Title: Throne of Glass Author: Sarah J. Maas # of Pages: 432 (paperback) Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Assassins Rating: ★★★☆☆ Synopsis:In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.
The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.
Review: Well, that was disappointing. It looks like assassin books aren't really my thing. I found this book very similar to Grave Mercy, which I strongly disliked. However, I would say that this book is a smidge better. Just a smidge.
What really annoyed me was the fact that two guys were swooning over Celanea. Sure, I get it if you become attracted to her slowly, as the book goes along, but an immediate attracting? No. And I couldn't understand how Celanea's personality changed so much from the beginning of the book. At first, she's acting all tough and thinking of all the yways she can kill a person and then a few chapters later she's acting like a normal person. Very strange.
I was a little disappointed of how much romance there was. I wanted the whole killing, assassin package where there's constant killing and stuff. And while, yes, people die and there's plenty of weapon use, it felt like her relationship with her new dude friends was in the forefront.
I strongly dislike how obvious the bad guys were. I thought that there was going to be this major discovery of a traitorous, mastermind who wasn't EVEN a suspect of being a bad guy. But the antagonists were pretty much established in the earlier bit of the book; Cain, the Duke, that lady person, and the king. All bad guys. Plus some.
So, yeah. It wasn't as good as I hoped. If you haven't read this book OR Grave Mercy, but want to read them, I'd recommend reading Throne of Glass. If you really liked this one, then try Grave Mercy. Or vice versa. But I didn't like either book very much.
Title: City of Bones Author: Cassandra Clare # of Pages: 485 (paperback) Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal Rating: ★★★☆☆ Synopsis: When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with odd markings. This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons--and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It's also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....
Review:
ORIGINAL REVIEW - FEB 13, 2013 - 3 Stars
THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING!!! Or at least that's what I thought when this hit me on the head. Literally. From a really highly shelf. I already know this book is going to be a painful read.
[Insert image of cover here]
Alright, maybe the dude isn't COMPLETELY naked, but it's close enough. So, of course, I was interested. But after I stopped seeing stars, I saw a little quote that was *cough*inconveniently*cough* scrawled across the guys chest. "The Mortal Instruments series is a story world that I would love to live in. Beautiful!" -Stephanie Meyers, Author of Twilight. Wait, what? Did I really just seem a quote from Stephanie Meyers on there? ...oh dear, first impressions aren't going very well.
You know the saying; don't judge a book by a cover. So I flip it over. (NOTE: This picture is not mine!)
The summary seemed interesting I suppose. But what caught my eye was the two little quotes at the top. Who the heck is Holly Black and Libba Bray? I guess it doesn't matter that much, but what interested me was the word "sexy" in both of them. Sexy= a LOT of romance. "Why not?" Is what I thought as I walked up to the counter, book in hand. I went home as quickly as possible to read the book.
There must have been a misprint. Where in the world did the "sexy thrill ride" fly away to? Because, last time I checked, one measly kissing scene wasn't my definition of "sexy". Now excuse me as I rant about all of the stuff that I hated about this book.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Clary is a modest, strong main character that all reader can look up to.
...I know, I'm a really bad liar. Let me try this again. Clary is a stuck up little girl with an undesirable attitude and a know-it-all personality. You want proof? Well, if you insist.
""'Clancy keeps out the undesirables,' said Jace, herding her to one of the booths.
'He's a demon,' she hissed."
What makes HER think that she know better than Jace and the other Shadowhunters, who (reality check, Clary) are WAY more experienced? Just because Clary has Shadowhunter blood running through her veins doesn't mean that she's all great and mighty. Did Clare (ha, I just thought of something: did Cassandra Clare name her character after herself? They're names seem suspiciously similar) make Clary like this on purpose? Sure, I can appreciate a girl with attitude, but there are some personality traits that I just can't stand. And Clary has all of them. But what's even more baffling is that the other characters actually LIKED her! There's got to be someone that...strongly dislikes her as I do!
Role models, role models, role models. Tell me wants wrong with this quote:
"'Filters are for cigarettes and coffee...Two things I could use right now...' [said Simon]"
I think Simon said the quote, I can't remember. But that's not the point. This character is, what, sixteen? Seventeen? And he's talking about smoking? Not exactly what I want to see in a character. But I'm really anti-smoking, so that might just be me.
The story line was decent enough, though not exactly original. Sure, there were some unique ideas about the demons and all that, but the vampires and werewolf focus...not so much.
Ah, the stupidity.
"It was a long thin dagger in a leather sheath...'I wouldn't know how to use that-'
[Jace] rested it into her hand... 'You'll learn.' He dropped his voice. 'It's in your blood.'"
You have got to be kidding me. DON'T FRICKING HAND THE GIRL A DAGGER!!! SHE'LL POKE HER EYE OUT!
"The missing stairs baffled Clary. What did vampires have against stairs?"
I really don't think that the vampires got rid of the stairs because they hated them...I hate to be the one to break this to you, but, well, lets just have Simon tell you:
"'You're so stupid, Clary.''"
Couldn't have said it better myself.
And then there's the big reveal of Jace and Clary being siblings. That's just...gross. No. Please no.
Alright, maybe my mini rant was a little "over the top", but I had to get it out of my system. If you haven't read, give it a try. Some like it, some don't. I'll give Clare some credit since the first book is (in my opinion) one of the hardest books to write.
August 19, 2013 REVIEW - 3 Stars
I swore that I rated this book two star the first time I read it. I guess not.
I decided to give this book a second read because a) the movie is coming out the day after tomorrow and b) I thought that I was critiquing this book a little too much in my first review. And here I am! So, I'm going to address each point in my previous review, just to let you know how I feel about them.
Quotes on the back cover by Holly Black and Libba Bray/book's sex appeal
Since the time I first read City of Bones, I've obtained a different copy. This one no longer has the quotes about how "sexy" the book is (and I now know who Holly Black and Libba Bray are. Turns out they're not as unknown as I thought). So this is no longer a problem for me.
2. Clary's stupidity and supporting characters' stupidity
Yes, I still think that Clary is stupid, although not as much as I did the first time. While Cassandra Clare tried (I think) to make Clary courageous and wise, she turned out to be overdramatic and full of herself. Maybe it's just because Clare is still developing the characters. I'm not sure. I'll just have to read the second book to find out.
As far as the supporting character's stupidity, they're actually pretty awesome now. Jace (he still shouldn't have given Clary a dagger when she doesn't have any, Alec (except for the time when he was acting like a jerk. But he apologized for that, so I guess it's okay now), Isabelle, and Simon are loveable, although (spoiler alert!) the fact that they end up being all chummy with Clary at the end bugs me. But, like I said above, maybe Clary's personality will improve by the second book. Now, here's something I don't get; Magnus. Everyone seems to love him, but he's not THAT important in the story. I think he might do something awesome in the other books. Who knows? I don't.
3. Clary and Jace *WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!*
I think that Clare making Jace and Clary siblings was still a big mistake. They had chemistry (if you call one, LITTLE kiss chemistry. I still can't believe they only kissed once!), but now technically they aren't allowed to be together. How wrong is that? I can only hope that their relation to each other will improve in further books.
4. Recommendation/Other
So, since I could remember the book pretty well, I found the reread a little boring. The shock factor was lost on me, and I swore that I gave this book two stars before. I had already decided to give this book three stars when I realized that that was the exact same rating I gave it the first time. I didn't really want to give it four stars, so I just gave it three stars again. But know that it was better the second time than it was the first.
I do recommend it because it's not as poorly written as a lot of books out there. If you're looking for a good read, you might want to try this one. But beware of Clary; she'll either make it or break it for you. She lost the book two stars, after all.
Title:Extras Author: Scott Westerfeld # of Pages: 399 (paperback reprint) Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Synopsis: Extras, the final book in the Uglies series, is set a couple of years after the “mind-rain,” a few earth-shattering months in which the whole world woke up. The cure has spread from city to city, and the pretty regime that kept humanity in a state of bubbleheadedness has ended. Boundless human creativity, new technologies, and old dangers have been unleashed upon the world. Culture is splintering, the cities becoming radically different from each other as each makes its own way into this strange and unpredictable future . . . One of the features of the new world is that everyone has a "feed," which is basically their own blog/myspace/tv channel. The ratings of your feed (combined with how much the city interface overhears people talking about you) determines your social status--so everyone knows at all times how famous they are.
Review: What. The. Heck.
Why is there a frickin' giant eye on this cover? And why does it keep looking at me like that? It's almost like its daring me to give it a bad review. Well, guess what gigantic-eye-surrounded-by-five-tons-of-make-up? I'm giving your book a bad review anyway! [Insert evil laughter]
Prior to reading, I had been looking at a few people's ratings of the book when I came across Marissa Meyer's review. Here's the first line:
Maybe it's the frequent references to anime and Japanese culture.
WHAT?! WHAT?! Did you just say ANIME?!?!? I scroll through the rest of the review.
I would say this was the best book of the Uglies/Pretties/Specials non-trilogy.
Well, duh! Of course it's going to be fantastic if there's going to be ANIME in the book! Eagerly, I snatched my copy of Extras off the shelf and begin reading.
I think you know what happened next.
It's seems that I misinterpreted Marissa Meyer's review. Although there was plenty of references to Japanese culture (the whole book is in a setting based off of Japan. The food the characters eat are like sushi, the language they speak is Japanese, and there is an occasional -chan/-sama/-sensei added to the end of names), there were not that many references to anime/manga.
Every now and then, Westerfeld would mention that some of the characters would have "manga eyes" which are based off of, of course, manga. And that was it. Tada. What a disappointment. So don't start reading this expecting them to talk about Naruto, Fairy Tail, or Bleach like I did.
Since I was in such a rush to read about all the anime/manga references, I didn't realize that this story was just like the title: extra. This story is not about Tally, but about Aya, a whole new character. I think that Westerfeld should have stuck with Tally because Aya is defiantly NOT my favorite person.
She's just a little traitor. I'm so glad that the Sly Girls saw right through her because if they didn't, THEY WOULD BE STUPID! It was VERY obvious that Aya is still a kicker. I'm surprised that the Sly Girls let her kick the story. But all Aya was thinking about was herself. Never mind that her story negatively effected people who considered her a friend.
And, jeez, the constant switching back and forth between "It's a city killer!" and "It's perfectly harmless!" was terrible! It's kind of like Maximum Ride when (spoiler alert!) Patterson kept bringing that guy back to life. Enough is enough.
AND as an added bonus, the ending was BORING! It's not the killer, heart-racing ending I was hoping for. Seriously? No. Just no.
So, my hopes for Specials being build up for an epic ending in this book have been crushed. This book is just a bunch of unnecessary extras. You DO NOT have to read this book!
Title: Trickster's Queen Author: Tamora Pierce # of Pages: 469 (hardback) Genre: YA, Fantasy, Magic Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Synopsis:The stage is set for revolution... Aly: no longer just a master spy, but a master of spies. Can she balance her passion for justice and her compassion for others, and at what cost? Sarai: beautiful, dramatic, and rash - will she fulfill the role chosen for her by destiny? Dove: she has always stood in Sarai's shadow. Can she prove to the world that she herself is a force to be reckoned with? Nawat: half crow, half man. He wants Aly for his life mate, but will the revolution make that impossibly as they stop into new roles to change the future? Review:I have a confession to make. I didn't actually finish the book.
I spent weeks trying to get through it, but I just couldn't. There was a lot of politics and observing...I suppose it was just a bunch of build up for something big in the end. Unfortunately, it didn't build UP, it built down.
I'll be frank; it was boring.
There was too many details on unimportant things, making me fall asleep after reading a paragraph. And it doesn't help that the cover looks like crap. Sorry...that might have been a little harsh.
Just don't read this series. Ever. I won't be continuing with it
Title: Specials Author: Scott Westerfeld # of Pages: 350 (paperback reprint) Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian Rating: ★★★☆☆ Synopsis:"Special Circumstances": The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor -- frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary. And now, in the third book in the series, Tally's been turned into a Special: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid. The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember. Most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more. Still, it's easy to tune that out -- until Tally's offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat, or carry out the mission she's programmed to complete. Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.
Review: I was actually really disappointed. I love this series, but I just wasn't feeling the usual excitement I felt when I read the first book. However, I still have hopes for the last book. Maybe this book was just part of the build up.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
What I found extremely disappointing was the fighting scene when Tally first encounters the war. I usually like fighting scenes, but I found myself spacing out and not even paying attention. I also didn't particularly like the part where they were cutting themselves. Any kind of self-harm doesn't sit well with me at all. So I was really glad when Tally rewired herself.
On the other hand, my favorite part was when Tally figured out that Zane was going to die. That was really sad for me, but I think that it could have went on for a little longer. Maybe she should have stayed by Zane's bedside for the full five minutes versus leaving almost right away.
SPOILERS END!
I don't usually do this last, but the cover is weird, just like the other covers of the series. All these people seem naked...But the cover DOES give off this new, futuristic feel, which is exactly how it SHOULD feel.
The book is okay. I had high expectations. Maybe it will be able to redeem itself in the last book.
Happy Monday! I thought today would be a good day to update you on what's up, since my life has been going through several (minor) changes recently.
What I'm Reading
If you haven't noticed already, I'm reading TWO books instead of one this month! I started doing this on the last day of July, when I was reading Trickster's Queen and The Archive (I just posted the review for it, so you should go check it out!). But I had been too lazy to update the Currently Reading section, so the review might have seemed like it came from nowhere. But, trust me, I actually read it. I just finished it this afternoon.
I have started reading another book, Specials by Scott Westerfeld. It's been a while since I read the first two books, Uglies and Pretties, so we'll see how this review goes (I'll try to Uglies and Pretties in the future so that the whole series of reviews can be posted on here). Now, you might be wondering, "Why are you reading two books at once when you were perfectly content with reading one book?"
That, my dear children, is what I wanted to talk about. If any of you have read Tamora Pierce's books, you'll know that her writing style is very...detailed. She created this whole new world, which means a lot of development. And then all of the development has to be retained throughout the book, not to mention throughout the rest of the series. So it takes a bit more brain power than I'm used to.
Now, I DON'T have a problem understanding the book. That's not what I'm trying to say at all. I'm TRYING to say that, depending on how different the world created is from our lovely Earth, it's harder to absorb all the details of race, society, layout of the new world. And Tortall, although also similar to society today, has many differences; terms, geography, creatures, etc.
So, that aside, toss in some politics. Although politics can be appealing to a great number of people, it certainly doesn't appeal to me. At all. Especially if it's fictitious politics. Mix in a pot full of long, unfamiliar names, a handful of boring details and TADA! Trickster's Queen appears. I COULD just force myself to read it throughout the day, but I find it really hard to read when I'm waiting in a loud, noisy line at the grocery store checkout line, sitting in the room with the TV on, or trying to eavesdrop on people's conversations. I need a nice, quiet place to read without any interruptions to really get into the book, and the one time/place that happens to be is in my bed with the door closed, and my neighbors asleep.
Then I can finally get a good twenty pages in before I fall asleep, bored out of my mind. And NO, I am not going to NOT read it since I'm almost a hundred pages in already. Somehow, I will survive all four-hundred pages...
Rereads
As far as my future reading plans, I'm thinking of doing maybe a week of rereads. I'll probably reread White Fang and Cannery Row because they're classics and there's such much depth to them that I might not have caught on my first reading. Then I'm thinking of rereading the Magyk series in honor of the last book release! It's probably going to take me more than a week to achieve this, I know. But I'll try my best!
If any of you (no matter how few of you there are) have any suggestions on what I should read, please let me know. I have quite a few books I need to read FOR NOW, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do after that. So, I'd really like your suggestions! You can leave a comment or send me an email, whichever way you like. Make sure it's a YA, no horrors, thrillers, mystery (with exceptions).
Title: The Archived Author: Victoria Schwab # of Pages: 328 (hardback) Genre: YA, Fantasy, Mystery Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Synopsis:Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive. Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.
Review: I wouldn't usually read a book like this. At first glance, I knew it was going to be about something mysterious and/or creepy. Something that's going to freak me out. But I heard about it online, and, for some crazy reason, I thought I should buy it anyway.
Of course, I took off the jacket cover. Too scary for me.
Honestly, this book wasn't what I was expecting at all, to the point where it was disappointing. I was expecting at least a little bit of creepiness. But I didn't find it creepy at all. Sure, there are dead people and stuff, but the way it was written wasn't meant to be creepy. It was just like a normal book. And with every normal book, there are clichés.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Wes really bugged me. A lot. He is very self-absorbed and of course Mac falls in love with him! But what is even worse is that Owen person. Mac goes all out on him, ignoring the fact that HE'S WAY OLDER THAN HER!!! Not to mention that he's dead...I don't know what the heck she was thinking. But I suppose if it didn't stop Bella...
Mac herself wasn't that appealing of a protagonist either. Despite the fact that she's been a keeper for so long, she seemed surprisingly weak. If she has had that many years of experience, you would have thought that she would prepare to fight the unexpected.
The ending was exactly fantastic either. I wasn't able to guess everything, but I didn't find it surprising either.
SPOILERS END
So, in short, the book was just boring. It's NOT worth rereading, but I might read the second book, if I have the time.
