After reading all the positive reviews for Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone, I was a little hesitant to start it because I didn’t want to risk being diAfter reading all the positive reviews for Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone, I was a little hesitant to start it because I didn’t want to risk being disappointed by it. After reading Shadow and Bone though, I can say that it was totally worth the hype (even if the plot was a tiny bit predictable)!
Bardugo’s writing sucked me in right from the start and kept me hooked until the end. I loved the way she was able to create such a detailed world that was unveiled slowly, allowing me time to understand all the terms used. I may not want to live in the fictional world of Ravka with its volcras and terrifying Shadow Fold that expands over time, but I was definitely enchanted with it.
I also thought the character of Alina was very well-developed. She really did seem like an ordinary girl who realized she happened to be extraordinary – which is why I could relate to her insecurities and feeling out of place at the Little Palace. It was even nicer that rather than becoming a pro right away after some Grisha training, it took Alina time to master her gift.
As well, I liked that Alina stayed true to her heart. Too often, I read books where the main character is torn between two guys and can’t make up her mind as to who to choose, thereby appearing wishy-washy. (Seriously, how often does this happen in real life?) Alina, however, continues to love her best friend, Mal (who I’m looking forward to seeing more of in the sequel), despite being tempted by the Darkling. This suited me just fine because not only did I find the romance between Mal and Alina sweet, but it left hope for me and the Darkling :) (Okay, so maybe he’s evil with a capital E, but I can pretend that he’ll redeem himself with me at his side ;) As you can see, I’ve been reading a little too much paranormal lately.)...more
If I could sum up J.A. Souders’ Renegade with one word, I’d use a word like messy because the frenetic pacing of the plot made it hard to follow what If I could sum up J.A. Souders’ Renegade with one word, I’d use a word like messy because the frenetic pacing of the plot made it hard to follow what was going on. It also caused the development of the world, characters and romance to be sacrificed.
My first problem with Renegade was that the worldbuilding was sketchy at best. As a reader, I knew that Mother, her dad and their friends moved to Elysium to avoid war on land. That’s all I got though, really. I couldn’t fully comprehend the way that Elysium was set up – a map might have been nice since Gavin (who I still feel like I barely know!) and Evie were running all over the place – nor did I know what was going on on the Surface because Gavin doesn’t really speak much about the subject. I assumed at first that the people of Gavin’s community were living almost a pre-Industrial lifestyle since Gavin talks people getting married at a young age, trading and going hunting; but I later had to amend my thoughts when Gavin mentions video games.
I also couldn’t make myself care about the characters. Initially, the tone of the novel was great because although things seemed perfect for Evie, there was this underlying feeling of menace. However, over time, Evie’s repeated episodes of forgetfulness became more annoying than chilling to me, and made it hard to connect with her. When characters themselves don’t know who they are, how can you get to know them properly?! Evie’s forgetfulness also seemed as if it was just a convenient way for the author to get her characters to uncover another secret.
Lastly, I hated the romance because I thought it lacked chemistry and involved insta-love. From reading Evie’s perspective, it felt as if the reason she fell for Gavin was because he looked so different from the people of Elysium – meaning not only was he a Surface Dweller – something she’s fascinated by – but also because he had gray eyes instead of the Aryan qualities sought and cultured by Mother. As well, I was a bit weirded out by the fact that Evie could be so casual about Coupling with a guy she didn’t know anything about!
With its flimsy worldbuilding and weak characterization and romance, this dystopian, unfortunately, wasn’t for me!...more
Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore is actually pretty different from the typical YA angel novel out there. For one thing, it has a strong religious underAngel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore is actually pretty different from the typical YA angel novel out there. For one thing, it has a strong religious undertone throughout the novel, which may not appeal to everybody. However, it doesn’t come off as preachy; instead, it nicely ties questions about faith in God and free will into the plot. That said, the latter half of the book did feel a little heavy with the religious aspect.
Another way that Angel Eyes differs is that it doesn’t succumb to common themes. For example, I was fully expecting Brielle to either be an angel or fall for one - and was pleasantly surprised to find that didn’t turn out to be the case....more
Since the synopsis of Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits made the novel sound kind of cheesy to me, I had no interest in reading the book. After seeinSince the synopsis of Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits made the novel sound kind of cheesy to me, I had no interest in reading the book. After seeing a lot of praise for Pushing the Limits however, I figured I’d at least give it a try.
Although the story contained a bit too much drama for me, I liked the tremendous growth displayed by the main characters. At first, Echo initially lacks a backbone; but over time, she stops avoiding confrontations and learns to stand up for herself. As much as I enjoyed seeing Echo gain more confidence though, I liked Noah’s alternative POV – excluding his lame nicknames for Echo (e.g. siren, nymph, etc.) and the parts where he keeps talking about her incredible smell (à la Perry from Veronica Rossi’s Under the Never Sky) – better. If McGarry hadn’t written from Noah’s perspective, I don’t think I’d appreciate his complexity as a character as much or realize just how strongly he cares about his younger brothers' well-being.
Despite preferring Echo and Noah as individuals over them as a couple, I can’t deny that they had chemistry. However, for two individuals battling their own inner demons, they considered themselves to be in love a little too quickly for my liking; and the romance felt more like a case of serious lust early on. ...more
Veronica Rossi’s Under the Never Sky was a story that I thought started slowly because it put me smack into the middle of a world I barely comprehendeVeronica Rossi’s Under the Never Sky was a story that I thought started slowly because it put me smack into the middle of a world I barely comprehended, and used terms which I didn’t understand. As the story progressed however and I started to grasp everything, I ended up getting sucked into the book and falling in love with it.
Basically, the Dwellers have taken shelter permanently from the Aether storms in domed buildings and have become very technologically advanced. Never being able to venture outside I suppose has its perks: the Dwellers have managed to eradicate disease so that they can live up to over a hundred, figured out how to create designer babies, and built virtual environments to avoid boredom.
On the other hand, you have the Outsiders who have learned to live with the Aether storms and developed mutations in the process. Seers have better vision than most; Audiles have sensitive hearing, and Scires have a heightened sense of smell. It all sounds kind of sci-fi-ish, but the Marked’s (i.e. those who have enhanced senses) powers also have a fantasy element to them. Furthermore, Rossi doesn’t go into a huge amount of explanation about her world – so for example, I still don’t know what the Aether is. Still, she makes it work; and over time, I sort of forgot that Under the Never Sky was inconsistent on the science-y details.
I really liked both Aria and Perry, and so it was nice that Under the Never Sky alternated between their perspectives to provide more insight into their character. When Aria is thrown out of Reverie, she has no idea what will become of her. Luckily, Perry has been seeking the Dweller he saved to help him find his nephew. He needs Aria, and she’s smart enough to understand that she needs him to learn how to survive on her own. Theirs is a mutually beneficial arrangement that gradually and unexpectedly blossoms into a romance as the two learn to see beyond their prejudices about ‘Moles’ and ‘Savages’ to the actual person underneath. (Seriously though, what was up with Perry smelling violets? As much as I liked the romance, that part grossed me out.)
The secondary characters were also great; and I’m looking forward to seeing more of Roar and Cinder in the sequel. As well, I’m hoping that Olivia will grace us with her presence in it since I’d like to see how she interacts with Perry, Aria and Roar. ...more
The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe is a book that imagines would happen if a relatively isolated community were to suffer an outbreak of a new and unknownThe Way We Fall by Megan Crewe is a book that imagines would happen if a relatively isolated community were to suffer an outbreak of a new and unknown virus. How would the government react? How would members of the community deal with the situation? What’s nice about the novel is that because the story is set on an island, quarantining people actually becomes a plausible solution. When that happens of course, emotions get heightened and the best and worst in people are brought out.
Although Crewe escalates the situation gradually to increase tension, I never felt a sense of urgency to turn the pages as quickly as possible. Part of this was because of the slow pacing and part of it was because the book was narrated in the form of diary entries to Leo, Kaelyn’s ex-best friend who we learn a little about but only appears right before the abrupt ending. The entries were written obviously after things already happened so it felt a little like I was reading about Kaelyn’s past. This sort of made it hard to completely connect with the characters, and made me feel as if I was watching the action from a distance. ...more
Wholly unique, Marissa Meyer’s Cinder is a re-telling of Cinderella with sci-fi elements. Set in New Beijing at a time when androids and cyborgs are cWholly unique, Marissa Meyer’s Cinder is a re-telling of Cinderella with sci-fi elements. Set in New Beijing at a time when androids and cyborgs are common, a plague known as letumosis is decimating the global population, and the leaders of Earth are more or less united against the threat of the Lunars – a race led by a devious queen (who I found really fascinating); Meyer does a good job striking a balance between describing the world in Cinder and allowing it to unfold in the reader’s imagination.
To be honest, I was never a huge fan of Disney's Cinderella because it seemed like she got everything due to her fairy godmother. That’s thankfully not the case in Cinder – Linh Cinder remains hard-working but is a much more strong-willed and independent character. I also really liked that Meyer made Cinder a mechanic, which is a career you don’t see too many females in.
Although I guessed the major twists early on, it was fun to see how Meyer made this re-telling of Cinderella truly her own. For example, Cinder meets the charismatic and attractive Prince Kai way before she actually goes to the ball; and so by the time the ball arrives, the two are already friends. Thus, there’s a gradual development of attraction and both remain aware that Kai is a prince who is responsible for running the Eastern Commonwealth.
A spellbinding story that will have you craving the next book in the series, Meyer’s debut is not to be missed!...more
With all the mermaid books popping up this summer, Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown is the third one I’ve managed to read … and so far, I still haWith all the mermaid books popping up this summer, Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown is the third one I’ve managed to read … and so far, I still haven’t been captivated by any of them. While the writing of Lies Beneath wasn’t bad, I did think it took far too long for the action to pick up. I also found it hard to care about the characters or the romance.
First off, I thought I’d be reading a story about some murderous mermaids. However, Calder seems to have tremendous control over his urge to kill, and his sisters each only kill one person – strangers, at that – the entire summer. Sadly, they just didn't seem all that terrifying. More deaths – especially of some important characters – would have made me a much happier person!
Besides the lack of grisly deaths, Calder (and the rest of the characters) felt very flat to me. Calder’s sole focus on using Lily to get revenge and gain freedom from his sisters also made it hard for me to believe that he had actually fallen for Lily. Brown does try (unsuccessfully) to make the romance appear as if it’s not instant love by having Calder and Lily interact with each other on a regular basis, but it seemed more creepy than romantic because it was through a lot of spying and stalking on Calder’s part. ...more
Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard was a fun zombie novel set against the vivid backdrop of nineteenth century Philadelphia. Since I don’t Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard was a fun zombie novel set against the vivid backdrop of nineteenth century Philadelphia. Since I don’t like gory zombie novels, it was great that for the most part, the zombies in Something Strange and Deadly were corpses under the control of a mysterious necromancer. However, because the book does involve zombies, I really liked that at least one important character didn’t escape in one piece after being chomped on by a rabid zombie. Usually, characters in the zombie novels I’ve read either manage to survive with minimal damage or are killed outright.
My favourite thing about Something Strange and Deadly was its protagonist, Eleanor. It was easy to like her because she was spunky, sensible, and determined to find her brother regardless of the social expectations placed upon her. Moreover, although Eleanor took some risks, she never appeared as stupid or reckless.
I also liked the subtle romance between Eleanor and Daniel. Their chemistry never felt forced to me, and it was refreshing to have a paranormal story where there was no outright declaration of love....more
Although I’m not hugely familiar with the story of Robin Hood, I was aware of its basic gist thanks to having watched the Disney version when I was liAlthough I’m not hugely familiar with the story of Robin Hood, I was aware of its basic gist thanks to having watched the Disney version when I was little. You know wasn’t present in that version? Yep, that would be Will Scarlet. So for me, A.C. Gaughen’s Scarlet was an introduction to the character of Will in the form of a female and seeing how that affected her relationship with the Merry Men.
Scarlet was a really complex character; and the more I got to know her, the more I liked her. She’s independent, smart, and knows how to wield knives (which I think is awesome) but is also impulsive, secretive – I kind of guessed her secret pretty early on – and prickly. Though she keeps threatening to walk away from Robin and the Merry Men, she’s totally loyal to the core. I thought Gaughen did a fantastic job of creating Scarlet’s first person voice as I could easily imagine her talking like a medieval peasant in my head.
As for the other characters, I thought Much was interesting but wasn’t too fond of Little John or Robin Hood. I didn’t like how controlling John was with Scarlet once he decided he was interested in her or how Robin only blamed Scarlet for messing the dynamics of their group just because he was jealous of her and John. As well, I thought the later portion of the book featured too much of the drama surrounding the love triangle and would have instead preferred more of the fantasy and action.
The other thing that I didn’t enjoy was the ending since it felt far too open-ended. After finishing Scarlet, I immediately went on Goodreads to see if it was the first book in a series but at this point, it's still listed as a standalone. ...more
One of the books I’ve been most excited about reading this year was Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Each time I saw another four or five star reviewOne of the books I’ve been most excited about reading this year was Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Each time I saw another four or five star review for it, my excitement level ratcheted up. So, when I finally got approved to read it on NetGalley, I eagerly downloaded a copy to my Kindle and made myself comfy, expecting a novel that would suck me in.
After finishing Throne of Glass however, I can’t help but be severely disappointed! Here’s why:
- I realized I’d have trouble liking Celaena right from the start. How could I warm up to a girl whose first thoughts after meeting the prince whose father was responsible for sending her to Endovier be how attractive he is and how she looks like utter crap?! Thinking that perhaps I was being a bit hasty in judging Celaena, I tried to be more open-minded. Unfortunately, my opinion of Celaena didn’t improve. Not only did I continue to think that she was kind of shallow, but by the end, I also thought she was an incompetent assassin for three reasons: 1) She boasts about how she can kill people in various ways … and yet never kills anybody. I did not read 400+ pages about an assassin for no reason! 2) She finds a possible escape route … and never uses it to run away. 3) She manages to become attached to Dorian and Chaol awfully quickly. If I were an assassin, the last thing I’d be doing is forming attachments to people in positions of power (because you never know when they might need to be eliminated)! - It’s not just Celaena who displays ridiculous lapses in judgement though. Dorian, for example, decides that it’s okay to visit Adarlan’s greatest assassin in her bedroom without bringing any guards! Oh, and not only does Celaena have a bunch of rooms to herself, but she also gets to wear pretty dresses and seems to be able walk around in the castle with minimal guards. I had no idea that this was a successful method for dealing with notorious criminals and assassins! - I found the romance to be rather lacklustre since it seemed like Celaena was only attracted to Dorian because he was good-looking. - The Tests (one of which Celaena cheats in) that were discussed in Throne of Glass were covered with little fanfare; and in between, competitors I barely got to know were brutally murdered by the blatantly obvious villain. It just seemed as if a significant chunk of the book involved Celaena admiring her clothes, thinking how attractive both Dorian or Chaol were, and being petulant about not getting invited to fun gatherings like a feast or a masked ball. - The world building was weak since anything that couldn't advance the storyline was either only hinted at or mentioned in passing. In fact, even Celaena’s relatively little backstory was hard to figure out and had to be pieced together.
Throne of Glass wasn’t all bad though. I liked Chaol and the Eyllwe princess Nehemia; and despite guessing who the suspected killer was, I managed to remain interested in the mystery and read the book in one sitting.
Although I can see the potential in Throne of Glass; ultimately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. If you’re in the mood for a novel featuring a female assassin, I’d recommend reading Robin LaFevers’ Grave Mercy instead. ...more
Interesting premise but the execution didn't appeal to me. I also didn't like the main character or care about the love triangles. Interesting premise but the execution didn't appeal to me. I also didn't like the main character or care about the love triangles. ...more
Since I haven’t been in the mood to write a review in the past few days, I’ll be doing a pros and cons list for Eileen Cook’s Unraveling Isobel.
Pros: -Since I haven’t been in the mood to write a review in the past few days, I’ll be doing a pros and cons list for Eileen Cook’s Unraveling Isobel.
Pros: - The book is guaranteed to make you laugh! - It’s a standalone novel, which means things are wrapped up neatly and there are no cliffhanger endings. - Isobel has a great sense of humour and is easy to like. - Nate, the love interest, is someone who does his own thing and doesn’t just follow the crowd. - Since Isobel’s father is a schizophrenic, Cook does a good job of making the reader wonder whether Isobel is having delusions or whether something more sinister is going on.
Cons: - The secondary characters could have more depth. - While the romance was sweet, it didn’t seem to take Isobel and her stepbrother very long to get together; and once they hooked up, the two never really thought about the strangeness of their relationship. - Even though Isobel sees a psychologist to come to terms with her dad’s condition and acknowledges how common mental disorders are, I thought the topic of schizophrenia was handled a little too lightly. As a result, it kind of felt more like a plot device to me.
A good choice to pick up if you want a fun contemporary with a bit of paranormal and mystery!...more
A Canadian Girl
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2012
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