Boundless (Unearthly 3) by Cynthia Hand
Brief Summary: Clara has gone to college, but that doesn’t mean her problems have gone away or that she can suddenly have a normal life. Visions are still coming in confusing segments and Clara’s still not sure how to interpret them. Not to mention the fact that every time she finally thinks that she’s over Tucker and she’s ready to take a step forward with Christian, that she pops back into his life. Then there’s also her wayward brother, a somewhat startling turn in Angela’s purpose; Clara’s life may never be normal or easy.
To read reviews for two previous books click: Unearthly and Hallowed.
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To be honest, the book, while well-written, is a bit of a disappointment. I loved everything about it, except it didn’t give me everything I wanted or needed out of it. Cynthia Hand has an amazing voice. She writes well and her characters are all interesting, likable, and amazing. However, while the plot was engaging, well paced, and suspenseful felt unresolved in the end and just didn’t feel complete.
Check it out at: Hand’s Blog, Goodreads, Amazon, B&N
FULL REVIEW Spoilerish Bellow the Cut
Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices 1) by Cassandra Clare
Brief Summary: Tessa comes to England after her aunt dies to find her brother. But she’s instantly kidnapped and held prisoner by the Dark Sisters who teach Tessa about powers she didn’t know she had and use them for their own gains. Rescued by Shadowhunters, Tessa is forced to except their help in order to find her brother, and to find out what she really is.
Angry Ranting and Possible Spoilers Ahead
While the story itself is rather interesting and intriguing; the beginning was tediously slow, the middle dragged, and only the ending was exciting. There’s a lot of unnecessary description which is what made the story dry in parts. The worst however is the fact that I found most of the characters unlikable.
I didn’t like Tessa from almost the beginning, she was just so compliant. It’s alright, it’s perfectly okay to have a character that reflects the time period that they’re in, this being Victorian England. Tessa is perfectly okay with being a damsel in distress, she scoffs at the thought of women wearing pants, doesn’t think they should do any fighting, and thinks she deserves to be treated like dirt because that’s just how things are. Worst of all however, she thinks that Will being rude is fine because Mr. Darcy was rude and then he married Elizabeth, wtf. That is not the attitude I want to see in a main character. I want to see defiance, I want to see the character rise above the social norms (even if they don’t realize they’re doing it), I want to see them use those social norms to their own advantage. But we do not get this with Tessa, or we only get small glimpses of it, which frankly doesn’t make up for the times she doesn’t.
Most of the time I just wanted to punch Will in the face. There’s such thing as a lovable asshole, but Will is just an immature asshole. He treats everyone around like dirt. He shows no respect for either Charlotte or Henry, who are like parents to him. He forgot all about Thomas once he got Jem. He constantly harasses Sophia even though he knows her history with the previous employer. He doesn’t treat Tessa any better and doesn’t feel bad for suggesting to rake through her brother’s brain at all. Even Jessamine who’s detestable, has more redeeming qualities, Ms. Clare made me see what I can actually like about her. Having a tortured past doesn’t give you a pass to be a fucking asshole to everyone, especially people who care about you.
I don’t like Jem much either. He’s like a limp noodle who’s just so sweet and that I’m supposed to feel sorry for, right? *yawns*
Last but not least, the Institute is supposed to be the supernatural police. These are Victorian characters, but they all seemed too modern in their behavior and speech. Not to mention most of these so called professionals act really immature. While Charlotte was my favorite character and a kick-ass female, she has no business leading the Institute. Not because she’s a woman, but because she has no leadership skills and absolutely no one respects her. Will treats her like shit, so does Jessamine, even the servants are free-spoken, no one ever stands up for her, not even her husband. And I hated how Clare tries to pass off Charlotte and Henry’s marriage of convenience as secretly being sweet, it’s not. I expected more professionalism from people who are saving the world. I expected more class and manners from Victorian characters.
Overall, I was somewhat disappointed with this book, especially when so many people on tumblr love it. The ending was pretty exciting and action oriented, although the fact that it kept flipping between two povs was also a bit distracting. The epilogue did make me want to read the next book, maybe I get to find out why Will is such a jackass all the time.
Siege and Storm (The Grisha Trilogy 2) by Leigh Bardugo
Brief Summary: Alina and Mal have managed to run away from the Darkling, but it’s only a matter of time before they’re captured. The Darkling is more powerful than ever and it will take the newly forged friendships, lots of nerve, and Alina embracing her destiny to face the Darkling. But will it cost Alina her soul?
Non-Spoilery Review/Possible Spoilers if you have not read Shadow and Bone (reviewed here).
Bardugo is a fantastic story teller. The second installment didn’t falter or splutter, and was a magnificent continuation of Shadow and Bone. There was a lot of fast paced action, exhilarating story telling, and Alina being kick-ass. I loved the humorous tone of the novel when it wasn’t being serious and the sass of the characters. The new cast of characters is amazing; the Sturmhond was witty and clever and sassy, Tamar and Toliy were also pretty great. Alina saw some character development, she went from being a scared, haunted, little girl into someone who was ready to take charge of her life and lead the people against the darkness. However, her power is still new and it’s growing, which is starting to change her into someone darker. Her relationship with Mal becomes strained because her duties as the Sun Summoner become more important, and Mal wants the old Alina back. Mal is there when he is needed, by Alina’s side and is ready to pull her back from the brink when she seems ready to topple over. And the Darkling, the sexy bastard, he’s one of the best villains in YA literature. He’s evil, he’s depraved, but he can still be clever, smart, and calculating. He doesn’t allow his greed for power to cloud his judgement (unlike Alina’s kisses :3 ). Alina is growing stronger and she will be more than capable in handling him in the end. The only thing that bothered me was the slightly slow middle and Ravkan terminology. It seems to be a mix of Slavic and maybe other eastern European languages, I kept reading them in Russian and a lot of the time it was wrongly gendered or just weird. However…
I would definitely recommend it to lovers of YA fantasy and everyone who’d read the first installment Shadow and Bone.
Also the cover is lighter than the first, which to me symbolizes the Darkling’s power is getting weaker, does it mean the next cover will be white with darkness swirling instead?
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Check it out at Leigh’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Abebooks.
Also, Leigh Bardugo the author has a tumblr: Here!
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VERY SPOILERY/ MORE InDepth REVIEW UNDER THE CUT. Do not read if you have not read Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm.
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Brief Summary: Josie has had a pretty tough life. A daughter of a prostitute, living in 1950’s New Orleans, Josie has been looking after herself since she was kid. With friends like a brothel madam and her associates, Josie lives on kindness of people with very dark lives. Josie wants nothing more than to get out of dodge and start a new life somewhere far away from her no good mother. But it may be next to impossible to do so.
Possible Spoilers Ahead
Set in the 1950’s New Orleans Out of the Easy is a nicely paced, well written, character driven novel. It is written from a perspective of seventeen year old Josie; a smart, gutsy, and weathered girl with a tough life and education. She may be know to locals as a daughter of a prostitute, but Josie is very much her own girl. Josie’s mother is a no good woman, who cares more about money and herself than about Josie. Who had to raise herself since she was twelve. The only mother that Josie has known is Willie, a brothel madam.
Out of the Easy features an array of well developed cast of supporting characters. Willie may be a brothel madam, but she has a heart of gold and nerves of steel. She treats Josie as her own daughter and often acts as a fairy godmother.
The fact that much of the plot centers around a brothel and the life of women in sex business was quite interesting. These aren’t just empty women making a dime. They’re real people. The class, race, and the gender divide tensions were quite apparent in the novel, but they were handled well and showed everything in an unbiased and realistic way.
Our love interests include two pretty swell guys. And I’m happy to say that what could have been just another love triangle, turned out to be a very well handled portrayal of one. In fact, the romance was on the back burner for the whole novel. Josie had bigger problems to deal with than the two boys who showed interest.
Josie’s dream is to get out of the damn town and make a future for herself that doesn’t include dealing with brothels or other criminals. Her dream is to go to Smith College, but the problem is that she may not be qualified, and if she is, than she won’t be able to pay for it.
I do wish there was a little more conflict and the ending was a little more well rounded. But overall, the novel was beautiful and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
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Shatter Me (Shatter Me 1) by Tahereh Mafi
Brief Summary: Juliette is able to kill people with her touch. For that reason her parents gave her up and she spent time in a prison like asylum. That is until the government wants to use her powers to control the masses through fear. Then she meets her puppy love Adam and they make their escape.
Minimum Spoilers/Negative Review with Positive Sprinkles
This book would have been perfect if Mafi wasn’t trying so fucking hard. I’m sorry for the expletive, but this book made me so angry. Good thing my English Degree is still in the mail, because I’d have stained it with tears. I’d read plenty of bad reviews for it, so my expectations were very low, but I went in with an open mind. I have two words to describe this book: Pretentious Potential. Or to make it a little more clear: Tries Too Hard.
This book was only good when Mafi stopped trying, and you know when she stopped trying? By the end. Of course, I understand that maybe Mafi was trying to symbolize Juliette’s broken mind in the beginning and her narration becomes more clear by the end. I can appreciate what she was trying to do with the repetition, and the hyperboles, and the figurative language, not writing out numbers below hundred, even the text strike outs were inventive. To a point.
Review Under the Cut to Avoid Pissing People Off.
Taken (Taken 1) by Erin Bowman
Brief Summary: Gray has grown up in a world with no men. Every time a boy turns eighteen, he disappears, never to be seen again. After Gray’s brother disappears, Gray accidentally stumbles upon a secret which unravels his entire world. Desperate for answers, Gray decides to go where no one has gone and lived: over the wall of the city.
Non-Spoiler Review
Taken is a fast paced, action driven novel. The story is told through the eyes of Gray a seventeen year old boy whose brother is about to be taken from him. When he uncovers a secret, Gray’s life becomes even more uneasy because everything he knows may potentially be a lie. Every time Gray finds an answer to his question, ten more pop-up. Twists and turns appear at every turn, and I actually can’t say much about the plot without ruining it. But let’s just the say the world is a little bigger and much scarier than Gray could have imagined and the secrets that he will uncover will threaten his entire world.
But the characters are well developed, though I sometimes found Gray a bit hard to like. That’s the thing though, I don’t think Gray is supposed to be completely likable. The supporting characters are just as great. I liked how assertive both romantic interests were and how it wasn’t just shallow attraction.
If you’re looking for a Hunger Games like dystopia, this book is definitely for you. It’s dark, twisted, and makes you thankful for the world you live in now.
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Check it out at: Goodreads, B&N, Amazon, Abebooks
More in-depth SPOILERY REVIEW UNDER THE CUT
The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy 2) by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Brief Summary: King Joren has been ruling for sometime, but nothing is easy or peaceful about his role as king. Most of his council is against him, and they hold his past over his head to keep him in line and from doing anything useful. With a threat of pirates and a neighboring kingdom threatening war, Joren doesn’t think he can keep his crown much longer. So, Joren comes up with a plan to keep his crown and save his kingdom. His plan is to runaway.
This is the second installment of The Ascendance Trilogy, the first one was The False Prince, to read my review for it click Here.
SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE FALSE PRINCE
Possible Spoilers if you haven’t read The Runaway King.
This was a wonderful sequel to The False Prince and a great second novel in a trilogy. It managed to escape the Middle Book Death and applaud it for it. All the characters were well developted, the plot was fast paced and exciting, and the book is well worth the read.
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The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds 1) by Alexandra Bracken
Brief Summary: Adolescent kids across the United States start dying or developing strange superpowers. The government panics and starts rounding them up and putting them into concentration camps for “rehabilitation”. They are classified by their danger level, but Ruby manages to manipulate her way into a milder set. When she finally escapes, she meets up with a couple of cool people, but she’s afraid of getting close to them because she doesn’t want to hurt them. They try to find a place where they can at least survive, if not live in peace, all while being hunted like rabid dogs.
Possible Spoilers Ahead
This book is really something. It’s a dystopia that really stands on it’s own and isn’t a rehash of the Hunger Games or Divergent, it’s better than both of them put together. It’s a lot more like the Hunger Games, which is great, because if I read another dystopia where the girl’s main concern is who she gonna be paired with, so help me.
The Darkest Minds both terrified and amazed me. It terrified me that the reaction of the government didn’t seem like a stretch. What would happen to our country if our children suddenly developed strange superpowers that ranged from being able to move objects to mind-control. Some of these kids are still fairly normal, others use their power to get what they want. But the government doesn’t even try to see if they can use these powers for good, it’s like the whole country freaks out. Some parents try to protect their kids, others send them away. You know, it’s a grim reflection on this world’s society.
I had a hard time liking Ruby because at first she was such a passive character. But we see a lot of character development and growth through the book, until Ruby stands and fights not just for other people, but for herself as well. Liam, the romantic interest, is a total sweetheart. He’s loyal, caring, and strong. The other supporting characters were great as well, contributing to the story.
As for the villain, well, I had a suspicion about him from the start. He just seemed a little perfect and gave me the creeps. It also just didn’t make sense how such a big settlement didn’t noticed or manage to be found out for so long.
The ending broke my heart. It honestly did. Can I please have the second one now?
Anyway, I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good dystopia.
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Alexandra has a tumblr : Here
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Check the book out at: It’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble
The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom
Brief Summary: Two people with different lives want two different things with time; one wants more of it, the other wishes it would end. The man who invented time has to decide how to help these two people and return to what he lost himself.
Trigger Warning for the Book: attempted suicide.
Possible Spoilers Ahead
This was a really quick read, which isn’t surprising if you’d read anything by Mitch Albom before. He has a very light style that is easy to read.
The story is split into three different narrations: one is by Sarah, a teenage girl who is desperately in love with a boy who wants nothing to do with her. I was very upset with Albom at first for writing such a stereotypical teenager, but then I realized that Sarah represents just about everyone who has ever fallen in love with the wrong person. So, I will physically fight you if you don’t like Sarah or dare to call her names. We get glimpses of what Sarah’s mother is thinking to complete the picture, a single mother struggling to understand her daughter. Reminded me a lot of the relationship I have with my Mom and it made me feel bad.
The second story is that of Victor, a rags to riches sort of man, who got everything out of life and more by working hard and earning everything he has. But now time is running out and he’s willing to do just about anything to prolong his life, including cryogenically freezing himself. Victor was actually a bit hard to like, because damn it man, you’ve lived your life, let go. But he’s a perfect portrayal of greed and putting money and success in front of everything, including loved ones.
What ties those two together is Dor the man who invented time keeping. He was punished or rewarded, the book claims either or, to watch humanity as they complain about time. Until finally he is given a chance to redeem himself and return to when he came, that’s right, when not where.
The book is great overall, even if it reads a bit like a Hallmark movie, but if you love sentimental stuff or if you’re looking for a really quick and easy read, this book is for you.
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Check it out at: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Abebooks
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Brief Summary: Charlie is a smart, shy and an emotionally sensitive guy. It’s his first year of High School and on the advice of an English teacher, Charlie decides to be more outgoing and participate more in life. He makes friends with a couple of other misfits and they show him how to have fun in life by introducing him to love, smoking and drinking. He also cries a lot. A lot.
Trigger Warnings for the book: sexual abuse, rape, molestation.
Possible Spoilers Ahead
I’m going to say right away that I don’t think I really understood this book or it’s point and that this makes me incredibly sad. I didn’t have any expectations for it other than that I wanted to like it. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked it, but I still didn’t think it was particularly amazing either.
This book is written from a perspective an emotionally unstable and sensitive fifteen year old boy. He comes off as being incredibly sheltered and very innocent simply because he doesn’t know anything about things you’d expect any fifteen year old guy to know, especially about masturbation and sex. He often doesn’t know how to handle emotional situations or what to do in most social situations. Sometimes this was endearing, other times it was incredibly contrite.
Since this is an epistolary novel, written from Charlie to an unnamed friend, we only get his perspective on things. He is incredibly honest and again, a lot of the times, he has a very naive and somewhat innocent take on social interactions and things. He gets drunk, he gets high, he enjoys things as they come without really questioning it. Then he cries. A lot.
A lot of the times you begin to wonder if Charlie is special, not just because of how he deals with things, but because of the way he’s treated too. He’s handled with care. Charlie’s close and extended family is a bit messed up, so the end wasn’t really a surprise.
But I found it hard to connect to anyone in this book; not to supporting characters because we don’t really get to know them that well. Things Charlie does and says are mostly summarized, so we get sketches of people, not full drawings of them. And I couldn’t connect with Charlie because I don’t really know what it’s like to experience anything that he has. I don’t really want to. His crying also gets a bit irritating.
So, take this review with a grain of salt. I liked the story, but I didn’t find it anything special because I couldn’t connect with it. But if you do connect with Charlie, then you will definitely like the book.
