Review Mash-up! [2]

Author: Erin Morgenstern

Series: N/A

Publisher: Doubleday

Release Date: September 13, 2011

Pages: 512

Format: Paperback

Average Rating: 4.02

My Rating: 5.0

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices plastered on lampposts and billboards. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is under way--a contest between two young illusionists, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in a "game" to which they have been irrevocably bound by their mercurial masters. Unbeknownst to the players, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. (from Goodreads)

» Review «

Two of my 2016 reading goals were completed by picking up The Night Circus a few months ago. The first was my rereading goal; I had wanted to reread three books this year, and The Night Circus was the final of those three. Go me! The second goal was to listen to an audiobook—something I have never experienced before—and so I decided what better book to listen to than one I have read before and absolutely loved? And so, I borrowed The Night Circus from my local library. Listening to an audiobook is definitely not my favorite way to read. I constantly forgot/never had time to pick it up, and had to renew it twice before I was able to finally finish it in May. I can see where it would be useful during a car ride or while waiting in line somewhere, but I think I will stick to physical books, thanks.

Overall, I found The Night Circus to be just as beautiful, magical and captivating as I did the first time around. The characters and story were so complex; I am absolutely in awe over Erin Morgenstern's ability to weave such a beautiful tale. This book was the one that started my love of circus books and pushed me into trying more adult novels, so it was great to revisit it and reminisce.

I will say that the timeline got a little confusing with the audiobook because you can't flip back to the date like you can while reading the physical book, but I still absolutely loved it and anticipate that I will continue to pick it up every few years for another read.

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 Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Series: The Raven Cycle #2

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: September 17, 2013

Pages: 437

Format: Hardcover

Average Rating: 4.28

My Rating: 4.0

Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams. Ronan is one of the raven boys—a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface—changing everything in its wake. (from Goodreads)

» Review «

I finally finished it, guys! For three months, I had lost the desire to pick this particular book up; not because it was bad or anything, don't get me wrong—it was actually quite good—but because I fell into a horrendous reading slump and had trouble picking up/reading everything.

I did finally finish it in May, however, and it was spectacular. Maggie Stiefvater's writing is brilliant, and I feel like this series will just keep getting better. I love the story and most of the characters though I could not stand Adam. Ronan was someone I was not expecting to like as much as I did/do. I was indifferent toward him in the first book, but I loved his POV in The Dream Thieves. I feel like we're kindred souls, he and I.

The plot was very complex and interesting. Maggie writes in a way that is very metaphorical and flowery; she doesn't really come right out and say stuff, which is fine, but did get a little confusing. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Dream Thieves, despite my three-month break, and cannot wait to pick up book three!

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Author: Amy Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Series: The Illuminae Files #1

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Release Date: October 20, 2015

Pages: 599

Format: Hardcover

Average Rating: 4.30

My Rating: 5.0

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again. (from Goodreads)

» Review «

Oh, man. Where to begin.

Generally, books are told through the POV of a character, which allows the readers to connect to the story through their eyes. Since this book was told through case-files, emails, chats and surveillance footage, I had a very difficult time getting into the story at first. It took about a hundred pages, but after that, I was hooked! I honestly adored every single thing about this book, which is hilarious to me, considering how I used to hate Science Fiction. So many things were happening, which made everything extremely tense and I could not put the book down because the twists and turns kept me turning the pages well into the night.

The two main characters, Ezra and Kady, were great; they were funny, easy to like, and the romantic feelings (or lack of) didn't feel like it was pushy or in-my-face, though it could have easily been overbearing. There were a lot of other characters to keep track of, which became a little confusing at times, but I really enjoyed the individual stories and how they all connected together. I also loved, loved, loved the parts with the AI! Overall, the story was told in a very unique and beautiful way, the writing was great, and I cannot wait to find out what happens next!

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Author: Kass Morgan

Series: The 100 #3

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: February 24, 2015

Pages: 340

Format: Paperback

Average Rating: 3.69

My Rating: 3.0

Weeks after landing on Earth, the Hundred have managed to create a sense of order amidst their wild, chaotic surroundings. But their delicate balance comes crashing down with the arrival of new dropships from space. It’s time for the Hundred to come together and fight for the freedom they’ve found on Earth, or risk losing everything—and everyone—they love. (from Goodreads)

» Review «

I feel like this series had a lot of untapped potential. A consistent complaint of mine was that there was too much romance and far too little action, and that remains true of the third and final book in The 100 series, Homecoming. The ground was left basically unexplored; I would have loved to see more  run-down, crumbling buildings and the other destruction left behind by the cataclysm. Even Mount Weather would have been awesome to explore, but instead we only had brief glimpses of the character's surroundings. Most of the time, the plot focused on the romance, adding arguments and deaths for shock value. As someone who cannot stand Insta!Love and prefers minimal, slow-burning romances, this was not something I was into.

Each of the characters were basically the same person and every single romance was similar. There was no depth for me, nothing to grab a hold of or connect to, which made the reading process very frustrating. Decisions were made that didn't really make any sense, scenes moved too fast, and I was left with a lot of questions. Though this was the final book, I feel like things were left hanging and that we never really got any real, concrete answers. What happens next??  It was not a very strong conclusion at all but, in retrospect, it was better than I thought it would be, considering the first two books. I did still love Bellamy's character and there were moments (mostly involving Bellamy) that elicited a chuckle out of me. I definitely prefer the TV show.

Review Mash-up! [1]

 Author: Danielle Paige

Series: Dorothy Must Die #3

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: March 15, 2016

Pages: 270

Format: Hardcover

Average Rating: 3.85

My Rating: 2.0

After arriving in Oz via tornado—as you do—and a botched assassination attempt on everyone's beloved Dorothy, Amy Gumm finds herself back where she started; stranded in Kansas and unable to perform magic. When a new threat presents itself and Dorothy's long lost silver shoes are recovered, Amy and the Order must find a way to return to Oz before Dorothy has a chance to hatch a new plan and destroy both worlds forever.

»Review«

As I have said many, many times: I lo(ooooooo)ve retellings and/or reimaginings, which is what prompted me to pick up the first book in this series, Dorothy Must Die, when it came out a few years ago. I loved the story and characters, and found it very fun and entertaining. The second book was not as good, but still enjoyable. The third one, however, had me rolling my eyes and shaking my head throughout the entire thing because nothing made sense. Granted, nothing has ever made much sense in this series, but with the first book, I could overlook it because the plot was easy to follow and there was only one villain; Dorothy. In book two, we added a few more antagonists, which got a little confusing, but was still relatively manageable. Now there are even more and I have no idea what the heck is going on anymore and who we are supposed to be fighting. Not only that, but now the people we trusted in book one may also be the enemy? I could get behind multiple villains if we were defeating one or two each book, but nothing is getting resolved, we are back to square one, and the plot/storyline are jumping around way too much. And do not even get me started on Amy... She has turned into a needy, annoying character that is constantly contradicting herself - though, to be fair, Amy is not the only one doing this; it's pretty much every single character at this point. The descriptions of Oz were pretty much the only thing keeping me interested during book two, but even they cannot appease me anymore, and there was very little about this book that I actually liked. Add a few crappy decisions (seriously, Amy, get it together), solutions that are really just more problems in disguise, a cringe-y romance that is moving way too fast, and you have Yellow Brick War.

At this point, I will probably continue reading the series out of stubbornness, with hope that it can only go up from here.

Author: Amy Engel

Series: The Book of Ivy #1

Publisher: Entangled: Teen

Release Date: November 4, 2014

Pages: 282

Format: Paperback

Average Rating: 4.22

My Rating: 4.0

"A boy who doesn't want to lie, married to a girl who can't tell the truth. If there is a God, he has a sick sense of humor."

Ivy Westfall is on a mission. After years of planning, she is about to marry Bishop Lattimer, the son of the president, in an attempt to end an old feud between their two families. What her soon-to-be in-laws don't know, however, is that Ivy has been trained to kill her new husband shortly after their union - the first step in what her family hopes will be a revolution; earning them the authority that should have rightfully been theirs after a nuclear war leaves the United States ravaged and very few people alive. There's just one problem; Bishop is not as evil and conniving as her family made him out to be, and Ivy is no longer sure she can kill him. In the end, she must make a choice between Bishop and her family, love and justice, and doing what is right for her people or doing what is right for herself.

»Review«

I fell in love with this story immediately, and this book was probably my favorite read in the month of April. Though the plot had been done before—girl must kill boy, falls in love—it was still very enjoyable and I found myself emotionally invested in the characters because, get this: though the story was full of cute, romantic moments, it wasn't so overbearing that it took away from the plot, like all most love stories. I love it when that happens! Though the plot and action did not add much to the story until the very end, Ivy was still a very interesting narrator and, despite the fact that the choices she made were based on other people and not herself, there was a struggle there that kept me interested. She didn't want her family to dictate her life, but they are her family and she owes them her loyalty. She didn't want to be open and honest and have fun because she doesn't really deserve it, but it happened anyway because Bishop is a nice guy. Seeing her struggle with this was extremely interesting and created a story that is a classic example of how a character-driven plot can be done well, even if there is a love interest involved.

I very much enjoyed the different characters, particularly Bishop, and how Ivy discovers her family may not be as selfless as they seemed. The ending had me howling in rage in Ivy's defense, and I am excited to pick up the next one and see how this duology ends.

Author: Allie Brosh

Series: N/A
Publisher: Touchstone

Release Date: October 29, 2013

Pages: 369

Format: Paperback

Average Rating: 4.15

My Rating: 3.75

 
Stories about Allie Bosh's dogs, depression and life. But mostly about her dogs.

»Review«

I had originally read this book in 2014 for a quick laugh and decided to pick it up again recently for the same reason. Really, since this is a book made entirely of drawings and crass, self-deprecating humor, there is not much to say. I found certain things relateable, and others not. There were things I found extremely funny and other incidents where Allie's humor was a bit lost on me. Overall, I enjoyed the book; it is a quick, light read that I was able to finish in a day and, should Allie ever write/illustrate another one, I would definitely read it as well.

(During my original read, I gave Hyperbole and a Half 4.0 stars. After my reread, it was knocked down to 3.75.)

Author: Bryan Lee O'Malley

Series: N/A

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Release Date: July 15, 2014

Pages: 323

Format: Hardback

Average Rating: 4.04

My Rating: 3.75

Katie is in trouble. Not only is her new restaurant not coming along as fast as she had hoped, but there are complications with her current fling, her ex boyfriend shows up, and one of her best waitresses becomes badly injured. That's when the House Spirit arrives. Write down your mistake. Eat a Mushroom. Go to sleep and wake up anew. These three rules redefine Katie's life as she begins to erase mistakes made throughout the day and replace them with an alternate situation. Waitress's injury? Gone. Awkward encounter with ex boyfriend? Never happened. An incident that occurred a few years ago that you can't seem to get over? Nope. But what Katie thought was an easy fix to her everyday problems quickly gets out of hand, and she must find a way to set her life right before it's too late.

»Review«

Graphic novels are easy to read/get into and do not take much time. As such, they are the perfect sort of thing to check out from the library when you already have a large pile of books sitting at home, staring at you with betrayal every time you even think about buying or reading something new. As a graphic novel newbie, I was unsure where to begin, exactly, so when I saw Seconds sitting on the shelf and remembered that several Booktubers had really enjoyed the book a few months prior, I decided to pick it up.

I did have a few problems with this story. Katie, to me, was not a very likeable character and, when things started to go wrong, she blatantly ignored the warning signs, which I found a little unrealistic. Overall, however, I found the story to be interesting—particularly the part about House Spirits—funny, and endearing. The last quarter of the book was very well done and exciting, and I especially enjoyed how things wrapped up.

BoB 15: Villain Mash Up

Today's Bout of Books challenge is "Villain Mash Up," hosted by Bingeing on Books! For this, we must choose two villains—from two different books—whom we would like to see fight one another.

 

» Voldemort versus Kronos! «

Reason: Voldemort and Kronos are frightening villains. They each have a power that is stronger and darker than anyone else in their respective series, and their inability to feel compassion or love makes them inhuman (literally, in Kronos' case) and dangerous. Though choosing Voldemort as a villain may be a cop-out, I do feel like a battle between these two would be epic and could very well result in an end-of-the-world scenario. Because both feel like they are above friendships and alliances, they would never be able to work together and neither one would want to share power. I would hate to be around if ever there were an argument between the two.