Sandra
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley, thank you!
There are few books that cause me to squeal or say “that was adorable as heck” and I think this book qualifies as one. Meet Andria and Alex, two people who, for all intents and purposes, should not be together or get together or in the same room together. However, through their mutual love of poetry and their shared grief over Iris, they find themselves inexplicably in love despite Andria's mind telling her ‘no.'
I absolutely loved the character development in this book. Andria went from cold and unforgiving to this understanding heroine who wasn't scared to say what she wanted if it meant getting the right result. The only pet-peeve I had about this book was the constant repetition of “I feel like such a bitch” or “I feel really bitchy right now” because I feel like if you're going to act “like a bitch” then there's no need to constantly say that. Plus, she lost her sister to drugs. I think she has more than enough reason to act like one. Also, the way Andria dealt with Spoiler the reveal and aftermath of Iris' molestation from Craig was underwhelming at best.
Overall, this book exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to read the follow-up novel to this!
FINALLY. AFTER FIVE YEARS.
Tldr: a lot of pretty words and imagery with very much nothing else.
Edit: 10/24/19
Carry On is still as boring as I remembered it — half-assed characterizations, rushed exposition on original universe while relying heavily on source material, and lack of distinct writing styles for each character. DNF at 35%
I received this copy via Netgalley provided by the publisher. Thank you.
So. Rainbow. I dislike her writing and her books so it's not a surprise that I didn't like this one. At all.
It was so boring. I didn't care about the magic, or the plot about the Humdrum, or the stupid love triangle/V with Agatha, Baz, and Simon. Honestly, while reading this, I thought to myself “good thing they're all hella straight in the ‘canon' because if this is what it is with homosexuality thrown in, it would've been trash and a horrible representative of actual LGBT+ characters.”
You are literally thrown into this magical world with terminology coming at you left and right and overused British slang to make it /genuine/ and it's so tacky tacky tacky.
She can't write from any point of view that's not a straight white girl's cliché archetype because it followed all the cliches of a teenage boy and had no depth to any characters. Penelope's weight and “roundness” was basically thrown into your face as if to say “Hey! I got some body diversity AND gay diversity! Look at me!” Like okay, I get it. She's round. Let's move on.
Rainbow Rowell should never write fantasy or a parody of one because all of the innovative ~magick~ usage in this was cheap and gimmicky. No creativity at all. Now to talk about the book as a whole. In order to make readers truly enjoy this, Rainbow relies on the reader's own experiences with Harry Potter to truly connect- and this may be a disservice to those who dislike Harry Potter or never read/watched it. So yes, maybe you shouldn't pick this book up if you're a stranger to Harry Potter because nothing makes sense and frankly, it doesn't even matter.
I didn't care about Carry On in Fangirl just like I didn't care about Fangirl.
Don't read this unless you need some quick gay fiction because this is worse than any gay fanfic I've ever read.
Gosh, Stephen King truly is a wordsmith. Though this was half-guide, half-memoir, I still burst out laughing at times. Good book.
For what it was, it was good. I only had mild annoyances for the main girl, Reed, but those soon passed. I think its a slow burn character build up for her, but boy did she frustrate me. Not only did she do everything for the Billings Girls, but she also forgave Thomas too quickly. Too bad he was too perfect it was impossible.
It's like better than I thought? And? I cared? Usually I don't care about these romcom things, but Megan MEADE IS A KICKASS GIRL. I LOVE HER. Also, hahahahah evan and finn plz
Gosh. That was a wild ride. Let's get this out of the way though. I like Arobynn. He's a jerk. A dick. A douchebag. But I think he had a separate agenda for all he did to Celaena. Maybe one day we'll figure it all out (please Queen of Shadows!) but that's going to be a mystery for now.
Maas' writing definitely got better in Heir of Fire. In the novellas and in books one and two, her writing was sort of basic. Not emotion-inducing or whatnot, but plain descriptive sentences. The characters drove the plot, not vice versa. It's fun to see someone improve by this much, though.
I really loved finding out Celaena's past and how she was before the Salt Mines of Endovier changed her. But perhaps it was the gods or fate that led her to becoming what she became later on. I guess we do have to admit that thanks to the King, he made his greatest enemy yet.
I can't wait for her story to continue.
so I get that this book has wonderful writing
But I lost
All interest
In the middle. I love the gay, love the overall mythology and story surrounding Achilles but holy shiT. Achilles was possibly the most whiney ass mofo I have ever read in my entire life like I don't care if it was part of his culture he needed to die or else I would've thrown something. Patroclus please choose someone better in ur next life. The book was fine but I regret buying it ? (Thank goodness it was used LOL)
Sorry if this sounded harsh but maybe next time maybe it'll be better :) if I'll ever touch it again
Wouldve been amazingly deceptive if I weren't a 22 year old English college graduate. Also, very good analysis of the Democratic Party. Full review to come at my blog.
Wow what an ending. What a RIDE. I will write a full review when I'm up and energized tomorrow. It is 1:40 am. Goodnight
Anyone who reviews this book as “average, typical YA but still good” is not reading this book right. I don't typically make that kind of statement either, but given what I am (an Asian-American who immigrated here) and how I am very familiar with being dissimilar to those of my ethnicity and those of my adopted country's, this book touches on a LOT of topics in a very nice way, but subtle and blatant. It goes where a lot of YA books don't go, and I love it.
Talin is a mute refugee from a country, Basea, that has been conquered by Karensa. Throughout the whole book, she constantly struggles with imposter syndrome given that she is a Basean and everyone else looks down on them for their skin color and perceived inferiority. She is very talented in her own right, a gifted warrior who is the best Striker that Mara (one of the last independent countries) has. However, she is the only Basean ever allowed to become a Striker as the rest of her people who escaped with her has to live in the Outer City, unprotected by the high, thick walls that separate Mara from the bio-weapons, Ghosts, and their invading masters. This causes Talin to believe that only through the kindness of her Maran friend, Corian, was she ever allowed on the team. Many background characters and minor characters give her derisive looks and basically never acknowledge her skills, even though she belongs to the only elite fighting group that Mara has to protect them. This rings especially true for those that are uprooted and brought to a society in which they are the minority and are looked down on–Talin is told repeatedly by her friends how good she is, but that doesn't matter (to her) if everyone else thinks differently.
Next, we have the topic of language. Language is very important in this book and in the real world, as it is one of the only ways we can communicate our thoughts and understand each other. Because Talin is mute, she signs in both Maran sign language to her Striker companions and Basean sign language to her mother. There is a poignant moment in the book right before the group is heading out on a deadly mission. Talin and her friends are eating at a feast at the Outer City with her fellow Baseans. There is a refugee who is very paranoid and suspects that the Strikers are there as a spy (people also suspect that Talin is a spy for Mara as well). When her friends sign to one another, the man tells them “oh you're using that secret language!” and someone else tells him “well, maybe you should just learn that language then.” Fear of others through not communicating goes both ways. And if you don't put in the effort to learn the other language but still feel fear, then that is on you. That is how some countries treat their immigrants/refugees, scared of their native language but not learning it. To drive in the point of how important language is, Lu even writes in a moment of a bad translation mistake, instead of “talk and you will live,” the translator says, “talk and we will make you live.” Given the prisoner's suicidal disposition, this would not work as a threat.
Those are the two moments off the top of my head that I can think of. There are other themes of enemy soldiers having to fight due to their loved ones being in danger if they do not obey. The civilians of the enemy country not knowing how terrifying their country really is, or maybe they've been forced to agree with their leaders that they've started to believe it. I personally think that this is one of my favorite books from Marie Lu as she actively inputs social commentary woven into the plot and the characters. Lovely all around.
The only reason why this is four stars is because I wish that there could have been more done with Adena and Jaren, especially his relationship with Aramin. I hope that the sequel has more, as I would like the queer characters to have more of a focal point rather than a supportive position. Additionally, though I did like what she did with Talin, I wish Marie did more with Red? We got a glimpse of his backstory with his dad and sister, but then what else? He was delegated to a protector role, a trump card, and I wish we could've gotten more. I also thought that the romance between the two escalated too fast, so I wanted that to slow down a bit. Otherwise, I loved this book.
Rating: 3.5/5
Review at https://bookblubbs.wordpress.com/2019/11/19/review-renegades-by-marissa-meyer-renegades-1/
So, uh.
Rainbow Rowell writes herself into a love-tragedy with a beautiful, “girly”-looking Korean-Caucasian boy.
It's about as bad as that sounds. Full review to come.
So fluffy
Oh god that was so cute. I'm going to miss them so much! Here's to more of her work in the future!
Going into this book, I had no expectations. I knew little of the plot besides the synopsis and only heard of it from my friends. I knew there was little romance (but breathtaking nonetheless) and that there was magic. That was all. However, I was completely blown away by this novel. The mere fact that it's a standalone and not a series baffles me. The amount of time I've spent on this book, reading it with a normal pace but seemingly taking forever to finish, creates an illusion that this was 800 pages long. So much action and character development occurred in this standalone and I really have to give props to the author for this.
Nieshka and Sarkan, two polar opposites yet equally strong mages, come together in the most unusual circumstances and are bound together through their souls and their love for each other. Though it is not explicitly mentioned beyond physical desire, there is still a want in them both and this magnetism that they can't keep away from each other.
I really really love this book, probably one of my all-time favorites. This was a breath of fresh air compared to the young adult books I've been reading lately.