tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56928494301004378472024-03-19T06:04:55.733-07:00Lydia Leigh's Library The one with the book reviews and maybe even a little bit about my life.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-25376777570840677582015-06-22T02:32:00.000-07:002015-06-22T02:52:08.877-07:00COVER REVEAL AND GIVEAWAY! Forsworn: The Last Oracle by Emily Wibberley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0ivV6C0K3KPsAbhYoDSrKBNhCXBwrE2JzJnwolK6EELGgcuUSFwMv98JPRimZGVvtUZ7365l8MIvJ3oneQjUG9AXJQmcNfLq7SheSda-iMo3S-cxqyNwrZSvY8rJvnNrxtTXCqpXCr5R/s1600/cc9d0b98311793cc9d79e6ef23c887df.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0ivV6C0K3KPsAbhYoDSrKBNhCXBwrE2JzJnwolK6EELGgcuUSFwMv98JPRimZGVvtUZ7365l8MIvJ3oneQjUG9AXJQmcNfLq7SheSda-iMo3S-cxqyNwrZSvY8rJvnNrxtTXCqpXCr5R/s400/cc9d0b98311793cc9d79e6ef23c887df.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><u>ABOUT THE BOOK:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Forsworn: The Last Oracle Book II</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Author: Emily Wibberley</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Release Date: July 21st, 2015</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4StCmfyFBwsDMGG7wv6Kpx2FdK7Bt1SOaSBZOLF6bvS46309g_WOjZ_fhfeI4bMhltDwSweydbRKC1cLY_H6dhan6Zg7HYq5yxzck6gUfrvgk7N4pDN3q6Erdp9KSdfSTfZb4as_t8wMv/s1600/Forsworn-Cover-Gradient-PSD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4StCmfyFBwsDMGG7wv6Kpx2FdK7Bt1SOaSBZOLF6bvS46309g_WOjZ_fhfeI4bMhltDwSweydbRKC1cLY_H6dhan6Zg7HYq5yxzck6gUfrvgk7N4pDN3q6Erdp9KSdfSTfZb4as_t8wMv/s400/Forsworn-Cover-Gradient-PSD.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><u>SYNOPSIS:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><u><br />
</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Clio can see the future, but what she doesn’t know about her past could destroy her.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It’s been a year since Clio made her sacrifice to the Deities and embraced her destiny as the Oracle to save her people.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The only family she has left is a brother who wants her dead.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The prince, her oldest friend, is a king with his own agenda.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">And the man who once loved her, now hates her.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">All she can do is try to forget about Riece, the enemy commander whose heart she broke to save his life, as she serves the Deities. Her days are filled with Visions and bloodshed in a never-ending war against the Untouched. To add to her problems, she must pose as King Derik’s mistress to conceal her forbidden powers from the Emperor’s spies.</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">When Riece unexpectedly returns to Sheehan with a new and beautiful ally, Clio knows she must put him out of her mind once and for all, but first, they are thrust together into battle against a mysterious Untouched warrior with otherworldly power. To reclaim her city, she must team up with the man she hurt, the man she still loves but can never be with, and finally confront the questions about her origin—questions with answers that Clio may not be prepared to face.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>The highly anticipated sequel to the award-winning novel Sacrificed (The Last Oracle, Book 1) heralded as a “Must-Read Romantic Fantasy” by USAToday.com</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br />
</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br />
</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My Five-Star Review of the first book: <a href="http://lydialeighslibrary.blogspot.com/2015/06/Sacrificed-the-last-oracle-by-emily-wibberley.html">Sacrificed: The Last Oracle.</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br />
</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u><b>BUY LINKS:</b></u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24486344-sacrificed?ac=1"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Goodreads1</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25508072-forsworn"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Goodreads2</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sacrificed-Last-Oracle-Emily-Wibberley/dp/1505896789/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1434855894&sr=8-2&keywords=sacrificed"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Amazon</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sacrificed-emily-wibberley/1121909849?ean=9781505896787"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Barnes and Noble</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Sacrificed-Emily-Wibberley/9781505896787">The Book Depository</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><u><span style="color: #073763;"><br />
</span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><u>Excerpt:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The hallways had never felt so small before, never so stifling. Clio could hardly catch her breath as she sped down the corridors toward Riece’s old chambers.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She needed to find out what the symbol meant. She had no choice but to go to Riece. She would just have to keep her feelings out of it.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Before she could argue herself out of her thin conclusions, she found herself standing at Riece’s door. She knocked once, quietly, almost hoping Riece wouldn’t hear, wouldn’t invite her in.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“Come in,” he said almost distractedly from within.</span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She stepped inside and found him seated on a small bench, sharpening the edge of a small dagger. His cloak lay folded at his side, and his chest was left bare except for the smudged lines of his warrior ink. Happily, there was no sign that the princess was around. Perhaps Clio had imagined everything between them.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“Of course. It’s you,” Riece said without glancing at her.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> “You changed your hair.” He put aside his dagger and looked up at her. “Black. It seems like every time I see you, it’s a different color. Fitting, I suppose. Goes with your capricious nature.”</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“Capricious? That’s a pretty big word for you, Commander. You sure you know what it means?”</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">He laughed bitterly, and for some reason Clio felt the familiar itch in her skin that could only ever be soothed with a fight.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">He was suddenly serious. “It means ever-changing. Isn’t that why you haven’t wed the king? Has he, too, grown tired of your fickle heart?” His eyes mirrored the hate in his tone.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">He had never looked at her with such antipathy before, and Clio’s blood flooded her cheeks. “Of course not,” she snapped.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“No?” He rose and advanced toward her. “Then you’ve some other reason?”</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">He was far too close, and Clio was having trouble thinking straight.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“We’ve been at war, hardly the time for nuptials. And—” she stammered. This close, she could tell that Riece was much larger than he had been a year ago. The muscles in his shoulders shifted and bulged with the slightest movement of his neck.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“And?” he prompted.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“And someone had to defend this city after you took your army, to what? Rescue some princess?” She spat the words at him.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Riece’s eyes sparkled with silent laughter. “So that’s the reason for this delightful visit. You’re jealous. Well, you have no right to be.”</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“I’m not jealous,” Clio protested.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“No? Because my remembering of this,” he gestured to the two of them, “was that you used me so you could get back to your beloved king. You made your true feelings perfectly clear.” His look had darkened, and his jaw tightened with restrained fury.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She would have preferred a slap to the way he was looking at her. “You’re right,” she admitted.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Riece’s gaze bored into her, but what he looked to find, she couldn’t say.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“Why are you really here, Clio?” he finally sighed, exasperated.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">To tell you that I’ve dreamt about you every night for a year, she wanted to scream. “I need you to look at something.”</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“Ordering me around so soon?” His lips quirked up in a grin that didn’t travel to his eyes.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTALRhWsZ794fZ3hkhaYaP0ZpZ5SIQWgcPtCMCnhDOsD-IbxbxgHtzm8QllnRuxz1n6b6e6QDzJn2yfYdGfIYzsFXm56GgWtdP49mhkYtZ9HZYrOiVUtRiS41WQmuEYDTJxkZAR7U9-4I/s1600/10788120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTALRhWsZ794fZ3hkhaYaP0ZpZ5SIQWgcPtCMCnhDOsD-IbxbxgHtzm8QllnRuxz1n6b6e6QDzJn2yfYdGfIYzsFXm56GgWtdP49mhkYtZ9HZYrOiVUtRiS41WQmuEYDTJxkZAR7U9-4I/s320/10788120.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><u>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><u><br />
</u></b></span> <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Emily Wibberley grew up in the South Bay where she spent her formative years battling zombies on her Xbox, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and voraciously reading everything from The Hunger Games to Jane Austen, where her love for feisty young heroines was born.</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span> <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">After graduating from Princeton University Magna Cum Laude in 2014, she began writing. Her debut novel, Sacrificed, was named a finalist in the Young Adult category of the 2015 Beverly Hills Book Awards, in the Young Author category of the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and in the 2015 International Book Awards. Since its release, Sacrificed has spent more than four months as a Kindle Top Ten Teen and Young Adult Bestseller.</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span> <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">When she isn't reading the latest YA book, she enjoys watching kick-butt action movies with her two rescue German Shepherds, Hudson and Bishop, named after characters from James Cameron's Aliens.</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span> <span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">| </span><a href="http://emilywibberley.com/" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Website</a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> | </span><a href="https://twitter.com/wibbs_ink" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Twitter</a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> | </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/thelastoracle" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Facebook</a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> | </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10788120.Emily_Wibberley" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Goodreads</a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> | </span><a href="https://instagram.com/wibbs_ink/" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Instagram</a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> |</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><u>GIVEAWAY</u></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1 winner will get a signed paperback copy of Sacrificed – Open INT – Giveaway is scheduled for June 22nd.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="20d29db510" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/20d29db510/" id="rcwidget_r7dw3866" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script><br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-56872028437200752932015-06-22T02:07:00.000-07:002015-06-22T02:07:39.866-07:00The Martian by Andy Weir<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtN-UO-PW0fEnvH0rLB8pa8wguLDlPrmVyG4U1VbDTVECW5d9SkplzOoPSTP5033JUXbzP9e538lNALCorgFahdt16OM8xz5ywx1EheR4tog5Ow24m4H6mH1Hw876MrwZ3ahMwCd6IAtT3/s1600/51eok8EviTL._SY344_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtN-UO-PW0fEnvH0rLB8pa8wguLDlPrmVyG4U1VbDTVECW5d9SkplzOoPSTP5033JUXbzP9e538lNALCorgFahdt16OM8xz5ywx1EheR4tog5Ow24m4H6mH1Hw876MrwZ3ahMwCd6IAtT3/s320/51eok8EviTL._SY344_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Title:</span></u><span style="background-color: white;"> The Martian</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Andy Weir</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> February 13, 2014</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Del Rey</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-0091956134</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Sci-Fi</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I'm stranded on Mars.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I have no way to communicate with Earth.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I'm in a Habitat designed to last 31 days.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">If the Oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">So yeah. I'm screwed.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I really, really enjoyed this book. I hope they do it justice when the Film comes out.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I fully expected this to be a boring narration of one mans depressing time stranded on an alien planet. I was sure it would be full of morose soliloquies and fantastical, unrealistic imaginings of how he survives and, eventually, gets himself home.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Instead, I got Mark Watney. Mark Watney is my </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Hero</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="375" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1424867993/13812030.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The book is split between Mark's logs and a narrative of what is happening back on Earth. Normally, I tend to favour one POV over the other when this is the case, but not this time. I enjoyed both POVs equally and loved every character that came along, even those who only made a pit-stop appearance. Particularly Mark's Ares 3 crew-mates. Martinez, you're the man! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Mark's personality is wonderful, and I don't think this book could have worked as well as it did if Mark had been any other kind of person. He's optimistic, intelligent, realistic, brave, incredibly funny and very much all-or-nothing. Mark's can-do attitude and restless need to do everything he can to save himself really keeps you rooting for him through-out the book. You can't help but like Mark Watney.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="230" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1424868378/13812105.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="499" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The story itself is great; its the story of how one mans plight manages to bring an entire world together to try to get him home. It's heart-warming. It's how you </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">hope</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> the world would react to a situation like this. It's how you want the world to react to every situation. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It's a very technical story. There is </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">a lot</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> of science in this book - funnily enough, that's probably why it comes under </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Science Fiction</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. A lot of the science went completely over my head, and it did eventually come to the point that as soon as I realised that I wasn't going to understand whatever it was that Mark was trying to explain, I started to skim read until we got back to more comfortable ground for me - this is where the book loses a star, as far as I'm concerned. But there was actually so much to learn in this book.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="204" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1393373934/8702055.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="374" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It turns out that there is a hell of a lot about this book that is technically accurate, as far as it can be. I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of research that must have gone into this book. Andy Weir, you are a trooper.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book had me smiling and laughing and frustrated and gripping the edge of my kindle in suspense. It had it all.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But the thing that really makes this book? The humour. Oh God, the humour is incredible ...</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><blockquote>
"[11:49] JPL: What we can see of your planned cut looks good. We’re assuming the other side is identical. You’re cleared to start drilling.<br />[12:07] Watney: That’s what she said.<br />[12:25] JPL: Seriously, Mark? Seriously?"</blockquote>
</strong></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-53019552482140860922015-06-22T02:00:00.000-07:002015-06-22T02:00:11.461-07:00The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRLNoITaemjHq0JMLamDD5zv3HiY0uab-bLfbLKj9HvFYswZuNKQaaR17cn_5wnJPcNAGkRY9ec9vk2wknZB9cWicKqFld5UUxvAkgfoeqFLUnaZunqG6v64y-LWpwad5bx6hfDIV9g2y/s1600/Achilles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRLNoITaemjHq0JMLamDD5zv3HiY0uab-bLfbLKj9HvFYswZuNKQaaR17cn_5wnJPcNAGkRY9ec9vk2wknZB9cWicKqFld5UUxvAkgfoeqFLUnaZunqG6v64y-LWpwad5bx6hfDIV9g2y/s320/Achilles.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Title:</span></u><span style="background-color: white;"> The Song of Achilles</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Madeline Miller</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> April 12, 2012</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Bloomsbury</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-1408821985</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Historical Fiction</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText2220339077088279523" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText2220339077088279523" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Achilles, ‘best of all the Greeks', is everything Patroclus is not — strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess — and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative companionship gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper — despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel and deathly pale sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText2220339077088279523" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Fate is never far from the heels of Achilles. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText2220339077088279523" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I would like to say in all seriousness: </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This is now my favourite book.</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I've been trying to figure out what to say in this review for a few days now, and I just can't? This book destroyed me.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book was meant for me.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I remember the first time I ever saw this book was in an airport. It can't have been very long after it was published because this was only about 3-4 years ago, and I was on my way to visit my Father in the UK. I hadn't even read the blurb, but I had decided I wanted this book. I knew I was going to love it. I wanted to buy it! But, as my Mother pointed out, I already had enough books to read whilst I was away - I could get the book when we got back.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I didn't get the book when I got back. I ended up getting it on Kindle years later, and then put off reading it for months.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Why? I don't know. I love all things Ancient History - more than anything, the Ancient Greeks. This is exactly my kind of thing. I remember having this same love affair with </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38185.Mary_Renault" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="Mary Renault">Mary Renault</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">'s </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1124146.The_Alexander_Trilogy" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="The Alexander Trilogy by Mary Renault">The Alexander Trilogy</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. So I honestly don't know why I waited until now to read this book.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Do I regret that I waited this long? Absolutely not. It might only be a matter of 3-4 years, but I would never have appreciated this book then, the way I do now.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Song of Achilles is the story of the illustrious Achilles Peleides, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Aristos Achaion</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. More than that, it's the story of what made him human in spite of being half-god. The book is told from the narrative of Patroclus Menotiades, an exiled prince, who comes to the court of King Peleus, and there meets the second half of his soul.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Miller has obviously followed Plato's interpretation of their relationship here. Contrary to major movies starring Brad Pitt, Achilles and Patroclus were not cousins. They were not remotely related. There is no definitive answer to the question of 'were they lovers?' but I like to think they were. There's enough evidence out there for me, and certainly Homer doesn't make it explicit, but you cannot deny the way, aside from it's depth, in which Achilles grieves - refusing to burn Patroclus' body, keeping it in his tent and weeping over it - provides pretty compelling evidence.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Anyway ...</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">What I really love about this book? The fact that it's told from Patroclus' narrative. This was a genius stroke by Miller. It certainly wouldn't have been anywhere near as good if it had been told from an impersonal third person, or even from Achilles point of view. How could you possibly relate to someone who was half-god? But to the poor mortal who loved him? That you can relate to. Almost everyone will have had that experience of thinking someone divine through the force of your feelings for them. The only difference here, is Achilles really </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">is</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> of the divine.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Patroclus is the relateable outcast. He's not a loser by any means, but he's just not a warrior in a culture where the true measure of a man is in his ability to be one, surrounded as they are by stories of heroes and gods. So far in that the divinities are real characters in this book: Thetis, Achilles' mother; Chiron, Centaur and teacher; and cameos by Apollo and minor Gods. The addition of these characters adds a sense of magic, whilst maintaining a sense of realism. You feel that it is quite feasible that they existed once, and that they did play a part in this story.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Story of Achilles is one that is recognised the world over, and the name of Achilles is synonymous with the name Troy. But that's not what this book is about. This book is a love story. It's the story of two best friends growing up, learning to love each other, discovering their world together and their willingness to sacrifice for the sake of their love.The depth of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is what really sets this book apart from all the other re-tellings of the Illiad.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">If you only read one book this year, make it this one.</span> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-39487153552590973652015-06-22T01:50:00.001-07:002015-06-22T01:50:30.248-07:00Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxgxAKhd3VVG6-w39c_e6O0Fn27IfePEmFLbsWa8D9z545K1khOOESyrKBb61YKYLQbCVyBVijZuV537s22acV8JokO1Crh8T_5dnub3VFhQtknuL0A_u901JbNBNqXJIBnhlnqr4NWcf/s1600/18190208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxgxAKhd3VVG6-w39c_e6O0Fn27IfePEmFLbsWa8D9z545K1khOOESyrKBb61YKYLQbCVyBVijZuV537s22acV8JokO1Crh8T_5dnub3VFhQtknuL0A_u901JbNBNqXJIBnhlnqr4NWcf/s320/18190208.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Title:</u> The Witch Hunter</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Virginia Boecker</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> June 2, 2015</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #073763;">Publisher:</span></span></u><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Little, Brown Books</span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-0316327008</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Fantasy</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText375655047054798211" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Witches, watch out... Half Bad meets <em>Kill Bill</em> in this incredible new supernatural series.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText375655047054798211" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Grey doesn't look dangerous. A tiny, blonde, wisp of a girl shouldn't know how to poison a wizard and make it look like an accident. Or take out ten necromancers with a single sword and a bag of salt. Or kill a man using only her thumb. But things are not always as they appear. Elizabeth is one of the best witch hunters in Anglia and a member of the king's elite guard, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and bringing those who practice it to justice. And in Anglia, the price of justice is high: death by burning.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText375655047054798211" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When Elizabeth is accused of being a witch herself, she's arrested and thrown in prison. The king declares her a traitor and her life is all but forfeit. With just hours before she's to die at the stake, Elizabeth gets a visitor - Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful wizard in Anglia. He offers her a deal: he will free her from prison and save her from execution if she will track down the wizard who laid a deadly curse on him.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText375655047054798211" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">As Elizabeth uncovers the horrifying facts about Nicholas's curse and the unwitting role she played in its creation, she is forced to redefine the differences between right and wrong, friends and enemies, love and hate... and life and death.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText375655047054798211" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The first book in an incredible new series set in a fantastical medieval world.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span id="freeTextreview1241821184" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Wow, guys, this was a really fun.<br /><br />Elizabeth Grey is part of an elite force of Witch Hunters in medieval Anglia when her life starts to go horribly wrong. Found in possession of witch's herbs, she is sentenced to death by her own mentor and thrown into Fleet prison. Desolate and alone, Elizabeth is sure she is on the verge of death when she is given a last minute reprieve by Nicholas Perevil, a wizard and the most wanted man in Anglia. Suddenly, she now finds herself in hiding with a motley crew of witches and wizards (and a recalcitrant ghost)- none of whom know about her previous position as a witch hunter- and in the midst of a prophecy that she doesn't want any part of but cannot help being caught up in.<br /><br />This was an incredibly enjoyable and addictive read; <strong>I couldn't put it down</strong>. The writing is strong, clear and immersive, the world building is first class and the characters are interesting and well-fleshed out.<br /><br />I can understand some people's concerns regarding the Harry Potter connection given that the story centers around Witches but this is <strong>nothing</strong> like Harry Potter. Although, Nicholas does have something Dumbledore-y about him. But I can honestly say, this is completely different from the Harry Potter series.<br /><br />I think one of the things I liked most about this book was that you didn't spend ages trying to force your way through the beginning of the book whilst the author did the necessary world building. Things get crazy pretty fast and you learn everything you need to along the way. <strong>BUT</strong> there's no info dumps either. It's seamlessly done.<br /><br />I loved Elizabeth as a character. She's exactly the kind of plucky, prickly female MC that I usually hate, but there's something really different about her. She hasn't had an easy life and she's had some pretty horrific things happen to her. I love the way Boecker uses Elizabeth as a device to address the ideals regarding innocence in women and I love that regardless of the horrors that Elizabeth has faced, she doesn't allow them to rule her life nor do they become a constant feature of her thoughts throughout the book. The pity train can only be ridden for so long before it becomes painfully annoying, but with Elizabeth this trip is short and pain-free.<br /><br />The supporting cast is equally fantastic. I love Elizabeth's relationship with John and the antagonistic friendship that she picks up with George. It was great watching her friendship with Fifer blossom, and Fifer in and of herself was a very entertaining character to read. Blackwell inspires all of the hatred and anger that he's supposed to, and Caleb - well, the less said about him, the better!<br /><br />This whole thing was just really well done. I can't wait for the second book.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeTextreview1241821184" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><em>Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-17283065716209445892015-06-22T01:44:00.001-07:002015-06-22T01:44:27.983-07:00A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvB9P97HUm426oDeKJ0CQNcPq65LMLRl8CbZ3_PchvLVBkjd_CgRrUl8qcHQXi7pJUcRZ-7uc-hNtj-ePc4wMBOFjYRbtt7GAfaMOV5RuVDjfEb-gfvPg07VD0yW0OqDMbURv3_mcWCHXn/s1600/Discovery_Of_Witches_gl_30s_320x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvB9P97HUm426oDeKJ0CQNcPq65LMLRl8CbZ3_PchvLVBkjd_CgRrUl8qcHQXi7pJUcRZ-7uc-hNtj-ePc4wMBOFjYRbtt7GAfaMOV5RuVDjfEb-gfvPg07VD0yW0OqDMbURv3_mcWCHXn/s320/Discovery_Of_Witches_gl_30s_320x480.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Title:</span></u><span style="background-color: white;"> A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1)</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Deborah Harkness</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> September 29, 2011</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Headline</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-0755374045</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Fantasy</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><u>Rating:</u></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span><span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">DNF at 40%...</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book made me very, very angry.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><u>The Good.</u> </strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">- Well written (albeit she does like the sound of her own voice).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">- Deborah Harkness is well researched.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><u>The Bad</u> </strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">- </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Diana Bishop</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> - She tries too hard to be an "independent woman" to the point where she comes across as rude and immature. It's okay to let a man open a door for you. In fact, Diana's insistence that she's capable of opening doors (or in fact, doing anything) on her own is invalidating Matthew's attempts at being a </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">nice person</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This is a massive issue for me in books with "strong women". I'm all for being an independent woman who doesn't need a man in her life. Yes, women are more than capable of doing the same things as men. Yes, I fully approve of a character which demonstrates this fact. When that character makes a habit of pointing this fact out, I start to get annoyed. Allowing men to do things for you doesn't make you any less capable, nor does it make you any less of a feminist. Throwing their attempts back in their face does make you an arsehole, however. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Diana Bishop has to be the most repugnant character I have ever come across.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="280" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1424000599/13701668.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">- </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Matthew Clairmont</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> - Insta-love? Good Lord ... I can't really make much comment on the possessive/obsessive/needy nature of his feelings for Diana because it's a by-product of his vampiricism, but </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">urgh</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. Most women like an Alpha male. Most women like the </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">idea </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">of their man being that eensy bit possessive, because they like to think that their man cares about them enough to want to protect them. Matthew takes possessive to the limit, and it's bad. It comes across as needy and clingy and it's just all </span><s style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">a lot</s><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> a bit cringe-worthy. Do not like.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="280" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1402693836/9973654.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">- </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Irrelevant Information Overload</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> - I don't care that Matthew writes with a Montblanc Meisterstuck Mechanical pencil. I don't care what wines he likes to drink; I really do not need Harkness to give me a name and vintage every single time. I don't care how often Diana goes running/rowing. This book reads like a journal of her naps. Irrelevant, boring scenes that add nothing to the story because they don't advance the plot in any way. Repetitive, conceited inner-monologues that make me wish Diana Bishop was a real person so I could hunt her down and burn her at the stake.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="280" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1417995843/12633635.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">- </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Pretentious</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> - Deborah Harkness tries so hard to prove to us just how very clever she is. She tries far, far too hard. I am far from impressed by her mensa-candidate characters, fact-dumps, use of multiple languages for her characters, obscure medieval poetry quotes. She spends pages and pages explaining how Diana conducts her research and how she documents her observations and findings on manuscripts she's looking at in the Oxford Bodleian Library, and yes, we're all very impressed that you're an Historian, Deborah, but, apparently, not as much as you are. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="280" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1396982648/9213901.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">- </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Wishful Thinking</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> - I don't even want to start on the obvious wish fulfillment that is the character Diana Bishop who is an historian of science with blond hair. And, oh, look! So is Deborah Harkness. Isn't that amazing? She made herself the main character/mary-sue/heroine/love interest of the extremely hunky vampire.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="275" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1424002123/13701834.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">- </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Length of book</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> - The book is unnecessarily long. I mean, on the romance side of things, the pacing is ok - a bit fast for my tastes, but it wasn't an insta-relationship (even if it was insta-love-on-first sight). But as far as plot goes? Everything we learn in the 40% I read could have easily been condensed into the first 15%.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I got to the point with this book that I didn't even care about the plot anymore. Harkness had successfully bored and annoyed me to the point where I completely forgot there was a plot and that I should care about what was happening.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Okay, okay, I need to stop now and sort out my blood pressure.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Like I said, this book made me angry. I do not recommend.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-86374569970779646592015-06-22T01:34:00.000-07:002015-06-22T01:34:04.993-07:00Golden Son by Pierce Brown<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaslIp6uuEjQ5fHw_X3tTSN0xqWYtBlqbQcESR98DuwaAG0Ie__PO0uvzXFtRi4zSJhcCi0xvgD6ryXM8aUuXeHBcRZGGuAEljzQxzWzibKJe8gVNELGhiBirDzA-r81xvF-PtSF8qL3og/s1600/81bLndHzryL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaslIp6uuEjQ5fHw_X3tTSN0xqWYtBlqbQcESR98DuwaAG0Ie__PO0uvzXFtRi4zSJhcCi0xvgD6ryXM8aUuXeHBcRZGGuAEljzQxzWzibKJe8gVNELGhiBirDzA-r81xvF-PtSF8qL3og/s320/81bLndHzryL._SL1500_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Title:</span></u><span style="background-color: white;"> Golden Son (Red Rising #2)</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Pierce Brown</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> Januray 6, 2015</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Hodder and Stoughton</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-0345539816</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Sci-Fi</span></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Ender's Game</em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> meets </span><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Hunger Games</em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> in this, the second in an extraordinary trilogy from an incredible new voice.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">'I'm still playing games. This is just the deadliest yet.'</em></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Darrow is a rebel forged by tragedy. For years he and his fellow Reds worked the mines, toiling to make the surface of Mars inhabitable. They were, they believed, mankind's last hope. Until Darrow discovered that it was all a lie, and that the Red were nothing more than unwitting slaves to an elitist ruling class, the Golds, who had been living on Mars in luxury for generations.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">In RED RISING, Darrow infiltrated Gold society, to fight in secret for a better future for his people. Now fully embedded amongst the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his dangerous work to bring them down from within. It's a journey that will take him further than he's ever been before - but is Darrow truly willing to pay the price that rebellion demands?</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Hic sunt leones.</em></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">A life-or-death tale of vengeance with an unforgettable hero at its heart,</span><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Golden Son</em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> guarantees Pierce Brown's growing status as one of fiction's most exciting new voices.</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="282" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1385601950/7183228.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><strong>HOLY FUCKING SHIT GUYS!!</strong> </em><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">These books are beyond incredible. Pierce Brown, take a bow.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="240" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1383326113/6504484.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I got this book straight after I finished </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15839976.Red_Rising__Red_Rising_Trilogy___1_" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy, #1) by Pierce Brown">Red Rising</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">, and then I froze. I couldn't do it. I couldn't start this book. I was scared. What if it didn't live up? What if this book was an acute sufferer of Second Book Syndrome? How would I cope? So I put it off. And put it off. And put it off. Then, I couldn't put it off anymore because I kept thinking about Red Rising. Yes, it was that good. I had a book hang-over for weeks. So I sucked it up and started Golden Son.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="281" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1401025868/9747985.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book picks up about 2-3 years after the last one left off. Darrow is now 20 years old and on the verge of becoming a Praetor. On the verge. Then everything goes to shit. Really, this is the only way I can describe the plot, because there really is no other way. It defies explanation and the only way you will understand is if you read this book. Which you need to do. Everyone needs to read this book.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I love how brutal Brown is with his characters. One thing that really, really bugs me about a lot of characters in this type of book is how "noble" they are. They don't want to get their hands dirty. When confronted with a really difficult decision, they chicken out. They are the crux of a world-saving, revolutionary force, nearly everything is riding on them, but in a "their-life-or-yours" decision which could potentially destroy everything they have been working for, they can't go through with the plan. They always back out and save the other person's life, and then, somehow, miraculously escape. Brown does not do this. Darrow knows how important his position is, and Darrow has absolutely no problems with doing whatever he feels necessary in order to keep that mission alive.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">He is the ultimate MC. I have </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">NEVER</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> come across an MC that I like anywhere near as much as I like Darrow au Andromedus. Not even Harry Potter, and I'm sure everyone knows how much I fucking adore Harry Potter. No, Darrow blows that completely out of the water. He's incredible. He's intelligent, confident, and ruthless. What's not to like?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I don't know what else I can say that's not going to spoil this book for those who haven't read it? So, so much happens and I feel like everything I want to say would give something away. So I won't.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">What I </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">will</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> say is: </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">THAT FUCKING ENDING, THOUGH?!</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> George R.R. Martin, take your Red Wedding and stand aside. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I did not see it coming until it was too late. Pierce Brown is a master story teller.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I have no idea what to expect from the next book, but I know what I'd like to happen:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><strong><blockquote>
"If your heart beats like a drum,<br />and your leg’s a little wet,<br />it’s ‘cause the Reaper’s come<br />to collect a little debt."</blockquote>
</strong></em></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-18171039391875934132015-06-22T01:25:00.001-07:002015-06-22T01:25:24.059-07:00Red Rising by Pierce Brown<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWV4_eo5c4lXA6HEmrfrwwg2cvU3VuqsiGPTCeeHSkZAedx74COtwZzlzl7VmATlXaTEEUxDjBXdFQNY97pVyVWbsTWLscWfH9jdeWAuveBO25Dkbc25Cjd1CnxOq2tUwq5-wseS1GLWOS/s1600/Red_Rising_%25282014%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWV4_eo5c4lXA6HEmrfrwwg2cvU3VuqsiGPTCeeHSkZAedx74COtwZzlzl7VmATlXaTEEUxDjBXdFQNY97pVyVWbsTWLscWfH9jdeWAuveBO25Dkbc25Cjd1CnxOq2tUwq5-wseS1GLWOS/s320/Red_Rising_%25282014%2529.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Title:</span></u><span style="background-color: white;"> Red Rising (Red Rising #1)</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Pierce Brown</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> January 28, 2014</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Hodder and Stoughton</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-1444758979</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Sci-Fi</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I want to say it's been a long time since I came across a book that deserves the hype it's been given, but I can't - but that's only because I've been reading a lot of awesome books lately. This is definitely another book that deserves it's hype.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Do you know what this book did?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="233" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1404836330/10287109.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="355" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I've had this on my Kindle since the beginning of the month and I kept putting it off and putting it off and putting it off. The more I read the blurb, the more I started to think that this was going to be a complete Snoozefest.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="250" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1389676683/8047593.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I'll be the first to admit, the world building does take some commitment - especially the lingo - which, for the first few chapters I did cringe at a bit - but Pierce Brown does it all in such a way that it isn't boring and it isn't just pages and pages of info-dumping. You go straight into the story and it all becomes a part of it; it's very naturally done.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I struggled a bit with the narrative and Brown's writing style for a while in the beginning. Short sentences, minimal descriptions and at times, things could be very abrupt. However, once I had gotten used to this, I realised just how much I liked it and how much it adds to the book. Besides, there's so much happening that the book would have been 5-times longer if it hadn't been like that.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Ok, I need to put this one down now. The Ancient Rome influence and parallels definitely bumps it up immeasurably for me. I love that shit. I never went to University, but if i had, it would have been to study Ancient History. Love me some Greeks and Romans.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Darrow was incredible. As a character he's what you look for as a reader: Everything you wish you could be, and yet undeniably flawed. He's still human (I think). He lets himself get carried away, he makes mistakes, he can't help himself at times. But he's strong, and intelligent and cunning. He knows how the game is played and doesn't shy away from it in the way that a lot of Dystopian Heroes and Heroins tend to do. He does some horrific things, faces hard decisions and makes bad choices. It's gritty, and morally ambiguous and I love it!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="200" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1418684096/12869679.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="245" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Pierce tackles some gritty topics, too. Most notably inequality and racism, the breakdown of civilization, society and morality during times of war and the corruptability of power and what lengths people are willing to go in order to gain or maintain it. And he does this through a host of characters who have more dimensions than, I think, a single read can really convey. I can already tell, this is one of those books which is going to give you something new to think about every time you re-read it. And re-read it I will.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">READ THE BOOK!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="223" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1424689665/13791594.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-82887895151966093892015-06-22T01:18:00.001-07:002015-06-22T01:18:54.991-07:00How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRg9ZxvnGgtrxzF517_v9cI-bCWy-EMGAGjumpP7fpbI1m4Y2jqmTZ5YpSy1BWCwjJB8A-ouYg6Tf4cuDqeIb-x66-FB4_vPF_uQtn9hbdwdLhkNIA6jTF0UsaX-L8Uio33x0_ODHaolqe/s1600/werewolf1fromjen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRg9ZxvnGgtrxzF517_v9cI-bCWy-EMGAGjumpP7fpbI1m4Y2jqmTZ5YpSy1BWCwjJB8A-ouYg6Tf4cuDqeIb-x66-FB4_vPF_uQtn9hbdwdLhkNIA6jTF0UsaX-L8Uio33x0_ODHaolqe/s320/werewolf1fromjen.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Title:</span></u><span style="background-color: white;"> How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Molly Harper</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> February 22, 2011</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Pocket Books</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-1439195864</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Sci-Fi and Fantasy</span></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Northern Exposure</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Even in Grundy, Alaska, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham—who has been openly critical of Mo’s ability to adapt to life in Alaska—has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble. </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried that he might be the violent canine in question. </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he’s not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . .</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeTextreview1248185798" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong>OMG you guys, this was so much fun.</strong><br /><br />I did not expect this book to be as well written as it actually is. Which, is kind of an asshole thing for me to think, but it surprised the hell out of me.<br /><br />I absolutely loved this book.<br /><br />I loved <strong>Mo</strong>! Which is, like, woah!<br /><br />Because, I don't like female MCs. They piss me off. I normally want to gouge their eyes out. Well, not Mo. I want to be this chick's best friend. She cooks awesome deserts, is utterly hilarious, and has a lingerie obsession. What's not to like? And, I can <em>totally </em>relate to her:<br /><br /><strong><blockquote>
“Well, that cinched it. He was an asshole. I was definitely going to end up sleeping with him.”</blockquote>
</strong><br /><br />I love the dynamic between her and Cooper. It gives me the good tinglies. Also, again, they're utterly hilarious:<br /><br /><strong><blockquote>
“Well, pardon me for not knowing about the thermal-only panty rule,” I said, smirking as he dipped his head to nuzzle one of the silky bra cups. “I’ll rush right out and buy some long johns.”<br /><br />Pausing to look up with perfect sincerity, he promised, “If you do, I will weep. Like a little girl. In public.”</blockquote>
</strong><br /><br />Mostly, I love that I can imagine that they'd be real people. Like I could rock up to Grundy, Alaska and there would be the Blue Glacier Saloon with Evie and Buzz behind the bar and Mo in the kitchen and Cooper sat at the bar, growling at people. I suppose that's what really helped me like this book, just how easy it is to imagine that these characters are people you could come across in your own town. It lends a nice authenticity to the story. As much as a story about a hot werewolf can be considered authentic anyway ...<br /><br />The story was engaging and really well paced. I loved the fact that they didn't jump straight into bed with each other and you can't beat a good dose of antagonistic lust-filled banter whilst they come to terms with their attraction for each other. The supporting cast was just right and it was so refreshing to see the unrequited love interest <em>not</em> turn out to be an asshole.</span></span><div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeTextreview1248185798" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Overall, an awesome, fun read that I will definitely be going back to.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-1076199560650088442015-06-22T01:08:00.001-07:002015-06-22T01:08:30.087-07:00End of Days by Susan Ee<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyOl8q33yKCPDQ9jVX57t39FjDbCciLOC1T_erAQujrp2yMPdURrGcgIC37RmjRAIcCGJbIgYSw8qP9yRHoJQdh9AkYeIVjJkTDvXnq8MdfEjwDUatVkMe_7kLQYdNlKkXXVeKcZXrc25/s1600/18500665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyOl8q33yKCPDQ9jVX57t39FjDbCciLOC1T_erAQujrp2yMPdURrGcgIC37RmjRAIcCGJbIgYSw8qP9yRHoJQdh9AkYeIVjJkTDvXnq8MdfEjwDUatVkMe_7kLQYdNlKkXXVeKcZXrc25/s320/18500665.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Title:</span></u><span style="background-color: white;"> End of Days (Penryn & The End of Days #3)</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Susan Ee</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> May 12, 2015</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Skyscape</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-1477829707</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Sci-Fi and Fantasy</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">End of Days</em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling </span><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Penryn & the End of Days</em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> trilogy.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">In my honest opinion, this was the perfect conclusion to an incredible series.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Considering that I came out of the first book feeling pretty </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">'meh'</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> about Penryn, it has come as a massive surprise to suddenly find myself completely fangirling over her. Her character development throughout the three books was superb and at the end of this book she really, truly deserved her title of 'Kick-ass female'.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Raffe? Do I really need to say anything about him? What a fucking dream-boat. And at the end? </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Jesus!</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="212" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1380222758/475397.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="400" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The development of their relationship was lovely. I've seen a lot of reviews that said they felt like the chemistry had failed and that their romance felt 'flat'. I wholeheartedly disagree. I think, given their respective situations, it was realistic, hopeful and, well, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">hot!</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"></span><a class="jsShowSpoiler spoilerAction" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: underline;">(view spoiler)</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="212" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1422761487/13542922.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="400" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book definitely makes up for the lack of Raffe in the second book- and, in fact, we don't see much of anyone else. Paige and the Mother seem to take a step back, but I can't honestly say the book is any worse off for that fact because Penryn and Raffe just have such an amazing dynamic.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I think, perhaps, the stories for the supporting cast could have been wrapped up a bit better. We're left with no idea of what happens to anyone barring Raffe, Penryn, Paige and the Mother. I think it would have been nice to know what happened to Dee and Dum and the Watchers.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Especially Dee and Dum. But I think my attachment to these two has a lot to do with their similarity to these two:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="212" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1431964018/14887496.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="400" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Watchers - NEW FAVOURITE CHARACTERS!! They were awesome, and I love that Beliel wasn't just an a-typical bad-guy. I like that Ee gave him a tragic backstory that helped us to understand his character outside of being the big bad. He has reasons - he wasn't just a two dimensional disney villain and that was a refreshing change. I like my villains complex and tragic.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="212" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1431964571/14887550.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="400" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">There was a fair amount of questions left unanswered, but nothing important and nothing relative to the plot. And, lets be honest, sometimes we don't want all the questions answered - sometimes we like to use our own imagination. Or, well, I know I do.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Overall, one of the better conclusions to a series that I've read. I absolutely loved these books and would encourage everyone to read them.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-41960407921945925172015-06-22T00:56:00.001-07:002015-06-22T00:56:30.833-07:00Seven Years by Dannika Dark<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev_e52nJlgB891YHbWpIxgsWUdXVuvGdpeCT9aYkqoxr6CPJrZ5DIaBuX3N9dOhnJ56XF92h8zerbQ4KxyB6FWboIhSrr6gvNq1wnT4470m3ypQnCabCCdv5Ds1sNwpyCGYHF8-5KuABC/s1600/18659745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev_e52nJlgB891YHbWpIxgsWUdXVuvGdpeCT9aYkqoxr6CPJrZ5DIaBuX3N9dOhnJ56XF92h8zerbQ4KxyB6FWboIhSrr6gvNq1wnT4470m3ypQnCabCCdv5Ds1sNwpyCGYHF8-5KuABC/s320/18659745.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Title:</u> Seven Years (Seven #1)</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Dannika Dark</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Dannika Dark</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> October 21, 2013</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>ASIN:</u> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">B00G2DL26U</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #073763;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><u>Genre:</u> Paranormal Romance</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<blockquote>
<strong style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">PARANORMAL ROMANCE, Book 1 by USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR</span></strong></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Seven years ago, my world ended.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Seven years later, my new life began.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It's been seven years since Lexi Knight lost her brother in a tragic accident. On the anniversary of his death, her brother's best friend shows up unexpectedly - a man she hasn't seen since the funeral. He is no longer the boy Lexi once knew, but a dangerous-looking man with tattoos and dark secrets. He broke her trust and abandoned her family, yet what he reveals makes it impossible to stay angry. Lexi has been secretly infatuated with Austin since childhood, so finding out he's a Shifter just makes him sexier. Dammit.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Austin Cole has returned to the city where he grew up, and just in time. He's lived a hard life these past seven years, and the shadows of his past are threatening to destroy Lexi's family. It's time that she learned the truth about her brother, but there is a shocking twist that Austin never saw coming. Now he must protect her family when her mother and sister wind up in mortal danger. Will Lexi learn to accept the truth about who he is, and can Austin salvage a relationship from the ruins of their past?</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Destiny will find you.</em></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><u>Rating:</u></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span><span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Look, I </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">LOVE</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> Shifter books. Like seriously, I have such a thing for them. To the point where if I like the characters and the premise of the plot enough, I can overlook some pretty atrocious writing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I have an unhealthy attraction to fictional, possessive, alpha-males. I can overlook a lot of borderline abusive behaviour if the male lead is </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">hawt</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> enough and if the female lead is kickass enough. If the shifter culture is fleshed out properly, too. Most importantly, if there is an engaging plot.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book? Has none of that.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet, because I don't feel like spending a lot of time on this review.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><u style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><strong>The Bad.</strong> </u><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• The pacing</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• The writing</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• The characterisations - why are all these men trying to fucking rape her?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• The plot</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• Info-dumps</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• TMI - like, woah. I didn't need the in-depth, two paragraph long description of her mother's kitchen when I was reading the book, and I still don't need it now.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• Misandry</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• Obsessed with looks - which I will comment on shortly.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• Tries so hard to be 'feminist' and fails </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">epicly</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• Casual treatment of rape</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><u style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><strong>The Good.</strong> </u><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• Sweet Fuck All.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Ok, I need to share this quote with you because this is what really killed this book for me:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><blockquote>
"A woman could be stranded on a deserted island with no sign of life for thousands of miles, and as soon as a rescue ship comes her way, she'll be combing her hair with sticks and squashing berries to rub on her cheeks"</blockquote>
</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">No? Do you know what women would be doing? Screaming desperately for help. They wouldn't give two shits about how they look. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This woman is so fucking obsessed with looks and it just drives me up the wall. This portrayal that the female psyche is so fucking shallow makes me so angry. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being conscious of your appearance - God knows I can be vain enough at times, but I would never let it define me. That's all Dannika Dark seems to do - allow people's images to define them. The best looking are, of course, the ones we are all told to like and the ones we are told to hate are, of course, the lesser attractive characters. It's embarrassing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But I think the thing that really put me off this book is the author's casual use of </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">rape</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> as a device to show us just how attractive the MC is. Like, is this for fucking real? Rape - just casually thrown in to show how much guys want her. It's fucking disgusting and disgraceful.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I am so surprised I didn't end up DNFing this.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Please, do yourselves a favour and leave this one alone.</span> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-81225110351013966202015-06-22T00:48:00.000-07:002015-06-22T00:48:04.009-07:00The One by Keira Cass<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihixiBFLhhWnPhUsss9jSivnpveaR3DGALJ5CEdIejwYGRLPbQHpE9i1Jp0aRkKPGS1N9UWOhST00qlDtkTUqOcCanjb51M6YtMzSjxXibXgmq2iAC2iDknAYUg7r9mjyWlmpuOCNFHhkv/s1600/3138132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihixiBFLhhWnPhUsss9jSivnpveaR3DGALJ5CEdIejwYGRLPbQHpE9i1Jp0aRkKPGS1N9UWOhST00qlDtkTUqOcCanjb51M6YtMzSjxXibXgmq2iAC2iDknAYUg7r9mjyWlmpuOCNFHhkv/s320/3138132.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Title:</u> The One (The Selection #3)</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Keira Cass</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> May 6, 2014</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> HarperCollinsCholdren'sBooks</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-0007466719</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Dystopian/Sci Fi</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The time has come for one winner to be crowned.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants.</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeTextreview1287495990" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I don't even know anymore?</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This review is just going to be a rant at how awful these characters are. Urgh.<br /><br />Could that ending have been anymore rushed? So much for Cass' good execution ...<br /><br />Anyway - this was oddly compelling and really fucking annoying to read.<br /><br />Shall I be completely honest? After the first 15% I just skim-read it.<br /><br />I mean, America and Maxon are the kind of couple that, if they were your friends, you'd just get really fed up of and complete wash your hands of them because you know what? The drama is just too much and I don't have time for that shit.<br /><br />Also, America, Sweetheart? Get some integrity. ALSO? STOP STRINGING BOYS ALONG.<br /><br />Well, you got there in the end, I suppose.<br /><br />Oh, and yeah -<br /><br />Way to be diplomatic, Maxon - it's not like it's the most important skill in your Princely repertoire or anything.<br /><br />Epic couple fail.<br /><br /><em><strong>jfc!!!</strong> </em>*facepalm*</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-61140941360611577782015-06-22T00:40:00.000-07:002015-06-22T00:40:59.895-07:00The Elite by Keria Cass<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdKHV6O5uqSqPyyqEkhOAtzwYmHekTGLD7dgmT_NpgwO5ORk121ReKoJIpa4Fo_-DZESWJxmkUlMaalCXRqdAkm4w3SAa8a18-zBbCd1yM9dn0h1-vGz_gPt29WEGmH9sz2hpHXaEQnq8/s1600/The_Elite_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdKHV6O5uqSqPyyqEkhOAtzwYmHekTGLD7dgmT_NpgwO5ORk121ReKoJIpa4Fo_-DZESWJxmkUlMaalCXRqdAkm4w3SAa8a18-zBbCd1yM9dn0h1-vGz_gPt29WEGmH9sz2hpHXaEQnq8/s320/The_Elite_Cover.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Title:</u> The Elite (The Selection #2)</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Keira Cass</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> April 23, 2013</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-0007466702</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Dystopian/Sci Fi</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The Selection began with thirty-five girls.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Now with the group narrowed down to the six Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon's heart is fiercer than ever—and America is still struggling to decide where her heart truly lies. Is it with Maxon, who could make her life a fairy tale? Or with her first love, Aspen?</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">America is desperate for more time. But the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America's chance to choose is about to slip away</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">There is something wrong with me when I'm more emotionally invested in the relationship between America and Maxon than I was in the relationship between Maise and Evan in </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20877902.Unteachable" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="Unteachable by Leah Raeder">Unteachable</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I need psychiatric help.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="270" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1417034694/12178377.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">On that note ...</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I can't deny that the Elite had me racing through to the end. I </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">was</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> emotionally invested. My heart pounded the whole way through the book and I was on edge over the growing distance between Maxon and America. Whatever Cass lacks in imagination and ideals, she makes up for in execution; I can give her that, at least.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Even so, America is the biggest pain in the arse I have ever come across. She's "</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">that girl</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">" - the one who strings boys along to make herself feel good. She's a horrible MC. She wants re-assurance and affirmation from Maxon but refuses to give any of her own? And talk about fucking needy?!?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">And Maxon? He's nothing but a glorified fuckboy. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> Urgh.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">So can someone tell me why I couldn't put this book down?</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-1197043799365410932015-06-22T00:35:00.000-07:002015-06-22T00:35:08.212-07:00The Selection by Keira Cass<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoar8fTLZ7EoBD1afn2W0epF56uTHOUD8y8MVqy8hEFsgfYHBglj9l_HpdINZF9kJjs8Tsg4Nh9XATf2UD136DlUDaMjkfNmDF7m302AJNuB2aZv3gbwt9U0GZD0YdhyCEBEHhuwqljlNW/s1600/The_Selection_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoar8fTLZ7EoBD1afn2W0epF56uTHOUD8y8MVqy8hEFsgfYHBglj9l_HpdINZF9kJjs8Tsg4Nh9XATf2UD136DlUDaMjkfNmDF7m302AJNuB2aZv3gbwt9U0GZD0YdhyCEBEHhuwqljlNW/s320/The_Selection_Cover.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Title:</u> The Selection (The Selection #1)</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Keira Cass</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> June 7, 2012</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> HarperCollinsCholdren'sBooks</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">78-0007466696</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Dystopian/Sci Fi</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText14606062595147544789" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText14606062595147544789" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText14606062595147544789" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText14606062595147544789" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText14606062595147544789" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeText14606062595147544789" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><em>Solid 3 stars.</em> </strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I'll be honest, America is one of those character's that I'm never going to like. "Oh no, don't make me up in pretty dresses and send me off to a beautiful palace to be pampered and adored all so I can have the chance of being the future queen and, you know, actually having a chance to help change the debilitating caste system of our society which sees the majority of our country living in abject poverty and thus help raise everyone I love out of poverty. Oh, woe is me."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Seriously?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This idea that by forcing people to wear pretty clothes and make up and act like a "lady" somehow means that they're going to lose "who they are as a person." As if the clothes and make up and their </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">appearance</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> defines them? Yeah, not a great message to be throwing out there in a </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">young adult novel</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">If I wanted to be told that my appearance is the most important thing about me, I'd go pick up a fashion magazine.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But anyway, on to the actual book.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Fun read. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It was engaging and I read it in one day. The writing is of a high quality and the pacing is excellent. One thing I absolutely </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">loved</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> was the slow-burn of America's developing feelings. We get to the end of the book and she's still trying to come to terms with what her feelings actually are. This is realistic, not only for a one-month time frame, but, also, for a seventeen year old girl. It's a nice touch.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Over-descriptive. I don't need to know that her favourite jammies are "cute" or that they consist of "brown shorts and fitted white tee." Unnecessary embellishment makes it read like a 13 year old's first attempt at writing. But, that is few and far between and overall, as I have said, good quality writing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Aspen? As we're only at the end of the first book and we still have another two to go, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt here and hope there's still room for Cass to turn him into a lesson about how not to let men treat you instead of a valid love interest. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The naming conventions are ... embarrassing. I mean, America Singer? Really? And the caste's merely being numbers? Really? Cass couldn't think of anything better? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book could have been a </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">fantastic</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> allegory for the way women are looked upon and demeaned in society, if Cass had actually moved past her complete hang-up on appearances. There is so much potential in a book like this if you're willing to take it forward and not just leave it at face value. I feel like, as a female reader, I've been done out of something potentially brilliant.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">At the end of the day, there is a lot of things inherently wrong with this book but I couldn't, in good faith, give less than three stars to a book which kept me so entranced.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-18279669564846405812015-06-22T00:25:00.000-07:002015-06-22T00:25:27.613-07:00An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxEDLTqeQEuGIstjFb9Ngli9lmXxugBUwV23TjCJF7FlrgAtsbpufAW_3mSBh6mika0FcajTZWQsumpTVlWV6Xt56dAkMJFvoon2Ch4QxrOm8957991NwM7TUe8d-BVWif_1p2cO89kIG/s1600/an-ember-in-the-ashes-by-sabaa-tahir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxEDLTqeQEuGIstjFb9Ngli9lmXxugBUwV23TjCJF7FlrgAtsbpufAW_3mSBh6mika0FcajTZWQsumpTVlWV6Xt56dAkMJFvoon2Ch4QxrOm8957991NwM7TUe8d-BVWif_1p2cO89kIG/s320/an-ember-in-the-ashes-by-sabaa-tahir.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Title:</u> An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Sabaa Tahir</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> April 28, 2015</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Razorbill</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-1595148032</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Sci-fi and Fantasy</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution?</span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she’s never had much of a choice.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For Elias it’s the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. With the Masks’ help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands, all in the name of power.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">When Laia’s brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">But once Laia and Elias meet, they will find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><blockquote>
“You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.”</blockquote>
</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book had some serious hype to live up to. Thankfully, it was up to the challenge.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Anyone who knows me knows that I have an unbridled passion for anything remotely related to ancient Greece and Rome. So when the blurb for this book was released it automatically went to the top of my 'Most Anticipated' list. It was, perhaps, less Rome-like than I was hoping for, but there is absolutely no doubt that it draws heavily upon Roman culture from the naming conventions to slave brutality.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book definitely has a lot going on. We follow two main characters - Elias and Laia - in alternating chapters in which we come to learn their stories and meet the supporting casts of both their lives. The alternating narratives gives us a wonderful insight into the polarity of their lives, and yet how they still manage to maintain the same core ideals. It actually takes a while before the two meet, but once they do the story kicks into overdrive and </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">all the things</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> start to happen. But between the two character's stories and arcs there is </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">a lot</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> going on. However, instead of being overwhelming or confusing, Tahir manages to keep the plot tight and neat and through her wonderful writing has it running effortlessly. The writing is gorgeous and makes reading this book a dream.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><blockquote>
“The voice is deep and soft, not a sound so much as a feeling. It is storm and wind and leaves twisting in the night. It is roots sucking deep at the earth, and the pale, sightless creatures that live below the ground. But there’s something wrong with this voice, something diseased at its core.”</blockquote>
</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">That doesn't, however, take away from the gravity of the novel. This book is dark and gritty. Tahir does not shy away from the gruesome topics we are confronted with; topics such as rape and torture and child abuse which Tahir explores with unapologetic realism. This book is evocative. It makes you feel so completely for the characters and the things they are forced to endure in their attempts to do what they believe is right in a world which will see them dead for trying.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Laia</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> as a female MC was surprising to me. Mostly for the fact that I quite like her. Her journey from start to finish is wonderfully done. She begins as a timid, scared young girl who has lost her family and who lives in constant shame that she will never have the courage that her Mother had. When we leave her at the end of the book Laia is strong and capable and has found the courage that she needs to move forward and save her brother. It's satisfying watching her grow as a person through everything that happens to her. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><blockquote>
“My brother is still fighting, and his screams slice right through me. I know then that I will hear them over and over again, echoing in every hour of every day until I am dead or I make it right. I know it.”</blockquote>
</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Elias</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> when we meet him is a dispirited soldier who is on the verge of fleeing a life, and Empire, he has come to hate. His character arc is more complicated than Laia's and I did find it slightly more compelling. Elias, first and foremost is a soldier - a Mask, elite. Taken at the age of six and then raised to manhood within the walls of Blackcliff. And yet, he has the strength of character to maintain his own ideals about what he believes is good and right. We watch a young man on the verge of desertion grow into something so infinitely more. I can't really say much without heading into spoiler territory - but trust me, there is a reason this guy is a love interest to two women!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The supporting cast of Resistance and Mask characters are diverse and irresistible. </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Commandant</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> is one of the most chilling villains that I have come across in a long time. My level of hatred for her is right up there with Dolores Umbridge. </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Helene</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> is one of the characters that is hard for me to come to terms with; we see her through Elias' eyes and so through his narrative she is cast into a favourable light, and yet we are given enough information about her to know that she is, inherently, not a nice person - anyone who can agree with the enslaving of an entire nation and the annexation of their lands purely because she believes that </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"might makes right"</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> does not strike me as a good person and yet it her Loyalty to Elias and her willingness to do anything for him that stops her from becoming one of the bad guys. </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The augurs</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> are a great plot device and are very, very cleverly done. If this does have a second book, I can certainly see that there is a lot more to them and their story than we have been led to believe. And </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Izzi</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. Poor Izzi. She is the Neville Longbottom of our story: scared, timid, but someone who wants to fight and has a heart made of fire and hope.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">And this is just a small sample of the wonderful secondary characters that we come across.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The love quadrangle - or whatever it was - is what lost this book a star for me. Mostly, the instalust! between Elias and Laia is what I found it hard to cope with. Tahir does a good job of making the feelings between Helene and Elias feel real, but then the rest all feel very forced. I think it's because it's more a case of Tahir has told us instead of shown us and I couldn't connect with their feelings. Still, it is definitely better done than a lot of romances that I've come across.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The book has an exciting start, slows down briefly and then is </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">explosive</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> for the last 50%. I think one of the things I like best about this book is that it constantly kept me guessing but never gave enough away that I knew what was coming. The plot twists were big surprises and it made for a much more exciting read.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">A phenomenal book that is worth the hype and is more than worth the read!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">If you liked this, you'll definitely like </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23795267.Sacrificed__The_Last_Oracle___1_" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="Sacrificed (The Last Oracle, #1) by Emily Wibberley">Sacrificed</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> by </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10788120.Emily_Wibberley" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="Emily Wibberley">Emily Wibberley</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><blockquote>
“You are full, Laia. Full of life and dark and strength and spirit. You are in our dreams. You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes.”</blockquote>
</strong></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-82468021391373763292015-06-22T00:16:00.000-07:002015-06-22T00:16:51.285-07:00<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5ES7JiLdEmLGnGF4w9gsGOIUwy-ENenNNSauu_iN0W591syspwh0KztPsaR0x-ax_rKkL8wSvAgND6RMB8YvGHcQSjAGx1eW7rktMALAP8vBxdAc7GtYQuuDltLaRBELbj07R7aGtpvl/s1600/20877902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5ES7JiLdEmLGnGF4w9gsGOIUwy-ENenNNSauu_iN0W591syspwh0KztPsaR0x-ax_rKkL8wSvAgND6RMB8YvGHcQSjAGx1eW7rktMALAP8vBxdAc7GtYQuuDltLaRBELbj07R7aGtpvl/s320/20877902.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Title:</u> Unteachable</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Leah Raeder</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> March 25, 2014</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Atria Books</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-1476786407</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Contemporary Romance</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">An edgy, sexy USA Today bestseller about falling for the one person you can’t have.</em></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Maise O’Malley just turned eighteen, but she’s felt like a grown-up her entire life. The summer before senior year, she has plans: get into a great film school, convince her mom to go into rehab, and absolutely do not, under any circumstances, screw up her own future.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But life has a way of throwing her plans into free-fall.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When Maise meets Evan at a carnival one night, their chemistry is immediate, intense, and short-lived. Which is exactly how she likes it: no strings. But afterward, she can’t get Evan out of her head. He’s taught her that a hookup can be something more. It can be an unexpected connection with someone who truly understands her. Someone who sees beyond her bravado to the scared but strong girl inside.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">That someone turns out to be her new film class teacher, Mr. Evan Wilke.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Maise and Evan resolve to keep their hands off each other, but the attraction is too much to bear. Together, they’re real and genuine; apart, they’re just actors playing their parts for everyone else. And their masks are slipping. People start to notice. Rumors fly. When the truth comes to light in a shocking way, they may learn they were just playing parts for each other, too.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Smart, sexy, and provocative, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Unteachable</em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> is about what happens when a love story goes off-script.</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><blockquote>
"I see the lights every night. It seems like the whole world has figured out how to be happy, but no one's letting me in on the secret."</blockquote>
</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Okay.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Fuck.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Wow.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Guys.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This was really hard for me to rate because it was actually, like, a </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">brilliant</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> book. Just - really well written and engrossing and engaging and the overall quality of it should get it five stars alone.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But!</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But but but.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I just couldn't connect with the characters *sad face*. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I know this is an it's-me-not-you thing because obviously no one else had any problems connecting with Maise and Evan. But, the fact that I couldn't connect meant that their love scenes? Didn't do it for me. Their situation? I wasn't bothered. Their angst? Sorta annoyed me. And it is so frustrating for me to sit here and realise that this book is sort of incredible and I can't fully appreciate it because I couldn't drum up an affinity for the characters.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">So.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I'm going to try and be objective about this.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Unteachable deserves all the hype that it has received. Like, hella.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Firstly. The writing? </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Woah</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><blockquote>
"The thought of how much happiness lay scattered across the universe, unrealized, in fragments, waiting for the right twist of fate to bring it together."</blockquote>
</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I believe Leah Raeder once described her own writing as "pretentiously lyrical" and that is a completely accurate description but it actually really fucking works. There's only a certain type of fiction that can make pretentiously lyrical work; this is also true of certain types of writers. </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1330292.Maggie_Stiefvater" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="Maggie Stiefvater">Maggie Stiefvater</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> is one of these writers. Her books, </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">the Raven Cycle</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">, is an example of this certain type of fiction. Leah Raeder and </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Unteachable</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> are another example. Even though the two sets of writing are pretentiously lyrical in completely different ways.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But yeah. What I'm trying to say is that Leah Raeder does with her writing what people like </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4637539.Tahereh_Mafi" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="Tahereh Mafi">Tahereh Mafi</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> epically fail at. So, the writing is incredible.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The plot is simple yet effective: Girl meets boy. Girl sleeps with boy. Girl leaves boy. Girl pines for boy. Boy turns out to be her teacher. They get it on. Repeatedly. Things start to go to shit. Formulaic and simple. Also, very fucking effective. I think the fact that the story is so realistic helps us engage with it. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">How many of us, at eighteen, had a </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">thing</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> for one of our teachers? How many of us, at eighteen were sexually aware enough that given half the chance we probably would have gone along with it. I remember "that" teacher for me: He was the P.E teacher. He was young, he was beautiful, he was funny and he gave a shit about us and given half the chance I would have jumped his bones.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This is something that is happening all over the world. But instead of making this about the teacher abusing his position of authority, Raeder makes this a story about two genuinely fucked up people trying desperately to pull some happiness into their lives; trying to claw out a hand-hold for themselves in the world. I never once felt like the relationship between Maise and Evan was unequal because they were both equally infatuated with each other.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">In fact, Raeder gives us quite a few gritty topics in this book and then gives us a completely different way of looking at all of them: Maise's drug ruined home. Wesley's single parent home. Hiyam's privileged life. Nothing about this book is "</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">typical</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This book deserves five stars. Because I'm emotionally stunted, I wanted to give it three. I settled on giving it four.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">4/5 would </span><s style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">bang</s><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> recommend.</span> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-76107785059902105512015-06-22T00:09:00.000-07:002015-06-22T00:09:29.570-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_Ovkn5j6F4zKxhtvoiCrk9rV1C2k8UvlwzCo5WfyCnsrMc9As-q5174ugq-n611ev2_M1-CD26CKRJ86yQF9WM0cxg5VVi_szesl2HgIws9oA-_2_A8VQ8CpeDMJuYUv7dsvOxX1PUy-/s1600/18585911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_Ovkn5j6F4zKxhtvoiCrk9rV1C2k8UvlwzCo5WfyCnsrMc9As-q5174ugq-n611ev2_M1-CD26CKRJ86yQF9WM0cxg5VVi_szesl2HgIws9oA-_2_A8VQ8CpeDMJuYUv7dsvOxX1PUy-/s320/18585911.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Title:</u> Break In Two (Full Hearts #1)</span><br style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> MJ Summers</span><br style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Piaktus Books</span><br style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> November 21, 2014</span><br style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-0349407067</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #073763;"><br style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><u>Genre:</u> Contemporary Romance</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Thirty-one year old Claire Hatley is running from Seattle having just discovered that her live-in boyfriend has traded her in for a twenty-two year old hostess. Devastated and alone Claire must make a fresh start. She answers an ad for a chef at a guest ranch just outside Colorado Springs and finds herself face to face with Cole Mitchell, quite possibly the sexiest man to ever ride a horse. Common sense tells them to stay away from each other, but their attraction is not to be denied. He gives her a glimpse of what love should be, but just as she starts to trust him, the past comes back to tear them apart.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Join Claire and Cole as they embark on the stormy love affair of a lifetime.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">(Oh...and for those of you with husbands/boyfriends, please tell them “you’re welcome” from MJ.)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><u>Rating:</u></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span><span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeTextreview1300310575" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">No. No. Non. Niet. Nee. Jo. La. Ne. Nej. Nein. Ohee. Lo. Nei. Ni. Nai.<br /><br />Ok, I can't think of any other languages to say no in. But you get the point.<br /><br />All of the nope.<br /><br />I DNF'd at 22%<br /><br />I think the casual use of rape as a plot point to further a romance is what really put me off this.<br /><br />The characters are shallow and one dimensional. I struggled to engage with the female main character and spent most of the time actively disliking her. There is no chemistry between her and the love interest.<br /><br />The romance developed too quickly. Insta!love is not appreciated in most literature and it is definitely not appreciated in badly written literature. Which this is.<br /><br />The plot is flat and overdone. A similar plot (putting aside that it's a PNR) is taken in <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8182682.How_to_Flirt_with_a_Naked_Werewolf__Naked_Werewolf___1_" style="color: #666600;" title="How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf (Naked Werewolf, #1) by Molly Harper">How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf</a> which gets it absolutely, 100% right. If the blurb of this book caught your attention? Go read How to Flirt instead and save yourself some pain.<br /><br />Somehow the book manages to promote both misogyny and misandry. Which is a feat I have never seen accomplished before. I don't know whether to congratulate Summers or go on a book burning campaign.<br /><br />And this was cheesy in the worst possible way. Like, this book should come with a box of crackers and maybe some grapes and little bit of salami to go with the sheer amount of embarrassing, cringe-worthy cheese that this book is made up from.<br /><br />M.J. Summers has gone straight onto my Do-Not-Read list.<br /><br /><em>Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-19282217124916760482015-06-22T00:01:00.002-07:002015-06-22T00:01:58.878-07:00<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonu-gnxDEAO1POQEXjQWqhC2iyVBBK6EfkKyKJ4bqR_OO_fK-k10lXZ_vF7cNXMMZfBBs2rRBlbMbGQMzgy3S2S-raqxdY7NbYnkTBtR3xjcLGhX6vMz6qjbl1Q0vaINEnrojlxcsciRg/s1600/21416669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonu-gnxDEAO1POQEXjQWqhC2iyVBBK6EfkKyKJ4bqR_OO_fK-k10lXZ_vF7cNXMMZfBBs2rRBlbMbGQMzgy3S2S-raqxdY7NbYnkTBtR3xjcLGhX6vMz6qjbl1Q0vaINEnrojlxcsciRg/s320/21416669.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Title:</u> Starborn (The Worldmaker Trilogy #1)</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Lucy Hounsom</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> April 23, 2015</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Tor UK</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-1447268529</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Sci-Fi and Fantasy</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Death and destruction will bar her way...</strong></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Kyndra's fate holds betrayal and salvation, but the journey starts in her small village. On the day she comes of age, she accidentally disrupts an ancient ceremony, ending centuries of tradition. So when an unnatural storm targets her superstitious community, Kyndra is blamed. She fears for her life until two strangers save her, by wielding powers not seen for an age - powers fuelled by the sun and the moon.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Together, they flee to the hidden citadel of Naris. And here, Kyndra experiences disturbing visions of the past, showing war and one man's terrifying response. She'll learn more in the city's subterranean chambers, amongst fanatics and rebels. But first Kyndra will be brutally tested in a bid to unlock her own magic.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">If she survives the ordeal, she'll discover a force greater than she could ever have imagined. But could it create as well as destroy? And can she control it, to right an ancient wrong?</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Book One of the </span><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Worldmaker Trilogy</em></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><u>Rating:</u></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span><span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><u>DNF at 32%</u> </strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I'll be honest. I think I knew from the start that I was going to be DNFing this, but I stuck with it for as long as possible until I got to the point where I was saying to myself: "Kayleigh, you're not enjoying this. You're struggling to read this. There is nothing about this story that you like. You shouldn't have to force yourself to read a book. Give up the ghost."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The writing is generally of a decent quality, but the pacing was awful - it was all over the place. You would go for a few pages of decently paced, decently written prose and then all of a sudden you were flying through important scenes which seemed to have half the information you need missing and you'd come out the other side more confused than you went in - and not in the way that makes you want to read more to find out what is going on but in the way that makes you wonder why you're still reading.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But then the things that are supposed to be mysterious and keep you guessing - for example: Kyndra's special snowflakeness - are so blindingly obvious that it makes you feel genuinely embarrassed for Hounsom</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The plot is something I've seen a hundred times before: ordinary village girl turns out not to be so ordinary after all. I can enjoy these books if they are well written or if the author has done something new and exciting with the story. Hounsom does nothing new or exciting and it is not well written. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The world building was ... lacking. I'm trying to be nice. Again there's nothing new here but she does try to shake things up (air ships?!?!) and gets it horribly, horribly wrong. The characters were awful. Completely 1-dimensional and unrelatable. I hated most of them. Passionately. In fact the only character that I remotely liked was Nediah and even he was on the flat side.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It's like Hounsom has taken aspects from books written by </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15890.Trudi_Canavan" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="Trudi Canavan">Trudi Canavan</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> and </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38550.Brandon_Sanderson" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" title="Brandon Sanderson">Brandon Sanderson</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> and tried to make a story out of it. Just minus the writing talent and creative genius.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Sorry, but no.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</em> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-81510452923608232202015-06-21T23:53:00.000-07:002015-06-21T23:53:08.091-07:00<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIoEAVAt8GjCG8gdaC-uyLhiIMMKBktvLL6fdI8L36oXpK-BMDXqX11D02KLPLqJ2vsvPvR5JOak5tHylR6XQwMipfLT0tmlsyYUvnZv_kMqNK093n8X5Hxa9Dc04SH2djzJUhnZHxPAN/s1600/1387168700000-The-winner-s-Curse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIoEAVAt8GjCG8gdaC-uyLhiIMMKBktvLL6fdI8L36oXpK-BMDXqX11D02KLPLqJ2vsvPvR5JOak5tHylR6XQwMipfLT0tmlsyYUvnZv_kMqNK093n8X5Hxa9Dc04SH2djzJUhnZHxPAN/s320/1387168700000-The-winner-s-Curse.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Title:</span></u><span style="background-color: white;"> The Winner's Curse</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Marie Rutkoski</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> April 10, 2014</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Bloomsbury Children's</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #073763;">ISBN:</span></span></u><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-1408858202</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Sci-Fi and Fantasy</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Kestrel lives the lavish lifestyle of a Valorian General's only daughter, and such riches come at a cost for Valoria's captives and for her. As the Herrani face death or slavery, Kestrel's destiny is shaped by her father. He gives her two choices: join his army or get married. Desperate to realise her own future and knowing that it will invite scandal, she pays a small fortune for a handsome Herrani blacksmith at a slave auction. Arin not only plays Kestrel's power games, he understands what she needs and soon she is torn between loyalty to her people and her feelings for him. But Arin is not all he seems and Kestrel will learn that the price she paid for him is much higher than she ever could have imagined. </span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The first novel in a stunning new trilogy, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Winner's Curse</em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> is a story of romance, rumours and rebellion, where dirty secrets and careless alliances can be deadly and everything is at stake.</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><u>Rating:</u> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeTextreview1172433979" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Okay, this has been a pretty controversial book from what I've seen of the reviews around the internet.<br /><br />The writing and pacing and characters and plot are generally well liked.<br /><br />The treatment of slavery is not.<br /><br />I'm going on the record here to say: The only reason this book got 3 stars is because I am holding out hope that Kestrel can pull her head out of her arse in the next two books.<br /><br />I can appreciate that most of the book is told from Kestrel's POV and that hers is the mindset that she is the daughter of the Empire's greatest general who was brought up around slavery and that while she doesn't readily agree with it, she realises that she would only cause more trouble for her and the slaves if she were to do something. I can also appreciate the villainising of the Slaves at the end because, again, we're seeing things from Kestrel's POV.<br /><br />Just because I can appreciate and understand what has been done in the book does not mean I agree with it.<br /><br />I don't.<br /><br />I started this book thinking: Yes. We have our heroine. She's going to fall in love with a slave, find out about the uprising and help them to overcome their oppressors. As it should be. I went along quite happily in this book.<br /><br />That is not what I got. I am not happy with what I got. The last 35% of this book did not make me happy.<br /><br />The last 35% of this book insulted me.<br /><br />And, err ...<br /><br />Can we say Stockholm syndrome?<br /><br />Also, that ending? No. Nope. All the nope.<br /><br />I really, really hope <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20443207.The_Winner_s_Crime__The_Winner_s_Trilogy___2_" style="color: #666600;" title="The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy, #2) by Marie Rutkoski">The Winner's Crime</a> can redeem this.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-17182056217165844972015-06-21T23:43:00.000-07:002015-06-22T02:43:56.910-07:00Sacrificed: The Last Oracle by Emily Wibberley<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitzcLf-w4LwAyh96Eth6i8iKINZwxMK0dbQg9sX-vcNwn0jRhbMleD8YXJPNtSDtt_muCILCS2ZHl-ZIJ7t3AqqJkb_I6V58DjU0DfO5ZwCzZizFbJpRY9LXvwEDTxPiwIqt9sm9Qeh0Iv/s1600/51bgztzEoJL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitzcLf-w4LwAyh96Eth6i8iKINZwxMK0dbQg9sX-vcNwn0jRhbMleD8YXJPNtSDtt_muCILCS2ZHl-ZIJ7t3AqqJkb_I6V58DjU0DfO5ZwCzZizFbJpRY9LXvwEDTxPiwIqt9sm9Qeh0Iv/s320/51bgztzEoJL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Title:</span></u><span style="background-color: white;"> Sacrificed: The Last Oracle</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Author:</u> Emily Wibberley</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Published:</u> February 13, 2015</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Create Space Independent Publishing Platform</span><br style="color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">9</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">78-1505896787</span></span><br style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Sci-Fi and Fantasy</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #8b8b8b; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></span> <blockquote><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Knowing the future can save her city – but not her heart.</em></span> </span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Born to serve the merciless Oracle, Clio wants nothing more than to break free. But when her entire family is murdered by Mannix, the king's adviser, Clio inherits the Oracle’s power, a power she never wanted and doesn't understand.</span></span> </span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Hunted by Mannix, Clio is forced to flee her home in Sheehan and seek refuge in a foreign city where oracles are forbidden. If she's found out, she will be sacrificed atop its great pyramid. </span></span> </span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Clio has no choice but to win the trust of Riece, an enemy warrior. Despite the undeniable attraction between them, Clio knows that if he finds out who she really is, he won't hesitate to execute her.</span></span> </span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Clio tries to hide her budding powers, but the Visions she keeps having of Mannix and his barbarian army slaughtering her people torture her conscience. She alone has the strength and foresight to stop him, but only if she can embrace her destiny and sacrifice everything.</span></span></blockquote><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><u>Rating:</u> </span><span style="background-color: #aedce9; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span> <span id="freeTextreview1157944401" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong>This book blew my mind.</strong><br />
<br />
I put this on my TBR list back in January because it looked like it was going to be a good read and then it was promptly buried under the sheer overwhelming force that is my TBR list. <em>Then</em> I came across it on NetGalley and, quite literally, jumped at the chance.<br />
<br />
Clio is the youngest, and fourth, daughter of the Oracle of Sheehan. Clio has never been close to her Mother and one by one, the same is happening with her sisters as they all enter into the servitude of the Oracle. When, finally, Clio loses her sister Ali to their Mother and the Deities, she vows never to allow her mother to change her the way she has her sisters and runs away. That night, Clio's Mother and two older sisters are brutally murdered and her sister Ali is taken by the King's (very creepy) adviser, Mannix. As a result, Clio is forced to shoulder the burden that was once her Mother's: she becomes the Oracle.<br />
<br />
Desperate to rescue her sister, and best friend, Clio sets out for Morak, a city in which being an Oracle is punishable by death, in hopes that she can get there before it's too late, but she makes it to the City just in time to witness her sister's execution. It is there, in the cells under the Pyramid of Morak that she meets Oracle-hating Commander Riece, whom she must learn to trust, and convince him to trust her, in order to survive and save Sheehan from the ambitions of Mannix.<br />
<br />
I loved this book from the moment I started reading it, and once I had, I didn't want to put it down. I've already said that I spent the day at work with my Kindle hidden behind my computer screens just so I could keep reading it without my boss seeing me. There wasn't a dull moment in this book. Emily Wibberley seems to have mastered the art of weeding out unnecessary scenes which add nothing to the story and can often become boring. Every scene was carefully crafted and contributed to the overall plot and kept the story flowing wonderfully.<br />
<br />
Clio's character is delightful to read, and she does't change so much as grows and matures through-out the book which is wonderful to watch. She grows from a cynical girl who sees her mother's calling as a bit of a sham into a powerful young woman who holds her own, saves the day and can fully accept her calling in life.<br />
<br />
Derik and Riece, our respective love interests actually manage to step outside of the mold and to have a personality of their own and a role to play besides being in love with the main character. It's refreshing to see. In fact, a few of the minor characters are just as memorable: Riece's younger sister is a great motivator for his character but also provides great comic relief and a nice break from the action of the rest of the book.<br />
<br />
The world building is great. We don't get to see much of the world in general, admittedly, as the story centers around Morak and Sheehan, but Wibberley throws out the names of a few places that I'm hoping we get to see in the next books. Besides that, she keeps it fairly simple which makes it much easier for you to immerse yourself in the world; it's easier to connect with a story when you don't spend half a book trying to get your head around the world, it's population and it's politics. The untouched were a wonderfully scary addition.<br />
<br />
In the end, you're left wanting more. I know I certainly was and I cannot wait for the second book.<br />
<br />
That ending, though! Talk about emotional overload!!<br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span id="freeTextreview1157944401" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><em>Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-10917666961767527852015-05-05T00:09:00.000-07:002015-05-05T00:09:46.173-07:00Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNpA04XPwfhHS2_sunhdk5u6tBY0YH5GD2bccktyeqWoQvrwiBi1OycK7LpN6zYBRuHMjwfgPMvkNbCj04QPFJ48x60uvSEbOCCO_s70WpkBqKYEcaoMvXxrgDtRDr4Vtm9j_G60N4W3c/s1600/91Ilq94XMqL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNpA04XPwfhHS2_sunhdk5u6tBY0YH5GD2bccktyeqWoQvrwiBi1OycK7LpN6zYBRuHMjwfgPMvkNbCj04QPFJ48x60uvSEbOCCO_s70WpkBqKYEcaoMvXxrgDtRDr4Vtm9j_G60N4W3c/s320/91Ilq94XMqL._SL1500_.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Title:</u> Waiting for the Flood</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Author:</u> Alexis Hall</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Published:</u> February 21, 2015</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Publisher:</u> Riptide Publishing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>ASIN:</u> <span style="background-color: white;">B00TWI05QA</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Contemporary Romance</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">People come as well as go.</em></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Twelve years ago, Edwin Tully came to Oxford and fell in love with a boy named Marius. He was brilliant. An artist. It was going to be forever.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Two years ago, it ended.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Now Edwin lives alone in the house they used to share. He tends to damaged books and faded memories, trying to a build a future from the fragments of the past.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Then the weather turns, and the river spills into Edwin’s quiet world, bringing with it Adam Dacre from the Environment Agency. An unlikely knight, this stranger with roughened hands and worn wellingtons, but he offers Edwin the hope of something he thought he would never have again.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">As the two men grow closer in their struggle against the rising waters, Edwin learns he can’t protect himself from everything—and sometimes he doesn't need to try.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><u>Rating:</u> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">This is a story about imperfections and ephemery and fasciculing and floods and rivers and houses that should be homes and men who think they're broken and stuttering and environmental agencies and self-consciousness and loss and orange waders and wellies and overcoming and dimpled smiles. It's a story about love.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">This is one of those rare occasions when a book was nothing like I expected it to be and still completely surpassed my expectations. And then some I didn't have.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Waiting for the Flood did in 106 pages what many books cannot manage to do in several hundred; it made me feel. I literally smiled the whole way through this book, even when I was crying.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Our Hero is a thirty one year old gay man living on his own in the house purchased by him and his ex boyfriend, trying to come to terms with being alone. Edwin has some pretty serious self-confidence issues which mostly center around his stutter and his feelings of unworthiness brought about by his break up with ex boyfiend Marius. Edwin is a flawed human being; he has cut himself off from the world because he truly believes no one will accept him, that no one truly wants to know him and so keeps to himself and his elderly, octogenarian neighbour. Edwin also has serious trouble coping with social situations or situations which make him feel uncomfortable and often finds himself resorting to sarcasm. He's not perfect, and that's what makes it so much easier to love him.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Our love interest in this novella is Adam Dacre who is working for Oxford council's Environmental Agency and is charged to help flood-proof Edwin's street. Adam is sweet and charming and so ready to see the good and beauty in everyone and everything and, also, the complete opposite of Edwin in every way; he's outgoing and flirtatious and cannily sure of himself in ways that intimidate Edwin and it's so easy to see just what it is that has Edwin so enchanted.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The story is told from Edwin's point of view, so we're given full access to Edwin's inner turmoil and his thought process whilst dealing with Adam and his feelings for the red-headed engineer. Most of all, the thing I love is that we get to see Adam's beauty through Edwin's eyes. Edwin tells us:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"No one could have called him handsome, and the orange waders probably didn't help - but when he smiled? Suddenly handsome didn't seem important anymore - only the things happiness could do to a man's face."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"></strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">It's wonderful to come across a romance in which a person is beautiful because of who they are - because of the type of person they are and this is exactly what we get with this story: two flawed, imperfect people who meet and see something wonderful in each other and it's beyond beautiful.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Alexis Hall's writing is wonderfully simplistic and exquisite. This being my first Hall book, I cannot comment on whether this is a consistent theme in all of his books but I do know I will definitely be reading more of his works to find out.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">This is short and so, so sweet. It is a simple story that is beautifully written and a definite must-read for all romance fans. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you don't.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</em></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-36998097469126461472015-05-05T00:02:00.000-07:002015-05-05T00:02:45.437-07:00The Darkest Minds By Alexandra Bracken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8y5znUEoz4hDieEC0B1I-rvHc4hlvj6sGxXaiWFTrtiQJSg4_wlxfLjJR89MViKZJk-_4gew3jyME9EuMN9jB-rBCawcqW7qeR17eGzwNT4N96Y_IOzQOwR36Nz5viRWdoEFJsDwUSLq8/s1600/51GLg9YPpiL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8y5znUEoz4hDieEC0B1I-rvHc4hlvj6sGxXaiWFTrtiQJSg4_wlxfLjJR89MViKZJk-_4gew3jyME9EuMN9jB-rBCawcqW7qeR17eGzwNT4N96Y_IOzQOwR36Nz5viRWdoEFJsDwUSLq8/s320/51GLg9YPpiL.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Title:</u> The Darkest Minds</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Author:</u> Alexandra Bracken</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Published:</u> October 22, 2013</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Publisher:</u> Hyperion Books</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>ISBN:</u> <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">978-1423159322</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Dystopian/Sci Fi</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.</strong></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">How to write a typical Dystopian adventure, and get it completely, 100% right.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">I really enjoyed this book. I had such high hopes going in and it did not disappoint me at all.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Really interesting premise and awesome characters, and oh mY GOD A FEMALE CHARACTER THAT I A</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">CTUALLY LIKE!!!1! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The world building is superb. The way that Bracken only gives you enough information to understand what is going on, but little enough to keep you intrigued is terribly clever. There are a lot of authors who try too hard at this end up failing miserably. Not so in this book; the balance is just right.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The characters, whilst certainly nothing I haven't seen before, are infinitely likeable - even her villains. They are complicated, diverse, well-fleshed out and human. It's so easy to make your character into a caricature of what a human being is supposed to be, but Bracken doesn't take it too far here. She captures all of the good and bad parts of humanity in all of the best ways.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">And, ultimately, that's what this books is about. Humanity and how we fight to keep it in the worst of conditions.<br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Maybe a little predictable at times, but there's so many dystopian stories out there now that they're obviously all going to be following the same recipe. This one is no different, but it doesn't take away from your enjoyment at all.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">That ending, though. Welcome to heartbreak hotel. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">I can't wait for book 2 to arrive.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobeJ9n0IhSBdXngXfxWBkKMjo9m-TMeFQx71QpbYsj-kN6IA0ufG0qyu1xBPOcYPuoX3gzhPHq5OsAlB2hZoOIvbKs1jS4rhh1zRi_Sz4zK53q2V6p00xn8Hu8q96p-j4Y0oIqmURRtGE/s1600/14199253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobeJ9n0IhSBdXngXfxWBkKMjo9m-TMeFQx71QpbYsj-kN6IA0ufG0qyu1xBPOcYPuoX3gzhPHq5OsAlB2hZoOIvbKs1jS4rhh1zRi_Sz4zK53q2V6p00xn8Hu8q96p-j4Y0oIqmURRtGE/s320/14199253.jpg" width="255" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">You said it, Liam.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-70730784934664746302015-05-02T13:54:00.000-07:002015-05-04T23:47:43.338-07:00Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPl1P27z8gjmMPfNH67dT4dUjo65zmQg-6FFEY-1u5U7a8otH4g9crCFjG6KDL8LCsO2xTF_MEu1BDUvn_TzWyv1FCFttPD2JP6X6womWcSM2zlXplkMhlJswJhWOtPh9ThxQIl2DmaQi/s1600/91aJwPykwYL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPl1P27z8gjmMPfNH67dT4dUjo65zmQg-6FFEY-1u5U7a8otH4g9crCFjG6KDL8LCsO2xTF_MEu1BDUvn_TzWyv1FCFttPD2JP6X6womWcSM2zlXplkMhlJswJhWOtPh9ThxQIl2DmaQi/s1600/91aJwPykwYL._SL1500_.jpg" width="211" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Title:</u> Snow Like Ashes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Author:</u> Sara Raasch</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Publisher:</u> Balzer+Bray</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Published:</u> October 14, 2014</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>ASIN:</u> <span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">B00HYMBNUS</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><u>Genre:</u> Fantasy</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.</strong></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Rating:</u> <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">This book was really, really disappointing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">I had really high hopes after all of the reviews and it just sort of ... fell flat?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Don't get me wrong. It's a good book. I enjoyed it enough that I kept reading. I think I just got caught up in the hype and expected too much?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Overall, I thought the book just tried too hard. The world building is what I'd call 'meh' - I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. At times, the naming could be a little cringe-worthy. There was absolutely nothing new in terms of characters. I've met them all a hundred times before in a hundred different books. This one was riddled with tropes that have been done better in other books.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">And what is with the frickin' love-triangles? Is it law that all YA-Fantasy books featuring a female protagonist must feature a love triangle? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Meira, as a character, tries too hard. I love that writers are trying to make a point and take a feminist stand with their characters. But sometimes they fall short of the mark and, at times, can do more harm than good. Meira is your standard fantasy female MC: orphaned, tom-boy, can-do, I-dont-need-no-man, burn-anything-remotely-feminine but ends up being the specialest of special snowflakes. Again, there's nothing new here and for a recycled character, it's been done better in other books. Unfortunately, here's another one to add to the list of female characters I do not like. Mostly because, like a lot of female characters, Meira strays dangerously close to Misandry. Or, well, Raasch does.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">By trying to maintain a feminine view-point and trying to project the message that women are just as capable as men, she goes to far and can, at times, err on the side of man-bashing. That's not feminism. It's, also, not cool.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Also, Meira is too much of a moaner to make it onto my list of likeable characters. For someone who spends so much of the book trying to convince us of her capability, she is way too much of a whiner.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">This book is actually compared to </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3236307.Graceling" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" title="Graceling by Kristin Cashore">Graceling</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">, and I can fully support that because I had a nice little rant about feminist ideologies in that book, too.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">But, overall, a pretty enjoyable read with enough good points that I am looking forward to the next book.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-49894788608000205972015-05-02T13:46:00.001-07:002015-05-04T23:41:29.863-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZ7Zmdd5pK-iTmigM6-pUfRXriM83B5m_FtH9G-Xsla13QbGz79HOcjxLkPRE9BMIv1hgqTl5vC7OvOLBGh8NuaHQA7wnGjopfzYsTCpRUvgLPvUbPdgZssOqOAFe-uLabWhIrkVmg946/s1600/71GXQFa+RRL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZ7Zmdd5pK-iTmigM6-pUfRXriM83B5m_FtH9G-Xsla13QbGz79HOcjxLkPRE9BMIv1hgqTl5vC7OvOLBGh8NuaHQA7wnGjopfzYsTCpRUvgLPvUbPdgZssOqOAFe-uLabWhIrkVmg946/s1600/71GXQFa+RRL.jpg" width="210" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Title:</u> Shatter Me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Author:</u> Tahereh Mafi</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Publisher:</u> US Imports</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Published:</u> November 15, 2011</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>ISBN:</u> <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">978-0062085504</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><u>Genre:</u> Dystopian/Sci-fi</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><s style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I have a curse</s></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><s style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"></s></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I have a gift</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><s style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I am a monster</s></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><s style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"></s></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I'm more than human</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><s style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">My touch is lethal</s></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><s style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"></s></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">My touch is power</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><s style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I am their weapon</s></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><s style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"></s></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I will fight back</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><u>Rating:</u></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><u>DNF at 37%</u></strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">This was actually painful to read.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/275721085?book_show_action=false&page=1"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Kat Kennedy</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> wrote a review in which she said: "<i>Shatter Me, otherwise known as: When Creative Writing Class Goes Wrong.</i>" She hit the nail on the head. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">It's either that or like trying to read really, really bad fanfiction for pretty much any dystopian book ever.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Mafi actually has the makings of a pretty interesting story here and then completely bombs in the execution. The writing is ... well ... I'm pretty sure I covered that with my opening statement. Her characters are flat - they have absolutely no dimension to them. Juliette is every teen, dystopian heroine ever but worse. There is nothing likeable about her - there's nothing to relate to. Adam actually lacks a personality completely. He doesn't have one. At all. I'm not even joking. He is literally the token bad-boy love interest and that is as far as his character development seems to go. Warner is your typical too-good-looking-for-your-own-good Villain who is obviously going to end up number 3 in their epic love triangle. I'm upset that this book is so popular when this has been done so much better in much less popular books: </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10194157.Shadow_and_Bone" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" title="Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo">Shadow and Bone</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">, </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10576365.The_Darkest_Minds" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" title="The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken">The Darkest Minds</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">What's worse is that there is no discernible plot to this book. I might have carried on if I thought that the book was actually going in even a vague direction. It wasn't. It was just scene after scene of Juliette sniveling, Adam brooding and Warner being his evil-genius self.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">So much potential with the plot and it's characters but it ends up as an Epic Fail. I'd like to introduce you to the paragraph which finally forced me to give up on this book:</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6hAuF6gPkpSZqJ_Y5h_DPeWiKG7LmuSAW4kNzMJmoS_9jYVhgn3kPkt97h-iEaZ4T9B3L1hSqgkj85Dr5v-krwBffevItHGLrLj6mm1774gMBPKieKSykNMw5PljmHP8rbjFyVAbsDV8/s1600/14245285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6hAuF6gPkpSZqJ_Y5h_DPeWiKG7LmuSAW4kNzMJmoS_9jYVhgn3kPkt97h-iEaZ4T9B3L1hSqgkj85Dr5v-krwBffevItHGLrLj6mm1774gMBPKieKSykNMw5PljmHP8rbjFyVAbsDV8/s1600/14245285.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As I said before: I murdered every minute I wasted reading this tragedy and I mind very much.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692849430100437847.post-15186749515950852802015-05-02T13:07:00.000-07:002015-05-04T23:36:39.155-07:00The Maze Runner by James Dashner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixv_mIqE81AC_O8_opjTG9hIvGH0EcAd7vIvw9-Y0MD6GbVSjubEjdk9wk4LnsPFMnTXfR-Gn-DYsvQyyeOfbmTelS8vxP97wgBfMivAzN3uj0IvSf4bGQKSLsaZ12ZZtbiyF9zojQmdbV/s1600/71UoVoNAufL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixv_mIqE81AC_O8_opjTG9hIvGH0EcAd7vIvw9-Y0MD6GbVSjubEjdk9wk4LnsPFMnTXfR-Gn-DYsvQyyeOfbmTelS8vxP97wgBfMivAzN3uj0IvSf4bGQKSLsaZ12ZZtbiyF9zojQmdbV/s1600/71UoVoNAufL.jpg" width="206" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><u>Title:</u> The Maze Runner</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><u>Author:</u> James Dashner</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><u>Publisher:</u> Chicken House</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><u>Published:</u> August 4, 2011</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><u>ISBN:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">978-1908435132</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u>Genre:</u> Dystopian/Sci-Fi</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.</em></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.</span></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.</em></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.</span></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Everything is going to change.</em></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.</span></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Remember. Survive. Run.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><u>Rating:</u> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">★</span></span><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">☆</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">This book was disappointing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">No.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Not disappointing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Underwhelming.</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">This book could have easily been a five star read but fell woefully short.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The plot of this book is incredible: young boys have their memories wiped and are then forced to live in the middle of a mysterious maze and then have to work together to find their way out. It is original and exciting. Even the contrived slang used by the Gladers didn't bother me all that much.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The pacing and structure of the book is also good. It never felt like it was going too slow or too fast. There was never a lack of suspense or action. This wasn't a book that I couldn't put down but I did find myself going back to it a lot. I would read it in burst: read for an hour, leave it alone for twenty minutes. But I still always went back. It definitely has that going for it.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The characters. Oh! The characters. Thomas pissed me off. I've heard a lot of people say that his constant question asking pissed them off. I'm going to go against the grain and say that it actually felt completely natural and did not piss me off at all. The guy had his memory wiped and was then dumped into the middle of some big-ass mysterious maze; I'm pretty sure he's entitled to ask as many questions as he wants. I'd be concerned if he wasn't asking questions. What pissed me off about him was how much he let the others walk all over him. Every time Alby, Newt or Minho told him to shut up and bugger off, he did. I mean, seriously? You just woke up in a maze with amnesia and you're going to let people fob off your questions? As if.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Newt and Minho, however, are the lights of my life. I can't remember the last time I connected to characters in this way. By three-quarters of the way into the book I just wanted every scene to feature on or the other, or both. Actually, I wish they were the main characters of this series. Gah! Love them. I hope I get to see plenty of them in the remaining books.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">This could have been truly brilliant but there is something fundamentally lacking in the execution. I couldn't justify more than three starts, as much as I wanted to give it more.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">On that note, I will definitely be reading the other books in this series because Newt and Minho. That is all.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257619010991481439noreply@blogger.com0