Tag: Young Adult (Page 154 of 159)

BOOK REVIEW – We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

BOOK REVIEW – We Were Liars by E. LockhartWe Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads


The four of us Liars, we have always been. We always will be.

I really don’t even know what to say when it comes to this book. In so many ways it had everything I have grown to adore in storytelling-a mysterious, not-as-it-seems story line, characters you never know if you can trust, beautiful, poetic writing, and overall just a vastly different way of delivering inevitable blows: slow, one-two punches to the gut. But with all this being said, there is one truth I can tell you about this story:
Everything I hate in a book, is this book.
Weird, isn’t it? How there can be so many things I love about a book, but more that I hate? I do so love a turn of phrase. 😉

It doesn’t matter if one of us is desperately, desperately in love.
So much
in love
that equally desperate measures
must be taken.

See, I have this fatal flaw where I literally feel guilty for rating a book low. Even now as I type out my reasons for rating this thusly, I feel guilty. But one thing I can say with absolute certainty is that when I clicked the 2 stars, it felt right. I have rated a few books that are written poorly with a shitty story-line 2 stars and in other books rated them 3 even though my feelings merited a 2 star rating. I feel that if a book is written well and I just didn’t love, it doesn’t deserve to be so low as a two: But I’ve found the exception. I can’t give this more than a two. I’m known to overrate for books that most likely don’t deserve it and STILL can’t give this more than two stars. The writing was beautiful and spectacular and the story was masterfully woven…but I felt like shit for every minute of it. I felt horrible and sad and depressed and, sure, I was so excited to see what the end was and, yes, I had been right in some of my assumptions, but I feel that while the end was awesome, this is a case where the end doesn’t justify the means.

“Do not accept an evil you can change.”

I wasn’t satisfied. I felt even more deflated, in fact. And more than that, the liars weren’t such bad liars. Whatever the fuck that means. View Spoiler »

One day I looked at Gat, lying in the Clairmont hammock with a book, and he seemed, well, like he was mine. Like he was my particular person.

I’m sorry to bring other books into this, but I am just so damn anal about what people think of me and my rating system. Ultimately, I want you, my GR friends, to see my reviews and be like, ‘Yeah, I trust what she’s saying and I can relate-she’s not being a total bitch for no reason.’ And I think if people can put into perspective my crazy method of thinking, it will help them to understand that while this one didn’t work for me, it might possibly work for them. So, here is a comparison where the reviews are mixed and I was entirely fair in my rating-View Spoiler » is the book I’ll compare. Now, I knew something horrific was coming in the aforementioned book, and, Hell, I was very damn depressed as I read, but I loved and enjoyed the story and the beautiful and vivid writing. It worked for me because, in my mind, the end did justify the means. Like….it was all built up and nobody wanted anything bad to happen, but you just knew deep in your bones something bad was coming, but at the end of it all…..did you or didn’t you enjoy the story? Did you enjoy the ride? Were there also enjoyable parts, or MORE enjoyable than disdainful ones? Did the story as a whole work for you?? It did. And that, my friends, is where WWL lost me. I don’t like to pay for depression-we get enough of that with the news, thank you.

She made me act normal. Because I was. Because I could.

I can’t really talk about this book. There isn’t a way to do so. But what I will say is, I bet this will be a spectacular movie. Honestly. And, most assuredly, I will likely be first in line to go see it. How does this make sense, you ask? Well…lemme explain. Look, it’s awesome that this book was all twisty and suspenseful and we didn’t know what was going on, but reading it was like stabbing my gut with knives at every twist and turn-in a movie, it plays out quicker and I won’t have to read all her inner depressing thoughts and instead it will be played out on-screen much more dramatically and….I don’t know. That hardly makes sense-but to me, it makes all the sense in the world-I’d rather watch the horrid truth that is this book on screen than ever have to lay eyes on this book again. In this case-the movie will be far superior to the book, in my humble opinion. And no, I didn’t rate this so lowly to make a statement-sometimes, you just don’t gel with books. I completely missed the boat on this one.

Maybe, maybe.
If only, if only.

And most importantly, why would I try to explain what this book is about?
It’s all a lie, isn’t it??

BOOK REVIEW – Half a King (Shattered Sea #1) by Joe Abercrombie

BOOK REVIEW – Half a King (Shattered Sea #1) by Joe AbercrombieHalf a King (Shattered Sea #1)
by Joe Abercrombie
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads


“You may need two hands to fight someone. But only one to stab them in the back.”

I really enjoyed this one!! I think this is going to be short and sweet, because while I enjoyed it, there is so much that happens that I just can’t say…and the story will be that much better when you decide to read it if I leave a ton of things in the dark. Like when View Spoiler » or when View Spoiler » or when View Spoiler » and last but not least, when he View Spoiler » Aaaaaah revenge…..a dish best served cold :P.

“When you’re in hell,” murmured Yarvi, “only a devil can point the way out.”

Yarvi’s life, while somewhat fulfilled, is a sad one. He is always angry. He is always sorry. He is mocked in public for his half a hand. Then the day comes when he is called upon to become King…but his not-so-obvious enemies have other ideas in store for him-namely, death.

Always he was angry. As soon as it was too late to do him any good.

I think I liked this story so much because it’s so different from what I usually read. It wasn’t so far out there that I felt awkward reading it, and it wasn’t so mild as to pretend that it’s not a brutal book with harsh ends for those who deserve it. This is a story about revenge. Getting back at those that wronged or hurt you…no matter how much you once cared about them….and finding kinship among the most unlikely allies.

The fool strikes, she had said. The wise man smiles, and watches, and learns.
Then strikes.

I really enjoyed the simplistic writing. In so many novels that reach far beyond my normal spectrum, the writing astounds and confuses me because of my lack of focus for that particular story-I’m simply just trying to spread my wings and I end up getting overwhelmed by the siege and storm tactics, the manner of speak, the overdrawn and utterly overwhelming dialogue, and most of all the strategizing. Allllll of these books tend to overly strategize and strategize and strategize….all the while losing me in all the heavy handed dialogue. But not this book-each scene was perfectly placed and well thought out-not once was I bored when they were trying to figure out their next move. I actually quite enjoyed their bonding time-it was heartwarming. Even more than the bonding was his gradual growth of feelings for one of the people trapped on the ship with him, one of his fellow slaves. It was so sweet to see them growing tender towards one another-without even realizing it.

Perhaps even those we raise highest never get that far above the mud.

Overall this story was heartbreaking, but I loved pretty much every minute of it. I think I once again didn’t have time to fully immerse myself into the story, but more than that I think it disjointed the most pivotal moments-I severely hate when life gets in the way. More than once, though, I did feel something a little…odd about a scene. Like, I’d be reading about what was going to happen, and then in a blink of an eye, the scene was halfway through what was ‘about’ to happen. This might have just been exhaustion and fatigue on my part, and thank God it didn’t ruin the story for me. I loved Yarvi and his struggles with acting strong and becoming the person he was meant to be. He was a strong-willed character with a good heart and an even more cunning mind…and I loved following him on his journey for revenge.

That ending doooeee….

BOOK REVIEW – The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E. Pearson

BOOK REVIEW – The Kiss of Deception  (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E. PearsonThe Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1)
by Mary E. Pearson
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads


**Arc kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

It can take years to mold a dream. It takes only a fraction of a second for it to be shattered.

Admittedly, I had started this months ago when I first received it from the publisher. I was SO excited because it was the only book I requested that I just REALLY wanted and HAD to have. But as I jumped right into the story, I started to gradually notice how little I felt for the characters and how bored I was….but I knew there was a chance that if I kept going, I might find that it was just the beginning I didn’t care for. Well, here we are months later, and I can say without any hesitation that, while I DID have to skim quite a bit and was STILL disappointed up to a certain point, I WILL be continuing onto the next installment.

If one can’t be trusted in love, one can’t be trusted in anything. Some things can’t be forgiven.

At first, when I started reading this again, I just knew there was no way I could finish this and that I’d force myself to get to 60% at least, no matter what. I am SO glad I did. I rarely tell myself that I am going to DNF something and then finish the book, so I think that tells you how much better this got….at around 60%. Ironic, isn’t it?

That’s the way of death. There’s no dignity in it.

The thing I want to make abundantly clear is that while the story was not doing it for me, the writing was what kept me reading-it’s as simple as that. There were no errors, it had a nice flow that kept me reading even as I wanted to put it down-I saw something great in the writing that made me think that there was something the author was leading up to, something bigger than our main character, Lia. And I was right.

His arms circled around me, his face nestled in my hair, holding me so tight I could almost believe we would never part again. I breathed him in, his touch, his voice, and for a moment as long and short as a heartbeat, all of the world and its problems disappeared and there was only us.

I think my biggest problem with the story was Lia. She was dreadfully boring and I found myself skimming the parts she was in without the two male leads. I felt the only interesting thing about their love triangle was the presence of the two males, Rafe and Kaden. One is a prince, one is an assassin sent to kill Lia-but we don’t know which one it is. At the beginning of the story, Lia was about to marry the Prince whom her father, the King, had arranged a marriage for….but it wasn’t for love, and it isn’t what she wanted for her life, so she fled the palace with her best friend early on the morning of her wedding…never to be heard from again.

I will find you.
In the farthest corner, I will find you.

One of my favorite things about this book would have to be the fact that the author completely tricked me on who the Prince was-I was literally reading the story thinking about one man as the Prince and one the assassin and then when they were revealed, I literally just stopped reading, went back a few pages, and tried to see what I had missed-had I skipped a chapter?? Was I looking at it wrong? So I went back EVEN FARTHER to about 20% when they all meet and tried to see how I could have been reading this so plainly-as if I just knew what was going on when I wasn’t even close to knowing at all. It was baffling to me and made me laugh, because I had no doubt in my mind what and who I was reading about. So…that was embarrassing.

I swallowed. He closed what gap was left between us, and I had to lift my chin to see him. He looked down at me. “Because ever since that first day I met you, I’ve gone to sleep every single night thinking about you, and every morning when I wake, my first thoughts are of you.” He stepped impossibly closer and lifted his hands, cupping my face, his touch so gentle it was barely there. “When I’m not with you, I wonder where you are. I wonder what you’re doing. I think about how much I want to touch you. I want to feel your skin, your hair, run every dark strand through my fingers. I want to hold you, your hands, your chin.” His face drew nearer, and I felt his breath on my skin. “I want to pull you close and never let you go,” he whispered.

I have to comment on the two men-one is the Prince, and one the assassin. All I will say is that while I like both guys, my Prince fetish flared to life again like a raging inferno in the last 30% of this book and it took me totally by surprise. I was just reading along, finally happy with where the story was going (out of that boring city they were in for 60%) and all of a sudden they are both revealed and I did something similar to the emoji scream face where your jaw totally drops and you look like a moron. Both sweet, considerate guys, but, for me, the Prince stole the show. (And no, I can’t even gush about their attributes because it would give it away. Grr).

The wind swirled between us, threw mist in our faces. Whispered. In the farthest corner…I will find you.
I wiped at my eyes, the real and true blurring.
But I knew this much. He came
He was here.
And maybe, for now, that was all the truth I needed.

So all in all, I would say that this is a pretty well put together novel, indeed. I didn’t think the random quotes and passages fit in very well, seeing as they were sporadically spaced throughout (maybe I missed the pattern before chapters?) and I know I skimmed quite a bit. I had this pegged as a two because I didn’t think there was a possible way the excellent writing and the two men could be the sole reason I gave this a three, but when the action started and these men showed their true colors, everything changed for me. A DNF case became an ‘I have to finish this and not skim‘ in a matter of seconds. The last 40% drew me in more than I could have imagined and I was so happy I decided to keep going. The ending had an awesome cliffhanger that left me begging for more, and now I have a very long wait before I get some answers. This is going to suck.

BOOK REVIEW – Eon: Dragoneye Reborn (Eon #1) by Alison Goodman

BOOK REVIEW – Eon: Dragoneye Reborn (Eon #1) by Alison GoodmanEon: Dragoneye Reborn (Eon #1)
by Alison Goodman
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads


“No one can ever truly know what is in another man’s heart.”

Okay….it so doesn’t feel right to give this such a low rating when I loved the beginning and really liked the end but….why push up a rating when I don’t even know what to say?? I can’t hide behind a three or four every time I have trouble deciding what to rate something. It’s come to that time where I’m reading a wide array of books and different genres and the lines are starting to blur-I’ve had to start rating (not always) more harshly and, unfortunately, this book has fallen into this current time period where I’m done sugar coating my ratings.

There was a saying that a man’s true character was revealed in defeat. I thought it was also revealed in victory.

The thing is, it’s quite unfortunate that I wasn’t more enthralled with the story. It went a little something like this: The beginning-Loved. Eon/Eona? Loved. The secret she was hiding in a horrible society? Loved. The middle of the story? Began to lose interestquickly. The end? Finally what I’d been waiting for. Now, see, call me stupid (again), but I really, really trusted the reviews. When I see someone say they were on the edge of their seat the entire time I guess I envisioned a ton of action and peril and fighting aaaaaannddd….that was minimal, at best. There was deception, which I loved, but then hardly any action to follow these new found errors in people’s demeanor. I kinda thought that was the whole point of their society? If you are deceptive, there is punishment or pain….yeah? Clearly I went in with my eyes wide open and I really needed to…close them a bit. Because when it came down to it, not that much happened. Sorry, but there it is-my glaring problem with the story.

My dragon was the Keeper of Truth. The irony made me shift in my chair.

I suppose, aside from lack of action, my other problem was the replacing of action with dialogue. Dialogue and more dialogue and more more more talking. Jeeeeezzzz, just…I don’t know. I had to skim quite a bit. And, okay, call me (again) stupid, because I know their culture and how harsh they are, but when View Spoiler » it really pissed me off and sickened me. I knew stuff like that could happen, but, when it actually happened I was just totally turned off by it. It’s like, you don’t take that action the whole story and then it happens in that particular fashion??? Sickening. And, sadly, that’s probably quite common.

“Are you frightened now?”
I nodded, shame flushing my skin.
“Is it going to stop you?”
“No.”
“That is the courage of a warrior.”

Now, I must say, generally if I don’t love or connect with a book I don’t continue onto the next book. But. But. I really liked Eona. I loved her, in fact. I also really enjoyed the Prince (when he was in it). There is more action and peril to come (again, trusting those dastardly reviews) and, *GASP*, romaaaannnccceee….so I will continue on. And I think that says something, the fact that I want to finish the series. I liked it just enough and have went through the same thing with other series, so I know there’s a chance I just might fall in love with the next book…and I sure hope that happens.

BOOK REVIEW – Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth

BOOK REVIEW – Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica RothAllegiant (Divergent #3)
by Veronica Roth
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

What if your whole world was a lie? What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything? What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Review:

This book broke my heart into a million pieces. I have never sobbed so hard or for so long while reading a book. I guess that’s because I’ve never read a book that can be so true to life. In real life happy endings don’t always exist and life is not always fair. We see this every day in our lives yet we rarely see this in books. And truthfully, I did love this book. I loved this book all the way until the end. The end is NOT what I wanted and I was so upset that I wanted to rate this book a 1 star. BUT when I thought it through, I still loved Allegiant and I realized that the rating should be based on EVERY part of the book, not just the ending. And again I found myself lost in the action, I fell in love with the dialogue, there were so many characters that I loved and loved to hate and I was enraptured with how the story progressed. I was so lost in this book that I was ignorant to think the ending could be what really happens. Looking back, I can see that Allegiant flows perfectly with how the two previous books progressed and it sticks with the theme Veronica Roth has created and doesn’t deviate from it. That in itself I highly value. Ultimately, I will read whatever Veronica Roth writes in the future BUT I will go into the books being realistic and knowing that I may need a huge box of tissues.

Tris: I fell in love with him. But I don’t just stay with him by default as if there’s no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.

This book starts off exactly where Insurgent left off. Tris and Christina are locked in a cell since Evelyn sees them as traitors and she and the factionless are now in charge of Chicago. Everyone, including Tris, is still reeling from Edith Prior’s revelation about what lies outside of the fence and that being Divergent is more important than they ever could have thought. When Tris and Christina are released as traitors they learn that there is a group, called the Allegiant, and they are allied with the original purpose of the city – sending people outside the city to help and living in factions. Upon hearing of this, Tris becomes resonate in her plans that she has to escape the city. She HAS to know what is out there. And again, from here I became completely absorbed in their world. Between the action, the knowledge we gain, how the relationships blossom and wither apart and the way the story progresses, Allegiant is addicting!

Tris: He is stronger than anyone I know, and warmer than anyone else realizes; he is a secret that I have kept, and will keep, for the rest of my life.

This time we get to alternate between being in Tris’ and Tobias’ head. I loved being able to listen in to both of their thoughts and see the situations from both of their points of view. I loved being able to see the logical process of why Tris wanted to do certain things and then how Tobias viewed what Tris did and how he reacted to it. It made me feel as though I knew them both inside and out and I felt that much closer to them. I finally understand what makes them tick and why they both do the things they do. Sometimes they can be neurotic but in the end their love for each other is beautiful.

Tobias: I feel like what I have become is halfway between my mother and father, violent and impulsive and desperate and afraid. I feel like I have lost control of what I have become.

I was so happy to see that Tris seems to have more of a grasp on who she is. Her compassion, her strength and her ability to analyze situations amazed me and even though she still struggled I felt as though she was confident with who she was and the choices she makes throughout the book. Tris is back to someone that I would want to stand behind in times of great unrest and danger. Tobias is a little bit different……since we get to see inside Tobias’ brain we finally get to see how much he struggles in this book. It reminds me of how Tris struggled in Insurgent. He is desperately trying not to become who is parents are and he is also struggling with trying to figure out what is really right and wrong. Even though I wanted to yell at him a few times he is still sexy as ever. His love and loyalty for Tris is a force to reckon with and I think that’s what makes me love him the most.

There are so many ways to be brave in this world.
Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else.
Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.
But sometimes it doesn’t.
Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.
That is the sort of bravery I must have now.

I LOVED the huge revelation of what was outside the city. I was so excited to find out that it went along with what I thought from the beginning when Tris sees that the gates on the city’s fence lock from the outside and not the inside. Overall, I love this series. Did I wish it ended differently….uhh yeah! But in the real world and Divergent you don’t always get what you want. And sometimes that can be ok and other times you just have to the make the best of things and think of all of the wonderful moments you got to experience while going through this journey.

Reading Order & Links:
Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
divergent veronica roth
Divergent #1
Reviews:

Jen
Chelsea
insurgent veronica roth divergent
Insurgent #2
Reviews:
Jen
Chelsea
allegiant divergent veronica roth
Allegiant #3
Reviews:
Jen
Chelsea

Four: A Divergent Collection #0.1 - 0.4
*Four's Story*

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