Review: Girls of Paper and Fire

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can't decide between 4 or 4.5 stars, but I think 4 just because the beginning was so long and almost put me off.

This story is not for everyone. The main focus of this book is sexual abuse and characters trying to free themselves from it (?) I really can't think of the right way to phrase that. It's all about female empowerment, basically.

The whole cast is very diverse and the writing was beautiful. I am very stressed about the final scene, though. VERY. STRESSED.

This kind of reminded me of The Selection series, but the bonds formed between the girls in Girls of Paper and Fire are a lot stronger and they aren't pitted against each other as much as The Selection, which I really appreciate. I STRONGLY SUPPORT GIRLS SUPPORTING GIRLS!

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Review: The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cute book. I think it's time I should catch up on Rick Riordan books, I feel like I'm missing out on so much. ;__;

Shoutout to my library who only had like 2 Percy Jackson ebooks but somehow they all magically appeared a week after reading this. B)

Tyson's cool. Percy's just like younger me, so it hurts sometimes that he's so relatable.

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Review: There's Someone Inside Your House

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am shook.

Thriller novels are difficult to get right. We've heard every case a thousand times before, whether it's other books, shows, movies, the news, etc. I feel like writing a YA thriller could be even more difficult. While there is a murder mystery, YA technically shouldn't have the sex, blood, gore, etc. of adult novels.

Perkins did a great job making the mystery intriguing as well as give us a love story. The couple isn't exactly the power couple we all dream of while reading romance novels, but you can't have everything. (Also, romance is probably pretty difficult when your neighbors are getting brutally murdered.)

The story isn't exactly scary, but it did keep me on the edge of my seat for a while. I actually ended up having nightmares about the types of murders in this book (so good job, Perkins).

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Review: Ruin of Stars

Ruin of Stars by Linsey Miller
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a free, electronic ARC to review. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

DNF at 60%

I wanted to like this book, but I just could NOT get into this. The first book, Mask of Shadows, was amazing! I was pretty excited to get this sequel, but I was pretty let down.

The story itself isn't that bad. It's a continuation of the previous book and explains a lot of backstory. Unfortunately, the writing is not amazing this time around. Many scenes have been too wordy, in the sense that I have to read them a few times to fully grasp what's going on. There were a lot of grammar mistakes (which will most likely be corrected once the final copy is released, but still).

I did not connect with Sal anymore. While it's important that Sal was gender-fluid because representation matters, it just became Excessive. I swear Sal mentions that they are gender-fluid in every chapter even when it's irrelevant to the plot. It gets mentions at the most random times, like the author's just sort of saying it to remind the reader of how ~unique~ this book is to others.

It'd be like
>fight scene
>no one cares about Sal's identity
>"I have no gender, no one understands here :("
>end fight scene

Obviously I'm exaggerating, but honestly not by much.

By all means, read this sequel if you love the story. It just wasn't for me.

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Review: The Love Interest

The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Do you like the premise of this book but see too many bad reviews? Do you really want to read this but are you afraid of disliking it? Well, YOU'RE IN LUCK. I HAVE ADVICE FOR YOU.

Don't take it seriously.

Forreal. It's a parody. It's so obviously a parody when you read it. All the bad reviews talk about how it hits every bad YA dystopian trope and how it has horrible writing at some points. That's the point, my friends.

This is practically every generic YA, dystopian, love triangle book with a twist: the two men end up falling more for each other instead of the girl they're trying to win.

This was done really well (considering how "bad" it is). The writing style is very easy to read, there's enough plot that you're not too bored, and the characters are fun and hilarious. The amount of times it breaks the fourth wall sort of stresses me out (lmao), but as I have said before, that's the point.

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Review: The Last Star

The Last Star by Rick Yancey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm really upset because I loved the first two books of this series! Maybe it was the writing style, maybe the audiobook readers? Whatever it was, this book fell flat for me.

The writing style seemed awkward and "young." I know this is a YA book, but I've seen so much better writing for YA books than this. The characters fell flat and I didn't end up caring for any of them this time around??

Also the ending was stupid.

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Review: Nyxia Unleashed

Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley, for an ARC of this book. My thoughts in this review are all my own and are not influenced in any way.

Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen is the second book of The Nyxia Triad. I have a review of the first book, Nyxia. This review has spoilers from the first book. There will be no spoilers for this book, though.

The characters you know and love from Nyxia are back and pushed to their limits. They make it onto Eden to mine the foreign substance nyxia, but slowly find out that things aren't what they seem. Babel's true intentions are slowly revealed as the two Genesis crews form an alliance with Adamites, the residents of Eden. In a war between Babel and the Adamites, the Genesis crew must work together and choose a side, both of which may have dire consequences.

Emmett, the main character, is as delightful as ever. This book has you rooting for him the whole time and agreeing with every decision he makes. We learn more about the rest of the crew through their growing relationships with Emmett.

The writing was difficult to get through at first, but I adapted pretty quickly to the writing style. Reintgen is very straightforward in his writing. There weren't many poetic quotes that had me swooning and grabbing the nearest highlighter (let's ignore the fact that I read this on an e-reader), but the writing still stuck with me.

This sequel introduced so many new things (animals, traditions, characters/development), but it still left me feeling lacking. So much could have been explained more or introduced again later on, but the ending fell flat. Perhaps the next book will cover more.

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Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

WOW!!!! This is probably the most beautifully-written book I've ever read. Every word enchanted me and transported me into the circus.

"But Clare, why only four stars?" The beginning was way too complicated and almost turned me off of this book. There are too many points of view forced on you at once, and you're just supposed to remember them. Fortunately, I got the hang of it all ~25% in.

The romance here was nothing sexy, per se, but it was still wonderful and heartbreaking. Morgenstern has you rooting for each character -- there's literally no way you can pick a side once getting to know both Marco and Celia.

This book may take a while to read, but it's definitely worth the read!

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Review: The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a stunning read. I hope I can give it a glowing review. (I'm so sorry.)

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore is about women in the 1900's-1930's working in radium dial factories. Radium had just been discovered by Marie Curie, and its effects weren't well known. The glowing substance was used in paint to make clock dials glow in the dark, and business was booming. It gave many women jobs, but it turned out to be very dangerous. The radium girls suffered severely from putting the brushes (full of paint) in their mouths.

This book documents the fight for compensation and workers' rights. These radium girls ended up with sarcomas (tumors), pulled teeth, jaw necrosis, hip pains, spine pain, and so much more.

The whole story is so interesting and so inspiring. I would 100% recommend it to everyone. This is nonfiction, and any scientific terms are explained well, so don't let that put you off reading it.

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Review: Ruthless Magic

Ruthless Magic by Megan Crewe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you read only one book this summer, this should be it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-book ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

NetGalley advertised this as a cross between Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Hunger Games, so of course I had to request it. Lo and behold, that was pretty accurate.

This is about two characters: Finn and Rocio. They both come from two completely different worlds, but they meet each other through a competition to get into a magical college. If they don't win the competition, they get Dampered (lose their magical abilities).

This was such a breathtaking book - I really didn't expect to fall in love with Ruthless Magic so much. The writing style was beautiful. The plot was intense enough to keep interest without burning me out. The characters were absolutely amazing and developed and beautiful.

There is so much competition, much like Throne of Glass, Hunger Games, Battle Royale, etc. There is more of a group aspect in this book though, which makes it much more interesting. Do they fight for themselves or try to keep the group alive? Morals are questioned, which always makes a book more interesting in my opinion.

Please go read this book!

Release Date: May 30, 2018

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Review: Midnight Wolf

Midnight Wolf by Jennifer Ashley
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley, for a free e-book copy of this book!

Midnight Wolf by Jennifer Ashley is a romance novel about Angus and Tamsin. They are both Shifters (like werewolves). It starts out as a mission for Angus to find Tamsin, but they end up falling in love and fighting the government together.

The romance wasn't amazing in this book. The characters seemed boring and/or done before. The plot wasn't great. I understand that Ashley was going for a strong, female character, but Tamsin just ended up being annoying.

I wouldn't recommend this to anybody in the mood for a good romance book, but I would recommend it to people who like slow romance and Shifters.

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Review: Wintersong

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones is a young adult novel about Liesl, a girl in love with the Goblin King who sacrifices her life to save her sister. Oh, she also loves music and it's her life.

This story was all over the place. I could keep up with it, but it wasn't fun. Liesl had horrible character development, the Goblin King was a romantic interest I wouldn't touch with a seven-foot pole, and the writing style was lacking.

Liesl seemed to be too passionate about all the wrong things and made all the typical dumb YA main character moves.

I was not impressed with this book, but failed to give it a lower rating just because it managed to keep my interest a bit.

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Review: Tess of the Road

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley, for giving me a digital ARC of this book! All thoughts are still my own and not influenced in any way.
Release Date: February 27, 2018

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman is about Tess, the rambunctious sister of Seraphina from the Seraphina books. Tess is always getting in trouble and not as well-liked as her sisters, and her parents want to put her in a nunnery. Of course, Tess runs away, and an adventure ensues.

This isn't a typical runaway adventure book, though. Tess of the Road is a slow read where Tess literally just goes from place to place, all the while haunted by her past. I thought her travels were very lackluster, but her backstory was honestly so impressive that it boosted this rating up 2 stars. She's such a unique character from what I'm used to for many reasons (which I can't really get into because this isn't out yet), but I'm obsessed. There were so many things I'd never seen before with a 16-18 year old female protagonist in young adult books.

If you're reading this for dragons, prepare to be disappointed. There really weren't any. The ones that were there were so humanoid, which was super disappointing.

I've also never read the original Seraphina books. I still got the gist of things though, and you can definitely read this without the originals! I'm sure I'd get more little things in the book, but nothing too important was referenced where I was like, "What the f is this???

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Review: The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One

The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One by Amanda Lovelace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced reader's e-book copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One by Amanda Lovelace is a poetry book about the patriarchy, sexual assault, and women finding their own voices. The poetry itself has been heavily debated in other reviews - is it "tumblr text" or actual poetry? My answer: both?

The poetry definitely has a tumblr text post aesthetic to it. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. It reminded me a lot of the ever-so-popular Milk and Honey going around in 2017. While very similar, this had its own passion and style.

This book had me S H O O K. As a woman who has been harassed on numerous occasions, this spoke to me a lot. It had me angry again, and it was really nice to see that other people have had the same thoughts as me.

This does paint a bad picture of men, though, which can have people butthurt. The unfortunate reality though, is that a lot of women do have these experiences and these thoughts of many different men. "Not all men, though!" Sure, not all men. But many. Enough.

This poetry book was incredibly empowering, and I am so glad I had the chance to read it.

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Review: Ash Princess

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW! What a page-turner!

Ash Princess is about a girl named Theodosia, a princess whose kingdom gets conquered. Instead of dying, she's kept as a prisoner for years. This book is about her trying to become free.

This was sort of a generic YA fantasy book, but darker. There was a lot of whippings that went into detail, so stay away if that makes you queasy.

The characters weren't all lovable, and I think that makes the story great. You're not supposed to love every character. Some are despicable. Some I want to love, but hate. Some I want to hate, but love. A perfect mixture, to be honest. There is a bit of a love triangle, but it's not the main subject of the book - thank goodness. It also leans a lot towards one boy instead of torn between two most of the time. That makes it a bit more bearable.

The writing was very well done. It wasn't jaw-dropping, but it definitely kept my attention and there are some quotes I would have loved to put in here (but I can't because it's an ARC :( )

Definitely read this if you like YA fantasies!

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Review: Gemina

Gemina by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE YEAR I PUT GIFS IN MY REVIEWS. I'M A NEW WOMAN. NEW YEAR NEW ME.

My first and foremost thought: I didn't know that Marie Lu could draw so well?!

Other thoughts:
This book was great, but Illuminae (the first book) was still better.

This book was thrilling and fun to read, but it seemed to drag on for me. I found myself trying to read smaller books in between to feel more accomplished, but all it did was rack up the "currently reading" books and leave me stressed.


The format, of course, was unique and super cool as before. In this case though, AIDAN wasn't really there, so I didn't get as much of a feeling of Love and Doom in this book. (No worries, though. There is still a lot of Doom in Gemina.) One of the main reasons the formatting was so noteworthy in Illuminae was because of AIDAN, and I feel like I got sort of gypped here.

The characters seemed to be basically the same as before but with slightly different appearances. I really don't feel like I met anyone new, and that upsets me.

Story: 3 stars
Creativity: 4 stars
Final score: 3.5 stars (rounded up before because I'm sometimes nice)

I know I'm starting to complain now, but I'll still definitely be getting the next book when it comes out.



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