Mini Reviews #1: The Time Machine and Oblivion

Welcome to the first installment of Mini Reviews! Today I’m going to be sharing my thoughts on the first books I read this year, The Time Machine by H. G. Wells and Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells – ★★★☆☆

A Time Traveler details the events of his travels to his skeptical friends. I was fully prepared to enjoy this book, especially since the first few pages fondly reminded me of discussions that I’ve had with friends from a philosophy class I took. However, the majority of the book was description-heavy, the only dialogue being the Time Traveler’s explanation of his adventure, which was tiring to read. The rare breaks in dialogue were almost a relief, and I didn’t find much of the main character’s adventure exciting, with the exception of a few events in the last half of the story. Although I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, I’m not sure if it made it worth the read. While I love stories about time travel, this one isn’t a favorite.

Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Lux #1.5) – ★★★★★

A retelling of Obsidian, the first book in the Lux series, in the point of view of another character. My 14-year-old self adored this series, and while the writing was slightly cheesier than I remembered, Oblivion is just as exciting to read as the rest of the series, immediately capturing my attention. It’s a super easy book to read, and often I’d find myself reading large chunks of it in one sitting without even realizing it! I think I still prefer Katy’s POV, but it was cool to see what went on when Katy wasn’t around. Overall, this was a really fun book to read, and it definitely has me looking to read more from Armentrout!

What books did you read to kick off the new year? Let me know what you thought of these books!

Book Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After

Series: Anna and the French Kiss, #3

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Summary: Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last?

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

Review:

Hello, all!  I feel like it’s been a million years!  But, I’m happy to be back with a new review, my first review of the year!  This is actually the first book that I’ve finished this year (aside from rereading The Perks of Being a Wallflower).  I’m also reading this other book called The Physics of Immortality, but that isn’t exactly a book for “light reading.”

Isla and the Happily Ever After has been sitting on my shelves since August, even though I already knew I’d love it.  Stephanie Perkins’ books are perfection on paper.  The third and final book in this trilogy focuses on Isla and Josh, who was a prominent character in Anna and the French Kiss.  He definitely had a bigger role to play in this book.

In Isla, we got to see a lot of Josh that I don’t remember seeing in the first book.  We also get to know about who he is in general a lot more, since he’s one of the main characters.  He was so sweet and perfect and ugh.  *Mentally adds him to my never-ending list of book boyfriends*

Isla was… meh.  She got really annoying toward the end of the book.  I felt there was a lot of unnecessary drama that she created.  I could kind of relate to her, though.  I’m not really sure how to feel about her.  Again, meh.

I LOVED Kurt.  I was sad to see that Anna kind of pushed him aside once Josh came into the picture.  I’m glad Kurt was able to find the Right Way (*nudge nudge, wink wink*), though.  I just wish that Isla had made more friends instead of focusing all of her attention on Josh only.

This book was so exciting, though.  I read it in two sittings, and I don’t know why I had the motivation to pick it up, considering I haven’t done something like that in a long time.  I feel so spontaneous xD

Of course, we had cameos from Anna, St. Clair, Lola, and Cricket, which was amazing.  Unfortunately, they were talked about more than they actually were there.

5/5 stars to this beauty!  I love, love, loved this book.  I only had a few problems with it, but I’m letting them slide.  Overall, this series was fantastic.  I think Anna was my favorite, then Isla, then Lola.

What did you think of this series?  Are you thinking about picking it up?  Let me know!

Book Review: In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken

Title: In The Afterlight

Series: The Darkest Minds, #3

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Summary: Ruby can’t look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government’s attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds.

They are armed only with a volatile secret: proof of a government conspiracy to cover up the real cause of IAAN, the disease that has killed most of America’s children and left Ruby and others like her with powers the government will kill to keep contained. But internal strife may destroy their only chance to free the “rehabilitation camps” housing thousands of other Psi kids.

Meanwhile, reunited with Liam, the boy she would-and did-sacrifice everything for to keep alive, Ruby must face the painful repercussions of having tampered with his memories of her. She turns to Cole, his older brother, to provide the intense training she knows she will need to take down Gray and the government. But Cole has demons of his own, and one fatal mistake may be the spark that sets the world on fire. -Goodreads

Review:

*Non-Spoilery Section

In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken is the last book in The Darkest Minds series, which is one of the most amazing series I’ve ever read. I started it on April 4th, 2014 and ended it on November 11th, 2014… it has been quite the ride.

I feel like In The Afterlight is one of the few series finales I’ve been impressed with and truly satisfied with. It was so incredibly satisfying, and I’m happy to say that Alexandra Bracken is officially one of my favorite authors. This is one of the best series I’ve read this year and it’s definitely on my favorites list.

The plot in this book is so intricate and well written. I really need to take a moment to applaud Bracken, because I could easily envision this world and the characters. And don’t even get me started on the characters! The characters are quite the bunch, especially the main characters. They’re all so different and come from totally different backgrounds, but it works. The characters are really deep as well, and Bracken did a wonderful job depicting their raw emotions, the high tensions, and the depth of this book.

One of the reasons I’m so impressed with this book is because of how well the characters are written. Ruby, especially, is a character who has had so much visual growth, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it in any other book. We almost literally got to watch her character development from page one of the series, and that, I thought, was incredible.

We also got to see Ruby’s flaws. She was and wasn’t your typical heroine at the same time, and I’m not saying that in a bad way. She is such a flawed character, and Bracken doesn’t mask it. Ruby just blossomed in these books, even if the journey getting there wasn’t easy.

In The Afterlight was definitely heavier than the other books, and there was a lot going down. Some of the characters just put you on edge so badly. It was insane.

Of course, Alexandra Bracken wrapped up this series beautifully, which made me so happy. I was a little scared, considering that a few of the series finales I’ve read this year have been a bit lackluster (definitely reconsidering my City of Heavenly Fire review). I know it’s really hard to wrap up a series, and it must be a stressful process, trying to please everyone, but I just thought this was fantastic. Fan. Tastic.

I really hope you all enjoyed it, and if you have yet to start this series, then you’re in luck! The first book, The Darkest Minds, is on the Apple store and the Kindle store for free for a week! This might just be the push you needed… ;D

Anyway, that’s all for the non-spoilery section. If you haven’t read the book, I strongly suggest you stop here, because I will spoil the plot. If you have read the book, then I urge you to go on so we can discuss!

Thank you, Alexandra Bracken, for this amazing reading experience. Your books will definitely stick with me forever.

*Warning: Spoilery Section

“…It is the smoke.

It is the fire.

The spark.

Black is the color of memory.

It is our color.

The only one they’ll use to tell our story.” –In The Afterlight, prologue; p. 1-2

~

When I read the prologue of In The Afterlight, I thought it was just breathtaking. Now you know me, always making musical references, but definitely check out the song “In The End” by Black Veil Brides, because I feel like that song is too perfect for the prologue, and even the whole book.  I was also reminded of “O Children” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

Let’s talk about the characters, now. Once again, I’d like to say that I am so impressed with how Bracken wrote her characters. Gah!

POVs: I was really happy that we stuck to the basics, reading only from Ruby’s POV. I feel like a lot of authors are going all crazy with their series finale POVs, so I’m happy that Bracken kept it nice and simple (though Ruby is anything but a simple character).

Ruby: Ruby is one of the main characters, and she developed so much throughout these books. I mean, remember that scared little girl from The Darkest Minds? I think on the inside, she’ll always be a bit scared, but now she can defend herself. She can fight. She is a fighter. She went from being this innocent character to being tough as nails. But as her character developed, Bracken made sure to put Ruby’s flaws on display for us all to see. She is also one of the few main characters I like, despite her sometimes annoying traits. (Spoilers for Allegiant: Because I was so partial to Ruby, I was quite scared for her life. Someone pointed out that the whole thing with Ruby insisting on going back to Thurmond herself was very Tris-esque, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that that was way too accurate. I mean, Ruby was even going back into Thurmond in place of Nico, the traitor… sound familiar? Tris and freaking Caleb. But luckily, Bracken didn’t take that path, which I was very happy about. Also, Ruby reminded me of Tris a little more when she was holding Liam at arm’s length (which I’ll talk about in the next paragraph). Didn’t Tris do that to Four a lot? End of Allegiant Spoilers.)

I noticed that in this book, there seemed to be a lack of communication between Ruby and Liam. I wished she’d stop pushing him away! One moment they were all lovey-dovey, the next they weren’t speaking.

I really liked the relationship between Ruby and Cole, Liam’s brother, but I was worried that a love triangle would form… something I didn’t want to occur. At this moment, I kind of have mixed feelings about a love triangle (if it had been something that happened in the book), because I really liked Cole. I also loved that Ruby had stuck up for Cole when Liam and Alice had kind of formed an “army” against Cole and Ruby. I feel like Cole was being a jerk to protect himself, and the others, and he really was making progress. I hated to see everyone immediately turn to Liam for assistance, but I still love Liam. Liam is life, guys.

When Ruby found the note Liam wrote to himself… UGH, it broke my fangirl heart. I also noticed that Ruby always needed to be in control, but not necessarily in a bad way. If she wasn’t, she’d drive herself crazy wondering if her friends were alright. The Ruby/Liam fight was too much to bear. That was heartbreaking. So upsetting, and I was really beginning to wonder if that was the end of Riam D: Luckily, though, they made up and EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT, GUYS.

I feel like Ruby is a really strong character, but she was easily overwhelmed, and when things got to be too much for her, she’d shut down, and it seemed like she was very… claustrophobic.

Let’s talk about that whole Clancy/Ruby thing. Okay, so apparently he was SNEAKING INTO HER MIND WHILE SHE SLEPT AND… god, I can’t even. I cannot even. He snuck into her mind while she slept and made her send those tips to the camp that Cole and Liam were invading and… good lord. Oh my god… We’ll talk about that later.

I’m so happy about the reunions Ruby had with her friends from Thurmond and her family. Kinda something lacking in other recent releases *cough, cough* The reunion with Ruby and her grandmother was so amazing, but I was kind of “eh” on the reunion with her parents. I mean, I know they couldn’t remember her, but still… eh.

I was slightly confused about what went down at the end between Ruby and Clancy, but I guess she took all of his memories and left him with one to give him a fresh start… that was very good of her. I’m surprised. I know, of course, that Ruby is a good person, but after everything that went down toward the end, I was surprised that Ruby gave him mercy.

(I also wanted to point out that I thought it was so adorable that both Stewart brothers had nicknames for Ruby. Liam called her “darlin’.” Cole called her “Gem.”)

Liam: First things first… Liam is my book boyfriend for life. HE IS SUCH A SWEETIE, LIKE, WHAT. I WANT A LIAM. In the beginning I melted every time he was in a scene and gahh, fangirl feels. He was really loyal, even when Ruby did something wrong, but there were quite a few times when he and Ruby were at odds, and Liam soon took matters into his own hands. I guess his plans proved to be successful, but still. He was quite careless at times, which made me groan. Like, why, Liam? Why?

Like when Liam contacted Amplify? That’s when I got scared about the love triangle thing, because Ruby was just as pissed about that as Cole was.

Learning about Liam’s family history was really upsetting. And the memory Ruby saw of how Liam had gotten the scar on his lip… ack. Ugh. Feels. Cole had actually told Liam that he’d gotten it when he pushed Liam off his bed, but Ruby knew the truth.

Cole lying to Liam about how he obtained the scar is just another clue that made me feel like he was really trying to protect his brother and that he loved him. I wish that they’d talked more. If there’s one thing I wish was included in this book, it’s that I wanted Cole and Liam to have a heart-to-heart and try to understand each other.

Liam was getting frustrated with Ruby when he figured out that she was keeping secrets… and Ruby was very surprised when she found out that he too was keeping secrets. Sometimes I feel like Ruby kind of took him for granted, but I know she loves him.

Vida: Vida was awesome. Just plain awesome. I loved her sense of humor, and she lightened the mood at times. I totally shipped Chida, and it was SO ADORABLE when she got Chubs his new glasses 😀

I was really sad when Vida thought Ruby never cared about her and Jude, but I’m glad they talked it out, and Vida just kind of broke down, but Ruby protected her and shielded Vida from anyone seeing. I love how Vida and Ruby’s friendship grew, because in the beginning, they weren’t friends at all.

I also loved Vida and Zu’s relationship. After they got over their rocky beginnings, Vida was so supportive of Zu. And I loved that scene with Vida and Zu and she was dying her hair and put a streak of color in Zu’s hair ^-^

I’d really wanted to see Vida and Chubs’ first kiss, so it was a bit disappointing when we didn’t. But I’m still really happy that they got together in the end. They’re so different, but like I said, the contrast between these characters just works perfectly.

Chubs: I loved Chubs. I actually wasn’t scared that he was going to die, but now that I think of it, I TOTALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN SCARED. He made every scene perfection.

When Chubsie got into all the politics and stuff… That was awesome. I’m glad that he protested when they were told that people who didn’t agree to have the cure had to live in special communities.

Zu: I’m so incredibly happy that Zu came back into the series. I was really worried about her, and her reunion with the gang was pure awesomeness. WHEN SHE SPOKE, THOUGH. WHAAAT? Dude, I was flipping out! Ruby and Liam and Chubs were flipping out. And Vida was being all supportive and Chubsie cried and it was so sweet 😀

Jude: Although Jude died in Never Fade, he was mentioned quite a lot, which I was so happy about. I’m glad he wasn’t just shoved to the side after his death. People were so torn up about him. Jude was… Jude. He was such a good person and, why do the good people always have bad things happen to them?! I’m happy they held onto his memory. (I’m getting all emotional here… just wait till you read the next paragraph!)

Nico: I really liked Nico, and I was glad that he and Ruby were friends in the end.  I have to admit, though… this Nico was very similar to the PJO Nico.  It actually didn’t bother me, though.  I’m also incredibly happy that he didn’t die, and I’m glad that he proved himself.

Cole: Something about Cole made me suspicious in the beginning, like he had ulterior motives or something. But in the end… no. No, it was nothing like that.

Cole really grew on me in this book. I really loved his character, and I loved how he and Ruby just clicked so easily. They understood each other. They knew what it was like to be the dangerous ones. She was an Orange. But Cole was a Red. And the reds got a lot of heat (no pun intended).

I was really scared when Cole was starting to bring Clancy his meals personally, and I was like, “Oh my god, he’s totally going to take over Cole’s mind and make him do something to Ruby or Liam.” But in the end, the only friggin mind Clancy entered was the ONE PERSON WE ALL THOUGHT COULD WARD HIM OFF.

Yeah. Ruby. Granted, it wasn’t her fault, since she couldn’t sense him while asleep, but while Cole brought Clancy his food, they were getting all buddy buddy and strategizing… and Clancy sneakily put the idea in Cole’s mind that there were more Reds like him.

And when Cole has his mind set on something, you know he won’t turn back. God, stupid Clancy. Stupid, stupid everyone, for trusting Cole. In the end he did no good! He wasn’t at all helpful!

Basically, with that idea in Cole’s head… Clancy pretty much sent Cole to his death without lifting a finger. All he had to do was get Ruby to send those god-awful messages to warn the camp to be on the lookout.

Cole and Liam weren’t supposed to go inside… but they did because of stupid Clancy. And when they went inside…

…Cole died. Liam survived. And they were at each other’s throats for the entire time. That’s what kills me. That made his death even more upsetting. I honestly couldn’t sleep for hours after reading that (true fangirl, here XD). He died fighting. I’m glad that Ruby held onto him at the end, that she insisted on walking out of Thurmond.

After Cole, though, I wasn’t sure if a romantic relationship between him and Ruby was being implied. I’m a bit curious. I’m not sure how I’d feel about it, though.

Cole’s death was a hard blow, and Bracken definitely hasn’t played it safe with playing with these characters’ lives in these books. Part of me is happy that she’s so daring and risky, but the other part is like, “…that’s okay… I mean, it’s not like I needed my heart or anything…”

The Final Battle: I was really happy with how the “final battle” happened, even though it felt like we didn’t exactly witness much of it. The buildup was great, and I loved how all of the freed children were reunited with their parents. I liked how the army stepped down. Everything was brilliant.

General Thoughts: Alexandra Bracken has a way with words. The way she describes things is so perfect. I’d give an example (I think I have in a previous review), but unfortunately I didn’t write down any. I felt like I was standing right there, though.

One complaint, and this is a pretty minor one: I seemed to have trouble understanding a few descriptions of what was happening. The way Bracken words the occurrences was magnificent, but sometimes I felt a bit lost, and I think this happened occasionally throughout the series. It’s all good, though.

Of course, the book was very actiony and heart wrenching, and it pretty much killed me.

The End: I felt so happy that the books started with Ruby at Thurmond, and they ended with Ruby at Thurmond. I liked that she saw Jude’s version of their future. Hit me in the feels. The end of this book was extremely satisfying. I just wish Cole had been there to see the progress their country was making, but I’m glad he was part of the battle.

---

Recap: I said in a previous book review that the last book in a series will always be hit or miss. And this was definitely hit. It punched me in the feels so many times, and I don’t know when I’ll recover. Alexandra Bracken is so talented, and she made this series such a satisfying experience. I loved these books so much, and I need to buy a copy of Never Fade pronto. I’m so sad to see this series end, and I was a bit late on the bandwagon (as usual), but it was so worth it.

This book is 5/5 stars, just like its predecessors, and this series as a whole deserves a 5/5 stars. These were such amazing books. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t read them before I did.

Thank you, Alexandra Bracken, for this emotional, thrilling, amazing journey you’ve sent us on. Thank you for sharing your characters and stories with us. I’m so excited to see what else you have planned, and until then, I’m going to have to read the novellas!

“The Darkest Minds Never Fade In The Afterlight.”

“I have fought
And with flesh and blood, I commanded an army
Through it all
I have given my heart for a moment of glory.” -Black Veil Brides, “In The End”

“Hey, little train, wait for me!
I was held in chains, but now I’m free
I’m hanging in there, don’t you see
In this process of elimination.” -Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, “O Children”

“They’d never fade, not even in the afterlight of all of this.” -p. 199

 “I hope that when you have the chance to crack your world open wide with new possibilities, to meet new people, and to take a turn down an unexpected, new road, you do just one thing: carpe the hell out of that diem.” -Alexandra Bracken, In The Afterlight, Acknowledgements

Book Review: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Title: The Blood of Olympus

Series: The Heroes of Olympus, #5

Author: Rick Riordan

Summary: Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they’re stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it “might” be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea’s army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over. -Goodreads

Review:

*Non-Spoilery Section

Today I am here with my review of The Blood of Olympus, the fifth and final book in the Heroes of Olympus series, by Rick Riordan.  We’ve been waiting for this book for a long time, guys, and it was so exciting to finally be able to have it and read it.  And despite my enjoyment of the book, I have very conflicted feelings about it, especially taking a day after I finished it to reflect on it when I wasn’t as emotional.

I feel like it’s very difficult to write a phenomenal series finale.  Suzanne Collins couldn’t do it.  Veronica Roth couldn’t do it.  And, sadly, despite loving his other finales, Rick just didn’t satisfy me with this book.  I didn’t get enough time with some of my favorite characters, and I feel like the book was focused too much on characters I wasn’t fond of.  Reading the dust jacket, I had an idea of whose POVs we’d be getting in this book, but it wasn’t enough.  I remember continuously flipping back to the summary flap to reread it, just to make sure I wasn’t missing any characters, but no.

I did love the character growth in all of the characters that were focused on.  I have to say, though, I can’t really connect with Piper.  We got a little more insight on Jason, Reyna, and Nico, though, which was fantastic.  I really love Nico, but thinking about him now makes me want to change a past statement of mine about him (see spoilery section).

To wrap up this non-spoilery section, The Blood of Olympus had a lot of potential.  There were so many storylines that were explored throughout this series, but Rick left us with a lot of loose ends.  I felt like there was no closure.  I’m hoping that was intentional, because I hate being disappointed at this book.  I hope Rick is going somewhere with this ending, possibly in his upcoming Norse mythology series.

Nevertheless, thank you for a fantastic journey.  I won’t forget it.

*Warning: Spoilery section!

I didn’t take notes while reading this because I just wanted to enjoy the book.  I’m hoping I remember everything I wanted to remember, though.

As stated above, I was a little disappointed with how things turned out.  Let’s talk about some of those things first, just to get them out of the way.

POVs: I think this is probably one of the things people were the most disappointed with.  In The Blood of Olympus, our last journey with these lovely characters, we got to see through the eyes of Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, and Nico.  The reason why people have been so disappointed with this character selection was the lack of Percy, and even Annabeth.  We didn’t get any chapters with these characters, and while I understand why Rick finished off the series with these characters (especially Jason, Piper, and Leo), I still feel that we should have gotten at least one chapter with Percy and Annabeth.

I feel like Jason, Reyna, and Nico grew in this book.  We really got to go in depth and see everything that was going on with them.  Leo and Piper didn’t seem to get much character development in this book, though.

Jason: I know a lot of people aren’t Jason’s biggest fan, but I think he was pretty good in this book.  I really grew to like him a lot more in this book.  At first, I thought Rick was doing that intentionally, making everyone become more partial to all the characters to suddenly kill them out of nowhere.  But that wasn’t the case.  Jason definitely had some good moments, and though I like him more than I did in the rest of the series, he’s still not a favorite.

There was something in Jason’s POV that had bothered me.  It was when he was thinking about how he used to try to change his fate, like by befriending the least-popular kids at Camp Jupiter.

Whoa, whoa, whoa—hold the phone.  Those sound like selfish reasons to make friends.  I really didn’t like that.

Piper: Ah, Piper.  I really can’t relate to her at all.  Just thinking back on her character, I draw a blank.  I know I definitely liked her a bit better in this book, I just don’t know why.  Maybe because it’s the end of these books, and I was sad.

Leo: I feel like there were too few Leo chapters, and he was very different in this book, it seemed.  The characters have gone through so much, but Leo was startlingly different, and we didn’t get much time with him, or so it felt.  I also felt that Calypso wasn’t a big part of this book (literally—we only saw her in the last few pages of the book, which I now understand, since she didn’t have a POV).

I knew he wasn’t dead, especially since the hints being dropped toward his “death” were so apparent.  I was really confused by his plan, too.  I knew he wouldn’t be dead, even though it was stated he was dead, and it wasn’t a big shocker when our last chapter was a Leo chapter, especially with Nico saying, “His death felt different than others.”  If we were going for shock with that last chapter, it most definitely could have been executed better.  I did cry, though, but I knew Leo wasn’t really dead.

But what really got me was that ending.  As stated above, I felt no closure with The Blood of Olympus.  In the end, Leo found Calypso, but… they didn’t go back to Camp!  Or, it’s not something that was shown.  How could you leave us with such an open ending?!  They just ride off into the distance?!  NO!  And what’s worse is that nobody really knows that Leo’s alive.  They want to believe he’s alive, but they don’t really know it.

Reyna: Reyna was truly amazing.  I love how she was portrayed in this book.  She’s such a strong character who’s been through so much but still came out okay.  I really liked her group, with Nico and Hedge.  That was definitely an unlikely bunch, but I feel like they each contributed so much in getting the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood safely.  Reyna was a brave hero.

Nico: Nico, Nico, Nico.  I feel like I’m saying this about all the characters, but it’s justified: He’s been through a lot.  He had a lot on his shoulders.   I love his newfound friendship with Reyna, and how they were able to relate a bit.  I loved their bond, how Reyna was constantly lending him her strength and energy.  I feel like Nico grew a lot, and I’m really happy that he decided to stay at Camp Half-Blood.

Finding out that Nico was gay was rushed, thinking back on it.  It was too sudden, but I guess I’ll have to go back and read PJO again before I can state an opinion.  I shipped Will Solace and Nico after I finished the book, because my feels were hurting, but after thinking it over, I would be happy if they had a friendship.  When I read the book at first, I hadn’t realized that a romantic relationship between the two had been alluded to, but after someone told me about it, I kind of liked the idea.

Now, I just want Nico to find some friends, and he did.  He has Reyna and Coach and now Will, and I’m sure he’s going to find a lot more.

I really loved how Nico told Percy about his crush, and I think Annabeth was amused by Percy’s reaction.  I mean, he was so oblivious and confused, and Nico was like, “I mean, you’re cute and all, but you’re not my type.”

And Percy was like, “I’m not you’re type?”  Gold, guys.

Other Characters: There are a few other characters whose eyes we didn’t get to see through: Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, and Frank.  Though I’ve never been too big on Hazel and Frank, I do want to discuss Percy and Annabeth.

Percy and Annabeth: With each book in this series were different central characters.  In this book, they were the characters listed above.  Yes, Percy and Annabeth did have their own places in the series, but with everything that happened in The House of Hades, you’d think we’d get to see what was going on with these two.  I mean, everything they went through opened doors to some major character development for the two!  They literally went through hell and back.  Did they suffer any PTSD?  I feel like that was hinted at a bit, but I wish Rich had explored this.

► Percy: The ending with Percy really bugged me.  I get that he wasn’t a big character in this book, but you’d think he’d visit his mom after all this, or at least mention in passing that he’d just been to see his mom.  I wanted a Sally reunion, I wanted a Grover reunion, a Chiron reunion.  Maybe even a Clarisse reunion!

► Annabeth: I had no idea that Annabeth and Piper had been so close.  I don’t remember that in the previous books, but maybe that was a thing.  That scene with Annabeth and Piper down in that hole-maze place, though, kind of showed Annabeth’s fear.  I feel like, after Tartarus, she was more prone to flashbacks during her time there during a battle, and that kind of happened down in that hole place (I can’t remember the details).  And then there was that whole Annabeth being the “logical” fighter/strategist and Piper being the “emotional” fighter/strategist.  I thought it was nonsense.  I didn’t like that whole Piper thing, but I did like hers and Annabeth’s friendship.

Another thing I wanted to bring up was Magnus Chase, who people are speculating is Annabeth’s cousin, who she mentioned in the book.  She said she had an uncle in Boston, but there was a rivalry between the uncle and her father.  I’m pretty sure the Norse books are based in Massachusetts, so there’s some clever foreshadowing there, which totally flew over my head until I read some speculation.  Does this mean maybe a little more Percabeth in later books…?  I’m very excited to know what’s going on here!

► Frank: I really expected something to go down with his firewood.  I expected something, anything, but I feel like he wasn’t even a big part of this book!  I mean, he went through this whole transformation (I feel like it was mostly physical to make him more attractive), and yet… nothing.  He understands himself now, and what he’s capable of, which is awesome, but I feel like he didn’t develop enough emotionally.

Though I didn’t want any characters to die (and I had a feeling no one would), we were told that someone would.  Leo’s death didn’t even count, because he was resurrected.  Ugh, I don’t know.  I don’t know how I felt about that.  (Spoilers for City of Heavenly Fire: I feel like the whole book was very reminiscent to City of Heavenly Fire.  It was a good read, interesting and all, but in the end, no one extremely important died.  End of spoilers.)

The Final Battle: I feel like the final battle was a bit anticlimactic.  Gaea’s rise wasn’t all too impressive, and throughout the whole book, Leo and his plan was pushed a little too hard.  That bugged me a lot.  And, like I said, there were no deaths.  I’m glad none of our favorite characters died, but this was really misleading.  I had no idea all it took was blood from a cut on Annabeth’s thigh and a nosebleed from Percy to awaken Gaea.  THAT WAS VERY ANTICLIMACTIC.  A NOSEBLEED?! 

The Second-To-Last Battle: I really liked how all the demigods paired up with their godly parents while fighting those giants.  Percy with Poseidon, Annabeth with Athena, Zeus with Jason, Frank with an overenthusiastic Ares, Leo and Hephaestus, Piper and Aphrodite.  Hades wasn’t present, but he was helping Hazel from the Underworld.

The thing is… Did Athena ever acknowledge what Annabeth achieved?  What she went through?  I didn’t really care about Zeus and Jason’s interaction, what about Athena and Annabeth?

The End: I knew that there wouldn’t be an epilogue a long time ago, due to Rick Riordan’s Twitter, and I was cool with that.  But, since that ending, I wish there had been an epilogue.  I didn’t even have to be something that far into the future!  Just something to let us know that Leo was reunited with his friends.  They could have had a picnic at the park or something stupid like that, but it would have meant a lot and would have made the book ten times better.

---

Recap: The last book in a series is always going to be hit or miss.  I feel like The Blood of Olympus was somewhere in the middle.  There were some things I liked about it, like Reyna, Nico, and Hedge, and the familiar humor, but there were things that bothered me.

I really loved that some of the characters got some development.  We didn’t really get to see much of other characters (who were more like side characters), so I can’t really say if they had a significant amount of development.

I really expected more of Frank, Percy, and Annabeth.  Rick could have gone deeper into Percabeth’s experiences in Tartarus, and the aftermath and how those experiences changed them.

This book didn’t knock me off my feet.  The Last Olympian was fantastic, from what I remember.  But this… it kind of fell flat.  I think that, with a series you really love, you have to give it time before you form opinions, because you’ll be too emotional to say you didn’t like some parts.  That’s what happened with me.

The Blood of Olympus was an enjoyable read.  It wasn’t my favorite in the series.  When I first finished it, I gave it a 5/5, but I feel like I have to bring this book down a star.  It makes me really sad to do that, because I love these books.

So, 4/5 stars for this book!  I had a fantastic time reading it, regardless.  I loved all the hype surrounding the book, and I’m so glad I got to be apart of the hype.  I started the Percy Jackson books when I was ten, and now it’s all over.

I’m really looking forward to the Norse books, though.  Bring it on!

 

Book Review: yolo by Lauren Myracle

Title: yolo

Series: Internet Girls, #4

Author: Lauren Myracle

Summary: Through texts and messages, the mega-bestselling, beloved Internet Girls series followed the ups and downs of school for three very different, very close friends. Now it’s freshman year of college for the winsome threesome, and *everything* is different. For one, the best friends are facing their first semester apart. Way, way apart. Maddie’s in California, Zoe’s in Ohio, and Angela’s back in Georgia. And it’s not just the girls who are separated. Zoe’s worried that Doug wants to break up now that they’re at different schools, and Maddie’s boyfriend, Ian, is on the other side of the country. In the face of change and diverging paths, Maddie’s got a plan to keep the friends close, and it involves embracing the present, making memories, and . . . roller derby! Using of-the-moment technology, Lauren Myracle brings her groundbreaking series into the brave new virtual world of texting and tweets. -Goodreads

Review:

**No spoilers!

I was really excited about this book’s release, and when I finally got it, I was so happy!  And yolo definitely did not disappoint.  I loved being submerged into these characters’ lives again, even though they’re off at college.  I was so happy that this book was a much better experience than the last Lauren Myracle book I read.  I had a feeling yolo would be good, just because I knew the series.  However, I did fear that this book was just thrown together for the heck of it.  It didn’t have that feel, though, so I was glad.

So Maddie, Angela, and Zoe are off to separate colleges in different states, but they still manage to keep up with each other on a regular basis.  Maddie and Angela are my favorite characters in this story.  Zoe on the other hand… meh.  She’s a very needy person, especially with her boyfriend, and she acknowledges it several times throughout ttfn; l8r, g8r; and yolo (haven’t read the first one yet :O Will get on it soon…).  But I feel like Zoe’s character went through a lot of development in this installment, which I was so happy for.  She also branched out and made some new friends at college, which I didn’t expect her to do.  I’m proud of her. 😀

I really love Maddie.  I don’t want to go into too much detail about her, but she’s a pretty complex character, and I’d really love to see a book in her POV, because she seems like an interesting person to read about.  And if Lauren Myracle doesn’t have plans on doing something like this any time soon, someone write me a fanfiction! XD

I also like Angela, though she was a bit more wild in this book.  Then again, she and Maddie have always been the “wild” ones.  Zoe also kept an open mind (which she usually doesn’t), and I really liked her character development.  She’s still not one of my favorites, but she’s getting there. *thumbs up*

I like the ten year anniversary covers for these books, but I think I liked the old covers better:

I really like the look of this cover.  It’s pretty simple, plus it kind of shows you where we were in technology back then (ttyl was published in 2004).  The emoticons are pretty pixilated, which I thought was cool.  The new covers are nice, but I feel like they lost their quirkiness.

Actually, technology was one of my biggest worries for yolo.  Let me explain.

When I read a book, I like to assume that it’s based in the year it was published in, unless otherwise stated.  I’d actually feel more comfortable if all books had a little note from the author that explained what year the book was set in, but since not all books do that, I like to make my own assumptions.

So, for ttyl, it was published in 2004.  So, I assume that our three main protagonists were in their sophomore year in high school in 2004, too.  The next book, ttfn, was published in 2006, which kind of complicated things for my mind, since we skipped a year, but that’s when the trio were in their junior year of high school.  And the third book, l8r, g8r, was published in 2007, which was their senior year.  So let’s say Maddie, Angela, and Zoe graduated high school in 2007.  Right after high school, they had their summer break, and then they went to college.  So, let’s assume that’s September of 2007.

I was hoping that yolo would stick with the technology of the time, rather than use today’s technology, but that didn’t happen, which was disappointing.  Maybe you’re thinking, “Who cares?”  I don’t even know if the last couple paragraphs made any sense, but it would have been a nice touch if it Lauren Myracle had stuck to the older technology rather than incorporate newer technology.  Nevertheless, it was still good.  Just something I was hoping for.

Anyway, this book really was fantastic!  5/5 stars, and I’m looking forward to more Lauren Myracle.  Perhaps a continuation of The Winnie Years is underway…? 😀 If so, let me get my money!!!

 

Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Eleanor & Park

Series: Standalone

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Summary: Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor… Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough…Eleanor.

Park… He knows she’ll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There’s a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises…Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. -Goodreads

Review:

**Spoiler free!

*Deep breaths*

What just happened?  Like… what just happened?

Eleanor & Park is the second book by Rainbow Rowell that I’ve read.  I first read Fangirl and thought it was amazing.  But Fangirl was a much lighter read than Eleanor & Park, so if you were looking for a cutesy contemporary, this probably isn’t the right choice.  There’s so much stuff that happens in this book, I just need to unleash the feels on all of you.

I started E&P yesterday after eight hours of studying.  But when I picked it up, it was un-put-downable.  Seriously.  And every time I put it down, I would think to myself, “Man, I really wish I could read Eleanor & Park right now.”  That’s when you know you’re reading a great book.

The book was told in both Eleanor’s and Park’s points of views.  They were both told in third person, which kept you slightly detached from the character, but that actually seemed to work with this book.  The way it was written made you feel like you were in the characters’ minds, even if it was written in third person.  The writing was also really choppy, which also worked for this particular story.  The writing style was more than simplistic (as Rowell was writing from the minds of two teenagers XD), but she wasn’t trying to be overly poetic.  It wasn’t poetic.  It wasn’t philosophical.

My favorite POV to read in was Eleanor’s.  She just had so much going on and it was heartbreaking the situation she was in.  But this is the kind of main character I love.  Different.  Quirky.  Not average.  Imperfect.  She was a fabulous main character.  She actually reminded me of Danielle Levine, the main character from OCD, The Dude, and Me (which I FINALLY got today!!!).

Don’t get me wrong, Park was great, too, and I really loved his family.  Park also wasn’t super perfect, or super muscly.  He was unique, too.  These characters are all so unique.  And despite Park’s family problems, they were still tightly-knit.

Eleanor & Park is set in the 80s, which was one of my favorite parts of the book.  They had so many discussions about music, and there was one point when Eleanor was describing a song, and it was great for me because I actually knew exactly what she was talking about!  There were records and mixtapes and MTV and music and it was fan-freaking-tastic. 

I was on the edge of my seat while reading this so many times.  There was a plot twist that I had kind of assumed, but I hadn’t really expected my prediction to be correct (it had been -.-).  I finished the book in about a day, which shows just how much I enjoyed the book.  I never finish books in one day.

I feel like the quote, “We accept the love we think we deserve” (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) fits perfectly with Eleanor’s mindset.

Rainbow Rowell is one of those authors who’s been getting a lot of attention lately.  You all know my thoughts on hype, but after giving Fangirl a try (and thoroughly loving it), I was more open to reading more of her books.  And so far, I haven’t been disappointed.  She absolutely deserves the hype she’s been receiving.

5/5 stars, and I can’t wait to read more Rainbow Rowell!

“I am the son and the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and heir
Of nothing in particular…” -The Smiths

“Love, love will tear us apart again.” -Joy Division

Book Review: Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Opposition

Series: Lux, #5

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary: Katy knows the world changed the night the Luxen came.

She can’t believe Daemon welcomed his race or stood by as his kind threatened to obliterate every last human and hybrid on Earth. But the lines between good and bad have blurred, and love has become an emotion that could destroy her—could destroy them all.

Daemon will do anything to save those he loves, even if it means betrayal.

They must team with an unlikely enemy if there is any chance of surviving the invasion. But when it quickly becomes impossible to tell friend from foe, and the world is crumbling around them, they may lose everything— even what they cherish most—to ensure the survival of their friends…and mankind.

War has come to Earth. And no matter the outcome, the future will never be the same for those left standing. -Goodreads

Review

**Warning: This rambling review will contain spoilers.  It may also be jumbled, because I literally just finished the book.  Mah feelz, man.**

I knew I would love this series when I read the first book, Obsidian.  I read the book in about a day, as it was during a time when my internet access was very limited.  But, man, that was a good book.  And so were the books that came to follow.

I’ve been waiting for Opposition for a pretty long time.  I was lucky enough to read the series when the first four books had been released, but I’ve been waiting since February for Opposition.  That’s a long wait for a Jennifer L. Armentrout book.

Finding the book early, though?  That just made me so freaking happy.  So happy.  Let’s just cut to the chase, though.  This’ll be a gif-y review, which I haven’t done in a while…

Before I started reading the book, I decided to read the last chapter of Origin to refresh my memory on what had happened.  And oh boy, was it chaos.

We were reminded of the deaths from the previous book, which was pretty hard to think about.  We lost quite a few great characters.  Gahh.

Beth reminded me of Bella from Breaking Dawn, all pregnant and scary.  If you’ve read (or seen) Breaking Dawn, you know what I’m talking about.  You know.  That can’t go unseen.  *shudder*  Actually, I think JLA might have made a Breaking Dawn reference on page 345, which is toward the end of the book.  I’m not sure, though, so check it out, and let me know.  Beth and Dawson named their child after Ash, which was just incredible.  I loved that.  She kind of had Renesme qualities, so maybe it had been a BD reference.

Is it bad that I was kind of shipping Archer and Katy for a second?  Don’t answer that, I know it was bad.  I love Daemon, don’t get me wrong, but Archer and Katy are so freaking hilarious.

This is probably literally the only thing that annoys me about Armentrout’s writing: the constant description about how someone’s eyelashes lowered or lifted, rather than saying, “she looked up at me,” she would say, “her thick lashes lifted.”  And that’s cool, nothing wrong with that.  Unless you’re using the lashes thing throughout the entire series.

“Leighton’s thick lashes rolled…” I can’t even. xD

Something similar went on every time there was a description of Daemon smirking or something.  “The corner of his lips kicked up,” or something similar to that description.

Okay, when Katy found Dawson, thinking he was Daemon, and then he attacked her, I was like, “OMG, WHAT’S GOING ON, WHAT DID HE DO TO HER, IS SHE DEAD?”

That last one was illogical, but this is why I needed to reread a bit of Origin, because I’d kind of forgotten some details.

I knew I didn’t like Sadi the sadist, and Rolland the moment we met them.  Especially when Sadi was all over Daemon.

When Daemon found Katy for the first time since leaving her… THE FEELS.  And he was healing her and everything.  *dreamy sigh*

KATY IS THE QUEEN OF COMEBACKS, I SWEAR, I WISH I HAD HER MOUTH.

I couldn’t believe what had happened to Dee.  She was, like, taunting Katy about Sadi the sadist and Daemon, and I was like, “Nooo, what happened?!”  But, when Katy and Dee were full on having a girl-fight, and Katy kept trying to talk to Dee (she made Harry Potter references, too—”Jesus.  It’s like I’m a muggle to your pure-blood or something.”) and Dee snapped out of her evil trance, it was just so… so heartbreaking because of the way Dee felt, but Katy was such an amazing friend to put her life at risk so Daemon didn’t have to hurt his own sister, and so she could hopefully remind Dee of who she was.  Amazing.  (You can find this scene on pages 260-261.)

And when Katy called out to Daemon in the meeting room… and he ignored her.  Like, no.  Just—no.

So when Sadi the sadist had her hands all over Daemon, Katy was like, “Get your hands off him,” even though Daemon had “rejected” her seconds before.  Okay, that was really heartbreaking, I don’t know about you…

I was so shocked when we found out that Sadi the sadist was an origin.  Like, what?

Okay, so when Katy was in the limo with Sadi and Rolland, and she realized that her thoughts were being read… the twerking thing… I DIED. XD

When Luc (he was one of my favorite characters) said Nancy Husher had to tell Daemon and Katy something, I thought it was going to be that Katy might be pregnant, because there had been some speculation about that, especially since we found out that Beth was pregnant.  But it turned out that instead of Katy dying when Daemon died (or vice versa), I think it was that even if one of them died, the other would still live.  I’m not sure if I got that right though, as there were a few moments during the book when I was a bit confused.

I loved the squabbling that went on between Daemon and Archer.  Daemon was obviously jealous of Archer (though he’d be jealous if Katy hugged a tree—’cause he’s needy like that. xD), but their conversations were so hilarious.  They argued about The Walking Dead and all sorts of random stuff, and I loved it.  Even Katy said Daemon and Archer had a bromance that would end all bromances (p. 269)!  It totally lightened the mood of the book, despite the fact that their situation was grave.  The book actually kind of reminded me of Angelfall, though Opposition isn’t futuristic.  Throughout the book, it feels apocalyptic, but in the end, the conclusion I came to was that it wasn’t apocalyptic.  It was like… the anti-apocalypse.

**Spoilers for The Syrena Legacy by Anna Banks… and a rant alert should be inserted here…*

“If we really are safe here, you’d leave this to go into a nest of vipers to get my sister out?”

“Do you really have to ask that question?  You know I would.”

Daemon walked to where I sat.  “I wouldn’t want you to put yourself in danger.”

“I’m sure as hell not staying behind if you run off to go find her.”

One side of his lips kicked up, and it was amazing how a simple half smile could twist my insides.  “I didn’t think you would, and I wouldn’t leave you here.  Where I go, you go, and vice versa.  You’re not getting rid of me for any length of time that easily.”

“Glad we actually agree on that.”  Not too long ago, Daemon would’ve tried to shelter me, but I think he’d learned that didn’t work out very well. -p. 141-142, Katy’s POV

In my review of Of Neptune, I talked about how I didn’t like the relationship between the main characters Emma and Galen.  There are some similarities between that relationship and Katy and Daemon’s.  The girls are very sassy (though I think Katy’s sassier), sarcastic, don’t take crap, etc.  The guys are more on the possessive side.  There are even some similarities about the characters in general: Emma and Katy both lost their fathers, Galen and Daemon are apart of entirely different races (to put it simply, fish and alien, respectively), and in the end, there’s a bit of hesitation about whose side they should stand on when the war comes along: their own people’s, or beside the girl they love.

Both Emma and Katy believe themselves to be “rare.”  They’re not totally a different species, but they’re not entirely human, either.  They both think they’re one of the few people like them, when in reality, there are a lot more than they think.

The difference between the romantic relationships of Emma and Galen and Katy and Daemon is that Galen saw and treated Emma like a “damsel in distress,” like she couldn’t take care of herself.  This went on throughout the series.

Daemon did this, too, but he backed off tremendously as the series progressed.  There are several times when Katy is fighting and Daemon stands back (or is doing his thing while fighting) in awe, Daemon is impressed, he recognizes that Katy is fully capable of doing a lot.

I appreciate that.

“You’re not weak, Kitten.  You’ve never been weak, before or after the mutation.“ -p. 143

**End of spoilers for The Syrena Legacy**

LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT WHOLE SCENE WITH THE ARUM.  THAT WAS FREAKING AWFUL.

Katy, Daemon, and Archer sought help to defeat the Luxen from the Arum leader, Lotho.  He agreed to help, if he could feed on Katy.  This is when Daemon got super possessive, and Katy wouldn’t have it.  She wanted to save the world, and she was going to do nearly everything it took to get the Arums’ help.

So she was going to let Lotho feed on her.  In the end, he didn’t actually do it, because apparently, he only feeds on Luxen, and Katy was just a hybrid.  BUT THEN HE KISSED HER, AND I WAS LIKE, WHAT?

??

???

And then Katy was Fifty Shades of Freaking Disturbed.

And then literally right after that, they find out that Nancy went missing.  UGH, WHEN DOES IT END?!  But, in the end, Nancy was killed, THANK THE GODS… (**Spoilers for Allegiant by Veronica Roth**) but she did manage to get a shot a Daemon with a gun, and after Allegiant, when a main character gets shot, I FREAKING WORRY, MAN.  But Daemon was okay, and I was okay, and everyone was okay. (**End of Allegiant spoilers**)

When Katy and Daemon went back to Katy’s house, and she saw the Amazon boxes with books… that hurt.  But the mom thing… gods, that was just awful.  So much emotion in the characters in this story.  I was already sad when she was reunited with her mom, but then to find out she’d been assimilated… Geez, I hadn’t seen that coming.  I mean, I had the awful feeling that her mom was going to die, which did, in fact, happen, but I didn’t actually think it would happen.  It had been a passing thought in my mind, and for the first time, my assumption for a book was right.  Kat had a total breakdown, and I just had to read it several times to let it sink in.

I felt like the final battle was a bit rushed… though that may have been because I stopped reading the book literally just before the battle began.  I didn’t pick up the book for a few days because I didn’t want these books to end.  We do get an epilogue, though, which was amazingderful and bittersweet and just—gah, so good.

In the end, Katy re-launched her book blog, which meant so much to her, just like my blog means a lot to me.  I feel like a lot of bloggers can relate to this (especially if you’re a book blogger).  I just love Katy’s character.  She is like, the character for us book bloggers.  Fantastic.  Just awesome. 😀  I was very happy.

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This book gets 5/5 stars, and I knew it would be awesome.  It’s been ten days since it was released, though I was able to get it three days early.  This series has been an amazing journey, and I wish I’d picked it up sooner, but I always seem to be late on the really good series bandwagon (Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, all that good stuff).  I’m just so glad to have read it and been part of the excitement.

I’ve not read the prequel novella yet, though it’s included in the back of my copy of Opposition.  I think I just need some time to think.  I need a cutsey contemporary (and Isla was released yesterday, so yay!  Definitely getting my copy this Saturday!!) to read just to calm the feels.

I’m also sorry if this review was all mixed up and confusing.  At one point, I had so much on my mind about this book, that I just started taking notes on my laptop in a WordPress post, which is this review.  I figured, just type out what you want to say.  It’ll take less time than writing it out with a pen.

This isn’t really a review, but it’s more of a way for me to release my feels, which is why it’s so long.  Thank you for sticking around to read this, though, if you’ve come this far (if you skimmed, that’s cool too XD).  Link me to your reviews of this book, because I want to know your thoughts!

Started series: November 16, 2013
Ended series: August 15, 2014

It’s been a long ride.

My Other Lux Reviews:

Obsidian (Lux, #1)
Onyx (Lux, 2)
Opal (Lux, 3)
Origin (Lux, 4)

P.S., I have a lot of favorite quotes, so I might just do a separate post for that, because my word count is, like… 2309 words, and still counting.  Oookay, then.  Bye, now!

Book Review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Title: Ruby Red

Series: Precious Stone Trilogy, #1

Author: Kerstin Gier

Summary:

Gwyneth Shepherd’s sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon–the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust. -Goodreads

Review

I’m a horrible person.  I know. D:  I haven’t been keeping up with my updates for the Dusting off the Shelf read-a-thon, and I’m SO SORRY!!!  Things have really kicked up into gear, especially with school coming back into session (not looking forward to that, but what can ya do?).  But I have been reading!  And hopefully I’ll get a lot more reading done next week, as I’ll have some more spare time.

But for now, let’s discuss Ruby Red, the first book I chose to read for this read-a-thon.  As I’ve said before, I love books based in England, and I love books about time travel.  However, though the book met the criteria, it fell flat for me.  I wasn’t fond of the characters, nor did I connect with any of them.  It was disappointing, especially since I’d heard such great things about this book.  I purchased it sometime last year, so it definitely qualified for this read-a-thon.

The only character I really liked was Lesley, the main character Gwen’s best friend, and even she was a bit on the annoying side.  It seemed like, despite all of this new information being thrown at the main character, she was really optimistic.  Which isn’t a bad thing.  Gwen expressed her unhappiness with the situation, but she still seemed… not that upset.

It may have been the writing style, which I noticed included a lot of exclamation marks in the narrative, and I’m not used to that.

Aside from all of this, the characters didn’t have a lot of personality, in my opinion.  There were no witty remarks, which I missed.  The book was funny at times, I’ll give it that.

I’m also glad that after Gwen finds out it’s her who’s the time traveler, Lesley wasn’t just left behind.  She didn’t drop her friends and family for this, so point to Gwen.

I was also thinking that if they were to make a movie of this, Maggie Smith should play Lady Arista.  All I could see was Downton Abbey. XD

Toward the end, Gwen began to get on my nerves, but the last 30 pages of the book is when a lot of the excitement happened.  Kinda like Shiver.

Overall, this book was okay.  There were some pros and cons, but I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of this series.  This book wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out.  Tell me what you thought of Ruby Red—did you like it?  Or were your feelings along the same lines of mine?  Let me know!

2/5 stars.

Book Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Title: Frostbite

Series: Vampire Academy, #2

Author: Richelle Mead

Summary: Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks… This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price… -Goodreads

Review:

*This is a non-spoilery review!

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Richelle Mead book. The last book I read by her was The Fiery Heart, and I’ll be reading the next book in that series shortly, as it comes out very soon!

Richelle Mead’s books are always action-packed and full of romance and they’re funny. Frostbite is no exception. There were so many funny moments where I was just dying, and that’s something that I love in a book. Emma over at Books Forget Me Knot actually is the first person who recommended Richelle Mead’s books, quite a while ago. I’m so glad I decided to start them!

It actually took me a really long time to pick up Frostbite, despite owning it for a really long time. I think I read Vampire Academy at the beginning of this year.

Anywho, this book was incredible. I was literally going crazy and fangirling for all of the guys in this book, including Dimitri, which was really weird, because I wasn’t a big fan of Dimitri in the last book. I didn’t have any problems with him, he just wasn’t my cup of tea. But I really liked him in this book, and there were several Rose/Dimitri moments that made me hyperventilate. Heh.

I actually just thought of this now, but it’s kind of cool how the main places we know in this book are in Montana and Idaho. I can’t recall ever reading a book that was based in either of these locations, so it was refreshing.

The characters in these books are gold, man. In the last book, I was really annoyed with Rose because she was, let’s face it, rather full of herself. She seemed to have really matured in this book, though, while still managing to act like a normal teenager (as normal as her life could be, with vampires and all). She has an awesome personality, though, and is super blunt with people, which I also came to like.

My only problem with Rose is that she seemed to catch on to things very slowly. She has so much going on in her mind, but still.

Each character has his or her own distinct personality. I really felt all of the characters grew in this book, and we were even introduced to some new ones, like Tasha, who I really liked 😀

Richelle Mead really knows how to make two characters have chemistry. Like, omg.

(Spoilers: I literally squealed when Adrian finally came into the book XD He was great. I have a feeling it’s going to be very interesting to see how he grows as a character throughout VA, even though I already know how he turns out in Bloodlines—such a sweetie ^-^) End of spoilers.

This book was a perfect mixture of serious non-sparkly vampire politics and normal adolescent behavior that would come from people of Rose’s and her friends’ ages.

I was happy with the way the book ended and I’m so excited to get my hands on the next installment!

5/5 stars

 

Book Review: Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Demonglass

Series: Hex Hall, #2

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Summary: Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (a.k.a. witches, shape-shifters, and faeries). But then she discovered the family secret, and the fact that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world-the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will either destroy her powers for good-or kill her.

But once Sophie arrives, she makes a shocking discovery. Her new housemates? They’re demons too. Meaning, someone is raising demons in secret, with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she? -Goodreads

Review:

Hex Hall was a masterpiece.  ‘Nuff said.

Demonglass was exciting.  It was so thrilling and intriguing.  There were so many turns of events and plot twists that literally had me on the edge of my seat.  You know you’re reading a good book when you have to cover the next page to keep your eyes from jumping ahead.  Because you’re so excited to know what happens.  That’s what Demonglass was like.

In this book, we take a trip away from Hex Hall, Sophie’s school, and go to England, where Sophie plans to go through the Removal (and talks about her daddy issues).  I didn’t really miss any minor characters from the last book.  It’s not that I didn’t like them, it’s just that I was more interested with what was going on with Sophie.

As the summary suggests, we get to see more of Archer, which was fabulous, though there might be another guy I like even better than Archer in this book. :O

I feel like every character had such a distinct personality, and though Sophie has this whole thing going on with Archer, she was kind of the anti-Bella Swan, or anti-any other female protagonist who had the same mindset as Bella.  (Minor spoilers: I also feel like Sophie’s thing with Archer was more… normal than some of the relationships we see in fantasy.  They just seem so dysfunctional, even when you dissect it and take away the fantasy aspect. End of spoilers)

The interesting thing was that some of the cussing was filtered out.  Like, at one point someone was apologizing to Sophie and he said, “Sorry for being a jerk,” and Sophie proceeds to think, He didn’t actually say “jerk,” but another word that was way more accurate.  Now, I’m sure we can all fill in the blanks and figure out what that word was, but I found it interesting.  Not that there wasn’t swearing in this book.  Just that some of it was… left to the imagination XD

The relationship between Archer and Sophie reminded me of the song Bulletproof by La Roux (raise your hand if you remember that song).

I think the only thing that annoyed me about the book (it had more to do with the author’s writing style) is that Hawkins had the tendency to repeat words and phrases.  But other than that, it was awesomesauce 😀

There was a whole bunch of other stuff going on that the summary didn’t even touch on, and Demonglass was a satisfying read.  It was so unique, and I think that’s kind of hard to do in the fantasy genre, to make a book stand out so much.  I definitely wanted more upon finishing the book.  It’s time to hit up the library!

5/5 stars.  Excellent sequel!