask him! They could all just ask him but they just revert to stereotypes! The pan rep in the book is really good, it's just that the other characters are just... terrible for relying on stereotypes.
Quotes:
‘Benny was like, Josh, all sexuality is on a spectrum. That's what the rainbows mean. We're all part of this rainbow, and sometimes we're different colours depending on the day.'
‘”Then he said, I know you feel like you're the only one because you don't know anybody yet who feels the way you do. But you will find people like you. You'll find them and they'll find you, like I found my people here. You will.”
Do I recommend this book? With all the pizzas in San Francisco, I do!
Song of Blood and Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles Book #1
L. Penelope
Year published: 2018
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Young Adult ~ Fantasy ~ New Adult ~ Romance
Stars: Dnf'ed at 50%. Wasn't interesting me enough. But for the most part – it was a 2 star read.
Someone said on Goodreads that the book was self-published in 2015 and then was picked up by a publishing company. But since I received the book through Netgalley – I'm choosing the details of the ‘newly' published over the self-published detais
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for a free and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that as this as I read an arc I have no way of knowing that if the scene shows up in the published version.
Warning: There's illusions towards rape and also an attempt at rape.
So, I wanted to like this book. It looked good – had magic and mentioned a land at war and I really like those things. But then it all fell apart. The book wasn't interesting enough. I tried to keep on – that's why I kept reading until 50% – thought it was maybe a slow read – and it was a slow read, but it didn't pick up for me.
The characters were a bit boring to me. I liked Jasminda, though, she was strong, but her story confused me a lot. I could never keep up with which side of the land her dad comes from and which side her mom comes from and what's the story behind both – it all confused me so much. And Jack, yeah, it's not that he was too intense, it's just that he instantly fell in love with Jasminda and that's not really in my interests.
The plot, while decent, had too much going on and too much time spent highlighting subplots to allow the main plot to thrive. The plot had the chance and ability to grow, it just didn't – and that upset me a bit.
https://dbsguidetothegalaxy.wordpress.com/2019/07/28/running-with-lions-review/
Title: Running With Lions
Author: Julian Winters
Year Published: 2018
Publisher: Duet Books (imprint of Interlude Press)
Genre: Young Adult ~ Contemporary ~ LGBT+ Characters ~ Romance ~ Sports
Stars: 5
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc through the author in exchange for a free and honest review. The image header and the quote edits used are my own and the link in the book's details is to the book's Goodreads page. The summary is my own (well, I summarised the Goodreads description). All opinions expressed are my own.
So there's this high school guy named Sebastian Hughes, right? He's also a disaster bi, the best character you can get secondhand embarassment from, a soccer player, and also a really good friend.
The book starts off with Sebastian and his two friends (Mason and Willie) attending a summer soccer camp. And they know most of the other team members, having played with a few of them before. But there's a new team member this time – well, not new for Sebastian – as it's actually his ex-friend (Emir Shah), and of course he doesn't stay an ex-friend for long...
So, I first read this book...maybe 2 something years ago (as a beta reader)? And I just fell in love with it instantly – as Julian is that good of a writer (and such a good person too). So excuse me if I go on and on about how good this book and the characters are. Or rather don't excuse me since I should be talking about how good the book is.
The thing with the really good books is that it's difficult to say exactly why you loved them so much and why everyone should read them. I mean I could say that I just want to set up tables at literally every single bookstore in the world and just hold the book up so people will buy it (I mean, have you seen the cover?? Is it not just absolutely fantastic???).
But no, people want coherency and bullet points. Why, people, why? So I'll try my best – with the coherency and bullet points. Or maybe just a bit of the coherency – like 2 percent coherency.
So
Running With Lions is a:
cute, coming-of-age story following Sebastian Hughes (who exemplifies the term disaster bi, but we love him anyway).
He's a part of this soccer team (Lions, hence the title).
His team is just the best?!
Like we need more of this in books? A diverse team, with characters who care for each other and are so affectionate with each other like I just die because they're all so cute with each other – and THIS IS WHAT WE NEED!! We're used to seeing girls be affectionate with each other – open hugs, warm touches – but in this the guys are so loving and affectionate with each other – and we need more of this!!
The characters found in this book are the type of characters I want to see more of and even be able to write more of. These characters who truly, truly care about each other and who are funny as well as make you care about them – because I did do that – I cared a lot about these characters (which is not all that difficult to do).
Another thing that this book tackled really really well was body positivity (this was especially my favourite scene in the book) and just positivity (of himself). Sebastian had moments where he didn't think of himself as a good soccer player or wasn't content with himself or his body and by the end of the book he's more positive about himself and more confident about his soccer skills. That was something that was extremely important, as so many readers feel exactly the way he does and deserve to feel good about themselves and about their skills.
Emir and Sebastian are very very cute and I just loved them together. They complented each other well and they had an easy-going romance. That's something that I like seeing a lot of in books – where it's clear to see why the two characters are together. Listen, we need a whole bunch of short stories that delve in deeper into the book – like I just need more of this book!
The supporting characters were some of my favourites too (I just had a lot of favourites in this book, okay). Mostly Grey, I loved anytime she was mentioned or showed up, but I thought that she could do better than Mason and I didn't like that side of him. Like I said earlier, I liked that the team and the coach was very supportive of everyone and didn't try to change anyone (well, just help them with their soccer, I guess). Sebastian's mom was really cute too, and we always need more supportive parents in teen stories
Reason I chose the book:
Goblins, need I say more? I love fantasy and the darker the better. I started this book and it looked really good. Until it didn't.
Reason why I'm not finishing it:
The way the depression was written is the main reason why I'm not finishing the book. Livy, Skye's sister keeps on mentioning how Skye was such a happy person, like happy people can't become depressed? Depression comes in all shapes and sizes and happy people can just as easily have depression as sad people – even if they ‘don't show it' in the way that ‘sad' people do.
The title is Goblins, right? Except the goblins don't really feature much in the story (I stopped reading around the 50% mark, so I don't know if they appear more heavily in the second half of the book). But I would expect there to be a lot more scenes involving the goblins rather than the people. It's called Goblins of Bellwater not People of Bellwater.
Any thoughts I had while reading the book:
The goblins lure people in by planting the scent of coffee and baked goods. And let me just tell you that that will MOST DEFINITELY get me there. Like I would dive head in if I smell coffee and scones. Especially if the scones have whipped cream on it.
Scorpio Hates Virgo #2
Anyta Sunday
Year published: 2017
Publisher: Anyta Sunday
Genre: Contemporary Romance ~ LGBT+ ~ New Adult ~ Humour
Stars: 4
I received this e-arc from Netgalley and Anyta Sunday in exchange for my free and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Leo Loves Aries Review (#1) ~ Gemini Keeps Capricorn Review (#3)
I love how Anyta writes characters – I fall in love with them the second they appear on a page or open their mouth – and I love it when I fall in love with the character within the first chapter. It allows the reader to root for the character from the get-go. Not that rooting for the character/loving the character in the middle of the book or near the end is anything less than loving the character from the beginning, but you get what I mean, right? Yes, no, carry on? Okay.
The plot sounds simple – Percy Freedman returns to his aunt's house to sell it (after she passes away) but sees his ‘nemesis', (like extreme extraness, tell me more tell me more) Callaghan Glover, (I mean we all know why the enemies-to-lovers trope exists and I am here for all of it – it exists because the characters don't actually hate each other, they're just ‘nemeses' – please note the quotation marks) and because his aunt used to live in a cul-de-sac where the neighbours are super friendly, the result is a game that I don't fully understand? Like do they just allow their neighbours to go into each other's houses?
I think I loved Cal more than I loved Percy (Cal likes dinosaurs, I like dinosaurs – it just makes sense). Anyta also writes characters who are family-orientated – they have loving relationships with their families and I love this!
P.S. I thought what's really funny is that even though Percy claims Cal is his nemesis, Cal really isn't? So, it's even funnier because Percy's trying to maintain the fact that he dislikes Cal when it's actually him (Percy) just trying not to give into his insane crush on Cal – which just makes it so much better.
The Disappearance
Gillian Chan
Stars: 4
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from Netgalley and Annick Press in exchange for a free and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I started The Disappearance thinking it was just a contemporary about a male teen who found it difficult to communicate with anyone finds a home and friends in a group home. And then I read it, and suddenly there was this aspect of the paranormal and I was hooked more than what I was before (I also didn't read the synopsis so that's why the paranormal aspect was a surprise to me).
Mike, the main character, was my favourite and I loved him for having a hard exterior but being soft inside. I also liked how Mike didn't see himself as much of a hero, but rather saw himself as a neutral party, someone who's just trying to get by. And it's not just Mike who becomes a better character, it's also the others – Jacob, Adam, and even Paddy, to an extent.
The book opened at the end, which is something I definitely liked – being able to read what happens at the end, then reading the entire story in order to see how and why the end matches up/links back to the beginning.
Bloodborne (#3)
Archer Kay Leah
Stars: 3
I received this e-arc through Less Than Three Press and Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Note that even though this is the third book in a series, it can be read as a standalone.
I like how each book expands on the world and how different characters see/experience it based on their religion or stature/class. I mean, yes, it's the same world, but through a different character's eyes, which basically gives the readers a chance to enter the world again.
The author incorporates the Goddess concept and characters who are Goddess touched into the story in such a way that you can't help but get engrossed (as I love magic).
As for the two main characters, Adren and Ress, they were interesting, mostly because it took me longer to like them than in the other two books (A Question of Counsel – Aeley and Lira; Four – Tash and Mayr). They're (Adren and Ress) not badly written, I think I just didn't like their personalities until they proved themselves to me.
Broadcast
Liam Brown
Year published: 2017
Publisher: Legends Press
Genre: Science Fiction
Stars: 3 and a half
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from Legend Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The image used for the post header is my own. All links in the post link to the books' respective Goodreads page. Quotes given in this review might not add up to quotes given in the published version.
The idea of another reality, whether it be virtual, alternative, or augmented has always ensnared me. Maybe its because of augmented reality – well, not really the glasses that go with it because they're always bulky and fit uncomfortably over my glasses (I actually have to hold the AR glasses otherwise it'll make my normal glasses cut into my nose) – but what you can see with the glasses amaze me – roller coasters, haunted houses, shark cage diving, that's super cool.
I liked the concept of Broadcast – the whole thing of a person's thoughts being broadcasted – which would be a nightmare for me because my ADD just brings about 2000 thoughts and they're all over the place.
Even though I thought I wouldn't like David when starting out, I actually do like him. I mostly didn't like him because of his attitude, which I think is exacerbated by his celebrity status. But think about it. If they gave us someone unknown or relatively unknown, we would've liked them straight away; but instead we get David; a pompous elitist celebrity. But it works. Because even though I didn't like him at the beginning, I began to root for him when everything started going wrong for him.
The story pulls the reader in, sucks you in, and makes you focus on the main character and his main plot so much that you don't really notice the actual plot of the story – which is very sneaky and well-done.
Oh and something I had in my mind throughout the novel – is the moral of the story to always read the terms and conditions?
Quotes:
But the main reason, I believe, or at least the most important reason people still read, is because books are the only opportunity we ever get to experience true empathy with another human being. To see the world through their eyes. To walk in their shoes. Even celebrity crap like I churn out, when it's done well, offers a unique insight, a new perspective. The chance to get inside someone else's head.
Reason why I chose the book:
It was mostly the title. It made me instantly think of Peter Pan and I just love Neverland, and the description sounded like it was good – because the main character could talk and heal animals, and that really intrigued me.
Reason why I'm not finishing it:
Nothing interesting happens or something that would make me want to read on instead of forcing myself to read on. I think I read until Chapter Nine and realised I should have stopped at Chapter Three. Also, there's major discrimination and racism against the main character in the book, because she's Romani. I did not like how the other characters treated the main character and how they flung insults at her. There were too many insults, most of them coming from kids her own age, which annoyed me and then a teacher also contributed to the discrimination, which resulted in my (metaphorical) closing of the book (as it was an e-book).
Any thoughts I had while reading the book:
Do the animals she talks to speak English or does she understand each and every single animal language? Does she speak to them in English or in their language?