DB
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This was really good! I didn't realise that it was so short – 224 pages! A good thing is that it didn't feel like I was missing out by it not being over 300 pages. The pace was exactly what I want in a horror book. And another reason why I liked the book so much was because it felt a lot like a horror movie would – and I love it when books feel like that.
I did guess the one plot twist, but it didn't bother me much when I read it. Then there was another plot twist that I definitely didn't see coming, which was really cool to see. Normally I can figure out plot twists (thank you years of watching crime shows). All in all, the plot is really good, reads easily, and it's enough to get you to finish the book in one setting!
I really enjoyed the characters. Chrissy was a strong character and she definitely sees most of the action – she is psychic anyway, so it would make sense that she does. I didn't really like Chase – I felt him very annoying when it came to Chrissy. Emma and Kiki were cute, I did like reading their chapters.
Chase, I don't want to go into detail because I don't want to spoil anything, but he was definitely my least favourite of the Ghost Gang. He seemed to want the fame and everything that came with the Ghost Gang more than wanting to find out the truth. Maybe he changes after this, who knows.
There was also another minor character by the name of Bram and Chase doesn't like him at all for reasons I won't go into. I didn't appreciate that of Chase. It felt too much like girl-on-girl hate for me (except they were guys).
Unfortunately, there was the issue of trying to figure out whose chapter was whose (as it's a multi-pov book. I didn't feel like their voices were strong enough to tell them apart – which is a shame as it's such a short book.
I recommend this book if you like ghost stories, true crime series. Maybe you like multi-pov. Or a lot of real-life references in your books! Definitely recommend this to you!
I sort of expected Lovelace to narrate the audiobook and she did a really good job! The audio actually had a little bit of extra in it – sometimes Lovelace would expand on a poem, or explain why she wrote the poem. I like how simple the poems were and at the same time meant a lot. As always I could see the passion she had for writing in her poems – both for poetry and for the topics in general.
Persephone is a big part of this poetry collection. Some people see the (Hades and Persephone) myth as a happy one – where Hades and Persephone are in love; others as more of a horror story – where Hades kidnaps Persephone and tricks her into eating the pomegranate seeds. This collection focuses mostly on Persephone and her knowing that she's more than just a love interest, that she's powerful and she knows it.
in break your glass slippers, like its sequel down below (and probably the third book as well) someone gives advice to the main character (if you can even have a main character in a poetry collection). Because this collection has notes of Cinderella, it's the fairy godmother who's giving advice.
With Cinderella we mostly know what this collection will focus on feeling trapped, not feeling good enough even though you're doing all that you can. Again, it focuses on self-worth and telling the reader through the fairy godmother – you're good enough, you're more than good enough.
shine your icy crown focuses mostly on sisters and their relationship. I liked that a lot because I like positive female friendships in books. There's a lot of the older sister giving advice to the younger one and (thankfully) I didn't feel like the advice was too cheesy or unwanted (I have an older sister and sometimes I don't always want to accept the advice
As always with Amanda Lovelace, there's the important theme of self-love and self-empowerment. In this one it's the big sister telling the older one to be more happy. Care less about what other people think. Stand up for yourself, make your voice the loudest advocate for you. Lets the younger sister know that even though others might not love her, her older sister always does.
This was absolutely such a cute read. My first book from both authors so now that I've read this I'll definitely read their other books – I believe Dietrich has like two YA mystery/thrillers that are very appealing to me. Which is great! I love when you read books that have two authors or even anthologies that have a lot of authors and then you can find more authors to read from! I recently reviewed two anthologies with new-to-me authors that I'll definitely be reading from their backlists or looking at their upcoming books!
I spent most of this book grinning like a total fool because it just was so cute! Literally in the first few minutes of the first chapter I know it would be a 5 star read. And that I would read it quickly – which was a relief as some of my reads lately have been taking long
It didn't take me long to love all four members of Saturday, the fictional band in If This Gets Out. Ruben Montez quickly established himself as the one who isn't allowed to be himself (although you could argue that the whole band isn't allowed to be themselves). He isn't allowed to show his theatre background. He's not allowed to come out or even sing the higher notes – which he definitely can hit (which I still don't really understand why he isn't allowed).
Zach Knight, whom Ruben says he's like a puppy – and that's true – but the band's marketing team makes him out to be dark and twisty.
Even though the novel does focus on Zach and Ruben we get to know the other two band members very well. It's like Jon Braxton and Angel Phan switched personalities. Angel's pushed into outfits that make the fans think he's the fun and innocent when he's more like how Jon is shown as. Even though Jon definitely doesn't want to dress in really tight clothing.
Knowing all of that and seeing it in action – telling the boys to act this way or to not act that way – all to keep that perfect image, was really sad. They're teens and they're taken advantage by adults who want to make money off of their talent. And you know this will have consequences for them later in their lives! You always see the child actors going rogue after they turn 18 or even before and it's like yeah! You wonder why?
Zach and Ruben were so, so cute together. I loved seeing their budding relationship – which is interesting as I'm not really a fan of friends-to-lovers. I'd read every friends-to-lovers there is if it were written like this. They had so many cute moments together – even before they actually got together. I'm definitely a big supporter of them two because they're just so cute!
Like I said, we get to know Angel and Jon pretty well (there's a scene with Angel's parents that I chuckled so hard at). There's a strong friendship between the boys – difficult not to when they're around each other basically 24/7. And even when there's issues within the band, there's still that feeling that they'll remain friends.
Most of the plot is tied to Zach and Ruben so I won't go too much into it – other than to shake my fists at the management that decided to force these boys into personas and reprimand them for acting like themselves anywhere near a camera! What I will say is that I loved there was a good balance between plot and characters. Neither seemed to play a bigger role, one didn't overshadow the other one – all well-balanced!
Asterisks indicate my favourite ones.
Silver and Gold by Natasha Ngan – 5 stars! This was so good! The spider squid sounded absolutely terrifying and I never want to see anything like that. I really enjoyed the characters and loved how they played off each other.Five Stars by Amy Spalding – Just like the title says – 5 stars! So so so good! I love Amy Spalding and this was so funny
Never Have I Ever by Karen McManus – Barely 2 stars. Is she just known for plot twists? I liked this but it didn't grip me and it's a short story! It should quickly grab my attention. It didn't give me enough of the characters for me to like/dislike anyone.
Like Before by Maurene Goo – 2 stars. It started off moderately okay and didn't improve. I didn't like the characters and found the writing and dialogue to be a bit wooden. It had a cute concept.
Old Rifts and Snowdrifts by Kayla Whaley – 5 stars. This was so super cute! I loved Owen and Eleanor and the story setting as well. Loved seeing the disability rep and the very casualness about it too, you know?
Kiss the Boy by Amanda Joy – 4 stars. This was cute! I don't know which school would allow boys and girls to sleep next to each other
I've actually read this book twice – first before it came out, and then as a reread when the second book was coming out – both because I really wanted to but also because I didn't remember much. And I loved it both times because Mandanna is such a talented writer and will make you want to read her books again and again. I still need to read Colour Outside The Lines – but I will rectify that in the upcoming months.
I loved all the characters so much but the one that I loved the most was Titania. I LOVE TITANIA. She's the best character. She's too precious for this world and has to be kept safe. Titania cares so much for Esmae and I love that for her. Even though, yes, Esmae does have a lot of people rooting for her and they show it – Titania is that character you can turn to if you want some comfort.
Esmae is definitely my second favourite character. I loved reading about her strong personality. How passionate she is and how she doesn't let people step over her – that competition at the beginning of the book? Easily one of my favourite scenes. I am always ready to read about female characters who take the plunge and are strong!
The plot ahhhhhhh. Listen! I've watched my fair share of sci-fi movies and read a couple of sci-fi books – so I know what's to be considered ‘good' and ‘bad' sci-fi. And this is good sci-fi plot. REALLY GOOD. But it wasn't that intense that I couldn't follow the plot, and it didn't have big amounts of sciency terms that leave me all super-confused. Which made me happy – even though I would've been happy even if it did have complicated sciency terms and all. But this had drama! This had intrigue! This had what you're looking for!
Also alll the family dynamics and the drama!! I liked having this in the book – a lot of the times with family in YA, there's a lot of ‘broken families' or they all die or get captured – but recently I think there's been more ‘full families' and found families too (which I LOVE). And I think the way the family was written was so good because you could feel they were family and you could see how they all fit into the story.
The worlds of Kali and Wchystar were so fascinating to read about and it's really impressive how well they were written? Like can you just imagine thinking up all of that? And then writing it all out?? I loved reading about about the two cities and how in depth it all went and showed it all – I also need to see this, like as visuals, or in a graphic novel (CAN YOU IMAGINE).
There's quite a few morally grey characters – characters whose motives you can't quite work out, characters who seem to be on both sides. Which, of course, I loved, because I love morally grey characters. Sometimes it's good to have villains who do a little bit of good (as a treat) and it's refreshing when a hero slips just a little. It gets a bit boring when the heroes are good and the villains are bad. This book did that brilliantly!
A side note – I really really loved the gods and the mythology. It's always been something I enjoyed reading about – it's a fun side category of fantasy that I definitely can't get enough of!
Let's put this book under ‘historical fiction books DB actually likes' – right there by The Gilded Wolves. I absolutely loved this book. I'm not really keen on most historical fictions as a lot of the time the writing tends to be a bit wooden at times. But this definitely wasn't the case with this one! I loved it from the first chapter, took me nearly no time to get into the story and start loving the characters.
Every time I heard the word ‘Nonna' or any mention of Italian food I smiled so widely because it reminded me of my Nonna. The one who would take off her slipper and throw it at me (and nearly always hit me) if I were annoying her or being naughty – which, you know, was barely ever because I was such a good girl
I was entranced through most of my reading this. Joan He really knows how to pull the reader in and keep them there. I'm not a big fan of sci-fi so I did go in expecting not to understand stuff. I actually did understand so that's good! I loved the writing so much. It flowed between the sisters' chapters so well and that's all due to the author.
The plot is not easily explainable or understandable but surprisingly that didn't confuse me! A reason why I don't often read sci-fi books is because the plots tend to be harder for me to understand than other books. It's also a testament to He's writing; because it could've easily been too confusing and I would've dnfed.
Kasey and Cee were both very interesting characters. I think I liked Cee more at the start and then Kasey later on. I liked their sibling relationship, even if they weren't right by each other. I think I do prefer it when siblings aren't together physically as it tests their relationship.
I thought the ecological theme was very interesting and well handled. It's a constant topic in reality and something that should be looked at more. I think He brought it down to a YA level but didn't look down on it so much.
Me? Rating a sports book 5 stars? Okay, it's happened before with Running With Lions by Julian Winters. And the All For the Game trilogy by Nora Sakavic. So I guess I do tend to like sports books if they have a good cast of characters. Michigan vs the Boys proved that point.
A big deal of the book focuses on the boys' team hating the fact that Michigan joined their team (after her team was cut for budgetary reasons). Which was unfortunate because she's a really good player, but because she's a girl, she's automatically seen as inferior in most of the boys' eyes. Like they keep saying that women are more ‘emotional and prone to rages' or whatever but who's out trashing the streets when their favourite sports team loses? Who gets upset when a girl tells him “No”?
That really riled me up and annoyed me to high heaven. I attended an all-girls' school from Gr. R to Gr. 12 so the only time I had to deal with boys in the classroom was in Drama (Gr.10 – 12). And even then I only liked 2 of them and either would sit by them or sit by the girls. I know for a fact that if my parents put me in a co-ed school I would be in the principal's office at least once a week for fighting with the boys. I just had no patience for them! One reason why I never dated in high school (another because I was too busy reading to find time for a relationship
I absolutely loved this book – actually looked just now to Amazon and Goodreads to see when the second book is coming out, couldn't find anything, so I went to the author's website. Apparently it's available as an audio fiction podcast which I'm excited about! Now I can reread the first season (I suppose I could call it that?) before I listen to the second one.
The story is filled with action and quite a bit of humour, which I very much enjoyed. There's mythology in, and honestly anything mythology is always going to get my attention – I'm just glad that it was well-written too. Iris and Andy were two fun characters to read, especially Andy. I feel like they played off of each other well and that they paired well with each other too.
Merged review:
I absolutely loved this book – actually looked just now to Amazon and Goodreads to see when the second book is coming out, couldn't find anything, so I went to the author's website. Apparently it's available as an audio fiction podcast which I'm excited about! Now I can reread the first season (I suppose I could call it that?) before I listen to the second one.
The story is filled with action and quite a bit of humour, which I very much enjoyed. There's mythology in, and honestly anything mythology is always going to get my attention – I'm just glad that it was well-written too. Iris and Andy were two fun characters to read, especially Andy. I feel like they played off of each other well and that they paired well with each other too.
Short read but very cute. I know it was adapted to TV which I hope will keep the crayon/kids drawing look because I like it! It's a kid's book so it made a lot of sense (to have the look be childlike). Even though the drawings are more childlike they still show emotion on the characters' faces – which I like seeing in older graphic novels so I'm glad to see it here too.
It's just really cute and I smiled all the way through (the very tiny bit of reading) and I recommend it to others.
I realise that the start of the synopsis actually comes from the movie but I've watched the movie(s) and read the books a bunch of times, so I'm like 90% sure that it's only in the movies. It's such a fun quote nonetheless. I have't read this series in ages, I can't even remember if I've read the last book or two, but I distinctly remember reading the older books over and over again.
I loved all the nostalgia the book brought back. From Mia thinking the worst thing in the world was her mom dating her Algebra teacher (and me not really understanding what that was because stuff like Geometry and Algebra was all rolled into one class for us), to Mia writing down actual dialogue between characters. Even all her homework – though I barely understood most of it – I still loved the memories it brought back for me.
I definitely didn't feel this way back when I used to read it all the time, but Mia is so freaking dramatic. All. The. Time. Whether she's talking about how she looks at Josh Richter and suddenly she knows what he's having for supper because they're that connected, to her moaning about how much homework she has; she is so so dramatic.
While I love her being dramatic and all the references which date the book (which is something I actually really love), it also makes me realise how much YA has changed? Like Mia makes remarks about the popular guy (Josh) and how she thinks she's stupid in case Josh sexually harasses her and she doesn't notice – I didn't notice anything wrong with that before but now, of course, I'm like... what on earth.
And that isn't even like, a once-off creepy thing. She mentions a fan of Lily's radio talk show – how Lily hopes to enrage him (the fan) enough to go out and get a gun – which I think isn't a good thing to begin with and reading it in today's environment...
There's other moments as well and if I carry on with the series reread (which I will probably, since I haven't even finished the last two or so books), I'll probably pick them all up (the iffy moments), and it might deter me from reading, but I also think it's important? What do you think?
The book also brought back the memory of Lars, Mia's bodyguard – whom I loved, his funny expressions and Mia's almost friendship with him (pretty sure it's like that). And all her other friends we don't see at all in the movies – Tina Hakim Baba, even Boris Pelkowski. I'm glad Mia gets to make other friends.
I must say, I do prefer Lily and Clarisse's personalities in the movies over the books. Lily is more likable (for me) in the movies because Mia seems to talk less about her and more about their friendship (which is also because there's less of Mia's journaling, where she talks about Lily a lot). Clarisse, in the movies, is more warm of a character. She isn't as rude to Mia and other characters as she is in the books – which she is definitely rude.
The gorgeous graphics in this are the only reason why this is 2 stars and not 1. It was another confusing story and while I was interested in Nina, our main character, at first, that interest sort of fell away because (to me) she felt like she was constantly moving between emotions and character motivations a bit? And I'm not trying to sound like it's Nina's problem, because I think it was probably me that just didn't connect with the characters. At all.
As much as I didn't connect with the characters, it was also the plot that really put me off. I felt that they just shoved us into the world in like, mid-season of the series and we're forced to play catch-up with everything.
I liked the magic they showed and definitely how the magic and magical characters were shown through the illustrations. Maybe if they had more focus on the magic, I would have been more into the book?
Ariel's always been one of my favourite Disney Princesses. It's definitely the fact that she's a mermaid and it's sad that there aren't more Little Mermaid adaptations! But I'm quite happy with what we got in Once Upon a Time and I can't wait for the live-action adaptation!
It had gorgeous writing, just flowed across the pages and brought me into the story. It held true to the story we all know and love. The book also has The True-Hearted Tin Soldier, which was a happy surprise, as I love that story – so that was fun to see.
Fun fact: The words the little mermaid appears 49 times in the book.
It's a very interesting concept – diamonds being used in magic, but not just any magic – blood magic. Which does have darker connotations. And I think (one of the reasons why) I became so disinterested in this book is because I thought there would be a much bigger emphasis on the whole blood magic thing, then it was barely touched on.
I actually had this whole paragraph about how Kohl takes in people that are like nearly dead or who don't have many prospects, and then I finished the book and realised ‘oh no he's actually really bad.' Like he's absolutely awful. A terrible, terrible person. I like that we're told that he's awful, but we're also shown a little goodness, just enough to make us think he could be good. He is very good at manipulating people – which isn't a good thing of course, but he thinks he's a good guy and actually helping people – which makes him an even more complex written character – because we're fooled into thinking he can be a good character.
I liked most of the other characters. Tannis was my favourite side character – I wish we saw more of her, but maybe she's a bigger character in the sequel. As for the others, yeah, I actually wish they had given Tannis more page time rather than those that had. I'm not saying I didn't like or care for Teo or Ryuu, or the others, (okay, I am a bit) they didn't really hold much interest for me.
One of the aspects of the book I really liked was all the crime mentioned in the book. Aina being an assassin, the city basically thriving on crime and forcing the people to take on lives of crime to live and then blaming them for the crime. That was interesting to see because it mirrors real life in a way – people being forced to do what needs to be done in order to survive and then being blamed for that exact thing.
I liked the plot, until it made me very confused. There kept being another plot point behind a trap door, because that's what it felt like to me – I turn the page and boom, there's a new area of the plot I didn't know or didn't see happening. Sure, a part of that was because I wasn't paying as much attention as usual, so that's probably my fault.
The more I write this review the more I get so annoyed because I know I should be into this book and loving it, and honestly, I will probably read the sequel; but this book just made me so frustrated with dragging me along, promising me a good time, and basically, failing to provide that.
Warning: A lot of mentions of mad/madness/people performing actions due to their ‘madness', as that was the term used back then. Those actions are mostly in terms of violence and violent acts. There's also a bit of assault, but it doesn't seem to be sexual. Mention of suicide.
I've probably mentioned it before here (on my blog, of course) but I don't have the greatest love for historical fiction books. They're usually a hit or miss for me, more so a miss for me. But I couldn't pass up the premise of the Philosopher's Stone! Usually I am a huge (okay, massive) fan of a lot of fantasy in a book, I do also like little slivers of fantasy and science fiction in a book.
That is definitely the case in this book. Even though I first thought it would be hard to understand, what with all the alchemy and science information, but I'm glad it wasn't! Thea (the main character) is more than passionate enough about alchemy and trying to complete any alchemist's life goal and dream. I felt Thea's need and want to create the Stone – it wasn't just for her, she also wanted to prove herself to her mother.
Oh, her mother. What a character and a half. While she isn't actually physically by Thea all throughout the book, her mom's words and actions are most certainly there. And they affect her as the mom is really manipulative and only thinks of herself. She's so dismissive of Thea's alchemy skills and only wants Thea to help her in her triumph.
I won't say much of the romance because it holds some spoilers, but it did not go the way I thought it would have. But I'm also impressed that it went that way. I enjoyed it and the fact that it wasn't the usual cookie-cutter romance we see.
There was something I'm always not keen (in the slightest) to see and that was girl-on-girl hate/pitting girls against each other – whatever you prefer saying. And I'm so so tired of seeing it in books! Why do they have to think less of the other? Because the one girl enjoys ‘pretty' things while the other prefers to study? Because a certain boy pays more attention to the one girl than the other? Would the story change if it were taken out? In this book, I think it wouldn't change much if the criticising of the girls (by the girls) were taken out.
I think a big reason why I stay away from historical fiction is that there's so much of the writing, usually of the narrative and description. Which is probably funny because if you present me with a fantasy book that has an overabundance of narration and description, I'll probably thank you. But I didn't feel that way in here! I could easily keep up with all the alchemy talk and kept being intrigued by how much Thea's mom annoyed me (with how unfair she was to her daughter).
I've realised I really really like angst. Like I knew I liked it, but I didn't realise that I actually prefer angst until I read Wayward Son (sequel to Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell). So, while I do really love happy endings and the sequel being all happiness and butterflies; I like the sadness and angst, especially with bountiful amounts of yearning and yearning, all the while the angst just builds and builds and it's all so gorgeous.
And this is definitely the case in this book. You have Séverin perpetually pining over Laila, and that makes him sad. And he's sad because of the very sad, awful thing that happened at the end of The Gilded Wolves (which is, you know, we don't talk about that, okay). He must be so tired from thinking he's doing things all wrong and a team that he's bound to let down and/or lose them; can we all just chip in to buy him a gift voucher for a couple of therapy lessons? Like, please, Séverin, accept some love from your team.
And then on the other hand, Laila is also pining over Séverin, and I can now definitely count them as a favourite ship, and they need to be together at the end of the series. But there's another issue that she also has to worry about, and which issue does she need to be worried about more? And the two of them go back and forth on their relationship and feelings, all written excellently and it's all so good.
Don't get me even started on how much I love Hypnos, Enrique, and Zofia. I love them so so much. Like I said below, I love all the cast equally but I do have a special super interest in these three because they seem to share the same thought – that they don't belong, that they're most likely annoying. Like, HI, I resonate!! FULLY! So that's probably why I feel so much for them because I can relate to them just a little bit more than the others.
I had so many emotions while reading this. So, so many emotions – my Kindle is just full of it. If you're a reader who reads for emotions and is wanting to find more books that'll make you swoon and squeal (or whatever your choice is), then I highly, highly recommend this series.
Roshani is just a master at creating prose for her characters. Its all so beautiful. I don't even feel like I'm sitting on my couch and watching a movie while I'm reading – the prose and the story and the way the characters speak with each other makes me feel like I'm right there with them. Basically, I just want to eat the words, I know that probably doesn't make any sense at all, but that's how I'm feeling – like I want to pick up the words and chew the words.
I love how sometimes, in the kindle notes I'm like Roshani, this and Roshani, that; like I personally have Sunday lunch with her or something, like she'll read this review and then invite me to lunch
Middlewest was an interesting little graphic novel and I understood like 10% of it. I thought it a bit weird that they just jump in with the fox? No explanations as to why he speaks or how he knows the main character. Does he even have a name? I don't even know if I like the fox. He seems mysterious, as if he knows more than he's letting on.
I did like the story – the main character was cute in that ‘pick him up and squish him type of way.' The other characters were fun to read about – except his dad. He's a bad dad. Unfortunately, nice graphics and fun characters aren't enough. But I still want a fox.