Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Review: Defy

Defy Defy by Sara B. Larson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this one! Alexa, known as Alex, has to pretend to be a boy in the guard to protect herself from being raped and "bred." She is the best of the soldiers, and is soon personally protecting the prince. Then, a sorcerer infiltrates the castle, and everything changes.

Defy was very love-triangle, but it wasn't too bad. There were definitely a lot of eye-roll moments with Rylan, her best friend/admirer. He also seemed to have no personality and existed only to make her love life with the prince a pain in the ass. He also seemed to think he was entitled to her, which was so annoying to read through.

Alexa was a great character, but she also seemed to lack some personality. The only thing going for her was that she was hiding her identity, but apparently she did such a crappy job that it didn't last long. Then she was just a love-sick girl (who was weak personality-wise but kickass physically).

There were definitely a few plot twists that I should have seen coming but had me gasping in surprise. (Like seriously. I really should've seen them coming.)

I would definitely recommend if fantasy's your thing and you're not too turned off by love triangles!

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Monday, June 26, 2017

Review: Ignite Me

Ignite Me Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WHAT A PERFECT ENDING TO A PERFECT SERIES!!!!!

Juliette has grown so much, and her ranting to Kenji about how she's strong and deserves better than Adam and should think of herself made me so happy. She's so badass and has come SUCH a long way since book one, and she deserves the world. Her having a million powers does confuse me -- why does everyone else only get one power and she gets like everything? That's a bit convenient.

The ending also had me panicking because there was so much to resolve with so little pages left, but somehow it managed to work, but also left me wanting SO MUCH MORE. Can this series go on forever please?

I need more Warner. I need a lot less Adam (because holy hell has he gotten so much worse since book 1). I need more Warner and Juliette. I need more Kenji. I want to know Everything that happens after.

Also, of course, the writing is still beautiful but actually a bit different than the other two. The strikeouts in phrases are gone, because Juliette is finally confident in herself and doesn't need them (I'm assuming), but that did make it different and weird because that's sort of what got me into this series. There's still writing/prose that's beautiful and pretty metaphors but it's not as ~magical~ as the other two, if that makes sense. I still loved it so much!!!

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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Review: Sour Heart: Stories

Sour Heart: Stories Sour Heart: Stories by Jenny Zhang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a free e-book copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity!

Release date: August 1, 2017

Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang is a fictional book about stories of daughters of Chinese immigrants living in New York. The stories each follow different families but are all connected to each other in some way. They show the struggle of immigration and poverty in the 1990s.

I know that this is about poverty, but part of it seemed like it was trying hard to romanticize poverty. Maybe it was the slight prose with the first story that gave me that mindset, but it stuck throughout the book. The stories also varied--some were definitely worse than others. I remember the second story being disgusting and almost made me want to quit the book (due to scenes of sexual abuse), but it definitely picked up from there.

This book was diving into a genre I haven't explored too much. I think most of the characters in books I read are white and pretty well off, or they show little signs of struggle when poor. So Sour Heart broadened my reading horizons, and it did not disappoint! The stories were so interesting, and the characters were one of a kind. The stories did start to blend together for me, since they all had very similar tones, but that also may be because it took me a month to finish this book (not because it's bad!)

Although fiction, this book definitely made me realize how good I've had it in life. It makes you stop to think about others and what they've gone through to get where they are today. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves short stories, fiction, and stories of struggle and perseverance.

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Saturday, June 17, 2017

Review: Life of Pi

Life of Pi Life of Pi by Yann Martel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Life of Pi is about a zookeeper's son, Pi, who sets off to his new life in Canada. Animals from the zoo are also aboard his ship to go to the United States. Unfortunately, the ship crashes, and Pi finds himself stuck in a lifeboat with a tiger. This is the story of his survival.

This was such an intriguing read! The animal and zoo aspects of this story enticed me -- all the different facts about animals, habitats, and personalities. The way Pi ends up dealing with the tiger is fascinating to read about. The different ways he asserts his dominance and keeps the tiger fed and happy so it stays away from him is amazing and was very believable. The audiobook reader also really got into making the tiger noises, which was fun.

Survival stories are always cool because the characters are abandoned and have to make do with so little. Pi didn't sugarcoat it--it was horrible and lonely and he ended up dehydrated and starving and eating tiger feces at one point--but he didn't totally lose hope, which is always the best part of survival stories. They manage to keep their personalities and wits and use them to keep themselves alive. The fact that he had a huge tiger there was both a blessing and a curse. He had company to keep him from going insane, but he also went a bit insane of fear that he'd be eaten.

Once I read that the author studied philosophy, all the religion mentioned in the book started to make more sense to me. This book wasn't just a simple survival story. It was very religious and philosophical, which made it even more interesting in my opinion. Pi, this poor kid, just wanted to love God from all points of view, which baffles the rest of his family and priests. I think the promise of God also kept him alive in the lifeboat, which was touched on a bit but not to the point where you think the whole point of the book is just to convert you.

The writing of this book was amazing and kept me on my toes. The only problem I had were the last 2-3 chapters with interviews, which I thought were absolutely pointless and ruined the story. I can also see, though, how it's important (thanks to the book club discussion questions in the back of my physical copy). It ended up making me question everything, which wasn't a satisfying ending.

I would recommend this to everyone--especially fans of animals and survival stories (duh).

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Friday, June 9, 2017

Review: This Savage Song

This Savage Song This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'd say this is 4.5 stars! The whole story itself was very weird and new and different that I couldn't help enjoy it. The writing style is beautiful (and I can't wait to read more of this author's books because I love the two I've read so far!). The idea of a monster only attacking guilty people isn't exactly //new// but still cool!

The audiobook reader was amazing and had me enchanted. I could really see it all playing out in my head (which was sometimes bad because I listened to this while driving most of the time and sorta got too invested in the story).

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Monday, June 5, 2017

Review: Lord of Shadows

Lord of Shadows Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's been ten thousand years,, but I've finally finished this book,,,//

I really liked it even though it took me longer than average to read! As much as I loved Emma and Julien's parts, I think I enjoyed Kit and the twins even more. (Also I'm really glad that Kit and Livvy didn't end up becoming a couple. They worked a lot better as friends.)

It took me a bit to get into the story, since it doesn't quickly dive into the plot of searching for the Black Volume. The story ended up being longer than it could have been, but I was okay with it! I loved seeing everyone's different perspectives of the events going on.

Also Emma and Jules ended up breaking my heart at a few scenes. The whole parabatai falling in love storyline really interested me (since we've never had it before). The whole idea of it driving them mad was really cool. (view spoiler)

He caught her by the wrist, brought her hand to his bare chest. Splayed her fingers over his heart. It beat against her palm, like a fist punching its way through his sternum. "Break my heart," he said. "Break it in pieces. I give you permission."


I also loved the representation! There weren't just white, cis, straight people. There was Christina and the Centurions. There were Magnus + Alec and Kieren + Mark. (view spoiler)

This was an amazing book. The writing of Cassandra Clare has always amazed me, and I can't wait for the next book.

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